Direstone Dwarven Key (Patreon)

Weapon (handaxe), uncommon (requires attunement by a dwarf)

This dwarven handaxe is specially issued to guards of the Direstone mines, treasury, and prisons. You gain a +1 bonus to attack and damage rolls made with this magic weapon. If it hits a stone object, the hit is automatically a critical hit.

In addition, you can use an action to speak the handaxe's command word and strike a fixed stone surface with it, such as a wall or ceiling. If the surface is no more than 2 feet thick, it magically pulls apart to form a temporary doorway. The doorway is no more than 5 feet across in any dimension and closes at the end of your next turn, leaving no trace of it behind. The passage creates no instability in a structure surrounding it. When the opening disappears, any creatures or objects still in the doorway created by the handaxe are ejected to an unoccupied space on a random side of the stone surface and take 1d6 bludgeoning damage. Once this property has been used, it can't be used again until 12 hours have passed.

Lanwen towered above the dwarven platoon as they marched through the tunnels of the great mining city of Direstone. The elf had been the deciding factor in a fight to save the realm from the Venom Queen's brood, and, as reward, was given unfettered access to the mines. However, the High Overseer said that there was something she must first see in order to understand the magnitude of such a gift. As they moved deeper into the finely hewn tunnels, her sense of unease grew. Was this a trap? An assassination?

Her worries ceased and her breath was cut short when the tunnels opened into a grand hall. The walls were covered in murals that depicted the history of Direstone, including its mines and its people. Arrayed across the room in brilliant gold and stone were heroes and monsters, rulers and craftsmen. They walked across the room in silence as Lanwen took in the sheer spectacle of it, stopping at a wall that portrayed the city's first king.

The grim dwarves stood in silence for an uncomfortable moment. Just as Lanwen steeled herself to speak, a dwarf dressed in shining armor stepped forward: a Keybearer. To her surprise, the dwarf pulled out an ornate axe and, with a burst of force, slammed it into the wall. From the axe's blade, the wall of stone split apart to reveal a twisting passage. As the sound rang out through the hall, Lanwen was unceremoniously ushered inside, ducking her head to do so, before the passage closed behind them to leave them in darkness.

Suddenly, torches arranged through the dark space sputtered to life to reveal the room before them. Piles of glimmering gold and wondrous finery that matched even the quality of the elder fey. No outsider had seen the Gleaming Vaults before, and few would ever after.