"Well, that is good. Then I hope that our mutual needs will lead to a great deal of mutual benefit. As for our direction, I am happy to follow your lead to wherever you had decided to travel. Where are we going?"

Mordekai glances around, then adds "Do I need to acquire another...Axebeak, did I hear them called?"

A man walks up to Mordekai that is clearly the establishment owner and scratches his head, "Yeah, i gotz another Axebeak fer ya. Buuuut. He's a bit of a brute. Good luck with him. He's got a real nasty streak. His name is Banger. He's always smashin anything he can with that beak o' his. When he's in the stable, all ya hear all day and night is ...bang.......bang..bang............bang.  Anyway, 50 gold fer the bird, and another 35 for saddle and barding, fer a total of 85 gold please." 

Mordekai looks at Banger and decides to accept the challenge, but figures he might as well try to get some kind of danger-discount. "85 gold for the one most likely to try to rip my head off? Sounds like I'd be doing you a service by taking him. How about 50 gold and you'll be saving the rest on your stable maintenance costs?"

Edit: I'll save us all time by putting in the persuasion check rather than waiting to be asked to! 33

(Minimum 24, as Mordekai counts dice rolls of 9 or less as a 10 for both persuasion and deception)

Badger doesn't have the explosive reaction Mal is looking for by calling him a halfling. The gnome simply grunts and mutters under his breath. Mal frowns...her fun diffused. 

When Mordekai begins negotiating, Gatz takes on the pained look of a proprietor about to go out of business and who surely has 14 children at home with hungry mouths. And then the game is afoot. The group witnesses as this new travelling companion manages to grind down Gatz on his price for both the bird and the saddle and barding.  A short time later, they've settled on 65 gold, and it's clear from Gatz face that he feels he's lost this particular round. 

The group waits for Mordekai to get his fearsome bulky looking bird ready. Gatz seems less inclined to help Mordekai as he was the others, but a short time later everyone is ready. You lead the birds out of the south entrance and mount up.  The icy cold air bites at everyone, though Mordekai is quick to note that the large goliath warrior in his odd armor, as well as the lithe human woman don't seem particularly bothered by the cold. The gnome and the half-orc meanwhile are as bundled up as can be. 

As the group mounts up, the question still remains north to the prison, or south to Good Mead. Kurik pulls out a coin, flips it and says, "Heads to Good Mead. Tails, to the Prison."  He peeks under his hand at the coin, then reveals the coin showing Tails to everyone. "The prison it is." 

Mordekai glances around at this group that just consigned their fate to the flip of a coin. But, with all the goggles, and gloves, scarves and hoods, it's impossible to get much of a read on anyone. 

With the rest of the group taking frequent curious glances at their new companion, and his feathery bird that looks like he's just perpetually angry staring at anyone and everyone....you all trot your bounding mounts around the outside of the city, curving around until you reach the familiar road to the north.  The wind, ice, cold, and muffled voices from the face coverings makes conversation all but impossible except for your short stops.  The road leans west, and then you take the sharp eastward turn towards Termalaine. 

Eventually you begin to spot frozen wooded areas and then the road leads up to the south end of Termalaine.  The city is familiar to most of the group, aside from Mordekai who finds it picturesque, even in the dark, though with starlight and a snowy landscape there is plenty of light to see by.  Spreading out from the shore of Maer Dualdon and bordered on the north and west by tall frozen pines, the town's buildings incorporate carvings of wizards, homunculi, tigers, and smiling djinn. You ride into the unwalled city. It's been a six hour ride and your butts, legs, and arms are all sore from the unaccustomed motion of the Axe Beaks, or the very long stand on the sled chariot.

You find the old warehouse on the eastern edge of town with the sign over it reading "Stables".  You press open the doors and clamber in, stomping snow from your boots before quickly pulling off thick gloves, pulling down scarves and warm hats from your heads. Dogs begin barking as soon as you enter. The horse stalls seem half given over to dogs, the other half empty, and a few dog sleds sit to one side. Lanna comes walking out. She had fiery red hair and a mischeivous look in her eyes. She smiles at the group of you, "Oi then, you lot are just busy bees goin to an fro an to an fro aren't ya?  Alright, lets get the birds settled.  Hey there Debbie....yer my favorite..." she says as she begins pulling the Axebeaks away.

Next is the eastview, run by Marta. As the group enters Marta nods in her friendly care-free fashion, but Kari feels a cold wind blow on the back of her neck as she enters. Likewise, Kurik's stomach rumbles as he recalls his last stay at the place. It seems dry and warm. Marta checks a mechanical clock on the wall.  "Four hours 'fore we need to put out the lights and fires, what can I get ya?" 

The group settles at a table, pulling off scarves, hats, gloves, and undoing bulky jackets.  For the first time since he arrived, you get a good look at the Mordekai fellow who has decided to join you, and have a chance to actually speak without going through layers of fabric.  

(Please each of you describe yourselves.)

