Raad stares blankly at Vengar. "You're..." his voice trails off and his mouth twists into a snarl. "The Gelid is toying with us!" He takes a breath to calm himself. "I had the same dream, Vengar."

"As did I!" Reed states. "Vengar, who was the lass with Yaneth? The one with the scar?"

Despite the traumatic nature of his dreams, Georgh is comforted by his mana-woven bedroll and slow to wake, but catches the implications of the others' conversation, saying "that was clearly a false vision. Whoever created it clearly does not know you well", his glance between Vengar and Chaffie almost too quick to notice. Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler Georgh totally 'ships VengarxChaffie, in case he's being too subtle.

Vengar stops for a moment, in sudden thought, "That...was my little sister, Meristia...why in Bahamut's name was she scarred? And I don't recall seeing my father and mother there either...although they could have just been in the crowd somewhere." Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler It must be the elf ears. Although Yaneth isn't the only character here with elf ears

Yaneth, clearly shaken by the dream, listens to the others silently, feeling for the first time in a long time like she is once again a child in the Underdark. Finally she adds, "This is what the Gelid does, in the old stories. It invades your mind and shows you horrible things. It twists your thoughts so that when it finally comes for you, you are powerless to resist it." She shudders and whispers, "Gods preserve us in our hour of need."

Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler It must be the elf ears. Although Yaneth isn't the only character here with elf ears Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler Neldon is in a committed relationship.

Chaffie starts from her dream and sits bolt upright. Where others are quick to share their thoughts, Chaffie takes a moment to think everything through. Listening to the others, and realising the dream has been shared, she finally adds her view. "I'd say the most unbelievable part of that dream is that it reflects something further ahead than tomorrow, and none of us have died."

"Surely, Chaffie, even if you don't favor gods, you have to admit that we're entirely too hard to kill. The kruthiks, the hordes of undead, and the vizier all tried their best and failed to kill even one of us!" Reed boasts. "I believe I'll begin writing that story now, actually. But what to call it?"

"How about.... 'The Tariff of Relkingham?'" Raad pursed his lips. "Scratch that. It's about more than Relkingham, after all, isn't it?"

Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler At this point, I imagine Chaffie dying her hair black and cutting herself so she can feel something. Neldon and Aria awaken after you, but neither of them mention having dreams. Neldon takes the driver's position in the wagon, and you all set out for Barnhearth. You make good time as you travel, and Neldon and Aria both to be in higher spirits than they were yesterday. Barnhearth appears to be a simple village, but you notice that none of the outlying farms have livestock in their pastures. A few have their doors and windows boarded up, as though the inhabitants were expecting a fierce storm. A well-dressed tiefling is speaking to a vendor in the village's common area. He looks up to see your entourage and hails you with a smile. "Neldon, I take it you were successful?" Neldon smiles and says, "Yes, Mayor Parisc, these are the Astral Blades, and they have decided to take up our cause." The mayor shakes his hand before greeting each of you. "Splendid; well done! Where's Godfrey? That boy owes me a drink!" Aria clears her throat and says, "Godfrey...he's not coming back. We were ambushed by bandits, and...the Astral Blades saved us." She glances back at the wagon, where Godfrey's body lies. Parisc's smile drops and mutters, "Oh, dear. These are dark times we're living in." The mayor calls to a few men standing in the street. "I need your backs and your hands to take care of one of our own." He straightens his tunic as the men carry Godfrey's body to a nearby temple and says, "Come, we shall have a meal at Melyra's Place, and we can discuss these matters not in the street."

The fare at Melyra's place is pleasant enough to Raad--certainly an improvement over trail rations. He wipes his mouth with the back of a scaly hand, and addresses Parisc. "Neldon and Aria mentioned your giant problem. We understand that he's been acting strange lately? More aggressive?" The warlord shared a significant look with Vengar, hoping to confirm the paladin's hypothesis of the Gelid's involvement.

