Adventure Path Reign of Winter

Game Master Almonihah

"It looks like another religious ritual site." observes Quasit vaguely as she enters the room and sees the stone circle. "Maybe if we can get a closer look at those symbols we'll have a better idea what's going on. Just, maybe, don't actually touch them or step inside the circle yet."

"Saki, are you sensing any magic from those things?"

Quasit moves forward cautiously, keeping her eyes open for any traps.

Perception vs traps: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33

"Fin, we know that creatures have been bound and forced. All I'm sayong is that we don't know her motivations. She could have focused on just Bull to tje death, but instead switched to Maka. At that point, she'd know she was going to lose, so why not take out at least one of us in spite? It's easy to hate those who hurt us, but that doesn't mean we should. I, at least, can not allow sich emotions, however justified they are, to blind me." switching to a lighter tone, "Also, I come from a nation with many citizens that'd be regarded as monsters to be destroyed on sight in the southern lands. So maube I'm just used to it."

In the next room,
Selena uses detect magic before approaching, letting Quasit xheck gor mundane problems before getting closer.

While awaiting an answer from Marislova, Fin covers Quasit as she moves cautiously forward...

Perception: 1d20 + 14 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 14 + 2 = 30

Marislova gives Fin a little shrug. "She never really explained things to me. Or if she did it all went over my head. I know a little magic, but Baba Yaga's magic is so far above anything I can understand..."

Suddenly a voice speaks from thin air near the circle of stones. "Oh, Jadrenka's little pet. But who are these strangers with her who claim to be rescuing Baba Yaga? How should I know that they tell the truth, rather than being more invaders?"

Quasit doesn't spot any traps, but now that they've spoken up Fin is pretty sure there's an invisible creature in the room.

Even though alert, Fin starts a little as he looks towards the stones, curious as to the invisible creature’s words. Could she perhaps be one of the few here still loyal to Baba Yaga?

Knowing Quasit is not only the leader of the group but their face as well, Fin will try aid in the attempt to talk with the invisible creature and buy Q a moment to gather her words...

The Elf bows deeply in the voice’s direction. ”Findurêl, at your service. I thank you for not attacking us on sight as most of the ‘residents’ here have done. You have no reason to trust us...but we were sent on this quest to rescue Baba Yaga by one of her trusted servants, Illarion Matveius, before he died from wounds given him by Queen Elvanna. He was also known as Black Midnight, but he was best known as Baba Yaga’s Black Rider. He told us of Elvanna’s plans and Baba Yaga’s disappearance, opened a portal to Irrisen, and sent us there...clues gathered since led us here. Our leader can give you a better idea of our purpose in Artrosa...”

Aid Another (Diplomacy): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13 (+2 to Quasit’s potential Diplomacy check)

Fin nods in deference to Quasit...

Rolling her eyes at Fin's reference to "leader," "He means our mouthpiece other there, Quasit. But first, I am Selena Snoe Yelizaveta, despite appearances. The appointed time come. We need Baba Yaga to appoint the next queen."

”Yeah, um, hi there invisible person. I’ll be happy to answer all your questions about us. Just hear us out, ok?”

Quasit sighs. She turns to Findurel. ”I feel like I’ve given this speech a dozen times.” she mutters to him.

Then she goes back to addressing the voice, stepping forward toward the stone circle. ”What my friend has told you is true. We’ve managed to capture control of Baba Yoga’s chicken-legged hut away from Elvanna, and we used it to come here. We’ve come to Artrosa to find keys that will move us further along the path to finding where Baba Yaga is being held captive. We ran into another lady in the Maiden who agreed to help us and gave us one of the keys we’ll need.”

Here Quasit digs out the key acquired from Jadrenka, and holds it up for The Voice to see.

”And you’re right, there are other intruders here. Demon worshipping centaurs and their frost giant allies who are in league with Elvanna. They’re also trying to get the keys before we do, so that they can stop us.”

”I’m not sure how we could try to deceive you, since we nothing of your motives or loyalties. So if you’re loyal still to Baba Yaga, you should help us. And if you’re not… well, here we are. Have at us, I guess.”

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 13 + 2 = 26

Since her detect magic is still up, Selena slowly scans the room, to note when she picks up a new magic aura, to try and at least get a general direction of the invisible person. She also has her new sword at ease but ready to deflect any attack.

"Hmmm... so you know his name, do you... well..."

There's a moment of silence, then a night hag appears by the circle of stones. She tosses a small bottle at Quasit.

