EM - [PFS] Baby It's Cold Outside (Inactive)

Game Master Evil Minion

Bah, that would not have been my vote at all!

The pathfinders roll the two injured and unconscious ulfen warriors up in a couple of conveniently requisitioned carpets and load them both into the push cart.

There's something proper about bodies rolled in carpets! =)

Leaving the rest of the valuables and the dead bodies, and making sure to lock up the door on the way out, they then head back to Greydog Manor.

(forgot to mention Bengeirr had a key to the warehouse as well. Will assume you grabbed that too)

It is starting in to early evening by the time you wheel the cart into the courtyard at the manor. Back where you started.

Tyros answers the door cautiously after you bang on it for a while.

He seems both glad and nervous to see you, quickly ushering you inside, checking to see if anyone outside is paying any attention.

Seeing the cart, with the two carpets in it, he exclaims. "You found Master Skelg's stolen property?! Is that all of it? What of the rest?"

He closes the door quickly, once you're inside.

"Did you find Bengeirr. Do you know how to cure Master Skelg?"

He seems unusually nervous.

The bard will walk behind the wagon with a frying pan, anytime the goons begin to wake up she will smack them on the head with it.

Masym is silent as he staggers along behind the cart, trying to push the chilling pain out of his mind, without success. He waves off any efforts to assist him.

I am NOT a cripple!...well not yet anyway...

Once they have returned to the manor he turns to face Tyros , his frigid breath steaming in the air. "Yeah we found him. Skelg's property is safe. As for curing your master..." Masym shakes his head slowly. "No not yet. As you may have noticed, I am QUITE interested in a cure as well."

would not have been my vote either, but I was afk a bit

Tyros starts a bit, as he notices Masym's breath misting slightly too.

"Oh no!" He murmurs, as he realizes that the Pathfinder has been cursed as well. "Not you to?!"

"Master Skelg has taken a turn for the worse." He says, urgently. "If you can find a cure, I hope you find it quickly. I can no longer wake him anymore. He just lay there, curled up, not responding at all. Not since the watchmen left anyway."

He stops himself suddenly, blushing a bit, nervous once more.

"I didn't know who else to call." He finally blurts out. "I went down to the vault, to get Rorrick and Bodi and bury them properly since you said you'd taken care of those ruffians."

"But there was one of them down there! All trussed up to a chair!" He glances at his guests accusingly. "You didn't say anything!"

"And he was so mad, and struggling so hard against his bindings." He rubs his hands nervously. "I wasn't sure if he was going to get loose, or what... and if he did, perhaps he'd be so angry that he wouldn't wait for the curse to take care of Master Skelg... or me..."

"I didn't know what to do." He repeats quietly.

"So I called for the watch." He finishes, looking slightly apologetic.

"Well...nothing for it now," Nella sighs. "And I don't think we'd have gotten anything more out of him anyway."

"Like Masym said, we've got the address of where the rest of your master's belongings ended up and the key to get in. Hopefully when this is all over he can retrieve the rest of it," she adds.

Whoops. We did forget to mention that, didn't we?

Its not that you forgot.. someone explicitly said not to tell him =)

"The watch captain wanted to talk to you all, but I didn't know where you went, and once they saw Master Skelg's condition, none of them wanted to stick around and wait."

"Said if you came back, I was to keep you here, and they'd stop buy later this evening."

He takes a moment to examine the contents of the cart.

1d20 ⇒ 1

"You didn't bring anything else back but the carpets?" He asks, with a confused frown, clearly not realizing what's rolled inside. "I've no one to send for the rest. There's no one left but me now, and I can't leave Master Skelg."

"Though I suppose it doesn't much matter," He finishes resignedly. "If you have no way to remove the curse... " He leaves the thought unfinished.

He suddenly notices the lantern, and his voice gets hopeful for a moment. "The lantern! You found it! You can't reverse it with that?"

I didnt think that we were a moving service, we got sick people too says the half-elf.

