Having entered the mirror-portal in the Dreaming lands, the party found themselves blinded by a bright white light. When their senses returned, they found themselves at the bottom of a large pit, inside a circle of standing stones. The stars in the night sky high above illuminated the area, revealing a floor and walls of thick ice and snow. After checking their surroundings and concluding that they were, at least for the moment, safe from harm, the party began to collect stones to build a funeral cairn for Yoshi. When completed, Farid placed the samurai's katana as a marker, and laid the sword Oathmaker across the top. As Thomasin sang a song of honor and loss, the gypsy used his magic to forever illuminate the marker. As a last tribute to the friend who had died by his hand, Farid discarded his weapons, save for a dagger he called "Heartfang", and swore never to harm another living being again.

After the ceremony, the party began to investigate how to escape the pit. They found the walls to be unscalable, but before Endeleban could try a spell, a figure appeared above on the pit's rim, looking down in. After some brief discussion, the figure descended into the pit, easily climbing down the icy walls. There, in the light of Yoshi's cairn, the stranger was revealed to be of an unknown race, having many cat-like features but yet a humanoid stance. The stranger, who's name was inaudible and unpronounceable, offered to help the party escape the pit, though he wondered why the "spirits" did not just simply "fly" out. After some miscommunication and confusion among all involved, the party managed to escape the confines of the pit via a spell provided by Farid.

After meeting the stranger's companion - like him, a sort of humanoid cat-man - the party convinced them to take them to meet the elders of their tribe. The newcomers led the party south across a vast glacial plain, where the wind was biting and cold. There seemed to be some apprehension and urgency among the beast men, and the source became apparent with the distant appearance of a white shape high above the horizon - a dragon, quickly descending upon the exposed travelers. The group began to run, heading towards what the cat-men called "the Stair", but they were not able to outdistance the dragon. The dragon made a low pass then started to circle back. Endeleban let loose with a magical missile, which seemed to harm the dragon, but his second spell attempt backfired - literally - and he himself fell to his own blast. Farid broke off from the main group, and Thomasin went to Endeleban to help him get back on his feet. The dragon landed briefly, then took to wing again, chasing after the fleeing group. Quickly, the cat-men led the party to a steeply declining ravine which seemed to lead into a descending crack in the glacier wall. As the party tumbled into the deep powdery snow, the dragon flew past, howling in rage. Farid, however, found himself cut off from the main group, with no where to go but down off the precipitous edge of the glacier wall. As the dragon sought to vent its frustration at the only remaining target, the gypsy bard took the only path before him - and jumped.

Meanwhile, the ravine had given way to a steep, icy path that cut its way through the glacier towards the valley below. As the remaining party sought to navigate the deep snow, the dragon caught sight of them again, and plummeted into the ravine, seeking to catch them before they could get too deep. The dragon fought its way downwards, dislodging the precariously balanced snow and ice that filled the passage. As the others moved ahead into a narrow tunnel of ice, Thomasin and Ash brought up the rear. Turning, Thomasin released a volley of witchfire from his hands; something unseen, however, sparked the fan of green flames, and the blast burned incredibly hot and fierce. The flames burned the enraged dragon, but their heat also wrecked havoc on the ice cavern, causing it to collapse into an avalanche. Caught up by the rushing snow, the party was thrown clear of the small cave entrance at the bottom of the glacier; the dragon, however, was last seen being buried under several tons of ice.

Gathering themselves together, the party once again followed the cat-man, who introduced himself as Xerix. Xerix led the group into a thick pine forest, and eventually they came to the cat-people's camp. There, they met the chief, Snowmane, and the others of Xerix's tribe - Swiftfang, whom they had met on the glacier, Greypelt, the eldest of the group, and a female named Yellow-eyes, who claimed to have found the lost - and barely alive - Farid.

