In the caves we found a trapped ghost and a dead frost giant, and contrary to the battle we had thought to find, instead something else happened when we neared the giant. My pendant started acting strangely, vibrating and tapping on its cord against my chest, more and more the closer I got. It worried me, as it was clearly reacting to the proximity of the creature, and in somewhat of desperation before the group decided to do something that could not be undone, I reached out to the Three, hoping for guidance, despite how my attempt earlier had gained no response. This time I did, and surprisingly it was the largest and most violent of the three who answered.
"Interesting. Further powers are activated. My brothers chose well. Focus and you will be able to bring this creature back for a limited time to speak to it," the voice said, before adding, "And I would recommend slaying it again if you do so."
To say I was surprised would be true, not only that I received an answer, but at who had answered, and what was said. Considering what I had seen of this one before, I did not expect the level of calm consideration those words implied, always before having been bloodthirsty to the point of murder. It seemed as if power was something that also appealed to this spirit, enough that I could see how an alliance between the three had come about. The other two seemed more reasoned, more tactical, and that helped gain overall benefit for the Three. What my pendant had to do with their plans, I did not yet know, other than the fact he seemed to be pleased with its power increase.
I did not know, before, that the power I called from the amulet was separate from them, but either way they seem to be pleased by this, and that pleasure set my own mind at rest, in many ways. I did not know what the Three wanted from me, but I did not want to inadvertently cause their displeasure or accidentally work against them. When they could call upon such reserves of power themselves, it would be foolish to go against their wishes if my own path was to continue.
After the group set up some pre-emptive defences in case it turned into a battle, I did as commanded, and channelled the power that was humming through me into bringing animation back to the vast corpse. It spoke to us in a rhyming epic, telling of how the white dragon had been one of two that the frost giants had used to pull their ship, of the dragon's escape, and his subsequent tracking of it, only to be slain by its ambush. After some negotiation, it gave us the means of tracking the dragon, opening its chest to show its heart where a large ruby was embedded. This turned out to be the crystalised blood of the dragon, and when removed, it fitted perfectly into a slot in my pendant that had appeared.
Perhaps it was foolish to have done so, without checking it, without testing the gem, but the words from one of the Three had intimated this was part of their plan, and no worries had been mentioned.
As soon as the gem slotted into place, the pain in me was unimaginable in its intensity. I remember little of that time, other than the sheer overwhelming nature of it. I had been brought to the very brink of demise so many times, but nothing came close to the pain that wracked through my entire body then.
But as swiftly as it had started, it stopped in the same way, as if it had never been. I felt different, slightly, and I noticed my claws seemed slightly longer and tinged with a touch of the colour of that ruby. A vision I'd had of the dragon's past lingered with me too, from where it had bombarded me with details during that time of pain, and as I stood up once more from where I had fallen, I could sense the dragon far off to the northeast. That, at least, would be very useful in the times to come. Of the ruby gem of dragon's blood, there was no sign, my pendant having once more returned to its former appearance, but I could still feel it there; a source of power that I had not had before.
I told the group what I'd seen in the vision as we made camp for the night in that cave, pausing there to decide where to go next in order to avoid the dragon that was far too close to our location for easy travel. They seemed unsure what to do next, other than take on the dragon, and had to be reminded that the mountains were not forgiving, and we were not currently equipped to deal with the weather there. The orcs, though, that had been chased out of the mountains by the dragon, they would likely have had some cold weather equipment with them, and so it has been decided to head to the east to the Woodland Manse there, in order to try and source some since the people of Phandalin, of Axeholm, hadn't had any.
Their determination to immediately go after the dragon, one I'd had to get them to reconsider, was a reminder that their idealism and determination were not always balanced with practicality.