"Yeah, there was a bunch of stuff in there. Too much to move with one trip, and I am NOT in the mood to return there yet!" Masym says bluntly. "As for the lantern, I don't completely understand what is happening to me and Skelg, but we think opening a portal using the lantern will undo the curse. The trick is figuring out which portal to open..."

Tyros nods, and smiles hopefully... though clearly has no clue what Masym is talking about.

So... what are you guys intending to do?

[ooc] Maybe we should take the lamp back where it came from? Maybe it it is happy it will free the people from its curse? [/b] says the bard.

"Mr. Tyros, we want to take this lamp to the tapestry. We are wondering what will happen if they are close to each other. Do you mind?"

"The one that changed?" Tyros responds, puzzled.

"If you think it might help." He says, though his tone seems dubious.

At Tyros' response Malusha looks to the others for confirmation. He is not quite so sure of himself now. "You think it won't help? We don't want to bother you so maybe we shouldn't." Malusha starts backpedaling on his request.

Malusha isn't the most assertive of people... Maybe needs some backup? :-)

We know what we need to know, see, so we gotta do what we know what we need to do see she says in her best gangster voice.

Jones looks around at everyone. Makes sure the knots on the two guards we brought back are secure. Then motions toward the door that leads to the room with the tapestry.

"Let's go through the portal in the tapestry. Who knows how to activate it. . . .Oh yeah, don't forget to bring the lantern through with us." He chuckles a little at himself at the last sentence and starts making his way downstairs. It's downstairs right?

"OK, right behind you Dead-Eye." Masym hobbles slowly down the stairs and towards the tapestry, a flicker of hope in the man's eyes.

I'm just sayin, some of us who arent all muscles and sinews and gluets, might not be able to do too much. rolling her eyes.

You make your way downstairs, to the vault area, with Tyros following anxiously behind.

The putrid smell of death has receded slightly, as the dead guards have been removed. The chair you tied the prisoner to is still here as are a few frayed rope ends.

You move up to examine the tapestry in question, and it seems much the same as the last time you were here, an Ulfen longship on a rolling sea, mostly encased in an iceberg. Quite well done.

"See, its still the same scene it changed to when that last portal went away and we lost Tirfyr." Tyros says, disappointed.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Jones walks to the tapestry and examines it, then points out the lantern ring on the ship, "It seems, there's a place for the lantern on that ship. Maybe, as Phoebee said, if we return the lantern to its home, it'll fix whatever curses it has placed."

Perception 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Malusha stares at the tapestry for a bit and notices the lantern ring too. "Yes, I think that is it. But I think we'll have to open the shutter too."

Masym nods in reply, "I am all for trying this. Now all we need to do is open the portal by using the smaller lantern..."

"How do we do that here? or do we do that back on the ship in the warehouse? there's no way to hang a real lantern on a tapestry ship." Tchak is perhaps too literal?. hard to say...

"Tchak, I think you misunderstand. We don't hang it on the tapestry. We go back to the warehouse and hang it there." He turns to the others in the group, "I have a suspicion that these Ulfen men might have used the lamp to get here to begin with. So it makes sense to use it to get back." He looks to see if anyone is agreeing with him.

"And remember those bodies in the ship? Bengeirr and his men probably put them there. Maybe to take back with them. Should we take those guys upstairs back with us?"

"That's what I thought... so why did we even come back here at all... we could have just sent a messenger with our news."

We dont know what is on the other side. Can the healers be ready to heal us or did we use a lot of their resources in the fight with big ol' Gorum guy? Speaking of which, it would have been nice to know that. People got hit with a big old magical sword. she says at the servant.

I'm getting a bit of information overload. Can we get a breakdown of pertinent events? From what I can tell:

A fight broke out in the treasure room, the lantern was used to open a portal into the tapestry changing the picture on the tapestry to that of a ship encased in ice. Tirfyr (Skelg's head guard) went into the portal, came out, then went back in and is still there. The lantern was also used at this time to curse Skelg. The lantern can be used in 3 ways: to open a portal inside someone thus cursing them by pulling the icy cold into their heart (I assume); to open a portal big enough for someone to walk through; open a portal big enough to bring a ship through (this would deplete the lantern's energy).

