Session 3 (09/17/2021)

## Day Two, Midday

**The** adventurers take a short rest to recover a bit after their skirmish with the animated snowmen. The air feels like it's getting colder, and they can hear rocks falling in the distance. Dove determines that the rocks are falling on the path leading up to Mount Frost. Kaz checks the cart tracks going up the path to Mount Tyr, and the party agrees to take this route to find the shaman.

Shortly after they start up the path to Mount Tyr, the adventurers hear a quiet, dazed groan come from a pile of boulders back on the path to Mount Frost. Holly sees a green figure through the gaps in the rocks, and Swage and Kaz rush over to toss the boulders aside. The party is amazed to find a green, scaly figure with hair that looks almost like dried seaweed. Their eyes are closed, but Dove asks their name and if they're okay. The figure opens her eyes, says her name is Esha, and that she was trapped under the rockslide while she was ice fishing. She also says she hadn't eaten in days. Dove offers her a ration pack, and Swage hands her a sweet roll leftover from breakfast. Gary offers her a selection from his generous amount of pocket meat, but she seems repulsed. Gary shrugs and starts to eat a piece himself. While Esha eats the rations and the sweet roll, Swage does a quick medicine check on her. She seems to be fine - no physical damage or broken bones - but Swage has never seen anyone like her. She is a mix of racial traits that he frankly finds quite biologically confusing.

Pele asks Esha where she was coming from and how she ended up here. Esha explains that she had recently left the forest and has been traveling on her own for the past ten days. She chalked it up to a bit of wanderlust, and when Dove asks if the poster brought her here, Esha replies that she's never seen any poster. Gary asks if she's seen any weird green clouds, or a fancy cheetah man, had been licked by a shaman or had died recently. Esha in return asks Gary to "define death," which gives him something to think about as he chews his pocket meat. Dove tries to regale Esha with the story of the attacking snowmen, but Esha doesn't understand the concept of a snowman. Dove's less-than-stellar recreation of a snowman doesn't clear anything up.

Esha sees Swage unsuccessful determine what "east" is and looks over at Dove's predator-like teeth and claws but decides to join the party anyway.

The group returns to the path and begins climbing toward Mount Tyr. The air starts to feel heavier and thicker as they ascend, and it's getting more difficult for everyone to breathe. They finally come to an open clearing with an old, crumbling bridge crossing a chasm. It looks like a newer bridge is under construction, but it's not close to being complete. Dove's ears twitch and she can hear scuffling in the snow on the ledge above them, like a small creature is crunching through the frost. Esha picks up a chunk of ice and whips it expertly at the source of the sound. The group hears a sharp yelp and a small thud as a fluffy white bundle falls off the ledge. Kaz gives Esha a hearty "great job!" clap on the back, which nearly knocks her to the ground. Esha recovers and runs to the creature. She picks up a tiny ball of white fluff, with a swishy tail, big ears, round eyes, and a silver stripe running through its fur. The foxlike creature tries to bite Esha, but it just doesn't have the energy.

Kaz and Swage attempt to calm the animal while Gary looks for any injuries. The little fox has a broken leg, and a minor concussion, and is feeling intense fear and pain. Gary quickly snaps the bones back into place, causing the fox to yelp and pass out. Gary splints its leg and hands the bundle to Kaz. The party names the fox Jorge and Kaz drapes it around his shoulders like a stole.

Holly goes to check out the bridge and starts to loudly complain about the shoddy workmanship and total lack of skill and passion that went into creating this bridge. He's certain no dwarf could ever craft such an embarrassment and even the oh-so-perfect elves wouldn't even make something this awful. Holly concludes some primal race like Lizardfolk or kobolds crafted it, as it shows a total lack of comprehension of basic stonework.

Dove hears some snuffling over the edge of the chasm. She creeps to the ledge and peeks over to see three dire wolves and one unusual large dire wolf. The wolves are hunting small rodents in the snow, and Dove knows that the pack could quickly turn on the party if they aren't careful. Pele uses mage hand to knock some snow off a bush on the other side of the chasm. As the wolves investigate the movement, the party quickly sneaks up a stone staircase and away from the wolves.

At the top of the staircase, the group sees an open area with a stone archway. As they get closer, the adventures notice the archway is decorated with intricate groups of bones and skulls of all sorts. Gary, the party's bone sommelier, inspects the bones. He's heard about certain types of "healers" who use an impractical and imprecise way of the weave to heal, almost like alternative medicine. These "healers" weren't common in populated areas with enough resources, but they could sometimes be found in rural areas. Gary picks out a nice, small skull and drops it in his cloak with the pocket meat. "Classic Gary," Swage laughs.

Pele searches for any signs of life, but she's still exhausted from being knocked unconscious by a snowman, so she's not able to concentrate. The arrangement is giving her a very creepy vibe. Swage puts Gond's guidance over Holly while the dwarf checks for traps, but none were found. Dove tossed a snowball through the archway. When nothing awful seems to happen, the party passes through the archway and continues up the trail.

The path is getting steeper, and the ice is getting slicker. Esha, Gary, and Holly start to slip, but with help from the others, everyone makes it to the next level area. The area is bowl-shaped, set down in the walls of the mountain around them. Snow is beginning to fall, but the group can see two large stone figures standing across the way. There's also an enormous low relief carving on the far face of the mountain, depicting an imposing man with long white hair, skirted armor, and a halo above his head. He holds a large sword hand, and his other hand is missing. There is also a large hammer at his side.

Pele sees a small figure sitting at the foot of the relief. She looks through the spyglass, and although she doesn't see anything magical, she can see a hunched form huddle near a crackling campfire. They are wearing wooly clothes that look handmade and large feathered headdress. Pele can also see their skin is rough and scaly, like a reptilian. She puts the spyglass away, and tells the party, "I think we found our shaman."

