Cylina was in a much better mood after a good hot meal at the inn and the successful freeing of the expectant wolf mother. Her mood was considerably dampened as the party spotted the trolls up ahead, the woman growing resigned as she looked at Goliath and his animal, in addition to her own rather loud clanking walking. Still, she attempted to hurry off the road with the others, more than willing to let the threesome pass by without incident.
Road to Whitethrone: Day Two
You rush off the road as quickly and quietly as you can, but between the significant silhouette of the sleigh and Goliath's grinding granite plates you are far from subtle. The best you can manage is to retreat down a shallow ravine. The surprisingly keen trolls track you down also immediately, leering down at you from the roadside. On closer inspection, there appears to be a male, a female, and their daughter. The female ice troll still carries the gutted corpse of the elk across her shoulders, and points a jagged talon at you:
"You! You cannot hide from us! What do you know about a group of outlanders heading this way to Whitethrone? Have you seen anything suspicious? You must be hiding something, or why you be hiding from us...?"
The hulking giantess seems triumphant in her logic, not having for even a second apparently considered that you might be said fugitives. Her mate remains silent, a particularly proportionate for a troll. The juvenile however squeals in excitement:
"Please momma, let me keep one of them to play with. I want... That one! I promise I won't break her like last time..."
The smaller troll points enthusiastically at Irina, whilst her apparent father simply grunts in resigned annoyance. Her mother considers her child's request.
Back on the road, you see an elder couple of Ulfen and their ragged mule pass by, giving you sympathetic looks but not daring to draw the attention of the the icy brutes.
What do you do?
Goliath, having made the noise, speaks up, "We are hiding because you are big and scary, and also very powerful. We don't want to disrupt your hunt. Just a small caravan passing through. We have not seen many other groups out here."
Cylina nodded eagerly along with Goliath's words, adding, "Yes, he's right. We wanted to make sure to clear the road for you. We'd like to be on our way, if you don't mind..."
The redhead didn't particularly like the way the child looked at Irina, nor her word usage. The priestess wondered how many people in Irrisen had suffered at the hands of these brutes. She kept her cool, though inside her anger built up steam.
Road to Whitethrone: Day Two
The troll matron basks in your subservience and flattery, all but demanding more compliments on her family's prowess. Eventually they grow bored of bullying praise out of you, and turn to leave...
Which is when the young troll shrieks in anger:
"Momma! I said I want that one! I want her now!"
She then begins flailing her arms about in a juvenile rage, and wailing what must be the largest crocodile tears you've ever seen. The male troll just rolls his eyes silently, but her mother turns to Irina:
"You, snow-hair! You come with us!"
The hulking brute waives to the winter witch with a look on her face that suggests she's not asking politely.
What do you do?
"I need to ask you to leave her with us. If you would be so kind? You are all very smart and I'm sure you know how dangerous I can be to take a winter witch. We all know how testy the other winter witches get. I suggest this for both our groups well beings."
Goliath is hoping that they know enough of the politics that they will understand the risk of scooping up a travelling winter witch. Trying to subtly hint that one would not want to be mistaken for snacking a Jadwiga.
Cylina blew out a sigh of relief, which quickly turned to panic when the trolls turned back and demanded Irina come with them. The group couldn't let that happen, of course. The priestess kept quiet while Goliath attempted to subtly hint about the woman's (false) jadwiga counterparts, her worried look all too real.
Goliath nods to Wolfgang indicating agreement with the Rangers assessment.
Road to Whitethrone: Day Two
The trolls are stunned by Goliath's words, and after a moment of jawing wordlessly, the male speaks up:
"We did not know we were in the presence of Jadwiga. Forgive my sister and her daughter. We would never harm or harass a winter witch on purpose. Please forgive us!"
Both adult trolls bow in subservience, not daring to risk the wrath of the rulers of Irrisen. But the juvenile explodes with rage, screaming:
"He's lying! She's no witch! I'll tear the tongue out of his-"
Her words are cut off by a sudden and severe blow from her mother's axe, spraying blood across the snow. The older female troll starts dragging her shrieking daughter away, even as the young troll's flesh begins to knit together. The matron speaks, begging forgiveness as well:
"Your highness, we are very sorry. Please take this gift to forget our bad mistake!"
She then tosses a fine leather backpack stitched with the symbol of a rose on the snow in front of you, and then aided by her brother drags the young troll away, occassionally clawing and kicking her when the irate creature tries to protest. And thus the trolls begin swiftly making their way down the road away from you.
What do you do?
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Irina shakes her head. "I cannot go with you. I'm needed elsewhere on jadwiga business. As wonderful as it was speaking with your amazing family we really do need to be on our way."
"Thank you. Travel safely. Good hunting."
"Let's get back on the road."
Irina snags the backpack, and heads back up on the road. "Let's look at this away from here."
Cylina looked at the retreating trolls wide-eyed, not believing that the ruse had actually worked. She half-expected the creatures to turn back and start attacking after a hearty laugh, but the trio kept on going. When Irina suggested looking at the pack away from the current location and the large newcomer prodded them back to the road, the redhead could only nod hastily in agreement and walk as quickly as she could away from the trolls and towards Whitethrone.
