Ischandi the Wise approaches Thekrian’s pulped body and welcomes it into the Wise.
Reborn, Thekrian becomes Ragnek, Ragnek the Wise.

Burying Yilla’s body and returning to his old home, Ragnek shares a fire with Waylind,  son of Torquil, Champion of Wrothmor. The two hit it off well.

Ragnek secretly invites Waylind on an adventure, knowing Torquil will disapprove.

But first, Ragnek is summoned back to Ischandi’s vale via the Rainbow bridge. Phazil has consulted a dreamer called Orlene of Bathelmy. She has received 3 visions. The first of a black bird flying high above the 3 lands that is suddenly snatched up in a huge claw; the second is of an eye, a single eye in the dark; the third is of an army marching out of Daig (or some other inhospitable place). Phazil takes these visions very seriously.
Ischandi then tells them about Daycaster and his relationship with Sacaster and the Scion. Soon, a very bleak picture begins unfolding.
Ragnek volunteers to travel north, into the Lost lands of Icegard. For his bravery, Ischandi tosses him The Asphyx Stone, but doesn’t tell him anything about it.
Phazil says he can enlist the aid of some heroes. A rendezvous is organized. 

Zeal and Major Bron are effected by Ragnek’s awe spell. Zeal in a big way!
As Ragnek enters the troll’s cell, Bastian orders the door locked, hoping the wounded beast will dismember his unwelcome guest. But instead, Ragnek heals the troll’s head wound and strikes up a conversation. He learns it is none other than Vader – Yailin Shukran of Orin, but without the spirit of Orin possessing it, a mere troll. As Ragnek leaves the cell, the troll seeks to leave too. When it can’t, the beast begins chanting and instinctively summons up a minor ice-elemental to freeze the door. 
Smashing out and grabbing a door as a shield, Vader flees, creating mist to cover his tracks. Ragnek casts Unbound on a wounded Major Bron, so the Major doesn’t remember it was him who healed the troll, then sets off in pursuit.

The troll gives Major Haggard and his men the slip, running out of the citadel and cutting the portcullis chains to slow pursuit. The Wise is suddenly confronted by yet more accusations and finds himself pressured into pursuing the beast. Haggard (who caught the beast in the first place) is furious. He grabs his 24 best men and leaves in pursuit. Ragnek however, short on POW, asks for 4 cows to be left outside the citadel for his sacrifices to Cairis while Waylind busies himself getting supplies.

After a bout of sacrificing, Ragnek rides after Haggard. The troll’s tracks stop suddenly through the use of the ice elemental, so Ragnek begins a sweep of the area, beginning due west towards the mountains. He quickly comes across its tracks and spots it in the distance.
Vader waves him over and they begin talking. They become friendly, to the point where the troll cuts off its right arm and activates a contingency ritual whereby it’s hand regrows and the spirit Oomasaat exacts 7 pints of blood in payment. Armed with the troll’s furs and its hand, Ragnek returns to Haggard and convinces him 
the beast is dead.

Ragnek returns to a hero’s welcome. He quickly decides to continue on his journey though, equipped with new supplies. Not far out of the town he finds Waylind – then Vader finds them both.
Forming a strange alliance (Vader wants girl trolls and food), the three set off for Gaeli.

“The Wise are back and things are getting better”, ironic quote from Zeal of Marith.

Filled with trepidation of what is to come, a very grumpy Ragnek wakes Waylind and Kyne, minutes before a loud booming comes from the main gates. Champions Gortte of Shawn and Tyrant of Norgrond, along with Red and Kris of Citadel North, enter Gaeli and are escorted to the town’s snow-hall. Dian goes too, but Kyne declines and goes back to bed with some porridge. Ragnek faces his party to be and begins spinning his tale as carefully as he can. It goes rather well, apart from with Red, who makes some demands of the Wise. She makes him promise to answer three questions about the Quest truthfully.

With his party agreeing to go, Ragnek has only to visit the village of Lorn and find a young man called Flick, whom Ischandi himself has highlighted as interesting. This simple task has been made a little awkward by the fact that nearly everyone now knows the Wise wants to find him.

Arriving at Lorn, Ragnek enters on his own. The first person he meets is Flick, who greets him with the young man’s customary bad temperament. Ragnek gains Flick’s attention by promising to make a love potion that will cause Martha to fall in love with him. Eventually though, it is Red who persuades Flick to come to the party’s camp, against his mother Clarese’s wishes. (Clarese did take a fancy to Ragnek however.)

When Tyrant attempts to clobber the young man, Flick miraculously dodges. Even after Gortte goes hunting after Flick with his bow, Gortte returns completely amazed and disappointed. Evidently, this young man is more than he seems, with the ability to move extremely fast whenever his life is threatened. Flick becomes enlightened to his potential and grudgingly agrees to accompany Ragnek into Tumog’s tunnel.
Even more surprising than Flick’s strange power of haste, is his Birthright. When Ragnek attempts to delve it, the only answer is “His parents haven’t been decided yet and his past doesn’t exist.”

Ragnek begins to comprehend the difficulties ahead.
In order to locate the tunnel, he first attempts to contact some local earth elementals.

