Shest
Relationships
Baradin
We should've spent the night in Termalaine and travelled during the day.
We should've hunkered down when the blizzard hit.
We should've run when the troll turned up.
We should've done a lot of things but we didn't.
We managed to drive the troll away but not before it had caused a lot of damage... My injuries will heal but for Baradin it's too late.
We've made arrangements with the local priest here in Targos for a warrior's funeral, I tend to avoid churches for obvious reasons but Father Peter seemed like a good man and Baradin was proof enough that not all religious folks are necessarily the type to rain down holy fire. Our intention was to stay here and attend the funeral tomorrow but now something else has come up and time is of the essence so I'm writing this while tending to the worst of my injuries and while Lirin let's Father Peter know that we have to leave town. We'll be setting out for Kelvin's Cairne in the next half hour.
On the road to Targos
We tied up loose ends in Lonelywood - leaving Sarnar with Anthony and Russel, he probably wouldn't get a warm reception in Ten Towns - and made sure that Speaker Nimsy knew that the moose would no longer be a problem. We explained that the real culprits were the druid sisters and that Anthony had been made to act against the townsfolk, she knows that as long as they don't go after him he will live them alone.
Other than collecting our pay there wasn't really much else to do in Lonelywood so we headed back to Termalaine to try and find more work. Unfortunately there wasn't really much there but Speaker Masthew did mention that an expedition was being set up from Targos to Kelvin's Cairne. Baradin was interested in the kobold caves (and maybe finding out what had happened to Trex) and we had a few other potential leads on work in the area as well so we'll be heading out for Targos in the next hour or so; we could wait until the morning but I don't fancy spending time in Targos at night, if we make good time we should get there just as the sun is coming up.
The Moon and the Moose
We reached Lonelywood without incident and met with Speaker Nimsy. We explained that we'd performed some jobs for Speaker Masthew and were here to help with their wild animal issue. Nimsy explained that a white moose was attacking loggers and hunters in the woods, made a big deal about how it was destroying the livelihood of the town and offered us 100 gold if we could do something about it.
I was going to haggle her up a bit, not much we were obviously going to do the job anyway but I know I could have pushed her up to 110 or 120 without much effort. Before I could say anything, Baradin agreed to the job - I swear if I hadn't already got the promise of 100 gold out of her he'd have offered to do it for free. I get it. He's a good person he wants to help people. I'm all for that... But we need to make a living as well and for this kind of dangerous work it's entirely reasonable. More money means better equipment and resources which means we can help more people.
Anyway... We stopped in at a local tavern, the loggers there confirmed what Speaker Nimsy told us but weren't really able to offer much more useful information so we headed out to one of the main logging sites where we were able to find a trail and start following it into the woods.
We had the interesting experience of meeting a tiny nature spirit, maybe a foot tall and looked kind of like a straw doll. To be fair we met it because it was playfully throwing pine cones at us, it certainly seemed friendly enough when I started caught it and threw it back. We didn't share a language but we managed to communicate well enough that I asked it about the moose and it led us to an odd clearing that seemed to be some sort of religious site - I thanked them with a gift of three ball bearings and a demonstration of juggling and it seems they liked the gift because they gave me a wooden button.
Onto the moose...
Baradin confirmed there was a lot of magic influencing this site, so we carefully checked the area and found a few interesting things.
A large "moon" dial with symbols depicting the phases of the moon.
A fire pit on a plinth in the centre of a small circular structure.
A stone sarcophagus with five short engraved pillars nearby.
Took some experimentation but since the sarcophagus had a depiction of the fire pit on it and the pillars had depictions of a twig, a pinecone, a feather, a hand and a flame. We deduced that we needed to burn those things in the fire pit and Lirin bravely volunteered to reach her hand into it (wrapped in cloth just in case but fortunately the flame didn't burn her). That seemed to unlock the sarcophagus which contained the mummified remains of an elf, an undead elf named Sarnar*. Despite the propaganda about mummies this one seemed to be helpful, followed our instructions and provided a lot of information about the site. Including some details about the moon dial.
Taking a look at the moon dial properly we discovered part of the wall had collapsed (or been broken down) to lead into a crypt. Making sure Baradin stayed back in his clanking armour I did a little snooping and discovered the white moose (as well as a bunch of other animals) within. Lirin's familiar Tatters also scouted out the area. Since we had reason to think that this was smarter than your average moose I decided to try reaching out with my gifts and sure enough I was able to communicate with him psychically.
The moose was clearly hostile to humans but after some cautious conversation I was able to discover that it had been magically awakened by one of the Frost Maiden's worshippers and forced to serve under the threat of loosing that enhanced intelligence. Fortunately I remember reading about this very spell, a variation of it played a part in the cult's experiments to create intelligant undead. To create me. I'm not a wizard but I know it's not a spell that has a duration or even one that a caster can end at will.
