Aavelixia is affected by the cold arrow in such a way that she can't think of anything, she draws a blank in regards to these creatures.
"Cold iron weapons, huh?" Braham says, casting a quick glance at the gleaming blade of his greataxe. He steps up to the nearest sprite and takes a swing.
Thanion drops his weapon and pulls out his bow. "I haven't shot my bow in a long time. Hopefully I haven't forgotten." As Thanion draws back the string, he feels the familiar thrum of power. "Focus it... Just like you were taught" Focusing the energy into his bow, he then releases the shot. Unfortunately, his rustyness shows and the shot goes wide
Suzy realizes Aavelixia got hurt, she double moves be able to get to the tiny creature. She moves towards the base of the tree and starts climbing.
Realizing quickly that he may not get a chance to reach them with his spear-like weapon, he switches it for one more suited to it. Either the cold, or his skill with the bow getting cold, worked against him. Even with the temporary enchantment he added, the falling snow also sees the arrow thump weakly into the base of the tree.
The little thing just fired upon can't help itself. It flits down out of the tree to float just in front of the group. It concentrates briefly, allowing a wicked little giggle to escape it, before a flash of scintillating colors cascade across the larger group of the party. The rainbow of color sprays out in a dazzling array, catching Sia, Braham, Sevrin, and Thanion in its wake.
The colors are amazing, but dampened by the falling snow and the ire of the group against this new foe. Only one person is caught in the blast that succumbs to the magic of it. Sia wobbles slightly before collapsing, eyes-wide open and staring, into the snow. She breathes and there is no sign of damage, but she is out of it.
Suzy, seeing her 'mother' get hit, lurches forward toward the tiny creature that did so. It takes all she can do to get to the base of the tree before preparing to climb up it.
Seeing how little of an effect that its ally had, the other nearby sprite flits out of it tree and also levels a blast of bright colors at the group. Except this one excludes Thanion and the now unconscious Sia, and instead turns the blast to include Thalin at the rear of the group.
The spray is mostly resisted, but this time Braham succumbs to its effects. He does the same as Sia did previously, tumbling over into the snow unconscious, blinded, and stunned all simultaneously. With both Sia and Braham unable to act, Thalin moves up to beside the heaqvily injured Sevrin and calls upon his divine gifts. Instead of healing just Sevrin, Thalin sends out a burst of healing energy, knowing it will do nothing for the currently uninjured sprites.
Aavelixia is noticing how small these creatures are, and how fast they move. She has decided that running after these little things may not be best for her. So she will drop her staff where she is and get her bow out. She tries to move closer to the pesky sprite as she can.
Suddenly, a flash of bright colours explodes directly in Braham's field of view. He tries to close his eyes, but it's too late. A sharp pain pierces his skull and he collapses as a big lump onto the snow with a thundering crash...
Aavelixia discards her staff in favor of the bow she carries, but doesn't have a clear enough shot with the fairies on the other side of her companions. She moves closer to the group instead.
From out of the tree where the first one disappeared, a tiny little arrow zips out from the heavy falling snow to strike Thalin in the shoulder. The hit is little more than an annoyance to the dwarf.
Sevrin, his courage regained in healing and anger, begins casting a spell directed at the two sprites that cast against the group. Reaching into his pouch, he whips a handful of sand toward the two fey. They seem to slump, before plopping unceremoniously into the snow, fast asleep.
Thanion calls out, "There in the tree!!!" He then lines up a shot against the target. "Hopefully this one works better than the last," he thinks to himself as he focuses on the shot.
As the two sprites drop into the snow, Thanion turns quickly and precisely spots the last one hiding in the tree, his eyes piercing the snow to see the little thing standing on a branch. Firing his bow, his arrow whips across the long gap to leave a small cut along the fey's arm. Knowing the edge of his arrows, it should have done more than that.
