The next morning, FCG departed the vacant frost giant fortress, descended the icy slopes of Gelier’s peaks, and returned to the Tomb of the Worm. Upon their arrival, the party headed straight for the worm’s excavation site at the back of the cavern where they found Galgonos, the wormkin’s leader. Galgonos remained resolute in his refusal to send any of his tribe to join the Kryn until the worm had been freed. Prepared for this answer, Eris extended a hand toward Galgonos and laid it upon him, channeling her divine restoration capabilities into him. Galgonos seized and fell to the ground. This commotion drew the unified attention of literally every wormkin in the cavern, whose gaze was now trained, intently, upon Eris. Triple J’s silver tongue dissuaded the encroaching wild folk from any violent action, but could not break the tension in the air. Eris, whose focus was still on the now unconscious Galganos, noticed his breathing begin to slow and normalize. Eris also realized that the disgusting black veins protruding from Galgonos’ exposed face and neck were beginning to recede, losing their dark coloration simultaneously. Cautiously optimistic about their handiwork, FCG elected to wait in the cavern to see what would become of Galgonos rather than risk the wormkin’s ire by attempting to leave with him.
Less than an hour in to FCG’s vigil over Galgonos, the party heard the sound of voices followed by a brief scuffle coming from the cavern’s only entrance. Malcolm grabbed his blade and began heading in that direction while Endrin skirted along the cave’s walls and altered his appearance to resemble one of the wormkin, hoping to avoid any immediate attention. Shortly thereafter, a group of five individuals adorned in gray and black furs with grizzly brands, depicting daggers, on their faces, entered the cavern and engaged in conversation with the wormkin near the front. Malcolm drew nearer in an attempt to eavesdrop, and overheard the Bladescarred leader attempting to recruit the wormkin to their cause. The Bladescarred, however, were met with the same non-discriminating response that FCG had received, that the wormkin would not leave until the worm had been freed from the ice. This refusal angered the Bladescarred leader, who quickly grew more aggressive in his demands. Sensing a potential violent altercation, Malcolm made his presence known, claiming to be the defender of the wormkin. Eris and Triple J joined Malcolm in the conversation, peppering the Bladescarred leader with questions about their purpose and intent, while Endrin clung to the shadows preparing for the worst. With the attention of the full cavern now on him, the Bladescarred leader took the opportunity to offer power and purpose to all. He sang the praises of his master, the Black Wizard, and threatened all those that would oppose the coming storm with inevitable death. Despite the Bladescarred’s beguiling words, neither FCG nor the wormkin wavered. Frustrated, but unwilling to contend with the combined strength of the wormkin, who numbered around fifty, and FCG, the Bladescarred departed, vowing vengeance upon their return. As the Bladescarred left, Endrin poked his head out to watch, and noticed the band heading eastward.
Unsettled by the recent development, FCG gathered around Galgonos’ unconscious body once more to debate their next course of action. Triple J grew a bit distracted, however, as the malformed will of the worm entered his mind. Through the worm’s cryptic emotions, Triple J discerned that the worm was seemingly content with the recent events within the cavern. As Triple J pondered the thoughts of the worm, another, much more pleasant, voice slid into his mind. The voice introduced itself as Shadowhand Essek Thelyss and relayed a request from Triple J’s father, Shadowdancer Xavier Emberstone. The request was that FCG investigate Remnant activity in Eiselcross on behalf of the Dynasty and return to Vurmas for further instruction. Pleased that his father had followed up on Triple J’s intel from the night prior, Triple J relayed all of this information to the party. With the wormkin seemingly no longer a prerequisite for furthering their relationship with Vurmas’ leadership, FCG elected to depart for Vurmas immediately. Regretful that she was not able to aid more wormkin, Eris agreed, and the party exited the cave, unhindered, despite carrying Galgonos out with them.
A few hours into their journey north, Galgonos finally awoke. Frantic and confused, Galgonos recounted his dealings with the worm to the best of his abilities, informing the party that those who consumed the worm’s flesh were forced to succumb to it’s dark desires. Galgonos recalled that his wife might be among the wormkin and begged the party to return for her. Galgonos’ heartfelt pleas appealed to Eris’ benevolent nature, and thus, FCG doubled back to the Tomb of the Worm. As the party arrived another few hours later, they discovered that the cave along with its inhabitants had been put to the torch. Upon further investigation, the party noticed that there were only about half as many wormkin corpses as expected and that there were a great many snowy foot prints heading to and from the east. Eris and Galgonos attempted to spot Galonos’ wife amongst the bodies, but dared not enter too far into the collapsing cave, which was seemingly being rattled by the angered worm. Despite impending exhaustion, FCG left and trekked for another hour or so, just to put some distance between them and the foul cave.
The next morning, FCG enjoyed some fresh rabbit meat, thanks to Galgonos, and continued on toward Vurmas at walking pace. As the sun began its descent, the party spotted a herd of elk traversing the snow covered valley. FCG decided to attempt to capture a few of the elk so that they may use them as mounts and hasten their journey. Triple J stealthily approached the herd and let loose a hypnotic pattern, causing the majority of the herd to gallop away, but managing to incapacitate a few. Hurriedly FCG ran up to the stunned elk. As they began tying one up, the ground beneath them began trembling. A moment later, a large remorhaz burst forth from the ground below, hungrily biting one of the elk. FCG stood their ground and defended their prize against the creature. Malcolm was the first to engage the remorhaz head on, but quickly found himself seared by the creature’s burning blood and clenched tightly in its jaws. Endrin maneuvered around the creature, taking care not to damage his allies with his spells nor the creatures blood. Finally, Triple J’s psychic lance rendered the remorhaz incapacitated, allowing Malcolm to wrest himself free and Eris to deliver a fatal blow. The creature now slain, FCG was able to tame one of the wild elk with the help of Galgonos’ knowledge of local flora and fauna. With great speed, FCG then continued on their journey to Vurmas.
