The hull of the Grinning Pixie creaks and groans in the freezing waters of Kalsgard, at the mouth of the Rimeflow River. Venture-Captain Calisro Benarry, the half-orc captain of the vessel, shivers as she strides in to her well-furnished cabin and out of the bitter winds. A Varki woman clad in leathers and a snow leopard fur coat is already seated inside the cabin.
“Welcome to the Linnorm Kingdoms,” says Venture-Captain Calisro Benarry. She takes a long drag from a hip flask before continuing. “The North is no place for a free captain, but here we are. Oh, Kalsgard is fine—they’ve got stiff drink here—but you’ve got to head inland, where it’s even colder.” She pulls her mammoth-fur coat tighter across her body as she continues. “I hope you all weren’t planning to freeze to death and packed for the weather.”
“You’ve all heard of Jormurdun? Well, 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 and established a small town called Naldak’s Point. That’s where the trail goes cold. 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,” the venture captain says, handing over a backpack stuffed with black bricks. “So, don’t forget to take these with you.”
“You’re heading east, up the Rimeflow and Thundering Rivers, past the Grungir Forest, and into Irrisen. Desna smiles—the site is about half a day’s hike north 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, and 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.”
"Watch yourselves in Irrisen. Antagonizing the locals is like poking a sleeping ice bear in the eye, except it won’t kill you as quickly. The Society is not especially welcome in Irrisen, so try to keep what friends we have, and if you can, make new ones. With that it mind, I’ve hired a local to bring you safely to Dalun.” Venture-Captain Benarry gestures toward the Varki woman. “This is Haltani, and she will guide you into and out of Irrisen alive.”
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 your journey should be profitable.”
Irrisen has a violent history with all of its neighbors, but especially with the Ulfen from the Linnorm Kingdoms. Jadwiga sometimes capture and enslave Ulfen people.
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"Ah, you weren't kidding about digging it out from the ice," Khardum remarks when Venture-Captain Benarry hands over the pack full of blackfire clay.
"Haltani? Khardum." The stout, armored dwarf says as he extends his hand and a likely too forceful grip.
"Are you sure you're up to the task?" he asks the lithe woman. "You look like a strong breeze might blow you over."
"We know what the piece of the key looks like?"
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A cloaked figure steps into the room, pulls back his hood and a male human gives a beaming smile to everyone. ”A beautiful day to be alive, even with the cold. Hello everyone, I am John. Pleased to make your acquaintance.” John shakes off the snow from his crimson cloak and underneath you see an odd blue vest with small leather flaps sewn onto it. Thick insulated clothing covers him head to toe. He sets his backpack on a chair and slides the pack of blackstone bricks inside. ”I’ve got space to carry this if no one minds.”
Slipping the pack over his shoulder he leans in and offers his hand to Haltani in a distracting and friendly manner, "I’m sure a strong breeze is the least of our concerns out there. Do you have any idea what we may face?"
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Another cloaked figure steps into the room. She does not pull back her hood, instead staying hidden in the depths of the hood. A small lizard can be seen hiding by her legs.
"I have seen what these sky shards can do before. They can be very dangerous and must not fall into the wrong hands. We should make haste if this relic is out there lest it fall into the wrong hands."
Haltani nods to the two of your, but quickly withdraws her hand as you reach out. "Uh...I don't like to be touched. Sorry." she advises. Pausing a moment, at the dwarves inquiry, she answers confidently. "Good sir, I believe I'm the least of your worries there. Trust me, this is my home. I'll be fine."
Turning to John, she continues. "Well, there's the standard wildlife; ice bears, frost wolves, and things of that nature. You also need to be careful about the Jadwiga. I wouldn't recommend making them your enemy, if you can help it. Possibly bandits, but they don't typically hassle incoming vessels, unless they're bored. I suppose some of the citizens can get short tempered...the trolls for example..."
Venture-Captain Benarry adds "As for the appearance of the key, we sadly don't have a description. Through the ages, the stories have mutated and we honestly aren't sure."
"Oh! And if you needed anything, my quartermaster can sell you a few of our wares."
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"Meh," the ruddy dwarf shrugs off Haltani's rebuff. "You're probably right. So many skinny folk on this boat! You all don't eat your steak and rutabegas?" Khardum is coarse and overly familiar at times, but over time you gauge that there's no real malice in his insults. He was probably just raised that way.
