User blog:PeteGoz/The Chronicles of Tymernnoreth Ortholeu’Alinyr: Chapter 3 - Entry 1

It has been a long three months of travel. After securing passage on a ship heading for the newly found ‘promised land’ to the south, I boarded with a sense of optimism and excitement. The ship was a sturdy looking vessel called The Tireless with a crew of ne’er do wells that seemed very much at home on the seas. Its captain is a sly but admirably skilled gentleman by the name of Clarence Ortiz. He seemed to be a strict but fair man whose focus is on his work and the viability of his business. Whilst this is something I am not overly familiar with, I can empathise with having something to focus on.

The rest of the passengers are a mixed bag. Most of them seemingly from relatively well-off families and have taken this journey to search for a better life in this new land of opportunity. I cannot help but be buoyed by their positivity and enthusiasm. They have been a source of wonderful information and tales that has brought me ever closer to understanding this strange world and its peoples.

A couple of the souls on board stood out to me more than the others however as fellow seekers of purpose. A human named Edius is working on the boat to pay for his passage to the south. He is an interesting sort, having visited this part of the world before and now returning to search of this rumoured Gardens. He is a beast of a man both in stature and dress. He covers himself in the furs of vanquished animals and seems utterly convinced that the Gardens are not real. A strange assertion given that he is spending so much time and effort to prove it. In addition to Edius, there is a very curious creature onboard called Boppit. He is apparently a Kobold, some sort of diminutive race of creatures distantly descended from Dragons if you believe it! He is a twitchy and fidgety sort but seems very genuine. He is clearly not from any form of wealth that I would understand but he does wear some intriguing wooden wings on his back and whilst they appear to be broken, they are very obviously precious to him. I must remember to ask him about them.

Towards the end of the third month, as I was formulating some wording for these very pages, I heard a call from the deck. “Land ahead!” went the cry. I felt my spirit soar and jumped to my feet. I must confess that after such a long time stuck on the boat, I had started to feel a little trapped and downhearted. I rushed onto the deck with a newfound sense of urgency and energy and leaned over the railings. A sea of broken ice lay ahead, the larger pieces crashing against each other in a transfixing and deadly dance. Beyond that lay the shoreline, a stretch of icy land that reflects the brightness of the sun in a dazzling and tear inducing way. On the banks there are several jetties and a small number of shacks and, what I have been informed are called, snow holes. The ship makes its way through the ice pieces and docks at the nearest jetty.

Unsurprisingly the temperature here is incredibly cold and many of the other passengers visibly shivered as we disembark. Our captain stood on a box and gave a small speech. He announced that if anyone had changed their minds that they could pay him the fee and return with him when the ship leaves. He also tells us that he will not just leave us here without help and that he has an arrangement with a guide who he will introduce us to. We all follow him to a larger snow hole and enter inside. Whilst the temperature is cold inside, it is still welcome to get out of the winds that whistle through this area. Inside the captain is sat at a table talking with a woman, who similarly to Edius is wearing large amounts of furs and layers of clothing. She appeared to pass some sort of bag to the captain and they both smile. It strikes me as very odd that she would be giving something to him, one would have thought it would be the other way around, but these are strange lands for me, and it may be some sort of local custom.

Our guide introduces herself as Tiquanna and turns to our group. She gives a short speech and tells us some interesting things. She starts by telling us “Some of you will not make it but rest assured the Gardens are real and will lead you to a much better life.” She also says that the conditions between here and there “will drain you of life and sap your strength, make sure that you are ready and have all that you need. We will leave in an hour”. Whilst it was good of her to ensure everyone was aware of what was needed, I found her speech to be less motivational and more worrying. After looking at the faces of the others, I feel sure that I am not the only one who felt this way. She points us to a salesman of supplies.

As we moved back outside and head to the purveyor of supplies, I saw several piles of furs, clothing, hats, gloves and a curious sort of footwear that have some sort of frame attached to the bottom. Boppit is the first to deal with the proud and stalwart Dwarf who seems to be the proprietor of the place. He purchases some furs and supplies that are sized for children but are the perfect fit for him. Edius helped him to pick out the best pieces for him, he seemed intent on helping despite his melancholy demeanour.