Perception to spot sprite #1 on E26
Handle animal
The sprite moves away before Suzy can attack it, it moves towards one of the companions. It suddenly falls to the snowy ground and disappears from her sight. She hears Aavelixia yell something and point towards the a different tree. An arrow shoots from somewhere behind Aavelixia and flies towards the tree. Suzy now is trying to move as fast as she can to reach the tree.
As Suzy hurries off toward the last sprite up in the tree, Thalin stays to deal with one of the ones right before them. He lifts his warhammer high, apologizes about his need to mete out death to the wicked, and brings it down on the little creature. The thing proves fairly resilient for its small size, but even still, the injury is too much at once for its tiny body to take.
Perception
Range attack
Damage
"Up in the tree Suzy"
Aavelixia moves up and fires her bow at the sprite in the tree . She hopes she can hit the sprite so that Suzy can see it.
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"SNOW! Snow, Drogan! Beautiful, f#!!ing snow! Cold as a mother-in-law's kiss! White as my daddy’s arse! Aahh, snow! Gods, have I missed this! Have I told you I bloody love snow?!"
He had. The bard had told Drogan Stonebeard of his love of snow both often and repeatedly ever since the pair had entered the odd landscape. He believed him too. As long as the dwarf had known him, Sturla had been an agreeable and jovial traveling companion, but this was something else. Ever since they had entered this strangely wintry region, the man had been practically giddy. He was like an impoverished child given free rein at a toy store: his excitement was either endearing or annoying depending on who you asked.
Sturla suddenly rose from the campfire, where the two had just finished their breakfast.
"Hold on, I'd kill myself if I didn't do this while we had the chance..."
The bard proceeded to strip off both his armor and shirt, leaving his upper body naked save for a small tuft of blonde hair on his chest. He then ran, and then jumped, headlong into the nearest snow pile, giggling like a madman and seemingly unconcerned with the cold.
"YEAH! Kalt sum inn í Helviti! Hey, Drogan! You're a dwarf; what's the hardest substance on earth? Wrong, it's my teats! Look at the pointy bastards! Look at 'em! Ha ha ha ha ha!"
It seemed Sturla really liked snow.
Drogan glances up at his enthusiastic travelling companion, cracking a rare smile as he watches Sturla dance and roll through the deep snow. Shaking his head, he looks back at the smoldering coals of the campfire, grabbing the roasting stick and picking the remaining useful meat off the carcass before dropping the remains into coals. Standing, he runs his thick hands back through his fiery orange mohawk, brushing out the stray flakes of snow that have settled there.
Quickly, he rises, hands curling around the shaft of his great axe. "Sturla, prepare yourself. There is fighting nearby," pausing to look around before pointing his axe in the direction of the noise. "We should go and see if we can help."
His fingers flex, anticipating the coming fight.
After commanding her pet plant to redirect its attentions, Aavelixia also moves closer to where the creature hides among the tree. With her bow in hand, she too manages to focus through the falling snow to catch a bead on the last sprite. Firing across the distance, she too manages to just hit the thing, also doing less than should be expected by an arrow that size.
After the other two sprites drop into the snow, and then getting hit twice, the sprite hidden in the tree changes tactics. Concentrating briefly, four small glowing forms, the same color as the glow of the sprite himself. The light of the sprite, though, winks out and it speeds off away from the group.
----------------
Drogan manages to pick out the sounds of battle through the heavy weather and Sturla's excited calls. The two had been enjoying the weather to cool off from the hot Taldan summer for a few days, but most of what they've encountered thus has either been confused wildlife, or critters that likely came from wherever the sudden snowstorm had. The sound of battle calls out to the two of them, and they ready themselves and rush toward the noise. They arrive to see an odd mix of things, with very little way to discern who is fighting what.
"Omaneftir og niðaneftir
Omaneftir Vallaratúni
Har fór hestur mìn tann brúni
Omaneftir Vallaratùni!
