Rime of the Frostmaiden - Episode 1 "Cold Start"

Our adventure begins! Bren, Dorian and Freyja meet at the Northlook Inn & Tavern run by a famous adventurer named Ramsus. Bren, a newcomer to the North, befriends Dorian and Freyja who have lived here all their lives. 

Adventure finds them when a group of Dwarves stumble into the tavern needing someone to retrieve their lost shipment of iron ingots on the other side of a raging blizzard and possibly protected by a raging Yeti... welcome to Icewind Dale.

Transcript

SPEAKER_09 0:01

Welcome to the first session of Rhyme of the Frostmaiden. Icewind Ale has become trapped in a perpetual winter. Ferocious blizzards make the mountain pass through the spine of the world exceedingly treacherous. And this land has not felt the warmth of the sun in over two years. In fact, the sun no longer appears above the mountains. Not even in what should be the height of summer. In this frozen tundra, darkness and bitter cold reign as king and queen. Most Dale residents blame Aurel the Frostmaiden, the god of winter's wrath. The shimmering shimmering aurora that weaves across the sky each night is said to be her doing a potent spell that keeps the sun at bay. Dale folk live in a scattering of settlements known as Ten Towns. The drop-off in caravans coming from the south and travel between settlements in this never-ending winter has left everyone feeling isolated. Although each town has resolved to appease the Frostmaiden with sacrifices of one kind or another, no respite for the winter's fury seems forthcoming. For adventurers such as yourselves, Ten Towns is a place to test one's mettle and in the spirit of heroes who have come before, leave one's mark on this frigid, blighted land. I am your dungeon master, William. Who are we following along this treacherously cold adventure?

SPEAKER_04 1:58

Ladies first. That's right, I am the only lady again. Um yeah, I am Freya. I'm playing an elf again. She is not quite as tall as Larielle. She's about 5'7. Um, she is a barbarian, so she packs a harder punch than she looks, like she does. Um, fairly pale, ice blue eyes, white hair, um, white almost silver, I would say, kind of like snow in the sun, like when it kind of gets that iridescent look to it. She is a little insane, especially traveling around with her um adoptive brother. But I am excited. I like the idea of, or I like the idea of someone who doesn't look like they could absolutely lay you out, and then she just can. Um, she's dressed in winter wear pretty much all the time. Different dark browns and blues, leathers, heavy fabrics, things like that. Um her overcoat is or over shirt thing. Fur-lined. She has a big fur cloak on as well. Um, and underneath the like modest chest plate, she doesn't really need it, but just for the look.

SPEAKER_03 3:18

Um, but yeah, she's mostly just covered in fur and wool and just kind of stalks around the the towns in the woods and gets shit done.

SPEAKER_00 3:29

Excellent.

SPEAKER_08 3:32

I am Bren Talwick, the rock gnome artificer, who is training himself to become a wizard after he lost most of his uh potion making and alchemy uh equipment that he used as an alchemy artificer in a wreck through the ice as he was traveling through Ten Towns and the outskirts from his hometown of Neverwinter. Uh he is a bit skittish um, but very smart, very convincing, charismatic, uh, and quick. Not strong at all, though, uh, and not very wise. Um he, since being rescued by two uh fishermen, uh, after the wreck and the loss of all of his trading gear uh that he was traveling on this small caravan with, uh, he has started working cleaning and cooking at a little old tavern. Uh while he kind of bides his time, he has recently made the decision to try to become a wizard and try to become an adventurer, because he sees no other way back home. He, as a gnome, he's about three foot seven, about forty-five pounds, um weighs a lot more with his thick winter clothing, though. Uh, this kind of light brown leather uh with fur lining it uh to keep his tiny body warm throughout this everlasting frost. Uh he's got the classic artifice or goggles on top of his head that he puts down whenever he goes outside. He usually throws his hood up. Uh he wears a shield uh that he he managed to scavenge off of the broken cart. Uh and he's got some brown, scruffy hair on top of his head. Uh and he's he's pretty young. He's 19, so he's he's starting to grow some facial hair on his upper lip and his chin. Uh, but it's just barely coming in. Uh but he's he's usually got a smile on his face unless he's scared. Um but even then he tries to put on a brave face, even though he's he's just, like I said, pretty skittish.

SPEAKER_07 6:25

I'm Dorian Fain. I am an a drow ranger. Um I have long white hair. Um, it is down kind of around his chest region, um, and light purplish-gray skin. Um, he's got deep purple eyes. He's very handsome. Um and you can tell that he thinks that he's handsome. Um he's about six feet tall, broad shoulders, but other than that, he's uh pretty normal build. Um he wears all black leathers um with black fur uh line for the climate. He has a black cloak as well as a black half face mask to keep him warm. Um he is the middle child of four boys and uh Freya over there. He definitely exudes middle child energy. That was a big goal for me. He is definitely a survivalist, he loves to spend his free time making survival shelters in the middle of the woods and hunting. And when he was younger, he got into an um accident with a bear while he was doing said um hunting and he got his arm bitten off. So he has a um his brother is an artificer as well, so he crafted him a metallic arm. It is encrusted with sapphires because their family um they are jewelers and blacksmiths. They came from the underdark and um created this forge that has been pretty profitable, and yeah, he is just rich, middle child, annoying little brat.

SPEAKER_04 8:23

Oh, I forgot to mention um Freya has before being adopted by um Dorian's family, lived alone uh in the woods, kind of brought herself up and has spent so long in the woods that she kind of has perpetual frost along her temples. Um she learned how to speak common from Dorian and his family. So she's still kind of a few words, and some of the words aren't necessarily kind.

SPEAKER_09 8:53

Um you have been working as a kitchen help at the North London Tavern and Ryan have been getting odd jobs from a source. Dorian, all of your odd jobs letters are signed with the letter B. I'm assuming you have not told Freya who this B is. You're just like, here's our next job, girl, let's go. Okay. Um What are you all doing here in Brynchander? Depends what time it is. Um I would say it is the evening.

SPEAKER_08 10:07

If it's the evening, then I'm working in the back cooking. Uh I'm not the best cook in all the world. Uh my father usually took care of that. I I lived with him. Um but as somebody who's adept at whipping up potions, I've been stuck on soup duty. Uh a good place for somebody who hasn't mastered texture, but uh is able to use pressed eighteen to flavor anything and make it taste good. As long as as it has a texture of soup and tastes good, that's all the patrons really care about.

SPEAKER_07 10:56

Just see you as linguini and ratatouille.

SPEAKER_08 10:58

Yeah, very much, very much so.

SPEAKER_07 11:01

Um the rat is your spell.

SPEAKER_08 11:03

Yeah, uh so I'm using pressidegitation a lot around the place to clean up, to flavor, to heat, to cool. Uh it's a very useful spell to have in this line of work. Um but as as I'm doing my work and I'm doing it to the best of my abilities, I'm also thinking I'm too good for this. I shouldn't be making ends meet, making soup and casting precedence. I should be a tradesman, I should be following my father's footsteps selling these potions, but if I don't have money to afford alchemist supplies, then I can't make potions and I can't sell them. So I've got to do this until I can find another way to make money.

SPEAKER_09 12:00

What are Dorian and Freya doing right now?

SPEAKER_04 12:05

They are most likely at the tavern that Bren works at. Um they've been in town for a couple of weeks at this point, kind of waiting for more information on whatever job they have next. Um and in true sibling fashion, they are sitting there, probably bickering. Absolutely, he's yelling at you. Yeah. You need to stop building those stupid fucking survival huts everywhere we go.

SPEAKER_06 12:40

You know I like them so much. Why do you need them? We're calming down the town. You don't even use them to build them in the new. So you use it to make mud huts in the woods? Of course I do. Of course I do, because otherwise I'm just going to put all of my aggression on you when you play your darts. I'm like, and then you're not gonna be a good one. I'm gonna like you trap. Okay, do you wanna go play?

SPEAKER_04 13:05

Yeah, hold on. Actually, before we go before we do, I'm gonna get us another round, okay? Okay, you icy bitch. And she's gonna get up and she's gonna walk behind Dorian towards like where the bar is, and she's going to unclip his bionic arm.

SPEAKER_02 13:21

Oh no, not yet.

SPEAKER_04 13:23

And take it. I'm gonna sell this. I'm sure the sapphires would go for a lot.

SPEAKER_07 13:28

Oh, I'm sure they won't.

SPEAKER_04 13:29

And we'll see how well you throw without your bionic hand. And she's like waving it around.

SPEAKER_07 13:33

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_04 13:37

Oh, if I have that back, I'm slap you with it. Why? You don't we've only been here for a few weeks. You don't she's still holding it.

SPEAKER_08 13:43

Do you not have another arm you can use?

SPEAKER_07 13:45

This is his dominant one. You know, another voice just told me that I have another arm. With your non-dominant hand.

SPEAKER_04 13:53

I missed. But as she's like holding it, she's like, why do you even build them? We've only been here a few weeks. You don't need a survival hut. We're staying here.

SPEAKER_07 14:00

I need somewhere to stay that isn't with you.

SPEAKER_09 14:03

I need I need my time. As you guys are arguing, heavy footsteps approach your table. And a very tall Goliath man with long white hair pulled up and back and a beard and a scar across his nose, folds his arms and looks down at you. How many times? How many times must I tell you to keep it down in my tavern?

SPEAKER_07 14:39

Tell her to give me my arm back. She took it from me.

SPEAKER_09 14:44

Please give him his arm back.

SPEAKER_07 14:47

Sorry, ableist.

SPEAKER_04 14:49

Shall I hand it back?

SPEAKER_07 14:50

He says that, but he's pretending he's sad.

SPEAKER_04 14:52

I have to listen to him. He's my second favorite adventure.

SPEAKER_09 14:58

At your table you find Ramses.

SPEAKER_02 15:01

Ramses! Holy shit!

SPEAKER_09 15:04

The owner of the North Look Tavern.

SPEAKER_07 15:07

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_09 15:08

He has taken Bren under his wing and been paying him as a as help in the kitchen, uh, as he's been a little short of hands recently. Uh, you guys are kind of regulars at this tavern, uh, so you you know each other by name. Um and yeah, so he's a retired Ramses is a retired adventurer. He has his great sword up on a plaque above the bar next to uh a knucklehead trout, also on a plaque. You guys know this as old Bitey.

SPEAKER_05 15:47

Does it sing?

SPEAKER_09 15:49

It does.

SPEAKER_05 15:50

Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_09 15:52

Uh, yes. Old Bitey is a battle-scarred knucklehead trout that is stuffed and mounted on a plaque. A prankster wizard once enchanted the trophy, causing it to snap its jaws at anyone who comes within five feet of it. Occasionally, the fish will sing a cryptic verse.

SPEAKER_07 16:13

Does it take requests?

SPEAKER_09 16:15

No.

SPEAKER_07 16:17

You know Dorian's been trying to make it sing certain songs.

SPEAKER_09 16:20

Uh the cryptic verse goes as follows.

SPEAKER_01 16:24

There's a place I like to go. Farther up the river's flow. Where it is, I do not know. Must be under all that snow.

SPEAKER_08 16:37

Anytime Bren hears that throughout the day, uh, he just has the biggest smile on his face, and he kind of bops his head back and forth.

SPEAKER_04 16:47

Dorian, stop asking you to sing that. We've heard it seven times today.

SPEAKER_07 16:52

That was the wrong accent. You know I like it.

SPEAKER_01 16:55

That's not in the same way I will have Bran bring your soup in just a minute.

SPEAKER_04 17:03

Thank you, Ramses. Thanks, Ramses. Sorry.

SPEAKER_00 17:09

You're making me lose business here.

SPEAKER_07 17:18

It might be the soup.

SPEAKER_10 17:20

Ramses, it's listen, it uh I know.

SPEAKER_04 17:24

I lived in the woods for eight years. It's bad.

SPEAKER_00 17:28

Give the little man a break.

SPEAKER_09 17:30

He's trying.

SPEAKER_07 17:30

I could go hunt you some uh some good meat, maybe that would help.

SPEAKER_08 17:35

It tastes good. I use precedent. It can't taste bad.

SPEAKER_07 17:39

How far does that spell go?

SPEAKER_00 17:44

The tables in the corner have to place.

SPEAKER_04 17:51

I mean, yeah. Texture's good. Yeah, texture's great. It's soup texture, so you know. Alright, good. Not much I can really do about that.

SPEAKER_09 18:01

He will go back behind uh the bar and start taking more orders.

SPEAKER_04 18:06

As soon as he leaves, she breaches across the table and smacks your normal arm. You made me look like an idiot in front of my second favorite adventurer.

SPEAKER_06 18:15

You took my arm! You were being a bitch. Says you.

