A<\/span><\/p>\n meiko and Koya wanted to see the tower that was at the center of all this turmoil, so we obliged. I mean, why not? We had cleared it out so it was safe\u2014aside from the sludge\u2014and it was completely alien in design and construction, unlike anything any of us had ever seen or were likely to see again. Ultimately, this journey is about restoring Ameiko\u2019s rightful place as heir to the empire of Minkai but it is also about traveling far away from home and seeing the world outside of Avistan, and all the strange and wondrous sights it has to offer. A piece of that world was staring at us right here, right now. When would we have another opportunity?<\/span><\/p>\n Ameiko seemed just as interested in the remorhaz as the ancient basalt spire. I understand the appeal, especially after having stood in close quarters with two of them. They have a reputation in this part of the world that is, frankly, well deserved. And Sparna offered what I thought was a pretty good idea, inspired by the talisman that Ulf carries. We could fashion a few of our own from their scales and use them in much the same way as Iqaliat. When we arrive in Tian Xia, we may need a system for identifying who we can trust, and fetishes of our own may be the answer. That, and trophies made from remorhaz scales kind of send a message about who people are dealing with. I have little patience for convincing others to take me seriously, and I suspect Ameiko has even less, so why not make that first impression count?<\/span><\/p>\n Ulf wants to pick up the Path of Aganhei again, and according to him the best place to do that is at Dead Man\u2019s Dome. I imagine this has a lot to do with the fact that it\u2019s one of only a handful of identifiable landmarks around for literally hundreds of miles. Once we clear the Alabastrine Peaks, Ulf says we turn right and head south. Though just about everything is \u201csouth\u201d from where we are, so I\u2019m pretty sure that \u201chead south\u201d was meant as a joke.<\/span><\/p>\n I almost wrote \u201cWe leave at first light\u201d, but of course there isn\u2019t one, and there won\u2019t be for several more weeks.<\/span><\/p>\n Dead Man\u2019s Dome used to be a fortified tower of some sort, an outpost along the Path of Aganhei that extended the protection for travelers onto the Ice itself. A couple hundred years ago, though, it was attacked by a small army of giants and frozen dead while several caravans were sheltered there. It threatened to be more of a slaughter than a battle, but a soldier whose name has long been lost to time mustered a brilliant counterattack that shattered the attacking formation. As the giants regrouped, the surviving guards and caravans managed an escape, but that one, lone soldier stayed behind and lured the attackers into the tower before collapsing it on himself and them. It is a seemingly fantastical story that, as near as I can tell, is absolutely true, and it hasn\u2019t even been embellished.<\/span><\/p>\n Ulf says that, according to legend, the ghost of the Dead Man protects the dome to this day. Six months ago I would have scoffed at such a notion, but not now. Etayne and Koya would be pleased.<\/span><\/p>\n We\u2019re going to try and speak with Katiyana\u2019s corpse before leaving tomorrow. It\u2019s become a disturbing ritual, but it has to be done, right?<\/span><\/p>\n That\u2019s what I keep telling myself.<\/span><\/p>\n K<\/span><\/p>\n atiyana\u2019s essence was about as cooperative as I\u2019d expected. She (it?) gave circular answers that told us basically nothing, though that may have been in part because we didn\u2019t know what to ask. This spell seems to work best when you are seeking to confirm that which you already know or at least suspect. The more general or vague you are the less likely you are to be satisfied.<\/span><\/p>\n One of our questions was answered with a threat of sorts.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWho are the others you were working with?\u201d Qatana asked.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI was allied with felled creatures of the frozen north, raised from death,\u201d she replied in that hollow, lifeless voice we\u2019re used to from this spell. And then she laughed. An eerie facsimile of a laugh, but a laugh nonetheless. \u201cMy allied creatures may yet thwart you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n So that is something to look forward to.<\/span><\/p>\n She also implied rather strongly that she wasn\u2019t associated with the oni of the Five Storms. As she put it, she served \u201cthe Frozen Lord who shall return.\u201d Uh huh. Good luck with that. It\u2019s reasonable to assume that she was working alone up here until very recently, and Tunuak seems to have been a lucky break rather than part of any kind of master plan. He was probably the only one of her victims that was useful to her alive, and I doubt that hoarfrost spirits and whatever other undead she\u2019d created from the rest served as anything more than brute force. Sithhud is going to have to get used to disappointment.<\/span><\/p>\n I<\/span><\/p>\n talked to mom and dad today. I actually tried last night but it didn\u2019t work, or rather, not all of it did. I could see mom and even hear her, but when I tried the spell that would let me talk to her? Nothing. All I could do was sit there and watch as she worked in the office.<\/span><\/p>\n I actually did that for a while\u2014watch her as she worked. I couldn\u2019t let the image go. And then I realized how voyeuristic it was. As much as I wanted just to <\/span>see<\/span><\/i> them again, doing it this way suddenly felt horribly <\/span>wrong<\/span><\/i>, and I let it go.