|
The last night of the ceremony is a blur as Masym remembers the freezing ice shards in his belly, courtesy of the Lantern, mixing with the outside cold. To his fevered mind, the outside felt much warmer and seemed to bask and comfort him in its frigidness...
Once the ceremony is over Masym eats like a famished warrior and for once allows a smile to creep out on his face, a smile rarely seen during the Pathfinder's journey. He offers a bow to Teyma. "I would also like to keep this tattoo, as a mark of the trials I have faced. Truly the Ice has touched me and left its mark. I wish to remember this for my time on this plane."
For the rest of the time with the Snowmasks, he is far more jovial than usual, the taciturn mask stripped away...however when hi gaze falls upon Phoebee his face grows clouded and sad. He briefly considers approaching her but then decides to wait until they have parted ways from their new tribe.
You spend a few more days with the Snowmask, before it finally becomes time to head back to civilization.
They supply you with enough food to reach Irrisen, and bid you farewell. A couple of the kellids go with you, for the first part of the trip, leading you south for a ways, before heading west along the southern bank of one of the tributaries of the Frozen Road, claiming an easier crossing on the smaller rivers.
Eventually you end up heading back across the endless plains of the Realm of the Mammoth Lords, this time on the southern side of the river, you guess very close to the route that Melkorka Skur and her agents took on the way in. The weather remains cold, though you barely notice it anymore.
About a week after setting out, you reach the Gullik river, marking the border between the Realm and Irrisen, looking across at the town of Coldwater. Despite the fact it is cold and snow covers the ground on both sides of the river, the difference between the natural cold terrain on the east side, and the supernatural eternal winter terrain on the west side is painfully obvious seen like this.
It as you arrive in Coldwater, and look to restock your food for the trip through Irrisen proper, that you find yourselves being hailed, and turn to see a familiar face . Ragna Lightfoot, the ulfen woman and fellow Pathfinder who you've not seen since she handed off the goblin prisoners too you, what seems like a lifetime ago.
"I almost couldn't believe it... again." She says, eyeing you speculatively with a slight smile. "Figured you would have vacated back to warmer climes ages ago. Then word comes down you're coming in from the east. Thought they were mistaken, when they said it was the same in-country greenhorns we dumped those gobbos on a month and a half ago! But here you are!"
She grins, as she seems to notice some of the markings from the induction ceremony that still have not quite fully faded yet. "Looks like you've almost gone native." She shakes her head slightly. "No end of surprises. Come! Lots has happened. You folks have been busy!" She leads you to a more private spot, continuing to chat.
"Ran into Skagni and those Blood Ram villagers on their way out." She frowns slightly. "They were in rough shape, but we got them all out alright. Thanks for that. For a pen pusher, Skagni's a tough old bastard... and a friend."
"He filled me in on what happened. Partly why I'm here." She continues. "You guys pulled all sorts of good intel out of that Shadow Lodge base in Whitethrone. Not sure how you found it so fast, we'd been trying to pinpoint it for months. The damn brewery."
"The powers-what-be were all over the info. They started using divinations to try to monitor your progress. Not much they could do while you were in Irrisen, the ice witches have way too many wards in place to make that easy. But once you crossed into the mammoth plains, they were at least able to keep track of where you were. Once you started back west, they had us set up watches on all the likely places you might be crossing. Guess I win." She laughs slightly.
"So? What was it? This mysterious 'weapon' Rognvald mentioned." She looks at you curiously. "I had five silvers on a dragon egg hatchery, though even odds were on wild goose chase."
"I do hope you smacked that Skur woman down at least."
It turns out Ragna has already prepared provisions and supplies for you, so your stay in Coldwater is very brief. As you gather up the gear, heading northwest towards the river, she continues to inform you of what has been happening since you left.
"I'm here to make sure you don't go anywhere near Whitethrone. You left that place in quite the uh... tizzy." She laughs. "By the time the Iron Guard bit their pride and asked the howlers for help, you had already cleared the gates. They found the Shadow Lodge base in no time, but you and the Shadow Lodgers had already vacated by then on your way east. Even then, from what I hear, the howlers were just hours behind you when you hit the river... but once you were on the Frozen Road they lost the scent. You got out just in time."
"The best part... with no one to put the thumbscrews too, and in absence of anyone to answer their questions, they decided to blame everyone. Its safe to say, both Pathfinders and the Shadow Lodge are persona non grata in Whitethrone now." She chuckles. "There's no way those Shadow bastards'll be setting up again in Irrisen anytime soon... and hell, they didn't like us anyway, right?"
