(2023-12-31) - The (Birthday) Gifts of Loken (S12 E7 - White Squad Log)

Details

Author:	inkie
Summary:	White Squad returns to the Earthen to assist them in their battle against Loken's stormforged iron dwarves. That's one way to spend your birthday(s).
Rating:	M for Mature 17+

Arc: Season 12

[Brannagen]: Lo there!

Oranna waves at Ben.

Ben is still wearing his huge, stripey scarf. It's a little tangled in his pauldron spikes.

[Ben]: Hey, y'all. Guess what today is?

[Brannagen]: New Year's Eve?

Brannagen seems proud he is aware of that.

Oranna laughs. "It's our birthday!"

[Ben]: Our birthdays.

Ben grins at Oranna.

[Brannagen]: Oh aye! Happy birthday everyone!

[Ben]: 'cept Auralind. Though if you want to have it to, ma'am, you can.

Brannagen was just lucky to remember it was December 31st.

Oranna laughs again, looking over at Auralind.

[Auralind]: Ah… no, today is not my birthday.

Ben nods gravely.

[Auralind]: I nearly forgot that you celebrate that every year.

[Ben]: I am twenty-five years old today.

[Brannagen]: I am… well, I dinna ken.

Brannagen scratches his head thoughtfully.

[Ben]: You got it wrote down somewheres, maybe?

[Brannagen]: I know I'm over a hundred. That one we celebrated.

[Brannagen]: I can look it up later.

[Oranna]: Ye could ask yer ma.

[Brannagen]: I could, if I wanna get yelled at.

Brannagen laughs.

Oranna pales a little at the threat of being yelled at for a question but she nods at the laugh. Ha ha a joke.

Brannagen may not have been kidding; he may just think his mom yelling is funny.

[Ben]: I will not ask Miz Oranna because it ain't polite to ask a lady. Also I am pretty sure she is ninety-six.

[Oranna]: Not yet a hundred, aye. Getting there, though.

Auralind tilts her head. "Why is that impolite?"

[Ben]: … I dunno. Just is.

[Auralind]: That seems quite strange.

[Brannagen]: In human culture women are only valued when young, ye see.

[Ben]: … yeah it might be that.

Auralind frowns.

[Brannagen]: So if ye ask a woman her age ye are basically publicly valuin' her.

[Auralind]: That is terrible.

[Ben]: My Ma always said it ain't polite to point and it ain't polite to ask a lady her age and it ain't polite… uh. To say “ain't.”

Brannagen laughs.

Auralind turns her frown on Ben… as the sole representative of humans here.

[Oranna]: Well tha's… tha' cannot be right. They're only young fer a few years. No' even until, wha', forty? That's jus' barely…

[Brannagen]: Right? It's terrible.

Oranna mutters. That just seems weird. Four decades? Man, humans do weird things.

[Ben]: Yeah my Aunt Nir is pretty old. But not, like, old old. Just old, a little.

[Brannagen]: Yer aunt is a force o' nature.

Oranna nods. She knows this. Niris and Elohad are Old. Somehow. At like, forties. Which seems weird if you ask her.

[Ben]: Yessir.

[Ben]: ANYhow.

[Ben]: We are done helpin' Mr. Bronzebeard in Ulduar for now it seems like, he has got his Explorers people up there doin'… Light only knows what. Findin' more forges and stacies or somethin'.

[Ben]: So we are back here to help out the Earthens some more as per our diplomacy mission.

Auralind scowls in thought, stuck on the age thing. "Do humans think me of little value because I am nearly three-thousand years old?"

Oranna shrugs at Auralind. Who knows?

[Brannagen]: I doubt it. I dinna think it applies ta elves.

[Ben]: No, ma'am, once you are real old, that gets important again. So you are respected an' shi– all.

[Ben]: There is just like an old in the middle that ain't great.

Brannagen shrugs. Who knows?

[Auralind]: I fear I will never understand your people.

Ben shrugs genially.

Thaeru'kal is over here just trying to figure Blackmaw out.

[Brannagen]: I've lived alongside em longer'n you have, Mistwalker, an' I still dinna ken.

[Ben]: I just know it, I ain't understand it all.

Auralind shrugs at Bran.

Oranna nods at Ben.

[Ben]: Anyhow, we all good to go?

[Oranna]: Sure.

Ben salutes Bouldercrag the Rockshaper with respect.

[Ben]: Hey, sir. We are back.

Oranna waves at Bouldercrag the Rockshaper.

