"He's alive!!" Chiquq shouts, caring about nothing else in this moment. "--all of them are!"
She barely notices Jairess's return, too busy trying to think what to do. "Fire, we need fire-- I have to melt the ice holding them, then take out the spears, carefully-- they may need healing as I go--"
Chiquq looks around the room frantically, trying to find things she can burn.
As Orik is checking for signs of life, and finding none, Yrja approaches him. "I... he was..." and he pales in response to her fury, but composes himself, and wraps his arm around her as she is flailing against him. "I know, I'm sorry." But when Chiquq determines that they may yet live, he approaches the hanging foes, and quickly summoning healing magic says, "I don't know if we can remove these spears or free them without healing first - so I intend to do just that."
He turns to Ogon and Chiquq, "Chiquq, Ogon can make fire - out of thin air, maybe we can use that? Otherwise, I have a tindertwig we can use to start a fire, if you want."
Orik shoots a glance in her direction while he heals the former companions. "Yeah, we did it. As I said - we are dangerous. I'm glad you found a new bird, but would you help me heal these people, please?"
He turns his head to the bird, and says "Hello bird, yes, I look pretty bad - but to be fair, I always look like I crawled out of a sewer so I'm not sure how this is worse."
The quick succession of events leaves Yrja reeling. First the manifestations of support and compassion from her companions, some of them met only scant hours earlier. The kind words, Ogon's gentle touch and Orik's hug cause her to burst into even more tears.
Her vision blurred, she doesn't notice at first that Jaires has returned, and the bird on her shoulder, one who is intimately familiar to her. The news that the three yet live occupy all her attention as she scrambles up off the icy floor and towards the wall, pulling off her dagger and furiously chipping at the ice around Imendri.
Pyewacket's familiar voice distracts her and she whirls, eyes going wide. "Pye! What are you doing here? Is Mahb here as well?"
"Erk. Wark. Kellid. You, ugly half-orc. They can't be healed. Cursed, like Mahb. Makes 'em winter-touched."
Pyewacket bobs its head at Yrja, the closest thing to a friendly hello.
Jairess spreads her hands. "The raven said they have to go back to...Healdren. Heldren. I can take them. I need to run anyhow. We need to get them down--"--she walks forward to help Yrja, keeping her hands careful--"But if you pull out the icicle, it will kill them. They need strong healing." . She shakes her head. "Beyond mine, I'm afraid, but I know what kind of person to look for. So does this raven's mistress. Apparently she was curs't as well, for a time."
Dez stands at Chiquq's alert and studies the frozen companions more carefully and how they are held to the wall, and then gives Jairess his full attention when she arrives with the ravens.
To Pyewacket:"Hello, bird. I'm glad you live. Give our regards to Mahb."
He then turns to Jairess: "You, who spied for Radovan, bear some responsibility for our friends' conditions. You must use all your magic to help us and you must speak plainly. Who is it we are to seek? And how will our companions stay safe in the meantime? We can't leave them there."
Jairess looks a bit exasperatedly at the tiefling. "Radosek. And I said they can't be healed--I have to take them with me to a more powerful cleric that Mahb found, from somewhere else in your blasted Taldor. I'll take a dogsled. [i]And I'll send that stupid trolless out on a mission before I leave, fair? I'll help you carry your friends down."
Dez ignores her exasperation. ”Sounds fine to me.”
He leaves others to deal with them, since he is neither strong nor gifted in the healing arts. He proceeds to search around Radovan’s remains for anything of value He then moves from there to searching the room. He searches for the full time the others are dealing with their friends, so that probably leaves time for a pretty thorough search. In addition to valuables he is searching for hidden compartments or hidden doors.
I suspect we don’t have any other choice Jairess, so please help save these folks. For my part, I just met everyone, so I am reluctant to make the decision.”
”That said, was there any other mission y’all needed to complete? We should get to it before Radosek’s minions find us. The black rider seemed to think we had a lot to do - I’m on board now, for better or worse, but fill me in on why folks like you are talking about Taldor? What’s going on? You all seem to be from these frigid areas - how did you get all the way down there and back to here? I’m missing something” Orik says as he strips Radosek’s pieces of the loot and tosses the lot of it into his satchel.
