"This thing is a fair bit more durable than I thought it would be," Freyr grumbles as the mantis continues to attack despite it's wounds. He raises his blade again and delivers a second powerful swing.
"Bring it down before it gets those jaws into one of us!"
Cursing her bad luck Kleora reloaded her crossbow and fired once more at the strange bug thing.
This time the cold must have been a problem as it seemed she didn't have the string as tight as she thought and the bold barely came out of the end of her weapon landing on the ground at her feet.
"More importantly get it away from my people!" Frjya said as she brought her staff around and swung at the mantis. Then moved to the other side of her brother.
Freyr and Tayanalla bring the giant mantis down as you here exoskeleton crack as it body falls and quickly begins to freeze in the frigid air. Without sparing you a glance two of the traders, wrapped in thick furs, rush to their fallen companion before looking back at the third and shaking their heads. After a moment the load the body onto the sled which is already piled with supplies. As this happens one of the figures whistles loudly, two times.
In response to the whistle four more sleds, pulled by dogs, move back to the group. You can see there are tracks where they were driven away, probably when the mantis attacked.
One of the people bundled in furs steps forward and unwraps the furn hanging form her face shows the face of a 26 year old woman.
"I don't know how you got here, clearly this is not your home. We will make camp and get you warmed."
She turns and grabs a few additional furs which she hands each of you as the group starts to make camp.
"You will be warm soon and thank you for the rescue. What are you doing here?"
She is direct and speaks as she and the group start to set up camp.
Because she's not really really how to answer the lady's question, Tayanalla kneels down to retie her boot in the snow and lets either Frjya or Freyr answer the local.
xp?
Frjya seemed a little confused when they said this was clearly not their home. Though she had to be a little thankful that they didn't notice her and her brother's iconic blonde hair, pale skin, and odd eyes. Because it might work against her friends, Frjya pulled her hood up and gave a kind not to the woman. "We're passing through." Frjya answered as she stepped up to speak. "What brings you all out this way?" She asked curiously.
The woman gives a little sideways glance at Frjya as she says they are just passing though. She is busy working to get camp set and so does not really give you a good look.
"Odd place to be passing though. Don't think you will get that far without more supplies to survive in the cold, good thing you found us while 'passing though'. Name is Nadya by the way, Nadya Petska."
They work for a bit longer and end up with two fairly large tents made from canvas and covered with thick furs. She snow beneath has been scrapped down to ice that probably never melts and thick furs have been put down there as well. Finally to brazers are lit in each of the large tents.
"Come in you will be warm enough."
She motions to the tent that her and two of the crew members are taking up. The dogs and other crew are getting the second tent ready.
"Thank you for the hospitality. It is a bit brisk out here." Taya answers the lady.
"My name is Tayanalla. Originally from Taldor, but now traveling and out to see the world."
"Very glad we could help with that big bug. I can't imagine you see many creatures like that around here."
When offered to go in she motioned for those of the group to step in before she herself did. "Well we didn't have much of a choice." Frjya explained. "This is just were we got dropped out at." She added. "Oh and you can call me Frjya."
"If I may ask, why are you out this way? Are you traders?"
"It wasn't exactly a planned trip," Freyr says as they follow the woman into their quickly erected camp. "But we're managing for the moment. We do appreciate the hospitality though." He is hesitant to pull down his hood and show his face clearly as they enter the relative warmth of the tent. "Freyr. This is my sister, Fryja."
Kleora felt a wash of relief when the bug thing went down and was rather relieved to see the people they'd just helped were friendly. Kleora noted the way Frjya hid her face a bit more but left it unremarked and after Tayanalla introduced herself pulled her hood back a bit so her face could be better seen and then said, "I am called Kleora from the Verduran Forest." She quickly pulled her hood back forward after that and said, "I hope you have a way to get very warm because it is way to cold out here."
Nadya listens as final preperations are made and finally gives your group her full attention. For the first time she notices Frjya and her eyes go a little wide at the site she had missed before. After a moment she gives a small shrug and shakes her head but keeps her eyes on her as she speaks. Her demeanor is pronounceable less friendly now.
