|
"We can have a nice breakfast in the morning before starting our journey. I'm going to get some much needed sleep now."
Bella is fully rested in the morning and anxious about the journey by dogsled. She's so nervous she barely touches her eggs and bacon and just picks at her food.
"Are we ready to go?" she asks, a nervous tone in her voice.
|
Khellek takes a seat near the stove. He almost looks like he is hoping to absorb heat to help him through the next few days. "It's a Khellid trick." he mentions.
"Of course, sometimes I just think about the steaming jungles of the south, that helps warm me too. Conversely while suffering the oppressive heat down there, I often contemplate the frozen beauty of the northlands."
It seems sitting for a while has restored his voice a little. Still, he quickly lapses back into quiet, sipping his tea.
The oldest human wakes up, hoping to feel rested. And he does, sortove. The headache forming the prior evening has faded. But the air he breathes just doesn’t seem to be enough and anything physical just seems harder to do.
Red Reverend may be feeing the same way but is certainly hiding it better.
Your host seems to be happy you are leaving at daybreak and excuses himself early from breakfast to go get the dogs hooked up. He also has a pack of supplies set out for you.
|
|
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
10.
Ezren spends a decent night, but is suddenly woken up early by a pretty violent headache that just keeps worsening. He shows up at the breakfast table with his face all scrunched up and his long hair in a mess. "Morning," he grumbles, and goes straight to make himself some tea.
|
|
"No, so many snakes! Go away! Miriel mumbles in her sleep but quickly wakes up from the noise of people's morning routines. After a moment of rubbing her eyes and yawning, she collects herself and starts her morning routines. She pulls out a mirror and a comb from her pack, sits on her knees and starts combing her badly sleep-messed hair, while reciting through Shelyn's tenets. "I see beauty in others. As a rough stone hides a diamond, a drab face may hide the heart of a saint. I am peaceful, I come first with a rose rather than a weapon, ..." she goes on as she arranges her look.
Everyone has a pretty bad adaptation to the high altitude and feel a step slower than they should be.
Muriel offers two prepared endure elements to the group. Khellek advises he has been blessed by a shaman and should be fine. He goes into great detail about the ceremony. Way too much detail for the time you all have. :P
Your contact waiting outside has three sleds hooked up with six yipping/singing dogs each. He holds the reins of one sled out, ”Aight, which driver wants the first lesson?”
Rysam hands the reigns over to Khellek and hops onto the passenger part for the lesson, ”Alright, the commands are ‘mush’, ‘break’, ‘right’ and ‘left’. Mush is speed up and you snap the reigns, break is to slow down and you pull back. You can also do a hard break, that’s just pulling back super hard. But the dogs don’t like that one. Then right you pull on the right side and left you pull on the left. The reigns and voice commands are both necessary too. Ready to try?”
He guides each of you through the process, having everyone who drives practice a little, until comfortable with the basics.
”Ready to go?”
|
|
"Right... Readly. How hard can it be? " wheezes Khellek, trying to fill himself with confidence.
He mounts the sled and calls out "Mush" to the dogs as he snaps the reins...
"See.. easy. Right, no... not right... ummm.. break, break!"
"Phew..." he says, wiping his forehead as the sled comes to a halt. "Gota be as careful with your words with those dogs are you are dealing with the patrons of Cheliax."
|
|
"I'll give it a go..."
Bella gently snaps the reigns...
"Mush?" she calls out nervously.
"Brake! Brake!"
"Eeeeeeeeep!!!"
Bella's sled gets lodged between two trees on the side of the trail as she's thrown face first into a snowbank. The dogs, seemingly annoyed, bark and howl to get back on the trail.
"Uhh. Sorry. Maybe I shouldn't be a musher."
Khellek has no issues. Belladonna fortunately (or unfortunately for the mission) doesn’t even get her sled to move. The dogs seem to howl in laughter.
|
|
"Right... Readly. How hard can it be? " wheezes Khellek, trying to fill himself with confidence.
He mounts the sled and calls out "Mush" to the dogs as he snaps the reins...
