After lighting the scones, still on the ledge, Ink says, "I think these scones are magical."

He walks towards the end with the steps up and peers around from the ledge. Ink comments, "Those doors seem to be iced over. Do the doors budge, Harshnag? If not, perhaps we build some fires around the base of the door to melt some of the ice?"

Seeing the doorways behind him, Ink calls again, "Give me a few minutes up here."

Ink calls Quill up and seeing through her eyes begins exploring the archways behind him on the ledge.

You can now see your breath turning to fog in the air in front of you, and it reminds you how cold this mountain temple is. The sconces radiate magical warmth. 

Quill goes exploring, uncovering a 20-foot-wide passage on the other side of the south ledge, with arches supporting the 60-foot ceiling. On the east end, a heavy iron portcullis (20 feet wide by 30 feet tall, with a 30-foot-high wall above it) blocks this 60-foot-high passage. On the west end, the passageway terminates at a 60-foot-square room. This room is featureless except for a large iron lever in the north wall, 12 feet off the ground.

“If you need rest, rest,” says Harshnag in the meantime. “I’ll go in now, you come when you’re ready.”

Harshnag then heaves and gives a mighty push against the granite doors, putting his shoulder and all his weight into it. The sheet of ice, 4 inches thick, cracks and gives way, causing massive shards of ice to fall and shatter on the stone steps.

The doors grind open into a vast room, though you can’t quite make out any features from where you are.

"Harshnag, do these carvings tell a story of your people?" Rip snuck a ride on the giants boot, screw those stairs "oh, i can melt that ice with burning hands if i have to" as he states this his hands light on fire

Flint identifies the item as an amulet of proof against detection and location.

Ink describes what he found on the southside ledge. He approaches the portcullis and searches for a way to open it.

// investigation? 12 //

He also 'teleports' Quill to the other side of the portcullis so she can continue exploring.

Quote from Gimpster >>

"Harshnag, do these carvings tell a story of your people?" Rip snuck a ride on the giants boot, screw those stairs

 Harshnag stands in the doorway, looking into the temple. “The carvings show the story of our gods,” says Harshnag. “Back when giantkin and dragons raged across the world.”

Rip can’t see much in the darkness of the temple, but he can tell that it is absolutely massive. Across the dark space, an arch glows, pale greenish blue, in the frosty gloom. Something huge is silhouetted against it. Harshnag’s axe glows like a torch, illuminating your immediate area, and revealing a thick layer of frost on every surface. 

Quote from jr_el_leon >>

Ink describes what he found on the southside ledge. He approaches the portcullis and searches for a way to open it.

// investigation? 14 //

He also 'teleports' Quill to the other side of the portcullis so she can continue exploring.

 The bars of the portcullis are ice cold to the touch and spaced far enough apart that a Small creature can squeeze between them.

There doesn’t seem to be any locking mechanism here—they could theoretically be lifted opened by someone with a high enough strength or with magic.

After casting identify, flint will take a short rest.

Quill sees the following:

Thick frost clings to every surface of this 100-foot-high vaulted chamber. Seven enormous statues dominate the room. The largest of them is an 80-foot-tall robed giant, his arms outstretched and his face hidden beneath a stony cowl, facing a glowing archway in the east wall. Kneeling in rows to each side of this statue are six statues half its size, each impressive in its own right and depicting a paragon of a type of giant: hill, stone, frost, fire, cloud, and storm. These smaller statues face the bigger one in the room’s center. In their outstretched arms, five of the giants hold weapons — gifts for their All-Father. Only the frost giant statue is unarmed.

Harshnag and Rip have just entered from the main door. The sconce light from the hall and the faint light from the glowing archway so little to illuminate the massive room.

Rip casts light! and if he sees any of those magic sconces he will toss a non damaging fire bolt to light them

Ink, using his climbing gear, starts climbing down the ledge he's on. He asks Quill to circle the large room and see if there's a door like the one he exited but north of Harshnag and Rip.

Ink once down starts climbing the north end of the wall and immediately starts exploring the space north of the archways. He lights the scones on the north end as well. 