"Clearly we are traders." she looks to the others motioning them to warm themself as the newly lit fires "Were heading back with food from the Realm of the Mammoth Lords." she squints "M'lady."
As the others make thier introductions she nods and gives her name Nadya Petska.
"Oh just Frjya, please." Frjya said with a small smile, to try and put the woman at ease. "The Realm of the Mammoth Lords? The only place known to have an open trading contract with Irrisen, really the only one with a treaty." Frjya explained to Tayanalla and Kleora. "Because of those who rule Irrisen any treaty is rare to come by. However, the Realm of the Mammoth Lords is one of the few that can hold one from time to time."
"But why brave such a journey?" Frjya asked Nadya. "Irrisen itself is a dangerous place, to leave it for the Realm of the Mammoth Lords and return isn't an easy feat."
noticing the lady's discomfort and still not sure about what's going on with her companions, Taya tries to smooth things over.
"Nothing to worry about from us. We're just travelers seeing these lands along with our friends here." she gestures to Freyr and Frjya.
"Along the way we're trying to do a little good and set some of the odd things that seem to be happening right."
"Like that big bug back there. It sure doesn't belong around here, and some of the things we saw down south weren't right either."
Freyr purses his lips at the trader's expression. Someone unhappy with the royalty was as common as a morning frost in Irrisen, but they really did not need trouble right now. He throws his hood down, seeing little reason to make a fool of himself trying to keep a secret that's already out.
Kleora was to busy being cold and looking forward to a warm place to notice the sudden change in demeanor of the merchant woman. Hell she barely even managed to hear the name as she tried to get herself warmed up. Fortunately they were inside now and it was becoming more comfortable for the woman from more southern lands.
Finally warm enough to think straight Kleora said, "'Weren't right?' More like they were freakishly strange! It's not meant to be winter in Taldor right now and they never get that bad to begin with."
Freyr lowing his hood gets another double take from Nadya but she listens to the others talk. She addresses Kleora and Tayanalla first before acknowledging that Frjya asked a question.
"Winter in Taldor and you are just travelers, much like the giant bug just appeared here. How would you know the weather in Taldor, are you making fun of me? Well if your not going to be honest I might be sorry I shard my tent to saved you from the cold even if you did save my life." she looks at Frjya "Well I guess that's not true m'lady since they are with you it is an honor. It is also an honor to go to the Mammoth lords to secure the favor of Nazhena, I am sure you know the name."
She looks about clearly flummoxed. "In your travels here did you bring food or should I just start making what I have?"
"The story of how we came here is a long one and probably hard to believe. I know I'm not sure of all the facts myself."
"It seems the ruler of these lands, and the relative of my companions here, is usurping the natural order and using powerful magic to spread winter across the world."
"I prefer my homeland to be sunny and warm and so I have set myself to this quest to prevent the spread of eternal winter."
"The fact that we stand opposed to your rulers will no doubt result in us being declared enemies of Irisen by the current queen. We appreciate your hospitality, but we would not endanger you by associating with you too long."
"Nazhena?! You mean my great niece?" Frjya asked shocked. "Nadya please!" Frjya pleaded as she grabbed onto the woman's shoulders. Her face an expression of worry, "Have nothing to do with Nazhena if you can. She is a foul cold woman like many of my kin! Nothing good can come from her frozen heart, it could only risk your safety." She told her. "Please... I'm begging you... You live in Irrisen so you know how curl my kin can be, please whatever you need let me help you get it. Nazhena can do nothing to me, but... the same cannot be said for you. My kin have hurt enough of my people already, please listen to me on this..."
Freyr reaches out and grabs his sister by her own shoulder as she practically leaps down their host's throat. "Sister, calm yourself. If she's returning from a trading venture, she lives here. I'm certain she knows what kind of person Nezhena is. There's no need to frighten her." "And there's less reason to make a fool of yourself."
