Alarielle

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

I will try to catch up and get a post in tomorrow morning, been a very long Monday and I really want to sleep lol.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Oh no, I just realized I should probably be the face of the party given my charisma. What have I done...

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kendra Serrana

Kendra acquired as much privacy as she could to sleep, which admittedly wasn't much, but she had difficulty sleeping easily among strangers. Difficulty sleeping peacefully at all, lately.

She dreamed of an endless night sky blanketed with distant stars, impossibly vast and empty and cold. Despite the stars it all seemed so terribly, terribly dark. The chill of it cut right through her, though it was nothing next to the feeling of falling, plummeting endlessly. She wanted to scream, but there was no air in her lungs. She tried to reach out for something, anything to grab on to, but there was nothing within a thousand miles.

Kendra woke in a cold sweat, breathing heavily, sometime before the sun came up. Her hand gripped the handle of her dagger tightly, her knuckles bone-white. I'm trying, she thought, as she got up and gathered her things. But you haven't exactly given me much to work off of.

She pulled on her jacket, shimmering amethyst in color, a tough but flexible leathery material, and then her heavy cloak over it. After securing a quick breakfast for another silver piece, she headed outside into the cold. It felt like the sweat on her cheeks was going to snap freeze, and a sting managed to reach her eyes. Kendra endured it, found a spot of privacy, and with basic magic cleaned herself up, put her appearance back together, removed all trace of any rough night.

By the time she returned, walking tall and calmly, the rest of her group had assembled. "If you're all finished, we should get moving."

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kendra Serrana

Well, that was... not really helpful. The axebeak seemed like the grumpy sort, so Kendra figured the best favor she could grant it would simply be leaving it alone. She supposed she could interrogate the dogs too, but they likely didn't leave town much, and the axebeak's help didn't inspire much confidence.

Well, thanks for trying. Let me get out of your feathers.

She let the spell fade, the animals no longer able to communicate with her. Not the most pleasant conversation anyway. The town seemed to have very little to offer, not even a place to trade for goods. Best thing would probably be to move on as quickly as she could. Kendra made her way back to the mead hall after a brief walk, paid her silver for the floor space, and settled in. The sooner she could be out of here, the better.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kendra Serrana

Chilly greeting. It was another thing Kendra still wasn't used to, speaking to animals like this. Somehow the big bird's series of small squawking sounds made sense to her, and that just didn't make any sense at all. She doubted she'd get any useful information out of this, but it was worth a shot. Maybe the reclusive forest spirit liked animals more than people.

I'm looking for something, a small forest spirit creature called a chwinga. Don't think I'll find any here, but maybe you've seen one? Near the road maybe, or possibly sneaking around town? Supposedly there might be some in or near a town to the east. That's... towards the rising sun. Know anything about them?

She checked briefly to see if she was being watched. Not that it looked like she was doing anything strange, though.

If you can help me at all, maybe I can help you somehow. Favor for a favor.

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kendra Serrana

"Right, well, I'm going to leave this with you," Kendra said, setting the magic lantern down on the table in front of Kythor. "You seem like a responsible sort, at least, so better you than me." Finishing her soup she returned the bowl, perfectly clean already with a quick swipe of her magic. She then fastened her cloak tightly around herself once more, bracing for the cold. "I'm going to clear my head for a bit, but I think I'll come back to find a corner here to sleep tonight."

With a nod, she stepped outside. It was getting late, getting dark, and the streets were even emptier than when she'd arrived. Kendra made towards the stables she'd seen on her way through, or at least what passed for one, where she'd noted the presence of an axebeak, a rather impressive and feisty avian mount. When she was reasonably confident no one was looking her way, she quietly whispered an incantation in Primordial and made the necessary gestures beneath her cloak to activate the spell, enabling her to communicate with any animals she encountered for the next ten minutes.

Upon reaching the stables and feeling that she had privacy, as well as a space where the nearest axebeak could make eye contact with her, she allowed the words to form in her mind, words that the creature would hear in its own head with perfect clarity, and understand them too given her magical assistance in communication. Kendra's eyes took on a more violet hue as she thought.

Hey big guy. Don't be alarmed, I'm a friend. You must know these parts pretty well, right? You travel all over?

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Did Kendra notice any birds of any kind on her way into town? Or is it too cold for them here?

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kendra Serrana

Eating terrible stew in a tiny mead hall in the frozen wastes, surrounded by mercenaries and wild men. How did it come to this?

Kendra swallowed another spoonful of her stew, the flavor still masked and improved by her magic. Jitter seemed strangely intent on dying alone, but Kendra had said her piece, and if he didn't want to see reason, that was on him. These other two seemed to have more level heads, good enough to stick with them. She trusted they wouldn't ask too many questions, so long as she didn't do anything stupid.

"More gold for the rest of us," she said, shrugging beneath the comfortable weight of her cloak. "I'm guessing this Easthaven is more than a ten minute walk away, though. Maybe we take tonight to rest here, and set out at first light tomorrow?"

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

@Chro2 Done! So post away :)

D&D 5e Rime of the Frostmaiden.

Kendra Serrana

"The local here knows more about them than this giant thing," Kendra pointed out. "The pay being offered is better, the job is safer, we might not even need to leave town... you really want to go after a giant just to have your room and meals paid for?"

There was no original plan to stick to, as far as Kendra was concerned. If Jitter wanted to wander out into the frozen wastes in search of his death, he was welcome to do so alone. Kendra felt inclined to take the advice of the wilds man who actually lived in these parts.

Furthermore, this researcher didn't seem to have anything malicious planned for the forest spirit, and if she was right about her theory, well... improving the local climate sounded like a worthy goal to pursue. She could certainly understand the allure of a magical breakthrough.

"Say we do find one of these things. How do we capture it? I know some magic, but it's more of the self-defense variety."