The Secrets of the Peaks

## Reconnecting with the Warden

The party was happy to beyond the realm of the dead Ûr, but at the same time, these undead were the most noble that they probably had ever faced. Furthermore, the frozen steps they now climbed were sending them to place where they knew they would be frought with danger. Nonetheless, they were making progress now towards their final goal against the **Order of the Silent Fist** and the resurgence of the **Unraveler**. It had been a long journey, but they had made it to the **Chwaer Peaks** where the **Gate** was being opened by these minions of *Gaiddidian* who had been turned into puppets of the great **Uthargot**. The party was tired and drained, and so when they reached a point where the stairs ended and a normal climbing valley was present, the group retired for a well-needed rest. Kazin set up a barrier and the party sat comfortably behind walls and cliffs of stone to make sure they were safe from whatever could approach.

As Brocktharian closed his well-worn eyes, he was immediately contacted by their old, spiritual friend, *Dreamwarden Elyndor Eseyn,* with a message and some help.

>       *I welcome your return.  Those days where we were out of contact were disheartening, but we are glad that it has been only a fortnight.  At the last we spoke there was activity rising in the Mote, and so it has continued.  A large force of Ûr crossed into Angleside through the Valley of Bomar.  The savage clans of the Dark Caste destroyed many hamlets before we could adequately respond.  Lady Sylea Rhiddar continued to close the gates and funnels in Gorbin and Illargen, but then headed south with a screening force to delay the Ûr.  Sadly, many of her vanguard were lost and the Ûr have been pressing towards the great city of Portmunt.  Angleside is rallying, but it may not be enough to save the city if the Ûr clans’ assault breaches the walls.*
>
>    *Baronet Realnore was successful in closing a Blending Circle near Derrin Dale, but the area around the Dale and in Coten now swarms with strange creatures, tearing thorp and village asunder.   The Baronet has met with Barons Abcoron and Chadwick of Derrin Dale for support, and the nobles of Regent have answered the call.  Bavarin forces from the west now muster and gather and are heading towards Coten to help bastion Kreenan and central Angleside along with Baronet Realnore.*
>
>     *In the east, Lady Lisbet Alurian has pressed to the west into the hills.  Her scouts have found another Blending Circle amidst a horde of Ûr preparing for an attack on Teldor.  She has sent word to the Magnate for troops from anywhere in Teldor, as well as contacting the Diet in Bredenkham, to elicit support from Aden Shahn as well.  Surrin is important to both nations and it wouldn’t take very long for the growing horde to sweep across the plains and destroy thousands of lives.*
>
>     *Perched atop of the summits of the southeastern Mote, Lord Ainish Fahnde’s scouts have seen another Ûr horde mustering and marching. A great army heading south to Taitronen and perhaps beyond to Katorba or Banor or Sadav.   The Smothe has been alerted as have the Free Cities.  The forces in the Marches are now split, sending what they can both north to help near Derrin Dale and east to prepare for battles near Taitronen.  Lord Fahnde is not sure of whether a response will be in time or with enough force.   The Ûr are accompanied by beasts of other worlds who still pour from somewhere in the center of the Mote.  We have not been without victories, but more people will be lost unless we can somehow break apart their strange flood of otherworldly creatures and power.  As you know, this is where we are counting upon you!*
>
>
> *The Rift atop the High Chwaer Peaks must be being used by whatever forces are tearing our world asunder.  As Elzarin and Theomar closed the gate before, you must try again.  It is known that they had used Tarbin, Styree, Orz and Hahmgill before, but they did not have the complication of this “Dream” stream feeding it.   This strange white or blue stream must be the key somehow.  The symbols will stem the tide as long as they are inscribed, but finding the source and somehow breaking its connection with the gate must also be part of the solution.*
>
>
> *When you encounter the Gate, you must find a way to fly or scale the structure to place the four main Symbols as near to the streams as possible.  In particular, make sure the symbol for Styree is quite close to the “Dream” stream.  It is possible that your item from the Shade Folk, this Gauntlet, will allow one to travel on this “Dream” stream, but unless you have contact with the gauntlet, I believe that touching the Styree will be the only way to travel upon this stream.*
>
>
> *As I recall, there is a simple **Scribe** cantrip which can be used by any with arcane, natural or religious power to quickly inscribe a stone with a symbol, such as what you may need.  It requires touching the stone, but it will be perfectly inscribed and can adhere to many surfaces for a time.  This may be useful for keeping the spawning streams from leaving the gate for a time.  Scribe may only last a few minutes on the Gate, but it should be sufficient during a battle.  If you do not know this cantrip, I shall quickly transfer my knowledge to you so you can pass it to others.*
>
>
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> *I hope I will be able to speak to you at least one more time before you reach the High Peaks.  The magic atop the peaks is mutated and destructive due to the streams of magic and dreams that are present, let alone the large gate that threatens to release the Unraveler into our world.*
>
>

The *Dreamwarden* did supply the party with enough information on how to perform the **Scribe** cantrip and how it would be useful. The party was also hopeful that perhaps they would be able to contact the distance near supernatural friend once more before they reached the *Gate* near the summit of the highest peaks.

