Below Decks - round 1 - concluded
Kaddok targets the ghoul with his mighty earthbreaker, and pummels the undead Ulfen mercilessly, not quite killing it outright, but slowing it down tremendously.
Green and White Zombie both rise to attack the nearest living being. In both cases it is Elael, but both attacks are dodged by the rogue.
End of Round 1
Below Decks - Round 2
Elael
Ashia
Jiro
Milo
Archibald
Red Zombie
Ghoul
Kaddok
Green Zombie
White Zombie
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Milo winds up and hurls another ball of flame. But all the undead are now engaged in melee, and he has a hard time targeting through all the chaos causing the flame to go wild and miss.
The small gnome curses violently in orcish as he hops off the rowing bench a bit closer to the fray. The flame does not reform in his hand this time, leaving just Ashia's dancing lights illuminating the area.
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"Have one of these... and another!" he says, launching the last of his missiles with an overly enthusiastic wave of his staff that nearly sends him plummeting down the stairway into the hold. The brim of his over-large hat falls over his eyes. "... Well?" he grumbles expectantly, lifting his hat. "Did I get them?"
Below Decks - Round 2
Twirling to avoid the lumbering zombies, Elael isn't quite quick enough to avoid attacks of opportunity from all three zombies, but he is deft enough to actually avoid their pummeling fists. He then spins his knife across Red Zombie slashing the undead monster, destroying it.
Ashia splashes more acid on Green Zombie but the now-deformed monster lumbers on.
Despite the bone-chilling temperature, Jiro wields his sword expertly, chopping the ghoul into pieces with his razor-sharp blade, the burial mask rolling across the floor.
The chaos of battle creates enough confusion that Milo's flaming missiles miss hitting any target, and as they extinguish, the light dims below decks.
Releasing two more magical force bolts, ARchibald targets the acid-burned Green zombie blasting it back to the grave.
Below Decks - Round 2 - concluded
As all have grown accustomed to by now, Kaddok's earthbreaker, shatters the last zombie, squashing him into paste on the floor of the hold of the funeary ship.
End of Combat
Post-combat, the brutal cold of the setting starts to set your teeth chattering and flesh quivering but you try to overcome the temperature and begin to look around.
You notice the fine burial clothes on the ghoul, his neatly oiled and trimmed hair and beard, and the burial mask all indicate he was once a man of great importance. You can surmise he may have been Haldyr Bjornsson himself, now finally laid to permanent rest.
Said burial mask, is about the only other thing of interest her in the hold, which has a second latter and hatch leading to the fore part of the ship.
The mask itself, is made of both silver and gold and look rather valuable.
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Curious about the Ulfen burial mask, Ashia again invokes her magical detection spell and examines it. As she does so, she moves toward the ladder opposite the one that brought them down, which will hopefully take them to the foredeck of the ship.
"We'll need to get to the prow," she tells her companions.
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"I th...th...think my goolies is near freezin' off." Milo complains, as he rubs his arms for warmth. "Lets get this cursed screw hooked up and outta here 'fore I start torchin' myself!"
He mumbles a few arcane words, and another set of dancing lights springs into being.
The mask does indeed radiate magic. Further investigation reveals a faint aura of evocation, and a permanent Desecrate effect with evil alignment.
This item is probably of significant interest at the Pathfinder Lodge, but perhaps not a great idea to wear for the time being.
You climb up the ladder to the deck of the ship. A soft glow of sunlight again penetrates the ice cave, and several braziers burn near the walls. A beautiful woman stands next to a simple chair, facing you. Other furniture in the chamber suggests this is her private quarters. The woman looks you over as though judging a draft animal, an asks, "Haf you come to vork the oarz? I am in need ov more rowers."
The prow of the ship is not visible from this spot as the ice encasing the boat covers it. It can be seen through the translucent ice, about 7 ft away.
Ignoring the rude comment by the elderly wizard, the woman draws herself up to her full height. "I am Natalya Yagevna, jadwiga ov Irrisen, and vidow ov Haldyr Bjornsson, whom you must ov hat da misfortune to meet below. If you haf not, come to row, den, who are you, and vhat are you doinG aboart my sheep?"
She looks crossly at you as if you interrupted some important event, rather than found her alone aboard an ice-encased vessel.
The braziers here put out enough heat to make this area survivable, if not comfortable. The woman without coat or cold weather protections seems impervious to the cold weather.
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Milo whispers to Elael. "We gotta go 'bout two, three paces that way." He says, hitching one thumb back behind them towards the front of the boat. "Through the ice. Hook up that stupid light and flip the screw, so that Ulfen prig in the bed, what nicked in the first place, don't turn into an icicle from the inside out."
He glances at the strange haughty woman across the way, and adds, "And I'm guessin', try not to crab this twist while we do it. So smile and make nice. She's Irrisen royalty of some sort." He pauses for a moment, scowling, then adds, "Or some kinda ice witch necro, I s'pose."
The lady looks at Elael with some interest for the first time. "De varrior you mention, Tyrfir, succumbed to de colt shortly after his arrival. You met vhat eez left ov heem downstairz. You say you are helpinG Dis Skelg de Ripper? He is now ice-curst?" she looks troubled and a tear runs down her face, leaving a trail of ice.
"Skelg ees my savior, and now ees lawful lord ant master, you see. He sav't me from de sacrifice aboard de ship after Haldyr dite. He vas to return to me, but haz not and I am so lonely. I vant to return to heem or to my homeland ov Irrisen."
She motions for you to sit and takes a much more relaxed posture than before. Her attitude seems to have shifted from hostile to at least friendly.
Eef only we hat the Beacon, we coult accomplish all dese thinGs."
Natalya looks with wonder at the Beacon of the North. She reaches for it, taking it lovingly from the hands of the Shoanti barbarian.
"Dis vas a gift for my dowry from de jadwidga ov Irrisen to Haldyr. It haz de power to fix all dese tings, but you are right, first ve must get to prow ov sheep."
"I make tunnels een ice with flaming sphere. Eef you can help melt ice, we can get there quickly." She stands, leaving the Beacon, and sends a huge flaming sphere into the frozen wall at the prow, melting the ice part way.
As Milo steps in with his Burning Hands when her magic fades, teh prow is reached in short order. Hanging the Beacon of the North on the lantern hook, a portal opens in front of the ship, allowing the ice-encased vessel to be transported back to Whitethrone Harbor. At the same instant in Absalom, the portal inside Skelg the Ripper closes, providing instantaneous relief from the cold eating away at his insides.
The ship begins to thaw, the PC's finding themselves in a strange port. Pleased to be rescued, Natalya produces a chest from under her bed containing her personal wealth of 1000 gp in Irrisen trade bars.
"Thank you, my frients, for rescuing me. I vill send vord to Skelg to meet me here, and ve will live happily now. Dis is a small token ov my appreciation for all you haf done. You are velcome guests of my family, and the jadwiga, anytime you are in Whitethrone again."
END SCENARIO
According to the text, it takes the PC's a DC 15 Diplomacy score if you go back through the portal to his house and try to talk him into it, so it's a bit of a push.
I'd like to think they lived happily ever after, until Reign of Winter AP starts...and things get crazy in Irrisen.