Adventure Path Reign of Winter

Game Master Almonihah

Selena seems quiet as of late, distracted by something. Doing the morning routine almost on autopilot.

At Tezuzu's question, she'll answer the best she can,
Knowledge, add 8 if Arcana, 6 if nobility, otherwise untrained: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Selena tells Tez, "Nope," but one might wonder if she actually thought about it or was just thinking about something else.

As the rider approaches, Selena casts Ironskin.

Flames surrounded Maka's leg as she twisted around to kick them at their new foe. Though she had initially aimed for the mount, she sent her attack at the rider at the last minute. The animal's large eyes seeming too innocent to the fire monk.

Standard action fire blast.

Fire Blast vs Touch AC; EO, Defensive: 1d20 + 11 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 11 + 2 - 2 = 30
Fire; EO: 3d6 + 2 + 6 ⇒ (6, 4, 4) + 2 + 6 = 22

"I think that was a long way to go for that joke." she says as gently as she can, doing her best not to smirk.

Tezuzu bows gracefully "We cannot all have a tongue as sharp or as clever as yours. The effort does not seem entirely wasted if that smirk you are hiding is any measure and that will due for my purposes."

----------

Upon being surprised by the sudden appearance of the elk and rider Tezuzu will shift into a fighting stance raising his claws and size up his enemy.

Tezuzu nods at Quasits order and takes a step back readying a spell to target the Elk while Yang hops out of his cage into the snow behind Tezuzu shifts into his larger battle form as he begins to growl.

Tez:5ft-step, Ready Action: Cast Shadow Trap targeting the Elk once it begins any movement or if the rider attacks. (Spell, DC 15 Will, Failure= Entangled Condition cannot move further than 5ft from it's original position may make a full-round action to reattempt save.)

Yang: 5ft-out of cage. Standard Action: Battle Form.

Tezuzu will remark towards the rider curtly "We are not prey. Flee and be spared. Press forward and perish."

Sakitu shakes out of her melancholy at the appearance of the rider. Quicker than thought, she begins to wave her hand in the air. Sylvan words form an incantation as she completes the gesture.

Trying something new here. You all have noticed (but it's been unmentioned so far), that Sakitu always uses Sylvan when casting spells with a verbal component. Those that know Sylvan can see what she actually says. In this case, casting Bungle on the rider. DC 17 will. Spell Resistance applies. BTW, if you don't like made up languages, just ignore it. :-) I love languages.

"lai aulia e ouzami
pirareala leahmauai
ke zeamara klou"

The elk plows through Tezuzu's trap, some other magic ensuring it moves freely. Sakitu can tell that something about the rider offers significant resistance to the spell and though her skill is able to overcome it, the rider's will is strong enough to not be impacted by the spell. And so freely the rider turns to flee, taking a swipe at Sakitu with its glaive: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27 dmg: 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15 cold: 1d6 ⇒ 1 as it returns Tezuzu's taunt. "On this day your word holds true, but one day the cold will claim you too."

Round Two: Party up. Though the rider has turned around, it is still within range of various attacks.

Fin mutters, "Oh no you don't," as he lets loose a rain of cold iron at the mysterious rider...

To Hit Mods: BAB+Dex, Magic, PBS, Deadly Aim, Favored Enemy, Precise Shot, Improved Precise Shot, Manyshot, Rapid Shot
Damage Mods: Magic, Strength, PBS, Deadly Aim, Favored Enemy

Magic Longbow (Manyshot): 1d20 + 13 + 1 + 1 - 2 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (13) + 13 + 1 + 1 - 2 + 2 - 2 = 26
Magic/Cold Iron Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 2 = 12
Magic/Cold Iron Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 2 = 17

Magic Longbow (Rapid Shot): 1d20 + 13 + 1 + 1 - 2 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 13 + 1 + 1 - 2 + 2 - 2 = 24
Magic/Cold Iron Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 2 = 11

Magic Longbow (Iterative): 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 + 2 - 2 = 10
Magic/Cold Iron Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 1 + 1 + 4 + 2 = 14

Shards of ice blast from where the rider sat upon the elk. The sharp chunks cut through the beast, which tumbles to into the cold water. Between the gush of blood from the open wounds caused by the icy explosion and the water the animal does not live long. The rider's glaive remains, stuck in the ground. It's icy form melting.

Erdija looks on, in shock for a moment. She quickly moves forward wordlessly in the direction the group had been heading before the rider's failed ambush.

Combat is over.

Selena stops in the midst of her spell, wondering why she bothered starting it, and walks and grabs the glaive and examines it, wondering if she can maintain it's icy form.

