Chapter 8 - Introduction

Zalto’s followers are spread throughout the North, searching for pieces of an adamantine colossus called the Vonindod. The fire giant duke has also struck an alliance with the drow of House Xorlarrin: he promises to help them destroy their enemies if the drow help him steal Maegera, the fire primordial trapped within the underground dwarven city of Gauntlgrym. House Xorlarrin once held Gauntlgrym, but King Bruenor Battlehammer and his dwarves recently drove out the dark elves. They know its layout well, however. Duke Zalto has given the drow an iron flask (see chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide) in which to trap Maegera. While the drow creep back into Gauntlgrym to perpetrate this great theft (see the “Gauntlgrym” section in chapter 3), Zalto readies his family’s ancestral forge for the arrival of Maegera and the Vonindod fragments.

In this part of their mission, the characters journey to Ironslag, Zalto’s fortress in the icy mountains north of the Silver Marches. Duke Zalto and his fire giants unlocked and reclaimed the forge several months ago. Since then, the fire giants have captured slaves and put them to work in the forges. The dwarves of Citadel Adbar and Citadel Felbarr are aware that fire giants have returned to Ironslag; however, the dwarves are still recovering from the War of the Silver Marches and aren’t prepared to mount an attack on the giant fortress.

Characters who visit Ironslag must contend not only with the fire giant duke, his family, and his most loyal followers but also with a village of sinister yakfolk. If the characters obtain Zalto’s conch of teleportation, they can use it to travel to Maelstrom, Hekaton’s undersea citadel (see chapter 10, “Hold of the Storm Giants”) and advance to the next stage of the adventure.

Fire Giants

Before running this part of the adventure, review the information on fire giants in the Monster Manual. It will help you roleplay the giants in this chapter.

Warmonger

Fire giants love to fight on a large scale, and Duke Zalto is one of the greatest warmongers of his age. For years, more powerful giants have curtailed Zalto’s violent predilections, but with King Hekaton out of the picture and the storm giant court in disarray, Zalto has set into motion a plot to wage war on dragonkind for the glory of Surtur and the divine favor of Annam the All-Father. It begins with the reconstruction of the Vonindod, a dragon-slaying colossus built by his ancient ancestors.

Duke Zalto has a nagging wife, Brimskarda, and two ill-tempered children-a belligerent daughter named Cinderhild and a sadistic son named Zaltember. The children distract him from his enterprise while his wife chastises him for not acting quickly enough. Brimskarda fears that one of the other giant lords will win the gods' favor first. Zalto is feeling the pressure, given that his success hinges on his ability to reignite Ironslag’s adamantine forge and his minions' ability to retrieve all the missing fragments of the Vonindod. Unfortunately for Zalto, those are the least of his problems. The arrogant fire giant duke has failed to account for the interference of puny adventurers and a certain ancient red dragon (see the “Klauthen Vale” section in chapter 3 and the “Airship of a Cult” section in chapter 4).

The Xorlarrin Alliance

Duke Zalto’s alliance with House Xorlarrin is built on his firm promise that, once he climbs to the top of the ordning, he will use his forge and his newfound might to help House Xorlarrin destroy its enemies, starting with the dwarves who cast the drow out of Gauntlgrym. For their part, the drow are more interested in supporting Zalto’s plan to wage war on dragonkind, for such a war would spell certain doom for the human, dwarven, and elven civilizations of the North-something the Xorlarrin drow desire above all else.

By the time the characters begin their journey to Ironslag, the drow have already managed to infiltrate Gauntlgrym (using their extensive knowledge of the dwarven city’s layout). If the drow capture Maegera and deliver the iron flask to Ironslag, the characters might encounter them in the fire giant fortress. Unless the characters defeat Duke Zalto or otherwise prevent the iron flask from falling into his possession, he traps Maegera in the adamantine forge (area 29). The fire generated by Maegera is sufficiently hot for Zalto and his fire giants to begin reforging the Vonindod.

Yakfolk Neighbors

Zalto has come to terms with the yakfolk that live on the mountainside above Ironslag. These malevolent creatures watch over the topmost entrance to the giants' fortress and also tend crops for the giants. In exchange, the giants leave them alone. The two kinds of yakfolk, warriors and priests, are described in appendix C. Also present in the village are a number of slaves-humanoid prisoners that the yakfolk use for manual labor.

The yakfolk feign benevolence, offering food and shelter to wayward visitors, only to shed their guise of friendly hosts when their guests are most vulnerable. While their visitors sleep, the yakfolk beat them unconscious, strip them of their gear and weapons, and consign them to a life of slavery. Deprived of food and warmth, slaves rarely survive more than a week.

To untrained eyes, the yakfolk village looks like a peaceful, idyllic hideaway perched atop a mountain cliff, with granite walls to keep the howling wind at bay. The dwarves of Citadel Adbar know better than to trust the yakfolk, and they occasionally send patrols north to spy on the village. One of those patrols was ambushed by yakfolk and the survivors taken prisoner. The yakfolk used their magic to possess the bodies of their dwarven captives and, in the guise of these dwarves, yakfolk spies have infiltrated Citadel Adbar. These agents do everything in their power to discourage the dwarves from attacking Ironslag, mostly by assuring the citadel’s leaders that the yakfolk pose no immediate threat. They also stand ready to assassinate Adbar’s ruler, King Harnoth, if he tries to mount an attack on the village.

Yakfolk Village Roster (Day)

Yakfolk Village Roster (Night)

Ironslag

North of the Silver Marches is a range of towering, snow-covered mountains known as the Ice Spires. The great dungeon-forge of Ironslag is under the one known to dwarves of the Silver Marches as Mount Hamarhaast (“hammer of ashes”). Carved into the base of a 500-foot-high mountainside cliff is a pair of 50-foot-tall adamantine doors-airtight valves sealed by ancient magic. Adventurers hoping to gain access to the forge must figure out a way through these doors or find an alternate route. One such route is a staircase carved into the mountainside (see area 1). Another involves the use of flying mounts or an airship.

Reaching Ironslag By Land

Characters who travel to Ironslag on foot or by horse must cross a cold, rugged hinterland to reach their destination. They are likely to experience one or more random encounters (use the Random Wilderness Encounter table in chapter 3).

The main benefit of an overland approach is stealth; characters can reach the foot of the mountain and make their way up toward the yakfolk village undetected.

Reaching Ironslag By Air

If the characters have an airship (see the “Airship of a Cult” section in chapter 4) or flying mounts (see the “Fireshear” and “Hawk’s Nest” sections in chapter 3), they can travel to Ironslag by air and avoid land-based encounters. Characters mounted on hippogriffs can travel 54 miles per day (three 3-hour flights with 1-hour rests in between). Those mounted on griffons can travel 72 miles in the same amount of time.

Flying characters who approach the south side of Mount Hamarhaast see the staircase carved into the mountain (area 1), the yakfolk village perched on the mountainside (areas 2-10), and the great adamantine doors at the foot of the mountain (area 28).

The chimera that lives on the mountain poses a threat to characters who travel by air. If the chimera is home when the party first arrives, it might notice the approaching airship or flying mounts and attack. The chimera is particularly fond of hippogriff flesh; if it sees one or more hippogriffs approaching the mountain, it attacks the nearest one and doesn’t break off its attack until it or the hippogriff is dead, or until its prey escapes.

There are plenty of safe places on the mountain for flying mounts to land. Once the chimera is dealt with, they can roost in its cave and use it as shelter. Flying mounts can also land safely on the staircase leading up the mountain or inside the yakfolk village. The airship can safely set down at the base of the mountain or in any level 30-foot-square space within the village. Landing an airship, griffons, or hippogriffs in the yakfolk village triggers a village-wide alarm.

Zones and Denizens

Ironslag has two distinct zones: the yakfolk village on the mountainside, and the fire giant forge beneath it (all shown on maps 8.1 and 8.2). These zones are described below in more detail, with additional information contained in the “Ironslag: General Features” sidebar. The Yakfolk Village Roster tables and the Forge Roster table summarize the hostile inhabitants of these two zones. An alarm raised in one zone has no effect on the alert status of the other zone.

During the day, some of the yakfolk are overseeing slaves at work in the mill (area 3), the barns (areas 4A-4C), and the crop fields (area 7). At night, the slaves are locked in their cages, and the yakfolk retire to their huts (areas 5A-5F). Use the suitable Yakfolk Village Roster table (day or night) based on when the characters arrive.

Ironslag Roster

Yakfolk Village

Thick, gray clouds and howling wind make it easy for adventurers to approach the yakfolk village unseen and unheard. The doors to the village are barred from within, so the characters must either announce their arrival or find a way to circumvent the walls.

The yakfolk don’t post guards and rarely leave their huts. The only yakfolk that has a chance of spotting adventurers who invade the village by climbing or flying over the walls is the one watching over the slaves in area 7 during the day. Characters who enter the village within sight of this yakfolk must succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity (Stealth) check to avoid being spotted immediately. If this yakfolk spots any invaders, it abandons its slaves and heads to area 8 to warn Chief Kartha-Kaya.

The yakfolk chief has a large bronze gong in his hut (area 8). If he or his wives become aware of invaders, one of them strikes the gong. It is loud enough to be heard throughout the village, prompting the other yakfolk to come running. Yakfolk are vile in their pragmatism. Before setting out to confront invaders, they murder their slaves to prevent them from being freed or turned against them. To conquer the village, the adventurers must defeat all adult yakfolk that live here.

