Ice
Station Athalau
12/3/10,122 - Athalau
As they set camp for the night Erimmes continues to find delight in his ever more substantial form, the four watch on as snow drifting through his non corporal figure slows slightly comparative to that falling around him. Waking early, they are met by an ever increasing snowfall, trudging on, the frozen ground slowly begins to rise. As morning drags into afternoon the snowfall increases until they marooned in a swirling blizzard, only Erimmes's unwavering draw towards his homeland allowing them to continue their path towards Athalau.
Reaching the foot of the glacier during a lapse in the blizzard they are dismayed to see the wall of ice disappearing above them & to the horizon both to the East & West, cold from the constant battle against the weather & with darkness closing in, a hurried camp is erected some forty yards or so from the foot of the ice wall.
As the others sleep Illyra maintains her vigil whilst continuing to prod Erimmes for additional information, after an hour or so she is sure he is holding nothing back but frustrated by his continual perverse suggestions she lapses into silent contemplation. As she readies to wake Kilite to stand the final watch the ground beneath her feet trembles & there is a dull thud to the East. Waking Kilite they surmise it is an icefall from the face of the glacier, deciding that there camp is sufficiently distant from the ice face they leave the others to rest for the remainder of the night, however Kilite, his spirits low, commences to preach forth to the night his gods virtues, thus disturbing the sleep of the others anyway.
As they eat a miserable breakfast they are at least a little cheered as the snow begins to ease, discussing the way forward, Molin refuses to send his falcon aloft in the freezing air, so Illyra makes use of her bag of bones, casting a pigeon claw into the frigid air the bird takes form & flutters in circles around her head. The scattered thoughts and circular vision of the pigeon momentarily disorientate Illyra however she soon calms the bewildered mind of the bird & sends it up the face of the glacier. Some three hundred or so yards above the bird crests the glaciers lip & Illyra can see a vast white icy plain stretching out in all directions penetrated only by the rocky outcrops as the mountains rise above in the distance. Drawing the bird down the face of the ice wall she picks out various crevasses where ice has presumably fallen away, however as the pigeon crosses & re-crosses the ice face circular tunnels of varying diameters can be seen beyond the broken face. Hurriedly the matter is discussed from which Illyra sends the bird into one of the larger openings. Images of ice tunnels branching & cutting across the birds path flash past, some larger, some smaller, some going up & down in no apparent order. Abruptly the thoughts of cold & images from her host disappear, to soon for the spell to have dissipated, the waiting four assume some ill fate has befallen the bird.
Following the loss of the bird Tharla nimbly scales the near vertical ice to a shelf some forty or so feet above, securing a rope she is soon joined by Illyra & Kilite whilst Molin elects to remain with their mounts below. Erimmes continues to guide the party towards Athalau through the maze of tunnels, picking their way through they find themselves some two hundred & fifty yards as the crow flies within the ice face, however they have travelled some three times that distance to reach this point. Sensing a change in the air/a slight vibration through the floor of the tunnel, the three move into a smaller side passage, Erimmes, his senses heightened so close to home, confirms something is approaching. Seconds later they are assaulted by a fetid stench as a huge worm like creature slithers past the end of the passage in which they are concealed.
The creature is some forty feet plus long & has a girth equal to that of the tunnel in which it travelled, fourteen feet or so. Kilite shrugs & suggests that the detection of enemies, which he had cast earlier, is still operating but is silent concluding that whilst this spell is normally reliable it only functions on those who knowingly mean them harm. Waiting while the beast moves past the tunnel end they quietly discuss how to continue, glancing around Kilite is appalled to see in the light of their lanterns a worm cutting through the ice towards them, rushing back into the larger passage they note that the pursuer is the very same worm that had only moments before pasted the end of the side passage.
