Pemsworth openly stares at the woman, looking at Mal and Tsin and Quinn as if to say, 'This is the same woman, right? or is it?'
"I hardly care," Nadya snaps. "I am here to find my daughter. This is not she, so she is nothing to me. Unless, have you seen a little blonde girl?!" she cries.
Lady Argentea shakes her head. "They've kept me in here and I've seen nothing.
[b]"Heldren?" she repeats after Quinn. "No, they brought me right here. As for my travels ... I'm afraid I don't remember. Everything seems to be a bit of a blur since they captured me. I've just been so afraid."
She seems sincere as far as you can tell.
"As I've said before, I tire of manipulations."
Tsin steps up, and swings her blade down upon the lady.
It is easier to ask for forgiveness, than for permission.
The woman's eyes widen as Tsin's sword slashes through it, and she cries out in pain, staggering back as crimson blossoms from her chest.
Hektir:
Malavarius:
Pemsworth:
Quinn:
Tsin:
Lady Argentea:
Nadya:
Pems stares in horror as Tsin pulls a Hektir!
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Malavarius just stares aghast, too overwhelmed by all the bloodthirsty foolishness to even speak.
He turns his back on the group and begins fiercly whispering to Zeno, plainly loud enough for everyone to hear, though the wizard still seems oblivious to the notion that whispers can be heard.
"Zeno! If she's Argentea, then who did we leave in Heldren?"
"Egad! You're right, Zeno!"
"Oh! I have an idea!"
Ignoring Zeno's jab, Malavarius turns around to see Tsin about to bring her sword to bear. "Tsin! Oh for heaven's sake!" The old man leaps into between the two women, raising his staff horizontally to intercept Tsin's strike. "Would you give me half a moment. Would one of you impetuous, impatient, impudent children give me half a moment for just once?! Is that too much for a very old man to ask? I should think not!"
His beard puffing out with each blustery word, he settles himself then turns to the woman claiming to be Argentea. "We rescued one of your retainers, lady, on our way to saving you from a miserable, mossy and cold basement. What were the names of your guardsmen?"
Round 1, Init 15
Hektir's eyes bulge as Tsin skewers the Lady, but he nonetheless draws his scimitar, trusting the butcher has seen something that he has not.
"Tsin...uhm...okay," Hektir says confusedly.
"blahblah...oldmantalk...blahblah...birdtalk...blahblah...What were the names of your guardsmen?"
Hektir draws his scimitar, but holds off striking, giving the Lady a chance to respond.
Readied if she doesn't answer to Mal's satisfaction:
to hit;
damage.
Pemsworth: 11*
Tsin: 10*
Nadya: 6*
Malavarius: 16
Hektir: 15
Quinn: 14
"Lady Argentea": 14
Lady Argentea snarls as she recovers, seeming to melt into a grayish humanoid creature, which seems almost unfinished, with a narrow head, gaunt limbs, and a sinister, noseless face.
It ducks under Hektir's swing and lashes out with clawed hands at Tsin.
"How did you see through my disguise, woman?" it snarls as one of its claws catches the butcher's apprentice's flesh, tearing gouges in her skin.
"Lady Argentea": 12
Round 1, Init 10
AC = 17
HP = 22/32
Weapon Equipped = MW Cold Iron Longsword
Condition(s) = Vindicated
"Oh, it was a good disguise, Whateveryouare. The first Lady Argentea was convincing enough. All denizens of this tower are guilty until proven innocent. You would have done better to take the form of a stolen child. I might have hesitated then."
Tsin, you think it's some sort of shape-shifting fey. It can probably steal your soul if it takes your form.
Pems tries to move to flank with Tsin. If he can, he'll attack the thing! for damage!
Pem's and Tsin's strikes bring the creature to its knees, before it topples over.
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"Hmmpf. I suppose this creature was meant to replace the Argentum we saved. Fine insight, Tsin. Fine insight!"
Still standing heroically in his pose, Quinn pauses for a moment to consider if the bottle of sherry is safe from any attacks, and in that time Tsin and Pems butcher the thing. "Ha, I knew it was a fake, the real Lady Argentea could not have forgotten about my charming rescue!" Quinn looks assuredly at his companions, convinced they reached the same conclusions. "Perhaps this thing is hiding the key to the locker that contains Mal's good hat?" Quinn searches the room diligently, again with the help of detect magic.