The Ghost's of Winter
Happy to make some progress, Ragnek wanders back from his summoning cave. En route, an arrow narrowly misses his head and a strange white painted elf tries spearing him to death. Using a bolt of lightning, Ragnek blasts the elf to death instead.
The party goes on alert when Waylind is shot in the back by another arrow. Kris and Gortte fan out into the trees. Within minutes, Gortte has killed two and Kris wounded another. It comes to light that Waylind has planted one of Shyloom’s seeds in the Wood of Whispers. Red identifies the elves as “Ghost’s of Winter”, a small tribe / family of elves who live an isolated life in the wood; the wood Shyloom now owns. No wonder they are annoyed and have sworn vengeance against Waylind and his friends, they are now homeless. Ragnek says “Don’t do that again!”

Vengeance offers information on the Giants of Midgard. Four factions exist, but only one King, King Chagrin. Only one mage among the giants proves worthy of note, The Keylord or Magashori, he who knows all the paths of Underfall, the giant stronghold against Eldar Winter.
Exploring the tunnel, Ragnek and Red come up against a massive cave in. Caves refuses to take Red through it unless she reveals her spirit name to him. She obliges, calling herself the Spirit “Dawn.”

Ragnek explores his innate Wise knowledge, seeking information about Giantslayer. A Wise called Castel 4-500 years ago, lost it to the Giant King Hyxion. It’s last wielder was Champion Anric of Diamast, slain by the Giant Dogren about 310 years ago. Eventually, using Phazil and Elric to help, Ragnek learns that the sword was last known to be at the bottom of a mile deep lake, called lake Tar’taritus.

The Barrow of Dian
Red explores and comes across the Bone Barrow of Dian. As she is ethereal, she fails to perceive the Barrow’s guardians. She later dream-shift’s Ragnek to the tunnel, attracting the attention of two Bone Gaunts ; aka “Skahré". Ragnek flees, his only enlightenment coming from the feeling that these creatures are dead and once priestly.

The barrow is searched by Ragnek and Kris. Six magic items are recovered.

A gold ring of Mobility – inscribed with 3 triangles
An iron plated gauntlet of Palm Summoning, max range 75 feet
A square medium sized shield with animal embossing.
A Helm, very angular in appearance.
A skull hilted slender dagger, designed for impaling.
Finally, an old, well-worn but serviceable Sabre.

Cutter also knows about the Lost lands of Daydark and shares some interesting titbits;- Every village and town possessed an Anu (Guardian spirit). To not have an Anu, meant death, starvation, pestilence etc. The strongest Anu would watch over the citadels, with some even having other lesser Anu serving them.

Definitely getting suspicious about Gortte’s dark background, Ragnek manages to get another rite of revelation off, learning that Gortte’s parents were Radrik and Alexis and that he bears the destiny of  “Wise Killer”, an ominous sign.

The spirit Midnight, (whose name was once Elinda), senses the time has come to act. Centuries of merely watching from afar culminate in a few moments. She visits Ragnek with a proposition, aware that her action will have serious repercussions and damage the spiritual balance in existence. 

In order to make his journey safer, she offers to bestow the aid of the spirit Midnight. Not something to be taken lightly, as it is well known to Wise and spirit alike that Midnight is a potent and illusive spirit without measure. Midnight wants to return her “house” back to the lands of origin, the lands of Anu’taka, but can’t do that as a spirit. She is barred by the barrier. Hence, she has to “pass on” her house. Unlike other spirits who train and nurture beings to worthiness, Midnight decides to choose Gortte.
Ragnek allows her to proceed, as long as she blesses his staff. She grants him his request and places a Seed of Midnight within it. A one use seed that “will grow and consume.”

Gortte is lured out of the camp by Ragnek, then spiritually “raped” by Midnight, who promptly vanishes out of existence. The Champion collapses with Ragnek tending to him.
“You are destined to join the elite” says Ragnek, “You will know Time.”
At this same instant, the Spirit Prince Cantoninus senses a shift in Great House and fears the worst.

Exantin arrives and speaks to the Wise. It becomes clear that Exantin cannot remain linked to Gortte now Gortte’s spirit has changed so dramatically. Exantin bids farewell and crawls away without Gortte ever knowing the “truth” about him.
That morning, Ragnek holds a party meeting to discuss Vader and the tunnel. Gortte does not awaken. The Wise learns that Gortte is very ill. When he gets the Champion into darkness, Gortte begins to recover, spending the rest of the day in a dark ruined room of the old citadel.
With protection spells in place, Ragnek and Red seek out Vader’s hiding place, approximately 2 miles distant. Vader has been stalking the party for days, but after encountering the Fey of Winter became seriously wounded killing four of them and gnawing their bones clean.

Ragnek manages to convince Vader of his sincerity and friendship, but doesn’t allow the troll to take Red as its woman, a big disappointment all round. 

When Ragnek and his party are about to cross the Great Barrier, Ischandi appears in all his glory to wave them off. Ischandi the Wise, white staff, amulet around his neck of complex moving symbols and patterns, shaped like a sphere.

“Stop and be measured by destiny, for I Ischandi, Father Eternal, will it so.”
“Know this, you stand at the brink of the world, ready to plummet into the long lost past, or rise into uncertain futures. You are each and every one my children, messengers of light and dark. Choose now wisely; turn back or go on, and by going on, never return.

I meant what I said. The choice is each of yours, turn back now, or go on. Time does not wait for even me, so choose and be quick about it. Destiny would leave you no choice, but I am its master for these few moments only.

