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Penny's Dungeons and Dragons: Black Ice

"If it is an animal, such behavior sounds strange indeed. If it is not an animal - well, then we'll have to see just what we are dealing with before we can make any further plans." Méabh sips more or her mead, thinking.

"An animal might be taught to coexist - or fear the boats - without killing it. It depends on its intelligence, among other things.
But something like a monstrosity or aberration might be too dangerous to be allowed to live - though, given that it has not killed yet, that seems unlikely.

In any case, speculation is pointless until we know more. How soon were you planning to set off?"
The problem intrigues her, and the chance to earn the townsfolks' good will should not be passed up. But admittedly, Méabh also takes some satisfaction in being able to tweak the townsies' noses about how they needed a 'barbaric wildling' to solve their problems.

Assuming they don't die horribly, that is.
 
'Yes, yes!" Tali answers eagerly. They lean forward on the table as their eyes bulge with excitement. "You understand how important it is to learn more about this creature! If we could even teach it not to attack the boats, thus allowing fishing to resume while enabling further research, then all the better! We can start immediately - "

They are interrupted as the innkeeper places a steaming bowl in front of her. "Your stew, madam!" the innkeeper says with an almost reverent bow. The bowl contains a generous serving of fish stew, aided with some spices. It's enough to fill Méabh's stomach and skillfully prepared, but Méabh can tell both are stretching to make up for a lack of ingredients. There's a lack of ingredients, particularly any vegetables.

"Please, just call for me if there's anything else you need!" the innkeeper says. "I'm here for you any time!"

She retreats to the kitchen. Tali takes another drink of their mead before speaking. "We can set off as soon as you finish your stew. If you have any other questions before we begin, I can answer them now."
 
Well, someone is clearly rather excited to get going. Méabh smiles at the half-elf's enthusiasm, wondering if she'd break Tali's heart if she were to ask for a night's sleep - she has been travelling for hours, after all. But then, night is relative these days - which are also relative, come to think of it - and she has pushed herself for longer before, travelling with the tribe. At the very least they can go out for an initial look around right now.

Well, after the stew. Which is sparse on vegetables, because who isn't these days, but skillfully prepared and quite tasty. "This is very good, thank you." She eats a few spoons in silence before shrugging at Tali. "Well, I am assuming that you have a boat and spears ready. That aside, I don't have questions about the creature at the moment. But if you could, would you tell me how things are in Bremen and the other towns? We all suffer the endless night, of course, but that aside I am mostly aware of my own people's troubles. I hope that maybe we can help each other - trade resources the other needs against those they have spare."
 
"I don't, in fact," Tali admits. "Not yet, technically, but I know where to find boats and spears. I'm confident I can attain them without difficulty. I can do that after I answer your other question and while you finish your stew.

"The Ten-Towns' main issue is, of course, the Everlasting Rime - or the endless night, if you prefer. I would assume it affects your people the same way as ours, but assumptions are dangerous. Travel is difficult due to the snow and perilous due desperate predators. We lack food, as little grows without sunlight. Hunting is lean and gathering is leaner. The cold is so severe that few venture outside unless they must. I've heard some suffer from the lack of sun. Certainly, I can understand how difficult it must be for humans, being blind in the dark, but there seems to be a psychological effect to it as well. I've heard it has made some people depressed or paranoid."

Tali puts both hands on the table and frowns, staring into a corner of the room despite nothing of interest being there. "I've heard it said that people are becoming desperate. There is a midwinter child traveling the Ten-Towns - not an actual child, but a man born on the winter solstice. Such children are blessed by Auril and serve as a mouthpiece for her desires, or so they say. I know he is not harmed by the cold - you can recognize him by sight because he doesn't wear a coat outside. He's the one that convinced the Ten-Towns to make sacrifices to Auril; so far, the towns have sacrificed heat or food, but I've heard he's calling for them to begin sacrificing townspeople."

