Chapter 8: Audience in Gauntlgrym - Out of the Abyss

Chapter 8: Audience in Gauntlgrym. After their escape from the Underdark in chapter 7, the adventurers have time to rest, recuperate, and reorient themselves back in the surface world from which they were taken. Some three months after their return, they receive a summons to the dwarf kingdom of Gauntlgrym in the North. King Bruenor Battlehammer desires an audience with them regarding their experiences in the Underdark. Representatives of several factions with an interest in what is happening in the Underdark will also be in attendance. Following the audience, Bruenor extends an offer to the characters, who are tasked with returning to the Underdark once more on a perilous mission. Summoned by Bruenor King Bruenor has learned of the characters' exploits from dwarf merchants and couriers recently returned from the Underdark. (If Eldeth Feldrun was part of the adventurers' successful escape and returned safely to Gauntlgrym, word of the party's heroics came to Bruenor through her. See "Gauntlgrym Connections.") King Bruenor's summons reaches the characters by whatever method best suits the story, depending on where they go and what they are doing following their return to the surface world. It can be in the form of a messenger carrying a handwritten letter bearing the king's seal, or even an animal messenger or sending spell focused on one or more of the adventurers. Regardless of how it gets to them, the message is simple and clear: Come at once to Gauntlgrym for an audience with King Bruenor Battlehammer, to discuss matters of grave importance concerning your experiences in the Underdark. Characters belonging to any of the factions involved in the meeting at Gauntlgrym (see "Forging an Alliance") might receive a summons from their faction as well, and could even travel with the representative of that faction to the dwarf hold if circumstances permit. Otherwise, the choice to make the journey is up to the characters, although ignoring Bruenor's request leads the d...