If the adventurers approach the village in a nonthreatening manner, Chief Kartha-Kaya welcomes them with open arms and plays the part of a benevolent host, offering them fresh bread, cheese, jugs of warmed ale, and bowls of hot vegetable and barley soup. He allows them to smoke from his pipe and sleep in his hut. Characters who partake of the chief’s hospitality must, after 1 hour of indulgence, succeed on a DC 15 Constitution saving throw or fall unconscious, as a result of either eating soup or smoking pipeweed that has been laced with a poison to which the yakfolk are immune. Elves and half-elves are immune to the sleep-inducing effect of the poison, and dwarves have advantage on the saving throw. A creature rendered unconscious in this way awakens if it takes any amount of damage; otherwise, the unconsciousness lasts for 3d6 hours. If the whole party is rendered unconscious, the yakfolk strip the adventurers of their belongings (including their armor), bind their wrists and ankles in shackles, and keep them as slaves. The party’s belongings are piled in the chief’s hut, and the prisoners are set to work harvesting crops in area 7, milking goats in area 6, or cleaning up animal waste in area 4. If the chief can’t put the whole party to sleep, he waits to see what effect (if any) the poison has before sounding the gong. As all the other adult yakfolk converge on the chief’s hut, Kartha-Kaya and his wives attack conscious party members. The goals of the yakfolk are to beat the characters unconscious, strip them of their possessions, and enslave them.

Fire Giants' Forge

The fire giants' forge is a sprawling, two-level dungeon complex located beneath the yakfolk village and the mines. Raw iron ore from the mines is brought by cart to area 17 and loaded into iron buckets hanging from a carousel-like apparatus called a bucket chain. This bucket chain is turned by a slave wheel (area 20) and moves clockwise through the upper level of the fortress, transporting the iron ore to the dressing mill (area 12) to be broken up. Iron ore is then loaded into buckets and transported to the foundry, where ogres on the gantries (area 18) use long, hooked poles to tip the buckets, causing the ore to fall into the smelters below (area 34). Enormous bellows raise the temperature inside the smelters, melting the iron. The molten iron spills into a huge stone trough (area 35), where it is channeled into molds and used to forge giant-sized swords and armor.

The iron buckets are spaced 10 feet apart. Each one is 10 feet long, 6 feet wide, and 6 feet deep. A bucket can hold one Large creature or up to four Medium creatures. Two Small creatures can take the place of one Medium creature. While the slave wheel is turning, the buckets move at a speed of 10 feet per round; it takes a bucket roughly 15 minutes to complete one circuit. Although the adamantine forge (area 29) isn’t lit, the main foundry (area 34) is operational, and the racket from the weapon forges and the slowly revolving bucket chain echoes throughout the complex. The noise is so loud that activity in one area usually doesn’t draw the attention of creatures in adjacent areas, making it possible for adventurers to eliminate foes a few at a time.

If the slave wheel stops turning, the bucket chain stops; this is a sign to the fire giants that something is amiss. Unless the buckets start moving again, all adult fire giants that haven’t been killed or incapacitated head toward the slave wheel to find out what the problem is unless the Ironslag Roster table says otherwise.

Reinforcements

Check to see if reinforcements arrive once during the day and once at night by rolling d100 and consulting the Ironslag Reinforcements table. If reinforcements are indicated, the fire giant leading them utters a command phrase in the Giant tongue that unlocks and opens the adamantine doors to the Vonindod assembly hall (see area 28). These reinforcements remain in the assembly hall until Duke Zalto commands them to go elsewhere. If Duke Zalto isn’t around and there’s evidence that the foundry has been attacked, the reinforcements begin searching the complex for intruders and survivors.

Ironslag Reinforcements

Ironslag: General Features

A set of enormous, airtight, magically locked stone doors seal Ironslag’s main vault (area 28). Adventurers hoping to breach the fortress are more likely to succeed by climbing a 500-foot high staircase carved into the cliffs (area 1) and either attacking or infiltrating the yakfolk village (areas 3-8).

Yakfolk Village: The yakfolk village is built on the mountainside and enclosed by 20-foot-high walls of mortared stone. The walls require a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) to climb. Double doors made of thick, ironbound oak are set into the walls. The doors are barred shut from within and are too strong to be broken down without the aid of a ram or a siege engine. The village’s buildings are crude, single-story huts with thatch roofs and walls made of piled stones held together with clay. The inside walls are made of smooth clay painted with colorful murals of breathtaking landscapes.

The yakfolk imprison their slaves in iron cages at night. Each cage is fitted with an iron padlock that can be picked with thieves' tools and a successful DC 15 Dexterity check. Each adult yakfolk carries a key that opens all the cages.

Ceilings: The mines have 20-foot-high ceilings. The upper level of Ironslag has 30-foot-high ceilings, and the lower level has 50-foot-high ceilings.

Doors: Unless otherwise noted, Ironslag’s doors are 20 feet tall and made of riveted iron plates, with handles 9 feet above the floor. A Huge giant has no trouble opening these doors. A smaller creature can attempt to open a door, provided that creature or some other helpful creature can reach the door’s handle and unlatch it. While the handle is unlatched, a creature must use an action to push or pull on the heavy door, opening it with a successful DC 13 Strength (Athletics) check. On a failed check, the door doesn’t open.

Fireplaces: Ironslag’s fireplaces are hewn out of the rock and have basalt mantelpieces ornately carved with images of hell hounds and fire elementals. These openings are wide and tall enough for a party of adventurers to stand in. The fire in each one burns constantly, fed by natural gas that spews from 1d4+4 holes in the floor. A fireplace’s flame can be extinguished by plugging the holes, each of which is 4 inches in diameter. Any creature that enters a fire or starts its turn there takes 10 (3d6) fire damage and catches fire; until someone takes an action to douse the fire, the creature takes 10 (3d6) fire damage at the start of each of its turns. A creature can extinguish the flames by using a quart or more of water, a thick blanket, or some other means.

Gantries: The upper level of Ironslag features iron walkways that are bolted to the walls and stabilized with taut chains bolted to the ceiling. Iron cranes, pulleys, and swingarms are attached to some of these gantries. The gantry floors are iron grills with holes large enough for a human fist to pass through. A gantry grants three-quarters cover against any ranged attack that must pass through it to hit its target.

Illumination: The yakfolk village and other outdoor locations rely on natural light. The mines are unlit. Rooms and corridors in Ironslag that are equipped with fireplaces or iron braziers are dimly lit.

Oversized Furnishings and Objects: Most of the furnishings and other items in Ironslag are sized for fire giants. Exceptions are noted in the text. Furniture is typically twice as high, long, and wide as its human-sized equivalent and roughly eight times the weight. Small and Medium creatures can scuttle under and clamber over giant-sized furniture, treating the spaces they occupy as difficult terrain.

Portcullises: None of the portcullises in Ironslag have mechanical winches or other lifting mechanisms. They must be lifted manually. Any creature as big and strong as a fire giant can use an action to lift a portcullis. Any other creature must succeed on a DC 22 Strength (Athletics) check to lift a gate above its head. Although these gates are giant-sized, their iron bars are close enough together that even Small creatures can’t squirm through.

Stairs: All staircases in the foundry are sized for fire giants. Each step is 3 feet tall by 3 feet deep. Medium and smaller creatures treat the staircases as difficult terrain.

1. Twelve Thousand Steps

Thousands of years after Ironslag was abandoned, a clan of yakfolk used humanoid slaves to carve a staircase into the mountain cliff. At the top of these stairs, the yakfolk built a village. In the centuries that followed, clans of dwarves eager to plunder the mines made numerous failed attempts to conquer the yakfolk village before concluding that Ironslag’s spoils weren’t worth the effort. The rough-hewn steps-all twelve thousand of them-are proportioned for Medium humanoids and ascend a total of 500 feet. The staircase, which averages 15 feet in width and has no railing, climbs in a straight line, passing above the sealed adamantine doors of the forge (area 28) and never once doubling back on itself until it reaches the outer walls of the yakfolk village.

Normal horses and ponies are reticent to climb the staircase. Coaxing such a creature to climb the stairs requires a DC 15 Wisdom (Animal Handling) check. Magically summoned mounts can be made to climb the stairs without an ability check. Mules, being surefooted, can climb the steps with ease and don’t need to be coaxed.

Chimera Lair

After climbing 350 feet, the staircase is interrupted by a naturally formed, 50-foot-wide, 50-foot-deep chamber that a chimera has made into a lair. The ledge that leads across this area is covered with the bones of the chimera’s kills (beasts mostly, with a few orc and dwarf bones). The staircase resumes on the opposite side of the ledge, climbing another 150 feet to area 2. In the back of its lair, the chimera has a nest of bones, bits of tattered cloth, and clumps of earth and dead vegetation.

When the characters first arrive, there is a 50 percent chance that the chimera is present, in which case it attacks interlopers on sight. Otherwise, the chimera is out hunting and returns here at a time of your choosing.

Treasure

Characters who search the chimera’s nest find several items taken from prey: 120 cp, 45 sp, six 100 gp gemstones, a torn-up suit of gnome-sized leather armor with a tiny electrum music box (worth 50 gp) tucked inside one of its many pockets, a dagger with an obsidian blade (worth 75 gp), a gold-plated helm studded with gems and topped with a tiny golden anvil (worth 750 gp), and 1d3 magic items (roll on Magic Item Table B in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

2. Bridge

A cleft in the mountainside splits the yakfolk village in two. A wooden bridge spanned the gap until it rotted away. The yakfolk later built a safe bridge out of ropes and planks, lashed to four sturdy wooden posts.