Is this a fair recap of relevant information? Am I missing anything? Is the ship in the warehouse the same as the one in the tapestry? Is there a check any of us could make to discern what might be a good next step such as where to open the portal?

Heh. I was wondering where people's thoughts were... it might be a over-summarized at some point!

Your synopsis is correct enough! (with the addition that Tyrfir did say what he saw on the other side of the portal before he went back in)
No, the ship depicted on the tapestry is not the one back in the warehouse.
All uses of the lantern use fuel.

Going back over what info I gave you, I think I may have omitted one important part!

The mid-sized portal, has a fixed entry and exit point (this part I mentioned) but seems I missed mentioning what those fixed points were.
- the portal connects the mast of the attuned ship with a depiction of its likeness.

Thanks for the information and summation GM & Jones; I admit I was having some trouble parsing everything as well. Based on the information we have, I believe that we're supposed to travel through the mid-sized portal next and go from there. If Tyrfir is still on the other side and alive, he might be able to shed more light on the subject. Maybe we need to free the ship trapped in ice in order to break the curse. But that's just my take on the situation.

Yes, thanks for the summary. I agree with the idea of opening the small portal and going through it. Although we'll have to be careful not to split the party. Anyone else want to weigh in? If not, let's do the medium portal.

Medium portal into the tapestry, and the portal that will move a ship to free the ship in the tapestry of its ice tomb.

That's what I was thinking too; we'll likely have to free the trapped ship...though the whys remain to be seen!

"I still have most of my power for the day," Nella volunteers. "And that's partly why I thought this wand would be a good investment," she grins as she holds up her healing wand, "because it allows me to save the powers granted to me by Shelyn for other things and not just healing."

"But anyway, I think our best shot at getting to the bottom of this is to follow Tyrfir's trail and see what he discovered...and if he's still alive," she continues as she stows her wand into her wrist-sheath. "Gods be willing, we can save Skelig and Tyrfir too!"

Despite her bravado, the priestess does shiver slightly when she glances at the tapestry. "Looks like it's going to be pretty cold, wherever that is..."

Jones will change into his cold weather outfit before we open the portal and go through. bought during Quest for Perfection I

This all sounds like a good plan. Of course the GM is probably just sitting back laughing at all of us and he reviews his diabolical plans for our future.

"This sounds like the right thing to do," Malusha says while looking at the tapestry. He notices Jones switching to heavier clothing and suddenly the realization hits him.

"Wait! We're going in there?" he points to the ice and snow in the tapestry and his desert dwelling bones start to ache. "But that looks very cold. I've heard of this thing called snow. I've seen ice, occasionally in expensive inns."

He pauses for a second then adds "Is it true that the sun doesn't even shine there?" He looks truly horrified at the notion.

Masym smiles weakly at the Garundi priest. "Aye, you be correct. It is going to be very cold up there. I will tell you the sun DOES shine up there, just not for very long. Now in the summer months, I have heard the sun NEVER sets! Go figure that out!" He chuckles.

He turns to look at Nella, his body shivering despite the heat. "Aye, that it will Nella. I don't have a choice here. If I stay behind I'll turn into Skelig here! I refuse to do that! As for being properly attired, why not take these clothes from the warriors we captured? I am sure they must have some cold weather clothing."

Normally I would worry about Masym not being attired but that curse has rendered the point moot, he he.

The ulfen folks were not dressed for cold. They're from Varisia, just like Nella, and its the middle of summer.

Jones immediately starts to sweat... it was almost unbearably hot before he put on the heavy fur coat... now it worse. The rest of you feel hotter just looking at him.

And I still need to know who's carrying the lantern. Its not particularly heavy, just awkwardly large.