[Auralind]: Elune adore, Bouldercrag.

Brannagen discreetly works on his sketch of the guy.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: Cousins and flesh-persons. Welcome. Your aid is, as ever, valued.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: You have been to the halls of Ulduar now with Branbronzen, is it not so? You have seen what Loken is doing there.

[Brannagen]: Aye.

Oranna nods at Bouldercrag the Rockshaper.

[Brannagen]: Rows upon rows of iron vrykul.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper nods grimly.

[Oranna]: It's another army, jus' waiting.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: The one who commands the stormforged iron dwarves is called Runeseer Valduran. Although I have never seen him, it is said that his master, Keeper Loken, has given Valduran powerful titan artifacts.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: It could explain the strength and ferocity my men see in the stormforged warriors.

Brannagen perks up.

Befound sneaks a peek at Bran's sketch. Or maybe she's considering biting the paper. Who can say.

Brannagen makes a little kissy sound in Befound's general direction without looking up from his work.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: Valduran’s base, Nidavelir, lies to the southwest, across the Snowdrift Plains. Go there, cousins, and neutralize his power. Destroy these gifts of Loken and help us sap the strength of his corrupted followers.

Bruor Ironbane says: Surface kin, I would speak with you.

[Ben]: Sir?

Bruor Ironbane says: Like Bouldercrag, I once served the Keepers as a craftsman in Ulduar, but with Loken’s betrayal, I turned my hammer toward our new foes.

Bruor Ironbane says: When we could spare the men, I led raids on Nidavelir to relieve the pressure on our defenders, but now as you have seen, our lines are near collapse.

Bruor Ironbane says: If you are bound that way at Bouldercrag’s behest, perhaps you would be willing to take up our banner and thin the Stormforged numbers there?

Brannagen nods solemnly.

[Ben]: 'Course, sir.

[Ben]: We will take care of the place.

Bruor Ironbane says: We thank you.

[Auralind]: Thaeru'kal…? Will you join us?

Thaeru'kal glances around, a little embarrassed, and pads over to Aura's side.

Brannagen peers at Thaeru’kal searchingly.

[Brannagen]: Is yer… ghost cat a laddie or a lassie, Mistwalker?

Brannagen tries to peek at the ghostly animal's undercarriage.

Auralind smiles. "Thaeru'kal is a female spirit."

[Brannagen]: Gotcha!

Ben squints across the snow-glare at the low stone building on the other side of the valley.

[Ben]: Reckon that is Niver– Nivel– the place we are headed.

Ben points, even though it's rude.

[Oranna]: Nidavelir?

[Brannagen]: Sounds abou' righ'.

[Ben]: Yeah, s' what I was gonna say.

[Brannagen]: Boomer's good wi' details.

Ben nods respectfully.

They land in the snow at the foot of a winding path up into the hills where Ben spotted the building. The path is patrolled by lumbering iron golems. The squad immediately begins taking out the patrols.

Brannagen sketches the war golems, tossing out a heal or two as needed.

Brannagen still has his pen in hand as he makes the healing gestures. Somehow they still work.

Ben stoops to pick up a piece of metal that falls from a golem into the snow.

[Ben]: He lost some of his trousers.

[Oranna]: Oh, ah…

Oranna doesn't look at the golem undercarriage.

[Brannagen]: Hm. It don't seem ta go with the rest.

[Auralind]: He… what?

Ben turns the metal over in his hands. It is very dark, with an oily sheen to it. "It's a lot heavier'n it looks like it ought to be. And yeah. Somethin' different than what he's made of."

[Oranna]: A piece o' uhhh… him? *She is not looking, she is not looking.* Fell off.

[Ben]: Oh, sorry, ma'am. A piece of somethin' fell off, yeah.

[Auralind]: Off of… the golem?

[Brannagen]: Looks like maybe it was added later?

[Ben]: Yeah, I do not think it is a piece of him percy. It looks like maybe it is s'pose to be… armor, or somethin'?

[Oranna]: Aye.

[Brannagen]: Curious.

[Auralind]: We did thrash it soundly. I am unsurprised that something detached.

[Ben]: I am gonna hang on to it. We can show those fellows.

Brannagen peers at a Stormforged War Golem searchingly.

Brannagen sketches the building up ahead.

[Ben]: How you draw so fast, sir?

[Ben]: I am pretty good at drawin' but I can't go that fast.

[Brannagen]: A century o' practice!

[Ben]: Hm.