3. Mill

An enormous wooden water wheel is attached to an iron axle and mounted above a swift-flowing river that spills down the mountainside. As the current turns the wheel, it not only powers the elevator in area 9 but also turns a large millstone located inside a hut next to the wheel, which has a beaded curtain entrance on the south wall. Grain harvested from area 7 is brought here and made into flour. The grinding of the millstone, the cranking of the water wheel, and the rush of water pouring down the mountainside drown out most other noises in this area.

During the day, two yakfolk warrior are here, quietly overseeing a pair of shield dwarf slaves (commoner) who shovel flour into burlap sacks, which are then taken to the bread ovens in area 5. The yakfolk sit on stools and either smoke pipes or sew blankets to pass the time as they watch the dwarves work. At night, the mill is unoccupied; the yakfolk retire to their hut (area 5A) while the dwarves sleep in a cage behind it. If the slaves are rescued, they behave and act as described in the “Slaves of the Yakfolk” sidebar.

Slaves of the Yakfolk

Most of the slaves in the yakfolk village aren’t given identities. You can assign names and genders to them as needed. Slaves of the yakfolk who are set free try to return to their homelands. Slaves can impart the following information:

• The yakfolk chief is named Kartha-Kaya. He has two wives.

• The yakfolk can’t be trusted.

• A giant water wheel turns the millstone (area 3) and also raises and lowers an elevator (area 9) that leads down to the heart of the fire giant forge.

• Many more slaves have been put to work in the mines. Next to the elevator is a spiral staircase (area 10) that leads down into the mines. One can reach the fire giant forge by traveling through the mines, but the elevator route is faster.

• A flying, three-headed monster (the chimera in area 1) is often seen circling high above the yakfolk village.

Water Wheel

Characters can try to reach area 9 by climbing through the openings in the frame of the water wheel and crawling along its iron axle. This is a dangerous act, and getting from one side to the other requires a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check. A character who fails the check doesn’t make it across and must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw. On a failed save, the character is swept down the river and tumbles down the mountainside, taking 70 (20d6) bludgeoning damage from the fall. On a successful save, the character manages to hang onto the wheel or the axle and avoid a fall, but is stuck between the spokes of the wheel and must repeat the check on his or her next turn to reach one end of the axle or the other.

Characters might try to make this route safer by preventing the water wheel from turning. Jamming a fence post or similar object between the spokes of the water wheel disables it, as does a successful DC 20 Strength check made to grab the wheel and stop it from turning. When the wheel is stopped, the force of the current puts tremendous strain on it. At the end of each turn, the wheel has a 25 percent chance of breaking apart and tumbling down the waterfall. If that happens, the millstone and the elevator (area 9) cease to function. Any creature on the wheel when it breaks is swept over the cliff with the wreckage and takes 70 (20d6) bludgeoning damage from the fall. The breaking of the wheel puts the yakfolk village on alert. Meanwhile, Zalto orders one of the fire giants in area 34 to go to area 9, find out what has caused the elevator to stop working, and report back. Unless it encounters trouble along the way, the giant arrives in area 9 roughly 20 minutes after the elevator stops working. If the giant finds evidence of foul play, it reports back to Zalto (taking 20 minutes to reach him). Zalto then places the foundry on alert, meaning that its defenders can’t be surprised.

4. Barn

The village has three barns (areas 4A, 4B, and 4C). Each contains a large chicken coop as well as muddy stalls that hold 2d4 boar and 2d4 yaks (use the elk statistics). The boars devour food waste and provide meat, while the yaks provide wool and serve as beasts of burden. Shovels, pitchforks, hoes, wooden buckets, yokes, and plows hang from the walls. Shelves hold sacks of seeds waiting to be planted the following spring.

During the day, a yakfolk warrior is inside each barn, overseeing two human slaves (commoner) as they gather eggs, feed the animals, and clean up the stalls. If intruders confront the yakfolk in the barn, it uses an action to open a stall containing two boars. On their next turn, the boars rush out of the stall and attack intruders while the yakfolk kills the slaves and then flees to the chief’s hut (area 8) to warn Kartha-Kaya. The boars pursue characters who flee from the barn. At night, the yakfolk retires to a nearby hut while its slaves are locked in an iron cage next to the barn. If the slaves are rescued, they behave and act as described in the “Slaves of the Yakfolk” sidebar.

The yakfolk in area 4A sleeps in area 5B at night. The yakfolk in area 4B sleeps in area 5E at night. The yakfolk in area 4C sleeps in area 5F at night. den. Shovels, pitchforks, hoes, wooden buckets, yokes, and plows hang from the walls. Shelves hold sacks of seeds waiting to be planted the following spring.

5. Hut

The village has six huts set aside as homes for yakfolk warriors. If the slaves are rescued, they behave and act as described in the “Slaves of the Yakfolk” sidebar.

Each hut contains a pallet for each yakfolk resident, a stone oven for baking bread and heating soup, and baskets used for storing food and other supplies.

5A. Millkeepers' Hut

This hut is unoccupied during the day. At night, the two yakfolk warrior who oversee the mill (area 3) sleep here, while their two shield dwarf slaves (commoner) are locked in a cage outside.

Treasure

Characters who search the hut find, amid the clutter, a basket containing 250 gp in mixed coinage, four pieces of fancy bead jewelry (worth 25 gp each), and one magic item, determined by rolling on Magic Item Table A in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

5B. Barnkeepers' Hut

During the day, one yakfolk warrior and one yakfolk child are here. At night, the yakfolk warrior who oversees the nearby barn (area 4A) is also present. One moon elf slave (commoner) cleans the hut during the day and is confined in a cage outside at night.

Treasure

Characters who search the hut for treasure find a basket containing 150 gp in mixed coinage and six pieces of fancy bead jewelry (worth 25 gp each).

5C. Family Hut

This hut contains two yakfolk warrior, day and night. One moon elf slave (commoner) cleans the hut during the day and is confined in an iron cage outside at night.

Treasure

Hanging on the walls between colorfully painted murals of landscapes are four wooden ritual masks carved from wood and decorated with semi-precious gemstones. The masks are worth 250 gp each.

5D. Family Hut

This hut contains two yakfolk warrior, day and night. One moon elf slave (commoner) cleans the hut during the day and is confined in a cage outside at night.

Treasure

Hanging from the ceiling is a gold censer (worth 250 gp). Four blocks of incense (worth 25 gp each) are kept in a basket next to the bread oven.

5E. Barnkeepers' Hut

During the day, one yakfolk warrior is here. At night, the yakfolk warrior who oversees the nearby barn (area 9) is also present. Two rock gnome slaves (commoner) clean the hut during the day and are confined in an iron cage outside at night.

Treasure

Characters who search the hut find, amid the clutter, a basket containing ten pieces of bead jewelry (worth 25 gp each). One of the gnome slaves also hides a 500 gp gemstone on her person. She gives it to the characters as a reward if they free her from captivity.

5F. Farmers' Hut

At night, two yakfolk warrior sleep here. During the day, the hut is unoccupied. One yakfolk oversees the slaves in the nearby barn (area 9) while the other watches over slaves tending the crops (area 7). All the slaves are confined in one iron cage at night.

Treasure

Characters who search the hut for treasure find a basket of miscellaneous nonmagical weapons confiscated from slaves, including three daggers, a sling, a pouch containing thirteen sling stones, a hand crossbow, and four hand crossbow bolts. Another basket contains three small leather pouches, each containing 2d6 gemstones (worth 10 gp each). These gems were confiscated from prisoners who were later sent to the mines.

6. Dairy

This structure is composed of a residential hut attached to a barn and a dairy. An elderly yakfolk warrior oversees the place and has two slaves: a human who cares for twelve goats in the barn and a half-orc who makes cheese in the dairy (both commoner). At night, these slaves are locked inside an iron cage in a yard around back. If the slaves are rescued, they act as described in the “Slaves of the Yakfolk” sidebar.

Treasure

Characters who search the yakfolk’s hut find a basket containing 800 gp in mixed coinage, and a carved lapis lazuli pipe (worth 25 gp) resting atop a small table next to one magic item, determined by rolling on Magic Item Table B in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.

7. Crop Fields

Cut into the sloping mountainside are several tiers of tilled earth where the yakfolk grow barley, wheat, corn, flowers, and vegetables. Yaks fitted with yokes and plows till the fields. During the harvest season, crops are picked and stored in baskets.

Four lightfoot halfling slaves (commoner) work the crop fields during the day. Watching them closely is a male yakfolk warrior smoking a wooden pipe. This yakfolk stands on ground high enough to look out over the entire village. If the slaves are rescued, they behave and act as described in the “Slaves of the Yakfolk” sidebar.

At night, the fields are unguarded. At sundown, the yakfolk locks the slaves in their cage (between areas 4C and 5F) before retiring to its hut (area 5F) until morning. Its mate looks after the north barn (area 9).

8. Hall of the Yakfolk Chief

Built on high ground in the middle of the yakfolk village is a 60-foot-diameter hut with a beaded curtain entrance in the northeast wall, facing an outdoor campfire. The interior of the hut is one large chamber dominated by a shallow, 10-foot-diameter, circular pit around which yakfolk gather to hear the words of their chief. This pit is also where the yakfolk bring slaves to fight one another and where they execute prisoners. The rest of the time, the pit contains a campfire that keeps the hut warm. Toward the back of the hut are piles of cushions, baskets laden with foodstuffs, and painted clay vessels filled with water, wine, and broth. Between the fire pit and the south wall is an ornately engraved bronze gong and a wooden mallet that has a head padded with yak hide. The gong and the mallet hang from a wooden frame.

