The Northern Waste

The party are next approached by Lura's sponsor who is looking for a secure place for a secret council. The party agree and the council is held beneath Castle Raglan. The attendees are:-

• Lord Lyraen, Spymaster to the Elven Court
• Prince Erainion Nalkalven, second in line to the throne of Carandor
• The Enchantress, enigmatic magic user living near Greatport
• Vaarth Shadowspawn, Spymaster to King Draco
• Erwyn, a cleric representing the Outsiders
• Archmage Istamor, former counsellor to Risten
• Archbishop Benedict, former counsellor to Risten
• The party
• Alf and the Bard to serve at table

Rak is situated beneath the White Mountains, north of Starstone County, so the party equip themselves, use one of their portals to the forest south of the mountains and walk the remaining 40 miles or so. There they are met by some associates of Vaarth who have discovered a cave leading into Rak's passageways. The party proceed through the cave complex until they come to a small hole in the floor through which they squeeze. They drop onto a paved surface. The are on a major Dwarven road which is blocked a few hundred yards to the south but allows them an untroubled journey northwards. After maybe three miles they come to a wide Dwarven plaza which is guarded on the far side by large Dwarven constructs who bar the way forward. Attempts to by-pass the constructs lead to the arrival of two more metallic constructs who corner the party and prove tough to destroy. As more of the constructs pour into the plaza the party retreat back to the entrance to Rak and put in an urgent request to Vaarth for adamantine weapons. When these arrive the party discover that the original Dwarven road has been blocked.

The party make their way through smaller side passages using Rok's innate sense of direction underground. They make fair progress and even discover a number of secret passageways to help them on their way. They have to make detours to avoid the metal contructs who are now patrolling the area round the plaza and try to stay a couple of levels above the major road they first took. They also hear a ominous roar from some large monster which confirms the party's policy of sticking to minor passages was a good idea. On their way they come to a large reservoir where Midge's refusal to disturb the waters with some casually tossed rocks leads other party members to speculate that he is not in fact a halfling at all but possibly a polymorphed alien who doesn't really understand Halfling culture.

The party now enter the area of Raks's mines and progress becomes more difficult as the mine shafts take less predictable directions. The party head back towards the main thoroughfares and also discover they are being followed. Attempts to catch the creature result in the discovery that it can cast 'Grease' and that the passageway walls are very hard. The party also hear the ominous roaring again. Miles from aid, surrounded by foes and with only 'great drums beating from the deeps' and 'slender bridge of stone spanning chasm of unimagineable depth' to go on Midge's Ancient Dwarven City Bingo card will the party survive?

Later that night the party are camping in a corridor and have strange claustrophobic dreams with the exception of Rok who dreams of golden dwarven platemail. Suddenly loud roars sound uncomfortably close. Before many of the company can really react a large monster whose mouth seems to fill the passage bears down of the party and severely injures itself on a hastily erected forcewall. But the laughter of the party is curtailed as a second monster attacks from the other side. Dindle fires off a couple of fireballs and Lura fires hers arrows but then the beast is on them. The party divide into three groups: those than can magically pass forcewalls (to attack the first monster), those that can dodge well (to attack the second monster) and Frag (who ends up in the second monsters mouth but is strong enough to prevent the jaws closing). Cramped in corners of the passage the party whip out their daggers and other light weapons and furiously assault the monsters who desperately try to shake off their attackers. Unfortunately their bulk now proves their undoing and they cannot escape the party who, not content with killing the fearsome beasts, then perform educational vivisections on them.

The next day Rok finds another secret door with a verical shaft behind it. Intrigued by a dim glow in its depths the party fly down to take a look. At the bottom is a door under which a bright light seeps. Dindle uses magical x-ray vision to peer inside and sees what appears to be the ancient tomb of a dwarvish king. Rok is more interested in the golden armour floating in the air inside. Dwarvish runes forbid it to be touched save by a dwarf intent on saving the world and since he feels he fits the bill Rok steps forward to claim it (ignoring the annoying small print about a guardian). The doors are magically sealed and the party can be heard outside discussing whether the few hastily contrived enhancements they cast on Rok will be enough to save him. A great dwarven construct appears and Rok is forced to battle alone against a superior opponent. Bravely he fights to the last but the guardian's final potentially lethal blow is halted an inch from Roks face. He appears to be satisfied by Rok's skill and courage and gives him the armour. In the tomb the party find three blue jewels (which work the elevator in the shaft) and a map of the whole complex. Dindle also finds that the site is so inherently magic-infused that his powers are temporarily restored completely.

