In the wake of their victory at the Adventurer's Decathlon in Ausura, the Feinting GOATs found themselves at the center of a quiet political struggle between two powerful organizations. Marahaba Asante, representing the Pantheon, approached them with measured diplomacy, warning of the Dowelloft Trading Company's practices and extending an invitation to meet with the Hierophant at the Clockwork Citadel. The contrast between his approach and that of Bartholomew Thornhaven III, Esq., who arrived moments after Asante's departure, could not have been starker. The Dowelloft representative immediately presented an elaborate contract, insisting on its immediate signing with practiced corporate pressure.
Choosing to explore the Pantheon's offer, the party boarded their enchanted dirigible for Morozko alongside Asante and a contingent of priests. The vessel's remarkable speed surpassed any conventional airship, carrying them swiftly northward. Before departing Ausura, they acquired cold weather gear, recognizing the challenges ahead in the frozen reaches of Alluria.
Their first stop in Morozko brought them to the North Pole Tavern, where the party's diverse personalities were on full display. Korloth shared drinks with several Large-sized Thanors, their revelry eventually resulting in a broken table. Meanwhile, Akemi entertained the patrons with her performances while Elyndra worked the crowd in her own way, relieving several pockets of their contents. Adrian and Cut Cut maintained a watchful eye on the proceedings, while Goop found companionship among fellow Dralasites, the amorphous beings being a common sight in northern outposts.
The following morning at the Clockwork Citadel, the elderly Hierophant received them with characteristic verbosity. Between tangential stories about Adrian's grandfather Lance and reminiscences of a former Aasimar assistant, he shared lengthy tales of providing refuge to the Dralasites upon their arrival to Alluria. His manner grew more somber as he expressed deep concern about the present state of affairs. While the Pantheon had long prepared for incursions of extraplanar evil, they found themselves inadequately equipped to counter the machinations of mortal institutions, particularly the expanding influence of empires and corporations. More troubling still was the Hierophant's suspicion that extraplanar forces might be manipulating these mortal agencies, a theory that required careful and skeptical investigation to either confirm or dismiss. After this meandering but enlightening audience, Asante presented the Pantheon's contract for their consideration.
It was then that they learned of a disturbing situation: reports of Krampus terrorizing a local inventor's cabin and the disappearance of several aglooliks. Before they departed to investigate, Asante presented them with a pair of powerful manacles, specifically enchanted for capturing and banishing demons. He warned them gravely that they might have only one chance to use them - a successful touch would transport the manacles onto the demon and force it back to the lower planes. Cut Cut, with her monastic training and natural agility, was chosen to bear this responsibility. The party decided to investigate this as a trial mission before making any formal commitments.
Their investigation began with interviewing Maurice, the sole aglolik who had escaped the incident. Still visibly shaken, he recounted his terrifying encounter with Krampus - a horned, fur-clad figure that had burst from the cabin roaring and threatening them. Maurice's hands trembled as he provided crucial tactical information about magical snowmen capable of hurling supernaturally chilled projectiles through a mysterious barrier surrounding the cabin. Fearing his companions dead, he grimly shared details of traditional aglolik snow burial practices, his voice breaking as he spoke. Between fearful glances over his shoulder, he also revealed background about Kristoff, describing him as a brilliant but eccentric inventor with suspected anti-Dominion leanings, though the inventor himself had always denied such associations.
Having learned of a spare key hidden in a cave some distance from town, the party set out through increasingly heavy snowfall. The weather would prove to be the least of their concerns, as their path led them to an unexpected encounter with a tundra bear. The confrontation turned deadly when Cut Cut's attempt to frighten the creature away instead provoked it to charge. While she struggled to maintain balance on the beast's back, Korloth engaged in direct combat, eventually wrestling it to the ground and delivering a fatal blow to its skull.
