Adventure Path Reign of Winter

Game Master Almonihah

A bed, desk, and storage locker furnish this small circular chamber. A five-foot-tall mirror hangs on the wall opposite the room’s only door.

Seeing a bed, Quasit for the first time in a long time realizes how tired she is, and how nice it would be to just slip under the sheets and rest. But if she gives it any serious consideration, the ominous mirror hanging over the bed quickly drains it away.

Quasit quickly strips the blanket off the bed and hangs it over the mirror.

"I'm gonna check out this locker. That clanking metal we heard might be someone putting on armor, so keep a lookout." she whispers.

Then she kneels down and cursorily checks out the locker, and tries to open it.

"Don't worry, this shouldn't take too long."

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Disable Device(if it's locked): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (19) + 13 = 32

Bulvi moves up just behind Quasit keeping alert for any threats including traps. His eyes darted about the room as the weight of the place and it's potential supernatural threats weighed on his mind.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

Selena looks around with detect magic, particularly the mirror, and then she checks under the bed and under the matress and pillow as well as the desk, being careful to not make much noise.

once quasit covers the mirror she can tell that someone had stayed here recently, and she goes to open to footlocker, inside she 3 potions ( 2 look the same) 1 elixir, a light crossbow with 10 bolts, and a white hooded cloak

the three potions and the elixir detect as magical

"Ooh, potions! Nice!" says Quasit with unseemly glee. She gathers up the 3 potions and 1 elixir and hands them off to Selena. "If you can make a stab at identifying them, it would be helpful. Otherwise I have to do the old sip-test again."

She pulls out the white hooded cloak and stands up, holding it out at arm's length to examine it. She seems quite pleased, then quickly tries it on about her shoulders. "I like this. Good camouflage for a winter landscape. And it seems pretty well made, and warm too. And it would go nicely with my fancy riding boots."

She pulls the hood to her nose and sniffs. "Hmm... I wonder if this belonged to goat girl. Doesn't smell evil or goaty."

Seeming to realize that she has no claim to the cloak, she then pulls it off and rolls it up, preparing to stow it, all the time chattering in her usual squirrelly manner. "Anyway, we can divvy things up later. Anyone need a crossbow, or some bolts? Either way, we should keep moving. Hey, are we all out of the dining room? We should close the door."

"Anything in the desk?" she asks as she prepares to leave.

Bulvi shakes his head at the offer. "I agree, lets keep moving before we get swarmed by guards or monsters under the witches sway."

there is nothing in the desk, and nothing else in the room

"Well, I guess we should be systematic about this," says Quasit as she leaves the ransacked bedroom, closing the door behind her. She looks back toward the dining room to make sure that door is closed as well, then moves across the hallway to the next doorway, along the left side.

"Hey Bull, maybe from now on, we should let you open the doors after I check them out. If anyone else is waiting to ambush us, they'll be less likely to hit you than me. One near death experience per day is my limit." She gives the big man a smirk and a wink.

Then she surveys the door and listens cautiously.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

Bulvi nods and does his best to muster a smile. The cold and grim nature of this place making him paranoid about what lies ahead... how many doors must they open before they are done? Will they blunder all about this strange structure?

"Yeah, I agree with that. I don't think I could handle you dying." Sakitu smiles weakly at Quasit. She follows behind the others as they approach the next door. "Just be sure to listen at the door before you open it too."

loor-to-ceiling bookshelves line the walls of this sprawling
chamber. An ornate wooden table, covered with open texts
and lit candles, and six chairs sit in the middle of the room. A
massive mirror hangs on the western wall

Bulvi moves through the room towards the table. Perhaps the nature of these texts might provide useful insight into the mindset and schemes of the enemy.

