|
Sakitu sits up groggily then smiles weakly at Quasit. "Yeah, I think I'm ok. Now. I'm not sure what happened. There were those things, a flash of color, and then... well, now." She looks around but can't really see through the snow. "Are they gone?"
Sakitu stands and tries to help pull Selena into one of the igloos.
Bulvi looks around while taking deep breaths. "I think so Sakitu but I'll keep my sword arm ready. Damned Fey, is everyone alright?"#
He looks around at the structures. "Maybe we will find some clues about their activities or other items of use. These weren't set up on a lark, perhaps a guard post? We could be getting close."
|
Sakitu sits up groggily then smiles weakly at Quasit. "Yeah, I think I'm ok. Now. I'm not sure what happened. There were those things, a flash of color, and then... well, now." She looks around but can't really see through the snow. "Are they gone?"
"Sorry, deaf as a post," says Quasit while pointing at her ear when she sees Sakitu speaking. "I don't know what you're saying, but I'm glad you're saying it!"
She gives Sakitu a little scratch behind the ears. Then she helps lug Selena into the igloo furthest east on the map and starts gently patting her face and speaking to her in low soothing tones.
"Wake up princess. Come on hon, snap out of it. Bad things all gone. Wakey-wakey, eggs and bakey!"
|
After about the better part of an hour, the ring in your ears seems to die down and you are able to hear normally again..inside the igloo, you nitice an unlit fire, a couple furs, and a small hole in the low ceiling to ket the smoke out, after you get your hearing back, there is the cave to the right and the winter portal to the left
|
|
Once Selena wakes up and Quasit has a chance to wrap up the bite on her arm...
"Brand new flippin' shirt." she mourns, angrily. "Another contribution for the rag man."
... she makes her way over to the big ugly beast and checks it over. She claims the spear, as well as checking any pockets or pouches it might have.
Glancing over at the little dead fairies, she hollers at Ibona, not realizing that she's still deaf too. She points back toward the fairies. "Hey Ibona! They match! They'd make some really killer hardcore earrings! We could pierce your ears with their little arrows!"
Following this, she makes her way toward the cave and cautiously peeks inside.
Selena wakes up, at first not moving, just listening. Upon hearing no enemies nor fighting, just her recently found companions, she opens her eyes and stands, frowning. "I wanna know that spell."
Bulvi stays about twenty foot behind Quasit,not wanting to draw attention to her by standing too close. He's ready to back her up if things go wrong... again.
Bulvi bites his tongue rather than point out lockpicking would be a skill that wpuld put people in mind of thieves... but decides against it lest he stir that arguement up again.
|
|
In the chest
4 potions
4 blue quartz “ice diamonds”from Irrisen worth 100 gp each,
1 silver diadem worth 300 gp,
1 near flawless diamond worth 500 gp,
1 jeweled necklace worth 400 gp,
1 painting of Whitethrone worth 100 gp to an art collector,
3 sapphire rings worth 75gp each,
1 decorative filigree longsword scabbard worth 125 gp,
a small scrimshaw sculpture of dancing sprites surrounding a piping satyr worth 50 gp,
as well as 2,457 gp, 3,313 sp, and 1,760 cp.
Seeing Ibona pick the lock, "You're a locksmith? That's a strange combination of skills you got. Not many tradesmen that can fight very well."
Seeing the painting, "Hey! That's Whitethrone. Why do these guys have a painting of Whitethrone?" She then looks pensive as she thinks deeply about what the connection could mean.
|
"Picking a lock is just one part to a whole range of skills, from disabling traps, to making them, to all sorts of device related things. The purpose is that having a wide variety of skills helps everyone. As for a tradesmen, nope, not me. Knowledge hoarder, yes."
Taking the 4 potions in hand, Ibona sits down, gets out her journal, and not only logs the items found within the chest, the last fight and so on, but she takes her time trying to identify the potions, even going so far as to take a sip of each to do so.
|
|
"Lockpicking Ibona? I wouldn't have expected that. But I'm glad." When Ibona opens the chest the kitsune peers over her shoulder and looks into the chest. She is about to explain when Quasit gasps. Sakitu blushes and Quasit's crude outburst. "Uh. I don't think I'd say it quite like that." She smiles shyly at her. "But that is a lot of gold and gems. What do we do with it?"
|
|
"Yu Khan didn't have a family. He was circus people. He told us so." says Quasit, still transfixed by all that money. "And who cares about the snow? With money like this, we can all move to Vudra and sip minty drinks on our verandas while handsome boys massage us. We got our payback for Alexia, as far as I'm concerned. I'm not here to save the world."
