Merrel blinks at Eofric, "Needles are easy to find. If it's metal, a loadstone will do it. If bone, just burn the haystack, pick up the needle from the ash. Actually, that would make getting the metal one easier, too. Why does everyone find that particular task so hard?"

Then he looks pensive, "I could use some snow shoes up here. Parchment, too. Is there a store around to buy either?"
This message was last edited by the player at 17:28, Thu 09 Mar 2023.

Eofric looked at Merrel, his look stayed there for a while, unblinking.
Finally he did blink.
And reply.
"Ever heard of figure of speech?"
Hailing from Luskan, he did not put too much sarcasm into his tone, though. The Arcane Brotherhood had a well-founded reputation. And so Eofric had learned a long time ago to tread fairly carefully around magic-users.
"And lantern oil for 16 hours at least, a lantern, too, if you don't mind."
"And if you don't want to lead us here a tracking hound amd something from your dead comrade to present to that dog."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:13, Thu 09 Mar 2023.

Merrel shakes his head, "'Figure of speech' Not a one ever has any truth to it. Pointless. And why inflict this weather on a poor dog? Anyhow, a lantern and several flasks of oil is dangerous and heavy. You don't want to be overloaded while trying not to sink into snow. Torches are better as they are a self correcting load problem, don't leave empty flasks behind, and don't run the risk of breaking and making oneself dangerously flammable. Personally, I prefer magic."

Merrel summons up some fire in his hand, stares at it a bit, "Yep, still not working right. Good." He throws the fire into the fireplace.

He turns to the dwarves, "Don't worry about him. He wouldn't be trying to gouge you for extra payment if he weren't planning on coming along. His sort are common in cities. So...is there a store around for supplies?"

--> From the private room

Coming back to the main hall, the gnome took a look around those present. He would let Artim do the rolecall, since he had volunteered the idea of recluting some more folk, but he definitely saw some that seemed capable. Hopefully they would want to tag along.

Hruna shakes her head at Merrel and Eofric "Both from the south, eh?  Torches are useless if you get caught in a blizzard.  Lanterns can work if fully enclosed.  Got to keep the wind out.  Once you get inside a tunnel, torches are fine.  As to a guide, you head straight for the Cairn and you can't miss the sled.  This is open tundra, friend, not the woods.  Things can hide out there, but they have to mean to."

"The gems are bloodstone, you can usually sell them for around fifty gold if you like. Like I said, I'll give one to each of you that goes."

Scramsax adds "I've got some snowshoes in the back that people left when they decided to head south.  Two gold per set."

One of the dwarves behind Hruna chimes in "I'll cover the shoes for anyone going."

Hruna nods at the other dwarf, "Thank you Korux."

---

The group that had followed Hlin into the private room reenter the common room.  They notice that three dwarves, clearly fresh from the wild, have arrived. The leader appears to be talking to Eofric, Silas, and Merrel near the bar.

[Private to Bisa Battlehammer: Up to you if you recognize them.  I'd expect you do as they are from Kelvin's Cairn which is a mine operated by Clan Battlehammer.]

[Private to Eofric: Yeti's are large monsters (CR3) that have darkvision and hunt the tundra by smell.  Their have vicous claw attacks and a gaze that can both damage and paralyze people in fear.]

Eofric turned to the man glad in the colours of the Goddess of Twilight.

The mercenary was not knowledgeable enough to discern whether the large man was actually a cleric or just belonging to some military order, did not even known whether Selune even had military orders like Tempus.

However, he had noticed that the man had talked with the self-proclaimed wizard earlier and given the brevity of that conversation Eofric assumed that the cleric might have a similar insight about the wizard like he did.
Eofric was thus interested to learn the cleric's enthusiasm - or lack thereof - to be accompanied by the wizard on a trip into the wilderness.
He could hardly wait to hear the cleric's next comment, grinning in anticipation.

