Hjorleaf smashes his ax down on the doll, but amazingly it doesn't shatter into tiny pieces. a crack forms in the porcelain, but no one would have expected a simple doll to withstand a blow like that.
As soon as it is hit, the doll suddenly animates, slipping from Brominate's arms and running to hide behind him.
the air around Hjorleaf gets significantly colder, as ice crystals start to form on the ground, the walls of the hut and the gear being carried by Hjorleaf and Easlis.
both characters take damage, and Hjorleaf is staggered.
Brominate can act (if it changes anything the doll would have done I'll adjust her actions as needed), then the rest of the party can act.
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Grimgisli HP: 23/23 - AC: 16/14/12 Status:
Bazikian HP: 12/12 - AC: 17/11/16 Status:
Easlis: HP: 6/17 - AC: 15/11/14 Status:
Brominate HP: 12/17 - AC: 17/14/13 Status:
Hjorleaf HP: 12/22 - AC: 15/11/14 Status: staggeredNPCS:
Doll: HP - 14 | AC: ??
"Woah! woah! Let's all be calmin' it for a minute."
Turning around to look at the doll, his eyes pleading, Brominate says,
"Stop. Please. They're my...friends. Don't hurt them!
Brominate pleads with the doll not to hurt his friends, but can't bring himself to hurt the thing either. he stands with his knives drawn unsure of what to do.
The rest of the party may act, then the doll will go again
Convinced that the hard porcelain is on the verge of breaking completely after the hard blow received earlier, the magus decides to follow with a similar attack. He could see slivers of ice all around him, on his precious scimitar, on the barbarian who seemed to have taken the worst of the blow.
"Hjorleaf, don't tell me you're getting lessons in humility taught by a doll."
The half-elf's sword began to glow faintly as it was charged with magic and once grabbed with his other hand it let loose a spark as if a second effect has been applied to it. He begins chanting a spell as he approaches the doll and slashes at it. As he sees the blade passing high above the doll it became obvious to him that he was quite unfamiliar fighting creatures of that size.
+1 (from brand)
"Well, now. Let's see how strong you were built . . .."
And Brominate actively tries to block the shots, forcing Grim to shoot far wider than he desired.
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Stepping to the side slightly as the cold hits him.
That thing could be Nisse...a very pissed off Nisse.
Hjorleaf turns towards Easlis and watches as the half Elf's scimitar misses its mark. He laughs out loud.
Use your hips more...less talking...and you may just hit something. That lesson is free of charge.
Bazikian fires his crossbow at the doll, hoping for a better angle than Grimgisli managed
the doll holds out a tiny knife that looks like a child's toy. she stabs at Easlis' ankles with it
the knife cuts much better than Easlis would have expected from a toy, drawing some blood and making the wound feel unnaturally cold
Easlis fights off the ill effects of the cold.
bold may act:
Grimgisli, Brominate, Easlis, Bazikian, Hjorleaf
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Grimgisli HP: 23/23 - AC: 16/14/12 Status:
Bazikian HP: 12/12 - AC: 17/11/16 Status:
Easlis: HP: 5/17 - AC: 15/11/14 Status:
Brominate HP: 12/17 - AC: 17/14/13 Status:
Hjorleaf HP: 12/22 - AC: 15/11/14 Status: staggeredNPCS:
Doll: HP - 14 | AC: ??
Bazikian quickly reloads his crossbow, then squints at the doll. Tongue poking out of the corner of his mouth, he pulls the trigger...
"Easlis, she's just defending herself! It doesn't even look that bad. Now, get out! We shouldn'ta come here. I... I don't wanna hurt you."
Brominate does his best to be between Easlis and the doll.
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Seeing Brominate move to place himself between Easlis and the doll, Hjorleaf comes in on the open flank to strike at the creature.
Ok now that thing needs to die.
"Defending herself? That thing just stabbed me! Step aside Brominate and I might just save you some pieces after I'm through with her." He tries to make his way towards the doll but seeing his way block he frowns at his comrade.
