SKT - 17 The Ice Spire Mountains

General Summary

Flamerule Day 17
As the party flees the Temple of the All Father, Cullen pauses at the top of the stairs to look back. He sees Harshnag and the dragon battling each other. Harshnag sees him and shouts, "Do not let my death be in vain! Find King Hekaton and restore the ordning!"
Cullen can no longer see them nor hear the battle as the ceiling collapses. He turns and follows the others down the stairs to the exit.
Outside the wind is howling, the sky is overcast, and it is snowing. The party trudges across the causeway and then stops in the middle as they make out the dark shapes of the Great Worm Tribe led by Chief Wormblod.
"I see you have found my lost princess!" Wormblod calls to them. "Send her over!"
It's not a request. It is a command.
"I am not your princess!" Noori shouts back.
The line of barbarian warriors look back at their chieftain and he nods.
They turn and hurl their javelins at the party, but the wind is against them and they fall short.
Looking down at the spear in the snow a few feet away Rake says, "Yeah I am killing them." He charges toward the female shaman.
Spikes of ice jut up from the ground impaling the dwarf's legs, but he just grunts in pain and they snap off.
He rushes past the warriors and engages the female shaman who is guarded by swirling ice spirits.
Some of the barbarians chase after him to help their shaman, while the rest charge forward to fight Rainar and Jowynn. Zindra fires arrows and Exil hits the chieftain with scorching rays. Cullen calls down lightning.
Suddenly from above and behind the party, the Chieftain's pet White Dragon Wyrmling flies overhead strafing the party with its icy breath weapon. Cullen strikes it from above with lightning and Exil hits it in the air with a fireball. It plummets to the ground tumbling to a smoking stop.
"Nooooo!" Wormblod cries. After killing the shaman Rake turns and battles the chieftain. Rainar pushes one of the warriors over the edge of the causeway and he falls to his death.
The last barbarian turns and runs away.
As the party is healing and recovering from the battle, the wind dies down and the snow stops.
"Look." Rake says pointing to the sky. They see a great red object slowing coming towards them. "A dragon?" Cullen asks.
But as it gets closer they see it is not a creature, but some kind of Air Ship. A giant balloon carries a ship beneath it. On board are members of the Cult of the Dragon.
"These guys again?" Exil sighs.
"They may be angry we killed a white drake." Rainar supposes.
"We'll just blame the barbarians." Exil suggests.
"Hail adventurers!" they call down to the party. "We come in peace!"
The ship sets down on the icy bridge and four of the cult members come down a gangway to meet the party.
We come to you on behalf of Klauth, the Great Red Dragon of the North! Klauth offers you this vessel and our services as a gift, so that you may cross his vast dominion while avoiding the many perils of the land below.
War against the giants is inevitable, but the Great Dragon commands you forge ahead and face your destiny! The ordning of the giants is broken, and they are not united.
Slay their leaders, and you may yet prevail. If you succeed in quelling the giant threat, Klauth bids you come to his hidden vale, so that he can reward your bravery."