The party gathered up their gear and followed the female, Yelloweyes, through the forest to where she had seen Farid fall. Leif brought out the magical "crimson torch" to help light the way; fascinated, Yelloweyes asked to examine and carry the slender device. Soon, they emerged from the dense forest near the glacial wall, where the gypsy was found - broken, bleeding, and near death - at the base of the cliff. Quickly, the elder-shaman Greypelt directed Ash and the hunter Swiftfang to construct a litter so that Farid could be taken to a place of healing.

Again making their way through the forest, this time following Greypelt, the party came to a low hill whereupon no trees grew. Instead, a series of stones rose out of the snow that draped the hill, and a large stone slab capped its top. Greypelt commanded that Farid be placed upon the stone slab and that the snow be removed from the other smaller standing stones that formed a spiral like pattern along the contours of the hill. The party set to work, trusting the cat man's intentions.

While the preparations were being made, Endeleban wandered off into the woods and attempted a spell of concealment. Something went wrong, however, and Leif, upon investigating, found the young mage helplessly suspended amidst the tree branches. The strange effect quickly wore off, however, and the mage (upon reaching the ground) returned to the hill and rejoined the group. There, the shaman was beginning his incantation. As the grey furred cat man began to relate the history of his people, Xerix translated for the party:

"In the time of the All Dark, when the Firemane wandered the far fields looking for his mate, our ancestors roamed the wilds. They followed the herds, and knew no lands, suffering from the Death Wind that ravaged the land. They were but children, and knew nothing of the Spiritworld, or of the teachings…

But then the Firemane found his mate, the White She-Cat, and they made their lair in the skies above this holy land. And our Ancestors followed, and found plentiful game, and safe trees to defend against the Death Wind. But they were still young, and were unable to do more than watch the Spirits of the Land as they Danced the ancient Spiral, and they lacked the Voice to Sing to the Spirits…

But then into the Spiritland came the Ancients, with their fragile, unfurred forms. Our ancestors watched them from afar as the Ancients wandered the white lands, calling the stones from the ground and trying to speak with the Spirits. They watched as the Death Wind found new victims, and the Ancients struggled to survive. But when the Long Dark came, and the Stone Lords sought to dine upon the Ancient's flesh, our ancestors watched no longer. Led by Timmain Nightrunner, our ancestors leapt upon the exposed throats of the Stone Lords and drove them back, turning the snows black with their foul essence. When the Stone Lords had fled to their dark caves, Timmain presented his tribe to the Ancients, and the First Oath was sworn.

Our ancestors offered the Ancients hides from our hunt, for protection from the harshness of the Death Wind, and taught them the lore of the snow root, that grows hidden near the great Trees of the Spiritland. In return, the Ancients called upon their Spirits to heal the wounds suffered by our pride-brothers and sisters in their battle with the Stone Lords. They lived among us, and came to know more of the Spirit world and of our ways, and our ancestors learned from them as well. And when the Firemane returned at the end of the Long Dark from his Great Hunt, our leader, Timmain, was the first of us to stand and greet him in the Spirit-language, for the Ancients had bestowed the Gift of Dance and Song upon him and his tribe.

And so it continued for many Cycles, with the Ancients living within the Garden and us, the "Ne'Halea", living protectively near them in the Forest. We hunted and protected as the Ancients communed with the Spirit world. We drove off the warlike tribes of na-droth and allowed the Ancients to live in peace. In return, they taught us the language used by the Tribes of Man, so that we could travel far from the Spirit Lands and trade with them, and provide warning against their encroachment. And we Danced the Spiral with the spirits, and became closer to the Land than we had ever been.