Tali looks back at Méabh, making eye contact for a moment before looking away. "Anyway, the individual towns also have their own issues. Termalaine's mine has been closed for some time now. The speaker of Caer-Dineval has taken sick and hasn't been seen for some time. Dougan's Hole and Lonelywood are both menaced by unusual animals, but I don't know the details yet - I'd probably be there studying them if the monster attacking Bremen's boats wasn't even more interesting."
 
Méabh gives a noncommital grunt at Tali's assumptions. Everybody was affected by the Rime, of course. But the tribes knew the wilderness better than the peoples of the Towns. There were out-of-the-way places where one could still find edible lichens or the buried tubers of plants that sheltered winter beneath the earth, but those were getting rarer. Their nomadic lifestyle allowed them to pack up and move when one area did not provide enough resources anymore, and to follow the herds on their migrations - though this was merely delaying the inevitable if the situation didn't change. "I would not be surprised. Seeing is one thing, but this eternal darkness - sometimes I find myself struggling to remember the colour of a thing. Firelight helps, but also bathes all in its own tint. You don't ever see the true colour of anything anymore. I wonder - if this continues, will we end up as mad as those living in the Underdark?"

The next point leaves a sour taste in her mouth as she grimaces. "Speakers. We have such people amongst our own - just before I left one was trying to rally my clan to support Isarr as the ruler of the Wolves, claiming that the winter was no curse, that we should attack our enemies while they cower from it, that we should cull the weak - which apparently includes anyone not born among the Reghed, but living among them, such as Mother or myself. Not many of the Clan were even listening to him - yet. But I fear what might change in my absence."
For a moment she considers abandoning her pursuits among the Towns and leaving for home, to make certain her family is safe and cared for. But her people need the trade goods she is here for, and she'd bring shame upon her parents and herself if she were to abandon her duty to the Clan as a whole for such childish worries - and she'd give people reason to believe the Speaker's claims in doing so. In some wicked irony, the best she can do to ensure her parents' safety is to stay away and continue her task.

The news of the Towns' troubles tells her little of immediate worth, but she files them away for later - perhaps there are more opportunities for her there. One thing does stand out to her, however. "Unusual animals? And a monster attacking boats in the lake - do you suppose those things could be related? I haven't heard of such troubles among the Tribes - but then news travels slower among my people. If the darkness and lack of food are driving animals to insanity, to attack to such a degree - things might become worse. A lot worse."
 
Tali blinks when Méabh discusses the colourlessness of the world, then looks around. The room has sufficient lighting that Méabh can discern colours, even if they are all tinged orange by the flame. "I hadn't even considered that," Tali says, "but you're right. The only true colours we see are the lights in the sky each night. I suppose that aspect never made a great impression on me, but I'm sure it must have a serious effect on the mind of those more..."

Tali thinks for a moment. "...artistically appreciative?"

They muse on their choice of words, then lean forward towards Méabh, examining her face. "You are of elven blood, aren't you? I wasn't sure - you look very human, but the way you describe the dark makes me think you have eyes like mine. Though, there are other people who see the same."

They lean back, giving Méabh a small smile. "It did occur to me that the creatures plaguing Bremen, Lonelywood, and Dougan's Hole may be related. It could be that the Everlasting Rime has caused a pervasive effect of aberrant behaviour among the Dale's wildlife, but right now, I don't have enough information to even hypothesize about that. Studying the monster in the lake will be the first step towards a workable theory.

"Speaking of which, how is your stew coming along?" Tali adds, taking a deep sip of their drink.
 
"One of my birth parents must have been of elven heritage, at least partially." She confirmed. "I can see in the dark, and my senses are keener than those of many among the clan. I need little sleep, but I do need it. But it is true that it does not show much. Not that I care much, one way or the other." Méabh shrugged. "My father is a human, my mother of the Goliath people. I share blood with neither, but they have raised me. They are kin, like my clan is home, even though I must have been born in one of the Towns. Who we choose to be matters more than who we used to be."

