Staying in the back of the group Mal just rolls her eyes at the superstitious nature of the townsfolk. Wonderful a town full of zealots, just what we need.

Kari shivers a bit thinking of the cold and dark town. I suppose it's a good thing some people can see a bit in the dark. We won't get in trouble for having that lantern on the sled when we came in will we? She looks around and listens for sounds of trouble.

Perception 15

Badger scoffs at the ridiculous superstition and continues to shiver as he sarcastically retorts: And how is that working out for them? The Ice Maiden is clearly favouring the town with balmy sunshine over all the others? Still, it's not like a clever and resourceful gnome can't circumvent the rules as needed. A Darkness spell cast around a fire would still allow heat... until Badger realises he never ended up scribing that one. He could enchant up to a dozen townsfolk not to oppose a fire... but would that be enough? He could turn himself into a furry creature... but that wouldn't last the night. Finally he decides that if the cold becomes too unbearable, he will simply conjure the small comfortable dome they've used in the past. Well then, he says to his companions, let's hope the hospitality at least is warm and bright...

"They huddle together," Kurik says matter-of-factly.  He then looks up and at anyone looking at him.  "To survive the night.  They huddle together.  With no fire, no other heat, you use gather as many as ya can and stay warm together."  He shrugs, "Common thing among my people.  Though we don't do it to appease some god."

Lanna shrugs apologetically to the group as they complain about the towns rituals. "Well, the lantern woulda been a problem, but...you got a couple hours 'fore lights out, so yer ok. And...people are scared. When people get scared, they do weird things. Anyway, I'll take care of yer animals for ya." 

Leaving your mounts behind, only Badger takes the time to pull on hat, pull up his scarve, and slip on gloves before heading out into the cold. Kari doesn't bother with much of that, her skin cool and numb and totally unbothered by the cold. Kurik, having no magical resistance, but just a hardy body used to the cold, figures he can cross a street or two without the whole bundling up, while Mal....Mal seems totally at ease in this frigid winter weather. 

You follow the dim magically lit lanterns through the town of buildings, their decorative carvings covered in frost and snow and hanging down from eaves or peaks and appearing like all manner of creatures. Down the street a ways you come to the Eastside. It appears to look like several individual houses clustered relatively close together. You walk on in, pulling the doors closed and stomping the snow off your boots from the short walk. As Badger unwraps, the group looks around.  You see the floor of the buildings are actually dug down a ways into the ground, and even deeper, steps lead down into passages that are under the ground and connect the buildings. A willowy teenage human girl is wiping down a table. It's quiet in here, with only a single other occupied table with a cluster of four patrons sitting around it.  They cast suspicious looks at the group.  The teenager looks up and smiles, "Oh, hello there. Welcome to the Eastview. We've got another hour and a half of light and cooking fire if you'd like some food, before we have to shut down. Rooms are cozy, even without the fire, extra fur and blankets." 

A boy, rather round looking, with his winter clothing off and piled up on a chair near the fire stands up and clears his throat, "Uh, hear ye, hear ye. Termalaine is under nightly curfew forbidding flames, fire, or light during the dark half of the night. Please cover up any magical flames, and put out other lights. Punishable by a jail time. Uuuuh."  He looks to the sky trying to remember something, "Um...in other news, the mine continues to be closed due to monsters. Speaker Masthew is offerin a reward to any who clear it out. The dwarves are lookin fer caravan guards to Lonelywood. And...lastly, Helka Jaggerath who runs the local supply store is lookin fer guards to escort her to the northern whalin' camps. Uh..thank you."  He sits back down with a huff. 

Badger grunts and signals with his hand that he does indeed want some food, and the hotter the better, but with him bundled up so thoroughly and dusted with fresh snow, the little gnome looks like little more than a snowball with a nose. The boy in the corner giggles briefly before clearing his throat and reciting his announcements. Once Badger has unwrapped enough to speak, he suggests: Guard duty sounds like easy money, especially since we are heading to Lonelywood anyway. And although I'm grateful to be out of the cold, I don't think it'll be much better indoors once the heat is extinguished. I'm tempted to spend the night checking the mines. At least the activity would keep us warm until morning when the hearths light back up again...

