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The Mothers discussed their options and decided to help the Cormyrians with the giant problem in the Stonelands. Fonesca, Jito and Levi studied and prayed to prepare what spells they thought might be effective in their mission. Two days later the Mothers returned to the palace in Arabel to meet with the Lord High Seneschal and his ranger. The ranger told them that a group of giants of various types had been raiding in the north east of Cormyr, along the border with the Stonelands area, unclaimed by any kingdom. A number of noble families whose lands abutted this region were appealing for action as they could not protect their own subjects. The caravans of trade goods to Tilverton had also been attacked. The ranger described a great timber fortress where the chief of these giants, a hill giant named Nosnra, lived. Nosnra was known to be a grossly fat and thoroughly despicable creature, who was sly and vicious, loving ambush and suffering. But it was not supposed that he had the influence alone to group the variety of giant-kin together for long. Another motivational power was suspected. The Mothers were given horses and directions to a cave that the ranger had been using as a hideout near the steading of the hill giant chief. They were also instructed to keep all loot found with the giants and to bring back any evidence that they found of a motivational force behind the alliance. It took the Mothers a few days travel north from Arabel, stopping at Castle Crag on the way, to reach the hideout that the ranger had mentioned. They left their horses there and went out to scout the great wooden hall. When they got within sight of the hall, Jito cast an Invisibility 10' radius on Gaspode so that he could scout out the area. Gaspode noticed that there were no guards outside the building. He could also hear some sounds of merriment from within. He went around the outside and discovered two other gates, besides the door underneath the main watch tower. No one seemed to be on sentry duty up there either. Gaspode crept up to the front door underneath the tower. He listened intently for any sound of a guard, but heard only snoring. He opened the door and stepped inside. Two snoring giants lay slumped against the wall under a row of cloaks and bags suspended from wooden pegs. An empty barrel of ale lay between them. Moving on, Gaspode spied a set of double doors behind which much merriment was being had. Stairs led up to the tower to his left and two other, smaller doors led off to the right. He crept lightly up the stairs and saw that the guard there had decided on mead as his soporific. This was lucky as there was a simple alarm system consisting of an iron bar and hoop overhead. Descending again, Gaspode found that one of the doors below lead into a series of corridors, one of which revealed some ogre serving staff bringing food through another set of double-doors. The other door also opened into a corridor. Here Gaspode entered a room and found a huge bed covered in furs. There was also a locked chest and a high shelf, which he left for the moment. He returned to the others and they decided that the fates were with them and it was time for an assault. The whole group gingerly gathered in the hall while Gaspode ascended the tower again to dispatch the giant there. This done, he and Guthranka dealt similarly with the two below while Levi laid a glyph of warding in front of the double-doors. Fonesca coated herself and Jito with dust of disappearance and stood opposite the doors. Gaspode called on Imp to give him strength. When he had finished the glyph, Levi prayed that the group would complement each other in battle. Then he and Guthranka pulled open the doors. A long gloomy passage extended from the doors for about eighty feet before it reached a feast-hall with a large central fire-pit, over which roasted sheep, pigs and calves. Trestle tables had been set up to seat about thirty giants and ogres. Jito and Fonesca did not wait to count them. Jito raised his wand and loosed a fireball just to the left of the fire-pit. Fonesca mirrored his actions, but her fireball was shot from her hands and was directed slightly to the right. As soon as they could, they repeated this action, but not before a spear had shot out of the haze and smoke and buried itself in one of the cloaks behind Fonesca. None of the creatures stumbled out of the smoke towards the Mothers, so the loosed a final volley of flame and then shut the doors again and considered what to do next. Gaspode directed them back to the bedroom that he thought might be used for a leader of the giants. There they found that the bed covers had been thrown back and someone had left recently. The bed was still warm. The chest held gold, silver and copper coinage and the shelf had a silver comb, a copper mirror and a golden hair-pin that were all giant-sized. The room was beginning to smell distinctly of smoke, so the Mothers were thinking quickly as to what their next move should be.

The Mothers decided to leave the burning building. To ensure that they would not be ambushed, Gaspode and Fonesca went out first, as they were invisible. Jito, who was also still cloaked in Dust of Disappearance, levitated upwards from the entrance to see if he could get a few over the open areas of the Steading. They heard the enemy coming before they saw anything; yowls and yelps of what could only be wolves echoed around the valley followed by the crack of a whip. Gaspode reached the corner vantage point, only to see fourteen large wolves being driven on by a group of ogres and giants. Gaspode retreated to the defensible doorway where Levi and Guthranka remained, so that they would not be surrounded. Jito launched a fireball from his wand, aiming it at the on-rushing group. Fonesca, who had been heading in a different direction, turned at the sound of the wolves and cast a cone of cold, trying to catch as many ogres and wolves as possible. Both of these attacks thinned the numbers of foes somewhat, but there were still too many foes for them all to attack at once. Guthranka used her wand of fear to send two wolves away in a fright before some ogres and giants engaged herself and Levi in the doorway. Gaspode had noticed that one giant was hanging back and wielding a whip, which it was using to control the wolves. So he headed in that direction, slipping past the on-rushing ogres to get behind the beast-master. Fonesca was trapped on the ground, and the remaining wolves were directed towards her. As they came towards her, she transformed herself into an eagle. Although she did get bitten, she managed to escape and rose towards the tower as a safe vantage point, where she resumed human form and healed herself slightly. Jito also spotted the beast master and loosed two fireballs at him in quick succession, unknowingly catching Gaspode in their blast each time. The giant responded by sending a huge rock hurtling through the air, hitting Jito and forcing him back beyond the tower and out of range. Gaspode then managed to finish off the beast master with a back stab, hoping that this would stop the gnome lobbing more destruction his way. As the beast master fell and the enemy forces seemed in disarray, Fonesca, Levi and Guthranka were all surprised by attacks from a new direction: behind them. Stone giants had appeared from within the building, one scaling the tower to come upon Fonesca from behind and two others, attacking the Tyr worshipers in the doorway. Fonesca痴 position was given away as she lobbed some spells towards where Jito had swooped down to on his broom to engage the wolves. The axe blow drove her forward and she decided to climb over the ledge and lower herself onto the roof of the hall to escape the giant, luckily she rolled to the safer side of the pitched roof and ended in the gutter rather than falling further onto the ground. The giant sent a few boulders careering her way, when he thought he could detect her position. Meanwhile, Guthranka and Levi had managed to kill the hill giants in front of them, just as the stone giants arrived from behind. So they were still beset by many enemies when another force arrived, this one of ogres and one huge hill giant carrying a ballista in his hands like a crossbow. The ogres engaged Jito and also in the melee at the doorway, while the huge giant, Nosnra directed them from the rear. Gaspode rushed over to help the gnome, getting Imp to heal him as he entered combat with the ogres. Jito used his boots again to free himself of the local combat, rising into the air, still invisible to his opponents, although the stone giant in the tower was throwing the occasional rock his way, squashing the odd unfortunate wolf. When he was high enough he launched a fireball at Nosnra, which seemed to affect him slightly. But the chieftain took umbrage at this affront and sent a spear hurtling to the place from whence the spark of flame emerged. Jito was skewered, landing fifty feet further back from combat, unconscious. Luckily the two in the doorway were more successful, ogres and giants eventually falling under their blows. Fonesca thought that she could succeed in bringing down the chief with more magic, but he took aim at her when another ball of flame surrounded him briefly and he emerged undaunted. This shot also flew true and Fonesca collapsed in the gutter bleeding. As another stone giant fell in the hallway, he was replaced by the stone giant from the tower. The priest and the paladin traded blows with the ogres and the remaining giant, thinning their numbers. Gaspode fought free of the ogres and through the wolves; killing some and driving the rest off, before finding Jito痴 invisible body with the help of Imp and staunching his wounds. He then turned to Nosnra and fought him alone while worrying as to where Fonesca had got to. He eventually, he prevailed and went searching the rooftop for Fonesca again using his short sword. Levi痴 broadsword kept answering any successful stroke from an ogre or giant and Guthranka痴 blade leapt to her defence whenever it seemed that she would fall, finally the last enemy was vanquished. Gaspode called for help and they gently lowered Fonesca from the roof and brought her to where Jito still lay. Levi prayed over them and soon they were well enough to stand, if not for much else.

Levi and Guthranka used the remainder of their curing magic to heal the group. Fonesca also used all of the healing herb preparations that she had brought with her to assist in this. Gaspode then searched a number of the fallen giants for treasure, finding some jewellery and gold. The Mothers then re-entered the building, discovering that the golden items on the high shelf in the bedroom had been removed. They progressed cautiously through the eastern side of the steading, passing through a dormitory for giant children; an opulent (for giants) bed chamber; a trophy room with many heads on the walls and finally, another bedroom, which had a mysterious chain attached to the wall that the Mothers concluded had been for holding some beast at bay. After some searching of each of these areas the Mothers approached a set of double doors. When they opened these, they discovered that they lead to an open yard between the buildings of the steading. They also realised that all of the resistance to their arrival had not been dealt with. A large female hill giant and twelve young giants were ranged evenly before them, together with a very cantankerous looking cave bear. After a heavy melee, the creatures were defeated, although one of the youngsters had escaped through the courtyard gates to the rear. The Mothers barred this gate and made sure that the other one was also secure. Before returning to the main building or searching the out-buildings that they had found, Fonesca used the wand that they had obtained from the insides of the snake creature to heal Levi and Gaspode as much as she could. It ceased working after five successes. The Mothers then went into the outbuildings, which turned out to be two barracks and a guardroom. The guardroom had a large horn on the table and shields and spears ready for use. The barracks were empty of things of interest apart from a sack of boots hanging in an officer's alcove. This also contained some hidden gems and coin.

The Mothers rested for eight hours in the barracks area with Fonesca and Levi regaining some of their spells. Guthranka did most of the watching as she was sustained by her ring. Gaspode made sure that there was a constant two person guard. The Mothers then explored the rest of the courtyard finding storage rooms and a kitchen area. In a pantry they found steps leading downwards. The rest of the western area was badly damaged by flame and smoke with some of the charred rafters hanging down into the hallways after having collapsed. There was a coating of ash and sludge on the floors and many surfaces. The Mothers did spot a bastard sword which had survived the flames, stuck into the wooden wall like a sconce. Guthranka took this with her. Not wanting to leave any area unchecked, the Mothers went down the stairs that they had found. On the way down the Mothers were not too happy to find that the passageway was neatly paved with stone. It opened into a large room with a number of doors and passageways leading off it. They went left. The northerly passage took them through a number of areas that seemed to be under construction. Returning to their main route they came across a dead end room that was occupied by a trio of stone giants. While combating these, a group of bugbears, apes and hill giants, including an impressively ugly, hunched and one-eyed specimen, came upon them from behind. While the fighters in the front killed the stone giants, Fonesca killed most of the first wave of bugbears with a falling wall of ice. The hills giants and the apes retreated, leaving the remaining bugbears to be slaughtered. Once this was complete the Mothers hurried after them, back into the original large chamber on this level. Not knowing where to head to, the Mothers chose the widest passage, a twenty foot wide one, leading to the south. As they reached the end of this, they were engaged with another force of bugbears. After some time killing these, two of the giants again appeared from behind. Fonesca was ready, and this time cast a wall of ice vertically, cutting the giants off from the combat. While Levi, Jito, Guthranka and Gaspode cut left and right around them the giants must have circled around, as they joined in the fray once most of the bugbears had fallen. This time the one-eyed giant and his apes were with them. But even this mighty force could not stand against the Mothers and soon the enemy were all dead, and the Mother's feet were wet with the runoff from the ice-wall and the gore of their opponents.

The Mothers explored further, finding two chambers filled with orc slaves. They decided to free them on condition that they left the area immediately. In a corridor they discovered a wall of boulders blocking further passage to the east. They doubled back at this point, going through what must have been the chambers of the bugbears. They found no one. A door led them back into the main room, which they had originally come to down the stairs. Trying the next door, they came upon two bugbear guards in a thin corridor outside five cells. Quickly overcoming the guards the Mothers set about opening the prisons. The first contained a chained up human who they questioned for a short time before realising that he was unhinged by his experiences. Lacking the ability to cure him at that time, the Mothers left him there for the moment, as Gaspode did not fancy having a bite taken out of his neck. Moving on, they found they found a human called Triolus who said that he was an engineer who had been captured on a caravan bound from Tilverton about a month earlier. Next they freed an elven woman called Siosann, who was calm and willing to fight. She had been captured about six months previously. She undertook to guard Triolus. In the next chamber a number of skeletons jumped up to attack them, but Guthranka destroyed them with the power of Tyr. In the last cell, a group of twelve orcs had been chained. Five remained alive. One spoke up and explained that they had been imprisoned because they had rebelled against the giants and that other rebels were still abroad, behind the boulder wall that they had come across previously. They shared natural caverns there with troglodytes and other underground creatures. After explaining that they had already freed a couple of groups of orc slaves, the Mothers were told about a number of other groups that were likely to still be locked up in the south western area of the complex. Moving to that area, the Mothers had to overcome two hill giants who were in a torture chamber. This battle drew two fire giants from another area and the Mothers were sorely pressed in defeating them. Following the path of the fire giants backwards, the Mothers found an armoury and smithy. There, seven dwarves were bound by long chains to the wall so that they could continue to work. Their leader Tettet Goblinslayer spoke for them and asked for the chance to fight some giants. He suggested that they leave his kinsmen in place until everything was safe. The engineer Triolus stayed with these dwarves while Tettet joined the group. This left the way clear to free four other groups of orcs who banded together and brought the orcs out from the barricaded cavern entrance. The whole group of around two hundred orcs departed hurriedly. Following the trail of the orcs to the foot of the stairs the Mothers tried the north-easterly room. There, amongst the furs, they found a loose flagstone with gold, gems and an earthenware jar secreted beneath it in a rough hole. Leaving the main room again, by the one passageway that they had not explored the Mothers came upon a fork. Going left they found a room with a padlocked door. Gaspode, picked this and checked for any traps. Not finding any they opened the door and stepped through into another forking passageway. Going left again, another padlocked door confronted them. Gaspode did his tricks and soon they saw that the room beyond was a wine cellar. Fonesca tried some of the wine, which had a stopper with a wax symbol of a death's head. She thought that it tasted good, with an earthy hint. At the other end of the fork the passageway abruptly ended. Being the suspicious types that they are, the Mothers spent some time here searching the stones for signs of a secret door. They did not find anything though. Returning to the first fork the Mothers took the right passage, which led straight down to a circular room which was filled with clear water that emerged from several apertures in the western wall. Steps led down into the water.

