A10 - Facing the Wyrm

General Summary

ACT 10 - Facing the Wyrm

1496.SP.18   Now the town was silent all the members had left for Axeholm, the eerie silence was only broken by the occasional roar from the Dragon either flying in the area or atop its icy mountain. Maple handed out the furs she had hunted, now fashioned into large ponchos they would provide warmth on the journey.   The long and slow journey up the Icespire mountains began. The chilling winds blasted their faces and numbing their ears. Half way up the mountain on a almost forgot path the group came across a large ogre, frozen in mid roar. One shoulder missing from an enormous bite, this matched Reidoth's description on how White dragons prefer to hunt, freezing their prey and eating them at their leisure. Continuing up the path they began to notice horse hoof prints in the snow and ice. It seemed unlikely but there was a small party also up in these mountains.   The distant roars had long silenced when the group first saw the Icespire Hold hidden in the mountains appear. The path now more distinct although dangerously thin and in certain areas rockfall making the climb treacherous. As the party neared the cork screw ascend to the gate house a number of crossbow bolts clattered about their feet. With no where to go they sprinted for the gate, luckily with no one being hit.   The frozen gate opened into a cold and dark stone interior. Immediately they were met by the snorts and neighs of four horses, who had been tide up in a small stable. Further in faint voices could be heard of an argument. Opening the door the group found four mercenaries with the weapons drawn. After a short discussion and parlay the two parties realized they had came for similar reasons. The mercenaries for the dragons treasure and the party to slay the dragon. A temporary truce was struck as the two parties ventured out of the gatehouse and across the bridge to the main castle.   The Mercenaries explained they hadn't heard the dragon for some time and assumed it had ventured down into the valley. As the group crossed the bridge they found that the doors were covered in thick ice and there was no quick way to remove it. Adapting the party climbed off the bridge onto the ice and stone wall, carefully moving across to a ruined part of the castle. On the other side they were able to find a huge dragon sized hole into the castle. Inside although mostly abandoned long ago a small group of Orcs had set up inside, however all that remained now were frozen and half eaten statue corpses.   Searching through the rest of the rooms, the group came across a hidden entereance to crypt. In one of the chambers a toboggan had been set up with a small shoot running out of a hole in the side of the castle. Noting this and collecting and valueables from the crypt the party moved on.   Finding no Dragon the party ventured to the roof to find huge snow drifts and ice spires. Looking closely at the icespire's the group found inside was gold and gems, some had large scaly eggs. As they begun to realise that Cryovain was a female dragon and had been protecting her eggs or gathering food for them, the largest snow drift behind the group suddenly stirred.   In an instant a huge dragon sprung up from the snow drift pushing the powder into the air and across the roof. With its huge wings stretched out the imposing figure roared. "YOU THINK YOU COULD SNEAK IN HERE AND STEAL FROM ME". The instantly frightening shape of the dragon turned Raziel's stomach and she fled for the cover of the stairwell. As the other scattered for cover, some slipping on the slick ice Cryovain breathed a chilling ice breath across half the mercenaries and Mordai. Maple and Albert realising the danger quickly began to dig Mordai out before he would either freeze or suffocate. Darting backwards and forwards inflicting grievous wounds on the dragon, the party slowly begun to whittle down the monster. As Raziel gathered her courage and emerged from the stairwell only to see Albert picked up by the dragon and tossed off the side of the castle and down the mountain. Luckily for Albert he landed on the bridge between the gatehouse and castle, suffering only minor injuries.   Now flying, Cryovain quickly dispatched the other two mercenaries and had Maple wreathing from a horrific clawing attack. As a combined attack the party struck out with all they had weakening and enraging the dragon. On the final pass back towards the party which would certainly seal their doom, Maple took aim and fired her longbow, striking Cryovain in neck. The dragon tumbled past the castle and into the snowy peak of the mountain causing an avalanche. With almost no time to react the party quickly chipped away at the icespire's desperate to gather any gold or gems they could before evacuating. There was no time to retrieve an egg and they were left on the roof as the group ran for the stairwell.   Sprinting down to the cellar the group jumped into the toboggan and pushed open the secret passage. Slow at first the toboggan moved out of the castle and down the mountain, the snow from the avalanche quickly approaching. With the snow licking at their backs the toboggan hit an ice patch and quickly picked up speed. A bumpy and blurry journey down the mountain resulted in dizziness and sore arses, however they were alive and had slain the dragon.

Rewards Granted

Cracked Spyglass (100 Gold), 12 small gems (1200 Gold), 600 gold coins, 182 silver coins, 450 Copper coins,

Missions/Quests Completed

Slay Cryovain the White Dragon

Character(s) interacted with

Cryovain - Female Dragon who attacked the areas of Phandalin and Leilon.   Syleen Wintermoon - Adventurer/Mercenary   Runa Vokdottir - Adventurer/Mercenary   Brakkis Elspaar - Adventurer/Mercenary   Jabarl Orc-Biter - Adventurer/Mercenary