"If you're truly who you say you are, open that and tell me what you make of the message," she says.

Quasit catches the bottle. Looks it over. Looks at the night hag and thinks a moment. Then she opens the bottle as instructed.

Quasit sighs. She turns to Findurel. ”I feel like I’ve given this speech a dozen times.” she mutters to him.

Fin hides a smile, whispering back, "Aye, Q, you have...but you do it so well and much more persuasively than I ever could..."

Quasit catches the bottle. Looks it over. Looks at the night hag and thinks a moment. Then she opens the bottle as instructed.

"...and you come through again...you seem to have won her trust, Q, at least for the moment," he adds, awaiting in anticipation as she opens the bottle...

When Quasit removes the cork from the bottle (which takes a little work), a voice (which sounds like that of an old woman) speaks from the now-open bottle mouth. "If you hear these words, my own blood has betrayed me. Jadrenka has one key; the other lies in the Eon Pit. Follow my trail!"

Fin ponders a moment before addressing the hag. ”That’s obviously Baba Yaga’s voice....Elvanna betrayed her...she mentions Jadrenka has one key to her hut, which she gave to us and Q just showed you...she tells of the location of the other key and says to follow her trail...

“So we must find this Eon pit and retrieve the final key...I assume it likely lies somewhere in the Crone? And we’ll likely have to deal with those evil centaurs and frost giants along the way...”

"The lady with the cow was Jadrenka?" says Quasit. She looks toward Marislova. "Well, I guess we've met your friend. And she didn't try to kill us. So that's good."

"Eon Pit, huh? That sounds nice."

Marislova gives Fin a little shrug. "She never really explained things to me. Or if she did it all went over my head. I know a little magic, but Baba Yaga's magic is so far above anything I can understand..."

"Don't worry, I basically don't understand anything about the witches...except Cluckers. Hard to argue that a chicken house isn't a good idea." Maka replied to Marislova with a toothy grin and no hint of sarcasm.

"If you hear these words, my own blood has betrayed me. Jadrenka has one key; the other lies in the Eon Pit. Follow my trail!"

"What's an eon? Are we sure the key is just in a hole an this isn't another riddle?" Maka said, clearly unhappy with the idea of another riddle.

"An Eon is a really long time. I'm guessing that since this whole place is one big allegory of a woman's life history, the Eon Pit stands in as the metaphor for the endless darkness at the end of life. Or something like that." says Quasit without relish.

"An Eon is a really long time. I'm guessing that since this whole place is one big allegory of a woman's life history, the Eon Pit stands in as the metaphor for the endless darkness at the end of life. Or something like that." says Quasit without relish.

"UGGGHHH! I'm so tired of these witches and their...witchey ways. If I was Baba Yaga and I was going to make giant statues to hide some keys, I would have made the statues move around so you had to fight them. Instead of all this." Maka finished her complaint with a swirl of her hand to their surroundings.

Selena laughs. "Maka, that would be awesome to see, but the point isn't merely protection, but to test intellect and cleverness as well, and such things are not very easily tested by fighting giant golems."

"You know Maka, maybe when we free Baba Yaga, we can talk to her about putting you in charge of Irrissen for a while. You'd be a way better queen than these stupid witches. Then you could build all the giant monuments you wanted with all your wolf men and trolls. You could be Baba Maka!" Quasit snort-chuckles at her own joke.

Fin holds back a laugh at the women’s back and forth banter, keeping focused on the night hag...

”Thank you for the message in a bottle, m’Lady. Is there anything you can tell us of this Eon Pit? Is it indeed located within the Crone? And do we have your leave to go there now? The quicker we can find the last key, the quicker we can get back on Baba Yaga’s trail...”

"Hmm, I would think you should know more about these keys," the night hag grumbles. "Yes, you will find the Eon Pit in the Crone, along with the worst of the invaders."

She smiles cruelly. "A true servant of Baba Yaga would be glad to serve her two ways at once."

She smiles cruelly. "A true servant of Baba Yaga would be glad to serve her two ways at once."

"I'm picking up what you're throwing down." answers Quasit with a wise nod. "So, any chance you could tell us how to get to the Crone?"

"What is this invader, and what magics does it have? Any info about it would aid in it's downfall, and a true servant of Baba Yaga would certainly aid in the downfall of Baba Yaga's enemies."

Selena laughs. "Maka, that would be awesome to see, but the point isn't merely protection, but to test intellect and cleverness as well, and such things are not very easily tested by fighting giant golems."

"I don't know, these cleverness tests must not be too smart if I'm getting through them."

