Chapter 7: The Last Gasp of Winter

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About the Saga

The first blizzard in decades strikes the Pomarj.

Timeframe

Cast of Characters

Notable Quotes

"Kill a wolf? Kill a *pony*!? You're going to _die_ you bastards!" -- Kor

What Has Come Before

At the request of the elf Willow Wind, our heroes have travelled to Bloodstone Tower and defeated the band of Red Fang Orcs that had been living there. The orcs had been worshipping an massive, blood-leafed ironwood tree that loomed over the fortification courtyard. It was clear that "Bloodstone Tower" had once been part of a larger keep, and that time and the action of the tree's roots and turned much of it to rubble. Only the tower and the remains of a few walls still stood, and even those had the tree's roots deeply entwined with it.

The orcs were led by an orog chieftain, and together they had been raiding the countryside for loot and victims to sacrifice to the tree. The heroes, joined by a band of pirates-turned-bandits under the command of Captain Trelan Silvertooth, attacked and defeated the orc band. They also attempted to destroy the tree by throwing burning lamp oil on it, but the tree's thick bark did not burn well ... and unexpectedly the tree became quite angry.

It animated and began lashing out with its roots, striking at the heroes and tearing down the remains of the tower and its attendant walls. The heroes fled the destruction and are now on their way back home.

The Saga

Readying 25, CY 515

After the battle at Bloodstone Tower, the heroes retreated to the safety of the bugbear cave they'd cleared out earlier. They rested, lighting a fire against the sudden cold that had overtaken the day. They counted their treasures, and drank the last of Captain Silvertooth's hoarded grog. Tanevir examined the rusty gauntlet that he'd recovered from the orog leader of the Red Fang orcs at Bloodstone, and determined that there was an aura of great strength to it. There was also a sense of viciousness attached to it; indeed closer examination revealed that blood was intermixed with the rust of the gauntlet. Kor remembered the orog seemed to be incredibly strong, but he'd written it off as the humanoid's ogre parentage. Tanevir suggested that Kor took the gauntlet as his share of the treasure. The warrior agreed, and when he donned it he found a new sense of strength surging through him.

The heroes camped for the night. In the early morning hours, around 3 a.m. Finn was on guard with his newly acquired wolf companion. He saw the first snowflakes fall, and in the next two hours witness it quickly turn from flurries to a full-blown blizzard.

That was when the orcs attack. The patrol that the Red Fangs sent out earlier had tracked them to the cave; their leader -- Asrath -- declared that he was going to kill them all and drag them back to the ironwood tree at Bloodstone Tower. There he would offer their corpses to the spirit of the tree in the hopes of once again gaining its blessing.

Asrath struck at Finn first, eager to kill the halfling's wolf companion. He then ordered his companions to attack the party's horse and pony. "I woudn't want 'em running from _this_ fight!"

Finn sounded the alarm, breaking Tanevir out of a restful trance. Seeing the orcs swarming into the cave, the elf ran to horse and mounted it. Unfortunately before he could wheel the beast around and attack the indvaders, the orcs cut the beast out from undernearth him. He leapt from its crumbling corpse and drew his bow. Meanwhile two more orcs made short work of the pony, and it soon fell dead alongside the horse.

The commotion woke the two pirates (but not their captain), as well as Kor. Upon waking Kor found himself infused with a new strength, and he charged at the orcs.

Asrath and one of his companions closed with Finn. They offhandedly slew the ranger's wolf companion, then focused their attention on the halfling.

The brutal attack on the animals infuriated Kor. "Kill a wolf? Kill a *pony*!? You're going to _die_ you bastards!" He then used his warhammer to knock one of the orc's heads clear off.

Meanwhile near the back of the cave Burgell and Captain Treland Silvertooth slept on.

The orcs pressed the fight, turning their attention to the easiest prey first and killing one of the surviving pirates. Finn, Tanevir, and Kor continued their counterattack, all the while shooting for their sleeping companions to awaken.

They finally did, and with their help, the tide turned. The lead orc, Asrath, died in a hail of arrows, and several of his companions soon died with him. Two remaining orcs, their wills broken, fled into the raging blizzard outside.

Consumed with bloodlust, Kor chased after the orcs, followed by Tanevir and Finn. They killed one before he could get more than a dozen steps from the cave, but the other managed to flee deeper into the night.

The blizzard raged around the heroes, all but blinding them. They were startled to hear the remaining orc suddenly scream in terror and then go silent. Kor, who was fast on the orcs heels, soon knew why. Ice blue eyes glowed faintly before him, barely visible through the whirling snow. He could sense, but not see, the hulking shape behind those eyes.

He turned and ran. "Taniver! We have a problem! A much bigger problem!" The elf, hearing the terror in the man's voice, fired off a series of firebolts in the general direction of the threat. He then retreated back to the cave with Kor and Finn.

They ran to the back of the cave and quickly fetched burning logs from the fire, tossing them near the entrance in hopes of warding off whatever was out in the storm.

