Seamus wanted to skin two of the huge wolves and take their pelts. Given our haste he decided to wait for the return trip. The cavern continued west then turned sharply north. It was misty due to the increasing cold and the hallways seemed to be well and recently traveled.

Flint, Cathal, Gonchar and Seamus made saves of some sort. Flint heard growling and chanting to the west, where we had not yet gone. We changed course and headed west in response and Menka readied a blessing just in case. Dousing our light sources to see if there were any heat signatures ahead, we saw none.

We heard something coming from the west and Menka blessed the party. We entered a room to find a bloated male human corpse nailed to a pillar, torso only. The head was some sort of animal and raw meat hung from its antlers and filled its eye sockets. A nearby priest turned to greet us. 4 creatures attacked us - hairy, white, 6-legged reptilian lions - knop-kes! We had seen all this and more, elsewere.

• initiative loss
• front ranks engaged in the narrow room
• they missed and then hit Gonchar for 16 points
• the priest touched Gonchar, causing the dwarf to be held
• Cathal hit one of the foul creatures for 14 points
• Seamus mugged one for 16 points as well
• Tim cast Evard’s’s Black Testicles, grasping the foul cleric and doing 35 points of damage to him!
• Lycovyne pricked one of them with his sword for 6 points
• Kyril cast heat metal on the priest’s armor \wtf
• Menka cast remove paralysis on Gonchar, freeing him, praise Thoth!
• “Amen! Amen, brother! A-fucking-men!” – Gonchar
• initiative tie
• Seamus nailed a creature for 7 more points
• the cleric yelled “Wend walker!!! Ithaqua!!!” at the top of his lungs right before he expired from taking 60 more points from Evard’s’s testicles. He seemed to also crush some kind of orb while shouting.
• Gonchar got hit for 6 more points
• Cathal and Lycovyne got hit for 2 points
• Menka prepared flame strike
• Gonchar nailed one of the creatures for 29 points of damage
• Lycovyne and Kyril both sucked via the same table
• Tim cast hold monster and 2 of the 4 creatures were held
• the creature on the totem pole animated and came to unlife, of course
• Tim sent a 29-point fireball to the back of our opponents
• the creatures missed Lycovyne but hit Seamus for 5 more points
• the druid hit one for 5 points with his staff
• Gonchar hit one for 11 more
• Seamus returned fire for 12 points!
• Cathal nailed one of the beasties for 13 points
• Menka cast his flame strike but the ugly fuckers resisted it!
• initiative win
• Tim zapped the frankenbeast with a volley of magic missiles - it resisted some of them but took 33 points of damage
• Lycovyne hit one of the knop-ke with a natural 18 with his sharp sword, lopping off a claw and doing 12 points of damage
• Tim, Menka and Flint saw a squad of cold ogres approaching to join the fight
• Gonchar go too close to the frankenbeast and took 2 points of cold damage
• Cathal saw an apparition of Ithaqua forming from a cold mist in the background
• Menka applied some Oil of Impact to his +3 flail
• Seamus brained a knop-ke with his flagon
• the beasties missed Kyril
• Gonchar got hit for 16 points of damage by the frankenbeast’s antlers - apparently it can attack more than one opponent at a time
• initiative win
• Tim killed all of the ogres with a lightning bolt
• Kyril hit a knop-ke for 10 points
• the knop-ke returned fire, but missed the druid
• Seamus brained another knop-ke with his flagon
• Menka got too close to the frankebeast and took 1 point of cold damage
• Cathal and Gonchar both took 4 points of cold damage
• Cathal hit the frankenbeast twice for 22 points
• Gonchar then hit it for 24 more
• Menka brained the Avatar of Ithaqua for 20 points, smashing its skull and destroying it - it dissipated
• 4 knop-ke (66, 64, {red?, ?} hp)
• insane cleric (50 hp)
• Avatar of Ithaqua, 125 hp

Cathal bound the party’s wounds with his usual aplomb. We found ourselves in a roughly circular room that may once have served as stables. A stinking, bloated, headless human corpse lay where the Avatar of Ithaqua had been struck down. Tim dispelled the flailing tentacles. The insane cleric was a mess. One boot was missing and he wore gaudy, awful costume jewelry.

We needed information about our surroundings. Kyril applied some \magic{Dust of Disappearance} and went off exploring\footnote{We knew he wouldn’t make it, the car just couldn’t take it…}. He was gone for a while, flew back through the party in the other direction, then returned a few moments later. Of course, we neither saw nor heard him fly through. Staying invisible\footnote{\emph{Dust of Disappearance}, DMG pg. 143: all attacks are by surprise and do not obviate the invisibility.}, he changed shape back into a druish elf and regained 40% of his missing HP in the process. He had seen several large caverns, brown mold, piercers and, notably, 2 large doors. A large amount of treasure lay scattered around the double doors among mounds of ice. We noted that these doors may lead into the tower.

While he was gone, we rifled through the ogres’ gear, finding a very nice two handed sword (Cathal) as well as 2,000 pieces of gold. Gonchar grabbed the cleric’s costume jewelry, thinking it would go well with his sequin-bedecked cloak and gloves.

Cathal cured Gonchar’s more critical wounds, and the dwarf regained 23 hit points. Kyril cured Cathal’s serious wounds as well, and that same Grand Knight regained 17 hit points in the process.

