The Land of Ice and Snow Report

General Summary

After a well-earned rest at the finest inn in Loegrimm, our five adventurers walked their way to Devonmeek to search for passage to Djekul. Unfortunately, Devonmeek was a long way from anywhere that Naelen had worked, so Sylvan took to looking for a boat willing to take on eight passengers, a wolf and a sled. Thankfully he had a keen eye, and spotted a local captain who owned quite the impressive longship for someone who just hauled cargo and worked out a deal that would have them on the sea within the day. As the crew hacked off the last of the ice from the side of the boat, they set off for Djekul on the cold waters of Grendep Bay. The trip was not smooth however, as twilight arrived on the third day of their journey they were met by another longship, full of northern raiders. The five of them quickly took up arms, just in time too, as the enemy boat collided with theirs and sea raiders jumped on board. While the fight was not much of a challenge for the five, the crew of the longship was whittled down to six members. To make up for those lost, the five took a few captives and forced them to man the ship in place of the lost crew members. After another day of sailing, they finally arrived in Djekul. The city was a sprawling mass of wooden houses and huts, set by the ocean. The place smelled heavily of fish and pine tar. The party bid the sea captain farewell, but before leaving, he told them they should stop by the mead hall and get some food and rest, and tell the owner that they were his friend. The group marched their way to the hall and pushed open its doors. What they saw was not the typical tavern they expected the place to be. Inside the longhouse there were long tables spanning the sides of the room, fur mats on the floor, and dozens of people socializing merrily, a far cry from the quiet bars they had visited before. Dreamstroke, wanting to prove his mettle, singled out the largest person in the hall, a muscled man wearing gold jewelry and armed with an expensive looking dagger. He approached the man, pretending to be drunk and challenged him to a fist fight, betting one-hundred gold pieces for his dagger. After enough goading, the man accepted and the mass of people at the tavern formed a crowd around the two to watch the fight. They went back and forth exchanging punch for punch, and although the burly man could both give and take heavy blows, Dreamstroke came out the victor. While he did win the dagger, Dreamstroke gave it back, and the two shook hands. The man introduced himself as Agni Stonearm and told Dream and his friends that if ever they needed a place to rest their heads, they would find a warm welcome in his home. He also told the party that the owner of the mead hall owed him a favor, and to tell him that they demanded free meals and beds to clear the favor. This worked quite well, and the five were treated with royal hospitality. Sylvan even managed to get on the good side of the owner and was able to buy his famous mead recipe, for a not so little sum. With a good night of rest and a full sled of supplies they headed out on the northern road. However, the northern weather greeted them harshly with a terrible blizzard that forced them to take refuge behind a large snowbank. They were able to save themselves with a flickering campfire and the warm tents they had purchased. To make sure nothing caught them unaware during the night Kaizzt and Dreamstroke took watch and made sure the life-giving campfire did not go out. Their suspicious were correct, as the night did not pass peacefully. About 20 feet away from where they set up camp, Dream spotted a tall figure watching their camp, motionless. He woke the group and readied them for battle, and then snuck closer to the strange figure. Upon approach, he saw that it was an undead creature of some kind, dressed in old chainmail, caked in dirt and covered in frost, and wielding a rusty greatsword. However, it seemed to pose no threat to them, so they continued their sleep. When dawn broke, they were able to see the creature more clearly, and that in the night, it had killed a gnoll that had wandered too close to it. Not wanting to mess with the thing, they packed up their belongings and set off, leaving the undead to crawl back into its grave. Moving farther north the five got a bit lost, as their map was damaged a bit by the blizzard and had an unfortunate run in with a roc, a gigantic bird of prey, rivaling some dragons in size and ferocity. The creature snatched Kaizzt out of his boots and sailed off with him, but was stopped by a hurled boulder, which thankfully made the bird drop Kaizzt to safety. Knowing full well that rocks do not idly sprout wings and fly, (due to a previous encounter with a giant) they looked around for its source, which was a tall frost giant that waded to them from the treeline. Thankfully Naelen was able to converse with the huge being, and told the party he was looking for help, that he needed to collect eggs from a creature called a "remorhaz". The party agreed and followed him to an icy cave, with a haze of steam emanating from its entrance. Inside there was a large nest, made of charred sticks, inside of which were three glowing eggs, but before they could lay a hand on them, a huge insect-like creature burst from the icy floor, it was arctic blue with green eyes, it had dozens of legs, two winglike flaps that ran down the sides of its body, and red hot spikes that lined its back. The giant charged the creature, taking its focus and the two titans battled back and forth. Meanwhile, the rest of the party took shots from afar at the massive insect. Eventually, the group beat the thing back and killed it, as it tried to make its escape through the hole where it came from. Quickly snatching up its eggs, the giant bid the adventurers farewell and strolled out to the forest as quick as he came. Now realizing that they had lost a few days worth of travel, the party got themselves back on track. At this point in their adventure, the five were exhausted by everything this cold land had thrown at them, and luckily, it seems as though someone had noticed. While trudging through the snow, a man dressed in warm furs and wearing snowshoes approached them, claiming to be a ranger, whose duty was to watch over this area, and offered them food and rest at his lodge, assuming they helped with some chores. The party happily agreed and spend a long warm week in the company of this kindly ranger, resting and preparing themselves for the horseman's valley.