She dug into her stew as Tali speculated on the animals, then set aside the spoon to simply slurp the last remains right out of the bowl. The musher settled back with a contend sigh, smiling at her companion through half-lidded eyes. "Cora knows how to cook, I'll give her that. Are you so worried about our fishy little friend that you're counting the minutes?" she jested, then glanced around for the innkeep. "Let me just settle my pay, and we can head out."
 
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Tali leans forward, interested, as Méabh describes her heritage and family, but does not speak until she remarks on the soup.

"Oh, yes," Tali chuckles with a nod. "It hasn't been the same here since Huarwar left, but Cora is an excellent cook, and host. As for our fishy little friend...please forgive me. I've been wanting to study it for so long that I cannot contain my anticipation."

Tali stands. "Please, don't worry about the cost. I told you, it's my treat."

Settling affairs with Cora takes only a couple of minutes. Accessing the spears they need for the boat takes longer. Tali drags Méabh along to a number of houses to request spears, nets, and simple fishing rods from the residents. The streets are empty but for the two of them; the residents of Bremen prefer not to brave the cold unless necessary, and the hour is late besides. Generally, everyone Tali speaks to is still awake, and once Tali explains the plan, they are generally willing to hand over the requested goods. Generally, whenever anyone offers resistance, it's not because they greedily hoard their belongings, but out of a lack of faith in Tali's plan.

"You're going to go out and get attacked on purpose? You know that thing's a killer, right?"

"What good is studying it gonna do? It lives in the lake and it's trying to kill us! What else do we need to know?"

"No offense, Tali, but you ain't never been a strong swimmer. If that thing flips your boat, I don't think you're gonna make it."

Nonetheless, Tali waves off their concerns, and within an hour they've collected what they need. All that remains now is the boat. For this, Tali leads Méabh to Bremen's docks. The closest house has two rowboats outside; they have dutifully been swept clean of snow, but a lack of drag marks in the surrounding snow suggests they haven't been moved since the last fall. One of the boats' gunwale looks like it's had a bite taken out of it, but both appear seaworthy. Tali knocks on the door, and within minutes, a stout dwarf with a wide nose and long, grey-streaked beard answers the door.

"Good evening, Grynsk," Tali says politely. "We would like to borrow one of your boats. We're going fishing."

"You're...you? Fishing?" The dwarf blinks in confusion, looking first at Tali, then Méabh, but after a moment, his expression brightens. "I mean, of course! Yeah! Them fish aren't going to catch themselves, are they? No, no! Good to finally see some spirit around here again! Ah..."

He steps outside, despite the cold, and holds up an open hand. "Why, I'm so happy to see the two of you not afraid of honest work, I'll give you five copper for every knucklehead trout you bring me! And I won't even charge you for the boat! How about that, eh? You're not getting a better price than that anywhere in the Ten-Towns!"
 
Méabh followed Tali through the town, letting her fellow monster... well, they weren't really hunters, now were they? - letting her fellow monster-scholar do the talking. It was obvious that the townsfolk were terrified of the beast, and Méabh started to wonder if they were about to bite off more than they could chew. But still, she had given her word - and part of her was also just simply curious about the whole thing.

But when they met Grynsk and heard the dwarfs offer, Méabh couldn't contain a laugh. "You know, if you just wanted a fishing buddy you could have just told me, Tali." she chuckled, her tone making it clear that she spoke in jest. Oh, she would take the dwarfs money, if they actually caught any trout, but the dissonance between the townsfolks' warnings and Grynsk's enthusiasm amused her.
 
Tali looks over their shoulder at Méabh. "I was being honest with you. The monster attacks fishing boats. We..." Tali trails off, looking at Méabh silently, then chuckles in relief. "Oh! You're joking, of course. I'm sorry."

