Episode 5.4

Brad, Kathy, Ernie, Greg

After resting, they returned to the hallway and found it blocked by a cave in. Delgar told them that he had heard that there was a secret passage that led between the slave quarters and the ruins but that the slaves had stopped using it because something dangerous lived there. They searched around and found the secret door on the bottom of one of the pit traps. The passage led to huge bowl shaped area with a domed ceiling. Three walls were rock while the other was ice as was most of the roof. Light penetrated the ice and allowed them to see. The passage led around the outside of the bowl, about two thirds of the way. The center was filled with mist such that they could not see the bottom. While they looking into the dome, a gnoll appeared in the air above the mist and fell into it. Looking up where the gnoll had appeared, they found a triangular gate on the side of the wall angled in a way to dump its travelers into the mist. Another gnoll fell through and the party heard it land, scramble around and then get attacked and eaten by whatever creature lived in the mist. They didn't have to wait long to see what it was. A large deformed white dragon, strong and bent with misshapen wings leaving it unable to fly, crawled out of the mist up onto the ledge and attacked the party. After a long battle, the party prevailed and the creatures body fell back into the mist.

Further on, the party found the rest of the slaves. They met their leader, Janstina, who showed Kathy the “ancient writings” that were carved on the underside of two ordinary looking boulders. The rocks contained dwarvish runes with instructions on how to activate the gates and to activate a particular gate at dawn every day. The party surmised that the dwarves ancestors were left here many centuries ago with instructions to reactivate the gate everyday until someone sent word that it was safe to come through. That word never came.

The group convinced the slaves to return with them to be with the rest of the refugees then went back and rested.