Written by the player:

Deep below the Kharolis Mountains lies the great Dwarven Kingdom of Thorbardin. Sealed off from the rest of Krynn, the Dwarven Kingdom is a refuge from the Dragon Armies that war above. Although no King has ruled since the Age of Might, the Hylar Clan has maintained order and relative peace in their underground home. Only the Theiwar and Daergar clans offer any real opposition. As an emissary of the Hylar, and a well-respected member of the ruling clan, Bedlam Mayhammer was sent to the lower depths of Thorbardin to negotiate a peace with Realgar, Thane of the Theiwar. Although he deeply distrusts Realgar, he believes no Dwarf is truly evil, except maybe the hill dwarves, so Bedlam descends deep in to the mountain with hopes of “striking a vein” as the Dwarven saying goes. As he rides the lift down, he pulls out his whittling knife and goes to work on a chunk of wood. It’s been centuries since any evidence of the Gods has been seen, but Bedlam wants the stories to be true so with each stroke of his dagger he wills Reorx the Forge God in to being. The clunking and grinding of the lift slows as he reaches Theibardin. Stepping out of the lift even his Dwarven eyes, accustomed to the darkness of the underground, take time to adjust to the nearly total lack of light. Fear suddenly grips Bedlam and he curses his naivety; with nothing more than his whittling dagger to defend himself he has put himself at the mercy of the Theiwar.

Normally when the other clans receive an official visit from the Hylar they are well received and shown around. No such greeting met Bedlam this day. Dwarves muttered and whispered remarks from the shadows as the Hylar made his way through Theibardin heading toward the Thane’s Quarters. Upon arriving Bedlam saw a fire burning in Realgar’s chamber, an extremely unusual sight considering the Theiwar’s aversion to light. As he approached the door, he heard figures speaking in common with the most unusual accent he had ever. “Once we have the hammer, Thorbardin will be yours for the taking” the strange voice slithered out. Bedlam drew his dagger and almost as if by instinct clutched the wood carving of Reorx in his pocket. Realgar was plotting a takeover of the whole Dwarven Kingdom! As he turned to head back toward the lifts and share this disturbing news with the Hylar, the door of Realgar’s chambers creaked open and a six-foot-tall figure holding a torch emerged standing in the threshold. With the torchlight illuminating the figures face Bedlam turned to witness a horror like he had never known in all his years. Standing upright and as tall as a man was a lizard like being with a forked tongue, razor sharp teeth and claws and scales all over his body. 

Bedlam was a noble of the Hylar clan, not a warrior and certainly not a wizard, so with fight off the table flight was his response. He turned as fast as his squat legs could carry him and made for the lifts. Realgar shouted, “Stop him!” and the lizard beast sprang in to the air and spreading his wings glided in front of Bedlam cutting him off. Bedlam turned and tore through the darkness with no real idea of where he was going or where he was headed. After so many twists and turns he couldn’t possibly retrace his steps, he entered in to a large chamber. Unlike the rest of the maze that was Theibardin this chamber had a soft pale gray light near the ceiling that shone down on what appeared to be an altar to Reorx the Forge God. As Bedlam approached the altar the light pulsated almost as if breathing, and began to shine brighter. The clacking of clawed feet behind him prevented Bedlam from observing this strange light further. Whipping around, dagger in hand, he saw the lizard beast and three Theiwar dwarves approaching. As a final act of faith Bedlam tossed his carving of Reorx on to the altar and turned to face his death with courage. He may not be a warrior but he was no coward. 

A brilliant flash of gray light filled the chamber causing the Theiwar closing on him to drop to their knees clutching their eyes and vomit uncontrollably. Bedlam felt a warmth from the light that overwhelmed him. It coursed through his veins filling up his heart and then being pumped to every extremity of his being. The lizard beast recoiled at the light so Bedlam seized his opportunity. Without even knowing what he was doing he thrust his hand forward and a burst of energy left his body. Lightning flashed in the chamber and struck the beast square in the chest. A second flash and a second bolt struck him this one knocking him off his feet. A third flash split the beast’s skull and Bedlam watched as the scales turned to stone and the nearby Theiwar unable to avoid the death throes were petrified alongside him.

Assuming he was saved by the hands of Reorx, Bedlam turned to thank the Forge God. Just then another flash of gray light filled the chamber and Bedlam lost consciousness. He dreamed of a beautiful woman with blue skin, dreamed of flying through space as though he was not bound by physical reality, dreamed of a black robed wizard and an unlikely band of travelers. When he woke again, he was not in the deepest part of Thorbardin surrounded by danger, in fact he wasn’t in Thorbardin at all. He had to shield his eyes and let them adjust to the burning light of the sun. For the first time in his life Bedlam Mayhammer was above ground! He had no idea where he was of how he got there but a tingling in his veins told him the power he had felt in Theibardin was still with him. Not that he owned it or that he commanded it but that it was a part of him. He had been changed by it, like a new alloy formed from the burning hot forge making a new stronger being. As all dwarves do, he had a mistrust of magic and its practitioners, but if Reorx had granted him this gift he would put it to use for good. If some other force had made him in to what he was, he hoped only to find out why before this power consumed him or worse.