Rain yawned as she got out of the bed that she had fallen into after the small feast that Jherek had ordered for her and her friends, a thank you of sorts for saving Baldur's Gate from the Guild, in addition to the four long swords that burst into flames when enemies were near, a magical bow for Vahn, and the gold that was delivered as payment. She still had no idea why he was willing to give each of them two thousand gold coins for killing the Beholder, though Kromlech said that part of it might be to ensure they didn't speak of it to the public, since it would cause an untold amount of panic. As such she had decided to put her trust in her friends, they hadn't steered her wrong yet, even though it meant carrying around a small bag on her person that held the coins she had been given, a 'bag of holding' that looked like a pouch, to ensure that no one else knew how much wealth she had. Rain also remembered that Vahn didn't actually need the bow he had been given, since his was far better and it held special memories for him, but he didn't sell the reward just yet, meaning he might be waiting for them to find another shop before selling it.
After getting up, and ensuring that she wasn't forgetting anything, she headed down to the lower level and found that the people of the city were celebrating the Guild's downfall, since it meant they could go about their business without the fear of being robbed or killed, causing her to join her friends once more.
Their meal was quick and no one really said anything, rather they let the people celebrate as they thought about Jherek's next mission, using the strange onyx gateway and seeing what happened to be on the other side, if it truly was the Sunset Mountains or if it went elsewhere. Adrianna was going to use it, as this seemed to be far better than her original plans for when she reached Baldur's Gate, and the others agreed, because all three of Rain's friends had come here seeking fame and fortune, but the threat they had discovered was more important than their petty desires. Despite her lack of memories, a fact that needed correcting at some point in time, Rain was willing to join them and continue traveling towards whatever end their adventure had, as she suspected that she might rediscover who she was if she followed them. With that in mind the four of them finished their breakfast, made sure they had enough potions for everyone, and made sure the spices were returned to their original owner, before using a recall potion to return to the Beholder's lair while the rest of the inn was focused on their loud celebration.
It didn't take them long to reappear in the chamber that they had fought the Beholder in, especially since the fragments of him were resting where they had landed, though instead of worrying about it the group focused on the Onyx Gate, as that was what Rain was calling it, and the magic that danced around the inner frame.
"A magical gateway, right under Baldur's Gate... it's still odd to think about." Rain commented, though this explained how all of those monsters had gotten into the Sewer, something they had been interested in after discovering the bugbears, even if it left many more questions in it's wake.
"I agree. However, we're likely to learn more about the threat on the other side." Adrianna said, causing the others to nod their heads for a moment, though after everything they had seen so far everyone drew their weapons without delay, since there was no telling what was waiting for them on the other side of the strange gate.
Vahn and Kromlech said nothing as they stepped into the center of the gateway and disappeared, which caused Rain and Adrianna to do the same thing, where she felt herself being moved from one place to another as she discovered that the landing point was a path carved into the mountain side.
"So this is the Sunset Mountains... wow." Rain said, as they were high in the mountains, far away from Baldur's Gate based on the map she and the others had seen in the Beholder's lair, where she found that the mountain itself seemed to be a dirty brown color, instead of what they were used to with the other areas, and parts of it had been carved away to make room for the arch they had walked through, including the smooth path.
"Someone has modified the path... this isn't good." Kromlech commented, though at the same time he glanced up the now smooth path and spotted something that he pointed out to the others, a pair of large hyena looking creatures that the dwarf called gnolls, one of the many dangers that the dwarves of this mountain usually dealt with, "Keep an eye out for ogres as well... you'll know them when you see them."
As everyone readied their weapons Rain discovered something interesting, the Onyx Gate was no longer working, as in it must have shut off after they stepped through it or they didn't have an item that would allow passage back to the Guild's hideout, meaning it was a good thing they slept and got ready before coming here. With that information in hand she and her friends started to travel along the path that should, if Kromlech's information was right, bring them right to a dwarven mining town, where they could get directions to Jherek's agent or even find him hanging around. As such they started to walk along the path, making sure to stick close to the left side of the mountain since the right side had such a dangerous drop that everyone had to be careful to avoid, though Rain found that the gnolls wore nothing more than loincloths, while carrying round shields and axes. As soon as the pair started to aggressively wave their weapons at them Rain found that her new longsword started to burn, just like Adrianna's since Kromlech was using his greataxe and Vahn had his bow out, though it wasn't long before they clashed and the pair went down without too much resistance.
That was why she thought it was weird that the gnolls didn't have armor, though she guessed whatever organization was behind the Guild's existence didn't want to waste resources on what appeared to be dumb creatures, but they did find a couple of healing potions off to the side at one point and collected them. She also discovered that, while there were more gnolls along the path, they didn't hit as hard as some of the other foes they had encountered so far, in fact none of them hit as hard as any of the bugbears did, meaning these were fodder soldiers, according to Vahn anyway. He made sure to point out their enemies to everyone as they followed the path, while using his arrows to slow down some of the gnolls that were off in the distance, giving Rain, Kromlech, and Adrianna time to deal with one group of foes before focusing on the next one that he spotted. Rain could tell that something was bothering the dwarf, no doubt he suspected that there would be more of his kin in this part of the mountains, maintaining the road or taking care of the gnolls, meaning whoever had been aiding the Guild must have chased off the other dwarves or killed them.
