The party heads towards Heldren. As they are on their way back, they bump into a familiar figure, an elf with blue hair wearing spectacles. Shui is now wearing an off-white woollen jacket, with a rabbit fur hood, woollen pants, cloak and matching boots lined with rabbit fur. Her outfit looks very much like Einar’s.”Hey! We meet again!” She hails the party cheerfully. ”I’ve heard Irrisen is snowing, and its snowing here, so does that mean I’m in Irrisen?” Then her ears droop, and she looks despondent. ”I took Mr Whiskers’s advice, found some cold weather clothing in a quaint little town called Heldren, yes, I’m warm, but I can’t possibly talking to Earls while looking like some shoddy peasant! No one is going to take me seriously! I have to look the part, you know.” She looks at the party hopefully. ”Do you have any furs that look more impressive then this?” She points at her outfit, her eyebrows furrowed in distress, while trying not to look too greedily at Einar's cloak.
After the party is done with their purchases, Shui walks off into the snow.
The party notices a small flock of crows looking at them from the branches as they approach the lands near sentinel lodge. One of them takes flight, after cawing three times. As the party continues on the path, Einar, Crummock and Ziva notice two ex-bandits(now reformed Sentinels) hiding among the trees, pointing their bows at the party. They are both in dressed in sheepskin coats, and one of them has a crow perched on his shoulder. The Sentinels lower their bows when they realize who is on the path. One of them calls out, ”Ello, Old Boss! Sharpbeak told us there were 5 people on the trail. Better to be safe then sorry. Lady Boss took Mr Whiskers’s advice, and tried to find the native fey. There are two of them in the lodge now, Tina and Bele. They’ve been really helpful, explaining things to the local birds. We do our patrols with the birdies helping us keep an eye out on possible hostiles.”
He takes out a piece of dried fish from his beltpouch and offers it to the Crow perched on his shoulder. The crow delicately takes it out of his fingers, then offers its neck for a scratch, which the man obliges. ”Good job, Sharpbeak. It’s ok, they’re friends. Tell the rest.” Sharpbeak hops along the man’s forearm, then to his falconers glove, and the man launches Sharpbeak into the sky. As Sharpbeak takes into the sky, the man remarks, ”Sometimes it almost seems as if Sharpbeak can speak…”
The party passes onto Sentinel lodge unmolested, seeing a few more crows circling overhead. They see one of the new Sentinels doing ice fishing at the river bank, and there are two crows sitting in the tree where Izoze used to perch. The interior of the lodge is lit and there is a plume of smoke smelling of pine coming out from the chimney. There is now a trough laid out in the snow that has a few grains in it, and a pole with hooks where meat can be hung from it. The stable houses two white elks, instead of horses. It seems that whatever message that the man had given to Sharpbeak had gone through, and the party passes through Sentinel lands without further alarm.
The party informs Ionnia Teppen of the grim news, and she promises that she will send some militia to help the current Sentinels in retrieving the bodies. The party rests in the Silver Stoat for the night after tucking in to a sumptuous dinner, then set forth the next morning to the portal. They make camp outside the driving snows caused by the portal before investigating the portal the next morning.
As the party approaches the portal, Mr Whiskers realizes that his hunch was right. The party will have to cross the portal to close it. As they are about to cross the portal, a gaunt horseman with curling ram’s horn and wearing coal-black armor lurches through the portal astride a black warhorse, surrounded by tendrils of coal dark mist. The rider slumps in the saddle, a shard of blue ice jutting from his back. As the rider and mount come to a halt in the snow, the horse suddenly dissipates into black smoke, and the horseman falls down to the ground with a groan.”Please, listen to me, I don’t have much time left.” He pleads, gasping for breath. ”Queen Elvana wants to claim all of Golarion as her personal kingdom, and seeks to cover the entire world with ice and snow, using portals like this one. You have to stop her, or Golarion is doomed!”
Mr. Whiskers is very interested in what Shui has to offer. He inquires about a couple of different items.
Mr. Whiskers is very impressed with what has been done. "Wonderful! Just remember to treat them well and that their priorities will seem strange at times."
Mr. Whiskers discusses what he had seen of the portal with Madame Theodora. He also checks with Father Safander in case he has any knowledge of such things.
Seeing the shard of ice in the fellow's back, Mr. Whiskers expresses his concern. "Are you going to survive? Can we help?"
