"Having received royal authorization directly from King Kenamun the Adored, having been equipped with sufficient supplies for the arduous journey ahead, those of us numbering thirty-one embarked for the mountain range called the Winter Wall."
- The Winter Wall, l. 1.
"We would be the third expedition to crest the Winter Wall, and gods willing, the first to return."
- The Winter Wall, l. 2.
"Our first leg of the journey would take us to the Temple of Eleven atop Dreadstone Peak, where we would resupply and prepare for the second leg."
- The Winter Wall, l. 3
"Beyond Dreadstone Peak, danger awaited: Furclad raiders, icy crags, howling winds, perilous cliffs."
- The Winter Wall, l. 4.
"Several days of strong progress have brought us to the marshlands known as Corvius' Mire."
- The Winter Wall, l. 5.
"We encountered what seemed like some starving brigands in a clearing at the outskirts, but they didn't approach."
- The Winter Wall, l. 6.
"They clutched at makeshift weapons with bony fingers and regarded us from sunken, fearful eyes."
- The Winter Wall, l. 7.
"Perhaps they would have struck if our numbers were smaller. Perhaps we should have mercifully delivered them from their sad miseries."
- The Winter Wall, l. 8.
"There are some among us who joke about these poor brigands soon becoming fenbug food. Such is the realm: mourning every unfortunate fool is a fast path toward despair."
- The Winter Wall, l. 9.
"As we traveled past Corvius' Mire, we traded tales with a company transporting a wagon filled with casks of arcane vitae to the kingdom."
- The Winter Wall, l. 10.
"According to the archer I spoke to, Corvius' Mire has long been haunted by some sort of mythical matriarch they call Marega Gredanya."
- The Winter Wall, l. 11.
"The Mire's residents were abuzz over some discovered straw poppets, inside of which were brown-stained teeth, some stray golden hairs, and a reddish paste. I'll be happy to be far from Corvius' Mire."
- The Winter Wall, l. 12.
"We have made our way to the foothills beneath Dreadstone Peak and the Temple of Eleven, and the air grows cold already."
- The Winter Wall, l. 13.
"Pockets of snow mark the shadows cast by trees and rocky crags, and the uneven path demands more attention."
- The Winter Wall, l. 14.
"We have begun to see signs of the Furclad: clan banners, hoofprints, broken spears, campfires dotting the mountain after nightfall."
- The Winter Wall, l. 15.
"The silhouette of the Temple of Eleven is visible, yet misleadingly close. We still have several days of travel before we reach the monastery."
- The Winter Wall, l. 16.
"Before nightfall on the third day since arriving at the foothills to Dreadstone Peak, we finally arrived at the Temple of Eleven."
- The Winter Wall, l. 17.
"I was shocked to see the state of disrepair the temple had fallen into, but it was still at least functioning."
- The Winter Wall, l. 18.
"Temple attendants aided us with gear, supplies, maps, and precious advice to aid us in our journey west."
- The Winter Wall, l. 19.
"I am told the temple has two of its original four leaders: Ouros, the Living Will, a towering beast that carries a bearded axe as large as a wagon, and Tenur, the Valorous Blade, a magnificently armored champion."
- The Winter Wall, l. 20.
"Before today, I had never encountered a Furclad: they are famously untrusting of Sylvanfolk."
- The Winter Wall, l. 21.
"But the group of Cleftin who approached us seemed desperate enough to risk whatever danger our type posed."
- The Winter Wall, l. 22.
"Through pantomime and pidgin, we learn that these Cleftin are escaping others of their clan who have been taken by a 'blue sickness.'"
- The Winter Wall, l. 23.
"It's hard to immediately trust these pick-wielding, goat-like folk, but it's not long before the threat is visible: a horde of these afflicted creatures is first announced by thundering hooves, snow shaken loose from evergreens, the snap of branches."
- The Winter Wall, l. 24.
"From a distance, they seemed no different from the Cleftin among us, but we soon saw this 'blue sickness' indeed: they were ashen in color, and wisps of inky smoke wafted off of their bodies."
- The Winter Wall, l. 25.
"But their eyes are the most grotesque of it: they've become like arcane hollows from which a warped fire emanates."
- The Winter Wall, l. 26.
"Their long faces are stained with azure streaks. They move quickly but unevenly, as if dragged along by some invisible marionette's string. Their slender and jagged claws reach for us."
- The Winter Wall, l. 27.
"We acted quickly as we could, but the blue horde was upon us in a heartbeat."
- The Winter Wall, l. 28.
"The flame emanating from their eyes was like some cold and airless thing, a baleful warp in nature, through which some cosmic hatred poured through."
- The Winter Wall, l. 29.
"The blue horde barely reacted to our initial salvo of crossbow bolts, and there was no time to reload."
- The Winter Wall, l. 30.
"We might have been wiser to run, but in that moment, we unsheathed our blades and charged."
- The Winter Wall, l. 31.