<quote Storyteller>
One of the dwarves behind Hruna chimes in "I'll cover the shoes for anyone going."

---

Merrel nods,  "That's appreciated, and you're probably right about torches. I don't actually need them since my magic went funny. So...anywhere to get paper or parchment in town?"

Eofric turned around to Hruna again.
"Oh, I know perfectly well the ins and outs of torches and lanterns, including weight and limits."
Eofric shook his head at the earlier non-sense comment of the wizard. He chose to ignore the obnoxious fellow and summed up.
"So, no need for a tracking dog as the sled will be easily found, no light source provided, but you are willing to sponsor the snow shoes. Bring back a sled full of iron that has been left where it was for almost a day by the time we reach it."
Eofric was absolutely convinced that the sled would not be where the dwarves left it.
That was like seeing a pouch full of gold on a busy street in Luskan and expecting no one but the rightful owner to pick it up and keep it.
He fully expected someone, not the yeti for sure, had found and taken the sled, in which case they would have to convince the new owners that it belonged to them. Steal it back? Probably too heavy to just do that. Fight for it? Most likely. Hopefully they would not be branded as bandits.
"You expect us to leave right away, even though 8 hours have already passed?"
The whole job seemed weird to the mercenary. He truly wondered if that sled and its goods really  belonged to the dwarves or whether they just required some foolish adventurers to do the dirty work. What if they found another group of dwarves claiming the sled?
"Any sort of proof the goods belong to you? Anything to identify the goods?"

Eofric looked at the Selune cleric.
"Still game?"
Between the two of them they just might be able to pull the sled. He did not expect much from the wizard, but maybe brawn was not needed if the mage knew some nifty spell. He seemed more interested to find paper, though.

Artim approached the people had seen before in the common room, some of which he had already exchanged words with. He noticed they were in conversation with some dwarves and help back for a few moments, until there was an opening.

"Some of us have agreed to have a look at some potential suspects to these supposed murders. Everyone gets a fair share of the bounty." the dragonborn priest explained. Money wasn't that important to him, but everyone had different motivations.

"We'll be heading out for Termlaine and Lonelywood, eventually, if you want to come." He glanced in the direction of the dwarves. "Unless you have other matters to attend to?"

Eofric looked at the tall Dragonborn and nodded in greeting. He had not had many encounters with people of this race, did not really know if the one addressing them was male or female under the thick clothing.
"Actually we are right in the middle of discussing helping these dwarves here with finding and returning a sled with iron. And we could need help, too."
"Hruna here mentioned eight hours out toward that big mountain to the north east. Seems to me that's about the distance to Termalaine. If you would be willing to go cross country instead, retrieve the sled, bring it to Termalaine at first and bring it back here later it would be a perfect fit."
"I fear the three of us will have trouble pulling the sled, see? But we could arrange some other handlers back from Termalaine. So you'd only help up to Termalaine and we'll where we get from there."
"Not happy about sacrifices, but not happy to leave these miners here to their own devices."
"Assuming, Hruna and her companions would be okay to have their sled back in a couple of days rather than hours.", the question was addressed to the female dwarf.

Uriah joined the conversation now that Artim had handled the pitch.

"If we are heading the same way, then traveling together seems a no brainer. Strenght in numbers. As you said, we can figure out who is doing what when we get there"

Artim gave a series of nods. This sounded very reasonable. He introduced himself to the ones he hadn't done so yet, adding "I am a follower of Moradin the god of dwarves. I have great respect for the sturdy folk, and will help them if I can. The great soul forger tells us that there can be as many treasures in snow as in sand, only colder ones."

Artim will accept the offer of snow shoes, if the offer still stands.

OOC:

A couple of notes as I want to let the party work out if they are going together or not.

Merrel:  There's a general store in town, for our purposes just buy whatever you want from the PHB before you leave the Northlook.

That goes for anyone, if you need something available in the base PHB you can still buy it as you haven't left the starting inn/town yet.