If you want to do other things before lighting this, that's fine, not rushing things, just keeping things moving =)

After a great deal of discussion and thoughtful pondering, you finally light the lantern and it begins to glow with the same chill light you witnessed previously. There is no change in the tapestry, though Masym starts to shiver a bit more at the sight of it.

Tyros takes a couple of steps back, unsure what's going on.

Eventually, you flip the appropriate shutters into place concentrating the light to a single beam, and turn it towards the tapestry. Almost instantly, the image on the fabric disappears, replaced by a large shimmering silvery rectangle, that flickers and pulses in the icy blue-white light.

Tyros gasps. "That's it! That's what was there before, when we lost Tirfyr!"

dangit, i keep spelling his name differently! 'i' first, then 'y'!

Jones looks back at the party and smiles, "See you on the other side." Almost welcoming the cold, draws his bow and steps through.

Wei Tchak follows Dead-Eye through the portal...

"Well...I guess we've got our blankets? I haven't done the cape thing since I was little though and somehow I doubt it'll be quite the same doing it now," Nella jokes weakly as Jones and then Tchak head through the portal. "Only one way to find out, I suppose..."

Taking a deep breath, Nella steps through the portal after the others.

Probably Malusha, Phoebee, or myself should carry the lantern; Jones, Masym, and Tchak all need their hands free for fighting.

Gritting his teeth against the cold radiating from both within and without, Masym follows the priestess through the portal.

Malusha grabs the lantern and then looks at Phoebee. "I'll go ahead and carry this thing. But maybe I should be the last one through. If I bring the lantern through it might close the portal. I don't want to strand you over here."

He waits for Phoebee to go through. Once she disappears into the shimmering oval assuming she does Malusha screws up his courage and steps through.

As you step through the portal, you find yourself in a what appears to be a strange ice-cave.

Sunlight filters through the walls and ceiling making the whole area very bright, and three braziers give some warmth to this otherwise chilly space. Directly ahead of you, a tunnel leads through the ice, sloping steeply downward.

It isn't until you look back behind you, where you see a shimmering portal exactly like the one through which you entered in Greydog Manor, that you realize it is formed on what appears to be the mast of a ship embedded in the very ice that surrounds you. Following the mast downward, you can barely make out the blurry outline of a ship’s deck below.

New map up!

Although it is cold, its not quite as cold as you feared, hovering around the freezing point, and perfectly endurable as long as you don't hang around for too long.

The exception to this is Masym, who suddenly finds the cold inside and outside are one and the same. He suddenly finds himself shivering uncontrollably.

The temperature here is around 0 degrees Celsius (or 32 Fahrenheit) you will not have any issues until you've been here a while... except for Masym who might find that timetable hastened somewhat... (His core temperature won't take long to cool)
No effects just yet...

The half-elfm rolling her eyes jumps through the portal and looks around.

Is there snow around or is it just icy and cold?

Just ice.

Jones takes a glance around the ice cave for anything of value or importance before making his way down the tunnel.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Malusha looks in awe at the ice surrounding him. He reaches out to touch one of the walls. "It really is ice. This is amazing. And cold!" His gaze scans the room looking for anything else interesting.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

He starts pointing at each person and then says "... four, five, six. Yep. That's all of us. Ok. I'm going to close this lamp thing. We don't want to waste all of the oil." He then examines the lamp, finds the shutter (or turn off valve, whatever it is) and extinguishes the light.

Masym nods in approval at Malusha extinguishing the light, not wasting any energy on words here. He hefts his spear and moves off silently behind Dead Eye, eyes and ears alert for ambush.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

As soon as the lamp is extinguished the portal disappears, leaving only a frost covered wooden mast poking through the ice from the ship below. The sounds of tons of ice pressing leads to strange creaks and groans and cracking sounds, that pierce the silence and make everyone a little jumpy.

For information's sake, all the ice is considered difficult terrain. 'Tis Slippery!

Looking around, you don't see anything unusual beyond the bizarre effect of being encased in ice.

The cave area you are in does not seem naturally formed, though how it was created is not immediately obvious.