Looking at Quasit, "You overestimate what you can do with it. It'd last you a couple years at best living as nobility. It certainly won't buy you an estate." Selena seems quite unimpressed by the money.
|
|
"I don't need an estate. Just a veranda, some minty drinks and a cabana boy or two. And no more snow." chirps Quasit with a smirk. "Besides, the best use for money is to make more money. With a seed fund like this, I could carve out a decent place in the world and start a little business. Maybe a shipping company. Or a dress shop. Or maybe a bakery. I like pie." As she muses aloud, she seems to see her bright future in the roof of the cave. The she looks back at her companions. "Anything besides stumbling around in snow getting attacked by ticklewyrms and spooky dolls and walking corpses. And at least I won't be hungry for a while. Don't spoil my illusions princess, it's pretty much all I have."
"I'm not inclined to turn back but if you want to I wouldn't blame you. I think I'll save most of mine to get some full plate some day... but I might get a sword with better balance for now, there's more than enough for that." Bulvi pulls his cloak around himself to keep out the cold.
|
|
A surge of wind suddenly blasts from the swirling vortex in the ring of icicles, gusting outward in a stinging spray of snow and ice. Suddenly, a gaunt horseman with curling ram’s horns and wearing coal-black armor lurches through the portal astride a black warhorse, surrounded by tendrils of cold, dark mist. The rider slumps in the saddle, a shard of blue ice jutting from his back. As rider and mount come to a halt in the snow, the horse suddenly dissipates into black smoke, and the horseman falls to the ground with a groan.
“Once, I was called Illarion Matveius. Now I am known as Black Midnight. I am Baba Yaga’s Black Rider, harbinger of the Witch Queen’s return.”
“The servants of Queen Elvanna, ruler of Irrisen and betrayer of her own mother.”
“Something has happened to Baba Yaga. Every hundred years, she returns to Irrisen to place a new daughter on the throne. But Queen Elvanna has other plans, it seems. Baba Yaga has not appeared as planned, and Elvanna intends to slay everyone loyal to her mother. She hunted down those of us who would herald Baba Yaga’s return and slew my associates. I am the last of the Three Riders and a threat to Elvanna’s plans.
“To take Baba Yaga’s place, and claim all of Golarion as her personal kingdom. Irrisen is a land of endless winter, created by Baba Yaga’s magic. Elvanna seeks to cover the entire world in ice and snow, using
portals like this one.”
“You can find its source in the Pale Tower, on the other side, but this portal is but one of many. Through them, Elvanna will spread a new ice age across your world, consuming it for all eternity. Closing this portal might save your kingdom, but Golarion would still be doomed.”
“You must find Baba Yaga. Only Baba Yaga can defeat Elvanna. Only the
Queen of Witches can undo what her daughter has done.”
“You must use her Dancing Hut to follow her. The hut is a powerful artifact that can cross great distances, even travel between worlds. If you can control the hut, it can take you to Baba Yaga.”
“Elvanna stole the hut and put it on display in Irrisen’s capital, Whitethrone, as a symbol of her power. You must go through the portal to
Irrisen and find the Dancing Hut.”
“The hut has many keys—objects attuned to the hut—that can take it almost anywhere. I managed to secure two of these keys, but Elvanna stole their power to prevent anyone from using the hut to find her mother. Once they are reactivated, placing the keys in the hut’s cauldron will retrace Baba Yaga’s path.”
"Surely there is someone more... skilled that you might contact for this task. I'm pretty good with my sword but surely there's someone you-" Bulvi stops as the rider turns into black smoke "-I guess not then."
|
|
Keeping an eye back toward the opening of the cave, Quasit notices the sudden blast of snow and ice coming through the strange magic portal. Naturally she comes out to investigate, and is gobsmacked by the supernatural black rider emerging from the wintry vortex.
As the strange man is questioned, she looks at him suspiciously and a bit sullenly, not at all pleased with the turn this day has taken.
"Marvelous. We're supposed to save one evil witch queen from an even more evil witch queen? How enticing." she mutters sarcastically.
She approaches the dying man and kneels near him. "Listen... we nearly got murdered by some zombies yesterday, and you want us to go running off and get mixed up in the politics of demigods? I don't want to sound like a coward, but I've had better offers. I mean, when we find Baba Yaga, won't she just, like, enslave us or kill us or something?"
"What's in it for us, besides unspeakable dangers and terrors? And a lot more stupid snow?"
When the rider comes through, Selena seems unfazed by the horse getting smoked, but given the man is not an enemy, she'll use a cure on him to get him back on his feet.
"The black rider!" Selena gasps with obvious recognition of what that meant. Stories abounded back home after all.
Selena faces palms "The queen! Of course this is her. Not like it is the first time one of the queens rebelled, though I'd say Elvanna," a bit of giddy smile denyjng the queen her title, "has taken it to new heights though."
Looking at Quasit, "Who says Baba Yaga is evil? Okay, the whole war to make a kingdom thing might be a bit bad, but there isn't exactly a lot of unclaimed wilderness just waiting for someone to go cut a kingdom. Besides, even those peoples who were there already are much stronger now, hence why our neighbors keep failing to take us over. I think Baba Yaga is just not a people person is all."
