We had found ourselves swarmed by people who emerged from tents nearby. Following Shan’s example, we raised our arms and offered food in exchange for free passage to save our friend. Two people stepped forward, an old man who seemed to be the tribe’s chief, and an old woman, presumably the shaman. They denied that anyone but them would be here, especially not anyone that needs saving. In general, they seemed extremely eager to see us leave the iceberg as fast as possible. While we talked, some circled around us, heading for the place we came from. Others snuck to a command tent in the middle of the village, we suspected there might be some sort of tunnel or entrance within the tent.
We lied a bit and told them we couldn’t call our ship back, so if they didn’t want to throw us into the ocean, they would have to let us spend the night here. This did not sit well with them, but they agreed - if we could win a duel against their champion, a huge native. The group sent in Thoredim, who was thoroughly overpowered and eventually had to surrender. This was a harsh reality check for him about how effective he could be in a non-magical fight. Luckily Shan stepped in and we convinced the tribe to give us another shot, since they liked the spectacle.
Meanwhile, Kaiya used the diversion to sneak away, disguised as a native. She scouted out the tent where people seemed to be disappearing into and found inside a hole with a pulley system installed. So our suspicions were correct after all - this could be our entrance to the dragon’s lair.
Shan meanwhile stunned his opponent and landed three attacks in a very strong opening. While Kaiya was sneaking back, the fight took its course and Shan won against the native, by a close call. Now having secured, maybe not the friendship, but at least some respect of the people, we got to learn their names. The Chief: “Barking Seal”. The Shaman: “Bonecarver”. The Champion: “Orca Heart”. They invite us to eat and rest with them tonight and assign us one of their iglus.
Afterwards, Kaiya and Thoredim went to Barking Seal to gather more information. He showed us, within the ice wall that surrounds the village, lots of frozen corpses. He said: “Dangerous. Cold! One night, then you go.” After this, we were told to stay at our place until dinner, because, as they claimed, outside would be too cold and dangerous for us. As we entered the command tent for dinner, we found the hole and pulley system covered up with a polar bear fur. Clearly, the village wasn’t playing with open cards.
Now thoroughly suspicious, the group wasn’t too keen on the idea of eating the food they were served by the villagers. Thoredim couldn’t resist his curiosity and nibbled on the fish, which was enough to send him into unconsciousness. Kaiya and Shan, thinking on their feet, pretended to also black out.
We will see what the villagers really have in store for us…
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