Ykaterina lives in a small cottage on the edge of the Gilded Vale about a mile along the path from Helden.This morning she rises with the sun as always and spends some time gathering herbs and plants from her neatly tended garden.She notes that some of the plants are not thriving as they should and seem frostbitten.
Given her ancestry she does not find the day particularly cold. After gathering what she can from the garden she sets off down the path towards the village.Though the people tend to be stand offish and, in the case of the Gnomish carpenter, even mildly hostile towards her she has built up a respectful working relationship with Old Mother Theodora the village wise woman.
As Ykatarina enters the sleepy village of Heldren, she finds the place abuzz with a mix of excitement and confusion. People mill about in the town square around the community's famed statue, the Lady. Upon moving in closer to the commotion, you hear mention of local hunters coming from the Border Wood with the strangest tales you have ever heard.
Unseasonably cold weather has descended on the area, now in the height of Erastus, and just days ago it actually began snowing in the forest! As if that were not enough, there are whispers from the hunters of an uneasy presence in the woods as well as strange new predators stalking the trees. Speculation is rampant, but no one is certain of what it may mean. The town's soothsayer, Old Mother Theodora, seems deeply concerned by this turn of events, prophesying dark times ahead for Heldren.
To add to the commotion, other townsfolk speak of a badly wounded mercenary who arrived in town the previous day claiming to be a bodyguard for Lady Argentea Malassene. An emergency meeting of the village council was convened, where he revealed that the noblewoman's escort came under attack by bandits and strange creatures of apparently wintry origin near the edge of the Border Wood. He was the only one to escape the assault, and then only barely. The last thing he saw was the Lady Argentea being dragged into the forest.
The whispers amongst the villagers are always followed by fearful glances cast toward the forest; people are obviously worried of what else might emerge to threaten the normally-peaceful village.
"I am...concerned" the young witch tells Theodora. "With this unnatural turn in the weather the people will not take much to begin pointing fingers in my direction.You must believe me when I tell you this is none of my doing."
She paces anxiously around the old womans small cottage."I will have to investigate the cause off this anomaly in person, but with bandits and the gods know what else around I cannot do it alone.Do you know off anyone who might be willing to assist me.I cannot pay much but I am certain the spoils from the bandit camp would tempt some sell swords."
Perhaps Father had been right, Salvianella thinks to herself as she sits in the inn bundled in mountains of fur. But no, she wouldn't admit to it. Spoiled he had called her. Spoiled! Well she'd show him. Let's just see how long he lasts without me. Salvianella sips at her beverage and enjoys the feeling of warmth as it flows through her body, eating away at the cold.
As she sits there, Salvianella overhears the locals discussing the abducted Lady. Glad that wasn't me.
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I was thinking of having Drew work at the local tavern. His background had him as a servant to a Chelish noble who traveled from their home in Cheliax north over the Crown of the World and into Tian Xia. There the noble met an unfortunate end, and poor Drew was left all alone. After a year of scrounging and stealing in one of the cities, he came to the attention of recruiters for a local ninja clan. Thinking he was a foreign child, they took him in and taught him their craft. He learned quickly, however always kept his eye on a way back home. He finally had an opportunity when he was sent to spy on a merchant. He discovered that the merchant was planning an expedition back to Avistan. He fled from his adopted clan and hid among the many laborers hired to run the caravan. Drew finally left the caravan in Heldren and signed on to work at the local tavern. Hope that is ok and works.
A tall lean figure ambles into the village taking note of the crowd. Under an arm is a bundle of pelts to sell, thick in winter fur though it is mid-summer.
The young man sports a mat of reddish brown hair that serves as a beard and shoulder length dirty blonde hair. He wears only a buckskin breechclout, and a gnarly oak club swings at his side opposite a crudely stitched pouch. His skin is browned though it is hard to tell where the dirt stops and the tan begins. Three parallel scars mark his face, a gift from his drowned father. He wears a bear claw on a thong around his neck.
Although he walks nonchalantly, his gray eyes are alert and wary. He pauses listening to the discussion, nodding at the hunters' tales for he himself has come from the Border Wood.
"However, that makes you no less correct. Whatever is causing this strange weather must be discovered quickly. There is a wild-man that lives in the Border Wood along with the High Sentinels...he brings furs and pelts to sell in town on occasion. What was his name...Taldir?...Vildur?...Vildir?...yes! That's it! Vildir. As long as he has been in those woods, he probably knows them nearly as well as the Sentinels. My advice is to try and find him, my dear."
Salvianella takes one final sip of her drink and savors it while trying to remember anything of note about Lady Argentea. Coming up with nothing she shrugs in her pile of furs and blankets. Must not have been very important, then. As she puts down her cup, her gaze goes out the window to the falling snow. She thinks back to her father's words. Not that I could go back home if I even wanted to at this point.
