The Ballad of Bo and Gal (Part 1)

**The Ballad of Bo and Gal** is a prequel/miniseries set in the Palamoa Campaign that documents the adventures of close friends Boreal Khrist and Galatea Nostru on their way to find Quincy Desmar.

## The Ballad of Bo and Gal (Part 1)

### **Synopsis**

**Pre-Show Shenanigans**

Starting with a lovely abridged version of the main ABSQ theme!

* *The Ballad of Bo and Gal* has been hinted at by Darrin and is what he meant when referring to "being sneaky as fuck"
* Introductions! Some new and some old:
	+ **Darrin**, as dungeon master and writer of not only the main campaign, but this brief departure from our main cast as well.
	+ **Krissy** (a.k.a. @KrissyInColor), as **Galatea Nostru**, a character of Krissy's own design that has been woven into the world of Palamoa.
	+ **Mak**, returning to the show as **Boreal Khrist**, a new party member to take the spot of his former character Killian Rouge.

This being a shorter miniseries no ads are run for these episodes so just sit back and enjoy the show!

### **Part One**

*"As the two suns of Texildra have slowly risen over the forest in the Puhan, the pine trees rise high above the forest floor. The trees and the limbs are bent low with the weight of the snow. You hear a gentle trudging as our camera pans through trees and comes to two individuals. Slowly making their way through the dense forest, in the southeastern direction towards the tundra. In front we see an individual who almost seems to be there and not at the same time."*

* Boreal (Bo) Khrist stands about 6'0" tall, carrying a dark almost jet black steel blade at his side and a mahogany hand crossbow attached to his wrist. He wears a lilac-colored cloak on his shoulders covering black studded leather armor. Bo to the human eye looks translucent. You can see the snowfall behind him as you can see through him clear as day.

Bo trudged through the snow in a general direction, faking confidence about knowing where he was going, but at the very least, was headed in a straight line. Behind him we see another figure.

* Galatea Nostru, is fairly tall and "voluptous" woman. She is a little paler than normal, with long white hair, and her eyes are a golden brown. She is not particularly dressed for the harsh weather of Puhan, wearing a blue gown that almost looks star-covered, and a veil that shifts between blue and purple and sparkles like the night sky. She also wears a diadem-like headpiece.

Galatea, her veil pulled around her like a cloak as she huddled for warmth, was pointed by druids in her circle to the end of the Puhan trading line where she would find a city, a small encampment, know as *Kheellud*. Galatea was directed there to go and find an individual who ran the local temple, known as Minnie, who she was told could assist in getting her closer to where she needed to go. She had since followed the approximate navigation of her *Dream Tethers* to find her intended target.

Bo, who stood in the front of the pair, still attempted to feign confidence of where to go, but despite his lack of conviction in his own skill, still managed to keep up the pace, while keeping himself and Galatea out the way of any environmental dangers. As the pair continued to traverse the tundra, a smell of ash and iron filled the air, and as they slowly drew nearer to the smell began to notice lit lanterns on posts, staggered throughout the trees that lay ahead of them, almost like they lit a walkway.

Galatea inquired if Bo knew where they are and Bo, startled by her question, started to fumble for an answer, but ultimately admitted that he had no idea. While Galatea was hesitant to follow the lanterns, Bo concluded that light was sure to lead to some form of civilization and possibly the person that Galatea was looking for. Bo spotted footprints in the snow that contributed to the semi-well trodden path through the walkway of lanterns. The further down the walkway went, the more the trees seemed to dip lower and lower and as they got closer, the smell of iron and ash became stronger as they saw the posts holding up the lanterns had fences in between them. They walked into the town and saw that the roofs of the buildings were about eye level for Boreal and Galatea, that the natural weight and denseness that *Kheellud* was built on was taken into consideration when construction of the civilization began. As Bo and Gal stood on a raised walkway noticed all the buildings were slightly inlet into the ground so they could be a liveable height without disturbing the nature of the forest. As they looked under the fences they saw a bunch of interconnected tunnels that made up the underground of *Kheellud*, with walkways built to protect people from the snow and weather.

