Session 38, Ice Trolls and Onward to Bjorn
Paldegora
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Session 38 – 2024-03-16
= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = =
Summary
Detail
They had just finished fighting a bunch of Mistlings and a Mist Wraith. They did a little healing before resting for the night. They set up a watch and rested. Nothing happened. The fog was normal and everyone ate and they set out the next morning. They still don’t know the boys name. About mid-day, they reached the shores of the river. There was a huge gnarly tree and a mixed stone and wooden bridge. It had fallen into disrepair but was still sturdy and passable. Cal checked for recent activity and found none. There was snow all around and the edges of the bank were frozen but the river was flowing and likely full of dinner. X'or and Cal did some fishing and caught, one extra large fish, 2 large fish, 3 regular fish, and one small fish. Symon scoped out the bridge. Eryn moved up into the large tree and sat watch over everyone. Cal didn’t see any movement beyond the bridge as he checked it out, it seemed a fine. X'or stopped fishing and assisted him with checking the bridge.
Symon asked George Mary if this is where he intended to take the boy and head west. George told him, “Yes!. We’ll start on this side of the river and follow it west and work our way up to Black Dragon Bay, which I know. I know the bay itself. He told him there were some little fishing outposts and thought people were not there all year around. They should be able to find a dingy. Once I make the turn, the current will take us south. There are several villages up that way. I think we’ll be alright.”. They provisioned them out for five days worth of food along with a potion of extra healing. They said their goodbyes and then George Mary and Boy George road off to the west. They watched as they slowly disappeared into the mist. Cal reported back bout the bridge and everyone moved down to and started crossing the bridge. As they neared the other side, from a cave not easy to see from the bridge, 2 Ice Trolls came out, charging to attack. There was also a really large one that came from the further down the shoreline. Another one appeared at the back of the group charging up toward Cassandra who was in the rear. Turned out, it was a troll bridge.
Eryn got one good hit in and then went down on the first attack. The Ice Trolls were fierce and the DM's dice rolled well. They fought for many rounds, with X'or eventually falling as well. Symon cast his first Fireball and hit two of the rolls. He tried the wand of paralyzation but it was ineffective. Angelique cast and used a Flame Blade to fight which had the added advantage of doing fire damage. When her's fell, it stayed down. When the others fell, they got back up. They eventually got some torches lit, Eryn was back up as well. As the trolls fell again, they were set ablaze. Then they stopped rising. Eryn searched the troll cave and they pulled out a little gold. They set out down the path again, heading north. The topology began elevating as they began leaving the Valley of the Bones. It was getting colder with more snow. As they climbed higher, Cal looked behind them, back into the valley, and saw that they'd left the valley but saw no indication of being followed. They were at the foothills of the mountains now. They came to a place where the path moved through a little canyon. Cal moved down into the passage between the two ridges and thought this would be a good place to rest.
Cal looked around and found no caves in the area. He felt they were relatively safe there. Angelique cast a couple of healings and then set out to cook the fish they'd caught earlier. The meal was great and they rested the evening. She also heated up some tea and they drank that as well. The warmth of the food and drink really hit the spot. Cal went up in the ridge and took a few pebbles with him in case her had to wake anyone up. His watch was uneventful. X'or took the next watch that also passed without event. Eryn took the last watch. It seemed as if it was going to be quiet except after a couple of hours, she heard something off in the distance. It was echoing off of the rock so it was difficult to determine where it was coming from. It was some kind of an animal roar. It didn't sound like anything she'd heard before. She listened carefully for it again. It returned but this time it was noticeably quieter. She continued listening for it and didn't hear it again. The rest of the night was uneventful. The next morning, Eryn told everyone about what she'd heard. Symon asked Loraine if she had any idea where this passage through the mountain was. She told him that she had no clue where it was on this side of the mountains. She has no point of reference here. They'll just have to follow the map. They ate breakfast and checked the map. The consensus was that they were going in the right direction. They continued onward. They held off healing to conserve that for the evening. They left the horses and continued on.
They continued going up and up, and along around mid-day, they stopped to take a breather. They ate and headed out again. Around 2:00 in the afternoon, Cal thought he saw a wisp of smoke ahead. He tapped Loraine's shoulder and pointed it out. She saw it too. He pointed it out to X'or as well. They moved ahead and listened. They came to a bank which Cal walked around to get a view of what they were approaching. As they rounded the bank, they found a good sized cabin built there. There was a ladder and a wheel and crates and a fence. The ladder was at the back of the cabin at the base of the plateau that the cabin rested on. He moved up the ladder and around to the front of the cabin. He heard no voices. There were no windows on the side he approached from. In front of the cabin, there were a lot of tracks. They were booted. There was an area where someone prepared meat and foods, cleaning fish and such. The others were slowly catching up. He moved up to the door and listened but heard nothing. He backed up and got everyone to move up, indicating that he wanted to know what the rest of them wanted to do. He indicated that maybe Loraine should approach. Maybe they recognize the uniform or something and maybe they start off better. She told him that she's never been down here though, only flown over the region from very high up.