I don't really care all that much about the glaive. It'd be cool if her ice magic allowed her to but it's not like she'd use it all that much, not that I'd turn it down either. Mostly playing her inquisitiveness at the moment.

Fin lowers his bow as the rider shatters. "What in nine helps was that creature? Any idea, Erdija? Tez?"

Fin launches arrows with unnatural speed and before Sakitu can form another spell, the rider explodes. Sakitu looks with surprise but let's her hands fall to her side. Remembering the last time that Fin shot something so quickly, she turns immediately to Selena, half expecting a voice of outrage.

Instead, Selena walks calmly to the melting glaive. Sakitu joins her.

"Are you trying to keep it from melting? This doesn't look like a weapon that you could use."

Tezuzu rushes over to Sakitu concern stricken in his voice as he draws out his wand and mutters the command word to activate its healing "Are you Ok? I am so sorry... he brushed my magic off like he was batting away a fly....I am deeply sorry."

CLW, Saki: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
CLW, Saki: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
CLW, Saki: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Fin lowers his bow as the rider shatters. "What in nine helps was that creature? Any idea, Erdija? Tez?"

Knowledge History: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (18) + 14 = 32 (I identified it earlier, but this is to represent knowing the following)

Tezuzu responds to findurel "Yes. A cold rider, a twisted corrupted Fey. One of Baba Yaga's creations. Once they were noble knights of the first world and guardians of nature...." he sighs deeply before continuing "To make that...'thing'..she ripped out its heart and replaced it with cursed stag heart before breathing ice magic into its soul with a kiss. Foul creature, but it means we are probably getting closer to Artrosa."

The glaive is but a fraction of its original size once Selena grabs it. She can easily keep it from melting further, but it is clear that it will be more like a dagger.

Erdija shrugs and continues forward.

Fin looks over the remains.

Perception: 1d20 + 13 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 13 + 2 + 2 = 23

"Hmmm...cold rider, huh? This must've been the creature stalking us...and the creature Oparal sensed the night before she left us...at least it's not on our trail any more...

"Bull, think you can lift the Elk high enough so we can retrieve the saddlebags? Judging from Erdija's reactions, we need to move quickly...not sure if she's spooked or if she's expecting more of these riders..."

Erdija slows near area where the now increasing wet land has expanded from the river further inland. She looks back and forth from the party, to the ground, negotiating her path. As the party's focus shifts to the Elk a cut off yelp pulls attention back to where the centaur was standing. She is not where she was, but even from a distance you can see water splashing from near where she was.

"ERDIJA!" Fin runs quickly to her side and tries to staunch the wounds and patch her up...

"'Ware the shadow! Tez, get over here quick with the wand. Someone watch our back as I administer aid! Izzy, defend! Don't talk, Erdija...STAY WITH ME!"

He'll wash out her exterior wounds with some of his mead so the alcohol can kill any bacteria or wash away any lingering poison. He'll get Maka to heat up his dagger so he can cauterize any exterior wounds...and then he'll pull out his sewing kit for anything that needs to be stitched...

Heal: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Once Fin has her patched as best he can, he'll draw his bow and guard over her, still kneeled by her side, keeping an eye out for the shadowy creature, as well as on any bandages that might need reinforcement or signs that further aid is required...

Perception: 1d20 + 13 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 13 + 2 + 2 = 27

Knowledge (Nature) check if this shadow creature be fey as well...
Knowledge (Nature): 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 4 + 2 = 15

"ERDIJA! Maka shouted and ran towards her centaur friend with the others. "Fix her fix her fix her...!" Was all she could yell at seeing the centaurs wounds. Fire began to lick from Maka's shoulders as panic quickly turned to anger. Soon, flames erupted from all over her body as steam rose from the ice and snow.

"Who did this!? Main apane dost ko chot pahunchaane vaale ko ukasaoonga!"

Standard Action ready action Fire blast, empower metakineses for 1 burn, gather power to reduce 1 burn.

The fearsome fey knight had launched itself to attack practically before Quasit had her sword out, and she jumps back reflexively as it rushes up and slashes Sakitu, gasping as blood sprays from her friend's wound.

But then it was over, the creature exploding under a hail of arrows and fire.

She turns to look at Findurel. "Holy Smoke..." she says in an awe-stricken voice. Then like everyone else, she immediately relaxes and puts away her sword and begins to wander curiously over to the wreck of the monster.

So she is likewise surprised by the yelp from Erdija, and she too races to where the centaur lies stricken.

She coughs these last words, a mix of blood and blackened mucus flows from her mouth.

