Into the White

[Sallera]

Actia is both small and newly built, and therefore little means of identification is present for its various buildings. Most, the wooden structures, appear to be dwellings, and of the stone buildings, one features prominent chimneys and is likely a smithy, while the other is a fair bit larger and appears to be unfinished.

[Scorer]

Ameretat enters both the smith and the unfinished.

"Hello there..."

[hustlertwo]

After finishing his simple but filling meal, Henri gets up and goes to keep an eye on the wagon now that Ameretat has gone into town, as the coming night increases his desire to be alone with his thoughts and memories, as it so often does.

[Sallera]

Ameretat:
The unfinished building is empty and dirt-floored; a little light filters in through small, high windows, and you can see various tools and building materials stacked in neat piles against the walls.

The door to the smithy swings open smoothly, revealing a young black-haired gnome working the forge, hammering out what appears at first glance to be the head of a pick. He has his back to you, and you have a moment to take in the surroundings before you are noticed. The interior of the building is surprisingly clean, although this might be due only to its recent construction. Raw materials appear to be in short supply, but several new farming implements hang from the walls, awaiting warmer weather.

"Damn it, I told you not to run around in here when the forge - " The gnome trails off as he turns around and catches sight of you. "Oh, sorry about that, thought you were one of the little ones. You've quite a light step." The hammering ceases momentarily. "If there's something you need, could it wait a minute? I'd rather not leave this sitting here."

Henri:
Olain returns a little while after you head outside, carrying a stack of wooden cases of various sizes. "Taking your job seriously, I see! Good to know, good to know." The cheerful dwarf stows the boxes carefully in the second wagon, wrapping each one in cloth. "These flutes ought to fetch a fair amount, and one of them even made a viol of darkwood, to withstand the cold. Don't know where he got the materials - must have been well-off before the invasion - but it's amazing craftsmanship; I'm tempted to keep it for myself! Of course, I can't really play..."

[hustlertwo]

Henri admires the rich finish of the stringed instrument. Well, provided you're willing to part with the money you would have earned from its sale, I'm sure you can find a bard or minstrel willing to help you learn the instrument in one of these towns. Might help your long journeys go faster to have a little music for company.

[Scorer]

"Don't worry, just wandering around sir... I'm quite curious, actually if it doesn't bothers you, I would like to know a bit more od your work here..."

[Sallera]

Henri:
Olain grins, carefully securing the viol in its case near the front of the wagon. "A good point, that; never too old to learn music! Maybe I'll just save it for last; we might not end up finding enough furs available to use up all of this, even going further in."

Ameretat:
The gnome nods, returning to his work. "Just a minute, then." The pick head finishes taking shape under his hammer, and he quenches it in a nearby tub, seemingly satisfied. He lays it aside on a cloth along with his hammer and tongs, turning back to you. "Right then. I'm Rubin, by the way. What was it you wanted to know?"

[Scorer]

"My name is Ameretat. A pleeasure to meet you. Mostly I want to know general aspects about your work."

[Wildgeist]

I'll hang with you Amy!!! What about you Henri??? Wanna come???

[hustlertwo]

Thanks, but I'm all right here, Wild. I'll save my trips into town for when I have more money to spend there.

[Sallera]

Rubin shrugs, gesturing to the wall of newly-forged tools. "We're hoping to plant this valley as soon as the thaw comes. Seurd doesn't exactly have a wide variety of farming implements for sale, so as I'm the only skilled smith among us, I've been trying to get us ready for the year. Raw materials, at least, are easy to come by up here."

"So, you a ruin delver, then? We get a few passing through from time to time."

[Scorer]

"Excuse me Mr. Rubin, what do you mean by ruin delver?"

[Sallera]

"Guess that's a no, then. They're treasure hunters, scavengers; there are a lot of old structures buried under the snow, or so they say."

[Scorer]

"That sounds pretty fun... I wonder if the salvagable things are worth it..."

[Sallera]

"Don't know, myself," Rubin replies. "But some of them seem to make a living out of it, so I assume it's not entirely pointless."

[Scorer]

"And what do you sell here mister?"

[Sallera]

The gnome shrugs again. "Don't really have anything to sell. Haven't had time to make anything other than the necessities, so far."

[Wildgeist]

Hehehehe.... I think there's nothing more than possible friendship to find in here Amy.

As Wildgeist says that, he bows to the gnome and smiles.

[Sallera]

Rubin raises a hand in half a wave. "Another one, huh? I'm Rubin. So, if you're not diggers, what are you heading this way for?"

[Scorer]

"We're helping out. You know, kind of guardians. But... not much work so dar. I hope it keeps that way."

