"Something has happened to Baba Yaga. Every hundred years, she returns to Irrisen to place a new daughter on the throne. But Queen Elvanna has other plans, it seems. Baba Yaga has not appeared as planned, and Elvanna intends to slay everyone loyal to her mother. She hunted down those of us who would herald Baba Yaga's return and slew my associates. I am the last of the Three Riders and a threat to Elvanna's plans. She seeks to take Baba Yaga's place and claim all of Golarion as her personal kingdom. Irrisen is a land of endless winter, created by Baba Yaga's magic. Elvanna seeks to cover the entire world in ice and snow, using portals like this one."
It was difficulty to imagine the enormity of Queen Elvanna's plans. Serael knew of her, of course, everyone in Irrisen did, but she had never met the queen or even had some sort of opinion.
Serael also did not exactly hold the Queen of Witches in high esteem, but she would never let Golarion become another Irrisen, where they trained young girls, such as her, and acquainted them to cruelty.
"So she is just connecting everywhere to Irrisen to let the blizzard spread?" she found that idea ingenious but could not even admit that to herself "What can we do about it? What can I even do about it, if Baba Yaga herself hasn't shown up?"
"Closing this portal will protect this area, but it's but one of many. Only the Queen of Witches can undo what her daughter has done. You must find Baba Yaga."
"But where is s-" she stopped herself, if the Queen of Witches is gone, of course they do not know her location. That just makes it much harder. There is no time, The Rider is dying, bleeding out beyond her capabilities and there's a lack of information "W-where can I start?"
"This portal is linked to the Pale Tower in Irrisen. From there, travel to Whitethrone. Elvanna stole the Dancing Hut and put it on display there as a symbol of her power. If you can retrieve and control it, it can take you to Baba Yaga."
"Okay, okay..." Serael says as she repeats mentally what the Rider told her: Pale Tower, then Whitethrone. Retrieve the Dancing Hut.
She could not possibly fathom how she would be able to steal something from someone who took it from Baba Yaga herself, but the Rider did not need any more uncertainty in the last moments of his life. "I will do that, Rider... Illarion. This is my oath to you." she touched him on his forehead, similarly to when she tried to heal him, without magic this time, just a comforting touch.
She stood up and wiped away the tears, trying to look resolute before him and took off running towards the portal. She had no idea how she would accomplish anything that was asked of her, but Desna's travelled roads would lead to strangers who would need help and help would be offered. She just did not imagine the importance of the 'stranger' she met.
If all else fails, I can at least be a messenger for the Rider's plea and find someone more suitable for this mission...
The Rider smiles weakly as you make your oath. "The Dancing Hut can cross great distances - even travel between worlds. It has many keys that can take it almost anywhere. I managed to steal two of the keys from Elvanna when the Hut was taken. Guard them carefully." He hands you a plague doctor's mask and a lock of white hair from a frost giant's beard. "Place these into the Hut's cauldron to retrace Baba Yaga's path." When you take them, he smears blood from his wounds onto your forehead. "I bestow upon you what's left of my power. May it aid you on your journey." His voice fades as he finishes speaking, and his body then does the same, melting away like ice in a fire.
Serael solemnly gets the two "keys" - somehow a mask and hair - and put them inside her bag before feeling the surge of power that struck her. Suddenly, she did not feel as cold. She nodded to the dead Rider and ran towards the portal.
You step through the portal, and the landscape abruptly changes. It is significantly colder now, indicating that you're much farther north. Off in the distance, you can faintly see the lights of a village, but it appears to be miles away.
To make matters worse, a glance behind you reveals that a massive snowstorm appears to be heading in your direction. The only real shelter you can see is that distant village.
So this is Irrisen, huh? I always assumed I would be able to recognize its chill anywhere, but...
Without time for idle thoughts, Serael starts her trek toward the village, trying to outrun a snowstorm.
Before long, you come across a group of travelers: five of them, with dogsleds loaded with supplies.
This is Irrisen, I have no idea if the people here will be welcoming to a stranger. Regardless, without the dogsleds, I'll probably not reach the village in time.
Serael decides to, once again, put her hope in strangers and raises her arms, trying to get their attention. She shouts in Common, to be as undistinguishable as possible.
"Hello!" shouts the traveler who appears to be in charge: a human woman a few years younger than you. "You're a long way from ... Absalom? Picked a bad time to visit Waldsby, I'm afraid. There's a snowstorm on its way."
Waldsby, like the girl whose soul was inside the doll... So it was in Irrisen, after all
"Yeah, right? I got my coats all right, but no way to get there in time. Would you mind giving me a ride? I can pay."
"We've got room on one of the sleds, so you're welcome to ride along. Gotta look out for each other when the weather gets bad."
"Ah, thank you!!"
Serael hops into the sled.
"Anyway, I'm Serael, nice to meet you." Summer and Winter both chirp, as a greeting.
"I'm Nadya. Nadya Petska." Replies the woman. She clears a spot for you on her sled. Once you and your birds are aboard, the party sets off! "What brings you all the way out here?" she asks as you travel over the snow.
As far as you can tell, she's just trying to make conversation.
