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Up the Mountain

Last week, the party went to meet with Garrun Ironforger, the king of Undermountain. He had his clerics examine the party and test the effects of the curse. They determined three things: first, that the party was not doing whatever it was they were doing willingly. Second, that even removing the Sage from the Bag of Holding without the party's knowledge triggers the curse's effects on the party, so they took the bag away to have it sealed. Third, that the party's souls were missing, which made their curse incurable. After their research was complete, the king summoned them back into his throne room.

The king told the party that he had deduced some things about what happened to them, and that fixing their curse was important. He requested that they climb the mountain in search of the Pillars of Infinite Light, a mysterious monument near the mountain's peak that was said to have the power to cure all ills. It was tended to only by a nameless monk from centuries past who had travelled up the mountain in search of enlightenment. Along the way, they would benefit from trying to raid an abandoned hoard that once belonged to a dragon, and was now guarded by a tentacled creature like the one the party had briefly encountered in the cave. Alternately, the king said the party could help him by travelling Elysium in search of a safe trading port for Undermountain. The party decided that the former sounded more interesting1.

On their way out of the throne room, the party ran into a fast-talking gnome merchant named Gomer Eikwald who was on his way to speak with the king. He entreated the party to find his shop in town to load up on winter gear before trekking up the mountain. They decided to seek it out, and by the time they arrived, he was already back. They spent some time shopping and negotiated a deal with him. He gave them a stone that be broken to summon him, and gave them cold weather gear for free. In exchange, they agreed to sell their goods to him directly, without going back to town.

Now equipped with magic rings, yeti fur, and a tattered cloak from a trash heap2, the party began their journey up the mountain. During the first night on the mountain, Shanky realized they were being stalked by movement beyond their camp and woke everyone up3. The source of the noise was quickly revealed when small pack of winter wolves attacked. The party dispatched one without much difficulty, but before they could mop up the rest, a humanoid figure from a nearby hill shouted at them to stop - they were his pack, and they had confused the party for "Frost Men". Their conversation was briefly interrupted by a terrifying spell from Lester, but before long, the stranger returned and negotiated with the party for the survival of his wolves. They agreed to give him his wolf back if he led them to his dwelling and let them rest there. Along the way, he explained that he was Cinder, the Fire of the Mountain, and the wolves obeyed him. He was waging a guerrilla war of sorts against the Frost Folk, a group of of humanoid creatures made from ice and snow that inhabited the mountain nearby. Before asking too many more questions, the party rested for the night in his hidden cave, ready to face the dangers of the mountain the next day.

  1. This was actually the first major decision the party made completely unanimously and with no discussion of any kind.
  2. Guess who.
  3. The fact that Ione was the one on watch at that point is a minor detail.

Stupid Awards

Cayosin Ione Craggles Taito Lester Shanky Brand Everyone
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