SPEAKER_09 18:21

Uh Dorian, you feel a tap on your back. You somebody bumps into you.

SPEAKER_06 18:31

Watch over your walking. Uh turn around.

SPEAKER_09 18:35

And you see behind this person, they kind of slip a note to you from uh they're still turned around. They kind of pull a piece of paper out and hand you a note.

SPEAKER_07 18:47

Do I recognize this person? Or do but I just recognize this action?

SPEAKER_09 18:51

I just recognize this person, yes.

SPEAKER_07 18:52

Okay. I look at them. I say watch where you're walking. I say watch where you're walking, and like halfway through that sentence, I cut myself off and just take it.

unknown 19:02

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 19:03

Stealthfully.

SPEAKER_09 19:04

Uh, do you read it here?

SPEAKER_07 19:06

Yeah, I'll read it.

SPEAKER_09 19:07

Okay. It reads. There has been a very out of place at the North Look, I'm sure you've seen. He seems suspicious. Just keep an eye on him for me. Signed B.

SPEAKER_07 19:30

Um, I look around for a gnome.

SPEAKER_09 19:34

Run brings you your soup. Uh two orders of soup.

SPEAKER_04 19:41

Thank you. Can I make an insight check on him?

SPEAKER_09 19:45

Sure. Okay. What would you like to determine? Uh what are you trying to determine from him?

SPEAKER_07 19:49

His level of suspiciousness.

SPEAKER_09 19:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 19:53

I know how I don't get guidance. I have two spells. This is weird. Okay.

SPEAKER_09 20:00

Yeah, Rangers don't get a lot of.

SPEAKER_07 20:01

Um 14.

SPEAKER_09 20:04

He's just the guy. He just seems like uh he seems a little too I don't know, a little too happy after hearing old Bighty's repetitive song. Everyone else in the north look just ignores it completely. Okay. But he bops his head.

SPEAKER_08 20:20

Thanks so much again for uh requesting Old Bitey to sing. I it it cracks me up every time. I I love that old fish. Um hey, I noticed your arm looks a little loose. Uh would you mind if I I could help you I could help you with that?

SPEAKER_04 20:37

He looks at Brian with death in his eyes. That was my bad.

SPEAKER_08 20:43

So I I could help.

SPEAKER_07 20:45

You got magic?

SPEAKER_08 20:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 20:49

He like he's gonna use this as an opportunity to kind of scope him out. He'll hand him his arm. Well, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 20:57

It'll take me a minute. Um, so if you're able to eat your soup with your other hand before it gets too cold. Um here you go. Uh I set the soups in front of them, uh, spoons, uh, and then I start to cast mending on your shoulder uh where it kind of attaches so that it can not as easily pop off.

SPEAKER_07 21:19

What kind of magic is that?

SPEAKER_08 21:22

Uh it's something all of us gnomes know pretty much. It's mending.

SPEAKER_07 21:27

Mending. That's interesting. My brother uses that.

SPEAKER_08 21:30

Oh, you don't say.

SPEAKER_07 21:31

Yeah, he's already winding his arm.

SPEAKER_08 21:33

Oh, wow. That makes sense. Is he an artificer?

SPEAKER_07 21:37

Yes, he is.

SPEAKER_08 21:38

Wow. Uh certainly a different type than I am. I I mostly focus on potions. Alchemy.

SPEAKER_07 21:44

You're an artificer, and yet you're cooking.

SPEAKER_08 21:48

Yeah, you know, I'm not from around here. Uh I'm from down south, uh, where it's quite a bit warmer. Um I'm I'm trying to figure out how to how to make my way back. But it's tough when you don't have any gold. Uh and when it's perpetual winter.

SPEAKER_07 22:08

How far south are you from?

SPEAKER_08 22:10

I mean, it's quite a few days, uh maybe even a month's travel, uh, especially through all this uh snow. It's um uh I'm from Neverwinter, if you know it.

SPEAKER_07 22:21

Neverwinter. Interesting, nice region.

SPEAKER_08 22:24

Yeah, I mean it's the n pretty much the northernmost town of the Sword Coast, but we all call it the north, but not up here.

SPEAKER_07 22:36

Far from it. Uh thank you.

SPEAKER_08 22:39

Yeah, of course. No problem. How's the soup?

SPEAKER_04 22:45

Texture's great.

SPEAKER_02 22:47

Very good.

SPEAKER_08 22:48

I I'm I'm working on it.

SPEAKER_04 22:50

Yeah. It's pretty it when you said about the potions thing, it it makes a lot of sense.

SPEAKER_08 22:55

Yeah. So interesting. Well, I'll let you get back to it.

SPEAKER_04 23:00

I'm still gonna try and take the arm off.

SPEAKER_05 23:02

Oh, I know it.

SPEAKER_04 23:03

Whenever you piss me off.

SPEAKER_05 23:04

Maybe I'll just come back here and after you're gonna tighten it up. Tighten it up.

SPEAKER_04 23:09

Yeah, you do that.

SPEAKER_05 23:11

Um so we established that I do tell Freya about our next missions, but I don't she doesn't know who B is. But I will show her the note.

SPEAKER_09 23:22

Okay. After Friend leaves. Yes. Okay.

SPEAKER_04 23:28

They want to know about the soup gnome.

SPEAKER_07 23:32

I mean, he's clearly got some powerful magic. I'm curious about.

SPEAKER_04 23:36

Well, if he said all gnomes have that spell, then why is he so special? I don't get it. He said he's an artificer. Yeah, an artificer who's making textured soup. Could mean anything. He could be undercover. Probably. I think he could just be broke. He's a little too happy-go-lucky to be, you know. I don't think he's hiding anything. I think he's just like that. Happy no making soup.

SPEAKER_09 24:01

From the note and your nature with of your relationship with this bee, um, from the note you can kind of guess that she or they don't like uh doesn't uh not necessarily concerned with him about him, but they're just interested because he's just so out of place. You don't really see gnomes around here.

SPEAKER_04 24:32

Think he can fight?

SPEAKER_09 24:33

Let alone ones that are so chipper as he.

SPEAKER_04 24:37

Do I think he can fight? Yeah. I think I could use him as a weapon. I'd like to see you try. I mean, honestly, I'd be like, well, you know, just grab him the way I grab darts.

SPEAKER_07 24:50

You can do full fist it, don't you?

SPEAKER_04 24:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 24:52

It's the only way to do my handwriting so bad.

SPEAKER_04 24:54

My handwriting is fantastic, thank you. I can read it just fine. Right like that. You taught me how to write, so if anything, it's your fault that it's You've seen my handwriting is not as good. I don't understand how when you write with a bionic arm, shouldn't it be like ten times better or something? Fuck is his name.

SPEAKER_07 25:16

You forgot Maybe I'll have brother.

SPEAKER_01 25:20

My brother.

SPEAKER_04 25:23

We've been gone for only a few weeks and you forgot his name already. Oh, of course I have. No, I maybe he can oh no, sorry, no, no, continue. Maybe he can fight. I don't know. There might there maybe there's something lurking under all of this soup. But if anything, it'd be nice to have him around to mend your arm if you jack it up doing, you know, whether that be archery related or survival hut related.

SPEAKER_07 25:48

Or sister related. Yeah.

unknown 25:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 25:52

They're doing that thing the siblings often do where they fight like fucking mad and then all of a sudden they're best friends again.

SPEAKER_09 25:58

You're trying to go get food? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I got you. So uh I think I failed to mention this. You are in Bryn Shander.

SPEAKER_07 26:09

Brynshander.

SPEAKER_09 26:10

No, I think you did. Did I? I thought you said I can't even remember. Brynchander is one of the towns. Yes, Bryn Shander is the largest of the ten towns. You have been there for the past couple of weeks. Uh you are aware that each ten each of the ten towns makes uh one sacrifice or another to Arl uh to appease her and hopefully an effort to stop this winter, stop this rhyme that she uh dispels upon the towns. Ramses goes up to you, Bran. Everything going all right, dear kid.

SPEAKER_08 26:49

Yeah, uh I think I'm starting to make a good impression on people. Good. Good. You have the attitude about you. Thank you. Um I'm just trying to get this soup down. Like I like I said when you hired me, uh I can I can clean, I can flavor things well, but I'm not very experienced cooking. Uh I know, I know. But I think I'm getting the hang of it. They said uh that that I I don't know if I know her name. Um the big one, white hair. Uh that's that would be Freya.

SPEAKER_04 27:24

Yeah, fine.

SPEAKER_08 27:25

Yeah, uh, she said the texture's good. I'm not sure if I believed her, but what did you do differently?

SPEAKER_09 27:32

Thicker. Does Ramses know that you're doing magic to make this better?

SPEAKER_08 27:39

Yeah, that was uh I that would have been kind of my selling point when I was like, I can work for you, I know pressed digitation, I can clean up, I can flavor things. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 27:47

Alright, alright. Okay, that's good. She means well. She might be imposing, but she means well, I'd think.

SPEAKER_08 27:56

Yeah, I mean, the two of them together, it they look mighty strong.

SPEAKER_09 28:04

They uh they take uh many uh many a odd job around here. Take care of ruffians and thugs, brigands, the the like. Um very good at what they do for sure.

SPEAKER_08 28:19

You know, um I've been thinking about, you know, doing some of that myself. Adventuring. I think, yeah. Alright. It's not that I don't appreciate working here. Of course I do, but if I ever want to get back home, I gotta f I gotta find a way to make more coin. Um you do. I wish I could pay you more, but you know how it is. No, you're paying me exactly what I deserve. For this for this type of work for a guy who barely knows how to make soup. I think I'm making enough.

SPEAKER_09 29:02

Well, since you've come along, the place has been a lot cleaner than it ever has been. I'll tell you that. Yeah, uh I'll I do what I can.

SPEAKER_08 29:09

Um you think I mean, those two looked a little skeptical of me, but I don't know if I could adventure on my own. I think I need I mean, look at me. I uh probably need some muscle around me, right? I wasn't going to say anything. That's alright. Any tips that you have for me, I would invite them with open arms. It's never wise to travel alone.

SPEAKER_09 29:37

Never. You always travel with at least one other person. Because if something were to happen to you, there's no one who can pull you out of that. Yeah, I know that well. I'm sure you do. But they are a good pair. They're good at what they do, and from what I hear, they make decent coin.

SPEAKER_08 29:59

So Well, maybe if maybe if I got myself a lead, maybe I could bring them in. If I went up to them and said, hey, hey, you know how I make that soup pretty good, and you know how I fixed your arm a little bit? How about I come fight some people with you? I don't know if how well that would work.

SPEAKER_03 30:22

Honestly, I think Frey would love that.

SPEAKER_08 30:25

With an ad with an adventure already, maybe they'll take me up on an offer.

SPEAKER_09 30:32

I'd feel like you'd be a good uh a good support to those two. Sometimes they can be a little headstrong, especially Freya.

SPEAKER_03 30:41

But uh Catch and Strays left right the bigger.

SPEAKER_08 30:48

Someone to ground them now and again. Well, I'm much closer to it than they are. Oh the jokester you are, Bren.

SPEAKER_09 31:01

Well, I and you hear a bell from the town market square. It's time to go to the square. Would I know what this is? Uh, you know you can kind of gather that it's uh you haven't been here quite long enough because the uh whole sacrifice uh idea happens every couple of months. Right, right. Okay. So Ramses tells you it's it's so busy tonight. I have had you cooking back there because people are a little restless tonight. It's it's a big night for us. What do you want me to clean up while you guys go? Everyone has to go. Alright. So and he like looks really sullen.

SPEAKER_08 31:51

Um if Ramses is scared or upset about something, I don't know what I'm getting myself into here. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 32:01

Do you have a uh did you put yours in yet? Your name? Uh I don't really know what you're talking about. Oh. It's I'm sorry, I I failed to tell you. It's been a few months. Every few months we uh decide what we or who we sacrifice to the Frostmaiden.

SPEAKER_07 32:26

What the fuck? Oh.

SPEAKER_09 32:29

So everyone has to do it. Or else you know, things bad things can happen. So here. And he tears off a little piece of paper and hands it to you. The other two you've met, they've already placed their names in the bowl, so you best get to it quick. Uh alright. Uh they know you're sneaking out of it. I've heard bad things. My hand is shaking as I write my name. I have heard uh some ill fates have come to those who've tried to avoid this lottery.

SPEAKER_08 33:05

Yeah, I can imagine. So. Ill fates for those who are selected, though, too, right?

SPEAKER_00 33:13

Unfortunately.

SPEAKER_09 33:15

But some believe strongly that these sacrifices will keep the Frostmaiden at bay and rid us of this winter, but I don't know. Personally, I think it's been a little too long.

SPEAKER_08 33:26

How many people do they select each time? Just one.

