The brave Icetooth continues to fight without fear to death. With a precise movement of his sword, he stabs Mido in his breast.
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Aryn swings her greatsword at the goblin again.
If this attack downs the goblin, Aryn will stop her bloodrage. She'll then sit down, breathing heavily, and will cast cure light wounds on herself twice.
"Master Mido... you got... something... to heal yourself...?" Aryn'll ask the wounded monk, clearly having exhausted herself.
As the last goblin fells to the floor Aryn sits exausted.
The Frostfur get over the corpses and stab them once an again until just a mass of blood and meat remains.
The last rays of light shut down as Sun dissappears in the horizon. It's night, you are hungry, fatigated and sleepy.
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Mido lucks at his cuts and bruises as if it didn't bother him.then he presents a wand.
I have this but I'm not so good at using it. Maybe you could try instead. Last time it started smoking. I've been studying the secrets of magic for many years now but still I have not gotten the hand of it quite yet...
While Mido and Aryn are over the roof tower having a rest from the intense fight, the Frostfur goblins go around from one body to the other, first shouting "Wa' won! Wa' powerful warriors!", then in silence picking up the Icetooth armours and wearing themselves.
After recovering your breath, Mido looks around and notices Killadur picking up something from the shaman body and hiding it between his rags and the armour. As you focus your sight on it, you appreciate what seems and alchemist fire.
Is just then when both pathfinders look at the goblins and realize they are fully armoured, with armour, shield and shortswords.
Meanwhile, in the other tower, after some minutes the rest of the Frostfur goblins start to wake up from unconsciousness. They stand up and start walking around the tower shouting and hitting each other "Wasdat! Ya' blind! Ya' blind!", after some moment of chaos they recover and look at Ruslan "Wat happen? Wa' won? Terrible colours, then ya' loss conciousness" asks Bloodgash while the other goblins see the corpses and start trying to convince Henrick for him to let them use the sword and bow, or at least carry the shield or armors "Plase! Lor Heindrick plase! Let ma carry da shield, ya' will be yar' squire!" claims Ankleknock.
The night closes up and the ones without darkvision or low-light vision are under dim light now.
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When Mido gives Aryn the wand she smiles. "No problem, here you go."
She taps Mido's shoulder with the wand and heals him.
Aryn quickly gives herself the benefit of the guidance spell, then addresses the goblins.
"You cannot wear the armor and weapons, Frostfur clan. Those were owned by the disgusting enemies that we hate. Why would you even want to wear the gear of the disgusting Icetooth goblins? Now, take it off. We'll burn it in a big fire. I always have flint and steel with me for making fire. I saw Killadur take the Icetooth shaman's Alchemist's fire. Let's use their own flask to set fire to their stuff!"
The goblins look disgusted and up to rebelion while Aryn tells them to leave the weapons, but when he mentions making a fire their faces change completely "Yaaah! Fire! Let make fire! Frostfur like Aryn! Fire! Fire! Let's burn down das trachorus towers! Fire Fire!" you see the goblins going down their way towards the bottom floor of the tower.
As Mido registers the remains of the shaman he founds a potion of cure light wounds, one dagger, a light crossbow with 10 bolts, a wooden holy symbol of Zarongel and some gold pieces.
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Henrick looks at the Frostfur's with barely veiled contempt.
"Ye won't be usin' weapons while ye in me charge!" Then he thinks for a minute. "Ok - the armor ye can wear. Won't be savin' ye skin if'n I need to cleave ya anyway..."
To the party:
"While a small fire for the night inside the tower might keep us warm, I don't think we want to be lightin' a signal to any that we be comin' down the road. In any case, let's be organized fer two to watch each shift. One to watch fer trouble, and one to watch these goblins stay out of trouble. I'll be happy to sit first watch."
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"Henrick," Aryn whispers when the goblins are piling up the gear and setting it on fire, using her flint and steel together with the flask of Alchemist's fire. "We don't want them to think they can survive without us. They're goblins: they'll defy our leadership if they can survive without us."
Aryn walks up to the goblins to retrieve her flint and steel.
"Nice fire! Let the Icetooth goblins burn!" Aryn says as she throws another corpse on the bonfire, hoping to win the Frostfur goblins' trust some more.
When Aryn returns to talk to the party she nods her head. "Yes, good plan Henrick. Do remember we told the goblins they should also have a watch of their own. If you look for trouble during the first shift, then I'll look after the goblins meanwhile. I think they like me, so I don't mind taking the first shift to watch over them."
While the corpses are piled Corpselick insist into licking each of them in order to send a good sacrifice to the gods. "Do ya' want ta be licked as well? The recent blood will help ya' be protected"
As the fire burns the goblins seem entertained and do not give much trouble to the party.
During the night the goblins ask for more food over their rations, but far than that the night passes away cold and calm.
Once the Sun rises in the sky and the group starts moving the goblins ask for more food. Ankleknock gets to you and starts praying "Pleeease! Pleaaase! More food for das starving goblin! Ma' cannot mooove! Ma' needs energieee..."
Looking at Mido with good boy eyes Ankleknock says "Sigh... Ok... but ya' will give us more food later isn't it?"
