Puzzled by the array of items, Raven spends a long time of them before lifting his head and announcing:
"The wand here is a witch's wand. It's used instead of a familiar. I don't know yet what we can do with it.
The potions are potions of healing made for goblins, they should work on us but there may be secondary effects. I suggest we keep them for real emergencies.
The scroll case has a symbol coming from another world. My blade says this world is known as Golarion and the star symbol there is called a siehedron. we'll need to work out how to open it.
And last, the bone piercing is what enabled the goblin fighter to hop around. For it to work, it needs to pierce the skin.
This is really weird,"he adds as an afterthought. "This region is supposed to be protected from any form of teleportation and yet these items come from at least two different worlds. I'll put every thing in my bag for now and we'll see what to do of them when we reach the witch's hut."
Shrugging, he places the items in his bag and goes to look for the small golem body that lies at the foot of the tree. "We'll little fellow, I'm not sure what to do with you now. Let's just keep you body. Maybe I'll find someone who can revive you at some point.
"Yes a symbol of one she refers to as "The Dark One". She suggests we burn the corpes to be safe from those that might follow."
"Burn them? Here? With all the snow and little vegetation, I'm not sure we can get a fire hot enough. I'll say we let them like that, they will be eaten by beast soon enough. If you're worried they can be raised, we can cut their heads off and burn them later."
Marcus adds, "Whatever we do, we'd better get to the hut soon. Kitao won't make it through the night out here."
Quietly so almost nobody can hear him, he mutters, "Not that any of us will make it through the night in this weather... Lord Torm if you're listening, grant us the wisdom to find shelter."
"Fine, cut the heads off then." Faerin replies.
Anwyn pauses as the others discuss what to do with the corpses. When she realizes the corpses will not be burned, she shakes her head slightly but says nothing.
Waving off the others, she draws a blade which hung from her back. The obsidian blade is black and the hilt is slightly curved elk horn. She then steps to each of the corpses and with a swift stroke, decapitates both the goblin witch, his bodyguard, and finally the ogre.
After completing the grisly task, she turns her attention to the iron amulet adorned with the symbol of the Dark One. Her red eyes gleam as she proceeds to slice the symbol in half, destroying it...
Coming up alongside Anwyn, Faerin gently places a hand on her shoulder.
Anwyn slowly sheaths her blade in the makeshift scabbard so she can carry it without being duly encumbered by it. She moves as if in a trance of some kind. The soft words spoken by Faerin seem to bring her back to reality.
Pulling her cloak even tighter around her frail form, she nods slowly, her reply barely above a whisper.
Later a worried Marcus asks Faerin, "That symbol Anwyn destroyed had a strong aura of evil. I've never seen anything like it before, in fact I don't think anyone has except Anwyn. I'm hopeing its a coincidence, because chasing somebody across worlds is no small thing. Can you ask her if there's likely to be more?"
Marcus leaves it unsaid but its plain he's wondering who Anwyn is and what she might have done to deserve such emnity.
"She'll tell her tale once we're somewhere safe. We should head to the witch's house before night falls." Faerin replies
Ihar'ryathlas stirs and her eyes open, she gives her eyes a rub before her eyes focus to see she is still inside the cage on the snow she gives the cage door a mighty kick hoping to break the lock. Upon failure, she mutters a curse to her captives. She looks about to see the ogre lying on the snow a fair distance away, and other strangers nearby the ogre.
She yells, "You there. Standing at the bastard ogre. Get us out of this cage."
Ihar'ryathlas stirs and her eyes open, she gives her eyes a rub before her eyes focus to see she is still inside the cage on the snow she gives the cage door a mighty kick hoping to break the lock. Upon failure, she mutters a curse to her captives. She looks about to see the ogre lying on the snow a fair distance away, and other strangers nearby the ogre.
She yells, "You there. Standing at the bastard ogre. Get us out of this cage."
Turning around at the yell, Raven strides to the cage. As he approaches, you see his dark winter cloak and his face are stained with fresh blood.
"So you're awake.", he says lifting his eyes as he is at least 5 inches shorter than you. "Stand back", he adds, drawing a hand and a half black bladed sword and using it to hack at the wooden cage door.
"Yes, I know", he says with an annoyed voice. "You're not a common tool but I have nothing else to do it."