## Climbing into the Cold Unknown

The next morning, the party rose and investigated their situation here atop the stairs from the **Ûtan Magnok Necropolis**. The stairs had turned into an unused path, barely visible in the rocks, wet earth and traces of snow, flattening into a wide trail shouldered by high rock formations. In the distance, the highesst peaks rose over the next rows of hills, clouds hovering between the lesser and more majestic peaks of the region.

The more acute surivors of the party, Aterian and Freya, could deermine that this path, although somewhat normal, was enclosed in hills that were not completely normal. There was little wind at the floor of this canyon, but it was clear the the air towards the top of the canyon was moving in a way that made little sense to the natural world. There were many forces at work in the *Chwaer Peaks*, countering what would already be dangerous for peaks of this altitude. *Wubba* had thought of sending *Cooper* up to take a better look from on high, but the dread that the noble pigeon possessed about the idea caused Wubba to refrain from sending his faithful follower on such a trek. The winds and clouds swirled about in a frenzy, just above the cliff line, giving both gnome and fowl some consternation.

The path continued its slow ascent through the rising valley, without sign of another being or beast. At long last, Zak espied something across their path in the distance. It appeared there were some crossed spears with the banners of some Ûr clans staked into the ground. Zak went ahead to take a closer look before the party was entangled in whatever they might face, but it appeared that these spears and banners were rather normal, planted somewhat recently - perhaps a month or so ago - and that the banners were marked with the symbols for **Clan Iz'Gaag** and **Clan Zahdj**. Only a few meters beyond the spears, the path opened into a large bowl, with swirling winds and snow making visibility quite difficult for all save Freya and Aterian. In the distance, they could see another path leading into the mountains, but the party took its time and care crossing the bowl to make sure no one was lost and that every member could safely reach the path on the far side.

Not long after the party reached the other side, they noticed there were a few humanoid footprints in the mud and snow. Freya could ascertain that the footprints were made by 3 different humanoids, though each was about 6' in height, well-booted, with a relatively normal gait in such conditions. What Wubba and Zak could ascertain was that it was very, very cold, both becoming a bit more brittle and tender in the frigid weather. To aleviate their stress, the party camped for the night, with Kazin providing a stone barrier for shelter, just in case someone or something came knocking.

Fortunately, the party's rest was uneventful, and with some delicious morning grub prepared by Freya, everyone was warm, fed and ready for another day of climbing through the cold. As the party continued their ascent, the walls of the valley through which they climbed grew tighter, increasing the wind while decreasing the visibility. Aterian and Freya both noticed that there was some unnatural conditions present as their visible range had dropped significantly rather than extending, given the rush of the winds through the valley. Nonetheless, the party progressed, trying to stay warm enough to continue with resting.

The path began to break through some of the clouds that were swirling at the lower altitude, and then began to turn briefly, sharply rising towards a fake summit. As they climbed out of the wind and heavy clouds, Freya was able to discern that there were now more footprints left recently - perhaps twenty different people, although not more than 5 to 10 at a time. The party began to consider what they would do should they run into such a group, for they did not wish their presence known, even if they could dispatch a group of Ûr patrols without too much trouble. A moment later, Zak told the party to take cover, for it was clear to him that a ways up ahead, there were at least two Ûr heading their way. The party dashed for some concealment behind some nearby boulders while Zak magically stepped ahead to get a better look. The drow returned, indicating that there were only two soldiers in the patrol. He was not yet sure of their clan, but he was sure that they had not detected the party as of yet. Now the party had only a little time to determine what they would do with this patrol. If they killed them, they might reveal their presence, so they now thought about other options.

The skulls, that the party had received as part of the battles and duels they had been a part of in the Ûtan Magnok Necropolis, had the ability to magically *Suggest* a course of action with the living Ûr being somewhat vulnerable to such direction. When the patrol reached the position where the party was hiding, Brocktharian and Hormish jumped out from behind the boulders and invoked the spirits of the Skulls, demanding that the patrols continued on their way, ignoring the presence of hunters of Chimera that they had run into. The patrol fell victim to the magical suggestion completely. Furthermore, Aterian magically *dominated* the patrol to further influence them, asking them to give the party more information on where their camps were and how far they were.

