Codename: Sleeping Alley, Report the Fifteenth

General Summary

We met the Alley Sleepers in the drumming chute of danger, spending some time regrouping after a rather intense tenday in Pullkirk.

Downtime

Aletha of the Flintclaw decided to use her time to get pretty good with the newly stolen rifles, increasing her skill with the weapon to at least proficient. Just don't ask her to make ammunition or repair the things, at least not yet. Hama vu Farlight, perhaps leaning fully into his newfound career as a dryad dealer, got his garden fully on, tending to his crops and preparing for the cold season. He also spent many nights under the stars, looking to the Cloakbearers for guidance. Rieta wrote a impassioned missive to her monastic order, informing them that the time has come for all of them to choose a side, that the threat of the Alerki Ascendency is real and neutrality in the face of this threat is worse than a myth, it is cowardice. Damn! Which side are you on, fools? Grex the Indomitable, meanwhile, ever the burgeoning capitalist, engaged in some guerilla marketing, spreading the good word of The Ivory Bee honey far and wide.
During all of this, Svo'Kool was nowhere to be found, having left in the middle of the night sometime, presumedly to tend to business with The Worm. He did leave everyone a nice copper friendship bracelet, though, so that's something.

Prophetic Dreams

By then, it was the first of Vision, and, as it sometimes customary on this day, our heroes received unsettling visions couched in dreams.

• Rieta saw herself seated at a well-worm cartographer's table, working on a map of the far north. She is using ornate calligraphy to write the name of a lake above the body of water, but as soon as she finishes, the ink fades and she finds she cannot remember the name she was writing. 
• Aletha found herself hiking through the familiar mountain passes of The Break. In the sky above, she witnesses a lone artic eagle, searching for prey. Straining her sight, Aletha could just barely make out the eagle's head. It was missing its eyes. It seemed to regard Aletha for a moment, then turned and headed due north. 
• Grex saw himself wandering through his "other" plane, this time bitterly cold. He moved unsteadily forward through a blinding wind. As he walked, he heard the tell-tale sign of crunching ice below his feet. As he fell, he awoke. The orb he carries is now swirling white, opaque as ever.
• Hama's vison was of The Icehost, unmistakable and indelible. But he saw a part of it unfamiliar to him, a giant frozen lake. He saw himself with his friends, his comrades in Sleeping Alley, and there was another, someone he didn't recognize but that he felt that he knew. Five figures working together, both for and against and somehow with the ice itself. He couldn't tell if he was bringing something forward, or trying to stop its arrival, but something is coming. Something is rising. And then it all went white, and he heard that same dream voice--hard and soft at the same time, deeply resonate but somehow fragile as a whisper--"You've found strength in the stars. And in people. But there are others that need your strength. Other places. Seek the Brightstep.

Whew! That's a lot! Hama and Rieta spent some time trying to figure this all out and one thing seemed remarkably clear--our adventurers are heading to The Icehost. Where, exactly, is undefined as of yet, but it is time to venture north. Grex would have agreed with this plan but, as is his wont, he blinked out to his "other" plane for a minute. 

To the Icehost

The question became, then, how to do this. Clearly, with all the Ascendency activity all around Skint Parish, discretion must be involved. It was decided that it might be easiest to take the boat, newly named The Cartographer's Quill, up the Pimeweld and into Taernsby , a city just outside of Skint Parish that has a road through The Break. 
To do this, however, will mean going through the harbor of Riverskint, which could be dicey. Luckily, some quick thinking on the part of our heroes involved a fog cloud, conjured rough water, Rieta turning blue, and some convenient and believable lies about heading north to fish enabled them to navigate the Ascendency blockade without too much effort. 
The journey to Taernsby was mostly peaceful, enabling a conversation about spirituality, free will, and the gods between Aletha, Rieta, and Hama. Deep!
Right before pulling into the town of Taernsby, however, that idyll was interrupted by the heinous presence of an angry naga and its sahuagin pirate companions. Luckily, Grex blinked back in at the start of this battle. The combined might of the Icehost Expedition brought these foes low. A quick disguise kit improvisation from Grex, along with Hama's spider transformation and Rieta's use of Reg's pocketwatch to vanish, enabled our adventurers to dock at the town in the guise of a humble merchant (Grex) and his formidable body guard (Aletha). 
This was enough to get them through town (but not before Aletha grabbed some Tinker's Tools to tinker with) and meet up with Hama and Rieta to make their way through The Break. 
Thanks to experience and skillful navigation, the journey through the mountains was unceremonious, and featured the discovery of a tree adorned with undergarments and also a definitely magical frozen scarf.

vu Farlight and Brightstep

Hama determined that the best way to figure out how to find this frozen lake would be to ask people who might know--namely his home clan. Luckily, they were able to find them at one of their nomadic camps and a joyful reunion was had. Deeply impressed with both the development of his abilities as a Bridgewalker  and his continued visions, Hama's mother--the formidable Emva vu Farlight--determined that Hama must see this through. It is clear that there is a plan for him that takes him away from home--he must follow that plan. So, the next day, armed with knowledge of this lake (and with a sweet "bath potion," gained through the bartering of honey), our explorers set out to confront their visions.
A day's walk led them to the lake, and to combat. They discovered a lone centaur fending off her camp from three rapacious orcs. Far from helpless, though, this centaur druid exuded power. Our gang, after assisting her in securing her camp, discovered that this was Brightstep. That night, over a campfire, they shared stories. 
Hama, now calling himself Hama vu Alley Sleeper, told their tale. Brightstep reciporated in turn, telling the Sleepers of the destruction of her clan by the Ascendency--through the plausible deniability of hired mercenaries--and her own failure as a Bridgewalker, resulting in her abdication of both her name and the title. Visions, however, led her to this lake. And to the undertaking at hand. There is something buried here--perhaps an ancient sledgewain--and it must come to the surface. With that, however, there might be other things that surface, too, and she'll need the protection of the Sleepers as she undergoes the ritual. There is considerable risk here, yes, but, in the works of Brightstep, "not everything is meant to stay buried."

And that's where we left it. We'll see what comes through the ice during our next session.

Rewards Granted

Aletha gained proficiency with firearms
A magical frozen scarf
A "Bath Potion"

Character(s) interacted with

Brightstep, an enigmatic erstwhile Bridgewalker

Report Date

03 Jan 2021

Primary Location

The Icehost

Secondary Location

Taernsby