August 16, 2026
22nd Dulthila
In the dark, several grubs dropped from the ceiling, and two adult leathery flapping things. One wrapped itself around Hilda’s head. Ormar, who was close behind her, was caught by the other.
Magrun tried to relight his torch, but burned his hand on the flame that proved to still be there. He called out that they were caught in some kind of magical darkness.
The rest of the party piled into the room and, tripping over the grubs, lashed out at them.
Hilda cut her way free from the membrane and felt her way to Ormar, chopping his beast from his head.
Gunter got lost in the dark.
With the grubs apparently slain, the party began calling out to try to reach each other. Gunter was out of hearing and Dorethin did not respond.
Hilda heard her way to a sound of chewing and found one remaining grub gnawing on Dorethin’s fallen body. The grub was dispatched and a bandage clapped to Dorethin’s side.
Gunter found his way back and the party retreated toward the entrance until they left the darkness. Dorethin could walk again, but was very injured.
Reaching the entrance chamber, the party continued ahead to the other exit. They proceeded through the passage until they came to a fork. They could feel a breeze from the left turn, so they took it.
The passage debouched into a large ice cavern. Holes in the roof admitted wan sunlight and wind; the floor was covered in snow, which lay upon several strange rock formations. Two exits were visible on the far wall.
The party eased along the left wall. When they were halfway across, the “rock formations” stirred and assembled into two great, ice-encrusted troll skeletons.
The party destroyed the skeletons, but not before Ormar was battered against a wall and knocked out. After being awoken, he drank their last healing potion.
The left exit from the cave led steeply down, and the right led ahead. As the Torchbearers were discussing whether they should turn back, they heard the sounds of a struggle from the right passage.
Taking that opening, they came out on a shelf with an ice bridge crossing the chamber. To the right of the bridge was another shelf one level down; on the left the true bottom of the cave was lost in darkness.
Ormar and Hilda began to sneak along the bridge while the rest of the party waited by the entrance.
From the right, they heard beautiful singing. Ormar tried to throw himself from the bridge to follow it, but Hilda grabbed him and tied him up. Of the others, only Dorethin was unaffected. She tackled Gunter to the ground, but Alwin and Magrun toppled to the lower shelf and continued moving ahead.
As Hilda and Dorethin called to each other, something all the way at the bottom of the cave stirred. Multiple throats began to growl.
Hilda helped Dorethin tie Gunter and the two of them lowered themselves after Alwin and Magrun. They saw that the shelf was covered in stakes of sharpened bone driven into the ice.
Alwin and Magrun reached the one of the walls at a place where bones and bird droppings littered the ground.
Dorethin moved forward, trying to get a bead on the flying creature, while Hilda returned to bandage Ormar and Gunter’s ears and untie them. Unable to hear the song, they were no longer affected.
Dorethin called out that she saw something big move from an alcove far above. The singing stopped and the rest of the party came to their senses.
Targeting the isolated Hilda, a harpy flew out of the dark and snatched up Hilda. The talons grievously wounded her, but worse, the touch of the harpy charmed her. The harpy flew her up to a nest in the alcove, which glittered with treasure.
Released, Hilda quickly shook off the charm, but pretended to still be affected. The harpy told her to make herself at home, so she began digging in the treasure.
The harpy began to sing again, but with little effect. Seeing the others ready their weapons, she ducked into the nest and told Hilda to present her neck.
Hilda dove out of the nest, slid down the wall of the cave, and hid behind Gunter. This proved to be an ungenerous tactic, as the harpy was throwing bones at Hilda, which struck Gunter a painful head blow. The second knocked him out.
Dorethin grabbed Gunter and dragged him away. The rest of the party followed in full retreat.
In the passage, they agreed to cut their losses and leave the ice cave, figuring that Brandt’s chances of survival after these hours of searching were slim.
With heavy hearts, they returned to the chamber where they had fought the troll skeletons. There, from the downward-sloping passage, they heard a baritone singing a defiant hymn.
Wordlessly, they descended.
On the lower level, they saw a bobbing light as of their magical lantern receding in the distance. When they called out, they heard footsteps quicken their pace.
As they hurried after, a slab of ice fell from the ceiling. Gunter dodged backwards, and a door of rune-carved ice landed, cutting the party in half.
The ice did not yield to shatter or Gunter’s mace until Magrun disarmed the runes. Gunter finished the ice and the party was reunited, but they had lost sight of the light.
After a few more turnings, they spotted the light again. Hurrying after it, Alwin banged his face into a wall. The light seemed to be projected into a clear block of ice that capped a dead-end corridor.
Turning, they saw that the exit from the hallway was blocked by horrible scaled men with beards of writhing worms and wicked black halberds.