As if Thanion, Aavelixia and Braham hadn't been through enough already, what could only be a madman suddenly walked out from among the trees, closely followed by a mohawked dwarf with an axe. The blonde man could be heard before he was seen, bellowing a fast-paced ditty in a language none of them understood, and was a bizarre sight indeed as he strode forward wearing nothing but trousers and a smile in the wintry landscape.
There were those who thought Sturla a fool, or even batty, and their opinions would hardly change if they could see him now, half-naked in the snow and arms held out to the sides, including sword, as if to announce his own arrival. There were, however, a few who would disagree, and call this a calculated move. A bard lived and died on presentation, these would argue, and Sturla's opening gambit could be seen as an intentional ploy for shock.
Whether lunatic or trained social manipulator, his presence was certainly felt on the field.
"Tróndur droymdi dreymarnar
Segði teir ikki smærri
Tókti mær sum siglitrø
Tey gingu fjøllum hærri!"
As the number of the group that are still conscious watch the last sprite zip away from them, a strange sound emerges from the forest trail behind them. A loud and boisterous chanting, in a language that only some of the group even recognizes, sets hearts to racing at the exultation of combat. Despite the potential of a threat, and foreign words, the man is not here in challenge as much as appearing to be eager to participate in the battle.
With one sprite down, another asleep, and the third looking like it's running, Sevrin is emboldened enough to approach the sleeping one. Trudging through the snow, he moves up to stand over its prone form, and draws his oft unused dagger.
Drogan's ears perk slightly with the song coming from his friend. It was, as he can remember, probably the very first song he heard his friend singing so many months ago when they first met.
Emboldened by the words (one of the few in the group that can understand them) he rushes into the clearing, great axe held high. He pauses only briefly, assessing the threats, before letting out a roar and continuing his charge toward the nearest pixie. If there was one thing he didn't like (well, besides orcs, goblins, and giants) it was pixies.
She hears a yelling coming from behind Sevrin. She doesn't sense danger from it. But, she is curious to who is doing the yelling.
Suzy continues to move forward towards the tree. As she moves closer to her target she can now see more targets and they appear to be glowing. She moves her vines as fast as she can to strike the nearest foe.
Drogan, buoyed by his companion's song, rushes up to the downed sprite, eager to strike a death blow on the creature. Meanwhile suzy continues off in the direction she was told creeping through the heavy snowfall to come near the tree with the lights glowing around it, waving her tendrils menacingly until she can get to one.
With so many of the others already crowded around the sleeping sprite, Thanion ends up deciding to try and finish off the fleeing one. It's a long shot, but he goes for it. Moving closer, so as to not be too far out of range, he empowers his weapon once more and lets fire. Despite all the factors against him, Thanion's shot manages to whip through the trees, the snow, and the distance to hit the fleeing sprite in the back of the leg. Under better conditions, it could have likely been a fatal shot.
Thalin moves over to the remaining sprite and grips his weapon, ready to strike if the thing wakes up before someone has a chance to finish it off. He has had enough of the little buggers, and just wishes they could have got the last one before it flew off.
Aavelixia moves up closer to the tree with the four lights that have Suzy's attention, the heavy snow making each step a chore. As she moves closer to the location, the last sprite continues its path zipping away into the forest, disappearing among the trees and falling snow. As it vanishes into the distance, the four lights that remained behind blink out of existence.
Sturla kept on bellowing into the wilderness, his song falling an octave for a second as he nearly stumbled over something or another hidden in the snow. The bard moved over to the remaining sprite with sword wildly gesticulating in the air.
Sturla continues up to stand near the rest of the others, both word and weapon up in the air.
Sevrin brandishes his newly drawn dagger, then looks around at the size and weapons of the others. Suddenly he realizes that his dagger, in his hands, may not be all that effective.
Thanion keeps his bow ready while he goes to retrieve his Estoc. He then calls out to the new comers. "Thank you for your assistance. It is well received. Perhaps we should restrain that sleeping one for questioning?"
