“They’re one of Dolfus’s original creations,” Lucille explained. “They’re an amazing chef. These are sweet treats made of fruit juice and freshly fallen snow, kind of like a cross between a snow cone and a popsicle. This one’s blueberry flavored!”
The Dolcicles were delicious, but upon encountering the ambient heat of the Lodge’s interior, an issue with the snack’s structural integrity was quickly revealed: they were melting. As such, the next several minutes were dedicated to valiant efforts on everyone’s behalf to finish the snowy snacks before they transformed into puddles on the floor. This prompted Dolfus to reconsider distributing them to the remaining guests.
“So, what brings such a well armed quartet of adventurers this far up a barren mountain in Tyrellia?” Wendy asked.
“I would have guessed you get a lot of adventurers passing through,” Lucille answered, evading the question entirely.
“Yes, sadly, I do,” Wendy sighed. “I always try to tell them it’s folly, and that the mountain will take them before they can find any treasure or lost city, but they never seem to listen to me. I don’t suppose you’re those kind of adventurers?”
“Oh, no, we haven’t had time for treasure hunting for some time now,” Fabien laughed. “Nowadays, we’re mostly contracted by the Drakoniate, though we do occasionally accept missions from… private patrons as well. Actually, you may have heard of us before: We’re called Direct Karma.” He said the name with a flourish of his hands and ended in a deep bow, wearing a smug grin.
“Never heard of you,” Wendy shrugged.
The wizard collapsed to his knee, clutching his chest as if he’d just taken an arrow to the heart.
“But if you’ve been sent by the Drakoniate,” she continued, “I think I know why you’re here.”
Fabien seemingly ignored this and continued his dramatic gesture, melting into a puddle on the floor.
“So…” Nadine started, staring at her colleague in disbelief, “does that make you Wendyzphara, the famed Winter Witch of Drakistan?”
“Oh, I am but a simple witch, I assure you,” Wendy laughed nervously, narrowing her eyes. “I call myself the Winter Witch, of course, but that’s really all just marketing. Please, call me Wendy. It’s been Wendy ever since I moved to Tyrellia.”
“Pleased to meet you, Wendy!” the half-elf chimed in. “My name is Lucille, and this here is Dolfus!” she indicated their orc companion. “They’re my best friend and protector.”
Dolfus nodded decisively.
“Hold on, Lucille. This is important to me,” Nadine interrupted. “I just want to make it clear that our supposed genius over there said that this person here couldn’t possibly be the Winter Witch. In fact, he said she looks like–”
“We don’t need a recap of what I said, Nadine!” Fabien interrupted in turn. “I’m sure everyone remembers clearly. It was only moments ago. We all make mistakes, okay? We’ve been traveling for weeks, and I’ve been busting my ass keeping us warm, so a little grace would be–”
“Warm!? You think your tiny fire spells have made even the smallest difference in this frigid wasteland!? I’ve been freezing my tits off hiking up this stupid mountain for days, and for what!? Why did we even have to come here? They could have sent anyone, but you insisted it had to be us!”
“Excuse me–” Wendy tried to interject.
“They couldn’t just send anyone, Nadine! How many times do I have to tell you: this mission requires delicacy and precision if we have a hope of saving the–”
“AHEM!!!” shouted Wendy before switching to a quieter, sharper tone. “If your business is private, which I’m sure that it is, I’d suggest you not speak of it so openly. You’re not my only guests, and I know that HARRIS is quite the eavesdropper!”
“No idea what you’re talking about!” Harris shouted from the other room.
Fabien sighed. “I see what you mean. Our apologies, madame. My name is Fabien, and this rude woman–”
“This rude woman can introduce herself, thank you,” she snapped at Fabien before turning to Wendy with a forced smile. “Hi, I’m Nadine. Apologies for the sniping. It’s been a long journey, and I’m just not built for the cold.”
“It’s quite alright,” Wendy reassured her. “Let’s just get you checked in, and you can go rest by a fireplace. The Andersons have taken the liberty of stoking the one in the parlor to a roaring inferno, so I’m sure you’ll be quite comfortable.”
“Oh thank the Gods,” she replied.
“You’re welcome!” Harris called from the other room.
“Alright, the first thing I’ll need to know is,” Wendy began, opening up a book on the desk, “how long were you planning on staying with us?”
“Ah, strictly speaking,” Fabien replied, “we were actually hoping to just speak with you and be on our way–”
Fabien was immediately interrupted by a duet of “whoas” and “hold ons” from his two speaking companions, along with an indignant glare from Dolfus.
“We’ve been on the road for ages, Fabien,” complained Lucille. “Can’t we just stop and rest for a couple of days?”
“Nope,” he answered. “No, we’re on a very tight schedule.”
“But I wanted to try skiing!” Lucille whined.
“I’m sorry, Lucille. We just don’t have time to putz about in the snow.”
“I swear to The Platinum Dragon, Fabien…” Nadine started through clenched teeth, “if you don’t let us stop for at least one night, I’ll kill your condescending ass before we make it to tomorrow morning.” She smiled and laughed as if she were joking, but Fabien definitely noticed her hand drifting to her second dagger on her right leg, a dagger he knew that she called The Mageflayer.
“But…” he whimpered, recalling nightmares he’d had involving that very dagger. “But innocent lives are depending on us…”
Dolfus put their companion’s final rebuttal to bed with a cocked head and a suspicious eyebrow raise, silently asking how many lives Fabien thought that a single night of rest might cost. He knew as well as anyone that the Drakoniate took months to deliberate and send out a team to handle the issue in the first place.
“All right,” the wizard sighed. “We can stay for ONE night for now, and after our quest is complete, we’ll come back down the mountain and stay a few more days?”
“I’ll accept nothing less than a full week,” Nadine demanded flatly.
“A week!?!” shouted Fabien in dismay.
“Yes!” cheered Lucille, grabbing Dolfus and jumping up and down with them. “Week-long vacation! This is gonna be so fun!”
Fabien smiled and rolled his eyes, knowing he’d lost.
“I’m gonna go skiing, and start a snowball fight, and…” Lucille stopped suddenly, staring Dolfus directly in the eye. “Do you want to build a snowman!?!”
A wide smile grew on their face, and they nodded once, beginning the plans for a snow sculpture of epic proportions immediately.