8pm 6 Alturiak:  Fall of Arctigris

The heroes have arrived late at the edge of what appears to be a spidery web of steep crevasses that surround every approach to Castle Perilous. The sheer ice walls are covered with incredibly powdery almost ash like snow. Each spidery valley weaves inward toward a lone tower visible in the center several miles away. A black cone extends into the sky with arcane flying buttresses silhouetted against the grey gloom. At every point of the compass, a fierce wind bites any exposed skin carrying slivers of frost that threaten to grind away any uncovered or unprotected flesh.

“Ah, here we go. It's a labyrinth.”

The tower itself appears to be dead center in an approximately ten mile radius area of sentient gloom; as if a presence within the tower itself could observe magically all that is around it.  The swirling mists and snows obscure but do not hide the evidence of movement by giant sized bipedal creatures, although the shifting winds and wispy snow prevent exactly which direction or crevasse the tracks indicate movement to or from.  From where the party is observing the crevasses are easily 100’ deep.

The heroes ponder the sight for a few moments, before returning to an agonizing discussion of what to do next that even the ki rin begin to telepathically mumble over in the background.

The discussion rambles about a ki rin gambit; the volume of flying spells the dwarf has saved in his pack.

It is clear as the ash like snow accumulates it would be easy to slip and fall without either thief’s climbing ability, magical assistance, or deliberate attention to where one is going.

“We're going to get lost. I need a way of marking our path. So we don't keep going around in circles. Coins will work in the ice if I put them at junctures at like eye level we can go around and chip away the new formed ice and. Look for them. But anything else? I'm having a hard time coming up with another marketing system that. Won't be blown away. But ice, but coins frozen into ice won't.”  Quilro recommends should they move through the sheer valleys.

“He may be a drunkard, but sometimes that else makes a lot of sense.”

“WHO’S COIN ARE YE USING?  BE IT COUNTED?  IN THE LEDGER?!”
Recovering from his bluster, the dwarf dials it back some: “I'm not opposed to using them for the action you suggest. I just want to make sure that. You know, I was aware of their existence.”

“…never going to hear the end of this.” Quilro mutters in halfling, assured the dwarf cannot understand.

“Worry not, ilf.  Valid expense.  Good thinking too.”

Kailute observes the channeling effect the valleys could have on dragon breath, and recommends all tie up to one another.

As the group moves toward the toward carefully, they all feel attenuated hatred focused from the black Spire.  However, from the northwest the familiar dread of observation and malice emanate from the skies.  A piercing animal scream erupts from this direction, somewhat muted by the ice and snow swirling through the air.

The ki rin bank off, apparently repulsed from approaching any closer.  An ancient dragon emerges from one of the crevasses, buffeting its wings to attempt to take flight at speed about a half mile to the northwest.  As it ascends, a greenish gray globe appears to encircle the entire enormous wyrm, as if it was flying surrounded by a translucent magical globe.  Once it is almost a hundred feet in the air, it pauses before taking a shallow dive in the party’s direction.

As it begins to close from 300’ away, the elf and half-orc leap to the sky in different directions to avoid drawing the creatures breath, one preparing to cast while the other draws his wicked spell hunting blade.

Draxos looses a volley but only one of his arrows appears to find its mark.

DonBrapp flips a vial of speed into his mouth with his off hand while snarling the words and evocations that bring a 30’ and 30’ tall tower of spinning blades that create an enormous explosion when Arctigris collides at full speed surrounded by magical protection.  The kinetic energy is somewhat slowed as the blade barrier is blown apart by the magical sheen, but the dragon is likewise stalled and appears to have taken some bruising damage as a result of the collision.

Admiring his handiwork, the dwarf immediately attempts near simultaneous spellcasting, invoking first a burst of microweather right in front of the dragon while pulling a gout of magical flamed directly through the same.  Explosive booms announce the mixture of opposing magical energies, and the power would seem sure to pulverize most creatures…  but Arctigris lopes through, turning in pain and anger.

“Sorry, boys, that's all I got and it won't nothing.”

Quilro immediately follows with a fireball, the wyrm appears to take concussive damage but displays none of the scorching expected to damage a coldbound dragon.

Kailtue begins a running charge as the beast sails in his direction; before contact the barbarian reverses his blade for a stabbing thrust rather than a overhand swing, and pierces an enormous wound through ossified bone and scale.

Stopped in his tracks, Arctigris catches purchase on the ridge and rears up to breath.

As the beast inhales the dwarf just looks dead eyed into the snarling face of the white wyrm, unbowed, unbroken as his armor is marred by a deluge of ice, sludge and raw elemental cold.  After moments that seem an eternity, DonBrapp stands, wounded but far from smited, covered in grey frost.

Enraged at the insolent cleric Arctigris brings his tail around in a snap hoping to knock Kailute from his feet, but as the barbarian jumps clear over Draxos lobs another volley of arrows into the dragon, now showing several open wounds and arrows sticking from its hide.

Shaking off the cold, the dwarf hurls his hammer but misses as Quilro stays out of range and out of sight, seeking an advantageous position to backstab from.

Kailute attempts to honor the elven goddess with a graceful flying attack but the dragon shifts, and his blade only finds a glancing blow.  In missing he observes a milky crystal ring around one of the wyrm’s claws.

Arctigris again looses a fearsome shriek of icy sludge, slathering DonBrapp and Kailute in an icy torrent of pain.

Frustrated at another bath of sludge DonBrapp hurls his hammer and is rewarded with the cracking of bone and scale before healing himself with the magic of the coinfather.

Quilro shifts into the form of a gull, and attempts to land unobserved on the creatures shoulder, hoping for a neck strike.
“DOES HUMANOIDS SEEKS ZENGHYI OR SEEKS DEATH!”

After a moment of consideration, the quorum agrees to slay the dragon.

Now blindly attempting to find purchase in the air under it’s wings, Arctigris turns with narrowed eyes to face the barbarian and dwarf…

…Just as Kailute delivers a flurry of finishing blows that send the ancient wyrm stumbling over the edge of the crevasse, screeching all the way down the valley wall.

Kailut flies down to the corpse and observes it's no longer respirating and the creature is is dead and immovable. But you do notice as you get closer to its corpse, and particularly the ground, you can now see that the snow is pooling, but there are definite, well worn tracks leading to the north and the bottom of the crevasse indicating the presence of giants and humanoid.

Kailute hacks the ring off as DonBrapp considers what if anything might be worth recovering.

“Take this.  Have Tomas tell us what it does.”

Along the bottom of the crevasse you can see where there's a wide plane that that appears. To have been that the. The surface of a frozen river that appears to head to the north, where a supernatural kind of light emanates from within the ice itself.

“So is that the cave Arctigris came out of?”

“It's probably a way in.”

“So my guess is that's where the monsters are.”