The road north was not an easy one to travel. Igraine did not understand how Halvard was able to navigate in these conditions. Everything was stark white and covered in ice and snow, and yet he never faltered or questioned his steps, nor did he lose sight of the way before them.
The others did not complain during the hard trek. Igraine was not sure if this was due to their training and discipline or because it was too cold to muster even the smallest protest. The party trudged ahead in silence as Halvard of Frothvar led the way.
The journey to Einsamall comprised the best part of 8 days of hard travel. The party made camp each night and everyone took turns on watch while the others rested. Igraine couldn’t help but notice that even when Halvard was not on watch, he did not seem to sleep. The stout warrior from the House of the Noble Bear always seemed to be alert, always watching for danger.
As the group got deeper and deeper into the Northlands, they saw fewer and fewer signs of life. On the second day they saw evidence of Ice Trolls, but thankfully the monsters did not make their presence known. The party did encounter a lone Frost Ogre on their fourth day out. Likely a survivor of the Brood’s defeated forces, the ogre tried to attack the camp shortly after nightfall. Halvard had sensed that they were being followed in the hours before they stopped to set up camp, and he had the party ready for the assault. The ogre was a formidable foe, but without the element of surprise on his side,the party made short work of it and left the body as a warning to any other predators who thought they could take advantage of these travelers.
It was at the start of the 8th day out from Alkyrium when a wooden sign with the word "Einsamall" crudely carved in it appeared on the road ahead of the party. Before the end of that day, they arrived at the gates of the small community set as far north in Mythoss as any had been known to venture.
“Are ye lot from the Castle of Four?” a watchman atop the gate called down as Igraine and the party approached.
“We are,” Igraine replied. “We have been sent by the Legions of Light and the 5 Seats. May we enter?”
The watchman scrambled down a wooden ladder and unlatched the locks that held the gates closed.
“Come in! Come in!” he said as he motioned for the party to enter the gates of Einsamall.
Igraine noticed that the locks were old and the gate would be useless against a force determined to break them down. She expected that this was of little concern to the people of this small settlement, since their remoteness provided the best security they could generally hope for.
“We would like to see the Mayor of Einsamall,” Igraine said to the watchman. “Can you take us to him immediately?”
“That is where we are going!” the watchman replied as he led the group into the town. “I was told to bring anyone from the Legions up to the Mayor’s place straight away should they turn up. It’s just up ahead there, you see? The Einsamall Inn and Public House!”
“We need your Mayor, not libations,” Igraine said. “Our mission is urgent. Where does he keep his offices?”
The watchman laughed.
“In the Einsamall Inn!” he replied. “Burris Birgerstori is not only the Mayor, he also owns the inn and is the barkeep at that thar fine establishment. Acts as the magistrate in these parts as well as being our barber, he does. His wife, Burla, she helps with the inn and is also our town’s seamstress - and not that we need it all too much, not too many babies being born out here and all, but she is our midwife too. Not too many of us folk here in Einsamall, no there isn’t. Gotta have lots of jobs if you’re gonna live all the way up here! Look at me – I had to take over as the watchman after we lost the last one who did that job, but I also work as a carpenter and a farmer.”
“How do you farm up here in this cold?” the ranger asked.
“You finds a way,” the watchman/carpenter/farmer answered with a shrug. “We been doing it forever now. And here we are.”
The largest building in the settlement stood before the party. The name “Einsamall Inn & Public House” was written on an icicle-covered sign that hung from the doorway. Halvard pushed open the heavy door. A warm light and the sounds of music immediately leaked out from inside the inn. The party from the Castle of Four Sides stepped inside and found themselves before a packed establishment. In the center of the room was a large bar, and a red-capped gnome stood upon an upturned barrel in front of that bar. A large mug of frothy brew was in his hand as he called to the room. The music stopped and all eyes went to the gnome.
“The colds won’t chase us away when we have the warmth of our hearth and home to look forward to each day! Lift a mug of brew with me and let all hear our call. Cheers to the North and to the people of Einsamall!”
“Cheers to the North and to the people of Einsamall!” the room echoed back in unison before collectively taking a drink from the mugs in front of them. Once they were done, the music started back up again and the gnome wiped the froth from his large white beard.
“Burris!” the watchman called. “The Castle sent help!I brought them here just like you said to do, I did!”
The gnome jumped down from where he stood and made his way over to the group.
“And you are Burris Birgerstori, the Mayor of Einsmall, yes?” Igraine asked.
“That I am!” the gnome replied. “Come, come! We have much to discuss and it is too loud here to speak easily.”
Burris made his way back to the bar and placed his mug on the top. A female gnome was behind the bar serving drinks.
“Burla,” the Mayor called. “They are here from the Castle of the Beasts. I will take them back to find some quiet so I can tell them the tale. Will you be ok for a bit?”
Burla Birgerstori nodded and smiled.
“Go on!” she said. “I can handle this lot. Don’t you worry none.”
Burris nodded.
“Call for Jishai and tell him to make up the last two rooms for our guests. The Frostmunk knows where to find everything and he's always happy to help out when needed,” Burris added as he motioned for his guests to follow him.
Burla replied that she would make sure that it was done and Burris led the party deeper into the inn and through a door in the back corner of the establishment. The door led into the keeper’s wing of the building. The inn had not always been owned by gnomes, and thankfully the room was of standard size, even if the furniture beyond its door was made for the diminutive Birgerstoris and was much too small for any of the party to sit in.
