15 - 4/19/24 : Call to Arms

"You think this a retreat? This was an observation. How foolish to think you can conquer winter itself."  

Orizana

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  The bridge console of the Id Ascendant began to broadcast a message from a githyanki spelljammer that had intercepted a signal from the nautiloid.   "Attention, ghaik vessel. This is Kith'rak Gen'a'as of the spelljammer Umitl'a'ikith. We have identified your derelict nautiloid and have registered its aetheric signature. You cannot escape the justice of the Undying Queen. Make peace with whatever gods you may remember, for we come to put you to the sword and burn out any trace of your foul existence. There is nowhere you may go that we will not find you. Ch'mar, zal'a Vlaakith!"   Immediately after the message had ceased, the same console began to display strange illithid symbols; Melfina was able to tell that it was an estimation of the spelljammer's proximity, and that the ship would arrive in approximately a week. In light of this, Alithkav elected to stay behind to observe the arrival of the Githyanki, intending to watch their movements without confronting them directly or making herself known.   The party also discovered a slate on Captain Aslintial's body, which seemed to be a personal account detailing his transformation and his intentions to cure himself of his condition, as well as the supposed plots of the stranded Mind Flayers. The crew of the Id Ascendant seemed to be seeking what a long-gone illithid colony of centuries past sought; a lost 'dark city' known as Ythryn, in which supposedly laid a source of great power. This city was allegedly able to be reached via a series of subterranean passages known as the Caves of Hunger. However, the illithids knew nothing of the location of the caves, nor were they able to search before falling prey to the elements around them. The contents of this slate read as thus;  

ENTRY 1: It has been a number of cycles since I emerged from the ceremorphosis. The reality of my transformation has been made apparent. I have been made ghaik, no longer gith. Forced to take on the face of the great enemy, like some sort of cruel cosmic joke. And yet a sliver of hope survives, for I appear to have retained some semblance of who I was before. As the ghaik integrate me into the crew of the ship, I have come to realize that they are panicking, for this ship is compromised. Their systems are failing, and the environment cannot sustain their anatomies. Their supply of brains runs low, and they cannot leave to hunt more. Perhaps these failures are to blame for my apparently incomplete ceremorphosis. Perhaps they are to blame for me finding this unsecured tablet upon which to transcribe my thoughts. Time shall tell if I remain Aslintial. For now, I must survive, and I must plan.

 

ENTRY 2: The reality of the Id Ascendant's situation has set in. Life support systems have almost entirely failed. The integrity of the tadpole pools has been largely compromised. Further attempts at ceremorphosis have either resulted in sudden deaths or have failed to begin altogether. Prisoners are now being rationed for their brains, but they will only last so long. The leaders of this ship have attempted to contact other illithid ships, only to be met with silence. It is my belief that they… we… have been abandoned by the Grand Design.

 

ENTRY 3: As the elder illithid begin to lose the capacity to control themselves to hunger, they have spoken of a mission to which other illithids of a previous age had pursued to their own deaths. What records remain have been fragmented or otherwise destroyed by the crash, but there were whispers of the 'Caves of Hunger', which led to a great city of darkness; 'Ythryn', they called it, or 'The Secret' in the old tongue of this world. The illithids of the Id Ascendant believe that a great power is hidden in this Ythryn, but knew naught of its location nor any way to reach it. Just as well; they will not last long as the cold grows ever more bitter.

 

ENTRY 4: The hunger pangs that wrack my wretched illithid brain grow worse. As more of the other ghaik fall victim to hunger-driven madness and insanity, I have found myself one of the few remaining that has a grasp on reason. I must use this opportunity well. As my last desperate gambit, I have taken control of the ship's long-range communication console. The Grand Design may not listen, but other ships in realmspace just might. Even if Vlaakith's children themselves set sight upon this ship, I must make contact with anyone outside of this frozen land. It is my only hope for someone, anyone of Zerthimon's Arrow, to make it out of this misery. I must persist. We cannot be forgotten. I must only hold out long enough for the

