Journal Entry 18

Adventure Journal - Session 18

The party decided to rest in the foul smelling troll cave and then attempt to scale the mountain in the morning. The troll king's crown, now identified by Luke and Jaearan as the Crown of Lost Souls, is an evil relic from the distant past. They conclude that they will keep it while looking for a way to destroy it. The next morning the heroes wake and begin preparations for the long and difficult climb to the summit. Syxia wakes to discover that she has a runny nose and fears that she is catching a deathly cold. She's very worried about it becoming more serious and makes life miserable for the party all morning. She informs the party that tieflings, in general, aren't made for the cold, and she doesn't like how bulky clothing makes her look fat. As such, she refuses to participate and instead just wants to wait in the warmth of the cave, no matter how gross and disgusting. Having had enough, Barrack tells her to stay and the party leaves the cave in search of the Palace of Burning Ice.

The climb up the mountain is difficult. Jaeran nearly kills himself by falling a couple times, surviving only due to the ropes fastened around his waist and anchored by Barrack. As they reach an area near the top of the mountain they find that there is a small trail that leads to a small, flat plateau. The party notices five dwarf-like creatures that are blue and appear to be made out of ice and frost. Luke identifies them as the bjurn. Luke explains that they are similar to the Azer, only from the elemental plane of water. The party decides to attempt to talk to them as their odds of sneaking by them were dismal. Luke advances and tries to converse with the bjurn guards, with disastrous results. Combat ensues and the party learns the engaging two bjurn can be difficult because the extreme cold emanating from them slows them down. Despite this, the party wins out and they continue toward a major clearing. As they advance through the snow, the can eventually see a an entrance carved in to the stone wall of the mountain. The walls are shear and the top of the mountain is not far overhead.

Standing guard at the entrance are two bjurn warriors and a large winter wolf. As the party engages them, one of the guards bolts back inside while the other two defend the entrance. The winter wolf's frozen breath is biting, but the party quickly deals with them and enters the ruins of the Palace. The corridor leads to a large, circular room with a large hole in the middle. There are several corridors leading in with two bjurn and another winter wolf guarding a door to the northeast. As the party moves forward to engage the guards their trap is sprung and four more guards enter from the corridor. It is clear that they hope to overwhelm the party and disrupt their normal battle plans by engaging them from many angles. The party, Barrack in particular, make good use of the chasm in the middle of the room. The winter wolf, the most dangerous of the enemies, is forced into the rift and it plummets to its death. The bjurn put up a good fight, but the heroes win out in time.

The party finds a passage that leads up, and one that leads down. The one leading up ends in a door. The party listens at the door and hears a great amount of commotion. As they bust in the door they see a large room containing four bjurn, a winter wolf and a large frost giant sitting on an icy throne. The frost giant, named Brokke, is arrogant and tells the party that he is going to break them to pieces and encase them in ice. Combat ensues with the winter wolf and bjurn forming a defensive screen in front of the frost giant. The giant calls launches icy arrows with his giant bow, rains down chillshards and attacks with his giant spear. In the end, he attempts to barter for his life but no quarter is given. The party finds a frostwolf pelt +2, a great spear +2 and many coins.