"Would this blade be of use to any of ye? My training has been with Magrim's hammer and with the more basic of arms. With enough time to prepare though, I can ask Magrim for blessings that may help us strike strongly against these fey creatures."
"I have some training with the blade, but I am much more skilled with my estoc," Thanion states as he rests his hand on his weapon's hilt. He then continues, "Perhaps our large friend here can make the best use of the sword?"
As the conversation shifts to alchemical weapons, Thanion gets lost in thought. I've never used alchemist fire personally, but it seems simple enough. Doesn't matter, even discounted I don't have the coin. I'll just have to rely on Vitus's instruction and my new companions here.
Braham takes the longsword and gives it few sweeps back and forth, testing its weight. "It's a fine sword, but to be honest, I like my greataxe more. I think I can do more damage with it". He gives the weapon back.
"I also don't have money for alchemist fire... If Tessa here does not want to help us out " - he looks accusingly at the Apothecary - "I'm a ready as I can be."
"Please Tessa, come on, since you will probably stay back safe in town, while we go out and fight the bad guys, giving us a few potions is the least you could do..."
Councilwoman Teppin rises for her kneeling position beside the cot with a groan that only comes from getting too old to be in that position for too long. "While you guys sort this out, I have someone else I need to talk to about all of this." With her left hand on her side, just above her hip, she leaves the herbalist's shop.
Tessa looks both nervous and apologetic, biting the left side of her lower lip. With a furrowed brow, she offers, "Okay, look, the very best I can do is give one to each of you, but they cost me a fair sum to make. Use them wisely."
--------------------------
As Sia sits in the inn, wondering how to apologize to Kale, Councilwoman Teppin enters. She looks around the common room, as her eyes adjust to the dimmer light inside, before spotting just the person she was looking for. "Sia! I knew I saw you stroll into town today, and figured I would find you here." As she strolls over to the woman, Kale comes back out of the kitchen, lifting her eyebrows in question to the older woman. Ionna waves her off, indicating she wasn't looking to have anything. As she reaches Sia, she puts her hands on her hips, and gets right to the point. "Look, there's a group about to go out and look for the missing Lady Malassene. I was wondering if you could at least show them to the spot where the Border Wood comes closest to the road toward Zimar. You may know a few of them already. There's Braham, the big guy that apprentices for Isker, Sevrin, the Winthers' kid, and the elf that roams in about once every couple weeks, Aavelixia. They have two newcomers as well, but I'll take anybody that's willing to help. The thought is that Lady Malassene's disappearance and the recent cold are related. Maybe if they solve one, they solve the other." She shrugs. "So, what do you say? If you hurry, you may catch them at Willowbark Apothecary. They're getting supplies, and I think leaving shortly."
Sia looks up at Councilwoman Teppin and listens intently to her request. "I would do just about anything to help Lady Malassene and even more to stop the cold. I would be delighted to help them on their journey. I'll head over there before they leave. I don't want to have to play catch up. It was nice as always to see you Councilwoman," she stands up and prepares to leave, but pauses, "Will you let Kale know that I said sorry? She will know what you are referring to." Without another word, Sia heads over to the Apothecary.
---------
Upon hearing various voices, Sia enters the backroom of the apothecary and greets the other individuals, "Hello everyone. Councilwoman Teppin requested that I lead you towards Zimar. When would you all like to head out?"
She scans the room, looking at the people that she will be traveling with. She pauses when she sees the injured man. Is that...Frostbite?! I haven't seen injuries like this in years. When she realizes that she's staring, she quickly resumes looking anywhere but at the injured man.
Holding the sword again, Thalin shrugs slightly and holds on to it as to not down play the wounded man's offering. As another elvish woman entered the back of the shop and offered to guide them out, Thalin felt he needed a few moments to prepare before their departure.
"I will need an hour or so to get prepared and ready to depart. It will give me time to get my goods and pray to Magrim for his guidance and blessings for our group."
"Thank you for your assistance Tessa. We will make sure we put these to good use and when we return, we will return any of the vials we haven't used to help ease the burden we are placing on you."