"Great. More mirrors." Sakitu eyes the large mirror cautiously and moves to the table to examine the books with Bulvi.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Quasit moves into the room as well, slinking along the wall, trying to stay out of sight and get a good look at the room. However, she almost immediately stumbles over a low stack of books laying on the floor, knocking them over with a merry rhythm of thuds which in turn elicits a sharp intake of breath from her, and which draws her attention to her own clumsiness.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

The Rogue ladies and gentlemen, The Rogue...

as Bulvi Sakitu, and Quasit move into the room they notice a woman in the other side almost seeming as if she is busy reading while looking for information

Quasit freezes and her eyes go wide. After a few seconds she looks over quickly to her companions.

"Is that her?" she mouths silently toward Bulvi and Sakitu, looking very confused and alarmed.

Sakitu points at the woman and shrugs, giving the universal "I don't know" sign. She looks to Bulvi to see if he knows anything.

Quasit and Sakitu give me a perception check

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13

Quasit can give a brief description to Nadya, and from what she is told, Nadya relays its not Nazhena

Upon learning that this is not the wicked witch of the north, Quasit frowns and chews her lip, thinking. She signals to the others to drop back to the doorway, then begins to whisper to them.

"OK, I don't think we can just charge in and stab this one. But I think having access to these books could be helpful too. I mean, I don't know about you guys, but I don't really know anything about closing magical portals. So maybe we should try talking to her?"

"But Fin, I think you and I should stay hidden. And if she starts to cast a spell or draws a weapon, we should be ready to let loose some arrows at her to slow her down."

"What do you guys think?"

"I agree this seems prudent as a course of action given how treacherous this place has proven to be so far." Bulvi keeps his shield out but puts his sword into it's scabbard.

"Yeah, makes sense. I'll go in there with Fin. I'll try to look friendly." Sakitu grins and puts a charming look on her face.

"You talk to her Saki. If anyone can come across as sweet and friendly, it's you. Try and find out who she is, and why she's here. Bulvi can be behind you. Then it might make her think twice about getting rude and hostile with you."

"I want to give this a fair shot. We won't attack her unless she decides to attack you."

She looks back over at Selena, who's been surprisingly quiet lately. "I assume you agree with this?"

Once all is agreed, Quasit pulls out her crossbow, loads a bolt, and takes a position hidden behind some cover, saying a quick prayer to Desna for luck.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

Ready an action to attack the woman if she draws a weapon or begins to cast a spell. Otherwise hold and watch.

Sorry, for some reason, I'm not getting any new post notifications for this thread...I'm getting 'em for all my other threads, just not this one...strange...

Fin nods to Quasit, draws his bow, and hides...

Stealth: 10 + 11 = 21 (Taking 10)

unless someone goes up to her and speaks to her, she won't notice you, she's one of those bookworm types that gets too entranced

Sakitu as you approach give me a perception check

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

Sakitu takes a deep breath. Now it's all up to her. If she makes a good impression, maybe things will go easily. If she really messes this up, people could get killed. She shrugs her shoulders, as if pushing a weight off, and approaches the lady.

"Excuse me miss."

as you make her way to her, you notice a key on her waist, and you hear her mumbling to herself about the recorded time of Auburphex, and Nazhena's mother, trying to learn why the white dragons opposed the white witches.

However as you make yourself known, she turns to attack

Surprise actions
Quasit
Fin

Depending on the damage those 2 do, this fight may be over before it starts

Fin quickly fires...

Longbow: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 8 + 1 + 1 = 19

Damage: 1d6 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 1 = 4

*Click*
*Twang*

Crossbow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Damage+Sneak: 1d8 + 2d6 ⇒ (2) + (1, 1) = 4

~~Round 1~~
Knowledge Local
Bold to Act
Sakitu
Selena
Bulvi
Findurel
Quasit
W

Fin follows up with two more arrows...

Longbow: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 25

Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 1 = 7

Longbow: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (5) + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 13

Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 + 1 = 8

"Idiot!" hisses Quasit in exasperation, mostly to herself. "You couldn't just be reasonable for a second and talk to us, could you?!"