The gnome's words seem to be convincing and short after the goblins seem to be prepared and receptive for moving at party signal.
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"Uhm, sure," Aryn replies to the goblin, and lets him lick her hand.
"What do you know about the stilyagi?" Aryn asks the goblin that has the same night shift as her, making sure no one else hears the conversation.
"Do you know about any ties between the stilyagi and the violent sects of the Shadow Lodge?"
Before talking to the goblin, Aryn quickly casts guidance on herself.
"Yes, let's press on for now," Aryn says the next morning, when they're about to continue their journey. "Do anyone who doesn't have a way to heal himself need healing?"
Kallidur shares shift with Aryn. On being interrogated he just states "I know nothing about the stilyagi"
Anyway faction missions are just optional since season 4, for fluff, and the extra 1PP comes now from the secondary condition.
Henrick's cares during the night allows the Frostfur goblins to fully heal during their rest.
The goblins wake up a bit, then start to complain "Wa' sleepy, let us sleep more." and maintain themselves on laing in the floor.
"Arg! Ya' are slavers..." mumbling all the way around it requires time to pack all the goblins, but finally they all get convinced and organized. The Sun is shiny in the sky and you are ready to continue your way.
With the rough hills at now far to the north, the land opens into a broad grassland where the snow is much sparser. The sky is overcast and the temperature has risen, making the march south somewhat easier. For as far as the eye can see, there is nothing but open ground and great fir trees that dot the landscape. Harvest’s End, the river crossing point recommended by Ragna shall be at almost one day walking at human speed from here.
This intense change in the weather is not normal. You recognize in it a signal that a major snowstorm is coming, and that you should start preparing a camp as soon as possible to avoid getting trapped by the snow and its intense coldness.
The party enjoys the good weather and the goblins seem to be accepting walking at a good pace. Ruslan though seem not that convinced. When asked, he explains he knows about blizard storms that starts with this kind of clear weather, and recommends to build up a camp to pass the storm.
Artix starts giving orders to the party and the goblins about what to do.
Even they help with all its cunning, only Mido seems to follow orders properly, the others fail to understand Artix and he has to correct them all the time.
In the end after one hour there is no campsite and the storm comes over the party. The team tries then a hurried attempt in the middle of the storm.
But this is not enough, the shelter is unfinished and the cold starts to hit strong at the pathfinders as they try to continue working in the shelter.
The goblins start laughting at you. Kallidur says "Hahaha, ya' not know haw to pick that snow? Hahahaha!" at some point they start to get bored and play with the things around while you work in the shelter.
You catch up the goblins as they have unpacked the rations and are currently eating. For the remains, they have probably eated the rations for one full day, and only rations for two more days remains. But not for long as they are furiously devouring everything.
Shivering from the coldness Artix helped by Aryn finally ends the shelter. After moving everybody inside it, and making a fire place the party in a save location to pass the storm.
The goblins seem to resist well the coldness, but Kallidur becomes frozen and gets into the shelter silence and shivering. He seems extremely fatigated.
While you wait the storm to leave, the night fells. Outside is still snowing, though it can probably be posible to set night shifts if desired.
Mido finally enters inside the shelter, shivering and fatigated.
Kallidur seems to accept Artix blankets while the other goblins laugh at him "Hahaha, lak, Kallidur found a mama'. She is as hairy as his real one. Hahahahaha!"
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"Who wants to eat something?" Aryn asks the others.
Aryn takes her backpack, in which she had stored all the food for the day when Mido suggested it, and takes the food out.
"Don't eat too much," she says as she glares at the goblins.
Oops... I think that wasn't very friendly...
Aryn will take the food from the goblins if they start eating too much.
When Aryn opens the bag, she discovers great parts of the food have been looted while you where trying to build the shelter. In fact, only rations for more one day are remaining.
During the night shifts, you listen the strong wind wailing through the entrance to your shelter, while the fire crackles and heats your environment.
During the night Mido has a watch around the shelter in the middle of the storm, and he founds what seems a rare snowbloom fower growing near the campsite.
It is a mysterious fower that resembles a pale blue dafodil blooms in the snow. When Middo plucks it during the storm, the fower instantly turns to delicate, non-magical crystal.
Herbalists speculate that the fowers are a sign of the land itself resisting Baba Yaga’s magic. They are thus considered sacred in the Lands of the Linnorm Kings, and are prized by art collectors everywhere. The jadwiga, however, consider the fowers detestable weeds to be destroyed on sight, and trafcking in them is punishable by death. The value of a bloom depends on its quality when plucked; blooms are more plentiful at lower temperatures and their quality is higher.
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Artix blinks at the flower for several moments, before taking it gently in his huge hands.
This... this is a very special flower. Some say it shows that the land itself is resisting the magic of Baba Yaga herself. My people consider these blooms sacred, but others see them only as weeds. We should be careful with it, the wrong people find it on us and it can mean a lot of trouble.
You are just waked up and the Sun is still hidden when the sound of hungry wolfs howling takes your attention. Mido, Aryn, Henrick and Ruslan's wolf were attentive and are not taken by surprise.