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The giant gets an AOO--does it have Combat Reflexes since it already smashed Wapiti?
Dom will attempt to parry any AOO!
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"Wapiti, look out!!! Ingrit shouts as she sees the axe falling. Fully committed to the charge, Wapiti manages to shift just enough to avoid the worst of the blow, lading his own in return.
Wapiti: AC 18
Wapiti: AC 18
Vs Dom, AC 21
(range 120 ft.)
Ingrit's warning to Wapiti allows it to sidestep enough to cause the axe to dig in less than it would have.
Dom slips past the reach of the giant while it brings its axe back to where he can swing it again. He give it another serious wound in the gut. The giant, however, is big and tough and is still able to fight despite its many wounds.
Rurik advances to where he can channel healing energy to remove some of the hurt caused by the giant, making sure the giant does not benefit from the effect.
The badly wounded giant swings his greataxe over its head and into the shoulder haunch of Wapiti, cutting a deep wound. Before the great elk can respond, the giant hits his flank a second time.
Another deep voice bellows a war cry and runs at the hut from the north east. He gets to the east side of the porch and hurls a rock at Dom.
Something large can be heard crashing through the woods to the west of the clearing.
"Get back into the hut!" Zorka calls out so loudly from the area near the table near the front door that even those outside can her her above the sounds of battle. "The hut will take care of them!"
She is standing next to the table with a bowl containing a single speckled brown hen's egg. She is reaching for the egg.
Hadda (GH, IC)
Ingrit (GH, IC)
Wapiti (GH, IC, 68 lethal: -3/20, dying)
Crasius (Greater magic weapon, Heroism, GH, IC, 5 lethal)
Ozella (ant haul, mage armor, heightened awareness, GH, IC)
Dom (GH, IC, 19 lethal)
Rurik (GH, IC)
FGiant 1 (117 lethal)
FGiant 2
"Wapiti deflect!" Ingrit shouts again, warning her companion to deflect the axe blade with his antlers.
She continues her assault on the giant to give everyone time to fall back.
"Come to me!" she calls out, as Zorka directs them back to the hut.
Wapiti breaks off combat, galloping back to the hut.
The hut will take care of them? Hadda looks back towards where she hears Zorka's voice, glad that she had not stepped off of the porch. Crasius and Wapiti, though...
"Crasius, stay on the porch and fire from there. Ingrit, make sure that Wapiti doesn't come inside. We don't want a battle on two fronts!" She looks with concern at Ratibor, knowing that he wouldn't have a choice.
She wants to observe what Zorka is doing with that egg, but staying alive seems more important. Hadda moves over to the hut's right window, drawing her bow and nocking an arrow. She takes aim at the approaching giant and fires.
Crasius steps back onto the porch and sends a barrage of arrows at one of the incoming giants.
If the giant in front of him still stands, Dom continues the assault!
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If it has fallen or does fall, Dom starts moving toward the next giant without drawing an AOO.
Hadda's arrow benefitted from the magical inspiration. Tiny adjustments in her aim sent the arrow at a weak point in the armor, striking the approaching giant in the shoulder.
Ingrit's next arrow penetrates the first giant's head and he indeed falls very hard. She whirls and sends two more arrows at the giant advancing from the east, hitting with one.
Wapiti withdraws to a point out of the reach of either giant but remains on the porch, glaring at the new foe approaching.
Next up:
Crasius (retcon choices)
Ozella
Dom
Rurik
Seeing the foe in front of him slain, Dom prepares to engage the next giant that just bouldered him, while keeping his head up for more boulders.
Not wanting to waste any more resources, Ozella speeds her way back into the hut at Zorka's word. She trusts that the giants will be dealt with.
FG1: DC 22
Target: 1=D,2=W
Vs. Wapiti AC 18
Assuming Ingrit uses her Hunter's Trick, W takes 14
28 otherwise.
FG3: vs. Crasius, AC 19
(range 120 ft.)
Hut: vs FG2
As Crasius waits to fire at the next giant that can be heard approaching in the dense forest to the west, Dom moves next to Wapiti to face the giant that hit him with a large rock. Ratibor opens a window to the west as Ozella and Rurik return to the hut's foyer. Rurik sends out more healing energy to try to keep everyone healthy until Zorka can do something with the hut.
The giant to the east moved toward Dom and Wapiti and decided to attack the giant elk. Ingrit again gives instructions to her companion to help him avoid the worst of the axe blow, but it still further wounds the beast.
