Chapter 5: Breaking Tusks

As you examine the animal, Tomas realizes that it is a Wolliped. They are ususally docile herd animals. Arctic ranchers have been breeding wollipeds for hundreds of years, as the gentle creatures take well to domestication and make plentiful, hardy sources of meat, milk, and wool. The creatures also provide sure-footed transport in difficult mountain regions, and they can even be trained for plowing and hauling if necessary. Seeing it a little closer outside combat, you notice this one has lots of scars from old wounds and looks malnourished.

The animal hesitantly approaches Artesia. It sniffs the meat before taking a bite. It spooks a little at Iroven's touch at first, but is quick to lap up Tomas water.

You are able to calm the animal and will eventually bring it into the fold. You think Imek will be delighted at another animal to take care of.

With the animal calmed down, you are able to survey the damage. Most of the wagon and its goods have been destroyed by the elements and the yeti (which you are able to identify the raging creature as once things settle down). But you find one crate the Yeti hasn't had any interest in. It contains 4 golden bracelets (worth 15 gp each) and a peculiar bag. It looks empty, it weighs as if it is empty. But you are able to pull out 500 feet of rope from it. ((Identifying the bag is a DC 19 Arcana, Occult, Nature or Religion check)).

You are unable to find any opening in the pass, and it seems to be a box canyon and dead end.

The bag is predictably a Spacious Pouch.

You know Yetis to be smart enough to train animals. This was a like a badly kept pet that's been mistreated over years. It will take time to make it truly trust again, but Imek should be up to the task.

You find yourself in the pass. Hopefully it is Rimecrag Pass which you have been looking for. The pass wraps around a towering, snow-capped peak to the north, hemmed in on both sides by stone. Three big ravens roost on a snowy ledge ten feet above the rocky ground of the pass. The largest cocks its head, parts its beak, and says, "Well, I like the looks of you far better than the last group of noisy, fire-besotted humans. How many more people are you planning to bring through my mountain pass?"

As you reply to the raven, her size grows and her shape changes until she stands as a half raven, half woman in front of you.



Tomas recalls Shaggy Shemven telling you about a raven lady he fell in love with. You think this creature could be that one, but you cannot recall any more about it.

The lady looks at you with her head crooked. "I don't know. Several moons ago. I don't keep count," she replies. "Keeping count of moons would be folly, how can you stop thinking of how few is left in life."

She shakes her head at how silly it is to count moons. "But they outnumbered you, though not by much." She starts counting you one by one, first Koram, then Haitih, Iroven, Artesia and finally Tomas, as if to prove that she can count. "One, Two, Three, Four, Five. They were one more. A scary leader that tried to kill my flock... for fun. Pakano they called him. I can tell you are different."

You recall the scouts you caught earlier talking about Pakano being sent ahead for a secret mission.