Chapter Two: Day 13, Hour 16 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : In all the years that Uncle Oswald flew his airship, I can't honestly say he had more successful landings than crashes, but even he could not have known the difficulties that lay ahead of him in the Western Pass of the Spine of the World. Adventurers aboard, the flight from Targos was accompanied by a flurry of sound and motion from the winter thrushes that had once again perched on the roofs of the aching town. All along the tundra, pilot and passengers watched the corpse cloth flutter in the winter wind. It was a whispering herald of things to come. As the plains turned into hills, the wind turned into a gale. Uncle had seen storms appear quickly, but the one that swept down from Spine of the World was like a bolt from an angry god. He managed to evade what he believed was the worst of the storms as he flew low over the foothills and told the adventurers to take cover. When Uncle's eyes peered out from the melting snow rushing across the deck, he beheld a wall of ice in the canyon of stone that was the Western Pass. Wild women whipped their hands in magical patterns on top of the frozen barrier, their snow-white robes poorly covering rime-armored flesh. My uncle gasped when he heard the balloon pop and tear above him. He wouldn't talk about it for years after, but he eventually told me what frightened him most before the ship crashed into the foothills. It was the silence, he said. When the ship fell, the wild women relaxed and froze on the wall, the storm abated in a heartbeat. There was no sound, no motion but the face of Faerun rising to meet him. Day 13, Hour 16 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : Traveling in Oswald's airship to the Western Pass to find and meet with the military expedition from Neverwinter, we noticed a glacier blocking a large section of the pass. We were immediately caught in a sudden ice storm that seemed to come from within the glacier, and crashed in the foothills that sit at the base of the Spine of the World Mountains. We should investigate that very unusual glacier. Day 13, Hour 16 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : The crash knocked us unconscious, and we were rudely awakened by an attack of boring beetles. Surprisingly, instead of fighting, some of them actually fled with some of Oswald's equipment dangling from their mandibles. We should get that equipment back. Day 13, Hour 17 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : Oswald's airship was badly damaged in the crash, and doesn't look like it'll be able to fly in its current state. However, it's been a valuable ally in this war. We should find a way to repair it. Day 13, Hour 17 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : We didn't realize the full extent of the damage to Oswald's airship until we went outside to the foothills. As the boring beetles continued their attack, we heard a distant call for help from someone in excruciating pain. We should investigate that plea for help once we've dealt with the beetles. Day 13, Hour 18 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : It seems a large tree broke the airship's fall when we crashed, unearthing a boring beetle nest in the process. With the beetles living so close to the ship, they'll never let us safely rest inside or repair it. We should either destroy the beetles in the nest, or the nest itself. Day 13, Hour 18 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : We collapsed the hole leading into the nest of boring beetles near Oswald's airship. Day 13, Hour 18 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : We found Oswald's equipment wedged in the side of a hole leading into the nest of the boring beetles that were attacking us. Day 13, Hour 19 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : We encountered Beodaewn and his "companions" at a caravan arranged as an encampment in the foothills. They were posing as innocent travelers, but when we saw through their deception, he revealed his real form as a "true" werewolf. He claimed that people have sought him throughout all of Faerun to receive his "gift" of lycanthropy - that probably explains the strange collection of followers gathered around him. Day 13, Hour 19 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : Beodaewn told us he can change form at will, but his disciples can only do it at night - perhaps they have a lesser version of his lycanthropy. Day 13, Hour 20 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : It was a challenge, but we prevented Captain Yurst from being stoned to death with boulders. Day 13, Hour 20 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : We used a Periapt of Wound Closure to seal Captain Yurst's wounds and stop his bleeding. While it healed many of his external injuries, his internal ones seemed much more severe... before he passed away, however, he told us he had been seized by a half-dragon woman and wyverns in the hills, and flown toward an ice temple in the mountains. He managed to escape at the last minute, but the fall hurt him severely. With his dying breath, he warned us of traps in the foothills placed by a strange group of rangers and druids in the region. These should be removed or else they may pose a threat to the Neverwinter reinforcements. Day 13, Hour 21 (14 Mirtul, 1312) : Illium Ar'Ghrenoir granted us safe passage through his hamlet Andora, but said that we would receive no further assistance from them. Day 14, Hour 16 (15 Mirtul, 1312) : We met a man named the Master of Locks in one of the glacier's crevices. He was escaping from a prison in the ice temple, and said someone named Nathaniel, who was being held there, knew us and was hoping we would rescue him. Day 14, Hour 17 (15 Mirtul, 1312) : We found a note hastily written by someone