I explained this to Anthony and convinced him that he was being used and manipulated by the Frost Maiden, and that the humans of Lonelywood were just doing what they needed to do to survive in the Frost Maiden's winter. Though I doubt he will ever be a great friend to the humans, I was able to sway Anthony and he agreed to let us deal with the druid, Ravisin. She was within the crypt, resting behind one of the moon doors - so we waited for the appropriate time to confront her and were able to take her out of action pretty quickly. Seems she had also awakened a shrub to keep with her as a portable source of berries, how very decadent. We assured Russel that we weren't going to hurt him and took him back out to Anthony.
Now secure in the knowledge that his intelligence was permanent, Anthony agreed to stop attacking the humans, he even agreed to show himself to Speaker Nimsy the next day as proof that the aggression had come to an end.
* I confess it is reassuring that Baradin didn't immediately try to smite the mummy. I don't like to stereotype but I've found it necessary to assume the worst for self preservation - he seemed far more at ease with the idea of "not-evil" undead than I had expected.
Trex's Tale
Back in Termalaine last night we checked in with Masthew and the miners, seems like the kobolds have been working out well. Though when we asked about Trex the other kobolds mentioned they hadn't seen him for a while.
Coincidence or not, on the way back to Eastside we stumbled across a dishevelled and desperate Trex in an alleyway. We got some food in him and managed to get him talking - he certainly wasn't the same Trex we met before, no longer eloquent he seemed much more like the other kobolds. The last thing he remembered was his clan being attacked by a yeti and them fleeing into the wilderness - so that bit of their story seems to be true at least; I'm guessing that Trex stumbled across someone or something in their travels.
Genies have lamps, do demons or devils live in satchels? Did he find it and end up getting possessed?
We got Trex back to the relative safety of his clan, they'll look after him and hopefully he'll settle into Termalaine like the others have. Then we went back to the alley and tried to follow some tracks - they were old but lead us to a house and then seemingly out of town to the East.
Too late to do anything else we headed to bed for the night.
This morning we explained the situation to Speaker Masthew , as best I can tell whatever was possessing Trex has upgraded to a militia member named Orin and left town. The trail is too old to follow but at least Masthew knows to be on guard if Orin returns.
And now we're just about to head out to Lonelywood where there are apparently rumours of wild animals being... well... more wild? Shouldn't take us more than an hour or so to get there.
Winter's End?
So our next job (and I use the term loosely, I'm pretty sure Baradin volunteered us for this) was to head out to a remote cabin and deliver supplies to one Macreadus, some sort of magical inventor who had been working on a way to end the unnatural winter.
Hiking off road was slow going but we made it to the cabin without incident... The cabin itself was another matter entirely though.
Built right on the edge of and partially overhanging a cliff - the walkway was in disrepair, windows were broken, the cabin looked like it had been abandoned for years and was ready to fall apart at any moment. We made our way into the cabin where we discovered the blackened skeletal remains of Macreadus clutching a strange spherical device.
Despite the fact that the cabin was clearly in a poor state Baradin thought it would be a good idea to stomp across the room clad in his heavy armour and ignoring our attempts to stop him; he almost fell to his death through some dilapidated floor boards but that clearly wasn't enough to dissuade him so he proceeded to pick up the device - the one being held by a charred skeleton. Imagine our great surprise when the device immediately began to glow and give off heat. Fortunately Baradin had the sense to drop the thing and even more fortunately that was enough to halt it's activation.
Given a bit more time to investigate the place safely we were able to find notes and blueprints that let us piece together the situation... Macreadus and Copper had been working together on a device which they thought would be enough to end whatever magical influence had been extending winter indefinitely. We also discovered that Macreadus' spirit seemed to be bound to the cabin, he was able to communicate with us by moving a ball bearing - at least enough to answer simple questions and confirm our suspicions.
At his urging we decided to complete the device. Baradin made himself useful by forging a third ring, enough to stabilise the energy involved and Lirin was able to safely activate the device. Sure enough it improved the weather to just a normal level of cold rather than magically arctic. That seemed to be enough for Macreadus to pass on.
We headed out pretty quickly but not quickly enough, some sort of ghostly creature along with some ice mephits attacked us - presumably sent by Auril in response to the acivation of the device. We were able to defeat them but it seems she doesn't like people interfering with her winter.
We've travelled a bit further south since then and it seems the effect is unfortunately localised to within a few miles of the cabin, in hindsight it may have been better if we'd activated the device somewhere closer to civilisation. Maybe more devices like this or bigger versions could be used though?
Unusual Kobolds
Well the mines are cleared though the circumstances are still a little unusual.
