Relics of the Deep Lode Forge

Gauntlets

Well, I guess it is time to solidify old myths and bedtime stories of our youth into potential historical accounts. There appears to be more than a little bit of truth to the old legends of the Deep Lode Forge and the armor that was made.

For those that don't know... Legend has it that in the Time Of The Treaty, when the dwarves were the only modern peoples with the sophistication and good sense to make steel, all other nations came to us in peace to buy our perfect metals. But, as with any great nation, our neighbors grew jealous. Most simple cultures are prone to covet the success their superiors...

Anyway... The way my grandparents told it, the trolls initiated the attack. I hear that the trolls say that humans started it. It doesn't matter, now. All that matters is the fact that the good, hard working dwarves were slaughtered for no more reason than they were trying to provide exceptional steel for all and that the greedy "all" still had to take advantage of us. But I digress. The story ends with the great steel foundry being run by the humans and trolls with enslaved gnomes doing the actual labour. (Obviously... Like a human or a troll could smelt steel without catching their greasiness on fire).

So, of course, like in all legends... The great Deep Lode Forge was built with the help of sympathetic gods. Right in the center of the most magnetic deposits of iron below... Some mountain range... I don't remember what my grandmother said, I knew it was only a myth back then... And the valiant dwarves hammered out hundreds of thousands of sets of armor so magnetically charged that it was able to discharge lightning. The armies of dwarves then had no trouble taking back their steel foundry and, of course, are still the cleverest people.

Not much is said about what happened to the Deep Lode forge. I guess once the foundry was back in production, the forge was forgotten and eventually assumed to be the sort of story that grandmothers tell.

Anyway. I am convinced that it is true. The circulating rumours have the forge being discovered by gnomes that looted it and tried to sell their plunder to dwarves. Apparently they some how lost the sets of armour when a dwarven gang tried to rob them.

Now, the gnomes that did have it haven't been seen in weeks, and the dwarven gang that I suspect, Kurt's hooligans in Edel, won't deny being involved in the roughing up of a bunch of gnomes but Kurt doesn't seem to have it on him.

All I can get out of older dwarves (That don't insist the whole story is a myth) is that the Deep Lode armor used the magnetism of the whole world to generate the lightning and strike down enemies. They say that this magnetism of the armor makes it nearly impossible to wear without the right system of hooks and clips to hold it together. One old soldier from Juargan's who claims to have had ancestry that worked in the Deep Forge insists that it is nearly crippling to wear an odd number of Deep Lode pieces because it was engineered to be worn properly balanced.

Armguards

Well, I have politely asked any gnomes that might know anything about the Deep Lode Forge equipment what they know. I have tortured the ones that seemed to be holding out, lying or sniveling. But, alas, I haven't discovered much other than more and more questions.

What I have heard, be it true or not, is that quite a lot of equipment was taken by the plundering party. There were gauntlets, arm guards, shields and bracers.

The looting party had no idea what the stuff was, apparently but were planning to sell it bit by bit, separately in far-flung places to keep it quiet. What I can get out of Kurt's gang is that by the time they ambushed the gnomes in the rough terrain, the looters had nothing but the gauntlets on them, and furthermore, one of the gauntlets was lost in the scuffle.

The gnomes had been seen passing through the wastelands, returning from the deserts and beyond. They must have been on their way toward the mountains and their rumble with the dwarves at that time.

On their way they set up camp with another group of gnomes along the ancient road. I have spoken with these travellers and they tell me that the looting party say they were attacked by a pair of un-dead magi.

They were out in the middle of nowhere when everything darkened and these two beings set upon their wagon of loot. Their belongings were scattered while the undead seemed to search out the Deep Lode Armguards. The gnomes watched but kept their distance.

Finding the armguards without any difficulty, the pair turned on the gnomes and attacked, killing two and badly injuring the whole party. Over the course of the night, other looters, scavengers and rogues made off with the everything except for a pair of gauntlets... But we know about the gauntlets, now. They lost those to Kurt's gang, it seems.

All I can assume from the story is that if it is mostly true that the duo of undead attackers were very powerful creatures, not the run of the mill, cricket bat to the forehead zombie. Be careful if you go out to further investigations in the matter.

The attackers must have been drawn to the armguards for some purpose or by some force. The armguards aren't magical themselves but their magnetic properties of lightning generation may appear magical or even shine like a beacon to those that are sensitive to that sort of thing.

I have heard nothing about the rest of the re-looted stuff. I don't think the witness was lying to me, either. I had him in a very small jar and was ready to fill it with all sorts of horrible liquids.

I will continue my efforts to learn about this desecration of a dwarven myth as I come up with answers to the infinite questions.

Equipment

• gauntlets of the deep lode
• a bracer of the deep lode
• shield of the deep lode
• armguards of the deep lode