Madame Theodora concurs with Mr Whiskers that the only way to stop the portal is by going to the other side. She suspects there will probably be a specially built ritual chamber to focus such energies for the portal. The chamber does not need to be close to the portal. Father Natharen has never heard of such a thing before and is completely clueless.
"I'm dying."He glances at the ice shard sticking out of his back. "Save your healing magics, there's nothing you can do.The wound is cursed."He gives the party a pained grimace."The source of this portal is in the Pale Tower, on the other side. Close the portal, then go to WhiteThrone to reclaim Baba Yaga's dancing hut. Use Baba Yaga's dancing hut to find Baba Yaga, for only Baba Yaga can defeat Elvanna. Only the Queen of Witches can undo what her daughter has done.”
Shui is NOT human. She's only pretending to be one. You recognize her as a Hitchhiker to the planes, a marid. They can planeshift at will and take on human form.
After a few minutes consideration, Mr. Whiskers finally decides to buy the glowing block of crystal and puts the cloak down.
Frowning for a moment, Mr. Whiskers quickly asks "Where is the Pale Tower?"
"It's several hours travel north from the town of Walsby, which lies across the portal."He seems paler then when he first started, and his breathing grows labored."Do you accept the quest then? My time grows short."
Quest?!?!? Is he asking to lay a compulsion on us?
Mr. Whiskers' ears perk up and his whiskers twitch at the word quest.
He looks to the others, asking "Are we willing to go that far if it is what is required?"
Ziva remains skeptical of the situation - a rider suddenly materializing with a sudden quest - but she doesn't begrudge it either - the man was clearly dying, and if his quest was indeed legitimate, it would be churlish to put the responsibility onto someone else - not if the winter storms were as widespread as the man looked set to claim. Glancing at her companions Ziva steps foward slightly. "I'll offer you my help, and accept this task, assuming that my friend Vernai is not excluded."
"Oh, oh! This is so beautiful!" She squeals like a delighted teenager as she strokes the white weasel pelt."White weasel coat, here I come!" She exclaims delightedly. "I'm going to look like some ferocious hunter!" And hooks her fingers into claws, trying to look menacing, but the pose looks comedic then anything else.
In the Sentinel Lodge, you join them for dinner of smoked salmon, dandelion and navelwort salad, boiled winter chanterelles sprinkled with grated Parmesan cheese, and a warm stew made from potatoes, carrots and fish stock. Fruits consist of cowberries, and there’s a hot pine syrup drink. ”Sorry, it’s nothing great, but we’re trying not to keep having to ask Heldren for supplies.” Erlis apologizes. ”Though we might actually be able to get some trading done, our crows spotted a Frostfir. We mounted an expedition, took it down, and now we’ve got some wood to take back to Heldren. I got Anna to scrape of the pine resin, put it in jugs. Tessaraea ever said it was good for tanglefoot bags.” She taps her fingers thoughtfully on the table. ”Now the problem is getting it to Heldren. Maybe the next time Ten-Penny comes, or we could get the Elks to pull a sled.”
Erlis gives Einar a tour of the lodge. The Outhouse has been cleaned up, and a couple of the New Sentinels are in the process of building a sled and some birdhouses in a newly built shed. ”Nothing is wasted here.” Erlis mentions, as one of the Sentinels leave some fish guts on the hooks for the crows to pick over. Erlis introduces the shy atomie, Tinawen to Einar. Her partner, Belepheriel is still asleep, as he is in charge of coordinating the night shift of owls. She leaves Einar one of the rooms, and the night passes uneventfully, with Einar joining the party the next morning.
The dying man motions the party close, to gather around him in a circle.
He takes out a lock of white hair from a frost giant’s beard and a plague doctors mask, and places it in his left palm. ”Take these when I am done. You’ll need them to activate the Dancing Hut.” From his belt he draws a coal-black dagger.
He gathers the last of his strength, and intones, ”I, Illarion Matevius, Black Midnight, Baba Yaga’s Black Rider thus entrust those gathered here with my life’s purpose. I task them to find Baba Yaga and to do everything in their power to free her, stop Elvana, and save Golarion from a never ending ice age. So mote it be.” He then slits with throat with the dagger, and droplets of his blood splash on the frost giant’s beard, and the plague doctors mask, staining them red. Some of his blood splatters on the party, but the blood instead of being warm, is as cold as ice. His armour seems to sink into the ground, like a shadowy liquid, only to flow up on the entire party, briefly taking the form of a black mantle on their shoulders, before sinking into their bodies. The party feels empowered by the mantle
The Black Rider falls onto the icy floor, dead, a withered, discarded husk of an old man, wearing a simple black tunic.