  The rest of the final message remained unfinished.   Ragna, Melfina, and Tali moved on from the area, resting nearby for the night before continuing on to investigate the legendary Jarlmoot and its supposed treasure.   Jarlmoot stood as a ring of icy thrones atop a snowy knoll, above which circled a flock of ravens. In the center of the ring, Ragna discovered that there was a giant rune inscribed in the center of them; a rune that read 'proclaim'. Ragna announced himself by his chosen epithet and gave word of past deeds and triumphs; this caused the ghosts of several frost giant jarls to appear on their thrones, led by the Jarl of Jarls known as Reggaryarva.   Reggaryarva heeded Ragna's proclamation, and bade the barbarian and their party to prove their words to be more than mere fiction by testing themselves in battle. From the snow was summoned the animated skeleton of a frost giant, which attacked the party. They were able to prevail against the fearsome opponent, and Reggaryarva congratulated them on their victory. However, he advised them to beware that someone else was close by, also seeking the treasure of the frost giants, and decreed that the winner of the battle between this unknown entity and the party would receive his blessing to claim their prize.   True to Reggaryarva's word, a challenger appeared as some of the ravens descended from the sky and shape-shifted into humanoid form. Orizana, the masked frost druid behind many of the recent threats to the Ten-Towns, took form with two other druids and condemned the Lonesome Few for their consistent interference before attacking them, much to Ragna's delight.   Although their druidic magic was fearsome, Orizana was forced to flee as her fellow druids fought to the death. With their opposition defeated, the party descended into a newly revealed staircase leading deep below the snow, with Reggaryarva's voice announcing their victory and blessing as they stepped into the dark.   Within the passage below, the party solved a puzzle involving making offerings to several torches marked with various giant runes, and were allowed access into a further chamber. Within this chamber was an ornate chest, which Ragna opened. Inside was an exquisitely carved mustering horn; the legendary Gjallarhorn, which could be sounded by a warrior of sufficient valor to summon the spirit of a giant to aid them in times of great need. Ragna happily took this treasure, famed among her people.   With their business at Jarlmoot concluded, the party decided to make their way to Vrath Keep next to investigate the troubles there. They made their way to Honeybrook first, since their stocks of food were beginning to run low, and arrived to find the newly elected Speaker Olivessa Untapoor.   Olivessa thanked the party for their help with the orcs and the election, happily announcing that trading with Storm's Call had already begun. She also told the party that Shandar Froth, her opponent in the election, disappeared after his defeat alongside his cronies. This worried the party somewhat, but they had bigger fish to fry. After stocking up and partaking of some of the recovered Honeybrook mead, they continued on the road with the intent to stop in at Lystheim to check in with the Council of Speakers; assuming that King Siegmar was no longer there.   After a few days on the road, the party arrived and stopped in at the Northlook, Lystheim's inn. They were surprised to be recognized by many of the townsfolk, who had heard of their exploits as a group since they left the town nearly a month ago. Scramzax the barkeep bade them drink for free in thanks for their deeds, which the party happily accepted before sitting to speak with Dannika Graysteel about the chwinga they had found several weeks prior.   Dannika and Tali, who were acquainted due to their similar situations and occupations, exchanged pleasantries before Dannika happily observed the chwinga that had been recovered by the party. She stated her intent to study the chwinga and its nature magic, hoping to use the knowledge gained to work towards an end for the eternal winter.   Melfina asked Dannika about Ythryn and the Caves of Hunger, which they had learned of from Captain Aslintial's slate. Dannika stated that according to her readings, Caves of Hunger were rumored to be a series of caverns that was situated beneath the city of Hollowfaust, and that whatever this 'Ythryn' was, it likely laid below the city as well. Entering these caves, however, would likely be impossible while the glacier continued to encase Hollowfaust.   The party reaffirmed their intent to visit the Lost Spire to the north, since it was likely linked to Hollowfaust, and hoped to discover clues about the Caves of Hunger and the glacier while there. Dannika asked them to bring back any curiosities, in case they would be of interest to her work, and promised compensation in the form of gold and spell scrolls for their trouble.   As Dannika left and Ragna began to boast about their victory over the illithids of the Id Ascendant, the party was approached by a face familiar to Ragna; her older half-brother Brynjar. This was a welcome surprise, as Ragna announced Bryn to be one of the 'good ones'. Brynjar joined the party to drink and talk, giving them a rundown of King Siegmar's visit with surprising eloquence unexpected of a barbarian.   