Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen sits upright in his chair, waiting until he is certain he has the attention of everyone in attendance. “Thank you all for coming,” he signs, his words interpreted as necessary through Lirall, the gnome sitting beside him. “I expect your travel to Iceferry was safe, if a bit cold. I am very excited to have you all here for the upcoming event. I expect that you will find it an excellent test of your capabilities, and not one many Pathfinders will be able to boast of.”
Bjersig draws a small bundle of scrolls and a journal from his bag and lays them on the table, allowing the contents to unfurl and spread across the tabletop. “This handful of documents is all the information the Society has collected on the Balgirdtrek up to this point. I doubt it’s something you’ve heard of unless you’re from the area. It is an overland race some 200 miles long, from Frostgarten in Icemark to Kalsgard, just over the river. It is performed each year, honoring the deeds of Balgird Bluetongue when he slew a tarn linnorm centuries ago, but this year’s race promises to be quite unique.”
“As you may know, the Varki have been the source of quite the commotion among the Ulfen lately, largely in positive ways. Their ranger, Nankou, slew a linnorm some time ago and has been officially recognized as a linnorm king. A new linnorm king is always newsworthy, but a Varki linnorm king is unprecedented. In recognition of Nankou and his diplomatic efforts between the Ulfen and Varki peoples, the officials have decided that the Balgirdtrek will be held in reverse this year. The Varki have always bristled a bit at some of the ideas inherent in the Balgirdtrek. Ulfen have often discussed it as a race from the ‘savage wilderness’ back into the arms of civilization, not something that has promoted constructive relationships between the two. It’s good that the officials seem to have broadened their horizons.”
“What’s more, there are two new teams joining the race this year. First, Nankou has hand-picked a group of Varki to compete. This is the first time Varki have competed in the race and from what I’ve heard, the Ulfen participants are excited to see what they bring to the competition. If you haven’t guessed by now, you all are the second new team. I’ve managed to secure your entry with the approval of the race officials. You can thank me later.” Bjersig smiles broadly.
He stands and places a sealed envelope and a small purse on the table. “There you’ll find your entry letter accompanied by my letter of introduction for you. The purse contains a few coins to help you purchase some gear. Once the race is over, you’ll also be compensated by the Society for your efforts. Expect a hefty bonus if you actually manage to win! There is a sleigh carrying the other teams to the starting area. It will stop here in Iceferry to pick you up in an hour, don’t be late. To be allowed to compete is a great honor, so please remember that you represent the best qualities of the Pathfinder Society at all times. Take notes, learn whatever you can from the other teams. The Balgirdtrek is supposed to be a friendly competition after all. If you have any questions, make them quick, otherwise good luck to you all. I don’t expect you to win, but I hope you’ll at least make a good show of it.”
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Previously unfamiliar with this 'Balgirdtrek' event, Frankie is a little taken aback that this sporting activity will be her first mission on behalf of the Pathfinder Society. She had joined up with the Vigilant Seal to help protect the innocent from the world's dangers... not to... participate in racing games. But just as quickly as the thought entered her head, she swept it away - There is sure to be plenty of gloom and doom in my life - it is silly to long for it, when opportunities for revelry present themselves.
With a brief shake of her head, Frankie recenters herself and addresses Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen. "Thank you, Captain. I will do my best to make you and the Society proud."
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"200 miles long? I would presume that we would be allowed to have some sort of sled or cart with which to carry provisions? Perhaps, even animals to serve to pull such a device? I guess, what I'm asking, Captain, is there must be some specific rules laid out somewhere that all teams must follow. Otherwise, what would stop one team from... stealing their food and leaving them to starve in the wilds during the race. As dishonorable as it might seem, if it is not set down as a specific rule, it is not dishonorable because it is, in fact, not part of the rules." Tam Sa Gi pushes a stray piece of black hair aside, "It seems to me that some of what you've said suggests that there may be bad blood between these two peoples and, therefore, these teams may be hostile toward one another on the road... not to mention toward us -- as complete outsiders to their culture and traditions; how prepared should we be for attacks from other racers?"
“You must complete the course within four days. If you’re any later than that, the officials will send out parties to retrieve you and you’ll be officially disqualified. Please do your best to avoid getting lost out there. Don’t do anything to injure your competitors, though this should of course go without saying. Don’t try to bypass any of the checkpoints, they are there not only for the trials, but to make sure that you and your team are well enough to continue on. You’re welcome to advance as far as you can in a day, but the officials don’t want anyone traveling after dark. If you find yourself at a checkpoint near sunset, they may ask you to stay. I’d heed their advice. It’s easy enough for some of the more dangerous things that stalk the tundra to slip by the rangers patrolling the trails under the cover of darkness,” Bjersig signs while Lirall translates. "You must complete the Balgirdtrek on foot. You may not ride any beast. You may load your equipment into a sled provided you pull it."