SPEAKER_06 33:31

One only and one girl.

SPEAKER_08 33:33

I like my chances. One in twelve hundred, right? About that, yes. Well, alright. Uh I I kinda that eases my nerves as I think about like this is like winning the lottery. Yeah. Yeah, yep, yep.

SPEAKER_09 33:54

My hand on the paper, or I like put it out and do I give this to you or uh head to the market square, as you'll see everyone else in town is going to right now. Uh you'll see Duvesta, our speaker of Rinchander. Let her know that you're new, and this is why you're late to put your name in the in the bowl.

SPEAKER_02 34:18

All right.

SPEAKER_08 34:19

Uh I I run. I I go pretty much as quickly as I can while not looking like I'm running from something. I just want to get there quick so that if anyone else is putting their name down, mine is not at the top.

SPEAKER_09 34:33

Yeah, you see, I want to see a couple other people kind of throw their names in who had forgotten until the day of. Um, so you're not alone in there, which is good. Uh the race platform, which Duvessa is standing on, watches everybody put their names in the bowl. Uh in the crowd, you find uh two familiar faces, Dorian and Freya. Would you like to join them?

SPEAKER_08 34:59

I don't think I would feel comfortable walking up to them. I might stay kind of close to them. Um, but I don't really want to walk up and like stand next to them and be like, hey, remember me? I made you sick.

SPEAKER_04 35:16

Um if you're standing close enough, you will hear Freya say, Did you put your you put your name in? Of course I put my name in. I put your name in there three times. I put yours in four. Along with my own. I also followed the rules, but I did put your name in four extra times.

SPEAKER_07 35:32

Okay. Well, I guess we're even.

SPEAKER_08 35:36

Friend kind of looks down and goes, Yes. Because he's like, what one in twelve hundred and five is better than one in twelve hundred.

SPEAKER_09 35:49

Uh yeah, the population is about a thousand, somewhere between a thousand and twelve hundred uh total people. Um, so yes, you and the other residents have gathered in the marketplace in anticipation of this month's sacrifice to Oriol. The warmth of the crowd is almost enough to conceal the bitter cold that fills the air around you. In front of the rabble is a raised platform where Duvessa Shane, Speaker of Prince Shander, and Sheriff Markham Southwell sit, flanked by a group of guards. Sitting on a table in front of them is a bowl filled to the brim with slips of parchment. Crowd chatter quickly falters as Duvessa stands up to speak.

SPEAKER_01 36:41

I've decided this can't go on. Orl's torment has gone on too long. Preach. I will adhere to the decisions of my fellow speakers and follow through with this lottery today, but I am calling a council of the speakers. A ten day from now, the speakers and I will be voting once again to decide if we will continue these offerings to our unrelenting frost maiden. For we have offered her all we can for over a year, and she has done little to alleviate us from her everlasting rhyme.

SPEAKER_09 37:15

Um, you hear kind of like from the crowd.

SPEAKER_07 37:19

Yeah, Dorian's definitely like, preach it. He hates this. He thinks the gods are stupid.

SPEAKER_09 37:25

Duvesta slowly walks over to the bowl of names. She takes a piece of paper from within her jacket and adds it into the bowl. The crowd begins murmuring to each other. Before more words can be shared, Sheriff Southwell stands up. The masses are silent once more. He walks over to the table and shuffles the papers around for several moments. Everyone looks around at each other in anticipation. Southwell pulls out a single slip of parchment. Pick a number between one and one thousand. Okay.

SPEAKER_08 38:14

Thirty-eight.

SPEAKER_04 38:20

Seven twenty-five. No, nine hundred and eight. Seven twenty-five.

SPEAKER_09 38:35

Thirty-eight.

SPEAKER_04 38:36

Why did you make that advice at me?

SPEAKER_08 38:39

You're close to the number I rolled.

SPEAKER_04 38:41

Holy shit.

SPEAKER_08 38:42

Imagine we start the campaign with a one in one thousand roll.

SPEAKER_04 38:47

Just me fucking dead.

SPEAKER_08 38:48

Oh man.

SPEAKER_04 38:50

Even though, even though Freya did joke and seriously put Dorian's name in more than once, like as the names are.

SPEAKER_08 38:58

Yeah, what are your other numbers?

SPEAKER_04 38:59

As the names are getting switched around, she does like loop her arm with his and like she's nervous. Like she goes, hold on to him a little bit.

SPEAKER_08 39:08

Welcome to the 38th.

SPEAKER_04 39:16

Yeah. Yeah, they're fully like huddled together.

SPEAKER_01 39:26

Innkeep of the hooked knocklehead.

SPEAKER_09 39:30

The crowd glances to the ramshackle tavern sitting on the edge of the marketplace square. The few private rooms available did not have any hearths, and no one has stayed in them since Oral's rhyme began. The brutal winds have damaged the structural integrity of the inn, its ramshackle structure hanging on to its last breath. Most customers are local scrimshars and trabbers, who all slept in the large common room close to its sole stone fireplace. Barton looks up to the sky and curses the frostmaiden for destroying his business and his livelihood. Then he marches up to the platform. Barton whispers something to De Vessa and she nods. Then Sheriff Southwell and another guard begin ripping off Barton's clothes and dropping them into the snowy ground. Barton's hands are bound behind his back, and he is led to the southwest gate. De Vessa and the crowd follow. Barton reaches the edge of the gate, already shivering from the bitter cold. He turns around and looks at his home one last time before walking briskly down the road. Sheriff Southwell crosses his arms and watches him go while standing in the middle of the road. Duvassa stands a few feet behind him, and he walks off into the wilderness, beyond the horizon, and completely disappears. Slowly the crowd disperses until just a few stragglers remain. Eventually you can no longer see Barton. Devesa inhales sharply and then turns around and leaves, heading towards the Speaker's Palace, followed by two guards. Southwell stays and watches the road.

SPEAKER_08 41:34

Did you know him?

SPEAKER_09 41:38

He would come in to the north look and often complained to me that his business wasn't really getting anywhere. I didn't know what to do for him, and eventually he became jealous and just never came back. Stayed holed up in his own inn that no one came to.

SPEAKER_08 41:57

So they just take him out there to die. Yes.

SPEAKER_09 42:04

It's a human sacrifice. Does Arl come for him? Some say she does, some believe she does, some believe she doesn't. Some say she just feels the sacrifice. What do you believe? I think she does come. I don't know. I don't know. I can't say for sure, but often we see her weaving a rhyme in the sky on top of a giant bird. So maybe she does swoop down and take it.

SPEAKER_08 42:43

That's a shame, but it might be the last one for a while. That's good. Forbid. Yes.

SPEAKER_09 42:52

Forbidden. That's one less name in the bowl. I'm glad it wasn't you.

SPEAKER_08 43:10

Boy, me too. Alone in the snow enough these past few months. Without snowshoes, no doubt. Must have been terrible. I thought I was prepared enough. I didn't know what I was walking into.

SPEAKER_09 43:31

Well, I know the black iron blades will sell you s will sell snowshoes if you need them. If you ever do travel in the wilderness, which I would recommend not right now. Those ones that look like ball rackets. That's right. Well if they sell one small enough for me, I'll buy 'em. I am sure they will, if you request it. Are you guys staying and watching as the crowd disperses, or are you kind of going With the flow.

SPEAKER_04 44:05

I think Freya would watch until he's out of sight. Just from having basically lived like that for the beginning of her life. But she kind of had the opposite thing where she walked into town instead of being ushered out. Um I think she's just kind of watching and just hoping that he goes quickly because she knows how tough it is out there.

SPEAKER_09 44:36

And you know he will go very quickly.

SPEAKER_04 44:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 44:40

Uh within a couple hours, if that.

SPEAKER_04 44:49

Yeah, she's still holding holding on your arm.

SPEAKER_07 44:51

He'll stay with her.

SPEAKER_09 44:53

You guys see as the crowd disperses reveals uh the Goliath man right next to a very small man. I'm just looking straight up at him as they're you can see them speaking to each other as the crowd kind of dissipates and goes their separate ways.

SPEAKER_04 45:12

See, I don't think anything weird is it. If Ramses likes him, then I think he's probably fine.

SPEAKER_07 45:19

I think maybe the note just was more so curious about him.

SPEAKER_04 45:26

But I mean Ramses has seen a lot of stuff. Maybe he has some insight on him. I heard I heard once on an adventure of his, and she's like, it's like this weird like glit in her eye. Like she's so excited to talk about it. She's like I heard that once he had this shield that like really wanted to fuck him.

SPEAKER_07 45:49

No way, that's crazy. She asked him about that one day.

SPEAKER_04 45:52

There was like a demon in it, and when the demon came out, they were like, let's go. How do we get our things? I don't know.

SPEAKER_07 45:58

It was actually a devil.

SPEAKER_04 46:04

Probably, yeah, but you would need to find like a soul to put in it. You don't have one. Interesting. But you know, I don't know. So like if he's seen stuff like that and like all the other stuff that he's seen, um, it's probably like he's probably fine. I think like on a scale of like Shield with a Demon and Supnome, I think he's probably okay. I think you're probably right. I know I'm right. Yeah. I'm always right.

SPEAKER_07 46:34

Not always. Yeah. Pretty sure I'm always right. 45% of the time. 65, I'll have you. I'll raise you 50. Deal. I'm glad you didn't die.

SPEAKER_04 46:48

Me too. Yeah. Sorry I put your name in so many times.

SPEAKER_07 46:52

I'm not sorry put your name in so many times, it lowered my odds.

SPEAKER_04 46:56

Yeah. Do you think we should ask Ramses about the soup gnome?

SPEAKER_07 47:00

I think we should ask Ramses about the soup gnome.

SPEAKER_04 47:03

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 47:04

I have the idea first.

SPEAKER_04 47:07

Okay, well, he's my second favorite adventure, so I think I should.

SPEAKER_07 47:10

He's my first favorite.

SPEAKER_04 47:12

Really?

SPEAKER_07 47:12

No, it's Drizz.

SPEAKER_04 47:14

Oh. Interesting.

SPEAKER_07 47:16

Dorian's lived his entire life looking up to Driz. And he like really wants to be him. He's like a fanboy. And he's like, what would you ever do?

SPEAKER_04 47:24

What would you do if you ever met him? Would you like talk? Would you like be cool? I'd be so cool. I don't think he would be.

SPEAKER_07 47:29

I think that he would be like that. I thought that would be cool. I think I think that you would be.

SPEAKER_04 47:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 47:37

I'd be cooler though.

SPEAKER_04 47:39

No. I literally have frost on my forehead. I would be cooler than you.

SPEAKER_06 47:42

I look like him. Look about him. Okay, and you don't think that would weird him out? No, I'd be like, somebody who looks like honored and is like a huge fan. Honored.

SPEAKER_04 47:51

Ramsey!

SPEAKER_08 47:54

I see them doing bickering, and I kind of scoot off looking for those snowshoes.

SPEAKER_04 48:01

I love them. Sorry. We were having a heated discussion. Um passionate. Yeah. Kind of about you. It's beside the point. And the soup gnome. And the soup gnome.

SPEAKER_09 48:18

It was Bren.

SPEAKER_04 48:18

Bren. That's what it was. Well, it's how I remember. It's how I remember people. I have like a system in my head.

SPEAKER_07 48:29

Yeah, we name them by the profession and then they're race.

SPEAKER_04 48:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 48:33

That is the way to go about it. Well, for a long time.

SPEAKER_04 48:37

Adventure alive, obviously. Yeah. And before I, you know, really knew how to speak common in my head, I called Dorian annoying drowl. Yeah. So And I called her Icy Bitch.

SPEAKER_09 48:50

Between you and I.

SPEAKER_04 48:51

I'm right, right?

SPEAKER_01 48:53

A little bit. All right.

SPEAKER_04 48:55

But no, we had um I heard that by the way.

SPEAKER_07 48:59

He calls her bitch in a sibling way and not in a misogynistic way, by the way.

SPEAKER_01 49:03

He's allowed.

SPEAKER_07 49:05

In a sibling way. He would never call another woman bitch.

SPEAKER_09 49:08

He goes back to the North Look to uh uh wrap everything up. Um kitchen's closed, now it's just drinks. Uh Bren, you find the Black Iron Blades stand. Uh Ramses tells you that the group of dwarves known as the Black Iron Blades sell uh adventurer's gear and the like. Uh however, no one's at the little stand right now.

SPEAKER_08 49:42

When I see that nobody's there, I think I just kind of assume that they went home after the the name was drawn. All right. I guess I'll come back when they're open. Awesome. All right. Go back to work.

SPEAKER_07 49:55

Oh wow.

SPEAKER_08 49:56

Cool.

