Blumf pacified the enchanted rug smothering Kerath, which was designed by Arindel to obey the orders of any dwarf. The party then interrogated the charmed duergar, who confirmed that he and the one possessed by Arindel were the last survivors of their kind in Khundrukai. He also revealed that the duergar did not have a stash of Durgeddin’s weapons hidden away, as the party had hoped; instead, he and the other subordinates were ordered without explanation to periodically toss the weapons into a deep cavern.
Durgeddin was glad that the duergar squatting in his home were finally destroyed, and he thanked the party when they explained they had also eradicated the orcs. Kerath apologized to Durgeddin for disrespecting his rest and attempting to dominate his will with the Night Caller whistle. Durgeddin just laughed, stating that this was not the first time someone had resurrected him and that powers greater than the whistle were responsible for his return this time. Seemingly content, Durgeddin, with Arindel, retired to the forge where he intended to work at his favorite pastime.
The party asked their charmed captive to show them where the weapons had been discarded. He led them past the forge to the edge of a waterfall overlooking a dark expanse. While he stood near the edge with his back turned, the party conspired on how to creatively dispatch their final enemy. Keeva approached him and barked loudly, attempting to startle him so that he would fall, but this failed. Charlie used his Catapult spell to fling a rock at his back, but the duergar did not lose his balance. This aggressive act dispelled the charm, so Kerath fired his crossbow. He accidentally struck Keeva, who fell unconscious and rolled into the duergar, knocking him off the ledge at last. Kerath rushed to Keeva’s side, pulled the crossbow bolt out of her flank, and brought her back with a Cure Wounds spell. Kerath tried to play it off like the shot was fired by the duergar, but Keeva’s keen senses saw through this lie.
The party found a safe place to rest for the night. Qeew used her restoration magic to undo 20 of the 40 years that Keeva aged and 40 of the 70 years that Blumf aged when frightened by Arindel. During first watch, Arindel passed through the walls; when Charlie asked him what happened to the duergar body he had possessed, Arindel replied that Durgeddin needed someone to test his newly forged weapons on. Later in the night, Argora woke when his shield vibrated spontaneously, but he was unable to determine why.
The next morning the group set out on a path that would lead them to the bottom of the waterfall, an area that Durgeddin called the Black Lake, where they hoped to retrieve some of the discarded weapons. On their way they located a secret door and behind it found a beautiful, sobbing woman chained to a table. She explained that her name was Edala, that a wizard named Darkoff controlled the duergar and had imprisoned her here along with some hidden weapons, and that she feared he might return at any time. Blumf struck at the chains binding her feet with his sword Shatterspike, successfully destroying one before chopping off a few of the woman’s toes with his second swing. Edala cried out in pain and began to distrust the party, fearing that they worked for Darkoff. Argora was able to safely break the final chain.
Charlie, who couldn’t resist a pretty face, tried to sweet talk Edala to earn her trust back. Darkoff’s weapons were hidden behind a movable bookshelf with a secret combination lock, and he convinced her to open it for him on the condition that all the others step outside. Qeew did not like this plan at all and protested splitting the party, but her concerns were ignored. Charlie shut the door with only himself and Edala inside the small room, and she unlocked the mechanism, allowing the bookshelf to swing open.
Charlie peered into the dark space behind the bookshelf and found four weapons bearing Durgeddin’s emblem. While he was moving these into the room and still had his back turned, Edala took a shortsword and used it to jam the door shut. She then shapeshifted into her true form, a succubus, and attempted to charm Charlie. He resisted the spell and screamed, alerting his allies that something was wrong. Blumf smashed in the door, and as he held it for his friends so that they could enter, the succubus charmed him, placing Blumf under her control.
During the ensuing fight, the succubus twice kissed Blumf, draining his vitality before he fell to the ground lifelessly. The others were able to finish off the succubus but lacked any means of reviving their friend. Desperate, they carried his body to Durgeddin, whom they thought might be able to help a fellow dwarf. Upon hearing what happened, Arindel broke down, explaining that he had summoned the succubus long ago and forgot to warn the party.
Durgeddin, now fully corporeal, explained that he had no power of his own to bring Blumf back, but that he could pray to the All-Father on his behalf. He instructed that Blumf’s body should be laid out in his tomb. He warned that if Blumf returned, he would be completely hairless all over his body, unable to ever grow hair again, and that this would be a great disgrace that would cause other dwarves to look down on him. They decided to go ahead with their plan, leaving the choice to return up to Blumf’s spirit.
And so they began a long vigil as Durgeddin prayed. Hours passed, and Kerath found a set of bagpipes among Blumf’s possessions. Kerath once knew how to play the bagpipes well, so with Charlie accompanying on drums and Argora joining in on vocals they began a musical tribute to Blumf’s memory to the tune of “Down with the Sickness“. Eventually they began to feel a presence in the room, and to their astonishment Blumf drew breath again and sat up!* As Durgeddin had predicted, all of Blumf’s hair fell out, including his glorious beard. Nevertheless, he was glad to be back.
After some recuperation, the party decided they needed to finish what they’d started and headed toward the Black Lake again. They descended a ladder to the base of the waterfall, which was generating such a strong current that it was unsafe to enter the water. They speculated that the current would have swept the weapons downstream, so they continued along a path. A bridge collapsed under the weight of Argora and Keeva, but Charlie once again saved the day using Levitate to prevent them from falling. Using rope they all eventually crossed.
The mouth of the stream opened into the Black Lake. Within moments, a young black dragon emerged from the water, blasting them with its acid breath and instantly dealing massive damage to the whole party…
* Gabe left the outcome of the ritual to fate by rolling a d20, with 50/50 odds of resurrecting or never coming back. He rolled a 20—critical success!