As they ventured north and a little west from Riven following the Dragonspine mountain range that party started encountering snow. The ruins they were heading towards were near the north pole in Archanella. Kainith and Rance wrapped their faces in a soft woolen scarf they had bought from the Riven marketplace before setting out on the adventure.

“We’re gonna freeze out here!” Rory shivered.

“Rory, why didn't you buy more winter clothing? You knew we were heading towards the arctic.” Kainith chastised.

“Guy’s stop bickering, I might have a solution.” Lucian mused. Lucian grabbed the blue gem out from under his shirt and whispered an incantation. As he finished the arcane words a rapidly expanding bubble of warmth stretched out around the party.

“Wait, what did you just do?” Rance stated as he unwrapped the scarf that covered all of his face except for his eyes.

“When I first got to Archnella I was cold all of the time. So, in my free time and when we would travel I worked on changing a fire spell I know to act as a personal heat source. I just used some of the blue gems juju to help me expand it to all of us and to make it so it was less strain on me to maintain.” Lucian explained.

“Wait, you can craft spells?” Kainith said in disbelief.

“I mean, yeah.” Lucian said with a confused look on his face. “It works the same way for me as it does for you! You can change instruments and still cast the same spells. Just instead of an instrument all I have is this, “ Lucian said as he pointed to the middle of his chest.

“I guess you’re right!” Kainith said excitedly. “I mean I have never messed with changing spells. I always play the same chords on whatever instrument I'm in, but maybe I can craft newer spells and change them more than I think.”

The party continued to move on the snow now melting around their feet. As the day wore on and dark purples started to overcome the one whitish blue sky the party could now see the dragon's spine mountain range dropping and becoming more of a range of hills and less of a range of mountains. Before the sun fully set the warm group of adventurers could now see how intimidating the Frozen Wastes could really be as the endless expanse of snow and ice stretched in all directions. The party continued for a couple more hours until they needed light to navigate by and they made the decision to set up a campsite.

“Here.” Rory said pointed at the ground. “This is where we will set up the campsite. Lucian, can you maintain that warm aura while you sleep?”

“Um, I’m not sure. I did maintain a silence spell once while I slept since I got the blue gem.” Lucian said as he thought back to the night he and Kainith decided to withhold the gems from Vornath and betray him. “I’m certainly going to try. Just make sure you have warm clothes nearby.”

The party started a fire and set up tents. Kainith sat back and strummed on his lute while Rance cooked food for the party. After eating and chatting about stories from their past. Rance finally brought it back to the next day.

“Okay Kainith, Lucian. What did you learn when you were looking through that library? I really don’t want to spend the next decade wandering around the Frozen Wastes.”

“Well…” Kainith said with a frown. “I mean there was no map if that is what you are asking, but…” Kainith held up a hand stopping Rance from protesting. “ It was a holy temple to a god from a long lost civilization so there should be roads leading there. I thought we were going to have to chisel ice and snow in random spots the whole way, but we just all found out that there is a mage with us that can just melt where we walk.” Kainith said, smiling at Lucian.

“Okay. That makes sense but what’s the plan? I wanted to get buff and learn to fight a little better so I wasn’t really around while you guys were reading all the books either.” Rory said while fidgeting with his axe.

“My plan is to just walk in a straight line north until we find a road and then follow the road in a direction that leads to the centermost point of the Frozen Wastes.” Kainith said with a grin.

“How does that make any sense?” Rory questioned.

“I mean all of the stories talked about this temple being at the heart of the frozen wastes. Me and Kainith are taking that interpretation literally and heading towards the center hoping that the writers of the text were not relying too heavily on metaphors.” Lucian smiled.

“What else do we know about this place?” Rance asked. “I mean it’s a large temple in the middle of an unlivable place. It had to be important.”

“The stories are frustratingly vague unfortunately, but what we do know is it is a dome shape and the gem is inside of it.” Lucian said with a frown.”Oh, and the little fact that it is supposedly guarded by a vicious ice spirit that may have the tendency to kill adventurers. I’m hoping when we get there, there are more clues as to why it is so in the middle of nowhere. Unfortunately though we don’t really have the luxury of time on our side.”

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“Lucian is right. We should get some sleep. Morning will come early.” Rory agreed.

The party had a restless sleep but it appeared that the heat aura that Lucian casted managed to hold on throughout the night. As they started waking up one by one Rory cooked every one breakfast using the rations they were carrying. After a barebones breakfast the party set out continuing north, snow melting under their feet.

