13/25 hp remaining
Thorvald soaks the hit but the blow is a severe one. Dripping blood on the snow The barbarian tries to protect the downed healer. "You won't take her hagspawn! Not while I still can fight! And my blade strikes true on its first blow Irrissen be damned! "
Fort save
With added bonuses if it is cold based.
Rutilux's blow strikes hard, but the pain in return tears through his flesh in cold chunks, "What ARE these things?" He gasps.
Isham slides in where Zethyris left off - smoothly filling the gap, and rapidly changing weapons from bow to rapier. "Deadly foes, best dispatched quickly," Isham responds to Rutilux.
Julian fires his bow again into the fray but the movements of everyone as well as the hard ice surrounding the creature keep the arrow from connecting. Watching his old friend's sister fall spurs Zethyris to aid her, stepping out of the fray, and then protected by Isham, he pours one of his potions down Dagmar's throat . Jediah again swings his weapon at the beast but the cold seems to be affecting his aim as he carves a line in the dirt rather than the elemental. Protecting Zethyris and Dagmar drives Isham as he cuts the beast but can't finish it off.
Jediah stotically keeps swinging at elemental 1.
"Deadly foes, best dispatched quickly," Isham responds to Rutilux.
"This much, I knew. Shields high, those that have them!" Rutilux announces, hoping Thorvald at least can join him in that.
Then he swings his flail forward to smash at the one he struck earlier.
Shield Wall (Combat, Teamwork)
You form a unified defense with those around you.
Prerequisite: Shield Proficiency.
Benefit: Whenever you are wielding a shield and are adjacent to an ally wielding a shield who also has this feat, the AC bonus from your shield increases, depending on the shield wielded by your ally. If your ally is wielding a buckler or a light shield, your shield bonus increases by
+1. If your ally is wielding a heavy shield or a tower shield, your shield bonus increases by +2. You keep these bonuses even if your ally loses his shield bonus due to making a shield bash attack. If an adjacent ally with this feat uses a tower shield to grant total cover, you also benefit if an attack targeting you passes through the edge of the shield
Hearing Rutilux organizing the defense Thorvald nods in agreement, "We Ulfen are no strangers to a shield wall lets give Dagmar cover so she can get to her feet. This monster has me half done. If it hits me again I will have to let the red rage take me!"
Lemme try this:
Elemental A
Elemental B
Julian 1
Zethyris 2
Dagmar And Thorvald 3
Jediah 4
Isham 5
Anastasiya 6
Rutilux 7
Tent /\
--/\B---/\------
---236----------
/\-5A4---------
----7----------
---------------
-1-------------
Hope this helps rather than confuses
Ana takes a 5 foot step east and fires a Ray of Enfeeblement at the second elemental.
Isham presses the attack, hoping to dispatch the one creature and create a path to pull Dagmar to safety.
Anastasiya steps away from the two elementals and tries to hit it with her ray but misses, coming close to hitting Thorvald instead. Rutilux swings and crushes the first elemental sending it to the ground as it shatters into tiny chunks.
Julian tries again to pinpoint an arrow into the elemental but the battle around it is far to chaotic and his shot goes wide. The elemental beats upon Thorvalds shield but cannot break through his guard. Zethyris, having saved Dagmar moves around to strike at the elemental andcraves a small hole into it hide with his rapier. Dagmar seeing Thorvald wounded above her uses he healing arts to aid him . Meanwhile Jediahs persistance pays off as he moves to engage the second elemental his glaive strikes true and shears a large piece out of its hide. Thorvald sensing thae battle is starting to turn in their favour and not wanting to lose lets out a ferocious growl and swings his sword savagely with renewed vigor hacking a large gash into where a normal creature's shoulder would be. Anastasiya wanting to aid in the fight again tries to fire a glob of acid into combat but only succeeds in burning a small hole in the nearby tent. Rutilux's wounds seem to be catching up to him as he swings but cannot connect with his flail this time.
