Flicker remained quiet for the rest of the journey to Zephyr, doing their best to recollect themself. They had mostly managed by the time they reached the village, though there was still a sullen air to them.

"Er, Flicker Korquis," Flicker said, after Aura had introduced herself to the group. They weren't sure what help to offer at this point, though if need be their fire powers might be somewhat useful to help stave off the cold. Either way, they kept silent, listening to the rest of the group talk to villagers and waited for an opportunity to provide help to reveal itself.

"You know, we could always defer to the expert in these sorts of matters..." Cascade chimes in, causing both Gringam and Matches to turn in her direction.

Upon recognizing the water genasi paladin, the gnome gasped in elated surprise. "Cascade!" He exclaimed.

Meanwhile, Matches simply gave a nod and a small smile... possibly. Humanoid facial expressions did not come easy to half-dragons.

"I'm back! And look who's with me!" Cascade said before presenting Jørmund. "Jørmund Hammerfist!"

"And friends." Aura was quick to add as well. "I wouldn't call us experts but we are here to help. Aura Coolbreeze at your service." She continued in between various bouts of dramatics. "As long as that service doesn't require any heavy lifting I have twigs for arms see."

"I know that struggle well." Gringam commented sympathetically.

"Aura is right in that we are hear to help." Jørmund spoke up then. "I would not call us experts either. With that being said it seems you two are at odds."

"It would seem so because we are, to an extent." Matches explained.

"This sudden cold snap caught us completely off-guard." Gringam continued. "Zephyr has never known cold this severe before. And we think it's only going to get worse. Since it's the middle of summer, preparing for cold weather hasn't exactly been at the forefront of our thinking. We need much more wood than we currently have. And enough furs to at least bundle up the little ones in if possible."

"The cold will quickly become irrelevant once the Northmen arrive." Matches asserted then. "It won't matter how warm or how cold the people are if they aren't well trained enough to stand against the raiders."

"Do you know where the fleet is and how much fire wood do you have in your stores?"

"We've no word on where the fleet is. We know it has departed from the Northlands though." Matches answered the first half of the question. "If the magical shenanigans this sudden cold doubtlessly is is anything to go by, they'll probably be here within the week."

"As for our supply of wood, the current levels of demand leaves us with enough for three days if we carefully measure what we use." Gringam answered the second half of the question.

"What defenses do you have around the harbor?"

"Not enough." Matches stated.

"For generations, we've relied on the patronage of Duchess Kamnimail, a marid from the Elemental Plane of Water, for safety from the dangers of the wider world." Gringam elaborated. "When rumors of danger reached us, all we've ever had to do in the past is contact the Duchess via the Sending spell and she would take care of the rest. But this time, she hasn't responded to our castings. And not even the messenger-priests of Hermes can get word to her."

"Without the Duchess, all we have are the half-finished, poorly maintained defensive structures put up by the early settlers." Matches said. "They're enough to keep wild animals out, but they'll quickly come down if any amount of serious effort is directed at them.

"Do you know who is leading this fleet?"

"All we know for certain is that it is coming." Gringam said.

"We had hoped that the raid had been put together by one of the Ysgarder Lodges." Matches added. "But judging by the aforementioned magical shenanigans, it's more likely we're dealing with a raid organized by the Cults of Elemental Evil. The Cult of Evil Ice being one of the more prominent among the organizers."

"This sudden cold snap caught us completely off-guard." Gringam continued. "Zephyr has never known cold this severe before."

Jørmund looked around as the gnome said this noting the truth to that matter. At least they knew that this was serious.

"And we think it's only going to get worse. Since it's the middle of summer, preparing for cold weather hasn't exactly been at the forefront of our thinking. We need much more wood than we currently have. And enough furs to at least bundle up the little ones in if possible."

"The cold will quickly become irrelevant once the Northmen arrive." Matches asserted then. "It won't matter how warm or how cold the people are if they aren't well trained enough to stand against the raiders."

"And it won't matter how well trained they are when the cold saps their strength and they have no food to sustain them." He shot back to the Sheriff. While training was important so was surviving the cold. "If it is truly going to get worse people will die from the cold before the raiders get here."

The earth genasi listened carefully as they finished explaining the situation shaking his head at the poor level of fire wood and state of the defenses. "You should have had some gather fuel for the fires, others should have been gathering hides and furs for warmth, others still could be fortifying the defenses, all this while training before their work starts and after if need be." he retorted to the pair rather bluntly. Jørmund did not understand why they relied solely on this Duchess Kamnimail for protection.

"If they are to land in the harbor we will need to force them to land where we want them to. Make them to land in areas where ranged weapons will be to our benefit. It doesn't take much training to drop rocks on people below you. If you can drop heavy enough rocks from above their ships, you can possibly sink some before they land depending on the ship. For other ships if you can set traps in the water to scrape and damage the bottom of the hull it will do the same." Jørmund grimaced as he realized how much that needed to be done and how little time there was to do it.

"If you are wanting my advice, we should start by splitting the people into groups, those who can fight, those who cannot. From there split them into different roles, gathering fire wood, food hides and furs, and preparing the defenses. Those who can fight will spend at least half their day training. We will also need someone to keep eyes on the horizon so we know when the raiders arrive. Once we can get these things started I think we will have a better chance."