To answer Quasit's question, "Enslave you? You'd be with me, and I'm a loyal noble of her kingdom. Why would she enslave you? She isn't a murderous rampaging monster. And if you don't want to go, then stay. Enjoy your little boys. I must go to defend my home and people."
Looking to the rider, she takes the keys, "I finally understand. It was her gift, a mark of the winterland for one destined to save it." As she so, she shifts into a seemingly humanoid white wolf, and with much greater confidence than she had shown thus far, she strides for the portal, "Come on Winter. You don't want to be left behind." and the fox bounds away after her.
Bulvi looks back at the path that has led them here. "The lesser of two evils. I'd rather see Irrisen fall if given the choice but going after one of her daughters seems mad enough as it is... still I wouldn't let the world freeze if I could do something about it. If we can close this portal then Taldor will be safe for a time."
|
|
Looking at Quasit, "Who says Baba Yaga is evil? ... I think Baba Yaga is just not a people person is all."
Quasit just blinks for a moment. "Really? You're going to make the case that Baba Yaga isn't evil? I'll admit that I've never been to Irrisen and that what I know about white witches you could shove into a thimble, but... like... everyone KNOWS Baba Yaga is evil! She give you nightmares and steals children and eats them and all kinds of boogeyman stuff! I mean... she's Baba Yaga! You might as well try to make the case that Asmodeus is a decent fellow."
To answer Quasit's question, "Enslave you? You'd be with me, and I'm a loyal noble of her kingdom. Why would she enslave you? She isn't a murderous rampaging monster. And if you don't want to go, then stay. Enjoy your little boys. I must go to defend my home and people."
"Well cripes, when you say it like that, you take all the fun out of my cabana boys." says Quasit as she crosses her arms. She watches Selena disappear into the portal, then just shakes her head and looks toward Bulvi.
"That little girl is plum loco."
|
|
Sakitu stares quietly at the black rider and listens as the others question him. Finally she speaks up. "I think we have to try to do this. Quasit, I know you're concerned but when have you ever backed down? We have a chance to do good here."
Quasit laugh-snorts.
"Oh, I back down all the time. I'm actually pretty cowardly usually. I honestly don't know what's gotten into me the last couple of days."
She gets a little more serious, and looks toward the portal and shakes her head doubtfully.
"I dunno, Foxy. You can't spend a treasure chest full of gold if you're dead. And I have serious doubts that we're getting the whole story here. I mean... what if this is all some sort of witchy trick?"
|
|
... still I wouldn't let the world freeze if I could do something about it. If we can close this portal then Taldor will be safe for a time."[/b]
Quasit just looks at Bulvi for a moment, then looks doubtfully at the portal some more. It's clear that she's torn.
Why? Why did it matter what these people thought of her? On any other day, she's grab her share of the loot and RUN from this place. What was Taldor to her? A bunch of snotty nobles grinding the bones of the peasants for their bread. Let them deal with this! Minty drinks await!
But still she felt torn. She'd worry about these people if she left them. Why was that? Was it the Pathfinder thing? Was this some sort of moment of redemption? Would this erase the sad disappointed look of Nevar from her dreams?
Did some part of her want to be the hero for once? No, that was a crazy thought. And yet... if she left, if she got her veranda in Vudra and her pies... well, what then? Would that be enough? Was that the end game for her life? Why shouldn't it be?! And yet...
She addresses Bulvi. "You remind me of my brother Nardo... well, before he started worshipping Groetus and got himself hung. He was an idealist, until Cassomir sucked his dreams away. I just now remembered how much I missed that. And him."
And then suddenly, impulsively, she decides. "Ok, fine. If you guys go, I'll go. Why the hell not? I had no plans for the rest of the week anyway."
"I wonder who else in our group is secretly a fox person? If some mere mortals can handle one of her daughters it would certainly make Baba Yaga think twice about expanding her boarders..." He snorts [i]...as if we'd live that long.
He steps into the portal.
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Sakitu grins. "I knew you'd decide to come with us."
"What can I say? I'm stupid." says Quasit with a wry smirk. She locks arms with Sakitu and prepares to march off to her doom.
"We're OFF to see the Witchy! The Horrible Witchy of Snow! We hear she is the witchiest witch that anyone ever did know! Whichever a witch of a witch there was, the Witchy of Snow's the one because, because because because because beCAUSE! Because of the Horrible Things she does! We're off to see the Witchy! The Horrible Witchy of Snoooooooow!"
|
|
Though the rider tries to answer your questions, you can tell he is near his limit as he produces two keys-a lock of white hair from a frost giant’s beard and a plague doctor’s mask.
And begs you be on your way
~~~~~~
After entering the portal you feel yourself transported to someplace much much more painfully cold though as you step out and look around you see in a bit of a distance a small band of shadows and a larger outline of something