I then decided to improve my clothing for the upcoming journey. I must confess that after 3 months of wearing the same clothes on the ship, a change of wardrobe seemed to be a refreshing opportunity to reenergise. The Dwarf, whose name is Granitetooth or ‘Grani’ for short (no pun intended) is a stout and dour individual who, I can say with confidence, is the best source of supplies here for any trip out into the snow and ice beyond. Should you find yourselves here look for a Dwarf with a bald head, a reddish beard turning to grey and what appears to be a literal brick in place of some of his teeth. I managed to negotiate myself a good deal on what was needed and Grani even picks out a poncho with some colourful patterning on it for me. Just because we are venturing out into an inhospitable environment does not mean I cannot look my best whilst I do it. The other settlers that came with us on the boat eventually haggle for clothing as well with the help of Edius, good fellow!

Tiquanna reappeared and announced that it is time to set off. I could hardly contain myself; a new world is ahead of us and who knows of the stories that we will write or discover!

Our first two days of travel were arduous, the snow and ice made walking more challenging. The cold was biting and does indeed seem to sap the strength from your bones. Tiquanna is relentless, clearly, she is very used to this place and she drives the group on, pausing every 8 hours or so to dig a snow hole for rest. She does build them slightly bigger than she needs and seems to invite in some of the settlers who are fairing the worst each time. Edius uses the shield he carries on his back to dig a snow hole for himself. I similarly dug a hole, but I also decided to help some of the other settlers and all I asked for in return is that they give me a story of their homes. Some are vaguely interesting and whilst none are particularly worthy of record here, they did continue to give me a greater understanding of this world and the peoples who live in it.

At the start of the third day, we started to see hills and mountains far off into the distance. I know not if this is the Gardens and Tiquanna is rarely forthcoming with any information. As we trekked during the afternoon of the third day, I caught a glance of some movement out in the white expanse. A quick glance to Edius and Boppit told me they had also seen it. Suddenly out of the snow came a group of 3 quadrupedal creatures that I later found out are called wolves. Whilst they were quite different, and much smaller, than the wolves I am used to in the Feywild, they did seem to potentially pose a threat. Tiquanna started to lead the settlers off away from the creatures and the three of us engaged them. I felt a surge of adrenaline and purpose course through me, there is nothing like mortal threat to make you seem alive.

Our skirmish began with Boppit charging off to the west to engage one of the creatures. The other wolves, two of them in total, charged into Edius, all snarls and snapping jaws. One of the beast’s bit Edius and caused a nasty wound. Seeing that Edius was potentially in danger, I tapped into the magic that I am blessed to be gifted with and cast a net of faerie fire at them. Frustratingly one of the wolves seemed to see it coming and dodged out of the area but the other was caught and outlined in the familiar green glow. I also used my oratory abilities to bolster the courage of Edius as he faced down the beasts. Edius, clearly invigorated by my words, used the large maul he carries to strike down one of the wolves facing him. It was a strong and effective blow, my appreciation for his skills only increased. I heard a snarl to the west and turned to see, much to my surprise that it had come from the throat of Boppit and my gaze landed on him just in time to see him skewer the wolf he is fighting with the spear he habitually carries before turning a charging across the ice towards the wolf harrying Edius. I decided to try and help finish off the final wolf and I projected some of my magic at the wolf to wound both his mind and body with a snappy insult regarding his lineage and size. Whilst the wolf survived, it distracted it. Edius failed to connect with an attack on the wolf however and I worried that he may be in trouble. I should not have feared however as like a Dragon of legend, Boppit steamed into the fray, spear held out before him like a Knight with a lance. His thrust punctured the wolfs hide and it thrashed for a moment before expiring. Victory was ours! We performed like a well-oiled machine despite never having fought before. I see this as a good omen.

Some more days of travel follow the confrontation and the glow of victory started to fade. By the sixth night the three of us have come to inhabiting the same, larger, snow hole and we sat discussing our tactics and congratulating each other on our actions. I asked Boppit about his strange wings and he tells me that they are a relic of his people. A good luck charm that is given to someone who embarks on an adventure of import. He mentioned that he is here to search for something important to his people. This seems like a story that will be fascinating, and I look forward to finding out more.

Day seven arrived and for the first time, the sun and glare have disappeared replaced with a grey and overcast sky. Snow started to fall, gently and captivatingly at first but soon it became a blizzard. My companions were still asleep, their mortal constitutions requiring more recuperation than mine. I decided to dig the entrance out to make sure we are not trapped. After a few more hours they awoke, the blizzard is still carpeting the world in snow. Edius seemed sure that I should have woken him so he could have helped, and I will remember to access his expertise in any future situation that is similar. We debated for some time as to whether we should leave to help the others but Edius declared that we would be putting our lives at great risk for no guarantee that we could find the others let alone help them.

It seems that we will need to wait out the snowstorm and give to hope that our fellow travellers are alive.