Masym joins the fray, lunging with his spear at the nearest zombie. His weapon impales the creatures face, lopping off part of its jaw, but surprisingly, it still stands.
Jones tries to finish it off, but his arm is still aching from the cold of its touch, and his blow glances off without further damage.
Nella however, has other ideas. Finally with some room, she steps partway down the steps, and calls on the glory of Shelyn.
Holy energy bursts out from her, filling the front part of the hold and washing over all four of the undead. She can feels resistance for a moment, but manages to push past it.
They all real slightly from the holy energy. The zombie with Wei Tchak's glowing symbol on its chest seems lose control over one of its arms although its still going, and the one in front of Jones stops moving entirely and collapses to the ground, once more just a dead body.
-- Round 3 --------
Phoebee, Jones (6 damage), Wei Tchak, Malusha, Nella (1 damage) <--- we are here!
FZRed (14 damage), FZYellow (5 damage), FZBlue (4 damage)
Masym (fatigued, 4 non-lethal)
Group Buffs: Inspire Courage, Bless
Bold still to go
Seeing one of his targets weakened by Nella's holy energy, Wei Tchak strikes at it again with his sword, causing it to collapse to the floor of the hold as well.
Only two creatures remain, but both continue to attack.
,
The first continues to claw at the tengu, although it seems to be having some motor control issues after the burst of positive energy, and it comes nowhere near landing a blow.
The second zombie, the one in the Taldan surcoat, tries to touch Jones with its icy grasp, but his armor easily protects him this time.
-- Round 3 --------
Phoebee, Malusha, Masym (fatigued, 4 non-lethal) <--- we are here!
-- Round 4 --------
Jones (6 damage), Wei Tchak, Nella (1 damage)
FZYellow (5 damage), FZBlue (4 damage)
Group Buffs: Inspire Courage, Bless
Party is up again!
Tired of the tight quarters, Jones moves forward down the aisle to get behind the zombies and use his bow.
The closest one reaches out as he passes, however, and a thick layer of frost forms on his shoulder causing considerable pain once more. (6 cold damage)
The momentary numbness causes him to drop his torch, but he manages to get his bow up, and fire a single arrow back at the creature that touched him. His aim is good, and the arrow sinks in deeply.
Masym moves to fill Jones' position, getting between the zombie and Nella on the steps. He thrusts his spear into the the same zombie but is dismayed to see it still standing, despite the damage.
-- Round 4 --------
Phoebee, Malusha, Jones (12 damage), Masym (fatigued, 4 non-lethal), Wei Tchak, Nella (1 damage) <--- we are here!
FZYellow (14 damage), FZBlue (4 damage)
Group Buffs: Inspire Courage, Bless
Bold still to go
With two quick slashes, Wei Tchak cuts the zombie to the ground. Only one remains!
,
Nella steps down off the ladder, and once again calls on the holy might of Shelyn, and once again positive energy washes through the hold.
The last remaining frozen zombie stumbles and parts of him seem to have trouble moving at all.
Malusha, finally with room to come down, does so, and follows Nella's lead, calling on Sarenrae to send a second wave of positive energy.
Between the two of them it is too much for whatever negative force keeps the creature together and animated as it collapses to the ground unmoving.
The chill of the hold, and the frozen undead seem to have affected Masym in some way. At first you think he might be getting better, as he doesn't appear to be shivering anymore.
But his lips are turning blue and he is cold to the touch, and you quickly realize his condition is actually worsening, not getting better.
A quick search of the remains will reveal little you haven't already seen.
Tchak points out a magical aura on the elaborate silver and gold mask worn by the first undead that was killed. There is an almost palpable sense of 'wrongness' coming off of it.
He also will detect a very dim magical aura near the central mast, but it fades before he can determine more.
The hold is otherwise, empty. You see oars along the benches, although the other ends appear to be frozen solid in the ice.
The only ways out are the ladder up to the aft deck that you came down, and another on the far side of the hold that would lead up to the forward deck.
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Malusha watches the last of the undead crumple to the ground. "That seems to be the last of them. I pray that we don't see any more." Then he notices the undead creature with the mask. "What is that?" he exclaims and tries to discern its magical properties. But the magic is beyond him.
He follows Jones to the other end of the boat.
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"I'm just glad that everyone is okay," Nella breathes, relaxing a bit now that the zombies have been taken care of. "Tchak, you said the mask seemed 'wrong'? I wonder why?" she asks as she draws closer, curious. She offers a quick prayer to Shelyn for aid in reading magical auras, then kneels down to have a better look.
"Hum...it's definitely magical like you said, but I can't quite pin down the actual effect," she sighs, standing back up. "We'd better just leave it where it is for now. Hey, wait...is that a Taldan uniform?" she asks, pointing to one of the bodies. "I guess we know what became of Tyrfyr," she sighs.
It would appear you have indeed discovered the fate of poor Tirfyr, trapped on this side of the portal when it closed last, three days prior.
Deciding to leave the mask alone for now, you continue up the far steps, to the front of the ship, Wei Tchak leading the way. Unlike the rear hatch, this one does not appear to be frozen shut, and opens easily.
You can easily climb up the ladder to the fore deck and what appears to be another ice cave. The soft glow of sunlight again penetrates through the ice, brightly illuminating the entire cave. As well, several braziers burn near the walls, so it is slightly warmer than below.
