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Vroth attempts to stabilize the only possible guy. "may be too late for this one." "remember this lantern is cursed look for a pillow case or something of the nature to carry it in."
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"once we bar the door i will cast
This will allow us to flee out the back and by us time for when the breach the door. "
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Vrothum hastily bolts the door and looks around for any clues that might help him.
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Slamming the door shut, you can still hear the guards making their way to you. You grab the lantern, and also Bengeirr's magical greatsword. Upstairs, you find all of Skelg's stolen treasures, including: carpets, urns, sculptures, and other works of art. There is also a box containing 2 potions of cure moderate wounds. They are contained in three medium-sized chests, except for the rolled carpets, each weighing approx. 200lbs each, (roughly 91kg).
A quick glance around reveals a few exits that you could use. In the top floor, there is a single window in the ceiling you could use to climb to the roof, and perhaps climb down undetected. On the main floor, there is a back door, designed to allow a ship, held inside the warehouse, to leave dock and go to sea. You could dive into the water, swimming into further from shore, then make your way back to land further down. You could rush and scatter from the front door, trying to loose yourself in the crowd. Finally, . . . there is a Ulfen ship.
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"I'm no criminal this stuff isn't ours to take back tomorrow so take what you guys want but we got what we came for." Vrothum heads up stairs and attempts the window escape. he then attempts to get off the roof and back to the mansion.
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As the group splits up, half rush upstairs to start grabbing the chests, while the others try to blockade the doors.
Finally getting everything thrown on board, you board the vessel, leaving Kryssa and Vrothum behind to hold the main door while the other use the ship to ram the rear exit open.
Bursting through the rear exit, the "the Linnorm Spear" bursts through, sending each of the doors slamming out to create a massive crashing sound as they hit the sides of the warehouse and portion of the outer dock.
Seeing that being left behind was not part of the plan, Vrothum and Kryssa spring towards the boat, diving into the water, and catching the two ropes that have been left for them. As the ship sails out into the bay, they start climbing towards the ship, hauling themselves in.
Jim leaps towards the mast, climbing it with ease to make get a view on any threat from behind the ship, and calls down that the two deadweights could use help before one of the guards has the bright idea to start firing.
As no one actually knows how to pilot the vessel, it's take off it a bit, well pathfinderish. Unable to veer to the let in time, it rips right through a small line of rowboats tied off at a nearby dock, and nearly smashes into the dock itself. After that, luckily, it's a straight shot to the open ocean, and you manage to make the vessel out away from the city. Steering it a little down coast, you drop the anchor, and take the rowboat back to the city. Back to Skelgs.
This ship is a simple one-level longship with benches for rowers and a single mast. In the bottom of the ship are seven bodies tightly wrapped in sailcloth. They are likely the remains of warriors killed in the two raids on Greydog Manor. A mundane lantern of similar size and design to the Beacon of the North hangs from the prow of the ship.
Tucked beneath one of the benches is a small, ornately carved oaken chest inlaid with gold and precious stones itself worth likely a few thousand gold pieces. Inside the chest are five potions (of resist energy (cold)).
There is no resistance entering his estate this time, though more than a few looks as you walk through the streets with large, heavy chests and a roll of expensive rugs and carpets. You are pretty sure some local toughs where seriously thinking about mugging you, but manage to get out of danger quickly.
Tyros greets you eagerly, hopeful that you had found a cure. You are taken back to his chamber, finding him still covered in many blankets near a roaring fire, but seemingly freezing to death.
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Saarai explains what she knows about the magical lantern on the way back to Skelg.
Once they reach the manor, the tiefling is visibly relieved. "I didn't think we would make it! Well, I knew I would, but I was worried about some of you!" she says slyly.
Once speaking with Skelg, she says "Well, what now? Is there any way to reverse the Beacon of the North?" she asks the freezing man.
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Rhuul shakes his head, water still spraying from his beard.
He listens with an interested ear as Saarai tells of the lantern.
"That was a bit too close. Maybe next time we talk before we swing, eh? While I'm sure they were rogues one and all, I'd prefer not to be dodging the guard for the next few months."
The fact that he was charging through the door swinging ith the rest seems to have escaped Rhuul entirely.
Once back in the overly hot room he asks
"What can you tell us about a map?"
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Not really one for carrying loot, Jim scurries around in front of the party on the way back, trying to find a path that avoids the greater knots of people...
...once back at Skelg's house, and the rest of the party comments on what to do next, he excitedly adds:
"Yes,yes!Goodtobeback,itis,andsuccessful,too!Butwhatnext?"
