I dreamed. I do not think it will be the last time.
It began at Ice Throne. The cold. The dungeon. Hellen.
Hasmina’s sister. What Dakuryon… had done to her. We went in knowing what had to be done.
We had planned this raid for weeks. Every position. Every moment. The plan was sound.
Everything was going well until Sabranak and Frygaras came through the wall. The two dracoloths belong to the Screaming Snowfield. They had no business inside Dakuryon’s throne. Something drove them inward and we had no time to reorganise our plans.
The party held for as long as we could, but slowly we were being cornered.
Valen went down first. Ignis was next. Pippin tried to raise a wall around us so I could resurrect them, but she was a step too late. I could not cancel my cast. I could only watch as the claws pierced her body. I remembered thinking my time was next as Frygaras raised its claw,
but then
I woke up on the floor. It was still dark. I did not go back to sleep.
Edvar and Hilda let me sit by their fire this morning without asking questions. I am grateful for that mercy.
They are old fishing folk. They know every corner of this town and every person in it.
This is Dougan’s Hole. It sits on the shore of a lake called Redwaters. The region is Icewind Dale. The land is called Faerûn. None of these words mean anything to me yet, but I wrote them down so they will.
The lake is frozen solid. Has been for longer than it should be, they said. The fishers cut holes in the ice now to reach the knucklehead trout beneath. The shorter pier is broken. The longer one still stands but the boats are locked in ice.
They fed me. I ate. It tasted nothing like anything I know, but I ate.
They told me not to mistake the people here for unkind. The cold does things to a place. Makes people short. Makes them hard at the edges. It is not malice. It is what surviving here costs.
I understand that.
I asked them about the symbols on my robes. They did not recognise the gods they reference, but they understood it was the shape of a kind faith. That was enough for them to open the door. I will not forget their kindness.