From around the corner of the north side of the building appeared a man, holding a spear leveled at them and called out, “Hold!”. He demanded to know who they were and what they were doing there. At his appearance, Cal drew his weapons but didn't approach or appear threatening. With that, the man whistled and from around the corner came a woman, armed and ready. X'or spoke up and said, “We aren't here to fight you, we come as friends!”. The man looked at X'or, examining him, then said, “What Tribe!”. X'or replied, “Blackhorn!”. The man replied, “Blackhorn is familiar to us!”. He whistled again and his two children came out. A young boy and girl, also both armed. As the children appeared, Cal put away his weapons. The boy carried a spear and the girl, dagger and a sling. The man approached, thumped his chest and said, “Frostwolf”. X'or thumbed his chest and said, “Frostedge!”. That is X'or's clan name. The man said, “Frostedge is friend clan to Frostwolf. Well met!”. He is definitely a barbarian, much like X'or. He asked why they were there. X'or told him that they were traveling. He wanted to know where they were traveling to. X'or told him, the Vale. He asked, “Vale?”. Symon approached and said, we seek a hidden cave. They asked why. Symon told him that there is land beyond the cave. The man didn't know about that.
The man's name was Bjorn Frostwolf. Elsa was his wife, the boy was called Lars and the girl was Sigrid. They talked for a while and learned that the cave was sacred to the Frostulf's. X'or was shocked to hear that name. He described them as hairy humanoids, related to the Yatulf, but much smaller. Yatulf is like a Yetti. His barbarian tribe had been at war with these creatures for hundreds of years and then they finally overcame them and killed them all and drive them out. They hadn't been seen on this side of the mountain range in a generation. There was much lore and legends around them. It was a shock to hear that they were here. X'or asked if they'd seen them. Bjorn said he'd seen many. X'or asked, “I thought we'd killed them all?”. Bjorn told him he'd thought so as well. He came over the mountains with his father many years ago. They'd lived here a long time, trying to open up new lands. Frostulf were here, but very few. But recently, they've seemed to have banned together. That cave is sacred to them. They are all over the place up there. Whatever is in the cave, they worship. X'or said, “That's more of a reason why we need to find this cave and get rid of it.”. Bjorn said, “What's in cave that they worship and guard, I do not know. I have seen the cave.”.
Symon asked if the Frostulf had a god. Bjorn told him that they never had god before but seem to now. Symon asked if he knew anything about the god, Bjorn said, “No!”. Symon asked if there was any iconography or emblem to represent it. Bjorn told him that they are too crude, they are barbarians to barbarians. They've never been that kind of organized. About five or six years ago, They all seemed to become very tribal and very clannish. Something is up there that has drawn them together, all over the mountain range. Before I would run into them every once in a while, I've killed a few, they hadn't been much of a threat. Lately though, they have gotten bad. Symon asked, “So they're getting more aggressive?”. Bjorn told him yes, “If you go up toward the sacred cave, you're gonna have a fight on your hands.”. X'or asked, “Do you know about how many?”. Bjorn told him that it's hard to say, they don't stay in one place much. He guessed that he could count about 30. Symon asked if they patrolled or if they left the cave periodically. Bjorn told him that they don't live in cave. They just stay all around it. X'or asked how many there were in Bjorn's clan. Bjorn told him that all that is left on this side is just them.
X'or asked Bjorn if he'd seen Frostedge clan nearby. Bjorn told him, “No, none of your clan, just us here!”. We created homestead and populate but it's been harsh here. X'or recognized the architecture of the cabin. It's in a style that his own people use when they build something. Symon asked if he ever went near the cave. Bjorn told him that he no longer does. He told them that he had been up to it in the past before the Frostulf became so bad. He can show them how to get to it. Symon asked, “Have you ever seen anything up there that is not Frostulf. Bjorn told him no, but he went to the cave and looked into it, but he didn't go any further because something felt wrong about it. Bjorn then said, “Magic bad!”. Symon told him, that's why we are here. Whatever is in that cave is a great danger. It's already subjugated the Frostulf to it's will to create a defense for itself. Symon swore that their intentions were noble and ultimately to protect his family and all of the land beyond. Bjorn said that if they travel with X'or, they must be good, “Even you!”, as he looked at Symon. Then he asked, “Magic spinner?”. Symon replied, “Yes!”, and followed that with a cantrip to make a little fire on his finger. Bjorn wasn't thrilled with that but shrugged it off. He then said, “Barbarians don't care for that sort of thing!”. Symon replied, “And I've found that Trolls don't care for it either.”. Bjorn laughed at that, saying, “Yes, you must have seen trolls by the look of you!”. Symon told him yes. Bjorn told them Trolls are bad in the valley and that they try to stay out of the valley. X'or told Bjorn that Symon's magic has saved them many times.