Quasit looks over the shoulders of the others ministering to Erdija, and her hand goes to her mouth in horror.

"It looks like she's been poisoned!" gasps Quasit in a worried and subdued voice. "We need to act fast if that's true." And she stands there, feeling utterly helpless...

Frantic, Fin wonders if he has done enough to stabilize her; he nods to Quasit at the mention of poison. "Selena, you can detect poison, yes? And Tez, can't you neutralize it if it's there? And don't forget to tap her with that damn wand!"

As you help Erdija from the water it is clear that wounds are not only extensive, but that most concerning is that her hind quarters have practically been severed from the rest her body. This wound more than the others is covered with what appears almost like a shadow that is taking the place of her flesh.

Jets of steam vented from Maka's eyes as Erdija's condition brought her to tears. Her glowing eyes frantically searched for something to burn.

Perception; LL Vision, Darkvision 60ft: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (16) + 13 = 29

Probably should have done that last post

Fin's face blanches white upon seeing the wound on her hind quarters. "What vile devilry is this?"

Turning to Quasit, a solitary tear tracking down his left cheek, he whispers sadly, "That wound is beyond my skill to heal, Q...I fear I've done all I can...perhaps Tez or Selena can treat it with magic..."

He then draws his bow and keeps an eye on whatever shadow creature hurt his friend...

Perception: 1d20 + 13 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 13 + 2 + 2 = 21

...if the creature is still threatening and Fin has a clear shot, he will fire...

Maka can see the creature is well underwater, roughly fifty feet under water toward the opposite side of the river.

Cast detect magic

At the sight of Erdija's wounds, Sakitu covers her mouth to keep herself from vomitting. She looks long enough to get a sense of the magical shadow then quickly turns away.

Her eyes lock on Quasit and she rushes to her. "Quasit. It's just awful. What can we do?" Her voice is right on the edge of breaking into sobs.

"That black thing, it's some sort of shadow magic."

Her eyes lock on Quasit and she rushes to her. "Quasit. It's just awful. What can we do?" Her voice is right on the edge of breaking into sobs.

All Quasit can do is shrug listlessly.

"I don't know... I don't know..." she says in a weak voice.

She turns away from the horrible sight, unable to look at it any more.

Fin looks desperately to Tezuzua and Selena. "Do either of you have spells that can dispel this magic? Or if it's a disease or curse, can you remove those? If we don't act quick, I fear we'll lose her...this is far past my meager healing skills..."

Selena grabs the diminishing glaive, and inspired by it's obvious reliance on a master to exist, makes an impromptu experiment, stretching out with her own icy magic to bind the glaive to her, and she genuinely smiles at having had success, despite the much diminished size of it.

Then Erdija yells and all thought of the icy miniglaive stops as she blinks over to the centaur and uses her healing hex. Examining things with both detect magic and detect poison. "It's magical. I can try to dispel it, but with a general dispel the chances are less than say a break curse or disenchantment spell might have, depending on what this is."

Selena spends the time examining the effect with detect magic before trying to dispel it.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29
Dispel: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21 This redult dispels up to a cl10 effect unless it explicitly can not be dispelled.

Tezuzu moves towards the body of Erdija with a speed and intensity that doesn't seem possible for his age. His beak snaps orders both sharp and direct he bellows head shifting just briefly to make eye contact with Quasit "Q, Vial in bag. Silver-blue, label R.E.S. Shove that down her throat. (Potion of Lesser, Rest)

Shifting his attention to Selena he snaps "Disrupt the Magic. I have seen you do it. Try."

Tezuzu draws his wand into his left claw as he rushes forward his right claw flipping a switch on a tubed case as a roll of fine parchment shoots out landing in his unfurling in the wind as he rushes forward toward the body.

"Everyone else keep the shadow creature's attention off us."

(Tez will cast CLW on Erdija if she appears alive. He will use the scroll of breath of life if she appears dead.)

"Q, Vial in bag. Silver-blue, label R.E.S. Shove that down her throat.

Quasit snaps back into action, seemingly eager to have something constructive she can do. She gets on her knees and grabs Tezuzu's bag as directed and rummages about for the requested vial, then pours it down into Erdija's mouth, cradling her head in the crook of one arm.

"Come on, hang in there, stay with us..." she murmurs to the semi-conscious centaur.

Fin shakes his head. Happened so fast...how could the wounds be that severe this quickly...what could sever her hindquarters in that little time?

He hears Sakitu mention shadow magic...

"Isn't shadow magic based on illusion...is this even real?"

Fin forces himself to look upon Erdija, trying to disbelieve her horrific wounds as an illusion...