The patrol, *Skaedidj* and *Uthran*, who were simple soldiers of **Clan Voglok**, had come from a camp about 12 hours away, further down the mountainside to the north, not far from where the *Chwaer River* finally descends from the peaks. There were near to 300 Ûr present at the camp, comprised of **Clan Zahdj, Clan Iz'Gaag** and **Clan Voglok**. There had been some members of other clans nearby recently, around 20 from **Clan Gargunth**; but they stayed only briefly. This group of *Gargunth* were headed to the **Tunnel** and the high peaks. When asked about the *Tunnel*, they revealed that they had not traveled there, but had heard that more creatures from the *Order* were coming from the tunnel, perhaps from within, perhaps from the other side. Nevertheless, the *Tunnel* was to the south of the fake summit ahead just a little ways. The patrol also revealed that there were other patrols out. In fact about 8 people were out from the camps, watching the various paths nearby. They indicated that two people of these 8 would be present near the fake summit to watch and see who would be coming. This overwatching group was still a good distance from the fake summit, but they had a clear vantage point to make sure no one at the summit shouldn't be there. The party was content with the information, so Aterian sent the patrol further down the mountain along their normal path. This patrol would not care about the hunters they had run into, for they were looking for armies, not a small group of adventurers looking for chimera trophies.

The party continued their climb towards the fake summit without further issue. When they finally were close enough to the summit, Zak snuck up into the rocks in the open area and peered about for the overwatching patrol that *Skaedidj* and *Uthran* had spoke about. In the distance, nearly a mile away, Zak could see what he believed to be a couple soldiers relaxing along a mountain path on a distant ridge. He reported to the party what he had found, and the group discussed some ideas. As the wind was not completely horrible at this point, Wubba instructed Cooper to go to the patrol and briefly fly about their position on the far side, to at least distact this patrol for a moment while the party attempted to furtively make their way across the fake summit and back down into the foggy paths on the other side. With a fine performance by Cooper, the party adeptly traversed the fake summit and dove down into the thick fog just below, hiding their presence from another group of Ûr.

The visibility in the thick fog was tremendously reduced, but the party could see four directions towards which they could travel. From the information they had gained from Skaedidj and Uthran, they knew that the northern path would lead them towards the camps of the three clans near to the Chwaer River, in the lower foothills of the peaks opening into the northern steppes. The path to the southwest was said to travel to the lower mountains of the Chwaer Peaks, towards a great cluster of Ûr camps both mustering for an assault to the south, and guarding an ancient entrance to the peaks once used by invaders of the Mote. The path to the east would take the party to the location of where the overwatching patrol was present. Lastly, the path to the southeast was said to lead to the *Tunnel* which the patrol spoke about, and perhaps a way to the highest peaks. The party was here for a reason, and it wasn't to hunt chimera, so they headed towards the tunnel and whatever might await them.

The path to the southeast became strange after only a few hundred yards. Aterian and Freya were highly confused by the appearance of the walls of the path they were taking. These walls were quite unnatural and distrubing, but this was the path that they were destined to take. The fog was heavy through the gorge they were climbing, and the cold was frigid, returning a chill to several party members.

The party sought one more moment of refuge before continuing. The party was cold enough to warrant rest, sustenance and warmth, so Kazin again built a shelter for the party so that they may have solace for another moment before they encountered more bizarre environs and whatever the *Tunnel* had in store for them.

Nothing disturbed the party's rest, other than their tasks ahead, and soon they were off again. Only an hour or two later, it appeared before them, that there was some strange semi-natural arch above their trail. A weird, almost organic stone arch, crossed the gorge, with a massive spherical smooth stone in the center. The stone had an engraving carved deep into it. Although the party had not seen the symbols present in the engraving in quite some time, they were quite familiar with the circle of 7 stars and the swirl in the center. This was the symbol of the *Order of the Silent Fist*, the followers of the *Unraveler* and the grand demon, *Uthargot*.

As unnerving as it was to have a symbol of their foe above their heads, the party was well aware that this was their path forward, and it was a clear indicator of who or what they would face in the battles ahead. The party strode forward below the symbol, and onward on their path through the peaks.

The gorge through which they were travelling continued to be cold and bewildering. The cliff walls barely appeared natural at times. Sometimes it could seem that the walls were faces watching the party, yet always made of the rocks and minerals that could be expected to be found in these peaks. Further along the path, the party began to see great smooth boulders, almost like massive river stones yet where no river had ever been. Zak's hearing was so astute, that he heard these great stones thrumming...ever humming...in some very low and disturbing tone. Although curious, Zak knew that investigating these tones may not bode well for him nor the party, and they moved on.

