"I go." Ahreni offers. "Speak as hunter."
"I will go with you," Relisha says to Ahreni. She makes for an intimidating sight now in her new armor.
Thanatos sighs. I’m sure THAT will go over well.
”I can go smooth things over. But if they don’t speak Taldane I may need a translator.”
Olaff follows in silence, wondering if they too will be invited to join their caravan.
The group of women make their way towards the Kellids, flanked by Olaff in the rear.
As you approach them, the Kellids take their feet and pick up their weapons, but they do not seem aggressive or fearful.
The middle aged man steps forward to greet you, bringing only a muscular young man as a guard. The guard has the largest of the steel swords you can see among the group.
"Hello friends," the man says, his Taldane surprisingly clear but still marked by an accent you aren't familiar with. "I am Taranaak, of the Silver Marten Clan, may the gods favor your journey."
Taranaak is a tall man, with dark hair shot through with gray and hanging to his waist. Taking stock of your group he remarks, "You are brave to cross the Crown with the storms that block the north this season."
"As men of courage, we are all brothers here. We are having a feast in honor of the gods of the hunt tonight, as the summer has brought us more meat than we will be able to eat before it spoils. You and your companions are welcome to join us, it would be our honor."
”Thank you, for your hospitality and generosity. I am certain we can find something to share in kind,” Thanara replies with a sweet smile.
”As to bravery, I would be hard pressed to find anyone who would deny your own party has just as much courage, friend.”
Taranaak grins at Thanara's words and welcomes you forward towards their fire and freshly cooked food. "Come then, join us! Get warm, fill your bellies and share our ale! Tell us your tales of your crossing!"
You look around carefully, trying to figure out what it is about these men that you don't like. There's nothing obvious. They have weapons, and look like they know how to use them, but that's a matter of life and death in lands like these.
"Yes, we thank you," Relisha says, relaxing for now. These people seem as peaceful as one could in this part of the world. Almost hesitantly, the tiefling closes her eyes for a moment to get a sense of these people's auras.
Ahreni sniffs the air a few times, the tall one doesn't smell right. Too much fear scent.
"Be careful." She rumbles softly in Olaff's ear. "They lie."
To Olaff, the man's words seem honest enough, but with Ahreni's warning, he remains guarded for now.
"Excellent!" Taranaak says, sitting and continuing to eat his food. He motions to a woman who begins to hand out plates of steaming, freshly cooked meat and large cups of ale. "SO! Where is your final destination? Why would you cross in the off season? What great tales of danger have you to tell us?"
Relisha's brow furrows and her hand moves closer to the hilt of her scimitar. She doesn't draw it, however.
"Our destination is our own as is the reason for our journey. I am sworn to another and so my story is not mine to tell. We must decline your hospitality."
Thanara was suspicious of them from the start. She accompanied them to their fire alongside her compatriots, but remained cautious. At their questions and her Relisha’s standoffish answers, she replied ”My apologies. But it is not customary where we are from for guests to burden their hosts with their own trials and tribulations without hearing the stories of their hosts first.”
Relisha glances at Thanara, hoping that she's understanding the same thing that Rel is.
Ahreni waits for the rest of the hunters to start eating before taking a bite herself. Once she starts the wolfs the food down in swift, efficient bites and then licks her lips clean thoroughly. As soon as she gets a chance she gets up and fades into the snow, circling around to wait behind the tall one and out of the firelight.
"Fair enough, I suppose." he says with a shrug at Relisha and Thanara's comments.
The Kellids greet you with warmth, clasping the forearms of the men and nodding politely at the women. The female Kellids who show up later have the exact same behavior.
Initially, there are only a handful of Kellids present. As you eat, a party of twenty men and women, similarly dressed and equipped all show up as well.
Multiple cookfires are laid out, and the Kellid begin to roast their kills, and the scent of cooking meat fills the air.