Esha walks towards the hunched form, with Holly close behind. The pair stops about four feet away, but the figure doesn't react. The only noise is the snapping and popping of the fire. The reptilian is sitting cross-legged in a meditation-type pose and Esha copies the pose in hopes of finding them on another plane, but with no success. Holly is frustrated by a lack of response, so he continues to examine the low relief. It's the most beautiful carving he has ever seen. It's absolute perfection, and even though it was most likely around 100 years old, it would last many more centuries due to its expert craftsmanship.

Holly taunts the huddled figure, suggesting there was no way they carved the relief since the bridges the party encountered were so shoddily built. He still can't get a response, so Holly heads over to look at the large stone figures. They are blocky with large arms, wearing a headband without feathers. Holly sees they're just as poorly built as the bridges.

Gary joins Esha and gently places his hand on the reptilian figure's back. At the lightest touch, the figure's head falls off. Wide-eyed, Gary quickly grabs the desiccated head and sets it back on the figure's shoulders. Swage calls out, "Great! No, our shaman's HEADS are falling off!!" While Gary tries to steady the wobbly head, he can see that the head had been ripped from the body and then the body was drained of blood.

The adventurers then hear a low, echoing chuckle. It muses, "How interesting. So, this is who they've chosen. You six and this.... interesting one."

The group is terrified and desperately wants to run, but they're frozen in place - paralyzed with fear. Behind them, there rises a towering figure, with skin as black as a moonless night. Fiery cracked lines scatter across his body like lightning, and his one visible eye displays a shattered, star-shaped pupil. Time seems to slow down as he effortlessly glides towards the adventurers. He brushes by Dove, flicking at her fulgurite necklace. Dove hears a cruel, dismissive voice ringing in her ears. "She can't help you now. Maybe one day you'll be worthy." Next, he passes by Pele. A condescending voice taunts the Genasi. "What would your family think of you now?"

The haunting figure turns to face the terrified adventurers. "The Astral God will rise, and when He does, He will open the gates and cause calamity like He should have done ten thousand years ago. You are on borrowed souls." He then dematerializes into a noxious green cloud and disappears.

As the adventurers snap out of their paralysis, Holly has a flashback to being in town as a fog rolled in, accompanied by the sound of laughter. Pele is fuming. The snow around her begins to melt as she stomps over to the deceased shaman. She angrily rifles through their clothing and finds an unusual dagger, a letter sealed with wax, and a necklace with a small pouch containing bits of plants and leaves. Pele tosses the pouch to Esha and uses the dagger to slice through the wax seal and open the letter. It appears to be written to Shasta from the shaman. In common, Pele reads that the shaman had been consulting with the spirits, and what is happening to the town is not a magical or natural occurrence.

Swage attempts to detect any magic, but he is unable to cast the spell. He feels like he almost can't access the weave itself to begin to conjure a spell. Instead, he takes out his notebook and begins to sketch the figure in the relief carving. As his pencil moves on the paper, Swage's hand begins to shake, and his heart starts racing. Each heartbeat feels like a hammer striking an anvil, and every strike is more excruciating than the last. His vision begins to change, and he feels like he's in an unfamiliar, but somehow also familiar, place as a purple haze clouds his vision. Stones and rocks float in the air around him and an aurora shimmers above. He sees blurry figures in the distance, enough to make an entire army. As Swage tries to catch his breath, a thundering boom strikes down as if from the mighty hammer of Gond himself. His body convulses. He can hear a familiar voice and sees a small girl with tiny hands but no visible face. She calls his name as another hammer strike comes crashing down, and Swage falls unconsciously into the snow.

The adventurers see Swage collapse in the snow and begin convulsing, and they come running to help him. Gary rolls Swage on his side and holds the firbolg so he can't injure himself. Swage's convulsions stop, and though his eyes don't open, Gary sees that he is breathing and stable. Gary holds Swage close and shouts his name to the heavens, while Pele wonders if he's experiencing some time-released bean damage.

Holly notices an interesting symbol carved at the base of the relief carving. He takes out his notebook to copy the shape - an odd letter shaped like an arrow pointing upwards, and the letters Z I U. Gary goes to take the shaman's head, but Pele glares at him while he puts it back down. As soon as Pele turns away, Gary quickly stashes the head in his meat pocket. Holly keeps the wax sealing stamp and Esha grabs the shaman's feathered headdress. Swage is still unconscious, and the group is unsure how to move him down the mountain. Gary tosses a sugar cube in the Firbolg's mouth and helps him crunch and swallow it. Swage sits bolt upright, asking if anyone had seen that creepy girl.

With everyone on their feet, the group begins the trek down the mountain and back to town. A loud howl rises from the chasm below, along with the sounds of barking and panting. The wolves are back. As the adventurers prepare for a fight, Kaz's cheeks are clapping like the drums of war.

Dove, Pele, and Swage get in a few hits before the wolves are on them. The wolves focus their attacks on Kaz and Dove, while Holly and Pele rain arrows and firebolts down on the wolves. As a wolf leaps to attack Kaz, Holly launches an arrow into its open mouth, killing it on the spot. Kaz takes a swing at another wolf, but a misplaced strike causes his beloved maul to break in two. Swage takes a big swing, smashing the largest wolf with his mace then shield-checking it into a lifeless pile of fur. Kaz channels his rage at a leaping wolf, slicing its snarling head right through the middle in revenge for his broken maul. The final wolf falls to Pele's magic missile, and the adventurers breathe a sigh of relief. Dove snags a tuft of the large wolf's tail fur before Esha buries the remains of the wolfpack.

The light is getting softer on the mountain path, and the adventurers make their way back to town.