[dice=handle animal]1d20+2
"See.. easy. Right, no... not right... ummm.. break, break!"[dice=handle animal]1d20+2
"Phew..." he says, wiping his forehead as the sled comes to a halt. "Gota be as careful with your words with those dogs are you are dealing with the patrons of Cheliax."
Ezren carefully sits down besides Khellek, choosing the most competent driver out of the two. [b]"Thank goodness they only know a handful of words, then."[b]
|
|
Also MIriel tries her skills at sledding.
"Go friends, let's run!" she tries to order the dogs but they just storm her for more belly scrubs.
"I have to concentrate better on this... how did he do it?"
She concentrates on the instructions tries again.
"Mush!", she commands. The dogs faithfully run a bit, before Miriel commands the stop: "Break! and the dogs stop. She smiles at her success.
"I presume I am capable of directing our canine friends, if the environment is not demanding."
The handler/contact/narrative foil looks at the group, holding the reins given up by Belladonna, ”Alright, two drivers so far. You all need a third. And then whoever is left pick a passenger spot.”
With the drivers chosen, the group sets off with a happy wave. Everything is gonna be alright!
|
|
Given things get harder at speeds higher than "average" of 5mph, Khellek will keep to that leisurely speed that he feels confident he has full control over the sleds and those slightly too energetic dogs.
When Khellek sees Miriel get into a sled and take the reins he holds up a hand.
"Ms Magol. As our primary warrior, can I suggest that you don't drive? You will not be able to fight and drive at the same time. If the good Reverend were to drive, you could travel with either him or Ms Belladonna and still be in a position to see off any beastmen with your sword and shield. May I also suggest you travel in the front sled, as surely that is where any attack is likely to come from."
|
|
"I would definitely agree with your expertise, with more practice, but I am afraid engaging in combat from a sled in motion will exceed our capabilities. I can direct the leading sled, alone, and stop and disembark if we encounter aggressive opponents", Miriel offers her opinion.
"It would have the additional advantage that you could use the sleds to get into a better tactical position while I draw their attention."
Taking the lead as expected by herself, Miriel flies solo with no passengers.
In the second dogsled, The Red Reverend and Belladonna probably spend a large portion of it in deep theological discussion about their various churches. Ah, those clerics. Yakking it up again.
The two old humans take up the final sled and probably talk about prunes or the weather or something.
With a yell and a twitch of the reigns, the three sets of dogs start pulling. Slowly at first but ramping up to a somewhat decent pace. The trail at the start is really easy, which may help calm the nerves of the drivers. Plenty of open space to practice turns, slows and speedups.
After a bit, it becomes... not second nature, but not awkward at least. Then the beauty of the land becomes more apparent. Clear blue skies with just a few thin clouds allow copious sun to shine down, making everything a glistening landscape. Snow and ice cover everything, but the mountainous view is breathtaking. Along with, of course, the lack of oxygen.
Fortunately it only takes about two and a half hours to get to the harder parts shown on the map. After a short rest of water and food for dogs and peoples, the group digs into "The Dragon" portion of the path.
1) The Tail (map note - take it easy here): This section of the pass is flat, but rocky. Basically just really bumpy and jarring. But the slower speed of the group prevents any issues.
2) The Haunches (map note - ready to turn at bottom of hill): This section of the pass has a steep incline that slows the sleds up. But what goes up must come down, and after that is the expected steep decline. Picking up speed as you come down the hill, each musher receives a dose of adrenaline as they frantically try to make two small turns to avoid drifting off the side of the trail down a steep embankment. Fortunately, your earlier training paid off and this is easily accomplished (take 10 works here fine).
3) The Spine (map note - slalom): In this section, large boulders block a straight line path through. But just as before, gentle turns work well enough to get through.
Up ahead though, everyone sees a dangerous looking icebridge and after some frantic braking action, the group pulls over to check it out.
4) The Heart (map note - TIE OFF AND WALK IT): A dangerously narrow bridge of solid ice spans a fifteen foot wide ravine that splits the pass. A weathered chain, secured to large boulders at either end of the bridge, hands suspended about three feet above its surface.
|
|
Bella pauses, eyeing the icy bridge and the chasm below. Her brow furrows as she thinks.
