Hammer 29, 1489
Dre'zel my love,
I was gasping hard as we fled the now collapsing Grimskalle, Auril’s abode, where we had stolen The Codicil of White.
My legs were cramped, and my feet were blistered and bleeding from all the running around I had done throughout the Frostmaiden’s twelve-hour trial of endurance. It was ironic, considering I could have made it to their destination in half the time had I been alone or leading my small group of companions. However, herding Jarund Elkhardt’s entire elk tribe through the tundra involved circling them frequently and traveling twice the distance.
I had to cast Longstrider just to keep up with my companions, and at our pace, it would take us two hours to reach the dock where we hoped to find Angajuk the whale waiting for us.
I had also cast Longstrider on Ukuma, the giant walrus, who carried a petrified Rowan on their back. Ambrose had transformed into a sickly raven to keep up. Taimen traveled on the fleet Princess Skullcrusher, but carried a massive silver dragon egg, which she had bravely rescued from the roof of Grimskalle as it crumbled around her. As JoJo ran, he cried out frantically, “Run! We just need to run! We just need to get to the dock!” over and over again. And Talyth, appropriately, the only one of us to pass the trials, looked around in a panic, her eyes an icy blue since emerging victorious from the final test.
Talyth, knowing that Auril would be returning soon on her infamous roc, periodically hitched a ride on Ukuma to cast a Sending to the whale, who replied that they would be there, to search for clues in The Codicil of White, or to consult Professor Skant.
We had just made it to the ice garden—only halfway to the dock—when my Longstrider wore off, and yeti could be heard from every direction. As their growls became clearer, it seemed they were chanting, “Korgah!”
As soon as we stopped, Talyth cast Dispel Magic on Rowan to remove the goliath’s frozen condition. As soon as the brief chant stopped, Talyth’s icy blue eyes began to glow, and her face strained with determination. Something was clearly wrong, and it seemed that Talyth was in a battle of wills, as if the Frostmaiden objected to her shepherd’s attempts. A moment later, Talyth relaxed, closing her eyes and taking a big breath. When she opened them again, they had returned to their naturally magnificent violet.
The thin film of frost covering Rowan cracked and fell as the goliath rose from Ukuma and looked around with now icy blue eyes, immediately grasping the direness of the situation. “Okay, let’s do this!” Rowan nodded, transforming into a polar bear just as the four yetis stepped out of the mist from each direction.
I had a plan, but I was conflicted. After a month of leading my companions through the tundra, I was now a burden on my companions. If my plan worked, I could help them, but if it failed, I could be stranded alone on the Island of Solstice, surrounded by yetis. I turned to Talyth for guidance, and I could tell that she could see the despair in my eyes, but all she said was, “I don’t know, dalninuk, but you need to mri'kul lil vith wun!”
Climbing atop Ukuma with the Rope of Climbing, I cast Rope Trick and commanded the rope to pull me up thirty feet.
Still running, JoJo reached the first yeti and cleaved it in half. Dangling from the rope, I shot down a second yeti that had engaged with Ukuma. Rowan pounced on the third yeti, ripping its throat out.
Three more yetis approached, one much larger than the rest, apparently Korgah! Talyth turned to face them, fury in her eyes. She held out her hands, blasting them all with a massive Cone of Cold. But when the storm faded, they all stood unfazed, clearly immune to the cold.
Korgah then exhaled a blast of cold upon Talyth, Ukuma, and Rowan. Although it was only half the size of Talyth’s, it chilled them to the bone, except for Rowan, who was now immune to the cold.
Meanwhile, another of these newcomers hurled chunks of ice at me, some grazing me as I tried to target them.
As Taimen charged ahead on Princess Skullcrusher, a small yeti jumped out of the snow and attacked her. Taimen turned toward the creature, staring it down until it shied away in fear.
JoJo, now fully engaged and no longer running, cut down another yeti. Taimen blasted yeti left and right with Fire Bolts, sending them into a histerical frenzy.
Ukuma charged Korgah, flopping its mass onto the abominable yeti. Pulling away, Korgah charged Talyth and brought her down! Ukuma stabbed Korgah with a tusk while JoJo pulled Talyth away, and Taimen revived her with a potion.
The battle was soon over as Ukuma flattened the yeti in the rear, Ambrose destroyed the small yeti, JoJo chopped Korgah’s legs out from under it and hacked it apart, and I shot down the last.
As the rope lowered me to the ground, the mist began to retract toward Grimskalle, revealing the sun’s brightness, which I had never seen before. Then something flickered in the sun’s brilliance. Squinting, I could see something flying in front of the sun. At first, I thought it was a bird, but then I realized how far away it was, and I realized that it was Auril, flying toward us on her roc! The Frostmaiden had completed her daily ritual and was returning to her island from the east.
I cast Longstrider on Ukuma, who carried me on their back. As we all began to flee toward the dock, Ambrose insisted that he must stay behind to deliver a message. I did not stick around for the fungus-man’s full explanation.
After an hour, we finally reached the dock, and to our great relief, Angajuk was waiting impatiently as the roc had passed Grimskalle and was now very close. As we climbed down the treacherous landing to board Angajuk’s boat, we saw a black ship approaching. On its bow was a white-skinned Tiefling, whom Professor Skant said was Avarice, another member of the Arcane Brotherhood. As Angajuk dove into the Sea of Moving Ice, balls of flame and frost streaked through the sky above.
