Session 25 - The Dark Duchess

The party make their way to Bryn Shander, as they set up the wolves, polar bear and kobolds just outside of town, the Snorp who is still wearing Sepheks head as a hat approaches Throt and whispers something too him. Intrigued the rest of the party watch Throt laugh and the kobolds stack on each others shoulders and throw a long coat around themselves with Sephek's head poking out the top. 

The stack of Kobolds + Severed head accompany the team into town where Nogok and Kurash pick up their Scrag Cat cloaks and Armor from Black Iron Blades.  They then head to the Northlook Inn where they spot Hiln, but before they can approach her, Dannika approaches the party spotting the Chwinga on Mochis shoulder. He release it to her care, and she takes it handing Mochi 50Gp as promised, and an additional 50Gp for taking care of the little guy. 

The party then approach Hiln who sees the Kobold stack and recognizes Sepheks head. She asks if Sephek admitted his guilt and Nogok says "He deserved his death" She says that she is pleased that justice has been served and sadly that she cannot offer them the payment she promised, but instead she can help them access the Militia Armory where they can get higher quality weapons and armor at reasonable prices. 

The party agree and follow Hiln to the stables in the south of the city where she meets a stable hand dwarf who she introduces the team too, and asks that they be allowed access to the armory store. He leads them through the stables and out the back of the building and through some alley ways to a nondescript building. 

The party gear up in here buying armor, and weapons and spending about 600Gp on new gear and rest up at the Northlook inn before heading out of town the next morning towards Bremen. Once they arrive in Bremen they head to the "Buried Treasures" inn where they see Cora the inn keep. She appears sad about something but is very hospitable. She serves the party ale and stew and they ask her about the ship in the ice, showing her the map (but upside down so its a dot labeled as Bremen and a line pointing South East, Nogok turns it around so its the right way) Cora says she doesn't know of the ship but treasure hunters come through here all the time. 

Noticing her sadness Nogok takes her aside and determines that she runs the Inn at a loss out of the kindness of her heart and also that she is sad that her son has left her, he returned from a search for a missing person in the wilds and has not been the same since. On his return he became withdrawn and secretive and when Cora found a piece of black ice in his room he snapped at her and threatened to harm her if she touched it again. 

A couple of days after this incident a couple of Tieflings came and found Huarwar (Coras Son) and took him away to some castle stating he would find sanctuary there. Nogok asks her about castles in Icewind dale and she says there are two, an intact one in Caer-Dineval and a ruined one in Caer-Konig. The party know of the one at Caer-Dineval as this was where they were turned away from the entrance as Etch attacked the guards. 

Worried about Coras livelyhood, Nogok grabs Etchs coin pouch off his person, and tosses it to Cora, as Etch starts to object Nogok tells him he will get the money back, and Etch goes back to his drink. 

They party wrap up the night and spend it in the comfortable rooms at the Inn. They head out into the wilds the following morning skirting the small hills they encounter but keeping a bearing directly north east. As they hit the coast it doesn't take long to find the ship, sticking out as the only feature in a vast desert of frozen sea ice the ship is covered in an icy veil. 

As they approach they hear noises from within the hold and send in snowy owl who sees an ice troll trying to break down a door. The party climb the broken rigging to position themselves on the deck noticing a large hole in the deck leading to the hold, and several very large claw marks in the deck (Larger they note than those which could be made by an Ice Troll).

As they sneak around Nogok whispers loudly for them to 'BE QUIET" as Etch trips and crashes onto the deck. The Ice troll stops immediately and heads to the deck in search of an easy meal. They fight is with their shiny new weapons and manage to take it down. The party stop and decide what to do next.