Scene 3: The Unquiet Dead
The group decides to explore the Ice Caves, alleged resting place of the Faces in the Rock. The King provides them with supplies and a guide for their journey.
The caves were carved out of the rock by the movements of the Great Glacier, a forty mile long mass of ice and rock. They were used in ancient times by the ancestors of the Mountain People but now the glacier is melting. Great rivulets run down into the valley and more and more of the caves are exposed by its retreat. Taking the plunge ahead the group find themselves walking in tunnels of ice. The ice has trapped many strange creatures, monstrous lizards with giant teeth and humans. It’s as if the ice formed instantly, freezing everything in its path.
The group makes good progress through the caves, Artemis takes point and even Morn manages to contribute to their travels. Things are going well until the party stumbles on a large group of slavering ghouls released from the ice and hungry for blood. They flee through the tunnels ghouls snapping at their heels into yet another problem, a patrol of spectral warriors. Thinking fast Chiniko convinces the warriors that Morn is the new rightful King of the Mountain People and spectre and ghoul clash in vicious combat. While they are busy with each other the party slip away.
They are close now, the ice is still thick but the rocks are growing warmer. The chamber of the Faces in the Rock lies not far away. Assamber decides to open their way. This region was struck hard by the Ritual of Vintu, an ancient immortal who imprisoned the Elder Dragons and ended the reign of Vulcan with a magical ice age. Remnants of his ritual remain and Assamber tries to tie together those threads. Something goes wrong though and the ritual reacts with his own link to the power of Chaos through the spellstorm. The ice shatters but from it burst a mass of undead, fast moving ghouls, rotting rending lizard like creatures and an enormous undead thunder lizard.
Battle is joined and Morn manages to lock down the thunder lizard. The smaller creatures prove to be fast and dangerous but the ghouls cannot withstand Azhantis combined draconic breath and undead turning power. The battle is short and bloody but the party stand victorious. Taking the last stair they enter the first truly rocky chamber only to be faced with the biggest Dragon they have yet seen. At least sixty feet long the creature dominates the room and its head rises to bore into Morns soul. “They are waiting for you, choose your companions wisely” it says as it shifts aside revealing a narrow opening.
The group enters the final chamber. Here, carved into the rock, are a dozen enormous faces. Their voices whisper through the room and as the group approach they begin to speak Morn’s name. He paces from one to the next. “Who are you?” he asks. “We are the Lords of Storm, trapped here by Vintu the betrayer, forced to protect his precious Heart of Maran Gor, release us.” “How” he calls out. “Find the Heart son of Mirta, but be quick. He has hidden it in the Temple within Iceholme, a fragment of your homeworld, as your people brought us with them so we brought it with us. Seek out the Heart quickly and release us for even now Chaos assaults the Temple” “I have conditions, I keep the Heart and the Choosing stops” he demands. “Agreed, release us and we will drive the usurper tieflings from the Holy City” “One last thing, you see what happens to your people, how did my grandfather die” “Vala the Queen feared he would lose his Throne by rebelling against the Gods. It was her hand that let the poison slip into his cup.”
The bargain made the group heads out of the Caves and returns to Valberg to prepare to face the mountain.
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