It becomes more noticeable as the travellers continue on that Chaffie isn't her usual self. She's becoming quieter and less overflowing with energy - her usually `edge-of-a-knife' manner is muted, and everything about her signals that she is not at home to chit-chat. Rolling into town, the Blades meet yet another civic official and Chaffie's glassiest smile falls into place - another evening of polite conversation, politics and inadequate answers no doubt looms ahead, and this is not what life is about. After Parisc's kind invitation, Chaffie quietly lets herself fall to the back of the group, and quickly tries to make herself scarce. Any answers in this village will not be found within; but even if she can't find them, a night in the fields and, perhaps, woods might be just what the warden needs. Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler Stealth check: 1d20+12 = 21 Nature check: 1d20+12 = 32 If clues happen, all well and good. If not, consider Nature a forage/find a comfy tree check.

Parisc nods and replies, "Yes, the ettin's behavior has been more daring as of late. He...they...it has lived outside of Barnhearth for several years, hunting game in the surrounding forests. However, within the past few weeks, it has become bolder, taking some of the sickly and older livestock on the edges of town. At the time, we felt it was an inconvenience, but what could we do? We are no warriors, and the giant has taken very little of value." "However," he continues, "Three days ago, the Bronzefell family, a father, mother and their two daughters, were carried off by the monster and its pet, a foul beast with the shape of a bear, but the face of a bird. We pursued the creatures, but the beasts know the trails far better than we, and the trail was lost." The tiefling frowns and says, "That is where you come in. We need to see if any of them are still alive. The giant and its pet must be destroyed before they do anymore damage to our town. Will you answer our call to action? We can only offer you 700 gold pieces for your blades and magic, but you'd be doing us a great service to the peace of mind of the townspeople and myself." ************ Chaffie finds that past a few farmhouses, most of the area surrounding Barnhearth is dense forest. Travel is slow-gowing through the trees as the terrain is uneven, but this isn't your first rodeo, and you are able to move freely without tripping over branches or falling into sinkholes. After walking for several minutes, you begin to pick up a trail of what you assume to be the giant, as the tracks are much larger than anything you've noticed being in the woods. It looks like the ettin has done little to conceal his path, other than taking some trails that you had to almost feel your way too. You spy a few corpses of what were once goats and even a large stag, blood covering the leaf-lined forest floor. Through the dense trees, you spot bright light emanating from a cave mouth set in the side of a low-rising hill. A few dead trees still stand before the opening, and boulders thrust up through the ground. At the entrance, a humanoid is talking to someone within the cave. After several back and forth replies, with the exchange becoming more heated, the figure shakes his head and quickly lopes back off into the woods to the west of the caves. You can't see any features at this distance, but you are absolutley certain it was a satyr.

Nestled in a pocket of the shady woodland, Chaffie's eyes widen at the sight of the satyr. As a result of her last encounter with satyrs, years ago now, Chaffie's whole life gained meaning and perspective; something that has been lacking in her of late. Wasting no time, she does her best to follow the satyr on his westward path away from the cave, fierce in her pursuit. Lightning only strikes twice if it is fast enough and Chaffie is leaving nothing in the tank. Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler Perception: 1d20+12 = 15 Athletics: 1d20+16 = 30 Hmm, probably lost him, unless he's not being sneaky

Ear-frills perking up at the news, Georgh asked the Tiefling "Has it always had this 'pet' or companion, your Giant? I've never heard of Giants associating much with anything smaller than them, not unless it was lunch at least." Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler Nature: 1d20+9 21

Raad nods at his fellow dragonborn's observation. "We'd be happy to take care of this matter for you. Another question, if you don't mind: Have you heard the term," he lowers his voice, "Gelid before?"

