|
Quickest to act, Saarai blasts one with a novice's spell, but hits hard and fat where it hurts, just before Kryssa tries to grab one of them. The closest one brings his axe around in an odd arc, only half ready for so early a counter attack, catching her lower on the shoulder in her haste to attack.
The lucky hit is enough to bat her away, loosing her grasp, but right afterwards, Vrothum follows up with a blow from his large hammer. It's not enough to put him down, yet, but it looks like it hurts.
Not far away, Savage casts a distracting spell, and Storm-Tooth launches after the other guard, drawing blood. It's not much, but as Jim calls upon winter's fury, launching the small gather essence of cold, it hits that same guard, sending him to the ground instantly dead.
The other moves to Vrothum, even more enraged than before, and swing hard. While before it seemed they had the possible intention of knocking you out, now it is clear he wants blood.
ROUND 1
Saarai, Kryssa (-17), Vrothum (-18 and dying), Savage, Kermit, & Rhuul
-------------------------------------------------
Ulfen Warrior 1 (very hurt)
|
Vrothum realizing how close he was to death tries to just play dead and wait for his friends to finish the ulfen warrior. [ooc]not sure if I need to make a check he'll prob be dead anyway but just in case.
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
Putting down the two false guards with relative ease, you take a moment to catch your breath and investigate, (and likely patch up your wounds), you find that the two warriors carry a key, but little treasure beyond their mundane gear.
Moving up to the house, you find the front door locked, and no one responds when you use that large knocker, designed in the shape of a Linnorm Dragon circling itself, it's mouth springing out as if to bite the hand that would use it. Using the key, the door unlocks. You begin to search through the house, but find it completely empty until you get to the second floor.
Throughout the entire mansion, the oddity of it's emptiness is only rivaled by how warm the mansion seems to be kept. Each fireplace is fully lit, even though it's hot outside. But, as you reach the second floor, it gets worse. No longer just warm, it becomes uncomfortably hot, only worsening as you approach a door behind which you hear slow, muffled talking.
You open the door to the master bedroom and are greeted by a blast of heat. A roaring fire blazes in the fireplace even though the day is swelteringly hot. A huge bearded man shivers under his blankets, his bed pushed dangerously close to the fire. A thin servant sits in the far corner by a window, fanning himself with a handkerchief. The bearded man looks at you and blinks a few times, then speaks through chattering teeth. “Are y-you P-path-f-finders?”
A servant sitting in a chair besides the bed, covered in sweat turns quickly as the other speaks, jumping up and drawing a dagger defensively before his master, "Who are you! Answer quickly, or I'll kill you myself."
You can tell the elderly servant is loyal to the man in the bed, covered in multiple thick blankets as if freezing to death, but no real threat to you.
|
Rhuul waves his pathfinder flag.
"Indeed we are Pathfinders, and ourPath has found you Skelg. We heard you needed help, and now can see if for ourselves."
As he talks, he walks into the room, positioning himself between the window and the servant near it.
"You had some unusual guards, Ulfen who were pretending to be longaxes and attacked us. I think there is a story that needs to be told here."
|
|
[ooc]I do not have a wand on this guy at the time unfortunately however I am at 6 hp.
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
walking up to Vrothum savage starts sniffing the air "you still reak of blood anyone could track you" and he hits him with his wand
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
"Yah, those bastards back there almost got me."
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Holding up a feeble hand, the man you assume to be Skelg, called The Ripper, tries to calm the situation. "This is my man, Tyros, my last loyal man. He was able to smuggle word out just as those ruffians came here to rob me. They murdered my warriors and left me to die here."
A quick inspection fails to reveal anything outside of the fact that, as far as you can tell, he literally seems to be freezing to death as if he where stuck in the middle of a blizzard, naked and without shelter. But, that's not the case, as he is as close to a large fire as he can safely get, and covered in multiple blankets. He is extremely cold to the touch, like ice, in the literal sense, while everyone else is obviously very uncomfortably hot.
Tyros stands up and bows, then takes over the dialogue, which is difficult for his master, speaking through chattering teeth and troubled breathing.
"A week ago, Skelg caught men in his basement vault, mistaking them for common thieves. One of the intruders had lit a lantern he found in the vault that was actually the Beacon of the North, but Skelg was unaware of its magical properties. When the light from the lantern struck Skelg, he began to freeze. When the light shone on a tapestry hanging on a wall in the hallway outside of the vault, a shimmering doorway appeared, frightening the intruders enough to flee the manor. With Skelg in a weakened state from the immediate effect of the cold, the thieves easily escaped him and fled with the lantern and other valuables from inside the vault."
Skelg speaks up, "Sssshhhoowww ttthemmmm".
Tyros nods, and takes you to a small treasury hall, and points at a massive painting. It depicts an Ulfen longship on a rolling sea, mostly encased in an iceberg. "This is what happened once they shone the light of the lantern upon it. It was a meadow scene with shepherd and flock, and if I may say, very nice. Peaceful. This ship, I can not say, there is something,. . . dark about it. I do not like it, nor how it makes me feel."