A few moments later a gigantic white wolf, its eyes now glowing a brilliant pale blue, emerged from the storm. The creature was easily the size of a pony, and it was flanked by two lesser white-grey wolves.

The white wolf looked around the cave, taking in the fallen corpses of the orcs. In a low voice like ice crashing against rock the wolf spoke. "I see you hunt the orc things as well. I am Gunnolf. Who ... are you?"

Tanevir and Finn exchanged a glance. "Winter wolf," the elf said in a whisper. "Dangerous. But intelligent." Tanevir approached the winter wolf and explained that his band had killed the orcs at Bloodstone Tower, and then fought the remainder who had followed them here. The wolf turned its attention to Finn's recently killed canine companion. "You. Little one. I sense you are a wolf-friend. You ... and your companions ... you hunt these monsters, same as my pack."

The wolf looked to Tanevir. "We knew the storm was coming. We came down from the mountains to hunt the wolf killers under the cover of snow and cold. We honor you, orc slayers. In kinship, I warn you: do not go to the mountains north of the three lakes. A great dragon has laid waste to those lands, burning all that it sees."

"Does this dragon have a name?" Tanevir asked.

"It is called Inferno by all who live in those lands. It is ... a force ... to be avoided."

The heroes thanked the wolf for his advice. The beast then spoke to Finn. "I honor your loss, wolf-friend. My son, Odolf, will join you in your hunt. He will serve you well." The white-grey wolf padded forward and stat near Finn.

With that, Gunnolf and his other son vanished back into the storm.

Coldeven 1, CY 515

The blizzard raged for three full days and dropped more than two feet of snow outside of the heroes' cave. The heroes made good use of their deceased horses, feasting on horse meet while the storm thundered overhead. On the first of Coldeven CY 515 the blizzard finally blew itself out, and temperatures began to rise. Bright blue skies greated the band when they emerged from the Wolf's Den Cave (as they'd started calling it) and began the long, hard slug back to Obsidian Bay.

They proceeded slowly. With the snow waist deep on the humans, and over the heads of the demi-humans, it was the only way they *could* proceed. They arrived in the city as dusk was falling, and found it caught in a slow motion catastrophe. The make-shift tents and wooden builds of the refuges had been collapse under the 12"+ inches of snow that had fallen on the city. It was less than the hills had received, but the city was in no position to deal with such weather.

The Griffins Guild opened Griffins Landing and their half-completed guild hall to the women, children, and sick while the Church of St. Cuthbert rallyed to establish great communal tents to house the refuges. Adventurers from a number of guilds and adventuring companies joined together, praying to their gods for substance while others -- led by Willow Wind -- headed into the now-frozen countryside to forage for food. The city's small fishing fleet struggled to repair their masts and sails, both badly damaged by the storm, while the three commerical deep water vessels attempted to do the same.

Even in the Docks District the destruction was widespread -- many of the buildings were slipshod construction at best, and never meant to withstand the sustained weight of so much ice and snow. The death count was unknown, but many feared it to be in the hundreds.

Tanevir and Finn contributed what they could to the healing brigades setup in Griffin's Landing, while Burgell took to the Docks District looking to raise relief funds. His plan was to approach the town's many adventuring guilds and companies looking for charity that could be used to purchase desperately needed food and supplies from Gyrax in the Principality of Ulek.

His first stop was the earthen guild hall of the Emerald Alliance, on the assumption that the guild's many demi-human druids, rangers, and clerics would want to aid the relief effort. He was wrong; Arilion, leader of the guild, had welcome the blizzard as a way of re-balancing the town by killing off the refuges that were overwelming the local ecosystem.

Burgell moved onto the next guild on his list - the Anchormen. These good-hearted, if somewhat slow-witted, mercenaries were already pitching in around the city. Their leader, a former Suel warrior named Tirvild welcomed the opportunity to help, and agreed to contribute 1,500 gold lions to the cause. With one guild under his belt, Burgell started contemplating the organization he would contact next.

Clearly Obsidian Bay was going to need _a lot_ of help.


Experience

Player Characters

  • Finn: 223 xp
  • Burgill: 223 xp
  • Tanevir: 223 xp

Non-Player Characters

  • Kor: 275 xp
  • Captain Silvertooth: 275 xp
  • Nameless Pirates: 275 xp

Loot

Coins

  • 66 Copper
  • 39 Silver (+180 from the orc bounty set by Willow Wind)
  • 12 Electrum
  • 7 chalcedony gems worth 12 gp each.

Art objects

  • None.

Magic items

  • A rusted and pitted battle axe, taken from Asrath, the orc ranger that led the orc scouting party.
  • Two potions of healing

Resources

  • White-Grey Wolf Photo: Odolf, son of Gunnolf, the winter wolf.
  • Chalcedony: A type of gem found among the orcs' possessions.
  • Write: The Markdown app for Mac that Ken used to write this week's adventure notes.
  • Wolf names: A big list of wolf names. Because who doesn't need a big list of wolf names?
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