Returning home to the Forge, they scried on Keldas at the first opportunity.
He was bound with thick chains, spread-eagled between two sturdy columns in what appeared to be Imperagon’s war room. A gag was in his mouth-- yet, he was awake, and apparently cogent.
Looking around, Dorn could see curtains at both ends of the room. Imperagon was there, seated in a throne, his allies arrayed around him: the duergar monk, the dark archon, a cloud giant with a cryohydra pet. An old woman stood near Imperagon, clutching Keldas’ staff. They also saw a kyton, and now noticed the chains hanging from every surface.
“We need to buy ourselves some rust monsters,” Wulf suggested. “Any ideas?”
“We’re gonna need a miracle,” Dorn said, looking at the Old Man. “What’s it gonna cost us?”
“This time, fourteen-thousand.”
Wulf rolled his eyes. “Hey, thanks for the discount. We’ll keep it simple, then; an easy miracle. Just remove the gag from his mouth-- nice and easy.”
The gag slipped away ever so slightly. Acting quickly, Keldas spoke the words to invoke a teleport. They saw him disappear, and moments later he appeared beside them.
“Welcome home,” Wulf said.
“They got my staff…”
“Am I gonna have to tie that thing to yer mitten strings?”
“Wanna hit them now while they’re all gathered up?” asked Dorn.
Wulf thought about the chains on the walls, and how effective his party of spellcasters would be, bound up and grappled by the kyton. “I’d rather not.”
“We can’t enter directly, at any rate,” Keldas advised them. “The place is sealed with forbiddance. It is proof against ingoing teleport.”
Dorn nodded. “We likely won’t be able to enter at all unless we’re evil. The spell will hedge out good-- or anyone not of Imperagon’s ethos.”
“That can’t be right,” Wulf said. “Surely he has to be able to receive visitors. He’s a businessman, after all.”
Dorn scratched his beard. “I guess you can key the spell to a password. If we had the password, which we don’t, we could enter.”
“I’ll go have a nice chat with miss Arrinna, then,” Wulf said, already heading out the door to see their prisoner. He looked at Keldas and the Old Man. “Yer… ach, right, yer just wait here for me. Shouldn’t be long.”
But one can always hope, he thought.
*****
Wulf returned shortly. “Fiery might conquers…” he announced, grinning happily.
“She told you?”
Wulf nodded. “Diplomacy.”
“So… tomorrow, then?” Karak asked.
They all nodded.
“I suppose I should see about warding this place with our own forbiddance,” said the Old Man, excusing himself.
“Yer just let me know if yer want any suggestions on the pass-phrase,” Wulf called after him.
*****
The next day they stood several hundred yards off the main gate of Imperagon’s mighty fortress. They could see that the front gate was guarded by an immense iron golem with wicked bladed hands. Steel predators slunk about in the shadows under the gatehouse.
“Now, we have the password,” said Keldas. “So we should be able to just bluff our way past the golem.”
“Right,” Wulf nodded. He gave Keldas the thumbs up.
They walked to the front gate, and the golem rose to meet them as they came near the gate.
“WHO SEEKS ENTRY?” it bellowed, its voice sounding forth from hollow lungs that boomed like empty drums being kicked down a long flight of stairs.
“Wulf DRAGON-bane!” Wulf shouted back.
The party stood agape at him. Wulf’s weapons had somehow found their way into his hands.
“What?” Wulf said, shrugging. “I’m incognito.”
And the fight was on.
Keldas’ dragon launched itself through the air at the golem, snapping feebly as it flew by, but its jaws could not penetrate the golem’s metal hide. The golem was prepared, and slashed at the dragon’s side as it passed, scoring a deep, bleeding wound.
Karak charged forward and was immediately pounced on by both predators. They took turns savaging him.
Keldas cast rapid strikes on Dorn and keen edge on Taranak and shooed the two dwarves into the fray. Wulf stepped quickly to Karak’s aid: the predators were intent on grappling with the paladin, and Wulf had little difficulty shredding the predator’s exposed flanks. Dorn was right behind him to finish it off. Karak stumbled to his feet and watched the remaining predator warily.
Somehow the golem had settled on Dorn as the greatest threat, and it slashed at him twice with its huge, cleaver-like hands.
“Finish off that predator so we can take this thing down!” yelled Wulf. He was a firm believer in attacking the weakest link of a chain first, but they couldn’t afford to spend much time on the predator with their backs to the golem.
Keldas cast hold monster on the predator, once, twice, both times with no luck. The predator had backed off now, having learned from the other’s mistake not to grapple up with enemies at its flanks. It sat back on its haunches and roared at the group, pounding them all with sonic energy.
“Screw it,” said Wulf, grabbing Dorn and steering him towards the golem. “Let the assmar worry about the cat, we need a heavy hitter on this golem.”
He swung Taranak at the golem, but even prepared with greater magic weapon, he couldn’t seem to hit it.
“Are you holding back or what?” Dorn asked.
“A bit,” Wulf admitted, maneuvering to keep Dorn within arm’s reach.
Karak and the dragon continued to work on the predator, but it wasn’t falling for the bait. It continued to elude them and roared across the group once again. Wulf and Dorn were unimpressed but it was surely taking its toll on Keldas.
Wulf and Dorn continued working on the golem. Dorn would take a step to flank the golem with his great-axe, and Wulf would take a step to follow him.
Dorn was getting impatient. “Gimme some room and flank him, yer not even hurt yet!”
The golem’s bladed arm came whistling down on Dorn. Wulf hauled Dorn aside, then nimbly stepped under the blade to take the blow instead. He tried his best to turn it aside with expertise, to no avail.
“Sorry,” he panted. “Yer was sayin?”
Keldas saw Wulf’s plan and cast a haste on him before retreating to the sky, out of reach of the predator. The thing roared one last time; Dorn finally dropped the golem, and Wulf was clear to pounce on the predator with everything he had. In moments, it collapsed, and the way was clear.
Korak and Dorn brought out their wands of cure serious wounds to hurry the party along. Keldas was severely wounded, as the predator had made sure to center Keldas in every sonic blast. Dorn couldn’t help commenting as he healed him up.
“Why do the bad guys always pick on you, Keldas?”
“They can tell who’s the man, I guess,” he deadpanned.
“Yeah,” Wulf snorted. “It’s the guy in the slippers, right?”
