The scouts named the mountain Mt Torch on their map; Ezekiel calls it Cloudcatcher Mountain. It rises at the far end of this lake, the face towards us lit up with sunlight. The trail rounds the lake to the east, and the marks of the bandits are pretty clear, entering the hills somewhere in that direction.

We found traces of a camp on the north shore – from the depth of hoofprints, probably our armored knights. They didn’t stay long, though, and didn’t leave any signs behind to guide us. I found no signs of battle or conflict, though, which suggests our answers are still further on.

****

We had another look around this morning. The ground shook a little some time in the night, but that could have been Cloudcatcher Mountain – Ezekiel says it’s a volcano. What that doesn’t explain is what made the wailing sound in the night. I heard it plainly, and so did Mikael…he’s trying to decide what bird could have made that sound. I’m not sure what it sounded like.

Mikael also spent some time this morning with his eyes closed, “feeling the aura of nature.” He says, yes, the volcano is active (might that be what keeps the north end of the lake open?) and there are no “above ground” dwellings nearby. There might be someplace underground where “two-legs” live, but he was very vague about it.

Agnar says there was an old dwarf city somewhere to the west (whereas Deepholm is to the east from here, if our bearings are right). He didn’t have many details, though, and I’m not sure he’d ever been there.

The local wildlife obviously come down to the lake for water, but they avoid going out onto it. That could just be because the heat from the mountain or the magnified sunlight or whatever it is keeps the ice thin enough to be dangerous, even on the south end where it’s thickest. We didn’t test it. I know we have a couple rings of warmth somewhere, but I don’t know if we have them with us…and besides, any entrance to a mysterious underground city isn’t going to be underwater.

Agnar thinks there’s an underground river draining the lake and keeping the water clean, which makes sense. He also clearly has enough memories of his last trip down an underground river he didn’t suggest we make sure. So I guess it’s onward and northward for us.

****

Well, things didn’t stay dull for long. Today as we followed the trail, and the marks of the knights’ passage, we approached a ridge where woodsmoke rose from the dell beyond.

I snuck forward to scout, with Mikael keeping an eye on me as a condor, but clearly I wasn’t as hidden as I thought. Maybe I was concentrating too hard on distributing my weight evenly so I didn’t leave prints in the snow. I had just barely peeked over the rise when I found a hellhound staring right at me, its nose twitching.

It also didn’t help that Tressarian started yelling at them in Fire Giant the moment he spotted them.

I tried to back up to where Ezekiel was, but four or five hellhounds surrounded us within moments, followed more slowly by five or six fire giants.

Tressarian yelled the whole time in words I couldn’t understand, and I think he was having a great time.

Maybe Heiron would have done better deflecting boulders off his shield. I had a terrible time. Good thing the giants weren’t always such great shots, and pegged their own hound at least once. (I hope Heiron’s doing all right.)

Ezekiel and Agnar ran up in time for the hellhounds to spew steam and sulphur at us. Mikael’s bear charged in, strangely twice as large as I remembered him.

I usually try to pay attention to what everyone is doing in a fight – not only so I don’t hit them, but so everyone’s acts of heroism can get recognized – but I admit my mind is so full of teeth and flying boulders and Tressarian getting heavier and heavier (and one period where I think I blacked out, even if my body didn’t) that I really can’t give a good account.

I know Ezekiel whacked his mace on the ground, and the shockwaves stunned the hellhounds senseless. Personally I was busy slipping in my own blood at the time.

I had to have Tressarian levitate us so I had enough time to dig out a healing potion from my backpack. Even then they didn’t leave us alone, and a couple fire giants lobbed boulders at me in the air. (I’m happy to say one of them missed, and pegged his companion in the head.)

Finally, it was over, and Agnar and Tressarian were yelling about how amazing a fight that was, and Ezekiel was going around finishing off the hellhounds.

I managed to sit down on a boulder, and just watched Ezekiel interrogate the enemy as usual…going through their pockets. Healing potions don’t go as far as they used to, I guess. Mikael scratched his bear under the chin, and told him to eat up a hellhound.

I hope Heiron and Lydia don’t run into anything like this on their way back to the fort. (Raven would be fine. He’d just run past like lightening. )