What befalls you beyond, I cannot say.
Ragnek;- I have no reassurance for you.

1 Tyrant;- If you remain here, no doubt you will marry and grow old.
3 Flick;- If you remain, you will grow forever restless and die without purpose.
4 Waylind ;- If you remain, you will find love, but no peace.
5 Roselyne ;- If you remain, you will live the life of a tree, not a girl.
6 Red ;- If you remain, you will never understand.
7 Kris ;- If you remain, you will live as a Lord. A ruler of men.

I hereby banish you all, body and soul, to Daig and beyond. Let nothing hinder you behind, but fate spur you on to fulfillment of prophecy!

And so, Ragnek, at this forbidden juncture, I take my leave and send you forth as a son amidst the wolves. Never to return, for so long as the sky is sundered and dayfire’s burn. Your task is this, put an end to what I cannot.
You have the Hand of  Midnight, Midnight’s Heir, The Door of Dawn, The Lost and Time’s arrow as guides. Other instruments of prophecy will reveal themselves within fate’s tapestry as and when. 
Let this land of Doom no longer restrain you. Let you wander now and forever more in untold places at the edge of the World. For you will journey through Daig and beyond before your soul finds rest in the sacred lake. No more the solace of Cairis by your side, no more the name Wise, but now Ragnek Stormcrow, Wizard of Day. Put your past behind you, for you are twice reborn."

Ischandi strikes Ragnek with soul-fire, severing his connection with the other Wise.
With that he snaps his staff and hurls them across the chasm via a huge explosion and starry comet.

The Tower of Day
Then Ragnek feels a strange compulsion to climb the mountains. With his ring as a brilliant aid to “walking” up the steep slopes, he journeys for several hours until coming to a wind swept plateau. Reaching into his robe he finds a strange multi-colored ice crystal shard. As he buries it in the ground, the plateau begins to shake and a miraculous Tower grows out of the wind, ice and snow.

Kizzik, aka “Brave” the war hawk. Familiar to Daycaster. “Died trying to carry the sun.” Of Draze and Kulga. Crushed to death. Calls Ragnek - Daycatcher.
Kizzik bonds with Ragnek in a primative spiritual “pecking” ritual.

Whilst exploring Red & Kryss ask about Lords, rulers, population, towns, land.
Red ethereally visits 3 places.  First place, Bandor, S. Icegard
2nd place, Dyast, Dim-dale. 3rd place, Toxeth, (on top of a small cliff in Icegard.)

Ragnek and Rosalind explore the henge and find the helm of a Mist Wraith called Vandark from Doom. Enough of Vandark’s spirit still occupies the helm to be dangerous, so Ragnek buries it again. 

Kryss and Red explore Dyast in Dim-Dale where they meet Manfred and Askir and pick up some food and old clothes for Ragnek. Despite getting the supplies they want, Red and Kryss are shunned as outsiders by the “all black haired” population. Nearest keep is Keep Candor.

Ragnek promises to make an axe for Tyrant that will have “Blood & Death” engraved upon it.

Ragnek and Rosalind perform Ragnek’s very own (and original) ritual of Pastures. The ritual culminates in one of Shyloom’s seeds being planted in the center of the area effect and a sapling sprouting up after only one day.

Red and Kryss explore Bandor in Southern Ice Gard. Bandor has an outer wall of wood around the base of its hill. The leader there is Valran the Rightful, a man known for his laws and fairness. Bandor’s population is 165. Its military strength comprises 20 twenty soldiers stationed 5 miles away at Ridgeway and 15 trained militia men at Bandor itself. In addition to this, Bandor has 3 trained soldiers currently on leave with their families. The hill village has a problem at the moment with Wastrolls (short for Waste-trolls). A family of five Wastrolls are stealing cattle and terrorizing the farmers. However every time someone goes out to track them, they lose the trolls near Garik’s Gorge.

Red and Kryss approach Valran at Bandor’s gate. Kryss is asked how good a warrior he is and demonstrates by throwing the spear and summoning it back with his gauntlet. Valran and his friends are overwhelmed, instantly inviting Kryss (and Red, who they ignore) inside. They ask Kryss to get rid of the Wastrolls.

That night, Ragnek dreams of his other half Crow. Storm has been busy exploring but had a few accidents. He describes getting snared in a “Dream Swamp” where he became trapped as Thekrian and abused. He also shows Ragnek how he can dream objects to his hand, like a crude map. Ragnek fills Crow in on all of his news – and there’s a lot of it.

After a little chat, Waylind and Landen challenge each other to a running contest which results in both men spraining their ankles and Landen’s bow breaking. Escorting the boastful tracker back to his old camp, Landen  shows them to a nearby bolt-hole. After shooting a troll with one of his arrows, it escape him into the gorge’s cave system.
To Landen’s horror, Ragnek illuminates his staff and follows Tyrant, Waylind and Kryss into the narrow tunnel. Landen hobbles off to meet up with Red and Rosalind, unwilling to risk his life in the caves.
Ragnek protects himself with a stoneskin spell. They all emerge into a roughly circular room with a hole in the ceiling about 6’ high. When Tyrant pops his head up, a troll clobbers him across the helmet. Coming up with a quick-fire fire, Tyrant gets Ragnek to toss up two torches as a distraction so that Kryss and Waylind can hoist and “catapult” him through the hole, axe at the ready. It doesn’t quite work as Tyrant is too heavy, but he does manage to score a blow on the troll. In moments both Tyrant and the troll are fighting. Kryss goes up next, unable to use his spear straight away, so opting for a knife. As Ragnek is coming up however, Tyrant falls backwards and gets stuck in the hole, sending Ragnek and Waylind sprawling. The troll then body-slams Tyrant just before Kryss grabs his spear and severs its head.