Road to Whitethrone: Day Two
Nadya is somehow a paler shade of white than before, but she sighs with relief when the brutes make their retreat. The woman looks down to realize she's tightly gripping her axe and pick.
"I worry not for myself, but Irina. Are you okay? I shudder to think of what would befall anyone taken by trolls. Death would be better by far."
You return to the road, and travel until near darkness, putting as much distance between yourselves and the trolls. After all, the stupid creatures may change their minds or realize the deception...
And then there's the pack. Cylina knows that the rose is actually a disguised symbol of her faith... often used to mark safe houses and stashes.
"Irina, I'm sorry to have used you as a tool in that conversation. I'm sure it was unpleasant. And, it was decidedly disrespectful. I meant nothing by and I do believe my judgement to be insensitive to you put the children in less risk. That said I'm am not proud to have made said decision."
Goliath, not waiting for a response, walks away sullenly to set up camp.
------------------------------------------------
"It's all right. I didn't take offense. In all honesty, I've tried using the I'm a member of the jadwiga story before. It didn't work out as well as it did this time. I was going to Levitate and yell something appropriately curse like if they didn't fall for our bluff. I'd rather make myself look bad and even sacrifice myself for the safety of the children. I'm glad it didn't come to that. I wouldn't have lasted long as a "toy".
"Let's decide to fight things before we giving up any human sacrifices."
Road to Whitethrone: Night Two
The last rays of sunlight disappear behind the hills as you set up your encampment. Goliath had much more trouble finding a suitable spot due to the lack of time, and so you find yourself in a lightly wooded hilltop, relatively shielded from the elements. Finding an abundance of dead wood and pine needles, you get a roaring campfire going despite the danger of drawing unwanted attention.
Nadya sighs and turns to Wulfgang. There's some exhaustion in her face, though whether it's the day's travel or her emotional burden is hard to say.
"I'm leaving the boys with a friend in Ellsprin, it's a village on the way. I'll accompany you to the Fishcamps to meet my uncle Ringeirr. From there, I don't know honestly. How do I raise them knowing that they've lost their father and sister, and I could have something to avenge them but didn't. I guess we'll see what tomorrow holds and gi from there."
As you eat your dinner, you begin to feel like you're being watched. Though you can't see far in the darkness, Irina swears she hears at least two creatures moving in the woods, and Goliath would put the number closer to five. He even spots what appears to be a tiny pair of flame orange eyes peering at him from the shadows, disappearing moments later. Even Therm is uneasy, but they're too far away to smell.
What do you do?
This is a handy haversack. Inside is a mwk cold iron morningstar, 19 mwk cold iron darts, a mwk darkwood buckler, and a wooden holy symbol of Milani.
You have little doubt that the original owner probably did not end well.
Stuff
Cylina hadn't thought much about Goliath's use of Irina in his deception, but her estimation of the man rose as he apologized to her afterwards. Empathy was a disappearing trait in the world, especially in Irrisen, and the priestess was glad to know that those close to her now on this journey possessed it.
The cleric frowned in anger as she noticed the rose symbol on the pack, the trolls possessing it leaving little doubt as to the well-being of the previous owner. "That pack right there belonged to a follower of Milani, the Everbloom. May they rest in peace." She brought her fingers to her lips, brushed them with a kiss, then brought her digits down to the backpack before starting to help set up camp.
"We are being watched by many sets of eyes. Shelter the children."
Irina studies the backpack. She can't quite identify it.
"At least two." Irina murmurs as she moves to get between the creatures and the children.
"Here Irina maybe my family workbook will help."
Goliath hands over his arcane family workbook.
Cylina drew out her morningstar, staring out into the darkness nervously. It was cold during the day, but at least the sun shone brightly and enabled one to see what terrors were out and about. As she sees Irina move to set herself between Nadya's children and the unknown watchers, the redhead moved to a different side of the camp to defend the kids against any enemies from that direction. "Animals, maybe?" Not likely...
Road to Whitethrone: Night Two
With the help of Goliath's tome of witchcraft and sorcery, Irina manages to identify the magical bag .
Cylina and Wulfgang peer into the darkness, but fail to either see or hear anything definite. After all, your imagination is more than eager to fill in the blanks as anxiety rises.
Almost immediately after you begin scanning the treeline, the sounds of movement stop and the glowing eyes vanish. All that remains is darkness. Nadya keeps close to her children, trying to keep them calm. The house spirit Hatch on the other hand mutters gloomily (out of the boy's earshot but within yours) in his gruff voice:
"From the book of Fey Rhymes: 'Nip and bite, claw and fight, these are creatures of the night'. In Irrisen, fairy tales are just stories told by those who survived."
Whoever or whatever was watching you has disappeared. What do you do?
Stuff
"Does anyone know anything about Fey?""
"This is a magical bag that can hold more than it looks, and there are some cold iron items in the bag. When we were in Taldor we learned that cold iron damages fey better than any other type of metal." Irina pulls out the items and shows them to her companions.
"Could be wolves who were hungry, and didn't want to fight a large group of people with fire." Irina responds to Hatch.