When the sun was high in the sky a low growl echoed from a nearby ridge. A group of frozen creatures emerged from the snow, their eyes glowing with an eerie blue light. They were humanoid, their bodies encased in a thick layer of ice, their movements slow and deliberate.

Rory let out a battle cry that echoed across the frozen plains. He charged forward, his enchanted axe flashing in the weak sunlight. The axe cleaved through the ice with ease, shattering the frozen creatures into fragments that scattered across the snow. But more kept coming, their guttural growls filling the air with a chilling chorus.

Kainith joined the fray. He strummed a fast and discordant tune on his lute, the magic making everyone in the party move faster and far more perceptive. Rance danced around the periphery, his daggers flashing as he picked off stragglers.

Lucian dropped the heat aura for a few minutes and channeled small balls of fire from one enemy to the next trying to melt the ice off their bodies as they advanced. The fire, as it hit the enemies ice bodies reacted violently and the ice exploded from the creatures sending half melted ice in all directions. Rory and Rance had to step up their focus to dodging ice chunks as well as finishing off the creatures that survived the many explosions.

Thankfully because Kainith ensured that the party was moving faster than normal it was no struggle for the party to overcome the challengers. As the last few opponents fell to the ground and Lucian recast the aura they noticed the enemies had spawned from a black rock road.

“Hey look there!” Kainith shouted pointing at the road. “See I knew we’d find one!”

Rance looked down at the road which went in three different ways.

“Looks like it continues north or heads east or west.” Rance stated.

“Looks like we are on the edge of the road network” Lucian pointed out. “Keep heading north?”

“I think that’s our best bet,” Kainith said as he rubbed his chin.

The party continued to follow the road north and as they did they came across a pillar made of the mysterious purple metal.

“Wait, what is that?” Rance questioned as he ran over to the pillar.

The party followed him to the pillar and as they got closer the aura melted snow off of the top and the party realized it was covered in strange runes that spelled out Северный. Lucian recognized these runes immediately.

“Wait!” He shouted in excitement. “I’ve seen these before.” Lucian traced the runes with his finger. “There this is the name of the temple I saw in the book that told us where it was. And see there’s an arrow! It points to the northwest.”

“Well let's go then!” Rory said as he ran along the road ahead of the party.

As the party continued the road started sloping downwards and as right before the dome came into sight A shimmering curtain of ice separated them from their goal. As they approached, a low, chilling growl echoed from within. A monstrous figure emerged, its body formed from swirling snow and ice, its eyes burning with an icy blue light.

This was the Frostwind Whisperer, the spirit Lucian had mentioned, and it stood between them and the gem they sought. Its form was immense, its voice a chilling wind that threatened to freeze their very souls even through the aura Lucian had summoned.

Lucian, his voice trembling with fear, stepped forward. He held out his hand, channeling the faint echoes of the remaining gems' energy. "We seek a gem, Frostwind Whisperer," he spoke, his voice barely a whisper against the howling wind. "We seek the secrets of the Frozen Wastes, the location of the gem held within."

The creature's gaze bore into them, its icy eyes searching their souls. A low growl rumbled through the valley, shaking the very ground beneath their feet. The party braced themselves for a fight, their weapons drawn, their hearts pounding with anticipation.

But the Frostwind Whisperer did not attack. Instead, it raised a massive, icy hand, gesturing towards the shimmering curtain. The ice parted, revealing a hidden path deeper into the valley through large snow drifts. The creature then spoke, its voice a chilling whisper carried by the wind.

"Seek the heart of the glacier," it rasped. "There you will find what you seek, the gem of life. Claim it and set me free." With a final, chilling growl, the Frostwind Whisperer retreated into the swirling snow. The party stood in stunned silence, the weight of its words settling upon them. After a short while the party continued through the shimmering veil, Lucian's aura regaining full strength again melting the drifts around them.

“What do you think it means by heart of the glacier?” Rory asked. “And why did it just let us pass?”

“Well I think we are walking through some really deep snow, “ Kainith pointed up above their heads to the snow they were melting through. “I’m guessing we are about to find the temple completely covered by snow.”

Lucian then spoke up, “As for why it let us pass. You heard it. It want’s to be set free and apparently this gem is the key to doing that. I don’t know how but these gems have proven to be extremely powerful so I guess I'm not surprised.”

“Let’s just carry on and deal with the weighty questions once we get the gem. I have a sinking suspicion that this is not the hardest part.” Rance said.

“Your right let’s go” Lucian said as he chanted a few more words supercharging his aura to keep up with the more dense snow ahead of them.