Monday December 22, Thyrmir's Gorge, The Stair of Grief

Until this afternoon, the winter had been very mild, almost an extension of autumn. But now the sleet, snow and fearsome winds make our ascent up the Stair of Grief extremely treacherous.

Even worse, we are not alone. Our scouts report seeing terrifying shapes lurking about, masked by the foul weather. Eitri and his men have been preparing ambush sites throughout the pass for the better part of the day.

Twelve Motion Jeweled Skull says he was last here sixty years ago, fighting alongside the likes of Durak and Turgeis with Burning Steel. They caught The Deceiver and the remnants of his army in this very defile and here destroyed them.

Today the Dramus River is frozen solid, but back then it was a muddy torrent of melted snow and ice brought on by the eruption of Tharsis. The Deceiver was plunged into the river and swept far downstream, his scepter sinking to the bottom.

I asked Twelve Motion why King Alric believes The Deceiver will throw in with our lot. He explained how The Deceiver has been frozen in a half-death beneath the river, clinging to life through sorcery alone, with no power left to free himself. The King believes that if we were to revive him and return the scepter, the focus of his power, he would no doubt join our cause.

Though our numbers are few, we will guard the pass against Soulblighter's hordes. It is inevitable that we will be forced to fall back toward the Dramus as the enemy advances, but we must give Twelve Motion enough time to recover The Deceiver's scepter.