New Rolling Stone City had no room for idlers. Just as Renato had grown familiar with his new equipment, Madra's orders came knocking.
The Deepforge noble held the coordinates of several sites suspected of containing artifacts. As New Rolling Stone City's population grew and supplies came under increasing strain, its young ruler was clearly running out of patience.
He secretly ordered his loyal followers to scout the marked locations, assess the terrain, and report back.
But the Duergar clearly defined "loyalty" and "secrecy" differently from humans. On the third floor of Deep Hammer Tower, a group bargained with Madra as though negotiating a business deal, demanding future status and wealth.
Without the blind loyalty imposed by feudal obligations, everyone spoke up for their own interests. Recalling that scene, Renato suddenly felt that the races of the Underdark were not quite so savage and backward after all.
Balin put away his pickaxe and tried to push aside the rock before him.
The Dwarf had refused the two Duergar warriors Madra had sent, which was exactly what Renato had wanted.
In the Underdark, unreliable companions were often deadlier than enemies.
"Come give me a hand."
At Balin's call, Renato stopped letting his thoughts wander and joined the Dwarf, bracing his hands against the boulder blocking the passage.
They pushed together, muscles bulging. The rock shifted slowly, then finally rolled aside, revealing a narrow crevice behind it.
After more than ten hours of digging and climbing, they finally reached the cavern marked on the map.
The earthquake had devastated this place even more thoroughly. Vast sections of the ceiling had collapsed, fallen rocks nearly filled the entire space, and dangerous, precariously balanced stones littered the ground.
Amid the ruins, only one building remained relatively intact.
It was a leaning stone fortress of the