Frozen Secrets

28th Febuary 2023

Word has reached the Guild that the wreckage of a merchant caravan has been found on the mountain path through the Pinborough Peaks, between Glimmergate and the East Ridings. The rather large set of footprints found near the scene, and scattered reports of a strange wild-man watching travelers in the area, suggest it might be worth taking a look...

## Adventurers Attending

* Sharian Naetris
* Rain
* Jiff
* Graveltooth

## Mission Notes

A familiar face has returned to Otha’s Rest- none other than the esteemed bard, the classy Tabaxi himself, Ambrose Felurian! The now-retired fluffy diva, who only a short few months ago abandoned the adventuring life for a less risky occupation helping his brother run a textiles import/export business, has returned from Glimmergate. His reason? Well…mostly extreme boredom.Turns out, he is opening a swanky new up-market entertainment venue on the edge of the Mansion District, and herein lies the rub; the merchant caravan he sent from Glimmergate to Otha’s rest, carting an assortment of fine and expensive goods to deck out his fancy bar, has been waylaid upon the road. Riders sent out had reported wreckage upon the mountain road through the Pinborough Peaks, accompanied by a large and ominous footprint nearby at which they just noped out of there. Best send the toughest of the Guild to investigate!

The party, consisting of Graveltooth, Sharian, Rain and Jiff, set out via Rain's Teleportation chocker to a teleportation circle hidden in a cave near Gnome-Town and after a few hours trek they neared the last reported location of the merchants. But a few miles out, they crossed into a sudden change in the weather, and all was blanketed in snow; Sharian and Jiff identified it as a powerful Control Weather spell. With the help of Lolan, Sharian spotted the smashed remains of the wagons. Near the smashed remains of the wagons Rain found a trail of Giant footprints, and the almost-concealed prints of men and large wolves, which led them into the shadow of the mountain.

They discovered a sinkhole that had collapsed an entryway into a passage deeper into the mountain, but before they could enter were met with a contingent of strange cave-men, with cold blue-grey skin and pale blue eyes, and a trio of Winter Wolves, who were guarding the entrance. These were swiftly dispatched, no match for the seasoned Guild veterans. (Although, an incident with Graveltooth’s cursed axe nearly was)

On descending into the sinkhole, they passed onto a large stone stairway leading down; or rather, two stairways side-by-side, one made for Giants and one made for men. Rain detected an extra-planar portal somewhere deeper into the mountain, just before Graveltooth went on ahead and discovered one of the corpses of the cave-men they had fought before, which had been dragged down and eviscerated by something while the group had rested above.

Barely perturbed, Graveltooth charged ahead and banged upon a massive set of wooden doors at the bottom of the stairs, calling out a challenge to whoever was beyond. A confused “Unga Bunga?” was heard through the door- then a click- then a crash of boulders being released from a trap high above. Moderately irked, Graveltooth (with Jiff’s help) hacked through the barricaded doors, and were met with a strange sight indeed.

A huge banquet hall stood beyond. At the far end stood a Giant-sized table behind which sat an immobile Frost Giant Zombie and two massive skeletons, looming over everything. The Giants wore the biggest bear-skins the party had ever seen, but had additionally been swathed in reams of fine silks and tapestries from the chests that had been ransacked by the many cave-men that also filled the room. The cave-men occupied two long banquet tables, and were decked out in all manner of fine clothes and jewellery, worn over their furs. The tables bore something akin to a feast, although it was really just various ingredients strewn across them messily completely uncooked. The cave-men seemed to be trying to enjoy the bounty, but also confused, like they were having to concentrate very hard on it. A trio of them tortured some instruments loudly in the corner, which nobody tried to stop.

Before the Giant’s table, a large grim-faced cave-man sat. He introduced himself as Chieftain Barbog Largebear, and welcomed the party to the hall of clan Ursin. He invited the group to pay homage to the Greatbears, the Giants behind him. On being questioned by the party about their intercepting of the merchants and their wares, he stated that they had merely been asserting their right to claim what was on their lands; something they had not been doing for an age, after falling victim to a hag’s curse. Their Greatbear masters had slighted the hag, who cursed them into undeath, and the wild-men into remaining with them in perpetual cold and boredom. It was only a recent cave-in that had weakened the magic and allowed them to venture onto the surface, where they and their undead Giants had been pillaging interlopers, as is their custom.

Unfortunately for them, the curse seemed to not allow them full enjoyment of what they had taken. Barbog told the party that the curse could be lifted by simply killing them in glorious combat, or by killing the hag; but he would not allow them to simply pass by to get to the hag without his men feeling the full joy of life once more. He simply asked that the party entertain them, and if their entertainment was good enough he would allow them past unscathed to catch the hag unawares.

Graveltooth and Jiff. declined, preferring to entertain the cursed men by fighting them until properly dead. Rain and Sharian caught up with the two who had ran ahead not fully knowing what was going on apart from battle. They fought the clan until dead so, and as he crumbled into snow, Barbog Largebear of Clan Ursin thanked them for releasing them. The merchants were saved, some of the expensive wares were returned to Ambrose, and Graveltooth found a big bear-shaped magic hammer, (although his very cursed axe may not approve).

Before they left, the group found a disturbing sight down another stairway beyond; what looked to be a hag’s abode, containing the violently dismembered remains of a couple of merchants that didn’t make it. The presence of a few vials of Frost Salamander secretions, and many large tunnels from some burrowing beastie, and the knowledge that an extra-planar portal was somewhere nearby, means that it might be a good idea for the Guild to return in the future.

## Loot

* Standard Gold and Experience
* Bag of Beans - Karn
* “Coldforger” hammer. The Sunforger magic hammer, but it deals a cold damage burst instead of fire - Graveltooth
* 4x Potions of Frost Resistance, derived from Frost Salamander secretions.

## Rumours

* Hunt the Frost-hag and her pets;
* Find/close the portal;
* Why does Sharian's harmless demi-plane from Banishment spell have a friendly and helpful staff-member with a name-tag? (R.I.P Todd and Jeremy, who just wanted to do a good job but received a berserk Gruumsh-worshipping barbarian instead).