Echoes of Ruebalon

Brought into a guardhouse following the feral dwarven attack, the party was interrogated by Captain Delia Emersee, though their impending release was briefly interrupted when Professor Leorcin burst in to make a dramatic, unneeded defense. Captain Emersee requested their aid, prompting Emelyne and Valerie to investigate the crime scene. Emelyne discovered tight crawl holes and collected red-and-black speckled dust from sweeping guards before leading the group into the tunnels on all fours. During the crawl, rust monsters ambushed the party, corroding several weapons—including Diablo's daggers—before the group fought them off and emerged into the collapsed ruins of Old Rubealon. Valerie recalled that when the Tears of Toumas stripped the original city’s reinforcing magic 50 years prior, the old metropolis caved in, leading to the construction of the modern city above.

Navigating through dust-covered skeletons stripped of metal by rust monsters, the party explored a collapsed home containing a pile of bones from citizens who had sought refuge in their final moments. Inside, Thalia read a recovered scroll detailing the tragedy of Bergi the God-Touched, the greatest of dwarven smiths. Driven to manic obsession over a legendary forge, Bergi worked without eating or sleeping, cackling at his anvil as the mountain city collapsed around him.

Searching the house, Emelyne discovered a hidden lever opening a pristine spiral staircase. At the bottom, they found a mummified figure surrounded by runes and wearing a glinting pendant. When Emelyne manipulated the corpse with Mage Hand, the husk collapsed into a swarm of escaping maggots, allowing the spectral hand to retrieve a glowing red amulet. Acting noticeably anxious, Emelyne claimed a book from a nearby table and quickly exited. Craum conducted a final search and opened a tome, triggering an acid Glyph of Warding that dealt massive damage and knocked Naoki unconscious before Craum revived him, drawing a sharp scolding from Valerie for his recklessness.

Regrouping after a short rest, the party debated their next move. Craum suggested using the Sending Stone to contact Renatus, but Valerie insisted they find an alternate exit to avoid another disastrous rust monster encounter in the crawl spaces. Following Emelyne toward a mine tunnel, Naoki wildshaped into a bat and scouted ahead, spotting two figures down the shaft. Proceeding down the splitting tunnel with poor stealth, the party braced themselves as a small figure suddenly rushed out of the darkness toward them.