Will Save vs Illusion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

I've got no clue, so thought I'd give this a shot, to maybe rule it out at least...

Tezuzu casts a healing spell from the wand in hand the other scroll in hand as a precaution.

CLW, Erdija: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

He shouts to Quasit "In the bag, a scroll marked with a crossed out skull, have it ready for me. Should stop poison hurry."

Yang growls angrily and yips at the shadowy magic enveloping Erdija.

"Actually, shadow stuff can be used to give an illusion some substance, to make it more than just an illusion. So it is more like shadow stuff is the bridge between illusion and reality. Perhaps that creature is an elemental of shadow stuff, though I don't think so."

The combined efforts are able to stop the progress of whatever is at work in the centaurs body. For now she is holding on to life. Seeing her lay there Maka seems to remember something.

He shouts to Quasit "In the bag, a scroll marked with a crossed out skull, have it ready for me. Should stop poison hurry."

Quasit obeys.

A sudden realization dawned in Maka's eyes, she recognized the horrific wounds. "Wait...ARE YOU THE ONE THAT KILLED BRAGDA!?" Maka roared as ran into the river. The river was more effected by Maka's heat than she its cold. Steam rose and quickly cooled, settling a light fog upon the water. A fog that was violently disrupted and Maka kicked her leg straight up, sending a jet of steam rushing toward the underwater shadow.

Move action to get knee deep to break the water surface, Standard Action Fire Blast(extend range infusion). DC23 caster level check to user make spell like ability underwater.

Caster Level Check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Fire Blast vs Touch AC; EO: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 11 + 2 = 25
Fire; EO: 3d6 + 2 + 6 ⇒ (1, 5, 5) + 2 + 6 = 19

Water and ice give way to the power of Maka's fire. Alas the shadow, what or whoever it is either covered by to much water or made its way back into the dense forward back to the dense forest on the other side of the river.

Quasit looks up at the fire monk.

"Maka... you recognize that thing? You know what it is?" she asks.

As the steam cleared and her opponent was nowhere to be found, Maka unleashed a gout of fire in the air with a roar. A clear challenge for the shadow to come back and face her. Steam continued to billow from the bubbling water, obscuring Maka but for the glow of her flames. Eventually, once it was clear her foe would not fight, Maka returned to the shore. Her eyes mournful, tears still turning to steam from the heat of flames.

"Maka... you recognize that thing? You know what it is?" she asks.

"No but...the way Erdija is cut up. It's just like how Bragda was cut up. Whatever it is must have followed us." Maka's eyes continued to scan the area, waiting, hoping, for any sign of her foe.

Percetion; LL Vision, Darkvision 60ft: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26

There is no sign of whatever or whoever attacked.

"No but...the way Erdija is cut up. It's just like how Bragda was cut up. Whatever it is must have followed us." Maka's eyes continued to scan the area, waiting, hoping, for any sign of her foe.

Fin shrugs. "Whatever it is, if it followed us here from Whitethrone, it can either teleport or travel faster than any creature I've ever seen or heard of. I might've thought it hitched a ride on the hut somehow...but that's not likely as Ratibor would've been forced to fight it. Just as concerning is that it can kill with just one blow..."

Fin sighs sadly. "Tez, what's your prognosis on Erdija? Are parts of her going to be permanently shadow?"

Tezuzu knows that someone with religious knowledge would know more.

Tension fills the air as Tez, Quasit, and Selena worked on Erdija. Desperately afraid that something is going to go wrong, Sakitu can barely watch as her friends administer aid to the stricken centaur. After a few minutes it becomes clear that Erdija has been stabilized. Sakitu finds a clear patch of ground and slumps down to sit. The blankness that has been in her eyes since the indicident is slowly replaced with life and emotion again. She catches Quasit's eye and is about to say something when Maka shouts and races out into the river.

Sakitu jumps to her feet, raises her hands to prepare a spell, and then waits to identify the threat. "What is it Maka?" she asks. Maka is making enough noise that Sakitu is pretty sure she didn't hear the question. But it doesn't matter. A few moments later Maka returns to the shore and explains everything.

Sakitu sits back down in her previous spot. "Now what? It seems that if we stay here, we're vulnerable to that thing coming back. But can Erdija even move? There's no way we can leave her here and alone."

Quasit sits back as the crisis begins to pass, taking a spot next to Sakitu.

"If we stay together, we should be safe." says Quasit glumly. "It seems like it was just waiting for a moment to catch one of us alone, then swooped in. And it knew it could escape by swimming off like that -- Maka's fire and Fin's arrows are useless against something that far underwater."