<\/span><\/p>\n Tonight, though, I got through.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cMom.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n There is a difference between knowing something might happen and actually having it happen. She and dad knew what to expect because I\u2019d made these plans with them that day back in Magnimar, but she still nearly jumped out of her seat. I mean she literally jumped. So I guess I surprised her.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cKali! Thank the gods you\u2019re OK!\u201d There was a pause, then a look of concern on her face as she looked around reflexively. \u201c<\/span>Are<\/span><\/i> you OK? Where are you?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cNear the north pole. Yes, I\u2019m OK. We all are.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n It took a couple of minutes\u2014precious time I didn\u2019t really have with this spell\u2014for her to find dad and get back to where they could talk privately. I was treated to a short tour of the office, though I could only see a small bubble around her as she walked. Unsurprisingly, it hadn\u2019t really changed since I\u2019d left.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe received the letters,\u201d dad said. \u201cThere were three?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYes.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cThey gave us quite a scare. What <\/span>happened<\/span><\/i> up there?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I was more or less expecting this question and had prepared an answer. <\/span>\u201cWe guessed they\u2019d be watching for us and they were. They\u2019ve been there for decades, patiently waiting in case someone from Amieko\u2019s family turned up. They\u2019d formed a small criminal empire of sorts using a trading guild as a front. Like the Sczarni in a way.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n Mom spoke up then. \u201cWe\u2019ve heard rumors of a guild coming into trouble with the king there.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYes. That was us. And them. You won\u2019t hear our names, though. The public face of it is an Ulfen merchant named Lute Haggersly. If you are looking for new business contacts up there, by the way, he\u2019s someone to trust. He\u2019ll remember my name.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n We didn\u2019t have much time so I quickly recounted the highlights from Kalsgard to points north. More surprises, more alarm, especially after I got around to Iqaliat.<\/span><\/p>\n Dad interrupted this time. \u201cA dragon?! Kali\u2014\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt was a small one. If that helps.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cKali\u2026\u201d He paused, and I got the sense he changed what he was planning to say. \u201cWe are both <\/span>immensely<\/span><\/i> proud of you, Kali. Of what you’re doing. And of your friends, too.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n But.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBut, we worry that events continue to escalate.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Mom spoke up, then. \u201cSo far you\u2019ve been able to handle it. But it feels like things are on the verge of spiraling out of control. How will you know if\u2026?\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n She trailed off, not able to put the question into words. It didn\u2019t matter though because I knew what she was asking me. And I didn\u2019t have an answer for it. Not one that would satisfy them, anyway.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cYou might be right. I\u2014I know that\u2019s not what you want to hear. I can only say that we\u2019ve all agreed not to take needless risks. I know that\u2019s not much, but\u2026it\u2019s the best I can offer. We learned a lot from Kalsgard.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n They asked how Ameiko was doing so I told them. It was an abrupt and awkward change of subject, but I get it. In their position, I would have wanted to do that, too.<\/span><\/p>\n I am probably making this conversation sound like something of a downer. It wasn\u2019t like that, really. It was just <\/span>honest<\/span><\/i>. But it\u2019s not something I\u2019m used to doing with them.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWhen will we hear from you next?\u201d dad asked.<\/span><\/p>\n We had just a few seconds left and I could feel the spell coming to an end. The image of them in front of me was starting to fade.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe should reach Tian Xia in a month, plus a week or two to get through the mountains.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n \u201cTake care of yourself, and your friends,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cWe miss you and love you. And we want you to come back to us.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cI miss you and love you both. I will make it back. That is a promise.\u201d<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n The uncomfortable truth is that this isn\u2019t a promise I could really make. I mean, how did I know that I could keep it? We didn\u2019t know what really lay ahead of us. But the point is that I meant it. They knew that, too, and that\u2019s what mattered.<\/span><\/p>\n I managed to hold my composure until after the spell expired.