Late afternoon. Ragnek and his troll-hunters continue their exploration of the gorge’s caves. After entering several other entrances they find the remains of cows and sheep. Further into one of the tunnels they come across a large boulder that has been rolled 

Rumours from Bandor...
Lord Bastil sent three peace emissaries to Lord Jackal of Dim Dale, but they proceeded to try and kidnap Jackal’s daughter Haleen. (It is well known that Haleen is quite a stunner). The kidnap was foiled by one of Jackal’s warriors who raised the alarm. Jackal cut the men down himself.

The trolls are apparently massing in the southwest. They are said to have a new troll leader.
If they amass like fifty years ago, the Lord will have to cull them.
A revolt was recently led in Goron’s mines. Fifteen guards were slain by a one armed man.
Lord Bastil will hold a public execution on All Shadow’s eve. On the agenda will be the death of four infamous thieves and murderers and enemies of the land. Askin littlehands. Theon the butcher. Ladry of Eyelon and Kicsk of Dark-moon.
The family of Ispin of Lythkin is cursed. They all became blind overnight because Ispin’s son refused to marry a girl from outside the village.
A two-headed cow was born to Hurnel the Cowherd in Shafan. 

I dream of Stormcrows
Ragnek and Crow discover something else about their predicament. As Ragnek can go to sleep in the tower and awake in the dream tower, so can Crow dream himself as a “daydream” into the real world’s tower. However, as a daydream, he cannot effect anything, only see and interact with Ragnek. This is demonstrated when Ragnek tries introducing Crow to Cutter and the boy spirit fails to perceive him.

Tyrant;
Father Sabad of  Rysark… a womanizing barbarian who had no time for 
Children, only drink and battle.
Mother Evesa of Histan (small village in N.Rysark). Quiet, gentle woman who 
hated Sabad.
Strange blessing - The Skin of Mandragora.

Waylind;
Strange blessing – In the hand of fate.

Party passes by 6 villages in final stage of journey. Ar-gror, An-Dran, En-Kale, Er Kost, An-Dell, Landmag.
The 4 main Keeps around Ice-Gard are;- Troll Mount, Crystal Keep, Mist Horn, Black Wall. Each contains 250 soldiers and 10 trolls.

They encounter a patrol of 6 guards headed by Soldier Amburgin. Ragnek charms the pants off them, so Amburgin (sporting some nice scale armor), tries persuading them to join the military.
Roselyne asks "What are Gods?" - A lengthy Ragnek Creation story ensues. Everyone listens intently as the former Wise reveals a load of useless (but quite juicy) info.

Orikeen is a medium sized citadel environment, set in a bowl shaped valley, hemmed in one all sides by steep hills. The majority of buildings are gathered around a fresh water mountain lake. The northern embankment is a series of quarried of cliffs and natural caves from which miners still dig silver, gold and a lot of iron. For defense, Orikeen has a small wooden palisade, a series of dug pits and spikes driven into hill-sides (against cavalry). Orikeen has never had to fend off much of an assualt. If an invading force comes anywhere near, the Orik's flee west, higher into the mountains. They have a series of bolt-holes and temporary camps that are regularly maintained. 

The 6 Elders of Orikeen… (6 Great Families descended from the original miners who settled here.) All live in large Gathering Halls, normally housing 100 people.
Forets 2 sons, 3 daughters, Warrior - Thalex Axebeard. Son Luke (boisterous)
Stamar 5 sons, 1 daughter, Warriors - Nadir Stonethrower.
Thorin 11 sons, 5 daughters, Had 3 wives - Warrior Kren of the Hold.
Milore (Normal) 1 son, 4 daughters, Daughter Li'ke. Seth Jagged tooth. Son Colt. (17.5 blonde)
Stoge 3 sons, Warrior Martin of the Big sword
Turage no sons, 2 daughters Kim and Wist (aged 15 and 17) 

Orikeen is also renowned for its 3 seers. (All of which come to Svorn for advice on major problems.)
Seer Pater, Seer Yoref, and Seer Lown.
Svorn (alias Sovereign, Spirit of Manipulating Destiny) is an old man living in Foret's Gathering hall.
Healing woman Eisla.
Healing man Vaste.

Ragnek calls Kizzik down into the town.
As soon as Ragnek enters Eldar Milore's gathering hall seeking shelter for the night, an old crinkly man accosts him, claiming to be his cousin Svorn. Playing along with the old goat, Ragnek learns Svorn is in fact Sovereign - Spirit of Cheating Destiny - Spirit of Kings. Sovereign lays his plans on the line, telling Ragnek that he ultimately wants the Wizard's body as it is young and potent while his own is fragile and about to croak. In return for Ragnek's assistance in these matters and those of the Witches, Sovereign gives over his most sacred possession - the Orb of Kings, Tier Ethos, saying just how potent and useful it is but being typically vague and annoying in the process.