Seeing the newcomer enter the backroom of the shop, Thanion turns his attention to her. "We would welcome your assistance in leading us. I am ready to go as soon as my compatriots here are ready. I am Thanion, Thanion Aeraviel. My dwarf friend here Thalin, son of Thanin and our strong companion goes by the name of Braham. I believe our druid friend is called by Aavelixia and this man ..." Thanion pauses looking flummoxed at Sevrin, "...this man ... I'm sorry I don't think I ever got your name."
Sevrin nods. "Yes, thank you Tessa. We appreciate your help."
By which I mean reluctantly parting with something that could save all our lives.
"I guess I'll get ready to leave as soon as I can." Sevrin looks a little lost. "Is there anything... I mean... How much food do you think we'll need? Should I bring anything extra to keep warm?"
"Thank you very much, Tessa! That will help us a lot."
Braham turns to his companions, and greets the newly arrived Aavelixia.
"I just need to get my gear, but that will not take too long. Shall we all meet at the statue of the Lady in an hour?"
"Aye, I shall meet ye in an hour."
Thalin nodded in greetings to the one called Tessa and quickly hurried out of the shop and to the inn to get his equipment and say his prayers to Magrim.
"As ye watch over the battles of dwarves, watch over us in the days to come. I know not what we travel towards, but let it serve as a chance to increase my knowledge and serve as a means to ensure those lost are given their rest."
After loading his few possessions into his well worn pack, Thalin left the inn to meet the others in front of the statue of the Lady.
"At the statue in an hour then." Thanion bows to his companions before making his way back home to ensure that what few belongings he has are in order before making his way to meet everyone at the statue of the lady.
"Ok see everyone soon then."
Sevrin hurries home and nervously shoves his possessions into his pack. The pack is quite nice, given to him by his parents to help him gather and haul herbs more easily. They're not home and he's glad for that, it would be hard for him to explain what he's doing. He can't explain it to himself.
This is crazy. What am I doing? Why have I gone crazy?
He makes his way to the statue barely on time looking rushed and flushed. Far over his head a tiny birdlike creature circles, flashing blue and red. He stares at the Lady for a long moment, unable to process his own thoughts.
Aavelixia looks at Tessa, she lets go of Suzy and moves towards Tessa. She smiles in gratitude. “Thank you for all you have done so far, we really do appreciate it. I know this is a struggle for you, thank you again. I will try to bring you some ingredients, whatever I can find, to compensate for some of your expenses.”
She looks at Thalin and says to the group. “If no one minds, I’ll take the sword.” She looks at the Yuln Oerstag “It will be an honor to use your blade.”
She looks at Sia and nods, as to say hello. As she heads towards the exit of the backroom, she looks back at the people who are now her companions. “I’ll meet you guys at the square. I have a few things to get.” She looks at Suzy and waves her hand as to gesture to follow.
She exits the backroom and is now heading towards the door of the apothecary, she looks back to see if Suzy is following. Not surprised, Suzy is practically at her heels. “I know, I know, you need fresh air. We’re leaving the apothecary, see, we’re outside. We’re going back to the woods soon.” Suzy seems to perk up when she hears they’re going to the woods. She doesn’t like enclosed spaces.
She takes a deep breath and looks at Suzy. She seems worried and almost lost in thought. Suzy grabs Aavelixia’s hand and tries to drag her towards the West. It is the shortest route out of town and into the woods “That’s west, we’re going south, we need to get some stuff before leaving”
After everyone gathers their things, and collects themselves for the task ahead, they meet up at the statue that marks the center of town. The motley band makes whatever minor adjustments they need before Sia leads them down the road south of town. Despite dwarves being known for their slow and steady pace, it is Sevrin, Braham, and Suzy that establish the speed the group moves.
The trip ends up taking close to three hours, just to get to the point where the road comes closer to the forest at the point Yuln said they were attacked. Near the forest, the temperature grows noticeably colder. Just as you wonder if you will find the place you are looking for, you see that there was no reason to doubt. The road ahead is littered with debris and the corpses of slain humans and horses. A carriage stands in the roadway, its team of horses missing or cut free, while another overturned carriage lies sprawled and broken next to the tree line. To the south, more bodies have fallen around what appears to be a statue of ice. A snowy trail leads deeper into the forest.
