Escape from White Plume Mountain...

With Grisgol defeated, Elatus won, and a pair of unidentifiable yet unmistakably hostile pursuers en route, the companions lifted Nine’s lifeless body, intent on escape.

Shutting and barring both sets of double doors behind them, they worked their way to the top of the inverted ziggurat as quickly and efficiently as they could, which wasn’t exactly easy, considering Nine's four hundred pound load.

On a side note, in a brilliant stroke of genius uncharacteristic to the half-orc, Terik reset the lever causing the uppermost tier to once again fill with water. “That’ll slow those red bastards down!” he shouted as he hightailed it to the last escape ladder. Meanwhile, standing atop the transparent iron covering of the ziggurat, Wotan made a quick calculation as to their head start. “Hour and a half,” he mumbled to himself. 

“Not enough…”

The remainder of their flight from the mountain proved no less difficult, although their dragonborn allies certainly helped by pioneering the way, especially in the frictionless room where they had attached a heavy rope to the far wall allowing the companions to pull themselves across the treacherous surface.

After an exhausting trek, they finally reached the junction of the sphinx, whom to their surprise, was nowhere to be found. Disappointed, but mindful of time, they didn’t dally to investigate, instead pressing on toward the rickety spiral staircase that would lead them out.

Moments later, they stood within the entrance of the Wizard’s Mouth, the name given the cave granting access to the depths of White Plume Mountain, named so because of the way it appears to breathe as if alive, puffing clouds of fetid moisture at regular intervals.

The sun was shining, belying the cold temperature of the day, and the wind howled from the south where the approaching clouds appeared ominous and rain-soaked. Looking at the position of the sun, Dandelion spoke up, “Two hours past noon.”
“How far to Yellow Water?” Wotan asked.
“Less he comes to,” Kai answers gesturing toward Nine. “Gonna take bout six hours. No restin’ either.”
“It’ll be getting dark in two,” Dandelion reminds them. Seeing a confused look from Terik, he explains, “We’re in a caldera ringed by mountains. We’ll lose the light soon as she slips behind one a those big granite behemoths.”

Not wanting to be caught in the open when the sun went down, but not wanting to wait within the Wizard’s Mouth for the pair that may or may not be following them, they set about scouting for options. Two areas provided a possible solution.

Fairly close to the base of the mountain stood a group of granite spires that had been forced up and out of the earth by some unknown powerful force. Only a handful still stood, the rest collapsing to form a messy tangle of broken rocks and large crisscrossing slabs. Another option was a small stand of trees between two low mesas not far distant.

“There’s the place to be if we want a roof over our heads,” Ayas said, pointing toward the spires.
“Yes, but by the looks of those trees, I would assume a high probability of fresh water,” Wotan countered.

A short debate ensued. The roof won.

Ayas summoned his Pegasus and relieved Terik of his burden, loading Nine’s body between him and his winged steed’s neck. Once satisfied the ironman was secure, he alit, leaving his companions to traverse the wild landscape afoot. It was a miserable walk. 

The land around White Plume Mountain is rugged with lots of mesas, hidden draws, hot springs, and geysers. The vegetation is gnarly too. Everything has thorns or needles, and the grass is tough with rough saw-like edges. It’s impossible to take ten steps without something poking, scratching or sticking to you.

Exhausted, tired and hungry, they finally arrived at the spires to find most had long since crumbled. Fortunately, one large slab had fallen against another, forming a lean-to of sorts, covered in weed-choked scree. A well-worn trail picked its way up the mound of broken rubble toward its dark entrance. Investigating cautiously, they found a tight squeeze requiring them to duck and enter one at a time, but once beyond, it opened into a long narrow chamber with a low-hanging roof. It had obviously been used as a campsite many times. A shallow, rock-ringed fire pit had been constructed toward the back, where cracks in the ceiling allowed smoke to escape. There was even a small pile of dry wood lay stacked nearby.

They wasted no time in getting comfortable, unfurling bedrolls and lighting a fire, relishing in its warmth as it crackled to life. As weariness settled upon them like a blanket, banishing cold and restoring life to frozen limbs, Kai moved toward the entrance.

“Sit Kai,” Dandelion invited, “Enjoy the fire.”
“Want to be sure you can’t spot it from outside.”
“Good idea. Always thinking that guy is,” Dande remarked.
A quick recon seemed to satisfy him, but as he bent low to reenter the shelter, he stopped.
“Fellas. Best take a look at this.”

The warning in his tone cut through their weariness in an instant.

Joining him, they saw two figures milling about the entrance of the Wizard’s Mouth. Unfortunately, they were in the shadow of the mountain, so their skin tone couldn’t be verified . They appeared to be searching for something, but eventually moved back within the cave after ten minutes or so. 

“Gotta be them,” Terik broke the silence.
“Yes,” Ayas agreed, “Too coincidental not to be.”
Once again, Wotan did a calculation in his head.
“Three hours,” he thought. “Not enough,” he murmured under his breath.

A little unnerved, the companions set watch and settled down.

“Something out there,” Dandelion whispered to Kai’s sleeping ear.
“Huh?” The fighter’s instincts took over and he moved to the opening with astonishing speed.
“Careful Kai,” Dandelion hissed. “It’s eating something. Looked like a skull,” he warned.
Kai stopped and scanned the countryside warily.
“There’s yer danger!” he boomed mockingly.

Terik moved to join Kai. “We’re doomed!” he laughed, adding to Dande’s displeasure.

“My knees are shakin’” Kai continued, tears of laughter now streaking down his cheeks.