Red's encounter with Lumar
Ragnek is drawn to a ruckus taking place nearby. A crowd has gathered to watch an irate pale man whipping a young 9 year old girl, (Demina) for getting under his feet.
Ragnek doesn't intervene, but Red can't help herself. She verbally insults the loon, making him even more angry. "How dare you look at me !" he cries (Common women keeping their head's bowed at all times in public). He demands she be his that night… his intention is to rape her, then beat her for her insolence.
Red is fuming, but hatches a plan. All the while, Ragnek is distracted by a nice white stallion nearby, (belonging to Lumar and his father, Elder Turage). This horse (42,42 enc) is a spirited, fine beast. It has a bloody good POW too, weighing in at 18.

Wizard on a string
Svorn's orb "Tier Ethos" begins throbbing, leading Ragnek up to a nearby prison. After talking his way past a guard, the Wizard meets two heroic imprisoned men, Mace (a brash, single-minded warrior type) and Trick (a depressed young thief).
Within minutes, Mace escapes his cell, pummeling the guard unconscious. Ragnek quickly leaves to find Red and bring her back, telling Mace and Trick to stay put. He isn't sure who these two young men are, except that they're obviously important to the strange Elven Orb.

When Red first sees Mace, she almost feints… "Pivocal !" says Ragnek, in response to her gasp outside, "He's North! How can this be?"
Upon Ragnek’s urging, Red dreamshifts Trick and Mace to Garik’s gorge, telling them to wait until she returns.

That night, Ragnek tells 3 tales.
Story of Tyrant who becomes Lord FrostBane.
Story of the Sword of Justice, Shield of Pageants and Champion Thren.
Story of Rionthek the Mist Wraith - "A tale of Horror"

Tyrant gets very drunk and rages at an overturned table, "I'm Tyrant, I'm Tyrant, I'm Tyrant!" before passing out.
Ragnek begins to regret his stories; they provoke a strong reaction from the audience who have never heard anything quite like them before.

After Lumar sends a guard to claim Red, she spends the night with him. She convinces him that she is a witch, by using her supernatural strength and muttering strange words. He craps himself in fear and agrees to be her toady. This is what she learns…

Staknalis never leaves the island. He once bit someone's face off when the man refused him something. 
Some of the prettiest young girls have been vanishing recently. People think it might be him.
Men are coming from Ice Gard in the next couple of days, to see the 3 seers.

The chosen men who left for the Winter camps last summer are due back at the end of this winter. They are in training.

They say Staknalis is the son of a witch.
The Elders are locking up their daughters, but to no avail.
Praying at the odus stones does nothing.
There have been a lot of strangers in Orikeen recently.
Last week a priest of Kin passed through. He was not received well, but in fear. Fear of Staknalis knowing and telling the witches. Elder's Stoge and Turage are very loyal to Stak. They report anything unusual. The priest went east to Ice Gard. He carried a sword and appeared quite old, with gray hair.

Red later arranges to meet Lumar outside of Orikeen with the white horse. 

A Spiritual Summons - A Call to War
Mid morning - Nothing is easy for Ragnek; The Wizard receives a summons from Keos and pretending to meditate, travels ethereally to where Keos is camped. The Spirit rabbits on about his philosophy while brutally killing 3 bandits, then asks Ragnek to divine a large gemstone he possesses. Ragnek agrees, but only after the Spirit reveals things about Sovereign’s orb and plans.

Ragnek divines the strange red gemstone as a 1210 year old Dragon’s heartstone – The Heartstone of Yalakah. Keos intends on giving it back to his “son”.
Ragnek and Keos part on awkward terms; War is beginning to show his lack of humanity and that troubles Ragnek.

When Lumar turns up with the White horse, Ragnek and Red accost him; Red sends him running back to the town with a cock and bull story about being attacked by bandits. Lumar is absolutely terrified of her.
Ragnek gets to know the horse, carrying out a Birthright and sensing it’s horse name, “Cloud wind”.
In the mood for Birthright’s, when Ragnek visits Trick and Mace at the gorge, he divines Mace’s background too. Mace comes up as a very strange individual (not just because he looks like North).

“Poo is about to slide down slope towards us !” – Ragnek to Keos of War.

Ragnek and Red meet up with the others; one by one Red begins dreamshifting them back to the vale, but something goes wrong during Ragnek’s turn. The Wizard ends up somewhere completely different – about a mile away from the southern side of the Midnight Wall in March.
Ragnek notes the abundence of Air elementals around the wall, giving it a wide berth and heading east.
After many hours he sights some horsemen carrying spears. He hides and lets them pass, then continues on to a nearby wood. In the safety of the trees he takes out the Golden Orb and attempts to scry with it. At first the orb’s EGO slips and slides out of Ragnek’s mental grasp, but then the Wizard pins it down with his vice-like mind and forces it to show him Red.

Red happens to be speaking with Gortte about ways of finding Ragnek. The wizard tries summoning the Spirit Dawn (i.e Red), but she doesn’t seem to respond. This could be because of the magic resistant shell around her… When he tries Gortte as the Spirit Midnight he has more success.
Gortte materializes in an eclipse-like effect, sword at the ready. Seeing Ragnek he relaxes, but is quickly caught up with the Wizard’s discovery; the Midnight Wall seems to have special significance to the Spirit Midnight – it begins triggering unconscious memories that shed light on Midnight’s nature and history.