Sevrin struggles forward with his heavy pack. He's not able to shake the feeling that he is a liability for the whole expedition. The uncharacteristic cold gnaws at his nerves and sense of well being. At length a tiny blue and red flying creature alights upon his shoulder and remains, without comment from Sevrin.
When he sees the carnage before him he blanches. "What am I even doing here? There's nothing I can do about something like this."
Something propels him forward however and he looks over the devastation carefully.
Sevrin wracks his brain for what he knows about the fey hoping for something relevant to the situation.
"My god ... this is horrible! Never could I have believed there was carnage like this," Thanion thinks to himself as they arrive in the clearing. He is visibly shaken before he closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. "Focus... Control yourself... See what you can find," he mantras in his head, steadying himself.
When he calms, he takes survey of the scene, paying particular attention to the ice statue. "What is that?" he mutters to no one in particular as he slowly walks towards it.
After meeting with everyone at the statue and following the guidance from their guide, Thalin's short but consistent strides helped keep everyone moving with a sense of urgency. One of the boons the Taskmaster provided to those who traveled the lands to assist in the Passage and to visit the tombs of the Fallen was a fleetness of foot that many dwarves would never possess.
Three hours later their hard pressing was rewarded by arriving at the scene of the attack. Looking around at the carnage, Thalin's eyes are immediately drawn to the bodies of the fallen warriors. Drawing his holy symbol, Thalin approached the nearest one and immediately began saying a shortened prayer of deliverance for the fallen. While Magrim would not accept their souls to the Forge, Thalin hoped his prayer would be heard by whatever deity they followed and guide them to their final rest. As he conducted the prayers, his trained eyes observed the wounds and instinctively tried to categorize them as best he could.
During the brisk walk through the colder air, Braham noticeably perks up. However, that feeling quickly evaporates as soon as he sees the grim sight of the battlefield before him. He has never seen anything like this in his entire life...
Swallowing hard, he tries to refocus and scans the scene. His eyes are drawn to the strange ice statue, which glistens unnaturally in the sunlight. Seeing Thanion starting to walk towards it, he shouts: "Be careful, Thanion, we don't know what that thing is!"
The temperature has dropped considerably, maybe only slightly above freezing, and a light dusting of snow covers the ground. The extreme temperature and odd weather does not take away from the chaos and devestation of the scene. There is the overturned carriage, looking as if someone or something has torn through whatever contents were within. A little further down the road, is the horseless carriage, with decorative chasings depicting Taldan heraldry. The southern side of it is covered in many arrows, likely fired from the tree line during the fight. Thalin notices from the bodies strewn about, that most of them are pierced with either tiny needles or shards of ice. Sevrin knows that the needles are most likely from the weapons of the more diminutive fey, but that working alongside humans to ambush a passing carriage is not normally in line with their baser natures.
Thanion's attention is absorbed by the statue of ice, but he moves toward it from just the right angle that the sun reflects off of it to momentarily pierce his vision. The flash is enough to his already light-sensitive eyes, that he stops not only from Braham's warning, but from the spots he is forced to blink away. Braham, looking just past him notices that it is not actually a statue at all, but the frozen remains of someone trapped within the ice, some chunks of which lie broken around the base.
Everyone hears it, in the brief silence following Braham's call, what could only be a light sporadic thumping coming from the second carriage.
Sia examines the scene and slightly pauses her gaze on the statue. She noticed that the temperature has dropped, probably the coldest it has been since she left that wretched place in the north. This weather needs to go back to normal. These poor people, being ambushed is terrible. To be absolutely slaughtered is even worse.
Sia starts to walk amongst the choas, but pauses when she hears the thumping from the carriage. She readies her spear incase the noise is coming from a beast that they don't want to necessarily meet. Please be a little animal just looking for food.
Thanion blinks away the spots in his eyes. "why is it always so bright here?" He grumbles internally. At that moment he hears a thumping from one of the carriages and he turns towards it. "Do you hear that? There's another survivor. We need to help them." Thanion says to the expedition before making his way towards the carriage.
