Kaz Bear roars and charges, leaping at the frost giantess with tooth and claw.

Tooth: Attack: 24 Damage: 7

Claw: Attack: 15 Damage: 6

As the frost giant falls, easily defeated by your nearly simultaneous assault, two things happen. You are left alone again in the cold dawn at an empty circle of thrones with a dead frost giant, and the challenge level of this game just went up a notch.

You have completed this quest and achieved the Horn of Blasting.

At this particular point, i'd like to take the campaign into the next chapter. Once you return to the refugee camp, there will be the next hook into the next chapter of the adventure whenever you all are ready.

AURIL'S ABODE

The Refugee Camp, when you returned, was abuzz with activity. A older woman who looked like some sort of arcane spellcaster was surrounded by a large crowd, and when you were in eyeshot, the refugees got excited. "There! There they are! Ask them!" they said with an air of hope and desperation. Pushing through the crowd, the woman approaches you and peels back her facemask and fur from her face.

“Greetings, champions! You must be the famous group of heroes these Refugees speak of. I am Vellynne Harpell of the Arcane Brotherhood. I'd like to hire you all. I need your help to find an ancient city buried under the ice. This city, Ythryn, is a lost fragment of the Empire of Netheril, whose wizards created many of the magic items we find scattered across the world today. It holds magic beyond our wildest dreams. We might even find something there to end this hateful winter.

"Using divination magic, the Arcane Brotherhood has learned that the city is buried deep inside the Reghed Glacier. But the glacier can be cracked open at a place where a waterfall once flowed down its side but has since frozen. We have already found the waterfall. All we need now is the magic to break open the glacier. Intrigued?”

"Yes. I'm very intrigued to visit this city."

Finally, I might find something useful in this frozen wasteland.

Lucas will pull out his maps, as show them to the Vellynne, motioning towards her, "If you can pinpoint to where in the Glacier, I can lead us to it quickly."

"There is more." Vellynne says. "Netheril was a vast human empire ruled by wizards, whose mastery of the Weave remains unsurpassed to this day. Some of what the Netherese wizards learned came from the elves. The rest came from the study of artifacts called the Nether Scrolls. The Netherese created magic that was more powerful than a wish spell and used it to accomplish the impossible. Their magic could shear the tops of mountains and lift entire cities into the sky." 

"We're going to need two items before we begin to search for Ythryn: The Codicil of White and my professor orb. Written and guarded by Auril’s followers, The Codicil of White is rumored to contain a spell or ritual that can carve a passage through the Reghed Glacier, under which the lost city Ythryn is buried. Divination magic has revealed that the book is being held in a frost giant fortress on a mist-shrouded island in the Sea of Moving Ice."

"Any quest to retrieve The Codicil of White is likely to attract Auril’s attention. Members of the Arcane Brotherhood are notoriously brazen, which is why I do not balk at the thought of a confrontation with the Frostmaiden. Any god who chooses to live among mortals is hiding from something, and anyone who needs to hide can’t be all-powerful.”

“The orb is a family heirloom that was stolen from me by a former colleague named Nass Lantomir. The orb has the personality of a scholar and is named Professor Skant. Its knowledge will help us once we descend into Ythryn. Nass is after The Codicil of White. Find Nass, and we find Professor Skant.”

"I have every reason to believe that both items are currently on an island in the Sea of Moving Ice, here."

She points.

TL;DR: Ythryn, a lost city buried in Reghed Glacier, might contain magic to end the Eternal Winter. In order to access Ythryn, Vellynn is going to need two items: her professor orb, and The Codicil of White. The Codicil contains a spell that can melt the ice of Reghed Glacier to reveal Ythryn. The professor orb, a valueable guide for Ythryn, was stolen by Vellynn's colleage, Nass Lantomir. Find the Codicil to learn the spell, and Lantomir to find the orb.

"Well, we're no friends of the Frostmaiden and an ancient civilization that was capable of performing incredible feats of power is doubly intriguing, so I'll definitely help you find the Codicil and your orb."

I THINK THAT ONE OF YOUR COMPANY IS A FRIEND OF THE FROSTMAIDEN.

Friend is overly optimistic, but I am not as optimistic at the prospects of her redemption as Kazimir is. Sooner or later, she'll come to blows with us when her goddess gets angry with her and we'll put her in the ground.

THAT LITTLE ***** THINKS I'M DOWN HERE BECAUSE I'm HIDING? I'LL SHOW HIM HIDING WHEN I SHOVE AN ICICLE RIGHT UP-

I am the only one who can hear you right now and you're giving me a headache.

Go with them. I want that confident little infant in my domain so that I can freeze him alive. Over and over.

Vetis winces slightly as if she has a headache, but nods. "I will go with you. And help."

Also she's a girl.

Remind me why I care?

(Her)

Sobek nods ‘We’ll help you. We recognise the need to bring balance back to the region. Ideally in a way that leaves Auril content, if not happy, to minimise future issues...’

Kazimir smiles, “This sounds like a most interesting adventure. Like our very dour warlock says, anything that may help in our endeavor to bring some form of balance to the region is a worthy pursuit, yes?” Kaz will stand beside Kai, smiling at the genasi, “What do you say to an extremely dangerous adventure into magical ruins certainly full of powerful magical artifacts, my very spicy friend?” The elf grins at the genasi, hoping that the offer will bring the usually merry sorcerer out of his funk.

Ever since that fight with the giant, Kai heard nothing else from them, even after having returned to the camp and asked for them. Again they fell into silence, causing the genasi to grow further frustrated. Whatever.

Kai was half paying attention to the older woman when she was speaking, though he looks to Kaz when he speaks. “Haha, I guess so! Just, uh, hope I don’t get kebab’d again durin’...”

Kaz smiles warmly, “I can fix that” (Channeling that character from Holes)

Sobek smiles, leaving Kai and Kaz to their courtship.

'Vellynne, I don't know much about this 'Sea of Moving Ice' but it sounds an inhospitable place. Do you have thoughts about how to navigate it...?'

Shrek jumps up and down with excitement.  Loudly, "YES!  Shrek pick up package delivery!  YES!"  (he's confused, thinking that Vellynn is hiring Luskars Deliveries to retrieve two packages for her)

Continuing, after a spark connects his two braincells together, "Wait.  Where team find boat to enter Sea?"

"The Sea of Moving Ice has titanic icebergs that bob in a churning black sea of unknown depth, crashing into one another with destructive results. Floating amid these mountains of ice, shrouded by mist, is Auril’s island. Using sheer force of will, the Frostmaiden can anchor the island or cause it to slowly drift about. For that reason, the island doesn’t appear on maps of the Sea of Moving Ice. However, I have a friend called Angajuk who can get us there. Angajuk's pier is located near the edge of the Sea. It's a two day journey to the Sea, and then a three day journey to the Island." 

“It sounds like you have this trip already planned out. You just need some bodies to absorb damage then?” Kaz will turn and carefully scrutinize the mage, trying to see what the catch is, INSIGHT 8

Lucas nods and inquires, "Does this friend of yours have their own ship? If not, we have one that's built for such waters."

"Well, that's one way to put it, I suppose." Vellynn says to Kaz. Then, to Lucas, "You could say that, yes. Shall we proceed?"