Bark pauses as Nal reads off a list of potential deals. "You are right about one thing- the larger tribes would never speak to you. Too much... variety." He glances at each of you before focusing on Wilbur again. "But they live deep into the mountain. Not good for a trade route, anyway."
”I know where one of the smaller orc tribes is. Bearclaw Tribe. You earn their trust, they’ll open a route for you. They are much more reasonable than the other tribes and won't kill you on sight.” He pours another mug of peach schnapps. "Chief Grakcha loves to drink; if you can hold your own or you can offer her some rare gin she'll be willing to talk. Otherwise you can try to sweet talk your way past her."
"If that fails, well. The tribe is small. Killing her and her guards may be enough to drive the remainder off." He exhales and pushes out his bad thoughts. "Personally, I hope it doesn't come to that. That's why I live alone."
He motions towards the assortments of cots, animal furs and blankets near the fire. ”Bedtime?”
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Haechi eyes the warmth of the log cabin longingly and the cooking smells crank his saliva glands into overdrive. When Bark invites them in, Haechi practically sprints into the cabin. "May the great Apsu bless your kindness Bark," he says as he passes the half-orc and joins Wilbur by the fire to warm his half-frozen hands.
"Why, I don't mind if I do. Much obliged," he says when Bark offers him some of his each schnapps. He takes a tentative sip and finding it quite agreeable, takes an even larger swallow from the mug. "I can see now why the orcs like this excellent elixir. Very tasty it is indeed."
When the discussion turns to orcish, Haechi says, "I've studied a variety of languages, but have yet to put my hand to orcish. They're not in the habit of writing scholarly works about dragons, so I've never felt the urge to learn their language."
"Here, try some of my sample bottles." Bark hands you more than enough peach schnapps for your own consumption and a few leftovers. "Much better than Grey's juice."
Wilbur is awake first, waking up Bark first and then waking up everyone else by nudging and then licking. Bark begins to heat up his stew for a hearty morning.
Bark waves you goodbye and head back into the frigid cold of the snow line. You quickly make your way to the treeline, and get a relative sense of warmth.
As you travel downhill, you notice a cliff about 25 feet high that rises above the trees. It would give a good view of the area, if you could climb up there.
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Haechi gladly takes a couple of bottles of the schnapps for himself and enjoys another bowl of hot stew for breakfast before heading back out into the snow again. At the door, he shakes the half-orc's hand in appreciation. "Thank you for your gracious hospitality Bark. You are clearly a paragon of generosity in these untamed lands. If you ever find yourself in Absalom, please look me up at the Grand Lodge and I will be happy to return the favor." He then bends down and gives the dog one last pat. "And thank you Wilbur for bringing us here."
It isn't long before Haechi is once again wishing that he was back in Bark's cabin. The frigid cold quickly makes its presence felt and only his constant movement through the snow keeps Haechi from freezing solid. Haetae had long since abandoned his shoulder for the more comfortable and insulating contents of her master's backpack.
He wonders once more who it was in the Society that thought sending him on this mission was a good idea? He was so singularly unsuited and untrained for this line of work that he was beginning to suspect enemy action was involved. If he ever got back to civilization, he would definitely track down who was to blame for this travesty and give them a piece of his mind.
Upon reaching the cliff, Haechi looks up the 25 foot rise with a trepidation bordering on panic. He turns wide-eyed toward the others. "Surely you don't expect me to climb to the top of this insurmountable barrier?" He slumps to the ground, dismayed by the monumental task ahead of him. "Oh great Apsu, Why me? Why? Why?"
He kicks himself out of his despondency. "No, I must not despair. I must face this head-on or I am lost for sure. What chance do my friends have of completing this mission without me? Why, none at all. I must continue, if only for their sakes."
Seeing that Raj is ready to attempt the climb, Haechi stands abruptly and calls out to the ranger. "Hold on Raj. I'll send Haetae up for a look first." He then looks at his shoulder, but his familiar isn't there.
His familiar grumbles, but pulls herself out of his warm backpack and flies up to the top of the cliff, then returns to report her findings, which Haechi relays to his companions.
"Oh great Maker of All, help me in my hour of need."
Using the claws on his hands and feet and with the help of his friends, Haechi makes an attempt to scale the cliff.