He adds, "No. Only those cheering for the underdog are cheering for you."
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Carmilizzia Danzare is a young female varisian. She wears bright clothing of various colors, but mainly turquoise with some orange and a touch of red, pink and green. She is very graceful and a bit muscular. She has no armor, few weapons, a couple darts and a sling, and her backpack does not seem to hinder her in any way.
Due to the cold, she has her scarf on her shoulders.
She has a smile on her face, especially when hearing the briefing.
“I’m glad to be able to participate. It’s a good opportunity to meet people, learn from the tradition of the Ulfen and Varki, and see some interesting places. I’m not that good at surviving in the wild thought. Do you expect anything beside doing our best to win the race?”
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"Four days?!?!? Did you just say FOUR days??? Is this a prank?" Frankie looks around in a bit of a panic. She has has always been strong and hardy - and she has kept her self in fighting form, but this sounds, to her, like madness. "One would need to run their fastest for 8 hours a day for 4 days straight to go that far... and we are to do this in this frozen wasteland??? With full packs on our backs?... Surely you jest"
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Tam Sa Gi listens to the Captain's response carefully and, upon hearing him make the comment about "cheering crowds," raises an eyebrow at the Gnome, "Are you not translating properly? No one here cares about cheering crowds, they care about whether or not they'll have to fight men and women out there while traversing 200 miles of terrain in 4 days time!" Tam Sa Gi takes a moment to breath and center herself. "What type of terrain and wildlife will we encounter? Since you mentioned checkpoints along the way, I presume we will be given a map to follow; how soon can we look at it so that we may look at this terrain and plan our course of attack? Given that I'm presuming none of my colleagues are from these lands, so we are all at a distinct disadvantage in comparison to our competitors who have spent their entire lives here."
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Feldspar is a scholarly looking young man who has already traded his normal robes for a set of winter clothing, but still looks like he’d be more comfortable in a library.
”I’ve spent some time learning to find my way around the wilds, but not in this terrain. Anyone here have a compass? Or Wayfinder? If not, do we have time to acquire one? I’m also not carrying a week’s worth of rations, so we should hit the market before our transport arrives.”
He looks at the documents the Venture Captain laid out. ”An hour isn’t long to study those; any chance of taking a copy for our trip up to the start?”
The gnome looks slight offended before she begins translating for Bjersig's hand signs. "No, Lirall spoke correctly. I said nothing of crowds--the Society's participation this year is well known to those who follow such things in these lands--and as I just said the rules stipulate that you do not do anything to injure your competitors. So, no, you should not need to fight men and women as you traverse the land.
"The weather will be the greatest foe you should face along the way. In winter, temperatures can change quickly, and storms are not infrequent occurrences. Aside from that, the trail should be clear of any dangerous wildlife. Be wary nonetheless. With the trail cut to accommodate the new route, there may be a few more animals on the trek than usual."
The half-orc chuckles and says, "If you think you'll have time to review them on the trail, feel free to take the documents. There is a map on the table for you, although the trail should be clearly marked. I think you will find that you cover the distance with amazing speed if you stick to the trail."
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"Unless its a 200 mile long downhill stretch of ice - I'll believe it when I see it. But if we are leaving in an hour, we have some last minute shopping to do"
Pointing towards the scholarly looking young man, Frankie says "Good call on the compass - I lost mine shortly before coming here, so I'll make sure to pick up a replacement in town. Are you going to stay here and study the map, or are you going to come with us to pick up some warmer clothing - I mean look at this one -" Frankie says, thumbing in the Varisian woman's direction "- She's likely to be frozen solid before we reach the starting line with that getup." Frankie lets out a dwarfish guffaw "But hey - if you got it.. Flaunt it! Right?"
Once you have finished studying the rules and the maps and purchased what you need, you head to the staging area for the sleighs to the start of the race. Once of the sleighs is departing as you arrive. The second is being loaded for two other teams. Three Ulfen men and an Ulfan woman in thick furs sit across one bench on the sleigh. They appear stern and unfriendly.
The other team loading onto the final sleigh is also comprised of three Ulfen men and an Ulfen women, but in contrast, they smile and laugh as they converse energetically outside of the sleigh.
