as written by the cavalier Olmas Lurecia, himself.

Wealday, 17 Lamashan

The town shaman is dead at our hand, and although it was perfectly justified, it was going to require some explanation.  I suspect “he started it” after specifically warning the town about the dangers of the outsiders is not going to cut it.  However, if we return with the hearthmistress … she was at least neutral to us, and this evidence plus our story might be sufficient for her to remain, at least, neutral.

In the meantime, there is one way that the shaman can still help us, and that is by his generous bequest of his belongings to the victors (us).

[399] 2 potions bark skin
[400] cloak of resistance +2
[401] ring of mindshielding
[402] staff with a decorative fork on top [5]
with 1 charge
detect snares and pits
endure elements
long strider
pass without trace
with 2 charges
freedom of movement
[403] cold weather outfit
[404] unholy symbol of Sithud

The latter was recognized by Kali and Qatana, who informed us that Sithud was a powerful demon lord who once was a god.  So, checking my list, I see, ah yes, there it is.

[*] Antagonize enemies that are more deadly than a white dragon

Glad I can put that one behind me.

Right, retrieve the hearthmistress. Fly spell has worn off, so we’ll have to hoof it.  According to Radella, there might yet be a guard to get past. It occurred to Kali that the guard, if there was one, might be controlled and not inherently evil, so we might not want to kill it. Good thought, although at this point it would not likely have occurred to me.

And sure enough, we did find the guard. Although he took a swing at me, he missed, so I gave him the free swing and held up my hands: “Whoa whoa whoa, friend here!”  Qatana tried hold person – didn’t work.  Ivan tried a dispel magic – no apparent effect.  Sparna tried to intimidate: no go.  Kali created a circle against evil but that too seemed to have no effect. Sigh.

On his next swing he cut me good, but mindful of our goals I tried to disarm him rather than kill him. I succeeded – he dropped his weapon, fell to the ground, and we could now see a small, 1′ tall creature riding on his back.

I can’t imagine a situation where that is harmless, so Sparna and I quickly dispatched it. Or, at least, it disappeared.  The guard quickly came to, and looked both frightened and defensive.  “Do you serve the traitor?”

Ah. Fate has brought us exactly the thing we needed: a witness.

Naquun told us that he had been in service to the shaman willingly, but many days ago, after returning from his visionquest, he called him down. He summoned the creature we saw to take control of him and after that Naquun was helpless to disobey him.

Some drawings and runes on the wall had drawn the attention of both Kali and Qatana, but Naquun had little to offer about them.  We sent our grateful witness back to town to retrieve the hearthmistress.

When the hearthmistress and the chief returned, they were speechless. We barely needed to say anything at all, since Naquun retained all memory of what he’d been forced to do.  We confirmed that the shaman was dead, and asked if the five pictographs – one of standing stones, one of blue towers in a frozen city, another of a single tower beneath pale peaks, yet another of a storm that appeared to be devouring towns, and lastly, one of a blue-skinned woman.

They were aghast at the sight of the broken dragon egg, but knew not why it was there or what it meant.

We climbed to the altar at the top of the peak to make sure it had not been desecrated or damaged.  (It hadn’t.)  We discussed the frozen spirits we had dispatched, and the chief griml acknowledged that some of them were indeed from the village.

The chief and hearthmistress wanted to destroy the body immediately, but Qatana convinced them to keep the body until tomorrow, because she wanted to try Speak with Dead with it. they agreed on the condition that they also be able to attend.

Oathday, 18 Lamashan

Everyone eagerly reconvened to talk to the dead shaman.  Qatana performed the increasingly-familiar ceremony and asked:

Why is the dragon attacking the village?
– So that Sithud’s will be done.
What is the will of Sithud?
– Return to his rightful place.
Why did you trick the dragon into attacking the village?
– I did what must be done.

I felt those were fairly useless answers, but Kali and Qatana seemed satisfied.  As per her new and slightly disturbing habit, Qatana retained the head.

We conclued that we needed to journey to the white dragon. None of our success here would have any reason to stop the attacks. If the dragon knew the human responsible had been executed, maybe it would stop. But again, none of that can happen without notifying the dragon.