The aftermath of the battle revealed two significant discoveries: a mystical white stag, grievously wounded but alive, and a sickly bear cub deeper within the cave. The stag's fate was quickly decided as Bao Bao's healing arts restored it to health, unknowingly creating a life debt between healer and the magical creature. The cub's situation, however, sparked heated debate. While Korloth and Cut Cut advocated for a mercy killing, Bao Bao's passionate defense of all life eventually swayed the group. Adrian, despite limited options, took temporary responsibility for the young bear's care.
Meanwhile, Elyndra focused on their original objective, spending several painstaking hours extracting a key from an enchanted stalagmite at the cave's rear. This magical implement would prove to be more than a simple key, later revealing its nature as an enchanted dagger with particular effectiveness against constructs.
Approaching Kristoff's cabin, they encountered an extraordinary sight. A shimmering magical barrier encompassed the structure like a giant snow globe, allowing natural elements to pass while blocking all else. Six animated nutcrackers patrolled outside, with two wielding massive mallets guarding a key pillar. Within the barrier, magical snowmen launched supernaturally chilled projectiles, their icy magic numbing any who failed to dodge quickly enough.
What followed was a brutal frontal assault. Goop, Korloth, and Cut Cut engaged the mallet-wielding nutcrackers directly, trading devastating blows while Akemi and Bao Bao provided crucial support and healing from the rear. As her companions drew the constructs' attention, Elyndra maneuvered toward the key pillar. Despite Bao Bao exhausting her healing resources and several close calls, the warriors managed to destroy two of the nutcrackers. Meanwhile, Elyndra's lockpicking skills proved successful - as the barrier fell, the magical snowmen immediately deactivated. The remaining four nutcrackers quickly repositioned themselves before the cabin's entrance.
When Kristoff burst from the door in his Krampus disguise, dragging one of the aglolik prisoners whom he roughly threw into the snow behind him, Cut Cut moved to position herself for using the manacles. However the whole party noticed something was off. They realized that this was not Krampus, but instead just an elderly man wearing a scary mask! Adrian's quick thinking and advanced technology proved decisive - his stun weapon incapacitated Kristoff before the situation could escalate further, revealing the "demon" to be merely a disturbed inventor in disguise.
Investigation of the cabin revealed the full scope of Kristoff's descent into paranoia. The upstairs bedroom doubled as an alchemy laboratory, access to which Elyndra gained by carefully climbing through a window with Korloth’s help, mindful of the volatile materials crowding the table directly beneath it. Among the equipment and explosives, they discovered Kristoff's journal - a rambling manifesto detailing elaborate conspiracy theories about Dominion suppression of innovation, messages from an entity called Goraiagon, and plans involving his bomb and flying sleigh. The document painted a clear picture of a brilliant mind lost to paranoid delusions.
Upon their return to the Clockwork Citadel with prisoners and captive, they encountered the legendary Father Frost himself, whose presence coincided with preparations for winter solstice charity events. Using a staff tipped with a blue crystal, he demonstrated his magical prowess by imbuing the white stag with capabilities that would normally require a year of training. He also offered to take responsibility for the bear cub, citing a special connection with animals that he demonstrated through his interaction with the stag.
The mission yielded several magical items beyond the enchanted keyblade: one of the giant nutcracker mallets proved capable of growing to various sizes and showed particular effectiveness against constructs and undead; Kristoff's mask granted enhanced natural armor and the power to intimidate smaller creatures; a captured snowman's top hat provided both armor and protection against temperature extremes. Additionally, Adrian discovered a box of enchanted parts that, combined with previously discovered blueprints, would allow him to advance his engineering expertise and craft an enchanted revolver. The manacles, originally intended for demon-banishing, became a gift from Father Frost himself, their magic now permanently attuned to binding extraplanar evil of any sort.
With the aglooliks rescued and receiving proper care, Kristoff secured for treatment, and the potential threat of his bomb left to qualified experts from the Citadel, the party found themselves with much to consider regarding their future allegiances. The personal touches and trust shown by the Pantheon stood in marked contrast to the Dowelloft Trading Company's corporate efficiency, though the final decision on their contractual obligations remained yet to be made.