We encountered a group of giant feral rats, Baradin killed one of them and the others retreated, they don't really qualify as monsters and I suspect they simply stay out of the way and aren't an issue when the miners are active. Seems like they've expanded their territory a bit since the miners left and we encroached on it. Of bigger concern was the Grell on the second level of the mines, clearly it had fed on at least one kobold and perhaps also the miner that went missing before the kobolds arrived. It tried to add Lirin to it's diet but we were able to dispatch it without too much trouble. Interesting paralytic venom, I tried to harvest some of it but it seems like it looses potency quickly when the creature's death - I wasn't able to gather a viable sample.
Now onto the actual monsters we were being paid to deal with. We did have to eliminate two of the kobolds when they ambushed us but when we found their leader Trex he immediately surrendered, begged forgiveness and claimed that the whole thing was a misunderstanding. Trex acted very strangely for a kobold - he spoke common very eloquently and seemed surprisingly well educated, he was also very protective of a herb pouch (though I took a look and it did seem like just mundane herbs). Despite the suspicious behaviour the kobolds all legitimately seemed like they were just trying to survive after a yeti attack had driven them from their home; they were willing to work so we agreed to take them to town and present them to Speaker Masthew who would decide if they could join the town or if they needed to move on elsewhere.
Before leaving the mine I did check one last chamber - within it was a partially excavated skull. I'm by no means an expert on skulls but it clearly wasn't human, elf, dwarf or any other race I am familiar with, the eye sockets were oversized and the cranium was elongated. It was unique enough that I decided to see if I could loosen it to show to my companions, but as soon as I touched it the thing crumbled to dust revealing a strange purple gemstone.*
So we got the kobolds back to Termalaine and discussed the matter with Speaker Masthew, we forewarned him about the odd behaviour of Trex but he was willing to give the kobold's a chance to prove themselves.
I feel we out did ourselves on this job - dealt with a Grell and not only did we remover the 'problem' of the kobolds but we turned them into a benefit for the town (hopefully)... Still, we agreed on fifty gold and it's much harder to haggle the price up after the fact.
Back at the Eastside now after a stop at the Blue Clam, Vernon's gumbo may not be on par with Ma's but whatever he puts in his rum really gives it a great taste, I should pick some up before we head out of town.
* I had an opportunity to attune to the gemstone and it seemed to act as some sort of psychic beacon. There's some sort of cry for help coming from miles to the south - might be worth investigating.
Minor Miner Misfortune
Glad to be out of Targos, Termalaine seems like a much friendlier place in general but not without it's own fair share of troubles.
When we reached the market square in town we encountered a kid named Darmo acting as a town crier - super helpful kid that gave us a bunch of information...
Torg's hadn't been in town for over a month, seems like they must've gone to Bremen or left the roads entirely.
The local mine had been shut down due to an outbreak of monsters, Speaker Masthew was offering a reward.
Lodging could be found at a place called Eastside - shockingly enough on the east side of town.
Since Torg's was nowhere to be found the priority became dealing with the situation at the mine to earn a little money. Speaker Masthew clarified that the monsters in question were a group of kobold that had driven off the miners, he offered us fifty gold if we could clear the mines. He also mentioned some issues with the local militia and when pressed he shared his suspicions that Skath might be bribing or maybe threatening some of the miliitia - nothing overt just not really following orders and generally making Masthew's job more difficult. One more reason we need to deal with Skath when we can.
It was too late to practically head out to the mines so we stopped by the Blue Clam (decent gumbo but nothing on Ma's) and confirmed some of the details before heading here to acquire lodgings (odd place, houses connected by tunnels).
Off to the mine in the morning!
A wretched hive of scum and villainy
What is it with these sacrifices? Not only are there lotteries to decide who gets sacrificed to a clearly uncaring deity but it turns out those lotteries are rigged and people that try to avoid it are being hunted down by a serial killer?
Captain of the guard is a position that is supposed to be about ensuring the safety and security of the people. Now I confess to not being the most selfless of people in the world but this Skath person is vile filth; he openly brags about fixing the lottery as a way to earn money and eliminate his rivals or the rivals of the people that are paying him. Whether or not he's a part of this Zhentarim criminal network that Baradin was talking about he has more than earned death for his crimes along with the serial killer.
I'm glad we're not hanging around in town long but I'm sure we'll be back, if nothing else when I'm not on a pressing job I need to spend some time searching and asking around about anyone that could match the description of them.
Side note... What about the mayor he must at least have sanctioned the lottery and presumably Skath reports to him - is he in on the fixing?
Side side note... Ma seemed nice and her gumbo was great, guess we'll see what the Blue Clam in Termalaine is like but I doubt it compares.
Sacrifices?