Just about everything Radosek has radiates magic: an amulet, two potions, the icicle wand, a scroll, his cloak, and that cauldron over in the corner. There remain a few unexplored doors.
"Winter-touched? Can't be healed?" Yrja turns to look at the people pinned to the wall, her eyes wide with concern, then turns back to Jairess. "Please help them! Take them to this cleric, whoever they are! What do you need? Gold? Provisions? Magic?"
The young witch starts rummaging in her pack, pulling out items and offering them to Jairess. She moves to stop Orik from putting Radosek's items into his satchel. "Wait, we don't know what those do! Can't you feel the magic on them? So strong! What if they're cursed?"
The amulet is an Amulet of Natural Armor +1.
The potion is a cure moderate wounds potion; the other is a mystery!
The wand is an Icicle Wand with 42 charges remaining.
The scroll one of Animate Objects.
The cloak is a Cloak of Resistance +1.
The cauldron, rascally object, is a Cauldron of Overwhelming Allies. Note that it weighs 5 lbs.
"I just need haste. Let's carry them downstairs...hang on...I think Radosek had another teleporter in the back room." Jairess pokes her head in the room near the cauldron. "Yes, one back here."
Jairess smirks at Orik. "They're from Taldor. Winter portals are opening up in places. Everyone up here is evil or oppressed. Women get a raw deal even in a matriarchy. We need to save these half dead winter touched poor souls here. Does that cover it?"
She kicks Radosek in a tender spot he can no longer feel, her eyes looking triumphant and welling up at the same time.
Dez tries to identify the other potion (which he can do with alchemy ability):
Chiquq wordlessly helps to carry the injured, her eyes wide in her face with a sort of desperation over the fates of her kinsman and their other friends.
"Jairess tells... the truth, more or less," she answers Orik shortly, distracted with trying to manhandle Imendri's bulky body. "Magical portals... it is a long story, but we can tell it to you when we are out of this damned tower."
Respectfully, Jairess, as we work to move our friends to safety, I would very much like to hear your understanding of what is happening. We are aware of the unusual winter and of at least one portal, but we don't know what is causing it, or where to go next to continue our investigation. Anything you could tell us would be of great help."
Dez also tries to identify mystery potions #1 and #2 in our inventory:
The recent mystery potion is another cure moderate wounds potion.
"I don't know much about the plans, er, Ser Tiefling; I do know that Radosek and Nazhena have been using this portal as a test to create more. I don't know if there are more, but I don't think so." Jairess looks at the summoning circle. "This is the circle used to create the portal. I can get to the portal and take your friends through to Mahb. When I reach the portal, I'll send ravens back here to let you know it can be closed. From there..."
Nadya nods. "From there, we must go to Whitethrone. That's where Nazhena is, isn't she."
Jairess lowers her head, fearfully. "She is a monster. She'll know something happened at the Tower."
Nadya simply crosses her arms. "I'll come with you all to Whitethrone. I have to move my family now, or they'll be slain in Waldsby within the week." Jairess does not correct her; she knows the wrath of the Jadwiga well.
The almost-corpses of Caelum, Imendri, and Braegan are rather easy to slide across the floor over to the door to Nazhena's bedroom. Jairess makes to open the door and turns to the heroes.
"Radosek has his own rooms here--there may be something of value. And..." She pauses.
"Once I go through the portal and send word for you to close it...you'll be stuck here in Irrisen. To my understanding, Taldor is a thousand miles to the south." . She looks at you all carefully with wide sylph eyes.
You feel a whisper of the Black Rider's compulsion on you, like a dark wind in the guts, telling you that Whitethrone beckons.
Dezső carefully takes in all the details with a look of grim determination. As Jairess prepares to depart, he says, "Thank you for the information and for helping our friends. I wish you luck and better choice of employers in the future. We will await your ravens telling us we can close this portal, but how do we do that? How do we close the portal?"
"I assumed we were stuck here from the first," Chiquq says laconically to Jairess's warnings. She stops to crouch by Imendri and touch his frozen cheek. "Go well, kinsman."
Jairess shrugs. "Radosek was a note-taker. There must be something in his writings and all those books on the shelves." There is indeed a great deal of arcane paraphernalia in this room.
