And now we have another tale of another forge in Pathfinder. ...I will admit, I took a few creative liberties with this one. My Step 1 rolls got me Religious Figure and island/spring/river. The first one got me thinking a priest of Torag, the chief Dwarven god and God of the Forge... but you wouldn't really find a shrine to Torag near a river. As such, my creative liberties made it a subterranean shrine, next to two rivers, one of water and one of lava.
More details regarding creative liberties after the story.
***
Deep under the surface of Golarion, underneath the Five Kings Mountains, there is a cavern. In one end of the cavern, a river of lava and a river of water run almost side by side. This unusual confluence is home to a small shrine to Torag, the head of the Dwarven Pantheon and God of the Forge. The shrine, which doubles as a forge considering Torag’s domain, has been around since the time of Earthfall, and has long been maintained by a lineage of Dwarven Priests.
The forge saw the most use during the Quest for Sky, when the Dwarves were fighting the Orc Clans on their way up to the surface. The shrine was close to the front lines, so many weapons were forged there, both mundane and magical.
Most of the Dwarves who came to the forge were Warriors, having trained their whole lives for glory and adventure. They had the passion and drive to follow Torag’s directive and seek the surface.
They just needed blades. This is the tale of one such blade’s forging.
Wood 0, Fire 0, Earth 0, Metal 0, Water 0
Destiny: 20
Bones of the Blade
While most Dwarven blades were made of iron or steel, this forge made most of its blades out of special materials. For this blade, the smith made the blade out of the rare and light metal Mithral, which the warrior to wield it brought to the forge.
Rolled 4 Dice: 4 (Metal) +1
Wood 0, Fire 0, Earth 0, Metal 2, Water 0
Destiny: 20 - 4 = 16
Heat and Hammer
The metal now needed to be shaped into a blade. The smith used the river of lava to heat the Mithral, keeping an eye on the metal, and hammered it into the shape of a broadsword with an elegant Damascus pattern along its length.
Rolled 4 Dice: 1 (Wood)x2
Wood 2, Fire 0, Earth 0, Metal 2, Water 0
Destiny: 16 - 4 = 12
Bathe the Blade
Once the blade was shaped and white hot, it needed to be quenched and hardened, to let it stand up to the rigors of battle. The smith quenched it in sacred water from the river near the shrine, water which glittered in the glow of the lava, and the steam from quenching the blade left brilliant rainbows.
Rolled 4 Dice: 5 (Water) +1
Wood 2, Fire 0, Earth 0, Metal 2, Water 2
Destiny: 12 - 4 = 8
Stone and Edge
After the blade was hardened, it needed to be sharpened, a long and arduous task. The smith used an old, reliable stone that was one they had used a long time.
Rolled 4 Dice: 3 (Earth) +1
Wood 2, Fire 0, Earth 2, Metal 2, Water 2
Destiny: 8 - 4 = 4
The Power of a Name
Finally, the blade was almost finished. The smith gave it a crossguard and a hilt. Now, it needed a name, and the magic needed to make it more than just well-forged metal. The Smith used a ritual from ancient texts passed down through the ages, one involving lavish offerings to Torag and magnificent decorations.
Rolled 4 Dice: 2 (Fire)
Wood 2, Fire 1, Earth 2, Metal 2, Water 2
To Battle
Skyseeker was a consecrated longsword with an ornate crossguard. It was mostly harmonious between all its elements, but its Fire was just barely out of alignment to keep it from being a true ‘holy’ sword. Still, the Mithral blade was one of unparalleled beauty, and it seemed to sing joyously through the air.
The warrior who carried Skyseeker into battle used it well, and helped lead the way up to the surface. Their lineage settled in the Five Kings Mountains, and Skyseeker has become an heirloom of the line, held in a place of honor in the Dwarven City of Highhelm.
***
Just barely missed making a proper Holy Sword. If I'd gotten a 6 on The Power of a Name I would have made it. Ah well.
Anyway, further creative liberties. Rolling a 4 on the Bones of the Blade step. At the time of the story, the Dwarves lived exclusively underground and were trying to get up to the surface, so I doubted they'd get access to 'metals fallen from heaven', also known as Skymetals. So, instead, I ditched the 'fallen from heaven' part and used the material known as Mithral instead. It's a form of silver that's just as durable as other metals, but very lightweight.
On another topic, the dice seem rather fond of having my smiths forge broadswords - I have rolled more 1s on the Heat and Hammer step than I care to count.
Anyway, as with the other stories, I hope you enjoy, and I look forward to feedback.
...I also want to see other people's stories here, too. :)