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"Well, that is an interesting story, as many are. Where to even begin? Well, as you may know, Haltani grew up in these parts, but she also likes to travel. On one such travel, I met her while I was preparing a shipment of alchemist supplies for a particular client of ours. She was very curious, asked some questions and we got to talking. When I heard she was from around here, I asked her about the famous ice diamonds I have heard about, and she blushed and showed me a sample - something close to her heart. Of course, she wouldn't trade that piece of jewelry away, but she told me that perhaps I could make some coin up here trading supplies and maybe even a diamond or two some day. It seemed both lucrative and beneficial to those needing the supplies, so I decided it might be a great adventure."
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"Yes," Salouris smiles. "Miss Haltani seemed quite interested in learning of where we were from. And rightly so. After all, as you can see," he sweeps his arm out, indicating the Samsaran, two nagaji, and the halfling and Ulfen, "our backgrounds are vast, as hopefully is our scope. Such diversity of connections and knowledge can be a great boon."
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"It would be a pleasure for me to drink wodka with you, but I should not attend business meetings when smelling like I spent the whole afternoon in a bar." the Baroness answers with a smile. "I wish you good luck in your tradings. Take care, it might be dangerous out there."
You are about to leave Dalun through the gates when you hear a known voice behind you. "I see you got the permission to trade farther north? That's good news, so let's go!" Haltani says. She will join you on your way to Naldak's point. "I think it's time now to put on all the clothes you have. Icy winds await us."
Forests of evergreens open to a vast, relatively featureless snowy plain, making navigation difficult. Traveling to the dig site requires three hours of marching through the snow.
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Nimgaji uses the wand on the party and also guides you through the snowy area. The winds are ice cold, you can feel your nose freezing and the snow sticks to your hair and to the fur of your coats and hoods.
After three hours of walking in the storm you finally reach Naldak's Point. As the vast plains give way to rugged hills, the ground becomes hard and icy. An enormous rocky mound protrudes from the ground, covered in ice and snow. On the northeast side of the mound, thick walls of ice cascade down the side of the hill like a miniature glacier. Two shapeless stone monoliths stand near the base of the mound.
The entrance to Naldak’s Point lies beyond a collapsed archway. Several feet of ice have frozen over the once splendid foyer; those who look closely can still see the remains of chiseled stonework beyond the frozen wall, and a tunnel leading into the rocky mound.
"Here we are. Finally we reached Naldak's Point." Haltani says while looking at the frozen walls.
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"It seems, likely," Salouris utters, his scaled form shivering even under armor and a heavy winter cloak. "I'm not exactly an expert of dwarven empires, but there's something here at least."
He takes a few steps closer to the stonework and frowns at the ice. "A better question would be how to get through. Do you think using some of the blackfire here would risk collapsing this structure further?"
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You use the blackfire clay pieces, one after the other and after about one hour the ice wall is melted away.
Just in the moment you are about to pass the gate a winter wolf emerges from the snow and says "I'm Rigrory, Baroness Urgalaena sent me to capture Uliyara. Surrender her or I will call a pack of winter wolves to get her."
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Salouris stiffens as the wolf leaps out from the snow. Tightening his grip on his shield, readying to raise it up quickly if things go sour, he calls back to the creature.
"The Baroness has given us leave to journey to these parts Rigrory, and there is no Uliyara here for you to claim. Now, may we pass on, as the Baroness has granted us?"
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"I'm not interested in you at all! You may pass on, but you are going to leave Uliyara with me. I can see her and I can smell her. Who did she pretend to be this time? Her aunt, Urgalaena, White Witch of Saarbotten and sister of Baroness Nadjy, the ruler of Dalun, wants to see her. Now." the wolf answers while staring at Haltani.
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"The wolf speaks the truth." Haltani says, removin her hood. You can see that instead of brown hair and brown eyes she now has blonde hair and ice blue eyes. "I'm Uliyara, Baroness Nadya's daughter and niece of Urgalaena. Unfortunately my aunt does not want to see me for a family meeting. She intendso to take me hostage for political leverage." she says while staring back at the wolf.
"I'd prefer not to go with the wolf, but if you don't want to get into Irrisen politics, I understand."
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"You're right I'm not interested in politics my friend," Brother Salouris calls back to Haltani/Uliyara over his shoulder. ""But you don't truly understand us if you think just because of that we would let you be taken."
The nagaji lifts his shield up and readies his sword. "You have heard the lady, Mr. Rigrory. It appears she declines your invitation. I would say your task is done here. So go; this need not end in violence."