Mr Whiskers recognizes the ritual of passing on the mantle. It grants great power, but at a price.
The party moves through the portal, of which the other side is much colder, and covered by swirling snow.
Stumbling through the deep snowdrifts, the party hears cries for help in the distance. Moving towards the cries, they run into a group of peasants who are trying to rescue their comrade who lies unconscious in the mandibles of a Giant Mantis.
Ziva recognizes it as an advanced giant mantis. Like Vernai, they can grab with their claws and deliver a nasty bite attack to those caught in their claws. Their claws have 10 ft reach. They also can extend their limbs by lunging. This one appears to be cold and disorientated.
Einar deals it a heavy blow with his glaive, and is splattered with yellow ichor and the mantis hisses angrily at Einar.
Ziva doesn't really want to hurt the creature - it reminds her too much about Vernai, or how large she could eventually grow, but the creature does appear to be ripping through the group of peasants so she hopes that if she hits it enough times it will retreat back through the portal and leave everyone alone.
Ziva, not really wanting to hurt the Mantis, does not hit hard enough to penetrate its chitinous exoskeleton and Vernai also fails to penetrate the exoskeleton with her claw.
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As Einar looks to him expectantly, Mr. Whiskers vows to the horseman "If that is what is required to prevent these winter storms, I accept."
Normally very fastidious, Mr. Whiskers is watching the ritual too intently to immediately react to the spilled blood. It is only as the chill passes that he looks down and frowns at the blood on his clothing. He considers for a moment before prestidigitating the stain away.
"We should put his body with those of the Sentinels and leave a note." Mr. Whiskers says as he gets out a slip of paper. He writes "Illarion Matevius, Black Midnight, Baba Yaga’s Black Rider, has discharged his duty. Please give him the curtesy of a proper burial." Once they have laid out his body, he crosses the corpse's icy hands over the paper.
I wonder if the mantis came through the portal as well?
Mr. Whiskers quickly casts his fireworks spell and directs it at the mantis. "This should warm things up!"
The mantis is slightly singed and dazzled by Mr Whisker's fireworks. It moves forward in the snow, to attack Einar. Ziva, Einar and Vernai take the opportunity to slash at the mantis's less protected belly, inflicting two nasty gnashes.
It lurches unsteadily over to Einar, and impales him with its claw, then attempts to bite Einar, which does not penetrate his breastplate.
Mr. Whiskers moves up towards the mantis and directs another fireworks blast at it.
The mantis looks like its on its last legs, and dazzled as well.
"Aye, we be findin' a whole mess o' trafferth!"
He then turns to the others.
"I be recommendin' that we be buyin' another healin' wand - we've almost half-used the one we have..."
He then picks up a few potions.
"This be soundin' a little like takin' the diafol you know, o'er the one you don't. I don't be likin' this, but I acknowledge that this probably be the only realistic option..."
He raises an eyebrow when the man slits his own throat, showering the party with an arterial spray. Crummock shivers as the ice-cold blood soaks into his skin, settling around his heart.
Why do I get the feelin' we've just joined the ranks of the Unseelie...?
"Crivens!"
Crummock hustles forward, and takes a swing at the grappled Mantis.
Despite the mantis grappling Einar, Crummock is unable to push his starkife through the chitinous exoskeleton.
Einar bites into its shoulder and then rakes his claws, ripping open its throat as it goes down.
The leader of the peasants, a redhead with a long plait hanging from the back of her winter hat and two short plaits framing the side of her head, in studded leather with a handaxe in her hand and a bow slung across her back hails the party. The party finds her face familiar, somehow…like someone they’ve met before…
She bends down to check on the pulse of the unconscious man, bandages him to slow the bleeding, then orders, ”Holen Sie sich die Wurf zu tragen Alexander entlang.“ The two men follow her orders and carefully lift the unconscious man into a litter and carry him along.
” Danke für Ihre Hilfe. Wir sind ewig in eure Schuld. Ich bin Nadya Petska, Führer dieser Trading-Expedition.” She reaches out to shake Einar’s hand, in a firm grip. ” Was bringt Ihnen Reisende nach Hoarwood?”