"Careful again, Thanion!". Braham draws his weapon and slowly but purposefully starts to move towards the carriage, on the lookout for any possible threats.
"The needles, those are from the fey." Sevrin shakes his head. "They don't work normally with humans, this is something other than banditry. Sevrin stares wordlessly at the frozen figure and then turns with a start at the thumping sound. Did somebody escape?
Aavelixia and Suzy walk towards the wreckage with the group. She makes small talk with some of the companions in an effort to know everyone better. Along the way, she keeps an eye for some plants and herbs to collect for Tessa, and maybe for tea later tonight.
Perception
Knowledge Nature
Profession (herbalist)
As they reach the wreckage, she is not as surprised at what she sees. Aavelixia’s concern is more on finding any kind of trail or footprint, anything that can indicate what type of beast they are looking for.
Perception
As she is trying to pick up some kind of trail or footprint, she hears something from one of the carriages. She is trying to discern whether it’s a person that miraculously is still alive, or an animal looking for an easy meal.
Perception
She reaches for her weapon and moves carefully towards the noise. She turns to quickly glance at the nearest companion. “careful, might be a trap”
Aavelixia notices that the plant life is surely suffering from the sudden cold that has been prevalent in the area. No good plants are worthy of harvesting. Anything of any note has either wilted or already been picked off by foraging animals uncertain about the changes.
Thanion struggles to get used to the snow blindness. From his experience in Irrisen, there is never much sun to shine off of the snow in the first place. As he continues to try and blink away the spots, and tears that follow a bright flash, Braham worries over him. The big man's attention are drawn more to whether the elven man will stumble into anything.
Sia, Sevrin, and Aavelixia notice a little more distinction to the sounds. As everyone draws nearer the wagon, pitiful groans can be heard, along with the random thumping. Getting a closer inspection on the wagon, it seems that the back doors are being held shut by a spear wedged between the handles. The thumping comes from someone or something inside pressing or banging against the doors.
As the pounding from the second carriage draws everyone's attention, Thalin quickly rises from the corpse and readies his hammer and shield.
"Braham, can ye get that spear out of the way? Should the need be, my hammer will meet whatever is inside if they mean us ill will. Magrim willing though, it is another survivor."
"Wait! It's not a survivor!" Sevrin backs away from the carriage in alarm. "The fey didn't leave anybody alive, why would they lock somebody up in a carriage? That spear's not going to stop them from getting in, it's stopping someone from getting out!" Sevrin backs off to about 50 feet away from the carriage and makes sure his crossbow is loaded and ready.
"Wait! It's not a survivor!" Sevrin backs away from the carriage in alarm. "The fey didn't leave anybody alive, why would they lock somebody up in a carriage? That spear's not going to stop them from getting in, it's stopping someone from getting out!"
While Thalin had not experienced the rigors of heavy battle firsthand, he had sat with many elders who told him of the chaos and insanity of battle and of times where the eyes lied of what was friend and foe. Could something like that have happened here?
"Ye may be right, but if any of ye know how to speak with the fey it might serve use all the same."
"I.. I know a bit of Sylvan." Thanion stammers. He then calls out to the carriage in Sylvan.
Braham listens intently to the sounds from the carriage. He doesn't speak Sylvan, but perhaps from the tone of the words he would be able to make out if they're dealing with a friend or a foe?
He tightens his grip on his greataxe, trying not to think too hard about the fact that he's actually never used it in anger...
As the group gathers round to investigate the wagon and potential occupants, Thanion calls out. There is no response, but it seems the call has ramped up the activity within. The wagon starts to rock a little and the thumping becomes more hurried, like there are multiple things banging on the interior of it.
Sia walks quietly towards the carriage, searching for any traps that may be near it. Assuming that she doesn't find any traps, she looks back towards the group. Well someone has to pull the spear... She puts her spear away before grabbing the one that is holding the friend or foe in the carriage. She swallows hard, pulls the spear and prepares to meet whichever being greets her.
Aavelixia calls out to whomever or whatever is in the carriage in elven and common, perhaps it’s not fey.
“Who are you, what’s your name? “ She waits for a response from inside the carriage.