They turn back to Grynsk. "What were you saying? ...that's right, no charge for the boat. Thank you." Tali turns, gives Méabh a satisfied nod, then walks towards the boats.

Grynsk stays where he is, but calls after Méabh and Tali: "Remember! Five copper a trout! You won't find a better price!" He then re-enters his house and shuts the door, but Méabh sees his face appear in the window, watching the two.

"Obviously, we'll want the intact one," Tali says, stepping up to the undamaged boat. On its side, Méabh can see its name, Burly Ram; unlike the Buried Treasures inn's sign, the writing contrasts strongly against the rest of the boat and is easy to read using her darkvision. Tali grabs the side of the boat and tries to move it, but despite giving a grunt of exertion, the boat stays where it is. They then move to the rear of the boat and put their shoulder and another grunt into a shove, but only budges the boat by an inch.

Tali looks up at Méabh with a sheepish smile. "I...suppose it will be easier if we move it together."

Please make a Strength check, DC 13, to launch the boat across the virgin snow to the water. Tali is aiding you on this check, so you can roll with advantage. If you fail, you can try again, so this is just a measure of how long and difficult it is for you.
 
The two of them lean against the boat's stern, but the damned snow is sticky as hell. At first they mostly push themselves, feet sliding through the snow, until finally they've stomped it down so much that it gives them proper leverage and the boat budges. It is still far from easy going, and by the time they've reached the water, Méabh's expansive chest is heaving with each deep breath, and she's opened a few buttons from the top to keep herself from overheating and breaking into a sweat.

The redhead straightens once their work is done, takes a few more breaths and then bundles back up. She doesn't want to lose too much heat, after all. "Well, let's hope the rest of this excursion is going more smoothly." she pants, looking at the boat but not getting in yet. Yes, it is floating. Yes, they're already standing on a layer of frozen ice floating on the water. But that ice isn't going to roll around beneath her with every move, or capsize if she leans over too far - or if some monster rams it.
Everybody has things they don't like, and hers are boats.
"Do you have anything to lure that thing in? Or do we just pretend to be fishing and hope for the best?"
 
Tali is clearly less physically conditioned than Méabh and has an even rougher time getting the boat to the water. Once they finally push afloat, Tali drops to a sitting position on the ice and pants heavily for a minute or more. Even while winded, however, they keep their eyes on the water, and when they finally stand, their voice brims with restrained excitement.

"Not too smoothly," Tali says. Somehow, their voice conveys a smirk. "We're hoping to be attacked by a monster, after all.

"Anyway," Tali continues, carefully stepping into the boat. It rocks under their weight, but they quickly sit down. With one foot, Tali pushes aside the spears they placed at the bottom of the boat and pulls out a thick fishing rod. "You're close. We're going to actually be fishing and hope for the best. After all, you want that five copper, don't you?"

That smirk is in the voice again. They move to the far end of the boat and motion for Méabh to sit down.
 
Once Tali is seated, Méabh follows them into the boat with what is obviously excessive carefulness. She slides into the middle of her seat, both hands clinging to the boat's sides until it stops rocking. Only then does she take hold of the oars and slides them into the water. "Well, since that is part of the plan, I would argue that being attacked counts as things going smoothly." She's seen people row before, but it takes her some moments to actually figure things out and get them moving. They're not exactly holding a straight line, or even a good, constant speed, but they are making headway. "Maybe. For five coppers I am tempted to keep the fish and eat it myself."
 
"Have you ever had knucklehead trout before?" Tali asks, but then their voice takes on an apologetic tone. "No, of course you have. You just had Cora's stew. But you should try it filleted and topped with goat's milk. It's my favourite - "

Tali stops. "Sorry. You're probably not interested in recipes."