There are a couple books on Taldor and Taldan culture, but other than that, nothing of interest.
Continuing on, you go through the final door in the hallway, entering an arrow-shaped room. A long red carpet extends from the western doorway of this mirrored hall between ice sculptures of twin nymphs, ending at an open alcove to the east. Passageways continue north and south, following the contours of the tower’s outer wall, where windows look out over the open courtyard below.
Hektir grunts as it turns out Tsin was right.
I knew it!
Hektir swipes off his blade (it doesn't occur to him that he missed by a mile) on the woman's bed and begins to look around.
"Nice work, Tsin, spotting that illusion well before you attacked. I can't believe you knew beforehand, but you did. Clearly," Hektir says with a spit on the bedroom floor.
"Fine insight, Tsin. Fine insight!"
Insight. Yes. "Well, a single blow would have felled the Lady, and with Quinn nearby, she would have likely survived." Tsin kicks the body over to get a good look at it.
"Mal, I think this kind of creature has to steal souls for it to be able to assume the victim's form. We may have to slay the second Argentea when we get back."
Tsin pats Pems on the shoulder. "It's good you didn't hesitate." She looks at the large mirror, and pauses. "Do you think we've been overheard, watched over?" Shouldn't have told the creature what would cause me to hesitate. That may be used against me.
Quinn slowly proceeds through the new room, looking for threats. "Take care, friends, it seems a new foe lurks at every corner. Tsin, Hektir, everyone, stand close and let's be sure your wounds are healed." Calling upon the power of Cayden, Quinn takes a healing swig from the bottle of sherry, gargles it, and waggles the bottle towards the group as he exhales through his nose to trap every essence of the liquor.
Healing energy distributed, Quinn turns his attention to the new room. At the windows looking out over the courtyard he takes a moment to investigate the scenery, hoping their new vantage point provides them will a greater understanding of the tower.
At the northern door he places his hands against the surface and again calls upon the power of his god, peering into the room beyond.
You can see a hallway that curves around to end in a recessed alove, tiles of ice covering the floor beneath a large window.
"Looks like another icy teleporter in the room ahead." Quinn opens the door and examines the room.
You see a door leading north that you somehow missed before.
Other than that -- and a set of doors leading south to the room where you fought the plant creature -- there's nothing but the window looking out to the snowy wilderness outside the tower.
Using his last remaining door sight for the day, Quinn peers through the northern door.
A bed, desk, dresser, and storage chest furnish this small bedroom. A large mirror hangs on the wall opposite the room’s only door between two windows.
"It looks empty." Quinn opens the door and searches the room, again with detect magic.
You sense no magic, but the chest is locked.
"Hektir, try that key from the big lady, the one that didn't work on the locker, on this chest." Quinn steps well back allowing the tracker access to the chest.
Hektir tries the key.
"A-yep," Hektir tries the key with a spit.
Tsin keeps her eyes on the ice tiles, and waits for the others to finish looting.
"Which platform, and which phrase? We have witch and birdmaester waiting."
The chest contains four bottles of liquid, which radiate magic, a pair of silver bracers traced with figures of dragons worth 250 gp, a jeweled scepter worth 175 gp, an agate worth 50 gp, and three blue quartz crystals worth 100 gp each, as well as 256 gp, 473 sp, and 894 cp.
Hektir hands the potions to Mal, dividing the loot amongst those who would carry it.
"Let's go bag us a nymph. You said there would be nymphs."
"Mal, what do you think these potions are?" Quinn is fearful to touch the witchy potions, afraid they may entomb him in ice, and defers judgement to those trained in the arcane arts.
"Which platform, and which phrase?"
"I say we take the platform to the north, that big red carpet bespeaks of grand entry and I'd rather we snuck up on the witchy master of this tower. Before we go anywhere though, let's smash every mirror on this level, no sense giving the witch a chance to watch us as we approach. And for a phrase I think the..." Quinn pauses, then smashes the mirror in that room and any others nearby, then quietly to his companions, "Let's use the 'Take wing, soar and fly, let me view the winter sky' phrase that Hatch taught us, seems that will take us to the birds and maybe we can find a way to ambush the master from there."
Tsin nods to Quinn. "It's rather unlikely now that we'll be a surprise to whoever awaits above, but if it makes you feel more confident, then smash away."