The deck here has numerous pieces of furniture laid out in such a way as to suggests some sort of private quarters.
A beautiful woman stands next to a simple chair, facing you. Her hair is raven black, and her skin almost as pale as the ice around her.
She looks you over as though judging a draft animal, and asks in strongly accented common, "Haf you come to vork oarz?"
"Vould seem I am in need ov more rowers." She adds.
The woman looks back with a disapproving scowl as she draws herself up to her full height
"I am Natalya Irina Yagevna." She says haughtily. "Jadwiga ov Irrisen. Widow ov Haldyr Bjornsson ov Varisia."
She pauses a moment, then adds "Who you likely hat misfortune to meet below."
"If you haf not come to row, den who are you and what do you do aboard my sheep?"
She looks at you all crossly, as if you had just interrupted some sort of important social event, rather than found her alone on an ice-encased vessel.
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"That term is oddly familiar for some reason... jadwiga... jadwiga... ah yes... a direct descendant of baba yaga, yes? and a witch as well, as I recall. Your imperious nature makes more sense now. Sorry about the demise of your spouse. He was a little ripe. And I am Wei Tchak, we are Pathfinders, come here in search of a cure for the curse of the lantern, nothing more... Sorry to disappoint."
"I know nothing ov curses, or lanterns." She replies with a displeased frown towards the tengu.
Natalya turns towards Phoebee, and seems about to say something, then deflates slightly.
"Da. Ice has proven unexpected problem." She concedes glancing around her unhappily.
She then turns her stern gaze back on the party. "You haf solution to dis?"
Although her initial unfriendliness seems to have abated, she still does not appear to have warmed much to your presence yet.
"How is it dat you haf come to be here?" She adds, suspiciously.
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Malusha is perplexed by her attitude. At first it seemed that she was hostile towards the group but now she is asking for help. He tries to read her actions.
Her look makes him nervous but she said she didn't know about the lantern. He holds it up in front of him. "So you don't know anything about this lantern?" He watches closely for her reaction.
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Masym's eyes widen on hearing the news she was related to the infamous Baba Yaga.
Aye, she is not one to trifle with!
"Miss Phoebee here is correct, Missus Yagevna. We traveled here through a portal inside a tapestry back in Absalom. We are trying to undo the curse which has befallen both myself and the one who...ahhh...another person. We think the lantern is tied both to my curse and also the ice which has encased your ship, so helping us break the curse here will also help you." He says in a respectful tone.
As Malusha hesitantly holds up the lantern, here eyes register recognition.
"You haf Beacon?" She says, in surprise. "But I gayf to..."
Her voice trails off for a moment as there is a sudden intake of breath and a name escapes her lips in a whisper. She starts to fidget.
"Is he here?" She asks, trying to see past you like there might be more coming up from the hold. "Skelg?"
"I had not expected him to return." She says, willfully forcing her hands to stop moving and trying her best to put on an air of indifference again.
"Da. I know dis man." She says calmly, in response to Nella's query.
She suddenly seems hopeful.
It is fairly obvious she does indeed know Skelg... and would like to know him better, based on the slight flush working its way across her cheeks, but is doing her best to appear proper.
"Peeg ov husband ov mine. As much deplorable in death as in life. Vanted me put to torch with the sheep. His in death as in life. My sheep! My life!"
She looks around at the ice-entombed vessel a moment, letting her perturbation subside.
"But thees Skelg." She says, the tone of her voice changing as she recounts the memories. "He sayfed me from flame. Put to sword dogs who would do such tasks. We sailed off together."
She almost sighs. "Such a man. Dat Haldyr could never be."
"Deserved fate." She adds with a hint of spite, looking down to the hold below. "Left only to man oars and go nowhere in cold... as he did in other things."
"I asked Skelg only for sheep, so to return home. Allowed him da rest."
She points at the lantern held by Malusha. "Beacon was one ov rest."
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"I'm sorry but Skelg did not come with us. He is sick. In fact, we have come here trying to help Skelg. This lantern," he holds up the large lantern as best he can, "This lantern seems to be the key. Someone named Bengeirr used it to afflict Skelg with a bitter cold." He paused for a bit to let Natalya catch up with what he was saying.
"Maybe you can help us. Where did all of this cold ice come from?"
"Sick?!" Natalya exclaims, as one delicate hand comes up to her mouth. "Oh no!"
"Bengeirr vas Haldyr's son." She explains.
"His first vife." She adds, quickly. "Better den father, but far too quick to anger. Not surprising he would seek out Skelg." She seems unconcerned as to his fate.
She motions for the lantern and says a quick divination, before studying it carefully, her lips pursed thoughtfully.
"Dis is Beacon ov North." She says, finally. "Made by Jadwiga."
She winces ruefully, "I had not known it was such until it was gone. Mother must haf included it with the dowry so I had vay home."
"Bengeirr vould know nothing of dis magic." She frowns. "If he used it wrong, could have many unfortunate results."
She glances at the glacier encasing her, nodding slightly.
"Da! It must be so. Perhaps can still fix. Get home." She frowns slightly, thinking, before adding. "But Skelg. So far avay, it might not help."
"But if he ver here."
Natalya frowns at Tchak's statement, "If not enough for dat. Not enough for anything else either."
She lifts the lantern up and shakes his, listening to the fuel slosh around inside.
"Only Jadwiga can make more." She explains.
"But still some left."
She seems conflicted.