When the door eventually beaks, he stands back and gives you the once over. "I'm Raven. And who... No what are you? Are you another of the strays like that one.", indicating a red eyed drow armed with a spiked chain.
Marcus stands next to Raven while he speaks. You notice Marcus' hand resting near his morningstar and he looks intently at the captives. After a moment his posture relaxes slightly and suggests, "Proper introductions might be better done somewhere warmer, I think the hut isn't far."
Ihar'ryathlas smiled seeing one of the group approach the cage, "I take that you killed the ogre. Good riddance."
She stands back as he prepares to swing his blade, pulling back her captive companion away for safety, while thinking to herself, Talking to the sword. This one is surely mad in the head.
She steps out of the broken cage, "Thank you for freeing us.", giving a nod to armoured human.
When Raven pointed to the drow, she immediately transformed into her bestial form with her hands becoming claws, and mouth forming into bear muzzle displaying wicked canines, she yells, "Drow!", readying herself for an attack.
"STOP THAT", the reply is cold and sharp as is the black blade, hovering in front of the shape-changer. "She is no drow. Have a close look at her. She is not even from this world and fought to save you.
Ask the follower of Torm. He says there is no evil in her."
Faerin's bow snaps up, an arrow fitted and drawn, aimed straight at the former captive's heart as the strange elf-bear-woman focuses on Anwyn.
Marcus nods slightly saying, "Her soul is untainted, at least as far as I'm able to perceive."
Marcus watches the reaction of the newcomers, thinking, 'Of course just because somebody isn't evil, doesn't automatically mean we can trust them.'
He takes a sidelong glance at Anwyn, 'Trust must be earned. She has her secrets, but she's shown her worth in combat... Not sure what my commander would think, but I've got to go with my instincts.'
She turns her head towards Marcus, though still pointing her hand at the drow, "You sure she is not evil.... and not a drow....", trailing off as she turns to look at the drow to study.
Marcus looks the shape-changer in the eye and ponders, 'And what I wonder are you? A shaman? Or maybe a druid. What hide s under that from? Certainly not an elf!'
He holds her gaze and tells her, "At first I thought she might follow Elisatree. Now, I suspect she is something else entirely and I have no idea what that means except that she's vulnerable, in a strange land far from home."
Hearing the armoured human speaking, she lowers her arm, then only to pull her cape more tightly around her, yet remaining in her bestial form. "Vulnerable, and away from home... Interesting... Oh, by the way I known as Ihar'ryathlas, of the elven Tree Ghost Tribe." She walks over to the ogre and kicks it's body, before bending down to search it's body, "Did any of you see a backpack and weapons such as a scimitar?"
On seeing the black-haired elf step towards her with a look of hostility and saying that word 'Drow', she reflexively slips into a combat stance before cooler heads prevailed.
Noticing the elf staring at her, she decides to extend a hand in friendship. Lowering her spiked chain (but keeping it at the ready, she says to the former slave in the archaic elvish tongue
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The other captive seems not to have regained consciousness after all. This far north the dark falls early and you can already see the first signs of gloom. If you wish to reach the cottage you'll have to hurry. Now you are faced with decision - do you leave the golem, Kitao and the catatonic captive, or do you make two more stretchers and take them with you, not reaching the cottage before the nightfall...
"The light is fading. We have to get Kitao back or he will die. I doubt that other one will last the night either, looks like we need a second or maybe third litter."
Marcus starts searching for suitable material.
"The light is fading. We have to get Kitao back or he will die. I doubt that other one will last the night either, looks like we need a second or maybe third litter."
Marcus starts searching for suitable material.
"Let's use the rest of the cage and its covering and carry every one to safety."
Raven takes the cage apart to start building up two more stretchers.
Aerflae apologizes for his quiet nature... being unconscious and all.
"I greatly appreciate that we were saved. Be that that it may, I do feel a wee bit... naked without a bow... or something to keep myself and others safe. Did the ogre keep our things, or did his rabble brethren keep it."
Seeing the half-elf makign stretchers, he looks about for other things to use to bind the stretchers together. It is cold, but there may be something.
"My name is Aerflae. And you are certainly a welcome sight... despite your varied natures." He forces a weak smile from his somber face.