She moves to the northern platform, and waits for the others to ascend. She studies the platform, judging how many will be able to make the first ascent. Likely Hektir and I on the first ride. Won't do to trip over a halfling body again.
Malavarius examines the bottles of liquid with beard-tugging intensity.
"Up is just as good as down, I suppose. Though we may want to find and dispatch this Radish-head person while we've the means still available to us today. An icy fortress without a leader may not be as organized if we find ourselves needing to regroup."
They appear to be an elixir of truth and three potions of feather fall.
Mirrors smashed and loot distributed, Quinn is ready to ascend. "Right, Tsin and Hektir first, then Pems, Mal, myself and Nadya. Let's give those witchy witchers a smacking!"
Tsin turns to Hektir. "Shall we?" Tsin steps onto the platform, girding herself for a murder of crows to hit her as soon as she arrives.
"Nothing personal if I try and slaughter you at the behest of a witch, alright, Hektir?"
Hektir smirks, then gives a spit.
"I'm ready. Though I think we could use a rest first. We control the teleporters. They ain't going no wheres."
Hektir goes in with Tsin.
A triangle of crossed steel wires runs between three wooden posts in this crescent-shaped room that smells strongly from the bird droppings scattered across the floor. Along the south wall, open windows look down from a dizzying height, admitting a brisk, cold wind. Two doors exit this chamber, one next to a large mirror to the west and another standing between a pair of wooden chests to the northeast.
Birds -- ravens of impressive size -- hop from wire to wire, many congregating around an attractive blue-skinned, white-haired woman.
Hektir:
Malavarius:
Pemsworth:
Quinn:
Tsin:
Antagonist:
Nadya:
Round 1, Init 24
Hektir looks at the woman and makes a wild guess, anger burning in his eyes. He addresses the woman in a tongue known to all too few.
Hektir doubles moves up to her on the right side, awaiting a response (which might not happen).
Round 1, Init 16
AC = 17
HP = 30/32
Weapon Equipped = MW Cold Iron Longsword
Condition(s) = Disgusted by the smell
Tsin follows suit, and moves around the wires to the opposite side of the lady, weapon drawn. Her eyes narrow as Hektir slips into foreign language. Speak plain, tracker!
She waits only because she has to. Please, do something that justifies a swing.
Quinn whistles a tune below as he blesses each person with guidance before they ascend.
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Malavarius waits his turn, chatting nonsensically with Zeno before using the icy platform.
He arrives just in time to see Hektir and Tsin surrounding the woman with blades drawn. "Oh my. More of this then?"
Zeno, however, double takes as he sees the blue skinned woman up close. His lower beak falling open, he puffs his chest feathers out and calls out to her,
"Zeno! What are you babbling about?"
Zeno grumpily pecks Malavarius on the crown of his head before flying over closer to the blue skinned lady.
Hektir: 24
Tsin: 16
Nadya: 15
Malavarius: 14
Antagonist: 13
Quinn: 9
Pemsworth: 6
As Mal and Quinn use the transporter to appear in the aerie, Hektir and Tsin move toward the woman, who looks blankly at the tracksmage as he speaks, clearly not understanding.
Her one-word response is just as foreign to them, but the effects are clear, as the ravens suddenly soar from their perches and begin pecking and clawing at the outdoorsman!
The woman steps away from Tsin and drinks a potion.
Round 1
As Zeno flocks to the pretty birdmaster and the ravens swarm Hektir, Quinn draws his rapier and rushes forward, perturbed that another summer stealer should threaten the party in the face of kindness. "We've offered understanding and compassion at every step and you summer stealers keep attacking us! Surrender now, pretty lady, and I'll spare your life, or fight and die!"
Hektir flinches from the greedy grasping birds.
Round 2, Init 24
Reflex Save
Fort Save
Hektir feels the driving pain into his eyes, into his beautiful eyes.
Hektir 'declines' the opportunity attack (since he cannot see the offending action).
Hektir swings wildy at the swarm.
to hit;
damage;
high is good.
Round 2, Init 16
AC = 17
HP = 32/32
Weapon Equipped = MW Cold Iron Longsword
Condition(s) = Guided
Tsin watches Lady Aviary retreat into the flock, and witnesses what happens to Hektir as he is buffeted about the head. She attempts to Cleave at the birds.
She steps back 5', unsure that she wants to suffer Hektir's fate.