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"Hello there! I am Juniper. Juniper Berrythwaite of the Westcrown Berrythwaites. These are my friends. That's Grel, and Ajax, and Petra -- she has the most adorable bunny dragon -- and that big guy is Kelvor! He's really nice... unless you make him mad." She then whispers, loudly, "He has anger issues."
"Now that's just not true, Ms. Berrythwaite. I'm a very nice person. No anger issues, really. Well, I mean, not much. OK, just a bit. But THEY WERE DEMONS!"
Kelvor turns to the barbarians, "Well met, fellows. I am Kelvor of the Shundar-Quah. I'm really a very nice guy. Very sorry about the T-rex. Shall we help you track it?"
Demur sighs, "No; done is done. You come Tolguth. Elders decide."
With the Kellids to guide you, you reach Tolguth without further incident.
High walls, constructed from timber, stone, and earth surround Tolguth. The Kellids have cut away the foliage surrounding the settlement, providing an unobstructed view for several hundred feet from the walls. Three bipedal dinosaur carcasses, each with rounded dome like heads, lie crumpled and pressed up against the fortifications—a clear indication of the need for such defensive measures.
The guards at the gate question you about your business in Tolguth, but ultimately do allow you to pass with minimal delays. Demur leaves you after entering, and departs to talk to the elders. You aren't entirely sure, but you think she suggested she would return to fetch you later.
While you wait, you can Gather Information:
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"I asked around a bit of the locals, and this is what I learned," Juniper explains to the others.
"Three local leaders tend to meet with strangers: Traros, sometimes referred to as “the Father of Tolguth;” Vanna Demonbreaker, a mammoth rider of great skill; and Bloodspeaker Olovon, who is a shaman with considerable influence. It’s customary for one to offer one or more gifts before asking a favor. Do we have gifts we can offer?"
"Traros oversees Tolguth with more fatherly concern than strict authority, and he is seen as a good leader. Vanna often pushes for Traros to combat the encroaching Worldwound directly, though so far he has taken a less aggressive approach by reinforcing Tolguth’s defenses. Bloodspeaker Olovon is fiercely loyal to Traros and often brandishes a holy symbol of a woman astride an elk."
"Vanna is quietly concerned that Traros has grown soft with age, and the two frequently find themselves of different minds about how to handle the Worldwound. Bloodspeaker Olovon often acts as a mediator between the two, which has kept their relationship from souring into bitter rivalry."
"Some believe that Bloodspeaker Olovon struggles to reconcile Traros’s increasingly defensive and isolationist decisions with his personal faith, and he is likely to welcome new allies who might remind his colleagues that the outside world continues to move, even if Tolguth does not."
These peaceful creatures seem to have a fiendish taint
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*five masterwork cold iron bastard swords;
*750 gp worth of silver jewelry;
*20 pounds of Taldan chocolate;
*a chest of alchemical remedies including six flasks each of antiplague and antitoxin;
* three potions of cure moderate wounds;
* three firefoot fennec pelts;
*six bottles of fine Chelish wine;
* a fur-lined cloak of resistance +2.
After a few hours, you are led to a large stone & wood building, where the three leaders are waiting yu.
"Sit, enjoy the hospitality of Tolguth," Traros says.
Then Vanna adds, "What brings you to Tolguth?"
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Ajax confers with the group regarding the trade good, "It might behoove us to find out what each leader might want and maximize the benefit. We need to figure out if there will be multiple tribes we have to go through and whether we need to keep some of the good for future negotiations."
Ajax tries to recall how many tribes lie along the route the party intends to take.
As you ask for this specific information, you decide that Traros might prefer the wine, that Vanna being concerned with defense would see the gift of the cold iron blades in good light, or that Olovon would prefer pelts.
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"Wise and sage Elders, we represent the Pathfinder Society, and we have come to negotiate passage through your lands. First, I believe gifts of friendship are customary." Juniper presents the gifts to the three leaders, wine to Traros, weapons to Vanna, and pelts to Olovon.
"Our organization," she continues, "has business near the Worldwound. As you can imagine, we would like to limit our exposure to the forces of darkness unleashed by that unholy gash. With your permission, our people could travel through your lands, shortening the distance to our destination. In return, you would gain the Pathfinder Society as a powerful ally, one that spans the globe of Golarion."
Prior to the formal meeting with the elders Emberkin will point out that being able to speak their language can aid relations and so will encourage Petra to use tongues on juniper and herself.
Traros thanks you for the gifts, then thinks for a minute before speaking:
“You wish to explore hrungara, where even the mammoths dare not go? You are either very brave or very foolish, foreigners,” Traros begins, “But no matter how reckless or insane, any enemy of the Worldwound is of value to Tolguth.”