SPEAKER_07 49:56

Um before you go back to work, uh Dorian and Freya. Yeah, Dorian and Freya are going for a little walk to just kind of clear their heads and yeah, just enjoy nature for a little bit and pass you looking at the shoes. Oh shit, Dorian, what's his name?

SPEAKER_04 50:16

I forgot. Brad, Brad. Brynn! Brad, Bryn, Bryn. Brian, Brad, Brian!

SPEAKER_08 50:22

Yeah, hi.

SPEAKER_04 50:25

How are you doing? Hi.

SPEAKER_08 50:27

Uh honestly, a little shaken up by that whole thing.

SPEAKER_04 50:32

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 50:33

Tried to take up my mind off it by shopping, uh, but they're closed.

unknown 50:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:39

So uh the first time you've seen some one of one of those.

SPEAKER_08 50:44

Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 50:45

Uh gruesome, huh? Brutal. It would be the first time you guys would have seen a human sacrifice as well. Termaline does not do human sacrifices.

SPEAKER_07 50:56

We've probably been here a couple of times, though, I would assume. Yeah, maybe. Maybe.

SPEAKER_04 51:01

But at the very least. Like we've seen the sacrifices, but never um, never a full person.

SPEAKER_07 51:09

Should maybe uh think about moving. Where we're from, they don't they don't do it quite like this. We're just unlucky.

SPEAKER_09 51:17

Uh Termaline sacrifices warmth. So once every couple of months, your guys' town where you are from, uh one night, douse all fires, turn off all lanterns, all sources of any warmth are put out for an entire night.

SPEAKER_07 51:39

If you like being cold, you know.

SPEAKER_08 51:42

Uh I really don't.

SPEAKER_07 51:43

Um being dead.

SPEAKER_08 51:45

These clothes help a lot. Um, and I was I was gonna buy some snowshoes. Uh I don't know if you guys have those, but uh they seem pretty handy. Ram just told me to get some, so um, you know, I've been thinking about exploring a little bit. Uh uh. But I don't know. I I don't know if I want to call any of the other nine towns home. Uh I kind of like Brynsander, it's the the biggest, and I feel like there's more opportunity here.

SPEAKER_04 52:20

Well, yeah, and an inn just opened up to be run without incentive. That is true.

SPEAKER_08 52:25

Uh a little bit, but I I don't think it's I don't think it's really ready to be run.

SPEAKER_04 52:30

I think he was kind of run out of business.

SPEAKER_08 52:34

I mean, if you got the coin to buy a rundown inn, then God bless you. Really bad luck on his part. Um, but Ramses said he kind of wasn't having a great life anyway, so it better him than us.

SPEAKER_07 52:50

Yeah. I like the way you think. I like being alive, so oh me too.

SPEAKER_08 52:56

Um well uh been any been on any fun adventures lately?

SPEAKER_04 53:05

Oh loads. Yeah. Um last couple of odd jobs were were okay. Um Dorian likes to, you know, build survival huts wherever we go, so if that's your thing.

SPEAKER_08 53:21

You know, I've um I haven't told many people this, but I've been trying to teach myself wizardry.

SPEAKER_03 53:31

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 53:32

There's a spell I really want to learn. Um it's like a magical hut.

SPEAKER_07 53:39

Magical. Oh, tiny hut. That's your dream.

SPEAKER_08 53:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 53:43

Um I like working with my hands. Hand. Hands. Just because it didn't grow from me doesn't mean it's not a hand. Your hand doesn't grow from you, you idiot.

SPEAKER_08 53:55

Do you do you mind if I asked what happened?

SPEAKER_07 54:00

Bear attack.

SPEAKER_08 54:02

Wow.

SPEAKER_07 54:03

That's kind of my fault. I was trying to hunt it for sport.

SPEAKER_09 54:08

Bro was trying to hunt a polar bear. For sport. Wow.

SPEAKER_07 54:12

Um it was gruesome. Yeah, it was really grass.

SPEAKER_08 54:17

Uh well, I hope I was able to help a little bit.

SPEAKER_07 54:19

Yeah. You know. He like kind of like winds his arm up. It's pretty great now. I feel like I can uh he mimics shooting something with his bow. I think I could uh shoot pretty well with this.

SPEAKER_08 54:35

Well, I'm happy to help.

unknown 54:37

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 54:38

You got anything on the agenda?

SPEAKER_04 54:43

Do I? Well, other than you learning about him, yeah. Which I don't think we should do him.

SPEAKER_07 54:52

It's kind of a vacationing for now.

SPEAKER_09 54:56

You are, as far as you know, Dorian, you are waiting for uh a connection to give you your next your next job.

SPEAKER_04 55:06

On holiday, as the elves would say. Yeah, we're kind of just waiting for the next thing. So yeah.

SPEAKER_08 55:13

I'm kind of in the same boat. Um not I guess we're in kind of separate boats, but go in a similar direction.

SPEAKER_04 55:22

You know, you uh you're small enough you could fit in our boat.

SPEAKER_08 55:26

That's true. What were you gonna say?

SPEAKER_07 55:30

You said you wanted to learn magic. I just uh you know there's no better way to learn than than to be thrown into the deep end.

SPEAKER_08 55:42

Well, I'm not so sure that's true.

SPEAKER_09 55:45

Yeah, you had a rough time. Ramses threw you into the deep end. He was short hands and shit was getting busy.

SPEAKER_08 55:53

Well, precedent station has been with me since I was since since birth, pretty much. Um but yeah, I've been slowly learning some wizard spells. Um you know, uh yeah, just uh help me and uh people I care about survive, you know. Um anyway. If I hear of anything, I'll let you know.

SPEAKER_04 56:22

Yeah, that'd be great. Great. Yeah, and if we need um a wizard in training, we'll come to you. Great.

SPEAKER_07 56:38

It's nice getting to know you, uh Soup. I mean Bren.

SPEAKER_08 56:42

Yeah, it's Bren.

SPEAKER_07 56:43

Bren. Yeah, Dorian.

SPEAKER_04 56:45

We know that. Freya.

SPEAKER_08 56:47

Dorian, Freya. Well, it's nice to officially meet you, not as customers, but as people.

SPEAKER_07 56:53

Yeah. Soup was good though. Maybe needed a little salt.

SPEAKER_08 56:58

Well, uh, I can cast to your preference.

SPEAKER_04 57:04

I like him. He's gonna be useful, probably. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 57:08

All right. Well, I'm going back to work. You hear Rams is calling for you, Bren. Yep, I'm already headed. And he also he he's like out the door. Bren! You know what? Dorian, Freya, I've got a job for you.

SPEAKER_04 57:22

Oh, perfect. Oh my god, that quick.

SPEAKER_08 57:25

That's pretty crazy.

SPEAKER_04 57:27

Wow. Well, looks like, you know, you might get your wish, soupnome.

SPEAKER_09 57:34

Alright. You all go back into the north look, uh, and no one is in there. It's it's kind of closed down for the night. Ah, perfect.

SPEAKER_10 57:48

Bren.

SPEAKER_09 57:50

Uh why don't you why don't you turn in early tonight? Uh I've got it from here. That's no problem. I'm a bit shaken up and everything. I've got some studying to do, so. Yep, perfect. Perfect. You too. Floors swept floors, mop chairs on top of the table.

SPEAKER_04 58:09

Yes, Ramses.

SPEAKER_08 58:11

Thank you. Uh I try to hide a chuckle because I could have done this so easily. Uh at the end of the night, I usually use mage hand and and pick all the tables up and and flip the chairs and everything and use press the digitation. And then I I head upstairs to my room and I hear them doing it by hand. I'm just like, oh, this is this is kind of funny.

SPEAKER_04 58:39

Stop mopping where I haven't swept yet. You're just moving dirt around and it's getting wet.

SPEAKER_07 58:44

He's mopping circles around you. Do you think if I keep doing this, that your icy body will turn the floor into an ice rink?

SPEAKER_04 58:55

It doesn't work like that. Keep trying.

SPEAKER_08 58:57

It really is a heated rivalry.

SPEAKER_04 59:00

Not this one.

SPEAKER_09 59:01

Maybe the heated rivalry is the real heated rivalry as the friends we made along the way. Um night comes, and I'm assuming since you guys are staying in uh Brynchander, you'll have rooms. You'll have rooms here.

SPEAKER_02 59:20

Sure.

SPEAKER_09 59:21

Yeah, I'm definitely staying here. Yeah, Ramses comes back out after he's done. He's just soaked from washing all the dishes. Thank you for that. Uh to your rooms. Second on the left. Uh and third on the left if you want a separate room. That one's open too.

SPEAKER_07 59:42

Perfect. She snores. I do not really.

SPEAKER_09 59:48

But uh thank you for thank you for paying for your rooms tonight. I appreciate it.

SPEAKER_07 59:53

You're welcome.

SPEAKER_09 59:55

And he gives you a gives you a little wink, goes to his own room on the bottom floor behind the uh kitchen and hearth and stuff. And as you walk up the stairs, uh it's kind of a place like there's the bar in the on like the left side, and then the stairs are right next to the bar, and the plaque with old Bighty is right next to the stairs. So as you go up, uh Brun doesn't need to worry about this going up the stairs since he's a little shorter, but as you two go up at each of you, old Bighty. Oh, this he bites at each of you.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:34

One of these days I'm gonna take that thing off the wall and rip it in half with my bare hands.

SPEAKER_07 1:00:38

Dorian definitely screamed a little bit and has his fist out like he's gonna punch it.

SPEAKER_01 1:00:44

There's a place I like to go. It's farther foot rippers blow. Where it is I do not know. Must be a neural that snow.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:52

Oh, he went a little opera with it this time. She sees your arm pulled back the way it is, and she goes, That's why you're an archer.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:00

It's his biotic arm, too.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:02

Yeah. You would think it would know the difference.

SPEAKER_09 1:01:04

You all go to sleep, have a nice dreamless sleep, and wake up to the smell of breakfast. Rams is barking orders, yelling at Bren for burning the bacon again.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:25

I'm sorry, it's uh I can I can cool it off a little bit. You uh it's too far gone. I'll make another batch. It's fine. Uh you egg duty.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:37

It's okay, Ray. I I like it when it's a little, you know.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:40

Dorian, ooh, just in the way we can just come back here, you know.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:47

Dorian comes down, he's like, ooh, burnt bacon just like my mom used to make. Yeah, see, we're good. He's so excited.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:52

Uh I'll make the eggs.

SPEAKER_07 1:01:53

Don't throw that bacon away.

SPEAKER_08 1:01:55

Why are you in the kitchen?

SPEAKER_09 1:01:58

Uh so you guys are just chilling at the Norse hook as you don't really have anything to do right now. Uh there's not too many people in at this early in the morning. Um, but eventually, you know, you know, in the next hour people will start, you know, kind of coming in for some brecky. Um it looks like it's uh snowed overnight. As there is a little nice layer, little layer of snow covering the street and the buildings. Uh in through the front door burst in three stocky figures bundled in cold weather garb and they stumble towards you. They have snowshoes slung over their backs and ice picks fastened to their belts. Two of them have thick beards. Third holds up a gloved hand and says through a thick wool scarf in a raspy voice.

SPEAKER_10 1:03:01

Uh well, Matt, uh I I'm Runa. You must be new in town.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:09

I'm gay. I have pigs, and I'm new in town.

SPEAKER_01 1:03:16

What? It's John Willaney.

SPEAKER_04 1:03:19

Uh I'm gonna walk up to him and gonna push him. That's too strong.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:25

So sorry.

SPEAKER_08 1:03:26

I'm in the kitchen, so I don't see this, so you guys have to have a real reaction to it.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:31

Runa comes in. Okay.

SPEAKER_09 1:03:33

Kruna. H-R-U-N-A.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:35

H-R-U-N. H-R-U-N A?

SPEAKER_09 1:03:37

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:38

Kruna.

SPEAKER_10 1:03:39

Uh these are my friends, Corix and Storn. Uh you two look really capable. You've got nice, nice beefy arms there, lady. And you got an interesting arm there. Uh you look capable, and we need your help if you can if you can give it to us.

SPEAKER_07 1:03:56

He cocks his bow like it's a gun. What do you what do you mean? Cocks his bow like a gun. What does that mean? You know how when you're like cleaning your gun and you go like it Ah, okay. Like in Twilight. That's a twilight reference.

SPEAKER_01 1:04:12

Oh man, I I you're I wouldn't know.

SPEAKER_04 1:04:15

Um I had she watches you do that and goes, I I don't know what that was about. But what what's the problem? What do you need help with?

SPEAKER_08 1:04:26

I don't know why he's been cocking his bow lately.