Seeing Méabh's difficulty with the boat, Tali takes the oars. "Allow me, please," they say. They begin to row, more confidently and with more familiar than Méabh...for a minute, before they start to visibly tire. Fortunately, it only takes that long to get away from the ice. The two float on the surface of the still water, surrounded by silence and stillness, total but for each others' movements. The water is extremely clear; Méabh's darkvision does not extend far enough to see the bottom, but it is enough for her to see the occasional small, moving shape beneath the surface.

"Now, then," Tali says, breathing heavily. They grab the fishing equipment from the bottom of the boat and hold it out to Méabh. "Fishing for knucklehead trout isn't complicated. You wait for them to bite and then pull them into the boat. Be careful, they're strong!"

Tali shifts position to sit beside Méabh, effectively straddling her. "I'll hold you in place while I keep an eye out for the monster."

Fishing for knucklehead trout requires a DC 15 Survival check to see if you hook a fish, then an Athletics check opposing the trout to pull it into the boat. If the trout beats you by 5 or more, you must make a DC 10 Dexterity saving throw or be pulled into the water (you don't want that to happen). Because Tali is aiding you on this check, you can make the Athletics check with advantage.

There's a separate rolling table to see what happens in that hour. Go ahead and roll your Survival, Athletics, and saving throw for the first hour, and I'll roll to see what happens. Good luck!
 
"I am, actually. I like cooking." Méabh chuckled, readying her line. She had fished before, but always from dry land - or wading through the shallows with a spear. Still, she knew how to use a fishing rod, and had a strong casting arm. But these Knucklehead trout were clearly something different than what she was used to - the first one nearly yanked her into the water, and she barely managed to brace herself on the boat's edge. Reeling it in was a long fight - the damn fish seemed untiring, forcing her to give slack again and again lest she tear the line - but eventually she had the damn thing in the boat, ending its life fast and painlessly with a knife to the brain. "Gods, that is a huge one. Are they all this big?"
 
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The knucklehead trout is indeed huge. It's as long as a halfling is tall, and by Méabh's estimate, about 70 pounds. Even when dragged onto the boat, it thrashes hard enough to rock it dangerously before Méabh finishes it off.

"Oh, yes," Tali nods. "Have you been to Bryn Shander, yet? You should see Ol' Bitey, a truly impressive anomaly."

Tali pats the fish's muscular side with one mittened hand. "Their bones are thick, too. Like land animals. The people in this town rely on these trout for not just for food, but for oil and crafts, too. With this winter, this town wouldn't survive without them."

Tali looks over the side of the boat again. "That just makes it more important we deal with this lake monster so they can begin fishing again."

Lights twinkle on the surface of the water. About a hundred feet away, huddled figures fish from another boat. Their cold weather gear is too thick to discern any details, but the lantern attached to the bow of their boat suggests they're human. There is a flag hanging from the stern, flapping in the wind whipping across the lake's surface; it is green, bisected by two thin, vertical white triangles whose points meet in the middle. Tali watches it for a moment, then leans in towards Méabh.

"I told you the monster only attacks Bremen's boats, yes?" Tali whispers. "That's Lonelywood's flag. They can fish with impunity. Somehow the monster can discern between one town's boats and another. How, I wonder? And why?"

Tali looks at Méabh, but Méabh sees something else. There is a dark shape far below the surface of the water, just within the limits of her darkvision. It's much larger than the knucklehead trout she caught, and it moves in a fashion like a wolf stalking a reindeer: patient, predatory, and intelligent. It moves as if it's stalking her boat.
 
"I haven't been, but I shall if I find the chance." Méabh answered, silently cursing Tali for not starting with the important parts as she strained to pull her knife free from the fish's skull. These fish really were hardy beyond anything that seemed reasonable, which begged the question - what else lived in this lake that forced them to evolve like that? But that wasn't the question the wilding asked.
"If it can distinguish boats, and fishing is so important, why are you not sailing out with another town's flag? Or no flag at all? Seems to me that's the obvious way to tell boats apart." Not that she could explain how a simple-minded creature was able to understand the meaning of flags, but perhaps it didn't. Perhaps some fishers from Bremen had pissed it off, and it had learned to hate everything flying its flag. Or perhaps it had been trained.

