Jito cast invisibility on Gaspode as the half-elf borrowed the gnome痴 flying broom. He set off to the north hoping to scout out a location where the Mothers could base themselves closer to the lair of the fire giants. He found a ravine which opened out near the slag heap that the giants called home just as another giant patrol was leaving. It consisted of the familiar two fire giants accompanied by twelve gnolls. Gaspode kept still so that he would not be heard and waited for the patrol to disappear into the distance. When they did, he followed the course of the ravine back, until he saw some caves next to a stream that might be a good place to rest. He lowered the broom down until he could peer in, seeing some old rushes on the floor of the cave. Worried that this might mean that the caves were inhabited, he did not risk discovery or the cloak of his invisibility, but headed back to converse with the others. When he left the ravine on his way back a group of hell hounds were leaving the fortress, along with their master; a huge fire giant. The pack headed off to the northwest, goaded on by the master痴 whip.
When Gaspode returned it was almost getting dark. The Mothers came to the conclusion that they could not approach the citadel on foot without being spotted as surely the giants were now aware of some enemy that had killed some of their patrols. Jito and Fonesca suggested that if they returned to the glacier, they could prepare the magics required to get them across in front of the giant fortress unseen, while they made for the ravine and the caves that Gaspode had discovered. This way they would avoid the long walk up the wide road where they would surely be discovered.
Soon they were stepping out of the loops of the strange black metallic chain again, on the ice of the glacier. While the others were arranging their packs, Gaspode set off to scout out the rift as he was still invisible. The huge white dragon that perched on the rim of the entrance, gave even him pause. As quickly and quietly as he could he returned to the others to explain their predicament. They did not seem too concerned about this turn of evens. Hunnath started summoning a storm, and then herself and Gebhart prepared to call lightning from the burgeoning clouds. They all approached to within three hundred yards of the beast and Gaspode confirmed that it was still in position. Suddenly, the druid and the storm giant both extended their arms to the heavens and brought them sharply down, pointing at the white wyrm. An immense double fork of lightning flashed down and struck the dragon on either flank, the noise shook the Mothers, but sadly, the beast itself was unconcerned. It launched itself into the sky in a strangely graceful motion for such a terrible creature and flew directly towards the party. As it did so, Kurtalla and Siosiann fled in fear before the beast, unable to face the awful terror of the creature. Before the rest of them had the chance to take any other actions, the dragon opened its huge gaping jaws and a cone of all encompassing cold emerged covering all of them. Fonesca fell immediately and Gebhart turned to care for her, shielding her physically as he prepared healing magics. Levi and Goned had prepared their plan beforehand and launched columns of flame that they had summoned from the heavens down on the wyrm as it sped overhead. These seemed to scald the beast as it screamed in agony just as it was beginning to turn for another pass. Regid managed to land two arrows in it痴 flank as it banked around, and Jito waited until the last minute before launching a fireball from his wand straight at the head of the creature. This seemed to have the desired effect. As it emerged from the ball of flame and smoke it was plain to see that the creature was not flying gracefully over them, but rather crashing into their midst. Fonesca ended up under the right wing of the beast knocked down again after Gebhart痴 healing. With the dragon felled, Kurtalla and Siosiann returned to the others, somewhat shamefaced.
The Mothers breathed a short sigh of relief and then started helping themselves to the various parts of the beast that they thought might prove useful in the future, or that they just thought would make a suitable memento. Gaspode then remembered the dragon痴 treasure that he had seen in the caves below. The group headed off for that cave in the hope that it would now be unguarded. Nothing blocked their transit through the caves of the rift and Gebhart opened the passageway by shifting aside the huge boulder as before. Gaspode crept inside, and, not sensing any dragon-presence, brought the others in too. Siosiann identified which items of the hoard were magical and Gaspode divided these and the coinage and gems there amongst the group so that they could be removed safely. With all of these spoils the Mothers thought that it might not be wise to risk them all be returning immediately to the fire giant fortress, and some of their number felt that they would benefit from instruction from learned colleagues.