//------------------------------//
// Sunset Mountains: Secrets of the Ice Cave 
// Story: Dark Alliance: A Kirin's Tale 
// by Blackdrag-rose 
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The dwarves had many reasons to celebrate upon the group's return to the mining camp, since they exterminated a gnoll army on one side of the camp, braved the peak to ignite the signal fire, and had now returned from the mine with news of the drow's downfall. Rain, for the time being, just wanted to rest and recover from the burning anger she had felt during her time in the mine, causing some dwarves to ask Kromlech why she, a stranger, would weep for them and seek to avenge the slain on such a personal level. He simply told them what he assumed was the truth, she was compassionate, a warrior of justice who aided those in need and who would weep when great misfortune befell a settlement, along with possessing great rage while avenging the fallen. Rain didn't try to deny his claims, because it seemed to be the path she was walking, a hero who would ensure that the evils of the world were purged while protecting those who were in trouble, not to mention whatever else one had to do to be a hero of the people.

The dwarf they saved from the drow, Brogan, spent a few moments healing his body, since he had been injured thanks to his captor inflicting some measure of torture on him to get information, or maybe she enjoyed inflicting pain on others, before he spoke with the group for a time.

Brogan was surprised to learn that they were new members of the Harpers, revealing that he was, in fact, the one Jherek had sent them to track down and speak with about the dangers that had been reported in this portion of the world, which they had confirmed after stepping through the Onyx Gate. He revealed that he was the eyes of the Harpers in this region, not an easy feat since their organization was stretched thin these days, and, more importantly, that he had noticed what seemed like an army forming, gnolls and their allies on the surface while the drow had claimed the mines. They came to the same conclusion that he had during his imprisonment, every enemy that had been discovered on this mountain was part of some dark alliance, though the head of the organization still eluded Brogan, who claimed that the dragon Ciraxis was part of it. Someone was plotting to destroy Baldur's Gate, that much he knew at this point, though when Kromlech told him about the Onyx Gate he was surprised, not for such a gate to exist, as he told the group, rather because he knew of a second one that lead to the Marsh of Chelimber, confirming that someone wanted a clear path to the city.

He also pointed out the path one could take to an Ice Cave, the one that held the second Onyx Gate, where they could use the horn of the drow priestess to break it open and investigate whatever was inside it, though if the gate was truly there it stood to reason that it was well guarded.

"It is a good thing that we are well stocked now, especially since we might have to fight a dragon." Vahn commented, as he had received a few quivers full of arrows, all prepared and ready for use, as part of the thanks that the dwarves gave them for saving those that remained in the camp.

"The clan has also gifted us some of their best elven scale mail," Kromlech added, a parting gift from his brothers and sisters, to keep them safe from whatever dangers might be resting in the Ice Cave, though he had to admit that it was humorous to see the smiths of his clan be surprised when they gifted Rain her set and the passive ability she had to adjust any armor to match her form activated, "We should be able to stand against the majority of the usual enemies of the mountains, but the others we've only heard about might be trouble."

"We should get underway... the sooner we track down whoever is controlling these Onyx Gates, the better." Rain said, as her focus was on whoever wanted to bring about the end of Baldur's Gate, which meant she was also focused on whatever had been assigned to guard the second Onyx Gate that was in the Sunset Mountains, because after everything they had learned so far she suspected the dragon was the guardian.

The path to the Ice Cave happened to be to the north of the mining camp, where they found more wolves and gnolls to fight, which Rain found was similar to the path they used to climb the mountain originally, covered by a layer of ice by the looks of it when the group finally tracked it down. Such a thing explained why the drow had a horn, as Kromlech told Rain and the others that this particular section of ice usually reformed after a day or two, at least further up the mountain, so by blowing the horn they should be able to blast a hole into the ice and enter the Ice Cave. With that in mind the group made sure the area was cleared of enemies, as while there were a few foes, keeping the area secure, there weren't a large amount for them to worry about, before Adrianna blew the horn in front of the sheet of ice. Everyone watched for a few seconds as a sound came out of the horn, causing the ice to shudder before being blown backwards into the cave, which was good for them since it meant they could enter it and see what sort of dangers were inside it.

Within a few moments of entering the Ice Cave the group found that there were some yetis waiting for intruders, or their allies based on what they had learned earlier, to Rain and her friends carefully dealt with them as they kept an eye out for any enemies that might be more dangerous or in greater numbers. One thing Rain discovered was that there were bits of water here and there, no doubt from the ice thawing, though for the time being it looked like the yetis were the only foes for them to worry about, something she didn't have to do since she and her friends took them down with ease. By that she meant that she and Adrianna used conjured the small spheres of lightning to harm the larger groups, while Vahn let loose a number of flame arrows and Kromlech hacked into them, something that allowed her and her friends to clear an area out before moving even deeper. After another group of yetis fell before their might Adrianna stopped them for a few seconds as she found that the tunnel lead to a larger chamber with a larger shallow body of water, where Rain found that something invisible was walking in the water before appearing and disappearing again.