Miss
Miss
Hit
+50%
Hit
Miss
Miss
Jediah keeps at it, discarding any attempts at fancy footwork or flashing blades as he hacks away at the monster.
Isham exhorts his comrades to finish this second monster, "Excellent blow Rutilux! Let's finish this second one, now that we've tested their limits!"
Ana takes a deep breath. This time she aims carefully before firing another orb of acid at the remaining elemental.
It hits, but doesn't seem to do much damage.
Feeling newly invigorated and hot for the kill Thorvald moves in to finish the fight letting the anger of being bloodied strengthen his arm. "Your companion awaits you fiend!"
to hit
to damage if I hit
Zethryis moves behind the creature and delivers a rapid jab to what would be the monster's spine, if it had one.
Julian methodically draws and fires his bow, burying an arrow into the creature's hide. The elemental spotting Rutilux again and attacks him . Zethyris moves around to get a better angle to stab the elemental but moving doesn't help his attack. While the creature is distracted Dagmar crawls out from underneath Thorvald away from the elemental and stands up. Seeing Dagmar fleeing leaves the elemental open to Jediah's attack as he cuts it down.
Jediah grunts as the thing goes down. You okay, Zethyris?
After seeing Rutlux take another hit, Dagmar will move over to him to heal him. Then she will see to Thorvald's remaining injuries, check the rest of the group for any wounds and then she will heal herself. She'll thank Zethyris for giving her that healing potion and thank Thorvald for protecting her while she was down.
"Does anyone know what those things were or why they attacked us?"
Rutilux started to crumble to his knees, too weak to move, but Dagmar's quick healing puts him on his feet again, "Thank you, Dagmar. Is everyone else okay?" His eyes search for Anastasiya as he asks. "And no, I don't know why. I'm still not even sure what they were."
Given a bit more time to look at them both Dagmar and Anastasiya can tell they were some form of ice elementals. The bodies are now nothing more than shattered ice shards at everyone's feet.
Jediah grunts as the thing goes down. "You okay, Zethyris?"
"Just fine, not a scratch," Zethyris replies, with a distracted, reflexive grin that quickly fades. His mind is a-whirl with questions and the last vestiges of adrenaline, and his eyes quickly pan over the remains of the ice things and the other party members until they lock on Dagmar."Dagmar, are you okay? That thing hit you pretty hard."
He suddenly notices that Dagmar is tending to Rutilux, and takes in Thorvald's injuries as well. With a rush of embarrassment, Zethyris stammers out, "... and you two, as well. Of course. I... um..." He trails off and glances at his feet for a brief moment, but still appears to wait for an answer with a face slightly redder than cold and exertion would warrant.
Thorvald releases the anger and accepts the fatigue of a battle well fought, "That was a good fight, but we simply must pick better places to camp." The big Ulfen warrior helps Rutilux steady himself then gives him a hearty slap across the shoulders, "Good thinking about the shield wall, next time battle brother! We shall stand together as one and let our enemies break themselves upon us. It will be glorious! And well struck Jediah. I am glad to be a member of this fellowship that is now tested in blood and battle. I am also glad for your skills as a healer Dagmar, may you heal many more wounds to come. Schnapps anyone?! We must celebrate our kills. . . Zythris? What's wrong with your tongue were you struck in the head? You look as red as a holly berry."
"Well done all - exceptional teamwork. Does anyone have major wounds?"
Ascertaining that everyone is recovering, and there are no more life-threatening wounds.
"Dagmar, that elemental seemed to react directly to your presence. Do you know of any reason for that? Do you know anyone with a grudge that might have the ability to summon such exotic creatures?"
And to himself, 'I hope there's a good answer to this, because the only other explanation I have is that the Irissen sent these hunting Ana, but they could not distinguish among the females."
"I would like to do a search of the perimeter before retiring. I would recommend that the spell casters and those injured get as much rest as they can."