"After the thieves fled, one of Skelg’s men named walked into the portal on the tapestry to investigate. He returned a moment later saying that it led to a ship encased in ice. He went back to investigate further, but after half an hour, the portal disappeared, trapping poor Tirfyr in the frigged landscape. Skelg recognized the ship in the tapestry as the funerary ship of his old enemy, . He believes Tirfyr traveled to the ship and that the cure to his curse lies there."
"Two days ago, Bengeirr’s men returned with Bengeirr himself and killed Skelg’s guards. Bengeirr spat on the sickly Skelg, snarling, “Now you’ll die in bed like an old woman.” He left his guards to prevent anyone from saving Skelg and tossed the corpses of Skelg’s men into the vault in the basement. Skelg, in his weakened state, was unable to do anything to defend himself and hurriedly wrote a cryptic letter to his friend Adril, hoping his sparing partner would send help immediately. Then he had timid Tyros smuggle the letter into the city. I fear that there is more to this than is obvious, some dark history between Bengeirr and my master, but he will not speak of it. And of Skelgs affliction, all he will tell me is that “It is as if the frozen fingers of winter’s blackest midnight clutch at my heart. I’m freezing from the inside out.” He had kept a few magical tinctures and remedies in his room, and we have tried them all, with no avail."
|
|
"Don't worry we will do everything we can to get your stuff back and those men will pay for their crimes!"
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
The harbormaster probably has records of any Ulfen ships that have docked recently. Asking around a bit more, you learn from a nearby begger that some northlanders recently rented a warehouse at the docks from Tullo Baltias. It's not difficult to find from there. The warehouse is across from the The Rosy Fingers Tavern, a tavern on the west docks, and is built right on the docks, part of it extending over the water. The building is thirty feet tall with no visible windows. On the landward side is a pair of large cargo doors with a smaller door built into the right one. Piers run along either side of the building and on the seaward side is a massive set of doors able to accommodate a small ship.
The street is busy, with several taverns among the warehouses. Most of the warehouses have sentries in front of them, and the ships at the docks are similarly guarded. A northlander warrior with an axe resting in his lap sits on a small pile of crates across from the warehouse, obviously keeping watch on the main door.
|
|
"Just give me a moment, then you can walk on in, hopefully."
Rhuul wanders up to a spot close to the guard - maybe fifteen feet away - but still busy. Finding a nearby barrel he climbs on it.
"Friends of Absalom! I've been bet that I can't tell funny jokes for fifteen minutes without repeating the same one - or mentioning an elf!"
He looks around. "Jefrie's coach service thought they would fill some empty seats by offering to take businessmen's wives for free. After a couple of weeks, the manager started to go and visit the wives to see if he could get some word about his coach service filtering through the ladies networks. When he asked how they enjoyed their trips, every single one responded with 'What Trip?'"
|
|
Vrothum posts as look out motioning the others when to come inside. He waits for Rhuul to get the guards attention and attempts to slip by.
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
While Rhuul fails to take hold of the thug's mind, (mystically speaking), he does manage to distract him long enough for Vrothum and Saarai to sneak around the side of the building without being spotted. From that vantage, they see three possible routes of entry. The main door, though it is likely locked. There seems to be a back door, but one designed for ships to enter and leave through, which means that they may need to both swim and also attempt to hide. The last, is a set of vines growing up the side of the warehouse, leading up to the roof.
|
|
"...Did you hear the one about the overweight elf?..*^%$!. I just couldn't help myself could I."
Rhuul feins anger at himself as he climbs off the barrel once the others return.
He wanders over to the guard. "Know a good ale house around here? I have a powerful thirst after that much speaking."
He looks around a little. "You look like a good man to share an ale with. Care to join me? I've got a coin or two from the crowd and sure I could afford two."
|
|
"so Saarai what do you think is our best option? I'm a strong swimmer, and a climber so either is fine, but I think climbing is our best choice." says Vrothum in a low whisper.
-Posted with Wayfinder
|
|
"Know a good ale house around here? I have a powerful thirst after that much speaking."
He looks around a little. "You look like a good man to share an ale with. Care to join me? I've got a coin or two from the crowd and sure I could afford two."
[dice=diplomacy]1d20+10
"I can't leave. Gotta look out for the boss. We can't have anyone tryin' to rob him before we set out. I, . . . I'm a bit surprised. I have never been to this city. Never one so large. Is it common for the people here to offer a drink. Don't get me wrong, I could use one. Actually, here" he pulls out a few coins, 'This place right behind us", pointing over his shoulder at the "Rosy Fingers", "I got the first round if you pick me up one, too."
|
|
Rhuul nods to the man. "I've met an Ulfen or two in my time, wot did me a good turn. A dwarf never forgets a good deed done, nor an evil one."
He heads off to the inn and gets four pints of ale and several shots of whatever is the strongest (and hopefuly almost without taaste) in the house. "I'll bring the mugs back, but here is security for them." he offers the bartender.
Before leaving, he sips from two, and add the shots to the other ale. Tray and mugs in hand he heads back towards the guard.
"Here lad, it is a hot day to be on guard, I've done it enough times.". Rhuul hands the guard a large ale with extra vim, and has a small one himself, downing it quickly.