Session 21 Recap

The MediaWiki:Badtitletext awoke in Aligar's Fist and headed over to the Maw Hunter's Camp to
accompany them into the Stoneshaw Hills. They had five tasks in the forefront
of their minds:

1. Find the pack of Winter Wolves that had been reported as being too far south and destroy them. They were said to be in the vicinity of Hanging Fang Hill.
2. Find out why the Stone Giants in Craggend had stopped responding to the garrison at Aligar's Fist and negotiate for the supply of Tiamutan Stone for Eyjara.
3. Deliver the 1000GP payment to the Fire Giants in Hammerkill and escort the shipment of Adamantine weapons back.
4. Collect 10 Mammoth Furs for Vedesta.
5. Investigate Hanging Fang Hill in Hammerkill to the location where the map referring to Baldanay was directing them.

They decided they
would hunt the Winter Wolves and so Jetodahal supplied them with Maw Hunter's
Cloaks to help keep out the worst of the cold. They then set off east with the
Maw Hunters into the wild. After several hours of travelling through the hinterlands
of Tiamuts Maw, they heard a loud barking in the distance and were soon
ambushed by three Yetis. They quickly dispatched the largest of the three, and
gravely wounded the second largest before a very small yeti ran  through a barrage of attacks in order to
reach its mother. This mother and child were then subjected to a merciless
slaughter and the Defenders jovially continued on their way. After another
couple of hours of trudging through the snow, Jetodahal led them down out of
the mountains and the snow became less deep. He told them they were now within
the area known as Hammerkill and then left with the rest of the Maw Hunters to
go and investigate reports of marauding orcs to the north west. The Defenders
continued towards Hanging Fang Hill and came upon an icy lake, with a large
snow covered island in the centre. Next to the lake they saw a small collection
of skulls, and Stuff was able to pick up a scent and lead the Defenders to a
cave thirty minutes west of the lake. They cautiously entered, and discovered
there were charred bones all over the floor. The cave then forked in two
directions; the left path leading down, and the right path leading up. Between
the two was a strange language that appeared to be a combination of infernal,
gnollish and kobold. It said the word "offering". Pelios cast
comprehend languages and realised that the word "offering" had
slightly different meanings in each of the languages; but it likely meant
"sacrifice". Shadow snuck up the right hand path and discovered
carvings along the walls of kobolds, gnolls and finally a dragon. Directly
ahead of him was a room with a stone slab in the centre, and red stains running
down either side. Pelios decided it would be a good idea to give a blood
offering on this alter, and sliced into his captive mimic. On doing so there
was a great rumble from the deep, and a hoard of hideous mutated creatures
started to pour around the corner at the bottom of the stairs. The Defenders
threw water down the stairs and froze it; creating an icy slide which the
mutants would have to make their way up. A mad scramble occurred, with the
Defenders handily seeing off the mutants who managed to make it up the steps.
However, just as they thought the battle won, a giant mutated mass of blood,
bone, teeth and flesh oozed its way up the wall at the bottom of the stairs. It
was almost upon them, but the Defenders managed to kill it just before it
reached them. Before they could celebrate, the Defenders heard more creatures
approaching from below and they sprinted out of the cave into the wintry dusk,
the sounds of screaming hatred close behind them and light from torches
flickering in the darkness.