"No idea," Syl responds. "I've never been this far north."
As the ship nears the ice shelf, the defenders hurry inside and secure the gate. As for the ship, it appears to be covered in an oily substance, and you see barrels, casks, and lit lanterns covering the vast majority of deckspace. You also see almost a dozen soldiers lining the ship's rails, preparing to leap ashore as soon as they get close enough.
Hoping for answers, Skaar approaches the vessel. He holds one massive hand up in a sign of parley. "Hold your blades!"
You're promptly met by a barrage of javelins - with a pair of ballistae bolts thrown in for good measure.
Skaar grunts in surprise and anger as one of the grazing javelins manages to draws blood. "That's the only warning you're gunna get."
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The Unfailing Pillar thunders toward the bridge looming over the approaching vessel. With a booming roar, he leaps off its edge. The big orc falls like a boulder at first but slows his fall with a burst of telekinetic force just strong enough to stick a graceful landing.
You land solidly on the deck of the ship with a *thud* - much to the surprise of its occupants. The deck is covered with large casks that smell strongly of oil, and you see lit lanterns hanging from each of the ballistae. The boat's ten occupants draw battleaxes and heavy flails before carefully stepping toward you. The boat, meanwhile, continues to sail directly toward the defenders' position with no sign of slowing down.
In a rush of motion, Skaar slams a shoulder into one of the warriors before spinning to smash his fist into another.
Your shove sends one of the soldiers off the side of the boat as your follow-up punch smashes another in the head. The rest rush in, seeking to overwhelm you through sheer weight of numbers.
At the same time, a nearby rope attempts to wrap itself around your ankles and bring you to the ground.
The assorted blows are fended off or bounce off the Unfailing Pillar's divine wards and iron-like flesh.
He slips free from the enchanted rope and quickly resumes his pummeling assault.
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You casually heave another warrior over the side of the boat as it continues to sail closer to the defenders' position. It appears to be gaining speed.
Skaar continues to evade the weapons and ropes of his attackers. "Submit and explain yourselves!"
You easily knock another warrior overboard, but a new threat is becoming apparent. The ship is moments away from colliding with the gatehouse ahead, and if the oily smell coming from the barrels littering the deck is any indication, things are about to get very hot.
Mass Liquid Generation
You may create water even if you do not possess Expanded Materials: Classic Substances.
When attempting to create a liquid, you can treat 5 cubic ft. as a Small object. By spending an additional spell point when using create to fill an area with a non-harmful liquid, you may instead treat a full 5-ft. cube (125 cubic ft.) as a Small object.
The Unfailing Pillar glances at the looming gatehouse and then back at his opponents. His coarse features rapidly flatten into a dark expression. ”I came to you looking for information and you greeted me with arrows and blades. Do not assume my open-handed blows are some kinda weakness. My wrath has sundered mountains. My might is like the ocean.”
The big orc slams his fist into the deck of the ship. The crack of timber from the blow is accompanied by a crack of thunder and deluge of water that washes across the deck of the ship.
The warriors onboard had no time to react as a tidal wave swept them off their feet and over the side of the boat. From the stern, you hear a grunt of surprise as (evidently) an invisible creature is also washed overboard. The lashings on the barrels hold, but every surface is thoroughly doused. There's no danger of an explosion now - especially since the frigid temperature is rapidly freezing everything onboard.
Satisfied with the outcome of his battle but still lacking for information, Skaar leaps from the deck of the ship onto the defenders’ battlements.
You make a rather impressive leap onto the battlements, making quite the impression. The half-dozen defenders (who had been in the middle of fleeing the oncoming fireboat) turn in surprise as you land.
"The ship with the fiery oil has been dealt with. Now will someone tell me what in the Nine Hells is goin' on here?" the Unfailing Pillar roars in frustration at the defends.
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"Isn't it obvious? We're under attack! You picked a hell of a time to visit, stranger. The Hungering Legion's out in force, and I don't know how long we'll be able to hold against them."
"You can explain who the Hungering Legion is after we've beaten them back. Where's the fightin' the fiercest? I'll buy you whatever time you need to organize your forces."
The warriors nod and begin to escort you through the city. Cold, glacial wind whistles through the streets, occasionally punctuated by the muffled impact of a distant catapult or faint rumble that sounds like thunder. The buildings here are constructed mostly of ice, their rooftops and structures nicely sculpted with gables and spouts, each facing wall showing scenes of merchants, ships, and animals like mammoths, reindeer, or whooly rhinos.
There are no signs of activity, and other than distant shouts or the howling wind, it's eerily quiet. Here and there, you notice avenues are blocked by makeshift walls of debris and wagon parts, but no guards are immediately apparent.
Continuing deeper into the city, you come to a plaza occupied by several vast, squat structures composed of a small rectangular construction connected to a much bigger, taller partner. Heavy stone blocks form the walls of each building , each larger one capped in an arching dome of translucent ice. Suddenly, there is a shout, and a human woman bolts from one of the lesser buildings. She clutches something to her chest and runs with a panicked fervor.
Spotting the panicked woman, Skaar flags her down. "Hold on there! What's the rush? Are you headed to the front lines?"
There is a rumble of something large in motion, the thunder of a hundred feet, and then the building so recently exited by the woman explodes outward - throwing shards of stone and blasting a huge rent in the wall. Steam pours out into the sleet, and an enormous creature sways sinuously in the gash of broken masonry. On uncounted legs it rushes forward to attack the woman, who looks to you with desperate eyes. "Help!" she shouts. "Please! Help!" She stumbles a bit, trying to turn in your direction.
Finding the danger posed by the remorhaz to be a higher priority than his answers at the moment, Skaar charges into the fray to shield the woman from harm. He closes as much as he can before channeling a barrier large enough to shield her from harm. He eyes the rampaging remorhaz warily.
"This won't hold it for long!" he growls. "Get clear and I'll deal with the beast."
The remorhaz' jaws shatter your ward almost instantly, but the momentary slowdown is sufficient for the woman to duck behind you. The beast glares balefully at you, and you feel the surrounding temperature begin to rise.
Wary of the rising heat, Skaar's divine will shapes a ward against flames.
Still reacting in primal anger, the remorhaz charges directly toward you, teeth first.
The beast snaps at the Unfailing Pillar but fails to get a good grip on his massive shoulder.
The big orc wrenches free and releases a held breath, growing to a size more befitting his divine stature.
Before the remorhaz can strike again, Skaar balls his huge fists together and smashes its maw with a massive hammerblow. He follows with a punishing headbutt.
You pummel the remorhaz, but it'll take more than a single blow to fell a creature this large. It retaliates by trying to close its teeth around your forearm.
The remorhaz proves a canny opponent and manages to grab a hold of the Unfailing Pillar's thickly muscled forearm.
Skaar wrenches the bloodied limb free and smashes into the beast again.
Your strike narrowly misses the beast. It retaliates by attempting to grab you and fling you across the plaza!
Remorhaz: 56pts damage
The beast leaves the Unfailing Pillar bloodied but he manages to find his feet before it can launch him away. With a roar he slams into it again.
Your slam catches the beast off guard, and your follow-up blow downs it.
Skaar spits out a mouthful of blood and gives the beast a final kick before turning to address the fleeing woman.
"You in one piece?" he rumbles.
"Yes, thanks to you! The nursery was breached during the attack, and I wasn't able to put that one to sleep in time."
"You raise those critters? Consider me impressed" Skaar says in disbelief.
"But you can thank me later. Can you get yourself someplace safe in the meantime? This 'Hungering Legion' isn't done with yet."