The Mothers investigated the pool chamber by dropping copper coins into it that Fonesca had enchanted with light spells from her wand of illumination. They revealed an underwater passage that was about four feet high in the north-eastern segment of the pool. Thinking that new spells might be required the Mothers retreated to the armoury area. There, Levi and Fonesca prayed and memorised spells respectively. Six hours later Levi had a water breathing prayer that he could use. Firstly he cured Gaspode, Jito and Guthranka of some more of their injuries. When they reached the pool, these three discarded the equipment that they thought they would not need (or what might be damaged) and Levi cast his spell upon them. Guthranka led the way as she could move easily in the watery environment due to her ring. The followed the tunnel upwards until it flattened out and then opened into a natural cavern, through which an underground stream ran. Since they found nothing of interest there, the three of them returned to the others and re-equipped themselves.

The group then set off for the caverns which the orcs had barricaded. They went northwest through some natural caverns, encountering and defeating some huge lizards in a dead end cavern with a sinkhole. Moving around to the northeast they found a stream running through a cavern that may well have been the same that they had seen earlier. Troglodytes occupied the eastern caverns. Guthranka negotiated with them using the Helm of Tongues. She agreed not to attack them and not to enter their caverns. The next few passageways leading east were blocked by spear wielding troglodyte warriors, so the Mothers moved into the southerly area, which had obviously, recently been the domain of the orcs. Here, too, they found a sinkhole, which was larger than the previous one. The exit from these caverns lead back northwest in a straight carved and stone clad passageway. This was returning the Mothers to the blockade point of the orcs, but on the way they saw that a similar pile of boulders had been placed on the left hand wall.

Curious as to what this could be, the Mothers dismantled the blockage, revealing an old brass bound wooden door that had seen better days. It was bolted shut from this side with a corroded brass bolt. After Gaspode checked it for traps the Mothers entered a straight passage leading south west. The air in the passage was oppressive and stale and it led to a disturbing temple. One end led to a room with a stairway leading further down which had been blocked off by a rock fall which now completely engulfed it. The other side was the temple itself. Four pillars of purplish glowing stone that even the dwarf, Tettet, did not recognise, held up an arched roof of the same material. Bas-reliefs and other strange carvings covered the walls hinting at dark practises and evil rites. At the end of the room an altar, carved from one huge piece of yellow rock stood before a raised alcove. Moving to examine this, both the priest and the paladin became distinctly uneasy. Levi decided that the place should be cleansed of it's evil and he quickly tried a simple ceremony of prayer and holy water libations over the altar in the hope that this would suffice. But it seemed to have no effect. Levi, frustrated by this went around behind the altar, looking for some clue as to how it might be purified. Stepping up the low stairs into the alcove he must have looked too long at the purplish-black, glossy curved wall of the alcove, for his face showed a momentary flash of horror before he screamed and drew his blades and began hacking at his own legs manically. He shouted and screamed incoherently all the while. The rest of the Mothers quickly stepped in, restraining him and removing his weapons. Tettet and Siosiann looked on in horror. They manhandled Levi out of the temple as quickly as they could and brought him, still gibbering, to the armoury where they hoped that the dwarves would look after him. They thought better of leaving the mad prisoner they had found earlier in his cell too, bringing the two madmen together.

Realising that, since Siosann's spellbooks and Tettet's axe had not been found, more chambers must have been unfound, the Mothers set about searching for more secret passages than what they had already discovered. Soon they had found one beside the stairway that led to this level. It opened into a room which contained three levers on the far wall. When they went to investigate these, the elf, Siosiann noticed another door to the right of the levers leading northwards. They then noticed that both of these secret doors contained spy holes at heights of five and fifteen feet that gave someone standing in the lever room a view through each secret door. The second door led into a large room with a corridor off it which whose closely fitting bars restrained four manticores and another narrower passage, leading ultimately to more stairs upwards. Guthranka suggested looking for more secret doors along the narrow passage and this search was rewarded with finding another opening. Guthranka led the way inside after Gaspode had checked the door for traps. A pit trap opened beneath the paladin and although three of the poisoned spikes hit her, she was able to clamber out of the hole with the help of the others.

After casting some more healing magic on Guthranka, the Mothers proceeded into the chamber beyond the pit. At first glance the chests and coffers were just what they were looking for, being filled with coins, gems and jewellery, but after some checking of the broken barrels and yellow mould that also appeared to be present, Gaspode used his gem of true seeing to reveal Tettet's axe, Siosann's backpack and sword as well as another sword, a quiver of arrows and a spear. The broken barrel proved to be a water-tight cask containing a map on some parchment, a strange set of instructions and diagrams on human skin and a long chain of a dark metal that none of them knew. Taking all of this for further perusal the Mothers went up the stairs outside into a room with no visible exit. A quick search revealed a concealed doorway, which led into a charred dining room that looked as though it had been used as a planning area from the scraps of burnt maps on the floor. After finding a cloakroom for the giants and an entry into passageways that they had already seen on the surface, the Mothers decided to retrieve the dwarves and the others in order to return to Arabel to search for a cure for them. Guthranka was discussing how to mock up some carrying contraption from the giant cloaks and spears that they had found with the dwarves, so that they could carry the lunatics more easily.

Using the hastily put together sleds, the Mothers dragged Levi and the human to the ranger cave where their horses were tethered. The dwarves and the elf accompanied them. Once they had reached this relative safety they rested, while the mages learnt spells that would speed them home. In the morning, Jito and Fonesca cast some phantom steed spells and no one had to walk, though the speed of the party was determined by the two sleds and their bumpy progress over the ground. This journey took three weeks, most of the time was taken reaching Castle Crag in the foothills of the mountains north of Arabel, where the Mothers had first worked as border guards. After the Crag, progress was swifter on better roads and using a borrowed cart. On reaching the city, Guthranka took the cart directly to the temple and consulted with the priests there. A time was set on the next day for the healing ceremony for Levi and the other madman. Meanwhile Gaspode sat at a table in his room at the inn counting through all of the coins and gems that they had obtained from the giants. He divided out the money under the watchful gaze of Fonesca, who had some suggestions as to the fairness of the split. The two main new companions, the dwarf and the elf were each given large sums, while the architect, the remaining dwarves and the madman were each given a lesser share. Guthranka came back to the inn and let Gaspode know the cost of the dual healing ceremony. Fonesca also mentioned that she would like to visit her War Wizard friend for some further training. Gaspode managed to stay on his stool at this news, but his face had gone ashen. When Guthranka mentioned the tithe that both she and Levi would have to pay, Gaspode seemed to give up all will, asking her to just state what she wanted to give.

The next day, Fonesca started training with the war wizard which would take her two weeks. Guthranka brought the payments and tithes to the temple of Tyr and the healing ceremony was duly performed. Levi and the human prisoner were cured and stared about them as though new-born. Levi asked to be able to speak to the lore masters in the temple as he remembered some pieces of information from his experiences and needed to sort out a coherent picture of what had occurred. From what he and Guthranka could remember of the temple, the elders suggested that it was a temple dedicated to the goddess Shar. But not a recent temple to her, as the forms maintained and the layout, was that of an ancient version of her cult. In present times worshippers of Shar, the goddess of darkness, night, loss, and forgetfulness, never build temples to her, rather having hidden shrines that move over time. They also mentioned in passing that Shar was one of the oldest of the deities worshipped in the pantheon of gods, her enmity to the goddess Selûne, being one of the oldest conflicts known in existence. Levi was concerned by this, not knowing how the ancient diggings by Shar worshippers could have any connection to gatherings of giants, especially since they were too large to even reach the temple.

The Mothers brought along their hoard of items for the war wizard to identify, once Fonesca had been given instruction. He took them for examination and translation and said that he would speak to them on the following day. When they returned the next day, the wizard told the Mothers that they had a Flametongue Longsword, a Bastard Sword of Giant Slaying, a powerful magical spear, a quiver of magical arrows and a chain that would not show as magical in his researches, but was identified as being part of a ritual that could transport the group to the frozen north beyond the great desert Anauroch by the scroll and map that the Mothers had given him to translate. The giantish spoke of laying the chain in a figure of eight on the ground at dusk. Those who wished to use the device would stand in either loop with one of their number holding the map. When the command word “Grugnar” is spoken, they would be transported to the location “Arrival” mentioned on the map.

Over the rest of the two weeks Fonesca studied and was rewarded with a new spell and the ability to cast more. Gaspode and Fonesca went to inform the Lord High Seneschal of their progress so far with the giant threat. He seemed very pleased that the immediate problem had been dealt with, although he was somewhat concerned about the large numbers of orcs now free in the area. He urged the Mothers to continue on, following the clues that they had found, as he was still convinced that the giants would not have been acting alone. The rest of the group honed their skills in whatever way they could, given the confines of the inn.

The Mothers decided that they should equip themselves before their journey to the glacier in search of some more clues in the lair of the Jarl. They picked up cold weather clothing in the market, garnering themselves a few odd looks in the process. Fonesca also picked up a number of herbs that she hoped would be useful later. Unfortunately the herb seller was poorly stocked, so Fonesca could only obtain a few of each of the preparations on offer. Siosiann and Tettet also prepared for the journey. Siosann found a suit of studded leather armour; some new clothes; a backpack and other sundry equipment. Guthranka also gave her the giant-slaying bastard sword and a ring of protection. Tettet did not need to find any armour, but he did get a pack together before seeing off his comrades.

At dusk they gathered in an isolated spot and Tettet removed the chain from its obsidian box and laid it carefully on the ground. They all stepped into one of the circles of the figure of eight on the ground. Gaspode entered last of all, carrying the map in his right hand. Then he spoke the command word. It was as if the whole world went dark, like the Mothers had raised a dark cloak over themselves dimming the remaining light to less than a candle flame through muslin. Then they felt a sensation of sideways movement, a shifting, not the forward progress that Sigil痴 portals implied. Just as quickly, they found themselves standing on ice, still surrounded by the chain, Gaspode痴 arm still aloft.

In the dusk light they could not make out many features of the frozen landscape. Jito decided to fly up invisibly on his broom to see if he could determine where the rift lay. The others trudged along in the still night, heading northwest. From a height of twenty feet, the gnome still had no luck, so he went up much higher, to about one hundred feet and then he could see the mountains to the east, some others in the far distance to the west and a snaking black gash in the glacier to the west and slightly south. It was extremely cold at that elevation, so Jito descended and the Mothers set off in a more westerly direction. After about three hours of trekking over a slowly undulating ice surface, the Mothers came across a great chasm in the ground before them. They could not see the far side from where they were as some fog and mist was rising from within the rift. Gaspode suggesting resting for the night, so the Mothers withdrew behind some low ice-mounds. There, Fonesca cast her Leomund痴 Secure Shelter spell and the Mothers spent a reasonably comfortable night in the resulting ice building.

In the morning the still invisible Jito went scouting again, following the rift to the north where he found the entrance, or where it was at the same level as the rest of the glacier. Two paths snaked down into the rift. He followed the route of the path to the left, which went onto a narrow ice ledge and had two entrances into the ice wall before the ledge petered out. Jito then decided to fly across to the other path, but he was buffeted too strongly by winds from the rift and he had to re-trace his path and start again from the rift opening. The right hand way was a longer one with a wider ledge, having about five entrances before this ledge also ended. Jito decided to report this back to the group. As usual, the Mothers went left, taking the narrower ledge and entering the first opening. This led to a tunnel hacked out of the ice, but smoothed over time. The floor was treacherous as they proceeded along until they came to a crossroads in the ice.

They went north, which was to the left and after a short crooked corridor they came into a huge, rough, ice chamber where four frost giants were encamped. They roared something in their own tongue as they swept their huge frost-covered axes down on the small intruders. Siosiann and Fonesca were hit in the first charge, but the melee specialists stepped in and traded blows with the giants and kept them from further attacks against the mage. After several blows were exchanged and Fonesca had loosed two volleys of magic missiles, none of giants had fallen and the Mothers could hear the sound of more giants approaching from behind them.