with small fingers on the floor of one of the crevasses leading into the glacier. It appeared to be a call for help from "Zack" who indicated being stuck somewhere. We should keep an eye out for him. Day 14, Hour 17 (15 Mirtul, 1312) : We entered the glacier through one of its many crevasses and came upon several ice doors indented with the emblem for Auril, Goddess of Cold and Winter. All of the doors are sealed, preventing us from proceeding further. We should find a way to open them. Day 14, Hour 19 (15 Mirtul, 1312) : Clutched in the frozen hand of a soldier from the Neverwinter militia was a holy symbol of Auril, and we used it to open the ice doors in the glacier. Day 14, Hour 20 (15 Mirtul, 1312) : Advancing further into the glacier our progress was halted by a blockade of ice and hard snow that was guarded by a queen remorhaz and her Aurilite masters. We should find a way to get through that blockade. Day 14, Hour 20 (15 Mirtul, 1312) : It was a difficult battle, but when we killed the queen remorhaz the protrusions on her back became so hot that they melted the blockade behind her. Day 14, Hour 21 (15 Mirtul, 1312) : We met Sherincal, a towering, female half-blue-dragon guarding the entrance to the Aurilite ice temple. She claimed to lead the forces of something called the "Legion of the Chimera" in Icewind Dale's western region. It appears the strange banners we've been seeing belong to them. Day 14, Hour 21 (15 Mirtul, 1312) : Speaking with Sherincal further we discovered that this Legion of the Chimera is an organization comprised of the disenfranchised freaks of Faerūn. Day 14, Hour 21 (15 Mirtul, 1312) : We also learned from Sherincal that Isair and Madae are twins who rule the Legion of the Chimera from its capitol, the Severed Hand. Day 15, Hour 0 (16 Mirtul, 1312) : We rescued Zack Boosenburry, a svirfneblin, by killing the remorhaz that apparently had swallowed him whole. We're still not sure how he or anyone else could've survived living in that worm's stomach for days. Day 15, Hour 0 (16 Mirtul, 1312) : We found Zack's mount Aocha in a room that appears to be used to store the livestock fed to the remorhaz roaming the area. Day 16, Hour 3 (17 Mirtul, 1312) : We met Cathin, one of the three high priestesses of Auril, within the main chapel of the ice temple leading a collection of clerics in prayer. Day 16, Hour 6 (17 Mirtul, 1312) : We met Nathaniel, a druid from Kuldahar, who'd been locked in one of the ice temple's prison cells. He asked us to free him before he suffered the same fate as his fellow prisoners, whatever that may be. Day 16, Hour 6 (17 Mirtul, 1312) : The ice temple prison housing Nathaniel was shrouded by antimagic, preventing us from casting any spells. When asked about it, Nathaniel told us he heard his captors say, "turn east then west to disable," but he didn't know what that meant. Day 16, Hour 6 (17 Mirtul, 1312) : We defeated Cathin, one of the temple's three high priestesses, and freed Nathaniel with the master prison key that she carried. Day 16, Hour 6 (17 Mirtul, 1312) : We agreed to find the equipment that was taken from Nathaniel by the Aurilites who captured him. He said that it'd most likely be stored in one of the temple's treasuries. Day 16, Hour 7 (17 Mirtul, 1312) : Prisoners held in the Aurilite ice temple were being sacrificed to the Goddess Auril, but we found a way to set them free. Day 16, Hour 7 (17 Mirtul, 1312) : We learned that three high priestesses of Auril lead a congregation to create the glacier during one of their festivals. Day 16, Hour 7 (17 Mirtul, 1312) : Aurilite priests performing a ritual apparently created the ice storm that caused Oswald's airship to crash. Day 16, Hour 12 (17 Mirtul, 1312) : We spoke to Lysara, one of the temple's three high priestesses, who boasted that she'd been maintaining the glacier by sacrificing prisoners to her goddess Auril. Day 17, Hour 5 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : Three locked doors secured Xhaan's lair. When asked about them, he said the doors only open when High Priestess Lysara performs her ritual. He also said their locking mechanisms and perhaps other tricks are tied to the sacrificial dais she uses, but he did not know how. Day 17, Hour 5 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : Xhaan told us the sacrificial dais Lysara uses during her ritual could be rotated left and right in one of eight directions, with its north position facing the center of his lair. Day 17, Hour 10 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : We encountered a man in a deep sleep in a bedroom on the ice temple's bottom level. We were hesitant to wake him, but perhaps he'll be up and about if we return later. Day 17, Hour 10 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : Nickademus explained that the prism launches bolts of lightning that reflect off of any mirror they strike until spent. It's driven by two control panels, one to rotate it in one of eight directions, and the other to fire at its current facing. The second floor contains two traps and four doors that can only be disabled or opened by one of the prism's bolts. Day 17, Hour 10 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : Nickademus told us that if we went up the eastern stairs of this level, we would come across a painting - he invited us to examine it and see if we could discover its abilities. If it proved too difficult for us, he invited us to return, and he would explain how it worked. Day 17, Hour 10 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : Nickademus informed us that the Kuldahar painting on the first floor, when hearing certain phrases it's been taught, will activate a teleporter embedded within the stairs below it that'll whisk us to a particular location. For instance, if we tell it "Bedroom," then take the stairs, we'll end up in