After taking a few moments to rest and offload some of the items they had picked up on their way to the mining camp, the group departed through the northern exit, where they found a well worn path that seemed to lead straight to the base of the section of the mountain they needed to explore. Rain found that they were in an area that happened to have trees and small bodies of water, all off to the side of the path they were following, though in addition to that she and the others found a few wolves that wanted a piece of them. Kromlech informed them that the wolves had to be starving, or they had been tamed by the gnolls or yetis to do their bidding, and that the decline of his people must have allowed a sudden population boost for all of the various wolf packs. Vahn offered another thought on the matter, that they had moved to this part of the mountain after something drove them out of their previous home, which made sense due to the fact that they had no idea where the dragon Ciraxis was resting at the moment.
Of course Rain and her friends could tell that the dwarf was troubled over the news they had received in the camp, most of his clan had fallen to the drow, meaning he had lost friends, family, and possibly even loved ones since his departure from his home so he could become an adventurer. She really didn't know what to say in this situation, especially since he was so angry over what had happened while he was gone, though at the same time her comment from earlier stood, they were going to find Kolgrim, help him light the signal fire for the Key he held, and then deal with the drow. Adrianna told her that the drow lived in the Underdark and were, for the most part, some of the cruelest people one could meet, since most of them believed that they were superior to all beings in the world. They also served a deity known as Lolth, the Queen of Spiders to be exact, though that was hardly important right now, despite the fact it told Rain that there were goddesses in this world, and gods when she thought about it, as odd as it sounded.
Their thoughts returned to the task at hand as they put down another group of wolves that were hunting in the area, a fact that alarmed Rain since there seemed to be more of them than anyone had thought at first, where Kromlech told her that it was unusual, meaning the gnolls had to be responsible for this change.
After another group they found their target destination, a path that had stone walls, set at the height of a dwarf, that told them that they were on the right track, which was around the same time that they discovered some gnolls guarding the path in question, looking rather proud of themselves. As such the four of them lashed out at their enemies once more, just like they had done before reaching the dwarven camp, where Rain found that these gnolls were the same as all those they had faced before this point in time, meaning they must have sturdy hides. What was interesting was that there were a few camps set up along the path they were following, though what was odd about them, as Rain looked at the tents and fires, was that it seemed far too good for the gnolls to make on their own. With what she had seen so far this scene told her that their true foe, whoever was in control of this portion of the mysterious alliance's forces, wanted to ensure that all of the gnolls were well taken care of before the invasion started.
Kromlech stopped for a moment as he discovered something else, there were crates full of food and items that had been stolen from the rest of his clan, to which he had them pick some of the containers up before hauling four of them back down to the camp, only for them to return moments later with some survivors.
"They were definitely preparing for war... why else would they have our stuff?" Kromlech commented, as there were all sorts of weapons and gear inside some of the containers, hence why it was important to get them back down to the camp, before the drow found a way to bust out of the mine, if they cared to do so anyway.
"We'll be sure to take down whoever is controlling the gnolls and the other enemies." Rain said, because losing so many of his kind had to hurt Kromlech and she was going to make whoever was responsible for such a thing pay for their foul and horrible deeds, regardless if they were in this region of the world or another one.
As the others nodded Kromlech calmed himself as he followed the path that would, in due time, bring them to the peak of the mountain, going from rocky ground, like on the path that they had started on, and becoming ice and snow, which was to be expected since he told them that the peak was high above the camp's position. There were more wolves and plenty of gnolls standing on the path, which none of them were even remotely surprised by at this point, though there were also a fair number of yetis for everyone to fight as well, ones with more white colored fur to help them blend in with the area that they lived in. To be sure that they were through Kromlech lead them to some of the caves he knew the location of, as there was a chance that some of Kolgrim's team might have sought refuge after encountering the dangers that they were lurking on the path, something that the others agreed with as they followed him. There was one such cave off to the right of the path that had a number of wolves inside it, though the lack of blood on the ice, combined with the fact that there were no bodies anywhere, told them that while the idea was sound there was also a chance that it might not work out for them in the long run.
While they traveled along the path, however, Rain figured that it was time to learn some magic, even though hers had, for the most part, been accidental and uncontrollable, where Adrianna showed her how to call forth her inner power and use it, like how she could summon flames in front of her palms and shoot it out. She also explained that there were a number of types of magic that one could call upon, like how she had lightning, fire, and even pure energy, while others could call on the power of frost, acid, poison, and even darkness, giving her a chance to try out using flames on the gnolls and yetis they encountered. It was hard for Rain to do, since she wasn't really sure how she called upon the darkness or the power that broke her out of the statue state she had been trapped in, though Adrianna was a patient instructor and showed her a few of the basics that she knew, allowing her to try and get a grasp on what it meant to use magic. While they did that Kromlech found another cave for them to check out, one that was just as big as the last and only had a couple of chests for them to loot, causing him to hope that the team was near the summit and not down in the caves they were hunting down.
