Rime of the Frostmaiden - Adventure

Ellora would share with the others what she recalls about Caer-Dineval and it's current speaker as she helps out with setting up camp in town by the tavern, taking the watch needed and otherwise trying to sleep in her tent and her bedrolls and blankets, grateful to have a full rest before confonting new dangers. As earlier she would protect the camp with a magical threat warning before turning in.

(Ritually cast Alarm, Lucky Survival: 7 Lucky Perception: 16)
(Use heroic inspiration for Survival reroll: 14 )

Zuleikha nods in agreement as Ophelia speculates on the nature of the Speaker's illness. "A grave malady or something that wounds his pride so that he refuses to be seen? And if he is so cloistered away, how do the townsfolk remain certain that he even reigns? Could it not be that this illness is a veil over some other inconvenient truth?" She wonders aloud, before Ellora fills in further details.

Later on, the turbaned knight takes her turn on the watch, her tent propped up beside the inhospitable tavern the company were curtly dismissed from. As she wakes for her shift, the Calishite summons forth a creature so incongruous to the Frigid North that it might have stepped out of a fairy tale - small and resplendent, with the iridescent sweep of a peacock's plumage, the noble, keen-eyed head of a desert hound, and the curved claws of a lion poised in miniature majesty. Those sufficiently versed with rare beasts from the Calim Desert may know this as a simurgh. "This is my boon companion, my Sheherazade." She announces as the creature circles the camp, sniffing at the frozen ground and shivering its gaudy train. 

Perception: 13
CON save: (7, 5) ((OOC: Used a Luck point...))  

Ophelia's CON Save against Exhaustion at advantage (used Lucky):  13
Ophelia's Perception during her watch:  21

As Ophelia rouses from her elven trance for her watch, she gestures absently and mutters a word in Elvish to re-cast Mage Armor (expired 8 hours after her casting the previous morning) on herself, just before her jaw drops open when she catches sight of Sheherazade.

After her initial shock, nearly falling over backwards on her slender rump as she did when she first met Zuleikha, the she-elf beams in delight, clapping a hand to her mouth as a child might on her first visit to a great menagerie.  Her sing-song voice is a breathy whisper.

"Wondrous strange, yet as strangers should we give it welcome.
More things there are to be found in heaven and earth, truly
Than may ever be dreamt of in our mortal philosophy."

"While the situation with the local town speaker is indeed intriguing I would personally prefer we focus all our efforts on rescuing Garret and those with him before exploring that any further. It would seem the speaker isn't going anywhere and we can visit the Caer as soon as we have made sure Garret is not freezing to his death at Kelvin's Cairn." The young white-haired woman suggests to the others before turning in.

"Your boon companion? Is that like a familiarus?" Ellora says with great fascination and admiration as she watches the colourful magical creature hop around in the snow. "She is very pretty, brllliantly vibrant in the frigid white north, not unlike her mistress?" The white-haired woman continues with a warm smile. "But how impolite of me, I don't think I introduced you properly to Oculus." She adds after a moment, swiftly calling upon her familiar, a tiny snow owl that appears in her hands before flying off to play with it's much more colourful and quite distant cousin.

Marva rests well. (Con save 19)

Dvu keeps his watch and is very attentive, after their experience with the ice mephits he has his eyes out for anything strange, his ears are tuned to any difference in sound as they try to rest in the wind break of the building.  When it is his time to sleep, he curls up near the back of the chimney, but he doesn’t find much warmth radiated there, it is surprisingly better insulated than he thought.  He wakes up and bundles up in his cold weather gear, a slight shiver as he warms himself up.  “I think we should see what is going on in that castle before we make our way to the Cairn.  It would be nice to warm up and have some additional provisions before we go.  What is going on in this town?  Something seems off for sure..”

Perception : (Nat 20!) 25

Con save : 10

Drift tinkers with his little flying wonder during his watch, and observes the mist of his breath at it rises from the flap of his tent. The night is dark, but there is light here and there and as his eyes adjust he finds his mind tracing the lines and silhouettes of the house and the castle ahead of him

Con Save: 15

Perception, also 15. 