Drew continues to gather the tankards and plates from the people visiting the tavern. The unseasonably cold weather reminds him of his trek over the Crown of the World, and he shivers with that memory. He wanders over to the small fireplace and adds a few more logs in an attempt to warm up the main room. This far south, even in the coldest days of Abadius, a small fireplace like this could warm the entire room, but not now! The cold creeps in under the door and through the windows. Most of the customers have abandoned the outer tables, and now gather around the fireplace and its meager warmth.
The tall figure nods his shaggy head at the gathered crowd, "Ya! De Vetter is Crazy! Look at dese Furs. De Animals haf put on deir Vinter coats. De Bears are going to sleep und dere are strange things in de Night. I am here to sell dese furs for veapons und de armor."
The onset of the strange weather in the Border Wood came suddenly and without warning. It's only been three days since reports of strange cold came in from the forest. Two days ago, the snowfall started.
Ykaterina stops her pacing and nods thoughtfully. "The wild man..off course I have seen him once..perhaps twice at the Market selling furs..yes he might be the best one to talk too and this weather might have brought him in. I'll ask around.."Thank you Theodora..for everything you have done"
The tall, raw boned young woman leaves the cottage and makes her way the few tens of yards towards the Market Square and the Statue of the Lady where surprisingly she spots her quarry almost immediately
"You there..yes you the Oak-tall one ..are you the man they call Vildir?" she calls out slightly louder than she intended.
The Druid will see a young woman barely out of girlhood who looks like she could do with a few good meals inside her..dressed ina plain homespun dress of grey wool and wearing a maidens apron. Her Silver Blonde hair is done up in Braids curled on either side of her head..and she looks worried.
Wildir answers the pale stranger in Skald, "Yes, girl? You look to have northern blood. Do you speak Skald? What do you want?"
The door to the establishment swings open and in steps a middle-aged woman with piercing blue eyes and brown hair that is presently pulled up into a bun, clearing her throat loudly. The tavern, already relatively quiet with whispers of the strange days, goes completely still.
She seems a little shocked at the sudden silence, even though it was clearly the intended effect. "The village council is convening a meeting in the town square at the feet of the Lady. I expect everyone here to come, as we will be discussing all the rumors buzzing around about what's going on in the Border Wood. You've got ten minutes to finish your drinks." she announces, projecting her voice with the practice of someone accustomed to public speaking. With that, she turns and leaves, heading to make the announcement to the rest of the small community.
Salvianella, clearly not used to being told what to do, glares daggers at the woman as she leaves. The nerve talking to her like that. However, having already finished her drink and being generally curious as to the odd weather, Salvianella stands, checks her hair, and leaves. Outside, the cold her her like a wall, and she bundles deeper into her furs - a combination of mink, fox, and other assorted soft pelts of distinctly high quality that mark her out immediately as one of privilege. Bracing herself, she slowly begins to make her way towards the town square. Her movement making her appear drunk as she attempts to navigate the rough dirt road in heels more at home in the courts of the capital.
How do people live like this?
Drew quickly cleans up after the patrons, then bundles up and heads out to see what this big announcement might be.
" Ja, jag tala Skald. också Hellit och Kellish om du veta den här tunga "
She continues in the Northern language,her accent and diction pitch perfect
"Er bekymret den här främmande vända inne om rida ut och behov någon vem veta gränsen trä till eskort jag där. Jag kan icke betala tou mycket för servicen utom Jag er säker vi kanna komma till något arrangemang "
She notices the Village 'Mayor' Counciller Hedrin and her fellow councillers approaching the statue with a distintly purposeful stride. She also realises the area around the statue is beginning to fill up as almost the entire population from infants to Gaffers is present.
" å , nu vi makt lära sig något av betydelse "
Wildir nods and his eyes narrow just a bit with suspicion. He continues in Skald, "I thought so. You look Yadviga. You sure you don't know nothing about this weather?"
"No" she replies sharply in the sing song speech off the North "But I want to find out as much as the next person what has caused it,before people begin to think I did..you understand. My Mother was of the Jadwiga and I know she would have done something about this as well, even if the people only tolerated her because of my Father"
"My name is Ykatarina Yframovitcha Ystrova von Eridor and my Fathers blood also means I have a duty to this village"
The Ulfen man shrugs, "I am Wildir Klosvart. I have no duty to the village, but I do not like what is happening in the forest."
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Trelck snorts awake from the shadowy corner in the tavern that has been his spot of choice when the strange weather started a couple of days ago. His pony, Feldspar, had take to an irritable state and the dwarf and the creature were companions of occasional strained relationships even in the best of weather.