Galatea noted the clever construction was lovely, whilst Bo was uncomfortable being able to see over the roofs of all the houses in town, although he conceded it was quite pretty. He checked with Galatea to see if she knew where in town to find Minnie and Galatea noted that she was told to go to *Darkwalk* and it's temple, knowing that *Darkwalk* was built into a ravine where the walkways dipped, the buildings came to a normal level and the temple for the gods was a stone and wooden building built around the roots and trunk of a giant pine tree. Since neither Galatea and Bo had a clear direction on how to get to *Darkwalk* from the north end of *Kheellud*, they settled on asking for directions in a nearby bar, *The Stump & Roots, Tavern and Inn*.

*The Stump & Roots* from the outside was a large, one-story, log cabin inset about 15 feet into the ground. As they went inside they saw it was decorated in a very homey style, fairly small to accommodate the small population of *Kheellud* which was no more than 1000, being at the end of the trading line, with furniture cut of a dark pine, crafted quite elegantly, clearly of Dwarvish make, it's wood stained to give it a very light, amber color and the same wood also used on the far back wall of the bar as well. Behind the bar was an elderly woman manning the bar, carrying drinks and glasses, running around as she noticed the two newcomers that had entered the establishment.

The woman greeted Bo and Galatea and beckoned the two of them to come sit. She immediately guessed the duo was new in town, citing that she knew almost every face to come through her bar and when Gal confirmed that they just got in commented that neither of them look like they were dressed for the weather, while she also noted Bo's very distinguished taste in fashion. She introduced herself as Mabel Stormbrunch, the proprietor of the *Stump & Roots* and Bo in turn introduced himself and shook her hand. When Mabel commented that Galatea seemed quite cold, Galatea noted she was and added that ale might help warm them up. Mabel agreed, went off to get the two something to drink, brought two ales to the table and said they were on the house, explaining that she made it a point to take care of the people that came through *Kheellud*.

Accepting the drinks, Galatea told Mabel that they had come for a specific reason and asked for directions to the temple. Mabel lit up at she noted she must be looking for Minnie and gave the two precise directions on how to get to *Darkwalk*. She warned them that that not a lot of natural light reached *Darkwalk,* so it was only lit by torches. Mabel checked to see if they were aware that Minnie was a satyr and while Bo admitted he was not aware, Galatea reassured Mabel that she knew beforehand. Mabel explained she was not trying to say anything bad about Minnie, she was just being cautious because not many people had been very accepting of Fey creatures being present in Palamoa. Galatea told Mabel that through her experience with the feywalker tribe she had learned to be very accepting of fey creatures. Bo added that he had been "banished" on several occasions because people often mistook him for some kind of "spirit". Mabel admitted that Bo's constant shift of opacity was quite confusing to her and Bo told her *"it comes and goes"* as shadowed images of himself flickered off of his body and reattached themselves to him. Noting that the party might be around for a day or two, Mabel offered rooms at the *Stump & Roots*, for the pair to stay in. Galatea told her that they would talk to Minnie and see if they ended up needing to stay the night before they make a decision, then sub sequentially introduced herself, realizing she forgot to earlier.

Bo, noting that Galatea might need a fix to her clothing situation, asked Mabel if she had a spare blanket to warm Galatea slightly. Mabel went to the back of the bar to check, returned with a clearly worn, but well crafted fur cloak and offered it to Galatea to use while she was in town. Galatea thanked her and explained that the druids had a tendency to keep things artificially warm and didn't consider the weather whilst preparing for her journey. Mabel recommended if Galatea needed a more permanent solution to her problem she should pay a visit to a local trapper shop in *Darkwalk,* called *Langshoren Trappers*, ran by Lottie and Lewis Langshoren and noted that Lottie made all the cloaks in town and crafted the cloak that Mable lent to Galatea.

After Mabel returned to the other patrons, Bo and Gal returned to their drinks and as Bo slammed his drink down some of the patrons marvelled at his appearance. Galatea thanked Bo for considering her warmth and admitted she wasn't necessarily thinking about the weather when packing for her trip. Bo consoled Gal and told her that he is was exactly dressed for the weather either, but added armor just retained heat better than a gown. Galatea offered her drink to Bo, citing that she probably shouldn't have that much to drink and Bo eagerly accepted and slammed it just as fast as he did with his own. Bo stood up a little woozy and let out a loud burp, assured Galatea that he would be fine when she asked if he was ok and added they should proabaly leave so the cold could sober him up. Galatea offered that she could fix it if it came to that, but Bo insisted not to waste magic on him, to let nature run it's course and that he would be fine when they met with Minnie.