Jørmund was already starting to wonder how well this was going to go. If this was the Cult of Ice things were likely going to get worse by means of the weather. He wanted to know more about the fleet, he just wasn't sure he could convince either of these two to send ships out to scout or act as an early warning. He also wasn't sure that he would live up to their expectations. Bards had a tendency to spin up extra details, and his home village didn't do much to help with that either. The very least he would do is fight until help arrived, the raiders fled, or the people could safely flee.

Aura listened to the group speak, all the while watching the villagers around them. "While I understand the severity of the situation and the need for training and supplies and defenses. Low moral can be just as much of a killer as the cold and the raiders. If moral is low enough neighbors will start to turn on each other. While getting fire wood and furs will help moral with the warmth they provide. The lose, or perceived loss, of a protector can't be good either. We have to do something deal with that as well."

She turned her attention back to Jormund, already forming her own small plans, knowing it would be best to know who we were dealing with. "Ill handle the scouting. It will be slow, but I can send Hawk out in the direction the raiders will mostly likely be coming from, after making him something a little more native to the seas and the area." She motioned to the pseudo dragon poking his head out of her cloak. "Better to send a," she looked down at Hawk, "sorry buddy, expendable scout than people who could be noticed and killed. While Hawk can be removed from this plane it's only temporary. I can summon him back. Though I have never sent him that far out before and its possible he gets got by some other wild animal, or a storm or something else before he even makes it to the fleet."

"Understood, we'll begin organizing our people to your specifications." Gringam said in response to Jørmund's words.

Hawk looked mildly offended at being called expendable, but never the less stood ready for any scouting mission Aura intended to send him on.

Before anything else could be said though, a boy came running down the street from the direction of the gate. He wore an excited expression on his face and a fleece that the party would find immediately familiar on his body. "WARM CLOTHES! WARM CLOTHES!" He cried out as he ran, causing people to look out from the homes and the few folks braving the cold to stop and stare. "An entire wagon of warm clothes has just rolled up to the gate! Everyone come quick!" At these words, a great commotion soon began as people left their homes and moved towards the gate at speed in search of this new source of sorely needed warmth.

Jørmund's expression froze when he saw the fur the child was wearing. Silently he cursed at himself for having suggested that the furs be handed out. He had not expected that the Imp or his master would act on the idea.

"Who gave you this? What was their name?" He asked trying to keep his tone even and calm. Looking over to the gate, Jørmund tried to see if he could see the cart and whoever was handing out the furs, as a sense of dread and regret crept into his chest like the cold hand of winter.

Cascade's eyes widen and her blood runs both cold and hot as she hears Tolomeo run through with a familiar fleece. She shouts at Tolomeo in both anger and a panic for Tolomeo's safety, "BRUDDAH TOLOMEO! TAKE THAT FLEECE OFF! NOW!!!"

Seeing that Jormund is taking care of Tolomeo, she whirls to Matches and Gringam, and she proceeds to inform them. Her tone is gravely serious, which is only reserved for dangerous situations, and her hair is boiling and roiling once again as she speaks to them,

"Matches, Gringam, don't let anyone accept those fleeces! Dose fleeces are from da pelts of angelic beasts. We had a pair of demons try to gift dose to us, so we would make a deal with them and swindle us if not this village! I don't want anyone ta get condemned, killed, tricked, or be led into any kine of trouble by dem!"

As she speaks, her hands clench into fists as she angrily thinks about how the demons are now straight up preying upon her Ohana.

...Should she have taken the deal to begin with?! If they had, then none of the villagers here would be at risk....! But then, she would have been playing right into their hands anyways, and that's not good...! Her head is beginning to hurt as she thinks about the morality between two decisions and trying to figure out which would have been the better option.

Aura grits her teeth. She knows her friends have reason to panic however their ways of handling it is not helpful for the already fragile moral this village likely has. "Alright my lovely over protective friends screaming at a child and questioning them in such a manor isn't going to help anything. It's only going to scare them and they don't need anymore of a fright than they are already dealing with."

She puts her hands on both Jormund and Cascade's shoulders as she steps forward. She then crouches down to the young boy's level with a friendly smile, Hawk peaking out of her coat. "You will have to forgive them you my big strong friend here just wants to make sure everyone is safe, and well, you know Cascade, she cares about all of you a lot. Here how about we do this." Aura will stand up and cast Create Bonfire in an empty open area in the middle of the town. A 5 foot tall fire will suddenly appear in the center of the village. "And while everyone gets nice and toasty beside the fire a few of my friends will go check out that cart of coats. Here, how about I trade you. You take my coat and ill take that one. Just to make sure it's not covered in icky bugs." Aura will start to remove her own coat to give to the child.

"Who gave you this? What was their name?"

The boy paused in his running and shouting as Jørmund approached and questioned him. A confused sort of curiosity joined the excitement on the boys face as he opened his mouth to ans-

"BRUDDAH TOLOMEO! TAKE THAT FLEECE OFF! NOW!!!"