"Nice to meet you, Nadya. I was hoping to get to the Pale Tower. It's a bit personal but I'm looking for... someone important to me."
It was not exactly a lie. It was also a gamble, for Serael had no idea what the Pale Tower was. Serael shoved her hand inside her bag, in case she this was a terrible mistake and she needed to start throwing alchemist's fires around.
"You're in luck, then. My daughter Thora's there. The boxes we're transporting are full of food and supplies. Hopefully it's enough that the witches will let me see her."
"Ah, perfect. What is she doing there?"
Serael tried to sound as nonchalant as possible for she still did not know what the Pale Tower was and hoped it wasn't an obvious answer that would betray her ignorance.
Nadya looks pained. "The last time the witches came to Waldsby, Thora made a comment about their appearance. She's only seen seven winters, and I hadn't thought to teach her the importance of minding her tongue. They took her 'to teach her manners.' That was a week ago."
Serael's memories flashed before her eyes. The illusion of the young girl, "I never meant to call you names, I miss my mom!", the doll with a soul inside. Could that be Thora?
Serael fought back the tears, it all seemed too perfect, but she had to be sure. Maybe that was another girl or just an illusion. Could the witches have done that? Yes she immediately answered in her own mind, she knew that, she was trained there.
"I see." was all she could muster, weakly. Serael cleared her throat, trying her best to maintain her composure - I'm not sure yet.
"We can arrange to go there as soon as we reach Waldsby, then."
It's late afternoon, and you're still miles from town. Nadya seems to have expected this and doesn't appear concerned. "Traveling in the dark during a blizzard's a great way to get lost. Better to make camp here, let the storm pass by, and get to Waldsby tomorrow. It looks like you have supplies, but if you need an extra blanket, I can let you borrow one of mine. Do the birds need anything?"
"I agree, I don't mind camping. I came equipped for the cold, but I will accept the blanket, this blizzard might be stronger than what I have anticipated." Of course, she did not feel the cold that strongly ever since the Rider gave her power, but divulging that was out of the question.
Serael rummages through her belongings, getting her rations and otherwise helping setting up camp.
The brids chirped trying to answer Nadya for themselves "Oh, I never introduced you, these are Winter and Summer. They don't need anything, I feed them my own rations, thank you."
"So, Nadya, what do you do? Just a traveler?" Serael quickly adds some information about herself after the question, after she realizes it seems too prying "I'm a traveler myself. Before coming here, I spent some weeks in Varisia."
Serael tries to keep the conversation light but her thoughts linger on the possibility that the doll she fought contained Thora's soul.
"Oh, I'm a merchant. I have some contacts in the Realm of the Mammoth Lords and trade with them for goods, furs, and food that we don't typically have access to here."
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During your meal, another travel approaches: a strange horned fey with goat legs. "May I join you for the evening? There's a storm coming, and there's safety in numbers." Nadya appears nervous but agrees.
You realize this creature is a forlarren: rare creatures resulting from the union of a nymph and a fiend. Shunned by both societies, forlarren typically live long and lonely lives filled with both hatred and remorse. This particular forlarren has skin colored an icy blue, indicating it's been touched by wintry powers.
Serael notices Nadya's reaction and decides to follow the lead of someone actually from here.
"Sure, join us, let's have a meal and wait out this storm."
"Thank you very much, kind friends." The forlarren sits on a log far from the campfire and produces a lute out of thin air. "My name is Mierul Ardelain, traveling musician. Perhaps you've heard of me?" She smiles prettily and begins a sweet rendition of a popular Irrisini song.
"Even whispers aren't heard in the garden,
Everything has died down till morning.
If you only knew how dear to me
Are these Irrisini nights.
The river moves, unmoving,
All in silver moonlight.
A song is heard, yet unheard,
In these silent nights.
Why do you, dear, look askance,
With your head lowered so?
It is hard to express, and hard to hold back,
Everything that my heart holds.
But the dawn's becoming ever brighter.
So please, just be good.
Don't you, too, forget
These summer, Irrisini nights."
Once it's finished, Mierul claps her hands, and her lute vanishes in a shower of sparkles. "And what of you, fellow travelers? Where does your road take you?"
Nadya speaks up before you have time to respond. "We're merchant traders on our way to Waldsby. Serael's my second cousin, visiting from Absalom."
Serael watches the song, a mixture of amazement and anxiety. There was something unnerving about the creature just showing up and then singing a song. Specially a song about the summer in Irrisen, considering the circunstances, then again, the forlarren might just not know about it.
Serael claps after the song is done "Amazing!" this part was not a lie. What followed, however, was, as Serael just followed Nadya's lead.
"What Nadya said! I'm Serael, nice to meet you, Mierul."
Serael decided to not give any more information than necessary, it was the best way for these stories to hold up.
Mierul continues to attempt to make conversation, but as neither you nor Nadya are saying much, she goes back to playing a few more songs. Before too long, the snowstorm has approached close enough that you need to hunker down for the night. When you rise the next morning, Mierul is gone.
Serael slept uneasy. Mierul was friendly enough and could be just a naive singer and naturally talkative and read the room, so to speak, and did not pry any further. But it did feel like she appeared for precisely that: to make questions and evaluate us.