Shortly after, with a wave of his hand he calls the herald-boy over to their table, slips him a silver piece, and asks: Have you seen any wizardly types through here lately, my lad? Perhaps an elderly lady with kobold followers, or a white-skinned tiefling, or... a man in an old pointy hat?

Kari speaks up in case Badger wasn't clear. Yes, food and rooms for all of us please. Do you have any hot drinks as well? Mulled wine, or hot toddys, or anything like that? She pulls out some money to pay for it. When they are waiting at their table and Badger is talking to the herald boy, Kari looks and Mal and Kurik. Maybe it's not a good idea to offer some entertainment here, what do you think? I'm not sure how that would work, in the dark, maybe it would be too unusual for this area? Not like in Bryn Shander where entertainment was common.

Mal listens to the group, "I am not sure what is going on inside my head but I again agree with Badger here, we might want to look into the mine issue they seem to be having and then accept the offer for guard duty. We might earn some renown with the locals if we help with the mine, which might pay off at a later date if problems arise." She says as she taps her ring hand. "And since we are heading north anyway, might as well be on someone's else tab. Even though we already have transportation north, hiding in plain sight is always a good tactic."

Mal quiets down again and sinks back into her cloak when the proprietors come around though, not wanting to draw any focus attention to herself. She enjoys the hot meal and warm drinks that come her way.

When the gnome approaches the boy, he looks around as if seeking an escape....but then nervous stammers an answer...though...as he talks, it becomes obvious he's got a runaway mouth on him and just keeps going... "Uh...ya.  Actually. First there was this nice seeming lady. She was you know, an adult person, but, not old or anything, just, normal adult aged. And she wore these need glasses that had round rims. And she had this staff with her. And she had this really nice white winter weasel that was always sittin in her shoulder. Powerful wizards always have little pets. That's how you know they're the real deal. She was askin after things up north and headed to Revel's end, cause she heard there was ships there and she wanted to go into the sea of ice."  At Badger's blank look at the mention of Revels End, the boy adds, "Uh, Revels' end is a nasty prison full of evil folk. It's on the cliffs lookin over the sea up north. Anyway, then, a day later, this other woman showed up. She was older...like an old lady adult. And she had a white snowy owl that perched on her shoulder. So, you know SHE was the real deal too.  And she was askin after the first wizard. Was that helpful?"

The group gets room and board, and hot drinks arrive. They're simple, a bitter tea with a healthy shot of whisky in it, or not, depending on tastes...but they're warm and give you a nice feeling inside. You're constantly shot suspicious glances from the other table, but they don't seem interested in interacting with you. 

Are you going to get some sleep, or head to the mine?  You could probably spend another 4 or 5 hours away before truly being "tired". 

Badger is happy to wait until morning to investigate the mine. He will use his magic dome if it's gets too cold at night in the inn. As long as the dwarves are happy to wait a day or so for their escort. Are there any dwarves in the room?

(Will comment on wizards later)

There are no dwarves in the room. The boy lets you know that they'll likely wait a day or so to find an escort, and that they're staying elsewhere in town, though he doesn't know where.

You're a good lad. Very smart. Your mother must be so proud. How would you like another shiny silver coin? Badger flashes his best friendly-uncle-type smile while he pats the boy on the head, then digs out another silver coin and offers it to the boy while he retrieves his helm and slips it on. Now try to remember everything you can about those two wizards you mentioned...

Persuasion: 7 (just for fun)

If the boy agrees, Badger will Detect Thoughts to read any images of the two wizards, and also Encode Thoughts to make thought strand that he can study later. If the boy doesn't agree, well then Badger will read his thoughts anyway.

Later... Badger ruminates on the information, to the others if they are interested, or to himself if they aren't...   So the second wizard he mentioned with the owl familiar, that would be the one with the kobold followers. But the first one with the weasel... Copper didn't mention anyone like her. The fact that the owl-lady was looking for the weasel-lady suggests they are on similar business. Maybe the weasel-lady knows of Netheril artifacts in the Sea of Moving Ice, and the owl-lady is following her...