"EEP!" The boy exclaimed at Cascade's sudden outburst, now looking just about ready to bolt rather than answer any questions.

"Alright my lovely over protective friends screaming at a child and questioning them in such a manor isn't going to help anything. It's only going to scare them and they don't need anymore of a fright than they are already dealing with."

Thankfully, Aura was able to step in just in time to calm Tolomeo down. Though he was a little confused by her choice of words. "T-They...? There's only one of me though." He said to himself while looking around to make sure no other children had started following him while he wasn't looking.

"You will have to forgive them you my big strong friend here just wants to make sure everyone is safe, and well, you know Cascade, she cares about all of you a lot. Here how about we do this."

Tolomeo looked on in wide eyed wonder as Aura cast her spell and made the bonfire appear. He gravitated a few steps towards it, clearly appreciating the new source of warmth.

"And while everyone gets nice and toasty beside the fire a few of my friends will go check out that cart of coats. Here, how about I trade you. You take my coat and ill take that one. Just to make sure it's not covered in icky bugs."

It was immediately apparent that the boy did not appreciate this trade offer as much, however. "...That coat doesn't look as warm as this one." Tolomeo said, clutching the sleeves of his fleece protectively while taking a step back from Aura.

Flicker had been watching this whole situation with a growing sense of unease, made even worse when one of the village children came by wearing a suspiciously familiar fleece. They felt a sharp panic run through them, and might have said something had Cascade not beaten them to the punch by shouting at the child to get rid of the fleece. Her anger surprised them, but also they couldn't say they blamed her.

Flicker instinctively placed a hand on Cascade's shoulder, a quiet gesture to get her to calm herself, the way one of their superiors at the order might have done when Flicker was having similar outbursts. Thankfully, Aura had also taken it upon herself to smooth out the situation, creating a bonfire for the village. Flicker cursed themself for not thinking to do the same thing the moment they saw how cold everyone was.

Despite the tensity of the situation though, Flicker couldn't help but give a snort of laughter when the boy expressed confusion about being referred to as 'they'. "'They' can be used in singular, kid," they said. They pointed with their thumb towards Aura, who was offering the boy her coat instead. "And my friend here is right. You should probably take her coat, at least for now. She's been wearing hers, so you know it's safe. Can you say the same for the fleece you're wearing right now? I know my mother always taught me that you never use a merchant's wares if they themselves wouldn't use it."

"Matches, Gringam, don't let anyone accept those fleeces! Dose fleeces are from da pelts of angelic beasts. We had a pair of demons try to gift dose to us, so we would make a deal with them and swindle us if not this village! I don't want anyone ta get condemned, killed, tricked, or be led into any kine of trouble by dem!"

"Demons?!" Gringam gasped in horror. "First the Northmen approach, now demons are already here? Oh good gods."

"Maybe not demons." Matches commented. "If they offered gifts and deals, it is more likely they were devils. Demons would have attacked on sight."

"Does it matter whether they're demons or devils?" Gringam asked. "They're still trouble."

"Perhaps... but they're the kind of trouble that wouldn't want us dead just yet." Matches said. "After all, they can't convince us to sell our souls if the cold or the Northmen kill us all."

Meanwhile, Tolomeo looked at Flicker with a confused expression on his face. "They... aren't wares though? We didn't buy them from a merchant." The boy explained. "The letter said that they're a gift for all the cold people here."

Aura was right, scaring the child wouldn't do any good. The cleric took a moment to try to think of a different approach. "This letter you mentioned, can you please show me where it is?" Jørmund asked Tolomeo calmly while standing up and offering a hand to the boy so he could lead the earth genasi to the letter. "I am sorry for startling you earlier. As my friends have already said we are wanting to make sure you all are safe. We want to make sure that these gifts do not come with any unwanted surprises." he kept his tone calm and tried to explain it in a way to not worry the child.

Aura would smile as she kept the bonfire up, and the others spoke up. "No, it's fine. If he doesn't want to trade, I get it." She looked toward the others. "The kid said the cart was by the front gate right? You guys go check everything out. I will stay here and keep this fire going." Then quieter. "None of us are really good at reasoning with children anyway. Besides, of something is wrong it will just be one more burden to pile on top of our already heavy shoulders." The sarcasm seeped into her tone even though she tried to keep it out. "Just double check and make sure there isn't any fine print on that note." She took a seat nearby so she could keep the fire going with minimal effort, and take some time to people watch as she did so.

Tolomeo pointed back the way he came, towards the wagon and the crowd that was slowly forming around it. "When I last saw it, the letter was nailed to the driver's seat of the wagon." The boy said. "If no one's moved it, you'll find it there."

Jørmund gave the boys a warm smile. "Thank you Tolomeo. After we run those raiders off I'll see if there is something I can make something for you for all help you given my friends and I. Stay by the fire my friend has made for you all and stay warm." He stood up, looking to the other. "I'll look it over the best I can. However I will say Aura, you have always been better with figuring out the catches and loopholes. I'll bring it back here so you can read over it in case I missed something."

Jørmund walked quickly to the gate to find the cart and hoped to find the note that was pinned to it.