Session 20: The Road To Keep Everwinter (II)

Further examination of the attackers revealed very little in the way of usable equipment or goods, but did reveal that this band of gnolls carried the symbol of St. Wagner. To what end he has aligned himself with these bandits could not be further determined.
 
Before leaving the town we had just delivered from the gnolls and demon, we found there had been a couple of traveling merchants who had been trapped by the threat of the raiders.
 
The first merchant was a young woman, running a shop called the Taste of the Planes. Her wares included a multitude of curious ingredients, many from extraplanar or other exotic sources, with rather curious effects. While I had little interest in these reagents, Bait spent quite a bit of time examining the goods, coming away with an interesting selection of substances. The young lady could not tell us much about how her master procured such materials, and did not have any information regarding the need for assistance in collecting more. Her master was not with her, on his own sales route.
 
The second wagon was owned by a pair of Dwarven brothers who managed Artisanal Armaments, a variety of custom made weapons of various materials and enchantments. Scar procured a very interesting Lion’s Head shield with a strong enchantment protecting him from attacks. I was able to locate a dagger made of Platinum infused with Quicksilver which would make me harder to hit when wielding it.
 
With shopping done and the cart and horses set, we resumed our journey to the Keep Everwinter. Our first day of travel went smoothly, allowing us to increase our pace somewhat. The next day brought us an encounter at a bridge with a large group of trolls, led by a giant troll. They basically wanted a quarter of use as food, which obviously was not to be. After dispatching them we collected some treasure and continued on our way.
 
The 6th day of our journey came with a change in elevation, the terrain beginning to transition to mountains. We spied an area off the path with two frozen bodies and tracks going deeper into the forest. Wary of our remaining time to travel, we decided against further investigation. That night, our watch noted a lighthouse light in the forest.
 
The 7th day was accompanied by colder weather as we ascended. We spied the lighthouse structure to the east, but again decided against investigation in the name of keeping to our travel timetable. We also saw a large herd of caribou, with some of our members toying with the idea of hunting or capturing some for food or mounts. Instead, we headed further up the mountain towards the keep.
 
The next day, the 8th of our journey, we came to a chasm with an unstable bridge spanning it. We would not be able to easily cross with our horses or cart. As we deliberated on possible solutions, our party was so focused on the problem of the bridge, we did not pay proper attention to an approaching wolf. A battle ensued after the large animal attacked one of our horses. It also became apparent that the wolf was not alone, as we suddenly came under attack by small flying elemental beings.