Khardum turns back to Haltani and asks, "Say, we likely to run into faeries? I forget which of my weapons I'm supposed to use against them." He hefts a silver warhammer in one hand and lifts up a cold iron battleaxe in the other.
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John drops his hand with a smile, ”My apologies my lady.” Letting Khardam ask his question he adds on, “what sort of gear would be wise to carry with us to guard against the elements? Will we need shelter like tents or things like snowshoes to help traverse the area? And speaking of food, how much would you estimate is needed for a round trip?
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Syndra takes a look at John. "I'd like to see you carry around a tent, and snowshoes on your back while you are adventuring. Perhaps we should load you up with pots and pans as well. However you may be on the right track with an outfit to protect you from the cold. Or one could use magic, if you know what that is." A feminine voice calls out from the dark of her hood.
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A tall figure stomps into the room, starts patting off a thick white layer of snow covering what seems to be another three or four layers of warm, thick, and tightly bound clothing. As the snow starts falling off, it reveals a vibrant, and almost garishly so, kaleidoscope of orange, red , turquoise and green clothes topped with a thick, dark blue and silver scarf that glints in the lantern light. She drops her pack with a heavy thud and gives a cat-like full body stretch, before rearranging the various polearms and hammers extending from her bag. Assured they won't topple over she quickly unwinds the wrapping around her face and then more carefully undoing the scarf around her neck and places both on her pack. Her things settled, she turns and reveals a healthy but obviously middle-aged half elf of possible Varisian decent. With a quick smile she explains, “I got lost wandering around town earlier, and got hit by a snow flurry. It’s good to be in some warmth again.”
She then starts moving around and making her introductions to people individually, her expression and bearing changing slightly with each person. She starts with a brisk, formal introduction and salute to the Venture-Captain, ”Faliana Galina reporting for duty, sir. I took an earlier boat into town to get a feel for the place. It’s my first time this far north and I can’t feel relaxed until I have at least an idea of what a region is like. I hope this isn’t an issue.” She then finishes with a deep bow she holds for a few seconds before moving on with a hopeful smile and nod.
She next turns to the dwarf. “I maybe be skinny but don’t think for a moment I can’t dance circles around you in a fight. Khardum, was it? Faliana. And you want the axe.” she retorts, reflecting his coarse manner and returning with her own forceful handshake.
She then moves to the human male, and gives him a luminous smile, “It is a grand day, discounting the occasional squall of snow. But it’s a pleasure to make your acquaintance John, I’m looking forward to working with you!”
The cloaked figure of Syndra causes Faliana’s face to cloud over for a moment until the elf starts talking. Taking a slightly more serious look and in a conformational tone adds, “I’ve only heard rumors about these relics but if only a portion of them are true, our friend here is right, we probably don’t want them falling into the wrong hands.”
She finally turns to the Varki woman and, noting her colleagues’ previous attempts at hand shakes, instead gives a quick bow. “And it’s a pleasure to meet you Haltani, we are in your debt for your willingness to lead us into Irrisen and will likely be even moreso as we head further inland.”
With a final turn and a face comprising many of the various elements of her previous introductions, she adds, “Before we go any further, I should mention I am a medium, I can channel several spirits of souls faithful toe Ashava, the true spark, and they will lend me some of their abilities. However, their influence over me may cause me to act differently than normal. I hope this isn’t too off putting, but is there any ideas as to what kind of role I should be taking in the group? Maybe I should call on Sasha, who was a priest in life?”
She gives snort at Syndra's comments. And with a wry smile adds, "She's got you there John!"
Watching the discussion unfold with amusement, the Varki woman finally answers the human. "A tent wouldn't be a terrible idea, though we should be on the boat for the majority of this ship. A sturdy coat is certainly a wise precaution. It gets cold in Irrisen. As for snowshoes...do you mean you don't already have some? I got my first pair before I had boots! You outsiders are a strange people."
Distracted by the late arrival, she studies the woman's introductions. "Wow! I so look forward to getting to know you all. You are just...different!" the woman exclaims. Turning back to John, she adds "Food wise...well, it's three days to Dalun, so I'd recommend at least five days worth. You never want to be out in the wild and forced to eat your last one. Know what I mean? If you don't wish to restock in town, I'd plan for seven days to be safe."
Benarry steps forward again and hands John a letter of trade, map of Irrisen with a rough guess of Naldak's location marked on it. "This letter should help you get approval from the city guards. And I realize this isn't an exact map, but it's as good as we can give. Between this and Halani, you should be able to find your way. That clay should really help breaking through the ice, but in a pinch you can use it to warm up."