"But now that the wolves have your scent, we need to make sure you stay well away from the capital for the foreseeable future. So we'll head north to the Road again, and then take a boat downriver from there to Helkgen. Then hoof it west the rest of the way back to Trollheim."
"Yes, I said we." She adds. "With the Shadow Lodge's operations obliterated here, my reason for being here is moot! I get to get out of this god forsaken country finally! Thanks for that too!"
"Since there's no Lodge for you guys to report to, I hear they're sending a Lodge to you." She shrugs slightly. "Benarry herself, and the Pixie, are supposed to be in Trollheim sometime next week to pick us all up."
It doesn't take long to reach the Frozen Road again, and waving down a ride on another merchant vessel is easy enough on the busy thoroughfare. From there, the ship travel goes slower, the numerous ice flows that clog the river making traveling it a slow process. Eventually, however, you hit Glacier Lake, and not long after disembark in the town of Helkgem on the lake's western shore.
From there, you travel by foot again, mirroring the caravan route you took into Irrisen last time, but on the northern side of the river instead. Eventually you cross at the city of Algidheart, a strange city where almost all its architecture goes straight up, instead of out. Buildings stacked on top of buildings everywhere with walkways and bridges spanning them on multiple levels, creating quite the cityscape
One across the river, you then find yourselves following the exact same route you entered on, through the run-down village of Gojko, and finally into the Linnorm Kingdoms... and within the day, you are back in the city of Trollheim... a month since you left it last.
|
"There is no way I'd go back to Whitethrone or Irrisen," Nella says with a shake of her head. "You couldn't pay me enough! I'm so glad we're back in uh...at least somewhat friendly territory. It's been a heck of a trip...you see, the weapon turned out to be this great flaming axe..." she launches into a brief version of what happened to them after fleeing Whitethrone. "And now we're back here," she finishes. "Phoebee can tell you the longer version of it once we've got a little more time!"
"There is no way I'd go back to Whitethrone or Irrisen," Nella says with a shake of her head.
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Tchak whispers as an aside to Masym. "She sure talks a lot... are all ulfen women this chatty?"
Masym chuckles heartily. "Not that I am an expert with women, but my experience has been if something can be said in two words or less a woman will take at least ten words to say it."
|
During the trip back to Trollheim Malusha takes every opportunity to sit near Nella and visit with her. He thanks her many times for how her healing energy saved his life. Also, during the trip, Malusha notices that he no longer needs to use his wand of endure elements to keep himself comfortable. He soon realizes it is another benefit of the Snowmask induction.
You end up waiting hanging out in Trollheim for four days, before Ragna tracks you down to tell you that Venture Captain Benarry has arrived. Thankfully, your time in the city has been a little less inhospitable than your previous visit, as the local ulfen citizens seemed to have warmed to you somewhat... or at least as much as anything in these northern lands 'warms'... but, by and large, they do not seem so generally unfriendly anymore, apparently now mostly indifferent to your presence in their town.
You meet in a large inn, down by the docks by the river, in a somewhat cramped back room. Captain Calisro Benarry, the half-orc captain of the Grinning Pixie, the Pathfinders' one and only mobile Lodge, is here shivering as she strides back and forth in the small room to keep warm while a fire slowly starts to heat the space.
"By the gods," She says, as you come in along with Ragna. "It's been over a week, and I'm still cold. Hard to imagine you lot being stuck here for almost two months now! The North is no place for a free captain, but here we are." She grins ruefully as she takes a sip from a flask in her hand. "Oh, Kalsgard wasn't too bad, I suppose, they’ve got plenty of good stiff drink there, but it's only gotten colder as we've moved inland. Even a stiff drink can't keep that at bay." She pulls her mammoth-fur coat tighter across her body.
Ragna asks her why you're not meeting on the Pixie, causing Benarry to look at her funny. "The Grinning Pixie's a seagoing vessel. It can't make the trip up that ice-choked tributary."
Ragna looks surprised for a moment, then embarrassed, muttering to herself.
"But that's what Old Flotsam is for." The Venture Captain adds. "Been a while since I had her out for more then a landfall. She's tied up on the south dock with room to spare to drag all of you out of this icy wasteland."
