FCG awoke to a knock on their cabin door as Artaema came to inform the party that they would be arriving at Foren within the hour. The party gathered their things and met Burca up on the deck of the Soulsailor. The gruff orc captain provided them with what supplies she could spare. Shortly thereafter, FCG, along with Artaema, departed the Soulsailor aboard Darvahn’s keelboat and headed for the icy cliff face marking Foren’s coast.
The Kryn sailor expertly navigated the keelboat into a small cove from which the group entered a wide tunnel that burrowed into the surrounding cliffs. Through the dark, they floated until they arrived at a subterranean Kryn outpost along the water’s edge. Though first skeptical of the newcomers, the Kryn’s expression warmed after seeing Artaema and Darvahn. Upon docking, FCG was met by a shirtless one-eyed Goliath, Frok Eye-Gouger, who greeted Artaema, an old friend of his, with a firm bear hug. Frok then introduced FCG to the outpost’s leader, Captain Sandre. Sandre provided the party with what intel they had on the Bladescarred as well as any potential leads. With Eris’ condition worsening, the party elected to follow up on the quicker of the two leads, a group of wild folk to the north, and then beeline toward Aeor’s central ruin where the Bladescarred had been sighted frequently, hoping to resolve both the Bladescarred threat and Eris’ illness simultaneously. FCG was provided with a pack of dire wolves to hasten their journey and set off north across the tundra.
Artaema’s native eyes were able to make out the tracks of a group of humanoids, likely the wild folk in question, heading north. The party followed until the tracks began to split off in multiple directions. As Nyx and Endrin dismounted to investigate, the party was ambushed by two abominable yetis.
Triple J was immediately frozen by the yetis’ icy gaze and was rendered helpless for much of the battle. Malcolm fell prey to the second yeti’s gaze as well. Eris rode in on her wolf to battle Triple J’s attacker head on. Artaema proved her worth by ensnaring the same yeti with the slow spell. Endrin attempted to follow up on the hindered yeti with a catapulted stone, but to no avail. Nyx scurried back atop her wolf, and hurled bolts of flame at the furry monstrosities. As Endrin and Artaema sought cover, they found themselves in close proximity to Malcolm, making the trio, along with their wolves, the perfect target for the yeti’s frigid breath. Both mages retreated to the sky with the aid of Endrin’s fly spell while Malcolm mustered his strength and charged at the beast. Meanwhile, Eris dealt heavy damage to the yeti before it too unleashed its icy breath upon the unsuspecting paladin and paralyzed bard, ultimately rendering both unconscious. The situation dire, Arteama, Nyx, and Endrin wrought devastating blasts upon the yetis, one after the next. One yeti had its limbs ripped apart by a gravity sinkhole, but the other survived long enough to deliver a near fatal blow to Malcolm. Artaema rushed to the fallen fighter’s aid while Endrin flew in the opposite direction to resuscitate Triple J and get Eris out of harm’s way. Artaema revived Malcolm with a healing potion of her own just in time for the warrior to whirl around and decapitate the yeti before it could finish him off. Triple J healed Eris quickly with but a word, and the party agreed that to travel any further without rest would be folly.
As the sun began to set, Triple J erected the dome, and FCG settled in for a night of much needed rest. The next morning they awoke, and at the request of Eris, attempted to follow the wild folk north for a few more hours. Before long, the group caught sight of a village in the distance at the base of a plateau. FCG approached cautiously, but soon realized their caution was needless as all the inhabitants of the smoldering village lay dead, withered, on the ground, the embers of a violent bonfire lingering in the village center.