Further on, the floor of this gorge became smoother, and the strange thrumming boulders became larger. As the frequency of the boulders increased, the party now noted another natural arch ahead. Step by step, the party moved forward until they observed that this was not just an arch, but potentially the start of a tunnel. They could barely see inside from their distance, but the tunnel appeared to head straight through the center of a mountain, giving the party no idea of how far the tunnel would actually be. Everything in the peaks had been quite strange, so why would the tunnel be any different?

The party approached the tunnel's entrance and saw a deep, darkness ahead. Not complete magical darkness, but definitely something unnatural in the way that vision would be working ahead. The party walked forward into the tunnel and headed for whatever awaited beyond in its depths.

## The Tunnel in the Peaks

The tunnel became much more narrow as they progressed into the mountain, such that only two members, or a single Freya, could walk abreast along the path.

The vision, even with the excellent vision of the Drow, Zak, was somewhat limited, more than likely by some kind of enchantment present in this delving.

Although the walls of the tunnel were still somewhat strange, like those outside in the open gorge, the party now was able to see something different, and almost certainly crafted by humanoid hands.

Embedded into the walls on both sides of the corridor of the tunnel were stone panels, each with different engravings.

Six of these panels contained a strange drawing and a clan symbol below it.

The party recognized the symbols as indicating their tie to clans **Thong'Fa, Tuvahn, Ab'Ankh, Iz'Gaag, Gargunth** and **Voglok**.

    Yet the other symbol or drawing present within the panel was unfamiliar.

The final panel had each of the clan symbols on it and an inscription in ***Ûr Speak*** that Freya was able to determine. The writing read as follows:

```
Sing to honor one of the six

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Not to repeat

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Makes less danger

```

The party had been using the clan tones all through the Ûtan Magnok Necropolis, so they were pretty confident about their performances. Even so, Wubba and Zak had mostly figured out the tonal codex present in the **The Ûr Across Eirethune** by *Ismajad Kahdgree,* so they would be able to aptly judge how well the performers were actually attempting to recreate the tones.

Brocktharian, Freya and Kazin decided to head to three different panels and began to utter the corresponding tone associated with the clan on the panel. Then each started moving to different locations right next to the obscuring membrane of the room. Kazin uttered his chosen clan tone again and walked through the veil.

As he did so, he was momentarily suspended in time as he hung out over a black abyss. Fortunately however, a strange trans-dimensional floor began to quickly materialize under Kazin's foot. A few moments later and Kazin was able to stand and perceive his new surroundings. The new floor was oddly shaped, or maybe the trans-dimensional nature of the new space was disrupting Kazin's perception. Almost immediately thereafter, it came to Kazin that this was exactly like the **Blending Circle** from long ago. Granted, there were no Ûr there, but the creation of floors followed the same manner. Perhaps there were strange otherworlders that were to appear in this space as they had in the *Blending Circle.* Kazin had unsettling memories of that circle, as it was there where he became intertwined with an otherworlder under the control of *Uthargot*. If it wasn't for the party defeating the otherworlder, Kazin may have been possessed forever.

Brocktharian and Freya followed suit, walking into the obscure transdimensional space, resounding each of their clan tones. And as they did so, different floor spaces materialized below them, creating a bridge for the rest of the party to move upon. For a minute or so, this continued, until Hormish noticed a being walking through the veils of the room, slowly coming into focus. At first it was difficult for him to determine what sort of creature was moving towards him, until, in a brief instant, Hormish fully recognized the creature. It was a *Hokanahn,* an otherworlder that the party had encounted at *Barren Biergen Keep*. Both the party and the Ûr had fought this creature of the dark; one that could shower shards of necrotic damage upon its foes from a decent range. The party pulled back, allowing Hormish and Brocktharian to ready themselves and provide a buffer before the *Hokanahn* reached the space upon which they stood.
Tindora sent off sling bullets and Kazin conjured magic missiles to start damaging the creature as it approached. The Hokanahn returned by attempting to engulf Brock and Hormish with a *Sickening Necrosis* that would have certainly been debilitating if the two were not so robust in defending themselves.

As the two prepared for direct melee with the creature, Zak and Freya noticed another creature moving through the darkness from the south. Here, they espied a creature they had seen at the *Blending Circle,* the perplexing hybrid demonic creature known as the *Marchiosas*. Freya immediately pulled out *Fast* and *Furious,* and threw them with deadly aim against the creature. It was severely damaged, but it nevertheless continued its progress towards the others.