"Hmm... This might take a little time, but I have an idea.
We can unhitch the dogs from the sleds and lash the sleds together to create a makeshift bridge. I can get across using magic—either fly or dimension door—I can use dimension door to bring two of you with me.
Then, from the far side, we can haul the makeshift bridge across using rope. There's a chain already spanning the chasm—we can loop the rope over it to give the bridge some support as we pull. Though, we should inspect the chain first. In this extreme cold, the metal could be brittle after years of exposure.
To stay safe, we should cross one at a time. The dogs might be able to go two or three at once, depending on how steady the bridge is."
|
|
"If we secure ourselves to the chain, should we not be fine?" asks Khellek.
"If something untoward happens, then I have some experience in stopping foolish students dying from falls. May I suggest you reserve your ability to fly for a rescue mission if required?"
The scholar eyes up the structure with a practised eye. Does it look stable enough for the sleds to cross safely?
|
|
Carefully, Khellek dismounts from his sled and attaches a rope to the chain. He then gives a baleful look at the structure and the dogs before starting to lead them (and his equally skittish students) across the thin icy bridge.
"You will note how the wind has formed the ice into a natural arch!" he wheezes back. "A self supporting structure of high stability. It does of course also give evidence to the risks... that of a gust of wind catching us mid traverse..."
His head turns to glance up the mountains. While the theory of meteorology was something he was familiar with - translating that into working out when wind gusts might happen veers a little toward the 'practical' side of knowledge, which he usually eschews.
|
|
"Is anyone here confident about their ability to lead the dogs in pairs of two across the bridge and make them stay on the other side, without the whole pack following suit, or a dog running out of control?"
"If that's not the case, I would suggest keeping them harnessed to their respective sleds. What we can do is have someone teleport on the other side while carrying most of our heavy equipment, just to be safe. I suspect that this bridge has seen its fair amount of sleds, but I wouldn't want it to crack under too heavy a load."
While he's talking, Ezren keeps his eyes peeled for any ambushers. The last thing they'd want in such a situation is a surprise attack while standing in the middle of the bridge.
|
|
Miriel enjoys herself greatly on the clear path in the impressive nature. "Just look at it! So many artists try to imitate the beauty, but this is beyond all but the greaatest!" She gently guides her dogs. "Go on my friends, let's go look beyond the next hill!" she encourages them forward.
"We can approach the problem in that manner, the other possibility is letting me traverse across first, and, as my childhood aquintances expressed: 'If it is strong enough for Miriel, it is for all'", Miriel also offers. "I am concerned that it could be slippery, and for such an obvious location for ambush, are you willing to endanger yourself?"
"If you nevertheless prefer leading the crossing, let me provide support with my bow in possibility of an ambush"
Bella wraps her rope around her waist, then slings a loop around the chain and leaves the tail end in a teammate’s hands. She warily walks across the bridge.
No one attacks. The bridge doesn’t collapse. And she doesn’t fall off.
Seems pretty safe, so everyone manages to make it over in a similar fashion. Even the dogs walking the sleds across make it safely.
——————
5) The Talons (no map note): Here the pass splits into adjacent routes, a higher path with a slow incline, and a wider steep path that plunges below it across a series of ice dunes. The upper path sits between 10 to 40 feet above the lower path. The higher path is only 10 feet wide.
|
|
Ezren's prime might be long behind him, but his gaze remains piercing, and his sight excellent. "I would agree with the upper path, though it might tire the dogs. I can drive," he offers Khellek.
The esteemed professor had done much of the work while his passenger sat by his side to flip through a book.
The group takes the high road, even if it is a little stressful on the tighter path. About an eight of a mile in, almost everyone notices an unusual dark patch on a snow bank. Braking to check it out, they see a blood trail leading off into a patch of boulders. Bella and Ezren manage to follow the faint path and find three body sized snow mounds.
|
|
"Well, that does not look good." notes the scholar.
"Can anyone read the tracks to see what happened here? Are they buried, in which case we may want to leave them alone - somone buried them and recently if we can still see the blood. I doubt if they went to the effort of burying their friends they will appreciate us digging them up."