Chapter 3: Advent of the Avalanche Lords

Honey, Tim, and Hakan make their way to the unofficial church. A wooden doll climbs up the door, trying to use its awl to pry its way in to this abode. Just as you arrive, the door swings open, pushing the doll tumbling back down the rocky hillside but causing no damage to it. An elf in priestly white garb peers out from the door, a tiny jeweled hatchet in his hand. "Please, help!" the elf implores as the doll gets back to its feet.

The doll rushes at Honey and attacks, scoring a critical hit! The awl digs into Honey's hamstring, causing her to fall!

***

Meanwhile, Evadare and Hyde rush towards the Guntherson Showroom. Yeoman Guntherson is the only other human in Krinnelton. He is old, with streaks of gray in his ample beard, and wears a knit cap. Guntherson stands in the cluttered showroom of his shop, hundreds of tools and supplies and minor trophies cluttering the large space, leaving narrow walkways between themed sections. One wall is lined with fishing gear and laminated fish heads, while a pile across the walkway is stacked with crates filled with heavy nets and steel spikes. A wicked doll climbs atop the crates, backing a defenseless Guntherson toward the mountaineering supplies. "Go to sleep, my sweet dear," the doll sings softly without moving its lips, then brings its awl down into Gunderson's chest! The man groans and falls!



As you prepare to deal with the dolls, an explosion sounds from within Hammlin house! The blast visibly diminishes the strength of the magical shield surrounding Krinnelton...

Near the church, Tim's magic falters, but Hakan distracts the doll long enough for Honey to call upon the Lady in Blue. As before, the wooden doll is ripped asunder, revealing the ticking time bomb within!

Meanwhile, in the showroom, Evadare fires a crossbow bolt into the wooden doll. Hyde moves in and slices off the doll's arm, taking half of its body along with it! The doll falls and lies still, save for the faint pulsing of the bomb within its torso...

Both Hakan and Evadare are able to dismantle their respective bombs before they explode. At the church, the elf in the doorway breathes a sigh of relief. "By Father Frost's frozen whiskers! We're mighty grateful for your help, friends. Go, help the rest of the town!"

In the showroom, poor Yeoman Guntherson's body has already begun to cool. There are plenty of tools and supplies here of all sorts if you wish to be unsavory and take them for yourselves.

In the meantime, though, there are still more attacks underway!

Hakan, Honey, and Tim head to Ned's workshop. The eccentric Hourglass Ned, an elf with a long mustache, stands atop the frame of what might someday be a rocket sled. He holds a vial of blue liquid in his hand ready to throw it at the wooden doll that has climbed in the rafters above his work bench, its rusty awl at the ready!

Meanwhile, Hyde and Evadare reach Colonel Baxton's headquarters. The colonel, a young elven woman in a fine military uniform, struggles with a wooden doll that has jumped onto her back! A crossbow and a quiver of bolts hangs from the wall, next to a large tapestry depicting the Krinnelton battle flag, a white snowflake in a circle on a blue background.