Kari starts pulling off her hood, loosening her scarf, opening her jacket and such. She has olive green skin, braided red hair that reaches the middle of her shoulder blades, hazel eyes, two small tusks poke out from her bottom lip, and her pointed ears have gold hoops in them. She looks uneasily over her shoulder for a moment before turning back to Marta, then smiles as she replies Have you got any whole fish? Or a lot of stew? Or anything with meat really. And whatever is hot to drink. This cold really seeps into your bones! She looks around the room for a table near the fire and heads over, taking a seat with her back as much to the wall as she can get, setting her pack down beside her and leaning her glaive against the wall. Her arm clunks as she sets it on the table, making you suspect that there is a bracer underneath the jacket.

Kurik frowns with a slight grumble as he recalls this place.  He figures he won't be getting any sleep tonight.  Even as he sits, Kurik towers over of the others in the room.  Once seated he removes his head wrapping and opens his coat slightly.  His skill is a dark grey, his head bald and dark lines ritualistic marks curve across his body.  His open coat shows the dark glossy black armor with reddish... muscles between that almost seems to pulsate.  "Anything that is hot will do for me.  And we'll want a room for the night if you got it."

Mal will again sit with her back against a wall so she can see as much of the room as she can, always watching. She declines to remove her hood and the only thing you can really see if you cloak closely enough is her ever present piercing blue eyes. Only other thing of note is you swear while riding the Axebeaks you saw Mal wearing Studded Leather armor but now that you are inside she is only wearing a dark blue cloak and then some nice looking but unremarkable dark hued clothes and she never had a chance to change. "More of the same my friend Kari here is ordering." You hear escape the depths of the cloak from Mal.

The stay in Termelaine is, this time, uneventful though a tad cold, as the party and their new escort leaves and continues on their way. They pass through Lonelywood early in the morning the next day and continue towards the black cabin. As the group nears the cabin, the snow becomes softer, the wind less severe, and the air almost warm. The area around the cabin shows signs of thawing somewhat, including snow and ice clogged streams that are once again flowing across the area. The black cabin remains as you left it. A crumbling ice covered structure perched on the edge of a crevice that cuts a deep groove through the tundra. 

You stay the night there, a pleasant enough stay, using the good stock of firewood.  The mounts seek shelter under the cabin as before and also do a lot of digging in the familiar spots nearby getting into the softer ground to dig up bugs.

The next day the group turns north and heads straight towards the sea of ice. You leave the defrosted area of the cabin only an hour into your travels the next morning, and return to the icy winds that relentlessly press against you. With the unending darkness, and only a few hours of dim light along the southern horizon each day, the trek is mostly in the dark. In the afternoon the northern sky is filled with glittering ribbons of light that dance mysteriously throughout the sky. Shades of blue green and pink shimmer in the air, you could imagine it as a glimpse of a glorious heaven above. As you consider stopping for the evening, you spot a dark spike in the distance.  As you press on it grows larger until you realize it must be the spike of rock at which sits Revel's End, the prison.  From the cliff faces of ice, you look down across the sea of ice and it's cracked ice covering that seems to shift and move in slow motion.  

You reach Revel's End by following the coast for 30 minutes. 

Badger looks to the group, "So...do we just walk up and ask to stay the night?"  

Kari looks at Badger. Does he seem taller than before?  She's been traveling in cold and dark too long, her eyes must be playing tricks on her.

(Not to hold the story up too much, but as we stay in the defrosted area, Mordekai will ask about it. "Is this thawing the result of something you all did?")

At the question, kurik stands up and calls out.  "Hey ghost, you still here?  Yes... No..."  If no response he will go to where he recalled the wine being stored and grab some for them all to drink.  "I'll make the long story short... Back in town looking for a way to end this winter we were directed here to talk with a guy trying to do the same.  He made something to warm this weather but made it wrong.  Blew up in his face and I mean bog boom.  Badger here looked at it and made it go boom as well but then fixed it up and got it working right.  We set it off and thing worked, warmed up the area a bit but range is limited.  Maybe, if we find the right stuff and Badger can tinker we could make some more but for now it was a one and done.  Oh and the dude that blew up, he was a ghost for a bit.  Think he's gone now."

Badger makes a 'huff' noise. Then speaks, his voice...unusually gravely, "Spirits are strange things. Their tie to this world often firm, but..tied to something significant only to them. That ghost had to see his final work done. Once it was so, he was free to depart."

With this new information, as they depart back into the ice towards Revel's End, Mordekai will embark on a fairly lengthy monologue.  You haven't heard him speak so fluently or so passionately before, but as he speaks about that glimmer of hope he's just seen, and how it proves that these bleak conditions can give way to the possibility of change and growth and life, and how this group have such potential to bring this change about if only they follow their instincts and stay true to their purpose...it's surprisingly inspiring.  Although the words he speaks are of the same kind that you might expect to find on an insincere, meaningless poster peddling the latest nonsense fad, the force of Mordekai's charisma and his well-practiced oratory fill the words with a truly uplifting power.

Everyone gains 17 temporary hit points as a result of Mordekai's Inspiring Leader feat.

Kari rolls her shoulders a couple of times, feeling heartier than she expected to after riding all this way. Well that was a noble speech, I'll have to try and remember some of that. I usually trust my instincts, or just ask my ancestors. She looks at the imposing structure as they approach. No reason we shouldn't just walk up. I can honestly say that I am looking for a warm meal and a place out of this blasted wind and cold! Maybe another warm night would help you, Badger. You seem to be coming down with a cold or something.