She turns her attention to the rest of you, thoughtfully. "Fantastic job by the way, with Skagni and all that business in Whitethrone. Now that the Shadow Lodge has been ousted from Irrisen, we'll be able to focus more on finding and doing the same to the rest of 'em. This wasn't the only one that Caggrigar bastard set up. There was a great deal of good information you sent out, and we've been pouring over it for weeks now."
She gets you all to sit down, if only so the room doesn't seem quite so crowded, then goes about debriefing you on events they know of, from your point of view, and then on what happened after you left Whitethrone and the trip to the Realm of the Mammoth Lords.
The meeting goes on for a couple of hours, as she asks questions, and gets you to go over various aspects of your trip. Behind her, a man takes notes, the quiet skritching of pen on parchment becoming background noise to the interview.
Eventually, she sits back, apparently satisfied, throwing a smile at Ragna. "Don't worry, you get your turn too." She says. "But that can wait for later." She points towards the door. "There's a young Varki woman waiting outside, can you send her in? Then go check in with Ruprecht, he should be stowing gear on Old Flotsam." She glances at the rest of you. "These lot are not quite free and clear yet."
Ragna nods, gives you all an empathetic look, then exits the room. A minute later, a dark-haired serious-looking woman enters wearing a leopard fur coat. She goes over to sit in the seat vacated by Ragna, and watches you curiously, though says nothing.
Once the newcomer is seated, Benarry eyes you all for a moment then continues apologetically. "I know you were hoping to go straight home, and I've been given free reign to take you south. But unfortunately, there's one last task for you here first. We were going to assign an outside team, but once we realized you were free it was decided your recent expertise in the area would greatly increase the chances of success. So right back into the maelstrom for you!"
"You’ve all heard of Jormurdun?" the Venture Captain continues. She doesn't wait for an answer before continuing. "Well, before it fell, that dwarven sky citadel contained an artifact called the Sky Key. King Gutheran broke it into five pieces and gave four of them to his heirs as they fled the invasion, keeping the fifth for himself. One of Gutheran’s heirs, Naldak, traveled into what is now southwestern Irrisen, though at the time it was just another corner of the Linnorm Kingdoms. Naldak established a small town that he called Naldak’s Point."
"That’s where the trail goes cold." She grimaces slightly. "Most likely, Baba Yaga wiped them out when she invaded. The piece of the Sky Key and the ruins of Naldak’s Point are probably buried under a millennium of ice and snow, just waiting for someone... you... to go dig them out."
"I’ve packed you ten blocks of blackfire clay to make the task more manageable," She adds, as she hefts a heavy backpack off the floor and thumps it down on the table. "Don’t forget to take those with you."
"You’re heading southeast, up the Thundering River, past the Grungir Forest, and back into Irrisen. Desna smiles, the site should be about half a day’s hike out of Dalun, a small trade city on the Irrisen border. Take a small river boat packed with supplies and a letter of trade, make nice with the city officials, maybe see if there's any trade opportunities, then see if you can get permission to travel inland. Head to the site and find our missing Sky Key piece. You’ll know you’re on the right track if you recover signs that the royal family settled there."
"I'd tell you to watch yourselves, but I suspect you know more of Irrisen then most by now. Try not to antagonize the locals. It'll be like poking a sleeping ice bear in the eye, except it won’t kill you as quickly. As you know, the Society is not especially welcome in Irrisen, so try to keep what friends we have, and see if you can't make new ones. I can't tell you how big a coup it would be if we could open up any sort of ongoing trade agreement with the locals."
"With that it mind, I’ve hired a local to bring you safely to Dalun." At this point she finally gestures towards the Varki woman who joined you. "This is Haltani, and she will guide you into and out of Irrisen. Yes, I realize you probably don't need her assistance for that, but she also knows the area and the locals, including who might or might not be interested in possibly setting up outside trade. It should help you do so with as little conflict as possible."
The Varki woman springs to her feet gracefully and addresses the party. "It is always a pleasure to meet travelers from faraway lands. It is true that Irrisen is a harsher land than most. Keep your wits about you, and I will do my best to help ensure your journey is profitable."
Captain Benarry nods. "We've already procured the ship and stocked it up. So you can head out as soon as you're ready. I'll be waiting here in Trollheim for a fortnight. Should give you enough time to get in, make a few friends, root about the ruins if they're there, and get back out again."
"Any questions?
Captain Benarry grins slightly. "Well, you're not looking for the Sky Key, but a piece of it. I assume it will be obvious, as they are powerful otherworldly artifacts from Numeria."