"And though we cut down scores of them, the seven we lost in that skirmish did naught to aid our retreat. The blue horde of the Winter Wall mountain range is as numerous as the stars in the sky."
- The Winter Wall, l. 32.
"We are now twenty-four in number, thirty-two if you count the eight Cleftin that joined us."
- The Winter Wall, l. 33.
"We made camp on a perch that the blue horde cannot reach, though they try. The warped blue flame that pours from their hollow visages drifts upward toward us."
- The Winter Wall, l. 34.
"The air feels tainted. Some of us had fun at heaving rocks into the horde below us, aiming to scatter the brains of one of these creatures."
- The Winter Wall, l. 35.
"But the triumph always gives way to unease: these blue husks dot the mountainside in unimaginable numbers."
- The Winter Wall, l. 36.
"The strangest thing happened before dawn. The clouds have cleared around our perch, and I can see all the way out to the southeast coast, and the warm and distant lights of Altarstone Keep."
- The Winter Wall, l. 37.
"Suddenly, columns of light appeared in the surrounding woods, rising up above the trees."
- The Winter Wall, l. 38.
"The columns were like some weird rippling glass, but what we saw through them was from a different time: pure daylight and blue sky shone through, illuminating the dark and snowy woods around."
- The Winter Wall, l. 39.
"And though the coastline we spied through these columns was the same, Altarstone Keep lay in smoldering ruin. Could this be the destiny of the famed keep, or was it rather some devious Mage's illusion?"
- The Winter Wall, l. 40.
"We embarked at dawn, pushing westward through as perilous of terrain as we could, doing what we must to lose the pursuing blue horde."
- The Winter Wall, l. 41.
"The Cleftin who travel with us have become a priceless asset, pointing out hidden trails and keeping us clear of those areas frequented by rival Furclad clans."
- The Winter Wall, l. 42.
"In one clearing, we spotted a brutally slain Fangbreaker, surrounded by the remains of at least a hundred of the blue horde."
- The Winter Wall, l. 43.
"The final day we spent with the Cleftin was punctuated by a ghastly roar that swept over the mountain."
- The Winter Wall, l. 44.
"From the distance I heard the leathery flapping of wings, and as I gripped my bow, I swear I felt my blood turn to ice in that moment."
- The Winter Wall, l. 45.
"It's well known that horrible wyrms live in the mountains, but I doubt anyone has encountered one and lived to tell the tale."
- The Winter Wall, l. 46.
"The Cleftin know the name of this one, but it is something I cannot pronounce. We move carefully, deliberately."
- The Winter Wall, l. 47.
"If the wyrm wants us dead, we will be dead. Our only strategy is to remain undetected."
- The Winter Wall, l. 48.
"The Cleftin led us to one of their camps: a well-hidden cave slightly below the treeline, facing south."
- The Winter Wall, l. 49.
"The greater Cleftin tribe is friendly and hospitable and the food they offer is hot and filling, though language remains a barrier."
- The Winter Wall, l. 50.
"Fortunately, we are all filled with gratitude toward one another: the Winter Wall is a deadly place, and the bonds we strangers formed during this harrowing ordeal should outmatch any Sylvan Steel."
- The Winter Wall, l. 51.
"We said our goodbyes to the Cleftin and embarked from the camp, and it was not long after dawn when we had crested the Winter Wall, and could see the land stretching out to the northwest, toward another great body of water."
- The Winter Wall, l. 52.
"The hilly valley below was dotted with tiny fortresses of mud and stone, none of which compared to the might and splendor of Altarstone Keep."
- The Winter Wall, l. 53.
"Again, we were visited that night by those weird columns of light, and again, we were able to spy through them a different view of the same place: mud fortresses replaced by stunning castles, thousands of mounted soldiers moved in formation, ships unlike any I had seen dotted the blue coast."
- The Winter Wall, l. 54.
"Some among us whispered that what we were experiencing was a fleeting glimpse through the eyes of a chronomancer, and that we would be foolish to announce our presence in such dangerous company."
- The Winter Wall, l. 55.
"I feel confident in declaring this expedition a success! We've descended a few days' march into the valley to the northwest of the Winter Wall, but the nearer we draw to the land's dwellers, the more risk we face."
- The Winter Wall, l. 56.
"We did encounter a group of fur traders who approached us after we held out our silver. It probably helped that they were also roughly thirty in number, and just as well armed as we."
- The Winter Wall, l. 57.
"They have curiously round ears, and speak an unfamiliar language; they seem particularly fond of talismans that bear strange runes."
- The Winter Wall, l. 58.
"We learn that they call themselves the Uskari, which is the name of one of the many feudal clans that vie for control over these foreign lands."
- The Winter Wall, l. 59.
"Tomorrow we begin our return trip. To think, we feared we might become yet another expedition to never return!"
- The Winter Wall, l. 60.
Added the complete list of entries for The Winter Wall
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