The hut is home to Chief Kartha-Kaya and his two wives, Imberu and Nahala (two yakfolk priest). These three spend their day arguing, eating, and smoking pipes. Their outward friendliness masks their cruelty.

Kartha-Kaya is a yakfolk warrior with the following changes:

• He has 70 hit points and a challenge rating of 4 (1,100 XP).
• He wields a flame tongue greatsword. While the sword is ablaze, it deals an extra 7 (2d6) fire damage on a hit.

Attending the chief are three naked moon elf slaves: two male commoner and a female noble. Stripping the slaves ensures that they can’t conceal weapons. The noble is a moon elf princess, Halani Meliamne. The yakfolk infiltrated her tribe by possessing several moon elf hunters. One night, they murdered her brothers and kidnapped her. She longs to return to the Moonwood and offers the characters the gratitude of her tribe if they take her home (see “Development”).

Treasure

Hidden under a pile of empty baskets are four locked wooden chests, the keys for which are worn around Chief Kartha-Kaya’s neck. Each lock can be picked with thieves' tools and a successful DC 15 Dexterity check.

The first chest contains 420 ep and 270 gp.

The second chest contains a clay jug painted with images of flying djinn (worth 25 gp), packed in straw.

The third chest contains weapons (three shortswords, four daggers, two battleaxes, three shortbows, and three quivers with 2d10 arrows in each) taken from prisoners.

The fourth chest contains a pair of electrum bracers with embossed dwarf faces on them (worth 250 gp for the pair), as well as 1d4 magic items. Roll on Magic Item Table C in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for the first item, and on Table A for any others.

Development

The moon elf slaves know all the information in the “Slaves of the Yakfolk” sidebar, as well as the following additional information:

• The elves' names are Halani (female), Jevin (male), and Vandar (male).
• Kartha-Kaya’s wives are named Imberu and Nahala, and they serve as his advisors.
• Yakfolk can perform a ritual that lets them possess humanoids by “crawling under their skin.” (The elves have seen the ritual performed in Kartha-Kaya’s hut.)
• The yakfolk ambushed a patrol of dwarves from Citadel Adbar, captured several members, and used their possession ritual to inhabit the dwarves. The chief then sent these assassins to kill Citadel Adbar’s king. (The elves saw the ritual being performed.)

If the characters agree to escort Halani back to her tribe in the Moonwood, she leads them to an icy waterfall in the heart of the forest where they can rest for the night. A group of six moon elf scout wander by a short time later and offer to take Halani home. She has nothing to give the characters in gratitude, but the characters' kindness doesn’t go unnoticed by the forest’s ancient spirits. After finishing a long rest in the forest, each character who aided in Halani’s safe return gains a charm of the slayer (see the “Supernatural Gifts” section in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

Characters can follow up on the elves' claim that yakfolk are planning to assassinate the king of Citadel Adbar, either immediately or once they have concluded their business in Ironslag. If they visit the dwarven stronghold and seek an audience with King Harnoth, run the suggested encounter in the “Citadel Adbar” section in chapter 3. If they later return to Ironslag, the yakfolk village remains as they left it.

9. Elevator Shaft

Twenty-foot-tall iron doors in the mountainside northeast of area 8 swing open to reveal a rough-hewn passageway blocked by an iron portcullis (see the “Ironslag: General Features” sidebar for rules on opening doors and lifting portcullises). From the room beyond comes the sound of rushing water from the nearby river.

The passage leads to a cold, dark, and vast chamber with a 50-foot-high ceiling and an 80-foot-diameter, 500-foot-deep shaft in the middle of the floor. An iron rig is bolted to the pit’s circular rim. Suspended from this rig by iron chains is a 60-foot-diameter, circular platform made from oak beams held together by iron bands and rivets. The platform ascends and descends the shaft constantly, powered by a wooden water wheel located behind an opening in the southeast wall. Characters who stand on a gantry bolted to the southern lip of the shaft and look down can see the platform as it rises up.

The elevator platform makes a programmed series of fifteen stops on its way up and down the shaft, each delay lasting 30 seconds. One of the stops is here, at the top of the shaft. As the platform descends, it stops at twelve mine levels (see the “Mines” section in area 10) and also pauses at the upper level of Ironslag (area 11) and the lower level (area 24). Accounting for all of its stops, it takes the elevator platform 15 minutes to move from the top of the shaft to the bottom, or vice versa. Between stops, it moves at a constant speed.

Bolted to the northeast wall of the room is a rectangular metal plate with a 3-foot-long iron lever protruding from it. The lever is mounted 10 feet above the floor and is in the up position. Pulling it down triggers a mechanism in the elevator’s suspension rig that disengages the elevator from the water wheel axle, which immediately causes the elevator platform to stop. Moving the lever back up reconnects the elevator to the axle, causing the platform to move again. A creature that can reach the lever can use its action to make a DC 17 Strength (Athletics) check, raising or lowering the lever on a success.

The chains supporting the platform are rusty but large and secure. The platform can support tens of thousands of pounds without so much as a groan of protest.

10. Stairs to the Mines

In the middle of this otherwise featureless room is a spiral staircase with 10-foot-wide stone steps descending into darkness-to the topmost level of Ironslag’s mines.

Mines

The mines form a multilevel labyrinth of 20-foot-diameter, rough-hewn tunnels-just tall and wide enough for a fire giant to navigate. Spiked to the tunnel floors are rail tracks built for iron carts. To get from one mine level to the next, one must traverse a series of ramps or use the elevator that connects areas 9, 11, and 24.

No map of the mine tunnels is provided. If the characters find themselves here, simply describe the maze of rough-hewn tunnels as having occasional upward and downward-sloping passages. The upper levels of the mines are abandoned. Characters who explore that area find a few broken picks and shovels, plus the occasional empty cart resting on the tracks. As they make their way down, they begin to hear distant sounds of a mining operation: picks striking stone and the sound of rocks being shoveled into metal carts.

Two salamander in the service of Zalto patrol the deepest levels of the mine, watching over eleven shield dwarves and seventeen rock gnomes (all commoner). The prisoners are split into groups of two or three. Some use picks or shovels, while others push carts down ramps toward area 17. All wear ankle shackles, reducing their speed from 25 feet to 5 feet. The shackles' keys are missing, but a lock can be picked with thieves' tools and a successful DC 10 Dexterity check.

Development

The dwarves and gnomes dare not try to escape while the salamanders are about. If the characters dispose of the salamanders and clear a path to freedom, the prisoners head to the yakfolk village. Assuming no yakfolk are left there to oppose them, they descend the twelve thousand steps to the foot of the mountain (possibly risking attack from the chimera in area 1). Before they flee, the prisoners tell their liberators that more slaves have been put to work in other areas of Ironslag. The dwarves and gnomes are familiar with areas 17, 18, 20, 23, and 34. If the characters request a guide, a thankful rock gnome volunteers to join them. Her name is Wiri Fleagol. She is a commoner, with the following changes:

• She has the gnome subtype, and she is chaotic good.
• She has a speed of 25 feet and darkvision out to a range of 60 feet.
• She speaks Common and Gnomish.
• She has advantage on all Intelligence, Wisdom, and Charisma saving throws against magic.
• She has a clockwork mouse in a hidden pocket. When she sets it on the ground, it moves 5 feet in a random direction on each of her turns, squeaking as it goes.

11. Elevator, Upper Level

A ring-shaped gantry is bolted to the wall of the elevator shaft, 50 feet above the floor of the lower level (area 24). When the elevator stops here, the platform is level with the gantry. The circular space that the gantry surrounds is just wide enough for the platform to pass through it.

No guards are stationed here. Characters can hear the rattling of chains all around them.

12. Dressing Mill

Eight orc work here under the watch of a fire giant. The bucket chain moves from north to south through this room, the iron buckets dangling a few feet above the floor. As buckets of iron ore pass by, two orcs with hooked poles tip the buckets and dump their contents onto the floor. Two more orcs place the ore atop stone slabs, and two more orcs pick out impurities. The last two orcs load the ore back into the buckets and shovel the impurities into piles. (Once a week, production stops so that the impurities can be loaded into the buckets and transported back to area 17, to be carted away by slaves and deposited in cleared sections of the mines.) A fire burns in a hearth in the middle of the east wall.

The orcs are slaves but fight alongside the fire giant. If the giant dies, the orcs can be persuaded to halt their attack and flee to the elevator (area 11) by a character who makes a successful DC 16 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check. The giant carries a 2-foot-long iron key that unlocks the iron trunk in area 16B.

13. Overseer’s Office

The room to the south of the dressing mill contains a basalt table, a barrel of polluted water with iron pokers sticking out of it, an iron crate filled with manacles, and two racks of hooked poles. Hanging on the south wall is a set of rusty manacles. Prisoners who misbehave are hung up and tortured here. None are here now.

14. Assembly Hall, Upper Level

Wide iron gantries extend a short distance into a vast chamber. Two lit braziers illuminate the western gantry, which has iron stairs leading down to the floor of area 28. The steps are iron grills with holes large enough for a human fist to pass through. The steps provide three-quarters cover against any ranged attack that must pass through them to hit its target. The northern and eastern gantries are unlit. The ceiling is 40 feet above the gantries, the floor 50 feet below. The rattling of the bucket chain fills the room. Four cable towers support the bucket chain as it moves through this area.