One of the men, a broad shouldered, blonde Ulfen with sun-weathered skin glances at you as you approach and then looks back, squinting for a moment. Once you draw closer, he smiles broadly and waves. "Hail! What a fortuitous meeting! My name is Leif. I am a descendant of Hlavard! I heard that the Pathfinders were sending a team, and I'm excited to see that it includes you! Let me introduce my team, and then you can introduce yours.
"This is my partner, Oluf," he says, smacking a similarly broad shouldered man affectionately on the back. "That is Steen and his partner Unn. We run the Balgirdtrek as an anniversary tradition."
The other three trekkers smile and welcome you to the race.
"Let us know if there's anything we can help you with along the race, though I hope you only see us from a distance until the check points," Leif says with a laugh.
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Tam Sa Gi ignores the continued mistranslation and/or intentional misreading of what is being asked and said.
"Clearly, the Captain values glory and fame over all else and believes that of all others and, therefore, hears (literally and figuratively) nothing anyone says that contradicts this. There is no point in correcting him, yet again; he's a pigheaded glory-whore, let it go," she thinks.
She steps up to the table and looks at the map. Already wearing her winter gear and having packed for the journey most of what she would need for a trek of this nature, she turns to says over her shoulder to the others, "I"ll study the map as best I can since I already have a compass, winter clothing, 2 weeks of rations, tent, bedroll and the like. I would suggest, however, that we might get a 4 person tent so that we can share body heat in these temperatures; at night, our bodies will lose heat faster alone than if we are together. While it's more bulk to carry, it will save our lives in cold like this. Also, get more food not less. In cold weather, your body burns more energy which means you need to eat more; so, one weeks worth of rations won't be enough... unless we're lucky enough to kill something we can butcher and eat along the way.... and, let's pray we don't." She starts to go back to what she's doing then turns around rummaging in her belt pouch and tosses the scholar 4 gold pieces. "Buy me an extra waterskin, we'll need it and the rest goes towards that 4 person tent if we decide, as a group, that we're going to get it. Guys, we will either make it through this together or we will fail this together that's how these types of endurance races work; there designed to test the capabilities of the entire team, as a unit... not as individuals. So, stop thinking as individuals and start thinking as a group. Talk to each, find out who is best at what and learn what each needs help with. We have less than an hour. Now GO!" She turns back to studying the map. "Oh, and the name is Tam Sa Gi; learn each other's names." "Master Qi was right... I have no social skills," she thinks to herself while trying to memorize the map as much as possible knowing that, if a snowstorm kicks up, any trail markers they've set up could be completely wiped out and useless.
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Carmelizzia will have shown her wayfinder when Feldspar mentioned if someone had.
She will giggle at the dwarf remark and reply “My previous missions were far in the South: Absalom, Katapesh… quite hotter than Varisia and even more than here. I didn’t think we would be sent further north. I agree I need warmer clothing, and all the equipment to trek in the cold.”
She listens to Tam Sa Gi, and agrees “A big tent should do. I’m Carmelizzia.”. When presenting herself she does a fancy bow, but it is more the kind done when dancing than the one done by high society. “My social skills will be useless in the wild, aside from that, my pathfinder training included climbing, swimming, balance… I’ll go help buy and carry our equipment.”
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With a swift nod, Frankie says to Carmelizzia "Pleased to meet you Liz. I'm Frankie. You think its odd they sent a southerner to the north? How about sending someone with stubby legs for a foot race? and with that she lets out another hardy guffaw.
To Tam, she says "Good call on the tent - and I'll be happy to carry it too. Never been too fast, but extra bulk never seems to slow me down none, neither. But, uh.... " before pausing to look around at the 3 other women. Shifting her gaze back and forth between the scholarly fellow and the goblin, she asks "You two good with sharing a smaller tent? I'm all for body warmth - but I don't know how well we'll sleep if we're stacking bodies two-high"
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Before leaving, Carmelizzia whisper to Tam Sa Gi that is looking over the maps “Can you check the distance we are supposed to cover, that seems far too much in far too few time on foot.”
While buying equipment, Carmelizzia asks around about the race to try to confirm the duration and the distance, and eventually the type of terrain.
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I just converted 200 miles in kilometers. Now I understand why every one think this is crazy. On a plains going at about 4 km/h, that means walking 20h a day to be able to do it in 4 days. According to the core rule book, that would take 10 days if the terrain is mostly flat, 12.5 with a dwarf in the party.So either the 200 miles are incorrect, the 4 days are incorrect, or the PC are not supposed to even have a chance at not getting disqualified.