"Finally!" The knife came free, and the redhead had to catch herself at the railing lest she topple over - which turns out to be a good thing, given what she sees. "You might get your answers soon. We have company." She reaches for one of the spears, but keeps it hidden low in the boat for now, not wanting to spook their prey. "Do we know how it attacks? Does it stalk for long, take its time, come fast..."
 
"Oh, I'm sorry," Tali says with a chuckle. "I only pointed out the flag so you could tell that's Lonelywood's boat. I don't think the monster can recognize the flag!"

Tali pauses, then puts a mittened hand to their chin in thought. "Can it? No, that would be...well, actually..."

After a moment, they shake their head. "Not all of the boats even bother with flags anyway. People only put them on due to town pride, or to identify the boat in case of an accident, and some owners don't care about either of those things. Regardless, I don't think the flags would be visible from under the water."

At Méabh's announcement that they have company, Tali grabs the edge of the boat and leans over excitedly. "You're right! Ohh, it's definitely watching us, isn't it? Hmm!" Tali's shoulders hunch as they grip the side with both hands. "How it attacks? I can't say for sure, I've had little opportunity to observe it directly, and accounts vary. I think in some cases it may stalk for a while, but then, we don't know how long it's been watching us. If it saw us before we saw it, then, um, well it's coming quite fast now - "

The shape rapidly approaches the surface of the water before it hits the bottom of the boat on one side, throwing it dangerously off balance and spraying water out from one side. The figures in the other boat look over sharply as the boat rocks and threatens to capsize.

Please make an Athletics check to prevent the boat from capsizing! This is consider a non-action, so you can still act however you please in the round.

Through the spray of water, Méabh gets a brief view of the monster: flippers suited for water rather than land, a smooth amphibious body, and a long and slender neck. She's never seen such a monster before.
 
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Inexperienced on the water, Méabh is completely unprepared for the speed and strength with which the monster hits the boat. It rocks hard, throwing her and Tali back against the opposite side. For a moment, the boat leans hard to one side, the spears in the bottom rolling lengthwise onto Méabh and Tali. Then the boat flips upside down, dropping both passengers into the lake.

Objectively, the water is not as cold as the air above - otherwise, it would be ice. Méabh's clothing provides no protection against the water, however, and water steals warmth far more effectively than air. The sudden cold is shocking, and severe enough to take her breath away. Her body struggles between the simultaneous urge to gasp and seize up completely; the first of which will fill her lungs with water and the latter will have her sink to the bottom of the ocean.

Fortunately, Méabh's survival instincts are better than that. Her limbs tread water, but she's not an experienced swimmer and her heavy clothing - quickly soaking through - weighs her down. With her darkvision she can see Tali flailing beside her, the spears and oars drifting through the water, and the dark shape of the upside-down boat above her. She also sees she large, sleek form of the monster - about the size of a reindeer, but with a far longer neck. Apparently, it doesn't share her darkvision, because its head comes very close - within arm's reach - to examine her as it passes. There is something intelligent - even analytical - about the way it studies her.

You can stay immersed in cold water for a number of minutes equal to your Constitution score without suffering ill effects, but after that, you need to make a DC 10 Constitution saving throw for every minute you spend in the water or continue wearing your soaked clothes. If you fail this throw, you gain a level of exhaustion.

In addition, you'll need to make an Athletics check to swim. It's calm water, so the DC is only 10, but due to your cold weather gear, you'll have to make it with disadvantage. Good luck!
 
