Father Emil is a man of the cold, and the ice does not slow him down as he reaches the ribbon and frees it.
Wizel has no trouble reaching the ribbon but he can't free it without tearing it. The officials call him back after a few tries.
"Alright, 3 of you tried." Dahila collects the two ribbons. "Mahatmas? Heather? Tandang? Are you going on the ice?"
Heather has no trouble crossing the ice. Even with the snow, she is just agile enough to get the ribbon.
Mahatma skates across the ice, propelled by a strong breeze. Then they use a torch to melt the ice around the ribbon.
"Good job, everyone." Dahila collects the 5 ribbons. "That's it for today. Everyone should rest up for tomorrow."
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Emil shows the shovel to one of the race officials and leads them to view the apparent building up of snow drifts, perhaps to impede progress. "Seems suspicious to be pilin' up that much snow in such a place. I thought ya'd like ta know about it."
Emil takes his food and tries to visit with the Without Trace or Fail team, just to chew the fat and learn something about their lives in such a hostile environment. "We get a blizzard mebbe once a year back home and we think that's a lot. I admire yer tenacity and grit to make a living up here."
Father Emil talks to some of the race officials. They seem confused about a shovel, but they'll look into it.
He takes his food and heads towards the Without Trace or Fail team.
"Oh bother, the Pathfinders sent their scouts to spy on us." One of the humans moans before another teammate elbows him. "Don't make it obvious, Gruen. You talk to them!" She shoves the man towards Father Emil.
"Grrr! This isn't over Signe!" He shakes his fist as she laughs and continues building her tent. "Yes, right. Well. Greetings. I'm Gruen Storval. That's Signe. Ostog and Hjeldr are around here somewhere. Good job on the ice. Beginner's luck pays off in one way or another." He grunts. "No, that's not it. I saw your technique. Risky to dress down that far. But you have to do what feels right..." He tugs on his bear skin coat.
"We've been training ever since last year's competition. A strict diet of raw nuts, leaves and berries. Snow runs from sunrise to sunset. If I were blessed like the rest of my family I'd turn into a bear and run through the moonlit sky." Gruen grumbles. "We'll win this year and keep this local. No way will some outsiders or some... Varki... take our crown."
"Faegrim's been getting complacent. Too much alcohol is slowing her down. Those Two Houses lovebirds are too distracted with each other to care about the race. And the Bluetongues? They just got to the checkpoint. No way are they going to catch up."
Gruen peers at Father Emil. "Ulfen are getting so weak, lately. Maybe you'll wind up in second and remind them of what we almost lost. I guess I'm saying good luck." Gruen sighs.
Father Emil feels he made some progress on them. They are still Unfriendly to the Pathfinders, but another meeting like this could make them Indifferent.
With your conversations complete, you rest for the evening.
Day 3. More fog.
"The Whitegold River awaits!" Dahila calls as soon as the sunrises. "That's your next checkpoint. Come on slowpokes!"
Wizel and Mahatma waste no time clearing a path and leading the team. Heather is mostly able to keep up. Hadrimos isn't as used to the snow as he wishes. Father Emil and Tandang watch their teammates and feel inspired...
The Pathfinders have no trouble reaching the checkpoint. They even spot and catch up to the Fangs of the Rhemoraz. Ylva gives a wave as Marbin reminds her to watch out for the snow trap.
Steam and spray from the Whitegold River hangs in the air as the checkpoint draws near. The wet air carries a cold sting. The snow on the trees drips, plopping heavily to the ground and the snow and frost seem to be clinging only in shadowed nooks and slick patches, despite the frigid air. Race officials prepare fish caught from the banks of the river near the camp. South of the campsite, another official stands near the riverbank. Several long poles lean against a mossy rock. Across the river, the course stretches away from the river and through the thinning trees into the snow-dusted hills beyond.
Dahlia waves you over and gives all of you a once over, like a mother doe taking care of her calves. ”The first ones here... Are ya’ll okay? Make sure you stick to the path we made and you take a rest at the checkpoints each night.” She sweeps her gaze over all of you, trying to gauge your reaction. ”A patrol was attacked last night. No one died, but they were pretty injured. Clearly an attack by some kind of Beast. Maybe it's that bear you mentioned.”
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Father Emil thanks Dahlia for her concern and adds, "They don't call us Pathfinders fer nothin', although we can sure follow a trail. I'm prepared ta fight a bear ifin I have ta," he says, gesturing toward the bearskin cloak he fashioned from a bear he had to hunt down after it was raiding the farms of his community. "What's the challenge at this station?"
”Okay, take a deep breath and let’s talk about the race. This is the Whitegold river. Balgrid chased the linnorm across it. He wasn’t dumb enough to try to swim through the freezing river, of course. He cut down a tree and used it like a pole vault. He just leapt across the river in one shot and continued the chase.”