"As for trouble, I hope you shall see none." She shrugs. "But it is the border between the Linnorm Kingdoms and Irrisen. They've been at war, more or less continuously, for hundreds of years. With all that bad blood, who knows what trouble you might see... not to mention Irrisen itself has its usual hazards, as I'm sure you're well aware."
She glances over at Haltani.
"Not all of Irrisen is bad," Haltani adds, somewhat defensively. "But it is dangerous. Ice trolls, snow goblins, even the winter wolves can accost unwary travelers. But Dalun is safe. They are more forward thinking then many of the other settlements in the country. They often accept outsiders and are eager for trade."
"Well, you're recent encounters, notwithstanding." Benarry interjects, with a glance at Phoebee.
She unfurls a map of Irrisen, most of it relatively familiar to you, showing the location of the town of Dalun on the southern border of the province of Wintercrux.
"You can keep this map, if you need it." She offers, and then points to a spot on the map. "You'll be headed here, to Dalun, along the Thundering River. Haltani says it should take about six days going upriver. Far less coming back." She glances over at the Varki woman, who nods agreement.
Benarry then marks a small 'X' just off to the side of Dalun. "And, as best we can determine, the ruins of Naldak's Point should be about there, half a day maybe out of town."
She then pulls out a sheaf of official-looking parchments. "These are the Letters of Trade, if you can find suitable merchants interested, these should help assuage most of their doubts as to our good will."
"And of course the Blackfire Clay." She adds, pointing at the heavy backpack still resting on the table. "There are ten blocks in there, which should help."
"Well, if you've no more questions, Haltani can show you the ship we've procured. It's not much, but it should do the job well enough. Its stocked with enough food for the journey, and some basic supplies, but if you need anything else before Dalun, I suggest you get it now."
Haltani will lead you to a small single-masted boat designed for navigating the rivers in the area. It seems well-used and maintained. It is about thirty-five feet from stem to stern but with no enclosed areas. With seven of you plus provisions and supplies, it proves to be a bit short on free space, but your guide seems satisfied that it will do the job. She also seems to at least have some experience at navigating such vessels, and takes the tiller when it becomes clear no one else has done much, if any, sailing at all.
The first part of the upriver journey is uneventful and slow going. You see the occassional elk or deer on the bank, though they all dash off as you sail by. At night, you are forced to land and camp, as navigating in the dark is extremely hazardous. The temperature is cold on the river, especially at night, but by now, you find yourselves inured to it, and it proves no inconvenience at all, much to your guide's surprise.
"Scarab Scholar, I require your help. Find an ice diamond in Irrisen, high quality. Mined in Wintercrux, very rare. Bring to me. Possible Sage Jewel."
You realize, given the odd syntax, that he was probably working within the word count limitations of a Sending spell.
Haltani herself stays mostly quiet during the days while she concentrates on guiding the boat, pointing out the occasional landmark or creature. But at night, when you camp, you soon realize she has a very inquisitive nature as she takes the time to talk to each of you on an individual basis, curious about where you're from, where you've been, interesting adventures you may have had, and the Society itself. She also makes a point of asking both Nella and Malusha about their religions and Wei Tchak about his sword.
You get the impression she does not know much about the world away from here.
|
|
Jones, having been on a boat one other time and not having the most wonderful experience, will stay near the middle of the vessel or under the deck.
|
"The sword is named Oblivion... not sure why, that's simply what it told me when it was presented to me. I'm not even sure where it came from, but I am sure it is originally from my homeland, as swords of this nature are not generally made here in the west. It speaks to me inside my head from time to time, but is usually quiet as long as I am following the same path it would if it could do so without my aid. It can be quite vocal if I do not however." He shrugs. "As for me, I am a tengu from Tian lands in the east. I'll bet you don't see many of my kind here in the cold north. I was hatched in Kwan Lun though I grew up in Minkai, where my family moved when I was a child. My father was a smith and wanted to learn the skill of making swords like Oblivion here, which was a very closely guarded craft in Minkai. He found a great Master who agreed to teach him, though sadly, his Master passed before he finished his training. My father made blades til the day he, too, died, though he never acquired the full range of skill he had hoped for and was always unhappy that he considered what he made to be inferior blades. Who knows, he might have even made Oblivion! The blade I carried until Oblivion became mine was one my father made, and it served me well for several years. I traveled to the west to train and learn how to combine magic and swordplay more effectively. But since my early career, most of that time has been spent in the cold north. I even got to slay a dragon! It's been an interesting life so far, and I've learned much. What about your life and your travels? You haven't spoke much about yourself... what is your story?"
|
|
Masym takes his time enjoying the first part of the trip and does make small talk with Haltani for a bit. Once he can corner Phoebee in private he continues,
She seems dubious about Tchak's claims.