Ukuma, saying there were many places it wanted to explore, thanked us and bid us farewell as it swam next to Angajuk briefly before we pulled away.
As we traveled under the sea in the safety of Angajuk’s bubble, Talyth and Vellynne traded Sending spells, updating the necromancer and agreeing on where to meet.
Angajuk explained that the trip back would be much faster than it took to find the ever-moving Island of Solstice, and the next day, we reached the bell. Talyth’s Shield Guardian was still waiting there as we gave our thanks to Angajuk, who snorted with a smile and dove off.
We decided to travel to Lonelywood, and although I was feeling better than the previous day, I was still recovering, and the trip took us eight hours.
When we finally arrived that evening, Nimsy welcomed us back and told us about a guest who had apparently overstayed their welcome.
Entering her cosy home, I was almost knocked down by Junior, Scooter, Nooter, and Junior Jr. as they assaulted me, looking for presents that I did not have. I entertained them with minor illusions and showed them the new tools and mask I had acquired.
Nimsy introduced us to her guest, Duke Ulder de Feveron, Noble Son of Athkatla. He seemed a pleasant enough fellow and was overly eager to join us on any adventure we might embark on. This was clearly a man who was running from some kind of trouble, but that was common among those who had fled to Icewind Dale from the south.
As we gathered around for Nimsy’s delicious cocoa, she told us about a jailbreak in Revel’s End, freeing Vaelish Gant, a member of the Arcane Brotherhood who had been incarcerated for life at Revel's End for attempting to take over Ten-Towns some years ago.
That night, Nimsy’s children cuddled around me, insisting that I tell them a story. Despite my weariness, I gaily agreed, “Of course, I’ll tell you a story. Did you want me to continue where we left off, fighting the evil assassin?”
“Icingdeath!” Scooter demanded, and his siblings soon repeated the cry.
Then, Junior Jr. said, “No, Uncle Frizzt, tell us about your adventures! Tell us about the Island of Solstice! Mama says you been there. Is it true?”
“Yeah!” The other children’s eyes grew wide. “Tell us about the Island of Solstice!” And soon they all began to chant, “Solstice! Solstice!”
“I have,” I admitted. Determined not to let them down, I obliged, grateful that I could stay awake long enough to finish the tale.
The next morning, we awoke to a commotion in the town square. A dozen Reghed nomads from the elk tribe had arrived; eleven scrawny men led by a massive warrior and an older shaman who eagerly approached us.
“I know you!” the shaman said to JoJo. “Fifty years ago, you carried me on your shoulders…and you’ve hardly aged a day. My name’s Mjenir, and now I have come to repay you. Tigers with ice in their veins come to spill your blood upon the snow. They will do everything in their power to keep you from finding what the Frostmaiden has preserved under the ice. But I've received a vision, and we are here to escort you to the Reghed Glacier, where you can find what you’re looking for.”
JoJo was suddenly indignant and insisted that we weren’t going to the Reghed Glacier until we had visited his home in the Spine of the World to stop a feud between the goliaths of Skytower Shelter and Wyrmdoom Crag.
Incredulous, Mjenir explained that they had traveled far to share their vision in an effort to help us end the Rime.
To our surprise, JoJo vehemently insisted that Mjenir would have to wait and was welcome to accompany us to the Spine of the World.
Mjenir despairingly explained that he could feel his time nearing its end and knew that he would not survive such a journey.
JoJo grew even more apoplectic, suggesting that Mjenir should be off then and find somewhere to die, and I suddenly wondered if he had been possessed. But then I realized that JoJo was just being self-centered and juvenile, and having been so young to go through so much, was having a tantrum.
Nevertheless, the rudeness he showed to Mjenir was shameful, and I was embarrassed to count him as a companion. When Talyth admonished him for his behavior, he turned on her aggressively. Confident that Talyth could handle herself, I gathered Nimsy’s children and herded them back toward her house, less than two hundred feet away. From their porch, I kept an eye on the quarrel, hoping I would not have to intervene.
Mjenir and his tribesmen departed, and soon after, we gathered our things and bid our farewells, departing Lonelywood, with Duke tagging along. The noble regaled us with his personal tales of noble intrigue, romantic escapades, and the beauty of Athkatla—especially compared to the grimness of the Dale, and hinting at the perfidy of his enemies.
After an hour, we reached Termalaine. The streets were deserted. We soon found August, who explained that six hundred had perished when the duergar collapsed the mine, leaving only two hundred remaining, including the guards who had remained outside the mine to guard it. Nevertheless, the mine had been dug out, the dead properly buried, and the mining had continued, albeit much slower than before. Only two kobolds remained, and they greeted Taimen with joy. Grateful that we had averted an even greater catastrophe, August gave us each a potion of greater healing for slaying the dragon.
A couple of hours later, we were outside Targos, where we found Vellynne with her undead sled dogs. She was eager to see The Codicil of White and begin the journey to the Reghed Glacier.
When JoJo insisted that we travel to the Spine of the World first to stop the goliath feud, Vellynne refused, and JoJo broke down, falling to his knees. Not quite surprisingly, it was Taimen’s harsh words that brought him to his senses. Despite all my years in the Underdark, I’m still surprised when I see this type of waela behavior on the surface.
No comments:
Post a Comment