Tettet stepped beneath the swing of the giant closest to him and buried his axe deep in its thigh. Quickly pulling back he managed to slash it again, this time across its belly, before it fell. Fonesca was also acting, firing her missiles deliberately at separate foes, in the hope of felling two at once. One did collapse, but the other still stood against them. Jito痴, Levi痴 and Guthranka痴 blades rose and fell, engaging the two giants before them, but behind, Gaspode was the quickest to react when three frost giants arrived from the corridor. He kept them bottled in the opening so that only one could attack them at once and not only that, but his flurry of attacks when it arrived almost dropped it dead on the spot. A couple of missiles from Fonesca finished it off. With Gaspode holding off the corridor and the rest of the Mothers now comfortably out-numbering the giants in the chamber, all that the Mothers needed was the time to finish the giants off. When this was done, Gaspode searched them for any valuables that they possessed. One of the giants who had come up the corridor wore a golden necklace as a bracelet, so that was taken, but the sacks in the room contained nothing of value.

This cavern had an exit, which the Mothers followed. It went on a looping course, first east then south for over two hundred feet before turning west again, where there was a passageway off to the northwest. Following the main way, the saw that the passage emerged on another ledge over the rift. Gaspode went ahead to scout and he could just about make out the first ledge to the north and that another entrance into the ice was further south along the ledge. The wind was quite fierce here. He returned to the group and they went back to the side passage. There they found a small ice-cave which had a number of barrels and crates stored in it, along with several bolts of cloth. The Mothers retraced their steps further to the crossroads in the ice, noting happily that the dead frost giants were undisturbed. They went east this time, finding a t-junction after about fifteen feet which led to dead ends both north and south. Coming back to the crossroads the Mothers took the southerly route, finding a cave similar to the one to the north, but without the giants. Here four sleeping mats, sacks and provisions were left unguarded.

Going back to the first ledge, the Mothers went south along it, searching for the entrance that Jito had seen. This led to three interconnected chambers, the first of which was empty. Once they entered the second, five winter wolves assaulted the Mothers. The icy breath of two of the wolves, ignoring the armour and magical protections of the party, froze their arms chafed their skin and broke off some of their, now brittle, hair. Luckily the damage did not stop the Mothers stepping forward and cutting these two down before they could do worse and it was not long before all of the beasts lay dead. The Mothers now explored the third room, which was a featureless ice cave much like the others except for the eight blocks of transparent ice that were spaced almost equally around the walls. Each block encased a figure, elves, humans and dwarves. Each also contained an item, that presumably belonged to the entombed person in life: a long box at the feet of an elf; a purse, split, showing the glint of coin in the hand of a half-elf; a human with a hand extended wearing a ring; a small sack at the feet of a dwarf in leather armour; a jewelled belt around the waist of a pale human; a metal tube held aloft by a female human; a battleaxe wielded by another dwarf and finally a human warrior clad in plate-mail but with no weapon in his open hands . The Mothers took some time to ponder this mystery.

The Mothers examined each of the ice-entombed figures in turn. They decided that they would try to free the half-elf with the split purse from the ice, as they thought that he would be of least threat to them. Fonesca took a flame-tongue longsword and gently tried to melt some of the ice. She succeeded in melting some of it and so she asked Siosiann to join her in her labours. They both worked to free the body for about thirty minutes. Eventually the body of the dead half-elf fell to the floor and the Mothers searched it. His purse just contained silver pieces. Fonesca then decided to use a detect magic to determine if anything worthwhile could be obtained from the other ice blocks. After completing her circuit she discovered that five of the remaining blocks contained magical items. Siosann and Fonesca then set about carving up these blocks in order to free these items.

Just over two hours later the Mothers had freed a battleaxe, a scroll tube, a ring, a suit of plate-mail and long box. Stowing these away carefully the Mothers decided that they should rest before attempting to face more denizens of the Rift. Fonesca cast a Leomund's Secure Shelter in the cavern with the ice blocks, using one of the walls of the shelter as a barricade, blocking off the tunnel leading to the room. Unfortunately, Tettet and Gaspode who were on the first watch, hardly even got the chance to sit down, as twenty minutes after the spell casters had begun their meditations, the far wall of the shelter was destroyed by a boulder crashing through it. This missile was followed by a number of others. The Mothers retreated out of the path of the missiles and cast what magic they had available to defend themselves before setting out to attack their assailants. Fonesca covered herself in dust of disappearance. Siosiann cast an improved invisibility. Jito hid his true self behind four mirror images. And Levi cast a wolf-jaws enchantment and then drank a potion of speed. Thus prepared, the Mothers cowered for a moment as Fonesca cast a Sunburst, from her wand of illumination, in the hope of blinding their attackers for a moment so that they could rush them. Unfortunately only one of the enemy seemed to be affected by the spell, so when Gaspode, Levi, Tettet and Guthranka formed themselves as a front rank against the enemy, an organised force met them. But the ten frost giants ranged against them could only come at them two at a time.

The four in front engaged in melee with the giants, slowly whittling the numbers down. Behind them Jito launched sling bullets coated in oil of impact. Siosiann tried to blind two of the giants, succeeding once. Fonesca launched her remaining magic missiles and then had to resort to her wand of missiles to keep effective. Every blow that fell on the front four, though, hurt them sorely. The longer the conflict went on, the surer it became that one of the Mothers would fall. So, it was Guthranka who was caught by a vicious blow from a giant's battleaxe. She fell dead at his feet. Siosiann immediately stepped into the breach, along with Jito, as the two smaller ones and the elf could fight in the same space. Fonesca tried lofting one of the giants’ own boulders back at them, using her telekinesis spell, but to little effect. Levi was almost felled himself before the Mothers faced the blind giant alone. But even this one managed to land a blow against his foes before he fell.

Levi and Guthranka had no curative spells left to help, so it fell to Fonesca's herbs to provide some comfort. After all of her preparations were employed the mage herself crept out to the icy ledge to see if there were any more giants on the way. When she reported that the way was clear, the Mothers briefly planned to camp again in the ice cave, this time with a glyph warding the entrance. They thought better of this after some discussion and decided to leave the rift altogether. Fonecsca again went out in front to see whether the way was clear. As it was, they rushed as quickly as they could along the ledge, carrying with them Guthranka's shrunken corpse. When they reached the end of the rift they headed north, hoping to find somewhere that they could shelter from the elements and the patrols of the frost giants.

The Mothers went north for over an hour on their way out of the Rift. They were searching for a place to rest and recuperate when they came across a crevasse. It was relatively narrow, but Siosiann had spotted that the ice was thin on the far wall. Jito flew over to investigate and he used his flaming sword to cut a hole in the ice. He discovered a chamber in the ice with a passageway leading off into the ice towards the rear. Jito threw up a rope to the others and they secured it to pitons driven into the ice. Jito secured the other end on the ledge and the Mothers made their way over the crevasse to join him. They all entered the chamber which was unoccupied. They carefully proceeded to the passageway which spiralled down into the ice. After a couple of turns the passage flattened out and became stone floored. After twenty feet this passage opened into a room carved from stone and ice which had eight humanoid sized cots and one door on the right hand wall. This door led to a small room with a circular hole in the stone floor plugged by an ice disk. The Mothers decided to rest in this area. Siosiann and Fonesca went back up to the cave above. Siosiann cast a wall of water and Fonesca froze it, using a cone of cold. This sealed the entrance. Levi then cast a glyph of warding in the upper chamber with Tyr痴 name being the pass phrase.

The group then rested and watched while Levi lit a block of his incense of meditation as he sat down for eight hours to play for cure spells and a raise dead for Guthranka. Siosiann, Jito and Fonesca also took the chance to recover or change their spells while Gaspode and Tettet warily scanned the ice passage for possible intruders, or perhaps home comers. The eight hours passed without incident. Levi stirred from his reverie and prepared himself for his ceremony as Gaspode unfolded his sheet of smallness and restored Guthranka痴 body to its correct size. When both were ready, Levi began to chant, holding his silver holy symbol tightly in his hand. The concern that he felt for the paladin was etched clearly in his face as the words came to him, but the power did not fail him and Guthranka痴 body soon glowed with life again. Levi sat back relieved while Guthranka slept. After about thirty minutes, Levi began casting the curative magics on the others in the group. When he was done, all of the others� wounds had been removed. He himself was still somewhat injured, but he slept before attempting to redress this. The others were taking shifts of watching at this time and although the settling sounds of the ice around them were disturbing, nothing interrupted the group. On rising, Levi prayed again, curing himself with the spells that he gained. Guthranka was also strong enough to lay her hands on him, completing his restoration. As the rest of the group were rested, they decided to leave the crevasse and return to the Rift. On their way out along another rope, Fonesca slipped and would have fallen, but for the quick action of Siosiann, who held on to the falling mage until Jito could take some of her weight on his broom.

Not long after this the Mothers had returned to the vicinity of the Rift. Jito went off to scope the area on his broom after he had cast an Improved Invisibility on himself. Wanting to find out more about the westerly ledges, Jito flew along that side of the Rift, the wind was too strong for him to fly high over the rift, so he hugged the walls of ice. Before he reached the first entrance that he had seen before, a wall of ice completely blocked passage along the ledge. The wind precluded going over or around this ledge, so Jito returned to the party just before his invisibility gave out. The Mothers then decided to go beyond the Rift entrance and try to spy down on the activities below from the edges. Fonesca tried various avian forms from her Polymorph Self spell before settling on the more stable polar bear form to peer over the edge. She saw ordered groups of Frost Giants patrolling the ledges fifty feet below and went back to discuss this with the other Mothers.

The Mothers debated how they should approach the rift given the guards that they had seen on the ledges below. While they were discussing their tactics a number of ice-encrusted boulders fell upon them and they looked up to see a group of eight frost giants hurling missiles at them from a good distance. Fonesca and Siosiann loosed lightning bolts at their opponents while Levi and Jito boosted their protections with a prayer and a mirror image respectively. The giants did not close for combat, but rather preferred to keep raining missiles down on the party, who were about to attempt flight when another group of enemies was heard approaching from the rear. A quick glance at these showed that not only giants were circling around, but yeti, wolves and other creatures were also advancing. The Mothers first thought of trying invisibility to escape, but Gaspode reasoned that the wolves would track them anyway and that their tracks would be seen in the snow. Phantom steeds were then considered, but enough of them could not be cast in time. So, using the cubic gate was considered, but then Levi called the group into a circle and promptly used his ring of spell storing to plane shift all of them to Plague Mort on the Outlands.

The remains of the abattoir surrounded them and the experienced Mothers tried to calm the two primes. They left the ruined building and walked across the town square towards the Arch-Lector's palace, trying not to look at the massive gate to the Abyss or it's fiendish guardians. They were met at the door to the palace by human-looking guardsmen, who were rather uncooperative about letting them through. That was until the Mothers mentioned that it was they who had killed the nascent demi-god in the abattoir some time past. At this point one of the guardsmen went to fetch a superior.

A gaunt looking humanoid in black and red robes arrived at the door. He took in the whole party in a glance and beckoned them through the guards. "Let us try and avoid the Arch-Lector" he said. Leading them by back corridors the attendant wove their way to a quiet side door to the Arch-Lector's throne room. He opened it and peered inside. When he was happy that the room was empty he ushered the Mothers through and asked them to leave as quickly as possible. Siosiann tried to ask his name, but he responded with a simple negative. The party made their way through the gloomy archway behind the throne.

The damp fetid air of the Lower Ward was familiar to most of the group, but Siosiann and Tettet displayed the usual prime awe of the physical topology of the Cage as well as the strange residents of the city. Guthranka quickly hailed two passing Arcadian pony cabs as Siosiann became overly interested in two barbed devils who seemed to be having a heated conversation on some esoteric topic. After a short jolting ride over the cobbled streets, the Mothers left the Lower Ward and approached the cleaner lines of the Lady's Ward. Soon they were deposited outside the Golden Bariaur Inn. Stronghoof himself was there to greet them as they entered their favourite stall. A few beers and some food calmed the nerves of the group enough for them to contemplate their next steps. Levi, Guthranka and Fonesca took Stronghoof's advice and cured the injured amongst them with their prayers and wand. They decided to head off to Hercanon in order to get the items that they had found in the ice identified and Jito's wand re-charged.

After another short cab ride the Mothers were greeted at the door by the tall drow himself. Siosiann surprised herself and the dark mage by being pleased at meeting a courteous drow, saying that he looked much more familiar than the other creatures that they had seen that day. Hercanon agreed to identify the items and to re-charge the wand. He thought that it would take about a week to cover all of these tasks. In the meantime the Mothers spent their days researching various topics in the Anarchists' Library in the Hive. Guthranka fed small chunks of gold to one of the runners who looked up requests on Frost Giants, glaciers, giant myths, Shar and other things. They learnt something of the humanoid peoples of the great glacier north of Vaasa. Another book spoke of the myths of Kara Tur, east of Thay across the Endless Plains, these myths spoke of invisible giants who could cast spells and compel people to do their will. It also spoke of celestial dragons and spirits who dwelt in the rivers, trees and forests. There was another book that spoke of a glacier that spread down over the ancient land of Netheril from the north after the fall of that empire in the mages battle with the Phaerimm that also caused the Anauroch the Great Desert to form. Shar is a goddess in eternal conflict with Sel甁e the goddess of the moon, her sister. Many of the gods of the Faer甁ian pantheon come from this war. The Mothers weren't sure what to make of this information.