Ragnek then tests the warrior’s resistance to fire by lighting a stick and holding it below his arm. Tyrant seems immune, but not to Ragnek’s blessed Moon-fire flame.

Ragnek’s week in the tower begins. He intends on studying the 3 ice circles and all the symbols around the top of the tower, looking for patterns or revelations.

There are two ways he can get them there.
1) By getting the trolls to provide an escort from Ice Gard to Ice Reach.
2) By learning how to land his bridge close enough and ferrying them out that way instead.

Each way has its problems - Ragnek discusses them with Red and later with his dream half, Stormcrow. Red suggest using her ability (whilst ethereal) to sense distance and direction of her body via her astral cord as a way to pinpoint the bridge's location relative to the tower. Ragnek is suitably impressed as it will solve his problems with the bridge.

Tyrant will enter the citadel as a slave and rally the people to him as only a champion can. Tyrant will also serve as Lord of Ice Reach under Ragnek's keen eye - a thing that Tyrant is more than willing to do if it means sitting on some sort of throne-like chair, drinking and womanising a lot.

Midday
Red drops Tyrant off at Ragnek's tower before heading to Ice Gard and Iner.

Tyrant accepts Ragnek's proposed plan to rescue the humans. But it all depends on whether Iner can control the trolls. The last time Red was there the young man was having problems; several trolls had already been injured and a couple killed in intertribal conflicts.

1pm
Red returns to Ragnek's tower with news about Iner and the trolls. Approaching Iner she asked him what was going on and he replied, "Nothing." Referring to the trolls and their squabbling he replied, "Now is not the time. They need to fight a little longer."

Disturbed by the young man's obvious contradictions - innocent and quiet spoken yet wise beyond his years, Ragnek and Red decide to follow Iner's wishes and wait till early evening (not that there are many hours of daylight at the moment).

Without wasting any time, Red drops Tyrant off in Ice Gard. With white dye to cover his golden hued skin and old clothes on his back, the giant Champion steals his way close to a work gang and its single slave master. Grabbing the slave master by the throat and starting a fight he is amazed when several slaves actually try and stop him. In the end he allows himself to be subdued (the punches and kicks having no effect on his Skin of Mandragora). After a passing curse along the lines of "You'll never get me back in those slave pits alive!" he finds himself exactly where he wants to be, manacled and thrown into the slave pits.

7pm.
Red visits Iner again. This time Iner is lifted above the arguing troll horde by Gichek of the Tarma. Raising the Heart of Yalakah above his head, Iner shouts and draws all the attention.

"Together you can destroy Ice Gard. Together you can rescue your brothers and sisters. Together you shall be unstoppable. Bring forward the weakest of you from each tribe. Let me prove to you that with my aid, even the weakest can defeat the greatest."

After a lot more arguing the trolls eventually settle on a dozen or so weak trolls. Iner selects whom he thinks is the weakest - a snivelling cowardly wimp of a troll that stands out from the rest.

"This troll here can beat the best of you. Why? Because he knows as I know that the Troll Nation is strong, fierce and determined."

With that the troll begins attacking the greatest and largest of the assembled trolls. As Iner watches from behind Samahan's huge shoulders, the weak troll obliterates the others proving his point to even the most stubborn.

7.30pm.
Ragnek uses Tier Ethos to scry Tyrant and then Iner. A little later Red arrives at his Tower bringing news of Iner's miraculous handling of the trolls.

Ragnek and Red decide that enough's enough. They must know what Iner is planning - First stop, Keos Spirit of War.
Ragnek travels out of his body to visit the flesh-bound spirit in a Hall of Dark Moon. Keos has been celebrating a victory there with some of its warriors.

When Ragnek asks what Keos' plans are, Keos denies having anything to do with the plans. "Ask Iner. I am an instrument bent to his will. He is the Heart of War, I am the Sword."

Displaying his full, unshielded spiritual might (just to put Keos in his place), Ragnek turns to leave. "A word of warning," Keos adds with a grim smile. "Do not try bending Iner's will to your own."
"You have my word," Ragnek replies, smiling devilishly.

Ragnek and Red then travel to see Iner. They find the boy calmly sat down (as if waiting for them). "My plan?" asks Iner, contemplating his visitors with calculating eyes. "My plan is this - "

Iner outlines his plan to conquer the whole of the Northland. When has finished, Red can't fail to be staggered by his audacity.
First he will unite the trolls and free their kin. Then the trolls will disperse into the icy wastes. After a week of so he will call them together again and begin their training. With one victory behind them Iner will convince them that nothing can stand in their way. Then they will split into three groups, ready for Ice Gard's retribution.

Ice Gard will undoubtably send troops to cull the trolls, expecting to find them in small isolated tribes. When the soldiers are well and truly committed, Iner will call his three groups back together, surround the soldiers and wipe them out.

With Ice Gard weakened, Iner expects the balance to shift to Dark Moon and Dim Dale. Both lands will want to take advantage of Ice Gard's weakness and invade. After a time one side will take Ice Gard but at great cost.

Iner will then move the trolls to Dark Moon, attack and free all of Dark Moon's slaves, then obliterate Dark Moon itself.
Dim Dale may not ally with March but if it does, Iner intends on using the Wolfen against Dim Dale (as the Wolfen hated and despised the Shadows almost as much as the Witches of Arun.)