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Tyros accepts the return of his master's possessions thankfully, but is clearly more concerned with Skelg's health, simply has you set them aside in the corner. Just as you are about to hand over he Beacon of the North, Skelg's reaching hand collapses, hitting the floor. At first you think he has passed on, but see that he is still breathing, shallowly. Tyros, seeing the lantern, jumps up and asks that you try whatever you can to heal him, and try as you might, nothing seems to improve Skelg's health.
"It must be something within the portal that Tirfyr opened then. Please. Take the lantern, take it to the portrait that I showed you earlier. Use the damned lantern and see if you can open another magical path to wherever he did. He went in looking for a way to stop this curse, but was not expecting the portal to close. Find him, and the cure, and you can still save Skelg, the Ripper."
While Skelg seems to be slipping further and further to his death from freezing, you are having a lot of trouble remaining in this insanely hot room, unaffected.
Following the servant's suggestion, you return to the hallway near Skelg's now empty treasury and stand before the painting. Before hand, Tyros had mentioned that it was originally a landscape of a simple rural area, if you can believe the claims. What you see now, as before the last time he showed you, an Ulfen longship on a rolling sea, mostly encased in an iceberg.
Looking at the lantern, you see that it's silvery flame is extinguished, and only about 1/4 of that special oil remains inside of it's holding chamber.
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"Achh! I gotta get out of here!" Saarai exclaims as the unbearable heat gets to her.
Saarai looks at the lamp intently as they set off toward the basement.
"This is worrisome to me...while this lamp burns, it consumes the oil normally, though it does not produce the normal orange light nor heat, but rather silvery light, and emits cold."
She purses her lips in thought. "But, by activating the Beacon's other abilities, I think it will actually consume a set volume of the oil, and if this thing can actually open a portal, the length that portal remains open may depend on how much oil remains. But I'm not sure. It does mean that without much oil left, the portal might not stay open very long! I hope everyone is prepared for a lifetime in the arctic!"
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Rhuul shivers in the cold air as he looks at Skelg
"Before we do this, lets grab some cold weather gear. I'd not want to come back with my beard shattered through being careless."
He looks at the lantern.
"Is there any more of the oil? I'd hate for it to run out, and then be stuck there. There is also the question about whether we should take the lantern with us..."
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Kryssa flips her hair off of her neck to get some air. "I think we should take the lantern with us. We might need it for something on the other side of the gateway." She digs through her bag for a second as to re-assess and says, "As for spare oil, I've got one full flask in my backpack. Taking a couple extra flasks would be a good idea."
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Lighting the flame within the lantern near the painting, it doesn't create a beam so much as shed it's silvery light our in an arc, slamming into the painting to create a doorway. Beyond I, you can't see, but do feel the cold that rushes through it, unimpeded.
As you step through the portal, you find yourself in a strange ice-cave. Sunlight filters through the walls and ceiling, and three braziers give some warmth to this otherwise chilly space. Directly ahead of you, a tunnel leads through the ice, sloping steeply downward. Behind you, a shimmering portal hangs on what appears to be a main mast embedded in the ice. Following the mast downward, you can barely make out the blurry outline of a ship’s deck below.
Seeing no one, you begin to advance as a group, weary of this places strange magic. An odd sense of dread begins to tug at you, weighing down on your body and soul. And all the while, there is a strange sense of peace about this place. Perhaps it is but the calm before the storm, but the lack of wind within the "cave" brings with it it's own sense of, . . . serenity. The combination of feelings, of sensations, reminds you more than a little of a funeral for some reason. Not of someone you knew, but more like a funeral procession you might have watched pass by. . .
The sloped tunnel is slippery, but after a long curve it suddenly opens into another cave at the rear deck of a ship. More braziers keep the worst of the cold at bay, but a wall of solid ice blocks access to the foredeck. A large drum stands on the deck, and behind it is a trapdoor leading into the hold.
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Vroth remains on guard as they come up to a ship."something always happens when we get around ships."he says more to himself though.
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Peeking below, you find the room dark. It appears to be a galley, as there are rows of benches on each side. Within those benches are the skeletons of humanoids. Some have been disrupted, but most sit encased in a thin layer of ice. Their skeletal arms are still shackled to the oars on each side of the room. At the far end, of the room is a burial pier. It too is frozen over, keeping it's contents held in place. That body however, is not skeletal, but still fairly preserved for a corpse. It wears some sort of burial mask. Your darkvision doesn't allow you to see the colors of the metals, but you can see that it is constructed of two different types of metal, but itself is in the style of the Mwangi's tribal masks. Something about that mask draws your attention, outside of the oddity of what looks to be an Ulfen (viking) warrior laid to rest wearing it.
There is another body in the room. It wears the shambling remains of the surcoat you encountered before with the bandits that tried to impersonate Skelg's men. This one, though, seems to be wearing it correctly. His body is covered in multiple wounds, and sits there, as if simply tossed into a seat, lifelessly, and unshackled.