Whitefang

Once back in Cauldron, the group takes a considerable amount of down time (almost a month). Modisto makes use of the time to gain access to spells through Weer by displaying some amazing academic knowledge in the area of alchemy and some suprising charisma.

The group decides to take up Maavu on a job offer. Maavu needs an group of individuals that will investigate locations and possibly "extract" artifacts for him. The deal is he provides all the details of a possible lead he has, the Crimson Tears attempt to locate and possess the item(s) he desires. Anything else they find is theirs to keep, with the understanding that if the group wants to sell anything they find, Maavu is the first buyer.

In this case, Maavu wants a relic, a censer, that has been lost ever since the fall of the Splintershield clan. The last known location of the censer was in Whitefang stronghold. This hillside stronghold of the Splintershield clan wss perched on what was a high mountain road connecting Cauldron and Sasserine. It served as a way station and trading post for the clan. Along with two other strongholds, Lastever and Ordin, they kept the area clear of raiding humanoids and the roads in working condition for the caravans that passed through, paying a small toll at each stronghold.

The censer was being transported back from Cauldron to Sasserine after being used for a major ceremony by the church of Wee Jas. It was on loan from the church of Pelor, the actual owners of the censer. The loss of it caused a split between the two churches that never quite healed.

The party leaves for Whitefang, following the overgrown, old mountain road. After a day of travel they reach the ruins of Orden, the bottom of the mountain had slid out from under the stronghold. All that was left was some small ruins around a gaping hole. Here the party has a quick battle with a group of ogres. Modisto's barrage of spells takes out all but one of the ogres before it can reach the party. The last ogre flees for his life and manages to escape. Investigating the corpses, it is discovered that these ogres have all had an eye ripped out or mangled.

In the ruins of Orden, an enormous wooden chest banded with black iron is found. Inside are a number of dwarven crafted items.

Arriving at Whitefang, an invisible Jonl goes forward to scout. He finds the southern portcullis to be a mangled wreck, with a large hole in the middle to step through. The northern portcullis is intact and down. Inside the gatehouse some goblins stand guard. Moving up the the walls of the stronghold a general layout is determined.

After Jonl returns, a few members of the party go down to investigate a ruined camp below the stronghold. They find huge claw marks on the ruined tents and on the muddy ground. They also find a number of dead, mostly rotted, unrecognizable corpses, some are nothing more than blackened skeletongs. Salla decides to speak with one of the corpses, learning that the camp was a host of humanoid troops (mostly hobgoblins) planning to take over the stronghold. They were attacked by stinking frog-like humanoids and a large, dark flying shape.

Using invisibility and a silence spell the party ambushes the goblin guards dispatching them all before they can raise an alarm. They proceed to engage some large black wolves and bugbears, but a side room of goblins catches sight of group and raises the alarm. The party dispatches all foes on the first floor, but hear loud noises of defenses being setup upstairs.

The party ascends the stairs up the to the second floor but are blocked by a makeshift barricade of weapon racks. While pushing through two bugbears pour hot oil on Morgan, but not before Modisto unleashes a fireball into the room. The bugbears make a screaming retreat.

Once through the barricade, Morgan, Snake, and Chul rush a great hall area, where an ogre and over half a dozen goblins have set themselves up for battle. Once the battle starts, a half dozen bugbears rush out of a side room of the great hall, flanking the front-line fighters.

As the humanoids fall, a trio of bugbears come down the stairs and attempt to take out the squishy members of the party. But Modisto and Jonl manage to make a break into the great hall, hiding for their lives. As the tables turn completely for the humanoids, one of the bugbears barks out an order to hold the door. He flees. The remaining bugbears quickly follow. Two of the bugbears escape, including the presumed leader.

The rest of the stronghold is pillaged. They find a small chapel connected to the great hall that is untouched by the humanoids. Salla requests that the party not pillage the chapel and his request is honored. The chapel is to the honor of the dwarven god Thormyr, god of duty.

They also manage to stumble upon a nest of vicious birdes with blood-red barbed beaks. Modisto unleashes his remaining fireball on them, incinerating them all. Luckily for the party members caught in the blast they are offered some partial cover from the stairs they are on, and while they are hurt they (and their stuff) manage not to combust into flames.

The party rests two days in the stronghold.

They make a move for the mountainside caves they have learned of. They find a total of three cave entrances on the side of the mountain. A narrow dirt path on the side of the mountain leads up to the caves. An invisible Jonl splits from the party to recon the first cave entrance. He can hear something large inside the dark cave, breathing heavily.

At the same time the remaining party on the trail comes under attack from a giant brown and black flying lizard-like creature with a deadly stinger at the end of its tail. The creature lets out a scream as it attacks Morgan. Jonl hears the scream, and is buffeted by a stirring winds as a second of the flying creatures comes streaking out of the cave entrance he is at. During the battle Salla falls victim to the poisonous sting of the creature and falls to the ground stiff as a board. The party manages to dispatch both creatures before they can disengage with a tasty treat or two.