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Feldspar nods.
"Sorry, I didn't introduce myself before. Feldspar of Oppara. I'll head off to do the shopping." He looks at at Tam Sa Gi."If we each chip in this much, we can afford... most of five four-person tents. Or will the society cover larger tents as well?" He hands back three of Tam's gold with a slight bow.
"If you can bring the map as well, that might be useful"
Once you have finished studying the rules and the maps and purchased what you need, you head to the staging area for the sleighs to the start of the race. Once of the sleighs is departing as you arrive. The second is being loaded for two other teams. Three Ulfen men and an Ulfan woman in thick furs sit across one bench on the sleigh. They appear stern and unfriendly.
The other team loading onto the final sleigh is also comprised of three Ulfen men and an Ulfen women, but in contrast, they smile and laugh as they converse energetically outside of the sleigh.
One of the men, a broad shouldered, blonde Ulfen with sun-weathered skin glances at you as you approach and then looks back, squinting for a moment. Once you draw closer, he smiles broadly and waves. "Hail! What a fortuitous meeting! My name is Leif. I am a descendant of Hlavard! I heard that the Pathfinders were sending a team, and I'm excited to see that it includes you! Let me introduce my team, and then you can introduce yours.
"This is my partner, Oluf," he says, smacking a similarly broad shouldered man affectionately on the back. "That is Steen and his partner Unn. We run the Balgirdtrek as an anniversary tradition."
The other three trekkers smile and welcome you to the race.
"Let us know if there's anything we can help you with along the race, though I hope you only see us from a distance until the check points," Leif says with a laugh.
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As the team respond to the news of the race, Barb, sitting in a quiet corner listening, slowly stands. She is a fairly impressive half-orc with broad shoulders and a surprisingly gentle smile. She is already dressed in winter clothes, with her greataxe visible, strapped to her back.
Nodding respectfully, first at the Venture-Captain, and then at Feldspar, she turns to the others and says, "You all sound like you are fretting too much and overthinking a situation without sufficient knowledge to do so. My little experience has shown me that our Society leaders rarely send us into a situation they do not think we can manage and it is best to trust them, while still staying alert for the unknown and unpredicted.
"As you can see, my last visit here educated my choice of clothing for this return. I am sure those who need to can purchase similar protection locally with the funds so generously provided." She looks directly at Feldspar as she adds, "Well met friend wizard. It is good to see you again. Since our last adventure, I have acquired a shiny new tool," as she speaks she reveals a Wayfinder.
"Now, let's take a look at these maps, make a quick inventory, and provision ourselves appropriately."
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Before departing his office, Barb looks to the Venture-Captain and asks, "Can you tell us anything more the challenges of the race or of the other competitors?"
After listening to the response she will nod respectfully to both the half-orc and the gnome, "Good to see you both again, I will try to bring honour to you and the Society. I thank you for this opportunity."
As she finally departs the room with the others, those in close proximity may hear her mutter, "Thank you Shakkah, I will do my best and I am sure once we are started the others will calm down. " There is a brief pause before another mutter, apparently to herself, "Shri you are rude and hardly encouraging. Not every mission need be to save the world and this could provide valuable experience as well as potentially garner positive contacts. If you can not be nice, please be quiet!"
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Once at the sleigh, Barb eyes the Ulfen, noting the distinction of demeanour between the two groups. She responds to the smile and greeting with like friendliness.
"Greetings! You are a team that is clearly well prepared and know what to expect.
"We are honoured to be invited to participate in this year's event and hope to perform well enough that other Pathfinders will be included in future races.
"Captain Vriggdahl was instrumental in allowing us to retrieve your family's item," Barb adds, smiling at Lief. "We were happy to do so. It was certainly my first experience with a sea serpent."
"Now is there room in that sleigh for us or should we make other arrangements?"
"You are right, I will do that now."
"Forgive me my lack of manners, I am Barb Ahalak and this is my friend Feldspar of Oppara who was with me during the retrieval. Our other party members are Tam Sa Gi, Mordak Dune, Carmelizzia Danzare, and Franki Feldspar."
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Upon Feldspar introducing himself, Frankie cranks her head around and blurts out "Feldspar? Really? I didn't know we had kin so far south... Though I surely never seen a dwarf so tall or lean as you. By Torag's beard - I swear I thought you were human."
