6. Let It Go

26th Dravago, 998 YK

• They fight over who will do the recap to get the Advance. Ell does it.
• We start with a camping scene, they get paid, heal their wounds, and redefine their relationships with one another.
• Ruckus repairs his exosuit.
• Charlie takes Ban to see Luca Syara. The rest of them dispersed after being paid.
• "So, my friend tasted your curry the other night and wants to meet you. Want to go see her?"
• "When we were in the cave? Is this friend in the room with us now?"
• No no she used magic to visit.
• Ah okay, sure!
• Charlie takes Ban down to the Diamond Theatre, where they get in for free. Apparently, there's a showing of Five Lives!
• They sit down and watch the play, and Ban cries. Charlie's seen it before, and gets a bit misty eyed, but holds it together. He offers Ban a tissue.
• After the play, Charlie takes Ban backstage to see Luca. She looks like the saddest person in the world, and when she gives Ban a weak smile, it makes him cry again.
• "Oh, did I say something wrong?"
• "No, it's okay, I just wish I had biscuits"
• It's so tragic
• She asks what he thought of the play and he begins gushing. She mentions she put a lot of herself into it and he starts gushing even more. He didn't know she wrote it!
• He vows to bring her more cooking. She mentions other plays, and Ban wants to see them
• She asks how Ban and Charlie met, and Ban explains they're part of the same adventuring guild!
• They were on the mountain to charge a magical item.
• Luca asks if they can tell her the stories when they return from their quests
• Of course!
• She also asks if Charlie has any jokes in him. 
• He tells a joke, and it gets a small, downstated chuckle from her! Charlie is elated. Ban is dying with laughter, and pats Charlie on the back.
• With that triumph, they head out.
• Once they're out of earshot, Ban asks if they should pack extra food just in case Luca visits?
• She can visit whenever, wherever?
• "More or less"
• Okay, Ban will pack extras.
• Nobody goes hungry on Ban's watch. Especially a sad person. He will forever be traumatised that he had no biscuits ready.

28th Dravago, 998 YK

• They all get the summons, there's a new job for them!
• Yashira doesn't turn up, she's doing inquisitive things.
• They arrive to see Lhara and Nigel arguing about something. They explain the mission, they're going to Icewhite Island to get something from an icy tower!
• Nigel hired the Deathsgate Explorers' Club first, but they didn't come back. Serves him right for hiring trash.
• Captain Darien is waiting for them on the Clear Blue Sky, same ship as the last mission. They're going to fly to Stormhome and then get an elemental galleon to Icewhite Island.
• Damien grumbles. Darien is like his evil, sexier twin and he hates it.
• Darien offers them wine and dinner while they fly, as it's a long journey.
• Charlie muses that he can't tell his dad about this trip, his dad doesn't like Aundair.
• Damien says that makes sense, they were kicking Breland's ass.
• Ho ho
• It's like 5 days of this. Nerys starts badly mimicking Damien's accent to make fun of him.
• "Oh no we're so high up"
• As they fly past Passage, Damien points out where his house was!