Haetae flies up the cliff and sees 3 mountain goats, grazing on the grass on top. One of them sees her and snorts. The other two look at her before returning to their grassy meal.
She flies back down and relays her discoveries.
Raj makes the climb with Ahmad right behind him. Three goats stop grazing, lower their heads and snort. Now's the chance to calm them down.
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Haechi watches carefully as Raj and Ahmad climb to the top and begins to reconsider his earlier opinion as to the impossibility of the climb . "Hmmm. Raj and Ahmad made it without undue difficulty. Now that I see what handholds they used, perhaps..."
When Nal makes her own attempt, Haechi watches to see how she does it. He watches as her delicate hands have trouble keeping their grip and she fails. Instead of discouraging him, it actually has the opposite effect. "If she'd had claws like mine her fingers would've held and she'd have made it easily. Why, with these claws of mine, I shouldn't have any trouble at all now that I see how it's done."
Haechi was prone to having his mood swing from utter despair to laughable over-confidence, especially when faced with a task he didn't know much about how to accomplish. "After all, I had no difficulty climbing uphill through those snowy plains yesterday, so how much harder could this be?"
With Nal halfway up the slope, Haechi looks over at Beltch and realizes that if Nal left them, It'd just be two of them at the bottom. "Well, that decides it. I'm not going to just stand here and let the orcs, bears and wolves finish me off. I'm going to be the master of my own fate."
Haechi spits into his hands like he's seen others do. "This doesn't look so tough after all. I'm going to make the attempt. If I die, someone please take care of Haetae for me. She won't last long by herself."
"Well, that was even easier than I thought," he says as he gets to the top. He then notices the goats that Haetae had warned them about. "Oh dear, they do look ferocious." He shuts up and quickly ducks behind a bush to avoid being seen by the creatures.
Haechi has to thank Aspu for letting him move around, unnoticed. The goats don't bother with him.
They seem suspicious of Ahmad's offering until Raj approaches. They stop snorting, move up to him, and then begin munching on Ahmad's flowers. They back away from you and continue munching on some other grass, granting you peace.
With the immediate threat defused, Raj and Beltch take their time climbing up to the top of the hill. The frost-covered peaks, bright sun and still wind provide an incredible view of the mountains.
Maybe you can find something to help secure the trade route. Here are a few methods:
• Learn how to handle the goats, turning a hazard into a resource. This is a DC 15 Nature check.
• Chart the view with a DC 12 Cartography or Scribing Lore check, or a DC 14 Crafting check.
• Recognize valuable terrain resources such as climbing spots and streams with a DC 15 Nature or a DC 12 Mountain or Scouting Lore check.
• Identify grazing areas and places medicinal plants and mosses might grow. This is a DC 15 Nature check or a DC 12 Herbalism Lore check.
• Spot a potential meltwater hazard that’s obvious when seen from the high vantage point. This is either a DC 15 Perception or Nature check, or a DC 12 Mountain or Scouting Lore check.
• Identify the cliff overhang as a good resting spot for travelers. This is a DC 15 Survival or a DC 15 Perception check.
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Now that Nal is completely shamed by the book-ish Haechi's mad climbing skills, she turns to Belch and says: "Well, I guess we should try, huh? I'll, uh, go first, I guess?" Taking a deep breath, she tries again to scale the cliff.
By the time Nal finally pulls herself up onto the top of the cliff, she's seriously rethinking some of her life choices. Well, that was humiliating. Guess I should've spent more time practicing climbing. Geez. Gasping for breath, she looks out over the landscape, her eyes travelling inward from the far horizon.
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Haechi peeks out from behind his bush to make sure he isn't about to get headbutted back over the cliff. Seeing that the goats have been tamed, he pops all the way up and has a look around.
He avoids having anything to do with the scary goats, and his eyes flicker over the great climbing spots, lush grazing spots, clean streams, cosy cliff overhangs, hazardous meltwater, rare medicinal plants and life-saving mosses as if they didn't exist.
He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Ahhhh, that hits the spot. eh?" He then opens his eyes again and looks down at the forest below. "My my. What a wonderful view of the forest we have from up here. Why, you can clearly see the path we took... oh, and I see several others that will get us through to the other side. I better make a quick sketch."
