Chilling Adventures in the North

"Hmm," Shad says. "That makes sense. Vows are an important choice. Lots of thought and meditation required." He sighs thoughtfully as he eats the last of his fish. "Our travels so far have drawn me closer to the Cat Lord, actually. Not quite in the sense of a vow, but still I feel that more blessing will be given me would we need them. Who thought a delivery job would lead to such a thing?" He slides his chair back.

"We ought to explore the town more. Talk to some locals. See if the last two deliveries can be made here. Maybe find some folks to help."

(OOC: Or are there three more deliveries? Enjoying the game and the new level TheBritGeek! Thanks!)

(Three deliveries left.)

As you sit and talk, you hear the sound of the sledge dogs crying just outside Kelvin's Comfort.

Arogna jumps up from her seat, nearly tipping over her third mug of ale. (She has set herself a budget.) "That's the dogs. So help me, if anyone's stealin' 'em - " She grabs her warhammer, which is leaning against the table, and races out of the door.

Qinfaren samples the ale and smiles as it goes down quickly. The smile turns to a frown as he listens to Muharg's story.

"I think I would like to journey with you back to your home, Muharg." Qinfaren begins. "As you say, punishing the tyrant will not bring peace to you, but the people of your home should not have to live like that either."

He looks at the others.

"Then Shad will show us his beaches and jungles."

He's about to say more when he hears the dogs. He jumps up and quickly follows Arogna outside.

Arogna and Qinfaren see the sledge dogs lying down near the door, when they see Arogna and Qinfaren they begin wagging their tails excitedly. Not too far away from the dogs, a woman sits against a nearby building draped in a blanket.

"I think they're just hungry," she says smiling. "Possibly a little cold."

"There ain't been nobody near 'em?" Arogna asks the woman. "I thought they prob'ly wasn't allowed inside like. But we'll bring 'em in anyway, right, Qinfaren? They're good boys. Ain't you." 

She opens a corner of the wrappings around their stock of meat, and gives a large piece to each dog. "Eat that, an' then we'll go in an' get warm." 

While the dogs eat, Arogna looks at the woman. "Ain't you got someplace warmer to go?" 

(OOC: Sorry, I know this has been asked before, but is it 5gp for each of us o 5gp total? If 5 total, is anyone keeping the party funds?)

Muharg went out as well at the sound of the dogs crying, but once the situation seems calm, he goes back inside and approaches the bar “Oi, Ogden! Can we get the dogs inside? At least for a little while so they get some rest by the fire? Promise they’ll not cause any trouble.”

Outside, still heaving his coats up around his shoulders, Shad says to the woman, "Thank you. We would be lost without those dogs." He will examine her. "Can we buy you dinner?" he says. "The fish here is excellent."

Perception: 20

 Ogden looks over as Arogna returns with the dogs, "Just make sure you keep them under control will you?"

The woman smiles at Shad, "Some fish would be nice."

"Yeah, thanks, man. I'll sit with 'em by the fire here."

Arogna takes the dogs to the hearthrug, and sits down cross-legged with them, reaching for her ale from the table. Then she pauses, and reaches over to her backpack instead, untying her drum. She sits back down with the drum in her lap. "I'm gonna see if I can do this, like what Mama does," she says. "'Scuse me a few minutes." She nods to the woman who has joined them, but leaves the others to talk to her.

The half-orc takes hold of her bear-claw necklace for a few moments and closes her eyes. Then she lets go of the necklace, opens her eyes, and starts tapping and scratching the drumskin softly in a strange pattern, if it even is a pattern - it is a bit like a squirrel exploring a forest floor, with bursts of skittering and pauses of irregular length between them. Through it all, Arogna keeps up a continuous low hum. The dogs watch her, curiously at first, then more and more intently. She makes eye contact with them like someone attempting to join in a conversation.

(Arogna is ritual casting Speak with Animals from her Path of the Totem Warrior feature. Her totem spirit is the Bear, giving her resistance to all damage except psychic when raging.)

Bjorn helps as best he can with keeping the dogs calm and under control. He walks up to each of dogs and gives them a good scratch behind the ears and a good belly rub before breaking up some of the rations he has to feed them, "We probably need some better food for the dogs. Could we get some raw fish or meat for them?"
Animal Handling 14

The large goliath continues to play with the dogs as they wait for Arogna to complete her ritual.

Muharg watches Arogna’s display with a warm smile on his face, trying to follow the rhythm softly tapping with his hand on the table.