5th Nymm, 998 YK

• They arrive in Stormhome and are bundled onto the Undeniable, an elemental galleon captained by Captain Maedreth d'Lyrandar. She's not very friendly, and doesn't really talk to them.
• On the journey to Icewhite, Nerys approaches Charlie to have a chat.
• "Hi Charlie, I hope I didn't wake you!"
• It's 5pm?
• Whatever
• Charlie hasn't even been sleeping, he's too busy reading academic texts.
• Steph gets called away so Nerys goes to talk to Fumbus instead
• Fumbus?
• "Ayyy I'm stowing away"
• They meant Ruckus
• "Hey Ruckus are you awake?"
• It's still 5pm
• Nerys isn't sure why but they're feeling very conscious of themself right now
• Nerys asks if Ruckus could tell them about himself? They write stories, you see
• Ruckus was doodling something while Nerys was talking. "oh, hmm, nobody's ever asked me about myself before"
• Nerys thinks everyone has an interesting story to tell! And since they're all going to be spending a lot of time together, they;d like to learn about them and write their stories down
• They also make it clear that they are A-OK with lying and embellishing things!
• Ruckus still isn't sure what to say. "I'm a goblin, very small, as you can see"
• He grew up in Sharn, spent a lot of time in The Cogs.
• "Are your parents still alive?"
• Ruckus frowns. "What are parents?"
• hmm
• Ruckus says he's not sure who birthed him, for all he knows he just popped into existence one day. He was raised by an elderly couple, until one of them died.
• Nerys is sorry to hear that. Does he have any siblings?
• Ruckus grew up with others, but he didn't know any of them very well. He was always an outcast.
• Nerys asks what made him want to join an adventuring guild? What made him pick up all the tinkering whatsits?
• "Money"
• based
• Speaking of money, can Nerys lend him some?
• Of course!
• Ruckus pockets it
• As for the tinkering, it's just something he's always been interested in.
• Nerys asks what he needs the money for, by the way?
• "I don't owe you an explanation"
• Wow
• Nerys talks a bit about their parents. Their father was a smith, but they never had any aptitude for it.
• Ruckus asks how that makes them feel?
• Flippin' the script
• Nerys asks if Ruckus is enjoying adventuring?
• He's enjoying seeing things, and getting inspiration. He holds up his doodle, showing something that looks like a beartrap. It looks like a child's drawing
• "Oh wow you're such a good artist"
• is Nerys gentle parenting Ruckus?
• Ruckus tries to flip the script again, and asks Nerys about their storytelling and how it sometimes makes magic happen? What's up with that?
• Nerys arrived in Sharn by sea, so most of their stories are from sailors. They want to see more cultures and learn more stories.
• Nerys hopes they can find some ice stories on this mission. They wonder if there will be any people there. They might run into the Deathsgate people.
• Maybe they will need rescuing, and then they can rub it in their faces. Ruckus thinks there's a way they could make money out of this.
• Nerys is like, "yeah we're getting paid"
• Ruckus pats their shoulder and says yeah...that's what he meant.
• Nerys remembers they wanted to speak to Charlie and they skedaddle, but they decide they'll speak to Charlie later.
• Charlie spends the whole journey studying. He's absorbing the information.
• Damien doesn't sail well, he's sea sick. He tries to aura farm on the deck with his open shirt, but it's so cold and Yashira isn't here to adjust his clothes.

