Session 19: Clash Atop the Keep

The adventurers navigate through the fortress atop Icespire Peak in search of the dragon that has been terrorizing the land.

Summary
Baldir, Quoorin, Ravana, Shanjan and Spills the Stew found themselves inside the undercroft of Icespire Hold while Latham, Moneux, Morgana Davos and Darokha continued the treachorous march along the narrow paths outside of the icy fortress.

The Undercroft
In the undercroft the adventurers found strange, curved pieces of wood strewn about the floor. As they pressed further and searched through the tombs, Varien was able to uncover a bundle of cloth containing figurines of a griffon, dog and an owl.

When the masked warlock presented the figurines to his companions Baldir identified them as figurines of wondrous power, although the dwarf was uncertain of how to unleash their "wondrous power."

Reuniting the Party
Outside the keep, Latham led the way along the winding path toward Icespire Hold. The adventurers made their way to a bridge connecting the fortress to its gatehouse. Using Latham's magical shield as an anchor to pull on, Moneux and Morgana scaled the icy cliffs and secured a shortcut for Latham, Davos and Darokha; Rocinante and Moneux's skeletal riding horse remained outside.

The Welcoming Party
In the undercroft, Quoorin and Baldir discovered a secret door connecting them to the fortress' ground level, simultaneously Latham and Moneux led their companions into a room filled with kobolds.

Both groups entered the room from opposite entrances and disposed of the kobolds with ease before confronting a wicked hag who referred to a "disturbed queen." The adventurers clashes with the hag, but the wicked creature turned themselves into a gaseous form before fleeing upward through a chimney.

A Dragon in Wait
Darokha led the adventurers to a stairwell that ascended toward a commander's station connected to the fortress' rooftop. Arrow slits pointed out of every corner and wall of the station and Moneux spied trolls frozen in blocks of ice and the white dragon curled up in slumber in the middle of the snowy roof. The party took positions to attack the dragon from the station as well as up-close. Quoorin consumed the potion of dragon invisibility that Adabra made and sneaked to attack the sleeping dragon, but the adventurers had been tricked by an illusion as they saw the true dragon descend from the skies and heard the mad cackling of the hag who appeared from invisibility atop the rooftop.

The adventurers battled with the dragon and hag as blustering winds carried snow around the battlefield. The potion of dragon invisibility proved to be indispensable as Quoorin was able to unleash a barrage of invisible attacks with his dragon slaying sword. The hag conjured deadly waves of ice that separated the adventurers from one another, that was until Moneux loosed a deadly arrow into the hag's body, forcing the spellcaster to retreat. As the hag retreated, the weather around the fortress calmed and snow atop the fortress roof melted into sheets of ice.

The adventurers were closing in on their victory just as the frozen trolls broke from their prisons of ice, and a gargantuan figure started to take shape out of the newly formed ice.

The Ice Queen
The hag erected a wall of ice that it, and thee dragon took refuge behind as the unfrozen trolls attacked the adventurers. All the while, the ice atop the roof continued to take shape and grow before braking apart to reveal a grotesque, three-headed giant.

The giant and the trolls unleashed a furious assault on the adventurers, pushing them back to the adjacent commander's station. The protection of the station's walls did not last long, as the giant used its strength to topple a section of its walls, leaving Moneux and Varien damaged and rendering Morgana unconscious.

A magical energy boomed from the wall of ice that the hag formed, and shortly after the white dragon and the hag took flight and returned to the fray.

A Deadly Bargain
The hag immediately began hurling deadly spells from the air while the dragon landed at the giant's side and breathed its icy breath into the station, freezing Darokha in place as the orc tried to take cover against a wall. Latham, Davos and Shanjan made their way back outside to defend the station. Shanjan attempted to use the scroll that Baldir gave him to keep the dragon bound to the rooftop. Magical bands of light wrapped around the dragon, but the beast was able to break free from the binds.

