The town of Caer Dineval is in trouble. The lake they depend on has frozen over, halting the fishing and lakebound trade they depend on for survival under Auril’s harsh eternal winter. The residents plead for the speaker to reach out to other towns for help, but the speaker only hides in his castle and the town is de facto ruled by his hired mercenary guard “The knights of the black sword”. Knights in name only, they act more like thugs. They have mandated a curfew whilst they roam the town at night searching for something. And all the while, a bitter, creeping cold seems to leak down into the town from the caer, seeping into homes and hearth alike.