Something in Badger's eyes sets the boy on edge, and though he grabs the coin, he eyes Badger suspiciously.  "You are very suss man. I don't think I trust you very much."  

Badger ignores him and focus on the boys thoughts. The surface thoughts are all wrapped up in the gnome the boy is facing, along with his mom's face as she says, "And don't you trust strangers. If they're offerin you money for nothin, they're dangerous! Make sure you stay where Marta can see you!"  His eyes glances over to Marta behind the bar and he relaxes a bit. Badger digs deeper. 

Badger shuffles through the boys memories with ease, picking out a couple of images of the two wizards, and encodes those on a strand to examine further later. 

His memories and faded and weird...as memories often are, so this is what you get: 

His mom: 

The first wizard with round glasses: 

Her pet: 

The second wizard: 

Badger is confident now that he will recognise the two wizards (and the boy's mother) by sight, and keeps this information safely tucked away in one of the many recesses of his burrow-like mind. Resigned to spending a night in the cold, dark inn the wizard offers to share the interior of the magical dome with anyone that desires a more comfortable sleeping environment, and falls asleep contemplating what manner of monsters might be infesting the local mine...

After the rest, Badger will swap out Arcane Gate for Circle of Death.

Also, new day, new Portent rolls: 17, 9  (almost identical to the last ones)

Between Kari, Kurik, and Mal, none of them are currently bothered by the cold, and so the idea of a dark night in a cold room doesn't seem to bother anyone.  The group retires for the evening to their individual rooms, and soon after a horn call is heard being blown in the city streets to signify the curfew of warmth and light. 

Each of you gets your own room, as there seems to be plenty of space in Termelaine. The pretty wood carvings of the buildings here are present even within the rooms where door frames including crawling lizards, a glimpse of a deer, or wolves. The shutters that cover the iced over windows are engraved with vines, leaves, or a playful river otter. The beds likewise have carved frames and the blankets are knit with matching scenes of wildlife. However, in the cold and dark, much of the beauty is concealed. 

Mal moves into her room, placing her hand upon the door. Ice forms all along the door frame, freezing the handle locked shut and the door sealed closed. Fully secure she lays down on the bed and as is her way falls asleep abruptly. This night, she doesn't dream of waves of cold covering the world. Instead she dreams of a vast sea of ice. Belts of fog float between the massive icebergs that float lazily through the still and frigid waters. Then she emerges through a band of fog and before her is a vast island. Her view is from above, as if she were flying, and though the sky is dark, she can see perfectly as if it were day. The island is shaped like a massive twelve pointed snowflake. The ground in the center rises as a mountain, but the structure is entirely ice and the hill is shaped like a massive skull, ringed with a crown. Mal floats down, towards the huge doors that open in the skulls maw. Stairs, giant sized, lead up the mountain side, through the lightly blowing snow.  Through the doorway is a realm of ice and beauty. She floats through hallways and down vast spiral stairs carved from ice admiring massive ice statues that are incredibly life like.  Eventually she comes upon a being. The being has the face of an owl, with two twisted horns curling above its head. Its eyes glow a ruddy white blue. The creature has hands that are shaped with four claws rather than fingers. It's reaches out to Mal....seeking her embrace, "Come to me sister. Together....this world shall become ours....."  Mal feels....a great sense of....peace and relief flowing through her. Destiny fulfilled.

Badger, within his room, shoves the bed aside far enough so that he can create his dome. With the space cleared, he spends ten minutes performing the magical ritual with numb hands, and white plumed breath. It's with a sudden relief that the spell takes hold, a shimmering half dome forming above and around him, the air within slowly warming up until it feels almost a touch too warm to his cold face and hands.  He begins peeling off layers, the emotion of safety from the deathly cold around him settling in as a feeling of deep stress induced exhaustion. No longer feeling like the air itself wants him dead, he quickly settles down into an exhausted sleep, filled with thoughts of the perfect gnome home, with multi-colored glowing gems lighting a myriad of caves...some filled with tables of hot food, others with hot springs for bathing...and yet others open to the star sparkling sky and with ground layered in soft green moss that bounces beneath his step. 