As he starts asking her questions in return, she merely shrugs. "If you've spent a significant amount of time here, as you say, then you know all there is to tell." she waves one hand absently towards the snow-covered northern bank of the river. "Not much changes."
|
|
"Ah, but I think you don't give this place enough credit... much changes all the time! Perhaps there is always ice and the cold... but the people and creatures are each fascinatingly unique and intriguingly deadly. While there have been some rough times, I have thoroughly enjoyed my travels and travails here! I'm sure you have your own tales to tell, though I won't press you if you don't wish to tell them. I myself am not much of a storyteller, but I've learned from experience with the Snowmasks that the importance is in the effort of telling, not in the skill. Thank you for listening to my own meager effort... I have enjoyed our little talk... if you ever decide you wish to tell me some of your own tale, I will be here."
|
|
As the group boards the small boat Malusha starts to get a little worried. His life in the Osiriani deserts didn't prepare him for long journeys on little boats. But his concern is quickly overcome when he finds that the tight quarters give me more opportunity to be close to Nella.
During the second night, as he's dozing, he receives a vision. It is Tahonikepsu with a message.
When the vision fades Malusha remains silent. He glances around at the rest of the party. He knows he can trust his colleagues but he doesn't know about Haltani. He decides to wait until he has a chance to talk in private before he tells Nella about the message.
|
|
|
|
|
|
During the trip to Dalun, Nella doesn't seem to mind being stuck in close quarters with the others nor the actual boat ride itself. In fact, she's thankful for the boon granted to her by the Snowmasks since now she can actually sit and enjoy the scenery without worrying so much about freezing to death. And of course, she also spends some time chatting with some of her fellow travelers...
When approached by Haltani, Nella shares a little of her own adventures that she had prior to being assigned to work with the rest of the current group. "See, I hadn't actually done much field work before being assigned with the others to find out what was plaguing Skelg. I mean, I did have my confirmation mission which was exciting and dangerous in its own right - we were sent to explore a cavern system not far outside of Absalom," she explains. "Janira Gavix was assigned as our guide and mentor since she had already been made an official Pathfinder. On the way there we ran across swarms of spiders and even escaped a minotaur! Inside the caverns we found an old shrine dedicated to Aroden and even met a gillman; his people had taken to visiting the caverns for their own rituals since it'd been abandoned by Aroden's followers."
"Even though I was made an agent after that, I ended up not getting assigned any field commissions for awhile. But there was still plenty of things going on. Did you know the Grand Lodge in Absalom gets attacked like, every other week it seems? One time it was the Aspis causing a ruckus and then another time we had a bunch of goblins and other critters to deal with. Personally I think that last one might've had something to do with the Shadow Lodge too but I'm not sure - if it was, I guess I wasn't important enough at the time to be put in the know about it," she continues.
"After that, though...well, you've heard the rest of it. I and the others were assigned to check up on Skelg and things just went from there. Now here I am, talking to you," she smiles. "There've been a few times where I probably should have died...or someone else on my team...but I've always felt like Shelyn is watching over me and my fellow agents. I know the Society has its own goals but I still want to try and do good where I can, when I can, when I'm sent out somewhere."
After having been pulled away by Malusha for a moment to speak in private, Nella folds her arms, looking thoughtful at what her fellow cleric had to say. "Wow, does Tahonikepsu always communicate with his Scarab Sages like that? He must keep a real close eye on everyone, all the way down to the newest initiates!" she exclaims, sounding a bit envious. "Sometimes I wish we got more direction like that from Ollysta Zadrian...but I don't know, maybe she figures that if we're concerned enough to join then we don't need too much guidance beyond what conscience tells us."
"At any rate, it must be important if Tahonikepsu went to all the trouble of contacting you," she adds. "And he seems like his heart's in the right place from what I've heard. I'll do what I can to help you find one, okay?" A pause. "Are you going to tell the others about this?"
Haltani listens to Nella's story with rapt attention, apparently eagre to learn about other places.
She seems surprised when she mentions Skelg and learns he was from Irrisen. "... and he was a Pathfinder?"