This serial killer that we're looking into... Hlin mentioned they may be killing people that had fled the lotteries, lotteries used to determine who would be sacrificed to the Frostmaiden. These sacrifices are meant to appease her and bring an end to the eternal winter but there have been sacrifices to her before.
I was a child. Not even a teenager. My mother was a chieftain. She tried to kill me, she threw me into the Sea of Moving Ice to either freeze or drown. A sacrifice to Auril the Frostmaiden. I should have died but I was saved by a bear, no, a goliath that walked as a bear. Oyaminartok.
I'm sure somewhere in her twisted mind she was in the right but how can anyone good try to murder their own child? What if my daughter lives in one of the towns that sacrifices people? I would watch the world freeze to death and die a thousand deaths myself before I would willingly let harm come to her. Bjornhilder of the Tiger is not my mother, she is a monster just like Auril.
Where are they?
The innkeep in this place doesn't know me very well and was trying to sell me some expensive new drink he's had shipped in from a place called Good Mead, I told him I just wanted his cheapest drink but he started explaining all about how he'd been trying to get his brother Scramsax to send some down from Ten Towns for months.
Ten Towns. I don't know how I've not stumbled across the name before but as soon as I it - well it struck a nerve and I spent far more than I wanted buying more and more of this stupid mead just to get the innkeep to tell me more about the place. Bryn Shander. Kelvin's Cairne. The Sea of Moving Ice. I've never heard of these places before and yet I knew the names before he spoke them. I'm from Icewind Dale and more importantly so are my family.
Part of the reason he was so excited about the mead is that he wasn't sure the shipment would get through before the pass was blocked. Apparently sometimes in the worst winters it can be impassible for a few weeks at a time so I''ve quit the job I had with the caravan and spent the spent the last of my coin on some winter gear and snow shoes, I even had to sell some of the equipment and supplies I've built up.
I'm setting out for Icewind Dale in the morning.
Who are they?
The same two faces again. I don't know their names but I keep seeing them and I know they matter to me.
The first... She wears a ring that matches mine. My wife? I don't know her name, her features are unclear and yet every time I see her my heart skips a beat. Or rather it would if it was still beating.
The second is a child. I remember a snowball fight in the winter. I remember teaching her to ice skate. I remember after much nagging, eventually teaching her to use a crossbow... I think I got yelled at for that.
I remember the three of us warming around the fire at night.
I remember a home and a family.
Year 1
It's strange, I remember language, my general knowledge is pretty good and I even have a passing familiarity of history and religion. Also I have... I guess you'd call it a personality? I'm not some sort of mindless automaton, I can have a friendly conversation and enjoy a bad joke. Obviously I learnt these things and developed these traits somewhere but when I try to place it I can't remember anything clearly - sometimes I draw a complete blank sometimes it's just a muddled blur. Like something from a distant dream, except I don't sleep.
I've been travelling around for a while now. I didn't really keep track properly at first but at a guess I'd say it's been a little over year now. Aside from needing to conceal some of my more obvious abnormalities I've been able to get by without much difficulty; I can't say that people are exactly at ease around me but that's likely the usual unease that a strange scarred individual would cause when passing through villages.
Odd jobs have kept me going, I've found I don't really need to eat or drink but I still need accommodation and if I sit around in a bar trying to find a job - well I get funny looks if I don't drink anything. So yeah, sometimes I act as an extra paid of hands for a caravan traveling to another village, sometimes I help to track down criminals or missing people - whatever earns me some coin.
A few other freelancers have recommended the city of Luskan as a place to get higher paying and more regular work but some part of me knows that it's not a safe place for me. Neverwinter was mentioned as well but that feels like the wrong direction. These mountains are oddly familiar, I think I can remember them from before I died but they don't look quite right?
Who am I?
I remember the brethren talking about how my self awareness made me a more capable servant than their other animates; that I could use initiative and problem solve rather than just blindly following exact instructions. They referred to me as Shest, I think it was in reference to the number tattooed on my wrist - apparently the cult had tried to create some sort of "smart undead" before with varying degrees of success. The one that I served insisted that it was safe, that I was safe. He said that although I could reason I was... disparate? piecemeal? fragmented? That there wasn't enough memory or personality left to exert any individuality or independence. They believed him but they were wrong.
It took a while, I couldn't really understand time then, but there was more of me left intact than they realised. Eventually my fragments came together and I was able to think for myself. I think I was some sort of enforcer or assassin for them but everything is sort of a blur. When I started to speak, started to question... Well they weren't too happy. They decided to kill me, no, kill isn't the word they used because that would've meant they thought of me as alive. They decided to unmake me and then reuse my parts.
I acted in self defence and now I am free - but there are still so many questions... What am I? Who am I?