A third giant comes crashing through the forest and into the clearing. He is greeted with an arrow from Crasius' bow that sticks in his thigh.
The giant hurls a rock at Crasius, snarling at the bard. The large rock goes wide, however, hitting the side of the hut but causing no serious damage.
At this point, the hut starts to rise up. Dom is left on the ground, but Crasius and Wapiti rise with the porch. The wall just above the door forms into a giant chicken-like beak and pecks down hard on the nearest giant. Then it rocks one way, and a giant chicken-like clawed foot kicks the giant. It rocks the other way and another clawed foot kicks it again. Both kicks connect and the giant is badly wounded.
Those on the porch are ten feet above the ground, but they can still threaten the giant with melee attacks, as the giants are over ten feet tall. Those inside can see Zorka concentrating on moving the egg around in the cracked clay bowl.
Round 3
Hadda (GH, IC)
Ingrit (GH, IC)
Wapiti (GH, IC, 34 lethal)
Crasius (Greater magic weapon, Heroism, GH, IC)
Ozella (ant haul, mage armor, heightened awareness, GH, IC)
Dom (GH, IC, 10 lethal)
Rurik (GH, IC)
FGiant 1 (145 lethal, dying)
FGiant 2 (88 lethal)
FGiant 3 (12 lethal)
Hadda is caught momentarily off guard when the hut rises into the air and begins to lash out at the nearest giant. She watches three unerring, devastating blows, eyes widening with delight. So this was the martial prowess of the Hut!
Hadda opens the window, leans out, and sends an arrow into the closest giant's head.
She'll definitely have to ask Zorka about this!
Commanding Wapiti to fully retreat, re-entering the hut, Ingrit sends a furious volley into the giant that attacked her companion.
Wapiti withdraws, squeezing through the door to enter the hut.
"Wait, what?" Dom is pretty darn surprised as the hut itself starts kicking at the giants. Too bad he didn't listen to Zorka's directions.
Definitely feeling like the weak link when compared to the hut, Dom maintains a defensive stance as he lashes out at the giant near him.
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Crasius attacks the oncoming giant to the west and then steps back towards the hut.
Ozella moves to the window at the upper right and reaches her hand out. Taking careful aim not to hit Dom, the Gnome flicked her hand while speaking words of power to create a cone of fire towards the Giant.
Hadda and Ingrit send more arrows into the very surprised giant that was kicked and pecked by the hut itself. The second arrow mortally wounds him and the last puts him much closer to death.
Wapiti, wounded and bleeding, squeezes back through the front door and down into the interior of the hut.
Crasius' arrows both miss the giant to the west.
Instead of going to that window, Ozella goes to the other window with the lone giant and makes a token effort to help even though she trusts that the party and Hut will be able to bring it down. She draws her heavy crossbow during her move.
Dom draws his buckler and maintains a defensive stance, ready to dodge boulders!
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Rurik casts cure moderate wounds on Wapiti so that the majestic beast will remain calm and more likely to survive the encounter.
FG2 DC 28 Loses another hp.
FG3:
FG4: (range 120 ft.
Hut: vs FG 3:
Ozella fires a crossbow and hits the giant approaching from the west. She narrowly misses penetrating to the giant's lung.
Dom focuses on avoiding thrown rocks while Rurik heals Wapiti inside the hut. The animal, who has been through this before, keeps calm and makes a soft vocalization that sounds a bit like someone playing a few notes on a bugle.
The giant to the west rushes at the hut, raising his battle axe for a powerful strike, but his fearsome blade glances off the side of the hut, which appears to be made of wood, but repels damage more like hard granite.
Another battle cry is heard from the east, but this giant goes silent when he sees the hut kicking his allies and two giants already on the ground. He hurls a rock at the hut and it two bounces off the side without leaving so much as a scratch.
The hut turns to face the west and pecks and kicks viciously at the giant attacking it with his battleaxe. He sustains three serious wounds.
Crasius continues to shoot from a safe distance.
Witnessing the hut's raw destructive power, Hadda puts down her bow and withdraws deeper in to watch Zorka work with the brown egg in the clay bowl.
"Is that the control mechanism?" she asks. "It's unorthodox, but I suppose if you learn how to control it effectively, then...would you be willing to show me?"
The vicious attacks of the hut continue to wound and kill each giant who approaches within fifteen feet of it. After two more giants fall, the others retreat and run north into the forest and do not return.
Zorka gives everyone a short lesson on how to move the egg around in the bowl to make the hut do various basic things.