"Fine, if this is what you want..." The half-elf let the sword slip from his hands falling on the floor next to him. He then rolls up his shirt sleeves and throws a fist at Brom.
"One man's defense is another man's murder." Grim comments as he moves in for a better angle . . ..
Grim manages to hit the small doll accurately doing a bit of damage, but it is Hjorleaf who ends it, smashing it with his weapon and breaking the porcelain. the doll stops moving and Brominate can suddenly think more clearly, finding himself surrounded by his companions and forgetting why he cared so much about a creepy doll.
Outside you hear a new sound, a high-pitched voice calling out:
Hello? is anyone there? I was following a butterfly, but now I think I might be lost. do you mind if I come dry off in your little house?
Porablum looked about at the snow. When she'd broken camp this morning to go to Heldren, she could have sworn it was summer. Then she'd seen that really pretty butterfly - such a vibrant red with black spots - and chased after it trying to catch it. She wasn't sure when winter had shown up, but landing in a snow drift up to her waist was certainly surprising. She'd lost track of the butterfly after landing in it too. She hoped it was alright and it didn't get too cold. Maybe I should learn how to knit so I can make sweaters for butterflies. That will help keep them warm.
It was kind of strange there was a house all the way out here in the woods, but someone must live there. And if not, well, if the door was open, she could still get into the house and start a fire for warmth and to dry off. Maybe the person who lived here could give her directions to Heldren. She couldn't have wandered that far. Of course, she was pretty sure it had been summer this morning, so maybe she'd gone farther than she thought.
She called out again, "Hello? I'm approaching your house, if that's okay." The little gnome started walking towards the house.
"I... wha..."
Brominate looks around, then at the shattered doll, then at his allies.
"I'm sorry. I..guess I was too weak. Forgive me. I didn't hurt anyone, did I? Wait. Where's Zeke?"
He rushes out of the cabin, looking for his friend.
"Zeke! ... ... Bazikian!...Where are- There you-"
Realizing that he's not seeing his friend, and too emotionally drained to even be suspicious or put up a defense, he looks at the stranger.
"Sorry. What did you say?"
Porablum takes a step back as the human suddenly stumbles out of the cabin, shouting for someone named Zeke or Bazikian. Upon seeing her and addressing her, she responds, "Hello there! My name is Porablum Flapzit. I'm a dancer and traveler who's looking to see the world. I was on my way to the village of Heldren when I saw a beautiful butterfly and started chasing it through the woods. Unfortunately, I lost sight of it when I jumped into a snowbank I didn't see. Then I realized I got lost, so I've been wandering around these very snowy woods. I came upon your house and thought it might be a good place for me to get warm and dry from the snow. So, can I come in and dry off for a bit? And could you give me directions to Heldren? It's in Taldor, which is where I thought I was, but it wasn't this snowy when I woke up this morning, so I might have gotten lost."
The gnome, with her spiky blue hair, looks at Brominate with a pleasant smile on her face.
Giving a satisfied nod that the doll has been destroyed, Hjorleaf turns to look at Brom. His weapon held tight and ready to strike.
A smile comes to his face.
What say you? Care to continue babysitting the doll?
He watches for a sign that the half elf was coming to his senses. Hjorleaf turns away from Brom to look at the doll.
Not so tough now...man that thing put off some cold though.
Hearing a voice coming from outside brings the large man back to the present.
Ef at ir annarr doll...réttr kill f@$!ing thing ok munu dona með þat.
As his fist goes past Brominate's ear, Easlis prepares to try once again but stopped after seeing the doll shatter and his half-elven friend out of its control. "Nicely done Hjorleaf, you sure showed that doll who's the boss."
He picks one of the bigger pieces from the shattered doll and then follows Brom out the cabin calmly.
"Bazilkian? He must be here around somewhere, he nearly got my hand with the bolt he shot just a minute ago."
Seeing that blood was coming out from the wound made by the dagger Easlis tries to wrap his cloak around his abdomen in an attempt to slow down the bleeding. When he raises his sight he notices the newcomer and instinctively reaches for his scabbard before remembering that he left the sword back in the cabin. He eyed the gnome suspiciously and listened to her story before saying a word.