his bedroom. Other phrases taught to it by the high priestesses, Sherincal, and others will lead to the Game Room, the altar cleansing room, a private treasure vault, the abishai den, and other places he was unfamiliar with. Day 17, Hour 10 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : When asked about the dais in Lysara's sacrificial chamber on the first floor, Nickademus explained that it can be rotated left and right in one of eight directions, with its north position facing the center of the abishai lair behind the set of three doors in that room. To unlock Oria's study, we should turn the dais left to the southwest then right to the northwest; to open the doors to the abishai den, it's left north then right north; to disable the prison's antimagic effects, it's right east then left west. Day 17, Hour 10 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : Nickademus told us the workings of the Game Room on the southeast corner of this level. He said it's controlled by thirteen switches: from its southwest corner, there's one that activates/deactivates the selected mode, the next two switches sets one of three modes (temple maintenance, the Inner Sanctum on the ethereal realm, and the Battle Square), and the next ten set the rank (difficulty of opponents you face in the Battle Square). Nickademus stated that the temple maintenance mode is mostly used to repair the prism on the level, the ethereal realm is actually an Inner Sanctum on the ethereal plane where one of the priestesses, Oria, can go for solitude and meditation, and the third is the Battle Square, a small combat arena with prizes to be won for triumphing over one's foes. To play Battle Square, we should set the desired rank, obtain three consecutive squares to win, possess three to seven squares when victorious to achieve rank levels one to five, achieve all levels of a rank to complete it, and complete all ranks for mastery. Day 17, Hour 16 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : According to Nickademus, the southwest room on the second floor had a Mirror of Life Trapping. A group called Talisman was trapped inside while retrieving Nathaniel's equipment. They were freed when we broke the mirror, but their warped minds mistakenly blamed us for their imprisonment. Day 17, Hour 19 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : During a battle with Aurilite High Priestess Oria we challenged her to break the staff she wielded, resulting in a bright flash followed by a wave of magical energy. When the dust from the blast finally settled, her body was nowhere to be found. Day 17, Hour 19 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : After what we thought to be her demise, we met High Priestess Oria once again and very much alive. She claimed to exist within some sort of ethereal realm created by Nickademus called the Inner Sanctum, and it appears we'll be unable to affect her while we remain on the Prime Material Plane. Day 17, Hour 21 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : We found one of Auril's altars in a secluded room on the bottom floor of the ice temple. The altar contained the spirit of a tempest named Aeij-Kllenzr't who was pretending to be Auril, and we banished him from it by invoking his true name, Caged Fury. He's been keeping the ice from melting, but he couldn't survive outside of the altar in his current form. Day 17, Hour 23 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : It appears the Aurilites went through great lengths to keep invaders away from their treasury on the second level of the temple, but we found Nathaniel's equipment and returned it to him. Day 17, Hour 23 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : We finally defeated High Priestesses Lysara, Cathin, and Oria. We also destroyed the spirit of a tempest bound by the god Talos into one of Auril's altars. This spirit named Aeij-Kllenzr't, or Caged Fury, pretended to be Auril herself and demanded blood sacrifices from the sisters in order to maintain the glacier. Day 17, Hour 23 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : We were unable to help Oswald cast his Mending spell to repair his airship, but we gave the components we'd collected to Nathaniel in hopes that he'd have better luck with it when he went to check on Oswald. Day 17, Hour 23 (18 Mirtul, 1312) : With the Aurilites no longer posing a threat, all that remained was to destroy enough of the glacier they created to open the Western Pass. Nathaniel left to check on Oswald and fly to the Ten-Towns to warn them, promising to meet us in Kuldahar. He asked us to use the fissure he would create to head south around the Spine of the World Mountains on foot, take the unguarded Eastern Pass to Kuldahar, and warn them about the collusion between the Aurilites and the Legion of the Chimera. Day 19, Hour 0 (20 Mirtul, 1312) : We delivered Denham's trapped replacement for Garradun the spy's false love-letter to Captain Ingrath Mariner. We also gave Denham's note of warning to Sergeant Rahm Dammel, the commander of the Luskan forces. Day 19, Hour 0 (20 Mirtul, 1312) : Sergeant Rahm Dammel intends to lead his Luskan troops north from the Western Pass to Targos, while Captain Ingrath Mariner will return to Neverwinter for badly needed reinforcements. Ingrath said that he would later rendezvous with us at the Ice Lakes en route to the Eastern Pass. Day 19, Hour 0 (20 Mirtul, 1312) : Denham's trapped letter blew up in the so-called "Ingrath Mariner's" face. Needless to say, the doppelganger was rather surprised. Day 19, Hour 0 (20 Mirtul, 1312) : According to Sergeant Rahm Dammel, the city of Luskan finally decided to send actual troops to Targos - as opposed to simply shipping up willing mercenaries and adventuring companies - but only after Neverwinter agreed to aid the town with forces of their own.