Méabh doesn't have a lot of memories from her life before she was orphaned and picked up by the tribe, and certainly none of them involve swimming. Sure, she's been in water before - but that was either bathtubs heated with fire to a non-chilly temperature, or the blissful heat of the few rare - and now hotly contested - hot springs. Never anything like this.
The cold hits her like a slap, worse than anything she's ever felt. The air is colder still, but also easily kept out by appropriate clothing and physical activity - this isn't. Her heavy furs are treated to hold off snow and ice rain - on the outside. For just a moment they hold, and even provide some buoyancy - but then the water comes pouring in through various seams and openings, and within seconds the lining is soaked, full of bitterly cold water - and heavy as all hells.

Stunned and shocked, the redhead tries to swim, to get back to the surface less than an arm's reach above her head, but she has never learned it, and the cold saps her strength, slows her movements. Her hand breaks the surface for a moment, splattering around, perhaps drawing some attention, but then she begins to sink, slowly at first, down into the water, her kicks and clumsy strokes doing little to slow her descent...
 
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The meager light from above the water fades as Méabh sinks further downward. The water weighs her clothes down and numbs her muscles, turning her limbs into lead. Nothing she does seems to make a difference as she is pulled into the dark depths of the lake.

Sounds reach her from elsewhere in the lake, but they are warped and unclear. Her darkvision is only so useful in the water, which distorts everything beyond arm's reach. She sees shapes - more fish - passing in and out of view around her, a few passing close enough to inspect her with flat, empty eyes before losing interest and passing on, but most giving her no regard at all. Her movements are too slow and clumsy to threaten any of them. Finally, the much larger shape of the lake monster passes close to her again, the head at the end of its long neck inspecting her again. The slit pupil of its eye looks over her body, watching the movement of her limbs, then glances upward at the surface of the water, now well out of her reach. The monster passes out of, then back into view as it swims around her.

Finally, the head launches forward, its jaw of sharp teeth coming within inches of her head but locking on the hood of her coat instead. The monster swims upward, easily in the water, pulling Méabh along with it. After a few seconds that seem to stretch on forever, they break the surface of the water. After blinking the water from her eyes, Méabh sees the fishing boat from Lonelywood, now less than thirty feet away. Two of the fishers are hauling a soaking wet Tali over the side into the boat. Meanwhile, the monster dips below the surface of the water and disappears.

You are back on the surface again! You may make another Athletics check, again with disadvantage, to swim to the boat. Of course, if you have other plans, I'm happy to hear them!
 
Bitterly cold and fighting the urge to breathe that would only fill her lungs with ice-cold water, Méabh is slow to react to the creature's presence. She doesn't notice it until its head looms directly in her view, and then she flinches, trying to swim away, trying to draw a weapon with numb fingers that barely obey. But her swords are stuck in their sheaths, and by the time she has her handaxe pulled halfway out of her belt the creature's teeth surge towards her neck - and sink into her hood.
They race upwards, the redhead a mere toy in the monster's hold, here in its domain, and then they breach the surface.

Méabh sputters and gasps, taking frantic breaths as she flails around, her clothes already pulling her back down. But she manages, just barely, to stay afloat and make her way to the Lonelywood boat. She sinks back beneath the surface just as she reaches it, but one of the fishers has spotted her and Méabh finds herself hauled back to the surface a second time as he grabs her outstretched hand just as it slips under, and pulls her up. She clings to the side of the boat, too exhausted to pull herself into it until a pair of strong hands haul her in.

The water is near freezing - but the air is well below it. Already there is ice forming in her hair and on her clothes, and Méabh acts without thought and hesitation, following the things her parents have drilled into her head as a child on how to survive in the cold. Her stiff fingers fumble with clasps and buttons as she peels away her soaking clothes, not caring a with about decency. Ideally, the fishers have dry spares or at least a cloak against the wind. But if not, the best she can do is wring out hers and put them back on.
 
"Get 'em home!" an unfamiliar man's voice shouts at the others in the boat. "They're soaked through! Every second counts!"

The other figures in the boat grab the oars and begin rowing, but the shouting figure waves his arms. "No, not their home, dammit! Back to Lonelywood, before that thing finds us!"