He comments, "This was easier with Harshnag's help."

It takes Ink several minutes to scale the icy walls with the climbing kit, but in the end he and Quill are able to determine that the entry hall and its adjoining rooms are very symmetrical. The hallway is now very well-lit with the magical light, and with enough time the warmth will melt the ice encrusting the surfaces here.

Quill reports back negative on a door like the large granite ones at the temple’s entrance.

Rip doesn’t see any sconces in his immediate vicinity, but Harshnag suggests, “Let’s go and find the lights, yes?” He hefts his axe like a torch, and it casts a cold light all round, which melds with Rip’s own brand of magical illumination.

Ink asks Quill to go into the main room with Harshnag and Rip and wait there for him. Ink scales down the ledge with his climbing gear and stows it in the bag of holding.

Once down on the main floor, he searches the bodies of the dead barbarians for anything of use placing them in the bag of holding or other pouches as appropriate.

If any of the party remain outside, he'll encourage them to take their rest in the main room at the top of the stairs, and tells them what he saw through Quill's eyes,including the rooms with the levers, and the portculli he found and how the ledges each connect to the main room.

Once up stairs, if he sees that Harshnag and Rip are trying to find a light source, he'll join them in the effort.

Ink suggests to the party, "Perhaps we should search the room and close the doors to fortify our position before resting. We don't know if those barbarians are coming back, and frankly, we don't know what has taken residence within this temple. However, if you want to rest now and search later, I'm okay with that, as well."

// In other words, Ink will take a short rest whenever the rest of the party decides to do so. //

// Edited for oog info... //

Noting the cleric, druid and paladin are just camping out on the floor in the external hall, Ink tells them that he's going upstairs to the room and take a short rest there. He says as he starts walking up, "I don't know about you, but I prefer resting with a friendly frost giant nearby."

Ink spends part of his rest writing down in detail all which he and Quill has seen of the temple so far,knowing that there's no book in Silverymoon that speaks of this place.

// Ink will take a short rest by the upper left corner of the room. //

Ink finds little of value on the barbarian berserkers, save the beheaded chief, whom they called “Wormblod.” Tied to his belt is a sack containing seven gemstones, all obviously worth a decent amount of gold. 

The shaman had with her a bundle, which is made up of sticks, bones, feathers, tufts of fur, and stones, in addition to animal entrails, and other small bits that you recognize as spell components.

Ink plops everything into the bag of holding for future study and sharing. Ink also drops all the barbarians weapons into the bag commenting, "No reason to leave anyone coming back free weapons with which to chop us up with."

Ink treks upstairs, makes his way to the northwest(?) corner with Quill and takes a short rest. He calls out to Rip and Harshnag to let them know he's there.

// Rolling Hit Die 22 //

// Rolling Hit Dice:  Ranger: 19 Druid: 15

Hit dice: 12

Hit dice: 44

While the others rest, Rip and Harshnag explore the vast complex. Harshnag seems to know the general layout, noting the doors that lead north and south from this massive chamber. They are smaller than the main doors, but are all the same coated in that thick layer of ice. 

Rip does eventually find some sconces on the back wall, same as those found in the entry hall, and is able to easily light them with his magic. Once they are lit, the light seems to spread slowly, supernaturally throughout the temple chamber. The sconces give off some heat, but the room is so vast that the heat is lost quickly. 

In between the sconces on the east wall, the archway stands, filled with glowing mist. The archway is 40 feet wide and 40 feet tall. Six different runes are carved into it, each one inlaid with mithral, and a glowing mist fills the arch. Niches in the walls on either side of it contain empty, ice-covered sconces made of iron.

Harshnag seems to be looking for something, unsuccessfully. Ah “Maybe we should rest with the others and gather our thoughts—I thint we have hit a snag. Besides that, I should probably tend to those bite wound,” he says, indicating the back of his leg where the dragon had torn through his thick leggings and drawn blood.

"not a bad idea, while we rest you can tell us how this place is supposed to work" Rip will rest as well

Hit dice 6 + 18  29

Song of rest 2  6