Disconcerted they hurriedly backtrack towards the tunnel entrance, further worms are seen but avoided until they reach the last tunnel where upon a beast only three feet or so diameter & thirty feet plus long, slithers between them & their escape. Well aware that more worms, far bigger than that blocking their escape, are close behind they draw weapons & move forward. Illyra, having prepared a spell of befuddlement first makes use of her ring of fire whilst Kilite casts a magically enhanced fire arrow. Tharla, hefting her two handed spear, lunges at the creature, whilst their blows, magical & physical strike true, they are caught unawares at the speed of the worms own multiple attacks. Struck heavily about her head, Tharla is overwhelmed by the appalling stench which assaults her & quickly she finds herself being violently sick. Both worm & party strike further blows however the worm is no match for them & soon is a mutilated pile of stinking slime. Fortuitously Kilite looks to their rear to see a huge worm, twenty-five feet plus diameter, bursting through into their current tunnel, enlarging it as it travelled towards them.
Pulling Tharla to her feet, they run for the circle of light at the tunnel entrance. Some forty yards from the lip of the tunnel Kilite slips & slowly starts to slide towards the tunnel entrance & the drop beyond. Illyra turns momentarily & casts the spell of befuddlement prepared earlier on the approaching worm only to feel it hit a mental wall, realising the creature is mindless the creature is therefore untroubled by such mind affecting enchantments. Slipping his dagger from its sheath Kilite & digging it into the ice he arrests his fall & regains his feet only to see Illyra slide past him & disappear over the lip of the tunnel however as he reaches for the rope he can see Illyra quickly descending hand over hand down the rope. Hurling himself forward Kilite turns, raises the staff of larva & blazes a ball of fire into the approaching worms body before grabbing the rope & dropping to the ground below, the worms head bursts through the ice above, bellows in pain from the burns about its head before retreating back the way it had come.
As Molin watches from below Tharla disappears from the tunnel lip only to reappear immediately before him, before explanation can be given all four hurl themselves aside to avoid the ice cascading from above. Whilst no major injury is caused both Illyra & Tharla are bruised & battered from the icefall.
Making themselves comfortable, cuts & bruises are healed & the problem of the worms discussed, Erimmes advises that he can feel Athalau, or at least the outskirts & suggests that by using his growing senses he could possibly triangulate its embedment within the glacier more precisely. Kilite, with excellent navigational experience adds that if Erimmes can give him reference points & lines, he can calculate the distance to Athalau. Molin, picking up Erimmes jar mounts Gunter & spends the next several hours riding along the face of the glacier with Erimmes. Several hours later Kilite smiles & announces that if Erimmes is correct with his alignments then Athalau is only some thousand yards beyond the face of the glacier.
With darkness approaching they consider their choices, climb to the top of the glacier or push in through the tunnels, in either case it would necessitate abandoning the mounts, something that Molin is most reluctant to do. During the course of the conversation Molin recalls seeing several openings, possibly caves, a quarter of a mile or so West of their current position, hastily they gather their belongings & move out.
Two hours later the four are relaxing in front of a small fire hidden within the largest of three caves, the cave ends some thirty feet in & shows sign of previous/old occupancy. Their shelter allows them the time to decide how they are to proceed out of the snow & wind.
The following morning, 14/3/10,122, a plan, of sorts, is hatched, Illyra, taking the bones of a rabbit from her enchanted pouch, casts them to the floor, Tharla waiting until Illyra is firmly in control of the rabbits emotions, casts both a light & silence spell upon the unfortunate creature. From there it is delivered by Tharla into the enlarged passage where upon Illyra urges it forward into the maze of tunnels. Frantically the terrified creature bolts into the depths of the glacier, its view of the passages seen by Illyra via her empathic link. All to soon worms are encountered & the fate of the rabbit is, unsurprisingly, short lived.
Wishing to confirm his suspicions Molin returns to the threshold of the passage & deliberately pounds the floor, sure enough a worm is soon attracted by the vibration caused. Returning to the others before the worm can draw near he confirms his opinion that the worms probably feel &/or smell the presence rather than hear or see their prey. Wishing to make best use of their time within the safety of the cave the group collectively set about making instruments of fire, however their precious supply of oil will not stretch far, fortunately sufficient magic is available to compliment any intended firestorm.
Ever keen to assist Kilite prays to Jirre, for aid.