We decided to head toward the gigantic cavern with the ice mounds. The one they call Tim read a scroll and cast Protection from Cold\footnote{\emph{Unearthed Arcana} pg. 91}, creating a 30’ radius protection zone. We reached the cavern without incident. Once there, Cathal detected no evil in the chamber.

The White Dragon#

The cavern is full of 5 huge piles of snow, seemingly created from snowfall from small gaps in the cavern ceiling, above which the storm outside rages. Paths are cut in-between the piles, with large foot and larger claw-print visible. The room is cold, and a voice speaks from the northeast large mound. Cathal sensed no evil in the cavern. A voice came from within the snowpile:

Mighty warriors! Come to slay nasty King Rollix??

We conversed with this voice for a short while. Evidently it had been locked away down here for quite a while and would like to strike a bargain. Having been stuck down here since his mistress Lolath left, he will draw us a map of the place if we can help to gain him his freedom. After some negotiation, the party agreed. At that, a very large white dragon burst from within the northWEST mound of snow, and revealed himself.

The party offered to help him leave if he drew a map for us and vowed not to raze the countryside on his way out. The dragon introduced himself as ‘Snowstorm’. He stated that he has been waiting for his mistress for a long, long time, ever since the tentacle things swept through the cavern. He killed many of them, and has been waiting for her. He thinks she has left, but he has grown too big to leave since his mistress was last here. He stated his intention to find his mistress and that he would leave the surrounding countryside alone. Snowstorm advised that he and Lolath used to visit Aesil’s tower together.

The dragon said a nasty crew of ice ogres had in recent times taken over her stronghold. He went along with it because they occasionally fed him (“more than they know, heh, heh!”)

In answer to our query, during his long sojourn here in the icy cavern he had indeed seen a red-haired girl carried through and taken through the double-doors (he indicates the north wall), where he has not been for a long time, due to his size. He believed her to be alive as they carried her by. He wondered if they would feed her to him, but they didn’t.

Kyril planned to use stone shape to create an opening in the roof of the cavern, which would release the dragon into the night sky. Snowstorm summoned us to gather round and drew a map in the snow. One of us snapped a hi-res picture with his phone for later reference. It seemed legit.

Kyril cast his spell, creating a large opening in the cavern roof toward the entrance. Our bargain complete, the dragon pulled several chains hidden beneath the snow, which in turn pulled several other chains hidden beneath the snow and drew all of his treasure hoard to him, fashioning it as a type of belt, much to the party’s dismay. Thus accoutered, he lifted off into the sky through the stone shaped hole in the cavern roof.

In Lolath’s Chambers#

The double doors were located on the north end of the cavern. We approached them and Flint examined them closely, finding no traps. They were locked, however, and the dwarven thief was unable to pick the lock. Gonchar was able to pick the lock thanks to his Gauntlets of Dexterity(?).

The party entered a hallway running to the east and a longer hallway running to the west. To the immediate east was a door. Flint failed to open the antechamber doors, within. Gonchar failed as well. Cathal was able to open them by main force, saving the day. On the northern wall a mural depicted a female wizard riding a familar-looking dragon mount. The southern wall held a mural showing the same wizard leading ranks of eel-like insects. The female wizard depicted in the murals bore a striking resemblance to Abigail, the vampire. As of this writing Abigail’s location and status remain unknown to the party. Perhaps this Lolath was bitten by a vampire?

As we discussed the implications in hushed tones, an ice ogre appeared in our midst and fired off a breath weapon. Everyone except the cleric and the paladin saved (-2/-4 points, each). Battle ensued.

• initiative loss
• vexed at being surprised by an ogre of any description, Gonchar nailed the ugly bastard for 27 points of damage
• Seamus and Menka both missed the creature
• Kyril did not, however, and invisibly smote the creature where it stood
• ice ogre (29 hp)

Back in the hall from whence we had come, on the north wall of the hall across from the double doors, we saw the secret door from which the ice ogre had leapt. Gonchar searched the antechamber, finding nothing of interest. Back in the antechamber with the female wizard/dragon motif, a door sat in the eastern wall of that 30x30 room. Seamus found no traps on the double doors, there. The doors were not locked, so we entered cautiously.

We found ourselves in a large room - 100’ from north to south, 60’ east-west. The red marble floor was rank with filth. A large throne sat on a raised dias, facing south and inlaid with gold and silver runes, in no script we recognized\wtf.

The eastern wall held a mural depicting a female wizard sleeping, dreaming of a world controlled by eel-like electric insects. Another wall held a mural of her creating these insects.

Also in this room were 5 large blocks of ice - 8’ tall and 3’ wide. They suddenly melted when we entered and and ice ogre stepped forth from each one!

• initiative win
• Tim shot out a 39 point fireball, immolating 3 of the beasties
• Gonchar attacked one of the surving ogres, hitting it for 27 points and splattering ogre guts everywhere
• Kyril, still invisible, nailed the remaining ogre for 9 points
• Gonchar took 2 points of damage, having saved against the ogre’s breath weapon
• initiative win
• Gonchar hurled his hammer at the remaining ogre, knocking out what little brains it had
• 5 ice ogres (\wtf hp)

There are doors in the north and south walls, and another on the northern end of the east wall, the same door we entered through.

end