In the midst of the chaos, Latham quietly stepped forward to make a bargain with the giant. The goliath spoke in giant to the three-headed enemy but was met with a smirk followed by the grotesque giant picking up and hurling a boulder at the paladin. Just as the boulder flew toward Latham, an explosion burst from his position.

Ice in the form of a blast mark pointed toward Latham, as the dust and smoke cleared from the explosion it appeared as though the paladin was untouched, but he was wielding wearing black iron armor and weapons etched in glowing embers. Shanjan and Davos were speechless as they approached the goliath and without hesitation, Latham began attacking Davos. Meanwhile, the giant dealt a crucial blow to Shanjan, knocking the young adventurer unconscious.

Wondrous Allies
Inside the command station Varien and Moneux retreated from the toppled wall, leaving Morgana behind. Spills the Stew steeled himself and cast a spell of healing to bring Morgana back to consciousness. Baldir, Quoorin and Ravana rushed out from the station and witnessed the transformed Latham attacking his companions. It was apparent that Latham was in control of his actions and without a way of controlling their friend, the adventurers moved in to fight the black iron paladin.

Meanwhile inside the station, Moneux readied her bow and set her sights on the hag. Varien pulled out the figurines and tried activating their magic in different ways before throwing them on the ground, causing three animals to appear: a griffon, a giant owl and a mastiff. The animals appeared friendly and in a desperate plea for help, they took to Varien's commands. The griffon took flight to attack the hag, the mastiff ran out to distract the frozen trolls and the giant owl lowered its body, allowing Varien to mount the creature for combat.

The Battle Rages On
Quoorin, Ravana and Baldir fought against the black iron Latham and the paladin's slew of new abilities that caught the adventurers off-guard. The grotesque giant was about to deal a killing blow to Shanjan until Davos moved to defend him.

Latham was brought to his knees allowing Quoorin and Ravana to target the dragon. Ravana supported Quoorin as she unleashed an unending flurry of attacks, Quoorin was still invisible to dragon as he, too, sent an invisible assault to the beast. Meanwhile, Baldir attacked the trolls and the grotesque giant from afar, but all three of the creatures' wounds appeared to close almost as fast as they were formed. The dwarf was even able to bring one of the trolls to an apparent death but it was not long until the creatures came back to life and continued fighting. With each attack against the dragon, Quoorin felt an uneasiness in his gut. The elf fighter was able to keep the feeling down only for so long until he spilled his guts. As this happened, the dragon's eyes immediately locked onto the elf, he was no longer invisible. Quoorin reacted quickly and plunged his shortsword into the dragon once more as the beast lunged at the elf.

The sound of scales cracking and skittering across the icy rooftop could be heard as Quoorin dealt the killing blow and slew the dragon. Quoorin's triumph could not be savored, the hag continued hurling spells that Quoorin and Ravana needed to dodge. Davos continued to defend the unconscious Shanjan until the grotesque giant battered him into unconsciousness. Before the party could heal Davos, the giant picked up the man's body and threw him over the edge of the roof, toward the jagged peaks beneath the fortress.

Player Characters

 * Baldir the dwarf arcane archer/wizard
 * Latham the goliath paladin of devotion
 * Moneux the shifter beast master
 * Quoorin the wood elf battle master
 * Varien the half-elf warlock of the fiend

Non-Player Characters

 * Darokha, the male orc guide to Icespire Peak
 * Davos Seafarer, the human monk of Ilmater and one of the founding members of The Shielding Hand.
 * Morgana, the panther animal companion to Moneux.
 * Poe, the raven familiar to Varien.
 * Ravana, a female elf that was summoned by the Deck of Many Things to serve Quoorin.
 * Shanjan, the male human wizard/fighter and member of The Shielding Hand.
 * Spills the Stew, a male tabaxi bard and adventurer looking to catalog the adventures of heroes.

Deaths

 * Davos Seafarer: beaten unconscious and hurled off off the fortress atop Icespire Peak.
 * Darokha: frozen to death by the white dragon.
 * Spills the Stew: struck down by the grotesque frost giant.