They continued their walk through *Kheellud*, spotted several buildings that bared the mark of the Puhan Trading Company (PTC), a triangular seal with a black snowflake and crown, as well as signs posted at the tops of buildings to allow people to read them. The pair noticed as they got closer to the walkway, towards *Darkwalk*, that the limbs of nearby trees began to become heavier and denser, and continuing into the ravine the trees started to rise above them. As they reached the bottom of the walkway where natural light was completely cut off, they saw it was lit by several torches, gas lamps, and bioluminescent moss on the walls of the ravine, which gave off a combination of yellows, oranges, blues and purples, which made for an interesting appearance. Seeing that *Darkwalk* was quite small, only made up of five buildings, Galatea and Bo both agreed to talk to Minnie first and then go shopping around *Darkwalk* for the remainder of the day.

As Galatea approached the temple door, marked with the symbol of Kenala. The two entered inside the temple, and while Galatea began to feel the strong spiritual connection to the earth and nature Bo glitched and was temporarily shunted out of place as he crosses the threshold. Immediately concerned Galatea checked in with Bo to see if he was alright and he reassured her and insisted that he was fine, despite not being totally confident in that statement. The temple was very earthen in decoration, with roots that took up the majority of the space and fashioned in a way to serve as furniture. The pair heard a gentle clopping of hooves coming from the back of the temple and Galatea took a few steps in the direction of the sound and called out for Minnie. In response a meek voice called out *"just one second!"* and as the clopping grew closer, around a tree trunk appeared a small female satyr, around 30 years old, very young for a creature of the Feywild, covered in warm furs to keep herself warm in the in climate weather, with one horn cracked and broken off at the base and long, curly, black hair that covered her face, that she brushed out of her face.

The satyr, very calmly asked what she could do to help the pair and Galatea introduced herself before telling Minnie she was sent to the temple by Mesicara and Avia to request help from her. Minnie recognized her as an acquaintance of the Feywalker tribe, asked what she needed from her and Gal explained that she needed to cross the tundra in order to find someone she was looking for. Minnie confirmed that she could fact help with that, however she had a problem that she needed solving. Bo, having been completely removed from the conversation, asked Minnie if her cracked horn was the problem that she needed solved and Minnie, seemingly unfazed, said her horn had been like that for a while. Bo continued to examine the satyr from a distance, unfamiliar with individuals of her kind, noticed to the untrained eye that one would be convinced Minnie looked exactly how satyrs were described, but something was off about her, thought Bo was unable to put his finger on what it was.

Minnie told the pair that she has noticed a weakness in the Feywild, that there were one or two areas in Puhan that allowed travel through the Feywild to traverse long distances, with one specific portal that lead from the *Taiga Forest* right in between *Nij'a* and *Krak*. Along the path she ran into a problem, a large elk-ish creature that stood on it's hind legs, with a maw like a wolf, found it's way into the Feywild. Galatea realized from it's description and from her time with the Feywalker tribe, the creature was a wendigo, a magical creature derived from frozen dead corpses. She noted that this monstrosity should not be present in the Feywild, that it being there was a huge problem and Minnie silently agreed. Galatea asked Bo if he thought that they could fight it and Bo responded that it sounded like something similar to what he had encountered on the *Maltrop Strip*, so he was confident he could try his hand at besting the beast. Minnie chimed in that she could help, citing her belief the wendigo was partially her responsibility and felt she was the reason it was in the Feywild. Noting the confusion from both Bo and Galatea, she further explained that she believed whilst she was traveling between the Feywild and the Puhan forests, the wendigo must have stalked her through the portal and Gal settled with the idea of helping Minnie defeat the wendigo. Seeing that Bo was still a little lost on what exactly they were hunting Gal explained it to him and he responded that he had seen one of them "a buff deer" before and would love to have one of them on his record. Minnie told the pair she still had some duties she had to attend to in the temple, but they could leave as soon as tomorrow morning. With that the two leave the temple and headed to explore the rest of *Darkwalk* to possibly do some shopping.