SPEAKER_10 1:04:28

Well, we work in a we work in a mine uh the valley at the base of Calvin's cairn. Uh on it's on my clan Battlehammer, but sometimes we help out with the black iron blades. Um But we're running a shipment. Uh we're survivors of a group of dwarves asking us to deliver a sled of iron ingots to Brynchander, and yet he surprised us and killed a member of our group. The rest of us fled as the yeti tore Ubach Lim from Lim. This happened just last night. So we got here as early as we could. Uh we need someone to go back there and get the sled for us.

SPEAKER_04 1:05:05

Last night how how how far away was it?

SPEAKER_10 1:05:09

It's between here and Kelvin's Kairn. It's not too far a journey, but uh be careful. Uh it might be a blizzard since the snow has come. But as payment we offer you each uh I've got gemstones where it's uh fifty gold apiece. I can give each of you one of those uh if you help us, and a discount at the black iron blades. He said all kinds of adventuring gear, uh you'll be sure to get a hefty discount.

SPEAKER_07 1:05:33

Is everybody else safe?

SPEAKER_10 1:05:35

It was just the three of us, and Ubok uh he is not safe, he is dead.

SPEAKER_02 1:05:42

Okay.

SPEAKER_10 1:05:43

From the Yeti attack. Uh the gems are worth fifty gold pieces, uh, and the friendship of the drawers will be granted as well.

SPEAKER_09 1:05:50

Uh it can be a boon in these harsh times in Icewindale. Uh you'll need snowshoes to make it in good time, and uh we'll uh

SPEAKER_10 1:06:00

Well we didn't make it back in time today because of the attack. Uh well we didn't make it back in time last night because of the attack, otherwise you could have put him last night, but oh sorry. It's I'm all over the place.

SPEAKER_07 1:06:13

It's okay.

SPEAKER_10 1:06:14

Uh yeah, stop by there in the morning before you leave. If you could leave as soon as possible, that'd be that'd be grand.

SPEAKER_07 1:06:19

Yes. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:06:21

What are your names?

SPEAKER_07 1:06:21

I'm Dorian.

SPEAKER_10 1:06:22

Dorian.

SPEAKER_07 1:06:23

Freya.

SPEAKER_10 1:06:24

Thank you, Dorian. Thank you, Freya. I'm Runa Kro uh Koroks and Storn. Uh thank you. I we're starving and we need to sit by the fire.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:36

Yeah. Probably love this uh soup. Yeah. I don't want to make you like relive anything. Um but did you get a good look at it?

SPEAKER_10 1:06:47

The Yeti.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:06:49

So huge and terrifying. Yes. Big horns, big m claws, tall as hell.

SPEAKER_04 1:06:57

I've just never seen one. I was just curious.

SPEAKER_10 1:07:02

I've never I've never seen one myself, but yes, a blizzard hits us and it just we s we lost our trail and stumbled upon it. But it uh slid will hopefully still be there.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:13

Uh we'd be able to do that. We'd be happy to get it for you.

SPEAKER_10 1:07:23

Uh you sure that just a tool I'm sorry, but did are you sure just a toy you'll be able to handle it? Well, I don't know if another Yeti's gonna pop out of nowhere.

SPEAKER_04 1:07:34

Well he did say he was looking for uh, you know, an adventure to join us. Supnome? That's just what we call him. It's it's a it's a term of new friendship.

SPEAKER_09 1:07:45

Um uh you at this point will hear the frantic voices of this dwarven woman and this barging through the door that they did.

SPEAKER_08 1:07:56

I am so locked in on not burning these eggs. But once they finish, I'm like perked up and I'm looking through the kitchen window. Yeah. Uh and I see these three uh dwarves and I they look like they might need some sort of healing. Uh covered in snow. Uh I'm gonna I'm gonna bring them uh some food that I just uh cooked. Probably the eggs, I'm assuming no soup for breakfast, right? Uh so I'll just bring over some eggs. Um excuse me. Um uh you look like you need some help.

SPEAKER_10 1:08:35

Well, we're all right now. We're much safer here. But any food?

SPEAKER_09 1:08:40

Uh if you please, we can pay you well. Uh Ramses comes out. Uh Brian, no need. Just give it to him.

SPEAKER_08 1:08:47

I look back at Ramses and I kind of nod and uh here, uh there's a table right here. Excellent. Um I will as I usher them to their seats, I'll use press digitation to warm their seats. Very nice. Um and I put out the eggs in front of them. Uh I'm sorry that you went through whatever you just went through, but you'll be fine here. We'll take care of you. Thank you, dearie. Thank you, dearie.

SPEAKER_09 1:09:21

We appreciate you. And she just kind of looks sullen. Everything's kind of hitting her all at once, and Storm and Quaruks, they're kind of just solemnly but quickly eating, you know, as they've lost one of their friends. Um after they eat, they go to the shop of the Black Iron Blades, uh, they kind of usher you guys. Like you'll we'll get just no shoes now.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:55

Well, Bran, that adventure you were looking for.

SPEAKER_09 1:09:57

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:09:58

And the shoes just burst through the door, so do you want to come with us?

SPEAKER_08 1:10:03

What's the adventure?

SPEAKER_04 1:10:05

We have to go get the sled that's yet there. And probably Kill a Yeti, yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:10:11

Uh a sled?

SPEAKER_04 1:10:14

Why it has um they were bringing supplies when they got attacked and they had to leave the sled behind. Really good payment. Um a discount for, you know.

SPEAKER_08 1:10:27

I am able to hide my emotions from you, but inside uh hearing that a caravan or not caravan, but sleds got wiped out and somebody died. Um Bren inside is reliving what he went through. Uh and just um Yeah. Uh Yeti for the first adventure. Uh I was thinking goblins, uh, maybe a wolf.

SPEAKER_04 1:11:03

I mean, we might run into those too, who knows? But and she'll like kind of hit you on the back as like a let's go buddy, being like, but you're ready. Now, yeah. They said as soon as possible.

SPEAKER_08 1:11:15

Uh yeah, let me just talk to Ramses. Yeah. And I hustle over to Ramses. Uh hey, um, apparently those dwarves uh they lost somebody. They need us to go get their sled. Us. Not you. Oh. I was going to say Me and Freya and Dorian. Um I guess my wish came true. I wanted an adventure, but uh You want to go with them, don't you?

SPEAKER_09 1:11:53

I can see it and you're you're clear as day.

SPEAKER_08 1:11:56

I want to but we're gonna have to fight a Yeti, they said.

SPEAKER_09 1:12:02

But I certainly hope you don't. Have you ever Dorian wants to? Uh once. It was not fun. I did have to run. You didn't kill it. No. I was by myself. Which is why I told you never travel in the wilderness alone. Always have at least one other person with you to help you.

SPEAKER_08 1:12:28

Yeah. Um okay.

SPEAKER_09 1:12:31

And he kind of he'll he kneels down. I think you should go with them.

SPEAKER_08 1:12:39

I think they could use a man like you. I think so too. As long as you don't you can spare without my help for however long it takes me to go out there and come back. I'll make it work, don't you worry. Alright.

SPEAKER_09 1:12:53

I'll kind of pat you on the shoulder. Uh yeah. Uh bye. Best of luck to you, Brent. Thanks. Keep your room here for you so no one takes it.

SPEAKER_08 1:13:10

Alright.

unknown 1:13:11

Thank you.

SPEAKER_08 1:13:11

Better come back. I'll try. Good. I just gotta keep those two alive.

SPEAKER_09 1:13:19

You keep them in line as well. I can try. All right. And you go back out and let them know that you're ready?

SPEAKER_08 1:13:31

So, um Ramses can spare me for the next couple days.

SPEAKER_02 1:13:37

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:13:38

Uh you know how far the journey is? How long it'll take us to get there and back?

SPEAKER_04 1:13:45

Um, they said it wasn't too far. It's between here and the Karn something. I've already forgotten.

SPEAKER_08 1:13:52

Kelvin's Cairn.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:52

Yep, Kelvin's Cairn.

SPEAKER_08 1:13:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_04 1:13:54

So not too far. Um barring that we're fast, and if we can avoid an interaction with the Eddie uh fairly, fairly quick, probably.

SPEAKER_08 1:14:07

Okay. Um I guess you you they offered snowshoes, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:14:14

Yeah. Yeah. So we definitely need to stop there first.

SPEAKER_08 1:14:20

Um I guess I'm ready. I don't really have much.

SPEAKER_07 1:14:25

All you need is yourself and your magic.

SPEAKER_08 1:14:28

I can uh here. Uh why don't you guys go pick those up? I'll prepare some spells.

SPEAKER_04 1:14:38

All right, okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:14:41

Uh and I'm gonna spend the next uh half an hour creating three tiny clockwork devices.

SPEAKER_09 1:14:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:14:58

Um they each uh you can as a bonus action use them to cast precipitation. Um I'm gonna make all of them music boxes. Okay. Uh and I'm gonna try and make them loud. Okay. Uh and then I'm assuming they get back within the next 30 minutes or so and I'll be ready to go.

SPEAKER_09 1:15:25

Yeah, once you guys have gathered your things from your rims, uh, you head down the street to the black iron blades. Now, normally these snowshoes cost about uh two gold apieces, but uh I'm just gonna give them to you. You're doing us a great favor.

SPEAKER_07 1:15:46

Thank you. Thank you.

SPEAKER_10 1:15:48

Just try to come back with the ingots, yes.

SPEAKER_04 1:15:51

Always, of course.

SPEAKER_09 1:15:52

I trust you. You look you look capable, you look strong. Do you just pull the sleds with your hands? Uh no, we don't we don't drag it. It's a little too heavy even for us dwarves. Uh we did have a pack of dogs, but you know. Things happened. All right. Well, you you two are strong, right?

SPEAKER_03 1:16:16

Yeah. Yeah.

SPEAKER_10 1:16:18

You can you can't drag it, it's just a pain in the arse. That's all right.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:23

Well, I spend every day with a pain in my ass, so it's hard to hear that. We're siblings.

SPEAKER_01 1:16:32

Oh, Brent!

SPEAKER_04 1:16:34

No, it's just the stick she's got up there. If you can if you can heal whatever makes him like that, then yes. I am an angel. In disguise.

SPEAKER_08 1:16:44

I see.

SPEAKER_04 1:16:47

You'll learn that quickly. It wasn't it was just a joke, Brent. I no, uh yeah, I see. Yeah. Yeah. Um we we kid a lot.

SPEAKER_08 1:16:55

Cool. Uh I I'll fit those snowshoes to the bottom of my feet, add them to my inventory. Um reduce the likelihood of the wearer getting snuck in the deep snow.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:06

Deep snow.

SPEAKER_09 1:17:07

So that's cool. Yeah, so this will make your uh traveling on foot through the snow uh much much easier.

SPEAKER_03 1:17:20

Nice.

SPEAKER_09 1:17:21

For show for show.

SPEAKER_08 1:17:22

For show. I'll look to Dorian. Uh lead the way.

SPEAKER_07 1:17:33

I will. He doesn't say it like that. I will.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:38

All right. Onward.

SPEAKER_09 1:17:41

Onward you go.

SPEAKER_04 1:17:43

Onward, I guess.

SPEAKER_09 1:17:45

Uh, as you are traveling, travel for quite a bit, uh, snow has begun to fall again, and all you know is you must just travel straight towards Kelvin's Cairn. And the sled lies about halfway between Frenchander and Kelvin's Cairn in the middle of this tundra.

SPEAKER_07 1:18:07

Dorian's really good at uh direction, being a ranger.

SPEAKER_09 1:18:11

Excellent. So you are leading the way, I assume. Yes. Okay, great.

SPEAKER_08 1:18:18

Have the two of you been to Kelvin's cairn before?

SPEAKER_07 1:18:22

A couple times. Yeah. Odd jobs here and there. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:18:25

Okay, so you know the way. That's good. Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:18:26

Oh, yeah, we know the way we get lost.

SPEAKER_08 1:18:29

All right. Well, it just it snowed a couple more inches last night, so uh hopefully our our we'll be able to find our trail.

SPEAKER_07 1:18:40

You got eyes like mine.

SPEAKER_08 1:18:43

I don't.

SPEAKER_07 1:18:46

I see they're not purple. She laughs like that.

SPEAKER_08 1:18:48

I'm also gonna be fighting to get through this snow. Well, I guess not with the snowshoes. I'll probably be able to stay on top of it. And you're light enough too, that you're just you're legolessing it.

SPEAKER_07 1:19:00

All right. You can always ride on Freya's back.

SPEAKER_08 1:19:04

I am very strong, so um, I'll keep that in the back of my mind. It's pretty comfy. Um here, I'll I'll give you each a music box.

SPEAKER_05 1:19:16

Oh.