In the morning, for the first time, Drift finds himself slightly in discord with Dvu. He shares whatever his watch found and his study of the castle, and says,

”Not keen to be offered as a sacrifice to the frost crone again, that’s the feel I get from this place.”

Month: Hammer, Day: IX, Time: 0700

The day starts with the usual stirrings and groaning from the various tents and shelters. (Everybody has the benefits of a Long Rest). Dvu comments on the tracks of two caribou followed by an arctic wolf that he surmises came near the shelter during Marva's watch. Both Zuleikha and Dvu report more than the usual amount of morning aches and pains from poor sleep - both have 1 level of Exhaustion (minus 2 on all D20 rolls). Despite talking about it the night before, the group needs to decide whether to go to tavern, to the cairn, or to the road. 

Marva rises refreshed and bustles around quickly to pack up her tent and belongings. The cold always makes her increase movement for warmth. “Let’s at least go to the tavern to get a hot breakfast. Perhaps they have some baked potatoes!” She grins, and adds, “We can discuss whether to go to the castle or straight on to Kelvin’s Cairn while we warm up.”

Whether the discussion is in the tavern or on the road, Marva shares her opinions. “I agree with Ellora that we should get to Kelvin’s Cairn as quickly as we can. We don’t know what condition Garret and his group are in. Speed on our part might be the difference between life and death. And, like Drift, I’ve not been too impressed by our interactions with Speakers up to now. The only reason I’d argue to drop by the castle is to simply introduce ourselves to the Speaker, so he knows who we are and why we are in the area. I wonder if we had done that in Targos, been more upfront, if it would have made any difference there. Just a quick introduction, check to see if he has any information, and then get on our way. I’m willing to forgo that stop, however, if the group wishes to move on.”

At some point, if Sheherazade is still out and about, Marva exclaims in wonder, “What a marvelous beast! Dame Zuleikha, I must learn more about your country! It is too bad that the weather has made conversation during travel so difficult. I would love to learn what other delightful creatures make their home in Calisham.”

(Marva considers what she may have read about Calisham. History: 10)

"Yes, let's start with a hot breakfast and a roaring fireplace." Ellora quickly agrees with a grateful smile. She hadn't really changed her mind since last night but neither would she argue about it if their goliath guide thought it prudent to visit the speaker first. "I'll send Oculus up above castle to take a peek while we eat and warm up in the tavern." She adds, summoning her tiny snow owl familiar to scout out the residence of the town speaker and then report back on anything strange going on up there.

Perception: 18 Stealth: 25

Drift says little as he packs his things away. He doesn’t feel like his glass half-empty point of view is shared by the party, and he knows how a realist’s perspective is viewed when it’s the minority opinion. Marva’s enthusiasm for bringing themselves to the attention of this town’s speaker aside, breakfast and a warm fire do sound good. 

He says words to that effect once his kit is squared away and he has wound his flying wonder and given it some of his less immediately useful, and weightier, camp supplies. 

Ophelia seems lucid and eager to press on towards Kelvin's Cairn and the pressing matter or rescuing Garret and those he was leading.

"Perhaps we may call on the Speaker at the Caer as we pass back through on our return journey?  If the Frostmaiden's cult has their frozen finger on all of the Ten Towns, even an innocuous meeting may become messy, no matter our intention.  As we have already discovered to our sorrow in Targos."

If and when the party depart Caer Dineval, she mutters her protective Elvish word and gestures to re-summon her lavender aura of Mage Armor, and will (to the extent she can do without going batty) continue to cast and concentrate on Blade Ward.

Dvu shivers and stretches, clearly bothered this morning by the poor night's sleep.  "Aye Ellora, that sounds good, send Oculus.  Let's warm up by the fire and have some breakfast, maybe that'll improve my disposition.."  He packs up and gathers his things, following along this time instead of leading.  He's walking a little slower than normal.  

Month: Hammer, Day: IX, Time: 0800

Marva wakes up dreaming of potatoes and convinces the others to go to the tavern. You strike camp and go inside. There you find not a roaring but a faintly glowing fire that takes the first level of chill off the air but does not give anyone the idea that they should remove any article of clothing. Unfortunately, tubers are not common in Caer Dineval so you leave without your comfort food. 