Haechi digs into his cloak and pulls a notebook from one of the pockets. Finding a stylus in another pocket, he starts scratching out a rough but sufficiently detailed map of the trails he sees going through the forest.
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After scouting out the top of the cliff, Haetae had once again returned to the warmth of Haechi's backpack. She's just getting comfortable again when her master starts moving in an strange way.
Haetae pokes her head out of the backpack and sees Haechi getting ready to climb the cliff. She looks up to see if anyone had lowered a rope to help him out, but there was nothing; no rope, no piton, no climbing gear of any kind. Her master had apparently taken it into his head to free solo climb up a 25ft cliff!
"Is he insane?"
Haetae decides that her near-term life expectancy will be very much improved by flying out of the backpack and watching her master try to kill himself from a safe distance. She takes to the air and hovers nearby, but not so near that Haechi could reach her in a desparate bid to avoid a fall that would almost certainly break every bone in his body. From there, she watches in amazement as her master scampers up the cliff face as if he was born to it.
"Huh. That was unexpected."
Haechi tries to make sense of the map, the ink, and where he is. The compass doesn't line up with the terrain. Did the last cartographer screw up? Haetae chuckles at his misfortune before something inspires her to fly on the map. "You're holding it upside down." Haechi quietly rotates the map and quickly begins scribbling out the route they took so far. He's able to scout a few alternate routes, as well.
Ahmad continues feeding the goats, who happily take all the food he has out of his hands. They're docile enough to pet, too. Haechi's missing out.
Remaining activities:
• Recognize valuable terrain resources such as climbing spots and streams with a DC 15 Nature or a DC 12 Mountain or Scouting Lore check.
• Identify grazing areas and places medicinal plants and mosses might grow. This is a DC 15 Nature check or a DC 12 Herbalism Lore check.
• Spot a potential meltwater hazard that’s obvious when seen from the high vantage point. This is either a DC 15 Perception or Nature check, or a DC 12 Mountain or Scouting Lore check.
• Identify the cliff overhang as a good resting spot for travelers. This is a DC 15 Survival or a DC 15 Perception check.
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Well, that's enough dinking around. Back to work. As hard as it was for Nal to ascend the cliff, she decides the first thing to look for is an easier way up here.
Nope. Nothing. How'd those guys do it so easily?!
While glancing around, her eyes catch on some mosses and medicinal plants. Those'll be handy. She jots down their locations for future reference. "Whew! I'm beat! Is there a handy spot to rest around here?" Nal looks up and to the sides, but unfortunately not down.
Nal searches a lot of different routes and resting spots, but every time she looks she notices the grass the goats are munching on. One bush bursts forth from the tundra, blue flowers protruding forth. Nal knows this is a rare herb, often used in antiplagues. She clips a few flowers off to preserve for later.
Remaining activities:
• Recognize valuable terrain resources such as climbing spots and streams with a DC 15 Nature or a DC 12 Mountain or Scouting Lore check.
• Spot a potential meltwater hazard that’s obvious when seen from the high vantage point. This is either a DC 15 Perception or Nature check, or a DC 12 Mountain or Scouting Lore check.
• Identify the cliff overhang as a good resting spot for travelers. This is a DC 15 Survival or a DC 15 Perception check.
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Raj takes a deep breath, and enjoys the view. The nature up north might be very different from what he's used to, but the grandiosity of it never changes.
Then, it's back to work - and scouting the terrain is something Raj is very good at.
"Over there. That's a rest spot I would choose." he answers Nal, and shares his other findings as well.
Raj feels the cool mountain air. And with it he sees the mountain for what it is: a living organism, filled with resources, meltwater and cliffsides.
Once you record your findings, you travel back down the cliff and continue onward. Wolves howl in the distance.
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Haechi rises and stretches a little to work out the kinks. "Well, that was refreshing, but if we don't start moving again, we'll probably just freeze solid right where we stand, ha ha" A vision comes to him of the five of them as frozen statues standing vigil at the top of the cliff, forever looking out at the horizon with lifeless eyes; he blanches at the thought and carefully works his way down the slope with the help of some rope.
Once at the base of the cliff, he realizes that this would be a great spot for a clearing. He's not entirely sure why, but he's pretty certain about it. He calls back up to the rest of his descending friends. "I believe it would be a good idea to clear a spot here at the base of the cliff. Perhaps you would like to help me."