Hanging in midair, held in place by chains bolted to the floor and ceiling, is the helmed head and upper torso of the Vonindod. Cranes extending out from the western and eastern gantries have two other fragments of the colossus hanging from them: an enormous greatsword and a giant gauntlet-like hand and forearm. These fragments are hanging at the same level as the gantries. They are too heavy for the characters to unhitch, but each crane has a winch that can be released, causing the fragment to fall to the floor with a crash that can be heard throughout Ironslag. If they haven’t already been defeated or lured elsewhere, the creatures in areas 12 and 15 investigate the sound, arriving on the northern and eastern gantries in 2 and 3 rounds, respectively. Releasing the catch on a winch requires a knock spell.

A creature can also use its action to make a DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check, releasing the catch on a success. Any creature under the greatsword or the gauntlet when it falls must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw or take 55 (10d10) bludgeoning damage and be knocked prone and restrained under the fragment. A creature in this predicament can use its action to make a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check, extricating itself on a success.

Set into the south wall at the top of the stairs, close to another lit brazier, is an iron portcullis. Beyond the portcullis is a dark hallway that leads to area 23.

Development

Characters can move quietly onto or along the gantries without being heard or seen by Duke Zalto and his hell hounds in area 28 below. To reach the western gantry, Zalto and his hounds climb the iron stairs. To reach the northern gantry, they must move to area 31, climb the staircase there, and pass through area 15. To reach the eastern gantry, they must take the elevator platform from area 24 to area 11. Loud noises on the north gantry attract the creatures in area 15.

15. Mustering Hall

The walls of this room bear frescoes that depict fire giants forging armor and weapons, marching to war, and binding red dragons in chains. Four basalt pillars support the 40-foot-high ceiling, and iron chandeliers bereft of candles hang above a pair of basalt tables. A fireplace in the north wall provides the only warmth and light.

Unless trouble has been detected inside the forge, three ogre stand around the northernmost table, where two fire giant are locked in an arm-wrestling contest. The ogres are cheering on the giants and paying close attention to the contest. Characters who stay in the shadows and try to cross the room quietly gain advantage on their Dexterity (Stealth) checks.

The fire giants and the ogres investigate any loud disturbance in area 14. If the bucket chain stops moving, the giants head to area 20 to learn why, leaving the ogres, who brawl among themselves.

A staircase in the west wall descends to area 31.

16. Giants' Quarters

A long, dark hallway has three doors set into it. The rooms to the north are the living space of Duke Zalto’s slave overseers (see areas 12 and 21), and the larger room to the south serves as quarters for the general fire giant population. No giants are in these rooms now.

16A. Northwest Room

This room contains an iron-framed bed, a cabinet filled with manacles and instruments of torture, a large cask of dwarven ale, a barrel of fresh water, and a wooden trunk bound in iron and fitted with an iron padlock. The trunk is 9 feet tall, 12 feet long, and 8 feet wide, and it weighs 750 pounds. Wooden poles stacked against the wall can be slipped through iron rings on the sides of the chest, making it easy for slaves to transport it.

The fire giant in area 21 carries the key to the padlock, which is too big to be picked with thieves' tools. A Small or Medium character can reach into it and open it with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check.

Treasure

The wooden trunk holds 2d4 mundane items, determined by rolling on the Items in a Giant’s Bag table in the introduction. Among this junk are 11,000 cp, 3,500 sp, 220 gp, and the bronze-plated skull of a slain adult red dragon (worth 750 gp and weighing 750 pounds).

16B. Northeast Room

This room holds an iron-framed bed, two cabinets (one containing manacles, the other containing instruments of torture), a barrel of water, a barrel of dwarven ale, two empty ironbound wooden crates, and an iron trunk with a lock built into it. The trunk is 7 feet tall, 13 feet long, and 8 feet wide, and it weighs 1,000 pounds. The fire giant in area 12 carries the key to the lock, which is too big to be picked with thieves' tools. A Small or Medium character can reach into it and open it with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check.

Treasure

The trunk contains 15,000 cp, 6,200 sp, 700 gp, a drinking horn made from a gorgon’s horn and bearing flame-like patterns (worth 2,500 gp and weighing 50 pounds), and a sack containing 2d4 mundane items, determined by rolling on the Items in a Giant’s Bag table in the introduction.

16C. South Room

Twelve iron-framed beds line the walls of this chamber. At the foot of each bed is an unlocked, footlocker made of beaten iron. Three basalt pillars support the ceiling.

Treasure

Each footlocker contains a sack holding 1d10 × 100 gp plus 1d4 mundane items, determined by rolling on the Items in a Giant’s Bag table in the introduction.

17. Ore Depository

Characters who descend through the mines (see area 10) eventually end up here, emerging through one of two tunnels in the north wall. Rail tracks running through these tunnels end at a pair of wooden barriers. Three pillars of black basalt support the ceiling. The bucket chain passes through gaps in the western and eastern walls, its iron buckets dangling a few inches above the floor. A tunnel leading west connects to an iron gantry (area 18) that overlooks the foundry (area 34).

A salamander stands guard in the middle of the room, watching over four shield dwarf slaves (commoner). The dwarves have ankle manacles that reduce their speed from 25 feet to 5 feet. When a cart of iron ore arrives, the dwarves transfer it to the bucket chain, to be carried east to area 12. The bucket chain moves constantly, even if new ore isn’t being transferred, as long as the slave wheel in area 20 turns.

Empty wooden barrels and crates are piled in the northeast corner of the room and in alcoves to the south. These containers once held food and water for miners, but they are ancient and fall apart if disturbed.

Development

When they aren’t working here, the dwarves are imprisoned in the slave pens (area 23). If the salamander dies and the dwarves are released from their shackles, they offer to lead the characters to the slave wheel (area 20) and the slave pens (area 23), in hopes of freeing the human, dwarf, and gnome prisoners in those areas. Their path takes them through area 18.

A few minutes after the slaves in this room stop working, other creatures along the bucket chain (in areas 12, 18, and 34) begin receiving empty buckets. The empty buckets don’t immediately cause concern, for shift changes and work breaks are known to happen. But if 15 minutes pass and no ore arrives, Zaltember and the ogres in area 18 investigate, entering from the west. If he finds intruders or evidence thereof, Zaltember heads to area 19, descends the staircase to the lower level, and heads to areas 31 and 28 to warn his parents. The ogres remain behind, covering his retreat if necessary.

18. Foundry, Upper Level

This area is incredibly hot, and characters who linger here are susceptible to the effects of extreme heat (see the “Wilderness Survival” section in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). A rusted iron gantry clings to the north, west, and south walls 50 feet above the floor of the main foundry, which echoes with the sound of clanging metal, rattling chains, whooshing bellows, and bubbling molten iron. The ceiling looms 40 feet above the gantry. Cable towers support the bucket chain that runs near the path of the gantry.

Unless they have been drawn to area 17, four ogre armed with 15-foot-long hooked poles stand on the gantry above the smelters in area 34. They use the poles to tip buckets of iron ore into the smelters. Overseeing them is Duke Zalto’s fat and lazy son, Zaltember. When the characters first arrive, Zaltember is dangling a shield dwarf commoner by his ankles over the southernmost smelter and threatening to drop him into it unless the dwarf pleads for his life. (Zaltember plucked the dwarf from the slave wheel and accused him of slacking off.) The dwarf refuses to give the sadistic young fire giant any satisfaction, which infuriates Zaltember. The ogres merely stand and watch with idiotic glee.

Zaltember is fifteen years old and stands 9 feet tall. He has the statistics of a half-ogre (ogrillon), with the following changes:

• He is lawful evil.
• He wears a chain shirt (AC 13).
• He has Intelligence and Wisdom scores of 10 (+0), and has a passive Perception score of 10.
• He lacks darkvision but is immune to fire damage.

Zaltember is a bully and coward. If wounded, he flees to area 31 (by way of areas 19, 37, 34, and 33) to be with his mother. If he is captured or cornered, he declares that he is the son of Duke Zalto, hoping to cow his captors into letting him go. Zaltember doesn’t know where his father keeps his conch of teleportation but assumes it’s locked in his father’s iron chest (see area 26A).

Treasure

Zaltember wears a black opal pendant on a golden chain (worth 2,500 gp and weighing 25 pounds).

Development

If battle erupts here, the four fire giants working in the foundry below begin hurling globs of molten iron at enemies they can see. (See area 34 for details.)

If the characters take Zaltember prisoner, they can use him as leverage when dealing with either of his parents. Duke Zalto and Duchess Brimskarda don’t want any harm to befall their son and will accede to any reasonable demand to have him released. (The duchess speaks for her husband in all respects if she’s the one the characters negotiate with.) Before conceding to any demands, the duke and the duchess try to convince Zaltember’s captors to release him as a show of good faith. This is a trick; the duke and the duchess will freely renege on their promises if they have nothing to lose.

If the characters refuse to release Zaltember until they have obtained Duke Zalto’s conch of teleportation, the duke or the duchess gives it to them in exchange for the promise of Zaltember’s safe return. Zalto and Brimskarda also allow the characters to leave Ironslag with the conch and whatever other treasure they have amassed, provided the characters agree to release Zaltember once they have made their escape.