She gets thoughtful after Nella's story, clearly pondering what the priestess told her.
The days that follow are relatively peaceful... you pass very few settlements after the first few days, and most of them little more than groups of small fishing huts crouched along the edges of the river. Any people you see are grim-looking ulfens, who either scowl at you, or ignore you completely.
Eventually the river passes through the eastern edge of the Grungir Forest, prompting Haltani to tell a few local tales of the many fey inhabitants and the great linnorm Fafnheir that supposedly dwells therein.
As you exit the forest, the Thundering River forks, where the Summermelt River flows into it, and you stop here for the night in the small gnomish town of Delmon's Glen.
It is the next day of the trip when the terrain on the north side of the river noticeably changes. Haltani merely quietly says "Irrisen" by way of explanation, and you realize that you are finally passing along the border of Irrisen proper, the eternal winter that grips it reaching right to the banks of the river itself.
Haltani gets more thoughtful once you reach this section of the river, and she talks less, ostensibly concentrating on steering around the suddenly more numerous chunks of ice prevalent in the water. You occasionally see her reaching to her neck, her hands fingering a necklace of pale blue stones she wears under her winter clothing.
"We should reach Dalun late tomorrow." She says.
|
|
Malusha continues to speak quietly with Nella.
|
|
"Well...the Society accepts all kinds," Nella chuckles wryly. "Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing probably depends on who you ask. For the most part, I don't think it's a bad thing. Getting a different point of view on something can be a real eye-opening experience, you know?"
"But what about you? Have you ever traveled very much?"
"Hum...I think we can trust her, at least to a point," Nella muses. "Why not ask her what she knows about ice diamonds and then go from there? Besides, it would probably be a good idea to know if trying to find and take one is going to be breaking some sort of law here," she adds, thinking of the crystalline flower that she still carried.
As the small boat slowly makes its way upriver, chill breezes occasionally blow quick showers of icy crystals off of the snowbanks along the northern shore. Despite this, everyone is relatively comfortable. The river current has picked up as you get closer to the mountains to the south.
Near midday, as you approach a bend in the river, several large rocks up ahead cause white-water rapids across most of the water’s breadth. Only a narrow channel with a swift current flows without obstruction near the southern bank, and Haltani carefully steers you towards it.
She is almost through the rough stretch when you hear a shout from the nearby shore, and suddenly something rises up out of the water directly in front of the boat. It takes you a moment to register a large heavy net stretching across the river directly ahead, rising almost fifteen feet above the surface of the water, before the boat runs directly into it!
Your guide reefs on the tiller with all her might, and almost manages to guide the boat around the right edge, but the current makes the vessels movements too sluggish, and you run into the thick cable-like mesh with considerable force, propelling the boat right up to the southern bank, as the net tangles up in its mast and rudder.
Still, she manages to avoid the head on collision and the worst of the impact, and everyone manages to keep their places, except for Malusha, who tumbles forward into the bow of the ship, getting tangled up in the bow rope and the gear stored there.
You see a number of grim-looking ulfen men step out from concealed positions in the large overhanging trees on the nearby southern shore.
"You travel a dangerous route strangers." One of them shouts. "State your business on these waters... you travel far too close to Irrisen to be honest travelers! Stand down to have your ship searched, lest you be enemies of the Linnorm Kingdoms!"
You hear Haltani mutter "Whiterook" under her breath with dismay.
You only see three men, two of them are casually holding long spears within reach of the boat's position. The third man, the one talking, stands just behind them, holding a bow.
The ulfen men seem to relax a little at Phoebee's words.
"A good thing. Nothing but monsters and evil witches over there." The man in charge says. "Our search should go quickly, do not worry." He motions to the other two, and one of them moves to secure the boat to the shore.
"So where do you sail?" He adds, again.
Haltani just sort of glances at Nella nervously, shaking her head slightly. "Not a who." She mutters.
"Dalun!?" The man responds to Masym, his newly achieved friendly demeanor fading. "That's an ice witch town! Traitorous bastards, the lot of 'em! Why in the god's name would you be going there?!"
The other two men glance back at him and he frowns for a moment, thinking.
"Alright," He says finally, as if having made a decision he doesn't much like. "You all better come with me. I think Halvor will want to have a chat with you. He's our battle leader. Town's just up ahead a ways. "
He motions for you to get out of the boat, as he steps up the embankment to clear room.
The other two men look confused for a moment, then shrug as one joins him and the other starts to tie off the boat.