SPEAKER_08 1:19:16

Uh I make these uh little clockwork objects. Um you just press the button on them. Uh they'll play music pretty loud.

SPEAKER_07 1:19:28

Um play the song for the fish, please.

SPEAKER_08 1:19:31

It does.

SPEAKER_07 1:19:33

I fucking knew it when you said music boxes.

SPEAKER_08 1:19:37

Um yeah, uh so if we do get separated, if we get lost, we can't hear each other, or if we need a distraction, click it, throw it, whatever you need to do.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:48

Interesting. Okay. See, I said he'd be interesting and helpful.

SPEAKER_08 1:19:53

You said that?

SPEAKER_04 1:19:55

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:19:56

Thanks, Freya.

SPEAKER_04 1:19:58

You're welcome, Bren. See, I remembered his name too.

SPEAKER_07 1:20:01

I'm sorry I called you Soupnome so much.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:04

I also definitely did it to the doors before we got you for this adventure, but we'll we'll wipe that from my record.

SPEAKER_08 1:20:10

Well, in all honesty, j just last night I I didn't know your name, so I called you the two big ones.

SPEAKER_02 1:20:18

The two big ones.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:20

Friend, if I had a gold piece for every time I was described that way, I wouldn't need to be taking on jobs.

SPEAKER_08 1:20:27

You'd have 300.

SPEAKER_07 1:20:30

I wish more people would call me the big one. I wish I wish someone would call me big dog.

SPEAKER_08 1:20:36

Well, uh, you got me around now, so yeah, there you go.

SPEAKER_07 1:20:42

Big dog just reminds me of Cali.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:46

Oh my god. Uh Cali. It's this dog that he had for a couple of years.

SPEAKER_07 1:20:51

She was not a dog. She was my lovely girlfriend, and I loved her so much.

SPEAKER_04 1:20:56

I think she was a druid because he keeps saying Cali and then describing things that a dog does. So I don't I don't necess I don't think he's being truthful. Well, I think he's been lying to me for We were together for two and a half years. I don't remember that.

unknown 1:21:13

Callie.

SPEAKER_08 1:21:13

Did you grow up together?

SPEAKER_04 1:21:15

Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:21:16

Um strange that you forgot about her love right now.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:19

Not gonna lie. Adopted, but um Oh, really?

SPEAKER_08 1:21:24

Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:26

Um can't really tell.

SPEAKER_07 1:21:27

Our hair is so similar.

SPEAKER_08 1:21:29

Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_07 1:21:30

Yep.

SPEAKER_08 1:21:31

Um yeah, I yeah, me and Ramses are also siblings. Ramses is this old man.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:40

He's funny. I like him. Um no, I I actually spent a lot of the beginning of my life in woods, like the air, you know, outside like this on my own before Dorian's family found me.

SPEAKER_08 1:21:52

So I spent most of my life in an alchemy shop.

SPEAKER_04 1:21:58

And you were what, underground or something? No, you know my family came back up before I was born.

SPEAKER_06 1:22:04

Oh yeah. You just you have skip the cult.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:07

You have like underground kid um energy.

SPEAKER_06 1:22:12

I've never been there.

SPEAKER_07 1:22:13

I've never been to my homeland.

SPEAKER_04 1:22:15

Like you never will go like lives in mom's basement energy.

SPEAKER_07 1:22:20

Isn't your room in the basement? Yeah, it took it from you.

SPEAKER_09 1:22:29

The wind begins to pick up.

SPEAKER_07 1:22:32

See what you did.

SPEAKER_09 1:22:33

Uh my hood is up, my glasses are on. Uh this wind is harsh. Uh it starts to snow even harder. The fog around you and the snow around you falling makes it very hard to see. A blizzard descends upon you, reducing your visibility to only twenty feet. Kelvin's cairn vanishes from view as the blowing snow and howling wind engulf you.

SPEAKER_07 1:23:13

Would that count as dark vision or no? No.

unknown 1:23:15

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 1:23:16

It would not.

SPEAKER_07 1:23:17

Yeah, really.

SPEAKER_09 1:23:18

You can only see 20 feet in front of you, and this wind is brutal. Bren is struggling to stay on his feet from it.

SPEAKER_08 1:23:27

Uh I'm like uh really trying to bundle myself up, and uh, I shout out uh to Dorian. I'm definitely taking up the rear. Uh I shout out to Dorian. Dorian, I can make some rope and tie us all together if you think that would help.

SPEAKER_07 1:23:48

You and Freya, stay together. I'll I'll scout a little bit ahead.

SPEAKER_08 1:23:53

Don't split up. Ramses said never go alone.

SPEAKER_07 1:23:58

I guess you're right. Sure.

SPEAKER_09 1:24:00

Yeah, Dorian, as a ranger of the winter, uh in Blizzards, you you know that Bren is right. It's probably a really good idea to be tied together so you don't lose each other or veer off course.

SPEAKER_07 1:24:17

Never mind! I knew that. I was testing you.

SPEAKER_08 1:24:22

Uh so uh I use Tinker's magic um to uh take out my Tinker's tools and in a snap of a finger uh create this 50-foot long rope. Um I'll say, hey Freya, wait up for me. I'll give you one end, you take it up to Dorian, we'll tie it around. Uh we should not be able to lose each other.

SPEAKER_04 1:24:52

Okay, sounds good. Um I'd like you to be in the middle of us so I can keep an eye on you.

SPEAKER_07 1:24:57

I agree.

SPEAKER_08 1:24:59

Okay. I trust you.

SPEAKER_09 1:25:03

Okay, do you press on through this blizzard or do you wait it out?

SPEAKER_07 1:25:11

Waiting it out's an option. Um, being a ranger and being outdoorsy, can I tell about how long it will last?

SPEAKER_02 1:25:21

Hmm.

SPEAKER_07 1:25:22

Maybe my senses.

SPEAKER_09 1:25:24

Yeah. As the leader of this party through the wilderness right now, yeah. I'm absolutely deferring any survivalness to the two of you. Thank God for thank god for brand guys. I was like, oh, no one's gonna make a rope. Yes, they're gonna get lost.

SPEAKER_07 1:25:43

17.

SPEAKER_09 1:25:44

17.

SPEAKER_07 1:25:44

17, 17.

SPEAKER_09 1:25:46

Uh, yeah. This blizzard is pretty rough. You've been in a blizzard like this before. Uh, and you're gonna waste too much time waiting it out. You can feel it's best to just get this find the sled. You might even make it out of the storm once you get to the sled. But you're within a few miles of the halfway point you can sense.

unknown 1:26:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 1:26:09

We must trudge on. All right. Okay. Uh whatever you say, Dorian. If we keep going this way, we will uh make it through the storm faster.

unknown 1:26:23

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:26:23

Yeah, I'm following his lead.

SPEAKER_07 1:26:25

Dorian loves the cold. Like he's living for this.

SPEAKER_09 1:26:29

So you are uh leading, I'm assuming. You're in front. Uh I need you to make a survival, another survival check.

SPEAKER_07 1:26:43

Twenty-one.

SPEAKER_09 1:26:44

Okay. You continue forward pressing through this. Uh one hour closer to your destination. Uh and yeah. Now thanks to Bren's idea of the rope, nobody gets separated. Everybody stays together. Uh and you have about one more hour to go, if you could make another survival check.

SPEAKER_08 1:27:22

I think as we're going along, I might want to. I know we're like separated by the rope, but I think as we're going along, I recognize how hard this is, even for Dorian. Yeah. Uh, and I'm gonna come up to him. I'm gonna say, You were made for this Dorian. You're gonna get us through. I'm gonna put my hand uh as on his back if I can reach it, um, and cast guidance.

SPEAKER_07 1:27:49

Oh, hell yeah, thank you.

SPEAKER_09 1:27:59

Excellent. You with the strength of Dorian and his experience in the wilds of the winter, uh you ke you continue to progress uh with much effort, but you do continue through this blizzard. Um and you find something in you see something in the distance, Dorian. It must be the sled. Uh you crest a snow covered ridge and see a frozen, dismembered corpse in the gully in front of you. Snow covers some of the gory bits, but the headless torso and severed limbs are visible. You see tracks in the snow all around the corpse, and the telltale telltale grooves in the snow left behind by a sled that has been hauled away. The corpse, obviously, belongs to Ubok the Dwarf. The Yeti that killed him ate his arms and most of his internal organs before leaving with poor Ubok's severed head.

SPEAKER_07 1:29:15

Yeah, so we don't want to take him back and have them bury him, probably.

unknown 1:29:20

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 1:29:21

That feels wrong.

SPEAKER_09 1:29:22

Both Ubok's tracks and the Yetis were erased by the wind. The tracks that are present, you can tell from that uh continuing that check. Uh that they are left by goblins.

SPEAKER_07 1:29:39

Oh shit. By what?

SPEAKER_09 1:29:40

Goblins?

SPEAKER_07 1:29:41

So the stuff's probably gone.

SPEAKER_09 1:29:44

The tracks, uh I feel bad. Keep making keep making you make survival checks. Uh make one more. Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:29:54

Yeah, I'm gonna keep giving you some words of affirmation as we travel.

SPEAKER_07 1:29:59

That was not good. Eight.

SPEAKER_09 1:30:04

Eight. You can determine that they're pro they they look fresh. They haven't been raised by the wind yet, and the wind's still howling. Uh it belongs to about half a dozen small humanoids wearing snowshoes. Uh they lead south, uh, which is the uh they had they head south. The tracks of the goblins and the uh sled.

SPEAKER_00 1:30:50

What do you like to do?

SPEAKER_07 1:30:54

Um seeing that everything's gone, Dorian just like crashes out a little bit. He just has his little rage, but he is trying to control it because of Brent. Bloody stole it! They stole everything. It's gone.

SPEAKER_02 1:31:19

Who did?

SPEAKER_07 1:31:21

Someone wears snowshoes.

unknown 1:31:23

Goblins.

SPEAKER_07 1:31:24

But I don't know that because I got an eight.

SPEAKER_09 1:31:27

You said I just You knew that they were goblin tracks, yeah. You just don't know how long ago they had been there.

SPEAKER_07 1:31:32

Gotcha. The goblins.

SPEAKER_08 1:31:35

Goblins.

SPEAKER_07 1:31:38

I could say that weird.

SPEAKER_08 1:31:39

Everything I've been saying lately has come true. What is goblin?

SPEAKER_04 1:31:43

Some kind of profit or something.

SPEAKER_08 1:31:45

Uh uh today, apparently.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:48

Maybe say some like good things.

SPEAKER_09 1:31:50

Uh I mean, I don't want to waste it.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:55

That's true.

SPEAKER_09 1:31:56

Um Bren Jinx is the party.

SPEAKER_04 1:31:59

But if if if you can see the tracks, then I think we should follow them. There's a chance that they might, you know, they couldn't have gotten far. I would love to kill some goblins.

SPEAKER_07 1:32:09

Let's go.

SPEAKER_09 1:32:10

Okay. You follow these tracks for about half an hour. Is that um huge blizzard still going on? Um it has lightened up a little bit. So you can see a little bit further than you could. But you have gotten through the brunt of it.

SPEAKER_08 1:32:33

Okay. I just wanted to know if we should stay in this this rope or if we should. Now that we're kind of at our location, should we separate? I don't know how combat's gonna go if we're all tied together.

SPEAKER_04 1:32:52

Yeah, I think maybe we should uh I think we're okay there.

SPEAKER_08 1:32:55

Uh yeah, just untie yourselves. I'll I'll hold on to it.

SPEAKER_04 1:32:58

That was a good idea, Brent.

SPEAKER_08 1:32:59

Thanks.

SPEAKER_09 1:33:02

Up ahead, the creatures you've been following, Dorian was right, appear to be goblins based on their stature. All six of them groan, grunt, and curse loudly as they haul the bulky sled toward what appears to be a twenty-foot-tall wagon parked in the snow. Harnessed to this conveyance are two roaring polar bears that don't look happy.

SPEAKER_07 1:33:30

That Dorian's a little bit triggered seeing them.

SPEAKER_09 1:33:34

The polar bears?

SPEAKER_07 1:33:35

Yes. Okay. After what happened to his arm.

SPEAKER_09 1:33:38

Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. What would you like to do seeing this? They're pulling this wagon towards their own. You said six goblins?

SPEAKER_08 1:33:51

Um. I mean, I'll defer to you guys. I I've never really fought anything.

SPEAKER_04 1:33:58

Well, there's only six of them. But then again, there is, you know, take them out, bear thing.

SPEAKER_08 1:34:05

I do have a pretty cool spell that I just learned.

SPEAKER_03 1:34:10

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:34:11

If we're able to get them kind of all together, I can cast fairy fire on them.

SPEAKER_07 1:34:17

Ooh, yes.

