"Unfortunately, dear, I don't think that's so easily accomplished," Vashta demurs, looking toward others to see what they think their best course of action is.
Ulf grunts. "I've never fought a dragon, and usually the off-season for morozkos is when I travel." he says.
Hearthmistress Sonavut sighs. "I wish I could help you... but we just don't have the resources or the heart to, with our village being hunted like it is." she says.
Calder would prefer to avoid as much trouble as they can, difficult as it is with some members of their party.
He shrugs, it's trouble anyway that's picked. "What do you think is our best course?" He asks Ulf.
He looks Calder dead-on. "Honestly? I think we should wait until the morozkos die down."
"Could be months, and we're presumably being hunted."
Ulf shrugs. "You want to walk straight into a hungry storm, you can be my guest. Do you have another magic spell that will keep your skin from getting peeled off of your flesh by bladelike hail?"
"The alternative is waiting in one place for our enemies to come to us. Both sound bad. Would you rather die by razor ice or sneaky magic and poison? We need a third alternative."
"Maybe we can try to get past the dragon? I can't believe I'm saying this, but maybe that's the better option in this case? Maybe we can find some way to distract it to sneak past?"
”No,” Tallak says firmly. ”We kill it.”
Looking at the group of people around him, he adds ”This beast is upsetting the balance of this entire region. And we cannot run from every danger, especially this one. A dragon is capable of tormenting a vast territory, and we’d be better off facing it head on than letting it set the scene of the engagement.”
The Hearthmistress raises an eyebrow. "You would do that for us?" she says. "I mean, it would be a great service to our village if you would kill the dragon. We could reward you handsomely."
"When did it start attacking? Did something happen to change circumstances? Dragons live a long time, I am told... so if it has known about your village all along, but only just now started attacking, then maybe something changed. Maybe the morozhkos cut off its usual hunting grounds; maybe something else," says Aiko.
The Hearthmistress nods, trying to provide as much information as possible, "Yes, it started attacking just a few months ago. We think that it's lived in the area for many years, so I agree: something must have changed."
She shakes her head. "I doubt that it is the storm. It is a white, and whites have little fear of winter dangers." She shrugs. "Maybe if you can find out why it is attacking us, you can stop it. Our shaman, Tunuak, thinks that we have made the wind spirits angry. He and his apprentices have been spending many days recently praying at the wind altars." She sighs. "Perhaps you can do something to appease the wind spirits, if this is so."
Like all dragons, white dragons grow and increase in power as they age, so without knowing how old this dragon is, there is no reliable way to tell what its powers could be.
Even very young white dragons find icy surfaces to be no obstacle to mobility and blizzards no obstacle to visibility. White dragons are also known for their ability to manipulate snow like a druid shapes stone.
White dragons typically live in caves carved from glaciers or the inside of snow-capped peaks. They create their lairs using this ability to shape snow and ice. It is frequently very difficult to reach their lair unless you are able to climb icy rock faces or fly.
Although white dragons are savage and vicious, and frequently evil, they rarely kill single-mindedly. Like most dragons, they hunt in subsistence fashion for the beginning of their life. As they age, they seek to control the area around them like a huge reptilian dictator. Killing off droves of humans doesn't suit a white dragon's typical behavior. It is likely that this dragon is seeking revenge for something, or has otherwise been driven mad.
Vashta nods nervously.
"I have a way with others, if the dragon gives us a chance to talk. Do you have any way to contact it?"
Clara nods sagely, and then breaks out into a lively explanation: "Hearth-mistress-lady is right! Kolung says that whites bring shame to all of dragonkind: they're dumb, savage, predatory creatures."
She then goes on to share all she knows about the white dragon, its strengths, its weaknesses.
Hearthmistress Sonavut shakes her head regretfully. "I'm afraid that I don't know how to contact it. Without the knowledge of where its lair is, animal messenger spells are all but useless... and it is sure to kill and eat any Iqaliat hunters it sees climbing towards its lair."
”Is there anything in the area suitable for a white dragon’s lair? A mountain or glacier?”
'Dragons now?' Calder thinks with resignation.
Listening carefully to Clara's information. "Fire to harm it, some protection from it's cold. And a way to keep it on the ground." Is his contribution to the planning.
He does wonder what has set this beast on a rampage, but doesn't think he will get any answers to that question?
"A mountain or glacier?" she asks, chuckling a bit. "We are on the High Ice. It's all mountain and glacier."
Ameiko hums. "I agree that we should hunt this creature," she says. "We need to help these people. Maybe we can just wait until the next time it attacks?"
