The journey from the general’s lair is a bit of a sad one. There is some talk of future vengeance, and a half-hearted inquiry into how they might get the Church to sponsor their vengeance tour, but in the end they turn their magical mounts northward and have a nice slog through the increasingly chilly countryside. Luckily for the crew, they arrive near DaVost near the middle of the summer so the temperatures are cool, but not life-threatening.
Clearly – things get snowy up here – and windy, it would seem. While there are buildings all over the small town, most of the structures’ interiors are excavated and descend dozens of feet into the soil. The town is in a lull, preparing for the fall caravans that will haul away furs, timber and ore.
The party wanders about and heads into the Howling Tankard tavern – reported to be suitable for traders and other outlanders – where they dine, infect the half-orc waitress (who seems to be sweet on Fingers) with a deadly disease, make contact with the chef who recruits them for a mission.
They are to journey northward and investigate rumors of a self-styled lord of the frost giants who might be setting up a fortress from which to raid. If the giants exist – they are to be slain. Doing so might enable a longer trek into the frozen icelands in pursuit of something bigger, but the chef remains tight-lipped about it all. Time is of the essence for once winter really sets in it’ll be nigh impossible to journey around. Well, tally ho! in that case and off they go again.
The mounts get them a certain distance and once the terrain gets rough, flying moves them around a lot faster than anything else. Bayga’s wonderful portable cabin spell is quite nice – the group enjoys the scenery and the new locale until they spot and track a pair of frost giants bearing game.
Now invisible, they enter an old fortress that is partially covered by ice and showing signs of renovation. They see some ogres cleaning tables in a large dining hall and watch as a frost giant emerges from a dorm room to go on guard duty. They silently enter the barracks room and surprise and kill the two occupants, though it isn’t the easiest thing to do. The least damaged corpse is reanimated and used to lure the guard on duty into the silenced kill zone where he is struck down by the poisonous dagger of Fingers. Now they turn their attention to the dining room, but the occupants are no longer in sight. Several doors and at least one passageway are all possible areas to investigate – but one wrong turn and it’ll be wall to wall giants…
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