Isham takes a turn around the outer perimeter of the camp, looking for any further threats. Then he takes a few more moments to backtrack the creatures, and see where they came from.
"Well, I would assume that the best person qualified to answer that would be the winter witch. What do you think Ana? And I must ask you bluntly yet honestly. Do you think you are some kind of conduit? It seems this cold is following us and I can think of no other way this is targeting us. I am sorry if you think this question is rude, but I would rather be open with my suspicion than conceal it from you if it will strengthen our knowledge or safety."
"I would like to do a search of the perimeter before retiring. I would recommend that the spell casters and those injured get as much rest as they can."
Zethyris will ask to accompany Isham on his search, and will point out any tracks he sees. (After the conversation ends, that is).
Jediah will search aroudn with the others as well.
The big Ulfen warrior helps Rutilux steady himself then gives him a hearty slap across the shoulders, "Good thinking about the shield wall, next time battle brother! We shall stand together as one and let our enemies break themselves upon us. It will be glorious!"
"It was certainly anything but dull," Rutilux concedes, a slight smile at Thorvald's enthusiasm, "And I can tell I will have to improve my shield work further still."
"Well done all - exceptional teamwork. Does anyone have major wounds?"
"The rest of my wounds will keep until the morning proper," Rutilux says more concerned for the others. "If it is alright, I think I will stay closer to camp."
"Well, I would assume that the best person qualified to answer that would be the winter witch. What do you think Ana? And I must ask you bluntly yet honestly. Do you think you are some kind of conduit? It seems this cold is following us and I can think of no other way this is targeting us. I am sorry if you think this question is rude, but I would rather be open with my suspicion than conceal it from you if it will strengthen our knowledge or safety."
Rutilux's slight smile fades at the witch comment, and he glares at Thorvald for a moment, though he keeps his tongue as the barbarian also apologizes knowing he could word things better.
Dagmar responds to Zethyris's question. "I think I'm ok now Zethyris. I really don't remember much of the battle. The elemental seemed to come straight for me and before I knew it I was out on the ground, only coming back to when you gave me that healing potion. Thank you for that, I could feel myself begin to drift away."
At Isham's question, Dagmar shakes her head no as she answers. "I can't think of anyone who would send such things after me and I've never had dealings with anything like them before."
Dagmar glances over at Ana. I wonder if the giant icicle in her hand was somehow connected to those things and where did it come from? Ana sure looked rather surprised and upset about it....
"Thank you, Dagmar. Is everyone else okay?" His eyes search for Anastasiya as he asks.
"I'm all right. They didn't hurt me."
"Well, I would assume that the best person qualified to answer that would be the winter witch. What do you think Ana? And I must ask you bluntly yet honestly. Do you think you are some kind of conduit? It seems this cold is following us and I can think of no other way this is targeting us. I am sorry if you think this question is rude, but I would rather be open with my suspicion than conceal it from you if it will strengthen our knowledge or safety."
"I thought of it as well. I don't think I'm responsible for all of this. Not knowingly at least. And certainly not willingly.
I can't stop thinking: why does it start now? We've all been here together for months - and nothing of this sort happened until last night. What made it start?"
She suddenly stops to look at Thorvald.
We've all been here together ... except for you, Thorvald.
Then she shakes her head and continues:
"Maybe its these fey presents. Maybe they do more than we were told. 'Cloak of resisting cold and creating cold at the same time'. Something like that."
Ana studies the magic auras emitted by all the fey presents.
Ana looks back at Dagmar, but says nothing for now.
Ana doesn't want to make any accusations in public, but when she is alone with Dagmar, she confronts her:
"These elementals were ignoring me completely. But they attacked you on sight. Thats strange, don't you think? Especially if they are supposed to be agents of Irrisen."
She looks at Dagmar with raised eyebrows.
@Ana
"It is rather strange. Also strange was the giant icicle in your hand that you woke up with just as the elementals began their attack. Can you explain that any better then why I can explain that I was attacked on sight?"
