3 - Nana's Mysterious benefactor

PCs

Fingal - human sorcerer

• Nana is a good and faithful person and I trust her implicitly.

• Nyree seems to have a secret they are not telling us.

Gildon - human swordsman

• Ithkan is good at investigating things and I want to learn from them.

• Fingal may be interested in my faith.

Ithkan - goliath grave priest / investigator

• Nyree owes me.

• Gildon is good at people stuff and I want to learn from them.

Nana - half-elvin grandmotherly healer

• Fingal is out of place and I will help him fit in.

• Gildon is someone new to me and I want to impress someone I have not known since they were a baby.

Nyree - half elf/goliath tracker/ranger

• Ithkan knows incriminating secret about me.

• Nana should know something about my father but won't tell me.


 New NPCs

Eku - mysterious figure who wrote message to Nana

Dannika Applewhite - daughter of Nana.  


Marshal Report

Arrived back in town with sled of Iron ingots and Oobok's remains.  The group was met by Hruna whom was pleased that they could pack Oobok in salt and do a traditional dwarven funeral.  Hruna mentioned having met the Dwarven speaker from Bremen and that her group was thinking of escorting the Speaker back home since Bremen had a sizable dwarf population and could likely do a passable rite for the fallen.  Hruna mentioned that the way back into Freyastan was closed and that no more shipments were coming until the end of the current troubles.

Hruna cut off her braid and revealed that it contained a bloodstone worth 50 gp which she gifted to the party along with a set of tokens that showed that the group were owed a debt by the Blackiron dwarves.  The tokens are worth a 20% savings at Black Iron Arms in Bryn Shander.

The party convinced Hruna to not head to Bremen yet and wait 3 days to give them time to resolve some other issues sinc eteh group wished to go to Bremen themselves.

The party then brought the goblin captive back to the town jail but while walking near the Scholarly Arms the host rushed out to flag down Nana.  He had realized that he had mixed up Flora and Floral. The costume Danica was carrying was a christmas tree suit.  Clearly she was dressing up for a costume party with her druid friends.  You know how spellcasters are like. Also, as he had been packing up Dannika's room he had found the two letters and one was clearly addressed to Nana so he wanted to deliver them to her and was about to walk over to her place with the last of Dannika's things but seeing Nana meant he could deliver the letters now.  Especially since the kind lady at the bar had pointed out Nana's approach and reminded him that he was looking for her earlier. Party tried to find out more about this mysterious lady whom he seemed to trust implicitly.

A Message

One letter was addressed "Fellow members of the arcane brotherhood" while the other was in a different hand and simply said "Nana".  As the group questioned the host on who this kindly lady was and what she looked like Nana opened the letters and read them discreetly.

Nana, I helped save your daughters life recently but she is in danger again. I can help show you where she is but you will owe me her life twice over and that is not a debt to be taken lightly. If you agree then place your hand on the paper and say "I am indebted to Eku and accept that I owe her twice over" and I will show you what you need to know to save your daughter. Decide quickly as time is of the essence.

The other letter was written in Dannika's handwriting and said the following.

Fellow members of the arcane brotherhood. I took the spirit lantern and headed off to do my experiments. I waited a week for any of you to return but given you all departed and that I need to conduct my research I decided to move on with my attempt to bind one of the nature spirits myself.

Nana muttered to herself for a moment before finally saying out loud, "Ok, I agree!  Show me what I need to see" and then she immediately had a vision with her glowing with opalescent light.  She felt as if she took off from a nearby building and was flying south.  Over snow and past a fallen statue the vision approached woods already dark in the late afternoon light.  But deep in the forest hopping down a trail was her Daughter dressed in a Christmas tree outfit carrying a glowing lantern and crying because her suit zipper had frozen shut and so Dannika was trapped in the suit but the vision didn't stop it continued further south along Dannika's trail where creatures stalked along the path sensing easy prey only a few miles to the north.

As Nana stood transfixed her eyes glowing.  Ithkan walked close and closed his eyes as well.  He caught a glimpse of multicolored wings over snow but his vision swept to the north to near a lonely mountain where a familiar wizard he had seen in his dreams once before when set upon in an alleyway by Gildon was now settign up equipement somewhere high and cold.  He was accompanied by a human mountaineer, tiefling spellcaster, a Goliath barbarian, a halfling priestess, and a human sized heavily armored man who were gathered near the tumbled remnants of a tower. Ithkan noted a dwarven corpse wearing blue boots that protrudes from a nearby snowbank. Little could be made since folks were heavily bundled up against the cold but the Goliath was lightly dressed and was recognizable as not a member of the Wyrmdoom goliaths.  He has a marshal's badge on his belt.

While others are busy with visions Fingol tries to talk with the goblin but only learns that it was part of a foraging expedition from a settlement called Karkolohk far to the southwest. Sheriff Markham Southwell whome they meet at the stockade promises that the prisoner will be given kept safe for several days and the town is interested in learning more from the goblin upon the party's return.  (Not many in town speak goblin apparently)

Nana apologizes to the group but says that she has a mission of some urgency to the south she must deal with and that she would appreciate help if they were willing to aid her in retrieving her foolish daughter from certain danger.  The party is willing but Gildon is leery of passing by the southgate and running into Bishop Alder so he calls upon his patron and his face melds into a completely non-descript human's features.  Gildon says running into Bishop would only slow him down.