Evaluate me, who just came from a portal.
When Serael woke up and saw that Mierul was not there, she waited some minutes while setting herself up to travel to finally asked Nadya, trying to be cryptic in case someone was listening on them "So what was that, cousin?"
"Perhaps she was simply a traveling minstrel, but I felt it was better to err on the side of caution. The Witches have eyes everywhere."
"Thank you for thinking on your feet so fast, then." Serael tried to smile brightly, but the situation with Thora was still on her mind "That maybe was the second time you saved me."
She hopped on the sled, ready to make way for Waldsby.
You journey on for a few more hours when the sound of cawing catches your ears. Nadya signals the sleds to halt and grabs a large white blanket. "There's another one behind me. Help me get everything covered!" Looking at the horizon, you see a large flock of ravens flying in your direction.
Serael runs to behind Nadya and grabs the other blanket and helps to cover her products and food. Serael also calls Winter and Summer to her, hoping the presence of her birds doesn't pick the ravens' attention.
You cover the sleds and duck under the blanket with Nadya. It's a long few minutes before the ravens pass by, and Nadya's tension is clearly high until she's certain that the flock has left. Finally, she leaves the shelter of the blankets and begins packing them up before setting off once more.
Serael decides to ask about the flock "Are the ravens a common occurence on these parts? Are they dangerous?" hoping the small talk will be enough to fill the silence a bit until they reach Waldsby.
"Witches can communicate with animals and often use birds to gather intelligence."
You reach Waldsby a few hours later. It's quite small - only approximately 150 residents - and its rural location means visitors are likely rare. Your presence definitely catches the attention of the locals, who mostly react with expressions of either fear, hostility, or interest. You note that almost none of the villagers speak the Common tongue, instead communicating in Skald.
"Oh." Serael holds Summer and Winter "But not us, right boys?"
When the sleds eventually arrive in Waldsby, Serael takes in the scenery.
If not for the current circunstances, I would have loved to travel through Irrisen to arrive in this place...
She is not exactly comfortable with her reception in Waldsby, but there was no way to pretend she is not an outsider. Thankfully, her grueling Winter Witch training a long time ago involved her learning Skald, so she can communicate properly.
"Is there a place, such as an inn, here I can stay?" she asks Nadya "I can wait there for you if you want to go together to the tower."
"The closest thing we've got is the White Weasel. The food isn't great, but they're sometimes willing to clear a spot on the floor for someone to sleep. Alternately, you can stay at my home."
"I'd rather stay in your house, if that is okay."
"Very well. It's the cabin on the edge of town. I share it with my two boys and their grandmother." She gestures in the general direction. "I need to deliver all of this to the storehouse, but I'll meet you there in an hour or two. In the meantime, I recommend purchasing some new clothes. In case you didn't notice, you stick out like a sore thumb, and that'll draw the attention of the Witches. Verana's Sundries will have what you need."
Serael nods and thanks Nadya once again. She goes to Verana's Sundries to buy some new clothes before heading to Nadya's cabin.
While not as well-stocked as other general stores you've been to, Verana's Sundries has most of what you'd expect. In addition to a small selection of clothing, there's plenty of winter equipment (snowshoes, skis, thick blankets), and a masterwork shortbow for sale.
Serael already has her snowshoes and masterwork shortbow, so she buys the clothing typical of those from Waldsby alongside some thick blankets and heads for Nadya's home.
As you head to Nadya's home, you can't help but notice that Waldsby - while significantly smaller - is quite similar to Sandpoint. The shop and tavern and in the same locations relative to each other, and the overall architectural style is almost identical. There's even a rusty weathervane shaped like a linnorm atop one of the buildings.
Nadya's house is small, but cozy. As you were told, it's also home to two young boys and an elderly woman - presumably their grandmother.
That is... strange. Is it a coincidence or is it why they were connected by the portals? Maybe it was done on purpose?
Serael doesn't exactly dismiss these thoughts but she realizes she does not have enough information to make any kind of guess and archives it for later ponderation.
She enters the house slowly, greeting the occupants, quickly introducing herself: "Excuse me, hello. The name's Serael, I met Nadya on the way here and she asked for me to wait here until she comes back."
If the children are around, Serael will try to take a good look and check if they look like the illusion she saw, trying to connect the dots if that was indeed Thora.
Neither child looks like the illusion you saw, but there's a definite resemblance.
Urgh... It might've been her.
Serael changes her clothes to the ones she bought so she can draw less attention and leaves the house to spend the one or two hours she had looking at the village. It is eerily similar to Sandpoint.
As a town, Waldsby doesn't have much, but there are a few locations of potential interest.
- Barn
- Blacksmith
- Carpenter
- Cemetery
- Ruined House
- Sawmill
- Town Hall
- The Shorn Beard
- The White Weasel
- Verana's Sundries
- Village Chapel
Serael goes to the White Weasel, hoping to gather more information from the locals to at least have an idea of what the Pale Tower is. On the way, she passes in front of the blacksmith, hoping to identify the fancy shield.