"Not so fast Hjorleaf, we're in no position for another fight.
The magus then turns to Porablum.
" Oh, we're not the masters of this house. I think they might be... out. But do come in, it is better to do the chatting inside then freezing out here."
"Were you the one making all those noises in the forest a while back? All alone? The roads around Heldren are not safe anymore but then again you can't call safe where we're headed either. Believe me or not the blasted fey, no offence, seemed to have in mind that all this land is up for the taking."
Easlis digs through the remains of the doll while people recover from the fight and talk to the newcomer. Bazikian stays outside briefly, seemingly distracted by something, but when he joins the others inside he is back to his normal smiling self.
Easlis can easily determine that whatever magic that held the doll together is gone, though the bright blue gem placed as one of her eyes still radiates an aura of necromancy. the gem looks valuable, and could be sold for 600gp.
the doll's mirror eye is still intact as well, but doesn't appear particularly valuable and is not magical. the dagger that cause the wound in Easlis' side is no longer of any use. it appears to be a plastic toy, not fit to cut even a piece of parchment.
Porablum says, "Thank you. You're right, chatting outside in the cold isn't my idea of a good time. I hope there's a fireplace inside - even if one isn't lit, we can start one."
Porablum walks past the others, floundering a bit in the snow, before she walks in. Looking at the broken remains of a doll, she says, "Oh, no! Some poor child's doll has broken! Don't worry, I know some magic to fix it. Whatever little girl lives here won't even notice."
Porablum moves towards the doll fragments.
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"You should stop before you join the doll, little one." Grimgisli is facing the gnome, arrow nocked, but the bow is in front of him and not bent. The expression on his face is, however, Grim.
Porablum stops her movement and looks at the human, confusion plain on her face. "I don't understand. It's just a broken doll. Oh, are you one of those people who finds dolls creepy? That must be why you don't want it fixed. It's okay. Lots of people are creeped out by something. For instance, I can't stand centipedes. They have so many legs, just crawling around across the ground. I've heard stories of giant centipedes, but I've never seen one. Have you ever seen a giant centipede? You look very grim. You should smile more. I find that when you smile through the day, life gets a lot better."
The doll seems forgotten as she focuses on the human.
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"The doll was magically animated and is responsible for the injury Easlis there still needs help binding. Attempting to restore something that was trying to kill my companions is a quick way to declare yourself an enemy. Life gets better when you reduce your number of enemies."
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"Well, why didn't you say something sooner? If you'd just said, 'This is a bad Juju doll that tried to kill us' instead of threatening me, we could have avoided this entire conversation. Really, you need to work on your communication skills." When she makes her line about the doll, the gnome attempts to make her voice more deep and gruff. It actually sounds quite comical coming from her.
She looks at the elf and says, "I can heal your wounds if you'd like. Desna granted me the ability to do that."
Bazikian smiles as Porablum appears, ands nods welcoming, but initially seems quite lost for words. As Porablum introduces herself to the group and begins examining the doll, he moves forward with the rest of the party. "Oh, they're really not great at communicating at all, and I must say, it's a pleasure to have another gnome about. Really, what with the lack of humour, and the killing of helpless captives, and the general perverse determination to bring themselves to the brink of death at least twice a day, these humans and elves are really... well, they're not that bad. But they aren't gnomes, that's for sure. My name's Bazikian, anyway," he beams holding out a hand.
"So this doll, as it turns out, is about as creepy as it gets," he rambles on. "I think it bewitched my friend Brom here for a while, although he seems to have recovered, and it was quite agile and dangerous with its little weapon, which seemed to do more than just physical damage when it struck Easlis here, and all in all I think we're much better off without it. Did I hear you say you saw butterflies? They weren't blue, were they? Desna's been sending me visions of blue butterflies to follow, which is how I ended up here with this lot, but I haven't spotted any in a while." He opens his mouth to continue talking, then pauses, remembering he just asked a question about the all-important butterflies and that he should probably wait for a response.