Bjorn invited them all to come inside where they had food and drink and could rest. As they went in, Symon showed his Slingshot to Sigrid as he fired a stone out of it, showing it off. Elsa turned around and said, “SIGRID!”. There was a sleeping loft above a main room. It had a nice fireplace and a hearth. They invited everyone to sit and rest. Elsa started preparing food. Bjorn broke out some wine and shared it with them. He told them it was strange to see them here. They'd not seen anyone up here. He asked what they needed from the cave above? Symon told him that they were from the south, from across the valley, the Drakemoors. Then he mentioned Coldspire but the last place that Bjorn recognized was the Drakemoors. He said he was familiar with the Uldat people. They determined that they were the people at the top of the ridge guarding the entrance to the temple. Symon told him that the cave is a passage to a great power that threatens all of us, you, all the way south, beyond the valley, beyond the Drakemoors, all the land. Bjorn agreed, that was bad. Symon told him that they were a small force and didn't know what they could do, but they had been called upon by leaders of their people to come here and do what they could, which may be nothing.
Bjorn offered his help as a guide to the cave but said he would not go into the cave. He said, “I have Elsa and children to take care of!”. He told them the journey up to the cave will be dangerous enough, with the Frostulf. Symon asked if he could get them into the cave without getting involved. Bjorn told him it would be difficult to do, sword will be needed for sure. Symon asked if Bjorn was the only provider here. Bjorn said, “We all provide together.”. Looking at all of them, Symon could tell that they were all self-sufficient. Symon suggested that he shouldn't risk his life for this, as his family needs him. If he could simply draw them a map and describe what to expect, that would be a big help. Bjorn told him that he could do that. X'or told Bjorn that they'd passed armies of creatures coming from the north and going south. He asked if Bjorn had seen them? Bjorn told him no, that he had seen strange things in the sky occasionally but that's been commonplace up here.
Eryn told Bjorn about the roar she had heard the night before and ask if he knew what that would have been. He asked what time she'd heard that and she told him very early this morning, on our third and final watch. He told her, “You must be very careful, very careful. It is an evil kind of bear thing. We've only seen it very recently to! It is very cunning, and can track you. It has tracked me several times but I've been able to get way from it.”. Symon asked, “Just one?”. Bjorn told him that he'd never actually seen them, but he's heard them. As a barbarian, he has a sense of when he is being tracked, and so far, he's been able to get away. “Very dangerous!”, he said. He'd gotten a glimpse of him one time from a great distance. It reminded him of some kind of a really large bear. He said, “It doesn't go down into the valley, it stays on the mountain side.”. Eryn distilled it all down to, “There is a cave with some kind of a monster in it that the creatures outside the cave worship. There are a bunch of the creatures outside that will be hard to fight. And there is a giant bear with Cal's skills running around up here tracking people.”.
Symon told Bjorn that legends speak of a guardian of the cave. Bjorn had never heard this story. He told them, “Something up there does seem to have them all wrapped up.”. Cassandra wondered that if they'd caught one of these creatures outside the cave, would they be able to talk to it or reason with it? X'or chimed in, “There is no negotiating with them. It's kill or be killed when you run across them.”. He added that his people fought with them for hundreds of years before they were finally able to drive them out. X'or told him that he never knew they had made it over the mountain range and moved over here. They'd thought they'd defeated them and got rid of all of them. Angelique went over to assist Elsa in preparing the meal. Elsa seemed very appreciative. The meal was great, the wine relaxed them, it felt good and safe. Bjorn offered to let them stay for the night and rest and that he'd get with them in the morning and go over the map, showing them were to go. Symon asked if there were others of his kind here? Bjorn told him, “Only us!”. They are part of a larger tribe, on the other side. Eryn questioned where the other side was? He told her, toward Blackhorn, over the Greymist Mountains.
Angelique did some more healing before they rested. They spent the night, rested and woke. Bjorn went over the map with them, pointing out things to look for. They figured by the way he described it, they'd be able to get right to the cave. X'or asked how long it would take the get there. Bjorn told him it would probably take a day from here. When asked how good they'd be in a fight, X'or said they'd be formidable. Bjorn added, “They are kind of fanatical, once you get in a fight with them!”.
That is where they stopped!
Start the recorder!
XP's 933 + 93 = 1,026