Georgh recalls that while ettins often live and travel in small nomadic bands, they sometimes live alone and consort with wild creatures that they respect too much to kill and eat, such as fey beasts and demons. Parisc scratches his chin and thinks for a moment. "As a matter of fact, no one had seen the beast before the giant's more recent attack. And no, I'm not familiar with a Gelid. Do you think that is the creature the giant hunts with?" ******** Chaffie makes great strides in tracking the satyr. His path looks sloppy, like he's not even trying to cover his tracks. Forcing your way into the woods, you come across the figure with his back to you. As you creep closer, you notice that the satyr is holding himself in an unnatural way, hunched over as though looking for something. With your attention focused on the satyr, you barely notice the garrote slide across your throat before it's pulled back with powerful hands. As you thrash against your ambusher, you see the satyr's cloak fall away from a mound of leaves. You feel hot breath on your ear, and a husky voice whispers, "Chaffie girl, you ne'er could resist the thrill of the hunt, could ya, darlin'?" The voice is unmistakable, and the name rings out in your mind before you slip into unconsciousness: Illefer...

Thinking for a moment, Vengar speaks his opinion, "This whole situation sounds like a trap. To a giant, people like us don't have much meat so I doubt the Bronzefell family was captured just for food. What were the Bronzefell's professions in town?"

Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler Chaffie noooooooo.....

Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler Don't worry, we'll save her.

Spoiler: show spoiler hide spoiler Oh dang... Should have left a trail of breadcrumbs

Reed snorts. "Luckily for us all, no, the giant does not hunt with the Gelid. And who cares why the giant's gone mad. It'll die just as quickly as a sane one. I say we get a nice sleep, and set out late tomorrow morning. Can't ever have too much sleep."

Chaffie awakens some time later manacled to the wall of a cave, stripped of her armor and weapons. Next to you lie a half-elf man and woman, also in chains. A group of Satyrs sits around a campfire, making small talk and eating hunks of cooked meat. You hear someone shout in Dwarven. Illefer turns to someone you can't see and says, "It's fine; no one's come aroun' here, 'cept my boys, Jehm-Jahm, and his lil' bird cub." Another outburst in Dwarven, and Illefer responds, sighing, "Gods be damned, man. Gahne, Beshrop: go take a peek, an' see if the lass 'ere was followed. There. Ye happy now?" The man whom Illefer was speaking to steps into view past the leaving satyrs. The human is wearing a red silk shirt, dark leather trousers, and evidently felt no need to wear armor. There is something canine about him, from dark golden hair that hangs to his shoulders to his dark, hooded eyes to the casual strength evident in his shoulders and legs. In Common, he growls, "You can't ever be too careful, especially where Trueheart is concerned. The halfling is tenacious, to say the least." Illefer rolls his eyes and says, "I'm sure the half-pint is more'n you can handle, but me and the boys can give'em and his pals a proper send-off, 'specially with Chaffie-girl here outta the pict're. Don't ya gotta get headed off to Calerna or whatever? The man gets up in the satyr's face and jabs his index finger an inch from it. "Don't disappoint me, satyr. If you do, you'll have more than the Gelid to deal with." Illefer smiles and says, "You might want to get goin.' You're starting to foul this place up with your stench. Jehm-Jahm might make a snack out of you instead." The man growls, fastens a cloak around his neck ,and strides out of the cave without any more discussion. Illefer makes mocking gestures after the man departs, imitating the human's inflection and voice, "'Don't disappoint me, satyr'. Feh, that dog'll get what's comin' to him, soon'r than lat'r." Seeing you're awake, the satyr unsheathes your short sword and marvels at it. "Awake, are we? S'fine blade, darlin'. Taking ye pinched it in Relkin'ham?" ********************************************** "Cristle is scholar; he spends most of his day translating ancient texts into Common, Elven and Dwarven. Jylesia is a baker. Both of them tend to their little patch of farmland, and they have a few cows," Parisc replies. Aria, covered in grime and leaves, bursts into the tavern. Seeing you, she shouts in a panic, "Chaffie...they've got Chaffie!"

Grumbling, Vengar stands and unsheathes his sunblade, "That sleep's going to have to wait until we smite some evil and rescue our comrade."

"And rightly so." Raad tries to get Aria's attention. "What's going on? Who's got Chaffie, now?"