After a week had passed the Mothers returned to Hercanon and discovered that the axe that they had left was magical, but less so than Tettet's. The box contained a wand of frost. The scroll tube contained a scroll of protection from elementals. The ring was a ring of fire resistance. The plate mail, however, was cursed, as it was plate mail of vulnerability that would have made the wearer more susceptible to attack. Hercanon also handed over a Jito's wand of fire which he had recharged somewhat. The Mothers thanked him and returned to the Golden Bariaur to plan their next move.

The Mothers returned to the Anarchists’ Library in search of more information to help guide them. First they asked for information on Halruaa. They were shown various tomes that had chapters on its history, geography and society. It seemed as if this nation had not maintained the arrogance of their Netherese forebears, so perhaps this magocracy was not linked to the present troubles in Anauroch.

Much to Gaspode’s disgust, yet more coinage was handed over into the grubby claws of the anarchist researcher, this time to find references to Anauroch itself, the Phaerimm and the Sharn. Apparently it was the Phaerimm who created the great desert by life draining magic that they were using to attack Netheril. It was only after the damage was irreparable that the wizards discovered the cause of the wilting of their fields and pastures. They fought with the Phaerimm but discovered that the strange creatures were immune to most of their magic, so they wrought mightier and mightier dweomer-craft in the hope of overcoming their resistance. Eventually another race stepped in to the conflict, one that even the ancient Netherese had never known of before. The Sharn used their powers to create a prison for the Phaerimm under the sands of the new desert Anauroch. But this was too late for the flying cities of Netheril. Their arrogant toying with the very weave of magic itself could not be left unchallenged; the goddess of magic sacrificed herself to restore the weave. A new god was born just as magic stopped working throughout Faerûn and the Netherese who had not already fled their flying cities, crashed to the earth. The Bedine and the Zhentarim were the only peoples operating in Anauroch now. The Bedine are nomadic tribesmen who move from cold oasis to oasis, moving their tents and animals with them. The Zhentarim come armed and organised, their caravans sneaking across the desert from east to west and back again, carrying trade goods and whatever else is of interest to them, back to their base west of the Moonsea.

After perusing an old map of the region the Mothers thought that the location of the two giant lairs might have some significance. Perhaps they were searching in these locations for the Phaerimm, trapped beneath the desert thousands of years before, or maybe they were looking for fallen Netherese cities. A visit to Halruaa or to speak to the Bedine might provide the answers required or perhaps not.

The Mothers pondered these questions late into the evening in the Golden Bariaur, coming to no immediate resolution.

Tettet had become increasingly frustrated with the research that the Mothers had been pursuing. He strongly suggested that an assault on the rift was the only wise course of action. Although the Mothers suspected that he might have particular motives behind his suggestion, they listened to his thoughts. Tettet believed that if the Mothers did not have the strength to take on the giants themselves, then they should obtain the services of others willing to take the risk alongside them. Siosiann suggested that the group could also boost its effectiveness by gathering temporary magical items such as potions and scrolls that could be procured from some powerful temples and mage academies.

The Mothers asked Stronghoof if he knew of any place in Sigil where they could purchase some potions. He suggested that the Grand Bazaar was an excellent place to start looking. Sure enough, when the Mothers entered the Bazaar, they quickly found a building with the proud title of the Philosopher's Alembic. On entering they found a long low wooden counter, behind which sat an old gnome. The wall behind him was covered in wooden panels of various sizes and at varying heights. The Mothers had brought with them a shopping list, hoping for potions that would help them in many ways. The gnome patiently went through his wares, warning the group that some of the concoctions would only be effective with those who followed the sword, which Gaspode took to mean, those who used edged weapons. When they were done, the gnome quietly went through his notes on their selection adding up the total cost of the Mothers� purchases. It came to the huge sum of twenty seven thousand gold pieces. Jito was suggesting further haggling, but after a trade of a magical battleaxe was proposed, the gold price dropped to twenty five thousand. Gaspode asked if he could pay with gems and the old gnome knocked on the wooden panelling. In a few moments another gnome emerged from a small door in that wall that the Mothers had not noticed before. She was wearing a pair of unusual brass spectacles, with one eyepiece replaced by a squat cylindrical device and she seemed even older than the gnome that they had been dealing with. She approached the counter by Gaspode and laid out a long black rectangular piece of velvet and motioned for Gaspode to deposit his gems there. As she started examining each in turn the male gnome was fetching bottles from behind the sliding panels and placing them in groups on the counter.
When the woman was done she spoke in gnomish to the man and nodded to the group. She rolled up the gems in the velvet and went back through the door with them. Jito meanwhile told the others that she had said that the gems were suitable. Gaspode then piled three thousand gold pieces onto the counter and handed over the battleaxe. He took out his sheet of smallness and wrapped up the potions in turn before storing them away in his pack. Each bottle was made of thick crystal glass, stoppered with cork and capped with wax. Each was also clearly labelled in common. The Mothers thanked the gnome and left as he was placing the gold coins under the counter.

The Mothers then considered travelling to Cormyr and seeking the aid of the Lord High Seneschal in finding hirelings, but Gaspode remembered that they had been warned not to raise any force in the kingdom. They considered hiring bloods in Sigil, but Guthranka thought that they might have little interest in a petty squabble on a prime world. So they settled on a return to Waterdeep, thinking that they should be able to transport any willing people that they found there directly to the rift using the magical chain that they had discovered in the Steading of the Hill Giant Chief. Jito made sure that no one would be forcing him to visit his wife. So they made their way to the Lower Ward where the fumes of the Foundry were irritating their lungs, and they found the alley where Jito had first arrived in Sigil. They quickly lit and extinguished a torch and stepped through to more misty rain, but this had the smell of the sea. Waterdeep now spread around them. They headed off from the alley towards the Spires of the Morning near where Marthus the Red lived. The Mothers thought they might find a room in the Alchemist's Scales before pursuing their business in the city.

The Mothers went to the Alchemist's Scales and settled in to two rooms there. They briefly discussed their options and decided that they should seek for like-minded adventurers to aid them against the giants. Gaspode discussed several engagement options with the mages, hoping that they had a clairaudience spell to eavesdrop on the giants from the safety of Waterdeep. After searching their many tomes and scrolls, the mages reported that they only had the Clairvoyance spell (in an old book of Mandy Celestial), and since only Gaspode could read lips that plan wasn稚 going to work. Even learning Clairvoyance was not guaranteed to be successful.

Siosiann was sent off to the local druid grove to see if she could recruit some elves or mages to assist in their fight with the giants. Tettet the dwarf went to ask around amongst the dwarves of Waterdeep to see if there were skilled fighters available to help. Gaspode explored his own underworld connections. Jito and Fonesca tried to find a herbalist, hoping to obtain some hristo leaves so that the whole group could communicate mentally when they decided to assault or spy out the rift. Levi and Guthranka, meanwhile, went to pay their respects in the local shrine of Tyr.

While at the local grove to Silvanus, Siosiann met with a human druid and his friend, a ranger, who were interested in meeting with the Mothers to discuss their offer. Tettet found a noble from Citadel Adbar who was accompanied by his brother and a priest of Moradin. They had fought giants before and were curious about the group who had brought a party of dwarves to safety. Jito and Fonesca obtained seven more hristo leaves. Gaspode thought that his contacts might turn someone up over the next couple of days. Levi and Guthranka found no helpers in the Tyrran shrine, but were happy with their trip nonetheless. The next day the three dwarves and the duo from the druid shrine met the Mothers in the inn and discussed their aims and terms. They were acceptable to all, except that the dwarves would not take a retainer for their presence. The twelve then sat down to discuss their strategy for ousting the frost giants from their rift.

The Mothers sat with the dwarves and the two humans planning their assault on the rift. Gaspode was trying to get the others interested in planning their memorised spells and other logistics before they set foot on the ice. The dwarves were more interested in the entertainment. A human dressed in a jester痴 costume, complete with bells, was cavorting on an improvised stage. Guthranka expressed her interest in the jester too and, on a couple of occasions, attempted to talk to him, but without success. The priests acquiesced to Gaspode痴 scheme and promised that silence spells would be available. The mages ensured that fly and invisibility spells would also be ready. Siosiann learnt how to cast the fly spell for this purpose. Gaspode then enquired as to the duration of each of these magics, writing each of them down on a piece of parchment as he attempted to assess the distance from their probable arrival point to the rift itself. They decided then, that they should make for the crevasse that they had discovered when fleeing the rift before, as there was a secret sanctuary from where they could stage their attacks. Levi also re-charged his ring with another plane shift spell, noting that it would only carry eight people.

Gaspode was then seen in quiet conversation with the juggler, whom he brought to the table and introduced as Grimath, who had been a fisherman with him in Baldur痴 Gate. He asked that Grimath be accepted as part of the group and that the shares be re-calculated accordingly. The druid Gebhart and his companion the ranger Kurtalla seemed to be slightly reluctant about this, but on Gaspode痴 assertion that he vouched for Grimath, accepted the proposal. Levi and Guthranka also had a quiet word with Gaspode but came away satisfied. Fonesca, meanwhile, was carefully planning the arrangement of their group for when they tried to use the chain. She had drawn out a figure of eight on parchment and was assigning letters to each of the Mothers and their companions. She favoured the smaller humanoids in the left hand circle with the larger ones designated as being for the right hand circle. Once satisfied with her work, she tucked away her plan for use the next night.

The mages and priests spent the next day preparing their spells as agreed. Grimath had some quiet conversation with Levi, which seemed to please the cleric immensely, before he headed off to equip himself with some cold weather clothing. Once they were all assembled, the thirteen headed off through the damp streets of Waterdeep and left the city through an eastern gate. They walked a couple of miles across the meadows to a stand of fir trees where they awaited the dusk. Tettet removed the chain from its box and laid it carefully on the ground. Fonesca directed each individual to their exact spot as listed on her plan. Gaspode also held a parchment in his hand, but he waited until all were present before he raised it aloft. When he did, the dwarves were startled by the sudden darkness, it reminded them of some great flying beast sweeping over the sky and blocking out the stars with its leathery wings. It took but a moment for this to pass, for soon they stood on the ice, at the spot where the Mothers had arrived previously.

The Mothers set out across the ice towards the crevasse. After about three hours they arrived and attempted to cross to the ledge on the far side. A few slips and hastily hauled upon weapon belts later, the group squatted against a thin ice wall. Jito took out his flametongue sword and cut a doorway in the ice. Before they stepped through, Levi held them back with a warning about the glyph that he had laid upon the floor of the first chamber. Saying Tyr痴 name, each of the group passed through the doorway in turn, gathering to descend the spiralling ramp at the back of the cave. In the room below the Mothers and the rest, slept and prayed; rising the next morning to work over yet more plans. They were unsure as to how closely their main force should approach the rift, before letting their scouts go on ahead with magical protections. Their silence spells would certainly not last long enough for them to reach the rift from the crevasse, even if they were also flying. This conundrum forced another delay.

The Mothers decided their best course of action and headed off for the rift as a group. Once they reached a spot about ten minutes walk from the entrance, Jito cast a cloak of invisibility over the tightly huddled companions. Gaspode, the dwarf Regid Ironcrown and Grimath Foon, the jester that they had encountered were to be the scouts. The three mages each cast a fly spell on them and Jito followed this up with an invisibility for each of them and for the ranger, Kurtalla Thinst. Kurtalla walked and the rest of them flew across the ice towards the rift. When they were about to split up they each started chewing on their own hristo leaf, giving them the ability to hear each other痴 thoughts. Regid was to follow the route that the Mothers had initially taken on their foray into the rift, seeing if the area had been re-enforced. Gaspode was to scout the area immediately behind the ice wall that the frost giants constructed. Grimath headed further back along the western side, aiming for a ledge that the Mothers had spotted in the distance on their last visit. Kurtalla was staying back near the lip of the icy crevasse, acting as a communication point for all of the others. He carefully covered his tracks before he settled into the snow.

Gaspode entered a number of passages off the ledge behind the wall, finding numerous frost giants as well as a weapons cache and a frozen larder. Some humans were held prisoner in a cage in what appeared to be a kitchen off one ledge. He resisted the urge to take the steeply descending path that he found, leading off the ledge to the floor of the fissure below. He had some mental contact with the others, the dwarf least of all. He was most worried about a gong that hung in a cave behind the guarding frost giants. Grimath found a number of different sorts of giants in different rooms within the glacier. He was able to point out a number of other ledges that they had not seen before. Regid had travelled through the caves that the Mothers had cleared on their first incursion. He saw that there were a few frost giant guards there, but not as many as had been there initially. Moving in from the farthest ledge that he found, and going left at a crossroads in the ice, he came upon a large group of ogres in a couple of caves that lead nowhere else. Heading back to the junction he went southeast and encountered a large group of frost giants who were much more attentive to their guard duties than the rest. They were also strategically positioned in this area to cover all entrances and exits. He could not proceed past the last giant as he was covering practically the whole of the passage. Regid retreated. Meanwhile, Gaspode and Grimath had rendezvoused with Kurtalla and were heading over to where they hoped that they could communicate with Regid, when they were shocked to see a huge two hundred foot long white dragon swoop down over them and head into the rift below. Recovering their composure, the three continued on, found Regid, and returned to the larger group. There they discussed the best point of attack.

The largest group approached the ice wall directly, while the sneaky ones came over the edge of the crevasse to drop down behind it and behind the giants guarding there. Their initial attempts at surprise were somewhat scuppered by their lack of success in connecting telling blows, but with the assistance of Gram Ironcrown and his axe the two giants fell quickly. Once they were all behind the wall, they took stock of their position and tried to figure out what to do next.