Only Taranaak seems to speak Taldane, as no one else has spoken a word of the Common tongue that you've heard. He goes into rudimentary details about how he and his brothers were skinning an elk earlier today and he each of the men women took it upon themselves to outdo each other with outlandish boasts of their hunting prowess. Having felled a mammoth by himself without any weapons or tools, he of course won.
Once his story is done, he asks "And what of the morozko? How do you intend to pass through it on your journey which is secret. Hmmm?"
"That would be the prerogative of our caravan master, which I'm not," Relisha says guardedly. "What is the Morozko?"
"The morozko is the hungry storm that are unqiue to the Crown of hte World. These blizzards are not just ice and wind, mind you. They are an unnatural cold that can be not be weathered by anyone or anything. They are unpassable, unless of course you seek death."
The Kellid looks at Relisha, interested in what she said previously "And who exactly is your caravan master? I would speak directly with them."
"I will pass along to them that you would like to meet," Relisha replies noncommittally. "So is there no way around these storms?"
In the snow behind the man Ahreni's ears prick up - this storm sounds... impressive.
Olaff frowns at the man's description of this morozko. "This is clearrly not trrue, since ve rreceive tien merrchants in my land that have crrossed this trrail."
The man shrugs with a brief laugh "The storms are seasonal and ther is a reason all that wish to cross the Crown do so much earlier than you. Believe me or not, I have no reason to lie to you, my friend. If you think you are so smart, you will quickly find death ahead of you."
Ulf cautiously approaches your group from the caravan, after seeing you all sit down to enjoy food with them and deeming it safe. As he closes the distance and join you, he seems on edge, and once he even wines in agitation, which is very unlike him.
He even turns down the offered food, which draws a scowl from your hosts. As everyone else takes their portion, and the smell is delicious, even if you don't think you've smelled this particular kind of meat being cooked before. Perhaps it is... mammoth? You've heard of such creatures, but you aren't sure if they live in this part of the north. The Kellids certainly seem to have a lot of meat to go around though.
As you begin to eat the meat, you decide that mammoth is particularly tasty and perhaps you will consider seeking one out for a future meal. The Kellid man looks to Ulf's approach and offers him meat as well a second time which he declines again as they instead hand some to Olaff.
Olaff gets handed his skewer last, the Kellids having served all of the women first. As Olaff raises the meat to his mouth, Ulf finally closes the distance and grabs his forearm to stop him from eating it. He leans in and whispers to the large Ulfen.
"Do not. This is man flesh you are about to eat." he warns.
Olaff drops the skewer at once and draws his sword. "Vhat is this meat, man? My frriend says it is human flesh and I have no rreason to doubt his vorrd!" He moves closer, menacingly, ready to strike the strange.
Relisha passes on the offered food, her distrust of the leader precluding any hunger she might have or any concern over offending their host.
Thanara’s golden skin turns pale and her eyes go wide at Ulf and Olaf’s revelation on the “meal” they were sharing. It then turns a light shade of green as she rolls away from the fire onto her hands and knees in the snow, her stomach spasming hard as she begins wrenching her stomach’s contents into the snow!
She looks toward Rognar and calls out between heaves ”Rognar! Kill them...kill them all!”
The large, unarmed Ulfen cracks his knuckles and steps between Thanara and the Kellids.”You cannibalistic f!#+s picked the wrong crew to f&*@ with...” he says before shrugging his fur cloak off his shoulders, freeing his muscular form up to move more easily. He locks eyes with their chief and smiles.
Ahreni, who has already polished off her skewer, seems rather unmoved by the fact that she's just eaten human. Thanara commanding their deaths however is important and the shifter twists into wolf form in the blink of an eye.
Feeling that somehow she's failed at her first real attempt at diplomacy, Relisha stands and draws her blade, sending out links of life energy to her companions.
Ahreni 59/59
Olaff 67/67
Relisha 73/73
Thanara 37/37