Eventually Iner plans on ridding the entire northland of "evil." A bold plan if ever there was one.

What of the Witches?
Iner doesn't believe they will interfere as long as he keeps his fight to trolls and humans. The witches like games, especially those where people die. Of course if Ragnek goes ahead with his plan to liberate the human slaves, the witches may be less than friendly to one of Ragnek's allies - a good reason for Iner to go carefully.

Scouting in IceGard
9pm.
Red checks on Tyrant. Even though he cannot "see" her she manages to gleam the following information.

Tyrant has made contact with several slaves. One slave, called Mynbar has already tried using Tyrant as a punch-bag. The Champion has made short work of him - breaking his arm and hurling him up through the roof of the cell !

The guards are calling Tyrant an absolute "monster" and are actually afraid of him. Tyrant has ended up in manacles after running at the wooden holding bars and smashing them all down.

9.30pm.
Gort continues his exploration of the main Citadel. Unfortunately he thinks he is glimpsed by two guards but manages to evade them by dropping off a 30' wall and landing in the gloom. Gort breaks his ankle during the fall but lurks around the citadel until midnight when he heals himself - something he has just discovered he can do; the Spirit Midnight knows Gort perfectly, his mind and body. It has sampled his being and he is its host.

She looks up in his direction but he drops out of sight.

2am.
StormCrow visits Ragnek's tower.
He gives Ragnek more information on the internal layout of Ice Gard's citadel - including 3 other important things.

1) A secret passage existing between the Women's bedroom's and Lord Bastil's personal chambers. "I happened to blast a few holes while I was there…"
2) A chamber in Lord Bastil's room's containing a floor-based pentagram and ritual circle.
3) A Secret compartment in one of the main hall's statues. Inside he found a space to crouch and spy out of.

While exploring Ice Gard, Storm Crow felt a presence pass him by. He experienced a definite feeling of dread and knew it meant him ill. At that point, during his second day of looking around, he decided to call it quits and hop back home to the tower. He did not go near the Witch Temple.

3am.
Red physically returns to the trolls. Targus is awake. He counts 980 trolls gathered nearby - slightly less than expected but still 10 times more than ever before!

Red spends some time talking to Targus about tactics, troll training, weapons and battle formation. Targus is amazed with her knowledge. She tells him the tale of North and the Evermore War.

7am.
Ragnek completes the ink required for Unseen ritual. He can now commence the ritual but will need all those taking part to be in his tower.
Red returns to Ragnek's tower to report on the night's activities and pick up the Wizard's latest orders.

1pm.
Ragnek begins the six hour Ritual Unseen. When he completes it at 7pm, a symbol burns upon his forehead, then fades. From this point on, everyone ignores Ragnek - They "see" him but think he is unimportant (save vs 15th level mental)

In the meantime, Iner continues to gather his trolls for the attack. At approximately 6.30pm a group of trolls led by Uoghua of the Dule tribe travel through the caves underneath Icegard and climb up into the Citadel's Winter stores. Once there they begin making a lot of noise and smashing barrels, drawing the attention of nearby guards. The guards raise the alarm and within moments a horn sounds out across the Citadel.

As soon as the horn sounds, Tyrant flexes his massive biceps and snaps the manacles around his wrists and ankles. With his limbs free, he breaks out of his pen and silently releases the prisoners he has befriended over the last day. Seeing Tyrant as a larger than life hero of old, the slaves naturally rally to him.

Accompanying Iner and the trolls are Waylind, Kryss, Mace and Red. Though they try and keep together in the heaving mass of furry bodies, the sheer ferocity of the troll charge causes them to be separated.
After stampeding up Ice Gard's tunnel to its inner gatehouse, the trolls spend three minutes smashing down the titanic metal reinforced gates. During this time the Pale men of Icegard struggle sluggishly to respond to the threat. They manage to muster 150 troops to stand against the trolls (expecting 70 at most!). When the gates give way and the trolls spill through, nothing can save the Pale men from being crushed and smeared against the courtyard's narrow walls.

Meanwhile Ragnek has passed unseen among the Pale folk and their common people. Having clambered up into the Winter Stores and walked with impunity through the Citadel's wide open inner gates he has begun pulling back bolts and bars on the gates to help speed the trolls advance. As the trolls gain entry into the Citadel's outer yard, Ragnek takes up position on top of a wall in the inner yard (east of section ) to watch the battle.

10 minutes into the attack the trolls have smashed their way by sheer momentum all the way through to areas C, B and A ;the troll and human slave pens.

Tyrant has been busy inside the human pens, releasing his fellow prisoners and attacking the small guard presence with his indomitable fighting skills. Taking three soldiers down with his bare hands, Tyrant dons what armor and clothes he can find that fits and begins equipping his followers.

Ragnek (from a vantage point by one of the inner walls) witnesses Tyrant leave area B through its northern gate and shout at a group of nearby guards. "Quick, the prisoner's are escaping. Help me secure the gate!"
As soon as the guards arrive near him, Tyrant smashes one against the wall, head butts another and pulps a third with a blunt headed flail before dragging the bodies back into B and stripping them of armor and weapons.
Now able to defend against any minor offensives, Tyrant and the prisoners sit back and await the arrival of the troll horde - their unlikely liberators.