Quasit drops her crossbow, draws her short sword, pretends like she is going to continue to slash upward with it, but then flips her wrist, juggles the pommel up and catches it midair, then stabs down toward the woman's clavicle...

Bluff, to Feint: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Melee Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Sneak Damage, if applicable: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 6) = 11

The Feint might be unnecessary since she may still be flat-footed, but some classes get to dodge uncannily, etc...

Sakitu yelps when the woman turns to attack. Seeing Quasit come up on her left, Sakitu steps behind the woman and the pulls out her dagger. She squints her eyes and then stabs at the assailant.

dagger@woman,flank: 1d20 + 0 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 0 + 2 = 10
damage: 1d4 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0

Sakitu yelps when the woman turns to attack. Seeing Quasit come up on her left, Sakitu steps behind the woman and the pulls out her dagger. She squints her eyes and then stabs at the assailant.

[dice=dagger@woman,flank]1d20+0+2
[dice=damage]1d4-1

ooh nice, add +2 to my attack roll please. Thanks Saki!

Oh and I forgot to mention, I used Combat Expertise to raise my AC to 19. Not that it usually helps me much. :)

Selena and Bulvi, drop her before she acts, she still stands

Bulvi moves forward trying to drive his blade into the woman. "At least Selena wont give out to us this time."

Power Attack Cold Iron Longsword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Sakitu looks over herself and the rest of the group. "No one got hurt? I mean, other than her." She glances at the crumpled body of the woman. There is a bit of sadness in her eyes but at the same time there is fear and a sense that they didn't have a choice but to defend themselves. She shakes off the feeling. "Ok. Now what?"

Sakitu she still stands, bulvi wasn't enough to kill her, just waiting on Selena's action

Oh. Yeah, I see that now. I misunderstood the posting....

Sorry, I'll admit that I've been flagging a bit lately. I seriously need a day off from work. This 7-days a week thing is getting old.

Selena tries to keep the woman off-guard by dazing her.

Cast Daze, DC 12

Will: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

she is dazed

someone kill her

3 HP

Are we all up again? I'll assume so.

Sakitu jabs at the woman again.

dagger@woman,flanking: 1d20 + 0 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 0 + 2 = 10
damage: 1d4 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2

I'll give Bulvi and Findurel first crack at her :) This woman probably had a really interesting story and all sorts of fiendish tricks, and here we're just gonna dog-pile her and never know any of it.

Fin will try to finish her off...

Longbow: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 12

Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 + 1 = 9

Longbow: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 28

Confirm: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 8 + 1 + 1 - 2 + 1 = 22

Damage: 3d8 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (8, 3, 6) + 3 + 3 = 23 (Only 10 if not confirmed)

~~End of Combat~~

for Quasit and those who are interested:

Recently, Hestrig has discovered that the white dragon Auburphex, slain by Nazhena’s mother and commemorated by the ice sculpture in the tower’s courtyard, is the same dragon whose blood courses through her veins.

Hestrig hasn’t yet come to grips with this realization, unsure whether she should avenge her draconic ancestor or keep the secret to herself. In the meantime, she studies the recorded history of that time, hoping to learn why the dragon opposed the White Witches.

~~End of Combat~~

for Quasit and those who are interested:

Recently, Hestrig has discovered that the white dragon Auburphex, slain by Nazhena’s mother and commemorated by the ice sculpture in the tower’s courtyard, is the same dragon whose blood courses through her veins.

Hestrig hasn’t yet come to grips with this realization, unsure whether she should avenge her draconic ancestor or keep the secret to herself. In the meantime, she studies the recorded history of that time, hoping to learn why the dragon opposed the White Witches.

Great, we're killing Hamlet. Can I be Fortinbras?

Bulvi steps back as the woman is peppered with arrows. "Trying to talk has led to another corpse. Can anyone spot anything of use here or shall we move on."

Bulvi kneels down checking the woman for anything of value.