If Zalto has Maegera in his custody (see the “Special Delivery” section later in this chapter), the characters can demand that he surrender the fire primordial. This he won’t do, for the loss of Maegera would thwart his plan to rise to the top of the ordning. If he must choose between his son and his destiny, Zalto chooses the latter. Not even his wife can convince him otherwise.

19. Stairs Down

The floor here is at the same level as the gantry in area 18. A wrought iron spiral staircase descends 50 feet to area 37. The steps are iron grills with holes large enough for a human fist to pass through. The steps provide three-quarters cover against any ranged attack that must pass through them to hit its target.

20. Slave Wheel

A fireplace in the middle of the north wall keeps this area warm and lit. An enormous wheel made of iron gears and wooden spokes dominates the room. The wheel is rigged to the bucket chain that travels throughout the forge. Turning the great wheel are ten shield dwarves and ten humans (all commoner) with iron manacles around their ankles. These slaves all suffer from four levels of exhaustion (see appendix A in the Player’s Handbook). Every 2 hours spent turning the wheel increases their level of exhaustion by 1.

Watching over the slaves are two ogre clad head to toe in spiked iron armor (AC 18). When the slaves reach level 5 exhaustion, they collapse, and the ogres bellow for the hobgoblins in area 23 to bring replacement slaves. At the end of the shift change, the hobgoblins drag the exhausted slaves back to their cells to rest.

The slaves stop turning the wheel if combat breaks out between the characters and the ogres. When this happens, the fire giant overseer in area 21 investigates, joining the battle in the following round. If the overseer can’t bring the situation under control quickly, he raises the portcullis to area 22 and frees the hell hounds to join the battle. Once the characters have dealt with the ogres, the fire giant, and the hell hounds, they can try freeing the prisoners from their manacles, either by breaking them or picking the locks. Unless they dispose of the enemies quickly, freeing the slaves has to wait until Duke Zalto and the others have been dealt with.

Development

When the slave wheel stops turning unexpectedly, the bucket chain stops moving. The entire forge falls quiet, and all adult fire giants in the complex converge on this room to find out what has happened. The first to arrive (after the overseer from area 21) is Duke Zalto with his hell hounds. Zalto climbs the stairs of the western gantry in area 14 and passes through area 23 to reach this chamber, arriving 1 minute after the bucket chain stops.

The prisoners know that there are more slaves in cages nearby (area 23). They help their liberators but are too exhausted to be of any use in combat.

21. Overseer’s Office

A fireplace heats and illuminates this chamber. An obsidian mug sized for a fire giant rests atop a basalt table, lying beneath which are several empty casks of ale. Marble shelves on the north and south walls stand bare. Iron doors in the western and southern walls lead to storage rooms that contain stolen crates of rations and barrels of water to nourish the slaves.

A fire giant dwells here. This overseer is tasked with herding and feeding the prisoners, as well as feeding and exercising the hell hounds in area 22. The giant carries an iron key that unlocks the trunk in area 16A.

Treasure

The obsidian mug on the table is worth 500 gp and weighs 100 pounds.

22. Hell Hound Pen

An iron portcullis blocks the tunnel leading to this room. Gnawed, blackened humanoid bones lie strewn upon the chamber floor amid loose sets of rusty manacles.

Seven hell hound howl and growl from within two spacious iron cages. Four hounds are confined in the north cage, three in the south cage. Each cage door is held shut with a simple latch; a creature can use an action to unhook it and open the cage. The hounds are trained to obey fire giants and no one else.

23. Slave Pens

Iron portcullises seal off this long, foul-smelling hall. Three black basalt pillars support the ceiling, and thirteen 10-foot-tall iron cages line the walls. A padlock hangs from each cage door. A Small or Medium character outside the cage can, with a successful DC 20 Dexterity check, open a lock using thieves' tools.

Six hobgoblin guard this hall, two standing next to each pillar. One of the hobgoblins carries a ring of keys; these keys open the locks to the cages in this room.

Prisoners

Only four of the cages are occupied when the characters first arrive. The first contains five shield dwarves (three male and two female commoner), the second holds seven rock gnomes (three male and four female commoner), the third contains three humans (one male and two female commoner), and the last one holds six orcs. Only the orcs wear armor and carry weapons, and they attack anyone who frees them that isn’t a fire giant. These orcs replace the ones in area 12 whenever there’s a shift change.

The non-orc prisoners wear manacles on their ankles that reduce their speed by 20 feet. These manacles must be broken or picked, since there are no keys to unlock them. The prisoners follow the instructions of their liberators and want nothing more than to escape the fire giant stronghold. They are particularly afraid of Duke Zalto’s son, who likes to visit the slave pens and torment the prisoners from time to time.

24. Elevator, Lower Level

The 500-foot-tall elevator shaft that penetrates the fire giant stronghold ends here. Iron pillars support a ring-shaped iron gantry 50 feet overhead (area 11). Wide tunnels lead north and west to areas 25 and 28. A flurry of goblin voices can be heard to the north.

25. Feasting Hall

Thirty goblin are in the midst of cleaning the feasting hall when the characters first arrive. Fearing the wrath of Duchess Brimskarda, they frantically tidy up giant-sized plates and mugs while fighting over table scraps. If the goblins are attacked, they flee west through the hallway and beat on the doors to area 31 until they are let inside. If the western tunnel is blocked off, they make their stand here.

Iron braziers in alcoves dimly illuminate the hall. Pillars and basalt partition-walls support the 50-foot-high, vaulted ceiling, from which hang heavy iron chandeliers, their candles draped in cobwebs. The chains used to raise and lower the chandeliers are fastened to iron hooks mounted on the walls. Set into the north wall is a fireplace, and arranged about the room are basalt tables covered with bronze dishware. An iron spit is mounted above a fire pit fueled by natural gas.

Development

Any goblin that is captured and interrogated claims to be in the service of Duke Zalto and Duchess Brimskarda. The goblins are familiar with the layout of the fire giant stronghold and can be bullied into acting as guides or providing directions. Goblin captives always act in their own self-interest, and goblins forced to serve the characters are quick to betray them when the characters no longer have the upper hand.

26. Ducal Quarters

This T-shaped hallway has doors to the north and south. Each door opens into a bedchamber.

26A. North Bedchamber

Duke Zalto and Duchess Brimskarda sleep here, in an enormous bed with a frame made from crisscrossing iron sword blades welded together. Dangling above the bed are large chains and manacles, the purpose of which is known only to the duke and the duchess. A 15-foot-diameter shield made from adult black dragon scales is displayed on the north wall behind the bed. An iron chandelier hangs from the ceiling over the center of the room, near the foot of the bed. A chain connected to the chandelier is snagged on an iron hook mounted to the east wall above a 10-foot-tall basalt table with some valuable items resting on it and a large iron chest tucked underneath it (see “Treasure”). Two wardrobes of fire-scorched wood stand against the west wall. A giant barrel in the southeast corner serves as a stool and rests in front of a burnished, full-length mirror mounted in the south corner of the east wall. An iron brazier hangs from a hook mounted on the south wall near the door.

Treasure

The duke’s wardrobe contains a cloak (worth 2,500 gp and weighing 250 pounds) made from a red dragon’s scaly hide and wings, with a necklace of engraved gold plates draped over its broad shoulders. The duchess’s wardrobe contains a gown made of gold ingots and rings (worth 7,500 gp and weighing 750 pounds). The items atop the basalt table include a bejeweled obsidian hair brush with wire bristles (worth 750 gp and weighing 75 pounds), a tinderbox made of ebony inlaid with flames of melted gold (worth 750 gp and weighing 75 pounds), a hand mirror with a gilded iron handle and frame (worth 250 gp and weighing 125 pounds), and a bronze jewelry chest (worth 250 gp and weighing 250 pounds) that contains six giant-sized gold rings with gemstones set into them (each worth 2,500 gp and weighing 25 pounds).

The iron chest under the table is 9 feet long, 6 feet tall, and 6 feet wide, and it weighs 600 pounds. A crude combination lock is built into it. The lock has three tumblers, each one displaying the ten Dwarvish (Dethek) glyphs for the numbers from 0 to 9. The lock’s combination is 7-2-7. Duke Zalto and Duchess Brimskarda are the only ones who know it. The lock can be picked with thieves' tools and a successful DC 21 Dexterity check, or it can be opened with a knock spell or similar magic.

If the chest is opened without using the combination, the act releases a cloud of incendiary gas that ignites on contact with the air and fills a 20-foot-radius sphere centered on the chest. Any creature in the area must succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity saving throw, taking 45 (10d8) fire damage on a failed saving throw, or half as much damage on a successful one. The trap can’t be disabled from outside the chest and is triggered only once.

Inside the chest, resting on a bed of ashes, is a giant-sized adamantine crown set with six black opals (worth 7,500 gp and weighing 150 pounds). Under the ashes are 6,300 gp, Duke Zalto’s conch of teleportation, and 1d4 magic items. Roll on Magic Item Table F in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide for the first item and on Table D for any others.

26B. South Bedchamber

The duke’s teenage son and daughter share this room, but only the daughter is here when the characters arrive. Cinderhild feels like a prisoner in Ironslag. She wants to explore the world, which her father has described as a boundless realm full of wonders, but her parents refuse to let her leave, and she’s furious at them. She has a low opinion of her younger brother, Zaltember.