This pliant black clay is always pleasantly warm to the touch. Working blackfire clay in your hands for a full round causes the clay to grow much warmer, granting you a +4 alchemical bonus on saving throws made to resist cold weather. You can combine five blocks of clay over the course of a minute to produce a source of warmth equivalent to a small campfire, allowing you to heat a campsite and cook food.
Blackfire clay only produces heat, never light, smoke, or odor. The clay emits warmth for 1 hour before hardening into an unusable lump. A newly created brick of blackfire clay is composed of 10 blocks.
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”Haha, that would be a sight indeed! Why need a pack mule when we have good ole John!” He heartily thumps Khardum right back, chuckling. ”You... You I think I’m going to like.”
A glowing smile returns the greeting to Faliana. ”As do I look forward to working with you. A priest would be quite welcome.”
John slips the letter into a secure pocket and lays the map out over the table for all to see. ”It looks simple enough to get to the right area. The biggest issue right now is getting through Dalun.” He looks up at Benarry, ”I’m assuming the letter and the merchant goods we are taking will likely get us into town. Is it up to us after that to figure out how to get out and head inland or should the merchant cover hold all the way through?”
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A harsh-looking man wearing a Chelish uniform nods at Haltani's words. "Some food and good clothing would not go amiss in this weather." He turns to the others and makes a quick bow, "Rerois Mottied, soldier, at your service. Finding such a significant artifact will surely earn us a reputation among the Decemvirate."
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Syndra quietly observes the rest of the party from the captain's cabin. She mutters some arcane words around a cup of water and slowly drinks it. Her hood remains pulled down hiding her facial features.
"As I am always prepared for what the future holds, I am ready whenever the rest of the ill prepared see fit."
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After listening to Haltani's warnings, Faliana does a quick mental calculation and starts, "Hmmm, I already have about five days worth of rations but having extras wouldn't hurt. I've also heard there are things called skis used around here, and have been wanting to try them."
When the Chelaxian man starts speaking, Faliana gives a visible start. "Holy Elysium! I hadn't seen you in the shadows there; I thought you were a haunt for a second. But it's an honor to make your acquaintance, Rerois. As you've probably gathered, I'm Faliana."
At John's words, Faliana nods. "Sasha the priest it is. But it'll take a bit of time to complete the seance, if we aren't moving out right now I can do it now, especially if people need time to buy things. If I could give someone the 8 gold and 5 silver for a week's worth of rations and some skis that's all I'll need to get for now."
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John offers a solid handshake to the Chelish soldier, ”Rerois, good to have you on our side.”
He turns back to Faliana, ”I can help you with grabbing supplies if you can do a favor for me.” He pulls out a thin wooden wand and hands it over to her, pocketing the coins for her purchase. ”This wand holds curative magic. I’ve been working on figuring out how to activate it, but my skills are not quite there yet. I believe it may be more useful in your hands on this mission.”
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"Oh! You are a flinty one!" Khardum challenges the quartermaster. "To be sure, you wouldn't be charging me these prices if we were landing rather than embarking. I admire your stubbornness, though. Gives a stone a rune for its money. Or takes it all!"
The dwarf guffaws uproariously at his own joke. However, he does, in the end, hand over the numerous gold coins for the camping equipment he purchased.
"As I suspect none of your are experts with sailing, I'll handle the rudder for now." she remarks with a smile.
As you sail up river, the bitter winds blow favorably towards your destination. The Varki woman remains serious as you travel by day, but her demeanor changes each night as you stop for camp. The temperatures plummet each night as the sun retires from the sky, though she assures you it's safe at the banks of the river.
Distant wolves howl throughout the night, while other, unknown critters scurry about in the darkness.
Once camp is set, the Varki woman approaches the woman self-identified as a medium.
"Faliana, right? You spoke at the briefing of being a medium and channeling spirits. Do all of your kind have this skill? Do the undead not trouble you? I've only heard stories myself, but the undead have always been villains in them. Where are you from? What's your homeland like?"
Following another day of expertly navigating the waterway, she again assists in setting up camp. Afterwhich she cautiously approaches the elf Syndra.
"If I may ask, what's your homeland like? Do all..." pausing a moment to glance towards the familiar, she continues. "Is it typical for such pets to accompany you on your travels? Have you worked with these people before? Or is there a different reason for you to dislike them?"
