Khalo's Journal: It's Only Going to Get Colder

I am sworn to keep the location of my enclave a secret, and therefore dare not to write it down even in the journal I keep for myself, lest it be stolen from me. However, I am not giving anything away by writing that I grew up in a land further south from here. Indeed, MOST places in this realm are south of Jethu, including Lemia, our eventual intended destination.

I have known the cold, but where I come from, it does not arrive so soon. Furthermore, this cold is more akin to the winters I have experienced, and yet it is only fall, which leads me to believe more, and worse, is yet to come.

But I am a druid, and druids prepare for the weather. I took note when Old Jarl said that the Forbidden Isles enjoyed unusually warm weather due to the volcanic activity in the region, so when we prepared to leave that area, I took it upon myself to procure survival gear for a more frigid climate. Perhaps it was a mistake to think that the others would be so attentive to such details. Maybe the fact of Lemia being farther south than Jethu led them to the conclusion that they could provision later, but this is a dangerous assumption.

It was only a couple of days following our arrival in Riverwood when the snow began to fall. Fortunately, Norris was able to magically protect the party from the worst of the weather, but it severely depleted his spells. On the second night, the cold was so acute that we were forced to retreat back to the town so that the others could purchase appropriate gear. More's to my fortune that I already had what I required, since the general store clerk was a vile dwarf.

And so we left Riverwood once again (but not without Orenthal and Soromir starting a fracas with the mayor, which is a conflict that I hope fizzles out) in the direction of Evershade. Before we could reach the town, however, we encountered a wounded man, and learned he served at the behest of the Witches of Jethu. We exchanged information - we gave him intelligence about the redcaps in the area, and he let us know that Evershade was being held hostage by more of the types we fought along the way here - trolls, ogres, goblins, and some ne'er do well men. It seems engaging these villains may be important to decontaminating the river, although I do not yet fully understand the connection that the others suspect. Perhaps I will later. In the meantime, we prepare.

Entry concluded.