Gareth-Wyn grins, stepping away and partially through the Gorthok's carcass. He takes a swing at orc11, and another at orc15!

Attack vs orc15: 15 Damage: 11

Attack vs orc11: 12 Damage: 12

rerolling damage dice from first attack: 9

And, having killed orc15, Gareth turns the blade back to orc11 on the backswing!

Attack: 16 Damage: 14

And combat has ended.

A whole bunch of dead bodies are here - numerous Orcs and a huge Boar - they all look like they've been through a blender.

Vi looks around at the bloody scene. "Well, that happened."

Tex cleans his blade off on one of the blight corpses before sheathing it, “well, that takes care of the orc problem. Good work everybody.” Fern borks triumphantly as she rests on top of some of the rubble, panting and smiling. 

Gareth-Wyn nits his brow and focuses for a moment, dispelling the many effects and rune-magics that had so empowered him for the fight. He nods to Tex, stows his weapon, and begins picking at the great boar tusks, searching for a suitable trophy.

Among the debris in the Manse is a Cloak of Billowing, and an Immovable Rod. Aside from his pelt, Gorthok is really not "worth" much aside from the destruction he caused along the Sword Coast - but no longer. The Gulthias tree starts to decay rapidly.

Iri morphs back into her humanoid form and rushes over to Tex, "Are you okay?" Looking at the rest of the party she asks, "Anyone need some healing?"

Lanarial moves about the scene of carnage, retrieving any of his still usable arrows. Finding the strange metal rod with stallions on either end, he is naturally intrigued. Making sure that he is pointing it away from his friends and outside (in case it shoots a fireball or some other equally devastating effect...) he pushes the button on one end. He makes a surprised, and satisfied, sound when it remains magically in place, hanging horizontally in the air. Testing it out, Lanarial finds that it even supports his weight! He calls over the two goliaths, fixing the rod higher in the air. He has them hang on to the rod and see if it supports their weight, one at a time and then both. Amazingly, the rod stays in place! "Oh friends, this is a great tool for a rogue and assassin. May I keep it?"

"And if you have some healing to spare, I could certainly use it to bind up a few of these new gashes in my leg. Thank you!"

“Well would you look at that! An immovable rod. These are quite handy.” Tex whistles a jaunty tune as he and Gareth hang off the physics defying item.

Tex hops down, laughing jauntily, ”I vote for another night at falcon lodge, and then on to our true goal: Cryovain.” Tex walks over to Iri, looking just a little intense he asks in hushed tones, “I have something I want to show you tonight. Meet me by the river once it’s dark out.” Tex smiles, before turning back to the group, “let’s go let falcon know that his woods are a little safer now!”

Before they leave, Tex makes one more pass through the manse, to make sure there isn’t any other surprises or dangers, INVESTIGATION: 25

add +4 for flash of genius

Vi sets about helping the Gulthias tree's decay by chopping off branches with her sword. She's tempted to burn it too, but decides not to, thanks to risk of forest fire. The half-elf glances at Lan as she goes about her work. "Rod's all yours."

Luckily, on one of the dead bodies of the orcs is tattooed a small map of how to get to Icespire Hold. You are free to return to the lodge, rest up, RP a bit if you'd like, and begin the final chapter.

After getting back to the lodge, and settling in for a long rest, Fern comes padding over to Iri with a note, "Miss Iri, would you please join me by the river."

Outside, a clear moonlit sky is illuminated by thousands of constellations alongside a beautiful harvest moon. a trail of arcane lights guide a path to the river.
Tex is standing very nervously, almost hyperventilating at the approach of the sea elf.

"I, umm, have something to show you." Tex fumbles in his pack before pulling out a dark blue cloak, with silvery stars and moons embroidered. He puts on the cloak and leaps into the river.
He stays underwater, waving his arms, motioning iri to join him in the river, pointing to his open mouth, as he swims quite quickly under the water. He crests the top. I made this, so I can breath and swim underwater! I, uh... I apologize for putting this off but, I...I care for you, miss Iri. I want to go see your homeland someday, I made this...and I hope I'm not being to forward, but I made this so that maybe someday you can bring me home with you. I know you aren't gonna be on land forever, and that troubles me. I like being around you. I understand if you don't feel the same but, I don't know, I hope you feel the same." Tex starts to mumble, before consciously quieting, waiting for  Iri to respond.

Gareth-Wyn performs many pull-ups on the immovable rod before relaxing in a gore-free spot not far from the manse.

Curious as to what Tex wanted to show her and very nervous, having not spoken much since she had kissed him, Iridansa wandered towards the river. "Hi, what did you want to talk about?" She asks, fidgeting nervously with a piece of her hair. As Tex jumps into the river, a very confused Iri slips in after him. I have missed being in the water. It is so cool and comforting,. Iri thinks to herself as she closes her eyes and float there for a moment.

Following Tex back to the surface, she looks at him confusedly until he starts to explain. Part way through she starts giggling. "I really like being around you too Tex.," She says as she reaches out and grabs his hands. She gets up on her tip-toes and gives Tex a quick kiss on the cheek. "I do feel the same and I would love to show you my home. I would love to meet your family too, meet the person that made Fern. I want to see the wonders of the surface while I can. And, I would love to see them with you." She says as she stares up at Tex, her face turning a little red. Wrapping her arms around him, she gives him a long hug, enjoying the feeling of being near him.