Lief, Anders, get the litter to carry Alexander along.
Thanks for your help. We are eternally in your debt. I am Nadya Peska, the leader of this trading expedition.
What brings you travellers to Hoarwood?
The moment she mentions Hoarwood, Einar has an epiphany. The party is now in Irrisen, in the forest of Hoarwood!
Crummock nods gravely.
"Kein Problem - ich bin nur froh, dass wir zur richtigen Zeit mitgekommen sind, um zu verhindern, dass dies ein Massaker ist."
He then moves over to the unconscious man, and, with a wince, puts his hand over the man's wound.
For a moment, Crummock looks dizzy, but then he rights himself; however, nothing can hide the fact that a small scratch has opened up on his own body, mirroring the location of the man's wound.
Meanwhile, the man groans, as his flesh roughly knits itself together, leaving a faint, white scar.
Crummock then shrugs, offering by way of explanation:
"Es gibt immer einen persönlichen Preis für die Heilung, aber der Aufenthalt bewusstlos hier könnte leicht zum Tod führen."
His frown deepens as he returns his attention to Nadya.
"Eigentlich denke ich, dass wir nach dir suchen. Sind Sie die Mutter von Thora von Walsby? Ich fürchte, dass wir schreckliche Neuigkeiten für Sie haben..."
He then proceeds to explain precisely what happened to Thora.
"Ich weiß, daß es nicht viel Trost ist, aber wir haben ihren Leib für die Beerdigung gerettet, und ich für einen habe geschworen, ihren Tod zu rächen. Derjenige, der ihr das tat, muss bezahlen!"
Crummock then gently directs the woman's attention to the rather forlorn bundle tenderly strapped to the back of one of the dogs.
Nadya gives a sharp hiss as Crummock lays his hands onto the unconscious man and heals his wounds at the cost of his own vitality.” Sind Sie eine dieser Winterhexen? Aber sie bezahlen keinen Preis für ihre Zaubersprüche!”
When Crummock informs her about Thora’s death, she sinks to her knees in the snow, weeping. ” Nein, nein, nein ... es kann nicht sein ... sie kann nicht tot sein!” She runs over to the coffin, ripping the cover off, to find Thora’s body within, and to be confronted with the dreadful truth. ”Warum haben sie dir das angetan? Nur wegen einiger Worte sprachen Sie im Scherz?” She cradles Thora’s body close to her chest, like one would hug a living child.
No, no, no…it can’t be…she can’t be dead!
Why did they do this to you? Just because of some words you spoke in jest?
She lays down the body back into the coffin gently, then takes out a blanket and lays it over the corpse. She gives a howl of grief, then turns her tear-streaked face to the rest of the peasants. ” All diese Vorräte, die ich erhielt, um dem hellen Turm gegeben zu werden, habe ich für dich getan, Thora. Ich hoffte, dass die Winter-Hexe Sie wegen meiner Dienste gehen lassen würde. Ich war so falsch ...” She then falls to her knees, weeping inconsolably.
All these supplies I obtained…to be given to the Pale Tower, I did it for you, Thora. I was hoping that the Winter Witch would let you go on account of my services. I was so wrong…
Crummock vehemently shakes his head.
"Ich bin keine weiße Hexe. Meine Magie kommt von innen, weshalb sie einen Preis hat."
Crummock does his best to comfort the woman, wrapping a bear pelt around her shoulders.
"Ich kann Ihnen versichern, Ihre Tochter ist jetzt in Frieden. Als wir die Puppe zerstörten und ihre Seele freisetzten, dankte sie uns. Ich möchte jetzt nur sicherstellen, dass der Teufel, der dies zu ihr getan hat, es niemals einem anderen Kind antun kann. Bitte erzählen Sie uns von diesem bleichen Turm."
Nadya looks at Crummock through her tear stained face. ” Ja, Sie sehen nicht wie eine Winter-Hexe aus. Sie benutzen nur ihre faule Magie, um anderen Schaden zuzufügen.” She snarls savagely, and spits on the ground. After Crummock’s comforting words, she gets to her feet, with new determination. ” Es gibt nichts mehr als Rache ... Ich werde dafür sorgen, dass Nazhema mit Ihnen in die Andere Welt geschickt wird ...”
Yes, you don’t look like a Winter witch. They only use their foul magics to harm others.
