Ice and Storm

We circled the base of Hatewind Peak, discussing still the imminent white dragon. And we found a cave leading (presumable) into the mountain, with perhaps a way up. Approaching the cave wasn't an issue.
 

By the entrance of a cave

 
But near the entrance lay a frozen-over lake, and as we passed it came to life. Two water elementals burst through the surface, breaking out of its solid form frozen from the sheer cold. They were however not alone; two large creatures hopped -- or waddled -- from the forest nearby. Similar to large toads, these two beasts were giant and icy-blue as well.
 
Francis and our young ice-griffon found shelter in a copse of frozen trees as we made for our arms.
 
Theo and Steel looked to one another before turning about face. Each cast fireball, Theo's more destructive at first but Steel's spell hitting harder. Yrna showed up for the fight as well, moving to the side of one ice toad to summon a flame blade and strike at the beast. Her target tried to eat our hired druid in a cold bite but was too slow; Izol leapt to her side to drop the creature dead. Its friend seemed more intelligent than the first, turning to leap into the now-exposed cold river and disappear into the depths.
 
When threatened by one of the frozen elementals Murg pulled forth his holy gavel and attacked his foe. Theo took note and used his staff to enlarge our bugbear champion -- to match the elemental in size and might.
 
We had fought off one elemental and one of the ice toads; the remaining creatures seemed to flee the battlefield. So we did as well, running as a group to the mouth of the cave for safety.
 
It wasn't a moment too soon: a heavy shade fell over the sun above. Snow appeared in the air almost as if by magic,still just a spontaneous blizzard but dangerous all the same. Visibility dropped to near zero. Thankfully we made it into cover in enough time.
 

The Ice-Lair

 
Inside, Izol picked up a guttural voice. It came first on a cold breeze, but grew in intensity to fill the cave in booming thunder. "Come scrambling up faster, fleshlings."
 
"I don't think it wants to speak with us," Hinthus confirmed to Izol.
 
Separately Izol and Icarus scouted the cavern. To the north, past an unfathomably-deep and frigid river, a sluiceway that came from higher ground branched into two more oaths; to the south the river flowed (albeit slowly) around a bend. An alcove to the south held a skeleton with something in its grasp, but we all agreed that the water looked very dangerous: we could see down only 30 feet, with the river's depths deeper still. Even Izol or the magically-protected Steel couldn't last in water this cold for very long.
 
After a few moments Izol called back that he had found the source of the slowly-flowing river, a small lake with a branching path heading deeper into the cave network.
 
On Icarus' end, Theo and his familiar found a massive underground lake. Nearly 300 feet high, one corner boasted the prow of a once-working ship, now sunken beneath the surface. The far wall was all ice, permafrost in dozens of layers that could almost be the result of a creature's design. And on the rocky shore nearby the frozen husks of previous adventurers that found their demise here.
 
All was eerily quiet.
 
Izol headed deeper into the cave, and after a few turns spotted life -- a fire crackling further in. Upon investigation, silently floating near the ceiling to avoid any detection, Izol spotted a campsite: a campfire, large tent, amenities, and a magnificently armored frost giant.
 
 

Far from home, the Outrider Knight

So of course Izol dropped down to the floor to meet the giant.
 
It spoke first in its own language (giant), but in the common language introduced himself as Ordimurr and an "Outrider Knight". He knew of the dangerous world that lay outside the cave -- his people (who lived here in Hatewind Peak) are all now dead. Ordimurr is the last of his tribe and out to kill the dragon in this peak as well.
 
 


Back at the cave entrance, the group pondered what to do. Having faith in Izol they resolved to wait for him, but the water still posed a problem. Thankfully Yrna intervened, blessing us with waterwalking. Then we could catch up to Izol and Ordimurr mid-conversation.
 
He welcomed us, thank the gods. Theo spoke to him in his native language, which earned us favor. Ordimurr echoed our sentiments on the dragon's destructive nature.
 
"But I failed. Now I wait for the cold to take me."
 
The giant's pride was shattered when he fought the dragon on its peak and failed. He was there infected by the white dragon, red and pink crystals already forming on his arm after scuffling with the crazed beast. "I imagine it will not be long."
 
For us, he told us of the path forward: through the layered icewall was a route broken up by wayshrines to the old gods of the giants. Ordimurr stopped speaking as a calmness took him, standing to leave his campsite and head back into the cavern. We followed as he led us back to the ice wall in the frozen lake.
 
Ordimurr reached down into the underground lake to grasp the sunken ship. As if it were nothing more than a spear the giant pulled the 60 foot longship out from the water, hefted it on one shoulder, and threw it up towards the top of the composite ice wall. The ship sailed true, crashing into the wall to shatter. Wood and ice shards fell from above, a giant-sized hole was now carved into the upper reaches of the cavern. Cold wind and snow began to fall into the cavern from outside, reminding us of the hazardous weather we had left at the mouth of the cave.
 