Kazim

"You know Maka, maybe when we free Baba Yaga, we can talk to her about putting you in charge of Irrissen for a while. You'd be a way better queen than these stupid witches. Then you could build all the giant monuments you wanted with all your wolf men and trolls. You could be Baba Maka!" Quasit snort-chuckles at her own joke.

"Mmm that sounds like a lot of responsibility." Maka replied, taking the joke seriously. "Maybe I could be one of her horsemen instead? I could still be in charge of the wolves and trolls and fix things up some then right?"

"What is this invader, and what magics does it have? Any info about it would aid in it's downfall, and a true servant of Baba Yaga would certainly aid in the downfall of Baba Yaga's enemies."

"She's talking about the demon centaurs, Selena." says Quasit. "That's why we haven't run into them, even though they beat us here. They're all over in the Crone."

"The guardians who were there are dead now, so they can tell nothing of the strength of the invaders beyond that it was greater than theirs," the hag notes. "Jadrenka might know more. I guard here. She guards everywhere. Did she not tell you?"

"No, everyone likes being enigmatic around here." says Quasit. "And you haven't answered my question. How do we get there?"

"Jadrenka might know more. I guard here. She guards everywhere. Did she not tell you?"

Fin shakes his head slightly, pondering over their only meeting. ”We only met her once, back in the Mother...we did not know at the time it was Jadrenka as we had recently run into Caigreal and knew she could change shapes...after we met Marislova, I began to suspect that had indeed been her...

“She was rather friendly to us after we explained our reasons for being there, at least for the most part...while she gave Quasit a key, from your earlier words, I take it wasn’t one of the two. That jogs another memory that I shouldn’t have forgotten...Jadrenka mentioned that one of the keys we seek was guarded and that she’d give us the other key once we procured the first...

“From what you said of the invaders, it seems they are the key’s ‘guardian’ now, so to speak...we will kill them, get the keys, and continue our search for Baba Yaga. We must make haste...by your leave?”

I went back and re-read the encounter in the fields with Jadrenka...

Before the hag can respond to Quasit, Marislova says, "I know where you might find Jadrenka nearby here. And there are plenty of ways into the Crone, though I'm not sure where the Eon Pit is."

The hag arches a sardonic eyebrow at Marislova before adding. "Only Jadrenka knows all paths within Artrosa. I have not needed to know the place of this Pit."

Argh! Just noticed a typo in my previous post...it was in the Maiden, not the Mother, when we first met Jadrenka...

Fin nods to the hag and points to the passage heading east out of this chamber. ”Can you tell us where that passage leads to, m’Lady?”

After getting an answer from the hag, Fin will look to Marislova. ”Where would we find Jadrenka nearby?”

Before the hag can respond to Quasit, Marislova says, "I know where you might find Jadrenka nearby here. And there are plenty of ways into the Crone, though I'm not sure where the Eon Pit is."

Quasit looks to Marislova with surprise, since this is the first time she's claimed to know about anything outside her bedroom.

"Well, perfect. Let's not bother this nice lady any more then."

I think we are all in the room with the circle of stones. Fin, did you mean to point out the passage that heads north? Notice that the compass rose is turned 90 degrees.

Sakitu doesn't have much to say while the others talk with the hag. Her head swims a little with all the new information and then, with the talk of encountering demons, anxiety surges in her gut. Even the banter about Maka becoming Baba Maka isn't enough to alleviate the dread. After a moment she regains composure. She wanted adventure and now she's got it. Only, adventure turned out to be more dangerous that she thought it would be.

"Well, perfect. Let's not bother this nice lady any more then."

Sakitu nodded. "Since we know where we're going, or at least Marislova knows part of the way, we should go." She eyes the passage north. "We haven't got there yet. Maybe that's the way. And wasn't there a passage in that other big room?"

Ah, yes, I missed that Saki, thanks, should've said north...

"That path leads to the Crone," the hag responds. She looks at Marislova and smiles toothily.

Marislova shudders a bit. "It's best to talk to Jadrenka here, in the Mother. It's... actually near where you found me. I wasn't... quite sure what you'd do if you met her, so I didn't lead you there at first, but if she's given you something... well, maybe it will help. It's the door to the north of the room we met."

Fin ponders. ”Mayhap so...we met Jadrenka in the Maiden...so perhaps it’s best we meet her here before meeting her in the Crone? Does she somehow change depending on which fortress she’s in? We’ll have to go back up those stairs and thru the trapdoor...but perhaps it’s best as Marislova says...she knows Jadrenka much better than we...