<\/span><\/p>\n F<\/span><\/p>\n or the last several days we\u2019ve had clear weather that would qualify as pleasant if it wasn\u2019t so cold. I was beginning to think we might actually make it to Dead Man\u2019s Dome without incident, but tonight as we were making camp word started spreading that there was a figure of some sort just out beyond our light. A woman walking alone in the freezing darkness. Naturally, this put everyone on edge because, really, how could that <\/span>possibly<\/span><\/i> be what it appeared to be? Olmas rode out on Kasimir to investigate, with Qatana and Ivan close behind.<\/span><\/p>\n The short of it is: it wasn\u2019t a woman. Surprise. Not a living one, anyway. She was a malevolent spirit of some sort, and was trying to draw people away from camp. Mostly it was the others that dealt with it. There just wasn\u2019t much I could do to contribute. This has me rethinking some decisions I made about which spells I have chosen to learn. Each one takes precious time, and of course money in special ink and fees, so when I was starting out, these decisions were difficult to make. Now that money is less of an issue, and time is something we have far too much of, I don\u2019t <\/span>have<\/span><\/i> to make tough choices. The problem I have now is even <\/span>more<\/span><\/i> frustrating: no source of spells. I can manage a couple of new spells on my own as my skills grow, but that is about it for self-study. It could be weeks before we are in a suitable town or city.<\/span><\/p>\n I am a little surprised we haven\u2019t attracted more attention. Our caravan is putting out a <\/span>lot<\/span><\/i> of light. We knew we\u2019d be crossing the Crown in the dead of winter, and that we\u2019d be going a couple of months without the sun. If we wanted to see, we\u2019d have to supply our own light. Qatana, Ulf, Ivan, and I made up plans for a couple of bullseye lanterns for the covered wagon that Sandru drives, and regular lanterns to go on the others. Each one is lit by a magical flame that Qatana produced. It was expensive\u2014each casting consumes a small ruby\u2014but they never go out unless magically extinguished. We can see as far as 100 feet away in all directions, and even farther in front due to the head lamps. We\u2019re a very visible beacon, one that can be seen for miles and miles in the darkness.<\/span><\/p>\n Not everything up here is blind.<\/span><\/p>\n T<\/span><\/p>\n he Silver dragon flew over us again while we were stopped for lunch. I <\/span>assume<\/span><\/i> it was the same dragon, anyway. How can one tell? It was big, it was silver, it was a dragon. That was about as far as I could get on distinguishing features. It didn\u2019t stick around, either, which I assume is a good sign. No news being good news, and so on.<\/span><\/p>\n Other than that, it was shaping up to be an uneventful day. And then we broke camp.<\/span><\/p>\n Vankor, one of our drivers, was pretty visibly shaken. I remember thinking he looked a little nervous this morning, but didn\u2019t think much of it at the time. After only a few hours, he was clearly doing much, much worse. He wouldn\u2019t go near any of the wagons, or rather, the musk-oxen that were pulling them.<\/span><\/p>\n Both Ulf and Koya are sure it\u2019s Howl of the North, a form of madness that comes from being without the sun for weeks on end, and I agree.<\/span><\/p>\n His brother Bevelek said, \u201cI noticed he\u2019d been a little slow to get moving in the mornings. Reluctant, even.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Sandru nodded his head. \u201cI had, too, but I didn\u2019t want to give him a hard time. I just figured\u2026I guess it <\/span>was<\/span><\/i> getting to him, only a lot more than I realized.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Qatana pulled out some of our diamond dust and tried a restorative spell that works on these sorts of things. It produced some results, which is encouraging, but it didn\u2019t cure him completely. We may give it time, or we may try the spell again.<\/span><\/p>\n For now, Sparna will take his position as driver, and Koya will watch over him. That meant we needed someone to perform the divinations for the caravan, and I think just about everyone was shocked when I said, \u201cI\u2019ll do it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Koya looked at me skeptically for a moment\u2014<\/span>Yeah, I would doubt me,<\/span><\/i> too<\/span><\/i>\u2014but then she smiled, nodded, and said, \u201cOK. Come with me.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Why am I doing this? I guess I\u2019ve come around. Koya is no charlatan, and I\u2019ve learned to respect that there is real magic at the core of what she does for us. That, and if we were counting debts, I\u2019d be in hers many times over. This seems like a step towards balancing those scales.<\/span><\/p>\n O<\/span><\/p>\n ur scouts tell us that a large group of undead is trailing us, and I can just barely make out a handful of figures lumbering behind us at the far reaches of our light. The first skeleton was spotted early this morning, just a few hours after we set out, but as the day drew on, more and more undead were seen converging on our flanks. It doesn\u2019t appear that they can get ahead of us, but they really don\u2019t have to: both we and our animals have to stop and rest at some point, and they do not. We\u2019re going to have to pick a time and place to make a stand.<\/span><\/p>\n Ulf has suggested doing that at Dead Man\u2019s Dome. It\u2019s where we are headed, anyway, and we should arrive in a couple of hours if we just continue on. The Dome will give us some defensive terrain, which sounds much better than trying to do this out here in the open. Plus, the longer we go, the more likely we\u2019ll be to draw them all out and get them following behind us instead of converging from all around.