Tex’s shoulder relax as Iri hugs him. He wraps his large arms around her frame, resting his head on her shoulder. “That sounds very nice, miss Iri.” He holds their embrace for what feels like forever. A small smirk appears on his face, a soft giggle forming which turns into his jolly chuckle as he quickly sweeps her off her feet, running and jumping into the river with his beloved sea elf. He’ll happily swim around, playing in the water with Iri, well into the night, under the beautiful moon and stars, overjoyed that, “Iri feels the same!”

Vi spends her time quietly practicing her forms and attacks, moving in fluid, rapid motions. She spins through the air with her flame-sheathed blade, not stopping until she seems to surrounded by a whirlwind of silver fire. Her breathing steady and regular as she battles dozens of imaginary opponents, sometimes with her eyes closed, other times with her right hand rather than her left, and a dozen other alternative ways of fighting. She was determined to be ready.

"Always remember Silvi...you are the sword, and the sword is you. There is no separation, no grasp. You are one with the blade."

"Fire? Why do you insist on all this fire? That is not the way of the leopard. We use illusion against our opponents, turn their expectations against them."
The half-elf shrugs. "It just...feels right. I'm not your typical bladesinger, after all." She gestured to the dulled points of her ears. "Maybe I'm not your typical leopard either."

"Look within yourself. You are so fond of these flames, that can be your focus. Whenever you are tired, when you feel you can go no longer, your inner fire is reduced to coals. But coals can be stoked back to bonfire intensity. You always have more strength than you know."

"Breathe. In...out. In...out. Focus. You need to enter a state in which you are no longer afraid, or excited, or anything. Merely focused. You are nothing but the blade."

THE FINAL CHAPTER: ICESPIRE HOLD

Icespire Hold is more than 30 miles from Phandalin. As you make your way across the cold, windblown foothills of the Sword Mountains, you happen upon a large, prone creature frozen in ice. The frozen creature is an ogre that Cryovain must have killed with its cold breath. The ogre’s corpse is enormous, and a mystery as to why Cryovain didn't carry it off.

The ogre was killed within the past 24 hours. The cold of the foothills has kept the ice from thawing. Frozen in the ice with the ogre, clearly visible, is a hefty sack, but it can’t be reached or searched until someone chips or melts away the ice that covers it.

Clouds partly obscure a stone fortress situated atop the icy spur of a jagged, snow-covered mountain that you recognize as Icespire Peak, a landmark so enormous as to be visible from Phandalin on a clear day. The mountain dwarfs the fortress, which consists of two separate structures joined together by a stone bridge. A narrow, winding path corkscrews up the mountainside to the smaller of the two structures, and appears to be the only safe way to reach it by land. It’s an unwelcome path, but not as unwelcome as the cold, howling wind that buffets you.

Even from here, you can see Cryovain sleeping soundly on the room (H20). You're sure that any loud racket would wake him. The howling of the wind would prevents Cryovain from hearing intruders who remain relatively quiet.

H1 - THE NARROW TRAIL

This narrow trail clings to the mountainside as it twists around and up to the gatehouse. Tracks from horses coming and going along the trail are clearly visible. Characters must traverse the trail in single file.

H2 - STABLES

Four saddled riding horses are kept in stalls. A fifth stall stands empty. From here, decide where to go.

Tex pulls the folds of his newly updated armor's collar up around his neck to stave off the unnatural temperatures. We need to proceed with caution, from what I know of white dragons: (KNOWLEDGE (ARCANA) CHECK: 26 + 4 (Flash of genius)) "White dragons don't usually have much in the way of underlings, but this one could be different, I say we try and be as quiet as possible. Lanarial, Vi, Would it be possible for the 2 of you to scout ahead through some of the next rooms to see if there are any hostiles aside from our Draconic assailant? If you hear anything, you can send word back and Gareth, Iri and I will rush in to offer backup. I'm hoping we can move cautiously enough to ambush Cryovain, since he is still asleep."  

Vi nods in agreement, murmuring softly, "Careful and quiet."

Lanarial offers to lead the group up the narrow passage, his keen eyes and ability to move silently making him a good scout. Reaching the entrance to the first structure, he quickly explores the area and is surprised to find horses in the stables. While waiting for the rest of the party, he will check the doors and floor for traps (H3, then H4, then H5, then the door to the steps.) He will NOT open any of them, nor attempt to pick any locks. Just looking for traps on his own!

(Assuming he found no traps...) Once the group is in the stables and Tex proposes his plan, Lanarial grins and nods. "Dancing flames and unseen strikes. They'll be dead before they hit the icy ground. Let's have some fun, Jabbress Silvi!" Creeping along beside her, he lets her quietly open a door while he remains hidden by the wall. then, quickly peering into the room, he will look to see if there are any occupants who may be hostile. He will be on the lookout for the potential adventuring party who owns these horses...