White Dragon tracking

High above the fortress and surrounding valley, white wings beat against the thin air. The far-seeing eyes of a young white dragon peer into the valley below, searching for movement and watching with keen interest the activity centered on the central hill and fortress. With wry amusement, it circles behind a row of peaks and perches on the edge of a tall cliff, slipping inside a cold cave lined with ice.

Down in the valley, the party is holed up in the fortress, trying to locate the white dragon's lair. They have been scouring the hills each day, looking for signs of its passage. Unfortunately, the dragon keeps to the air, making tracking it difficult. Of course, there is ample evidence of movement on the hillsides. The movement comes from the many wolves in the area. Going on the theory that the presence of the wolves is tied to the location of the dragon, the party decides to track the wolves to their den.

After several hours (two successful DC15 Survival checks to locate and track), the players find themselves on a ledge overlooking a concealed hollow behind an outcrop of rock, with wolf tracks leading in and out of the den. Since it is still afternoon, the wolves are sleeping in their den. There are 5 wolves in the den. If the players start a fight, a winter wolf will join the battle from higher up the hillside.

Inside the den, there are scattered items scavenged from the victims the wolves have brought here and torn asunder. Searching them will reveal one or two items still useable, like a +1 shield and a suit of plate mail. There is also 75 gp scattered among the remains.

Beyond the wolf den, there appears to be another path, concealed behind the line of the ridge, which leads through to a narrow vale concealed from the valley below. Starting up it, you finally notice, high in the cliffside overhead, a large gaping maw in the middle of a sheet of ice.

As they watch, they see the dragon descend from the clouds, pause at the opening in the cliff, hanging from the side of the cliff, before ducking through into the darkness behind.

There is no obvious path up the cliff to the opening above. It appears that either the party will have to fly to the entrance, or use rope and spikes to scale the cliff itself. They can return to the fortress to gather supplies, make their plans, and decide on their course of action before tackling the dragon in its lair. If they put any kind of watch on the cave or valley, they will be able to determine that the dragon likes to exit the cave in late afternoon, hunt and fly through the night, then return to the cave shortly after daybreak, only occasionally venturing out during the daytime to check for the approach of danger.