We got the code wrong

Campaign Recap - September 11, 2026 The shattered brass armor has moved since the party last saw it. Its inscription identifies it as the “3rd Watch” of the 9th Delve, tasked with protecting the beacon. The party meets the keep's eccentric 741-year historian, who identifies the armor as the work of Bruni Forge-Hand and reveals that it can reassemble itself. Delmon's Speak with Dead reveals that the poisoned dwarf died protecting a secret from an approaching enemy. Only the Keepers of the 9th Delve can access the mysterious statue. Deverick translates the inscription above the keep's entrance: “The 9th Delve — Icespire Beacon.” Syleen's group captures a suspicious rogue who turns out to be Joab, an old friend of Delmon, hunting the white orc who once held him captive. A 400-year-old letter reveals that patrols were disappearing and the keep's captain suspected a traitor. It warns: “If they learn what lies beneath the beacon, the Delve is lost.” An old inventory ledger lists far more supplies than the tiny pantry could possibly hold, suggesting hidden rooms or passages somewhere nearby. Deverick discovers an ancient steel-bound book with blue, red, purple, and green runes, along with a loose page containing what appears to be a magical cipher. Heating the party's ownership coin reveals its true symbol: a wolf's-head signet. Upon seeing it, Professor Footnote recognizes the party's claim to the keep and welcomes them home. An inscription on the taxidermied white wolf connects it to the Order of the 9th Delve. Talia reaches into its mouth and discovers the missing horn. After a dangerous climb across a collapsed hallway, the party finds the missing eye wrapped in silk marked “LMH” and surrounded by dragon scales. With the crystal, hourglass, dragon head, rune tablet, statue, horn, and eye assembled, the party finally activates the mysterious apparatus. Misinterpreting the hourglass's sequence causes skeletons to emerge from the walls. A second failed attempt summons more skeletons and a massive Minotaur skeleton. After surviving Deverick's Fireball, Delmon's magic, and Talia's Moonbeam, the Minotaur is finally destroyed by Corik's Guiding Bolt, exploding into a shower of bones. The apparatus is assembled, but the party still hasn't discovered the correct code—or what lies beneath the Icespire Beacon.