With regard to direction - I can see why the party has suggested the two quests are in the same direction but you wouldn't get to them the same way.  Hruna is asking you to cut straight across the open tundra to Kelvin's Cairn.  That line between Bryn Shander and the Cairn and the party's ability to see the Cairn as they move is why she's so confident that the party can find the sled.  More to the point, she's asking you to bring the sled back to Bryn Shander (a backtrack)

Hlin is suggesting you go to Termalaine and Lonelywood which you would normally do by road.  It's an easier (and safer) journey due to the route being well traveled.  Also make sure you caught Hlin's reply to Bisa as everyone was leaving.  It's potentially relevant.

Artim (and others): The snowshoe offer is still open and good for anyone who leaves to go on Hruna's quest.

OCC: sorry, wrong game.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:14, Sun 12 Mar 2023.

Artim added to his previous comments. "While we have tendays to the next date of sacrificial offerings, the severity of this situation wants me to head out in good time. Nevertheless, I think we can help the dwarves first." He looked at the others in the group. "That shouldn't take more than a day, eh?"

"Hmmm... I must say that I'm considerably less interested in helping our miner friends than to investigate the... Other matter. Only one of the quests is directly tied for the reason I came to the North... That said, I can't quite handle that on my own, so rather than wait here for the next batch of adventurers, it might be wiser to lend a hand in that matter aswell... If I go with, who would be willing to give their word that we will handle Hlin's request right afterwards?"

"Perhaps you could be a bit more specific as regards the task given by Hlin?"
"A ten-day? That's a long time."
This message was last edited by the player at 18:01, Sun 12 Mar 2023.

Merrel shrugs, "Oh, that. Someone is killing folks that decided they didn't want to be sacrificed. But no one is due to die needlessly for a several days, so we have time for the iron, first."

"I have to assume that there was a reason Hlin took us to a private room, so let's not overshare in public, yes? But what he said is the gist of it. We are just gonna be looking into the dissapearances of the folk that refused to be sacrificed. We can discuss more about it while we travel, or I can take you Hlin's room if you want to hear it from him"

Suddendly aware that he might lose out on the task for the dwarves and realizing that the good-will of the miners might be worth more than the gem, Eofric held out his hand to Hruna.
"You have a deal, friend."

Then he nodded to Artim.
"Eofric is my name and I will gladly help you find this murderer."

---

Will also take snowshoes. How much do they weigh? Also  how much does the winter clothes weigh?

Silas looked down at his large boots and frowned. "If I understand the principal behind snow shoes, they help spread your weight when walking on snow, however are there any in large sizes for people like Artim and myself?" he asked. before noting Eofric's concern.

"Sorry, I am been in a city for all of my life so I am having to adapt to the environment, as Merrel was quick to point out." he said with a nod as if his mind had returned to matter of the environment.



"Yes I would like to help. Sometimes you have to take the information that you have available to run with it. I will do it, As for the bloodstone Hruna, you can give mine to Scramsax to cover my room and board whenever I am here. " Silas said.

"Sound like we might have more than one task. We can talk about it along the way." Silas said before heading out to find snowshoes in his size and to get some practice in using them in a safe area.

Bisa walked from the private room deep in thought.

~A ten day.~ 

That was quite a bit of time indeed.  She soon found the others in conversations with more folk and listened intently.

"It be soundin' like there's plenty o' work that needs doin'  Count me in as well, we can' get this done then look for our killer."

"We leave at sunrise." suggested Artim. "Meet up at the North Gate."

Silas is able to get snowshoes in his size with no problem.  Scramsax having known goliaths has definitely come in handy.

Hruna confirms she has a bloodstone for each of you and bids you all a good night.


Snowshoes are 4 lb; winter clothes are 5 lb.  I'll leave this thread open in case anyone has additional comments but will move us forward as well.

Halgotin takes advantage of the availability of snowshoes and winter clothes, before preparing to leave in the morning.