It becomes clear eventually that the giants are not coming back. It appears safe to venture into the forest.
Hadda watches Zorka's lesson, enraptured. Constructs were something that she was less innately familiar with than other aspects of the arcane, and such a control mechanism warranted deeper study. There were ample degrees of freedom between the egg and bowl that could be exploited in combination to issue all sorts of commands. She looks for patterns, mathematical, linguistic, or otherwise, that she could use to understand the lessons more completely.
As the others return to say that the giants had been run off, Hadda gives a small cheer. "Well, we brought down one frost giant entirely on our own, and nearly a second without the hut. I would say that is a feat in and of itself. Although if we had been forced to continue to stand on our own against a whole raiding party, we may very likely have perished were it not for the hut. Thank you, Zorka, for coming to our aid."
The librarian also turns to Ratibor, addressing him in Draconic so that at least a few others of her band can understand the exchange. "I'm glad that we did not fully leave the porch and could retreat to safely fight alongside you. We will look for an appropriate book to relieve you from your vigil." She translates for the others as quickly as possible.
---
Her wits gathered about her and excited for a hopefully giant-less exploration of the forest, Hadda moves out to the porch again, hopefully for good until their mission is complete.
Crasius gathers up his ammo and then waits for the others before heading out.
Dom is grateful as the giants all turn their attention to the hut before being dispatched or dispersed. Before returning to the hut, he investigates their bodies for valuables and to figure out if there was any particular motive behind their attacks beyond plunder.
"Remind me not to get on your bad side, Zorka! And I'm glad the hut will keep you safe until we return."
Outside the hut are four dead frost giants. They have little of value beyond their armor and axes. However, one of them is carrying a fist-sized glass bauble in its sack, wrapped up in a bundle of hay. It is a glass sphere set into a small base. The sphere is mostly filled with clear liquid but it also contains a small diorama of a forest in winter and small flecks of swirl around lazily until they settle to the bottom. It detects as magic, giving off a strong aura of transmutation magic.
The view from the small clearing where the hut is located gives little information as to where in Iobaria the group finds themselves. No high mountains can be seen that might serve as landmarks. There is no option but to trek into the surrounding forest.
The wood is dense, comprising tall trees with long needle-like leaves clustered into spiral arrangements. High above, their branches lock together, blotting out the sunlight. Below the canopy, the tree branches are thin, losing their foliage from lack of sunlight, and jutting out from the vast maze of peeling trunks like skeletal arms. A blanket of fallen needles covers the ground. Locked in the gloom and cold, the forest floor seems nearly barren, except for patches of lichen and moss that cling to the rocky soil and the lower trunks of the towering trees. A light dusting of snow has filtered through the canopy.
Hadda looks through her quiver, noting that she had used four of the twenty arrows in her quiver. She refills that quiver back to full, and then grabs two more full quivers and several other mundane provisions. Best to be prepared.
Finally, she looks for any alchemical provisions against the plagues of Iobaria's wilderness.
Once she is even more prepared, she actually leaves the Hut. She makes a batch of morning mead in a barrel for herself and the others to drink. To Ratibor and Zorka, who will retain the lion's share of the mead, she clarifies. "This drink will enhance your senses for the next hour, but the mead should remain as mead instead of reverting to water. A closing gift to you until we return."
She also casts Heightened Awareness on herself to further amplify her perception, to look out for possible dangers in the forest beyond.
Once outside, she begins to examine the glass bauble, but can't quite make sense of the complex magic. "Ozella, Crasius, Rurik, can you help me assess the auras and properties of this snow globe?"
As they move out, Hadda takes up her now-usual position towards the rear of the pack, using the dim light of the forest to move about stealthily.
The priest checks his gear one last time to make sure that he has everything and then heads out into the forest with the team.
Rurik responds to Hadda's request and says, "I... am not really sure what this does. It reminds me of a child's toy."
Crasius looks over the item to try and help identify it.
With armor and weaponry too big to be of use, Ingrit spares the fallen giants a look of satisfaction as the party forges their way into the forest.
As the others study the odd globe found on the dead giant, the ranger sits astride her stalwart elk companion, riding up front as they lead the way through the deep unspoiled forest. Despite the vague foreboding nature of their surroundings...or possible even a little because of it, she revels in the immersion of nature, savoring the scent of pine needles, the quiet crunch of snow, and the myriad of natural stimuli that wash over her senses.