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While Uliyara plays her flute Nimgaji and Genki attack the talking wolf. Genki's bite attack misses, but Nimgaji is able to hit the wolf critically with his staff. Fuzzfoot's sling stone hits the wolf as well and while the animal tries to recover a large greatsword hits it on the head and knocks it unconscious.
"Thank you. I think I owe you my story. I'm a Jadwiga and my name is Uliyara. I hide my identity, because I want to avoid the distrust that most people outside of Irrisen feel for my kind. You already heard that I'm the daughter of Baroness Nadya. Although I have no desire to rule, my birthright demands I take a position of leadership but I'd like to act as an ambassador to other nations. I know that some Jadwiga can be abusive with their power like my aunt, Baroness Urgalaena of Saarbotten. But not all of us are, like not all Ulfen are barbaric only because of centuries of war and violence. I was able to keep up the ruse with my hat of disguise, I hope you still trust me." she ends.
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Salouris moves next to the seemingly repentant Uliyara and lighlty places a scaled hand on her shoulder.
"Quirks of birth or station do not define us. It is our decisions that do. You chose to help us. And we will do all we can to help aid in your choice to roam outside of Irrisen."
"And besides," he muses aloud. "Learning others' cultures is its own form of leadership. Perhaps you will one day feel like returning, but be all the better a ruler for it."
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The wolf dies while you are listening to Uliyara's story.
Intricate gilded stonework adorns the entrance, and a complex marble mosaic paves the floor. Arrow slits flank the north and south sides of the hall, but the north side has collapsed and is choked with rubble. On the eastern end, two 10-foot-tall marble statues of armored dwarves flank a fresco depicting an opulent throne room. The faces of the statues have been broken off. Every surface is covered with ice.
Ice covers the floor. Characters must spend 2 squares of movement to enter a square covered by ice, and the DC for Acrobatics checks on surfaces covered by ice increases by 5.
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"Hmph, I see you have had some experience with weather," Salouis notes as Hironaki's footwear lets him move relatively smoothly across the slick floor. The nagaji himself has no such luck, as he gingerly watches his steps to keep from tumbling down onto the ice. Though with all this armor on I might at least break some of it...
As the paladin makes his way towards the statues that dominate the room, Salouris looks up at them in muted awe. Even faceless, they make an imposing pair. "Such a loss for a culture such as this to be snuffed out. Do your people tell any tales of the Naldak dwarves Halt---sorry, Uliyara?"
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"Yes, they do. They tell that nine thousand years ago, dwarves first emerged on the surface of Golarion, at the conclusion of their Quest for the Sky. A few years later, the dwarves of the newly built citadel of Jormurdun watched in amazement as huge chunks of flaming metal tumbled out of the sky. They investigated this baffling event, and discovered pieces of a fallen starship. From the wreckage, the explorers retrieved an artifact they dubbed the Sky Key. It became a symbol of the Quest for the Sky, and the dwarves kept it safe in their fortress city of Jormurdun for millennia.
Jormurdun did not last forever. About 3000 years ago, duergar attacked and conquered the citadel. As the surviving dwarves fled, Jormurdun’s last king, Gutheran, broke the Sky Key into five pieces, keeping one for himself and giving one to each of his heirs. King Gutheran hoped that his heirs might one day return to reunite the Sky Key and Jormurdun’s scattered people. These scions of Jormurdun headed west, but grew weary of travel and settled down. King Gutheran’s youngest son, Naldak, settled in one of the eastern Linnorm Kingdoms and founded the town of Naldak’s Point. There his people found Ulfen clients who respected the dwarves’ craftsmanship.
In 3313 AR, as Baba Yaga and her forces invaded what would soon become Irrisen, another powerful spellcaster approached the dwarves: the Tian sorcerer Hao Jin. She offered Naldak’s descendants shelter from the encroaching armies. They refused, but Hao Jin returned each of the following nights, repeating her offer. As the armies of Baba Yaga massed on the horizon on the fourth day, the dwarves reluctantly agreed. Hao Jin’s magic transported most of Naldak’s Point to her personal demiplane hidden in the Hao Jin Tapestry. There, the dwarves have survived in the centuries since and what you see here is the rest of Naldak's Point. As the forces of Baba Yaga approached, the Jadwiga’s powerful winter magic froze everything solid, creating large sheets of ice that coat every surface in the common areas." Uliyara tells what she knows about this place.