"I wonder if it sent those ice creatures after Selena yesterday in the river? It's odd to me that they were so ready to attack her when that riverboat had been stranded and helpless for hours and wasn't molested at all."

"If it is the same thing that killed Bragda, then I really don't understand its mission. If the witches sent it, I can see why it would go for Erdija -- she's our guide. But why kill Bradga? Bragda was in the process of raising a racket to bring the wrath of the witches down on us while we fought Nazhena, remember? Bragda was loyal to the witches and no friend to us, even if we tricked her into friendliness for a few minutes."

Quasit pulls her knees up to her chest and thinks a moment, then gives a dispirited sigh and lets her forehead fall on her knees.

"I don't know. My head hurts. And most of my guesses lately are turning out wrong. But we aren't going to abandon Erdija. If that means we camp here for a few days, we camp here. If it means we rig up a sled and drag her back to town, we'll do that. At least that's what I think."

Maka actually has a rank in religion, which I completely forgot about.

K. Religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

I doubt the breathing exercise Maka just remembered will be very helpful in this situation.

"I don't know. My head hurts. And most of my guesses lately are turning out wrong. But we aren't going to abandon Erdija. If that means we camp here for a few days, we camp here. If it means we rig up a sled and drag her back to town, we'll do that. At least that's what I think."

"That's right! We'll do whatever it takes to help our friend!" Maka shouted, though whether she was speaking to herself, the group, or threatening the shadow was unclear. What was clear was how shaken Maka was. Maka spit a small fireball in the air where it hovered to provided heat and light. Taking Erdija's hand, the fire monk whispered comforts to the centaur as tears continued to flow.

I was just thinking...if this thing is undead that caused this, since Undead is a favored enemy of mine (+4) of which I've studied thoroughly, I should be able to make a Knowledge Religion check untrained...and if it be a fey creature, same thing as they're a favored enemy (+2) as well...

Fin shakes his head as it's obviously no illusion...as shadows are undead beings and he has some fair knowledge of them, the Elf kneels back down by here side again to take an even closer look at Erdija's wounds; if they were indeed caused by the undead, or perhaps by a fey creature, he's hoping he can discern something about their nature...

Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 1 + 4 = 25

Tezuzu will silently take a moment to monitor Erdija for any signs of her doing worse or her condition worsening. His familiar helping as he examines her.

Heal: 10 + 8 + 2 = 20

(If she appears to be worsening quickly or his examination indicates she might be cursed/poisoned he will use the scroll of 'Delay Poison', 'Remove Curse', 'Protection from Evil', and 'Remove Disease'. In that order.)

He turns to Findurel and says "I am unsure, but given a short time I can find out. Either way we need to try and move her and find a place to set up camp someplace more secure. Once we are secure and safe I should be able to determine what specific affliction this is and what that creature was...I can then send message to her tribe to come and retrieve her." Looking back to Quasit he asks "Does that sound good to you?"

Fin nods to Tez, trying to find a reasonably dry campsite with some tree cover that would be suitable for a Centaur. He'll then try to build a lean-to to keep the wind off of her...

I'll just take 10 for a couple of Survival checks...

Survival (Campsite): 10 + 10 + 2 = 22
Survival (Lean-to): 10 + 10 + 2 = 22

He looks to Tez and Quasit. "If you think there may be a potion or scroll to be found in Vurnirn that could heal, or at least help, with her wounds, I can set off right away. I will not have to stop for food or water, and will only need a couple of hours of sleep for the duration of my journey; I could be there, purchase what she needs, and be back in less than two days..."

Looking back to Quasit he asks "Does that sound good to you?"

Quasit lifts her head off her knees, but only long enough to rest an elbow there and bury her forehead in her palm.

"Yeah. Sounds good." she says blankly.

He looks to Tez and Quasit. "If you think there may be a potion or scroll to be found in Vurnirn that could heal, or at least help, with her wounds, I can set off right away. I will not have to stop for food or water, and will only need a couple of hours of sleep for the duration of my journey; I could be there, purchase what she needs, and be back in less than two days..."

Still cradling her forehead in her palm and looking straight ahead, Quasit shakes her head.

"No. We stick together. That thing has been following us for days, and even you only spot it for a few seconds once in a while. If you went off alone it would pick you off in no time. And you saw what it can do. One attack and it practically ripped Erdija in two. And meanwhile, we'd be sitting here for days wondering what had happened to you."

She looks toward her friend now. "We need your eyes and ears with us." Then she stands up. "Come on, let's see if we can find Tez's more secure campsite. Probably no caves around here, but we can at least try and find someplace that's dry and has a little cover to it." She hoists her pack onto her back.