| Session Date | April 1, 2023 |
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| Base XP Gained | Carry Over |
| Player Notes | ZZ's Notes |
As the party prepared to continue exploring, Hans used the crystal ball to scry the dwarf they’d encountered. He found him in a mazy hallway of stone corridors. However, the Dwarf seemed to sense it and immediately went to hide in the shadows of a hallway, to no effect. Gaining little information, the party made their way to the teleporter chamber. There they hopped atop the platform and engaged it, giving the password fimbulwinter.
After a moment of disorientation, they found themselves in another, larger chamber. Moving into a corridor, Deaglan heard footsteps approaching. The party retreated back to the teleport room and set up an ambush. Moments later, a pair of Yetis walked into their trap and were quickly dispatched. The party took the time to drag the corpses atop the teleported and back to the other level where they were stashed in a nearby room.
Heading back to the teleporter, the party was charged by another mass of ice-snow-blizzard, but Hans managed to throw a wall of ice to block its approach, and they made it back to the teleporter without further incident. Returning to the new level, they repeated their actions and once more Deaglan heard footsteps, but these were going away from them. The party speculated based on the clicking noise they might be more blue imps.
They moved out west and soon found a free-standing stone archway. It proved to be the same intelligent Mimic the party had encountered in their previous forays. Like then, it was easily bribed with food and wine and soon began giving the party all sorts of information. This included the presence of Specters and a huge, two-headed troll to the west, a room of slick ice nearby, spiders to the east, stairs somewhere to the south, a warning against its “mute” cousin who prowled the level. It also warned them that the palace inhabitants “sort of” knew they were around. The party inquired about the Ice Wizard’s daughter, but the Mimic said she had little use for him and had spoken only a few kind words to him; she did like to wander, he noted.
Passing through a secret corridor the Mimic pointed out to them, they explored west and south, eventually coming to a room where Deaglan could hear a slight tinkling sound. The party had found a high-domed room with a tree made entirely of ice, the tinkling the slight movement of its leaves in the disturbed air from the party. A detect traps spell from Mordecai noted pits in three alcoves projecting from the room> Better, Deaglan sensed a secret door to the west. Before they could explore further, a lone Blue Troll blundered into them. The party cut it down as it tried to flee.
The secret door was then opened, and the party found a forgotten store room full of skis, snow shoes, winter wear, and the like. A detect magic revealed that a sect of skis and one of skates were magic. As it turned out, the ice tree was magic, too. They now continued exploring, continuing west and then north.
At one point they found the Two-Headed Troll. It charged the party but did not last long, and a tidy treasure was recovered. Further on, they found the ice-encased Ice Devil once again. And, once again, it mentally tried to convince the party to free it in exchange for a “great reward.” The party was not interested, to the Paladin’s approval. But, nearby, they found the Specters they’d been warned about. They got the jump on Jarrik and Sirius but, by very good fortune, were unsuccessful and were soon turned by ZZ. Dane rushed them and soon destroyed them, in proper Paladin fashion! With help, of course! Another modest treasure was recovered.
Exploring on, the party came to a set of long corridors that they soon determined formed a sort of box, within which four corridors ran into a large, bowl-shaped room. On each section of wall between the corridors and doors was carved a large demonic face with a hexagonally-shaped open mouth of blackness, like a hole (8 total). The mouths seemed to open to nothingness, or at least very deep somewhere. Dane’s sword seemed to indicate the whole place was a trap, so the party remained very cautious. Burt called up an unseen servant which he ordered to stuff a sack in one of the demon mouths and then open the nearest door. Deaglan then gingerly slipped over it and stepped inside. Followed by the others.
Inside the party found the walls decorated with carvings and murals depicting the Elemental Plane of Earth, but with a demonic cast, as if depicting a portion of that place overlapping with one of the Lower Planes. Everyone began to grow thirsty when suddenly the floor burst upwards and a huge Earth Elemental flew up and attacked. During the melee, the floor suddenly turned to mud and Dane and Jarrik were sucked under and began to drown. Chaos ensued as those in the mud tried to escape and rescue those drowning in it. Fortunately, the party managed to do so and soon were able to slay the elemental. The floor reverted to stone and in place of the elemental were two hexagonal crystals the same shape as the demon mouths…