Lost man's locker

Izol opened the lockbox held by the long-dead humanoid we passed. Inside were among other things many parchments and scrolls, sealed and tied up. Ordimurr took notice: "That box was the property of Modern, the face of our band. Inside are the letters to our loved ones. I -- we -- value them more than anything else." Immediately Izol agreed to the unspoken question, to return the letters to their recipients.
 
It was then that the Outrider Knight slammed a gauntlet against his chest, the metal ringing through the caverns, only to return to his campsite to take his final breaths alone.
 
And so we stood before the base of another height of ice, this one a wall to be climbed.
 

Cold greetings

With a short period of organization by Steel (and Murg) the party sans-Izol donned their climbers' gear and tied off, 30 feet of rope connecting one to another. Steel headed the troupe, taking lead to anchor pins into the wall of ice using his natural talent to scale the wall. It was slow going, with every thirty feet the group untying and retying themselves into the next 30 feet of wall anchors. But it was safe, and without any near-death experiences the party made it to the opening to the outside to face the mountain's next section of ascent.
 
The outcropping outside was a flat-ish area before the path continued upwards. Another mostly-frozen lake sat next to the ruins of an old building -- a temple, we assumed. Now that we were outside, we could hear the faint noise of beating wings. The ice dragon, though now obscured in the heavy blizzard. And the strong winds surrounding the mountain threatened to send us all tumbling back down (and off of Hatewind Peak).
 
We slowly made our way forward -- and we were met by forms forming from the snow itself. Golems, or elementals, made of ice and snow. In the ruins one golem formed larger than the rest, and pulled a stone from the rumble to hurl at us.
 
It hit Murg and Izol, nearly knocking them off of the moutainside. Theo dove for cover while slinging firebolts at the frozen constructs. Yrna was unfazed, stepping forward confidently. "Come winds, come lightning!" -- her call to lightning summoning forth a dark cloud to strike at our attackers.
 
Murg moved to a nearby ledge where the golems were raining death upon us. Simply reaching up the bugbear hauled himself to the elementals' level with his long bugbear arms and made a swing of his gavel with the other. Metal met ice and the golem was shattered to bits. Izol took shots at more of the golems as Steel ran forward to take cover from the barrage under his allies' fire.
 
More boulders flew through the air, injuring many. Taking valor over preservation Murg and Steel each ran headlong at the ice golems. The bugbear leapt up to bring his gavel down on the giant ice elemental's solid body to fracture the creature even more. The tabaxi jumped into a rolling maneuver to escape the rain of boulders, coming within arm's reach of two golems to shower them with a gout of chemical fire. But in the strong, cold wind the arcane weapon slipped from Steel's claws, landing "safely" at his feet.
 
Thinking quickly
Steel climbed up, moved the Claw to shoulder, flmaethrower, hurl Izol pyrotechnics spell
Cloud of smoke, winds blow it eastward to his dismay
 
The ice creatures didn't seem to like the smoke, and one of the golems staggered out of the cloying black to be met by a face-first Hornraven firebolt
 
Izol took damage
 
Steel vaulted over the edge of the ledge, rolled out of the way of a small golem, snatched claw off the ground, stood to take a large rock straight to teh chest, kept running, slid in front of the large golem and its friend, unleashed fire (clawfire) then thunder (thunderwave)
Knocked both backwards and down, shattering the small one to pieces and fracturing the larger one to smaller bits. Theo followed up, moving to a ledge above the large golem for a better firebolt shot.
 
It stood up and threw a rock back at Theo.
 
Black smoke blew away, revealing Murg preparing a spell. Reciting the primes and firing a guiding bolt, running at the second (and last remaining small golem) to hit the elemental so hard to twist the creature around it's "spine and shatter it with a twist (torque)
 
Steel threw the Claw to Theo. Landed at his feet, moved to scale the wall down and unleash fire once more on the large elemental. Steel hid behind a rocky outcropping while Izol ran up to open ground, to flip the large golem off
 
Theo cast scorching ray, then feinted on his stony platform to successfully avoid the creature's next thrown rock.
 
"Do it, now!" Steel denotes the Claw, destroying the golem
 
 
 
As the rest of the party clambered up to the top of the temple, and Steel looking woefully at the now-"broken" Claw lying on the ice below, the group's attention was pulled to the middle of the temple ruins. The strong winds from the pervading storm
 
 

 
Varunmund decided to chime in: Hrathamari was a giant astronomer, and the Eye of the World his observatory. It was said that Hrathamari looked to the stars to discern the future. "We stand on holy ground," it finished. Everyone looked about them with new reverence before looking up and to the south, to the next waystation.
 
But none of us forgot: we were being stalked. Even with the dragon overhead and snowy winds raging around us, we marched on.