At some point, he looks at Shad and Qinfaren and when (if) they look back at him, he nods at them in appreciation for their earlier words. Then answers Qinfaren’s suggestion “I’ll be more than glad to have you by my side and rid my hometown from that tyrant. And now I see it clear, I’ll not do it for vengeance, but to free my people from his oppression, for It is not hatred what will guide my axe, but compassion. Thank you for your earlier words, friends.” He then raises his mug to them for a toast and joins Bjorn in petting the dogs, a relieved and warm expression on his face.

After some time he realizes it's getting a bit late "I guess we're staying for the night, huh? I'm going to order some rooms for us." He'll approach the bar once more and request rooms to spend the night and ask if the dogs could stay in one of the rooms and a place to park the sledge. After that, he goes outside and grabs the remaining parcels to keep them safe in the rooms.

Shad brings the woman they've met a plate of fish. "It is very delicious," he says. "I'm Shad. Tell us about yourself and about this town. Have you lived here long? We make deliveries."

He talks to her, but is also very curious about the dogs and what they will have to say. Also, he remembers and watches for the two women who were also here earlier. 

Bjorn is a little rough with handling the dogs, who let out a little bit of a whimper.

"No. That hurts," Arogna hears one of the dogs say.

The human woman smiles with gratitude as she accepts the fish from Shad, "It's hard to say, and there's not much to say."

Shad sees the human woman from earlier pay her fee at the bar before leaving Kelvin's Comfort and heading out into the darkness of Bryn Shander. This is shortly followed by the halfling woman snapping her book shut, muttering beneath her breath before also leaving.

"Well," Shad says, "I hope you haven't been too cold. I hope you don't have too much to fear while living here. All beings should walk free of fear. Even dogs. Though I doubt Bjorn would hurt them intentionally." Shad watches her for a moment more. "Perhaps you know Artus Cimber or Jarlaxle Baenne? We have packages for them."

Qinfaren nods back to Muharg and raises a mug to him and then turns and watches Arogna with the animals.

"Ah, your mother was a wise woman then?" Qinfaren asks. "I recognize the motions. It's very similar to a way my Archdruid taught me to talk to the animals back home."

At that he gets a wistful look on his face and watches the flames dancing for a moment or two.

He snaps out of it when the halfling snaps her book shut. He smiles and waves good bye to her. 

"I think this cold really gets to people. Hard to be happy when everything is a struggle," he says still with a smile on his face.

"He din't mean to," Arogna says to the dog, then, "Oh! It's workin'!" She stops humming, but keeps tapping on the drum quietly for the next few minutes while she asks the dogs several questions, and listens to their answers.

"What d'you like eatin'? We workin' you too hard, or you okay with it? Are you best friends or do you just work together like? What d'you want us to do for you that we ain't doin' now? You been this far North before? D'you like snow?"

She also asks, "D'you got your own names? Names that you call yourselves like, not what people give you?"

After the spell has ended, she explains to Qinfaren, "Yeah, Mama's the spirit-talker in our tribe. She talks to the animals, an' the woods, an' the spirits, an' the Red Bear. Askin' them to look after us. She found me in the woods when I was just born. The Red Bear put me there for her," she says proudly. "Cause she an' my father couldn't have a baby like. His name's Arog. 'S what my name means - somethin' belongin' to Arog."

“That was very kind of them, Arogna. And very kind of the Red Bear to put her there for your parents to have. And what a marvelous gift she gave you!” He raises his eyebrows and adjusts his belt. “Can you... I mean, can you really speak with them?”

The woman raises an eyebrow at Shad as he asks about Artus Cimber and Jarlaxle Baenre, she studies him for a moment before shaking her head and shrugging her shoulders.

"I hear that Artus Cimber is near Kelvin's Cairn, that's to the north east though your goliath friend should know the way. Though if I were you I would get there as quick as possible. That immortal fool plans to fight an army of dead."

The dogs are astonished to discover that Arogna can talk to them.

"You talk?" the first dog responds, before they begin to respond to her questions.

"Meat"

"No"

"Friends?"

"Nothing."

"Yes"

"It's cold"

"Names?"

“I’m sorry, miss, I’ve been a bit absorbed in my own thoughts and forgot my manners.” Starts Muharg. “My name is Muharg, that one over there torturing the dogs is Bjorn, he’s Shad, Qinfaren, and the one with the drums is Arogna. What’s your name? And... do you have a place to shelter from the cold?” Inquires politely.