Sense motive
She moves closer to the wagon, and takes a quick look at her companions to see if everyone is ready for what’s inside. She notices Sia searching for traps. She quickly realizes that she and Suzy might be too close to the carriage. She takes a few steps back in order to not be too close.
As Sia is removing the spear, she glances to the trees to see if anything is hiding, and waiting for them to drop their guard. Could there be something hiding by the trees?
Perception
“Suzy, come here” she signals Suzy to move near her.
As both Aavelixia and Sia investigate the wagon and the sounds coming from within, they each notice that there is a small, ornate box hidden carefully under the driver's seat of the carriage. It seems that the bandits may not have found everything of value. They can both tell that there are clearly three different groans coming from within, and Sia finds that there are no traps to speak of. Deciding that they will only learn what's inside by opening it, she does just that. Adjusting her own spear across her pack, to better grasp the one holding the door, she gives it a wriggle and a tug.
As soon as the impromptu lock is dislodged, the carriage doors fly wide, and the inhabitants pour forth. They look human at first, native Taldan in appearance, but it doesn't take long to realize that they are not alive. Three shambling corpses, pale blue from both the cold and lack of blood, groan and head toward the group. The readiness of the others went a long way, as the creatures were very slow in deciding how to act.
As the corpses begin shambling out of the wagon Sevrin's goes akimbo. He can feel his pulse pounding in his head and his vision blurs. Everything seems odd and crooked. In one moment of utter panic the pressure in his head feels so intense that he's sure he cannot endure another moment. Then everything snaps into focus. Once again the world seems normal the snow white in the sunlight, the air is cold on his skin. The shambling corpses seem banal now, almost contemptible. All that's left of his panic is an aftertaste of malice. Wretched creatures, what do they thing they're doing? Threatening us, my friends and my village! He all but scoffs at them. A font of malignant resentment and anger opens in his heart. Instead of fleeing he runs forward and pours his anger out at them.
Braham feels a sudden surge of adrenaline when he spots the shambling creatures. Needless to see, he has never seen anything like them in his life, but it's clear that they are an abomination and need to be eradicated.
With a loud cry that surprises himself, he charges at the enemy just coming out of the wagon.
"My lord ... wh..what are those?" Thanion stutters as he draws his weapon. As adrenaline courses through his veins, the thrum of energy he felt we he first awoke in Heldren begins to build within him as well. "Not now ... I can't lose control now... Focus!" Thanion thinks to himself as he focuses on his stance. As he focuses, the energy focuses within him and draws through him into his weapon, giving it a soft white glow. With a courage he didn't realize he had, he then steps up and strikes at the creature.
As the first undead creature emerged from the overturned carriage, Thalin took a reflexive step backwards and tried to summon any knowledge of what these abominations might be.
Aavelixia looks at the first thing that comes out of the carriage. It’s a good thing that she prepared for this encounter. She can’t afford to be caught off-guard.
She moves up as much as she can to help kill the unnatural thing before her. E17
Suzy is following, guard me.
Though Aavelixia recognizes the things as zombies, she know not much more than the fact that they are among the most basic level of undead creature. They are rotting mindless shells of unlife.
Thanion is a little more well-versed in them, as a follower of the dwarven god of death, and shares as much as he can summarize with the others. He knows that, as mindless creatures, they have no mind to affect, just as they don't breathe. They are untiring, feel no pain, and will not be made inanimate short of dismemberment. They are slow and uncoordinated, moving and hitting at the same time is well beyond their abilities. Any sort of bruising, broken bones, or bleeding puncture wounds, have much less effect on the shambling hunks of meat. The best way to deal with them is carving off enough chunks to stop them from moving. They do hit pretty hard though, and can be a bear to put down for how easy they are to hit.
Aavelixia springs into action, her bow already prepared. Calling Suzy to provide protection, she moves to stand just behind Sia, and draws her bow right over the other woman's shoulder. With her experience using her bow up close in the confines of the forest, she launches a shot right through the thing's head. It may be just a hole, but it's a pretty serious hole, as one of its eyeballs can be seen dangling from the arrowhead sticking out the other side.