He smiles broadly before continuing, “We know of a few locations that may serve as a campground for you; Vanna has used them in the past. The first is a small cave network among the lower reaches of the Tusk Mountains. The caves would provide shelter against the weather and the height provides a good view of the surroundings. The second is an isolated hot spring, located among the foothills at the base of the Tusk Mountains, much like the springs that heat Tolguth. The third is an abandoned town, built by foreigners generations ago.
Vanna can tell you more about each, but before you set out, I have one warning."
"The Red Winter tribe still ekes out an existence on the Thunder Steppes and foothills of the Tusk Mountains. They lay claim to those lands and have often challenged Vanna and her raiders, thankfully without resorting to violence. I doubt they would be as accommodating to foreigners.”
Vanna gives you directions to the three sites mentioned, and updates your maps. She also gives you the trophies you earned by killing the Vrocks, a custom among their people-- a fine smilodon pelt and a +2 invigorating spear.
If you have any questions for the elders before you depart to the sites you can ask them now.
"Mostly strategic retreats when we've strayed too close to their territory. I have seen them fight once—wild beasts, all of them, some fighting with their bare hands alone, tearing demons apart. Even with all of their individual strength though, they are a small and shrinking tribe, struggling to survive along the Thunder Steppes. They were once a proud tribe, roaming the Ginji Mesa until something drove them east and broke their spirit.”
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"What spirits does this tribe venerate?" asks Kelvor, wondering if there's a way to placate them. Or stun them into silence with the spirits' aid.
"Can they be ritually challenged to a battle of champions for safe passage?" he asks. Naturally, a fight seems the best way to prevent a fight to the young Shoanti warrior.
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"Whatever it is that can conjure fear in a mammoth, will still feel fear itself when it meets you, Kelvor." Juniper gives a slight laugh and smiles at her friend.
Kelvor blushes, but holds his head a little higher at the praise. The respect of his fellow warriors, what every Shoanti fighter desires. Let the Storval Plateau sink. Let the monoliths across Varisia collapse. As long as a fighter is respected by his peers, a warrior's world shall never fail!
"The great beasts still tread there, though their movements are difficult to predict these days. Within the mountains, frost giants are common, and along hrungara, anything is possible.”
As to the Red Winter Tribe, he replies, "They value strength and their territory above all. They worship the small spirits of animal totems- bear, mammoth, elk."
Departing the next morning, it is 45 miles to the nearest of the three sites you have to investigate. It takes about 3 days on foot, but you run into no serious hazards as you travel.
It is cold, but as long as you have cold weather gear it is manageable cold. The three sites form an uneven triangle, and each is within one day’s travel from the other two.
The Giant's Camp
Located in the foothills of the Tusk Mountains, although nowhere near as high as the Tusk Mountains’ snowcapped peaks, the location
rovides a commanding view. The Thunder Steppes and Sarkorian Steppe are both visible to the east. To the west, a canyon of red rock forms an ugly scar across the grays, browns, and greens of the mountains.
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When Grel feels the sting of cold too long he assumes the form of a polar bear for much of the trek until they arrive at the first site.
Grel kneels to inspect the entrance of the cave network. He looks over his shoulder, That canyon of red rock must be the Red Rune Canyon. A corrupted place connected to the Worldwound; it would drive you mad, so I hear. Grel turns his attention to the camp, This is the entrance to a cave network that has seem some use by humanoids large and small. We could fit a number of Pathfinders here with pack animals and gear.
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Petra seems annoyed by the cold, as -one would be annoyed by a rock in your boot. Every now and then she conjures a small ball of flame and wipes her face with it.
She uses prestidigitation to warm up her cloak and does so for anyone else who asks
”What’s the point in a base camp that sends everyone round the bend?”.
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Ajax kneels down and traces the outline of the massive footprints..
"These feet were covered in polar bear fur, which means they must be frost giants. You can see the indentation of actual claw marks that the frost giants use to grip the ice. I suspect the frost giants will not welcome humans in their caves."
The tracks are not recent- "old", but not remarkably so.
You continue to the next site, about a day's march away.
The Abandoned Village
[i]Twelve dilapidated, wooden buildings huddle around what once was a crossroad. The structures creak in protest as the wind howls through their empty window frames.[/b]
[Spoiler=Knowledge History DC 15]similar settlements line the Worldwound’s border. This abandoned village was likely founded to house farmers, merchants, and tradesman required to support the construction and fortifications of the wardstones.[/spoiiler]
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Ajax nods, confirming Grel's obsevation.
Ajax shares what knows. "Villages abandoned, like this, are all over the Worldwound's border. Though I'm not sure why this one has been abandoned in this fashion.
Ajax wonders if whatever drove these villagers out is still here. He wands-up and begins looking for any signs of what might have happened.
You search around a while longer, but no threat- undead or otherwise appears.
Finally, you decide to move on to scout the third site.
you spot a group of Kellids moving towards you 300 feet away- 6 total led by a great big bear of a man.
You are in a broad wasteland/tundra plain currently- out exposed with little in the way of hiding spots.