As they left the temple and step into the main area of *Darkwalk*, Bo noted that he was raring to visit the forge that they had passed by earlier and Galatea offered to accompany him. As they approached the forge they heard the ambient sound of hammer hitting metal over and over again. They saw the forge was made of rounded stone in order to maintain heat and the inside was very hollow simply made of one large room. Near the anvil in the back, they saw a dwarven man, with a short mop of blonde hair and a shortly trimmed beard in coveralls and on seeing them stopped what he was doing, went up to the both of them and introduced himself as Frederick, the owner of the forge. Bo introduced himself, gave the floor over to Galatea to introduce herself and Frederick, immediately taken aback, bowed slightly, introduced himself fully as Frederick Fangaborro. He added that he was at their service, asked what he could do for them and Bo stepped up curious about what Frederick could do with his hand crossbow. Frederick asked Bo to be more specific, listed off different properties he could bestow from being mounted, being stronger, having quicker reloading properties and Bo stopped him at quick reloading properties, noting that it would be phenomenal as he lamented how it was a hassle having to reload the crossbow on the battlefield. Frederick added that he was at a disadvantage already for having his crossbow mounted on his wrist and Bo claimed it was a fashion statement. Frederick started running calculations in his head what he could do to fix it and ultimately decided that it was something possible for him to achieve and would need about a day or two to get it together. Bo asked if he could leave it for the night, and when Frederick said he could pay a little extra for overtime work agreed and asked how much it would cost him. Frederick said he would need to have a look to see what modifications he would need, and after Bo unstrapped the hand crossbow and gave it to him said it would 35 gold. Bo handed the payment and with their business done asked Galatea if there was anything he could do for her. Gal replied that she didn't usually use traditional weapons but appreciated it. Frederick told the both he could also make other things as he was a carpenter and craftsmen alike and midway noticed that Bo was semi-translucent and began stumbling for his words. Bo reassured him, told him to take his time and Frederick shook it off before he told Galatea if there was anything quick that she needed he could take care of it in the morning, since work on Bo's crossbow would take the remainder of the day. Galatea thanked him before asking Bo if they could head to Lottie and Lewis's and Bo agreed noting that she looked as if she was about to catch frostbite.

### **Break!**

* Mak had to pee so we're taking our break at a little bit of a inopportune time in the program
* Spring 2022 check back on the ABSQ Youtube channel for ABSQ by Night: *"It's about time we tell a Vampire story"*

### **Part Two**

The pair crossed the street in *Darkwalk* and under the ominous light saw a large wooden log building with a bright blue tin roof, with a large sign that said "*Langshoren Trappers".* Bright lantern light poured out of the windows as Bo and Gal open the door to the building, were immediately overwhelmed with the smell of leather, fur and a couple of cleaning agents and saw the interior filled with large pillars of wood that had several furs and cloaks hung on them. They both heard the gentle thrumming of a sewing machine of sorts and behind the machine saw a young human woman in her early twenties, with short brown hair, cut in an asymmetrical bob, wooden framed glasses, wearing a well-crafted tanned leather dress with furs attached to it. She noticed the duo, let them know that she would be right with them, stopped her machine, flipped her glasses onto her forehead and introduced herself as Lottie Langshoren. Galatea introduced herself and Bo, mentioned that they were newcomers to town and admitted that she was not dressed for the weather and was told that she could come to Lottie and Lewis for a permanent cloak for purchase. Lottie smiled, said that she recognized that cloak as one she made for Mabel Stormbrunch sometime ago and that she remembered everyone she's made something for. She turned to Bo, followed suit of everyone else being taken aback by his appearance, asked what she could do help him with and Bo, not wanting to get rid of his existing cloak asked for Lottie to sew a fur lining into his existing overgarment. As she took in Bo's appearance she slowly began to step back and said that she was able to add lining. She went behind her sewing area to grab a tape measurer and told Galatea that she would have to do some measurements in order to get her cloak sized right. As she started taking measurements Bo inquired about her and her husband Lewis being trappers and Lottie was quick to correct Bo that she and Lewis were TWINS and not spouses. Bo, slightly embarrassed by his blunder, repeated his statement and asked if they had hunting gear available for sale to that could debilitate a large beast. Lottie said she would have to take a moment to run to the back, noting that the gear for larger game is in storage and that after she finished the measurements on Galatea she could check.