"Oh, no, I haven't seen any blue butterflies in person. I have had several dreams about blue butterflies. The one I was chasing was red with black spots - I hadn't seen it before. My last dream I followed a blue butterfly to a town with a sign that said 'Heldren', which I took to mean Desna wanted me to travel to Heldren. I've been going all over the place since I left my caravan in Varisia. Desna told me to travel, and I've been wandering and exploring ever since. It's so exciting to be able to travel and see all kinds of new people and places. It's wonderful to meet you, Bazikian! Did you say that doll bewitched one of the humans? That doll was definitely bad juju then. Using magic to manipulate others is big-time bad stuff. Should we smash some of the bigger pieces to make sure no one tries to put it back together?"
"What a brilliant idea! Let's get right to it!" And Bazikian immediate casts around for an implement with which to begin smashing any parts of the doll bigger than an inch or two into smithereens.
the gnomes quickly smash the doll, which now breaks as easily as one would expect of brittle porcelain.
What do you do next? the path continues on past the cabin back into the woods. is there anything you wish to do to heal up ir rest, or is the crew ready to continue?
Bazikian looks intently at the gem among the smashed pieces of the doll. "Well, what do you make of that, Porablum?"
After having a strange blackout moment, Brominate shook his head clear and realized the strange newcomer was now inside. Following, he also saw Bazikian, looking even more delighted than usual, jumping up and down on shattered doll fragments.
"Zeke. You're okay! Hey everyone, sorry about that, again. I'm completely normal now...well, as normal as I was before my mind was invaded. So, Sourplum Fitzit, was it? Well, so long as you ain't here to kill us, it's a pleasure to meet you. Name's Brominate, and if you're anything like Zeke here, we'll be chummy in no time."
Porablum stares intently at the gem. "It's very shiny and pretty. Is it magical?"
To Brominate, she says, "Very nice to meet you. The name is Porablum Flapzit, not Sourplum Fitzit, but it's okay if it takes you a bit to figure it out - it usually takes non-gnomes a little while to figure it out. You seem more talkative than some of the others. What were you guys doing here in the woods, anyway?"
"It is very thoughtful of you but I think I can manage. It is but a scratch." Easlis winces while picking the sabre dropped during the battle and adds: "But if you insist..."
"Easlis is my name, the grumpy human is Grimgisli and the less grumpy one is Hjou.. no... Hjor... Hjorleaf. I swear, these Ulfen names are almost as bad as... nevermind."
Before responding to the gnome's question Easlis gave a sigh and took a quick peek through the window. "You know I wasn't just trying to scare you when I said this place is crawling with fey. This ragtag bunch is the best Heldren can muster to deal with this situation. If we fail, I'm afraid that the whole area, maybe a good part of Taldor would be engulfed in snow."
Hjorleaf watches as the two gnomes go about there smashing spree. He shows no signs that he is injured and starts to walk towards the door.
The gem is most likely magical and should be studied by those that know about such things.
He stands in the door way looking out for any signs of more trouble.
Grimgisli, where to next?
"Prey hasn't changed. We're after the gate that this weather is pouring through. The goal is to close it, somehow. So, for now, we need to go into the wind." He points in the direction they need to go with his chin, without moving either arm. "Still need to watch these Southerners, try to help them protect themselves from the cold."
Porablum goes up to the elf and says, "You look like a capable fighter. I don't think we want to lose you to your wounds. Hold still." Placing her hands on him, she bows her head and prays, "Desna, bind this man's wounds, that he may continue to fight and protect others." A glow spreads from her hands to the wounds, closing them somewhat.
At Easlis' explanation, she says, "Oh, that's why winter suddenly showed up in summer. Well, this seems like a definite problem, and a very bad thing. Desna must have led me here so I could help you guys. I'll come along with you, just let me get dressed more appropriately."