Kari finds herself in the hotel room sitting on the bed. The troll heart has been a boon, and despite the strange numbness, she is not bothered one bit by the cold.  Still, not feeling so comfortable as to shed all her layers, she lays on the bed still in her clothes and after some time, her busy mind lets her drift off.  She dreams of the bar girl, Marta. The girl is walking through the dark snowy city streets. She sings a song, "Ahead of winter’s wind she came, The lovely woman with no name; Draped in a fur-lined cloak of red, To the icy lake she fled; The wind pursued her all the same, As sure as night she’s dead."  She glances up at Kari suddenly, who until now had been nothing more than a disembodied viewer..."the wind....it comes for you too....it comes now..."  There's a sudden sound of a stiff wind....the snow begins to pick up, and Kari feels a presence....a presence that she knows is hunting her. 

Kurik retires to his room. Practical, he reviews everything in the room. It will be a cold night, but with no wind it will be a simple thing to endure for a mountain folk such as him. He lays down his packs, his gear. Ensuring the door is locked he lays down and goes to sleep. His dreams are strange. He is in the Inn, and the four men there are glaring at him. They watch him with hungry, evil eyes...and he can't avoid them. Then suddenly his friends are gone and he's alone. The four are standing around his table. One of them grabs his face...and his grip is...incredibly strong....Kurik can't move his body suddenly, and is helpless in the mans grip. Another steps forward...and.....starts to gag...and then he gags more, and then vomits into his own mouth. But what spits out onto his mouth, instead of vomit, is a small slug like creature. The man grins, and as Kurik is locked in terror, unable to move, he lifts the thing forward and drops it onto Kurik's cheek. Kurik watches as the thing slimes its way up his cheek and into his mouth, crawling down his open maw as he's locked rigid and unable to move. Locked there in terror.....he feels, as the thing crawls down his throat until he can no longer feel it.  Kurik thrashes himself awake in the darkness.  His can taste a strange taste of fish in his mouth, which could just be his imagination. When he wipes his fae and cheek, he feels dampness, frosty and cold....though wether it is from watering eyes or drool he can't say.

The morning comes, too soon for some, and too slowly for others...but eventually you find yourselves in the warmth of the well lit Inn for a warm breakfast. You find yourselves alone except for Marta this morning. 

Nightmares were and have been a frequent thing since his time exploring away from his father.  More so where he collected some of his more exotic gear.  This dream though seemed much more real and precautions should be taken.  Before going down to join the others, he'd raise his hand up near his ear and think to his friend.  Worm?, do we have an uninvited guest?  With that he could almost feel a warmth within his mind as worm worked it's magic.

----

Using my earworm, I'll cast detect thoughts to try and see if there is another parasite within him.

Kari wakes up, feeling unsettled. She goes through her usual morning martial forms in her room, minus the glaive, then sits on the bed and thinks. She decides to get out her rune stones and holds them close for a moment, setting her intention. Then she dumps the pouch out on the bed and examines the results.

 Then she puts the runes away, gathers up her things, and makes her way to Badger's room where she knocks on the door. Are you awake yet? Can I come in? If there's no answer she will go to the common room to see about breakfast.

Kari's tosses the bones. The four spokes outwards, even marks up, the touching points. She figures it's a positive result. 

Kurik casts detect thoughts. Almost immediately he feels a tempest of dark thoughts and malice coming from within he gut. 

Kurik was taken aback.  He didn't expect to find anything but damned if something wasn't there.  Not knowing what it is but feeling the ill intent he set about doing his back up plan for of his own parasites needed to be removed.  Hoping it worked, he prepared for pain.

Dropping to his knees so he wouldn't have to fall to the later.  He placed his hand over his stomach, took some deep breaths and the summoned forth magic from his patron.

____

Casting remove curse upon himself.  Not sure if it would work with this thing but it is away to remove his current armor and earwig so worth a try.

Kurik prepares for some....discomfort....and casts remove curse on himself. He waits. Silence. Nothing. Then.....a stomach gurgle.  Then nothing.  He sighs. That didn't work.