[Scorer]

"Well, I think that may be about all I wanted to know, it's always nice to meet people like you" says Ameretat as she waves goodbye and exits the place. She then heads back to prepare the night...

[Sallera]

"Aye? Luck, then." The gnome turns back to his work as you depart, carving a handle for the pick. "Might be I'll see you again on your way back."

The rooms you are given at the inn are comfortable enough, if rather spare and small; it seems that few people taller than dwarves pass this way, or else the builders simply hadn't quite had a proper sense of scale. Still, your sleep is undisturbed, and dawn comes quickly enough, bringing with it the now-familiar scent of oat porridge. Olain is up before any of you, and heads outside with a cheerful wave to ready the wagons as you eat. "Should be another easy journey today, so let's see how much ground we can cover."

And indeed, it seems he knows the route well, for the day passes smoothly, in bright sun and ever-chilling air, along a path that is slowly overtaken by snow cover. Olain removes the wagons' wheels when you stop for a midday meal, and outfits you all with snowshoes, allowing for an increased pace for the rest of the day as the wagons glide over the snow, no longer bound by the rough turn of axles. As the cloudless sky slowly shifts to a dark orange, he leads you to a hollow where the ground abruptly drops ten feet or more, the snow shallower here, sheltered as it is from the prevailing west wind. "Almost didn't make it before dark, ha! This spot will serve us well."

Unhitching the caribou, he tosses you three tents from the back of one of the wagons before leading the animals off to one side to be fed. "Now, here's where you three start being useful. It will be most welcome to have a watch through the night as we get further north, so we'll start here; go ahead and set those up, then choose an order amongst yourselves."

[hustlertwo]

Henri begins to slowly pace around the campsite, a seemingly neverending movement that he will do during his whole time on watch aside from the occasional break to rest. I don't have much experience with tents; never much money for such extravagances, just slept out under the stars. But I won't say no to a little protection from the snow, however. Unless one of you wants it, I will take the first watch, I'm feeling fairly fresh. Since Wildgeist and I need no torches to see through the dark, we should probably do most of the guarding during the late hours.

[Wildgeist]

I do agree blood brother, so I think I'll have the second watch if Amy is fine with that, and meanwhiloe I think I'll try to set up this tents, although I lack of expertise on it...


@ DM

Spoiler

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Do I have to do some rolls for that??? I guess so but I'm unsure which should I roll....

[Scorer]

"I was just about to ask for the late watch. So... that means I'm off to sleepland" says Amertat as she goes and prepares her sleep, and in no time she sleeps like a baby.

[Sallera]

Blowing snow is the only scenery available in the dark of the night as your watches pass one by one, and dawn comes uninterrupted by predations natural or unnatural. Eager to be underway, Olain decides not to build a fire, and you make do with trail rations for the morning meal as he feeds the caribou and hitches them to the wagon sleds. The wind is stronger today; not enough to impede your progress, but you are starting to feel the cold even through your furs, and clouds pass overhead with greater frequency.

The landscape itself has grown somewhat monotonous under its blanket of snow, and the walk passes into routine enough that it is rather surreal when, nearly an hour into your travel, a muffled voice comes from under the cover on one of the wagons.

"Mm... ow. What the hell is... ooh! Tai-Go smallswords!"

[hustlertwo]

Henri lifts the cover off of the wagon with the hilt of his flail. Is there something I can help you with?

[Scorer]

Ameretat comes close to see who that voice may be...

[Sallera]

Lifting aside the cover reveals a young copper-haired woman wedged between a pair of unmarked crates and a pile of blades of varying quality. Despite the weather, she is dressed only in somewhat damaged leathers that end at knee and elbow, along with a pair of bracers attached to fingerless gloves, and thin boots. Perhaps oddest of all, if one judges by the shape of the boots, she lacks any feet. She has recent, hastily-bandaged wounds in her right arm and leg, and has two thin sheathed blades, new-looking and presumably belonging to Olain, in her other hand.

"Oh, it's the big scary guard. You might want to make your pacing more irregular - it's kinda predictable when you go in circles like that." She rises to her knees, wincing, and looks down at Ameretat. "You, on the other hand, have the look of a merchant..."

[hustlertwo]

That was intentional....to throw you off guard. Henri says, while secretly noting to himself that he probably should take her suggestion when he's on duty; guard work might be more complex than he thought. Besides, if you're a thief or stowaway, I think you probably have some room for improvement as well, in the area of silence. Who are you, and what are you doing here? Henri then thinks a little more, and then whispers to Ameretat. And what exactly is going on with all these weapons? Ameretat, do you recall Olain mentioning anything about shipping weapons as well as furs?