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04.28.20

The Magic in Winter

by Steel Claw

Ibrithil is cold, biting and immediate.
 
Our teleportation to Ibrithil landed us in another shrine. Outside, we found ourselves on the cold shore of Ibrithil, near a stone spire on the coast. Ice and mountains as far as the eye can see.
 

Go Ape-Shit


Though our first goal was finding Francis., we headed upwards and inland towards the sounds of civilization -- iron striking, boots stomping. Theo called Icarus to scout ahead, spotting a fortress a mile out, carved into the stone of a hill-mountain. It seemed partially damaged, and there are two frost giants currently engaged in combat.
 
The two giants were engaged with Arcadian troops -- and a giant bear. Easy side to pick. Theo, without hesitation, cast polymorph on Murg, transforming the auditor into a gigantic golden ape. Steel was able to unload with his new crossbow, igniting the weapon and decimating one of the frost giants as Izol and ape-Murg destroyed the second.
 
Steel wrapped his arm around Theo in celebration -- the work all paid off. The Claw, and his skills, worked, better than before.
 

Our Bear


We met Francis after the battle, as well as the surviving Arcadian guard. Moving to the inside of Fort Richter, the Captain Durthil and dwarf NAME informed us that the giants had been attacking more than weekly. Usually neutral and uninvolved, recently an Arcadian expedition uncovered something that has made the giants mad. The expedition was near the center of the isle, deep in the giants' realm -- the area is called the Deadwild, and hosts both Crescent Lake and Indrada. Indrada is a city of exiles, and the only noise coming from there is of a "bend" in the weave (something magical afoot). He mentioned as well a remorhaz, warning us of the hot-and-cold burrowing creature. Capt. Durthil mentioned he knew a frost giant shaman in Ibrithil.
 
And Francis? "I'm afraid I can't return. Once they learned I can talk, they made me a lieutenant."
 

Through the snow


So, without hesitation, we took Francis with us and headed out into the Deadwilds.
 
The nights were taken up with Steel teaching Theo more and more of the tabaxi language. The conversation, at Master Theo's request, turned to Steel's crossbow and its origins -- as well as its new capabilities.
 
On the first day, we crossed a frozen river at noon. It wasn't until much later until we were interrupted by a young white dragon flying overhead. We were walking through a sparse tundra forest, but it was still unnerving nonetheless.
 
The second day showed us the truth of the name -- the Deadwilds was void of all life.
 
It wasn't until the afternoon of the third day that the landscape changed: a spire on the horizon, a few miles off course. Master Theo, with Icarus, saw that the spire was to a church of an old giants' township; many of the buildings were ruined, with the church being largely intact. Investigating from afar, Icarus/Theo was able to find only a strange five-toed footprint, nothing else -- only remains in the church. We left the haunted town behind.
 
The fourth day saw Izol at one point investigating what seemed to be holly bushes, as Izol and Steel broke conversation. Sensing a heavy enchantment magic surrounding the berries, though not poisoned. He took five, leaving a platinum coin, but was stopped by an ice faerie -- though it clapped enthusiastically. With magic, it seemed to invigorate the berries into goodberries (each heals 12hp and will not decay).
Later in the day, we unfortunately discovered that we were being stalked by winter wolves.
It was the perfect. Theo, taking a lot of damage from one of the winter wolf's breath, chose to polymorph himself into a hulking lizard creature (T. rex, short for Theosaurus Rex). "Fire!" as Steel fired the Claw remotely, and Theo lunged down to hungrily grab the final winter wolf in his T. rex jaws and eating the creature whole.
Then, as a joke, Theo. Rex picked up each of us -- Steel, terrified -- and lumbered through the frozen Deadwilds until the spell ended.
 
"Maybe I don't ever want to ride a dragon."

Continue reading...

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  2. To Waylay Arcadia
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  3. As the Gods Watch
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  4. Recap: Riding the River to Bezia
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  5. Honor Returns to the Redtails
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  6. Honor and Innocence
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  8. Night Before the Report
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  11. CSI: Abominable Charges
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  12. Stones in the Basement
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    03.31.20
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  17. Argyle's End
    04.10.20
  18. Two and Two
    04.14.20
  19. Concentration
    04.21.20
  20. The Magic in Winter
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  21. Real, Under, Dark: Indrada
    05.12.20
  22. Puzzling the Way Forward
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  29. Arcane Mishap
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  30. The Treasure of Weave-Steel
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  31. Rolling Bones
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  32. A New Land
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  33. Ice and Storm
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  35. At the Top of the World
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  36. Beware the Depths
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  39. Cries of the Pained
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  42. The Death of a Gate and an Alhoon
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  49. Champions of the Winds
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  50. The Epicenter of Truth
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  51. It Begins Again
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  52. Stratagem to the Winds
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  56. Unfavorably Familiar
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  57. Cloaked in Red
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by 3 Armored Kittens · Prodromos v.1.1 - World Anvil 0.9.15.042 © 2017-2024 [en] | Anvil Time: 14:36, Nov 8 2024