The Arctic Journey ( A DnD Story)

Rethinking and Regrouping

I woke up to the sound of water splashing. I could see nothing but pitch blackness. It felt quite cramped and I tapped on the barrier of my prison. Wood, definitely wooden. I finally pieced together what was happening and smashed through the side of my cage with my fist. Light poured into the barrel. I saw that my diary was with me, but that was about it. I was wearing nothing but REALY thin shorts and cloth with strings to cover my chest. These two vital pieces of cloth were the only things protecting my decency. I looked out to see three other barrels drifting down the river. A violent scream was coming from one of the barrels and I dove in to save my comrades. I swam to his position, reared back, and smashed his prison as hard as I could. It broke loose and Z'all plunged out. He safely made it to shore and summoned his invisible servant. I was relieved he put his arcanic talent to use, for it would prove invaluable. Z'all sent his servant to one barrel and I swam for the other. Both barrels were sinking fast, and I had to move quickly. In my haste, I may have punched the barrel a tad too hard, and I may have also knocked out the body inside. As soon as I realized my error, I grabbed the unconscious body of Frank and pulled him ashore. He was coughing up water and was shaking violently. I carried him over to Z'all, who had already put a single tree on fire. Facing my fear, I laid Frank down near the flame and started pressing on his back. He coughed up some water, and a small bit of blood, but he looked like he was going to pull through. We all took a second to calm down. Suddenly we realized how hungry we all were. Since the boys were not wearing much clothes (only wearing loin cloths) I decided to jump back into the river and try to catch a fish. My frost elf ancestors were adept at fishing and I was pretty good at it myself. With little effort at all, I caught a decently sized fish. We cut up the fish in four pieces using Arcenist's key.The two cooked up their slices along with Frank's and I ate mine raw. It was about this time Arcenist and Z'all started a little chat. Arcenist was telling Z'all about his key, apparently called a "keyblade." He spoke of the weapon's ability to channel magic and to choose its wielder. He said that some people that have strong hearts are chosen and they can wield keyblades, even the keyblade of another. Z'all seemed intrigued and ask to try to wield the strange blade. Arcenist complied. He handed over the blade to Z'all, but the blade quickly vanished from Z'all and reappeared to Arcenist. Arcenist gave a laugh and said he wasn't ready to wield such a powerful weapon. I grew less and less interested in their conversation. My mind dwelt on Frank's health. He may not be the sharpest ice-pick, but he seems to have this glow about him. He wants to do right, no matter how stupid he may look doing it, and his heart is always in the right place. The thought of losing him makes my eyes water, and I can't bare with that. My heart was so relieved after he had awoken a couple of minutes later, but I wouldn't let that doofus see that side of me. After a while, Z'all looked up to see smoke coming from what seemed like a controlled fire. With nothing to loose, we all set out to the source of the smoke. The source was a village, where we were greeted by the town priest. I saw his necklace and was able to deduce he was a priest of Artemis. It also was broad daylight, meaning we had traveled south since the central city is still in darkness. He seemed overjoyed to see us and invited us into his monastery. As we walked in, he handed us all new clothes for us to change into.
"Finally. I won't have to walk around looking like one of the northern kukäs." I was handed under garnets, woolen trousers, boots, and coat to change into. I was directed to the ladies bedroom and I changed into my new clothes. I did however leave the coat, putting on a sleeveless, black top instead. When I arrived back into the main room, the guys and the priest were talking about the priest's prayer life or something. He said Artemis came down in her form to tell him that he would meet us and we would need supplies. He then handed us each 20gp. I thanked him for his kindness and we all set out for supplies. Our mission: get back to the central city and stop the hooded people. From what the priest told us, we were 20 days away from the central city, and the festival was in 23 days. We all knew the hoodies were striking on the festival, so we decided to pick up supplies and leave in the morning. I decided to go to a pub and get some information. Arcenist and Frank decided to follow me, with Z'all showing up shortly after. The people in the bar looked vicious and scrabbly. They didn't seem too happy with our presence. I took a seat at the bar while Z'all played poker with the locals and Arcenist and Frank ordered food. After a while, I slammed 5gp on the counter and asked the bar tender who was the toughest guy in town. He pointed to a big brute of a man sitting alone at a table. I waltzed over to him and sat down.
"Up for a challenge, big man?" I said with confidence.
"What challenge could you compete in, little girl?"
A devilish smile creaked across my face. I waved down a bar maid and ordered 2 of her strongest drinks. She accepted the gold and produced two ginormous mugs with the foulest smelling alcohol I've ever smelled. I put down 6gp as a wager, he put down 13gp. Others joined in, including Arcenist, who put down 30gp. Originally, my plan was to beat him in wrestling to make him join us out of shame of loss. But when he called me a "little girl," the peaceful route was out. I drank my first swig, and I wasn't prepared for that kind of kick. He swallowed his with ease. I swallowed mine and was feeling tipsy. His second drink, something weird happened. After he drank, he looked like he was being choked or something. He passed out and the crowed cheered. I grabbed both mugs and drank all the beer. I was beyond drunk at this point. I was handed my winnings and the crowed was wild. My memory gets kinda foggy from here. All I remember is something happened with Frank, and then something with everyone else, and then I woke up in the middle of the road.