Vashta looks unhappy, sighing deeply at her companions' decision.
"How far away is it's lair?" she asks.
They act like Varisians sometimes, but then ... this. Far better to move on, live for another day, then stick your neck out where someone can clap irons on it ... or worse, just cut it off, she thinks.
She tries to mentally steel herself for what's coming.
Grandmother always said where there's a will, there's a way. Let's hope that still holds true out here.
The woman shakes her head. "I thought I already said. We don't know exactly where the dragon's lair is. Or at least... I don't. Perhaps you can ask Tunuak to do a divination for you? All you need is a small offering... and perhaps to get on his good side." she chuckles.
Clara nods. "Talking to Tunuak should be interesting. I'm curious why he thinks that you all have made the wind spirits angry. I don't know anything about that...but it seems quite plausible that it's pissed about something, and that solving that thing might be easier than killing it outright.
"That said, if we go the killing route, I certainly have fizzy drinks that can take the sting of cold and ice off of you, as well as my trusty exploding fizzy pops that should be useful against a white dragon."
When they are introduced to Tunuak, Clara curtsies and offers the shaman a fizzy drink. "Greetings, O Shaman of the North. May this fizzy pop warm your throat and lift your spirits in this trying time of kinsfolk being eaten by dragons."
"What kind of offering do you think would please him?" Vashta asks.
"What kind of offering do you think would please him?" Vashta asks.
Hearthmistress Sonavut shrugs. "I am not sure. He lives in the tower on the edge of the cliff. He hass been the shaman of our tribe for nearly three generations. Perhaps if you have a token of the wind spirits, or you undertook a short vision quest to prove yourselves. If you want him to like you, it will not he easy."
Leaving the Hearthmistress' tent behind for now, the group travels to meet with the village's wind shaman, Tunuak. When they arrive at his tower (a 30ft. structure made of wind-blasted ice that sits a few dozen feet from the edge of the cliff) they find a small crowd gathered outside. At the head of the crowd, standing atop the staircase that leads into his tower, is Tunuak. A withered and bent man of at least 70 winters, his voice is still strong and hearty. He speaks in Erutaki though, which no one but Ulf understands. Ulf purses his lips at the elderly shaman's words and grunts to the group, "He's trying to start a riot. He's saying that our presence here has made the wind spirits angry, and that we must be driven out if the village doesn't want to lose their favor."
Aiko murmurs quietly to her compatriots, "Sounds like a man who doesn't want meddling outsiders to interfere with whatever local gambit he has going. I remember a con artist who had this same dodge in one of the Varisian caravans that Sandru occasionally crossed paths with."
"Indeed. My mother might well do just that," Vashta says, glancing over at Sandru. "I can try to explain our point, but my guess is it won't do much to help, especially as it will have to be translated by Ulf. Perhaps we must show him that our presence doesn't anger the wind spirits. Can any of us fly? Or perhaps your dragon spirit (with a little help) might be confused for a wind spirit, Clara?"
Tallak steps forward, taking Ulf by the arm, ”I may need you to translate for me.”
”Noble Erutaki! I am Tallak, son of Sigurdar, White Wolf of the Utgar Clan. I, too, am a shaman of the spirits, those of the earth, wind, fire, and water, as well as animals and the ancestors of my people. Yet, I have never felt cut off from any of them, as one would expect I or my associates offended them. Great Tunuak, in what way do you feel we have offended the spirits of this land? I would like to know of what it is that me and mine stand accused.”
Ulf shakes his head - no, most Erutaki speak Taldane nowadays. Meanwhile, Tunuak rebuffs Tallak. "The spirits of your land may see fit to cloak you with their promises and gifts for nothing at all, but the wind spirits of the High Ice require devotion and faith! By allowing outsiders into our midst, we have shown them that we have turned away from them, and we must prove our faith once again! If we do not, the wind spirits will surely send the dragon against Iqaliat again, to pluck your babes from your breast and your sons from the battlefield!"
He points at the party, a long, crooked finger with imperious intent and attitude. "I have seen this on one of my vision quests! The spirits spoke to me, warning me of this! The traditional sacrifices are no longer sufficient! We must sacrifice one of the southern intruders, and we must expel the rest if we wish to earn the favor of our spirits!" He looks at the crowd, looming over them. "If we do this, we will surely be rewarded. The spirits will join with us as they never have, protecting us in exchange for our fealty. They will drive the dragon away, making us safe."
Aiko says, "What do the air spirits say, then?" She brings her hands together in an odd, twisted intertwining of fingers.
