Imendri opens the doors, remaining on the outside of the doorway.
The door swings open easily. A Raider is in the process of getting to the door and stands there surprised.
Caelum scrambles to his feet while patting out flames on his clothing. He almost welcomed the feeling of the fire, almost. His eyes quickly dart from the door to the man that is now in flames.
In an instant, a column of water appears above, and begins falling on, Braegan.
Braegan's remaining fire whooshes out thanks to Caelum's quick thinking.
Imendri strides forward and slashes at the Raider, but his swing is wide.
The raider near Braegan and Caelum tries a new angle and shoots at the unarmored dwarf, and the arrow actually makes it out of the window this time, and hits Caelum in the shoulder.
The other raiders roll around the corners of their rooms and shoot at Imendri. "The witches have an elf er something!" one shouts. Both of their shots miss. The surprised raider, however, returns Imendri's strike with a stab of his short sword. To his amazement, he hits the bulky half-elf with a solid strike.
Imendri can see that the room is somewhat spacious, with a bearskin rug, and an enormous wounded man with a halo at the other set of doors, his somewhat angelic face marred and darkened by pain and anger.
Round 2
Chiquq
Braegan
Yrja
Dez
Big Dude
Caelum 9/19 HP
Imendri 20/22 HP
Raiders 1-4
Raider 5 (asleep 2 rds)
Chiquq, Brae, Yrja, Dez, ye are up!
And people can stand in half-squares on this map. It's kind of a small lodge, eh?
"Move in and make room, Imendri, and I'll join you in the swordplay!"
Assuming Imendri does so, and barring other obstructing developments, Dezső will occupy the space vacated by Imendri in the doorway and stab at the blue raider:
Hoping that is a hit:
Yrja darts across the porch, behind Imendri, reaching the other window and peeking in, seeking another target. Emboldened by her recent success, she flings another spell at the raiders. She is so giddy with adrenaline, she almost laughs out loud - their daring rescue of the dwarf, the surprise of the raiders, how that man went down like a sack of rocks.
Chiquq stands still for a moment, sharing a bemused look with Ila. Now what? She wasn't expecting a strange fellow to burst out, take her arrow in his throat, then go back inside... she shrugs at the mammoth, clucks her tongue, and together they move for the door, struggling through the snow and up the porch.
The smile on the bowman's face slides off his face in a crooked fashion as he is dazed by Yrja. He stands there slack-jawed.
Dezső gracefully strikes at the raider in the hallway, dealing him a grievous wound.
Giving the dwarf a quick nod of thanks as the flames extinguish, Braegan peeks up into the room. He ignores the man who looks to be staring off into space, instead focusing on the one farther into the room. Braegan summons his will, shaping it to a white-hot point of flame in his mind, then pushing it into the man’s mind, where it explodes … threatening to overwhelm the bandit.
The bandit looks startled for a second, then says, [b}"Heh! I..."[/b] His sentence remains unfinished as he stands there, completely confused.
You can hear heavy thumps and swearing as a very large person runs through the Lodge. It sounds like whoever it is is arguing with another person.
"Out of my way, Tacey! I need potions NOW!" (a horrible, yet lovely deep voice)
"You damn fool, like he has any to spare for you! He just kicked me out!" (a rough but higher voice)
Round 2
Chiquq
Braegan 7/12 2 NL
Yrja
Dez
Big Dude
Caelum 9/19 HP <---- we are here
Imendri 20/22 HP
Raiders 3&4 (R1 & 2 dazed this round)
Raider 5 (asleep 2 rds)
Dezső stabs again at the blue raider, but he is too distracted by all the commotion in the Lodge to land an effective blow or hear the conversation in the next room.
Imendri grunts at the stab, and then laughs, yelling "Det's a gud job! MAY BE YUUR STRONGER DAN ME!". Then he swings again, still screaming the last 'e' sound of 'meeee'
Imendri's strike is frightening to behold--he removes a good portion of the man's side, with a crunch and ripping sound that speaks of sliced vertebrae and spilling guts. The Raider falls to the floor, twitching in death throes.
Caelum! The gods of war call to you!
Chiquq tests the door and finds it... opens under her hand. She steps in, looks at the chaos, and sends another arrow forward.
Her arrow pings off one of the pillars in the way. "ILAAA! Come, Ila! Get this one, here!"
The mammoth hesitates-- usually mom doesn't tell her to come inside buildings, indeed, that's been the source of more than one scolding-- but the junior proboscidean ultimately lumbers through the snow and up inside the building-- snapping small bits of wood off furniture as she goes, trampling cups and plates around the table, and generally being, well, a mammoth in a lodge.
After seeing the flames extinguished, Caelum then places his focus on the pendant around his neck. While at first glance it may resemble a cross, it is actually in the shape of a hammer. His left hand rests on top of it, a low mumble escapes his lips, and his right hand swings up quickly as he says, "Torag, bless us". A blast of energy leaves his body.
He then picks up the crossbow and bolt from the floor.
Braegan darts into the room behind, shouting as he levels another round of mind fire at a new bandit.
The last functional Raider strikes desperately at Dezső, but the thrust of his sword is ill-timed and strikes the corner of the small hallway.
Chiquq's arrow startles the huge man, who grimaces in pain and then widens his eyes at the sight of a mammoth in the Lodge. She can see a surly looking half-orc woman blocking his way up the stairs to the next level.