He goes to work. He double checks his backpack, but no, he'd brought no tools that would be really useful for such a task. His dagger helps a little with chopping at the brush, but he spends much of the time running from bush to bush and jumping up-and-down on them to flatten them out, and...
... amazingly, this method proves quite successful and he manages to clear a fairly good area before his colleagues finally rejoin him. He feels a little cold after his workout and pulls his winter clothes tighter around him...
...but it isn't enough to keep him from chilling.
Haechi manages to do a fantastic job clearing out an area that the caravan could use as a rest area.
Ahmad continues to protect himself against the frigid cold, while Haechi can't keep himself warm.
”Oh ho, what’s this?” A lupine creature with blinding white fur leaps from the ledge. It’s the largest wolf you’ve ever seen. Oh, and he talks. ”Odvar, at your service!” He howls as a few normal sized wolves howl in unison with him.
”I couldn’t help but notice you were out here, alone.” He thinks. ”Normally such thin-furred creatures like yourself stay away from places this cold. No problem for me of course.” He grins, revealing his line of razor sharp teeth. ”So tell me, what are you doing out here?”
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Haechi is beginning to feel the cold. His small kobold physique was designed for warmer climes and despite his winter clothing, he just can't seem to generate enough body heat to fight off the frigid elements.
When the large wolf appears out of nowhere, Haechi starts in fear and quickly scurries to put Raj between him and the creature. It is an instinctive reaction by his Kobold lizard brain and he is almost immediately ashamed of his display of cowardice.
His academic brain then kicks in. "Hmmm... a talking giant wolf. How unusual. Reminds me of something I read about in Meirlanel's 'Bestias in Silva'... let's see..."
He finally recalls which creature it was. In his excitement, he blurts out, "Oh, I remember now. You're a Warg, aren't you?" before the rest of the description in the book comes to him. Haechi's voice catches in his throat as the blood drains from his face and his brain automatically evaluates whether fleeing, fighting or ingratiation was the best way to survive this encounter.
He shakes his head to clear out such dispiriting thoughts. "After all, Am I not a direct descendant of the great Apsu himself? This Odvar creature seems quite happy to converse, so no doubt we can come to some understanding that will obviate the need for violence." And anyway, it was clear to Haechi that he could neither outrun nor outfight these wolves.
Haechi goes into full unctuous mode. "Ah, Odvar, wasn't it? Yes. So pleased to make your acquaintance. My name is Haechi and these are my fellow Pathfinders. We have been tasked with looking for a safe passage through these mountains suitable for pack animals. Your knowledge of these mountains is doubtless unrivaled and we would welcome any assistance you could provide us in this regard. We are merely explorers and wish no harm at all to either you or your associates. In fact, we are looking for strong allies such as yourselves with which we can come to a mutually beneficial agreement. The trains of pack animals will require protection as they pass through this wild land, in exchange for which they will no doubt be willing to pay a reasonable toll. So as you can see, there is no reason whatsoever for us to enter into an adversarial relationship when there are so many benefits to be accrued to all of us by cooperation." He ends his pitch with a bow bordering on subservience.
Odvar looks down on the scrumptious kobold as he speaks, but he lowers his head and pays attention to Haechi. "Oh my! You're quite the negotiator, aren't you? You're quite respectful, unlike my last lunch- er lunch guests. Now, let's see, safe passage... pack animals... ah, a caravan!" The wolves raise their heads in perfect sync as Odvar raises his own, proud of his deduction.
”You’ll need a bodyguard against the orc tribes, and maybe even an ogre or two. Oh, and there’s an annoying half-orc living above the snow line, who knows when he’ll butt in.” He grins again. ”But no worries, Odvar and his Wandering Wolf Wardens will help!” He howls and the other wolves howl in unison with him.
”Ah, but I do not work for free. I’ll need payment. Let’s start at… one halfling. A plump, juicy one that I can slurp the blood out of, slowly. I like my food chilled. The good old Chelixan Special!” He quickly barks, like he was laughing. “So, deal? We can shake on it if you want.” Odvar trots back and forth, waiting for your answer.
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The wind keeps getting colder, and Raj pulls the fur-lined hood deeper over his head. Best just keep moving to keep the body warm...
