Frostmane wasn’t lying when he said his lair was close at hand. Getting to it took an hour and a half, but only because I had to follow the wolf as he picked his way back and forth between rocks, finding a path up the mountainside. Soon, we came to a cave hidden from the winds by a well-placed rock formation, which exited onto a small ledge overlooking the pass below. We were a good way up the mountainside, but I could still see the caravan stopped in the pass, and the area where the goblin ambush had been set up.

I was a little annoyed, actually. The ambush had been camouflaged from below, but looking down on it they might as well have set off signal flares around their position. If I’d been working, instead of being a passenger, then flying above the pass would have revealed the ambush long before we walked into it. Stupid waste of mercenaries brought on because of that idiot son.

I was torn while considering whether or not to inform the caravan about how Tyrell’s behavior had cost them. On the one hand, I didn’t really care about the caravan, or the lives lost, beyond the useless waste of it all. On the other hand, Tyrell was clearly the kind of person who was stupid enough to think himself clever, and had the arrogance to match, so anything that further twisted the knife of his failures in his gut seemed like a good thing to me. Plus, with his father’s death, he lost the connections his old man had which could help him on making a new life for himself. If I could poison that well even further…

I shook myself from my thoughts on whether or not to make the idiot’s life even worse as we entered the cave that Frostmane had claimed as a lair. Inside was a rough sleeping area, with an actual bearskin rug laid out on the floor. There was a pile of bones in one corner, stripped of flesh and chewed on. In the other corner, however, was the wolf’s hoard.

It was no dragon’s hoard, of course, no piles of coins and jewels that he could sleep upon, or anything like that. Instead, there were several trophies and other items piled up along one wall. Some were like new, and others were damaged beyond the point of any repair, likely not good for even scrap at this point. The sheer variety of everything was amazing. And, looking through the pile with my ability to see magical auras, I could tell that more than a couple of the items were magical in nature.

Still, no reason to lead with that. I looked over to the wolf with a grin. “Where did you get that rug, Frostmane? Correct me if I’m wrong, but skinning and tanning hides are not really skills that wolves, even ones as clever as winter wolves, are known for.”

Frostmane chuffed at me, his version of a laugh. “Your caravan is not the first to come this way, you know, and run into trouble while crossing through the pass. Sometimes they are successful, and sometimes less so. The goblin tribe that used to live in this part paid me tribute to hunt this pass, before they were overrun by another tribe shortly after the snows started. One of the reasons I was in the valley, besides the thought of perhaps getting a meal for myself, was to teach this new tribe some respect, so they would give me tribute, as the old one did. I had not expected them to be present in such numbers, truthfully, and was considering what to do with them when you began defending yourself so capably.”

I smiled at him, and ruffled the fur behind his ears. Frostmane seemed to enjoy that, like any canine would. “Well, I could have killed them all, in time, but some of them would have gotten away if they left some of the weaker ones to fight for them while they ran. So, for that reason alone it was good that you showed up.” I took a breath, and said, “You’ve got some magic items in your horde, that much I can tell already. Why don’t we sort through things, and we’ll see what to bring along with us. I’ve got an item that will identify the magic items, so we’ll know what they actually do.”

Frostmane nodded simply, and so I took out my monocle, and got to work. The first thing I pulled out was a large breastplate made of blue ice. I could tell by the way the straps were positioned that it wasn’t designed for humans, or even humanoids, to wear, which made me curious. The fact that even I could have seen that it was of goblin make meant that this had to be a ‘tribute’ piece. But so valuable a tribute would mean that, perhaps, Frostmane was more than just an idle threat to the goblins. Maybe he’d tried his hand at getting some minions? It wouldn’t be the first time a larger creature forced a tribe of goblins into their service, after all.

Breastplate of the Wolf Lord

Type

Light Armor

Weight

30

AC Bonus

+8

Max Dex

4

ACP

-2

Speed

Full

This piece of armor is clearly of goblin make. However, it is masterfully made all the same. Crafted from Blue Ice, this unmelting breastplate is sized and fitted for Large quadrupedal creatures, like a wolf. It has been enchanted with a number of abilities to aid its wearer in battle.

+3 Enhancement Bonus

Blue Ice – Half normal weight. +1 Max Dex, -2 ACP. Counts as one armor category lighter (light armor remains light armor).

Easy Travel – Carry up to a Medium Load as if it were a Light Load. Can travel up to 10 Hours a day without CON checks.

Called – Can call armor to you as long as it is on the same plane. Armor appears worn and ready for action.

Landing – Ignore Falling damage from the first 60’ of a fall. Can always land on feet.