Now, after many generations, the Ancients have left the Spiritlands, retreating into their Garden and sealing it closed. But we still honor the First Oath, and guard the Ancient's home for the day that they might return. But now our tribe is few, and so we ask that the Spirits of the Ancients that still remain offer their strength in healing this man's wounds that he suffered in the defense of one of our own. Our need is great, for our time is short…

As Greypelt spoke, the air above the hill became alive with lights and movement. The air seemed to swirl in response to the shaman's gestures, and the lights began to surround Farid. The runes carved into the small standing stones began to glow as well, casting a dim illumination upon the snow. Suddenly, Yellowfang called out - in the woods surrounding the hill were many dark shapes, offset by orange glowing eyes. Leif began to draw his sword, but Snowmane, the chief, shouted out that the creatures should not be harmed. Blunting their weapons, the party and the cat people took up a defensive perimeter around the hill, following Xerix's command that the ritual could not be disturbed. The dark creatures stayed just beyond the light's radius, edging closer and closer as Greypelt's casting grew in intensity. Suddenly, the creatures leapt upon the defenders. Staves and fists were raised, but they proved no match for the creatures' long, dagger-like claws. Only the light from the ritual and the crimson torch seemed to keep them at bay. Then, with a resounding thunderclap, the ritual ended; frightened by the noise and flash of light, the creatures retreated back into the forest.

Recovering from the battle, the party was led away from the hill by Snowmane. Farid, newly healed, rejoined the group, and they all headed again into the forest to a place where the cat people had secured extra furs and food stores. While they ate and got warm, Greypelt - against the judgement of Snowmane - that the creatures the party had just fought were somehow related to the disappearance of many of the cat people's tribe. To emphasize the point, it was discovered that Swiftfang - under some strange influence - had followed the shadow beings into the forest when they fled after the attack. Greypelt claimed that the source of the problem lay within the walled "Garden" - the sacred place of the Ancients. But, because of their oaths to protect the place, the cat people could never enter the Garden and find out what was wrong.

The party, hoping to find a way home from the frozen wastelands, volunteered to enter the Garden and seek out the source of the cat people's problems. They were led through the woods to the edge of an abandoned village; there, across a mile wide flat plain of snow, was the Garden - a huge, partially domed enclosure that lit the night sky with brilliant colors and hues. Before they could prepare or ask more questions, the dragon, Hoarfrost, attacked without warning. Wounded and enraged by her previous encounter with the group, the dragon began to literally tear the forest apart in order to get to the heroes who had escaped her. The party dodged and ducked as the great trees of the forest all around them were uprooted then cast down to the ground. Then the dragon landed and let out a blast of her horrible freezing breath. Most of the party escaped the full blast, but Greypelt seemed to have suffered the most. With his dying words, he passed the mantle of tribal shaman to Xerix, urging him to find the Ancients and convince them to return to the spiritlands. The young shaman took up his master's staff and headed out of the forest, determined to find a way to save his people.

Crouching under a large boulder, the party regrouped out of the immediate sight of the frenzied dragon. Their destination - the domed Garden - lay about a mile away across the great flat plain. Suddenly, off to the far side of the village, the red light of the crimson torch flared bright in the night. Distracted, the dragon gave chase, allowing the party a head start across the open plain towards the massive dome of ice. About half way across, the party again found the dragon's attention upon them, but this time there was no cover of tree or rock to take shelter behind. The beast came in high overhead, and, as the party ran, they suddenly found themselves being bombarded by a rain of uprooted trees and boulders. The debris crashed into the ground all around them, shattering the thick layer of ice that had, up till now, disguised a broad frozen river. Realizing that they were not upon solid ground, the party redoubled their pace, seeking to reach the shelter of the craggy rocks that surrounded the ever approaching ice dome. Both Endeleban and Farid attempted to slow the dragon down with magic, but neither spell caster was able to harness the strangely surging energies that they needed. As large cracks in the ice beneath them opened, the party pulled each other to safety, and eventually gained shelter inside a small cave of rock, just as the dragon crashed into the rocky wall.

Dragging themselves back into a narrow tunnel, the party suddenly found the way ahead blocked by a solid wall of ice. As the dragon searched for its prey's location, the group tried to find some way through the solid wall of ice. Statues depicting figures standing to either side of the icewall indicated some sort of opening, but no method of entrance could be found. They frantically searched for a clue, but then their time ran out, for the dragon had found it's prey...