Feeling more comfortable with the group at this point, she walks up to John and Khardum together.
"As I'm sure you've noticed or even heard, I'm quite interested in you outsiders. What can you tell me of your previous adventures? Why have you left your homes? Is it curiosity as to what lies elsewhere? Or did something else force you to flee?"
Considering a moment, she adds "Are your homes covered in such beautiful landscape as well? Oh, to think. The whole world covered in the white plains and mountains we have here.... Why wouldn't everyone travel if that were the case?" Her voice sounding whimsical as she searches for her answers to the outside world.
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The first day of travel John shares what he learned from the crew. ”The White Witches rule this nation and monsters have the same rights as any race. The Jadwaga, human descendants of Baba Yaga, are the ruling class. We do NOT want to cross them. The monster races, at least the intelligent ones, pretty much do what they wish with minimal consequence. If we cross them and survive, we might still be able to complete our mission. Anything else, the crew either did not know or weren’t willing to divulge to an outsider.”
On the third cold night, John decides to get up and stretch his legs. Walking around a bit he sees Khardum is also awake. Going over to him, he pulls out the bottle of Oldlaw and scrounges up a few cups, ”something to warm us up a bit tonight?” When Haltani comes over he makes the same offer and listens intently to her questions, letting the dwarf have the first response.
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During the first day of the boat, Syndra finds a small corner and berries herself in her cowl. She pretends to spend most of the time sleeping, or practicing her magic. Most of the time, she casts variations of prestidigitation, and dancing lights, however she does cast detect magic as well to see what she can discern. Meanwhile she also is watching each member of the crew carefully. She sends emotional links to her familiar, who also observes carefully.
As for my homeland? It's been years since I've been there, but I'm happy to tell you about what I remember." Syndra takes a moment before telling Haltani about the lands of the elves and her travels and adventures that she can recall. Including her first adventure at The Wounded Wisp, and the slaughter of her Pathfinder brethren the Grippli, Her travels to Cheliax, Alabastrine, her previous adventure in time for the sky key, etc.
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Faliana accepts the wand from John and hands him the money for her purchases in exchange. "A curative wand will be very useful! I'm not positive how to use one myself, but Sasha will surely know what to do with it."
At the end of the hour, Faliana bounds up to her feet with an energy she didn't seem to have an hour ago, and a bright-eyed look in her eyes. She then scans the people around and gives everyone a thousand-watt smile, before sweeping into a deep dive. At the lowest point of her dive she gives a shake of her head and then slowly stands upight again, the energy of a few seconds ago replaced by the more sedate, mature energy Faliana normally has, her expression returning to her more usual small smile. She then proceeds to clean up the candles and chalk from her ritual.
After her ritual, Faliana heads to the stern of the ship taking her longspear with her. She then spends the rest of the day relaxing there with her spear within reach and John's wand tucked safely in her belt, ocassionally watching Haltani as she steers the ship, and trying to stay alert. Ocassionally her expression clouds over for a second and her eys take on a sense of wonder as she stares about at the winter scenery with an almost childlike energy, but after a few moments of this she invariably gives a few shakes of her head and her expression settles back to normal. She spends each day this way, and completes her seance each morning, extending an invitation to the other crew members to join her if they wish.
After a moment's thought she answers, "Not all of my kind have the ability to channel a spirit, though many claim to have it to try earn money. My parents were such people, but for the longest time I thought they actually could. You can imagine they were truly shocked when I first channeled a spirit. All for the spirits I channel, they are spirits who still wanted or needed to accomplish somthing in this world and are unwilling to move on to the next. they have been claimed by Ashava and she has guided them to me to try and let them find some peace so they can finally let go. As for the undead..."
As soon as she starts this sentence her face goes slack for a second and the bushy-tailed look that kept cropping up on her face throughout the day comes back. In a higher-pitched and rushed voice she continues, "...For the undead, they're nothing you need to fear! They're just poor, lost souls in need of guidance to the next world! In fact, they're..."
She stops again just as suddenly as last time, the expression on her face struggling about for a few seconds before settling down. Faliana, in her normal voice, quickly exclaims, "Ingore that fool! He doesn't know what he's talking about! From what little he remembers about his death and the fact I found the remains of his holy symbol in Ustalav, I'm guessing he got himself killed by one of those 'poor, lost souls.' While it's true most undead are lost souls, very few of them are harmless. Many of them are uanaware of what they are doing or actively want to hurt you. There are a few good-hearted undead but for the most part I'd reccomend avoiding them as much as possible, and fleeing if you can't."
