Session 69 - Nice

25 Sviftmont 1010 - 5 Eirmont 1010

General Summary

The party, in Mirros, prepares for the King's birthday celebration that they have been invited to. They ensure their wardrobe is appropriate, and also take the time in town to do a little shopping at the magic shops, returning to The Three Gold Rings. Here, Stavos trades in his Ring of Fire Resistance (and some gold) for another magic ring - a Ring of Warmth. Seraphina's eye catches on a beautifully crafted amulet of the Tree of Life, the symbol of Ilsundal the Wise. When she learns of its magic features, which align so perfectly with her own ideals, she, with some funding support from Tork, purchases this Amulet of The Devout.
A couple days later, on the night of the event, the party arrives in their shiny digs, and are pleasantly surprised at the number of people they recognize. Alexius Korrigan of course is attending, as well as the King's children, grandchildren, various ministers, and ambassadors from other states, as well as the state-in-exile of Alfheim. The party is pleasantly surprised to see Sascia of Luln there, as well Sascia's sister, Yolanda, who is there with a retinue of entertainers. They even spot Laurelis stationed there among the King's Guard.
The party talks to several attendees over the course of the evening, including discussions about the new-fangled paper/magic credit system, first introduced in Darokin, with the Minister of Finance (Lord Valdo Tisza) and the Minister of Trade (Lord Bartran Cordelius). They talk to Alexius about the situation in the Black Eagle Barony again, trying to understand more of what the main issues are. He explains that Milo has a heart of gold, but his head may be just as dense. In principle, he isn't doing too badly, but there are so many different problems demanding his attention that things are not resolving quickly or efficiently and, possibly, he is being taken advantage of in some ways.
They see Sascia coming away from an audience with the king looking a bit out of sorts. They say their hellos, and ask her if she is okay. It turns out that the king apologized to her for all the troubles associated with the Barony. She had brought complaints to the king for many years about the Black Eagle Barony, and was not believed. however, she does not know that the King saw the evils of the Barony and learned the truth of her accusations first-hand. Regardless, she clearly is getting a better impression of the King.
When it is their turn to see the King, they wish him a happy birthday, but also ask him his impression of how things are going in Halag. He politely recounts a similar line of thought to Alexius, that Milo is perhaps in over his head, but that hopefully he will rise to the occasion. They get the impression that they should probably stop in Halag to see if they can help to resolve some issues, though this will need to wait until after their trip to the mountains to explore the mysterious group behind the giant's invasion of the Cruth Lowlands. More troubling, they learn that the Black Eagle Baron himself has disappeared, reportedly at the beginning of his execution by the Hin; sentenced to death by stoning, he disappeared when the first stone struck. Unfortunately, scrying and other means have not yet revealed the Baron's whereabouts - the party pledges to help in any way they can, which the king thanks them for.
After the birthday party is finished, the party begins their preparation to go into the mountains in winter months. The next morning, the last of their winter gear together, they use Elincia's Wind Walk spell to get them to the foothills. With the fierce winds in the mountains, they will proceed on foot.
Their preparation pays off, as, after their first day of travel, they find a nice safehouse (though a bit tiny, as it seems designed for Hin). Leo finds the space comfortable though. Here they are able to take a long, and refreshing rest - something the were afraid they would not get among the frigid peaks. The next night they make use of Leo's Tiny Hut, but their rest is barely adequate with howling winds rushing around the hut all through the night. On the third night they round a narrow bend, finding a bridge crossing a small chasm cut by a frigid stream, with a snow and ice-covered Troll blocking the passage. He asks for an extortionate 50 gold per person to cross the bridge, with two more icy Troll friends backing him. After a short discussion, the party decides they do not feel this Troll-Toll is good for the kingdom and draw weapons, sparking a fight.
Elincia brings forth her Draconic Spirit in fire-breathing form. Leo casts his new spell as well, Spirit Shroud, and the Trolls quickly engage the party. One leaps across the gorge, closing the gap with Seraphina, Elincia, and Leo. These Trolls have a deep cold emanating from them - being near them saps the heat from your body. Stavos faces the third Troll, Tork engages the one on the Bridge, while Seraphina guards the others against the one who leapt across. Elincia's dragon swoops to aid Tork against the bridge Troll, and between them it is the first to be defeated. Leo is able to push the two on this side of the bridge into the river below with his Eldritch Blast, effectively removing them from the combat long enough for the party to focus on them individually. Apparently not everyone remembers the first time they faced a Troll, as Tork takes out the second troll (having dropped down after it in pursuit), but nobody applies fire damage to prevent it from getting right back up. Finally Leo drops Sacred Flame on the Troll, to finish it off, but Tork took some beatings even with the benefit of his Rage. Elincia drops the last fleeing troll, and fire is applied to prevent him from returning as well.
The party recovers, eating some Goodberries to tide them over; Tork as usual eating a stupendous amount of these berries, always seemingly hungry. Continuing on for some hours they believe they are nearing their final destination. Trekking ever higher, they find their path leading up a glacier, but they spy a cave nearby that they will make camp at before this next leg of their journey. .

Character(s) interacted with

Stefan Karameikos 
Sascia of Luln 
Alexius Korrigan

Report Date

16 Dec 2022

Secondary Location

Mirros