The EARTH story - August 15, 1372
August 15th is little better, as you begin to climb into the mountains. The temperature reluctantly climbs to -29F, but the wind chill makes it feel like -64F. A snow squall blows down out of the mountains early in the afternoon, dropping another 4". There is now over 2' of snow on the ground. By evening you are near the top of the first pass over the Northern Flank Range. Snowfields lie to either side of you as you gratefully retreat into Kelar's tent to warm up.
Kelar's tent, by the way, is a wonderous item for the weary adventurer. It pitches itself on command into a standard looking tent, but it is much larger inside than out. It is 120' square and contains supplies and accommodations for ten people. With the size of this party you can all fit in, but some of you will be sleeping on the floor and eating your provisions. There is also a stable. There are silken beds, a large water basin, a bush which bears fruit, magical light that dims on command and a "window" that provides a view of the area from 10' above the tent.
After warming up, Aron goes up to the 'window' and looks around.
As Kithus warms up, he mutters to himself and sighs pleasantly. "I will be spoiled after this..."
"Thank you, Kelar, for such a wonderful item... Blessed is Thor for his goodness to all!" Al says as he claps the man on the shoulder.
He approaches Leslie in the tent.
"Wonderful job so far, m'lady, where do we go from here?" he asks.
"Over the pass and down the other side of the mountains," she replies, nursing a hot chocolate. "There we pick up a road and head west to Long Valley. Once there we go north to Dorvar. After that I think Jo-owrn wants to guide us west again."
The other ranger nods.
"Sounds like a plan. Do you have any more?" he asks about the hot chocolate. "On my world, it goes great with marshmallows!"
After looking out the window and seeing no obvious threats to the party, Aron asks Laurie, "Would it be possible for you to commune with our lord Tyr and ask about any possible hazards along the path Leslie describes that might hinder us? It's mighty cold out there and I'd like to not be surprised by the likes of frost giants or dragons."
"It will be a few more days before I can commune again," replies the high priestess.
"Don't forget that we just recovered a small amount of money. Is it worth it to divide it?"
"No. Besides, there's not to many places around to spend it."
"Hey," Beth says, "While we're talking spoils... back during the huge haul from Ratamataz's dungeon, I was a little preoccupied and not paying attention, so I never managed to claim anything from it. Is there anything left unclaimed?"
"Are you referring to money, or magic?" asks Equinox. "Each share of the gold, gems and jewelry came to 18,645 gold pieces. As to magic, nothing was left unclaimed but I will be happy to give you some magic darts and some magic beads, if you want them. As I said before, I do not know what the magic beads do, but I suspect that they explode in a fireball when thrown."
"No, that's OK, you hold on to them," Beth says. "I don't know how to use darts, and I can do explosions on my own. I would love to get my hands on a wand that lets me do big impressive things sometime-- fire, cold, lightning, stuff like that. Something which I could recharge myself, like this paralyzation wand I use sometimes. So, I'll just have to pay more attention next time to make sure I don't get left out when the fun stuff is being divided up."