Seeing an opportunity to get the pony re-shoed and to find a tavern with some dark beer, the dwarf "set up shop" as the Varisians sometimes say and took to the tavern with relish as any good dwarf might. Apparently too taken with his drink, Trelck thought the corner a better place to nap than his bed.
Stirred by the harsh bellow of some matronly town-type Trelck could see that everyone meant to leave and hear more of the weather and other strange rumours. It would appear that the gathering was not optional but Trelck saw no reason to comply. Then again, since the serving types looked to be leaving as well, it made little sense to the dwarf to stay.
Grabbing his shield, axe, and bag the dwarf straps everything on and wanders outside snorting softly as the cold weather hits his ruddy cheeks. Looking about for a good place to stand, the dwarf looks about at the townsfolk and outsiders that seem to be gathering.
Trelck being one of the last to show up in the square finds that very nearly the entire village has shown up, even women and children curious as to what the village council had to see regarding the odd weather.
A group of men at the base of the Lady finish assembling a portable podium of sorts, with the council gathering in a line at the front of it, while the same middle-aged woman seen in the tavern earlier ascends to the top of the lectern, making her easy to see and hear above the crowd, even for someone of Trelck's stature. She is dressed in long sleeves and a buttoned-up coat, her long, brown-but-graying hair pulled into a tight bun against the back of her head. Locals recognize her as the leader of the village council, Ionnia Teppen. Non-locals learn her name quickly enough, as there are murmurs among the crowd whispering her name and wondering what she has to say to the group.
"Good afternoon!" she begins, her voice carrying the same authority as it had in the tavern; just as in the Silver Stoat, the crowd soon draws to a hush.
After silence has fallen, Ionnia continues, "As leader of the village council, it is my duty to inform you that we have decided it is past time to investigate these strange weather patterns we have been experiencing of late. As you may have heard rumored, an unexpected visitor arrived in town yesterday: an Ulfen mercenary who was a part of Lady Argentea's retinue."
"He came with tales of things never before seen in this part of the world, things which we must deal with...now. We cannot wait for aid from Oppara or even Zimar. However...as I'm sure you know, our local militia is barely large enough to keep the town safe from run-of-the-mill threats, much less what faces us now."
"I know many of you have families and will deem my request too dangerous...and I won't blame you for that. But the council and I wish to put out a call for any who might be willing to venture into the Border Wood and discover the cause of this cold snap. Any who wish to assist Heldren in this task...please step forward." she finishes, then looks around, watching for volunteers as several people in the crowd shuffle anxiously back and forth on their feet, glancing to and fro, waiting to see who would be the first to volunteer.
The little halfling moves to the front of the crowd to see and hear better. When the call for recruits goes up, he steps forward, feeling a little foolish, but raises his hand.
"I would look into these troubles. Though I am a new to this village, I have grown fond of it and all of you. If I can do anything to help, you have it."
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Trelck raises an eyebrow at the call for volunteers and snorts slightly when the halfling steps forward, Brave fellow!
Looking about Trelck finds his hand caressing his axe handle and then steps forward raising his hand. I'll aid the halfling with dwarven steel. I've old blood and the cold bothers me not.
Nodding to himself the dwarf moves through the crowd to stand with the halfling. Well now, let's see who else ends up on this merry chase!
The tall Ulfen shuffles forward and shrugs. In heavily accented Taldane, he adds simply, "Ya, I know de Voods. Ve find out vhat is happening dere."
Ykaterina listens to the Mayors speech and nods in approval "I will go..I had intended to investigate this anyway but am glad for the company of those more able to keep our lives and limbs safe"
She nods gravely to the Dwarf.
Wildir smells like he lives in the wood as well. The shaggy Ulfen's beard splits as he smiles at the woman, "Look like ve got some company for de valk in de voods." He nods sincerely to Trelk, "Ya Dvarg, I know de voods like de back ov my head."
This is just terrible. What have I gotten myself into, Salvianella thinks to herself as the woman on the podium drones on. About that time, the heel on her left shoe breaks sending her tumbling forward. She grins sheepishly as all heads turn to examine her. Why are they all looking at me?
"Hello," she says timidly, suddenly uncomfortable with all the backwoods attention on her person.
Councilwoman Teppen breathes a sigh of relief as several people step forward with offers of help, both locals and new faces to the town.
"It seems we have our volunteers! The five of you have my heartfelt thanks, and I'm sure the heartfelt thanks of all of Heldren. Your bravery and selflessness will not soon be forgotten. Let's all give them a hand!" she announces, with the rest of the crowd immediately exploding into applause, many in the front stepping forward to shake hands and offer sincere thank yous to the five of you.
