On the morning of the Winter Solstice, the party found themselves in Sharpspur Saloon. The local residents have invited the adventurers, academics, and others passing through Dirtwater to join in a simple feast followed by releasing paper lanterns with aspirations for the new year. Several party members shared traditions from their respective communities and their wishes for the coming year. Flick came bursting into the saloon, with news that  much of the lumber from Crotalus’ ranch had seemingly been stolen in the middle of the night. She suspected that bandits were to blame, as they occasional try to establish a base in the nearby Cracked Gate. Old Sandstone shared that the Cracked Gate is a large chamber carved into the base of the mountains along the river, about an hour’s travel to the north of Dirtwater. It is believed that the chamber served as a entrance for merchants bringing their goods via the river, but long ago a shift in the mountains created a crack in both the ceiling and floor of the chamber, leading to a slow, steady drip of water and collapsing the passage deeper into the mountain. 

The party agreed to help recover the stolen lumber, travelled to Crotalus’s ranch, and found tracks leading towards the Cracked Gate. With a horse drawn carriage in tow, the party continued their journey to gate, finding sheer cliffs, long-weathered stonework, and the ruins of a small port, just as the townsfolk had described. However, they were surprised by a dark and slowly billowing thick mist that obscured the large entrance. A nearby goat confirmed that a wagon had passed entered the Cracked Gate yesterday, driven by a single small figure, and shortly thereafter the mist appeared and the chamber became very cold.

Cautiously stepping inside, the party found that the chamber had turned into a winter wonderland, with heavy snowfall, the illusion of a night sky from far to the north, and three story barracks erected in the middle of the chamber. After scouting the building, part of the group entered the darkened third floor while the rest of the group approached them main entrance, while there appeared to be a large gathering on the first floor. This kicked off a prolonged battle across three stories and a basement, with a battle across four stories against several elementals, an awakened furnace, and the caretaker of the Crow’s Nest, a Gnome Alone. During the fight, the party pieced together that this barracks belonged to the Crows, a nomadic thieves guild knowing for sticking an area and disappearing before drawing too much attention to themselves. With his minion defeated, the bloodied gnome attempted to flee, but a tag team attack stuck him down from his escape zipline. With the gnome vanquished, the magic that had assembled the house and created the illusion of a winter night began to fade, and the party ran from building. With the lumber returned to Cortalus, the group arrived in Dirtwater just in time to join the solstice festivities.