I couldn’t help but smile as I saw it. “Well, Frostmane, I can tell you that this breastplate will definitely aid you in combat, and it won’t hurt too much in everyday situations. If you’ll allow me to put it on you, then you’ll be able to keep it on all the time, without hurting your abilities to hunt too much, and even if you need to take it off, you’ll be able to call it back, if you need it, and it will appear on you, as though someone had properly helped you wear it.”

“Hmph. A fitting tribute from the goblins. A pity they were taken over before I got one of them to put it on me, or I might have been able to do more against the filthy invaders. Very well, little bird, I’ll allow you to assist in putting on my armor.”

Saddlebags of Providing

Type

Tool

Weight

16

These saddlebags provide everything a mount needs to function on an extended campaign. The right bag produces enough food to feed the creature it is slung over for one day. Food removed and not eaten disappears after 24 hours. The left bag contains a masterwork set of grooming and leather repair tools appropriate for the creature it is slung over. In addition, the left bag acts as a Bag of Holding, with 250 lbs of available space. Regardless of their contents, the bags always weigh the same.

The next item clearly came from some adventuring party or perhaps a nobleman, but the saddlebags were an invaluable resource, I could tell that already. Frostmane, however, needed some convincing to allow me to fit them on his back. Well, some convincing, but not much, once I informed him that it would provide meat for him if he couldn’t hunt his own, and, in addition to providing a bag to store loot we came across, it would provide tools that I could use to help groom his hair. I think it was that last point that really sealed the deal.

Boots of Striding and Springing

Type

Boots

Weight

1

This set of boots gives a +10 ft Enhancement bonus to base speed, and +5 Competence bonus on Jump checks.

This set of boots, once I identified them, became clear winners in Frostmane’s eyes. He had suspected they were magical, given the fine gold filigree, and the way that they didn’t seem to degrade like the other items, but he was smart enough to know that curses were real things, and didn’t want to risk it. I helped slip them on his rear feet, and they instantly became booties fit for a wolf.

Necklace of Natural Weapons (Bite)

Type

Neck

Weight

--

This necklace, crafted from the fangs and sinew of wild animals, is enchanted to give a creature with a bite attack magical power behind its attacks.

+1 Enhancement Bonus to Bite attack and Damage

Ghost Touch – Bite can affect incorporeal creatures as normal

This necklace looked like a grim trophy necklace of some deranged hunter, and perhaps it actually started out like that. The enchantment on it, however, was incredibly useful. Not only did it give Frostmane’s basic attack a bit of magical oomph behind it, but allowing the wolf to bite and take down ghosts or other incorporeal creatures was huge. The wolf wore the necklace with pride.

Replenishing Skin

Type

Tool

Weight

4

This waterskin is constantly replenished by magic. Even if emptied, it will refill itself over the course of four hours.

Ring of Protection +1

Type

Ring

Weight

This ring has been enchanted to provide a +1 Deflection Bonus to AC.

These two items were well known to me, as I had similar items myself. The make of the items was different (the skin was clearly a goblin make, while the ring was like nothing I’d seen in the northlands), but the functions were the same. I slipped the skin in Frostmane’s bag, and fitted the ring on one of his paws, smiling as it resized to fit.

Ring of the Darkhidden

Type

Ring

Weight

--

This unassuming ring, crafted from unadorned silver, makes the wearer invisible to Darkvision, making it highly sought after by those who wish to remain hidden in the darkness.

The Ring of the Darkhidden was very interesting, from my perspective. From what I knew, invisibility, of any kind, typically came with the proviso that once you started attacking, then the effect ended. This item, however, did not work that way. Sure, you were only invisible to darkvision, but at night, or underground and in other dark places, Frostmane would be able to move unseen, even as he ripped apart an enemy. It was a niche item, sure, but I could see the potential power in it.

Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds

Type

Tool

Weight

--

This common potion heals 2d8+3 HP damage when drunk.

Three of these potions were in the pile, each with a bottle that was clearly from a different maker, suggesting that they came from different sources. However, their effect was the same, being a more powerful version of the healing potions that I already had. I put them in the bag with the skin, happy to have some extra healing on tap.

The rest of the horde included some broken or useless weapons and armor that weren’t worth the trouble of bringing back to civilization, some curiosities that were probably personal items of the wolf’s victims, but had no real value otherwise, a few coin pouches containing a total of 50 pieces of gold, and another 50 pieces of platinum, and other such things. None of it was really worth taking. Except for the rug. That rug was coming with us, period. It didn’t matter that it was clearly from a dire bear, and weighed a good seventy pounds, we were taking it, because it looked comfortable as fuck (which Frostmane admitted it was). I could feel his smirk on me as I packed it into the saddlebag.

I didn’t know how, but I’d make sure he paid for that smirk. Eventually. As long as it didn’t interfere with how fluffy he was. I quite liked his fluffiness. He was a good boy (a BIG one!), but smirking could not go unpunished by any male, or they’d start to get ideas. And we couldn’t have that.