Rain also spotted another new enemy not even a few minutes after they started moving, a heavily furred creature that was slightly taller than the gnolls, which was a yeti according to Kromlech, though he admitted that it was odd for them to be this far down the mountain, as they usually stayed in the snowy regions. Fire seemed to be the weakness of the yetis, as Vahn took one down with just his flame arrows, something he could do with how own power and the bow that was his prized possession, and even if one survived some of his arrows the group finished them off. The number of yetis down on the rocky section of the mountain told them that something must have happened on the mountain peaks, something had chased them off and forced them down to this portion, which only made the dwarf worry that there might be a dragon up in the mountains. He knew of one beast that was rumored to be in the Sunset Mountains, Ciraxis it was called, but there was a chance that they would miss him entirely, so he wasn't too worried about dealing with him, though this did tell Rain and the others more about what might be lurking in the mountains.
Even with all of that in mind Rain wondered if the other dwarves were safe, as there were a lot of yetis and gnolls down in this section of the mountain, far more than what Kromlech was used to before he left for Baldur's Gate, almost as if there was an army waiting for orders to move through the gate. Adrianna agreed with her, there were far too many for this to be a coincidence, especially after the discovery of the map in the Beholder's lair, meaning his allies must have been busy gathering their armies to march through the gate when all was ready. Destroying the Guild allowed them to postpone the end of Baldur's Gate, though with another army waiting on the other side it meant Jherek and everyone else were still in danger, confirming his suspicions he had shared upon their return to the Elfsong Tavern, meaning there was another foe somewhere in the Sunset Mountains for them to deal with. In addition to all of those enemies Kromlech also pointed out a tall figure, easily twice as tall as Vahn was, that wore a loincloth and carried a large club into battle, a giant he told them, which made things more interesting and difficult at the same time, but they were able to overcome the new foe and kept moving forward without wasting too much time.
It took some time, effort, and a lot of gnoll bodies, as they were the most common threat on the path, but eventually the group was able to make their way to the dwarven mining camp, an area full of stone houses that had Kromlech's people wandering around, even though they looked completely miserable.
"Brother! Can it be that you have returned to us, in our darkest hour?!" a dwarf said, one who looked like a warrior while most of the others seemed to be craftsmen, making Rain wonder where all of the guards were since it seemed that most of them seemed to be missing.
"Torrgeir, I remember you!" Kromlech replied, showing that he knew the figure, a good thing since he might not give them the same welcome if someone else approached him first, which was why both Vahn and Adrianna let him take the lead so he could give them a good first impression, before they shared a handshake of some kind, "It has been too long old friend... tell me, what happened here? Where is the rest of the Bruenghor Clan?"
"We are all that remains, brother. Dark elves invaded the mine, killing scores of us with their poisoned blades, and for us to survive we collapsed all but one of the exit tunnels." Torrgeir said, where it was far too easy for them to see that he was depressed over the loss of life that had occurred recently, losing many friends and family members in the attack no doubt, all while explaining why this camp seemed so small to Rain, most of the clan was gone, "Please, brother, turn back before it's too late... there's nothing here for us now, and those that survived are gathering our belongings so we can move to a much safer location."
"We can't just abandon them to hostile invaders... even if you won't fight, can you at least open the mine so we can head in and deal with them?" Rain asked, because after everything she had been through so far she wasn't about to let such a thing slide, meaning they had to head into the mine and deal with these dark elves, as it had to be connected to what Jherek had told them about.
"Torrgeir, allow me to introduce Rain Shine, Adrianna, and Vahn, my friends and comrades. We were sent by Jherek not that long ago to investigate the dangers in this region." Kromlech stated, making sure that his friend knew that his brand new friends were allies and that they were here to deal with whatever dangers might be plaguing the rest of the region that his clan called home.
"Even if I wanted to, I can't, as our leader, Kolgrim, took three men with him to climb the Burning Eye Peak, all so we can light the signal fire to call on aid from Easting, but they have yet to succeed." Torrgeir stated, though everyone knew what he was thinking, there was a fair chance that the four dwarves were dead, but before anyone could say anything else he held up a hand and gestured to the mine entrance down to their right, a sealed door by the looks of it, "Kolgrim carried our Key of Dumathoin, which can turn cracks and spaces into solid stone again, with him as his team went up to light the signal fire. If you want to help you'll have to track him down, help his team, and convince him to hand over the Key... once you have that, well, you can head into the mine and fight the drow that have overrun the place."
As Kromlech thanked him for the assistance, especially since this place became their rest spot for the time being, Rain had a feeling that they had discovered what Jherek had sent them to investigate, causing her to wonder what sort of dangers they might encounter in the very near future.