After a moment, she takes a deep breath, then exhales. She brings her arms out, and her feet lift off the ground, then she rises up and spins in the air for a few seconds, before she comes back down to the snow.
"They do not seem to be upset with me."
Saves for round 1 of chakra opening (DC 11)
Saves for round 2 of chakra opening (DC 13)
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Looking into the eyes of the angry mob, Clara feels a rush as Kolung's dedication fills her. "Friends, you have nothing to fear from me. I follow in the footsteps of the great Umbilicus Flingflopsparkfizz who I believe traveled this path generations before. Perhaps you have stories about his wondrous fizzy drinks?
"We will do everything we can to end the dragon's threat. In the meantime, please gather round and allow me to share my fizzy pops with you."
Tallak’s brow furrows at the elderly shamans words. ”A poor show of leadership, Brother. Attempting to rouse these innocent people to fight us due to your own frailties. In my clan, we say only two types of people live to be old: great warriors or great cowards. I see now by your attempting to hide behind your people the kind of man you are,” Tallak says as he runs his hand through Nightfang’s fur. The great cat growls menacingly at the shaman. ”I am willing to see what kind I am,” Tallak adds as he tightens his grip on his spear.
"Wind spirits blow, it is what they do," Vashta says soothingly. "Think about your lives, and where you are now. Are you happy? Are you healthy and whole? That is thanks to the wind spirits. Everything they have done has brought you -- and us -- to that place."
As Grandmother taught you, identify with them. Make yourself like them so they welcome you.
"Your shaman says we have angered them, but if that were so, would they have brought us here?" the Varisian continues. "He fears the dragon will come to you because we are here. But perhaps the wind spirits brought us here because they know the dragon is coming, and they sought to help you and protect you against the dragon or whatever else might come. We do not bring destruction or harm to you, we bring hope and a chance to end some of the dangers you face!"
And then follow Mother's advice: Turn their fears against them, make them twist and turn until they feel like they're lucky you're willing to take their gold from them, if only they had more to give.
Calder unslings his greataxe and runs his thumb along the edge. "Your 'Vision quest' seems to be oddly convenient old man. Perhaps you should try again. While you still have your head on your shoulders!"
Ameiko snaps, stepping to the fore of the group, beside Calder. "Yeah, plus, you couldn't mess with us if you tried!" she says, full of sass.
The group stands by their village shaman, but they're a little too intimidated to stand directly against the group. With several powerful warriors and a giant tiger on their side, attacking them as a mob seems like suicide for at least several people. The shaman scoffs, and shouts out something in Erutaki before vanishing from sight entirely. Ulf murmurs, "He's just called his people cowards."
The villagers will allow you to stay in town, if you like, but the caravan must remain on the outskirts.
"That's disappointing," Vashta says with a frown. "We hoped to get information from him. Now we have to go in blind..."
Later, once they're away from prying ears, she asks, "So, do we still try beard the dragon? If we do, we could be bringing the very problem down on this village that the shaman warned of..."
"Or we could try to find him and persuade him to help."
"If you wish... I could undertake a clandestine operation to search Tunuak's domicile and see if I can find anything of note," suggests Aiko. "Or I could shadow him discreetly for a time and watch what he does. It is, after all, directly within my skillset."
"It could be of use, but it might also cement him against us ... And leave you at some risk if he's as powerful as it sounds," Vashta cautions.
”Powerful. Bah!” Tallak scoffs. ”Had he any real power, he’d have faced us like a man himself instead of hiding behind his people. I offered him the chance. He fled. He has shown his true merit.”
He then turns to the group, ”We should face this dragon directly. Hunt out it’s lair, attack it at its home. Take away its ability to escape, and end its reign of terror.”
Ameiko hums. "So... hunt the dragon? Or... break into the shaman's house?" she asks. "I can help with either. I can be quiet when I need to be." she says with a wry smile.
Ulf huffs. "Either way, I can't help you. I need to stay in good with this village, and I'd rather not face off against a dragon. I can point you in the right direction, but that's it."
"I agree about the dragon. Let's see what we can find in the house," Vashta agrees.
Tunuak's tower is a 30-ft. structure made from ice. There is only one door, but there are also two windows at 15ft. and 30ft. elevations. In order to get in, one would have to pick the locked door or squeeze in through the upper-floor windows, hoping to remain undetected.
- - - - -
As for the dragon... there are few survivors from its attacks, but its most recent attack had one survivor, a warrior whose name is Naqqun.
Hunting it down requires leaving the village, heading to its known hunting grounds and spending a few days searching for it.