Paradoxides tires of the laboratory and the stifling heat of Basi and expresses a wish to breath the cold air of the Northlands once more. He is intrigued by the tale of Kolgrim’s near miss – being nearly snatched off a ledge by a dragon in a snow storm (F30- Words of Iron). He dusts off the dragon detection amulet he had developed for exploring Morthrandil and the party teleports back to the cave high above the northern reaches of the West Otanga where the encounter took place. There Paradoxides immediately gets his wish – the air is very cold indeed. However, he detects no dragons. The magicians rest to recoup their powers. The warriors stand guard. A snow troll foolishly disturbs them and pays with its hide and several vials of its alchemically useful blood.
In the morning the party fly northwards. Only Grettir and Wilf do not have the power of flight but they are carried by their magic-using comrades. Paradoxides is focusing upon his amulet. They only obtain half a day’s fight and are force to land and sit out a blizzard. The following day dawns bright and clear and they can see in front of them a broken landscape dominated by a great glacier and beyond it a very high mountain, its summit wreathed in cloud. Paradoxides gets a sounding on his amulet and guides them to a deep chasm in the glacier. They land on difficult footing – the elf manages to crash – and are immediately ambushed by the dragon.
The dragon in question is a cold drake – wingless and breathless – but nevertheless swift, agile and deadly in this broken, difficult terrain. Nevertheless, the party comprises hard-hitting warriors and blasting magicians and it is dispatched. Its hoard does not disappoint and contains several interesting and useful magic items as well as other treasure. Over in a niche in the cavern wall they find a human skull. When Grettir touches the skull he gets a sense of strength, courage and purpose. He notes that three of the magical items – a hauberk for a man of 6’6″ with runes to protect against cold; a combat shield and an eldritch spear that spoke to the wind – were stylistically similar. That night he dreams of a hero of elder days who descends into the chasm, using the powers of his magic spear, to fight the dragon alone. He is defeated but gains the dragon’s respect and admiration. On returning to Sequarl, he would have Rendip Rim set up a shrine to this fellow – and in a symbolic reversal the dragon’s head would be displayed there too.
Amongst the treasure there is also an egg which detects for life and registers to Paradoxides’ amulet as a dragon. The magicians study the dragon’s cavern with a view to returning later and the loot is teleported away. Valakar, the Queen of Basi, is given first refusal of the dragon egg. She offers to carve a living prow for the new ship that Grettir is having built in the shipyards of Basi. They accept her offer and give her the egg.
The loot disposed they return to the cavern and begin to explore the region. In the foothils of the great mountain, they discover a large cave. There is a sheet of ice across the back of it and a small crawlway through. The magicians detect lifeforms beyond the ice. Paradoxides conjures a Vorpal Blade and slices open the icewall. Near a score of werewolves charge out. There is a fierce combat in the cave mouth before the heroes overcome their foes. Two escape; one, a barbarian woman, is captured having taken a head-blow; the rest lie dead. They get little sense out of the captive, even once returned to consciousness. The werewolves appear to have been dirt-poor. However, when they eventually get around to searching the cave properly, they discover two hidden chests – linked together by a strap as a set of panniers. These contain two potions – one with the sigil of Ra that would cure blindness, the other, probably poison, marked for Set – and a scroll that proved to be a powerful protection against undead. There is also some gold. It seems an incongruous find given the poverty and savagery of the werewolves. They mark up the cave for a return and teleport back to Sequarl with their loot and captive.
The latter is a tall, strongly made, and reasonably comely northern barbarian woman named something like Katla. One of Grettir’s daughters is similarly named, so it is perhaps this prompts him to have her teleported back to Sequarl rather than join her dead companions walled up in the cavern where they dwelt. She is taken to the temple there, where her lycanthropy is cured. She remains wild and possibly quite mad, so is left at the temple in the care of Rendip Rim to see if she can be rehabilitated over time.
G-3
OE Date: October 694
Characters: Grettir, Ubaron, Paradoxides, Girindor, Wilf NPCs: Kolgrim
Real World: September 2004; Where: Surbiton
See also Ubaron’s Diaries