A bit miffed, Dandelion shouldered his way to the entrance. It didn’t take but a moment to locate the object of his scorn. To his right, perched atop a rock, a small furry creature sat on its haunches, busily eating some kind of fruit. Needless to say, Dandelion suffered much ribbing before sleep returned.

They no more than shut their eyes when they found themselves under attack. And no, it wasn’t by members of the lepus genus. Several long feline-like creatures with sparse fur and blubbery skin covered in a swirl of dark blues, greys and blacks infiltrated the makeshift cave, their mouths opened unnaturally wide to reveal a nasty set of sharp teeth. Despite the fact Dandelion saw and promptly blasted one, sending it flying, there were four in all, and they quickly overwhelmed him. 

One rushed in and bit down on the first thing it saw. Nine’s arm. Another pounced atop Terik, while the remaining two laid into Dandelion, wounding him badly. Although the strange beasts were tough, they were no match for Fate’s Hammer. Once everyone was awake that is. Apparently, Wotan is not a light sleeper.

Later, as Ayas was waking Wotan to take the last watch, a horrendous primal scream pierced the night setting their nerves on edge. The note carried on for an unnaturally long time before suddenly cutting out. “Better it than us,” Ayas shrugged, rolling on his side.

Fortunately, Wotan’s watch went without incident. Well, almost. As he sat near the entrance, huddled against the biting wind and light snow, an unexpected noise sounded behind him. Turning, he was surprised to lock eyes with Nine, now sitting upright. 

“Hello Wotan,” the soldier croaked.
“Nine.” “You okay?”
“Satisfactory.”
“Good. Good. Why don’t you lie back down and take it easy. Don’t wake the others.”
“Yes,” Nine answered simply, laying back down.
A short minute later he broke the silence again, “Wotan?”
“Yes Nine?”
“Where’s my sword?”

Up at dawn, hungry, thirsty, and still fatigued, the companions set about preparing themselves for the long walk to Yellow Water. Dandelion seemed to suffer no effects from his exposure to the tainted water of the dungeon. The same couldn’t be said for Kai, who was having problems focusing on anything more than ten paces away. It was Terik who was suffering the worst though. The whites of his eyes had black spots, the veins in his arms were bulging as if to burst forth from his skin, and his entire body was sore to the touch. Needless to say, everyone was concerned.

As they prepared to leave, Kai noticed one interior wall was covered in primitive paintings. “Take a look at this,” he beckoned to the others. The wall of art depicted everything from simple handprints, to more skillfully drawn humanoids hunting a large dragon-like lizard with a spiked tail and webbed mane. One scene stood out, leaving an indelible impression.

It detailed a monstrous black beast with large dragon-like wings and a hawkish beak from which protruded a set of humanoid legs. Several octopus-like tentacles snaked out from its body, two of which were wrapped around small, scaly humanoids. Also, a man’s torso was falling through the air, his lower extremities nowhere to be seen. All the while, hunters on the ground threw spears at the beast in vain. The entire scene was painted within a large, round, silver circle.

“The moon,” Dandelion was quick to point out.
“Think so?” Ayas asked.
“Look at the pockmarks. It’s the moon.”
“I believe he’s right,” Wotan agreed. “Perhaps this is the beast Gareth warned against. The Night Hunter.”

Moving on, the companions enjoyed sunshine and calm weather for nearly twenty minutes. After that the wind picked up, bringing clouds to block the sun. They soon found without shadows, the monotonous landscape quickly became disorienting. 

At mid-morning, with still no sign of pursuit, they topped yet another low mesa and spotted several kobolds in the distance. There were perhaps a dozen of them in all, accompanied by three rage drakes, large, menacing and covered in thick red scales. All three of the drakes had large wicker baskets strapped to their backs. Two of them were fighting over something, and while they couldn’t identify it, it was clear they both desired it, shaking their heads and tugging like two dogs fighting over a rope. The third drake was lying the dirt watching the duel, while several of the lizard-folk were busy loading something shiny into its basket. Dandelion wasted no time. Holding Fang high in the air, he shouted, “Fate’s Hammer!” and charged.

“Dammit,” Wotan yelled before reluctantly giving chase with the others. Ayas simply mounted his Pegasus. Much to Dandelion’s pleasure, but Kai and Terik’s disappointment, the kobolds wanted no part of Fate’s Hammer. They quickly loaded into the wicker baskets and rode away. In their haste, however, they dropped whatever it was they had been trying to load.

Slowing to a walk, the companions arrived to a scene of slaughter, except for Ayas who was still giving chase. It was obvious one of the dragonborn had died here, and not pleasantly. Gore lay splattered far and wide on both sides of the trail and a string of entrails hung amid the branches of a tree nearby. 

“What you got there?” Terik asked Kai.
“A breastplate,” he answered handing it over.
“Is that what they were trying to load?” Wotan interjected.
“I think so.”
“Let’s spread out. See if we can’t find out who it was,” Dandelion suggested.

Twenty minutes later, their recon was complete. Ayas had yet to return and the news of what they’d discovered wasn’t good. “Found a leg about thirty yards that way,” Kai announced pointing over his shoulder to the south. “Look at it,” he encouraged, holding it forth. It was a grisly sight, the muscles of the leg had been shredded just above the knee.
“Looks like it was twisted around and around until it just popped,” he finished.
“They were surrounded,” Terik added. “I found javelins to the south, southeast and northeast.”

Dandelion nodded in agreement. “They split up too. Near as I can tell, two of them went running south. One went through that nasty brush there and the fourth scampered up that hill,” he says pointing to a nearby mesa. “Let’s climb up and take a look see,” Terik suggested.
“Shouldn’t we wait for Ayas?” Wotan asked.
“He’s mounted,” Dandelion answered. “He’ll find us.”

And so, up the hill they went…