“Hmmm… what… what was that?” Colb worried, shivering from both cold and fear and he pushed the ice off his armor.

“MMmMmmmm, that sounded like horrible, deep howl to me, yes it did,” 27 announced, drawing his Yiklar Spear of Irreversible Death. “Kind of like what 1 warned us about, after listening to the good oracle 67…”

“It sounds like something screaming in pain,” Kashmir muttered.

Another loud GGggrrrrggroooooo! cried throughout the mountain range. A rough blizzard started to pick up, and a swirling vortex of snow touched down at the base of Wealth Mountain – less than a mile away from the goblin.

“Hmmm! Is that a snow tornado?!” Colb exclaimed. “Did the howling cause that?!”

“Hurmph, maybe we have gone far enough for today,” Stibs retracted.

The blizzard started to pick up as the howling continued, making it so Colb could no longer see his friends, nor track the icy vortex that had touched down in the distance.

“Hurmph! Everyone follow my voice!” Stibs shouted. Colb’s ears perked up as he listened. Suddenly, Drek came back into view, having lit a torch with his tinderbox. The young goblin held one of his hands over the flame protectively, shielding it from the assailing snow.

“Rrghegh, where are we going?” Drek called out.

“Hurmph, I saw a small cave about a quarter mile back,” Stibs shouted. “Let’s retreat to that so we have some shelter, then rest and regroup. Move, move!”

With that, the crew fled westward, away from the freak weather event beneath Wealth Mountain. Everyone called out their own names periodically, to ensure nobody had gotten lost or sucked up by a tornado.

Stibs successfully led the group to a small cutout in another mountain, where everyone could finally get out of the snow and see each other again. As the team panted, looking around to make sure nobody had been lost, 27 activated his Yiklar Folding Cabin.

“MMmMmmmm… that was scary,” the noble announced. “AaAaaaaahhhh, but that was good thinking with this cave, Stibs, yes it was. The Yiklar Folding Cabin should be safe under this shelter… if that icy vortex comes by, we’ll be glad the cabin’s sitting in a cave instead of out in the open, yes we will be.”

With that, the crew piled into the cabin. Even Kashmir was quick to squeeze into the safe building, rather than sleeping outside like she had done for the past few nights of travel. The team rushed to the cabin’s living area, silently taking a moment to gather their breath and think about what they’d just witnessed.

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“Hmmm! Those weather events definitely happened right after the howling, yes?” Colb said after a moment.

“Rrghegh, and did you see how it got way worse after the second howl?!” Drek added.

“MMmMmmmm… let’s not get ahead of ourselves, gentlegoblins,” 27 countered. “Maybe that howl was just… sound of wind going through mountains? Maybe weather event was happening anyway, yes it was, and howling was just part of it?”

“It sounded like some huge creature screaming out in pain,” Kashmir muttered.

“Hurmph… I may be new to visiting this region, but I’ve read a lot about nature and weather,” Stibs said. “I’ve never heard of weather that sounded like a… like a monster like that. If anything, that reminded me of the, uh… the… the, that summer antlizard’s screech back in the Dwarven Republic. You guys remember that? That ear-piercing screech?”

“Hmmm! It sounded a bit like a furnace, yes?” Colb reminisced.

“Rrghegh, I remember that,” Drek agreed. “The summer antlizard was huge. It lived in a mountain range, and it could breathe lava… and look where we are now. We’re in another mountain range, we’re hearing another screech, and it seems like the very elements have turned on us. This must be another super monster.”

“Hurmph, but this time, we don’t have an army with us,” Stibs grumbled.

“MMmMmmmm, but we do have the Yiklar Spear of Irreversible Death for a change,” 27 noted. “A super monster seems like an ideal foe to use it on, yes it does. 1 certainly thought of everything when he gave us this gift!”

“What about helping our enemies?” Kashmir asked, looking at Colb. “Whatever out there sounds like it’s very upset. Maybe we can reason with it?”

“Hmmm, Kashmir thinks we should try reasoning with the monster… perhaps helping it, since it sounds like it’s in pain, yes?” Colb translated. “I agree, yes?” he added.

“MMmMmmmm… I don’t know. We’re all exhausted; why don’t we have a meal, get some sleep to clear our minds, and come up with a plan in the morning? Perhaps the blizzard will have even subsided by then, yes it perhaps will have.”

As usual, 27 had a point. Everyone agreed to stop talking about this potential new threat for the night, and prepared themselves for bed.

Colb made a meal for the team with scraps and leftovers from the kitchen, then plated everything in the dining area.

“No matter what happens, tomorrow we really will finish our quest, yes?” he announced, trying to lighten the mood as everyone grabbed a seat.

“Rrghegh… tomorrow my kingdom begins,” Drek agreed.

“Hurmph, I’m just glad we’re finally finishing this up. It feels like we took the longest, most inefficient route to the Frosted Wastes,” Stibs grumbled. “If we took a boat straight from Yiklar, we could’ve completed this journey three times in a row at this point.”

“AaAaaaaahhhh, but you must remember the Yiklar way, Stibs!” 27 countered.

“Hurmph, I’m from Kreet,” Stibs retorted.

“Quality defeats quantity: that is the Yiklar way!” 27 clarified. “It is better that we took a long journey, during which we made many friends, than if we had taken some short ones. I feel that our adventure has been one of the highest quality. Much like I am honored to sell the most flawlessly crafted goods from the Yiklar tribe, I, too, am proud to have traveled on such a life-changingly high-quality journey with the four of you, yes I am.”

Kashmir cracked a small smile as she munched on her meal. Colb’s eyes lightened, pleased to see Kashmir feeling joy from 27’s words.

After they finished their meals, Kashmir sauntered over to the living area, where she slumped down on the couch – which immediately became frostbitten upon contact with the cold elf. The four goblins retired to their sleeping area, curling up on their little cots to rest for a potentially life-threatening encounter in the morning.