[Brannagen]: Good thing yer all so tough. Leaves me hands free for sketchin'.

Brannagen seems unaware that he has any special talent at this.

Ben peers at the sparking orb ahead.

[Brannagen]: Ooooh.

[Oranna]: Oh, tha's real sparkly.

Brannagen 's eyes sparkle to match.

[Ben]: … do I just hit it? I'mma hit it.

[Oranna]: Oh, ah.

[Brannagen]: Sure!

[Brannagen]: Bye, sparkles!

Oranna looks a little nervous about the sparkly lightning orb being just hit.

Ben hits it. It stops sparking.

[Oranna]: Well.

[Ben]: You reckon it is dead now or should I, like, smash it real good?

[Brannagen]: Smash!

Brannagen cackles maniacally at the situation.

Ben does not need to be told twice.

Brannagen cheers!

Ben SMASH.

Oranna examines the little pieces.

[Oranna]: Don't think ye could put that back together. No' even if you had a lot of patience fer it.

[Ben]: Bran, you want to take any of those bits? For studyin'? Or is it maybe dangerous?

[Brannagen]: Maybe just a bit or two…

Brannagen picks up a few non-contiguous bits.

[Ben]: Careful if they got sharp edges.

They continue up the snowy road, smashing more iron golems along the way.

[Brannagen]: Feels so satisfyin' when those golems fall.

[Ben]: Yeah, does.

Ben grins.

[Oranna]: Oh, what's tha'?

[Brannagen]: Well tha' is peculiar lookin', an' no mistake.

Oranna points at the giant man head with a crystal.

Ben peers at the thing.

[Ben]: … looks like a forge, kind of, but no forge I know does blue sparks like that.

[Brannagen]: An the lightnin' comes out o' his mouth.

[Brannagen]: Like he's eatin' a storm.

[Oranna]: Or throwin' it up, aye.

[Brannagen]: Not sure I'd enjoy doin' either.

[Ben]: Yeah look there is a rod of some metal on the anvil here. This part's definitely a anvil.

Ben eyes the zappy blue crystal atop the strange forge.

[Auralind]: Is it a Titan device?

[Oranna]: Ye reckon it's a gift or…?

[Brannagen]: The heads look like Titan art, aye.

[Oranna]: Oh, there's two.

[Brannagen]: Like those figures on the walls in Uldaman.

[Ben]: I hope it ain't a gift, cos I dunno how I'm gonna smash that one.

Brannagen laughs at Ben.

Oranna nods. Looks sturdy.

[Brannagen]: The runes are Titan.

[Brannagen]: Ye can clearly see here how they're proto-dwarven script.

Ben mouths 'proto-dwarven' and looks pleased.

[Oranna]: Can ye read wha' they say?

[Brannagen]: Aye.

[Brannagen]: I think it's instructions.

[Oranna]: Wha', like… which mouth ta use?

[Brannagen]: Some of it makes no sense in modern context; must've made sense a' the time.

[Ben]: Huh.

[Brannagen]: Like… caution not to mix the… somethin… an' the … somethin'

Ben steps back a little, just in case someone has recently mixed the somethin' and the somethin'.

Oranna steps back with Ben. Danger, maybe.

[Ben]: Okay, well.

[Brannagen]: Some o' the symbols dinna mean what they used ta, so it's rough ta sort out exactly.

[Brannagen]: But it's a real fine example o' how dwarven script may have evolved.

[Ben]: Hey, look, I can read that sign.

[Brannagen]: Wha' sign?

Ben points over yonder.

[Oranna]: Oh.

[Ben]: That is pretty clearly a anvil gettin' strucken by lightning.

[Ben]: Stricken.

[Ben]: Struck.

[Ben]: Hit by lightning.

[Oranna]: Aye.

[Brannagen]: Lightning-struck anvil, aye. Huh.

[Ben]: Oh! I wonder if — look, there is another one. I wonder if it is like their banner? Stormforged.

[Oranna]: Oh! Tha's… aye. I think yer right, Ben.

[Brannagen]: Oh, another sparkleball in there.

[Brannagen]: Smashin' time!

[Ben]: Oh, good. If that is the gift, I ain't got to smash the forge.

[Ben]: Stand back in case of shards or somethin'.

Oranna stands back in case of shards.

Ben SMASH. Ben smash good.

Brannagen picks up a couple of bits again.

[Brannagen]: Still real annoyed tha' my theory abou' the iron dwarves bein' ancestors of Dark Irons didna pan out.

[Ben]: That is how theories go sometimes.

