Lasaraleen asks her god for assistance and gets meager results.
Peter takes this opportunity to tear into the dinosaurs crawling over him. With a single swing, he drops the two crawling on him.
Giovanni crushes the dinosaur in front of him before it gets a chance to attack again.
The dinosaurs are defeated, their scaly (and not. FEATHERED) corpses lay on the cavern. Now with some free time, the party is able to investigate the beautiful cavern and its painted murals.
There seems to be another end to the cave, but it collapsed at some point.
The paintings depict a castle at the base of a mountain. Outside the castle, a large creature with wings and a long neck lies on the ground before a figure lifting a huge red axe over its head to strike. Other humanoid figures cluster around the scene. The mural is then interrupted by a repeated design: two mammoths with a smaller one in tow marching east. This motif is repeated over and over in an orderly line from the top wall of the cave to the bottom. There are 30 copies of this design.
You decipher the meaning of some of the painting’s images. The axe-wielding figure in the is different from the other humanoids depicted, as he is shown with a white beard, a feature uncommon among the Kellid peoples. The painting of the three mammoths symbolizes migration, and each painting of three mammoths stands for the passage of a single year. The moon in its various stages symbolizes eternity or a period of time that cannot be depicted with the migration symbol, usually meaning hundreds of years.
The next scene shows the wielder of the red axe lying on a raised mound within the castle, his weapon clutched to his chest. Other figures leave the castle carrying large bags on their shoulders.
The drawings continue on the other side of the cave, showing an avalanche cascading down to cover the tower. The last drawing shows more of the humanoid figures standing over the edge overlooking the castle’s previous location, while four drawings of the moon in various states arc above the scene. In this last picture, all of the humanoid gures have a smear of white color around their lower faces.
3 bandages of rapid recovery, 2 masterwork throwing axes, a masterwork bolas, a potion of barkskin, 2 potions of endure elements, 6 pairs of snowshoes and a fully charged wand of longstrider.
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Giovanni nods in the direction of the collapse.
"There was once a tunnel here, but it is now thoroughly blocked; it is unlikely that anything short of an earth elemental would get through it."
He then moves to inspect the cave paintings.
"The creature on the ground was originally painted white, but the colour has faded over time. The character wielding the axe was also painted white around the face, suggesting a large beard."
Giovanni then begins scrounging amongst the mushroom, looking for dinner, but incidentally also finding the long-dead corpses of several humanoids.
"Looks here - there is some equipment that we might find useful."
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"Maybe we are close to this castle here, Gio", Peter points to the drawings of the avalanche cascading down to cover the tower.
"These guys with the special gear", he refers to the skeletons, "should be those who stands over the edge overlooking the castle", the ranger put his finger over the drawing of the humanoid figures standing over the edge overlooking the castle’s previous location, "and I suppose that this place is right here. They remained here for a long time searching for it, judging by all of these moon phases represented on the paints".
Peter gets on his knees, "and let me carry this", and he takes the potion of barkskin.
"Gnomes...", he thinks when see Haliphod entertaining himself with the magical wand.
"Let's use some of these bandages and rest. As redhead said, we'll have a hard path to cross after the storm."
By the morning of the third day, the storm is gone and rays of sunlight peek through the cavern entrance. Korin hails the party as they exit the cave. He was able to help the Blood Ram Tribesmen exit Trollheim without running into the law, and Skagni was able to pull some strings for a teleportation spell that brought him here.
The map's route continues through an icy gorge, about half a mile long.
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"Look, guys, there are humanoid tracks at the mouth of the gorge that quickly turn around. Well, it seems we were spotted", Peter points to where the tracks stand.
Few minutes after, the ranger calls his comrades again...
"More than one creature killed it", Peter shows the corpse of the large saber-toothed tiger, "and judging for its wounds, it suffered extreme bludgeoning damage as if trampled to death, with multiple creatures involved in the trampling".
"We are going to have company, maybe many big companies, if you know what I mean", he holds his bow at hands and leads them outside the cave.
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Korin hails the party as they exit the cave. He was able to help the Blood Ram Tribesmen exit Trollheim without running into the law, and Skagni was able to pull some strings for a teleportation spell that brought him here.
"Aw, welcome back, man. What's up!?", Peter greets Korin, "are you prepared for more battles?"
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Lasaraleen waves warmly with a smile at the sorcerer.
"Welcome back indeed, Korin. Never was a better sight...
well, except if you had brought a flock of hippogryphs from the Absalom Marines to ferry us beyond this cliff.
Climbing was never my specialty.
She says the last part with a nervous look to the top of the cliff.
Despite the map's instruction, Giovanni thinks it is more wise to take the longer route and climb on top the cliff tops.
Good idea, don't be like the GM when he played it
Within the hour, you hear the thundering hooves of the aurochs stampede through the canyon as you walk safely above the gorge.
That evening, you clear the gorge and a dozen Kellid warriors with painted faces stand vigilant in the center of your route.