Sevrin decides that the crowd is going to be a hard obstacle for any crossbow shot, as the latent power that has found him surges to the fore. He closes the distance that he initially gave himself and harnesses that force, conjuring an air of ill-omen on the lead zombie. The barrage of misfortune around the creature is unavoidable, as the mindless thing seems to bear a dark aura of otherworldy malice that only Sevrin can see.
Thanion finally gets to put all his training to use, quickly whipping out his odd-looking, long-headed spear. He focuses on enhancing the weapon, making it a greater force to be reckoned with as he steps up from around Braham. Bringing the now-enchanted long point to bear on the lead creature. He thrusts, just enoough to catch the thing as it reels from the force of Aavelixia's shot. The proximity is too close, and he just manages to puul off a body shot into the fleshy midsection of the thing. His weapon punches in, but it is mostly useless meat to the thing at this point, barely acknowledging that it was hit.
As combat begins in earnest around him, Thalin is able to quickly surmise that the creatures before him are thankfully a lower tier of the undead. Shouting out to be heard over the chaos of combat, he yells out what he feels is the best information to the others.
"They be zombies! Chop them as ye would logs if ye can, as they don't won't feel the sting of an arrow nor the pain of broken bones from my hammer."
Trusting that they are able to follow what he means, Thalin secures his hammer and pulls his holy symbol over his head and yells once more.
"Spread them out! They not have it in them to move and strike at us, but can hit as hard as Braham if they do land a blow."
Sia grips the spear that she pulled with both hands and shoves it into the zombie. She can feel the spear make contact.
As Thanion punches his estoc into the zombie, Sia shifts her right foot back to adjust her weight onto it before driving her whole body forward with the spear in the lead. Thanion's weapon, setting deep in the creature's organs, is the right amount of weight and hold to work to her advantage. She drives the spear up under its rib cage, arcing upward until the point rests all the way in the interior of the top of its skull. Still pushing hard with the force she built up, the upper half of the zombie begins to pull off of the bottom half held by Thanion's weapon, until she separates the two parts of it from each other. Pulling back the spear, she slides the top half off of her weapon, the top third of which is now covered in viscera.
Heeding Thalin's warning, Braham decides to hold his swing until just as soon as the next one exits the wagon. Unfortunately, he preempts the speed it exits by too much, and the large head of his greataxe does nothing more than leave a line across its midsection.
As the first zombie fell at his feet, Thalin knew it would only be a few moments before the rest came out of the overturned carriage. Chanting quickly in dwarvish, Thalin called upon Magrim to help him strike down the creatures.
Torag could feel the energy race away from him towards the carriage, but could not tell how effective the holy burst was.
Calling out a prayer to the prime of his pantheon, Thalin exerts his faith in putting a stop to the undead creatures remaining in the wagon. A pulse of positive energy expands out from the dwarf, not bearing the wash of healing, instead it's a pulse pushing back against the negative energy infused in the zombies. The lead zombie, possibly having a stronger link to the negative, doesn't suffer the full brunt. The one behind it does, however.
The remaining two zombies shuffle out of the wagon, the first one stopping as soon as it exits and has Braham's axe cross its midsection. It swings right back at the big man, a heavy fist with no knowledge of aim or constraint. Braham was standing right shoulder forward, his swing having extended him to be holding the haft of his weapon across his body. The odd angle left him exposed to take the brunt of the zombie's swing hard on the same forward shoulder, causing a jolt of pain to shoot down his right arm.
The last remaining zombie manages to shuffle its way out, strolling to the only spot it can find to try and get at those standing outside of it. The slow slog of it, takes all of the meandering corpse's effort.
As the creatures shambled around him, Thalin saw an opportunity to strike one while its focus was on something else.
As the target of his malice is destroyed Sevrin snaps his eyes toward the next shambling creature. He pours his contempt into it, will it's clumsy motions to be even more spasmodic and unreliable.
Seeing Braham take a viscous hit, Thanion calls out to his new friend, "Braham are you ok?!? Further mystical energy then begins pouring through his veins as he strikes out at the creature that hit Braham. Thanion then registers what Thalin said and pulls back slightly hoping to split the creatures up.