Southgate

Not a minute later the party does encounter Lieutenant Bishop Alder whom asks Ithkan if he has seen Gildon.  Ithkan immediately turns to GIldon who looks back guiltily as Ithkan stammers, "He was with us when we entered at northgate, I am pretty sure he is still in town" Bishop can clearly see that the group is concealing something but as he steps forward to press them Fingol steps forward and tells Bishop, "We are on a mission of some urgency, get out of our way" FIngol eyes look threatening but still the reaction from Bishop was both immediate and disproportionate.  Bishop Alder is clearly terrified when he looks Fingol in the eyes.  He freezes as if he has seen a ghost.  Nana walking by pats him on the arm to sooth him but the contact only causes him to wet himself.  He immediately regains his senses and departs but the party is left scratching their heads.  Gildon mentions that there was another missing sacrifice and Ithkan theorizes that Fingol might have been an earlier sacrifice whom also wandered out into the storm and that could explain Bishop's reaction.  But the party muses on what was going on in Bishops head as they ski south towards Dannika last position.

Nyree keeps the party skiing south as quickly as they can manage.  Most folks have gotten somewhat used to his strange contraptions after a day of trekking through the deep drifts with Nyree breaking a path.  Nyree spots some bear traps and has the party detour around the area trappers have been using to hunt large game.

Soon the party can see the glow of Dannika's lantern but oddly enough the lantern light turns green and this sets off Dannika crying, "Not now dang it!"  The party sees the Cragcats close in on Danika.  But the group had managed to reach her before the creatures could attack.  Nana rushed forward, her mamabear mode engaged and blasts a bolt of brilliant energy at the creature next to Dannika. Fingol follows it with an icy dagger which also hits.  But both are outshined by Nyree who mumbles something like, 'Defective beast wannabees" before impaling the cat with a magically enhanced arrow.

The hits keep coming but spells are often bouncing off the creature's fur.  The first Cat retreats before the onslaught but another rushes the helpless Dannika.  Ithkan casts protective ward around Dannika and attempts to draw attention away.  But it is Nana whom is pounced upon by another Cragcat from an Eastern  ridge. "Attack the weak and elderly will you?  I am not as weak as you thought!" And she sticks her wooden spoon into its mouth and sends a blast into it at point blank causing it to briefly glow and giving the cat pause.  

Nyree continues to rain death down on the creatures with is bow.  Ithkan sounds his gong to drive out the spirit of a cat only to have his pwn spell turned back upon himself by the creatures foul magics.  An errant ice knife by Fingol catch both Gildon and Ithkan in its super chilled radius but besides some minor scrapes the party pulls through pretty easily.

Dannika explains that she was trying to study a nature spirit called a Chwinga but she was startled by A polar bear in a harness that sniffed her over and sent her fleeing in terror.  She thought she was a goner but an investigation by the party reveals that the bear appeared to cast a protective aura on Dannika.  

Dannika was quite disraught, "Oh Nana I have made a hash of things.  They said then needed someone for this expedition and I thought my knowledge of Chult would make me a valuable asset but they just stuck me with the bags and went their separate ways.  I am alone and I am about to be kicked out of my inn.  I don't have money and this was my final attempt to get a paper on environmental spirit adaption to the magical winter conditions and even that I hashed up.  My zipper froze shut when I was caught in a blizzard and I think I lost feeling in my toes.  I am lucky that the tailor added fur lining to my suit by mistake or I would have probably died out here last night.  And then the cats.  I used to like cats... Nana I don't know what to do.  I tried to be strong like you but I screwed up..."

Nana just soothed her and said that things would be allright.  She had already taken care of the debt at the inn and Dannika was just left gratefully sobbing and hugging her mother.

The party was able to claim one Cragcat hide which is probably worth something.  But even as Nyree and Ithkan are busy butchering the dead cat an Owl flew down and asked Fingal.  "Chosen.  Why did you spare this person? (Indicates Dannika) The tenant of the goddess says the strong endure. To be as ice you must be cruel. You are chosen one are you not?  Why do you act so?"  Fingol indicates that Dannika has friends and friends can make one strong.   To this the owl states "Ravisan says we must be cruel and if isolated aren't strong, they shall perish.  You confuse me.  I need to think on this...."


With teh owl winging away south the party looked at the map and realized they are almost all the way to Goodmead.  So rather than trek back to Bryn Shander they head further south to find shelter for the night which has fallen truely now.

Case log updates:

Help recover Dwarven Caravan (Solved)

Investigate angry tree south of town (Solved?)

Investigate situation around BigBoi's Death (Progressing)

Find missing marshals (In progress)

Investigate missing mead (Coming up)

Missing sacrifice redux (New)

Treasure

New investigation priorities / assignments

Questions we will explore next time: