Slyer than a Frostling

Icy, labyrinthine corridors, walls reflecting torchlight in eerie ways. Three corpses on the floor: Remugle, Mildred (the employee of the month's famous sidekicks) and what looks like the employee of the month, decapitated.

→ Remugle. A cruddy but likable bugbear: stabbed in the back between vertebrae.
→ Mildred. A reckless and stubborn amazon: slit throat.
→ Employee of the month. The head has been neatly cut off, but is nowhere to be found. Same species as the employee of the month, wearing their clothes and equipment. Without closer examination, the hosts may conclude they have found them.
→ Closer examination:

• The clothes look a little tight in some places and are not bloodstained, even around the neck.
• The corpse is a little colder and stiffer than the other two.

Note: If one of the hosts has a positive relationship with the employee of the month, they may remember a physical detail (a tattoo between the shoulder blades, a sixth toe on the left foot, a scar on the abdomen, etc.). It isn't on the body.

Smell of guano and chicken coop. Straw and branches spread across the ground, partly covering blue-shelled eggs the size of watermelons. About 30 ice flamingos, wading birds with white feathers tipped with icy blue and a long, curved beak as sharp as a billhook, quietly wandering between the eggs, or sleeping on one leg.

→ Eggs. Very fragile, and hard to see under the straw. If the hosts don't cross the room very carefully, the eggs are disturbed or broken, immediately triggering the wrath of the flamingos.
→ The wrath of the flamingos. The birds all attack at the same time, until the intruders leave the cave. Each round, the hosts must check DEX or take 1d12 damage. If the hosts attack rather than flee, assume that there are Δ10 flamingos and roll the risk die each combat turn. Once the die fizzles, all birds are dead or gone. The noise has a 30% chance per turn of waking up 1d8 angry frostlings from E (check reaction table in E with disadvantage) who come to see what's going on, and a 20% chance per turn of waking the white dragon (see D).

A series of narrow corridors on the walls of which grow different kinds of multicolored edible lichen, radiating a phosphorescent glow.

→ Edible lichens. Tasty! But don't always agree with an unaccustomed stomach. Roll d6:
1: Juicy! Recover d4 hp;
2: Sweet! Increase a random ability score by 1 point for the mission;
3-4: Not bad! No side effect;
5: Sour! Lose d4 hp;
6: Not ripe! Lose 1 point from a random ability score for the mission.

BEFORE THE HOSTS ENTER THIS CAVERN, roll d6. Add 1 or 2 if they wasted a lot of time getting here.

• 1–5. The clients are preparing for combat and hiding behind a rock at the south entrance (50% chance to spot them if someone intentionally looks in this direction). The dragon is either asleep in the middle of the cavern or, if awakened by a fight with the ice flamingos (see B), waiting at one of the exits from B. Roll Clients attack! Δ6 every turn. The die automatically steps down every turn if the hosts are conspicuous.
• 6. Fighting noises, screams, roars, flashes of light: the clients are fighting the dragon (see Battle with a dragon).

A gigantic ice cavern partially lit by harsh sunlight (a wide natural shaft leads to the Bright Outside), whose rays warm Canacueesechumani the dragon. Embedded in ice walls, the dragon's hoard: clusters of gleaming gems, rune-engraved weapons, piles of gold coins, gleaming armor, various precious trinkets.

→ Canaqueesechumani. A magnificent, awe-inspiring white dragon, his gleaming scales reflecting light in dazzling patterns. One of the most prominent stars of Dungeon, Inc. Proud and narcissistic like all dragons, he is nevertheless aging: becoming a little lazy and cautious, dealing politely with trespassers who don't rush him... He likes to avoid violent confrontations – unless someone lays a finger on his treasure, of course. He spends most of his time in dreams of past battles, and sometimes nightmares of knights in shining armor and sticky-fingered thieves

CANACUEESECHUMANI, lazy white dragon. HD 10 (79 hp), ARM scales like steel delta12, ATT bite d10, 2x claws d8, frost breath (2d12 damage; STR check or encased in ice for d4 turns), SP flight, Spells charm person, telekinesis, ML Δ6

Polyphonic snoring noises, musty, farty smell. Some 50 frostlings sleep tightly packed, rolled in furs and blankets.

→ Frostlings. Hook-nosed, tribal goblins, their pale gray skin covered with a faint bluish fuzz. They speak their own language and broken Goblin. Currently all asleep, waiting for warmer weather.
→ All asleep. Only a bright light (a torch, for example) or a loud noise wakes them. In this case, roll d6 on the following table (with advantage if someone talks to them peacefully and makes a successful CHA check).
1-2: Hostile and angry: Want to drive intruders from their lair, attack immediately.
3-4: Angry: Arm themselves and make threatening gestures until intruders leave.
5: Ambivalent: Arm themselves and question intruders as to why they are here.
6: Welcoming: Offer blankets and pelts and go back to sleep.

Whatever happens, no one is ever allowed into the nursery (F).

FROSTLING. HD 1 (4 hp), ARM thick skin Δ4, ATT bone club d6, SP ice fart (CON check or disadvantage for d4 turns), ML Δ6

Two dozen young sleep in cosy nests under the watchful eyes of four parents who take turns sleeping two by two. If a stranger enters unaccompanied by a frostling, they immediately sound the alarm on a primitive gong.

→ Alarm. All frostlings in E as well as the chieftain (G) and the ice druid (H) rush into the nursery in 1d6 turns and attack without mercy. Parleying becomes very difficult.

A tattooed female sleeps on a bed of furs, surrounded by 4 bodyguards who take turns sleeping two by two. In an alcove carved into the icy walls: the tribe's treasure.

→ Tattooed female. Mohotma, uncontested new boss of the tribe, descendant of a long matriarchal line. If there has been no problem or previous fighting with frostlings, she's open to parley (she speaks basic Common).

MOHOTMA, proud frostling chieftain. HD 5 (32 hp), ARM blue iron mail Δ6, ATT studded club d8, SP ice fart (CON check or disadvantage for d4 turns), ice-gripping boots, ML Δ10

→ Parley. Says this is the second time today an intruder has crossed the tribe's territory (describes employee of the month). "We chased it away! Out!" Could help the hosts by lending 1d4+1 warriors if approved by the ice druid.
→ Bodyguards. Muscular, dedicated warriors.

BODYGUARD. HD 3 (16 hp), ARM blue iron helmet and greaves Δ6, ATT ice spear d6, bone boomerang d6, SP ice fart (CON check or disadvantage for d4 turns), ice-gripping boots, ML Δ12

→ Treasure. Worthless trinkets, colorful rocks, rusty weapons and bits of armor, one potion of electric breath Δ6 (electric waves inflicting damage to targets wearing metal armor).

Rainbow reflections along the ice walls, creating strange shapes, as if they had a life of their own. A venerable frostling sleeps on a throne of ice and fur, whispering in his dreams. Bric-à-brac made of in wood, bone, stone, and carved ice scattered around him.

→ Rainbow reflections. Ice spirits watch over the shaman and wake him if a stranger enters. Provide him with Δ10 armor if attacked in this cave.
→ Venerable frostling. Zoholag, the tribe's ice druid. Incredibly wrinkled skin. Almost blind. Open to parley if nothing serious has happened before.

ZOHOLAG, blind frostling druid. HD 4 (20 hp), ARM scale harness Δ4, ATT ice dagger d4, Spells spirit protector (Armor Δ10 while in his cave), spirit possession (WIS check or soul pushed into another character's body for Δ8 turns – players must agree on actions – while the original's body is controlled by the druid), ice prison (STR check or paralyzed for Δ6 turns), healer (see below), ML Δ8

→ Parley. May heal 1d4 hp per person. Understands how important it is for the tribe to protect the white dragon and can intervene with Mohotma. Can sell some of his remedies and talismans (25 GP each).
→ Bric-à-brac. Amulets, fossils, pouch of herbs, sculpted bones, tattooed furs, skulls of different species, wooden pendulum... A talisman of fire protection Δ8 (damage halved), two potions of healing Δ8, a quiver of Δ8 ice arrows (d6 damage, ignore armor), and a magician's skull Δ4 (can cast illusion, levitation, and augury – see rulebook, p.67).

A colossal, emaciated goblin face carved into the ice on the far wall. Its eyes seem to follow visitors around the room. This is Frozzt, the god and ancestor to all frostlings. A long, flat stone covered in frozen blood, supported by pillars of ice into which are set the grimacing skulls of animals and humanoids. Anyone who hurts a frostling in this room suffers Frozzt's curse: cold all the time, sniffle and sneeze loudly at the worst possible moment, disliked by all creatures associated with ice, snow and cold (getting rid of a curse is a tricky and expensive process; you can make this an interesting character goal).

Hollowed out in the ice, surrounded by ice benches. Dried blood on the floor. This is where the females of the clan challenge the tribal chief to single combat, or where disputes between tribesfolk are settled. A rack of rudimentary d6 weapons at the entrance.

The ice disappears, giving way to rock oozing with moisture, sometimes reflecting the cruel light of the Bright Outside coming from the southern opening. The ground of rock and sand shows recent tracks.

→ Tracks. Three different humanoids, coming from the outside (the clients). Another, matching the size and species of the employee of the month, heading for the exit.
→ Exit. A terrace overlooking a high valley covered with patches of snow. The blinding light of the cruel sun above. Unknown smells. A little further on, in the woods, the smoke of a campfire rises above the trees. Steps cut into the rock lead down to the valley.

In the valley

Horridly cheerful birds, frightfully pure air, overwhelming green vegetation... A simple camp set up by a stream (tent tarp, open backpack, fire with a Dungeon, Inc. branded ration tin heating up on a flat stone). At the foot of a tree, a green tiger turns and roars. Up in the tree, the employee of the month!

→ Green tiger. Big cat with green fur streaked with black. HD 3 (16 hp), ARM fur Δ4, ATT bite d6, 2 x claws d4, SP camouflage, ML Δ6
→ The employee of the month. In bad condition after encountering the frostlings. Stopped to bandage their wounds. They don't want to fight the hosts if they can avoid it, but refuse to return to the Dungeon. They want freedom and try to convince the hosts to let them go, or even to leave with them.

• "We're just cannon fodder, to be sacrificed for the bigwigs."
• "What future for us? I'm giving it my best shot, and I know that one day they'll send me on a mission I won't come back from. Same goes for you, and you know it!"
• "Noir lines his pockets with our labor! Who do you think he really is? Never heard of the Portal, huh?" (see The Secrets of Mr. Noir, rulebook p.105)
• "Look around you. The Bright Outside is rich with possibility! An abandoned tower, an impregnable cavern, a place where we could become rich by ransoming the locals for our own profit. Together, no bosses!"
• "Do you need more than one hand to count the veterans you know? Strange how everyone that becomes powerful enough goes away somehow…"