Kleora's eyes narrowed at effectively being called a liar to her face. It was more than rude after she had offered them the hospitality of her tent. If it weren't for the fact she wanted to stay warm as long as she could she might have stormed out then and there. Instead Kleora responded simply, "Believe me or not but it's rather rude to call a guest a liar after inviting her into the hospitality of your home with no proof."
Kleora turned her gaze to the source of warmth and moved closer to it saying nothing further. As things had begun to warm up a bit she pulled her blanket from her pack and lay it across her lap hoping to warm it up. When mention of food was brought up Kleora said, "I have trail rations I can eat, though I would certainly not say no to a hot meal though I would need to find something to offer you in exchange." Her tone was a neutral one and after her words she went back to warming up.
Nadya’s demenor changes from Frjya comments first a look of disbelief comes across her face and then relief. She looks to each of you.
“It seems I have misjudge you if you speak so of Nazhena. I am sorry to give offense but I hope you can see that showing up on foot here does not make you seem like your just traveling and then seeing…” she gestures to Frjya “It is all very confusing."
She gets a meal going of hot food as she talk further.
"I have no desire to have dealings with your kin. She has my daughter…. Thora. This food shipment I am taking to the pale tower to turn over in the hopes of getting my daughter back. I am just desperate to get her back.”
She goes on to describe the girl with a little urging and Frjya has a sinking feeling that she knows the fate of the girl.
Frjya at first goes quiet, happy that this woman understood what she was saying, only for her face to turn to sorrow. Dropping down to her knees Frjya start apologizing. "I'm sorry... I'm so sorry..." 'Brother... Thora was the girl who got turned into the doll... The one Nazhena made me watch...'
Freyr bit back a growl. Of course things could never be simple. It seemed like fate was yet to be satisfied with them. "Then it seems that her trip has been in vain." He sighs as Frjya all but breaks down. "Sister..." He puts a more comforting hand on her shoulder and drops to one knee next to her.
"She's gone..." Frjya cried. "I tried... I swear... But Nazhena made me watch... She, she turned Thora... She turned her into a guardian doll." She told Nadya, believing she had a right to know. Frjya had always felt this was a failing on her part. "I'm sorry..."
Taya looks on, a little bit confused at the emotional response from her traveling companions.
+150xp Each for letting Nadya know the fate of her daughter.
Nadya is taken aback by this statement. She look unbelieving at Frjya before tears being to form in her eyes as they flash angry.
"Your blood of that.... that.... Home am I to believe you. You know magic, I can tell from the look of you, your one of them. Change her back or so help me......."
She takes a deep ragged breath and you see an icy resolve form in her spirit. Clearly this is not something she is willing to let stand but knows she must focus on those who may be able to help, you all.
"No... you are not with your that woman. I will take you to Waldsby in the morning. We will get supplies you need if you are going to try and do something about your niece."
Things relax from there and you know there is steel in this woman. She tells you of her husbands death two years ago, killed by an ice troll. She tells you she has two other children, Orm and Mjoli but they ae with friends when she trades. This trade rout she runs several times a year using her husbands contacts with the a friendly trip nearby.
While she was away on a trade run, Nazhena and her guards visited Waldsby. Nadya’s daughter, Thora, encountered Nazhena and inadvertently insulted the witch. In a fit of pique, Nazhena had the girl hauled off to the Pale Tower to punish her for her insolence. When Nadya returned and learned of her daughter’s capture, she hurried to the tower to plead for the girl’s return. Nazhena agreed to release Thora only if Nadya could provide her with a new shipment of food, larger than ever before.
"I... Don't have that much power." Frjya explained. "If I did... then maybe I could have stopped her..." Frjya muttered ashamed of herself.
"We released her soul from the doll... But I will do anything to hold Nazhena responsible. Our people need help, which was why I ran." Frjya tried to explain. "My kin bring nothing by death to a land frozen in time. For many nothing ever changes, those with power abuse their people... harm them... I've had enough. My people deserve better!" She told her. "So I left to find those who could return and help me. She defies grandmother Yaga, and is trying to take over other places... I can't sit by any more... thinking I could wait it out till Baba Yaga got here was a foolish thing to think, and I blame myself for what happened to Thora... had I done something sooner then... maybe I could have saved her." Frjya said, voice breaking slightly. "But right now, only Baba Yaga can stop my mother but... I believe I can bring down Nazhena, with the help of those here." She explained as she looked to the group. "She'll answer for what was done to Thora. You have my word Nadya, for what ever you believe it is worth."