"As for my homeland, I'm from Varisia, but my parents were part of a traveling troupe of Varisians so I never sent much time anywhere but Korvosa, where we would spend the winters. My homeland is a wild place with many dangers on the roads and rivers, but it has undeniable beauty as well. If you ever have the chance, it wouldn't hurt to visit there, especially as it's just south of here." Faliana spends the rest of the night answering Haltani's questions and then returning with questions of her own.
Faliana spends most of the night relaxing aroung the campfire, but keeps an ear open when Syndra starts talking about the elves.
When her nose picks up the undeniable scent of alchol, she perks up and wanders over to the group, plops down and asks if she might join them. having already talked with their guide for some time two nights ago, she mostly stays silent, only piping up to add something here or there.
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Khardum appears uncomfortable on the river boat and clings overly tight to the railings and ropes when he moves about the deck. His ruddy complexion fades to a pale slate for several moments after particularly deep lists or rolls. "...least on a ship, you don't have to see the water."
He grins at Faliana when she joins them.
"Oh. Hello, Haltani." He waves at a clear patch on the ground near where they sit. "Yeah, I noticed. Not see many outsiders?"
Khardum strokes his beard as he thinks about his answer to the woman's question. "Adventures? There was this one time that I had a particularly difficult piece of iron work to put together for my third cousin, you see he needed..." He spends five minutes describing the challenge of forging an intricate pocket door latch and lock for one of his relative's guest rooms.
"Oh. Not the kind of adventure you wanted to hear about? Well chasing goblins out of the tunnels is rather routine and dull to me," he says. "But there was this one time they had a bugbear with them! Oh, now that was a tussle! Very nearly lost my ear," he points to his left ear, "the way that brute was swinging his axe around."
Eventually. "I didn't leave for boredom nor tragedy. It's my sworn duty to keep my people safe, and what better way than by being out in the world and seeing the dangers first hand--and eliminating them, peacefully or not, before they reach my hearth and home?"
He grins as he speaks of his home. "Ho! Yes! There is snow like this. The peaks of the mountains shine like fire when the sun rises and reflects off of the snow and ice. But we own the mountain peak to the valley, soil to the root, so we've got pretty lakes and streams to fish and flowers that bloom in the spring.
"But what's really special is what's inside the mountain. Crystal gardens in a rainbow of colors and hue. Light the right fires and they create a display more wondrous than the stars." He gestures at the starry sky above.
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Ref Haltani, a few items in her pack detect as magical.
Nothing else on her detects.
Regional Landscape: Snow covered plains and mountains
Nearest Noteworthy Town: Sarbotten and Whiterook
You suspect you are about a day and a half from Dalun
Staring at the woman incredulously, she take a moment before prying. ”Are...are there two of you in there? So...when you channel a spirit, what you mean is they posses you?! That’s...wow!”
”Perhaps I’ll get a chance after this. That ship is the farthest from home I’ve ever been. I’d love to step out into the world more! See what’s out there, you know. I’ll heed your advice on undead though. They all look like skeletons, right?”
Nodding as the elf speaks, she chimes in. ”Ah, so it’s like the Jadwagi here vs the common folk. Not exactly rudeness...it’s just the way of things.”
”That sounds quite nice. Perhaps I’ll be able to visit it someday. Do you have snow there too?”
Enthralled by the dwarves stories, she listens intently. Afterwhich, she patiently takes in Johns oratory. Upon the human’s question, she stammers ”Well...I....uh...I wish to see and experience other cultures. Absalom sounds amazing though!”
Quickly turning back to the dwarf, she asks ”So, I see you were able to keep the ear. Did you manage to get the lock made to his satisfaction?”
Throughout the trip, the woman periodically pulls a blue stone from her furs and gazes longingly at it. If questioned about the stone, she simple advises
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Taking his cue, John keeps quiet and makes sure the cups are filled until the bottle empties, enjoying the company. When the bottle is finally drained he says, ”hey, look at this fancy wizardly trick!” He mumbles some words and makes a small gesture... nothing happens. He looks around at the three of them intently and slurs, ”er... I may be a bit inebriated, lemme try again.” Another set of words and motions and suddenly the bottle glows brightly, ”ahah, there we go!
