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Thousands of icicles cover the ceiling of this cylindrical chamber. The outside edge forms a perfect circular curve, cutting into stone without mark of chisel or tool, impossibly smooth. Only places where ice flows over the stone, or where the structures have collapsed, mar the perfect precision of the cylinder. The remains of workshops and living spaces, still furnished, peak through holes in the cylindrical void. At the southern and western edges of the cavern, large portions of the stone and ice have collapsed, cutting into the immense void with piles of rubble.
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Desks sit empty, a few scraps of meaningless paper littering the drawers. A weapon rack in the southeastern corner of the room contained the town’s
arsenal during their heyday. The door to the iron cage in the northeastern corner of the room is locked with an average lock (Disable Device DC 25).
Only the tattered remains of an old cot and manacles remain in the room.
A frozen corpse of a dwarf lies on the room, perfectly preserved in a block of ice. You notice he is a beard clasp with a dwarven rune on it. Do you approach it?
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Evelyn moves, trying to cut the monster's path to Uliyara, whom he seems to have some unresolved beef with
Aha! Dirty move, old man! I like it!
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Dwarf slashes Evelyn with claw and then decides to finish Uliyara.
But Evelyn's riposte ends its suffering and it falls. Lying on the table is a masterwork dwarven waraxe. Vargrim’s pack contains his personal diary, written in Dwarven.
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Evelyn wipes the frozen blood on her blade, then notice something in the dwarf bloody, bushy beard
What do we have here? That's a special kind of brooch dwarves wears on their beards. Called a "gladdinggoch", throught I'm not sure of you should pronounce it. But I know that only dwarves of high status are allowed to wear one, and if my memory serves well, this is the rune of King Gutheran, so our frozen and now totally dead dwarf is member of a royal family.
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"A pity he forgot in death what he might have known of honor in life," Sir Maximilien comments darkly, wiping his sword off even though it did not touch the undead dwarf before sheathing it. "But perhaps he will find peace in true death he has been denied all these years. His family would likely appreciate the return of their family gladdin... galdangosh... ornamentation."
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After this there isn't really anything to explore, just few rooms.
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"Uliyara, can you read this? If not, I know an ancient incantation that will let me read it."
"Hao Gin? I've heard of that name before, I believe. Wasn't she from Tian Xia? What was she doing here?". He looks down at the dwarf. "Poor guy, he probably went crazy. We may need to keep an eye out for Bardak."
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You decide to return the way you came and start your journey back to the Grinning pixie. As you step into the icy tunnel you encounter female human, who appears to be witch, a guard and ice bear. They and Uliyara recognize each other.
"Uliyara! We found you! Baroness Nadya, your mother, has been worried you might have been captured by spies so we were dispatched to rescue you. Who are these people in your company and what are you doing here?" the witch demands answers
"Kiryena my cousin! Don't worry, these brave heroes rescued me from a winter wolf and ghoul just recently. Their honor must not be questioned and they have deserved respect!"
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Uoralvern holds back at first, unable to produce any coherent words. . But then he realizes he should talk to this cousin.
"Hello Kiryena. Pleasure to meet you. We are here on an archaeological mission. Unfortunately, it wasn't very successful." Uoralveren then describes the insides, the note they found, and the dwarf they fought.
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"Lady Kiryena, it is a pleasure to make your acquaintance." Sir Maximilien's voice is almost a purr as he gracefully bows. "Please allow me to introduce myself and my companions as Pathfinders from Absalom. We have been both privileged and honored to accompany the Lady Uliyara on our joint expedition here to engage in archeological discovery."
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"Fine, I believe you. We will take Uliyara back to Dalun and you may leave on your own or come with us if you wish." Kiryena is clearly impressed with you
"I am very thankful for everything you have done, Pathfinders. This has been such an exciting adventure and I have learned lot of foreign peoples customs. I wonder if it's possible for me to join your Society?" Uliyara asks, to which Kiryena reacts with shocked look
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The journey from Dalun to Kalsgard proceeds without incident. Once you have returned to the Grinning Pixie, Venture-Captain Benarry doesn't hide her disappointment over the fact that Sky key wasn't located. After the Vargrim’s journal is translated, her chagrin quickly turns to excitement as she reads through.
Venture-Captain Benarry’s face breaks into a wide smirk, and she laughs heartily. “To think, Naldak’s piece of the Sky Key has been in the Hao Jin tapestry all along! Well, easy enough. I’ll just have to have a chat with the Master of Spells about sending a group of agents in to pick it up. The tapestry is vast, and we never would have known where to look it weren’t for you. To top that off, studying the section of Naldak’s Point that Hao Jin’s magic narrowly missed ripping out of Golarion could teach us more about the tapestry itself. Well done, Pathfinders!”
The PCs succeed at their primary mission if they obtain Vargrim’s journal from area C6 and return to Venture-Captain Benarry with it in hand.
The PCs successfully complete their secondary mission if they earn 5 or more Influence Points with Uliyara, securing an influential ally in Irrisen. Fulfilling the secondary success condition also earns each PC the Warm Friend in a Cold Land boon on her Chronicle Sheet.
The Grand Lodge Faction is very interested in discovering more about both the descendants of King Gutheran and the Hao Jin tapestry. You obtained and fully identified the gladdringgoch, each Grand Lodge faction PC earns the Naldak’s Legacy boon on her Chronicle sheet.