Drogan gives out a loud bellow, brandishing his great axe prepared to end the remaining sprite. On hearing the Elf's suggestion, he pauses at the last second and curves his swing to the left, the blade slicing through the deep snow.
Suzy doesn't see or sense sprite at the tree, so she turns around and shakes some of the snow off her leaves. She hears and sees the new humans and she goes to investigate. She tries to hurry towards the other companions as though they are in danger. As she passes
Aavelixia, Suzy pauses and looks at the people and looks back at Aavelixia and looks back at the people and continues to move. Suzy seems curios.
At long last, Braham awakens and scrambles to his feet. "Wow, what happened? I feel like I was out for month! Last thing I remember were these bright lights, and then... nothing..."
He turns his attention to the newcomers. "Greetings, dear travellers. Did you help defeat these creatures? Then I probably owe you my life!"
He extends his big hand. "Braham's the name."
Sturla ended his singing abruptly mid-crescendo, leaving the high note to echo over the land. Gods, how he loved how the snow carried his voice. The crisp air and soft cover made for acoustics like nothing else. Snow was just the best, the bard thought as he lowered his head from bellowing into the sky to actually see these strange travelers Drogan and himself had come upon.
And then he promptly craned his neck back again. It hadn't been quite so noticeable when lying down, but the man who until now had lain prostrate in a magical stupor was tall. Now back on his feet, his 7'1'' frame towered over Sturla's 5'10''.
He extends his big hand. "Braham's the name."
Sturla beamed.
"Harrans malagrót, you're a big bastard, aren't you? Was yer daddy friendly with giants? I'm gonna have to ask him for some tips, one gent to another, I am. Not saying I like don't 'em big, but he must have been a charmer, eh? Ha ha ha ha ha! Drogan, look at 'im! Could stack three of you on top of each of other and you still wouldn't reach his chin, ha ha hah!"
Sheathing his sword in the snow, the Ulfen took the smith's proffered hand, which, as expected, made his own look positively dainty in comparison.
"Right nice to meet you, Braham Giantblood. I'm Sturla, son of Sturla. I'm from up north, just visiting your stupid gorgeous country, had no idea you got these freak pockets of snowy lands. Gotta say, it's bloody fantastic. What are you lot doing here, beyond makin' snow angels?"
The bard was suddenly distracted by Thanion, in that Sturla only now gave the elf a proper once-over.
"'Ey, ein snjóálvur?! You're a snow elf! Oh, it's been years since I saw any of your beautiful, gangly kin. Tell me, where are you from?"
He was genuinely excited at the sight of an elf, a Snowcaster in particular. Sturla had always, like so many other humans, held a special reverence for elves. Their music, folk traditions and language especially piqued his fancy. He wondered is this elf had any songs to share.
Drogan slips the handle of his great axe through a loop on his belt, looking slowly around the group of adventurers. His gaze pauses briefly on Thalin, giving a nod one dwarf to another.
"As my companion has already said, I am Drogan. I come from, well," he pauses, considering, "I left there so long ago that I can't exactly consider it a 'from' anymore, can I?
Turning to look over, then up, at Braham, "We heard the sounds of combat, but I don't think we arrived in time to provide much help, as most of the fighting was over before we arrived.
Looking at Drogar and Sturla, Aavelixia wonders if they are really who they say they are. She looks at them suspiciously. She looks at Sturla and says "You realize you're shirtless, right?
As the humans talk, Suzy is curious. She stays close to Aavelixia just in case, but she's not sensing danger or hostile intentions from the new comers. she moves closer to Sturla. Suzy looks at Aavelixia, almost as to be asking if she can move towards Sturla. Once she gets close, she moves her vines and starts poking Stura's boot. It almost looks like Sturla may have something in his boot and Suzy must get it out.