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Faliana nods at the Varki's words and then explains with a sheepish smile, "Yes, there are two of us, though he isn't permanent. And you could say he is 'possessing' me, I still have control, mostly, but if I rely on him too much he can take control and do what he wants,but my Venture-Captain has forbidden me from let that happen on threat of kicking me from the Pathfinders."
She gives a slightly pained look at the skeletons comment. "Sadly, no they don't all look like skeletons. Some of them still have flesh, or look like very pale-skinned people. If you're really interested in knowing more, Sasha has studied and knows way more about the undead than I ever will. He will talk your ear off if you aren't careful, though. If he does get too much, let me know; I'll reign him in."
With a nod Faliana closes her eyes relaxes for a moment before the ever-bubbly Sasha rises to the surface. "So you want to know more about the undead? There's a lot of different kinds, for example, the basic skeleton still has a good ten different variations, the..." and continues in this vein for an hour or so explaining the different kinds of undead and how the souls can get to being lost that way. He does occasionally start to comment on how a particularly scary sounding undead isn't that dangerous before his face gives a twinge and he moves on.
A very inebriated Faliana gives a look at John's glowing bottle and quickly slurs, "Zash noshin, watch t'is." The half elf closes her eyes, concentrates for a few seconds, her face bunching up into various faces, before four lights appear above her head. With a glance, she sends them spinning around her head, marches them down to the campfire where they dance for a few seconds before shooting into the air and coming back down on the heads of everyone drinking there, where they wink out. She gives John a look of challenge. "Top zat!"
Detect Magic reveals 3 magical auras in her pack
The woman eyes you wearily as you try to play it off, but claps with glee at your second spell. "Magic is quite fun! My turn."
With but a flick of her wrist and a few words mumbled under her beath, she points behind you. Suddenly the sounds of a small animal charging towards you can be heard.
Haltani cast Ghost Sound
The Varki woman has 3 Potions of CLW
Your and Kerchomp's Perceptions --> You spy 2 men standing in the bushes onshore,
they are looking in your direction.
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Most of the party has observed Syndra staying secluded in the shadows. She seems to be not paying attention to much, occasionally pulling out and studying her spell book. Many of the party may assume that she is lost in thought, and not paying attention. In the matter of a few quick seconds, she releases a wand out of a hidden wrist sheath, and uses it, as well as pulls out her crossbow, and loads it, while addressing the party. Her movements are quick, but not the most obvious as to not give herself away.
"It appears that we have observers on the shore. I'm not yet sure of what they are about, but prepare yourselves for a potential fight, or be caught off guard. And don't draw attention to yourselves, and give reason to set them off."
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The dwarf shakes his head at John and Faliana's antics. "Wizards. Can't hold their liquor, and no sense not to try to manipulate the fabric of reality when drunk."
Having been forewarned by the woman herself, he's not as fooled as drunken John. "Nice. Very life-like. I'd have believed it."
"Ah, you mean like pulling out a crossbow and loading it? I'll be sure not to do that, then," the dwarf chuckles as he looks toward the bank where Syndra indicates.
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Faliana is also startled by the sound and starts for a second before realizing what Haltani had done. She then gives an burst of laughter, just before Syndra's warning. She continues her laugh, but she over extends and topples back wards. She quickly claims, "I'm shokay.", before fumbling around and slowly getting back into her seat. Next to her is a drawn crossbow that had been on her belt earlier.
A bend in the river and several large rocks 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. Tall trees grow on either shore, casting shadows with their large overhanging branches.
"Oh dear, not today!" Haltani curses when she spots the men pointed out by Syndra.
One of the scouts, leering at you, reaches over and cuts a line holding a counter weight. Suddenly a 15ft tall by 30ft across triangular net springs up out of the river. Not wasting any time, Haltani leaps for the rudder and gives it a firm tug, attempting to navigate through the narrow opening between the net and the far shore.
Alas, the current is too strong and the woman is unable to avoid the trap. The ship comes to a sudden stop as the net entangles it.
Both guards hold large, wooden shields before them, dressed in well-made leathers. They bear the mark of Whiterook. Though confrontation, neither has a weapon drawn.
"You there! What business have you in Irrisen?!" barks the taller of the two men.
Your guide acting more subdued than normal, whispers to you "They normally only stop ships leaving..."
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Faliana gracefully glides to her feet and braces herself before they hit the net. She rolls with the sudden stopping and subsequent rocking. Only a small grimace from her hangover on her face.
Trying to add more credence to John's claims, she puts her hands up, empty, and claims, "We have a letter of introduction as well!"