12th Nymm, 998 YK

• Land-ho! They can see Icewhite Island!
• Gods, it looks cold
• Nerys undoes their hair and then forms it into earmuffs. Cute!
• They all put their cold winter clothing on. Charlie's fine though, the cold never bothered him anyway.
• He puts the clothes on, but gets a bit warm and takes them off.
• Damien reluctantly buttons his shirt up. 
• Nerys comments that he looks like something is wrong. They've never seen him without his chest out.
• He knows, it's a tragedy. It's a cold day in Khyber (and here) when he has to put his tits away. The ladies are all having a worse day.
• Ruckus and Ban aren't tolerating the cold too well, both used to hot environments (the Cogs and kitchens)
• Nerys looks like a cold weather burrito
• Minutes later, the captain starts frantically shouting orders as the elemental propelling the ship freezes solid. The group all rush to brace themselves for impact as the ship crashes into the island, sending Nerys and Charlie sprawling (though they aren't seriously injured).
• Maedreth tells them that the ship will be leaving before the blizzard reaches them, whether the group is back or not. She gives them two or three days before the ship is ready to sail. They'll be leaving with or without the party.
• Nerys tries to argue, and Maedreth says she's not being paid enough to risk the lives of her crew for this. Ban says that's fair
• Everyone is so cold
• A stout dwarven ironworker comes over to talk to them, his name is Helja and he's been here before. They were trying to find evidence of dwarven civilisation here, but they didn't find any. He'd like to hear if they do.
• Nerys says "aye aye sailor!"
• They head out onto the ice and start heading towards the tower.
• As they walk, Nerys takes a step and the ice cracks beneath their feet. They immediately lie down on their stomach to distribute the weight.
• Ban thinks about what they can do to help but all they have is biscuits and spices!
• Wait they also have rope!
• Charlie walks over to where the crack in the ice is, and tries to cement it with more ice.
• He's not prepared for how this environment is going to empower his magic, and he freezes Nerys into a big snowball, stuck to the ice. At least she's not in the water.
• He frantically starts to try and dig them out of the ice. Ban and Damien rush to help him dig, as the ice is heavily reinforced now. Ruckus then also joins in.
• They very quickly manage to dig Nerys out of the ice cocoon that Charlie buried them in. They're freezing
• Ruckus comments they may need to get a campfire going. Nerys says they're good, they can keep going, through chattering teeth.
• Charlie takes off his cloak and puts it round Nerys. Damien tries to cast a spell to make Nerys faster, but it's too cold and he can't get the verbal components out.
• Nerys says she feels so much better!
• Damien winces
• The storm thickens as they proceed, and they can't see where they're going. Damien gets out a compass.
• Ban suggests that they all hold onto a shared rope to make sure nobody gets separated from the group. Damien leads them, and they get totally lost in the blizzard for hours.
• Nerys says they aren't feeling cold anymore! They are getting really sleepy though
• DO not under any circumstances go to sleep!
• Damien says they need to find shelter, somewhere to camp
• Charlie has an idea!
• They wait in suspense for him to share it
• He uses magic to form the blizzard around the group to form a solid ice dome, shielding them from the icy winds
• Ban wastes no time in making a fire, to warm them up.
• "Wait, that's not my brother that's just snow" - Nerys, 998 YK
• Ban starts brewing them some spiced tea to warm their insides, boiling some of the snow.
• It's so good. Ban's cooking never misses.
• They camp out for a few hours, getting some rest. They discuss a plan to proceed, since wandering in the blizzard isn't working.
• Ban ponders if they can wait the storm out, but they aren't sure they can risk it. The longer they take, the more likely they get left here.
• Ruckus suggests they try and leave markers in the blizzard to show where they've been, but Ban is concerned the blizzard will just bury or destroy them.
• Damien is able to orient them now that they aren't in the wind directly. The ice dome is a pretty good marker of where they've been. Charlie is stronger than normal here, so it's likely to last.
• Maybe Charlie should create markers with ice.
• Nerys asks if anyone knows any stories about warm places. Charlie might, but his player has to brb
• They proceed back out into the snow, with Damien leading again. He has the compass!
• They start travelling again, and the snow seems to start letting up. They can see the spire in the distance! Their hope is so buoyant that it even seems to warm them up
• No, really, it's getting warmer
• Moments later, the snow and ice explodes as an enormous, centipede like creature bursts out of the ground. A Remorhaz!
• It lunges at Damien, who teleports out of the way, but he leaves the rope behind. It grabs the rope and pulls up, pulling the rest of the group into the air
• Charlie, suspended next to the Remorhaz's face, has seconds to save everyone. 
• He gathers his magic, and blasts a ray of frost down the Remorhaz's throat. It thrashes, throwing the group back into the snow, and then turns to face them.
• Ban frees himself from the snow, gets to his feet, and sizes up the target. He's not sure his frying pan will do much against this.
• He screams at the others to take off the rope so they don't get slurped up like a noodle again.
• He unties the rope from himself and gets a packet of salt ready to throw at any wounds it gets. He's not getting closer to it though, fuck that
• Ruckus is up next, and is the one probably most likely to have a way of dealing with this enormous predator. He starts jury rigging a frost grenade using some snow but can't get it to work.
• The remorhaz rears up, gathering heat, and then expels it in a gout of flame towards Nerys and Charlie. Nerys jumps out of the way and avoides most of the heat, suffering only minor burns, whilst Charlie summons ice to shield himself and completely avoids harm.
• Nerys gets to their feet, and rushes the monster with their axe. It jolts at the last second and sends Nerys flying, burying them in the snow.
• Charlie is up next, in his element, thriving. He summons icicles and launch them at the creatures face, blinding them and scratching their carapace.
• Blinded, the remorhaz begins to wildly thrash around, snapping its jaws and whipping its tail, and Damien is in danger of being crushed. He dodge rolls through its legs and slashes at its underbelly with his rapier, creating an exposed weak point. For his trouble, he is launched into the snow, dropping his rapier.
• Ruckus capitalises on the weak point, rushing up and deploying his exo-skeleton as he goes. He passes his wrench into the exo-skeletons hand and smashes into the wound, opening it up further. The remorhaz then smashes Ruckus into the snow, making a perfect Ruckus shaped hole.
• Ban, salt in hand, capitalises on this wound. He fills his frying pan with salt and rushes forward and drives it into the wound. Boiling hot blood squirts into Ban's face, and the Remorhaz decides the group are too much trouble and burrows back into the snow.
• Ruckus, from his hole, yells "yeah you better run!"
• Damien gets up and recovers his sword.
• Nerys is buried in the snow, with just their legs sticking out. They have to pull them out as they call for muffled help.
• Nerys wants to go home, this place sucks. It's cold and mean things live here. No wonder the dwarves left!
• Ban gives Nerys a cookie. Cookies make everything better.
• With the threat gone and the storm letting up, they find themselves in front of the icy spire, like a gnarled finger pointing accusingly at the gods. There is a rune-carved archway holding a set of double doors, one of which is ajar, letting them hear voices from within.