There is naught left but vengeance…I’ll make sure Nazhema is sent to the Otherworld with you…
Then she looks at the sky, noticing some thick grey clouds on the horizon approaching. ” Wir sollten besser weg von hier schnell, es ist ein Schneesturm auf dem Weg. Ich kenne einen geschützten Hain, folge mir! Vom bleichen Turm sprechen wir darüber, sobald wir Schutz finden!”
We’d better get out of here fast, there’s a blizzard on its way. I know a sheltered grove, follow me! Of the Pale Tower, we’ll speak about it once we get to shelter!
The convoy moves swiftly, following Nadya’s directions to a sheltered pine tree grove.
Nadya speaks in some incomprehensible tongue, and the rest of the convoy start building snow shelters. ”Verstecke dich in den Schneehütten und warte auf den Sturm!” and gestures for you to go into them. She goes into the snow shelter with all of you, then asks Crummock, ” Was möchten Sie über den Pale Tower wissen?”
Nadya orders the rest of the convoy to build snow shelters.
Hide in the snow shelters and outwait the storm!
What do you want to know about the Pale Tower?
Crummock nods, and follows the covoy, motioning the others to come along with him.
Once the shelters have been set up, he settles down to talk with the woman.
"Nun, für den Anfang, wo ist es, was ist sein Layout, und welche Verteidiger können wir erwarten?"
” Sorry über meine Anzeige von Emotionen da draußen.”She apologizes to the party. ” Und ich habe dir nie richtig gedankt, dass du Thora zurückgebracht hast ... Oder ich hätte Thoras Mörder in die Hoffnung versetzt, ihre Freiheit zu sichern ...”She bites her lip to stop herself from crying.
Sorry about my display of emotion out there.
And I never properly thanked you for bringing Thora back…or I'd have been supplying Thora's murderers in hope of securing her freedom…
” Der Pale Tower ist 6 Meilen nordwestlich von Walsby, und es ist komplett aus Eis. Die meisten der Pale Tower Wächter scheuchen Irrisen für jemanden, den sie den Black Rider nennen, so dass die Pale Tower Sicherheit ist kompromittiert. Gegenwärtig befiehlt der Nazhema-Lehrling, Radosek, die Kräfte dort. Obwohl das Gerücht, dass er mehr als ein Lehrling von ihr ist ...” Her voice trails off. She puts a hand on her chin, then continues,” Die domovoi, die in meinem Haus wohnen, Hatch, weiß mehr vom Pale Tower, als ich dort arbeitete, bevor Nazhema ihn für eine kleine Übertretung verprügelt und ihn in den Schnee geworfen hat, um zu sterben. Sie werden wahrscheinlich versuchen, ihn zu überzeugen, Ihnen zu helfen, obwohl seitdem er tödlich erschrocken von Winter Witches. Ich weiß, er genießt jeden Tag eine Untertasse Milch.”She gives a sad sigh. ” Hatch und Thora waren ganz in der Nähe. Sie liebten es, Verstecken zu spielen und zusammen zu suchen.”
The Pale Tower is 6 miles northwest of Walsby, and it is made completely from ice. Most of the Pale Tower guards are scouring Irrisen for someone they call the Black rider, so the Pale Tower’s security is compromised. Currently, Nazhema’s apprentice, Radosek, commands the forces there. Though rumor has it that he’s more then an apprentice of hers…
The domovoi residing in my house, Hatch, knows more of the Pale Tower then I, since he used to work there, before Nazhema beat him for some minor transgression and cast him out into the snow to die. You’ll probably want try to convince him to help you, though since then, he’s been mortally terrified of Winter Witches. I know he enjoys a saucer of milk every night.
Hatch and Thora were very close. They loved to play hide and seek together.
Crummock smiles comfortingly at Nadya.
"Es gibt keine Notwendigkeit, sich zu entschuldigen. Ich kann nicht begreifen, was diese Teufel Sie durchgemacht haben. Ich hoffe nur, dass ein Ende zu ihnen geben Ihnen ein Gefühl der Schließung."
He then listens intently to what she has to say about the Tower.
"Wenn es derzeit unter-verteidigt wird, sollte das es leichter machen, den Platz zu löschen. Hoffentlich werden wir in der Lage sein, einige Informationen darüber, wo Nazhema ist zu extrahieren. Wenn dieser Hatch detailliertere Informationen hat, wäre es definitiv wert, mit ihm zu sprechen.
Crummock then looks thoughtful.
