AT LEAST WE'LL BE TOGETHER
Fintan20, Verbeeg19(AC14/HP37), Phineas19, Kilmus7, Mica4, Rak2

Mica hits! An excellent shot! Rak swings and connects! Who will get the killing blow!?!

AT LEAST WE'LL BE TOGETHER
Fintan20, Verbeeg19(AC14/HP17), Phineas19, Kilmus7, Mica4, Rak2

Phineas senses the giant is struggling. Looking to take advantage of the situation, he slips along side her, slashing twice at her side hoping to hit something vital but unprotected. 

Right-hand Attack: 24 Damage: 6

Left-hand Attack: 12 Damage: 3

Seeing the giantess sway on her feet, Kilmus darts in with his blade spinning - striking out to strike her down.

Attack: 15 Damage: 8
Halberd bonus attack: Attack: 15 Damage: 6

The female Verbeeg crashes to the ground, dead. Whatever afterlife may exist for these creatures, at least now they are together again.

The Chwinga pops it's head out from behind a log and looks at you all curiously.

Fintan blinks her eyes ,vision blurry, rolling onto her side with a hissed groan, her right hand instinctively curling around her rib cage. With her other hand, she scrambles to grab her short-sword, sheathing it quietly before stumbling to her feet. She pulls her cloak hood up, grimacing before smoothing her face over to show little sign of pain. She runs a hand over her eyes before blinking down at the creature with a small frown, sliding her dagger into her boot with a murmured grunt. She turns to the group, connecting gazes with the Chwinga, ''Well, we all be quite glad that lofty notion of fight is done with. I believe it is time to head back.'' she says, tilting her head at the small spirit.

(I love the look of italics, but I’ll switch to regular text so it’s easier to differentiate between DM posts and regular posts.)

Whatever anger Mica felt at Rak was entirely replaced by the fright of the encounter, and as the Varbeeg slumps over, Mica begins shivering, but not because of the cold. Never in his lifetime did he expect to be in such a situation like this, and no power could possibly justify the dangers he had been put in. Combined with the constant headaches and frigid temperature, for the first time, he wishes he was back in his tiny hometown, chiseling away at some statue. Mica is silent as he heads back into the woods where he tossed the spear, figuring it would be easier - and less gruesome - than to cut off the head of the other Varbeeg. He walks back to the makeshift sled and stands there, gazing into the flames he conjures on his palm, more than ready to get out of there and head back to more comfortable lodging. He peers to the Chwinga, motioning for it to come along.

Rak would hoist his greatsword high above his head before lopping off the second Verbeeg head. "I'm bringing this back as proof as well. No one would believe we were able to kill two of these creatures. I guess we could bring the giant head back with us too... but we might need another basket" Rak would say with a grin before looking to Fintan. "You take a punch pretty well." He would say before moving to search through the belongings of the headless female. 

OOC: It's totally cool if you want to use italics, Qila. 

The female Verbeeg was carrying something strange. Metal fragments in a basket.

DC 20 Intelligence (Arcana) check: ?????

GOOD MEAD

Your travel back to Good Mead is uneventful, thank the Gods. Weary, you are able to haul the mead back to Mead Hall. Needless to say, the town is thrilled to have their mead back, and ending the Verbeeg menace. You are hailed as local heroes for your deeds, and as long as you're in Good Mead, drink, food, and board is on the town. You have successfully stopped the mead thefts, and, in addition, a very happy young lady scholar was happy to see you befriended an actual Chwinga. Unless you have any objections, she is very nice to it and the Chwinga agrees to spend some time with the scholar. You are then promptly paid the agreed amounts from Hlin and the scholar.

QUEST: COLD-HEARTED KILLER (GOODMEAD) - INCOMPLETE
Task: Search the Ten-Towns for Sephek Kaltro and deal with him
Contact: Hlin Trollbane
Reward: 500g
Hint: "His victims come from the only three towns that sacrifice people to the Frostmaiden.." Bremen, Dougan's Hole, or Lonelywood

QUEST: NATURE SPIRITS (GOODMEAD) - COMPLETE!
Task: Using the lantern, search the Ten-Towns for a live Chwinga
Contact: Dannika Graysteel
Reward: 25g per person
Hint: Use the lantern when you arrive in any Ten-Towns town.

QUEST: THE MEAD MUST FLOW (GOODMEAD) - COMPLETE!
Task: Find the Verbeeg
Contact: None
Reward: Possible free mead and board
Hint: Follow the trail found by the man with the fox

Since you have completed two quests, go ahead and LEVEL UP!

Fintan would roll her eyes, but knowing he was very distant fey-kind, she'd give a quietly hooded charming half smile. Fintan straightened her back, hand over her rib concealed by her dark cloak, as she trudged over to Mica. She cautiously placed a hand on his shoulder, knowing she herself was not fond of touch, giving a slightly concerned look. ''You alright there,mate? Death is really a bloomy bloody thing to watch, even if some say it be deserving.'' Her words were guarded, the mark of one who went from squalid to squalid, a life of pity made from fearful looks of commoners. She did not trust him, she did not trust any of them really but still she reluctantly cared for the company. She casts a furtive look at the headless body before eyeing the Chwinga again, still standing near.