After finishing them up and then quickly excused herself to the back, Bo noticed on a lower shelf in the shop that one of the furs began to move on its own. Bo leant over to Gal, said they may have a pest problem in the shop and inched over to the furs to try and figure out what it was. As he got within five feet, the furs shifted as a small, silver, three-tailed fox dart out and ran around the corner. Galatea exclaimed that it might not be a pest, but rather a pet and that it was quite beautiful. As Bo continued to search for the mysterious fox, Lottie returned to the main lobby of the shop with an oversized, sinister looking bear trap and explained that she found it while searching around in the back. She added that she noticed that pair had found "Nubbi", that she had no clue what exactly Nubbi was but she was a creature that her and her brother, Lewis, found in the forest nearby town. Bo asked Lottie if he could attempt to hold onto her and when she gave him full permission to at the very least try held his hands out and beckoned Nubbi to come towards him. Nubbi slowly approached Bo, sniffed his hands, proceeded to lightly bite his thumb, causing Bo to react slightly, but tried to maintain his composure as she sat down in front of Bo. Lottie added that Nubbi was a little bit magical and Bo and Gal soon inquired how exactly. She then called Nubbi's name and Nubbi proceeded to fade out of existence and a moment later faded back into view behind Lottie on the sewing table. Bo and Lottie both agreed they had never seen an animal with abilities like Nubbi and Lottie added that she was also non-violent.

Lottie noted that Nubbi seemed to like Bo, that she didn't seem to like a lot of people and when Bo responded that he was better with animals than he was people, Galatea retorted that he was pretty good with people too and Lottie commented that he liked to underplay it. Nubbi leapt off of the sewing table and began to sniff around Galatea and sat next to her. She reached into her pocket and offered a piece of a ration to Nubbi, but before she could fully get her hand to Nubbi's height the fox began to float off of the ground to reach her hand, then softly landed on the ground again and bounded over to a corner to eat her snack. Lottie said that Nubbi had been with her for a couple of months and her and Lewis have no idea what to do with her. Bo told Lottie that if she was ever looking for someone to take Nubbi off of her hands he had been in the market for another companion. Gal agreed, noting that she would suit Bo well and Lottie said it was something to be considered as Lewis didn't like keeping animals around due to his line of work.

Lottie reverted the conversation back and told Galatea that she did have cloak that would fit Gal halfway done, but needed the remainder of the day to complete it and Gal told her it was okay as they had to be back in *Darkwalk* the next morning to run some more errands. Bo also handed off his cloak to Lottie and asked if she could possibly add some lining to his cloak while she's working which she agreed to. Gal paid seven gold for both her and Bo's cloak and Bo 15 gold paid for the trap, but decided to leave the bear trap with Lottie for the time being so he didn't have to lug it all the way back to the inn. At the mention of *The Stump & Roots* Lottie mentioned that the rooms at the inn might be a little disorienting because they were underground, but Bo and Gal both assured her that they would be alright. As they said their goodbyes to Lottie, Lottie asked for the two of to keep an eye out for Lewis while they travelled. The two agreed and Bo told Lottie they would talk more about Nubbi in the morning before they stepped out of the shop and back into *Darkwalk*.