Perched on a high cliff overlooking the Sea of Moving Ice is the bleak stone fortress carved out of a gigantic, blade-shaped rock. The central tower looms above the rest of the fortress, and light leaks from its arrow slits. Four smaller towers rise from the outermost corners of the fortress, and guards can be seen atop them.

You reach the main doors to the south. Heavy iron banded things. Another oversized door can be seen beside it. Banging on the prison’s door results in the doors opening a moment later.  A prison guard stands there, a blade out in his hand.  Three others stand behind him casually holding crossbows. You see a 30-foot-long entry corridor behind him, with a door at the end, and one half way down on the right, both closed. 

The guards don't see surprised or to have much curiosity instead the one with the sword says, "Stable door to the right has been unlocked. Birds and sled go in there. Then come back, remove your gear, and we'll talk." 

The group does so, opening the other heavy door and gaining admittance to a stable. There are a few others AxeBeaks and one dog sled and numerous dogs barking from within some kennels. The group settles their animals.  Mordekai's Axebeak, Bonker, has seemed much less angry and upset then he was in Bryn Shander. He's also taken a bit of a "leadership" role with the other Axebeaks....and alpha if you will.  Bonker makes sure the other Axebeaks are stowed away before letting himself be led into a stall. The group the returns to the prison doo, bang on it, and are admitted once again under the watchful eye of the four guards. 

With the door finally shut and the cold kept away, the group is free to take off all of their winter gear, caked with ice and snow from their journey, and show their faces to the guards who wait patiently. 

When Badger removes his gear, it is clear he is both taller, and thinner than before, and his face has changed somewhat. His brown hair has grown considerably darker. The group looks at the gnome in confusion. He looks away from them, and leans casually against a wall, looking to the guards and waiting for someone to speak. 

The guards, not picking up on any confusion in the group, simply says, "Welcome to Revel's End. Who're you and why are ya here?"

Mordekai instinctively feels like he should be speaking up, but realises he doesn't fully know the answer to the question himself, so holds back a little and waits expectantly to hear the group's answer. 

Meanwhile, he mutters very quietly into his cloak, as if to himself, and in a low enough voice that even the group probably can't make it out, "Hmm, what do we think of this place? Are we getting closer to some kind of truth?"

Mal stares at Badger waiting for him to respond like he typically does in these situations. She is also studying him and wondering what is going on as something is clearly wrong. She will have to talk to Kari and Kurik later on tonight about what they should do. "Badger what was the name of the wizard we wee looking for here again, name see,s top have slipped my brain." Mal asks him.

Badger frowns towards Mal, then almost seems to sigh to himself, and frowns..thinking....shaking his head a bit to himself as if struggling to remember. 

Then he to the guards, "We don't know her name, but we're up here looking for a wizard from the Arcane Brotherhood. She's an older lady with white hair. She has a pet snow owl...also white." 

The guard looks scratches his head, "Yeah....I remember her. She was here a couple days ago. She booked a trip on the Arctic Prince. That's a ship. It ain't come back, but...you might want to check down by the docks. Folks waiting for a ship to come in can stay here, but we ain't no Inn.  You provide and cook your own food, and pay a room and board fee of 1 silver per person per night. If you don't have a ship passage you're waiting for, or other business here, then your stay is limited to 2 days." 

"Well... that is disappointment.  All this distance and she's up and gone before we get her.  Guess the only thing to do is like he suggests.  We start at the dock and determine our plan from there," Kurik says.  He turns towards the man, "Thank you for your assistance."

The group stops taking off all of their gear abruptly, and instead puts it all back on to go outside once more. You depart through the door and walk around a path that leads around the prison to the cliff sides, and then to the lift that leads down the cliffs. A guard in cold weather gear huddles in a small booth, and pulls a rope that leads down a pulley and down the elevator shaft. A ringing can be heard below. Then with a groan, the chains begin moving, gears rotating, and the elevator platform slowly grinds its way up the open air shaft to the top.  You all board and soon enough are descending, with an amazing view of the sea of fallen stars glittering in the starlight as the lift slowly lowers to the docks.  There is a dockhouse where the harbor master is huddled inside a well sealed building. You knock on the door and are admitted by a man in his 60's with white hair and a frail looking body. You huddle within where a coal fireplace fills the space with warmth. You once again begin pulling your gear off. 

Badger beats everyone to the punch with a muffled question as he unwraps himself, "North...no..Ice...uh...Arctic Prince, that's the one. Where'd it go, what can you tell us?" 

The old man raises two bushy white eyebrows, "You lot came all the way to Revel's End, on foot, then all the way down 'ere, to ask me 'bout a boat? Gee...must really be important to ya..." His bushy eyebrows bounce in his face expectantly as he says nothing more.

Mal sighs loudly, "Out with it old man, from the looks of you, there is not much more time left before we won't get any information from you." As she slaps down 5 gold pieces and then also shows him the array of weapons on her body.

"Tell us what you know." she insists.