"This is dark news we have placed upon you. If by any act of mine I can help you find justice, then I will do my best to see it right."
"I suppose we were looking for help," Freyr sighs as he rubs the bridge of his nose. "I was hoping for more help than a ragtag group of adventurers before we considered coming back, but I suppose fate rarely deals you the hand you want." Still, he certainly wasn't going to regret giving Nazhena what she deserved. It might only be a first step, but it would at least be one that they could manage.
Kleora was somewhat saddened by the girl's fate, granted it sounded like she potentially put herself in that position but given what she was picking up on the fickle cruelties of this place, the witches, she began to think that they ultimately did as they pleased. A certain part of her understood that, to a point, nature could seem cruel but was in reality not, it simply was. It also wasn't how she was taught to do things, far better to manipulate others into doing what you wanted, steal their soul but while they lived, people were far more than crazy animated dolls after all. "Everyone is prey to something in this world but children should be protected by those in power, not preyed upon. Even wild beasts understand this. Only the mad and the insane would do otherwise." Smiling wickedly Kleora said, "I think this witch needs to be brought down, maybe made into a puppet herself, it would be a most fitting end for someone so unnatural."
The conversation continues for some time before one of the traders, who had been standing watch, enters. He tells Nadya that a stranger is here, a bad, asking for entrance and offering to play for a meal.
Given that you have all just arrived she looks to you for a decision. Leaving someone in the cold is bad form but bringing someone in could also be dangerous she mentions.
"If we don't we leave them to them to possibly starve." Frjya pointed out with a sigh. "If they become a problem we are willing to help and take control of the situation." She promised.
"Music would be welcome. Travelers carry news as well, and we're in need of information."
"We can handle danger, but there are few ways to fight the cold with swords and armor. Only food and shelter can succeed at that." Suspicious to a fault he may be, Freyr was not one to leave anyone to wander in the cold alone.
Nadya agrees with you but, as you fought the mantis and told her about her daughter, she was willing to let her fend for herself if that was your wish. The bard enters in a long fur robe that she quickly removes from the heat. She has a hairless body, bare goat legs, and a horned head. Her voice is deep and strong as she introduces herself.
"Many thanks for taking in this humble traveler and bard. I am Mierul Ardelain and have little to offer other then a song but I am told it has value. You are a trading expedition yes? Some look from and some not so much yes? Where do you come from to this cold land?'
Kleora was finally warmed up when the bard arrived and nodded her assent, "I agree, no one should have to suffer this cold."
When the bard entered she caught Klora's immediate attention. She had a strong suspicion as to what this woman was and couldn't decide between relief or nervousness given their previous experiences. She listened to what the woman had to say and considered the question to be rather suspicious.
"Greetings Mierul. We have traveled here from the south. These cold winds are new to us. You must be used to them as a native of these lands."
Freyr cocks his head as the bard joins the caravan for the evening, but keeps his thoughts to himself. She's hardly the first fey that he's seen, but it always pays to be careful when any of their kind are around.
Both Kleora and Freyr recognize Mierul Ardelain as a forlarren and the experience of those form the area tell you that she is also winter-touched.
Kleora knows the most about a forlarren. 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.
Kleora, Tayanalla and Freyr also notice that the presence of you all is of great interest to Mierul. She is eyeing your weapons with interest clearly not expecting to find armed adventurers in a simple camp.
Nadya speaks before to much more can be said. "These fine people have traveled back with my from my trade journey. We will be heading back out soon, they... some of them have distant relatives they are here to visit before we make our next trade run."
The bard shrugs but does not appear convinced. Still she joins you for the meal sitting well away from the fire. She looks to each of your group and smiles with blue lips.