What she spotted was a panther-like creature with six legs, instead of four, that had a pair of long tentacles growing out of their shoulders, where Adrianna told them that they were displacer beasts and that the larger ones were male, which told Rain that the smaller ones were female... though one of them did appear in front of her, sniffed her hand, and then just walked around her before growling at the open space, challenging the others of it's kind.

"Not to sound ungrateful, but... is there anything you can't do?" Vahn asked, though he had to admit that having such a beast on their side made things sightly easier for them, since the smaller one seemed to like Rain, which was due to the fact that it seemed to seek out the rest of it's kind and attack those that were around them, allowing one of them to battle it while the others focused on the tunnel.

"No idea. I'll let you know when I find out." Rain replied, where she rubbed the back of her head for a moment, since she wasn't expecting such a thing to happen and assumed that it was due to her unique nature, as there didn't seem to be anyone else like her in the entire world, but she meant what she said, she was sure there was something out there that she couldn't do and would tell her friends whenever she discovered it.

The displacer beasts, as Rain soon discovered, actually hit harder than she expected when one slipped through their net, a fact that clued her into their hunter nature and the fact that they targeted magic users, but with their ally helping her and her friends out they were able to carefully make their way through the rest of the cave. Eventually they found some other foes to do battle with, wolves for example, who went down easily and did no damage to the group, before Kromlech and Vahn found a few frost giants standing in their path, in the larger chambers that gave them room to move. Those foes, as it turned out, where definitely harder to deal with than some of the other enemies, as Rain found that they could hit them for a while before bringing them down, though if left them winded and forced a bit of a rest before bothering to move deeper into the cave's depths. There were also ice spiders in the cave as well, enemies that weren't any harder than their normal counterparts based on what Rain saw when she slashed at one with her sword, so she and her friends were able to clear their way before finally reaching their final destination.

Sure enough, in the deepest depths of the Ice Cave, the group found a large open cavern that held the Onyx Gate they had learned about earlier, along with a large four legged beast that had sharp claws, powerful wings and a tail, grand teeth, and a powerful visage that would inspire fear into the hearts of others.

"Ciraxis... so he is part of this 'dark alliance' we've discovered." Kromlech commented, though at the same time he found that the white dragon was on guard, meaning he must have known that lighting the signal fire was the sign for him to come here and guard the gate until another sign caused him to return to his post.

"Then he dies. All members of the Dark Alliance must pay for their crimes." Rain stated, because after everything she had seen and learned so far, since appearing in Baldur's Gate and doing battle with their various enemies, she wanted nothing more than to be rid of this organization and put the world at peace, until another evil showed up.

Adrianna glanced at the others as Rain braced herself, showing that she was waiting for her friends to back her up, which was when the four of them, and their new displacer beast friend, rushed at the dragon that was guarding the Onyx Gate to the Marsh of Chelimber. What was surprising was the fact that Ciraxis just stayed on the ground and used what appeared to be an icy breath against them, while occasionally calling what seemed to be icy spheres down from the sky, something that made Rain fear him less and less as the moments ticked by. In fact the only time he seemed to move was when someone got close to where he was standing, forcing him to backup to ensure no one got too close, which was hard since Rain, Kromlech, and their displacer beast were able to get close while Vahn and Adrianna pelted him from afar with their ranged attacks. It was an easy fight in the grand scheme of things, as Ciraxis never bothered to fly out of the cavern and attack them from a distance where his victory was assured, and it wasn't long before the fight was over, with no one seriously hurt while the beast itself laid dead on the ground with cut marks all over it.

"That was... oddly disappointing." Vahn remarked, because he had heard of the power that some dragons possessed and this one failed to meet any of his expectations, especially since his original plan had been to become an adventurer and go out in search of fame and fortune, which would have eventually lead to him clashing with such a beast.

"Indeed, but at least the way to the Onyx Gate is cleared." Adrianna said, though as she glanced at the dragon's corpse she had an interesting idea, especially since she looked at Rain for a few seconds before focusing on Ciraxis, causing her to even wonder if such a thing was even possible, "Kromlech, can your people use the dragon's resources?"

"To make dragon scale mail, aye." Kromlech answered, but before he could say anything else he followed Adrianna's glance and quickly put the pieces together without needing to be told, all while Rain tilted her head for a moment as he thought about what was going on right now.

Rain had no idea what he was talking about, though based on how he and Adrianna were glancing at the corpse she had a feeling that they were planning on using Ciraxis' remains in some manner, meaning they would be able to rest a little more before seeing what the dangers of the Marsh of Chelimber had in store for them.