As the townfolks gathered around, Rak would retrieve the two heads from a blood basket. "Who wants to hang one of these on their wall!" The green skined gith would say as he tosses the heads into the small crowd. "I need a drink and a warm bath!" He would add with a grin. "it's damn cold out here and I don't want to risk anything else freezing off!" He would shout as he points to his nose (or lack of one) and winks. Rak would head inside the mead hall and drink himself into a stupor before heading off to bed. "Tomorrow we can find that murderer!" the gith would be the last thing he would say to his new companions before heading to bed. 

Kilmus leads the goats back into Good Mead and happily sees them distributed into pens throughout town.  Losing himself in the familiar task of caring for animals, the shepherd turned bouncer turned warrior finds himself reflecting on the events of the last day.

He was struck down in their first encounter.  Run through by the giantoid's spear.  His life spilling out on the ice and snow.

The fight with the Orge was more of a slaughter than a battle, the nasty creature had barely gotten to his feet before their combined assault had cut it down.

And then the... whatever that had been with the giantess - a fight, an ambush, an execution.  

What was he doing here?  Violence only brought more violence.  The wheel must be broken.  But those creatures didn't - wouldn't - respond to his entreaties.  They wouldn't have stopped their raiding with a stern talking to. 

Those bandits didn't stop either' a familiar voice rang out 'someone must step in to break the wheel, to end the violence'. His father's voice was clear, strong.  'You must be the one to bring the violence to and end by ridding this world of the evil that corrupts it' 

Mica seems to come out of a stupor as Fintan touches him, and he jumps away, instinctively reaching for his daggers, but calms down after remembering where they were. "Alright there," he begins to repeat, but as he mimics Fintan's words, another flash of pain makes his vision blur, and he remembers a scene he never recollects experiencing before - they were back on the caravan, one mountain cleared. Food had run out, and Mica observes a child tugging at its mother's hand in the same caravan he was lying in. "Just...scared," he replies, in a voice of a small child.

As he's walking, he's muttering something into the flame he's staring at in his palm. While nobody else can, Mica sees a Fiendish head materialize in the inferno. The expenditure of power he had used in the fights drew the attention of his patron, and Mica certainly has much to say to it. He's softly speaking to it in Infernal, and those of you who speak it might hear some of this following conversation.

(OOC: Is it too late for Rak to have collected the strange metal and bring it back too?)

(Before returning to town) Phineas helps Rak investigate the odd metal ingots the giantess had, seeing if they had any value. (Investigation: 21).

(Back in town) Phineas smiles broadly at the warm reception the group receives, only dropping the smile briefly when the strange green elf tosses the heads haphazardly to the crowd. "To the victors go the spoils, I guess," he thinks to himself, not wanting to bring down the mood. The strongheart halfling concurs with the idea of a nice mug of mead, but forgoes the bath. Leaning on his knowledge of the Dale, he suggests, "Dougan's Hole be the only of those towns west of Good Mead. I'd suggest we head that way first before making our way back to the Eastway and on yonder to Bremen."

''Yes, I do agree. But perhaps we should take a short rest here, nightfall is upon us. You do not want to know what lingers in the darkness here.'' She replies coolly to Phineas, quietly thinking that Mica's response from earlier conflicted with their facial expression. She ponders this before feeling the push and shove of the raucous crowd, an elbow slamming into her right side. With a muffled cry, Fintan pulls herself away from the crowd, a blind panic rearing its ugly head in her stomach as she stumbles away from the group. She stretches a hand out towards the swaying brick wall of the hall, dragging herself around the corner into the side alley. She leans against the wall, the icy cold of it seeping through the haze spreading through her body, a pulsing pain in her side. Fintan shakes her briefly head and looking over her shoulder, the elf slips in through the side door of the hall. She slaps two silver coins down on the bar table, speaking quickly around small gasps to the barmaid ''I'll be taking a room. A few of my comrades may or may not appear later. It should be covered.''

Straightening her back and rallying her wits she briskly walks up the stairs, throwing herself into the first room on the right after checking it was empty. Fintan closes the door with a click,  with fumbling stiff fingers from the cold she undoes her cloak and tunic, yanking it off with a furious growl. She stumbles over to the chair, and after taking a seat, steels herself to look at her injury. Closing her eyes briefly, she looks down to see the chemise sticky with a bit of blood. Peeling it away from her right side, Fintan sees an old wound puckered and cracked with a gnarly bruise of green and blue blooming on her side. ''Shit.'' She hissed, gritting her teeth down to tolerate the pain, made worse by the sight of it. This was not the worse injury she had ever sustained, as shown by the curling scar on her face but that didn't mean it wasn't bloody painful. She just hoped by Angharradh's grace she would have enough wrapping.