Aavelixia gets close and wispers to Suzy "Stop that" She tries to grab one of the vines but Suzy moves her vine before Aavelixia can grab them. Suzy moves her vines in different directions and tries to poke Sturla's chest area. Almost as to see if he really has no furs or cloth covering his upper body. She turns to Drogan and tries to put one of her vines inside his boot.
"Suzy is just curious, she means no harm. She's still very young."
Aavelixia seems to walk slowly towards Suzy but as soon as she get close, Suzy moves to a new location to investigate the new people.
"Get out from his boot"
Sia slowly sits up as she hears the others speaking. What happened...? She looks at the two newcomers with slight suspicion, hard to hide her expression with just coming to. She stands slowly and brushes the snow off of herself. "This is why I hate the snow," she mutters.
"I am Sia, thank you for your help," She speaks to the strangers.
Thanion turns and addresses the thunderous new companion as he sheathes his estoc, "Well met, Sturla son of Sturla. I am Thanion Aeraviel. I hail from a small little village in Irrisen. We were hoping to save the Lady Malassene, whose carriage was attacked when we came upon these creatures. What brings you and your companion here?"
Drogan gently nudges Suzy aside, glancing curiously as he hasn't seen very many mobile plant creatures, especially this far north.
Glancing back down at the sleeping sprite, he grunts softly to get everyone's attention. "Perhaps we should get the little bugger secured before he decides to wake? My gear is back at our camp, so unfortunately I don't have any rope on hand at the moment."
"You realize you're shirtless, right?
"And a right feast for the eyes, I know," Sturla replied quickly, a childishly cheeky grin challenging Aavelixia's suspicious look.
"Hard to look away, isn't it? No need to say a word; those big, beautiful elven eyes say it all. Why would I have need of any cover under such a fiery gaze, under such burning desire? Why indeed, eh?! Ha ha hah!"
He puffed out his bosom in mock bravado, defiant of the elements despite having no protection beyond the silly little tuft of blond chest hair. That and his own curious Ulfen blood. Truth be told, the bard wasn't particularly attractive. Although well muscled, life on the road and a general disregard for his own health had left Sturla just a bit too skinny to fit most social definitions of beauty.
"Actually..." he said, and suddenly went from mocking machismo to wrapping his own arms around himself for warmth, "Now that you mention it, I'm freezing my t**$ off here, heh heh heh... Drogan and me just sort of ran off at the sound of combat. Should probably double back for a bloody shirt... Oh!"
The man was evidently every bit as erratic as he seemed, as upon noticing the small plant poking at his footwear every thought of deathly cold appeared forgotten. He sank down to a crouching position, arms still hugging himself, and stared at Suzy the Crawling Vine in wonder.
"Ooh. Ooooh! Oh, you're..."
"... you're some sort of magicky wicker-basket bugger, aren't you? Oh, you're a pretty one. Oh, I like you. Hey, missy, is she yours?" he asks the druid, looking genuinely excited at meeting the greenery companion. "What's her name?"
How he instinctively knew to refer to the plant as a 'she' would remain a mystery.
"Well met, Sturla son of Sturla. I am Thanion Aeraviel. I hail from a small little village in Irrisen. We were hoping to save the Lady Malassene, whose carriage was attacked when we came upon these creatures. What brings you and your companion here?"
Sturla's eyes lit up at the elf's words. A noble lady in need of rescue? Strange creatures impeding would-be heroes? It sounded nothing so much like the legends and stories he so obsessively collected. He gave Drogan a look. The dwarf knew that look. It was the are-you-thinking-what-I'm-thinking look. And the bard was clearly giddy at the thought of joining up on this noble endeavor. Drogan knew Sturla by now; the man was ready and willing for just about anything if it would simply make for a nice story.
"While I won't speak for the good Master Stonebeard, Thanion of Irrisen, I am here out of sheer simple-minded wanderlust. I am, in other words, a bum. But this business with yer missing aristocrat... Now that sounds interesting."
The gleam in the man's eyes was hard to miss.