"For my part, I'd hardly do well in Taldor, so I'd just as soon get stuck here where we can crack a few of these dirtbag's skulls." He nods appreciatively at Jairess. "Thanks for your help in this, sorry again about your birds."
Orik says to Nadya, "My swordarm is yours; I will protect your family with my life. Don't know much about these witch-folk or jadwiga, but they seem human enough to me. We can beat them or die trying."
Finally, he turns to Dez, "Let's go loot that room for everything that isn't nailed down. If Sasha is still out in the woods, she can carry a ton of random stuff we could sell and it sounds like we're going to an actual city. Winterhome? Of course. You'd think they'd be more creative..."
Ogon roars, suddenly erupting in a huge burst of new flame.
Upon being reassured that the witch is not immediately available he (and the flames) calm down somewhat, enough at least to explain.
"Witch Nazhena destroyed my tribe. Trapped me in ice! Her heart is mine to eat and her body to burn!"
He looks truly fearsome as he declares this, and it appears obvious that he is going to do as he says, or perish in the attempt.
Yrja shrugs in resignation at Jairess's warning that they would be stuck here. She would have liked to see Mahb again, of course, but she knows the older witch would have wanted her to carry on with their task here. And besides, being here felt... right. She couldn't put her finger on it, but the place had a sense to it, almost like a half-forgotten scent. But every time she tried to capture it, it slipped away, as if taunting her.
"So. It is..." Whatever she was going to say is cut off by Ogon's roaring and she flinches away from the hobgoblin.
"Uh, I think I will help you search for... things. In that other room. Yes."
Dez shows little reaction to Ogon's outburst, simply commenting "I think you'll get your chance." He asks Jairess, "Does Nazhena have a room here in the tower as well? If so, there may be clues there or other items of use."
Otherwise, he bids her farewell as described above and proceeds to thoroughly search the rest of the rooms on the floor.
He also says to Yrja: "Once we have searched the floor, I think you and I will have to look through the books to figure out how to close this portal."
"Yes, she does," says Jairess. "I think this is it right here. I can see the ice teleporter." She steps back into the room she poked her face into. A large bed,wardrobe, reading desk, and bookshelf take up most of this circular bedroom. A carved ice statue of a striking, robed woman with an owl on her shoulder stands next to an alcove of crystalline tiles. To the south, a white curtain hangs in a doorway. The door behind it looks like thick ice and appears to be bolted shut.
"Gods, what a pompous ass she is," says Jairess. Nadya purses her lips and touches the ice sculpture, then draws her hand back with a hiss. It's magically cold ice, far colder than anything regular, probably similar to the winter-touched icicles in your friends, and even through winter gloves, it's horrible to the touch. And naturally, the sculpture is of Nazhena.
Together you load Imendri, Caelum and Braegan, like blocks of irregular ice, on to the teleporter in this room. "Do you have any messages you wish to send off to Heldren and Mahb?" says Jairess. "I expect I'll be staying there a while."
Nadya turns to Ogon after the frozen heroes are loaded. "I wonder, Ogon, if you can melt that thing. I mean, carefully, without bringing the Tower down on us. Or maybe we can throw it out a window."
Yrja doesn't detect magic in the main room save for the enormous ritual circle and the items that Radosek had, although Dez notes multiple alchemical items peeking out of the notes and papers and files.
In Nazhena's room, the teleporter exudes an aura, and behind the locked door she gets the hint of many, many auras.
"I will melt it!" Ogon replies, and sets to with a Will, melting his way through the door with his sword, before moving on to do the same thing to the statue. A task which he seems to enjoy a little too much...
While Ogon is busy destroying things in Nazhena's room, Dez checks out the other two doors. If he doesn't hear anything or find traps , he opens them as well, so the group knows what remains on this floor. He will ask Orik to join him, in case of trouble.
Orik says, ”Wait, Ogon, before we start burning and melting, let Dez and me search everything thoroughly, Radosek may have written something down about the dangers up here. We wouldn’t want to trigger a trap or cause the tower to collapse before we get all the valuables.”
Ogon growls at Orik's suggestion but desists, just long enough for the two men to search the area, before his flaming sword reappears and he continues his elemental work.
