As Clams is loaded up by his friends and they prepare to ascend, the heroes discuss the next step. Thelian suggests that they descend the crevasse across the great cavern floor; Ruaumoko volunteers to become a featured serpent and fly Jess in exploration, while Thelian and Daelwyn trudge across the floor of the great cavern floor to the chasm mouth.
Ruaumoko and Jess become light headed as they descend; the depths are more alien than the lands closer to Dis. The chasm is much darker; the cavern above had a purplish light spilling from the walls; as they explore they pass through true darkness and emerge in a cavern where the heart of ice lies — a throbbing purple network of glowing veins running to a mountain. The blood colored liquid vial (from the Wizards Dimov) freezes over — they’ve successfully reached the heart. Around the veins swirl a number of the translucent-blue leech beasts, the same ones who left the pocks all over Iwobe. The sound of cracking ice seems to be agitating the leech beasts.
The explorers feel their energy being drained; there are thousands of the leech beasts and they’re crawling back along the approach tunnel. Jess decides to gather one in the gathering sack; Ruaumoko as the flying serpent tumbles, then his form is lost and he’s a man again. The two are on the cavern floor, with the creeping mass of leech beasts crawling toward them; they rush to the vertical chasm, shift shape and fly out to meet Daelwyn and Thelian at the lip of the deep chasm.
Daelwyn stares around, and notices shadowy forms near the ceiling of the great cavern, flitting about in the fog and shadows near the roof of the cavern. Thelian suggests that we explore the city; when he mentions a chance at treasure Jess agrees.
The journey is a few hours; the fog descends and the shadowy shapes fly lower with the sound of thunder. Eventually we reach the city; high walls like a frozen wave’s crest reach a hundred feet but are dwarfed by grand buildings and towers. The city is built of red ice, with some of the buildings over a thousand feet high.
Thelian hammers a line to release a portion of the wall, then charges a weakened section, snapping off a 50’ high ramp, leaving a sawtooth in the wall, and giving us a ramp down. It’s a loud crash, and brings the locals to the windows.They are something like gem elementals, standing in the city and towers — many colored, like rubies and diamonds held together in loose forms.
Daelwyn steps forward and calls out that we come in peace; they do not appear to understand. The Amethyst people stream beyond us up the city walls, largely looking beyond us into the cavern beyond — and up at the chasm we descended from Dis.
The towers are sheer and seem to lack entrances; around it are many smaller “homes” with entrances on the ground.
It is Amethyst Emerald after collecting its neighbor’s head, is more clearly able to communicate. They have a special knowledge; the hidden knowledge is known best by the people in the towers. Perhaps their head, traded to the people below, is what they seek? But there is no easy access to the high towers.
The gem people were trapped here, by the wall, by the people in the towers. Part of the knowledge that they sought was what is outside of the walls — Thelian’s smashing of the hole in the wall and the resulting ramp was a gift to them.
We decide to exit this place and its bitter cold; on the way Jess gets a good view of a long, snaky, white scaled creature. Its face is like a Lion or Wolf; it silently flows through the air, patrolling. It breathes out a huge cloud of fog and vapor.
The journey up is longer, and many supplies drop into the chasm and are lost; we’re all almost out of supplies. We’ll start next session debriefing the Wizards Dimov on Dis’s new neighborhood.