In Search of Uttercold, Part 2

General Summary

Having found power in the cold Alastari sought out a rumored Frost Mage who could aid him in increasing that power. Over a glass of spiked lemonade at the Flame of the Forest Inn, Alastari and his companions learned of a rumor that spoke of such a mage, last seen by the citiznes of Snowfall. With the help of Nightfall's shadow powers, the group traveled north to the village of Snowfall. There they met up once again with Fiske who introduced them to old woman Beverly de Bolbec. Chatty as ever, Beverly de Bolbec told them story after story, hardly taking a breath, before finally getting around to speaking of a sorceress of the cold who had been kidnapped by pirates. As the story goes, the pirates headed directly north and once they reached land were accosted by frost giants. The pirates, and the mage, were either slain or kidnapped for supper. No one really knows which.
Determined to find out for themselves, the party once again relied on Nightfall's skills to travel north from Snowfall, headed out into The Frozen Depths. After about a day's travel they made land. This land was just as bitter cold as Snowfall but seemed much more barren. Unsure of where to go from here, the party pooled their collective knowledge of frost giants and used a locate object spell to seek out a greataxe, the typical weapon of choice for a frost giant. Flying around in a phantom chariot, the party eventually came upon a greataxe buried in the snow. What was not immediately apparent is that the greataxe was being held by a frost giant whom, along with several friends, were waiting in ambush under the snow. Nightfall was the only one able to avoid capture and secretly followed along as the rest of the party were dragged by to the cave of the frost giants.
Upon returning to consciousness, the party (with the exception of Nightfall who was hiding in the shadows) found themselves in a rather cozy little room in the cave. Curious about their travels and why they would be so far north was a woman with deep blue skin, stark white hair, and bright blue eyes like frozen glass. She introduced herself as Fayeth Fairie and offered them food and drink.
Learning that she was the one they sought, Alastari requested to be trained by her. This resulted in unexpected laughter as she informed them all that they were here as food and wouldn't last long enough for her to train any of them. Rufus piped up and threatened to slain all the giants with his mighty goblin fists. This again produced laughter from Fayeth who clearly didn't believe they posed any threat. A shadow tentacle spell from Nightfall grabbled her from below as Nightfall revealed herself. Threats increased all around as Fayeth called out for help, large footfalls indicating the approach of a fellow frost giant.
Caught by surprise the frost giant didn't stand much of a chance. Between Covak's quick attack and Rufus's mighty fists, the giant was slain with little effort. This changed Fayeth's demeanor and she offered to cut a deal. Nightfall released her and they all sat down to discuss terms. Fayeth explain that the tribe jarl, their chief, was headed out on a hunting party the next morning. It would be of great benefit to her if he did not return. If Alastari and his companions could see this done, Fayeth would share her knowledge of the cold with him.
After some short deliberation, the party agreed and Fayeth showed them to a secret tunnel out of the cave. The party headed to the locatation Fayeth described, set up camp, and rested for the night. Early the next morning, they set up their ambush and waited for the jarl to arrive. An odd grayish snow began to fall. At first, the party was suspicious that it might be ash from the volcanoes they had seen to the west. Soon, however, they learned this was rustsnow, as it began to eat away at any exposed metal. Quickly, the party took protective measures and no items were ruined. They took care where they stepped from that point on.
The jarl eventually arrived with an adolescent, who was not very good at rock throwing. In the midst of the frost giant's bickering, the party attacked. Not unlike before, the frost giants were easy work for them. Once dead, the jarl's beard was removed and his bag looted. The beard and a necklace were brought back to Fayeth as proof of their accomplished task. Satisfied, Fayeth gave Alastari a book of lore, detailing the power of the cold and those who have learned to harness it. She then instructed him that to realize his full potential he needed to fully open himself to the cold. Let the cold permeate his very being. Become one with the cold.
Determined to do just that, Alastari spent the next night sitting out in a blizzard while his friends relaxed nearby in the shelter of their tent. It was a long night for Alastari as the cold zapped him of his life energy. Frostbite and hypothermia easily settling in. A wand of cure wounds was the only protection he allowed himself to have. And even then, he chose to use it only to remain alive. The next morning, the snow had abated, and his companions woke to find Alastari to be much the same except that his skin was a deeper hue, icicles seemed to grow from his head like hair, and his eyes blasted a chill through anyone who caught a glimpse of them. He had done what he set out to do - become one with the cold.

Rewards Granted

Loot:
Coin: 333gp
[6,155 gp] +1 rallying buckler
[5150 gp] elven chain
[4500 gp] wand of whispering wind
[750gp] potion of nondetection (CL 3)
[700 gp] arcane scroll of arcane eye (CL 7)
[300 gp] potion of ablative barrier (CL 3)
[300 gp] potion of spider climb (CL 3)

Experience:
Covak(ECL 10): 2000 XP= 375 (Chatty Old Woman) + 125 (Suspiciously Civil Winter Wolf) + 250 (I don't like it when people laugh in my face) + 500 (Frost Giant) + 750 (Ambush)
Nightfall(ELC 9): 2645 XP= 450 + 169 + 338 + 675 + 1013
Alastari (ECL 8): 3400 XP= 600 + 200 + 400 + 900 + 1300
Rufus(ECL 7): 4201 XP= 788 + 263 + 525 + 1050 + 1575

Report Date

29 Apr 2022

Secondary Location

Everfrost

Related Characters

• Alastari
• Covak
• Nightfall
• Rufus

Dungeon Master

Runa(ECL 13): 5850xp/7500gp/5dt