The two nonhumans check the door; no traps. Ogon merrily melts the door and after a good minute, it lays in chunks on the ground.
Several crates, urns, decanters, and storage boxes fill this smallroom. A mirrored vanity and chair sit next to the east window. An ice statue of a tall, imperious woman stands in the center of the room.
"Another one of Nazhena. Her ego truly is boundless," snorts Nadya.
Dez also does not find any traps at the other door, to Radosek's room.
Ogon continues with his merry vandalism, first melting the face off the statue and then carving it into very small ice chunks.
Yrja's first impulse is to check the mirror for magic.
She also eyes the statue with concern. "Do you think these statues have any... function?"
As Ogon steps into the room with the second Nazhena statue, a mouth appears on the statue's face. It intones the following in a ringing voice:
"“The uninvited shall wither and die like the frost-covered bloom. You should never have ventured here, and you’d do well to leave before my return."
Yrja can feel magic pulse and gather like a pustule ready to burst. Ogon, you see a sigil of some kind glow bright whitish-blue, and then the foul magic bursts, coating you like some sort of invisible slime.
Ogon growls loudly as he gets covered in foul witchcraft.
Ogon feels his hearty kineticist fortitude draining away like some sort of giant leech has sapped his energy.
"Ahh, Ogon, are you okay?"
Ogon growls, but even the sound is weaker than before and his flames are dim. "Witches curse! " He mutters. "No honor! Cowards!"
Although the insults make him feel better they do little to disguise the fact that he is clearly diminished somehow.
She had opened her mouth to warn the others as soon as she had felt the build-up of magic, but it was too late. What manner of curse was this? She doesn't dare ask Ogon what he feels, or even get close to him, the hobgoblin is probably not in a tolerant mood towards witches right now.
Dez whispers with Yrja in an effort to figure out what befell the hobgoblin:
[/ooc]30 with +2 from aid another from Yrja[/ooc]
Dez and Yrja, working together, determine that this was Bestow Curse. Whatever created the curse left an aura as well--one that is fading away.
”Ogon, let’s tread carefully, get what we need to I guess close these portals, do so, and get out of here with as much as we can carry. No more wanton destruction, in case the witch’s vanity is being protected.
"Your anger is well justified Ogon. That is a nasty curse that has been inflicted on you, very difficult to get rid of. But you are one of us now and I'm sure we will figure something out before we face Nazhena."
Dez will join Orik in scouring the rest of the floor, checking for traps along the way.
Regrettably (or blessedly?) the only trap was the spell that cursed Ogon.
You leave the remainder of the vault--pulsing with auras from magic stored in there, Yrja, for the other two rooms for the moment.
The northerly room is clearly Radosek's bedroom. A large bed, reading desk, padded chair, bookshelf, and storage chest furnish this long, angular room. Two windows provide ample light, and several paintings of slightly lascivious winter scenes hang on the wall.
Opening the chest, you can see that Radosek had some hidden fetishes--he has paintings, shockingly, of fall, spring, and summer landscapes. Very perverse for an Irriseni winter witch and consort of a Jadwiga noble. These are worth 500gp in all.
You've already looked at Nazhena's room, with a sculpture and the teleporter Jairess used to haul away your frozen friends. Astoundingly, there was no jewelry in there. Does Nazhena take it all with her? That stinks of magic, although there's no aura left. She must be a very jealous and possessive person.
The other room off to the west is empty, more like a spare bedroom. You find nothing of value within it, unless you feel like stealing pillows, or something.
Ogon shreds a couple of pillows, needing something to work out his frustration on!
"So, witch flees with her goods. Typical coward."
He seems extremely grumpy, which is understandable in the circumstances.
Also, Yrja casts detect magic everywhere she goes.
"These are pretty good paintings! I wonder why they are kept in this chest, instead of being displayed." Yrja spends a few moments admiring the less frigid landscapes and sighing. She gives the bed a wide berth, a slightly cramped expression on her face.
"Be fair, Ogon. Would you even want those goods, knowing they've been touched by a winter witch? Who knows what evil magic they may possess."
She heads towards the vault again. "I think this is safe now, we should look inside."