“Sorry I don’t have a better place to bring you,” Burris apologized. “But this is the only quiet we will find anywhere in the inn these days.”
“Business is booming,” the paladin remarked. “That must be nice.”
“If only it were under different circumstances,” the gnome replied. “This public house is the center of the town, and it’s where everyone comes to waste away the small hours. That’s why I bought it. Figured if I wanted to be Mayor, what better place to be seen by the folk of this here town. Besides, people are more likely to vote for you when you are the one who serves them their drinks!”
The gnome patted the side of a large keg of ale with the words “Wulfsbane Lager. Batch 430” painted on the front.
“This here is my specialty. It’s my own recipe. Won’t find this out there in your fancy taverns of there in the 4 Kingdoms, no you won’t. Had to store a few barrels in here because we just finished up this latest batch. Best one yet, if do say so myself!”
“I am sure it is wonderful, but we did not come here to sample your ale,” Igraine said. “We came because you said you needed help.”
“Yes, of course” the gnome replied. “I was getting to that. As I was saying, we are always busy in the public house, but the beds of the inn are usually empty. Most times the only overnight guests we get are those folk who don’t want to go home after a long night in their cups, but its never been like this. With the killings, most everyone wants to stay here now. Safety in numbers and all that. We can’t keep up, but we can’t kick anyone out neither. It’s just not safe out there.”
“Tell us exactly what is happening. Why did you call us?” Igraine said as the party moved aside the small furniture and sat on the floor of the keeper’s quarters. Burris pulled up a chair and sat before the group.
“Did you read the letter I sent?” he asked.
“We did, but we want to hear the story from you. From the beginning.”
The gnome nodded and began to tell the tale.
“It all started around five fortnights ago now. One of our local boys went missing. Nice lad. Real strong, but sometimes he made some poor decisions and got in a mess. Sorry, I should not speak ill of the dead. He really was a nice lad, very helpful. I used to have him help chop wood here for the inn, and he was always good to have around if a sled got stuck in the drifts. One time…”
“Mayor!” Igraine snapped. “Please get to the point.”
“Sorry,” the gnome said. “Just tired is all. Tend to ramble a bit when that happens. Anyway, we found the boy dead. At first we figured he drifted off and got lost in a storm and froze to death and then something found his body. It was torn apart. All ripped and shredded, but frozen to the ice. We had to chisel him out to bring him back home.”
“What did you think could’ve done it?” Halvard asked. “Troll?”
“Maybe, but trolls usually don’t come this far north,” Burris replied. “Some suggested it may have been a Yetii or a Witiko, but neither of those creatures have been seen in these parts in ages. More likely it is something far less monstrous that found the body and had an easy meal. At least that is what we thought at first.”
The gnome paused and shifted in his chair before continuing.
“We had lost 4 in total when we sent the letter to the Castle. Since then we’ve lost one more. By the time we lost the third, we knew that these were not accidents, but our hunters went out and came back with nothing. Something has been coming every few nights, but whatever it is, we cannot find it.
“We set a guard at the gate at all times, but then we lost the guard to whatever evil has set its eyes on our town. That was the last straw, and its when I sent the letter asking for help. I didn’t know if the Castle would listen to us or if they would even care and be willing to send us some warriors, but we thank you for coming!”
Igraine nodded.
“And nothing since?” she asked. "No more attacks?"
“One more victim,” Burris replied with a sad look on his face. “It was a tough one to swallow. A child, one of the few here in Einsamall. Most of the town is cooped up here in the Inn, but the kid grew restless and snuck out of the room she was sharing with her family. She loved to play in the snowdrifts and we'd had a nice squall the day before. All stuck in here, seems like she just wanted to have some fun. Poor kid. Her parents found her bed empty that next morning, and we found her body on the ice a few hours later. It was a bad sight.
“Since that morning, none have gone out after dark. We even stopped the watch once the sun goes down. It hasn’t helped keep us safe, so no need to put the watcher at risk.”
“The hunters found nothing?” Halvard asked. “No tracks? No trace?”
“No tracks,” Burris replied. “The winds cover all tracks almost immediately. But they did find this.”
The gnome got up from his chair and went over to a drawer which he opened. Reaching inside, he removed a large chain. It was only four links in total, clearly broken off from a larger chain, but those four links were large enough and heavy enough that the gnome struggled to lift it.
Halvard took the chain from their host and inspected it. It was somehow warm to the touch.
“We found it near the girl.,” Burris said. “We don’t even know what kind of metal it is. You feel it? It’s warm, no? What metal does that?”
Halvard said he did not know as he handed the chain to the others he had traveled with.
“We are thankful you are here,” Burris said. “What will you do now?”
“You said it comes at night, correct?” Igraine asked.
Burris nodded.
“Nightfall is just a few hours away,” Igraine said. “We will set up a watch once it grows dark. If something comes. We will be here to meet it.”
“Very good!” Burris smiled. “Until then, you are our guests! Come – we have apples, we have grapes, we have sausages! Oh, and of course, we have some Wulfsbane Lager to warm you up after what I am sure was a long, cold trip to Einsamall!”
Continued in Part 4: J'akull Ironbones
Published on 07.23.25