While inside Drift, Ellora, Marva, and Ophelia all share a preference for getting to Kelvin's Cairn to try to save Garret as soon as possible. No one has been impressed by the Speakers of the two towns and do not have high hopes for this one. Ellora sends her tiny owl to scout the castle but her familiar gets run off by a black raven. Before that happens though, Oculus does see that the castle is in decent shape with strong gates and no obvious side entrances. Oculus sees plenty of tracks in the snowy courtyard with the deepest path going to a hut on one side. On quick inspection, the owl determines that the hut is an outhouse. Feeling optimistic, Ophelia is willing to try to see the Speaker on the return trip. Dvu is feeling under the weather. All partake in basic food, low light, and shuffling service.

Seeing no great reason to stay, you depart Caer-Dineval on the road east to Caer-Konig. You would guess that it is a two-hour walk to the town, although you could strike left off of the path to go to Kelvin's Cairn at virtually any point along the walk between the two Caers. So long as the winds pause every now and then, your ultimate destination is easy to see although you have no good sense about how long the trek will take. You know that Caer Konig is the most northeast settlement and have heard very little about it, likely indicating that travel to and from the town is limited. But what you have heard is positive from your perspective, specifically that there is a tavern - the Hook, Line, and Sinker, which reportedly has an unlimited supply of ale - as well as a functioning inn - the Northern Light. 

I have the marching order being: 

Oculus the Owl
Dvu
Zuleikha with lantern
Marva
Ellora with Elemental Lantern
Drift with Flying Wonder holding covered lantern
Ophelia

with everyone having a hand on a rope. Please feel free to update me if any of that is incorrect. Also, I will assume you will go to Caer Konig unless you tell me differently. 

Dvu, please roll Survival with any Help or Guidance given as well as the -2 Exhaustion penalty. 

Ellora, please roll a d20 plus a roll for Perception. 

Ophelia, please roll for Perception. 

As she trudges along, one hand on the rope, occasionally muttering to cast Blade Ward, Ophelia begins the trek watching the party's rear closely.  Yet as the journey wears on through the endless expanse of white, her attention and lucidity waver.

Perhaps unseen to the others, as she is behind them, her lavender eyes begin to lose focus and tilt upwards as she whispers softly to herself.
"Dirty lies the daybreak, sudden comes the change
In such a silent place as this, beyond the songbird's range..."

Ophelia's Perception:  5

Dvu Survival roll after adjustments : 12

"I can't wait to get to that inn at Caer Konig.  I need a proper mattress and some sleep..help me keep an eye open for any other mischief on the trail."  

Marva steps up next to Zuleikha, if there is room for two. She casts Guidance on Dvu whenever he seems to pause or look uncertain. As they tromp along, she tries to keep an eye out for trouble in the morning darkness. (Perception: nat 20+3=23)

When Dvu speaks of getting better sleep at the inn, she responds, “I would love to sleep in a warm bed as well, but it will only be late morning when we get to Caer Konig. Surely we should press on to Kelvin’s Cairn?”

To Zuleikha, she says, “The weather must be very different in your homeland, but have you been on other challenging journeys like this there? I would imagine that travelers would have the opposite problem of temperature. What is the landscape like in Calisham? Are there dangerous beasts? How friendly are the townsfolk to strangers?”

Drift is his usual stoic self, even if his usual self is not perhaps his most true self. He keeps his hands firmly on the rope, but, except in the event of blizzard, he sends his flying wonder up ahead, to be 10 feet above Dvu’s head and five feet in front, to help with its blindsight and mobility as far as it can for him.

(As before if anyone gets lost it will fly looking for them with its blindsight and lead them back with its lantern, and Drift has hopefully told the others how’s this works.)  

Ellora would share with the others what her familar reports about the castle. "Nothing too suspicious I would say, but visiting the speaker on the way back seems like a good idea." She says, seeming pleased that they were about to press on towards Kelvin's Cairn. 

(All good with the marching order.)

D20 roll: 1 Ellora perception: 14 Oculus perception: 7