Porablum sets down her pack, then sits down and pulls her boots off. Out of her backpack comes a small fur-lined coat and cloak, both a sensible brown, a small hat made of bright yellow wool, a pair of fur-lined rabbit skin gloves dyed red, and a pair of tiny pink woolen socks. Porablum puts on the socks, then puts her boots back on her feet, then puts on the coat, cloak, hat and gloves, picks up her backpack, and says, "Okay, ready to go. What kind of fey have you encountered? Sometimes fey can be quite reasonable if you talk to them. Did you know it's theorized gnomes are related to fey? Do you thank that's true? If so, Bazikian and I shouldn't have any trouble talking our way past the fey."
once everyone is set and inrtoductions have been made, Grim leads the way once again.
before they get very far however, Grim and Brominate both spot a trap hidden in the snow at the edge of the clearing. there is a blasting rune set in the trail. luckily once it is spotted it is not difficult to just go around it into the trees.
moving down the trail, the group comes to a small valley. a cold wind is blowing, kicking up snow in the air. the sky overhead is covered in thick clouds that don't show any sign of letting up.
moving through the snow, no one spots the white creature in the snow until it is too late. a giant white weasel springs out of the snow, snapping its jaws at Grimgisli
Grim takes 11 damage, and is bleeding, but avoids the grapple.
bold may act: Porablum, Hjorleaf, Brominate, Easlis, Grimgisli, Bazikian Weasel
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Grimgisli HP: 12/23 - AC: 16/14/12 Status: bleeding 1d4
Bazikian HP: 12/12 - AC: 17/11/16 Status:
Easlis: HP: 11/17 - AC: 15/11/14 Status:
Brominate HP: 12/17 - AC: 17+4/14/13 Status:
Hjorleaf HP: 12/22 - AC: 15/11/14 Status:NPCS:
Weasel: HP ?? | AC: ??
Porablum squeaks in shock as the weasel leaps out and bites Grimgisli. "Oh my golly gosh, that is the biggest weasel I've ever seen! Bazikian, could you ask it why it's attacking us while I see to Grimgisli?"
Porablum prays to Desna, then steps up behind the Ulfen human and touches him to heal some wounds.
Brominate, unsure of how far this thing can swipe, Brominate works his way around, trying to flank the thing.
Easlis stays put while the healing spell was cast lowered his head in thanks once he felt his wound closing.
"Porablum, watch what you're saying. He might actually do it." the magus has said while drawing his scimitar and circling around the beast in hopes of finding a weak point.
The hunter laughs as the giant weasel attacks. "THERE you are! We get to take you, anyway! Good, good!" He is knocked back by the snout of the giant beast, and obviously wounded, but he actually seems . . . happy?
He moves away from the beast, some, while readying his bow.
"Time to play, Asvidrson. Let's enjoy this!"
"He certainly does have very poor manners, Porablum, but I'll ask him! Try not to hurt him, everyone, I'll see if there's some way we can discuss this like decent folk!" Bazikian concentrates for a moment, drawing on his gnomish heritage.
Aye!
Hjorleaf moves forward to strike at the creature. His movement is enough to bring him within striking distance and leaving an opening for Grimgisli to shoot.
Time to have some fun...
As Bazikian starts to talk..
Hvat f!*~...
As he looks at the little gnome chirping and grunting, Hjorleaf keeps his weapon ready to strike.
"Well, I should hope so, Easlis. After all, no matter how mean-tempered or big, it is just a weasel, after all."
The group quickly backs off from the weasel, getting ready to fight but giving Bazikian an opening to try to talk to the animal.
The weasel seems a bit confused at some of the words you are trying to use (very low intelligence) but it screeches a few 'words' back at you.
Hurt! blood! sharp teeth in ground. danger! fight!
the weasel's eyes dart back and forth to the different humanoids starting to surround it. it seems to hold at least for a moment while Bazikian calls out to it, but is clearly wary of the people around it
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Grimgisli HP: 16/23 - AC: 16/14/12 Status:
Bazikian HP: 12/12 - AC: 17/11/16 Status:
Easlis: HP: 11/17 - AC: 15/11/14 Status:
Brominate HP: 12/17 - AC: 17+4/14/13 Status:
Hjorleaf HP: 12/22 - AC: 15/11/14 Status:NPCS:
Weasel: HP ?? | AC: ??