The ranger eyes the wolf pack suspiciously. From the sound of it, it'll be blades and arrows that will be speaking soon. But who knows if the endless babbling of the kobold would resolve the situation in less violent ways.
But bow ready, Raj expects to use it soon.
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Dropping down next to Haechi, Nal shivers and wonders how many layers of clothes she can wear and still be able to put her arms down at her sides.
If Nal could blanch, she would have when the warg leapt toward them. She's grateful that Haechi doesn't seem to have lost his powers of speech as she has, and is impressed that he's able to make such an impression on Odvar. Forcing herself to appear calm, despite the fact that she knows they can smell her fear, she nonchalantly steps over to Raj. If we have to fight, we need to keep them from flanking us!
”Ah, but I do not work for free. I’ll need payment. Let’s start at… one halfling. A plump, juicy one that I can slurp the blood out of, slowly. I like my food chilled. The good old Chelixan Special!” He quickly barks, like he was laughing. “So, deal? We can shake on it if you want.”
Forcing a rueful half-smile, Nal inclines her head respectfully. "We're not authorized to offer halflings. But four legged animals are fair game. What's your fancy? Something local or imported?"
"Bah! Not Authorized, she says!" The wolves bay in unison ad Odvar prances about. "And four legged creatures? I can get those by myself. Still, I am a fair and noble creature. How about a gnome? They usually try to speak to my assistants here to beg for mercy or something foolish." He stops prancing and turns to face you. "What say you? Deal?"
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Ahmad listens to the strange creature and thinks to himself that this can only have an end, since we cannot offer a living being, neither our conscience nor our honor would allow it to give a similar sacrifice to even a halfling. . while he grasps his sword with one hand ready to rise in combat while his companions try to exhaust the diplomatic channel
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Haechi's ingratiating smile freezes on his face as he listens to the Warg talk about eating halflings and gnomes. He laughs nervously. "Ha ha. How droll you are Odvar. I see that in addition to all your other excellent qualities, you are also a comedian. No doubt you are the life of the party at your, uh, wolfpack get togethers, eh? ha ha."
"Seriously though, there must be some arrangement that we can come to that doesn't involve the murder of innocents. Perhaps a goat or two will suffice; I know just where to find some. And if freshness is an issue, then doubtless some form of on-the-hoof delivery can be arranged. Doesn't that sound like a more reasonable and less, um, murdery alternative?"
Haechi glances left and right at Ahmed and Raj and under his breath, so only those near can hear, he says "I am pessimistic of my chances to convince Odvar to forego sentient sacrifice. I suspect that things may take a more violent turn soon, so prepare yourselves."
Without changing his facial expression, Haechi uses Nal as a visual shield and slowly reaches into his cloak to extract a couple of the carefully folded scrolls that he keeps there. He holds one in each hand.
Odvar paces back and forth, like he's talking to little pups. Are they not getting it? Are they teasing him? Seems like only one of them has any manners, and he's the yummiest one!
"Fine! Wandering Wolf Wardens!" The wolves prepare to pounce. "Attack. But leave the small one, he will make an excellent servant. So polite!" He bares his fangs.
The wolves dart out, coordinated as Odvar points at the party. One of the wolves goes for Nal, and another goes for Ahmad.
The wolf in white finds a weakpoint in Nal's armor and bites down. Fleas seems to leap at the exposed flesh, but she quickly fends them off.
Odvar sees the injured Nal and tries to bite her, somehow almost biting his lupine servant in the process. "My my, that was unlikely."
Odvar
White Wolf
Black Wolf
Nal (4 damage)
Raj
Ahmad
Haechi
Beltch
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Haechi is only slightly surprised when the wolves move in to attack. "Oh dearie me. How unfriendly. And just when I thought we were making some real progress." He sighs. "Oh well then. Nothing for it. Here we go."
He clenches his fists at his sides and bends his elbows until they are about a foot apart and directly in front of him. His fists start emitting small sparks that slowly increase in power until bolts of electricity discharge continuously between his fists. When the power gets to be too much for Haechi to hold any longer, he shouts, "lupi adepto frixum."
All the power he collected discharges from his hands in one continuous stream of bright energy spearing first one mangy wolf, then curling around and striking the other.
Heachi shakes the last of the sparks from his fists and says the word, "scutum." The space around him shimmers slightly for a moment.