"I'm not one for fortunes but was there not a lot fo cold iron in that bag? It seems maybe the previous owner and Hatch may be on to something."
Cylina sighed in sadness as Irina discovered the satchel's true purpose and pulled out the items from within, including a wooden holy symbol to match her own. The priestess took possession of the symbol and dug a small pit to bury it in, saying a quick prayer for the soul of the previous owner. If no one else claimed them, the cleric took the cold iron darts, but left the morningstar for another since she already possessed one.
The redhead looked between Irina and Hatch, shrugging. Fey were known to be fickle in their mood. Or perhaps it was just animals, as was suggested. Unless the group fancied venturing out and trying to track down their mysterious surveyors, they probably needed to bed down and keep a sharp eye out.
"Let's not assume the creatures are gone. I will take my watch as a Dimorphodon, Therm will watch with either Cylina or Wolfgang and Irina has her familiar. That means we have a creature with scent on three of 4 shifts."
"Here is what I know..."
Road to Whitethrone: Day Two
A sense of growing dread washes over the camp. Perhaps whatever was watching you fled, but even so, they might return. You peer into the shadows, but find only tricks of your mind.
Nadya gives a stern glance to Hatch, who silently withers. The woman speaks with bravery born of experience:
"There are many dangers in my country, but few would dare attack an alert and well defended caravan. Let us remain vigilant, but whatever lurks out there will have to come into the light of the fire to attack us. Goliath, can you cast your protection?"
Most of your experience with fey comes from fighting the Winter-Touched in the Border Wood and to a lesser degree in the Pale Tower.
In addition to knowing all the traits covered by the Fey type and Winter-Touched template, you know Fey are almost exclusively chaotic in nature and even the most benevolent are strange and fickle in their motivations, often playing pranks and games for no reason bigger than their own amusement.
However, having not actually seen the creatures in question, you have no idea if they're actually fey or something else.
I will use this roll as your knowledge nature to identify the creatures if relevant and you actually see them.
Having dealt directly with the fey of the north for much of your life, you are well aware that goodly fey exist in Irrisen but are outnumbered by their purely capricious and even malicious kin.
In addition to knowing all the traits covered by the Fey type and Winter-Touched template, you know Fey are almost exclusively chaotic in nature and even the most benevolent are strange and fickle in their motivations, often playing pranks and games for no reason bigger than their own amusement.
However, having not actually seen the creatures in question, you have no idea if they're actually fey or something else.
I will use this roll as your knowledge nature to identify the creatures if relevant and you actually see them.
Stuff
"Let's keep the watch as it was. Except, Therm will pair up with Cylina. If something attacks you will hear several screeches"
Once everyone is done with their nightly duties Goliath will put up the Camp Fire Wall.
"Rest well friends." Irina heads to her bedroll to wait her turn at watch.
Cylina wasn't sure what a dimorphodon was, but the large, strange newcomer seemed capable so she assumed that was some kind of super alert state he could slip into. The priestess nodded her agreement at Nadya's assessment, hoping that their numbers and the large fire would keep whatever evils might be out there at bay.
She yawned as she spread out her bedroll, nodding at Goliath when he mentioned what to listen for from his animal friend. She smiled back at Irina and said, "You as well. All of you, that is. Tomorrow brings us one step closer to Whitethrone and pure craziness."
"Sleep unburdened."
"God's Favor? I was setting the bar much lower. Lack of a witch's curse. Three of four limbs."
Even at the quiet level, the deepness of the laugh that follows can be felt as a gentle resonance in the snow.
"Gallow's humour. My apologies."
Road to Whitethrone: Day Three
You sleep through the night without any apparent disruption. Whatever was watching seemingly thought better of it, or perhaps did whatever they planned without your notice...
As you eat breakfast of warm porridge with fresh winter berries (thanks to Goliath) and pack up the camp, Nadya remarks:
"Most things that go bump in the night are just opportunistic cowards. They'll avoid groups for the lonely traveler or vulnerable prey. From a young age you learn not to show weakness. Or you die."
And then just at dawn, it's back to whatever the road holds for you...
actually, ignore. They'll do this later when the party has dropped their guard.
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Cold Chain Slavers
"You are right. It's best we give them no opportunity to thwart us. Let's be careful. Heads on a swivel and diligence every night."
Goliath will keep Therem and himself at the opposite end of their little caravan from Irina to keep the creatures with scent spread out.
"Goliath lead the way please. We'll take up the rear." Irina lets Wraak frolic and sniff at the back of the group behind the sled with the children on it.
Irina prepares Charm Person in place of Infernal Healing this morning.
Cylina responded to Wulfgang, "I'm sure you'll put it to good use." She offered a smile, hoping that the fallen follower of Milani's effects being put to good use might please their spirit in the afterlife.
The priestess proceeded to move to the middle of the group, so as to be able to rush to either end should a threat arrive, or be able to catch them all with divine healing courtesy of her patron. She couldn't help but dread the fact that they seemed to be walking towards certain doom in Whitethrone, but they had little choice. She hoped that they would reach their destination for Nadya's children soon, so at least the cleric wouldn't worry over the little ones.