Gaspode suggested that they head along the ledge and investigate the other openings. He advised that the first entrance led to a chamber where fire giantesses were cooking along with their ogre servants. He also mentioned that he had seen a cage containing some human captives. The party barged in to the room surprising the three giants and the four ogres and quickly overpowering them. Once these creatures were dispatched, Gaspode freed the humans and tried to get some sense out of them. Realising that this was useless after some halting syllables, Jito cast an invisibility ten foot radius spell on the captives, so that they could stay where they were, safely and await the Mothers return.

Moving on to the next cavern in the ice, the group uncovered a cache of arms and armour for the giants. Seeing nothing that they could put to good use here, they moved on further along the ledge. The fourth opening led to a passage which split in two almost immediately. Gaspode stated that both directions would lead to groups of frost giants, so Fonesca cast a wall of ice on the southerly passageway, so that they could proceed along the other one without being attacked unawares from behind. The first cavern they came to contained four frost giants who were at rest. As they leapt up to attack, the Mothers and their allies arranged their line carefully so that only those who could withstand the mighty blows from the giants’ swords were in the front line. Even with this preparation, Tettet had to withdraw for healing for his wounds as the first four giants fell but were replaced by another four from a neighbouring cavern. Kurtalla, Gamm, Guthranka, Gaspode and Levi met these as Fonesca, Jito and the others lobbed spells and missiles at their opponents. A further ten giants were to join the fray, bellowing at the affront to their prowess and the Mothers slowly whittled down their numbers. Finally, eighteen giants lay dead on the icy floor as the party tended to their wounds and wondered if this would be their worst confrontation in the rift.

Gaspode quickly searched the bodies of the giants, before the group moved on through the caves to see if any more enemies lay in wait for them. Finding none in the five caverns in this area, the group stopped for a few moments to allow the healers to minister to the injured. Four deities were invoked and much pain was eased in this time. Once the group was ready again, they set off out onto the ledge again and into the final opening before the ledge fell away into the misty rift below.

The tunnel through the ice immediately bifurcated and the Mothers went right, due to the fact that one of their number had gone left previously. Another junction ahead showed a small side passage that was a dead-end. Continuing on the Mothers entered a larger chamber that had one exit to the south. The chamber itself was of little consequence, but the passage to the south had runes carved into the exposed stone floor stopping the party in their tracks. Gaspode examined the runes, determining them to be in the Dethek script, used by the dwarves but in the language of giant-kin. It was a stark warning to shun this passageway.

The Mothers and their allies ignored this and pressed on down the passageway over the runes. Once they had got twenty feet into it they were all overwhelmed with an awful coldness, which sapped the vitality from them. An ominous brown covering sped towards them along the walls of this ice tunnel. The party withdrew as quickly as they could but not before another wave of cold staggered them further. Some were unfit to walk after they had retreated around the corner past the runes. They decided that the only thing to do was to retreat to the fire-pit where the giantesses had been cooking in the hope of warming their frostbitten limbs. Once there, the clerics and druids used up their final curative magics and Gaspode dug deep into the stores of potions to heal their injuries. Realising that without such help they would be vulnerable, the group decided to let the spellcasters pray and meditate while the others watched.

Less than three hours later, however, a band of frost giants approached the entrance to the cave. Initially there were four of them, but another six joined shortly afterwards. Gaspode drank a potion of speed while Guthranka downed one of invulnerability before they stepped in to block the giants from coming at them in the wider cavern. While four fighters engaged the two giants at the front, the supporting party members lobbed spells, missiles and suggestions where required. After three rounds, four giants had fallen, but Gaspode and Guthranka had to withdraw to allow some healing, while Levi and Tettet stepped in to their places. Gamm was passed a speed potion after he dispatched a giant and managed to swig it down just in time to defend himself from a giant痴 axe. When only two of the ten giants were left standing, five stone and five hill giants came along the ledge to lend their weapons to the attack. These re-enforcements were followed into the passage by three fire giants. The Mothers and their allies were disheartened by this turn of events and so thought of other tactics that might assist them. Fonesca attempted a burst of light from her wand of illumination, but none of the giants seemed to be affected. Meanwhile the fighters ploughed through the ranks of the frost giants, reaching back to the stone giants in short order. When the hill giants and the fire giants saw the stone giants start to fall they withdrew, heading back within the rift. The last stone giants ran with them. Gamm Ironcrown and Gaspode were still hastened by the potions that they had consumed and managed to kill one of the fleeing giants while seriously wounding another one. The whole party followed the giants out onto the ledge, trying to ensure that the giants would not get away. Fonesca and Siosiann let fly with fireballs at the retreating giants, catching them as they entered the ice caverns by the furthest passage. In the process of burning all of the hill giants and the remaining stone giant, they also destroyed the last thirty feet of the ice ledge and the bodies of the giants fell into the rift below accompanied by large chunks of ice and a cloud of steam.

Distracted by this spectacle, the party had not seen the huge form of the white dragon that they had seen earlier, reappear over the entrance to the rift and swoop over them, lowering its huge maw to spew an awful cloud of extreme cold over the whole group. Fonesca fell to the ground, a terrible blue hue covering her exposed flesh. Guthranka痴 frozen form clanked audibly against the ice floor as she fell dead. Each of the others was also harshly wounded. The clerics reacted first, Goned Giantbreaker and Levi almost acting in unison, calling down pillars of flame from the sky to crash down upon the body of the wyrm as it circled for a return pass. Kurtalla Thinst, pulled a large bead from a necklace that he was wearing and tossed it at the approaching beast, once it reached its target, it blossomed into a ball of flame similar to the ones summoned by Fonesca and Siosiann earlier. Siosiann herself launched an arrow of acid at the dragon at the dragon as it emerged from the fireball, its wings blackened and bent and it fell, plummeting into the mists below them in the rift. Fearing further attack and in no state with withstand it, the Mothers withdrew into the kitchen cavern with Gaspode already asking Levi about retreating by use of his plane shift spell.

Realising that it would be difficult for the entire group to re-locate to a safer environment by magical means, a more conventional approach was called for. The spellcasters tallied up their remaining invisibility magics and cast them appropriately on the members of the group. Those who could move stealthily were left out as was Fonesca and Gebhart as they could change their shape to be less conspicuous. Since Gebhart was already in the shape of a polar bear, Fonesca adopted that form too. Kurtalla followed up behind, as the group headed out of the rift for the crevasse, obscuring their tracks and laying false trails.

To reach the relative safety of the ice cave, Fonesca and Jito combined in rigging up a rope bridge the ledge. Quickly the Mothers and their companions slid across, with Siosiann opening the way with her flaming blade. As the rest of them spoke Tyr痴 name and continued along the spiral down into the glacier, Levi laid two more protective glyphs on the ledge and the beginning of the ramp to help ensure their safety.

Down below, Fonesca and Gaspode were planning; Gaspode with the watches and Fonesca with her own arcane matters. The priests gathered in the fragrant swirl of one of Levi痴 incense blocks to pray to their deities. The fingers of the dwarves were cold on their axes by the time the clerics raised themselves. Four watches had gone by in the eerie quiet. Without delay, Levi motioned for Gaspode to unfurl Guthranka痴 body. Meanwhile, the human priest had removed his arms and armour, and donned his simple white tabard emblazoned with the symbol of Tyr. His invocations took some time, but they were successful, as an ashen-faced Guthranka slowly eased herself up on her elbows, coughing quietly. Goned the dwarf stepped forward and healed her of all but her most minor wounds. Then they let her rest, with only quiet conversation and prayers from Levi to distract her.

After a further period of rest and watchfulness, Guthranka was strong enough to stand. She decided that she would wait with the freed captives in the cave, protecting them should any creatures get past Levi痴 wards. She felt that she could not stand against giants any more, perhaps retiring to the community in Arabel would be the best course of action. She would decide when the others returned and the menace of the giants was removed.

The rest of the Mothers left the cave with their companions, eager to track down the fire giants that had eluded them. They had planned their strategies and spell selections carefully, so when they set off across the ice they were confident of their ability to handle the giants. Entering the rift again, they took the left hand (easterly) side that had been the route of their first foray. They found the caves that they had visited before abandoned, so they plunged deeper into the ice, searching for the caves that Regid had described as being well guarded. The large dual-cavern where he had seen many ogres was abandoned of all but their stench. The cavern beyond, where a particularly large frost giant had stood, blocking further delving, which his companions guarded the approaches, was unattended. The Mothers took this passage, hoping that the previous guard痴 position showed that it was of some importance. The passage led to a junction where a wide passage descended to the south in a gentle slope, and the easterly passage connect to the rooms that Grimath had mapped out for them. Quickly checking this side, they confirmed that the fire giants were not lurking in the cave where Grimath had originally noted them. So they decided to descend.

At the foot of the slope was a huge cavern, no longer completely encased in ice, but where the stone was now mostly visible. Carved into the walls of the chamber were scenes of pillage and destruction, with huge humanoids raiding settlements and slaying other mighty beasts. The Mothers did not study these images for very long, deciding to search for exits to the chamber. As they went along the walls they found two boulders blocking openings to the east and west. The one to the west was carved to make it look like the rest of the wall of the cavern, but Gaspode痴 keen senses noticed the small gaps that betrayed its purpose. They tackled the obvious boulder first. Gebhart stepped forward and twisted the huge stone around, revealing a rough passageway leading southeast into darkness. They all crept in moving along until the passage turned sharply to the northeast and opened into a large cavern. Gaspode took it upon himself to scout out the dimensions of this place. After noting several large natural pillars supporting the cavernous roof, a huge sink-hole opening in the western wall, the tempting pile of gold coins interspersed with other treasures in the northern reaches and a rocky stone shelf some fifty feet above the eastern wall, Gaspode heard a very disconcerting sound � wing beats. He glanced up towards the ledge in time to see a white dragon launch itself into the air above him. He ran as did the others towards the hoped-for safety of the passage, but he was not in time to save himself or two of the others from feeling the effects of the dragons icy breath before they reached the bend. They all managed to continue on through to the great hall again as the screeches of anger and frustration of the wyrm beat down on they with an unsettling rhythm. Gebhart closed over the boulder in an effort to quieten the din.

Next Gaspode checked the concealed door for any little surprises that the giants might have left them. Finding none, Gebhart again did the necessary, opening the passage beyond for them. A guardroom of sorts lay beyond the passage. A large table with four chairs, suitable for giants, stood to the side with two looping pieces of metal attached to the wall above it. But it stood empty. A rough corridor led off west into the rock with openings on either side. The Mothers ventured into those rooms that were not blocked by boulders and saw that they had been universally abandoned. Some were chambers for giants, others for smaller creatures. A large passageway led them off to the south and opened into another huge chamber, this one dimly lit by some fire beetles in small cages attached to the walls. On either side of the cavern, ramps led up to alcoves shrouded in darkness. The alcoves had a good view of the whole of the long cavern, including the raised dais at the southern end, which had a throne set on it. There were two other exits to the north and northeast, nearer the party. Gaspode quickly scouted along this northerly edge discovering that the first chamber was filled with mist from a hot spring within.

A quick check to the northeast revealed a passageway leading off into the darkness. The Mothers turned their attention back to the shadowy alcoves. Gaspode led the way up the westerly one where he found a ballista, or what might have been a crossbow for a frost giant, resting against the wall of the alcove. He cut the string so as to make it unusable as he could see that the ledges here gave full view of the entire hall. From his new vantage point, he could make out the alcove opposite and it was similarly equipped. Gaspode crossed the floor of the cavern and dealt with that crossbow in the same fashion. He could make out more details of the throne area from here. The throne was made of bone and ivory, decorated with skulls, gems and silver; the hide of a strange beast backed it and before it sprawled the skin of a huge polar bear. An alabaster table had three stools sitting before it on a level just below the throne. The Mothers headed in that direction, Gaspode being drawn by the gems in particular, but they decided to search the lower portion of the chamber first. Here they found another exit, leading to the east from the very southeasterly corner behind the throne. This led, bypassing another passage leading off to the north, to a trophy room of some sort; it had heads and pelts of various creatures, liberally interspersed with armour, weapons and the odd tusk hanging upon the walls. The far end of the room, higher than the rest of the chamber by the height of two giant sized steps, was screened from view by a large tapestry that hung from the ceiling.

Not wanting to get into cataloguing each item just now, the Mothers returned to the “throne room” and went to the northeastern corner to see what lay there. A series of interconnected passages led to various chambers that might once have been interesting, but now looked abandoned. They did not take the passage that was blocked by another boulder to the southeast, but headed back to the chambers north of here where they had entered this area. This time they tackled each of the boulders that blocked passage, Gebhart’s great strength helping significantly with the effort. All of the rooms were abandoned except one. This contained a giant female, manacled to the wall by her wrists and ankles. In the centre of the chamber, just out of her reach were all manner of delicious foodstuffs in precious jars and bowls; just out of her reach. She heard the Mothers enter and implored them to leave her be. It took some cajoling to convince her that the party were not here to mock her. It seemed that the Frost Giant Jarl and his lieutenant, a cloud giant, had imprisoned her. She had been scouting in the area, because she had heard rumours of suspicious activity. She had been captured imprisoned here. Once Gaspode released her, she agreed to join with them, hoping that she could pick up some arms and armour to be of assistance in routing the frost giants. When asked she revealed that she, Hunnath, was a storm giant and that she, and her family, lived on a mountain not far away.