Eighteen-year-old Cinderhild stands 11 feet tall. She is big-boned with thick, orange hair and a mean temper. She wields a greatclub and has the statistics of an ogre, with the following changes:

• Cinderhild’s alignment is lawful evil.
• Cinderhild is unarmored (AC 9).
• She has Intelligence and Wisdom scores of 12 (+1), and has a passive Perception score of 11.
• She doesn’t have darkvision, but has immunity to fire damage.
• Cinderhild hides a 2-foot-long golden pin (see “Treasure”) in her hair, and she can use an action to make a melee weapon attack with it. The attack has a +6 bonus to hit, has a reach of 5 feet, targets one creature, and deals 9 (2d4+4) piercing damage on a hit.

When the characters first arrive, Cinderhild is lying face down on her bed, weeping and wallowing in self pity. Two female hobgoblin serve as her handmaidens, though they do nothing to comfort her. They are armed with longswords but don’t carry longbows.

If the characters try to parley with Cinderhild, she demonstrates the impertinence and mood swings of a spoiled princess. She quickly realizes that she can use the characters to keep her parents distracted while she sneaks out of the fortress. She tells them that her father spends most of his time with the “dragon slayer” (the Vonindod in area 28), while her mother likes to oversee activity in the kitchen (area 31).

It might occur to the characters that they could benefit from capturing Cinderhild and then ransoming her back to her parents. If ordered to surrender, she tells the characters that she’s willing to pretend to be their prisoner until her father gives them what they want. If they accept her counterproposal, she allows them to dispose of her handmaidens before surrendering, on the condition that they keep her as their prisoner until they have escaped from Ironslag. Once she is far enough away from her parents, Cinderhild demands to be released, vowing never to trouble the characters again (a promise she aims to keep). She gives them her fire opal pendant (see “Treasure”), which was a gift from her parents, to seal the bargain. Cinderhild doesn’t know where her father keeps his conch of teleportation but assumes it’s locked in his iron chest (see area 26A).

Cinderhild and Zaltember sleep in iron-framed beds. North of Cinderhild’s bed is an empty barrel that she uses as a stool when she’s sitting in front of a full-length mirror mounted on the north corner of the western wall.

An alcove to the south holds two large, empty crates and a third crate filled with half-burned dolls and broken toys that Cinderhild and Zaltember once cherished.

Treasure

Cinderhild wears a fire opal pendant on a gold chain around her neck (worth 2,500 gp and weighing 25 pounds) and has a 2-foot-long golden pin (worth 250 gp and weighing 5 pounds) hidden in her hair.

Development

Duke Zalto and Duchess Brimskarda treat Cinderhild’s capture the same way they treat the capture of their son (see area 18 for details).

27. War Room

A basalt table, its base sculpted to look like a fountain of black fire, stands in the middle of this well-lit room. Bare marble shelves jut from the walls at heights of 10 and 15 feet. Standing against the northwest wall is an iron golem with a rune-carved iron ingot embedded in its forehead (see “Treasure”). Although golems normally have elemental spirits of earth trapped within them, this golem holds an elemental spirit of fire. The golem is deactivated and incapacitated, although that fact isn’t readily apparent.

Activating the iron golem requires one to speak the proper command word. Not even Duke Zalto knows it. Casting an identify spell on the golem reveals the long lost command word, which is “ildstryke.”

When the golem is activated, fires burn in its eyes, and sulfurous smoke billows from vents in its shoulder pauldrons. Any creature that activates the golem can issue commands to it. The elemental spirit that animates it is compelled to obey the commands of fire giants; as a result, a command issued by a fire giant supersedes any other commands the golem has received. The golem is magically programmed to shut down after 1 hour. Once it shuts down, the golem can’t be reactivated for 1 hour.

Treasure

The ingot embedded in the iron golem’s forehead is an ingot of the skold rune. It can be removed only while the golem is deactivated or when it is destroyed.

28. Assembly Hall, Lower Level

Pools of light huddle around lit braziers in niches along the walls, and iron cable towers rise to support the bucket chain that rattles overhead. Basalt pillars support the 90-foot-high ceiling, and iron gantries are bolted to the walls 50 feet above the floor. An iron stair case along the south wall climbs to the western gantry.

The Vonindod

Suspended and steadied by huge chains near the middle of the room are the helmed head and upper torso of the Vonindod, which have survived more or less intact. The adamantine colossus will stand 80 feet tall once it is fully reassembled; until then, it’s nothing more than a dangling, lifeless hulk. One of its eyes has a giant ruby (worth 25,000 gp and weighing 250 pounds) set into it, 40 feet above the floor. The other eye contains a socket for a similar-sized (but missing) gemstone. Climbing the colossus to reach the ruby eye requires a DC 20 Strength (Athletics) check, since the surface has few handholds or footholds. Prying the ruby eye from its socket requires a crowbar, a sword blade, or a similar tool and a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.

Adamantine Doors

Set into the southeast wall is a pair of 50-foot-tall adamantine doors sealed by ancient magic. The doors are airtight and soundproof. They open only when a fire giant standing within 50 feet of them speaks, in Giant, the phrase “By Surtur’s flame, I command these doors to open!” The doors remain open until a fire giant standing within 50 feet of them speaks, in Giant, the phrase “By Surtur’s flame, I command these doors to close!” in Giant. The doors can also be closed manually with a DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check. Knock spells and similar magic have no effect on these doors, though a legend lore spell or similar magic reveals how the doors can be opened and closed. A clever character can fool the magic on the doors by creating an illusory fire giant and having it speak the pass phrase. Characters can also try to hide and wait for a fire giant to open the doors (see the “Reinforcements” section earlier in this chapter).

The Fire Giant Duke

Unless he has been lured elsewhere, Duke Zalto is in the assembly hall playing with his two favorite hell hounds, Narthor and Zerebor. Zalto has a hollow iron ball, about 4 feet across, riddled with holes and containing the roasted corpse of a rock gnome. Whenever he rolls the ball across the floor, the hounds chase after it, fight over it, blast it with their fiery breath, and other wise knock it around, much to Zalto’s delight.

Duke Zalto is a fire giant, with the following changes:

• He has 221 hit points.
• He wears a ring of lightning resistance.
• He has an Intelligence score of 14 (+2) and speaks Common, Elvish, and Giant.
• He wields a giant iron maul, the head of which doubles as a cage (see “Zalto’s Prisoner”). He has a +11 bonus to hit with the maul, which has a reach of 10 feet and deals 28 (6d6+7) bludgeoning damage on a hit. He can make two attacks with the maul as an action.

Zalto’s Prisoner

The rectangular head of Zalto’s iron maul contains a hollow cell just large enough to confine a Medium creature (or two Small creatures). One wall of the cell is fitted with a door made of vertical iron bars 3 inches thick and spaced 4 inches apart. The cell door has a built-in lock, and Zalto carries the only key. Wrenching open the door requires a successful DC 25 Strength (Athletics) check, while picking the lock requires thieves' tools and a successful DC 20 Dexterity check. Neither of these tasks can be attempted while Zalto is wielding the weapon. Zalto has imprisoned a shield dwarf in the maul. Each time Zalto hits something with the weapon, any creature imprisoned in the head of the maul takes 5 (2d4) bludgeoning damage as it’s jostled and knocked about.

Zalto’s prisoner is a member of the Zhentarim named Jasper Dimmerchasm. Jasper tried to negotiate with one of Zalto’s underlings and was brought to Ironslag to meet with the duke. Zalto decided that he didn’t need the Black Network’s help to find the missing fragments of the Vonindod, so he locked Jasper inside his maul, weapons and all. Jasper has the statistics of a veteran, with the following changes:

• Jasper is a neutral evil shield dwarf.
• He speaks Common and Dwarvish.
• He has advantage on saving throws against poison, and he has resistance to poison damage.
• He has darkvision out to a range of 60 feet.
• He wields a battleaxe and a handaxe instead of a longsword and a shortsword. As an action, he can make two battleaxe attacks, plus one handaxe attack if he has his handaxe drawn. The battleaxe deals 7 (1d8+3) slashing damage on a hit, or 8 (1d10+3) slashing damage if used with two hands. The handaxe deals 6 (1d6+3) slashing damage on a hit and can be thrown (range 20/60 ft.).

While locked inside Zalto’s maul, Jasper can’t attack anything outside of his cell and has three-quarters cover against ranged attacks that pass through the cell door. (He has total cover against all other ranged attacks that originate outside of his cell.) If Jasper is rescued, he asks to remain with the characters until they return to civilization. He tries to befriend characters who are members of the Black Network, hoping to conspire with them to seize all of Ironslag’s riches for themselves.

29. Adamantine Forge

This cold forge looks like a giant adamantine igloo with a chimney on top and a hatch in the south side. The hatch has a sliding bolt lock, and its opening is wide enough for a fire giant to pass through. Inscribed on the floor of the forge is the ild (fire) rune. The forge is an artifact and thus impervious to damage. Trapping an ice primordial inside it for 1 hour, however, causes the forge to crack, whereupon it ceases to function.

Flanking the forge are two cable towers that support the bucket chain 50 feet overhead.

Development

Duke Zalto needs the incredible heat produced by the adamantine forge to repair his colossus, since normal fires aren’t hot enough. If Zalto gets his hands on the iron flask containing Maegera the Dawn Titan (see the “Special Delivery” section at the end of this chapter), he goes inside the adamantine forge and opens the iron flask, releasing the fire primordial from the flask and trapping it in the forge. Zalto then exits the forge, which begins to put out tremendous heat. The temperature in the room rises immediately, such that any creature that ends its turn in the room takes 5 (1d10) fire damage, or 11 (2d10) fire damage if it’s wearing metal armor. A creature that comes into direct contact with the superheated shell of the forge for the first time on a turn takes 33 (6d10) fire damage. A creature that enters the super heated forge for the first time on a turn or starts its turn inside the forge takes 132 (24d10) fire damage.