[Brannagen]: I still got a few good ones en't been disproven, so.

[Auralind]: I hear another one.

[Ben]: Yes'm. I see it up ahead.

Auralind sends an arrow through the orb.

Ben looks disappointed he didn't get to smash it.

[Brannagen]: Maybe ye should smash it more, Ben.

Oranna examines a dead body. Weird.

[Ben]: Oh hey. These are, like. Dead dwarfs.

[Ben]: The fleshy kind, I reckon. On account of rotten?

Oranna nods. "Aye. Like living ones. With bones and proper beards."

[Oranna]: There's a bed back there, as well.

Ben nods at Oranna.

[Auralind]: That is unexpected.

[Brannagen]: Frostborns maybe?

Auralind nods to Bran.

[Ben]: Makes sense, I guess.

[Ben]: Kind of sounds like their power was diminished prior to King Yorg comin' along, like perhaps a great nation had fallen to disrepair.

[Ben]: Anyhow.

[Brannagen]: Mmm.

[Ben]: Reckon that does for Loken’s gifts. We can report in.

They head back to Bouldercrag’s Refuge.

[Brannagen]: Oh hey, Mistwalker, we got the same hairdo.

[Brannagen]: Practical, innit?

Auralind chuckles. "Indeed. As it has been growing out again, I needed to keep it out of my face."

[Auralind]: The shorter hairs tickled.

Ben salutes Bouldercrag the Rockshaper with respect.

[Ben]: Sir. We went across to Nifade– uh, the stormforged place and cleaned it out.

[Ben]: Smashed the gift things.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper nods grimly

[Brannagen]: I took some bits of em if ye need ta study em or anythin'.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: No, thank you, small cousin.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper steps back a little.

Brannagen eyes the giant hammers and nods eloquently.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: You’ve weakened the Stormforged considerably, and we are grateful, but I fear this will not end our fight.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: Their casualties matter nothing to them, while our defenders continue to fall. Even if it costs them a hundred or a thousand iron corpses, they’ll keep fighting until we’ve been pounded to gravel.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: We are grateful you were here to stand with us for a time, and buy us some respite, cousins. A few moments of hope are a precious thing.

Ben opens his mouth and then closes it again. He nods slowly, wide-eyed.

Oranna nods, an oddly knowing look on her face. She's been there before.

[Brannagen]: Anythin' we can do ta help.

[Ben]: Oh, uh, also —

Ben roots around in his pack and produces the strange metal plate.

Bruor Ironbane says: What is it you have there?

Ben looks over at Bruor.

[Brannagen]: Fell off a golem.

Ben holds out the plate.

Bruor Ironbane recoils with a gasp.

Brannagen peers at Bruor Ironbane searchingly.

Bruor Ironbane says: Careful, now! Keep those plates as far away from me as you can. Even being in their presence is enough to inflict pain.

Oranna looks nervous. Uh oh.

Ben steps back. Why is it always him carrying this sh*t?

Bruor Ironbane says: But you’re right. there is something wrong with this armor beyond even that. These are no ordinary golem armor plates. What are the stormforged doing with them?

[Oranna]: Sorry, it's… we didna know. I — Ben, are ye alright? Is it… burnin' or…?

[Ben]: I mean, it is okay to me. Just heavy.

[Brannagen]: Somethin' that particularly bothers the earthen. Hmmmm.

Bruor Ironbane says: We need to find out all we can. It must be part of one of Valduran’s schemes. He’s clearly dedicated an extraordinary amount of effort to mining, refining, and smithing this evil metal.

Oranna looks over at it. E-evil metal…

[Brannagen]: Valduran, eh?

Bruor Ironbane says: To the east, along the northern mountain face, is a building called Mimir’s Workshop. It hasn’t been used in some time, but if we’re lucky, some of its attendants will still be functional.

Bruor Ironbane says: Take that armor plating there and learn what you can from it.

[Ben]: … okay. Yessir.

Ben puts it reluctantly back into his pack. Still gotta carry it for a few.

[Oranna]: If it starts gettin' weirder than heavy, ye'll say somethin', right?

[Ben]: Yes'm.

Oranna eyes the bag warily. Evil… metal.

[Brannagen]: Damned If I havena forgotten who Valduran is.

[Ben]: The one leadin' the stormforged.

[Brannagen]: Oh, tha's his name? Hm. Never was good wi' names.

[Ben]: Valadin's the fellow workin' for Loken, yeah.

Ben is awesome with names!