The party then went all the way back to the entrance cavern with the wall carvings. They went further to the south than they had been before, taking the first branching passage to the east, which came to a dead end. The next passage to the southeast led to a larger cavern that was supported by natural columns of rock. It had an irregular shape and was too large for their light sources to make it out fully from their first vantage point. Gaspode crept off to the east with Regid to scout out the area. There he found a spur leading off north and then west to a dead end. Further east a larger branch headed off northeast. Creeping along this, they spied some huge frog-like creatures crouching in the gloom. They were white and had a cold mist surrounding them. Returning to their fellows, the two reported what they had seen and the group decided to engage the creatures. Short work was made of the eight ice toads that they found in total, though the creatures’ icy breath caused some degree of consternation amongst the less snugly wrapped of the party. The rest of the cavern was now open to them to explore. In the southeasterly corner they found a dead frost giant sprawled on its face as if trying to avoid the huge rock-fall that buried its lower limbs. Stretched out in its left hand was a long metal tube, closed at both ends.

Leaving no stone unturned for clues, Gaspode searched the fallen giant. But found nothing of value beyond the obvious metal tube. He checked this for any traps that might be present and then prised it from the dead giant’s fingers. When they opened it up they found a map of the cave system that they were in, showing the location of the Jarl’s audience chamber and various other treasure rooms. The Mothers discussed the map but could not come to a complete understanding of which caverns it represented. Gaspode tried thinking of a way of determining the caverns contents without risking attack. He remembered that he possessed a potion of gaseous form, so he led the group back to the passage off the throne room where they had seen another boulder blocking the way. He took the potion and drifted through the rock. Here he saw four polar bears that were looking somewhat the worse for wear. It looked, from the way their fur was shaped, as though they used to have collars around their necks, but that these had been removed. The bears realised that Gaspode was there and ineffectually tried to swipe at him with their heavy paws. Moving through the room, Gaspode could see that there was another boulder blocking the far exit. He managed to get through this, seeing a large chamber beyond that was somewhat better appointed that the communal caves they had seen previously, before having to return to the others in case his gaseous nature stopped functioning. He reported what he had seen and when he was substantial again the Mothers and their allies moved in to put the bears out of their misery.

The well-appointed chamber would have been home to about twenty giants and each had a bed, a locker and a chest. There were also communal chairs and tables where they might have sat together. Nothing remained in the containers bar the occasional article of clothing. A side chamber was possibly even better furnished and ten giants would have lived there, but it had no further exits. None of these chambers sat well with what they might have expected from the map that they found. The southerly exits from this room led to the trophy room that they had encountered earlier, so they moved east, up the steps and behind the hanging into another room, this time all hung with furs and tapestries over all of the walls, with one even dividing the far eastern portion from sight. Huge tables, chairs and chests lay in the western portion, while a huge bed and some other items lay to the east. The Mothers stopped to contemplate the apparent anomaly of the map and to decide their next steps.

The Mothers began by returning to the trophy room and taking down all of the items from the wall so that Siosiann could see if any of them were magical. As he was talking down one of the shields from the wall, Kurtalla was injured by a spear that shot out of the wall. When Fonesca removed one of the walrus tusks to place on the pile, one of the mounted humanoid heads, with a sandy beard and very bristly tightly curled hair, started screaming in giantish. Gaspode was able to tell the others that it was letting everyone know that there were thieves about. The Mothers pulled the head down from the wall and, after realising that one of the wall hangings was not dampening the sound sufficiently, smashed it to pieces. Siosiann痴 spell revealed magic in a case of crossbow bolts; one of the shields; a suit of plate mail sized for an elf and one of the walrus tusks. These items were catalogued and stored.

In the next chamber to the east, a similar prosaic task was begun. Gaspode went to each chest in turn checking to see if it had been trapped and then opening it and checking its contents. On the third one that he came to, he failed to notice the glint of the contact poison around the rim of the lid, so when he opened it he suffered immediate agony shooting up his arms and into his chest. The effect passed fairly quickly, however, and he was able to resume his efforts after some ministrations from Levi. Only two small gems and a few gold and platinum coins were found in the chests, but Gaspode uncovered a secret compartment in the lid of one of the chests that contained two leather scroll tubes. After checking these for traps too, he handed them over to Fonesca for further investigation.

Kurtalla began a systematic check behind all of the wall hangings in this space. When he reached the east of the cave he found that a hanging there concealed a natural passage off to the northeast. The Mothers moved to this passage and began looking around carefully. In an alcove Kurtalla spotted a metal lever jutting out horizontally at a height of about ten feet. The passageway continued on after a turn to the southeast. The general consensus was to pull the lever down, so Hunnath did just that. The next thing that they saw was grey skies and sooty clouds. Taking in the landscape around them, they saw a steep hill rising to about three hundred feet about two hundred yards from their present position. Two huge obsidian doors, standing about thirty feet tall barred entrance to the chambers at the base of the hill. Beyond, the party could make out an active volcano, belching fumes and fire into the night sky. The whole of the area around the party was covered with a thick lair of cinders, making footing uncertain. Their immediate surroundings were level, a circular area about fifty feet in diameter with a narrow path leading down towards a large roadway that ran from the huge doors down, south of their position into the distance.

Taking a few moments to compose themselves the Mothers looked around for a method of returning, but nothing obvious occurred to them. They realised that they were not quite ready for this turn of events and that they wanted to get back to the rift as soon as they could. They reasoned that the chain would be the best way to accomplish this, but they knew that they would have to wait until dusk to use it. Consequently, Jito cast some area-effect invisibility spells on the whole group as they moved off to the edge of the area on which they arrived, trying to shelter behind the edges of the low ravines in the vicinity. The group waited quietly there and took the opportunity to spy upon the comings and goings from the strange hill-fortress. Patrols would come and go out of the obsidian portal, each consisting of twelve gnolls accompanied by two fire giants. They left approximately every two hours and overlapped the returning groups. Each patrol went down the larger road to the south and returned from there. The Mothers were not discovered in the whole of the night or through the next day and so when dusk fell they were ready to use the chain to return to the rift. Gaspode duly held up the parchment and they all found themselves back on the ice. They quickly tried the known path to the lower level of the rift and returned to the chamber with the wall hangings and the chests. This time they tested the full extent of the tunnel beyond the lever and discovered that it led down through the ice almost to the foot of the glacier miles to the south. Overhanging ice and rocks hid this entrance from casual observation. Once they had returned to the cave the Mothers decided to rest and re-learn their magics with a view to an assault on the lair of the fire giants.

One day later, the Mothers again found themselves on the cinder-strewn path. They immediately headed south, hoping to intercept a patrol. Jito cast the invisibilities required to conceal them along the path, though not to silence them. After half a mile they came upon a crossroads and they went east (left). Once out of sight of the crossing the Mothers arranged themselves in ambush formation around the path and awaited a returning patrol. It wasn稚 long until the requisite two giants and twelve gnolls came into view. Mighty blows from the fighters stopped the leading giants in their tracks but did not fell them. The gnolls were in a state of some disarray. Only minutes later the whole patrol lay dead, except for one badly injured gnoll who had been battered into unconsciousness. Some attempt was made to clear the roadway of the bodies of the fallen, but Fonesca pointed out that the gore and blood would be hard to miss despite these attempts. They brought the gnoll around and began to question it on the activities in the hill. The creature revealed that they we in King Snurre痴 realm, dread king of the fire giants. When pressed it also mentioned that the King痴 daughter had risen to prominence in the court of the king in the last couple of years. She had become his main advisor and strategist. It was rumoured that she had suggested the alliances that had been forged between the giant-kin and other creatures. It protested that it was only a vassal and had no great loyalty to the giants. Kurtalla was all for killing the creature but Levi stayed his hand. Instead the gnoll was instructed to stay with the group in case its knowledge would be required later.

The Mothers then went back along the path towards the hill, and just after they had passed the crossroads they saw twelve bloated spider creatures with wolves' heads approaching them from all angles. When Fonesca sent a blast of illumination into their midst they did not move, but almost instantly a ring of magical darkness obscured the creatures. As the Mothers formed a ring against the approach of these beasts, the creatures appeared behind them in the centre of their formation! There was nothing to it but to fight in close combat, and each of the group had a spider-like fiend to contend with. Luckily the group were under the effects of a defensive harmony from Levi, so they proved hard to hit. But both Levi and Siosiann were bitten by the creatures in the attack before the last of them perished. Each of these succumbed to the effects of whatever venom these creatures possessed, for they fell into a catatonic state and were unable to be roused by normal means.

Gebhart and Hunnath took on the task of bearing the bodies of those paralysed by the wolf-spider venom. Fonesca suggesting heading off to the south in the hope of finding a place where they could recuperate and no be subject to further patrols of giants, so that is what the party did. They went straight through the crossroads to the south, and continued on until the cinders that coated the ground became less frequent, even allowing some greenery to poke through. The ground also seemed to be sloping away from the fiery devastation to the north. After another two miles the path gave out as it lead into a fir covered valley which sloped off into the distance. The Mothers headed off to the east underneath the trees (or as near as Hunnath could manage). There, Gaspode, Gamm, Tettet and Kurtalla agreed on watches while the others prepared to regain spells or slept. After a short while Goned and Gebhart were ready to try an incantation on the two poisoned ones. Both Levi and Siosiann recovered fully when the spell was cast upon them, sitting up immediately, able and willing to discuss their next course of action.

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.

The Mothers discussed where they might go for training and preparation for an assault on the fire giants. Levi said that he had the means to transport some of them to Plague Mort through his plane shift magic, but he could not bring them all, nor get them closer to Sigil. They had no quick way to get to Waterdeep, so that they could use Jito痴 portal. Hearing this discussion the dwarves led by Gamm said that they needed to leave in two weeks, but they were very hesitant about revealing why they had such a deadline. They were thus reluctant to head off to places far distant. With this, the Mothers re-evaluated and planned for a more immediate assault on the giants.

Jito cast invisibility spells on the group and they used the lever in the frost giant cavern to travel to the cinder covered area by the giant fortress. They headed for the ravine that Gaspode had scoped out earlier on the broom, managing to avoid any giant patrols, with Kurtalla bringing up the rear, ensuring that the signs of their passage was obscured. Once they had reached the ravine, the whole group proceeded to follow the small stream back along its path to the caves. Kurtalla investigated the interior of one, finding that the previous inhabitants had left supplies and signs of their presence. Perhaps these had been people who were monitoring the activities of the giants.

Once Kurtalla had established that the caves were safe, he and Gaspode returned to the foot of the ravine to watch the giant patrols while the rest of the group settled into the caves in preparation for their attack.

Gaspode persuaded the gnoll prisoner to sketch out a map of the lair before them. Then they hit upon a plan. Siosiann and Fonesca attempted to learn the Wraithform spell so that they could accompany Jito through the doors of the giant fortress and further in; to neutralise the guard next to his warning horn. Siosiann succeeded, by Fonesca did not. So it was these two that went ahead to the doors while Gamm, Gaspode, Kurtalla and Tettet lurked nearby under cover of invisibilities cast by Jito. The gnome himself held a pebble that served as the centre of a zone of silence, so when he had squeezed under the stone door and behind the tapestry on the wall of a corridor beyond, he simply ended his gaseous existence and dropped the pebble into the horn that hung on the wall. Next, he crossed the room to where he could hear himself again so that he could cast his mirror image.

In the meantime the other occupant of the room had become restless. The fire giant sentry had thought that it had heard something, or rather nothing, when he should have. He pulled open the tapestry for a quick look into the corridor, only to fell Jito痴 blade bite deep into his right thigh from behind. Siosiann was, at that moment, opening the stone portal with a spell so that the others could join them, but she was still invisible, so the giant saw nothing. She quickly cast her own mirror image and lunged to attack the back of the now-turned giant. Jito痴 potion boosted strength was proving to be a good match for the hapless giant, who couldn稚 distinguish the real gnome amongst the five creatures ranged before him. Siosiann managed to slash the giant with her blade once before Jito had finished him off in the eerie silence still emanating from within the horn.

The invisible, but certainly not silent group of warriors arrived up to the two infiltrators as they pulled the giant痴 body into the alcove and they all pressed on up the wide corridor. As the passage opened out into a wide columned chamber to the east, the Mothers could see two ettins standing guard. From the two-headed creatures� point of view, they saw a small gnome approaching them on his own, they learned their mistake when Gamm, Gaspode, Kurtalla and Jito himself unleashed a flurry of blades before they could even bring their clubs to bear. Before the ettins hit the ground, four fire giants had begun to run the length of the hall to ward off the intruders. These giants were huge specimens, standing eighteen feet tall and wielding huge clubs. Their armour was black and well crafted. But they paled in comparison to their king. Snurre the Great stood up from his throne, pulling a huge flaming black sword into the air above his crown with a shout, which was soon echoed by various poundings and chiming in the distance.