"So who has family here? It is a cold place to visit but I guess it shows a love of family. We should all love our family should we not? relatives... well I do not know mine but I hear they are the key to a good life. Would you all agree?"
"I have no family here, but I would love to learn more about these lands. Is there much work for singers and bards? Where are you traveling to? We would love to learn more to help guide us on on journey?" Taya asks the strange bard.
"My brother and I." Frjya said as she stepped up. She and Freyr looked the most like the people of Irrisen after all, being a type of Irrisenie. "The others are friends, your question though, it is a hard one to answer." She stated with a small shrug. "Sometimes family does terrible things, that cannot be from a place of love." She tried to explain, placing a hand around her own neck over the ribbon that hid her scar. "and it is better to leave that side of the family... But other family can be there for you." Frjya added as she smiled at her twin.
Freyr clenches his hands and bites his tongue to stop himself from saying anything for a moment. There were few things that could stoke his anger quite like some of their 'family' could. "The people who you care for and care for you in return are your real family," he finally says, nodding to his sister. "Even if you have to stop them from doing foolish things every once in a while."
Kleora recognized what the bard was and felt a certain amount of pity for her. The forlarren were a sad, and thankfully small, race of fey. She knew they could be dangerous and fickle but this one seemed stable enough for now. After a moment she shook and said, "No, my family too is far to the south of here right now, near the Verduran Forest. They are important, they introduced me into the service of The Green Mother in the tradition of the women of our family." Kleora made a sign of obedience to the Green Mother when she spoke of being in the Eldest's service and watched to see how the forlarren reacted.
"So half have family you must all be good companions to travel to the cold with each other. I am not traveling, I am always here watching and singing."
"Yes some family is by choice not by birth, I have some as such. Stopping them from being foolish sounds like a thing to do but sometimes what you find foolish they do not. In these lands cold souls may have different feelings."
At that comment Nadya interjects suggesting that you are all tired. She tells of the battle with the mantis but implies that you were with them already and suggests a performance.
The bard obliges and stands beginning to sway her arms slowly and a hypnotic, not mechanically so though, dance. Her movemnts get bigger with her arms over the next minute and she starts to sing. Her song is of a lost soul in a cold world. They find no home, no warmth for some time. Moving from shadow to shadow of those few that live her until they are noticed by someone of vague power. The story moves of being taken in, no love but acceptance. Finally the song ends on a note of positivity, a place in the world and a role to play.
As the song is performed a small note is passed from Nadya to Kelora who is seated closest to her. One word "dangerous" is all that is seen. Clearly meant to be a secret but was the note passing seen? Who knows.
Depending on conversation the night can pass or you can continue to talk. Will you set watches inside a tent with people around?
Taya will sit up for a while, pulling out a sewing kit and restitching some tears in her cloak.
She will pay attention to all the strangers for a while she works.
If nothing suspicious happens after a couple hours, she will shake Freyr awake and let him take over the informal watch so she can get some rest.
After the bard perfromed for them Kleora felt the note slipped into her hand and kept it hidden for the moment. As the performance continued she took a moment to huddle down in her blankets and read the note while it was hidden from view. She continued to watch the performance but knew better than to let herself get pulled too far into it and when she got the chance she nodded at Nadya ever so slightly her understanding.
Later, after she was good and warm and the performance was done Kleora wrote out a note and slipped over to Nadya and slipped it to her when the bard was looking the other way.
Long used to watching two backs, even in the comforts of the palace at Winterthrone, Freyr snaps awake easily if woken to keep an eye on things. He sits calmly, tending to his gear while he listens for any sign of danger coming toward the traders' small camp.
Nadya does not find a way to send a note back but at one point whispers three words. “Leave her be.” Beyond that the night ends and the sun rises. The last watch of the night sees that the bard is up early and as the rest of you wake she is donning her gear and heading for the door ready to be on her way.
“Thank you for the meal and the company. I am off to my next song or tale. Keep warm.”
Her eyes linger for only a fraction of a second on Freyr and Fryja and she might have given a small shrug.