They fly east along the northern mountain face, and find the opening to another great hall built into the stony crags.

[Oranna]: Oh, there's…

[Brannagen]: Oooooh.

[Brannagen]: We havena been in here before.

[Oranna]: The gnomes.

Ben peers at the corpse of a Mechagnome Attendant.

[Brannagen]: Huh.

[Brannagen]: Why're they all dead?

[Ben]: I dunno, but careful now.

[Brannagen]: Looks deserted.

[Oranna]: D'ye think… should we try callin' out? No' tha' we want a lot running to us, but….

[Oranna]: Fer an attendant? If there's still one workin'?

[Brannagen]: There's one alive!

[Brannagen]: Or uh, functional.

Brannagen points at Attendant Tock.

[Ben]: … the forges are still lit, too.

[Oranna]: Migh' be like Ironforge. No' easy ta put out.

Ben peers at Attendant Tock searchingly.

Brannagen peers at Attendant Tock searchingly.

[Ben]: Um. Sir?

[Brannagen]: Lo there, lil fella.

[Ben]: We found this piece of… armor plate, or somethin'? Some of the Earthens said someone here might know what it is about?

Brannagen murmurs, "Lookit his wee ears…"

Oranna is now looking at his wee ears. Gosh. Wait. Why does he only have three fingers?

Brannagen murmurs to Auralind, "They're spiral, like little shells."

Attendant Tock says: Greetings, surface dwellers! Welcome to the workshop of Keeper Mimir. Present the specimen, please.

Ben offers the armor plate to the mechagnome.

Attendant Tock says: Metallic specimen of foreign origin detected.

Attendant Tock says: Beginning analysis …

Attendant Tock — who is a regular gnome-sized mechagnome — leaps like twenty feet straight up in the air to land atop a giant anvil.

[Ben]: … whoa. You see that jump?

Attendant Tock says: Specimen identified as an alloy of saronite and iron.

Attendant Tock says: The ore used in this sample originated deep within the crust of Azeroth and was recently unearthed.

Attendant Tock says: The saronite in this sample is nearly pure. Ores like this do not occur naturally on the surface of Azeroth.

[Brannagen]: Oof.

Attendant Tock says: This ore can only have been created by a powerful, malevolent force. Attempting to access databanks for more information …

Attendant Tock says: Access denied?!

Attendant Tock says: Further information can only be accessed from the archives within Ulduar, by order of Keeper Loken.

Attendant Tock says: But one thing is for certain: this plate's size, thickness, and bolt holes point to a use as armor for a colossal structure.

[Brannagen]: Hmmmm.

Attendant Tock says: Directive completed. Returning to standby mode.

[Ben]: … okay. Well.

[Oranna]: A colossal…?

[Ben]: So none of that sounded real good.

[Brannagen]: Should we contact Brann again? Heh. Brannagen.

Oranna chuckles at Bran, but her face goes solemn after.

[Ben]: Let's see what the Earthen fellows say.

[Ben]: They been fightin' these stormforged for a while, maybe they will know what that little fellow was talkin' about.

[Oranna]: Keeper Loken's orders… Think there's an override, maybe? Like wha' Brann did afore?

[Ben]: Yeah, I reckon.

[Brannagen]: I wonder if he'd let Mistwalker touch his ears…

Presumably Bran means Attendant Tock's ears, and not Keeper Loken's.

[Oranna]: With th'… dials an' the… gears maybe.

[Ben]: Keeper Loken does not want people knowin' about this metal.

[Ben]: Which does not say great things about the metal.

[Brannagen]: We'll sort it out.

[Oranna]: An' tha' it does things ta the earthen

They return to Bouldercrag’s Refuge.

Bruor Ironbane says: What did you learn?

Oranna 's face says it is not great news.

Brannagen lets out a long, drawn-out sigh.

[Ben]: Uh, it is some kind of very pure saronite excavated from deep.

[Brannagen]: Somehow "pure" seems like the wrong word…

[Ben]: And Keeper Loken has got somethin' to do with it.

[Ben]: He has done somethin' so the little fellow could not access more information. But he said — the gnome did — that it is piece of somethin' real big. Colossal.

Bruor Ironbane says: So Valduran’s master has given him this sinister metal to construct a giant… weapon? Defense?

Bruor Ironbane says: Whatever it is, he intends to use it against us. We need to stop him before he’s able to complete it.

Oranna nods at Bruor Ironbane.

[Brannagen]: Aye!

