You awake with a blinding headache, stripped naked save for a ragged robe, and tied securely hand and foot. You and your companions are propped up against one wall in the chamber with the divination pool. Directly in front of you is the pool and two of the giant snake-like yuan-ti abominations, one of whom holds a struggling dwarf. The rest of the room is crowded with lizardfolk and yuan-ti. One of the abominations begins to chant in a language you do not know, and the crowd responds with rhythmic hissing. The other abomination drags the dwarf forward, toward the pool, and raises a dagger. He begins to plead, shouting in desperation. "No, stop, I'm too valuable to sacrifice! I am Varram, white dragonspeaker of the Cult of the Dragon! Great wealth will be yours if..." His voice cuts off suddenly as the dagger flashes, and blood from a gaping wound across his throat gushes into the pool. A mist rises from the pool, and forms itself into images. You see yourself and the room around you, as if from above. In the image, the abominations slither over to your party, drag you to the center of the room, and chant a ritual as they cut out your hearts, one after the other. The scene fades, then re-forms into a huge, winged yuan-ti rising over the Serpent Hills. The viewpoint moves outward, and you can see that this is only one of many gigantic figures across the land. Among the others you recognize several of the gods of Faerûn. A great melee develops, god battling god. Then a mountain appears in the background, and a slow eruption sends lava flowing down its slopes. From the volcano rises a dragon, larger than any of the battling gods. The dragon has five heads, each one of the chromatic dragon colors, and these swiftly begin to devour the gods. The image zooms in close as the black dragon head devours the winged yuan-ti and roars in triumph. The chanting abomination and hissing crowd fall silent as the image fades. The two abominations confer in their sibilant tongue. One points at you as it speaks, and the other appears to agree. It approaches you, then speaks in Common. "The visssion you have witnesssed ssshowsss the resssult of your deathsss here and now. It cannot be allowed to come to passss. Dessspite your tressspasss, we therefore allow you to live and return to your own kind. But do not tessst usss. If we sssee you again, we will ssslay you without hesssitation." A nearly-human yuan-ti pureblood approaches and waves a foul-smelling potion under your nose. In seconds, you are once again unconscious, and when you awake you are lying on the ground outside of Diderius' tomb. Several snake-headed yuan-ti malisons stand near the tomb entrance, watching to ensure you leave quietly. In a pile nearby are minimal food and water supplies, and one weapon each so that you have a fighting chance against wild animals. All your other belongings are gone, taken by the yuan-ti as reparations for their losses. You gather your remaining gear and the shreds of your pride, and depart. The adventurers trek slowly through the Serpent Hills, retracing their path to the Boareskyr Bridge. A hill giant briefly delays the trip, but they safely reach Bolo's Tentside Inn at the bridge. There they are able to contact the Harpers and arrange a return to Waterdeep. The council is in recess, but the monk Leosin and paladin Frume listen to their tale. They are pleased that Varram is no longer a threat, though somewhat disappointed in the party's performance against the yuan-ti. Still, the cult has been dealt a blow with the loss of Varram, so the journey was a net positive. Everyone takes a few days to rest, recover, and equip themselves properly using funds from the treasure recovered from Skyreach Castle. When they have readied themselves, Dala Silmerhelve from the council brings them word of the Draakhorn . The magic instrument that provokes chromatic dragons has continued to sound, but the council has been unable to determine its position. Silmerhelve does know where it used to be, though - in the far north, in the Sea of Moving Ice. A tiefling sorcerer named Maccath the Crimson went in search of it three years ago, but she has not been heard from since. Perhaps the Ice Hunter people who live on the icebergs in the Sea will know of her fate, or that of the Draakhorn . Using the council's resources, the party outfits themselves in winter gear and boards the Frostskimmr , a ship made for sailing the icy waters of the north. A few days of uneventful sailing take them from Waterdeep to the Sea of Moving Ice, and the search begins in earnest. They spot groups of Ice Hunters, and bring the ship close to a group of their fishing boats. However, they are surly and uncommunicative...until George the bard sings them a ballad of life in the snowy north. After this incredible performance, the Ice Hunters reveal that their chief Barking Seal has commanded them not to speak with outsiders, and their families are hostage to their good behavior. But they will lead the ship to their home, as long as the ship waits overnight out of sight, so that the fishermen won't be blamed for revealing the location. This plan works to perfection and the Frostskimmr lands on a great iceberg the next morning. Most of the crew stays to guard the ship, while a translator and the adventurers make their way up onto an ice plateau. A grisly display of several enemies frozen in blocks of ice greet them, with the Ice Hunter village just beyond. The Ice Hunters themselves come out to confront the outsiders, led by Barking Seal. The chieftain is unhappy to see outsiders and commands them to leave. When the adventurers refuse, he issues a challenge: his champion versus one of the party. Bron accepts and makes quick work of the village champion, earning the party lodging in the village for one night. The villagers remain unwilling to talk, however. Induris spots several of the villagers going in and out of a cavern below the largest building, but is unable to determine what they are doing. The village shaman, Bonecarver, takes the adventurers in and offers them some of the Ice Hunter's food - slightly fermented raw fish. Most of the party declines, but George accepts her hospitality and earns a bit of her trust. She reveals that the village is under the control of the white dragon Arauthator, who lairs in the ice caverns below. The villagers provide food for the dragon's servants - kobolds, ice trolls, and ice toads - but have only limited knowledge of the caverns since they are allowed only in a few areas. She shows them another entrance to the caverns, away from the main village. She also apologizes to George, who has a violent reaction to the fish. The party rests for a night, to allow the bard to recover and ensure they are fully rested, before heading into the caverns. The caverns are freezing cold and the surface is icy, but their winter gear allows the adventurers to move in relative comfort as long as they don't sit still for too long. A group of kobolds spots them moving through the tunnels, but the party is able to silence them before they raise an alarm. A room full of frozen trophies of the dragon's victories catches their eyes, and they even find a chest full of gold. But prudence wins out over greed and they choose to leave it alone until the caverns are clear. A short time later they come across a chasm leading downward into an even colder area. After considering the options, they decide to head down to confront the dragon, before any more of his minions delay them. This doesn't quite work as planned, since they shortly come across two ice trolls in the lower cavern. But they are able to quickly defeat the trolls and burn the bodies without alerting Arauthator on the other side of the huge caverns.