SPEAKER_08 1:34:18

It might be a little really nice. Uh goblins are pretty quick, though. So we might be able to jump out of the way of it, but uh might be worth a shot.

SPEAKER_07 1:34:28

Bryn, do you have potions of any sort to heal? Something were to happen.

SPEAKER_08 1:34:35

No, I I know how to heal magically. I I can cure your wounds, but it's uh I don't know Fairy Fire very well, and I don't know cure wounds very well. I could probably only use one of each.

SPEAKER_07 1:34:53

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:34:54

Um before I'm a bit too tuckered out. Uh so try not to get hit.

SPEAKER_07 1:35:03

We'll do my best. I'll use it as the last resort. Try. Um, yeah. I asked because I above a table. I accidentally had hunger's mark, hunter's mark on here twice, so I took a different spell.

SPEAKER_08 1:35:16

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 1:35:17

Um, so I did take cure wounds. Being a survivalist, I I would know how to do that.

SPEAKER_08 1:35:22

Oh, you have that? Nice. Yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:35:24

Um I'm fairly good with my shall like start to take her great axe off her back. I'm fairly good with it. I can usually hit one or two people at once.

SPEAKER_08 1:35:34

Well, if they if they light up uh with my spell, it'll be much easier to hit.

SPEAKER_07 1:35:41

Usually keep your distance.

SPEAKER_08 1:35:44

Are we kind of is there like a height difference? Like, are we up on something looking down at them, or are they just ahead of us? They are just ahead of you. Okay.

SPEAKER_09 1:35:54

Uh how far away about? Uh let's see. You guys are 120 feet behind the sled. The goblin wagon is 120 feet farther still. Uh the goblins hauling the sled seem too distracted and pissed off that they're they just seem Dorian that you can you I mean, you all can hear them just kind of growing.

SPEAKER_00 1:36:21

Fuck! It's freezing. Jeez! Hauling this bloody wagon of ingots fucking is a pie.

SPEAKER_08 1:36:34

Uh I mean, we gotta catch up to them before they get home, right?

SPEAKER_04 1:36:39

Yeah. Yeah. I could maybe make a sound or uh create a sound to make them all turn around or something.

SPEAKER_08 1:36:49

I feel like we should go up unnoticed, right?

SPEAKER_07 1:36:50

Oh, probably. What? I was thinking about sneaking.

unknown 1:36:54

Okay.

SPEAKER_07 1:36:55

No, I don't like this idea. I changed my mind.

unknown 1:36:57

Okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:36:57

As long as I can get 60 feet away, I can I can try fairy fire and and if I if I get a couple of them, they'll be much easier to hit. Yeah. Other than that, I'll try to stay out of the fight and back you guys up as much as I can. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 1:37:12

Uh Dorian. Your sharp eyes look up through this wind and snow falling, and you see a hawk circling above uh the what would be the wagon 240 feet away. You see a little speck in the sky kind of circling the wagon.

SPEAKER_07 1:37:38

Would I what would I know about that?

SPEAKER_09 1:37:41

Like a druid or uh make a history check for me.

SPEAKER_07 1:37:54

Six.

SPEAKER_09 1:37:56

What the heck is a hawk doing out here? Above this party of goblins, no, uh, no doubt. Do you see something?

SPEAKER_07 1:38:06

There's a hawk up there. I don't know what a hawk would be doing in this part of town. In this part of town in these conditions.

SPEAKER_08 1:38:15

Um maybe it wants to eat what the Yeti left. Maybe it I don't know.

SPEAKER_09 1:38:27

If you would like to point out the hawk to the party. I do. Um Ryan, you can make a history check if you would like. Um yeah. See what you might know about hawks and goblins, if they're even related.

SPEAKER_08 1:38:47

On a natural one, I kind of look up and I get this flashback of something that once flew. And it shocks me to my core, and I just kind of watch it going around and around and around, and my breath starts getting heavier. Uh I don't know.

SPEAKER_04 1:39:36

You okay? Yeah, what was that all about?

SPEAKER_08 1:39:39

Uh nothing. It's I'm afraid of birds. Alright. Yeah, let's get closer to those goblins. Yep.

SPEAKER_07 1:39:49

Yeah. No negotiating with goblins, unfortunately. Uh well, now that you bring it up, why not? They see treasure, they take treasure, it's kind of their thing.

SPEAKER_08 1:40:06

Alright. I guess we go forward.

SPEAKER_07 1:40:11

Could we try?

SPEAKER_09 1:40:12

Okay. Try what?

SPEAKER_07 1:40:13

Negotiating with them. Probably not.

SPEAKER_09 1:40:16

You can certainly try. And that is not the famous DM saying you can certainly try, but it's not gonna work. You can absolutely try or you can attack them. You can you, I mean, you can hear them, they are just pissed off. They're they yeah. They want to go home.

SPEAKER_07 1:40:36

Yeah. I don't want to negotiate with them.

SPEAKER_09 1:40:41

You're the I've never done this before. You know, goblins aren't mindless creatures, but yeah.

SPEAKER_04 1:40:49

I usually hit first and ask questions later. So if you want to ask questions first, I think that's I'm their size.

SPEAKER_08 1:40:55

I might be less intimidating if you want to send me forward and talk to them.

SPEAKER_07 1:41:00

I think I would rather you uh stay back for now.

SPEAKER_08 1:41:03

All right. You too high. I kinda I kinda in my mind I'm like, uh, is Dorian capable of negotiation?

SPEAKER_07 1:41:13

I have zero charisma.

SPEAKER_09 1:41:16

He does not have zero charisma.

SPEAKER_07 1:41:18

Oh, maybe we should send him. You are a charismatic little guy, aren't you?

SPEAKER_08 1:41:24

I grew up in a shop. I had to sell the customers.

SPEAKER_07 1:41:28

That makes sense.

SPEAKER_08 1:41:29

I don't really know what we're selling here, apart from uh I mean, we're more buyers, but if if we want to try it, I can go up and I can, you know, maybe see what's ailing them. They obviously look like they're not in a good mood.

SPEAKER_07 1:41:47

They really seem like they want to go home. Maybe uh sell the point that uh the this wagon is heavy and slowing them down. If we wanted to.

SPEAKER_08 1:41:58

I can I can well they're they're getting closer to home as we speak.

SPEAKER_04 1:42:03

Yeah. I can go up with you. We can the if the if the it being too heavy is the selling point, we can say, hey, this one will carry it for you.

SPEAKER_08 1:42:12

But we really don't want to help them bring it home, do we? We gotta get it away from you.

SPEAKER_04 1:42:19

Yeah. Are you able to lie?

SPEAKER_08 1:42:22

I can try. I just don't know what we can possibly say that they're gonna let us take it. Well, all right. It's worth a shot.

SPEAKER_07 1:42:36

That's true. Can I stealthily get into position to fire if necessary?

SPEAKER_09 1:42:42

Not really. This is very open.

SPEAKER_06 1:42:44

Alright.

SPEAKER_09 1:42:46

It's a very open tundra. I'll go with him then. Okay. You go with Bren. Are you all going together? I yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:42:58

I can provide you cover. Minor illusion. I can create a snowbank that you can hide in. There you go.

SPEAKER_07 1:43:08

Yes. Let's do that.

SPEAKER_08 1:43:10

Um, so I'll be a snowbank.

SPEAKER_07 1:43:12

Is that concentration?

SPEAKER_08 1:43:14

It's 30-foot range, it's not concentration. Cool. It's 30-foot range. So I'll do it when we get closer, but before I'm noticed. Okay. So I can put it within your range of arrows. Yeah.

SPEAKER_09 1:43:26

They're facing, obviously they're facing away from your party. So I'll not gonna really hear you coming until you get like within at least 30 feet of them.

SPEAKER_08 1:43:34

Great. Uh yeah, I'll wait till I get 30 feet. I'll put it where do you want to be? 60 feet away, 30 feet away?

SPEAKER_07 1:43:40

60 is fine. Okay. Uh do 30 in case I need to come.

SPEAKER_08 1:43:44

Put it 30 feet away from them.

SPEAKER_09 1:43:46

Are you going with him then? Yes. Okay. So Frey and Bren approach this party of goblins. And let me see. I'm sorry, I forget how many are pulling it. Give me one second. Uh, four of them.

SPEAKER_07 1:44:03

Anyway, we can get a map on this if we start combat, though, so that I can know about Hail of Thorns.

SPEAKER_08 1:44:09

Mm-hmm. Yep. Uh yeah. We'll see how good I am. Uh, alright. This is so funny. Let's let's try it. Okay.

SPEAKER_07 1:44:22

Yeah. Dorian's kind of an asshole, but he's a good guy. Like, he's gonna kill immediately. Huh?

SPEAKER_08 1:44:30

Excuse me.

SPEAKER_09 1:44:32

Uh, you see them kind of tap you see one goblin tap the other on an arm.

SPEAKER_00 1:44:38

Visitors! What are you doing out here? What do you want?

SPEAKER_09 1:44:43

And they're all like kind of standing with their arms crossed, like fuck!

SPEAKER_08 1:44:48

We're we're trying to survive this cold just because you are. Um, we're headed to Kelvin's cairn. Okay. Uh What do you want? Well, you know, it looked like you were struggling. I thought maybe since we're headed that way, maybe we could help out.

SPEAKER_00 1:45:08

We're not going to Kelvin's cairn.

SPEAKER_08 1:45:10

Well, you're going in that direction, aren't you? No.

SPEAKER_09 1:45:14

They're not? No, they had it went uh a different direction. They went south. Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:45:21

Well, shoot. Um, where are you guys going? We're going to our fortress.

SPEAKER_01 1:45:28

Carkleck.

SPEAKER_04 1:45:30

Carkleck! Sorry. Freya is everything in her is like, don't laugh. Don't laugh. Um It's not funny.

SPEAKER_08 1:45:41

Uh, I mean, it's quite a ways to Kelvin's cairn. Would we be able to come with you? We can help pull the sled. There's only two.

SPEAKER_00 1:45:52

Oh, you look pretty strong, actually.

SPEAKER_08 1:45:54

Yeah, I won't be able to help much, but she's she's as strong as all all seven of us.

SPEAKER_04 1:46:01

Damn straight.

SPEAKER_08 1:46:04

Seven?

SPEAKER_01 1:46:06

One, me, two, and six of you. Three. Can't you count little man? There's four of us.

SPEAKER_09 1:46:13

Didn't you say there were six? There were six in total, but there's four carrying the sled. Okay.

SPEAKER_08 1:46:17

Well then I say I did say that. There's there's no, that's alright. Uh she's as strong as the five of us then. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 1:46:27

Well. Look, I'll be honest, I don't really care about these fucking ingots.

SPEAKER_08 1:46:36

Why are you bringing them then? Seems like a it's pretty tough to carry, right?

SPEAKER_00 1:46:43

I mean, our job is to scour the tundra for food and treasure as well as creatures to enslave. But it's fucking cold out here and I want to go home.

SPEAKER_08 1:46:57

Well, uh, if you if you want the help, we can certainly help. Maybe we can uh take some of it off your hands if you don't need it all as payment.

SPEAKER_09 1:47:13

The four goblins kind of look at each other, kind of murmur. In in goblin, they kind of talk to each other. Do any of you speak goblin? No.

SPEAKER_02 1:47:23

I don't know what I speak.

SPEAKER_09 1:47:24

No, this time I did it one time!

SPEAKER_04 1:47:28

I think not.

SPEAKER_09 1:47:29

You do not? Okay, so you don't know what they're saying.

SPEAKER_04 1:47:31

I speak common and common sign language.

SPEAKER_09 1:47:33

Uh they kind of like they're they're still they're without uh they're not in sight of the main wagon. Um so they kind of drop the ropes. Yeah, the goblins murmur to each other and and they kind of look at you.

SPEAKER_00 1:47:50

How much you got?

SPEAKER_08 1:47:53

How much do we have? Gold boy, gold. It won't tell. No, I was I was thinking we'd take some of the ingots in exchange for helping you bring them.

SPEAKER_00 1:48:04

I don't want to take the ingots. Wait, we don't want to take the ingots. If you don't if you don't want the ingots, we'll take them.

SPEAKER_01 1:48:10

Or like jumping out like, we don't want to take the fucking ingots!

SPEAKER_08 1:48:12

Well, yeah, lucky for you, we can take them.

SPEAKER_04 1:48:16

Yeah, we can take them off your hands.

SPEAKER_08 1:48:18

You don't have to worry about it. Nobody will be any wiser.

SPEAKER_00 1:48:22

Well, we're going to give something of value back to Isabai. Uh, what have you got there, boy?

