Frozen from Fire

After taking snow runner ship from the white elves, party envisions a long rest tho the wolves cry off from the south east. Second watch lizard-cleric with his infravision suddenly spots two score archers taking aim at the disabled ski-boat, as arrows rain down white elf swordslingers throw over their concealing frozen cloaks and rush adventurers encampment.

Follows is a fiery and bloodied combat, horde of white elves versus seven heroes: lizard-cleric, haughty paladin, dragonborn, elf mage-thief, barbarian half-orc, man-with-no-name, and paladin of smite.

Mage-thief's fireballs are most effective as any white elves not slew end trapped with feet frozen into the ice. At battles end these white elves frozen consume some flask, smiling at the party, their captors. With nary more than little talk their throats begin to bulge and burst with writhing worm-like leeches spilling on to the snow and slithering toward the adventurer inquisitors when mage-thief burns it all.

The white elf host disembarked from another elven snow runner ship, discovered 200 yards to the north. This craft also bears a violet oval portal ostensibly what permitted the small army of white elves arriving suddenly through the snow.

Having just obliterated 100 white elves in a matter of moments, haughty paladin leads the way through the magic portal where they land in the middle of an evil drum circle serenading him ...

(art by Tom Baxa)

And about 200 of his brethren. And a small-odd platoon of white elves. And a cat-beast.

Man-with-no-name reaches out "Shadow walk!" and the party moves along the border between prime and shadow for a brief 5 seconds then steps back into prime.

Now among a gray, dead forest of only wood, bereft of leaves, the heroes decide to rest and heal their wounds inside the extradimensional space of a rope trick. As they climb to enter the space, Paladin of Smite spies upon a hillock some distance away, a unnaturally tall, slim figure in black plate and a skull-like helm of bright silver.