"But I can explain the icicle, Dagmar. At least, partially. I don't understand the message. And I didn't want to receive it. But I have a pretty clear theory who sent it to me and why. If the witch queen is behind all of this, she messes with my dreams and puts icicles in my hand while I sleep - because I am of her blood. Because she wants to lure me back - or punish me.
You on the other hand ... Why would the witch queen want to kill you? Why would anyone capable of summoning ice elementals want to kill you?
Dagmar ... we are your friends. If there is anyone after you - you can tell us."
@Ana
"You say that we are friends. You also say that the Witch Queen may either be trying to lure you back or punish you. What better way to punish someone than by killing their friends?"
"I'm all right. They didn't hurt me."
Rutilux looks stung for a moment, then inclines his head, "I'm glad they did not. You are precious... to us all." He steps back giving her distance.
Why would they start with you, then? Why not start with Jediah? Okay. Bad example. But why don't they just start killing all of my friends while waiting for you?"
Ana is about to say something snarky in reply to Rutilux, but then decides against it.
"Would you feel better if I switched tents with someone else?"
"No, but if you wanted to move into a different tent I would understand."
Dagmar sighs. "I suppose it'd be better if I didn't for now. The fellows would likely get the wrong ideas as to why we'd want to share tents with them. "
"I'm OK too. Just in case someone was wondering."
"That's nice, Julian," Rutilux says without any enthusiasm.
"Well, g'night again, I guess."
"Yes Julian, I was concerned with your welfare as well. Very nice shooting, by the way."
Julian sticks his head out of his tent and grins happily. "Thanks, Ish!"
"Ana, all the raised voice earlier, the screaming you are not a monster, and having terrible dreams . . . Maybe your family is affecting you in your sleep somehow? Or maybe we are all just trail weary." Thorvald muses as he sorts through the shattered frozen remnants of the ice creatures the party has slain. "Bah! I will welcome whatever stable hay mattress the Oakrun might offer after the last few nights. Goodnight Julian may your dreams be uninterrupted and your toes unfrozen and pink at morning."
There are no tracks what so ever, exlcuding those beloning to the group there is nothing else for at least a hundred yards.
The night passes uneventfully and only as cold as caused by each other's glances.
The next morning, weary and gloomy everyone collects their gear and prepares to continue travelling. Your horses are quite skittish, most likely sensing the overall mood of the group as everyone travels. For one reason or another Dagmar and Ana do not ride together today and Rutilux keeps to himself in the rear.
Late, after mid day you can see a strange sight. Far off at the edge of your vision it appears that the snowy ground is moving, much like a lake or a sea covered by snow. Dispersed around and sometime within this strange sight are dark specks and over the wind whistling can sometimes be heard. As you continue farther towards Oaken Hold, the centre of the Oakrun clan's territory. An hour or two later you spy a dozen riders moving towards you over the plains in a rather loose formation following the lead horse bearing a rider decked out in fine furs and the glint of gold.
When the group is within shouting range they stop and spread out in a wide line, "Who goes there? Speak for you trespass on Oakrun lands."
Rutilux has been somewhat glum since last night, though his lingering wounds no doubt do not help, there is clearly more to it than that.
But when the riders approach, Rutilux displays the symbol of the Kodiakborne, though he knows that from such a distance they are not likely to see it, "My name is Rutilux Talonn. We come in peace, on behalf of Savol Kodiakborne."
"And I am Thorvald The Black Shield, Blacksmith from the village of Merroh! I ride with these speakers of Savol of my own accord and to oppose the coming invasion from the lands of the Winter Witches! These southlanders have fought on the behalf of our people, they have rescued almost an entire village from the eaters of the dead, they have been favored by the Emerald Court, and have slain Hagspawn creatures made of pure ice. I swear this upon my village, my sword and my life that my words are true. I ask that you give them a chance to speak to your leaders for they come bearing news that concerns the very existence of our lands and survival of our people!"