Braegan dazes the last Raider, who stands there dumbfounded.
Two dazed Raiders shake their heads...dazedly...and realize where they are.
Round 3 - all party Blessed
Chiquq
Braegan 7/12 2 NL
Yrja <-- we are here
Dez
Big Dude
Half-Orc Raider
Caelum 10/19 HP
Imendri 21/23 HP
Raiders 1 & 2 (R3 dazed this round)
Raider 5 (asleep 1 rds)
-plays Final Fantasy Limit Break Music-
Yes, bless. Sorry :-(
Yrja peeks through the window again and sees the previously dazed raider recover. The confused expression on his face makes her chuckle at first, then she laughs out loud. Regaining her composure, she mutters "Why don't you take a nap?". She contorts her fingers and narrows her eyes, humming softly as she throws a hex at the man.
Seeing Caelum take up the crossbow, Dezső pulls out his quiver of bolts and drops it on the ground. Completely silent, he scans the room and makes mental calculations. He makes a 5 feet step forward to stand over the dead raider and thrusts at the brown raider.
If that hits:
Dez chuckles in seeing Ila in the room (of course, he had heard sounds of her arrival), and he gives Chiquq a quick nod.
Caelum again places his focus on the pendant around his neck. He holds it firmly in his hand and begins a quick prayer to Torag. Once more a blast of energy releases from his body.
Feeling renewed, he reaches down and retrieves the quiver of bolts, slinging it over his shoulder.
Yrja successfully hexes the recovered raider, and he drops without a sound. Likewise, Dez skewers his target with a deft Aldori maneuver, leaving the man on the ground, clearly dying, his blood slowly oozing out of a neat hole in his belly.
The big man flies into a rage at the half-orc's rebuff. His muscles swell impossibly large--if he resembled an angelic ogre before, the transformation places him virtually identical to a small giant of some sort. He swings at the other raider with a clenched fist.
Thankfully, his swing is wide; it is strong enough to splinter wood with a massive cracking sound.
"You're a daft idiot, Yaculn," hisses the half-orc. She slashes at him with a short sword.
Her aim is deadly, and Yaculn falls to the ground, spurting blood. "Some lieutenant," she retorts. "Hothead."
Caelum channels energy, healing himself and the party...and the raider recently slain by Dez stirs and coughs. Yaculn and the other dead Raider remain unmoving.
Round 3 - all party Blessed
Chiquq
Braegan 9/12 HP
Yrja
Dez
Half-Orc Raider
Caelum 12/19 HP
Imendri 23/23 HP <-- we are here
Raider 2
Dez tells the raider who he skewered but who has now been healed by the channeling: "If you want to live, stay down and do not try to re- enter the fight. It does not go well for your side."
Grunting and growling, Imendri squeezes himself against the wall, just looking for an opportunity to swing at another foe.
Imendri, proving himself to be quite the bloodthirsty warrior, sends the Raider to an early grave, slashing the hapless man and sending his lifeless body to join the other dead Raider on the floor of the Lodge.
Combat is over! You can subdue the two sleeping Raiders easily.
The half-orc looks over the group with an impressed look, but doesn't lower her sword. "So who in the Hells are you? I am Tacey, and I'm leaving this fleabitten outfit. Parley? I'll help you."
You don't see Caelum's gear in this room, by the way. There's a bearskin and a nice fire, and the heads of several deer mounted on the walls. There are three doors to rooms in the north, plus the two windowed rooms the Raiders shot at you from. Yes, I ended a sentence with a preposition.
Once the surviving raiders are tied up and there is no immediate apparent threat, Dezső turns to the half-orc. He keeps his sword pointed at the floor, looks down at the slain giant, and gives Tacey a half-smile: "Kwent told us we could find you here, Tacey. Tell us everything you know about what happened here, about who might have passed by here in the last week, and about this unseasonable snow, and we'll let you be on your way and tell you where you can meet up with Kwent."
Ten-Penny Tacey narrows her eyes at the tiefling. "Kwent? That lying bastard--he'd say anything to save his own skin. We aren't friends, Kwent and me. Now I'll ask again...tell me who you are, and do it quick, because either Rokhar will gut you or the damn ice b%$#$ on the bridge will freeze you solid, and I don't aim to be here to join you." Her sword levels closer to Dezső's chest.
"No reason for that," Braegan says with a look at the woman's blade. "Least not if you want to walk out of here alive."
He pauses, considering, "You may not like Kwent, but he appears to be sweet on you. He said he'd wait on you south of here. But frankly, I could care less what you do later. Only thing I care about is whether you're a friend or an enemy. A helpful friend could live a nice, happy life somewhere else. Somewhere far from this lodge, this forest, and the villages around here. Our enemies..."
He shrugs and looks at the corpses on the floor. "So which is it? Friends?"
Dezső raises his dueling sword as Tacey approaches with hostility.
"I've sparred with the best fencers of Lepidstadt University, recognized across Golarion for their skills with the blade. If that is how you want to handle things, I am at your disposal.
But I suggest you calm yourself. As my companion points out, if Kwent is no friend, it makes no difference to us. We spared his life and are prepared to spare yours if you tell us what you know. As for who we are, we are ones searching for the cause of this unseasonable weather and the presence of the ice creatures you refer to.
That's enough for now. So, do you want to parlay, or not?"