He Loves To Drop Plot Points

## Description

Exploring the frigid heights of Icewind Dale, The Dragon Friends are forced to contend with a sinister operation, and a mysterious figure from Bobby's past.

## Synopsis

After Bobby sent a secret signal to the Night Claws at the end of the previous episode, Nicolai Lanston - an initiation brother of Bobby Pancakes from the Wolfen (a civilised society of werewolves who also oppose Strahd) - arrives at Bobby's yurt. Bobby tells him that he is on a mission of interest to the Night Claws, to find out what Strahd is sending to Icewind Dale. Nickolai announces that in a vision he had as part of the initiation, he saw that something lies under Icewind Dale that could destroy the Wolfen, but also something that could save them. Bobby says that he also had a vision which suggests that the thing that could save them is himself, but he doesn't know how. Nickolai asks if Bobby is sure, and Bobby confirms that he was told that Strahd would be slain by "a man with a heart of glass" - and Bobby reveals that does have a crystalline heart, partially exposed by a scar, implanted in him by Lady Casilda when she animated him as a zombie before he was fully resurrected by Mystra. Nicolai reveals that he has found a group of men digging under the mountains who may be looking for the items.

In the morning, Abram and Puffypants "Ski Guy" Quickness arrive with breakfast for all the Friends. Lionshield has successfully installed Bushu-D2 as an AI in the Banknote Apparatus. Bobby introduces Nicolai as an old friend, and Banknote agrees to buy a new matching snowsuit for Nicolai if he can promise not to betray them. Nicolai, ominously, points out that his and Bobby's allegiances are with a much wiser organisation and he will not tolerate any interference from Banknote. He offers to take them to the site he has discovered, a few hours' hike away.

As they hike up the harsh mountains of the Spine Of The World, they are forced to abandon Stubbsy the Donkey and his cart (holding the Banknote Apparatus), hiding it in nearby foliage. Nicolai leads them up onto a ridge, revealing smoke belching from the basin of the Dale, coming from huge flickering bonfires in huge industrial camps with fences and perimeter watchtowers, where blocks of vaderstone are being placed around the towers and a strange hum eminates from the whole basin. Nickolai points out that, apart from their mule, there are no animals at all in the woods in the nearby area; and that the buildings surrounded by the stones are remnants of the old, and famously cruel, magocratic Netheril Empire being dug up from under the snow. He then moves over to the other side of the ridge, where he has placed an easel and telescope, giving a view of a much smaller camp which appears to be a mine cut into the mountains which appears to be mining pure spellstone, a material now so rare it was scarcely known to still exist. Nicolai wonders if this could be their salvation, and Bobby considers that a weapon made of spellstone could potentially permanently slay Strahd. Meanwhile, Nicolai is shocked by the incompetence of the other Friends and wonders if these are truly the ones who previously defeated Strahd, and asks Bobby if he would prefer to directly work for the Night Claws instead.

## Cast

### Dragon Friends

* Philge
* Bobby Pancakes
* Baston
* Lionshield Banknote

### NPCs

* Nicolai Lanston
* Abram Quickness
* Puffypants Quickness (who was called Puffypants Skiguy in the previous episode, so this was possibly a nickname)

### Bestiary

* Absolutely no animals except Stubbsy the Donkey

### Places

* The Foot of the World
* The Spine of the World

## Themes, Tropes and Running Jokes

* Callback to the use of the word Ensorcelled which apparently had Dave mocked for "8 or 9 days".

## Trivia

* At the opening, the Friends ask the audience if they had considered needing to tell a "contact tracer" that they attended the performance, a reference to the test and trace processes used by governments during COVID-19.

## Quotes

* "I wanted to discuss this with another on the Wolfen. I had like a vision.." "You're doing great but.. Nicolai also wants to know *why you are here* before he starts dropping plot points." "The one thing, you know, about Nickloi, is that he loves to drop plot points. That is the thing he always used to tease me about when we were little pups, and that is another plot point that I can't help but drop."
* "I'm going to detach him from the wagon and he'll still function as a mule independently of the wagon." "That's the fucking weirdest way you could have said that."
* "I'm just going to fire an Eldritch Blast with my Spear, that has a 300 foot range, just to see if I can trigger an avalanche on the other side of the ridge." "Just before.. you have taken considerable pains to sneak up to the secret vantage point with this ranger scout.." "Yea, the best case scenario, Michael, of what you've just tried to do is that you bury a plot point that has been coming for 4 episodes in snow." "But can I also add to that that you wish to, because you don't want to use any of your precious spell slot resources, you believe you can trigger it with a level 0 cantrip spell." "The other thing I just realized, is that momentarily I thought I was playing Freezo ... and that Banknote doesn't have that spell, so I'd like to apologise to everyone at the table."

## Table Talk

* "And die you may well might. And die you may well might?" "And die might well you may!"
* "Alex, do you believe that the cart, and the wheel, and the axle was invented by someone to trick someone else into carrying something for them?"
* "We don't want to become a pronounciation-joke podcast."