The trolls begin shouting "Tasty humans" and dismembering Pale troops left right and centre. Just to add to the shock and horror they toss limbs, heads and internal organs over occupied walls generating waves of unbridled panic among IceGard's indiginous population. No sooner than the troll slaves are released, the horde turns into complete chaos. Overwhelmed and consumed by bloodlust and hunger, the troll slaves begin attacking anything that moves (including Tyrant's human prisoners). There are several fatalities before Gichek takes charge of the situation, grabbing a blazing torch and clambering on top of a wall. Hollering with all his might, the troll hero sounds the retreat and the horde begins trickling its way back to the tunnel and out.

As part of the plan, Samahan's trolls (who can be trusted not to get peckish) gather up the weak human prisoners in their huge arms and make their escape, adding further substance to the troll's cries of "Tasty humans". The folk of IceGard are now completely convinced the trolls have come for food and that the fate of the slaves is a grim one.

Mace and Waylind take a detour
During the retreat, Mace is knocked out by a stone thrown down from one of the walls. When he awakens, the trolls have gone and he is alone. Without thinking he makes a break for it and tries fighting his way out, only to be brought down by four Pale folk soldiers and dragged away.

Similarly Waylind is left behind when the trolls and prisoners make their escape. Suddenly separated from his friends and confronted by two rampaging trolls hell bent on slaughter Waylind ends up fighting for his life and running from the very creatures he entered with. Luckily he runs straight into a squad of IceGard soldiers who kill the trolls. But before he know its, Waylind is fighting alongside the human soldiers of IceGard, picking up bits of armor to help keep him alive and making friends with two of them called Argo and Slavo.

The Best laid plans of trolls and troll dung
As the last of the trolls heads out of IceGard and into the safety of the snow covered plain, Kryss remains by the southern tunnel entrance waiting for Waylind and Mace (unsure whether they are still inside or lost among the wild troll horde), keeping the Palemen soldiers at bay. He warns them off with his lethal Weaving Spear, skewering half a dozen on its magical tip before eventually giving up and running.

Back inside the Citadel Ragnek uses his Destiny orb to scry events transpiring around him. Before he sees much he snaps back to alertness, witnessing the passing of 8 dark red robed females and 8 dark red armored female guards. He overhears the guards nearby muttering, "Witches," and gets a fix on one of the women with his orb - for future scrying.

Using his orb, Ragnek sees Red carrying Iner (who has received a moderate head wound and seems unconscious) and Tyrant (peppered with arrows but otherwise alert and extremely dangerous looking) wielding a battle axe and hand axe.

Agent Waylind reports
He then sees Waylind, dressed as a soldier of IceGard marching single-file into a huge hall, edged with sixty foot high pillers of ice. Coming in at the back of over 200 human soldiers and 40 Pale folk soldiers, Ragnek sees Waylind standing on his tip toes trying to listen and see what is happening at the other end of the hall.

As Ragnek doesn't have to stay focused on Waylind, he "hops" the attention of the orb along the gathered soldiers until he reaches the front and focuses on Hurin Havoc - IceGard's fearsome General.

Cry Havoc and let slip the Trolls of War
An immense 7' tall Pale man (almost Tyrant's evil twin), Havoc cuts through the gathering with a voice like sharpened steel. Wearing full armor and flanked by two monstrous War trolls wearing chainmail, helms and wielding giant axes, Havoc certainly captures Ragnek's attention. Here is the enemy, someone to be reckoned with.

After giving a rousing speech in which Havoc makes it clear he will not allow the outrageous attack on IceGard to go unanswered, he swells (armor included) in size until he stands just over 12 feet tall. "The trolls will be fat and full from feasting and easy targets, unable to run. Our army will march from these gates and slaughter them  before this night is out." Ordering Major Kerece and the Advocate Trumire to carry out the necessary preparations, Ragnek then witnesses Havoc march to a single tower and climb its stair to see Lord Bastil.

Bastil is sat playing a game of marbles in a sparse, cold looking room at the top of the tower. He appears disinterested with the events transpiring in his citadel. He lets Havoc make the decisions and organize pursuit. As Havoc leaves the tower he turns to his two Fey'de'ke troll henchman and mutters, "One day." In answer one of the trolls replies, "whenever you order General."

Facts and Figures
Number of human refugees to make it out ;-
345 men
89 women
13 children
8 old folk
Total = 455

Some of the refugees ;-
Luke, age 30, widowed. Strong.
Manneg, age 36, woodsman, dab hand with an axe.
Wilima, age 29, good cook. Cheerful and round.
Saul, age 10 – think’s Tyrant is fantastic! A real hero.

Many of the prisoners are calling Tyrant the Golden Man. Some think he is a hero of old whilst others think he is leading them to death. 

Number of Troll refugees to make it out ;-
110 trolls of indistinguishable origin / sex. These trolls have been badly abused during their slavery in IceGard and are justly mistrustful of humans - it's a case of kill on sight.

Casualties in IceGard
67 Common folk died (58 of them killed directly by trolls and the rest crushed in the panic.)
111 Soldiers of IceGard were mortally wounded in the troll attack and another 173 injured, unable to fight.
No KrystalGard or Fey'de'ke were injured or slain. Of note, one well liked pale man sergeant called Yosh and another human lieutenant called Vlichak were dismembered and trampled.