"Wenn sie erwarten, dass Sie eine Lieferung zu machen, dann könnte dies eine bequeme Möglichkeit für uns, in der Haustür schleichen."
After a couple of hours, the blizzard subsides, and the convoy starts preparing lunch, before they hear a mournful song from the woods.
"Oh camp, I beseech thee,
Out here its so cold, and so dreary.
Can I come in to stay for a while
Or would you leave me to my cold exile?"
"Oh come in." Nadya yells out, then she grumbles under her breath, "Und beenden caterwauling."
And quit caterwauling.
While Crummock takes the lead talking to Nadya, Mr. Whiskers spends some time translating for Ziva's benefit.
At a pause in the conversation, he asks "Was wissen Sie über den Schwarzen Reiter, den sie suchen?"
What walks out of the woods is a blue humanoid creature has the legs of a bald goat, a completely hairless body, and a horned head.
Mr Whiskers and Ziva recognise her as a winter touched folarren, and judging from her singing, this one has bard levels.Folarrens are the result of a nymph and a fiend.
A nymph's charm and beauty are such that she can seduce nearly any creature that she sets her attentions on—and often, unfortunately, creatures she would rather not consort with. When a nymph catches the attention of a fiend and the fiend takes advantage of the creature, the resulting offspring is not always a half-fiend. Roughly one in 20 such incidents results instead in a strange creature known as a forlarren—a unique creature that possesses its own unusual abilities and qualities.
Few nymphs survive the ordeal of giving birth to a forlarren—those who do might attempt to raise their children in loving environments, but the evil that lurks in a forlarren's soul is powerful. In most cases where a nymph attempts to raise a forlarren child, it's only a matter of time before the forlarren grows resentful and its evil nature compels it to murder its mother.
Most forlarrens are female, and few are capable of conceiving children of their own. A forlarren grows to adulthood with astonishing speed, reaching full growth in only a year—even those who come into the world as orphans are capable of defending themselves and seeking out food. Yet despite the rapidity with which they reach maturity, few forlarrens survive to adulthood. Cast out from both sylvan and fiendish society, the typical forlarren is a lonely creature, cursed by its own existence. It detests itself and everything it sees, and soon becomes consumed by hatred of life itself. The forlarren vents its rage on good and evil alike, lashing out at anything that approaches it.
The forlarren attacks with its clawed hands, typically focusing on a single opponent at a time and attacking until it or its opponent is slain. Yet curiously, when a forlarren succeeds in killing an opponent, the kindly traits of its fey mother sometimes surface, and it shows profound remorse for its cruelty. With such a pendulum of erratic behavior, it is no wonder that forlarrens are all but incapable of forming lasting friendships—even with others of their own kind.
The majority of forlarrens inherit little in the way of the magical abilities possessed by their fey mothers, but they do gain a small measure of the powers of their fiendish fathers. In most cases, this manifests as the ability to use heat metal three times per day, but some forlarren instead gain a different spell-like ability chosen from the following list: chill metal, flame blade, flaming sphere, gust of wind, summon swarm, or warp wood.
A forlarren stands 6 feet tall and weighs about 160 pounds. In theory, these creatures can live for hundreds of years, but most perish through violence before they turn 10.
Nadya looks startled and uneasy at the newcomer from the woods, but lets her into the camp.
Crummock glowers, but keeps a wary on the creature, which looks uncomfortably like some kind of Unseelie...
"Ich weiß nichts über den Schwarzen Reiter, außer dass er die Rückkehr von Baba Yaga ankündigt" Nadya replies to Mr Whiskers.
I do not know anything about the Black Rider except he heralds Baba Yaga's return.
"My name is Mierul." The winter touched folarren introduces herself and bows flamboyantly to the camp. "And in true bardic tradition, I shall sing for my supperlunch!"
She then performs a solo acapella of Pacabells Canon in D.The rest of the convoy merely applaud politely, despite her outstanding performance.
She helps herself to the stew in the pot and takes a seat some way from the fire. She hails the party. "Hello, are you part of the convoy?" She lookd at the party curiously. "You don't seem local."
Crummock remains quite suspicious of the creature, but once he is certain her song is not some sort of charm spell, designed to bewitch and befuddle, he relaxes... slightly.
She wilts under Einar's stern gaze. "What did you say?" She replies to Einar.
She looks hurt. "I'm a bard. I'd love to hear all your stories!"