A few minutes in she takes out the serpentine figurine from her belt pouch, activating it to awaken Tsgili and sending her flying ahead to scout from above.
"Thanks, Hadda." Ozella accepts the cup of morning mead from Hadda and downs it before taking a look at the snow globe.
"Oh, I've heard of this. This is a Globe of Blizzards. If you shake it, then it takes an unusually long time for the snowstorm inside to settle down, but the true magic happens if you take it and shatter it on the ground. It'll take a few minutes, about ten, but then it'll cause a huge blizzard. I'm talking miles. Temperatures drop down so far they can freeze you solid, winds blow hard enough to throw a Gnome, and don't even get me started on the snow. It's a lot, there will be a lot, and it'll last for an hour."
After her explanation, Ozella goes right back to checking her gear to make sure everything was up to code. Nothing the giants have would fit her, so she doesn't show any interest in their equipment.
She does, however, follow Hadda's lead and tries to be at least a little bit stealthy while keeping an eye out.
Though he far prefers his sword, Dom gathers a handful of arrows just in case the party ends up in ranged combat. As he goes outside, he swishes around his new ice robe.
"Nobody says you can't fight fashionably!" He begins trekking, keeping an eye out but trusting others to choose the actual path.
Crasius nods and says, "That is often the best way to do it. So does anyone have a plan on how to proceed?"
As Ozella firmly identifies the Globe of Blizzards, Hadda has just begun to piece together some of what she is telling her with some additional insights from Rurik and Crasius. "Fascinating," she says, reaching for it and giving it a brief shake to activate the lesser magic animating the storm inside. "This could prove quite useful if we need to create a distraction. What a curious distillation of the winter magic gripping Irrisen." She stares into the developing storm, wishing to study it more later. Whenever later would be...
For now, she turns her focus to the waiting forest, trying not to think about the conversation regarding fashion. Her robes were simple, as that was what she had time for. But the others had found things that were both useful and interesting. Damn...
"I'm no wilderness guide, but I have a sufficient sense of Iobaria's geography. If we find any landmarks, it will be easier to determine our bearing towards Artrosa. If we're in Storith, Coreth, Finadar, or Norinor, we have a long journey ahead of us. Duroth or Fangard would be closer. And if Baba Yaga saw fit to spatiotemporally lock her Hut's Iobarian configuration in the Hoofwood, then we're nearly there. A river, lake, mountain, or town would all be ideal hints for next steps. Otherwise, we could consult the Akashic Record for better knowledge."
Domitian:
Hadda:
Ingrit:
Ozella: 19
Wapiti:
Rurik:
C1:
C2:
C3:
C4:
C5:
C6:
C1:
C2:
C3:
C4:
C5:
C6:
PC Perception rolled:
Dom: 29
Hadda: 27
Ingrit: 29
Wapiti: 13
Owl: 24
Ozella: 30
Rurik:
Finally, she looks for any alchemical provisions against the plagues of Iobaria's wilderness.
[Dice=Spellcraft, T2W]1d20+15+2
After equipping themselves for an extended excursion into the wilderness and saying their goodbyes to Zorka and Ratibor, the group ventures into the dark forest around the hut. With no help from nature or magic to tell direction, they head off in an unknown direction and begin to cautiously pick their way through the dense and dim forest. The sparseness of vegetation on the forest floor results in few creatures moving about, so the only sounds are the birds in the forest canopy and the occasional crunch as twigs break underfoot.
The party advances about a mile when the sound of footsteps can be heard ahead of them about a hundred feet away. Before anyone can see the source, a figure on horseback rides forward until it is 60 feet away.
"Стоп! Ідентифікуйте себе та заявіть свій бізнес на нашій території!"
Even those who do not speak Iobarian can tell the words are not a friendly greeting or an invite to a campfire drinking party.
As eyes focus on the advancing figure, all can see that it is not a humanoid riding a horse but a creature with the body of a horse and a human torso at the front end--a centaur. Once the leader has issued his words, a group of five more centaurs advance more slowly, spread out with about 20 feet between each one. The leader wears studded leather on his humanoid torso, with a heavy wooden shield. He wears a pointed leather helm with a tuft of fur adorning the top. He is armed with a spear and a longsword. His fur is the same color as the tree trunks, thick and shaggy in places. A thick beard several inches long frames his face.
Hadda clears her throat and steps from any tree cover that she instinctively tucked herself behind upon hearing the approach, hands raised to indicate that she intends no threat.
Centaurs. That doesn't necessarily narrow down where they are, but it could still be a clue.