Those in the front line could not pause to contemplate these things, for the bodyguards of the King were upon them. Gamm and Gaspode were the quickest in dealing with their immediate foe. They managed to fell their opponents before they could land a blow. But the hell hounds of Snurre breathed fire and wounded all of the fighters. Kurtalla learnt the pain of leaving a live giant to fight as the heavy club of his opponent crashed against his shoulder. Fonesca heard booted feet coming their way from at least two directions and cast a wall of ice to block the north-western passage. Levi assessed the level of threat and decided on casting a defensive harmony to help the group. Eight more giants had answered their King痴 call and jumped in to replace their fallen compatriots. The fighters managed to kill the remaining two bodyguards and wound another two of the new arrivals. All of those in the front line on the Mother痴 side had suffered heavy blows from the clubs of the giants. Kurtalla was most sorely hurt. Gebhart channelled some healing magic into the ranger to keep him on his feet. Fonesca meanwhile was trying to affect the reinforcements before they had the chance to harm her fellows. She dropped an ice sheet on the heads of the latest group trying to get the King at the same time. Although the foot-soldiers were hurt by it, Snurre himself seemed unaffected. When eight giants lay dead before them, Kurtalla had to withdraw due to his wounds, just as another twelve giants arrived. This gave the Mothers pause.

With Kurtalla痴 withdrawal Tettet stepped up eagerly to join the fray. Levi decided that the Mothers and their allies needed further bolstering, so he cast a defensive harmony on the group, making their swords and axes swing in concert to block the blows and movements of their foes. Each of the front line had also downed some sort of potion to help them either with increased vitality, speed or strength. Their weapons made a terrible carnage on the giants who opposed them, with Gebhart, Hunnath, Levi, Goned and Siosiann all landing ranged spells amongst the re-enforcements when they were not healing those who had dropped back. Jito, was proving a very difficult opponent for the giants as his multiple images protected him well from any blows that might otherwise have landed, while his speeded attacks kept landing wounds. Hunnath also stepped directly into the fray, the only one of these allies to match their enemies in sheer size. Her borrowed sword and armour seemed to equip her quite well for her purpose. Finally they had killed so many giants, that only the younger ones remained to block their passage to the throne where King Snurre still stood with his entourage.

The young ones were no match for the combined might of the Mothers and their magic. They started to fall just as a door to the south opened. Out came a female fire giant with striking red hair, with her came a bodyguard of more giants, these moving as quickly as Jito. Both he and Fonesca targeted this newcomer with spells while the others piled into a melee. Even Grimath and Regid assisted here by sneaking past the front ranks to land precise blows in the flanks of the younger giants. The last hell hounds fell and allowed the hasted giants to join the fray. The Mothers were sorely pressed with no one being left unscathed, but they weathered this onslaught, though the mages were finding it difficult to come up with offensive uses for their remaining incantations. Kurtalla had also withdrawn from the front line and was now using his bow to telling effect. He was also quickened with magic, firing off shaft after shaft towards his enemies. King Snurre and what they took to be his daughter looked badly wounded.

From the north another figure arrived. It was human sized, but they could not tell its race or sex as the creature was cloaked in a veil of shadow. It went straight to the dias by the throne ignoring the Mothers. Meanwhile the final arrow from Kurtalla felled the daughter. Snurre let out a might bellow and stepped forward off the dias towards his enemies, but now Kurtalla痴 aim was directed at the King and he was weakening. The bald human who had been with Snurre now stood next to the cloaked one as it began to open some sort of shadowy portal, he passed through as soon as it was large enough to admit him. The shadowy figure paused and seemed to turn to Snurre just in time to see him fall to a final blow, then disappeared through the opening which promptly vanished. The rest of the defenders fell to the Mothers quickly.

Gaspode searched the bodies of the fallen with the help of Grimath and Regid. Some of the items that the King and his daughter bore seemed to be magical, so Gaspode stored them and noted them on his list. He also discovered a wand on the body of the daughter, which reminded him greatly of the 迭uat� wand that Fonesca was using to help cure them. Neither of the items had detected as magical although Fonesca痴 plainly had a magical effect. Once he had called her over, they compared the two pieces and saw that one might be a continuation of the other if there were an intermediate piece to join them. Fonesca carefully stored both away in separate pouches. All other valuables were taken and the Mothers searched to the south from where they had seen the daughter emerge. They came upon a series of chambers, that the daughter and her guards must have occupied. Here they decided they would rest.

The Mothers decided to rest from their labours in the chambers of Snurre痴 daughter to the south of the throne room. The doughty warriors kept watch while the magical practitioners prayed or studied and nothing interrupted them. So refreshed, the party moved east along the corridor to where they had seen the blazing skull symbol on the huge doors at the end. Gaspode went through his usual precautions while the others checked the walls of the corridor for hidden egresses. No one found anything of note, so they proceeded into a grand corridor, which was laid out in some opulence. Tapestries hung on the walls, interspersed with weaponry and trophies. A pillar of red stone marked the end of the angled passage and the beginning of Snurre痴 bedchamber. Not much of the stone wall could be seen, as the tapestries, weaponry and other trophies continued in this room. A high shelf on the southern wall held tens of skulls from human, elf, dwarf, giant and even some monstrous victims of the King. A huge wardrobe and desk stood against the western wall, while a suitably king-sized bed dominated the eastern half of the chamber.

Jito was called upon to see if any of the items on display were magical and despite his careful scrutiny, all of the objects seemed mundane. Meanwhile, the others checked the walls. In the northeastern corner these efforts paid off in the form of a thick door that Hunnath had to open due to the mechanism being a protruding stone some twelve feet off the ground. She stepped back and allowed Gaspode to scour the first chamber beyond which was rough hewn and circular. After he had pronounced it safe, Gaspode led the Mothers down the corridor beyond which went north then west, ending in a blank wall. It did not take long to find the hidden portal here and when they had opened it they saw that they had returned to the throne room, this time through its eastern wall.

After a quick study of the room from this vantage point the Mothers moved out of the throne room along the northerly passage (down which most of the giants had come to fight them earlier), following the map drawn by the gnoll. When they reached the triangular alcove at the T junction at the end, they found a guard post which was abandoned, but still had its huge metal warning chime hanging from the ceiling with an iron hammer resting against the wall. To the east they entered a series of chambers which served as an armoury for the giants. To the west were the weapon stores and to the east all manner of giant armour stood ready. In between was a locked door. Gaspode got past its defences easily, but could hear nothing from the room beyond. When he opened it, those in the vanguard were engulfed in flames from one of the three heads of a chimera. Undaunted, they stepped forward and quickly felled the beast after it had been weakened by magic missiles from Fonesca. There was nothing of interest in the beast痴 lair. Further east and northern a giant dormitory was also not very interesting.

Moving back beyond the guard alcove, the Mothers ignored the northern passage marked 滴ell Hounds� on their map and made their way to the western end of the corridor. Near the sloping passage which lead downwards to the next level they found a door which was barred on the outside. Thinking that this was too suspicious, the Mothers moved on. At the bottom of the passage they exited at a crossroads. Immediately opposite them to the west was a short passage ending in a set of double doors. To the north, the corridor shortly descended further down a flight of steep stairs. The party went south. After a short distance it turned to the east. Off this corridor were three rooms, each containing nothing that the Mothers wanted to bring with them. Returning to the crossroads the Mothers went west and opened the large double doors. The collection of sarcophagi either standing against the walls or lined up in the centre of the chamber did not fill the group with enthusiasm, so they turned around and went down the stairs to the north. After fifty feet a corridor stretched off to the east. Small doors were evenly spaced along its length which Gaspode thought looked like cells, and the other passages and stairs leading off were too much for the Mothers to tackle without a little more thought.

Moving methodically along the corridor the Mothers went to each door in turn, checking for traps and listening to see if they could discern that the room beyond was occupied. After an empty cell they discovered three unfortunate gnolls one of whom was already dead. They released them. The next cell of interest had a glum troll chained to the wall who did not react to their presence. They left it there and locked the door. Beyond this were another seven gnolls whom they also let go. The two human skeletons in the next room did not rise to attack and so were left in peace.

At the end of the hall a fire giant was chained in a large cell. The Mothers asked him to map out this level for them, but he said that he would be killed if he did that. At this point the Mothers let him know about their slaughter on the level above. The giant, Boldoran, seemed shocked, but was at least more willing to talk. He described how Snurre痴 daughter had returned from visiting some relatives with a new purpose and drive. She had coaxed her father into allowing her more influence in his affairs. She helped plan raids and organise patrols. Her methods were meticulous and gained her praise and stature amongst the other giants. Then she proposed some sort of an alliance with the drow, which Boldoran resisted. Eventually his protests led to his imprisonment in this cell. The alliance went ahead anyway, with the drow bringing with them some mysterious humans that were cloaked in shadow. Boldoran did not know their origins. When asked what he would do if set free, the fire giant replied that he would leave and try to find some others of his folk whom he could join. Reluctantly, they agreed. Boldoran left immediately.

Along the northern wall of the corridor at the eastern end, they found a guardroom, which had furniture sized for giants and humanoids. The ale, mead and wine casks were interesting finds, but did not distract them too much. Moving west down the corridor the next room was another large one. Chained against the wall was an immense creature, fully twenty feet tall if he was erect; he hung limply from dark metal chains much like the links that had transported them from the Hill Giant痴 lair to the glacier. When they approached they could see that the creature痴 eyes were glazed and that he was drooling. Hunnath seemed more perturbed by this pass that anything else. She explained that this creature was a titan, the lords of all giant-kin. Some said that they were the servants of the very gods, or indeed, gods themselves! Kurtalla noted that no ordinary chains would have bound such a creature, but the locks were mortal-made and Gaspode surpassed them.

Levi deduced that the titan had been drugged, but said that he would have to pray to Tyr again, in order to ask for the correct spell to counter the affliction. Not seeing anything better to do, the Mothers made camp where they were. Thankfully, their time passed uneventfully. Levi cast his magic over the huge humanoid and the sharpness returned to its eyes while he shook his mighty head. Slowly he regained his feet and looked down upon the assembled company. When he spoke he had such a voice of authority and calm that all who heard were reassured. He introduced himself as Theon Urlande and thanked them for freeing him from his captivity. If he was surprised at the motley assemblage he did not show it. He let them know that, similarly to Hunnath at the Great Glacier, he had journeyed here to spy upon the unnatural gathering of so many giant kin. He had spent some time surveying the area and noting the tactics of the giant patrols, which he deemed to be unusually vigilant, attentive and well drilled. He saw that booty was being brought back from raids to the west and south, including some prisoners, but he felt that he could not tackle them alone, so, in an effort to learn the full strength of King Snurre, he crept too close to the fortress. Magical darkness fell about him and he felt his limbs lying heavy as the strength was drained from them. He caught sight of a band of dark elves rising out of the ground around him; corralling him. But at the edge of the circle, a human figure stood, using some magic unknown to the titan, but which was potent enough to make him fall. He believed that he had not been cogent since then, except whenever the drugs that they had given him had started to weaken, when they hastily gave him further doses.

Theon agreed to accompany the group once they had told him of their work killing giants on the floor above. He said that he wanted to ensure that no further threat lay in this place and he was disturbed to hear that the Mothers had not encountered any drow. Arming himself with equipment from the guard room next door he took station by Hunnath痴 side, whom he seemed to favour. In the northerly passage beyond Theon痴 prison they found more cells. To the east they found that the two centaurs who were imprisoned there had been slain by having their throats cut. Opposite, one cell was empty while the other contained a human, a bedine merchant by the name of Ithcar. His caravan was taken and he had convinced himself that the giants were holding him for ransom. He took his place in the party, to be guarded by Grimath and Regid. Rather than attempt the double doors to the east or go further north, the Mothers turned left, down a passageway, which led to the west.

The first room on the northerly wall contained eight elven males. They said that they had been accompanying a noble of their kind to Evereska, but had been captured. They did not know what had become of her, though they had lost twelve of their fellows one by one over the course of the last two months. These too, joined up with the group and were much relieved when the Mothers opened the next cell and they saw a proud female elf chained, as they had been. She was awake and aware and welcomed them. When she was free, she related what she knew of her guards. Although she had not seen them, she had heard the language of the dark elves being spoken beyond her door. As for the fire giant who warded her, she had not seen him in two days. She said that her name was Countess Nevarra and she was very grateful for the water and food that the Mothers provided. She asked for leave to remain with the group until such time as they could escort her and her guards to the surface and away from the halls of the giants. She noted baldly that they had no chance of survival on their own without arms and armour. The Mothers did not gainsay her.

Since the milling hoards that now surrounded the Mothers could not all fit comfortably within the Countess� cell, some that were outside had already noticed the strange difference in the stone wall further along to the west on the southerly wall. With careful examination and without daring to touch it, the Mothers saw that a brownish purple rough stone replaced the normal basalt and extended for roughly twenty feet covering from the floor to the ceiling. They called upon Gaspode to examine this with his gem of true seeing. The wall through the lens appeared to contain a number of lengthy tentacles that roiled beneath the surface. While trying this, Gaspode caught a glimpse of the wall opposite. Here he saw that what appeared to be solid rock was actually missing in two large apertures to the north. One directly across from the strange patch of rock and the other in the far north east corner.

The Mothers moved west to the end of the corridor, which turned to the south and joined up with the stairs down which they had already come. To the west an open gash in the side wall emitted garish red light which shifted unpredictably. Entering this opening the group found themselves in a rough natural chamber that was bordered by an open flow of lava. The tongue of rock on which they stood extended out into this stream. The northern lip descended down to the level of the molten rock and there was a space carved there at the edge where a giant could stand. Just next to this stood a huge anvil and a vast cauldron of water. Then they noticed the large metal tools and shapers which lay against the floor east of the depression. Some half-made swords and pieces of armour were also to be seen, strewn about as if abandoned. Since they had come in a circle, the Mothers now had to decide which route to further explore.

