Gloomingtarn

 Enchantment

Dwarves Breached: After your little trip in Car Barnoch, you are led back to the Noble Gate. However, you don't have much time to think! The dwarves are under attack and many are dying in front of your eyes. Likmund, the one you helped with his debt, dies in battle. Thettmarr, the one who forgave his debt, breathes out his final words as he dies in your arms. Once you climb the stairs, you are faced with a scene of Prince Durin holding his red axe and Gorgar the Ruthless wielding a giant hammer. Before they can engage, Stothkell steps between them and demands to know where the newfound hammer was found. Sadly, the answer that is given leads to his death. Unexpectedly, the orcs decide at that moment to withdraw from battle. The situation grows dire as bodies now lay waste in front of Maergrind.

"Tell Likmund... I forgive his debt... it was never about the..." - Thettmarr's last words

Gloomingtarn Invaded: As much as Prince Durin would want you to help fight against the orcs, there is another matter you must attend to. Hermath Stormhammer (from Blood of Azog) has called the dwarves for aid and your assignment is to lend a helping hand to anything they might need. Getting there might be a bit difficult. You need to travel to Aslif, climb up the stairs until you see the dwarf-scout standing on a couple of wooden crates, and follow the bridge that he is on until you reach Watchers' Roost. However, your arrival comes with ill tidings. As Hersegg states, "the warding-runes were sapped of their ancient power by some fell artifact of Angmar, and without their protection, the Orcs and some wicked Men of the Iron Crown have invaded Gloomingtarn." The grand-daughter of Hermath is also concerned on why Prince Durin decided to send you and a lore-master of Erebor as their reinforcements. But know this, Spall isn't any ordinary scholar. In fact, there will be many things he has to say about the region. For example, the runes inscribed on the basalt read: "All must depart except the Eldest House. Death awaits the unwelcome." You won't know much about this warning until you further explore the depths of the cavern.

"I have no doubt that Spall means well, but as Prince Durin himself knows, the situation in Gloomingtarn is far more dire than we had hoped." - Hersegg

 

Zaram-mekhem: The first thing you have to do is take care of the orc threat. They haven't exactly attacked the dwarves yet, but you know nothing good will come from their nearby encampment. Hersegg tells you that one of Gorgar's lieutenants, Hathnakh, "commanded his sappers to destroy one of the clusters of columns and in so doing, toppled one of the ancient echo-horns. During our first encounter, it was struck by an errant axe and the sound it made drove many of the Orcs mad." Spall also agrees that you should "alter the alignment of the ancient echo-horns - the Ugrur-melakh, as they were so named in the tongue of my ancestors" while dealing with "the curse-breaker" to drive the orcs back to whence they came.

"I wonder if this 'errant axe' that struck the echo-horn was the one Trausti lost in Deepscrave." - Fanrel

 

Dwarf Rescue: Upon reaching Watchers' Roost, growing concerns plague Hermath's mind. He states that "he sent two companies to investigate some of the old passages of Gloomingtarn. One of my warriors, Vithin, led his company to Glittengrof, and another, Lokur, led his to Ormgren." He orders you to babysit take Spall with you to these areas to figure out what happened to them. Spall is excited to see Glittengrof since according to legend, "Durin the Deathless first discovered the crystals he would use to light the halls of Mount Gundabad." When you get there, you find that it is crawling with crystal spiders. Vithin informs you that Glergangol made this area her new lair and her daughters have wrapped the guards in webbings all around the place. While you are retrieving the dwarves and killing anything else that pops out, Spall also wants you to pick up any broken shards that might have fallen onto the ground since harvesting off the crystals would be "like defiling an ancient museum!" Ormgren, on the other hand, is a little tricky to get to. As Spall relays, "Lord Stormhammer tells me that there is a small boat moored near Skelstrand that we might use to cross Durthuzaram to its eastern banks. I'm not certain how I feel about taking a boat out on the sacred tarn, but even I must admit that swimming seems a poor choice." Do note that you cannot use the boat while in combat. Upon arrival, you find it now hosting some unusually aggressive glow-worms. Spall has a few words about this sticky situation too: "Perhaps... this was the will of the First Crafter... they possess complicated gizzards which become more effective when tracers of stones and precious minerals are lodged within them... And by we, I mean you, of course. I am a proud lore-master, not some butcher of beasts and insects!" He might say he is a pascifist, but I saw him swing his pickaxes at a few of those worms.

"I had hoped to begin my survey at Abkan'aban, the great Stone of Wakening, but upon further thought, I supposed that is better left for last. Yes, Glittengrof and Ormgren shall be fine places to begin my studies!" - Spall

 

Side Jobs: Within the camp of Watchers' Roost is a very interesting dwarf by the name of Orti. He sends you on a couple of missions on what he saw down by the banks. First thing he wants you to do is grab his pan and see if you can find "something shimmering in those shallow tide-pools." He also "pulls back his sleeve to reveal a thin gash on his arm" and tells you to hunt down Old Skarhogg (which you find had claimed the life of an Angmarim on the shoreline). Hermath overhears your conversation and hands you his handkerchief to wipe clean the crystal-lamps that are "now darkened by slime and muck" on the banks of Durthuzaram.