SPEAKER_08 1:48:30

I have two music boxes. Music boxes. Songs straight from Brynchander. Ugh. Interesting. Don't press the button. It's a one-time use. Makes it even more.

SPEAKER_00 1:48:48

What use is a music box if you only can play it once?

SPEAKER_08 1:48:51

It makes it so much more rare. If you go up to a sweet little goblin honey, and you say Frank is like, what the fuck? I've got this music box. It's only got one play. And I can only have one dance with you.

SPEAKER_07 1:49:14

Damn, run smoothly.

SPEAKER_08 1:49:15

He blushes.

SPEAKER_07 1:49:18

Doesn't that sound nice?

SPEAKER_08 1:49:20

Make a deception check, please. At could I convince you that this is more persuasion?

SPEAKER_10 1:49:27

Oh yeah, yeah. Yep.

SPEAKER_08 1:49:35

Twenty-two.

SPEAKER_07 1:49:36

Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_08 1:49:38

Mmm. You said you had two of them? I do. Uh Freya?

SPEAKER_04 1:49:44

I have the other one right here.

SPEAKER_00 1:49:48

Two music boxes, one play, two honeys. You dirty dog.

SPEAKER_09 1:49:57

Uh you're the dirty dog, it sounds like. The other three goblins are like they're kind of looking pissed off, like we get like nothing.

SPEAKER_08 1:50:10

Well hold on. Is there any equipment you're lacking?

SPEAKER_00 1:50:19

I could I could make pockets. Another one says. My pockets are looking a little empty.

SPEAKER_08 1:50:29

Uh is there a hole in them?

SPEAKER_00 1:50:36

No. That empty because there's no gold in them. I see.

SPEAKER_08 1:50:42

Well uh you know, I suffer from the same thing you're suffering from, but I guess I could I could spare a gold for each of you. It's worth honestly, it's probably worth more than the music boxes. Don't tell them I'm telling these two, specifically, not that guy.

SPEAKER_00 1:51:12

Hmm. Make it two, and we won't tell Isabai that you bribed us.

SPEAKER_04 1:51:20

I'll throw in the second one. Sure.

SPEAKER_08 1:51:24

Yeah. Uh two gold for each gold. Oh, yeah, there's three other guys right here. Yeah. Um six gold. Three from me, three from you.

SPEAKER_04 1:51:34

Sounds good to me.

SPEAKER_08 1:51:35

Now you won't have to go back home and smelt these ingots yourselves, huh?

SPEAKER_00 1:51:41

Oh, thank gods. I hate this. That was probably a point like they're going to eat me any moment.

SPEAKER_09 1:51:50

Uh they turn around and walk away without another word uh to you guys leaving the sled.

SPEAKER_04 1:51:59

Uh you're doing business.

SPEAKER_09 1:52:03

Yeah, piss off.

SPEAKER_04 1:52:05

As soon as they're like out of earshot. Where did that speech come from? That was insane.

SPEAKER_08 1:52:11

I'm a salesman.

SPEAKER_04 1:52:14

She's gonna turn back to the snowdrift, not knowing if she can actually like make eye contact with you or not, and go, this guy's fucking so I guess we don't want to deal with those other two goblins, right?

SPEAKER_08 1:52:29

They probably haven't noticed us. Those two polar bears. Maybe we should get out of here before they do.

SPEAKER_04 1:52:34

Yeah, maybe we yeah. Maybe we can convince them too. Convince the polar bears. How well did I'm not gonna go there, no?

SPEAKER_08 1:52:44

I mean, did Dorian Are you still in the snowbag? You're not talking to us not right now, right? I don't I think we should let them leave the long chat from a distance. Um Dorian's the Ranger. He he knows animals, right? But oh, never mind. Bears. Yeah, maybe we should keep it far away. We bear bears. Um let's pretend that we're going the way we said we were going. You don't have to pull it too far. But until they're out of eyesight, uh, then we can turn back home. I am shocked. That only cost us three gold each.

SPEAKER_04 1:53:25

Yeah, they seemed really cool with just two, which I was not expecting. But you know, can I? Your music box thing did do a lot.

SPEAKER_07 1:53:33

Can I make a check to see if I can see what's in the wagon?

SPEAKER_09 1:53:39

Uh the wagon's not open, so yeah. It's like uh it it's 20 feet tall and it's like uh think of it as a it looks like a very small house kind of thing.

SPEAKER_07 1:53:51

More goblins.

SPEAKER_09 1:53:53

Trojan horse. No, no, it's not more goblins, yeah. Um, but it's kind of like what they they pack it full of stuff just to keep it from the snow and stuff like that.

SPEAKER_08 1:54:05

I think the last thing that we need is more supplies to carry right now.

SPEAKER_07 1:54:08

This is not what we needed. We just needed the sled. Yeah, they just needed let's just take the sled.

SPEAKER_09 1:54:14

Yeah, you gotta fight the goblins and tame the polar bears.

SPEAKER_04 1:54:19

Tame a polar bear. There you go, Dorian. That's how you get over it.

SPEAKER_09 1:54:22

Okay, tame successfully avoided combat.

SPEAKER_07 1:54:27

Damn!

SPEAKER_09 1:54:28

Great job.

SPEAKER_07 1:54:29

Let's go.

SPEAKER_09 1:54:30

Uh yeah, you are able to make it back to Brynchander within the next couple of hours, so it's uh about almost uh almost time for dinner. You guys are pretty hungry at this point. Uh uh, three hundred iron ingots are wrapped in a thick burlap and tightly secured to the sled with leather straps. Golly, Frey, you're strong. Uh each ingot is worth about five silver pieces to a blacksmith. Uh, as you drag the sled back, uh you see Hruna and Koryx and Storn are kind of wrapping things up, counting their tills and whatnot. And they see you.

SPEAKER_10 1:55:27

Oh, the ingots, bless you all, bless you all for the ingots. Oh my god.

SPEAKER_09 1:55:33

And they all Hruna comes up around out of the shop and like shakes each of your hands.

SPEAKER_10 1:55:38

Oh, bless you. This this is great for our business. We're afraid we're gonna have to close up shop for a while without all this ingot all these iron ingots. Nothing to make. Nothing no surprise to make, anything to sell.

SPEAKER_07 1:55:51

That would be terrible.

SPEAKER_10 1:55:53

I know how you feel. Well, as promised, I'll give you each this uh a gemstone.

SPEAKER_08 1:55:58

It's worth 50 gold pieces. I look at both of them and I go, we get a gemstone.

SPEAKER_04 1:56:04

Oh, we did forget to tell you that. Yeah. That's awesome.

SPEAKER_10 1:56:09

And let's see, uh, you got another party member to join. Yeah, that's good.

SPEAKER_04 1:56:12

We did. You're back in all one place. Actually, thanks to him that we got the ingots as quickly as we did. He bought off six goblins by himself.

SPEAKER_07 1:56:22

Did you? Oh, uh tough little man he is. Wow. Makes a wicked soup and fights goblins.

SPEAKER_08 1:56:30

That's incredible. Um yeah, is that uh route that you take often? Yeah. Yeah, we we travel back and forth from there. Well, luckily for you, we didn't see any Yetis. We just saw a couple goblins and polar bears. Did you did you see Ubok dare at all?

SPEAKER_02 1:56:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_08 1:56:52

Dorian thought that we should just let him rest where he was. Thank you for that.

SPEAKER_09 1:57:01

Uh the snow will bury him well enough.

SPEAKER_08 1:57:05

Have have you ever uh seen a hawk flying overhead round where you were?

SPEAKER_10 1:57:18

Uh no, but you mentioned goblins, did you not?

SPEAKER_07 1:57:21

Yes.

SPEAKER_10 1:57:22

Uh sometimes they have hawks trained to scout areas.

SPEAKER_07 1:57:26

Oh, right. Uh maybe that was it.

SPEAKER_09 1:57:28

Okay. Otherwise you don't see them around too much, other than the giant bird in the sky that blasts the frostmeaden raids.

SPEAKER_07 1:57:36

I'm a fake nature guy.

SPEAKER_08 1:57:40

That's all right, Dorian. We were focused on a lot of things. Uh I'm glad we could help out, and I appreciate this reward. This is you know, this might this will help me out more than you know.

SPEAKER_09 1:57:54

I'm glad to hear it. And you have helped us out more than you know. After rehundreding it, thank the gods. Uh you now have your fifth your gems worth of fifty gold pieces. And as promised, well, not as promised, Kruna also offers you a 10% discount on all wares from the black iron blades.

SPEAKER_07 1:58:21

Let's go.

SPEAKER_09 1:58:24

Um make a make a history check on the black iron blades at uh advantage.

SPEAKER_07 1:58:38

I was gonna say uh mine is a 24. I'm sorry, what what kind of check did you say that was?

SPEAKER_08 1:58:48

History.

SPEAKER_04 1:58:49

16.

unknown 1:58:52

Okay.

SPEAKER_09 1:58:54

Doran, you're too engrossed in the beauty of your gemstone. Uh the black iron blades is a combination smithy and outfitter shop. Uh you remember that they don't get too much business. Uh they're kind of regarded as providing the cheapest weapons in 10 towns. They're much b uh they're a much better outfitter than they are. Okay. Uh selling like weapons and stuff. Uh, they sell essential survival gear, uh, cold weather clothing, ice picks, uh and a common local joke regarding hapless newcomers often concludes with the line, and he was carrying a black iron blade to boot. So everyone kind of looks down on him, but interacting with these people, you know that they're actually like really nice. Yeah. Um really chill.

SPEAKER_08 1:59:56

Do I know if the quality is due to lack of material or if it's due to lack of skill? Like now that they have 300 iron ingots, will that maybe change?

SPEAKER_09 2:00:16

Not really, no. Okay. So they're just not good. Not not as well made as you know, some of the other towns might offer. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 2:00:25

Uh how far are we from um the hell am I from? Termaline.

SPEAKER_09 2:00:33

How far are we from Termaline?

SPEAKER_07 2:00:34

But I see them as competitors or as I can help them out.

SPEAKER_09 2:00:40

You would not see them as competitors now. Uh well, with that and your newfound uh strength from concluding this little quest, you head back to or do you head back to the North Log for a spot of dinner?

SPEAKER_04 2:00:58

Might as well. I think so.

SPEAKER_08 2:01:01

Yeah, I think uh I mean I'd love to use that 10% discount, but I think I'll let them get situated and I think it's dinner time, and I think we need to warm up.

SPEAKER_09 2:01:15

Yes. Yeah, you are all very, very cold at this point, just barely surviving the blizzard thanks to Dorian. Uh and Bran being the first time that you have experienced, well, I guess the second time you've experienced something like this. Um you have a better understanding of the wilderness and how dangerous it can truly be. Uh Dorian, you are much more in tune with the winter wilds and the winter winds as you're reminded that it's not smart to go off into a blizzard alone, uh and that you need rope and snowshoes. Uh and Freya is ready to hit something really hard. Uh but with the encouragement from Freya and the success of this quest, uh encouragement to Bran and Dorian keeping the party uh also kind of keeping the party together in her own sense. Uh you will level up to two. Let's freaking go.

SPEAKER_08 2:02:37

It's time.

SPEAKER_01 2:02:40

It's wizard time.

SPEAKER_08 2:02:42

Uh as we as we step into uh into Northbrook Inn.

SPEAKER_10 2:02:50

Come in, seat yourself.

SPEAKER_08 2:02:52

Tavern, not inn, right? Yeah. Okay. Uh I or North North Look, not North Brook, my god. North North. Um I like as we step in the door and I feel that kind of sudden click, I'm like, uh I'll meet you back downstairs. Something just clicked for me. I gotta go study some papers. And I go and start like rapidly writing down these spells that I'm like, oh my god, I understand wizardry now.

SPEAKER_07 2:03:30

Um smart one, isn't he? Yeah.

SPEAKER_08 2:03:33

Like I bought this spell book a while because I was like I'm training. I was like, alright, I filled this when I understand it, and then I understand it now. I'm gonna write it down. It's just gonna start writing every spell down.

SPEAKER_04 2:03:46

Um in avoiding a fight, Freya feels good, but kind of misses having that opportunity to fight. Um, so walking in and feeling a similar kind of feeling wash over her. Um, she feels that the next time that they are handed a fight, she might be able to get a little bit more wild with it and have some better success.

SPEAKER_09 2:04:20

Yes, Frey, with your level up, you kind of realize that not everything can be solved with your axe. Sometimes the tongue is sharper. And that is where we will end the session. Join us next week for episode two of Rhyme of the Frost Maiden. Thank you all for listening. Find us wherever you find podcasts at Chaotic Naturals, and be sure to follow us on our socials for all of our highlights and funny tidbits.

SPEAKER_08 2:05:00

Good night. Yeah. Great job, Will. Great job.