Just another night in the town of Good Mead, howling wind, bitter cold, foul tempers, and snowdrifts big enough to bury a herd of moose. A shield dwarf woman Hlin Trollbane, leaves the inn she had been staying at for the last few weeks. "Yet another dead-end."
she pulled the clock of thick fur further down the head, hoping to keep the bitter cold wind off her as much as she can. She cross her arms over her chest on both frustration and a desperate attempt to stay warm. Hlin spent most of her life as a bounty hunter along the Sword coast, now retired she spends her days in ten towns. Ten towns was great for its warm weather in the summer but recently for the last two years has found it plague in an eternal winter.
Now she takes jobs the law can't or won't handle themselves. This one ,however, has her questioning her own abilities. A rare event that makes her blood boil. In recent months, a halfling trapper in East haven and a human shipbuilder in Targos were murdered in cold blood. The two victims were killed in totally different towns with seemingly no similarities to the kills. Hlin lifts her pipe to her mouth and lights the herb inside before taking a long moment to ponder what comes next.
The wind picks up quickly, blowing more snow onto the street. "fuck, three days till the sacrifice. It's going to be a cold night." Hlin mutters to herself. She makes her way down the street, arms wrapped tight to her chest. Good Mead ,like all towns in Ten Towns, has a sacrifice at every new moon. Some towns ,like Good Mead, sacrifice their warmth. Others offer food, fare, or even people in the larger towns. All in the hopes of pleasing Auril, the frostmaiden, and put an end to this frozen hell.
Hlin curse Auril under her breath, then starts to make her way around the town. For the last few weeks she has payed a few different groups of people to keep her informed of the people that come into town.
The day is starting to come to an end as she make her way through the town, the dark sky already starting to become darker. The wind continues to pick up and howl throw the town.
The streets are fairly empty this night, sounds of joy and songs of mary spring forth the Mead hall. As she makes her way farther from the Mead hall, the wind drowns out most of the noise. Approaching the western road out of town, a large man of seven feet tall stands watch. The galith wrapped in a white bear skin clock, a shield that could cover the dwarf completely hangs on his left arm and a spear that comes to his shoulders rest in his right.
Hlin pushes her way through the snow that is now starting to come up to her waist until she is next to giant of a man. "Thum how goes the watch, anyone come by to day." she asked as she try to use him to sheild herself from the wind.
looking down at her, " A few little one, one group of traders making there way caer-dineval but are planning on staying the night." he turned to hand her a list of names and waterskin of wine.
Hlin takes the list and drinks from the waterskin. She hands the skin back and looks over the list." Not much to go on." she hands him a silver coin to him.
a scream echos over the wind. Hlin and the Thum quickly turn back towards the town. Both run start running throw the snow the golith leading the way as Hlin trails behind. Hiln drawing out her battleaxe along the way till they come to the eage of the tree line. A man stands over the body of a dwarfen man, the man looks at them, his eyes glowing a light blue matching the sword of ice he holds and the dagger plunged into the dwarfs heart.
"Its him!" Hlin yells in anger, quickly drawing her hand axe and throwing it as hard as she can. The axe misses its mark going over the man's shoulder into a tree instead of his head. Thum charges throw the snow, thrusting his spear at the man chest. The point of the spear sinks two inches into the man's chest, the galith pulls the spear from the man's chest and thrusting it again only to have it deflected by the man's sword.
The man springs forth striking at thum that towers over him only to have the shield block the strike. A dagger of ice appears in his other hand, the man spins with great speed to Thum's back plunging the dagger to the back side of his ribs. Thum yells in pain and anger.
Hlin rushes the man cutting deep into the man's arm with her battleaxe, swinging again cutting him across the chest. black blood spraying over Hlin and the snow. The man leaving the dagger in Thum grasps his chest wound, a smile escapes from his lips as he looks Hlin in the eyes. Thum turns and thusts his spear, striking his leg and quietly thrusting again in his chest. grabbing his sword with both hands he strikes at Thum hitting him in the chest only to have the hide armor stop the shallow strike. with a quick side step brings his sword close to him and thrusts it into the chest of the Hlin, then retreats back several feet.
Hlin drops to one knee in pain from the wound and the biting cold that suddenly took her breath away. looking at the man, blood trailing down from his wounds. "your brave to fight me, but foolish." the man says as some of his lesser wounds are starting to close and heal over right before her eyes. The man takes a step towards his new victims when the sound of more guards approaching draws his attention "next time dwarf." with that, a bow and a smile the man's body starts to break away in to mist and is gone.
Hlin stands helping Thum to his feet, the crimson blood painting the snow as she waves the guards over for help. As the first guard approached " Go to ever town as quick as you can, get me some adventures willing and able to hunt him down and I will pay one hundred fifty gold coins each to the ones who bring me his head."grabbing on and handing him four gold coins. With this he let's the other guards tend to the wounded and runs to his dogsled and makes haste to out of town.