Seeing the dark elf hold out her hand and hearing her speak elven, Ihar'ryathlas pauses in her search, and walks up to her, and takes her hand in hers, in elven, "Thank you for rescuing us, Anwyn. Yes, it is best we get to a safe location, not safe to be out here once it becomes dark."
he searches the ogre and the goblins bodies for any of her belongings, while the new acquaintances work on building litters to take unconscious bloody human, and strange looking construct.
"Where can we head that will be safe?" Aerflae looks to the others.
Anwyn stares for a moment at the elf, unsure what to make of her. She then nods resolutely in agreement. She then replies to the male elf in the archaic form of Elvish, as she picks up one end of the litter carrying the unconscious warrior.
Looking to the drow... Aerflae almost twitches, but maintains his composure, replying in elven.
Elven, similar dialect.
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Searching the ogre's corpse, Aeflae and Ihar'ryathlas have found a bag with all of their possessions. They were captured recently and the goblin's were obviously in a hurry, so their things are all there, albeit dirty.
Now more numerous by two, the party pushes through the dusk and snow, dragging two stretchers behind them - one with the wounded Kitao and the other one with the malfunctioning golem.
Couple of hours later, travelers weary from the hard fighting, captivity and their journey through the icy forest reach a large forest glen, with a smallish hill right in the middle. On the top of the hill there is a large tree. The tree is unusual, with pale - almost white - bark and large leaves, still green despite the deep winter. The tree is huge. Easily hundred feet tall with wide crown and thick roots that are covering the hill like some kind of huge wines.
You immediately notice that the hill is perfectly round, and that its diameter is the same as the diameter of the crown and the roots of the tree.
But the cottage designated on the map is nowhere to be found.
For the tenth time Marcus stares at the map and then at the tree. He shakes his head and with a heavy sigh exclaims, "I guess it was too much to expect the crone to have a normal hut! Well that is unless a certain Dwarf has pulled the wool over our eyes..."
Marcus starts approaching the tree and stops for a moment turning back to say, "Since we came all this way, we'd better have a look. Who knows maybe the hut is in the canopy or under the roots or somewhere equally weird. I recommend checking for magic, as there's no way this is normal."
"Allow me. I haven't much access to the weave, but I am certain that I can help with that portion."
Aerflae will at least try to determine the school.
"Marcus, I concur there is something magical about both the hill and the tree. I'm trying to figure out what it could be."
Looking through the same spell, Raven tries to aid the elven Wizzard
Then, circling round the hill, he looks for any tracks coming from or going to it.
"Magical.... not natural. Well sure does not look natural, walks besides the elves to see if she can help with the investigation.
"Conjuration!" Aerflae exclaims as he realizes what the energies are.
He takes out his bow, and begins scanning the hill and tree for threats.
"That's weird, I thought teleportation and other similar conjurations were not working around here.", replies Raven, still puzzled by this mystery.
"That sais, the round shape of the tree and hill make is looks like it was somehow transported by a spell. Now the questions are who did it, what is this tree and where can we find shelter for the night."
Half-laughing he adds: "I may pass for a fool but sometimes, when you have questions, it's better to ask."
Turning towards the tree, he lifts his voice and calls in all the languages he knows : "Master tree, would you be willing to hear and answer us?"
She looks at the tree for a short while, then decides to move towards it slowly to get a better look at it, and see if there are any druidic symbols present by hill, strange tree, and the clearing.
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"Conjuration!" Aerflae exclaims as he realizes what the energies are.
He takes out his bow, and begins scanning the hill and tree for threats.
[dice=perception]1d20+4
Aerflae looks over the hill, noting to the group. "There's something off about the hill. Looks like a hollow point, it may be the entrance we seek. Perhaps we enter there, if this is as safe as you believe. We shouldn't leave our unconscious companions behind, though."
He gives a sidelong glance to the others, what may pass as worry passes over his face.
Anwyn lowers the litter carrying the unconscious body down to the ground and glides over to the hill scanning the area for threats.
She then turns to Faerin and questions softly,
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Anwyn lowers the litter carrying the unconscious body down to the ground and glides over to the hill scanning the area for threats.
[dice=Perception]1d20+8
She then turns to Faerin and questions softly,
** spoiler omitted **
Looking at the map, you can see that the hill is right in the spot designated as the cottage...