"I made note of several befouled crystal-lamps on the banks of Durthuzaram... Here, take my handkerchief. It is of a hardier cloth than you might think, and it has cleaned worse... believe me! Polish the crystal-lamps." - Hermath Stormhammer

 

Iron Crown Force: At a certain point, you follow the dwarves as they advance to the Stone of Wakening, the island in the lake in which Durin first awoke. This is when all sorts of things happen. Upon arriving, you discover from Hersegg that the Iron Crown "stole away the Black Stone Anvil of Durin the Deathless, and they do not intend to stop there." Even Slagvi is furious as he says, "Stothkell would die of a broken heart had he lived to see it!" He commissions you to slay 101 Angmarims! Hermath then asks you to "join Hersegg and my warriors at Lugun-nala" where she exclaims, "there must be a hundred of them all told!" Whether you choose to slay that many is entirely up to you (there is a slayer deed attached to it). You can even enlist the help of some caged ukhrash to seek their revenge. If you give Slagvi time to cool his head, he will decide reluctantly that "such slaughter will not prove a salve for the hurt done to my people, though the villains who stole the Black Stone Anvil deserve such dealings. Let us instead learn where they have taken it, that we may recover it and restore it to this sacred ground. Many more than one hundred and one cultists may fall before we accomplish this, and I will not weep for them."

"This one appears to be the largest of them - aside from Lochan Duv." - Hersegg

 

House-Keeper: Hersegg erects a plan against the Angmarims defiling the ancient remains of Gloomingtarn and decides to hit their main force. After finding one of their missives she informs you, "It seems these Angmarim have discovered an ancient passage here in Gloomingtarn, and if these notes are to believed, they suspect it was an early dwelling of Durin the Deathless. The eldest house... if such a thing can truly be!" The note continues to mention their claim on the inner sanctuary, naming it Min Lorg, before the arrival of their master, Allaban the Collector from Car Bronach. Spall the Stuffy... I mean our wonderful and knowledgeable friend decides to go on ahead across the bridge while you help aid Hersegg and the other warriors. It is there you find a strange dwarf being interrogated by Iron Crown Sentinels by the name of Thrastan. "How do we reignite the white forge?" Equipped with only a smithing hammer, Thrastan seems battered and confuses but otherwise alright. The whole thing proved to be a trap as more goons arrive from the entryway. Good thing Hermath Stormhammer storms in with his crew and rescues you in time!

"I love everything about the dwarves." - Ayarmeniel

Last Stand: Upon retreating back to the camp, Hermath's concerns grow. Not only does he not know "a single dwarf among the Gabil'akka named Thrastan" but the Angmar have "gathered their forces and now make for the Stone of Wakening!" As you push further towards the Shaper's hearth, Thrastan's memories improve. Thrastan grips his smithing hammer tightly as the ancient forge springs to life! His form changes. "I am the Forge-servant, Tamindur, wrought anew by the will of the Shaper.. the First Crafter... He Who Made the Dwarves!" There, he assures that despite the warnings on the warding-runes you and your friends "shall be spared my wrath." He turns toward the Angmarim army and burns them all in one fell swoop. The only one left is Allaban the Collector. As he attempts to run away, a flash of light blinds your eyes. Where he once stood is now a human-sized pillar of basalt! Afterwards, The Forge-Servant allows you safe passage and simply smiles at you as you leave. Amusingly, Hersegg decides to return to Durin in Mattugard to inform him of the situation personally since a simple missive wouldn't be enough to explain everything that just happened.

"Long ago, when the Shapers work was finished, I was bidden to rest beneath Mount Gundabad. In time, I awoke as Thrastan; different in form, but alike in mind and spirit to walk among Durin's Folk. In my long years of solitude the two diverged, but I am now restored." - Tamindur

 

Den of Pughlak: Our friendly explorer Orti is curious on some rumors about some goblins wandering on the eastern banks of Durthuzaram, the Dark Lake. Like before, you take the dwarf-boat across the way to investigate the matter. On the other side, you find that the ukhrash and deep toads aren't as hostile as the ones you encountered before. The little pale-moults are actually kind of cute as they pinched their claws when you pass by them. Once you reach the instance, everything changes. I highly suggest you turn up the music as you explore the cavern. You'll find one goblin digging in the river looking for his knife, but it appears that the giant Kordkoth is now holding it in his claw. After you defeat him, watch out for those deep toads in the hallway. They won't hesitate to use their long tongues to pull you around the room. As for Pughlak, fighting a giant horny toad won't be easy. The psychedelic chemicals oozing from his body will transport you into three hallucinogenic chambers out of six possible (Mind of Pughlak deed). The new hallow battle music lets you know everytime you enter into one of these states. After defeating him, make sure you loot the chest in the nearby hole. You will get a chance to loot various bushes and grass as housing decorations. There is also a chance of gaining a "Little Deep Toad" pet. All of these rewards can be given at any level and any mode.

"A giant toad had poisoned the goblins' minds?! I would have never guessed that to be the answer! All of your talk about this cavern of deep toads, and a broken, nameless shrine has me rethinking my curiosity, Hunter." - Orti

2021-12-06