Barnabas

That's amazing. I gave them fair warning six seconds ago. Monsters are up.

It is time to finish him. The sick air is inevitable. Scar is playing now. We're going to do a trick.

How big is the whale?

Okay.

Inevitable.

And roll for initiative.

You've been carrying all of that weight with you this entire time? I can carry more food now.

Months, better part of a year, I don't know. How many have we met that accept this kind of currency, Scrim? None.

May you present me with the 100 gold pieces?

I'm not giving you my 100 gold pieces! No, I do not want to take it.

This is 100 gold pieces, you say?

The domain that we enter, ruled by a princess of frost and wrath, primal savagery, collected barrels, taller than you are, full of those same gold pieces.

It is yours if you want it.

Golden platinum will not warm our flesh in the dead of winter.

Let us sleep one night. in this camp, eat in the morning, have breakfast, and then take all the food we can carry. All right. Is everyone okay?

The kobolds spoke of using these to get across their empire. Yes.

It was the divine providence we were hoping for the first time we saw something like this.

There is danger. It is possible that going into this tunnel, we enter her domain.

What can you sense from... I guess we would have to get closer.

Is there anything you can tell about this tunnel, the way it was dug into the mountain?

Thanks for nothing. I guess.

Queenie, I do not wish to ask you to put yourself in danger, but... You're going to do it anyway. You are the best suited.

Just let her go first, and just listen to her directions. All right. You will be her eyes when it gets dark, and that is it. You feel for yourself. No other role in this, if you understand.

You are her eyes when she needs it. Do not attempt to help further than this, do you understand?

It is done. The star is gone.

I... I stab Yornir in the throat.

Based on your shouting, I presume there is no danger?

Does it look like the Dragonborn built these structures?

Perhaps this is... We were thinking that these were portals. using teleportation magic, but perhaps they were just illusions hiding tunnels beneath the mountains.

Perhaps this is all there is. There is no teleportation magic, but some great underway beneath the continent.

I've never said this.

It is facing the wrong direction.

Perhaps you should test the deceleration so we know how it functions in case we need it.

Queenie, we did do the right thing. And the evil, unnatural being that lived here is gone, but... is not without great cost. We have lost time.

If north is this way, yes, I have the silver. This is the direction we need to go.

What, what? We want to see if there's anything we can take with us.

Hmm.

Pass it down here. I guess I'm probably still taller than the person sitting down. Give it here. You absolutely are. My apologies, I'm still centering myself after the ride.

It is very large. It is... You smell that sourness.

This was made for some purpose. What that purpose is, I do not know. Do you want to take it?

This is not, this should not be here.

part of the dragonborn culture. This was not made by them or the kobolds.

It is old.

These are not the bones of beasts or monsters. These are giant bones. What? Giant bones.

The ogres. These are ogre bones? Myself.

And that explains the size. This was made for a purpose. some sort of ritual, some sort of protective spell or hex, or perhaps part of their religion, but not in reverence to Anum, as far as I know.

I do not believe it is magical, and perhaps it was made many moons ago.

Yeah, no, I think we should take it. I like the word ain't. What are we thinking? I will use this word moving forward.

I believe in case we encounter whichever presumably giant tribe made this, it might help our cause. You may place it somewhere on the ship. Oh, um...

and we are hundreds and hundreds of miles away, but if we proceed east, yes, Tyshen, east, and then head north, we perhaps could meet Daisy at our original planned location.

Still alive, boss.

If we are lucky, it was a solitary troll. And he was the one that made this.

We are not headed to a troll city.

They regenerated like trolls did. Perhaps an ancient ancestor.

And she knew our destination. We did not keep this from her.

In fact, it is probably safer. for her to be in the wilderness hunting and traveling south than had she been with us.