Up There (level 4-6)
Adventure Summary (the short version): The Uggrahd mountain is ruled by the Buhkenahk orcs. The orc tribe sends their youths partway up the mountain to become adults, and sometimes an orc goes to the very top and gets a wish. Ancestor spirits haunt the mountain, and use a ghost-touched gauntlet to drop huge snowballs on the youths to 'test' them. Irene is a slave of the orcs who froze on the mountain, stole the gauntlet, and is now using it to drop boulders instead of snow. The PCs will climb the mountain, and in the process might free slaves, lay Irene to rest, steal the gauntlet, gain a wish, or die a horrible, chilly death.
Background
Uggrahd ("up there" in orcish) is a steep mountain whose peak juts nearly three miles above sea level. The mountain is part of a range, far from civilization (save a few human mining towns within a few days' hard march). It is also the center of the Buhkenahk ("broken knuckle" in orcish) orcs, a tribe of nearly 2,000 orcs scattered throughout the nearby mountains.
Every few months, a small group of youngsters is sent up to climb to a narrow pass near the top, and the survivors are pronounced adults; sometimes a young orc is inspired to climb to the very top, which is a sure sign of future leadership among the tribe. According to Buhkenahk myth, an orc who makes it to the top gets one wish. The Buhkenahk often bet on these climbs, and this is one of the primary means of redistributing wealth among the orcs.
The Buhkenahk keep slaves from their raids to ease their lifestyle, and so are slightly more cosmopolitan than most other orc tribes. Still, they treat their slaves as callously as one might expect, and most slaves eventually die of exposure or beatings. An unusual quirk of the Buhkenahk, however, is that a slave who manages to climb the mountain is freed (and even adopted into the tribe, if both sides are amenable to the idea).
The area near the top is haunted by ancestral ghosts friendly to the tribe, but they like to test potential adults by dropping snowman-sized snowballs on them. They do this with the Garashkuhg ("our fathers died" in orcish), a spiked gauntlet that has been enchanted by generations of orcish belief. It is a spiked gauntlet +1, ghost-touched (meaning the ancestors can 'wear' it and move things in the physical world with it).
Recently, a human slave attempting to climb the mountain died of exposure. Unfortunately for all involved, the human slave was Irene. Irene was a stubborn, vindictive and vicious woman in life, and death in the ghost-rich region has not improved her attitude much. She has stolen the gauntlet from the other spirits, and has been using it to drop heavier things than snowballs on the orcs trying to achieve adulthood, usually killing them. Irene looks like a frozen corpse, with cracked blue lips, frosty white skin, and eyes reddened by burst capillaries.
Hook
Hook #1: The PCs are hired by someone in the nearby human towns to rescue an enslaved relative/lover/etc. You can tie this into your normal campaign (perhaps a merchant the PCs often do business with) or just use Farmer John Doe for a one-off. The relative/lover/etc. could be a generic slave, or Irene (in which case, the PCs would be obligated to lay her to rest).
Hook #2: The Buhkenahk like having slaves, and they've gotten quite good at subdual tactics (nets, subdual damage, overbearing). The PCs could be captured and, in the course of their brief captivity, learn that climbing the mountain is their ticket home. If you think they'll remain captive for more than a few days, you could even have them meet Irene right before she makes the climb herself. Note that escape other than by climbing is suicidally dangerous (~2,000 orcs in all), but could also be attempted. In this case, you may wish to let the PCs overhear about the wish or gauntlet - they may return to this scenario another day.
Hook #3: The PCs have heard of the wish on top of the mountain, and have approached the orcs for permission to climb it. If the PCs are persuasive enough, the orcs would be willing to make a few bets on a bunch of pansy outsiders surviving. Some of the smarter orcs may lay a trap or two to "ensure the bet".
Hook #4: Ghost-touched weapons are rare and not well known, so PCs needing one for another ghost-related quest may have heard of the Garashkuhg gauntlet, and be seeking to steal it themselves. This will be a difficult task - they'll have to contend with 2,000 angry orcs, one angry Irene, and the mountain.
Adventure Goals
Climbing the Mountain: Regardless of how the PCs end up among the Buhkenahk, all of the goals listed under Hooks will eventually require that the PCs climb the mountain. Climbing the mountain will take a few days at best, in freezing conditions, harsh winds and slippery rocks. If the PCs have a token that Irene might recognize (if they were coming to rescue her), she'll likely help, rather than hinder, their progress. Otherwise, she'll be trying to kill them while keeping the glove out of sight. Climbing to the peak is more difficult - there is a tough cliff about 30' high, a narrow pass (see The Ravid & The Armor, below), and then a 40' high sheer cliff to the top.
Rescuing Slaves: Whether or not the PCs came to rescue slaves, the opportunity will be there. The Buhkenahk like betting, and when the PCs decide to climb the mountain, a number of them will want to bet with the PCs on whether they make it. If they fail, there are many things the orcs might want: an agreement to serve as a slave for a year, an ear lopped off (to show who won the bet) or an "Grahk Beat Me" tattoo, and so on. The orcs will also willingly bet their own slaves against this - they don't believe the pansy PCs can make it where so many strong orcs fail.
Irene: Irene is a vicious, dirty foe. She is completely incorporeal (only damaged by +1 weapons or magic, with 50% chance to ignore damage from any corporeal source), and uses the glove to shove large rocks onto the PCs or (driven to desparation) to wield a longsword taken from an orc corpse. She can be laid to rest by giving her a token from a relative/lover/etc., or by convincing her that she is dead and that she needs to let her vengeance go so she can be free (appeals to "you're still a slave to this place as long as you stay" will work best).
The Peak: There actually is a powerful (CR 10 or higher) Lawful Neutral outsider at the peak. He prefers not to be disturbed, but will grant a single wish to any group that manages to make it to the top. Non-tribe members he will also teleport to any location they wish, as he prefers to deal with grovelling orcs who don't make hard wishes. In addition to the challenges of the peak, he has added a pet ravid, below.
The Ravid & The Armor: The ravid lies at the final, narrow pass to the peak as its point of defense, to prevent flanking and to ensure that its animate armor need only fight one or two people at a time. The armor is full plate and still has the frozen corpse of an orcish hero in it. The ravid has the Spring Attack feat, and will use this to lash opponents from behind the armor.
