Nestled in a rocky snow-filled hollow in a ravine between two peaks of Ymir’s Fang, the party debate their next move. Four of them are still in vaporous form, wind walking by the power of Sorrel’s prayers to Aegir. They communicate with whispers and gestures.

It is decided that these being in a state of non-solidity will be less vulnerable and stealthier scouts to investigate the ruins that lie on a plateau above them.

They breeze away on the wind, ascending out of the ravine and on towards Keraptis’ ancient stronghold, built in a past time when he held sway over the mountain and its secrets and tyrannized the tribes of the Corusks.

The fortress ruins swim into view; a westerly keep, curtain walls, a postern gatehouse, and a high watchtower, encompassing almost the entirety of the plateau. Buildings within the curtain wall have collapsed into ruin, their roofs unable to bear the accumulated weight of centuries of ice deposits – all except one building, a gatehouse set into a steep slope that rises in the north-west corner of the plateau, possibly built to control access to a mountainside cave entrance by the looks of it. There is a gaping hole in the eastern curtain wall where the edge of the plateau has collapsed into a gorge that separates the highland from a neighbouring ridge that forms the only means of approach by foot. There is evidence that a bridge once provided ingress to the fortress but this too has collapsed. A tower at the north-east corner has been destroyed by a huge rockslide that has descended from the steep slopes that rise to even greater heights to the north of the plateau, towering upwards towards the summit many more thousands of feet above this small monument to Keraptis’ pride. Building a castle 12,000 feet up a mountain in the chilly northern latitudes of the Corusks would certainly be an inadvisable enterprise for any but a powerful wizard such as he, and in his several centuries of absence this place has not worn well.

But there are signs of life here now. A rope bridge has been strung across the gorge to allow access from the lower slopes of the mountain. A group of large, shambling, white-furred humanoid creatures are working to clear the rubble. Another group of slim, wiry humanoids with pale skin, pointed ears and silvery hair are working on breaking larger rocks into smaller pieces for easier removal. They are shackled together and overseen by a small, ugly, stunted creature with wiry black hair and straggly beard, thick furs swaddling his armour. He is armed with a halberd. A large white furred humanoid keeps a hold on a length of chain that prevents the flight of these unfortunate wretches. They are captive ice elves, and it is one of Keraptis’ gnomes who commands their labours. The large white-furred creatures are Yetis, and it seems they are serving the gnomes willingly for there is no evidence of constraint on them.

Fresh roofing has been installed on the watchtower, postern gate and keep, and a fur-clad gnome keeps watch from each of these positions.

Circling above on over-watch, there are two bat-winged, skeletal reptilian humanoids. They appear to be animated dead creatures – the leathery membranes of their wings have been either preserved or reinstated to provide them with the facility of flight.

Sorrel’s band of wind-walkers swirl surreptitiously alongside the castle walls, aiming to scout out the keep. The sensory powers of Ugrat’s mysterious horn will come into play here. Concentrating, he seeks to sense the presence of life forms inside the chambers beyond the walls of stone, even to escry what is within if he can.

He determines that there are several gnomes on each floor of the keep. He only identifies the presence of one ice elf – a female who is in a wretched state, shackled to a wall in the main hall. On an upper floor, he clairvoys a slightly disturbing scene – seven gnomes all seated before an open fire. They have slightly gaunt looking faces and vacant eyes. They are clad only in dirty-looking sackcloth. They rock back and forth gently, mumbling something unintelligible under their breath, spittle dribbling from the corners of their mouths. They all look somewhat demented.

Intrigued, Ugrat attempts to glean a vision of the past in this room. He catches a flash of a recent scene of emotion – someone was mortally afraid here a day or so ago….he has a vision, of an ice-elf woman being hauled into the room by two armoured gnomes, her hands bound and her mouth gagged. She wears various totems and symbols that identify her as a holy woman. The seven demented gnomes all rise as one and turn to face towards her, silhouetted by the flames behind them. The central gnome abruptly raises his head and stares into her eyes, sudden cruel intelligence springing into his features. “DO YOU KNOW WHO I AM?” he utters in a booming voice…..

Ugrat snaps out of his trance abruptly, shaken by what he has just seen.

The party drifts onwards towards the watchtower. Ugrat again directs his paranormal senses into the lowest floor of the tower. There is a single individual there, in a state of fear and loneliness. He clairvoys successfully and sees, in dim light seeping through a small grille in the doorway, the ice-elf shamaness he scried in his earlier vision. She is shackled to the wall and surrounded by statues…statues of young ice elves! Has Keraptis somehow petrified his prisoners?

An empathic scan of the upper floors discerns that there are two intelligences there….one typically humanoid consciousness, and one animal consciousness. The one is seeking to assert his authority on the other. Ugrat tries to push further, tries to get a vision of what is transpiring….

Ugrat’s horn is not always a reliable appendage. His clairvoyance fails, and instead he finds his energy bleeding off in the form of radiant light…..

There is a shout from above, in a harsh, guttural dialect of gnomish language.

Sorrel decides that the game is up and it is time to leave….he whooshes away on the wind drawing his companions with him. Having taken care to ensure that nothing is following them, they report back to the party camp away to the west and below.

Previous Installments:

Quest For The Hanging Glacier - Part 1
Quest For The Hanging Glacier - Character Sketch: Snake
Quest For The Hanging Glacier - Part 2
Quest For The Hanging Glacier - Character Sketch: Albrigon
Quest For The Hanging Glacier - Part 3
Quest For The Hanging Glacier - Part 4
Quest For The Hanging Glacier - Character Sketch: Ugra’at