(Perception to see if Phineas noticed Fintan's discomfort: 18)

Phineas nods in agreement to Fintan's suggestion. "Aye, morning would be better," he says. "I be havin' no desire of freezing to death out there." As if the thought chills him, the halfling pulls his furs and coats tighter around his body. "Enjoy a drink. A hot meal. And possibly a warm bed. In the morn, we can depart for the Hole and see if our killer be there."

Phineas eyes Fintan's departure, making note of what he sees (or doesn't). He then downs his tankard as he asks for a bowl of something hot with a half-loaf of hard bread. "I like to dip it," he offers with a smile. "Sticks to yer bones better that way." Once his meal is completed and the free drinks run dry, if no other conversations arise, the halfling makes his way to bed.

Rak would also look through the metal bits, trying to figure out what they were and if they were valuble. 17

In the morning, the gith would wake up and order a large and hardy breakfast. "I guess it's time to catch a murder then... I suppose we can check out Doug's hole first. I hope it's warmer than this place."

You can't tell if the strange metal has any value, but it's certainly something you've never seen before. It almost appears magical, so a caster (since the roll is Arcana) may or may not be able to be more insightful about it.

Icewind Dale, in the morning, was the same as it was in the afternoon - cold. So very cold. And, as always, there was no sun. It was constantly dawn in this place. What sort of magic had Auril placed on this land. Up in the sky, bright tendrils of aurora borealis caressed the sky at all times. After meeting together and eating your fill, you decided to brave the cold once more, heading for Dougan's Hole in search of Sephek. 

DOUGAN'S HOLE

A six-mile-long, snow-covered path connects Dougan’s Hole to the neighboring town of Good Mead. You were able to walk this path in 4 hours.

Dougan’s Hole is the smallest and most insular of the ten towns. The town is a small cluster of dwellings perched on the edge of Redwaters that is too small to support any industry—not even scrimshaw. Ice has buckled the shorter of its two piers, rendering the dock unsafe. The longer pier has two icebound keelboats tethered to it, though they’re immobile because Auril’s winter has frozen the surface of the lake for hundreds of yards around them.

As you approach the town, it is nearly impossible to notice two things:

1. The townsfolk appear to be inbred, they look to have physical deformities, including but not limited to small, misshapen ears and slightly pointed teeth.

2. There is a triangle of huge megaliths standing at the southern edge of town, nineteen of these crudely fashioned granite menhirs are arranged in a rough triangle, with a single stone at the formation’s center. 

Within earshot, you can hear very concerned townsfolk talking as you come into the center of town. As usual, it's freezing cold, and your bones ache from the constant cold.

“Don’t know how many, but them wolves are big as horses!” says a local with small, misshapen ears. “They know words an’ got a mighty vocab’lary!” says another with pointed teeth. “By Thruun’s Stones, they caught fair Sil and her lovely brother Finn th’ other day,” says a third, who bears more than a passing resemblance to the other two. A fourth who looks like their sister chimes in. “Dang winter wolves say they ain’t givin’ ’em back till the town coughs up a king’s ransom in food and gold. This town barely got enough to feed its own, and there ain’t no gold. Ain’t no one allowed to leave town. Dem wolves vow to kill anyone who tries!”

You get the impression the town has a wolf problem. The townsfolk notice you passing, and their faces change like their luck has just cashed in. 

Phineas frowns, seeing the townfolk and unsightly resemblances. Muttering under his breath to the others, he says, "Let's hope they not be hungry. We might end up supper." The halfling wraps his furs and coats more tightly around him, making sure his meager valuables are safely secured. Having little desire to be the party's spokesperson in the Hole, Phineas scans the landscape for any sign of Torgil's caravan, even stopping to reluctantly ask a few D-Holes if they'd seen it recently.

"Hey, You Seen A Serial Killer?" Roll: 6

NIGHT BEFORE:

Kilmus makes his way back to the Hall to find he has gone from invisible bouncer to one of the small town's newest heroes.  He's not entirely sure what to make of the change. 

Not having to eke out a living working the door is nice, but the enthusiasm from the crowd as the heads bounded on the cobblestones chilled his blood.  

'The wheel must be broken.  Someone must stand in the breach.' his father's voice again, clear, cold and pained.  His voice as it was in the last moments of his life.  Those last moments as his broken and battered body was failing him and he was still desperately trying to convince the bandits to move on, to simply take the food they had been left and move on.

As Kilmus sank into his room for the night - the same small room his service at the door had earned him for all the cold nights he had stayed in Good Mead - that voice echoed in his head, imploring him to take the fight to those who sought to harm others. To be a force of peace in a world of madness and to that peace into the darkest corners - even if it meant using the sharp end of his blade to do so.

AFTER ENTERING THE VILLAGE

The four-hour hike had helped Klimus settle his soul and his thoughts.  He would walk the path, strive to end violence and bring peace wherever he could.  Even if that peace came at the price of his own soul.