Note: The following writings are from the character's perspective and are often private to the character. They are not considered "in-game" knowledge to the other characters, and any in-character reference to this information would be considered meta-gaming.
Letter to Master Kagemitsu at Tengai-no-mori Monastery
(by Caylen Redden) Dear Master,I am pleased to report that my party was victorious in the Adventurers’ Decathlon, not only successfully surviving and completing the challenges but doing so with the highest score. If news of the “Feinting GOATs” reaches you, that is our chosen name. It is apparently a play on words and very amusing. As part of our reward, we each received 1000 gold pieces in a Mnol bank account. I will arrange for a portion to be transferred to the monastery as soon as I am able.
Shortly after receiving our prizes, we were approached by Marahaba Asante, a representative of the Pantheon, who wished to warn us against contracting with the Dowelloft Trading Company and to extend an alternative offer. After a brief discussion, the party seemed generally opposed to the idea of a contract, preferring the autonomy of freelance work, and indeed, when we were subsequently approached by a representative of the Dowelloft Trading Company, we found the terms of their contract unfavorable. I believe the decision has already been made, but we need not provide a reply for two weeks. With time available, we accepted Asante’s invitation to travel to Morozko and meet with the Hierophant within the Clockwork Citadel. There, the Hierophant offered a contract which seems more favorable, although we have not yet made a final decision. We did, however, accept a trial mission to search for some missing aglooiks, who were allegedly attacked by a demon while performing a wellness check at a remote tinkerer’s cabin
This mission did not go as smoothly as the decathlon or the previous qualifying assignment. The first task was to retrieve a key which would allow us entrance to the cabin, and this brought us to a cave where we encountered a tundra bear. Although Korloth and I had hoped for an opportunity to hunt such a beast, we had intended to wait until after the mission. Unfortunately, my attempt to scare the creature away had the opposite effect, and it charged at us. I was of very little use in the fight, unable to pierce the bear’s thick hide with my gythka and failing to keep my balance on its back while Korloth wrestled it to the ground and split its skull. I was at least able to provide assistance with field dressing it, and with the meat we are now well provisioned. Interestingly, we interrupted the bear in the middle of its own hunt and found its prey, a white deer, still alive. Bao Bao healed the deer, and now it seems quite attached to her. Inside the cave we also found another tundra bear, young and sickly. Korloth and I intended to put it out of its misery, but the rest of the party strongly objected. Although I do not understand their reasoning, I provided some rudimentary treatment, and the young bear may survive. I believe Adrian intends to take responsibility for it.
After a night’s rest, we continued to the cabin, which we found guarded by a number of constructs. In battle with a pair of giant nutcrackers, I was hardly more effective than I was against the bear. I was barely able to land any blows, so my main contribution was drawing attacks away from the other party members. Finally, though, I could risk no further damage and was forced to retreat. Perhaps the cold slowed my reaction time or the necessary warm clothing restricted my movement. Whatever the case, it is clear that I will require additional training in this type of environment. I will not be an embarrassment to you. Given how much we struggled against two constructs, it was fortunate that we did not have to fight the others, and that the threat turned out to be not a demon, but just an elderly human suffering from paranoid delusions, wearing a mask and shouting “I’m Krampus!” We quickly subdued the old man, recovered the missing aglooiks, and conveyed them all to the Citadel for treatment. We were rewarded for our efforts with some magic items.
I will write again soon when we have come to a decision regarding contracts. In my opinion, remaining unattached is probably most conducive to working as wandering adventurers, but on the other hand, the networks and resources offered by the contract may provide opportunities we would not have otherwise. As I lack experience in these matters, I will defer to the party’s decision. In the meantime, depending on how long it takes this letter to reach you, this may be early or late, but I wish you a good solstice and happy holidays.
Cut-Cut