After a few minutes, Ionnia again speaks up, this time encouraging everyone to leave you alone to set about actually figuring out what is causing the cold weather. Quickly descending the steps of the makeshift lectern, she offers her own thanks to each of you in turn before addressing the group as a whole. "Well...I think the best thing to do now would be take you to see Yuln, the Ulfen mercenary who came into town yesterday. He's the only person who's actually seen some of the things wandering the forest and come back to talk about it. Well...not that he's done much talking yet. He only regained consciousness a few hours ago. If you'll follow me, he's being held at the Willowbark." she informs you, barely waiting to make sure you've registered what she has said before turning and heading west towards a medium-sized building a short distance up the street.
The nearly naked northerner frowns at the limping newcomer. "You better get some nice boots before ve leave, flecka. Dat forest gonna eat you alive." He then follows the councilwoman amiably.
Drew looks up at the various savage biguns all around him and wonders what has he gotten himself into. He trails behind the others as they follow the councilwoman.
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Trelek snorts as the half elf stumbles forward but his light grin never leaves his face. As the druid admonishes her about her boots the dwarf nods knowingly, Aye nothing worse than a forest with depths of snow, never know if you fall into a ravine or some other hole. Tangled roots and the like.
Otherwise the dwarf is happy to be moving on to something new and walks with the group to this mercenary.
Salvianella nods and shakes all the peoples' hands as they come to thank her. As the dwarf and the bear speak to her she looks at them confusedly. She keeps trying to respond, but the councilwoman and crowd of people keep interrupting her. Eventually the crowd disperses leaving a very confused Salvianella standing there.
"Where are we going again?" she says barely loud enough to be heard as she follows behind the dangerous-looking types.
"We are going to see the Guard who survived the raid on the caravan..perhaps he can throw some light on the matter before we go plunging into the woods.." the blonde tells the half elf.."and the men are right, you won't get far in the wilds in that city get up..best get yourself some comfortable and servicable clothes."
Upon reaching the Willowbark Apothecary, you are led inside by Councilwoman Ionnia. Upon entering the business, you see a young elf-woman emerging from a back room, wiping her forearms clean with strips of white cloth.
"Good morning, Tessaraea. These brave young residents have volunteered to try and find out what's going on in the Border Wood...I thought bringing them to see the mercenary to find out more about what happened would give them a leg up on the enemies they'll be facing." the councilwoman says.
The proprietress of the Willowbark responds with a smile. "Of course. That makes perfect sense. I'm afraid Yuln is still very weak from his experience, despite the best efforts of Elder Safander, but he may be able to handle answering a few questions about what happened yesterday. Please, come into the back." She gestures to the lot of you, encouraging you to come into another room that has been set off by a sheet hanging over an open doorway.
Upon entering the next room, you see what may be one of the strangest sights you've ever encountered: a muscular man with long, thick blonde hair tended in careful braids, wrapped heavily in bandages. His countenance is weak, his head wrapped tightly in strips of cloth; even worse, his nose and ears are black from a serious case of frostbite. He clearly had a very tough fight escaping from the ambush the previous day.
Upon seeing you, he raises one arm, wincing in pain, but waving you over. "So is true, eh? I heard the women speaking in the other room about you going into the forest to discover what is happening. Would that I could return there with you...my ancestors would ridicule my lack of valor for fleeing rather than giving my life to the fight. But I faced enemies that even the greatest heroes of the Linnorm Kingdoms have faltered against, even managing to slay one of the beasts before they dragged Lady Argentea away. I will do what I can to assist you in recovering her." he offers.
What kind of beast!", Drew blurts out breathlessly, before anyone can say anything. He looks sheepishly at the floor.
"What I mean is, do you know what kind of beast ambushed you?"
Gazing upon the battered warrior, Wildir notes, "You look like hell. Must haf been big." As an afterthought he adds, "I can try und heal you more if you vant."
Yuln shifts in the bed, wincing in pain as he attempts to get more comfortable as he sits himself up to better see the five of you, looking down toward the halfling and then up to the barrel-chested druid. "I fear it is not a matter of the size of the opponent, friend, but from whence they hail. When the attack began we thought they were just bandits...cowardly wolves hiding in the forest. They were no match for us...we could handle them easily. But then...then came the fey. The cold fey of the north. They appeared from nowhere and the battle turned quickly to them. My people speak often of the winter-touched, but I never dreamed to meet them in battle so far south. I do not believe further healing will be of much aid to me. Elder Safander has already seen to many of my wounds."
Wildir scratches at his beard, "Fey, huh? I haf never seen one, but I know de tales. Vat did dey look like?"
knowledge nature..
Ykeaterina gives some information gleaned from her Mothers tales of the Northlands.