When Barb reassures the group, Frankie comments to Carmelizzia "Level headed. I like her."
Later when the group arrives at the sleigh pick-up, after Lief and Barb introduce their respective parties, Frankie joins in with the greetings, and proceeds to address Lief "So, you say you've been doing this every year, for a bit, then. Can you tell me - what advice do you have for a bunch of first timers like us? Any common mistakes people make the first time they give it a go?"
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Carmelizzia is now wearing winter clothing, but she put her varisian scarf on top of it, its bright color contrasting with the browns of the warm clothes. Her pack is full of food and wares to help on the travel. She is applying some lip balm as the party arrives at the start of the race.
Even if the first group was not friendly, Carmelizzia will have waved and smiled to them and told them “Safe travels” while making the sign of Desna, putting her hand in front of her chest in the form of a butterfly.
She smiles even more at Lief and his party, happy to have the opportunity to meet and speak to new people. She is also looking around “We were told Varki were participating too, have they gone already?”
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After studying the map for a bit, as Feldspar had requested, she folds up the map and puts it in her pack and heads out to meet the others by the sled.
Upon arriving there, she is greeted by a blonde weather-beaten Ulfen,
[quotes]"Hail! What a fortuitous meeting! My name is Leif. I am a descendant of Hlavard! I heard that the Pathfinders were sending a team, and I'm excited to see that it includes you! Let me introduce my team, and then you can introduce yours. This is my partner, Oluf," he says, smacking a similarly broad shouldered man affectionately on the back. "That is Steen and his partner Unn. We run the Balgirdtrek as an anniversary tradition."[/quotes]
Before she can introduce herself, Barb introduces the team but she gives the Ulfen a sturdy handshake and a smile and boards the sled to get ready to depart. She glances over at Feldspar and asks, "Were you able to get the waterskin I wanted?"
"Of course there's room!" Leif says. "You're the last of the teams to arrive. Almost missed your sleigh. That would have been funny to see you all huffing and puffing up to the start line but better to have a fair start, ya?"
One of the Ulfen in the grumpy team already on the sleigh grunts.
"The Fangs of the Remorhaz, the Varki team, went in the first sleigh," Leif answers Carmelizzia. He turns to Feldspar and ponders, "Advice? Wear good winter clothing. Don't be idiots like the Bluetongue Brawlers last year. They ran the trek in the nude. I think they still have most of their toes. Don't go off the trail. Listen to the marshals. They're there to make sure the race is safe. Don't loose your flints or tinder. I think that's the basics."
The driver of the second sleigh hops down, waving the group over. He instructs your team to move to the rear of the cart and assists with boarding. At the far end of the cart, the grumpy Ulfen team glower, sighing before mumbling to one another.
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"Thank you. That all sounds practical and straight forward. I'm feeling better about this thing"
Hearing all the grunts and grumbling from the other team, Frankie inquires of Leif, "Hey... uh - They don't happen to be those Missin' Toed Brawlers ye mentioned, right? If'n no - not sure what they have to be so grumbly about."
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Feldspar looks at Frankie. "I am human, so your family tree is safe. The name comes from my mentor, who raised me, and describes me as 'a little uncommon and extremely dense.' He had to put up with me in my youth, so I have to call that fair."
Feldspar hands over the waterskin to Tam Sa Gi, along with her coins. "Not worth breaking your gold for; the tents were covered."
Turning to their hosts. "Lief, Olaf. Nice to meet you. Thanks for the advice, though fire is something I'm pretty sure I'll always have to hand."
He pauses, considering. "Well, at least the likelihood of sea serpents is low. I could happily never meet another. What Barb didn't tell you was that I was basically there to hold her pack while she swam down to retrieve your ancestor."
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Barb makes sure the rest of her team make it into the sleigh, then steps in, trying to make herself as small as possible to avoid crowding others.
To Lief's team, she acknowledges, " I look forward to racing alongside you. Well, for at least as long as we can manage, then maybe we just follow your tracks." She gives them a big grin and a hearty chuckle as the sleigh starts into motion.
"Oh, no," Leif answers Feldspar. "They're Without Trace or Fail. They're... I'd say focused. We beat them last year. They got lost in a snowstorm."
Noting the official's growing impatience, Leif bids you a temporary leave so that you can focus on loading your gear and joins the other team in the sleigh. Shortly, you are all on your way to the staging area for the Balgirdtrek in Kalsgard. It is bustling with activity. There are merchants and traders hoping to sell the teams last minute supplies. Spectators of the start of the race cheer and applaud as the second sleigh arrives. The driver introduces each team as they disembark.