"Привіт. Мене звати Хадда Согард, дочка Мірнбая, і це мої супутники. Нас перевезли на вашу територію і не знаємо точно, де ми знаходимося. Ми шукаємо Артрозу. Якщо ви можете розповісти нам, де ми знаходимося і як виїхати вашу територію, ми залишимо вас у спокої."
The centaur listened intently, eyes flicking from Hadda to the others behind her and back. He does not look instantly mollified.
"Ти родом із хатинки королеви відьом! Ви її друзі чи її вороги? Чому ви хочете поїхати в Атрозу?"
His voice is still stern and cautious.
The centaurs at the ends of the line advance a little more so their line begins to be a crescent.
Aloof with other races and at odds even with their own kind, the centaurs are an old race only slowly coming to accept the modern world. While the majority of centaurs still live in tribes roaming vast plains or the fringes of eldritch forests, many have abandoned the isolationist ways of their ancestors to walk among the more cosmopolitan cities of the world. Often such free-spirited centaurs are considered outcasts and are shunned by their own tribes, making the decision to leave a heavy one. In some rare cases, however, whole tribes under progressive leaders have come to trade or make alliances with other humanoid communities—typically elves, but sometimes gnomes, and rarely humans or dwarves. Many races remain wary of centaurs, though, largely due to legends of territorial beastmen and the regular, violent encounters the centaurs have with stubborn settlers and expansionist countries.
Sitting astride Wapiti, her bow across her lap, Ingrit studies the centaurs and thief movements, keeping a hand soothingly on Wapiti's neck to keep him calm. Though she didn't understand the words, she knew centaurs and their culture well enough, and between their and Hadda's body language was relatively sure that they were not yet moments from erupting into violence.
Her sharp eyes notice the encircling pCk tactics, her subconscious picking her likely targets should things fall apart, even as she trusts in Hadda's proven way with words.
Dom may not know the spoken language (which he erroneously assumes is Centaur), but he's pretty sure the armed centaurs don't appreciate their presence. At least they weren't fighting yet, although Dom is very much ready to do so.
Hadda breathes a momentary sigh of relief that violence has been staid for the moment, even as she notices the continued encirclement. Even better, she thinks that these might be Rashalka! Which would mean that they are not far from Artrosa indeed.
Still, it would not do to continue to have a conversation in a language that none of her companions yet understood. What else would centaurs speak that her companions might as well? Draconic? That had been a good second language for Crasius, Hadda, and Ozella during their travels together, but it was doubtful. Hallit of the Kellids to the west wasn't too far off. Otherwise, perhaps Sylvan? Ozella and Hadda had taken to using that as a language to talk about Crasius behind his back, though she wasn't sure if he had picked up on what they were doing yet. (To be fair, Hadda had done the same with Crasius using Hallit, which Ozella hadn't seemed to pick up on yet. Did they have a mutual language to exclude Hadda?)
Skald! Almost all of them had been able to speak with the Animate Dream of Queen Yelizaveta, save for poor Rurik. It was as good of a bet as any.
But first, she has to answer their questions satisfactorily. She uses the same general lines that she used when last asked about their associations with Baba Yaga.
"Ми прийшли звідти. Ми обидва і не друзі і не вороги. Ми перебуваємо під потужним чарами і змушені шукати її після її зникнення. Її Хата привела нас сюди, і наші підказки свідчать про те, що ми повинні продовжити до Артрози, щоб знайти більше."
Hadda takes a moment and gestures to her companions.
"Я не хочу бути грубим, і мені подобається говорити рідною мовою, але мої супутники нас не розуміють. Ви розмовляєте якимись іншими мовами? Мова драконів, варварів Келідів, варварів Ульфенів чи феїв? Можливо, навіть Талдейна?"
"I don't wish to be rude, and I enjoy speaking in my native tongue, but my companions do not understand us. Do you speak any other languages? The language of dragons, of the Kellid barbarians, or the Ulfen barbarians, or of the fey? Perhaps even Taldane?"
Ya ne khochu buty hrubym, i meni podobayetʹsya hovoryty ridnoyu movoyu, ale moyi suputnyky nas ne rozumiyutʹ. Vy rozmovlyayete yakymysʹ inshymy movamy? Mova drakoniv, varvariv Kelidiv, varvariv Ulʹfeniv chy feyiv? Mozhlyvo, navitʹ Taldeyna?
She turns briefly to her companions and gives them a rough translation so far in their most common tongue, Taldane.