Episide Five:

Blizzard Pass

Framed for murder and surrounded by an angry mob, Greegan was a wanted man. Running blindly into the night to escape his accusors. Reaching the open gates of the city of Selenica, he was confronted by guards, poised for combat. "There's a murderer on the loose!" Before the guard could react, Greegan cocked his fist against the guard's jaw. That distraction was just what he needed to escape.

Into the forest, Greegan ran until the roar of the angry townsfolk was barely a whisper. Just a few moments later, he heard the passing wagons of a caravan leaving the city. Quietly, Greegan slipped into the back of one of the wagons near the rear of the caravan. Exhausted, Greegan drifted away to a restless sleep.

He awoke to the cold touch of a blade at his throat. A caravan guard had found him. At sword-point, he was led to the leader of the caravan. Needing guards to cross the treacherous mountain pass just ahead, the caravan's captain decided to use Greegan as a scout.

The storm sweeps off the mountaintops without warning, as if conjured by some supernatural power. Within minutes, huge drifts of snow have halted the caravan, and the snow falls so hard it is impossible to see more than five feet. Greeegan huddled next to the sledge, trying to shelter his numb face from the icy winds.

A dozen half-human forms marched into view out of the raging blizzard. The little man-things carried wooden spears or long, unsheathed swords in bony, gnarled hands. Their blood-red eyes quickly fell upon Greeegan's sledge and the ugly creatures turned towards his hiding place...

Once again, Greegan woke to a sharp weapon. This time, it was a crude goblin spear poking him through the bars of his cage. After muttering some crude obscenities, the creature left. Captured with him were two humans and an elf.

The elf, Salamdros, was openly hostile towards Greegan. After he used his skills to help his captive friends escape, Salamdros reluctantly agreed to follow Greegan's lead.

Searching for a way out, Greegan and company explored the goblin's cave complex. Running afoul of several goblins, the escapees soon learned that a human called simply "the Master" had attacked the caravan and captured the survivors.

After several battles, the group got separated. While Greeegan's back was turned, Temoril took a sword to the belly. After they found each other again, Salamdros accused Greegan of murdering Tamoril. It was Roderick who convinced Salamdros that escape was more important than justice.

Finally confronting the Master, the captives were able to knock him out long enough to escape into the cold mountain pass. By a twist of luck, the same blizzard that caused their capture allowed them to elude the goblins long enough to survive the pass.