Although they are armed with axes and round, Ulfen-styled shields, their weapons are not drawn. At the head of the group, a tall and powerfully-built figure with piercing eyes steps forward. As he approaches, his hands are held palm up until he is close enough for words. “I am Hiryla,” he says in broken Common, his words flowing with a strange cadence that suggests that he is speaking words that were given to him by another to say. “You come with me... We must talk.”
Hiryla heads east for about an hour. You soon come upon the Kellid camp. This village is composed of small, round houses and low, long buildings built of stone with thatched roofs. The rectangular, round-topped buildings number almost 20 in all, gathered around a central, circular building that is larger and grander than the rest.
Inside this grand hall, dozens of Kellid men, women, and children scurry to and fro, passing food and drink around an enormous central hearth. Long, low benches ring the fire, and a handful of elderly Kellids, decked out in ornate white furs sit on the other side of the flames from the building’s entrance. A young woman with one leg, walking with the aid of a crutch, greets Hiryla in Hallit, and then turns to the door and speaks in perfect Common. “Welcome to the North,” she says with a broad grin and a handshake. “My name is Teyma.”
"You are the second group to come up here in the last few days." She starts. "Initially we tried to speak to the first group, but they attacked us immediately. We fought them back, but they still move inward." Hiryla nods to her, not fully understanding what she said but still interested in the conversation.
"The elders want to hear your story. Tell us of your clan, and what brings you here. If the tale is good enough,” she adds with a smile, “we will tell you ours.”
In the tent, the party recognizes the man they saved and the three warriors who ambushed them, paying close attention and gathering villagers to sit and listen.
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Aloisius straightens his hat and removes his crown before stepping forward.
"We are not like the ones you saw before us. We come as friends! We are on a mission of peace and knowledge! We are not thieves nor thugs!" He goes on to simply describe their task, making no small use of pantomime and sound effects thanks to ghost sound
Alosius leads an incredible performance, recounting the tale of the Pathfinders, the accursed Shadow Lodge, and a funny wolverine he sat on. The tribe roars with laughter.
One of the elders, her face painted white like those of Hiryla and the other warriors, stands from the bench. With no other cue the room falls silent as she speaks. Her words have a strength and resonance belied by her withered frame.
"This is the story that the elders told me when I was a child. Once, a great warrior came to our lands from the South, though his blood and his beard were of the West, in the land where the first dragons hunt and kill. He built a stone keep atop a mountain and came to us in peace with gifts of furs and offered to hunt with our elders. He proved himself a friend to all."
"His axe, sheathed in fire, protected us from the white wolves and yetis. The furs he offered us kept us warm and the meat he hunted kept us fed. For years the king and our elders prospered, and we learned of crafts, weapons, and ways different from those that came before."
"But we learned of the dragons hidden underneath the keep. When they hatched, they hindered the king and his keep for two years. He fought them off, but their mother arrived and her anger knew no equal. In the season of the longest nights, still the sun set and rose again before the battle was decided. The King struck the wyrm down, even though his armor and his beard were white with the ice of her breath."
"Alas, the great king had grown old, and he knew his time was up. When the hour of his dying came, the great and generous Huscarl King gave all within his castle to those that had served and befriended his house, save for his mighty axe. Upon his wishes, the elders brought the mountain down atop of him and his castle. We have held vigil over everything there, so no others may tamper with it. We remember his lessons, his ways that bled into the ways of the elders to become our ways. And we remember his beard, first white with frost, then with age, as it symbolizes what he protected us from and what he stood watch against."
Teyma walks up to the party after the speech. "The village elder approves, and believes you may be what we need to drive off these 'Shadow Lodge' agents away from the keep."
"Do you need any assistance as you approach the keep? Our clansmen will form the second line of defense."
The Chief nods at four of his warriors, and points at the party. They move ahead and greet the party with a warcry.
"These four will accompany you to the keep." Teyma smiles. "They will help you defend the keep 'til their dying breaths. The Chief will coordinate the other forces to crush the defilers while you focus on the keep itself. Good luck!"
The bones of two ancient stone watchtowers rise from the ground like sentries set to guard the entrance to Ranulf’s Keep. Snow and ice still cover their base, making them inaccessible, but they mark the edge of the Huscarl’s Keep, just visible in the distance.
The Kellid warriors get your attention and point towards the keep, where you see 5 people emerge.
A dark-skinned figure swathed in the orange and blue of a desert sky at sunset, strides defiantly forward. Her outline shivers with the heat emanating from the flaming greataxe in her hands. As snow swirls on the wind around her, snow flakes hiss and shriek as they fall on the blade’s open flame. “Come Pathfinders,” she invites in a honeyed tone, as her companions draw their weapons. “Let Jedrek’s Shard warm you against the cold.”
"You gonna warm them up, boss?"
"No you idiot, I"m threatening them!"
"...I don't get it."
The woman facepalms as her goons discuss the merits of her threat. Meanwhile, you guys get the initiative.
Peter
Alosius
Snowmask Clan
Giovanni
Lasaraleen
Korin
Haliphod
Shadow Lodge