<\/span><\/p>\n That doesn\u2019t mean this isn\u2019t tense. I\u2019m told there are at least a couple of dozen of them out there, now, and I have no doubt that more are coming. A few skeletons, wights, and even hoarfrost spirits are not a threat to us, but a few <\/span>dozen<\/span><\/i> is a different matter. And, it\u2019s not just us: it\u2019s the wagons, the animals, Vankor who is essentially helpless, and our provisions. It is on everyone\u2019s mind and the wait is not helping. We also don\u2019t have much of a margin for error. If another wagon axle breaks, if we wander off the path and get stuck, if anything slows us down at all\u2026 We have to be ready to face them at a moment\u2019s notice.<\/span><\/p>\n We are fortunate that the weather has been good, and the packed ice and snow here has been fairly level and smooth. It was not easy, but I was able to spend the last 20 minutes or so memorizing some spells, filling the reserves I had held back for the day. There are some spells we\u2019ll want that I do not normally prepare.<\/span><\/p>\n Thank the gods I have fallen into that habit.<\/span><\/p>\n T<\/span><\/p>\n he ground below us is littered with the shattered and charred remains of the undead. I am, frankly, stunned by the combined destructive power that we can bring to bear. We have obliterated dozens of them in a matter of minutes, and much of <\/span>that<\/span><\/i> time was spent preparing for the second wave of the attack.<\/span><\/p>\n Granted, as Olmas and Sparna would say, this was probably the best possible scenario for us. We could define the encounter. We had the higher ground. We more or less knew what we were up against. They had limited capacity to plan or respond. We had more resources at our disposal, from abilities to weapons to magic. And, most importantly, we had time to prepare.<\/span><\/p>\n I am beginning to understand why powerful spellcasters are as often feared by the common man as they are revered. I am also more than a little frightened by my own potential. Since this began, I have spent most of my energy and efforts supporting the others. Actually participating in a fight <\/span>directly<\/span><\/i> has always been a <\/span>last<\/span><\/i> resort, when there was nothing better for me to do. This time, direct action was called for, and I rained down earth and fire\u2014over and over again\u2014after the aurochs had flattened the front lines.<\/span><\/p>\n Granted, these things were undead, and no one will mourn them, but what lies ahead of us? How often will I be facing living beings? I\u2019ve done it a few times, and it has never sat well afterwards. Mom and dad are worried that we may face a situation that is beyond our abilities. I guess <\/span>my<\/span><\/i> fear is different: I worry there will be a day when it no longer tugs at my conscience.<\/span><\/p>\n The biggest surprise of the day came from Dead Man\u2019s Dome itself. Just as the first wave began its assault, a ghostly figure rose from the ground ahead of us and took a place in our defensive line. It did not take long for us to understand that this was the spirit of the Dead Man himself. I did not get a close look at the manifestation, but it reminded me of what we had seen back in Brinewall: energy given physical form, only protective instead of destructive. As it stood there waiting for the second wave, someone quickly brought Ulf down to see. I understand that it was quite a shock.<\/span><\/p>\n Later in the evening, after we had made camp and the Dead Man had sunk back into the earth, we were sitting around the campfires, eating and talking. Just on a whim, I asked Ulf what he thought about what we\u2019d witnessed.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cBy the gods, do I have a story to tell! No one will ever believe me, but\u2014You know, I had my doubts about leading you fools across here at this time of year, but this here made it worth it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n I decided to let the \u201cfools\u201d comment go.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Kuthona 22 (The Storm Tower, Evening) A meiko and Koya wanted to see the tower that was at the center of all this turmoil, so we obliged. I mean, why not? We had cleared it out so it was safe\u2014aside from the sludge\u2014and it was completely alien in design and construction, unlike anything any of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_import_markdown_pro_load_document_selector":0,"_import_markdown_pro_submit_text_textarea":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[32],"class_list":["post-2738","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-journal","tag-kali"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2738"}],"version-history":[{"count":39,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5659,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2738\/revisions\/5659"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2738"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2738"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.dungeonetics.com\/gamediary\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2738"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Kuthona 23 (The High Ice, Midday)<\/h3>\n
Kuthona 24 (The High Ice, Evening)<\/h3>\n
Kuthona 28 (The High Ice, Night)<\/h3>\n
Kuthona 31 (The High Ice, Midday)<\/h3>\n
New Year\u2019s Day, 4713 (Dead Man\u2019s Dome, Midday)<\/h3>\n
New Year\u2019s Day (Dead Man\u2019s Dome, Evening)<\/h3>\n