"Without Trace or Fail," he calls as the grumpy team steps out of the sleigh.
"Last year's winners, Two Houses," he says as Leif and his companions disembark.
"What's your team name?" he asks you as you prepare to get off of the sleigh. "Teeth-Chattering Society, maybe?"
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Feldspar looks at Frankie. "I'm... hesitant to make such a claim, personally. If I had to choose, I'd got with Barb's suggestion."
He moves over toward Tam Sa Gi. "I'd like to spend some time with the map, if you don't mind. And did you note anything on the route we should try to find out about before leaving? Cliffs to climb, rivers to ford, anything out of the ordinary?"
If given the map, he will spend some time reviewing the route to see if more gear is advised, or what we should be asking others for information about.
"Introducing for the first year challenging," the sleigh driver calls out, "the Pathfinder Society Initiates!"
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Tam Sa Gi reaches into her coat and gives Feldspar the map and shakes her head "I didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. As the Captain noted, we need to stick to the route that's laid out for us. I spent most of my time trying to commit to memory the route we have to stick to because that's part of the rules of the race and, it would appear, leaving that trail will get a team in a ton a trouble real quick with terrain as well as beasts and the like. I imagine, given the terrain in the area that (simply based on common sense) we'll have at least one river crossing and a climb of some sort... probably more; however, I couldn't tell from that map -- not a cartographer. I know how to follow a line from one dot to another and maybe pick up general characteristics on the map but if you're looking for more detailed information than that... I can't get it from looking at a map. I don't possess that kind of skill. If you do, good! We need someone like that on the team." She places her hands on both Feldspar's shoulders, "Now, while you peruse that map again and get what you can out of it, I'm going to try and play nice with the locals and see if I can get any information out of them about we need to prepare for. Maybe one of us will get lucky." At this, she turns and walks towards the group known as the Two Houses.
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Carmelizzia seems a bit sad with the name, she mutters “That’s not the kind of name that will bring us the luck we need…”.
She will then go toward the other teams to try to make contact thinking we may need their help if we come into trouble. She is especially eager to speak to The Fangs of the Remorhaz team.
As you collect the last of your gear, a race official hands you a pack. Inside the pack is a minor healing potion, a single climbing kit, flint and steel, a signal whistle, and vouchers for lodging in Frostgarten.
Tam Sa Gi approaches the Two Houses. Leif smiles and waves at her with a smile. "Hello, again."
"We hope you take time to enjoy the scenery," Oluf says. "So many take this race too seriously and miss the beauty of the land."
"Do take it seriously, though," Leif adds. "The wilderness is no place to be caught daydreaming."
"You know what I meant!" Oluf protests and affectionately ruffles Leif's hair.
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Meanwhile, Carmelizzia seeks out the Varki team. "Hello, stranger! We are the Fangs of the Remorhaz, the first Varki team to compete. I am Marbin," says a dark-haired Varki male dressed in seal skin. "This is my twin, Ylva." He indicates a dark-haired Varki woman with clear familial resemblance.
A broad-framed Ulfen woman named Jori from the Bluetongue Brawlers chats with Frankie. "Hey! We should join teams," she suggests. "We'll carry you on our shoulders the whole way! Sigurd and Sigrun can carry two each!"
"Hey!" the two others protest with broad grins. "We could carry three each!"
"Then what would the rest of us do?" asks the fourth member.
"Carry the sled!" suggests Jori.
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Carmelizzia introduces herself, do her usual bow, and mention the other Pathfinders she’s joining the race with. “I’m from Varisia. I’ve joined the Society to have more opportunity to travel the world and encounter people; got the opportunity to see Absalom, Katopesh, and a couple others. Never been norther than Varisia so far. What convinced you to join the race?”
She will follow up with another question, that is also a praise to their probable experience “Is that race really a challenge for you?”
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Considering that Feldspar's diplomacy skills minimal, he will attempt to use his document-research familiarity to examine the map and whatever documents he brought along for information on possible special hazards or particularly difficult terrain. If there are no results in the first hour he'll re-evaluate.
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Barb looks at the climbing kit provided and wonders if she shouldn't have purchased more before they left on this endeavour. She looks around to see if that may still be possible, especially if there is any coin left from the Venture-Captain.
She then sets out to try to establish good relations with one of the other teams. She moves toward one that her companions have not yet approached, hoping she can use her Survival or Scouting Lore to establish a conversation and exchange of information.