”The Whitegold river is about 15 feet deep, flows from North to South. Your goal is to cross it. I’d suggest against swimming, since you need to grab the edge of the other bank- it’s frozen over and we are close to the edge of a cascade. ” She shrugs. ”That hasn’t stopped other teams before!” She laughs and looks to the sky, waiting for its response.
”So instead I suggest one of these poles.” She gestures to a collection of 15 foot poles. ”Each of you can use one to vault across the river. All of you need to try.” Dahlia takes a step back. ”You’re halfway there, keep going’.”
- With a pole, you can make an Acrobatics or Athletics check to vault it.
- You can try to swim. Make several Athletics + Fortitude checks. Your goal is to swim 20 feet. You’ll also need a Reflex Save to catch the edge.
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Father Emil volunteers to try last and provide divine guidance just before each Pathfinder makes the jump.
Guidance Cantrip.
'May Erastil lift you up like a bridge over troubled waters," he says and prays as each attempt is made.
He also watches, ready to attempt to help anyone who might fail the jump with a rope and if necessary to swim himself to help.
Then he takes a pole, offers the same prayer for himself before making his own attempt.
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Tandang takes out the hemp rope and ties it around Oso. Once secured, he tells Oso to stay put for now, as he will cross the river first before the bear. He grips one of the poles firmly, planting it against the ground to vault himself across the river.
Tandang:
Once he gets to the other side, he calls Oso to do a long jump across the river.
Oso:
Wizel and Hadrimos seemingly fly across the river without a problem. Scout and Oso make the trip easily. "Oops. I should have mentioned the animal companions don't need to jump, but..."
Tandang barely makes it, managing to stumble on the edge.
Heather and Father Emil start the jump, but realize they won't make it if they continue, so they abort the jump. Mahatmas also decides the angle is bad and aborts.
"Heather, Father Emil, Mahatmas. Keep trying until you cross."
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Emil sheepishly moves back so he can get a good running start, makes another prayer for Erastil to guide him, and sprints at the river.
His feet slip, robbing him of momentum, so he tries once more.
Finally it comes together. He bends over, huffing and puffing for a moment before recovering and congratulating the others and apologizing for having so much trouble.
Dahila claps as the team makes their way across. "Alright, Balgrid would be proud. We'll ferry you back to camp."
"Hey, they look pretty dry to me." Ylva points at you when you return to camp. "So nothing to worry about, Olin." The droomar shudders anyway as they stand up and follow the officials to cross the river.
During the day, you have the opportunity to talk to the teams and the officials.
Bluetongue's Brawlers are quite blue indeed. Most of them come soaking wet and freezing from the river jump while Dahila leads them to the central campfire. "You could have jumped across the river, you know."
"Nothing yet, Father Emil." One official lowers his binoculars. "Hopefully the bear noticed how big the crowd is and won't mess with us." Father Emil fails to get any hints from them, but it was worth a shot.
As Father Emil approaches the Fangs of the Rhemoraz. He sees Ylva and Marbin trying to calm Olin down. Runa leans against a tree, keeping watch. They turn to him. "Hail, Father Emil. We were able to cross quickly, but Olin almost fell backwards into the river. He's... terrified of water." They say embarrassed.
"No, I'm afraid of running water. We're at the edge of a waterfall. I'd freeze down there, or even worse!" Olin shudders while Marbin tosses another layer on him.
Runa sighs. "Other than that, no problems." they turn back to Father Emil. "One event remains. Best of luck."
Father Emil thinks the Fangs of the Rhemoraz are still Indifferent to him, but another conversation like that will make them Friendly again.
As the evening falls, the teams settle around the campfire. "Tomorrow, you have one more event. Then you have a push for the finish line." Dahila calls out to the other teams. "So if you're falling behind, pick up the pace."
The team has a chance to talk about their ambitions for the night. Or go to sleep early.
Make a DC 20 Nature check to see if you can identify it. You can read the spoiler below if you make the check.
"Rawr!" Scout moves to Heather's side, poised for action. "Rrrrr..." he growls.
Several officials stand up and form a scouting party, heading off in the direction you indicated.
Heather and Wizel give a quick physical description that may seem familiar...
Father Emil is certain it must have been an elephant. Or something.
The officials increase patrols throughout the night to ensure you get a chance to rest. Good thing too, as the night wind grows loud.
A storm hits the trail during day 4, creating Sever Cold that blinds your vision. "Finally!" Marbin yells, bundled from top to bottom in coats and scarves. "I've been melting down here over the last few days! No idea how these southerners deal with the heat..."
Dahila looks at Fangs of the Rhemoraz bitterly as they prepare to hike to the next checkpoint. "As for the rest of us, be careful in this storm. Make your way to the next checkpoint."