The Wild Thing

After delivering the fish, Ringeirr led the group back towards the square where they had been assaulted by the goblins, and then deeper into the city. Ringeirr's forger lived a few streets deeper into the Howlings.

As they moved through the streets, the group encountered a pare of inebriated winter wolves in humanoid form, stumbling about and complaining bitterly of a lost card game that had lasted the entire night before. As the two groups passed each other, one wolf stumbled into Ash, knocking him off-balance. The wolf demanded an immediate apology which Ash gave, though with no sincerity. The winter wolf snapped at Ash, shifting to his natural form.

Though Ash tried to keep it non-lethal, Kyezra let arrows fly and Nadya buried her hand axe in one. The other stumbled back from the group and let loose with a blast of wintery breath, causing several of the group to shiver and almost laying Ringeirr out. Having seen how formidable their foes could be, the group quickly struck the wolves down.

After recovering, the group moved on. As they wound through the district, a middle-aged man in worn clothes came pelting around the corner, crashing in to Inuksuk. He had just moments to plead for help before his former master came bounding around the same corner in wolf form. Spotting Inuksuk in his winter wolf disguise, Korgin demanded the group move aside so that he could continue the sport of hunting his former slave. Inuksuk declared that they couldn't let Korgin have Jorhan; the two bristled at each other until Korgin's will broke and he left threatening retribution. Once out of sight, Korgin immediately went to the nearest Winter Guards to tell the tale of Inuksuk's lawbreaking, for interfering with another wolf's slaves is the same as stealing.

The group moved up the street and to the right at a tee intersection, spotting a group of trolls in guards' outfits interviewing a pair of white-haired citizens. One of the trolls lazily noted the group, but they continued their questions as Ringeirr led them away. Unfortunately, the group had barely made it to the house of the forger when the trolls came around behind them and demanded papers.

Though the trolls bought the story of the papers held by the group (stolen from the falconers they had left behind in Fishcamp village), they tried to take Jorhan away as stolen property. Ash waited for the trolls to turn their backs, then rushed to plant an axe in one of them. The guards went down quickly.

The group retreated into the forger's house, dragging the trolls with them despite Mortin's protests. Ringeirr then proceeded to chop up the trolls and burn them in the fireplace to dispose of them. Ringeirr then laid into Mortin for locking the door as the group was confronted by the trolls, even though it didn't make a difference to the outcome. Mortin, chagrined, accepted the condemnation and went to work, forging papers for each group member as stilyagi.

With papers in hand, the group left so that Inuksuk could make his date with Greta at the Tooth and Claw tavern, just on the edge of the Howlings. As they got to the entrance from the Howlings to the rest of Whitethrone, the group was confronted by a trio of mirror men. The group had managed to keep it fairly low-key in the Howlings with only a minimum of violence, so the mirror men gave them only cursory inspections before returning to watch other travelers.

The Tooth and Claw was at the far side of the square, a handsome four-story structure with a stone-walled main floor and decorated wood beams above. Inuksuk entered the tavern and saw Greta just taking off her coat at a table in the middle of the room. Over dinner, Inuksuk tried to get as much information about the city and the dancing hut as he could, while Greta worked her charms. They retired to Greta's room for a more private information exchange.

Though violent and loud in their lovemaking, things didn't get out of hand until around two bells after midnight, when they accidentally broke through one of the walls. They managed to quiet down after that until a bell later, when the magic of Inuksuk's cloak wore off and Greta found out he was a deceitful human instead. She promptly threw him out of the nearest window, then threw his clothes after him.

The next morning, Ringeirr led the group to the shrine of Milani hidden under the hotspring-fed bathhouses near the palace. There, they met with Solveig Ayrdahl, leader of the Heralds of Summer's Return. She had a plan of engaging the remains of the Iron Guard in revolt against the Queen's Winter Guard to open passage to the dancing hut of Baba Yaga, but she needed to trade the death of the white dragon Logrivich to encourage the Iron Guard to attack. With the group agreed to this course of action, they prepare to assault the white dragon's Clock Tower lair.