By way of thanks, and aid, the chief offered us

[unnumbered] claws of the ice bear – +2 confidence on climbing,
3 times/day spider climb for one round

Fireday, 19 Lamashan

We’ve left on our trip to the home of the white dragon.  Regrettably, the caravan will not be coming with us – too much of a target with no real benefit (other than making the trip a bit more comfortable for us).

Sunday, 21 Lamashan

Weather acted up, slowed us down.  Snowstorm. Very cold.

Moonday, 22 Lamashan

We have arrived.

Unlike a “traditional” dragon lair, in this environment there is only one place for a white drago to live, and that is underground. We have found a rip in the ground which, we are told, is the lair of the dragon.

Dragons. Everybody talks about them but nobody ever does anything about them.  Well, that’s about to change.

We magicked up with protection from cold, and resist cold (mine, courtesy of Suishen), even Draconic Reserve for Sparna.  We added Fly, and Dark Vision.  And down we went.
later
So much for negotiating.

The dragon was, understandably, predisposed against local humans.  Its nest had been clumsily staged to look like it had been raided by the town of Iqaliat.  When we found the dragon, both Qatana and  I tried to tell it we had caught and executed the real murderer, but it was a mother filled with bloodlust.  She went on about how all 2-legs were murderers and untrustworthy, and she kept breathing wintry blasts at us. Surprisingly, due to our magicks aforehand, those were much less painful than the claws and bites.  Still, when we decided to swing instead of talk, it took maybe 30 seconds for us to, collectively, bring her to her death.

Although – she did come close to exiting the hole and wreaking havoc on the town.  Sensing she was close to death she decided to go out in a blaze – er, frosty haze – of glory.  It was only as it attempted to exit that some bit of Qatana’s magic was able to reach it and drive the killing blow.  Having shot dozens of feet out of the hole, the dragon peaked, then fell back down the hole, falling past us, and slamming into the floor below.

A quick examination told us she was dead … but also revealed the older skeletal remains of another dragon, which probably explained why the dragon had no hope of replacing the eggs, increasing her despair.

Kali and Qatana were both morose about this turnout, and while I’m disappointed we had no choice but to kill it, I was fully prepared for this very likely outcome.  I’d have frankly been surprised if diplomacy had worked.

We took time to catalog the things we found in the ice cave.

[405] arrow of lesser dragon slaying
[406] short sword +2
[407] 2 potions of protection from arrows
[408] ring of featherfall
[409] terra cotta horse – 1/day reroll an attack roll +1, 1/day summon
a phantom steed
[410] wand of enfeeblement [15]
[411] MW light steel shield
[412] MW cold iron spiked gauntlet
[413] MW composite shortbow +2 ST
[414] 11 arrows
[415] MW spear
[416] climber’s kit
[417] 200′ silk rope
[418] 2 pieces of amber (100gp ea)
[419] 6 bloodstones (50gp ea)
[420] 2 blue sapphires (500 ea)
[421] quiver decorated with winter wolf fur (500gp)

And there was coinage. Lots of coinage.

6208 copper
5042 silver
1188 gold
404 platinum

We shrank and brought back the dragon bodies.  There was talk of making armor from the dragon’s hide.

Fireday, 26 Lamashan

We have returned to the village, and are being hailed as heroes. A big celebration is being planned – as big as one may party in a small town in the frigid north in the winter season – and to be honest, a little rest and relaxation sounds kinda good right now.

Starday, 27 Lamashan

We are leaving for supplies at Unaimo, probably the last major supply town before heading out on the high ice.  After peering at the pictograph some more, the elders say they blue-skinned woman may be a disciple of Sithud, and may be trying to restore him to power. She may have already succeeded.  If the woman can gain control of the “Storm tower”, that would be Very Bad.

It would seem we have another purpose to our journey across the ice.  No longer is it enough to save the town. Now we must save the region.

Before leaving, the hearthmistress gave us additional gifts. One was, not surprisingly, a totem of friendship – we would always be welcome in town.  And the other may prove quite useful:  the sashimono of comfort. By attaching it to a lance or a caravan frame, it can grant protection to well below zero.  This may be how we sleep comfortably in the horrible northern cold.