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Iceclad Ocean |
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I would not fancy attempting the trip from Cobalt Scar to the northern coast of Velious on my own but with Atouraia as my guide the trip took no time at all. In his travels he has learned the secrets of the Dragon Rings of this continent and we arrived at the cold shore before the sun had set. I was quite suprised by how low the temperature had dropped and pleased that I had a fur-lined shawl and thick socks in my backpack. Atouraia was less appropriately dressed for the weather and although he offered to join me I was concerned about his health. Wood elves are rather fragile at the best of times and in his thin leather clothes I was sure he would catch his death of cold. I bid him a fond fairwell and followed his directions to the gnoll settlement which was my goal. A fellow cleric called Nerhtal had requested that I assist him here as there was a rare fish to be caught in these coastal waters that he had a desire for. Clerics are usually a stable bunch, even the high elves, but there is something distinctly unclerish about Nerhtal. He has a tendency towards agression and danger that I find vaguely disturbing. I have often seen him screaming a war cry and rushing into the melee wielding a huge hammer in a way that would be better suited for an Iksar than a High Elf. I have heard rumours that he is completely unwelcome in his own hometown of Felwithe but I thought it tactless to ask. At any rate, he wished me to assist him in finding a rare fish known as the Iceclad Cutlass. Apparently the oils of this fish could be used to make a sacred ink with which he wished to inscribe a rune which he would then sew into his robe for magical properties. It came as no surprise to me that this superstitious nonsense was once again attributed to Brell ... the dwarves are very odd when it comes to fish. I tried to convince him that the Cutlass would be much better combined with a bat wing to make a tasty fish roll, but he would not be swayed. It seemed a great waste of the cutlass but I also caught a fair amount of Salty Whitefish, which judging from the soft white flesh will make quite a tasty fillet. This far north the light never seems to completely leave the sky, although it was getting close to midnight by the time I gave Nerhtal a half dozen of his "sacred" fish which he said would be plenty. The weather was getting worse and worse and I was quite relieved to head back to Rivervale for a warm drink and some sleep. As it happened, I ran into Natacha as I arrived. She is a very friendly halfling druid and a wonderful craftswoman who is always available for a drink and a chat when I'm in town. We made our way to inn where she kindly treated me to a Jum Jum Spiced Beer and caught me up on the local gossip. Apparently there is a new game that is all the rage in the Fool's Gold involving throwing pointed sticks at a circle on the wall. It seemed a bit silly to me but she was interested in trying to make "throwing darts" for these and thought that fish bones would have the right flexibility and strength. I was quite happy to get on with filleting the fish I had caught and handing her the bones to experiment with as they are useless to me. In return she gave me a few Misty Acorns, rare this time of year, to keep in my backpack to remind me of home when I travel, which I thought was very sweet. The next time I am in the Vale I must remember to look her up and find out how she got on. |
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