Loose threads Floating amber, encased in ice, dragon
Participants Hakuto Aabria Hildegard Ultima Ninivit
Locations The Frozen North
Short summary:
We returned to the Frozen North, to the giant fortress (not necessarily giant in size relatively, rather that used to house giants) to finish the investigation. On the way we were met with Snowy, *our furry companion*, as well as a towering white dragon accompanied by several cave giants. Upon defeating the giants, the dragon retreated and we were allowed to reach the fortress.
Since our last visit, several Kobolds have made it their home. Intent on not letting us free what as trapped inside, they laid several traps ahead of us. Though we tried diplomacy, hoping to have them educate us on what was inside, they immediately opened fire. We retreated to rest, but noticed they want to ambush us at night, so we used the chance before they set their traps to fight and kill them.
Eventually we acquired last of the three keystones, which granted us access to a chamber with an amber stone, ecased in indestructible ice. Though we found a way to briefly retrieve the amber from the ice, it returned to its spot as if nothing heppened, after causing a quite gruesome display of forced polymorph on Hakuto.
Full Report
Written by Hakuto, this report provides as faithfull a record of the events as is possible.
The expedition began proper once we crossed the portal leading to the so-called 'Frozen North'. About a day's worth of travel from the stronghold, we were met with our furry companion by the name of Snowy. Strangely, though it was frozen solid, it was still alive. With a bit of magic we melted the ice, which Snowy was really excited about. Couple hours later, now accompanied by the dog, we were found out by a new danger. A large shadow flew over our head - A dragon, and an old one by the looks of it. Its breath was extremely powerful in our current state, but Snowy was quite adept at preventing it from reaching us. Instead, we focused on the four cave giants that accompanied the dragon. A challenging, but ultimately short fight, after which the dragon retreated.
We have not seen it since.
As it were nearing the end of the day, and there was a chance to reach the stronghold by the end of the day, we decided to hustle. It was exhausting, but we managed to reach. There were still couple hours until the nightfall, so we decided to investigate inside the stronghold a bit, see if anything changed, and if it's still safe to camp at the entrance. It was not.
We were met with several Kobolds, who mentioned something about the artifact. They gave us a choice to retreat or be killed. Or at least they said that, because they attacked us before even giving us a chance to react. We tried to communicate with them still, hoping they answer some of our questions, but they weren't open to discussion. Instead of letting ourselves be pelted with bolts and ranged magic while they're protected by trapped floor, we decided to retreat to rest, so that we may be better prepare in the morning.
We were not given a chance to rest properly.
The Kobolds returned in the middle of the night. Through the windows of the Cozy Cabin, Aabria spotted them outside, performing a ritual that would cover the ground outside in the same kind of portal-based trapdoor trap as before. Instead of letting them finish it, we moved out, prepared best that we could, and engaged them. Though given several chances to yield, still they fought, which meant we had no choice but to kill them.
With the stronghold now open to us, we reached the final keystone, guarded by ghosts, same as before. As far as I can tell, there are no more inherent dangers there, unless something new makes it its home. With the keystone, the doors to the chamber opened for us. It was large, with walls covered in engravings, showing dragons and frost giants fighting against hordes of insect. In the middle of the room was what I can only imagine is "the artifact" that Kobolds mentioned. An amber, about a foot in diameter, was floating there, encased in solid block of ice. The artifact seems to have a sort of binding effect on something. Merely touching the ice would give a strong desire to melt the ice and recover the amber.
Seeing a different possibility, however, I decided to use a combination of my magic to "phase through" the ice and recover the amber that way. Plan was a partial success. The amber left the ice in my hands, but immediately it begin to cause forced polymorphosis on my body. Only after Nethys' intervention I was able to let go of the amber, which ended the effect but also caused it to return to its original position.
After that, there was precious little else we could do, thus ending our investigation.