Bo checked in with Gal if she wanted to stop by *Ambrose's*, but when Galatea said she was all set with supplies for their journey agreed with her and they both headed back towards the *Stump & Roots*. As the sun began to set, the two reached the tavern once again and saw Mabel behind the bar. Galatea told her it looked like they would be needing a room after all and gave five silver for a room for the night. Before they left to their rooms, Mabel offered them something to eat and the pair agreed. Bo also asked for any dried meats that Mabel might have available and she said she might have some in the back and would check after she served them their food. She soon returned with two large bowls of rabbit stew and a small package of dried food to the side of Bo's bowl that he stashed in his scabbard. As they ate they looked around and noticed that the *Stump & Roots* wasn't terribly crowded, at mostly occupied by locals from the PTC. While Galatea focused on her food, Bo listened to the people talking around them to gather information and heard two people nearby, who worked for the PTC, about an excavation in *Nij'a* that was being led by the son of one of the trade council members, Sterling Myleheart, the son of Lysandra Myleheart. Bo relayed this Galatea and suggested that if the "Quincy" individual she was looking for was near *Nij'a* they might want to stop by the excavation as a sort of side adventure. Galatea noted Quincy was closer to *Cessunaler*, but if their journey brought them to *Nij'a* then stopping by wouldn't be the worst idea. As the two finished their food, Mabel took their dishes, gave them their key and directions to their room and Galatea returned the cloak lent to her in turn. While Galatea continued to sip her drink, Bo told her that he was going to head towards the room. Galatea stayed up to to finish her drink and discreetly placed three gold pieces at the bar for Mabel, then headed downstairs to try and caught up with Bo.

As they headed down the underground tunnels and entered their room, Bo immediately flopped down to on his bed, passed out and began to softly snore. Galatea soon followed suit, went to her bed soon after her friend and as she fell asleep re-entered her cognitive dreamscape. She saw the three distinct bright stars that represented her active *Dream Tethers*, focused on the one she recognized to be Quincy, that was circled by a smaller red star, which she noticed to be the secondary connection that she made with a half-orc. She moved closer to Quincy's star, was partially stalled by the small red star, saw a glimpse of a small, half-orc girl, crying in the corner, hidden behind stone before she was then jutted from this dream and fell toward Quincy's star. She floated down into a study made of marble, saw a young girl with dark purple-grey skin and white hair, chasing after a blue-skinned boy with a shock of white hair and assumed this was a memory from Quincy's childhood, but saw it was muddled and fuzzy, almost like the memory was unwanted. Galatea manged to push the haze out of the memory and kept the dream from transmuting into a nightmare. Galatea started to get a location on Quincy from her tether, revealing that she was currently in the area of *Nij'a*. Galatea wondered how she travelled so far so fast before she left a message for Quincy to stay where they are and that her and Bo only needed a couple of days to reach her.

Satisfied with her attempt with Quincy, Galatea moved her focus to Garrith's tether, saw a dream of Garrith as he conspired with his teacher against her and aimed to make his dream as nightmarish as possible. As Garrith conspired with his teacher in his dream, the visage of his teacher began to rot, the room around Garrith began to crumble into ruin and hands rose from the ground, as the dead started to grasp at his feet while Garrith tries to run and scream. Galatea left him with a message

*"I'm coming for you"*

Garrith, recognizing her voice, began to scream in opposition and she backed out and left him to his nightmare for him to deal with for the remainder of his sleep, knowing he would be consumed by his nightmare and would wake terrified and paranoid. Satisfied, Galatea exited her dreamscape and began to rest soundly.

As the pair woke up in the morning, Galatea informed Bo that Quincy was in *Nij'a* and noted her curiosity how they travelled a far distance in a very short time. Bo suggested they made use of the same mode of transportation that he and Gal are about to take part in or possibly had a satyr on their side as well. He also asked if Galatea managed to get into contact with Quincy at all and Galatea told him that she tried, but was unable to confirm that they got her message. Bo admitted he had no clue how Galatea's magic worked, but wished her the best of luck. They got themselves ready and went upstairs to see Mabel. They had some breakfast, let Mabel they were happy to pay more money for their stay and Mabel thanked them, but declined their offer, and explained there was not a lot of upkeep costs at the tavern since they resided at the end of the trading line. Bo, trying to make conversation, asked Mabel who was the last traveller before him and Gal and Mabel said the last one was a large leonin, dressed in crimson, named Poackel, who came from *Gilesha* and was a very nice and caring man that she couldn't help, but feel youthful around. Galatea asked for a small uncooked egg, handed it to Bo and said the one thing that she knew about fox creatures was that they enjoy eggs. Bo attempted to hold the egg in one hand so it wouldn't get crushed, but Galatea soon offered to keep it in her bag to keep it safe. They said their farewells to Mabel and head back towards *Darkwalk* in order to retrieve Minnie and their new items.

