Maklak looked out over the vast wastelands of his icy domain, his gaze
fixed to the northwest. Somewhere far in the distance a new power was
rising: a power he intended to claim as his own. Its source, however,
was somehow concealed, and Maklak concluded that a more direct approach
was needed. With a negligent gesture, the wizard summoned forth one of
his apprentices and instructed him, saying, "Go to one of the cities in
the south. When you have found adventurers worthy of aiding me, return
with them."

Bowing his head in subservience, the apprentice hurried down the steps
of the tower. Once he was a safe distance away, the young mage carefully
mouthed the words of teleportation spell. As the last word of the
incantation left his lips an icy wind howled down from the skies,
carrying with it a blinding flurry of snow. When the snow cleared, the
apprentice was gone.

Miles away, Chani, Lodur, and Shimra stood casually under the shade of
the towering maple trees lining Epitine Circle. Idly twiddling a
feathered dart between her fingers, a grin of mischief rose on her face
as Shimra took aim at Chani. As she loosed the dart, a blast of arctic
air screamed down the street, leaving the young apprentice in its wake.
In his right hand he grasped the errant dart, staring implacably at it.

With little fanfare and still fewer manners, the apprentice related his
master's need for a small band of adventurers. The three warmed to the
idea, and were joined by Zydain and Laytron. Their company complete, the
apprentice used his magic to whisk the group instantly to the frosty
gates of Maklak's tower in the tundra. Huddled against the cold, the
small group made their way up the tower to be received by the ice
wizard.

Conjuring an icy mirror, Maklak showed the adventurers a vision of an
argent star gleaming with unspoken potency in the far north, cradled in
the shadow of a mountain. As the expectant adventurers leaned in to
study the clues, a tongue of flame roared through the mirror, melting it
instantly. Demanding answers, Maklak dispatched the group, led by
Shimra, to find the source of this power and report back to him.

Trekking across the icy tundra, the party reached the spine of the
mountains just east of Isaia, and stumbled upon a small settlement that
appeared on no map or chart of the area. Unsure what to expect, the
group wove powerful defenses about themselves, sketching runes and
calling to the Gods in a plea for protection.

Thus prepared, the ragtag band entered the village, only to be stopped
by a pair of imposing sentries, half-man, half-bull. The two minotaurs
initially refused to allow the group passage into what they called
Hriddan, but after significant coaxing the adventurers were finally
granted an audience with the chieftain. With a stern warning that the
chieftain was presiding over a trial and to be silent until addressed,
the adventurers were led through the settlement ushered into the
presence of Gar Nodak, leader of the Hriddan.

As the group watched quietly, a young minotaur was prepared for a trial
to mark his passage into adulthood, and charged by the chieftain and the
shaman of the Hriddan to test his strength against a nebulous foe. The
young warrior departed, and Gar Nodak immediately peppered his guests
with questions. Speaking for the group, Shimra explained they were
explorers wishing to see the settlement. Distrustful of these words, Gar
Nodak was poised to have the troupe removed when a wail of pain echoed
throughout the area, followed by alien laughter. Tragically, the young
warrior's quest ended in his death.

Furious at this outcome, Gar Nodak stalked away, leaving the party in
the hands of the shaman, Grut Vlugar. The aged minotaur then revealed to
the adventurers what the youth had faced: a pack of ice demons that had
been sealed in the depths of an icy cave by the shaman himself to
prevent them from slaughtering the entire settlement. Shimra vowed to
Grut Vlugar that she and her fellows would eliminate the demon threat
and return the body of the fallen youth to the chieftain for a proper
funeral, rather than allow his spirit to languish in the custody of the
demons.

Entering the cave, the able adventurers brought steel and spells against
the wicked talons of the demon horde. Cutting a path deep into the heart
of the cave, the adventurers fell upon the demons, taking revenge for
the young warrior of the Hriddan. The group finally reached the very
heart of the cave, and there encountered the demons' leader, Kolyartus.

Though immense in size, Kolyartus was imprisoned just as surely by the
shaman's power as his lesser brethren, and he painted himself as the
victim, imprisoned by the Hriddan and pleading to be set free. Falsely
agreeing to the demon's request, the group retrieved the fallen youth's
corpse from Kolyartus without further bloodshed, and quickly departed
the cavern to return the body to Gar Nodak.

His fallen son's body returned to him, Gar Nodak commended the corpse to
the ancestral flame within the heart of the village after a brief, yet
poignant funeral rite administered by Grut Vlugar. Thanking Shimra and
her group, the chieftain decreed that Hriddan would now be open to any
explorers willing to aid the minotaurs in their struggle against the
demons.

Exhausted from the long journey yet exhilarated at their discovery, the
troupe returned to the wizard Maklak to report on their findings. Maklak
dismissed the group with cold indifference upon learning of Hriddan,
retiring to ponder this new knowledge and how it could best be used to
his advantage.


Penned by My hand on the 17th of Lupar, in the year 473 AF.