Returning to the wall of tentacles, the Mothers decided that they had to coax whatever lay within to show itself. They set about creating a pool of burning oil taken from their lamp supplies which roused whatever the creature was into attacking. Ten huge tentacles lashed out from the wall trying to grasp and crush the Mothers and their camp followers.

The party reacted swiftly and with various forms of attack. The clerics cast dispelling magics on the wall, hoping to weaken its dweomer. Jito and Kurtalla fired missiles at it from a safe distance, Jito’s sling bullets crashing in to it with great effect. The sword wielders, meanwhile, parried and slashed at the writhing limbs. Once the second dispelling had taken effect the “wall” was clearly weakened and they all stepped in and finished it off. As it died it faded into nothing, revealing an opening in to some chambers to the south.

While most of the group remained outside, the Mothers entered along with the giant kind and the elf countess. Inside, dark draperies concealed the walls and ceilings; strange candles lit the place with a disconcerting purplish glow revealing a slowly smoking brazier; low couches and tables along with a large wardrobe. Inside the Mothers found and took a set of vestments for someone roughly human sized. Parting the hangings, an inner room was discovered which contained a bed as well as the candles, braziers and other accessories also found next door. Countess Nevarra confirmed that the décor was akin to that of the drow. Finding nothing else to hold their attention here, despite extensive searches, the Mothers returned to the corridor and the concealed openings that Gaspode had discovered with his gem.

They took the left-most opening and entered into a confusing long chamber that ended in a raised area with an altar and a black metal triangle with a cylinder suspended from the ceiling. On the wall behind was an inlay depicting a huge inverted triangle with a Y enclosed within. The path to the altar area was obscured by globules of mauve and violet light which floated randomly around. Pillars to the right separated off another area presumably accessed through the other passage. The walls held scenes of giants offering sacrifices and bowing to a black cairn. The whole group, but especially Levi were very disconcerted about the feeling of wrongness in the place and they withdrew. Levi said that it reminded him strongly of the altar which took his sanity for a time beneath the Hill Giants’ halls. They decided that the temple could do little harm if there was no one there to worship in it and they left to explore other areas.

The Mothers searched north of the corridor with the destroyed wall encountering only the traces of activity until they came across some guest chambers that still contained two spotted lions. These creatures, frantic with hunger, leapt to attack immediately, but they were no match for the blades of Gaspode and Gamm. Only the stench of trolls and gnolls could be found in the furthest passages, so the Mothers decided to see what lay beneath.

Just east of the chamber where the Countess was held large double doors opened on a ramp of stone sweeping down into the lower levels of the mountain. The Mothers could feel the heat rising as they descended the masonry ramp. When they had reached the foot of it, they opened another set of double doors and the stonework gave way to more natural caverns that must have been carved out by lava floes or water in ages past. It was clear though that some work had gone in to removing stalagmites in particular as the flooring was still relatively smooth. With quite a choice of directions the Mothers followed an echoing musical sound to the south. Here they discovered a pool which had regular droplets of water falling in to it. The echo of these drops reverberated off the walls of the cavern creating a musical effect. Not wanting to be left empty handed the Mothers investigated the pool and disturbed an amorphous grey creature which oozed out of the pool and attacked them with its pseudopods. The Mothers dispatched it.

Coming to their senses the Mothers returned to the foot of the ramp and went left. Here, in a series of winding passages they came across more challenging foes. They were reminded of the opponents that they faced in the stone circles of Tovag Baragu as these creatures were also vaguely conical mounds with long appendages that swept out to strike at them. Luckily these ropers did not possess any mind affecting abilities, or at least they did not display any before the Mothers put the three of them to the sword. Moving on the Mothers encountered some fire beetles in the southerly end of a large cavern before turning to the north. The fire beetles were deemed to be beneath their notice.

Once they rounded a large natural pillar in the rock, the Mothers were slightly concerned to see what looked like two large red drakes in the cavern beyond. Before they could retreat the creatures both opened their mouths to spew gouts of flame towards the party. The Mothers soon realised that these were not real dragons as they were not dead. Feeling emboldened, they stepped up into melee with the creatures and found that they fell just like other normal opponents. Unfortunately, they did not seem to have the treasure hoards that dragons were reputed to collect either.

Disappointment with the fire lizards’ treasure was not enough to stop the group in their explorations. The next cave that they came across contained four hell hounds. The Mothers were getting a little peeved with getting engulfed in flames at this point (although Jito did not seem to mind so much), so within moments the demon dogs lay dead. Gaspode and Gamm’s eyebrows would take time to recover.

Unfortunately the sound of combat with their pets had alerted a group of what must have been reserve forces, namely eight fire giants who were barracked in the next cave. They flung themselves on the Mothers with some force when the party dared enter their domain. Kurtalla, Jito, Gamm and Gaspode all put their fighting skills to the test against these foes and the healers had to respond quickly to ensure that their colleagues did not fall in the close combat that ensued. But the Mothers were victorious. The giants sacks held nothing of interest and a cursory search of their cave revealed nothing except an exit to the east.

With more caverns and passageways available to them the Mothers again went left. This took them northwards along a fairly wide straight corridor. This continued northwards while a passageway led off to the west. Since this took them left, Fonesca insisted on them following it. Just as this route was opening out into a larger cavern Gaspode tripped over a cord that stretched across the passage and set off a trap that loosed hundreds of crude, hollow, metal balls which clattered down into the opening with a very loud noise indeed. The party had trouble keeping their footing with all of the spheres rolling around, but they discovered that the cavern beyond was abandoned and had no other exits, so they had to re-trace their steps.

Going north along the straight passage, they came into a cavern which glittered and sparkled from the lights that the Mothers carried with them. They took a moment to enjoy this spectacle amidst the dark tunnels that they had been exploring. The clerics and mages were clamouring for rest, however, so they continued on, finding another passage than went west (left) just next to a sinkhole on the northern wall. Three passages lead off to dead-ends to the north and south of this spur as they went along, the last one having been used by the drow as a guard post, but now abandoned.

Continuing west the Mothers came out into a chamber lit by the river of lava that bisected it from the southwest to the northeast. The roof could be made out over sixty feet above them. There was only one route across the cavern: a solid narrow bar of metal that was square in cross-section and cold to the touch, despite its location, that spanned the flow with a good ten feet to spare on either side. Not wanting to dare the “bridge”, the Mothers looked around to see what they could from this side of the flow. When they went as far to the southwest as they could on this bank they could make out a passage escaping off into the underdark on the westerly edge of the opposite bank. the clamours for rest were now overwhelming, so the Mothers returned to the drow guard post to the east and set up camp.

After the third watch, Theon the Titan woke Gaspode and Kurtalla to explain that he had heard noises which he took to be the stirrings of a real dragon echoing along the tunnels. They went back to the glistening chamber to investigate and they convinced themselves that the sounds came from south of there and had not approached closer than that. Keeping a close watch (and listen!) they allowed the party to regain their strength as planned. In the morning the priests started using the healing magic that they had regained through their prayers.

Once they had healed their companions as much as they could, the priests took part in the discussions about what to do next. Gaspode seemed to be concerned about the dragon activity and wanted to leave. Levi was anxious about Guthranka, who was back in the ice with her refugees. Gamm and his entourage seemed anxious to leave as soon as possible. Fonesca wanted to weigh up all of the pros and cons of staying and doing further searches on a detailed listing, putting various weighting factors against each one and determining their course of action thereby. Jito didn稚 like the smell of the lava.

On balance they decided to withdraw.

They deliberately (and as quietly as they could) took the same route back through the caves as they had arrived at this point and they reached the ramp without incident. They ascended into the carved corridors above and made their way quickly from there to the gates of the citadel. As they were about to disperse, the party decided that they had better work out the divisions of the spoils. Gaspode pored over his records and the piles of coins gems and goods that he restored from his sheet. Fonesca took a keen interest, checking his figures and his logic. The gems and lighter items went to those who were leaving the Mothers as they did not have access to magic that would reduce the weight of their burdens. The Mothers also paid off their hirelings at the agreed rates. The dwarves thanked them gruffly and set off to the west without further comment, Tettet joined them.

Kurtalla studied the area and decided that he knew roughly where he was, just west of the Great Desert and east and slightly north of the Silver Marches, the new regional power presided over by Silverymoon. This meant that the group could walk to Citadel Adbar, a stronghold of the dwarves, in a matter of days.

Siosiann reminded the Mothers that she had made a commitment to stay with them for a year to assist them as they had freed her from bondage with the giants. She readily agreed when they offered to allow her join the company. Theon and Hunnath said that they would set off for the east, towards their homes and that they would bring the Bedine merchant that they had freed with them as Anauroch lay in that direction also.

The Countess and her people decided to journey with the Mothers to Citadel Adbar and hopefully take a caravan from there south towards their original destination, Evereska. Grimath Foon and Gebhart of the Sacred Grove also decided to go to Adbar for similar reasons, though both would be heading further west from there.

With the routes and plans established, it was left to the Mothers to retrieve Guthranka from beneath the ice. While the rest of the party went to the ranger caves near the fire giant fortress to rest, Gaspode, Levi, Fonesca and Jito went to the arrival point to wait for dusk. Levi took the chain out of the box and laid it on the ground in a figure of eight while Gaspode searched for the parchment. At the appropriate time (and when Fonesca had arranged them in the twin circles to her liking), Gaspode held the parchment aloft and they were taken to the glacier. A long hike in darkness later and they stood across the crevasse from the ledge and tunnel entrance. Jito flew over on his broom, dragging a rope with him and soon the paladin and her companions had set off with them towards the rift.

Traversing the ice caverns again was slightly disturbing if uneventful; they made their way to the lever that was their destination with only the groans and cracks of the wind and ice to distract them. The more westerly mountains soon loomed above them and they hurried to the ranger cave to reunite with their friends. All was well there, so after a few hours of rest the whole party set out to the west and south in search of Citadel Adbar. Kurtalla and Gebhart used their skills to guide the group through the valleys and passes; avoiding contact where possible with any local denizens. It took three days to march to the Citadel and most of the group did not recognise it when they arrived.

The rock of the upper citadel blended deceivingly with that of the mountain it was an extension of, but once they knew it was there, the Mothers could perceive the mighty battlements and embrasures. They were greeted rather gruffly by a dwarven guard at the narrow entrance, who asked them many questions about their origins and purposes. He gave them leave to remain for a short time and directed them to Conath痴 Inn, one that was owned by a human on the second level of the lower citadel. Jito used his knowledge of Dethek script and dwarvish to guide them down to the inn where they lodged for the night.

The Mothers settled in to Conath痴 Inn for the night. They took the time to formally accept Siosiann and Kurtalla into their ranks. After reviewing the charter, it was decided that a new set of items which displayed the tree symbol of the Mothers were required for each of them. They enquired the next morning of a craftsman from the barkeep, who informed them that Beonir the smith was well thought of. The Mothers journeyed there and asked for five items to be created to seal the new party:

Kurtalla � a ring
Siosiann � an amulet
Gaspode � a belt and buckle
Fonesca � a belt and buckle
Jito � a cloak clasp

This the dwarf readily agreed to do, taking specifications of materials from each individual. He also asked them what the symbol indicated and once they mentioned The Mothers of Invention, Beonir said that he had met Bert Anvilfist. He said that Bert had been in Citadel Adbar and then in Citadel Felbar learning all that he could at the forge and from the rune priests of the dwarves. Apparently he had mentioned something to Beonir about the indignity of levitation combined with boots and ropes. Since the Mothers were in a shopping mood, they also asked Beonir for a recommendation for a mage who could identify items for them. Beonir suggested that they visit Iyin, his cousin and he gave them directions to his abode, which was near one of the exits to the underdark. The Mothers bade farewell to the smith, promising to return in two days to collect their badges.

The passages in the depths of Adbar were claustrophobic and well patrolled. The Mothers saw a gateway which presumably marked ones of the limits of the underground citadel, but they turned off just before they reached it and went up a narrow tunnel in the rock. The doorway that they came to was of stone and it was closed to them with no apparent mechanism. When they knocked a mouth appeared above them from the stone and asked them their business. When they replied, the stone rolled back to reveal a thin, bald, beardless dwarf. Iyin greeted them with cynicism and humour, but they won him around with talk of a quandary, the items that they knew were magical but did not detect as such. He looked at these pieces and stated that he could do nothing with them and that their best chance of success lay in talking to the keepers of lore. He took the other, more mundane, magical items from them and said to come back in a day. When quizzed on lore keepers he suggested the clergy of the dwarven pantheon, but he told them that there was no high priest, rather three senior clerics. The Mothers thought Thorik Veldun was the one thought most likely to have the knowledge they sought as he was the rune priest. Storn Unhammer and Tace Bladebite were the spiritual and military clerical advisors respectively.

Soon the Mothers found themselves conversing with Thorik. He was a rather more conventional, heavily bearded, dwarf, though his clothing was covered in runes of all types. When he discovered their connection with Bert he became very helpful, but he did not have any knowledge of the wands that they had found with the naga or the fire giantess. He did offer a route to Cormyr to the party, once he had heard about their forays with the giants, though they had to swear an oath on the altar in the temple not to reveal its secret. He said that there was a portal in Citadel Adbar that opened in Cormyr and that they could utilize it. When the topic of Gamm Ironcrown came up, Thorik was most interested to hear news of him. He told them about his curse, whether it was bound to Gamm or to his axe, he was not sure. The Mothers thanked him for his offer of passage but said that they were not yet ready to leave the Citadel as they were waiting on the items that they had ordered or left to be identified.