"It only attacks Bremen boats!" one of the rowers, a woman, calls back.

"And we're carrying Bremen's fishers! You think it wants the boat or them? Row, dammit!"

The other two in the boat row while the man turns to Tali, who - despite spending less time in the water than Méabh - is responding much more poorly to the cold. Tali is shaking badly and is struggling to remove their coat. The man grabs the neck of Tali's coat and pulls it off their shoulders, dropping it to the floor of the boat with a wet slap before throwing some sort of blanket or cover over Tali, then reaching under it to pull off more of Tali's soaked clothing.

"puh - puh - " Tali sputters. Their head pokes out from under the cover to look at Méabh, their lips going blue in the light of the boat's lantern. "Puh...plesiosaurus! Plesiosaurus!"

With Tali covered, there's nothing to throw over Méabh, so she must expose herself to the open air. The cold on her bare, wet skin is all but indescribable, the wet freezing almost instantaneously. Wringing the water out of her clothes and putting them back on is no relief. The minutes it takes for the boat to reach the shore - which is not truly the shore, but the edge of ice thick enough to walk on - are agony. All Méabh can do is force herself onward in the hopes of warmth.

The man doesn't wait for the others to tie up the boat before grabbing the wrapped-up Tali in his arms and stepping out of the boat. "Come on!" he shouts over his shoulder before running off with Tali. Though the town is dark, the shapes of its buildings hidden among the silhouettes of trees, the man obviously knows where he's going. He runs into the center of town before hammering on one house's door with his fist. He doesn't stop banging until the door opens to reveal a middle-aged halfling woman, obviously roused from her sleep, a blanket wrapped around her shoulders.

"They're fishers from Bremen!" the man shouts, pushing his way inside. "The lake monster attacked them! They fell in the water!"

"Plesiosaurus..." Tali whispers as the man disappears into the house.

"Oh, my!" The halfling turns to look at Méabh, looking her up and down before shaking her head with a concerned click of her tongue. "You'd better come in, dear! I'll put another log on the fire."
 
Whatever Tali is trying to tell her, Méabh can't make heads or tails of it. Maybe it's the cold. She's wrung out her clothes as much as her stiff fingers and shivering arms could manage before putting them back on, but they still don't offer much protection. The cold is everywhere, seeping into her skin and stiffening her joints, muddling her thoughts. She barely manages to stumble after the man carrying Tali, slipping and falling half-way to the house.
She wants nothing so much as to just curl up and sleep - but though it hurts to move, the redhead staggers back to her feet, her parent's voices at the back of her head urging her to get back up, to keep moving. She doesn't so much enter the halfling's home as just falling through the open door, dragging herself towards the promising warmth of the flickering firelight.

She doesn't remember what happens after, but when Méabh comes to next she's lying on an old couch close by a fire, buried beneath several layers of heavy blankets. Her clothes are gone, though her swords have been placed in easy reach, where she would see them immediately upon waking up. Tali is in a similar position, but she can't tell if the scholar is awake, or even alive. There are muffled voices nearby, probably people talking in another room. The ranger can't tell how long she's been out - but she no longer feels cold and stiff, so she carefully sits up to take a look around.
 
Méabh finds herself in a kitchen. While the building itself was apparently built for humans, most of the furniture around her is halfling-sized. Méabh's couch, as well as the easy chair Tali is buried under blankets in, are the only examples of human-sized furniture and probably kept for guests. Both have been pushed in front of the kitchen's hearth.

The voices Méabh heard were not actually a conversation, but the middle-aged halfling woman she met earlier, talking to herself. She recites the steps of a recipe as she fiddles with something Méabh cannot see. She glances up casually and is surprised to see Méabh is awake.

"Oh, you're awake, dear!" the woman calls. "That's a relief. We were all so worried about the two of you. You've been asleep about an hour. How do you feel?"
 
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