Session#70 | Krynn

Session #70

3 H’rarmont (4 pm)

After the attack on the Bull-men, although the polar bear seems nervous, he is not aggressive towards you. At some point, the Bear pushes over a basket of fish, eat a bunch of fish that were in the basket, and pushes one over towards you group.

You also heal the bear. You camp for the night in the same area.

4 H’rarmont (7 am)

You continue your travel south, the Bear follows you. As you venture deeper into the frozen wilderness, the massive, white-furred polar bear, follows close across the landscape.

At one point, as you approached a seemingly stretch of ice, the bear stops abruptly and grunts, its breath misting in the cold air. The bear runs forward to stop you from moving forward. A thin layer of snow had concealed a wide crevasse just ahead, ready to swallow whoever passes. The bear directs you to a safer passage. He does this on a few occasions during your travel south.

Later in the day, as the wind howls and visibility starts to diminish, the bear's ears perk up, its head turning upward. It turns swiftly, growling with purpose, alerting and urging you to head towards a large ice mound that seems to provide cover from above.

Once partially hidden, you see a shadow passing over the icy landscape heading south, a massive white dragon, its wings stretching wide as it glided silently above.

After several tense moments, the dragon vanished into the stormy sky, seemingly unaware of your presence. The polar bear slowly moves out and grunts once more, signaling that all is clear.

You continue on, and toward 3pm, a storm begins creeping in with a cold breeze that whispers through the air, carrying heavy snowflakes. The sky starts to turn pale gray, as grey clouds drift in, slowly obscuring the sun. As the wind picks up, it brings a chill that creeps through the layers of clothing. The snowfall becomes steadier, covering the already white landscape with more snow. The world grows quieter, as the snow absorbs the sound, and visibility starts to blur in the soft haze of the storm.

Farther away, about 300 feet from the road, an unusual shape is visible ahead. Covered by frost and drifting snow, it vaguely resembles another ship. But this one seems different, the splintered end of a long mast rises at an angle from the wreck, and a wooden hull is visible through the snow cover in several places. The boat is split down the centre and two long pieces of wood lie nearby as long as the mast, and have sharply bent ends and large brackets bolted to their sides.

As you get closer, the ship looks like it was wrecked in a crash... and has not been there for long... maybe only a day or so...

3 bodies lay on the ground, you discover that they are human.

As you start to approach, several bulky figures leap out from behind the hull. They are humanoid, but 7 or 8 feet tall. Awkwardly, but with surprising speed, they rush forward with battle axes in hand.

Combat breaks out and you manage to defeat them. One of them has a special battleaxe made of ice. FrostReaver a +3 battleaxe, https://www.dndbeyond.com/magic-items/9201524-frostreaver.

After the battle with Tusk-Men, the moaning of the wind gradually grows to a scream as the bitter night approaches. The cold is so intense that beards grow frosty and eyelashes, if closed for a brief period, become frozen shut and are hard to reopen.

Snow begins to fall. This is not a mild dusting, such as often occurs in the lands around Solace during the dark months of winter, but a savage blizzard that lashes at bodies and souls with the force of chill dragon's breath. Stinging needles seem to strike every bit of exposed flesh, and even several layers of clothing do little to conserve body heat.

4 H’rarmont (3 am)

For the next few days, the storm keeps you sheltered in the hull of the broken boat.

6 H’rarmont (7 am)

After days of swirling white oblivion, the savage blizzard finally begins to lift its heavy yoke. Snow still falls, and the wind continues to blow, but the storm has lost its angry intensity. Now, in the gray light of dawn, visibility increases to several hundred feet.

As the daylight increases, the storm dies more quickly, until midmorning brings a bright blue sky over a landscape of eye-burning whiteness.

You decide to continue travel south, but only after you have left the boat, it is in this atmosphere of clear, icy winter that movement is detected to the South West.

A plume of snow seems to rise from the surface of the glacier as a large object approaches. A great wing, or perhaps a sail, rises above the object, which is soon discernable as an iceboat similar to the one wrecked by the Tusk-Men.

When close, a crew of rugged warriors leap from the deck of the ship, and advance rapidly through the snow. All of the dozen or so figures are clad in heavy furs, and each carries a glistening battle axe. Same weapon that Kelson has with him, made of clear glass.

The entire crew of the ship moves toward you. Their attitude is cautious, but they do not attack unless provoked. They pause when they are about 40 feet from you and their leader moves several steps in front of his men.

The large man stands tall, his eyes narrow as he takes in the presence of the party. His hand rests on the hilt of his weapon, ready for any sign of trouble. His voice is low, but carries the weight of authority:

The air here is thick with tension, and it would be wise to tread carefully. Any reckless or hostile move from your lot... well, we’ll have no choice but to fight, and trust me, we fight to the end."

He glances at the warriors at his side.

The massive white bear jumps forward, He looks surprised and asks why is this majestic white bear with you?

Kelson mentions that they helped the Bear when attacked by a bunch of bull-men.

He pauses, watching the group carefully.

He introduces himself as Harald Haakan and asks questions about the ice boat you just left from. He seems satisfied with the answered you have provided.

He investigates the crashed boat, carries his dead friends to his boat.

He mentions that you’re welcome to come back to their camp. We’ll make sure you’ve got a place to rest for the rest of the day and night, as there’s another fierce storm brewing on the horizon that will hit us in about 8-10 hours. I’d suggest you take our offer before it hits.

And who knows… we might be able to help you with what you seek and try to understand why you are here.

You agree to accompany them to their camp, as you get on the boat, he welcomes aboard the Icedrake...

The Icedrake's deck is much like that of any sea-going vessel. Solid wooden planks underfoot, and a bewildering array of ropes, winches, and canvas overhead. The harsh voice of Harald Haakan calls orders to the men who rush about in purposeful chaos.

Suddenly, the canvas snaps taut in the gentle breeze, and the smooth wooden runners begin to hiss across the surface of the glacier. Almost imperceptibly at first, the heavy vessel reacts to the wind. Speed is gained quickly, and in minutes the ship is moving faster than à man can run. Now more orders issue from the bearded captain, and the vessel begins a long, sweeping turn to the southeast, sending showers of ice and snow curving through the air.

The ship steadies on course with the wind full in her sails. The hiss of the runners drops to a dull whisper as the iceboat seems to fly across the glacier.

Within a bit more than an hour, you enter the mountain side through a secluded area into their camp.

6 H’rarmont (1 pm)