“What do you think, Q?”

"She is different between the three," Marislova confirms, "Though... not *that* different. At least, I can always tell it's her."

”Does she exist in all three at the same time?”

"She is different between the three," Marislova confirms, "Though... not *that* different. At least, I can always tell it's her."

"Aww, that's sweet. Have you figured out what you are going to say to her yet?"

Fin ponders. ”Mayhap so...we met Jadrenka in the Maiden...so perhaps it’s best we meet her here before meeting her in the Crone? Does she somehow change depending on which fortress she’s in? We’ll have to go back up those stairs and thru the trapdoor...but perhaps it’s best as Marislova says...she knows Jadrenka much better than we...

“What do you think, Q?”

"I think we should try and find Jadrenka here if possible. Marislova didn't sign up to fight demon centaurs and frost giants, so I'd like to try and get her and Jadrenka reconciled before we go looking for the Eon Pit, if we can."

Quasit starts back the way they came.

"So Marislova, when we find her, how do you want to handle it? Do you want to talk to her alone, or maybe have us talk to her first and soften her up? Or go in and present a united front and do a little tough love? You know her better than we do, and I'm sure you've given this a lot of thought. How do we win her over?"

Fin nods and will take point in going back...

Stealth: 1d20 + 23 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 23 + 2 + 4 = 34
Perception: 1d20 + 14 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 14 + 2 = 34

"Ok. We're going to try to find Jadrenka in here? I think that sounds good." Sakitu is quite skeptical of the plan but that's not because she has a better idea but instead it's because Jadrenkda is a mystery. It's better to avoid the mysterious stranger that you do know, and hope for the best, than it is to intentionally try to find her.

I colored the sections that we haven't go to yet in purple and blue. The purple one we can get to directly by walking. I don't remember how to get to the blue section. I left the grey section as grey because we think that's the way to the next stage.

Marislova makes a face at Quasit's question. "I don't know! She locked me up and started accusing me of something but she would never tell me what it was I'd done! It was like she'd gone crazy or something, but as far as I could tell from my room it was only me she was being that way with..."

She takes a deep breath and slowly lets it out. "I don't know... maybe let me go first and wait a bit behind me? It's not like Jadrenka won't know you're there, but at least that way it won't be like we're trying to outnumber her or something."

It doesn't take long to get back to the door in question. Marislova seems less and less certain of herself the closer you get to it, and by the time you're standing in front of it she's practically shaking.

"I can do this, I can do this," she's muttering to herself.

"Marislova, I don't like the idea of you going up there alone. Obviously Jadrenka's very powerful and temperamental. Maybe one of us could come along, just in case things go badly? And to give you a little confidence boost?" At this, she offers Marislova a wineskin full of hard cider. "Varisian Courage." she explains.

”Perhaps we can compromise, Q…Marislova could go in, keep the door open, and we could await just outside it. If all goes well, Marislova can introduce us…if it goes wrong, we’ll be close enough to assist her…”

Fin pauses a moment before adding, ”But Marislova, if you’re too terrified, one, or perhaps two of us could go in first…she has met us before…and Quasit’s pretty good at persuading folk…”

”Perhaps we can compromise, Q…Marislova could go in, keep the door open, and we could await just outside it. If all goes well, Marislova can introduce us…if it goes wrong, we’ll be close enough to assist her…”

Fin pauses a moment before adding, ”But Marislova, if you’re too terrified, one, or perhaps two of us could go in first…she has met us before…and Quasit’s pretty good at persuading folk…”

"I dunno Fin, I think this is actually something Marislova needs to face herself. These two are quarreling lovers, not enemy diplomats." says Quasit. "And I don't want to make Jadrenka suspicious of us either. I think we either have one or all of us go in openly with Marislova, or we stay completely out of it. If Jadrenka is literally a presence throughout all 3 parts of this complex, I have the uncomfortable feeling that we aren't going to be able to hide the fact that we're lurking just beyond a doorway ready to rush in. But I could be wrong I suppose."

Fin nods somberly. ”Aye, you’re right, Q…and I’m the last one to consult on matters of the heart. I can maneuver in combat fairly well, but in a lover’s spat, I’m useless; I’ll follow your lead…”

Fin turns to Marislova. ”Would you like to to go in to see Jadrenka by yourself? Or would you prefer one of us to go with you?”

Marislova hesitates a long moment, then sighs. "One of you might as well come. There's no way she won't know you broke me out."

"Quasit should probably go then...but call out if there is any trouble."