Our Heroes reflected on the events of the previous few days in the warmth of the burning frost giant lodge. Yrso revealed the source of her abnormal behaviour and a psychic message she’d been receiving from someplace in the Spine of the world mountains. No longer wishing to bear the burden of the psychic message, they decided to follow it to it’s source
After scavenging rations from a frozen whale in a salvageable part of the lodge, they travelled south, deeper into the wilds, miles from what passes for civilization.
There they discovered a massive nautiloid, partially buried in the snow, that seemed to be the source of the distress signal.
Two carrion crawlers emerged from near the wreckage, attacking after our heroes rested. A sphincter on a deck of the Nautiloid led further in, leading to a cargo hold inhabited by a beast stitched together with parts from Duergar, Goblins and Reindeer, and three small tentacled creatures who appeared to be cleaning or conducting some kind of maintenance.
The Abomination immediately attacked, and after some well placed counter-attacks, became enraged and inconsolable. A gnome ceremorph named Vorryn descended from the upper floors and attempted unsuccessfully to placate the beast before instructing our heroes to ‘put it down’, which they did.
Vorryn explained that he and his crew came to Icewind dale to hunt a creature unleashed by his illithid Progenitors, that the gnome Ceremorphs are pariahs for retaining personality from their previous lives, and that they required a psi-crystal in order to repair their ship and return to the cosmos.
Another ceremorph, Dredavrex attempted to bargain with our heroes with magical gifts – a slug worn on the head to imbue telepathy or a monocular that can be used to view very small or far away objects, but our heroes declined, insisting that instead that they would assist in hunting down the psychic beast that had taken refuge in the vale before sending the Ceremorphs home.
The ceremorphs offered a place to stay, in the magically warmed interior of the Id Ascendant, next to some barrels of pink ‘slurry’ presumably used for sustanance.
Our heroes were also informed of Duergar patrols nearby, that the Ceremorphs used to create their ‘burly protector’ and for necessary meals. The ceremorphs certainly didn’t consider the nearby goblins and dwarves worthy of respect or recognition.
During their rest the squidlings made some very forward advances before being slapped away by the Dredavrex.
Our heroes surmised that the source of this psychic abomination was in or near Dougan’s Hole, a hypothesis supported by the Ceremorphs. Vorryn also theorized that the cold weather was inhibiting the psychic creature. Although the ceremorphs wished to capture and study the creature, our heroes are intent on destroying it, not risking unleashing the creature on another world by the scatterbrained ceremorphs.
Vorryn accompanied our heroes, and was explaining that the psychic beast has probably been reduced to feeding like a Bullette – no consideration for artistry, delicacy or sustainability. As he spoke a Bullette rampaged from the mountainside and attacked our heroe’s caravan – Vorryn explaining during the ensuing pandemonium that it had been released from the Id Ascendant for being too difficult to feed.
Now the Bulette is dispatched, having had its feeble mind devoured by Vorryn (a disappointing meal) and our heroes now venture forth with the Ceremorph to face whatever lives below Dougan’s Hole.