Making use of the new map and wishing to avoid the the 'single span over unimagineable depths' where no doubt 'an evil of the ancient world' will await them the party head for two look-out posts high in the city with the aim of flying off the mountain. Unfortunately both are currently used by adult white dragons as lairs but the party launch deadly assaults which quickly overwhelm the beasts. From their vantage points the party can see a wide artic plain stretching into the north. Three features of the plain stand out: wide gouges as if a large glacier had passed over the plain, incongruously healthy clumps of vegetation dotted about the landscape and burnt out areas which look as if some of these clumps have been set on fire.

With no sign of the City of the Norns the party resort to windwalking which enables them to cover hundreds of miles in a day. They range so far north that they discover Hekkate, the ancient city of the Elves of the North. Here the Elves welcome them and quickly come to see them as prophesied heroes. The Elves know where their ancient enemies can be found but they also know more about the prophecy and the fate of the heroes...

First the Elves say if the party are the heroes long awaited they must rescue Peregrine, the son of Risten, who is held prisoner in the City of the Norns by Gollian, chief servant of Gol. The Elves have a secret teleportation ring 10 miles from that City. As the party walk from there they feel as if the power of their magical items and clerical spells is fading. The Norns are overconfident, however, and the entrance to the City is poorly guarded. Dressed in the black cloaks of the Norns the party infiltrate the City which is set in a glacier. They discover a room in which the green life force of the Norns is being pumped into various Norn-converts and more sinisterly into a great black cliff, the physical form of the destructive god Gol.

At the end of the room they see a man hung on the wall by iron bands and surrounded by a pit of the corrosive green goo of the Norns. This they assume is Peregrine (luckily they are right!) and without their magic they devise an elaborate plan to rescue him as the room is well guarded. First Midge and Nifara the Rakshasha scout the room and discover an incredibly well-hidden secret door. It leads to the chamber of a powerful female magic user who they correctly deduce is Daretta. Since there is another exit out of the room (albeit guarded) they feel it is a possible escape route. Brand creates a diversion by rushing past the guards towards Peregrine. The guards are dispatched after a tough fight (magic weapons not working) and replaced by members of the party. Unfortunately Daretta herself arrives with her personal guard and orders the party to report to the guard captain. The party double back and start an argument with their replacements which allows Midge and Nifara to rescue Peregrine. Retreating via Daretta's chamber they find it now occupied but they take the opportunity to use their professional skills to assassinate her and dispose of the body. They then pretend to be Darretta and her entourage and walk back to the City entrance. Here the guards are vainly trying to push back a mob incited by the rest of the party and some additional Darreta-impersonation ensures everyone escapes to the widerness outside. Although questioned by a White Dragon twice the party bluff their way to freedom.

Back in Hekkate an emissary of the Gods explains that Gollian has been tricked, the green life force he is pumping into Gol in the belief that it is the most powerful thing in the multiverse and will resucitate the sleeping god does have a weakness. The Gods have long planned Gol's destruction. A secret liquid known only to the Gods can be brewed using the magic cauldrons given to the Elves long ago for just this purpose (the wells of Essendil). The herb that heals damage inflicted by the Norns and which only grows in this land is one ingredient and the other is the blood of an innocent man who has endured long suffering for his people without complaint, which can be drawn from Peregrine. When this substance comes into contact with Gol's new life-force a cataclysmic explosion will occur.

The Elves plan to remove the ancient wards around they lands against dragons. Gollian and his ally Auril, the cold goddess, had managed to subvert this magic to allow white dragons to protect the City of the Norns. Now the Elves will summon good dragons to mount an aerial assault on Gol (technically suicide bombing but then you can't be a terrorist if you've got an airforce). The party are warned of the dire prophecies surrounding the fate of the heroes who lead the attack and as a precaution all are branded on their hands with the symbol of their gods. Sadly the Prophecies only mention five heroes so Nifara, Koln the charasmatic cleric and Lana the healer say their goodbyes.

Thirty good-aligned dragons make up the assault party with the party riding on five of them carrying the magic red liquid and some preliminary alchemical explosive to crack open the glacier. In the first attack Dindle in particular hits the perfect spot with his cauldron of explosive mixture and cracks open the glacier wide enough for the next attack to count. The magic cauldrons wing their way to their target. The party all hope that the death of Gol will allow their magical escape plans to work but the prophecies cannot be denied......