There were, of course, more gnolls on the path, these ones with more snow colored fur to show that they were more suited for living in the snowy peaks of the Sunset Mountains, plus some giants that were hanging out near a camp that was set up further up the mountain, once more showing signs that someone evil had plans for this place. After that they found a fork in the path, where there was a path that went off to the west, one that went off to the east, and the one that they were more interested in, the northern path, which should bring them to the peak's summit. Instead of heading down one of the directional paths, however, Kromlech headed to the north and continued to hack through the enemies that happened to be in their way, showing them that he was angry and wanted to save his people. After that he found a side path that went to the west a little, which also had a couple of wolves and a few gnolls for them to take down, though while they eliminated the threats Rain found blood on the ground, not from them fighting their enemies, and it lead right to a cave entrance.
Just like before they slipped inside the cave when they cleared out the area in front of it, though this time around it was far too easy for Rain and her friends to find that this one had a wounded dwarf inside it, who was holding onto a sword that was stained in blood as he stared at a fire.
"Kolgrim! Don't worry brother, we're here to help." Kromlech said, where he rushed over to where the injured dwarf was resting and stalled as he realized something, the dwarf they had been sent to find had several gashes on his chest and his arms, and with the blood at his feet they knew that he wasn't long for this world.
"Kromlech? Don't bother, I'm as good as dead." the dwarf replied, something that confirmed how far gone he was, as his voice sounded rough and his breathing was all over the place, in fact his strength was starting to fade as well, because his grip on his sword was failing, meaning he wouldn't have been able to defend himself for too much longer, "If it's the Key to the mine that you're after, I don't have it... the one I gave it to, after the ambush, was attacked at the peak and frozen in ice by the dragon Ciraxis. Take this oil flask... you'll need it, plus the tinder that the others carried, to light the signal fire to thaw his body, and call for help."
As Kromlech told the dwarf that they would do everything in their power to save the clan, to light the signal fire, Rain and the others watched as the life faded from Kolgrim's body, though not before he was able to open his pack and produce his flask for them to take. With it in hand, and they were positive that he had perished due to his wounds, the group departed from the cave and returned to the main path again, this time heading back to the fork in the path and taking the western one first, only to find more and more gnolls guarding the area. Adrianna showed Rain how to use another spell she knew, the Ball of Lightning spell that allowed her to launch a sphere of energy that damaged all of her enemies in the direction it was sent in, which allowed her to deal a good bit of damage to the gnolls guarding the way forward. Sure, it cost more for her to use it in battle, but the fact that it damaged every enemy in the user's path meant it was well worth it, and if Rain had the power to use every skill or power she found, with practice anyway, it was one she might be able to add to her own arsenal of skills.
Rain understood and kept trying to call forth her magical powers during some of their lesser fights, where she was able to do her own thing while the others beat down the gnolls, giants, yetis, or wolves that were trying to take them down, and the cave that was at the end of the path contained another slain dwarf, who had a slab of flint.
With that item in hand the group cleared out the rest of the area, making sure to wipe out the rest of the western edge of the mountain to ensure no harm came to the mining camp, just in case some of the gnolls or yetis tried to move south in the near future. Once they were sure that the western section was done the group quickly returned to the fork and went down the eastern path without delay, where Rain found that there were more wolves than anything else as the path just so happened to head down into a dirt and grass area, which had a few tents. While the group wiped out the gnolls and a few giants, however, Rain thought about what Kolgrim had said before he perished, he mentioned that Ciraxis was in the area, in fact he had attacked the dwarves at the peak, meaning they might actually run into him. She wasn't able to think about it too much as they found another downed dwarf, this one carrying a special torch that had to be for the signal fire, and with all three items in hand the group, after clearing out the rest of their enemies, returned to the main path.
What they discovered was that there were stray spheres of lightning moving around the area, which they could get around without having to fight them with magic, especially since they killed all the gnolls, allowing them to reach the peak without wasting too much time, an area that was a massive metallic torch on a pedestal.
"Anyone see that dragon?" Rain asked, because if it had attacked the dwarven party when they were at the summit, mere moments away from lighting the signal fire, she suspected that it might be somewhere in the surrounding area, maybe keeping an eye on the peak to serve it's master's dark will.
"No. Looks like it killed everyone and left." Vahn remarked, which was good for them, because even with Rain's powers he had a feeling that it might be an impossible task for them to bring down a dragon like Ciraxis, though as he said that they found that Adrianna gathered the items to light the fire and climbed the edge of the metallic tower.
In the next few seconds she ignited the material that they had gathered, combined with what was still inside the basin, and restored the signal tower to it's former glory, allowing her to return to the others as the heat thawed the frozen dwarf in no time, allowing them to claim the Key and return to the camp with good news, as it was time to head into the mines and deal with the dark elves before anything else happened.