To give Frederick more time to fix up Bo's crossbow, the pair decided to travel back to *Langshoren Trappers* to get their new cloaks. As they opened the door they saw Nubbi bounding across tables in the back and when they entered Nubbi stopped her activities and floated over to them. Galatea snuck out her egg, handed it to Bo and he set out all of his snack he had gather for Nubbi. She noticed the food, teleported right in front of the food, sniffed around, inhales the egg in one bite, then grabbed the jerky and walked to the corner to finish her snack. Nubbi then walked back toward Bo and teleported to a nearby table so she could be at eye-level with Bo. Bo held his arm up to offer a pathway up to his shoulder for Nubbi, who then sniffed him a few more times, bounded up his arm toward his shoulder and begun to wave her tails through Bo's incorporeal face.

During this whole exchange Lottie watched on the side and noted that Nubbi waving her tails through Bo's face was deeply unsettling. She then asked if Bo was okay or even alive and Bo successfully dodged the question. Lottie then handed both of them their cloaks, with Bo's cloak now with a new black and grey fur lining and Galatea given a cloak made of black leather outing and a large pelt of black and silver fur. She also gave the large bear trap to Bo and guaranteed it should be sufficient in taking down most large creatures. With their business concluded, Lottie began to usher them out of the shop, but before they could fully leave Galatea asked if Nubbi would be able to accompany the two on their adventure. Lottie admitted she had no control over what Nubbi did with her time, but did seem quite enamoured with Bo. To see what Nubbi wanted to do, Galatea began to cast *Speak with Animals* as a ritual while Boreal stepped out in order to grab his crossbow from Frederick.

As Galatea set up stones and sticks to prepare to cast the spell, all while she let Lottie know what she was doing so she wasn't concerned, the rocks and sticks started to glow stronger and stronger like starlight as the spell reached completion. With the spell cast, Galatea asked Nubbi if she would like to travel with Bo and herself Nubbi stared at her, said an adventure would be pleasant, that she would be delighted to come and introduced herself fully as Nubbinaga. Galatea asked Nubbi if she hailed from the Feywild, noting that they would be headed there shortly and Nubbi replied that she wasn't, but also didn't quite know where she came from. Galatea promised them that they would take care of her during their travels.

As Bo returned, Nubbinaga teleported from the ground to Bo's shoulder and Galatea informed him that Nubbi agreed to join them. Lottie told the two of them that Nubbi seemed like she would have a good time with the two of them. Bo told Lottie the community of *Kheellud* was extremely kind and welcoming to travellers and Lottie said that everyone in *Kheellud* looked out for each other, including the travellers that just pass through. She added that her father had brought her and Lewis to the town when they were six and died during an expedition in the forest, then Mabel and Ambrose took the twins in and raised them like family. Gal gave her condolences to Lottie, but were glad that they had a good community to support them. Lottie told them that she was happy she was able to mourn her father with the people of *Kheellud* rather than her hometown of *Krak*. At the mention of *Krak*, Bo immediately lit up and said he might be headed there himself if he ever got around to it. Lottie told him that it was a sight to see, but was also very cold. The pair promised to visit whenever they could, said their goodbyes to Lottie and headed towards Minnie's temple.

The pair headed towards Minnie's temple and saw that Minnie was mid conversation with an individual. The individual quickly realized that someone else was they, abruptly stood up and left the temple as Minnie noticed Bo and Gal. Bo tried to catch a glimpse of this cloaked individual, but only caught the telltale pointed ears of an elf, mid-to-shoulder length white hair and grayish skin. Bo asked Minnie who the cloaked individual was and she replied they were someone asking questions. Bo and Gal became suspicious of someone new being in *Kheellud,* along with Minnie's strange demeanour that there was something she was lying about, noting that the person she talked to was definitely not a local. Galatea activated *Mind Link* to ask Bo telepathically if he felt safe travelling with someone who was clearly hiding something and Bo agreed that she was suspicious, but suggested caution about pressing that situation before they got Minnie's help to get across the tundra and defeated the wendigo. As the two communicated, they noticed that Minnie had stuff packed already and was ready to leave with the two of them. The trio then left the temple, made their way out of *Darkwalk* and left *Kheellud*.