The party made their way into Xin-Shalast they were amazed by the scope of the city. Here is a description of what they saw
This tableau defies belief. A narrow mountain pass opens into a glacial valley extending north and then turning to the west at the base of the vast mountain at the far end. Filling this valley is an ice-capped city of enormous proportions. The near end is mostly blocked by a huge fortress of smooth black stone, with multiple towers rising from its high walls. Exiting the bailey of this fortress is a massive causeway of gold that dominates the city as it travels down the center of the vale.
Enormous towers and spires of many-colored stone pack both sides of the central thoroughfare, rising to prodigious heights and giving the illusion that the road itself is a valley. The eastern slope of the valley has been partially subsumed by an ancient glacial flow—nearly a quarter of the city appears to have been so buried. That section is now little more than a great mass of ice, with the jagged angles and peaks of ruined structures poking through its topmost layer here and there. Where the valley curves slightly to the west, the structures, if anything, grow even larger, becoming truly gigantic as they climb up and over the rocky spur. At the far end of the valley, the city abuts the lower slope of a truly massive peak. Yet the city builders appear to have taken no heed of this change in slope, for the great causeway merely elevates at a steep angle and continues to climb the increasing slope in a nearly straight line, transforming into an immense stairway.
Additional buildings cling precariously to the mountain face alongside the causeway, growing even larger and more impressive as they ascend. The gigantic buildings finally give way a few thousand feet above, but the mighty road continues to wend its treacherous way to just below the mountain’s peak. There, a spired citadel looms, its size and proportions truly magnificent. It, too, fails to summit the mountain—instead, its topmost spires end just below the dominant face of a stern man, carved into the peak of the mountain and surveying the city below. The otherworldly quality of this strange panorama is further reinforced by the sound of the cold winds slicing across the high peaks, making strange cries and shrieks in the ether.
They made their way to where they were supposed to meet their contact. The massive tower seemed abandoned, but they went inside carefully. Inside they met a skulk name Morgiv. Seems that there were underground passages all over lower Shalast, but a being they call the Hidden Beast were subverting the skulks and Morgiv required the party to help them first before they would help the party.
Arodus 12
After resting, the party let Morgiv lead them to where the Hidden Beast was. Morgiv had never been down there, no one returned back from there, but he knew that the Hidden Beast could be found down that passage.
Heading down the passage they eventually came to a room. It appeared to be a basement of some building long buried under the ice and stone. On a throne was a skeleton that stood up as the entered and demanded one of them needed to give up their blood for it. Phain cast a spell to see invisible things and noticed a large octopus thing next to skeleton controlling it.
Attacking the octopus thing, Phain exposed its position and Orik used his blind-fighting skill to attack it. Vampire Skulks attacked as well but with Preacher's aura protecting them from energy drain they were able to beat the Hidden Beast and his vampires.
The skulks were impressed by their skill and now that the danger of the Hidden Beast was taken care of agreed to scout the city and bring back whatever information they could.
On the Hidden Beast they found a ring, like the ring they found on the silver dragon outside of the city. They asked the skulks about them, and they told the party they were Sihedron rings, special rings for the highest ranking members of Karzoug. It allowed them to enter the protected area around the spires, without it anyone would die. The party asked the skulks on information on where to find more.
The skulks agreed to find more creatures in the city for them, but suggested that they should clear out the area around the tower they were staying at. A group of yetis were staying in a dome nearby and often go out and hunt and they could stumble upon the party if not dealt with.
The party snuck up on the dome and attacked the yetis. They posed no problem for the group and soon had all of them dead. Heading back to the tower, they rested and waited for more information on Sihedron rings.
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