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: We have no choice, cousins. What you learned in Mimir’s Workshop means that we must act before Valduran the Stormborn can complete his design and unleash… whatever it is.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: Even now, the refuge’s defenders fight to buy us time.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: You must go back to Nidavelir, across the Snowdrift Plains, and find and face Valduran himself. But you will not stand alone! Bring this war horn with you and sound it as you prepare to face him.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: Bruor and I will aid you in this battle.

[Brannagen]: Much appreciated.

Oranna blinks. A… a battle. Right now.
Ben salutes Bouldercrag the Rockshaper with respect.

[Ben]: We will see you there, sir. Sirs.

[Brannagen]: Off we go then!

Oranna checks her ammo. 13k bullets should be enough, right?

They return to Nidavelir. Valduran the Stormborn, it turns out, is hanging out conspicuously in the topmost building, with one other guy to guard him. He does not aggro when the squad kills his guy.

Ben peers at Valduran the Stormborn searchingly.

Also you know he is “the Stormborn” because he is just spinning furiously in place in a vortex of lightning.

[Ben]: Uh. That fellow ain't right.

[Oranna]: There's… there's storms, so, tha's…well.

[Brannagen]: Gettin' queasy just lookin' a' tha'.

Ben sounds the warhorn.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: At last, the tyranny of the stormforged is at its end!

Bruor Ironbane says: No more will your minions assail the creatures of stone and their allies.

Valduran the Stormborn says: How predictable! But then, who would expect a rock to think like anything other than one?

Bruor Ironbane says: I am your doom, Valduran!

Oranna remains by the exit route, scoping through her gun.

Valduran the Stormborn says: If you're so eager to fight, I'll oblige you. But know that nothing you do here can prevent the completion of the iron colossus!

The most anticlimactic battle in the history of Northrend ensues and Valduran gets killed stone dead. Ha ha get it? Stone dead? Because the Earthen… okay, never mind.

Bruor Ironbane says: Well fought! The day is ours, but the war goes on!

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: We've defeated Valduran and we'll fell his colossus.

[Auralind]: Iron colossus…

[Ben]: … he did say iron colossus, then. Okay.

[Auralind]: I do not like the sound of that.

Oranna doesn't either.

[Ben]: No, ma'am.

[Ben]: Let's — oh. They left?

Ben looks around for the two Earthen leaders.

[Ben]: Guess we go back too, then.

[Brannagen]: Maybe it hurts 'em to be around all this.

[Ben]: Maybe, yeah.

They head back.

Ben salutes Bouldercrag the Rockshaper with respect.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper salutes back.

Oranna waves at Bouldercrag the Rockshaper.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: My friends. You have bought us a great victory today. Valduran is at last dead, and the stormforged weakened perhaps permanently.

[Auralind]: It is our honor to be of service.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper bows to Auralind.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: If his boasting is true, however, the fight is not yet finished. This weapon of theirs — the colossus — could yet be the end of us.

[Brannagen]: Leave it ta Cobalt Company!

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: We will investigate the matter, and when you return to us, we will tell you what we have learned.

[Brannagen]: Ye know ye can count on us ta take care of et.

[Ben]: Yessir. We will be here for it.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: Thank you, cousins and friends. Happy new year.

The Earthen totally celebrate New Year's.

Oranna nods. "Oh, aye, ye too. Happy new year."

[Ben]: It is also our birthdays. Three of us, anyhow.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper peers at them.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: I did not realize you were all kin.

Bouldercrag the Rockshaper says: But congratulations on the anniversary of your creation.

Brannagen just chuckles to himself.

Oranna smiles at Bouldercrag.

[Ben]: … yessir. Thank you, sir.

[Brannagen]: Holler when ye need us.

[Brannagen]: I'm sure an iron colossus is no match fer us.

[Auralind]: That may depend on how colossal it is.

Oranna nods in agreement. "There comes a point where e'en a big target is no' an advantage."

[Oranna]: Ye can shoot a mountain through its eye, but it's no' gonna fall.

[Ben]: Do mountains have eyes?

Ben looks nonplussed by this potential Secret Dwarven Knowledge.

[Brannagen]: Dinna fash yerself, lass, no need to assume the worst until we see wha' we're dealin' with, aye?

Oranna is assuming the worse.

[Ben]: We will find out when we come back, and we will make a plan for it then.

[Ben]: Reckon we can figure somethin' out. We always do.

[Brannagen]: Aye!

Oranna is planning for a mountain with eyes. It's an image to take with you.