  The party debates whether to just take the ship and leave the cultists behind or bring them along to steer the ship.
In the end, they decide to bring the cultists with them. Their names are Delsephine, Nyzroth, Brassik, Laz, Oriskus, Perella (female), Trait, and Zalthia (female). Delsephine is their leader. Four are on duty at any time (two to crew the ship and two standing watch) while the others rest.
They board the airship and head south to the Valley of the Stoneaxe Tribe to return Noori.
"She can stay with us ye know." Rake tells Cullen.
Cullen laughs and turns to Noori. "Hey Noori, Rake wants you to stay with us."
Noori laughs and rubs Rake on the head. "Thank you master dwarf," she replies. "but my path lies elsewhere."
They land in the field near the Stoneaxe tribe and the Goliaths come out of their huts along with the Skywatcher.
"Ah you found her!" Cullen's father says. "You should take her to chief Wormblod!"
"He and his warriors are dead." Cullen states.
"I am not yours to offer up has a bargain, father!" Noori shouts at him. She turns to Cullen and hugs him. "Thank you for saving me brother. Be safe in your travels and come back to visit. You can even bring Rake."
The party boards the ship and heads north. "We should name our ship after your sister." Rake says.
"You want to board my sister?" Cullen says with a smile. "Put your things in her cargo hold?"
"It were just a suggestion." Rake grumbles.
As the ship returns to the Spine of the World, Cullen remembers the voice her heard before they entered the Eye of the All-Father. The spirit had asked him to bring the head of Wormblod to him.
He tells the party about the spirit and they agree to return to the ice bridge and retrieve the chieftain's head. Rainar volunteers to decapitate the corpse. They wrap the head in a cloak.
Flamerule Day 18
They follow the path to the Cavern of the Great Worm Tribe. The spirit mound of the Great Worm tribe of Uthgardt barbarians is inside a spacious cavern at the northeast end of the Valley of Khedrun, deep in the Spine of the World. Thick ice hangs above the pillared entrance to Great Worm Cavern, and the interior walls of the place are covered with an icy glaze and lined with massive icicles that gleam and glitter in reflected light. The walls are too slippery to be climbed without gear or magic.
The cavern floor is a sheet of slippery ice flanked by 70-foot-high ledges of rock, atop which stand two totem poles of chiseled ice with carvings that resemble winged snakes. The walls of these ledges are riddled with caves in which the Great Worm tribe members live. Natural steam vents in the rock keep the caves warm throughout the year. Above the ledges, dug into the cavern walls, are narrow crypts where the honored dead are placed, their frozen corpses propped up in a standing position.
Rising from the back of the cavern is a triangular promontory of ice-covered rock, 120 feet above the cavern floor at its peak. Thereupon stands an altar of frost-covered stone, carved in the shape of a coiled serpent with great wings. The altar represents Elrem, the Great Worm. Here, the tribal warriors make sacrifices to the Great Worm in honor of Uthgar. Doing so, they believe, ensures that Elrem doesn't return to devour them. Exil looses his footing as they try to ascend the promontory.
At the back of the cave hangs a relic of giantkind: a crescent-shaped gong in a crude stone frame. The gong, a circular disk 13 feet in diameter, was once the shield of a frost giant champion, but it was broken in combat and is now missing a large piece. What remains of it weighs 250 pounds.
The shield is made of red dragon scales bolted to a beaten copper frame. Its leather arm straps are long gone.
If the gong is struck inside the cavern, its deep tone echoes throughout the cavern and causes a few large icicles to break away from the ceiling and crash down onto the icy floor. The crashing ice awakens three remorhazes hibernating in a cyst beneath the ice. The remorhazes burst up through the ice and attack any creatures they see. The Great Worm tribesfolk are unaware of the remorhazes and have no way to control them once they burst forth.
Fortunately, the party does not Bang a Gong.
Instead they approach the alter and place the head of Wormblod on the alter. The spirit, a couatl, feathered serpent, emerges from the altar and bestows on each of them a charm of restoration. "Thank you for killing Chief Wormblod. He was a greedy and evil leader. The new chieftain will be good and will not attack the Stoneaxe Tribe."
The party sees the Great Worm Tribe gathered in the cavern floor below. They part and let the party pass as they return to their airship.
  As they fly east towards the Ice Spire mountains, Rake suggests they stop at Citadel Felbarr and visit King Morin and Queen Tithmel. Rake has a letter of Recommendation from Ghelryn Foehammer of Triboar telling how the party helped defeat the fire giants and their minions that attacked the town.
The King and Queen are happy to receive the adventurers as honored guest and they have a feast in their honor. They present Rake with a Figurine of Wondrous Power - The Golden Lions. They tell the party of their concerns about fire giant activity in the region and that Duke Zalto is running their forge again in Ironslag.
They promise the party that they will build them a keep anywhere in the Silver Marches (no not in Silverymoon) if they will bring them Duke Zalto's head and ensure the threat of the fire giants is no more.
Flamerule Day 19
The party promises to do their best and the next morning they set out for the Ice Spire Mountains. As they approach the range, a chimera spots them and attacks.
It strafes the deck of the ship with fire. And attacks Exil and Zindra. Cullen webs it as Rake attacks. Exil retreats and blasts it with an orb of acid. It melts the creature's face, killing it.
Passing through the clouds they hover over a village of Minotaur guardians and slaves working in the fields. As they land, one of them tries to make it to the leader's tent to sound the alarm. But they cast spells and hurl weapons at the beast, bringing it down before it reaches the central hut.
They surround and kill the second guard.
"Hey man!" a halfling calls out to them as the slaves approach the airship. "Are you here to rescue us? Can we board your ship? Will you take us back home to our families?"
Cullen smiles at the halflings and shrugs.
"We have to complete our quest here first." Exil informs the excitable halfling."
"Cool man!" the halfling says smiling tugging on Cullen's shirt. "Can we wait on your ship? We'd really like to get off this mountain. Man what if you die in Ironslag? We really need to get out of here!"
They ignore the halfling and decide to send Jowynn into the central hut to see who is there. She turns invisible and slips into the hut.
Inside is a large Minotaur chief talking to his adviser. He is holding a silver chain that leads to a collar worn by a naked female Moonelf.
She is pouring them drinks from a clay vessel.
Jowynn sees between the fire pit and the south wall is an ornately engraved bronze gong and a wooden mallet that has a head padded with leather hide. The gong and the mallet hang from a wooden frame.
She sneaks over and takes the mallet and disables the gong.
The party rushes in and attacks. The chief wields a flaming scimitar. They kill the Minotaurs and free the elven slave.
"My thanks," she says to the party and retrieves a blue robe from a basket. "I was insurance so the slaves would not try to revolt or escape." She explains while taking the collar off. "I am Princess Halani Meliamne from the Moonwood."
Jowynn knows of her, being from the Moonwood herself.

"You can remain safely on our airship." Cullen offers.
Zindra rolls her eyes.

Rewards Granted

Airship from Klauth the Red
Charm of restoration to each party member (6 charges)
Figurine of Wondrous Power - The Golden Lions
King Morin and Queen Tithmel of Citadel Felbarr, promise to build the party a stone keep anywhere in the Silver Marches and station a garrison of ten shield dwarves for security if they bring them the head of Duke Zalto and ensure the fire giants are no longer a threat.
Minotaur +1 scimitar flame tongue additional (2d6) fire damage on a hit. 8th Level

Missions/Quests Completed

Ironslag
Letter of Recommendation from Ghelryn Foehammer of Triboar (completed)