The ancient rune magic that protects the forge also prevents Maegera from escaping, even while the hatch and the vents are open. Maegera can still be trapped inside an iron flask or a similar magical prison, however, and it voluntarily fails any saving throw if doing so enables it to escape from the adamantine forge.

30. Overseer’s Office

The small room west of the Vonindod is currently unoccupied. It contains a 10-foot-tall wooden table with an iron dagger stuck in its top. The dagger is as big as a human-sized greatsword and twice as heavy; in the hands of a Small or Medium creature, it’s considered an improvised weapon that deals 3d4 piercing damage on a hit. The iron dagger is nonmagical and can be pried loose with a successful DC 11 Strength (Athletics) check.

31. Kitchen

Standing between black basalt pillars are two 10-foot tall basalt tables used for food preparation. Underneath the tables are ten empty iron cauldrons weighing 100 pounds each, and above them are dozens of utensils hanging from iron hooks and chains. Brimskarda, the fire giant duchess, stands in front of a fireplace holding an iron spoon to her lips, sampling soup from a fat cauldron suspended above the flames. Five smoke mephit dance around the cauldron, cackling with glee. Two ogre wearing grease-stained leather aprons stand next to the tables, and twenty goblin scurry about, performing menial chores.

Brimskarda attacks intruders on sight and commands her minions to do the same. If the duchess drops to 0 hit points, the mephits retreat to the fireplace and the goblins cower under the tables. The ogres are too stupid to surrender or flee; they fight to the death, wielding giant rolling pins that are treated as greatclubs.

Archways in the north wall lead to storerooms with wooden shelves lined with pots and pans. The eastern storeroom also holds two 500-pound barrels of grease.

The Fire Giant Duchess

Brimskarda wears a gown made from a young black dragon’s scaly hide and wings, and she has wrapped her luxurious orange hair around a black dragon’s horn, giving her a coiffure that looks like a curving pillar of flame. She is a fire giant, with the following changes:

• Brimskarda’s dragon-scale dress gives her AC 16.
• Brimskarda has an Intelligence score of 14 (+2) and speaks Common, Giant, and Goblin.
• She wears a crystal flask around her neck like a pendant. The flask contains a potion of invulnerability, which Brimskarda quaffs on her first turn in combat.
• She can hurl iron cauldrons instead of rocks (her attack bonus, range, and damage remain the same).

Treasure

In addition to her potion of invulnerability, Brimskarda carries a large wind fan of painted gold (worth 2,500 gp and weighing 50 pounds).

Development

Characters who capture Brimskarda can use her to gain leverage in any negotiation with Duke Zalto. The duke treats his wife’s capture the same way he treats the capture of his son (see area 18 for details).

32. Storeroom

One basalt pillar supports the ceiling of this room, which contains wooden crates and barrels that the fire giants brought with them to Ironslag. The crates contain food, and the barrels contain water, rock salt, and ale.

Resting against the east wall is a wooden chest, 10 feet long by 6 feet tall by 8 feet wide. The chest feels cold to the touch, and a detect magic spell reveals an aura of transmutation magic around the chest. Its interior stays as cold as an icebox regardless of the temperature outside, and it currently holds the frozen carcasses of an elk and a wolf.

33. Cistern

Ice water running off the mountain is channeled through pipes that lead to the room west of the kitchen. Three iron nozzles protrude from the 50-foot-high ceiling, spilling water into three bowl-shaped basins carved into the floor. A 3-foot-high, circular and hollow wall of stone encloses each basin, and drainage holes carved into the rim of each retaining wall prevent the water from spilling over the edge. The shut-off valves for the nozzles are mounted on the north wall, 10 feet above the floor. Each shut-off valve is a rusty iron wheel roughly 5 feet across that must be turned a full rotation to stop the flow of water into the cistern south of it; turning the wheel requires an action and a successful DC 15 Strength (Athletics) check.

Barrels of potable water stand in the rooms' corners.

34. Foundry, Lower Level

Characters can hear the clanging of metal and see ripples of heat throughout this brightly lit area. Those who linger here are susceptible to the effects of extreme heat (see the “Wilderness Survival” section in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide). A 60-foot wide, 160-foot long, and 5-foot deep stone trough filled with molten iron dominates the room. The molten iron spills from four cone-shaped smelters carved out of black basalt. The smelters are fueled by natural gas. Four fire giant pump huge bellows to fan the flames within. Any creature that enters the molten iron for the first time on a turn or starts its turn in molten iron takes 44 (8d10) fire damage.

The fire giants hurl globs of molten iron instead of rocks. A giant must be within reach of the trough to make this ranged weapon attack, which has a +11 bonus to hit, has a range of 30/120 ft., and deals 17 (3d6+7) bludgeoning damage plus 22 (4d10) fire damage on a hit.

The fire giants in area 35 investigate sounds of combat here.

35. Forges

Streams of molten iron flow from the foundry (area 34) into sword-shaped molds carved out of black basalt that sit inside three identical forges (areas 35A, 35B, and 35C), each one tended by a fire giant weaponsmith. The heat in these rooms is almost unbearable, and characters who linger here are susceptible to the effects of extreme heat (see the “Wilderness Survival” section in chapter 5 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide).

The three fire giants are busy hammering and bending iron to make blades and hilts, but they draw their greatswords and attack if they see any intruders.

In addition to the molds, each forge contains a fire place, a pair of massive anvils, and shelves that hold weaponsmithing tools.

36. Armory

Behind a pair of doors south and east of the foundry are two unoccupied rooms. They contain iron weapon racks bristling with greatswords, iron mannequins draped in plate armor, marble shelves that hold iron helms, and hooks with iron shields hanging from them. There’s enough equipment here to arm a legion of fire giants, though none of it is magical.

37. Stairs Up

A wrought iron spiral staircase climbs 50 feet to area 19. The steps are iron grills with holes large enough for a human fist to pass through. The steps provide three-quarters cover against any ranged attack that must pass through them to hit its target.

Special Delivery

Draac and Taal Xorlarrin, a pair of drow mage, arrive at Ironslag with six drow elite warrior. If the characters encountered these drow previously in Gauntlgrym, there might be fewer drow in their party, since they have had no opportunity to replace lost members. If his mission in Gauntlgrym was successful, Draac carries an iron flask that he aims to return to Duke Zalto.

The drow quietly make their way up the mountainside, into the yakfolk village, and down into the fire giant forge by way of the elevator (area 9). The yakfolk have been warned that the drow are coming and leave them alone. If the elevator is nonfunctional and they can’t get it working, the drow resort to descending through the mines (see area 10). Exactly when they arrive is up to you, but here are some suggestions:

• If the characters slay Duke Zalto, the drow might arrive shortly thereafter and attack.
• If the characters are having an easy time in Ironslag, the drow might be with Zalto when the party finally confronts him. Draac doesn’t give Zalto the iron flask until the characters are defeated or forced to retreat.
• If the characters leave Ironslag without confronting Duke Zalto, the drow arrive after the party leaves and give Zalto the iron flask.

On their first turns in combat, both Draac and Taal attempt to summon a shadow demon. If defeat seems likely, Draac orders the remainder of his force to cover his escape while he flees with the iron flask.

Treasure

In addition to the iron flask, Draac carries a nonmagical staff topped with web patterns on the haft and a sculpted obsidian spider with small diamonds for eyes at the top (worth 1,500 gp). Taal carries a pouch with four 100 gp gems inside it, and he wears a fine black cloak embroidered with webs made of platinum thread (worth 750 gp). The elite drow warriors carry no treasure.

Zalto’s Iron Flask

Tied to Draac’s belt is an iron flask that contains Maegera the Dawn Titan, a mighty fire primordial that the drow stole from Gauntlgrym. Removing the iron flask’s stopper frees Maegera from captivity, whereupon the primordial is compelled to obey the commands of whoever freed it for 1 hour. Once that hour has elapsed, the primordial goes berserk and attacks nearby creatures indiscriminately while incinerating its surroundings.

Duke Zalto and the drow know that Maegera can’t be controlled for long, so they won’t release the fire primordial anywhere but inside Ironslag’s adamantine forge (area 29). If Draac is unable to give the flask to Zalto and is forced to flee, he keeps the flask with him and returns to the Underdark with it, determined to keep it out of the hands of the dwarves of Gauntlgrym.

Development

The characters might obtain the iron flask and try to trap Maegera inside the magic furnace aboard their airship (see the “Airship of a Cult” section in chapter 4). The airship’s furnace can hold Maegera, but only briefly. After each hour of confinement, Maegera can make a DC 15 Strength saving throw to escape confinement. If it fails the saving throw, Maegera remains trapped for another hour. If the saving throw succeeds, Maegera breaks free and goes berserk, destroying the furnace in the process.

Character Advancement

After obtaining Duke Zalto’s conch of teleportation, the characters might want to hole up somewhere so that one of them can attune to the conch and use it to teleport the party to Maelstrom. The characters might also delay using the conch because they want to continue exploring Ironslag or because they have some loose ends to tie up, such as coming to terms with Jasper Dimmerchasm, helping Cinderhild escape the clutches of her parents, or returning Maegera to Gauntlgrym. In any event, allow the characters to advance to 9th level before moving on to chapter 10, “Hold of the Storm Giants.”