According to Brynjar, King Siegmar hardly had to do any speaking, instead letting his very presence intimidate the Speakers of the Ten Towns, who spent most of the summit arguing amongst themselves over whether to surrender or fight. In the end, they elected to fight against the barbarians, meaning war was soon to come to Frostgale Taiga.   Bryn had been expelled from the tribe for protesting the tribe's war against the Ten Towns, seeing it as needless and wasteful. He gave Ragna updates on the status of their other siblings, including their youngest sister Soley, a fiery teenager who was eager to prove herself an adult so that she could participate in the fighting. Ragna also informed Brynjar of Gunnar's death.   Bryn had little to say about Xardorok Sunblight when asked, since Bryn wasn't trusted near the duergar or their plans like Úlfur was. He feared what sort of monstrosity was being constructed by all the chardalyn the tribe had been digging up, but also came to realize that he couldn't bring himself to fight against his former family either.   With no decisive stake in the coming conflict, Bryn stated that he intended to take himself and his herbalist training to the east to seek Gleha, an old firbolg druid who supposedly lived along the road to Vrath Keep. He hoped to find a new path in life with some of her guidance.   Since the party was already planning to head that way, they offered to let Bryn tag along, to which he agreed. Before turning in for the night, however, the Lonesome Few decided to visit the Council of Speakers to give them information on what they had learned about the Broken Blade and their plans.   The Council of Speakers was gathered at their meeting hall, though three speakers were absent; Speaker Naerth Maxildanaar of Mirlake, Speaker Crannoc Siever of Vrath Keep, and the newly elected Speaker Olivessa Untapoor of Honeybrook. Knowing of the Lonesome Few's exploits, the speakers allowed the adventurers into their meeting, with Speaker Duvessa Shane of Lystheim greeting them upon arrival.   The party told the speakers everything that they had learned and achieved; the Broken Blade's alliance with the Sunblight Duergar, the promise of the Orcs of Storm's Call to aid the Ten Towns in their fight, the possibility of the Duhngrave Dwarves' assistance, and the mysterious black monstrosity being forged by the duergar in preparation for the attack.   Speaker Dorbulgruf Shalescar of Icemeet, an old dwarf with knowledge of the years past, explained that the Sunblight Clan had not been seen in the area in centuries, and likely were laying low until their recent re-emergence. He did not know what they were capable of, but knew that they had a fortress deep in the northern range of the Dragon Teeth Mountains. It was likely that they could be found there, and their plans potentially stopped.   Speaker Edgra Durmoot of Hole-in-the-Ice, a dour and bitter old woman, decried the involvement of the Lonesome Few, and refused to entrust her safety and that of her people in the hands of a barbarian and a dark elf. She refused to lend her small town's fighters and resources to the defense and insisted on a surrender, saying that Hole-in-the-Ice preferred to survive under barbarian rule rather than die at the end of their blades. Ragna criticized Edgra's cowardice, and Duvessa expelled Hole-in-the-Ice from the council for refusing to heed their consensus. Edgra left angrily, aided by a walking cane.   The council laid out their plans for the invasion; they planned to muster the majority of their combined forces in Whiteridge to the north, since it would be the first place set upon by the Broken Blade. They intended to convey this to Storm's Call with Olivessa's help, hoping that their combined forces would be enough to hold back the barbarians.   In the meantime, the speakers asked the Lonesome Few if they were willing to fight on behalf of the Ten Towns. Ragna, Melfina, and a reticent Tali all agreed to do so, knowing it'd be the death of them otherwise. Speaker Duvessa then gave them a choice; to either join the frontline defense at Whiteridge and lend their considerable might to the fight, or to venture to the mountains and seek out Sunblight Fortress, and hopefully disrupt Xardorok's plans to unleash a monster on the Ten Towns.   The party was given a few weeks to take care of any leads, since the barbarians were not immediately invading (and King Siegmar was, in fact, still traveling back to his base camp). They decided that before choosing their role in the invasion, they would see to Vrath Keep's troubles, explore the Lost Spire, and speak to the Duhngrave Dwarves to ask for their help in the coming fighting.   With their business concluded, Duvessa called for the meeting to end, and asked the Speakers to remain in Lystheim for another few days to discuss their strategy with the news of the orc reinforcements in mind. The party returned to the Northlook to rest, and prepared to depart to Vrath Keep with Brynjar in the morning.