When day breaks you rise and begin to prepare. The nights rest was rejuvenating but also leaves you stiff with the ache of muscles overused the prior day. Despite this you waste no time in packing the sleds under the watchful eye of Nadyas boys who are perhaps nut unsurprisingly skilled at such tasks. While you do Nadya once again heads into town and aquires travel supplies and makes her goodbyes to select members of the community.
Finally ready you all set out northward to the sound of excited sled dogs. The morning passes without incident and you make good time traveling along the edge of the Hoarwood forest. Beyond it great open plains of snow stretch out to hazy horizon. Snow falls on and off but none of great consequence.
After a brief break for lunch you continue. The miles of walking begin to take their toll as the day grows later. You notice that the boys, so energetic at the start, are spending more and more time on the sleds. Nadya pushes on with the endurance of one who makes such treks regularly however and you note with a bit of pride that your own frames have also begun to acclimate to such trials.
Natasha stops for a moment huffing a bit "Perhaps we can make room on a sled for me? I'm not used to such treks." Noticing the crows once again she shakes her head "This isn't normal for the birds to be gathered and following us so."
Natasha's warning draws all your eyes to the skies. Above you the ravens flight becomes more frantic, the birds beginning to mass and swarm as they start to descend in two large groups.
Cyrus eyes the gathering murder of crows warily, his bow held tightly in his hand. "You're right. This is by no stretch of the imagination natural, nor is our first encounter with a murder of crows. They are favored messenger birds for the Jadwiga, are they not? We fought one off when we first arrived in Irrisen. Keep your fire ready, Kobad. You might soon need to use it."
Kobad keeps a weather eye toward the sky, watching the ravens, Kobad hears Cyrus's warning.
He nods his understanding, a slight shimmer of heat now surrounds him.
As the birds start to swarm toward them Natasha speaks some arcane words as a pale bluish white armor surrounds her and then vanishes moments later. Looking to the others she says "Spread out so they can't get more than one of us at a time. But stay close enough for your fire caster to catch them in one burst."
A low grumble issues from the large barbarian as he looks to the sky. "More crows," he murmurs to himself before looking to the witch as she speaks. Droguk then looks around for a spot to move to and does so as Natasha mentioned.
Cyrus takes a quick step to one side to heighten the distance between he and the others, though he is clearly unhappy about it.
"Orm! Mjoli! Hide by the sled, boys!" he calls to the children, taking a quick step to one side and readying his falchion, preparing himself for any attack by the birds.
Kobad moves to get some cover under the nearest tree, hopefully out of sight of the ravens.
"Tough, protect the children!" she says calmly while she steps forward, spread out like the biggunz said.
"Mother nature has once again seen fit to provide me with a hail of snowballs, should we need it. If I yell, you might want to duck."
As you all scatter the swarms begin to descend. Nadya draws her bow and calls to her boys, "Both of you on the sleds! Go!" They follow their mothers orders without question, each hopping onto a sled and setting them in motion. The dogs, already anxious about the birds and the chaos around them take off like a shot, Tough doing his best to keep up.
Seeing that they are safely off she draws and firs at one of the swarms.
The hasty shot flies wide.
With little more time than that the birds are among you. One of the swarms banks and heads for the archer while the other flies about Droguk.
Nadya cries out in pain, dropping her bow and covering her face as the birds scratch and peck at her eyes.
With a roar, Cyrus dashes forward, thankful for the new footwear he has acquired; makes it much easier to move in the snow pack! Unfortunately, a swarm of birds isn't something you can really "target," so what he ends up doing is jumping into the middle of them, slashing to and fro with his sword, trying to distract them from Nadya and keep them from harassing her further.
Unable to keep the crows at bay, Droguk pays for his inability to do so as blood pours freely from his eyes. "DO NOT COME NEAR ME!" he yells as he swings his sword wildly at the birds around him.
Missing everything but the snow on the ground, Droguk finds himself at a grave disadvantage.
"Kobad! Bring the heat!" Cyrus calls out.
Droguk turns a listening ear toward Cyrus as the birds swarm him relentlessly. Coming to the conclusion that's probably the best way to get rid of them, "Yes, Fireborn! Let them burn!"
Cyrus advances on the swarm surrounding Nadya and swings recklessly at the swirling mass of birds. Though not as effective as it might be against a more singular foe his ferocity does have results.
Engulfed in the other swarm Droguk finds himself in similar circumstances to Nadya as the birds leave blood flowing from his injured eyes.
Natasha shouts at Nadya "Move out of the way!" as she pulls out the Icicle wand from her wrist sheath, waiting for the woman to move.
Need to get him some protection from energy (fire)
Nadya covers her face as best she can and attempts to get clear of the swarm.
Her path takes her due South and clear of the birds.
Kobad emerges from hiding, seeing that the birds have chosen to remain, and not simply bypass the group.
as he moves in the heat surrounding him concentrates on his hands and with a wave of his hands a fan of flame washes over the group of birds.
stopping just short of hitting his companions on the other side.
Natasha flicks the wand at the birds in front of her as two large spears of ice brust out of the ground.
Natasza looks at Tough who runs after the carts with the lads on them.
Good boy. Keep 'em safe, and I will make sure none of these can harm your eyes.
She then walks up to Droguk, thanking Mother Nature once again for her slightly longer stride, and starts casting a spell that will chill the birds to icicles.
"Scarred One, don't swing too much to your left. I am behind you, and the sound you hear will not harm you but will wear down a lot of these crows. Are you hurt?"
Kobad and Natasha combine fire and ice to utterly erraticate one of the flocks of birds. Natasza seriously damages the other which swirls and flies off heading northwest.
In the aftermath the stink of burned feathers floats on the wind and two of your companions grip their faces, blood flowing freely from beneath their hands.
Natasza looks at Tough who runs after the carts with the lads on them.
Good boy. Keep 'em safe, and I will make sure none of these can harm your eyes.
She then walks up to Droguk, thanking Mother Nature once again for her slightly longer stride, and starts casting a spell that will chill the birds to icicles.
"Scarred One, don't swing too much to your left. I am behind you, and the sound you hear will not harm you but will wear down a lot of these crows. Are you hurt?"
As he hears the sound of feathers fleeing in the distance, he turns an ear towards Natasza, his eyes closed as streaks of blood run from his eyes and down his cheeks as if they were tears. "The birds have torn my eyes. I cannot see," he responds, standing perfectly still as if he's afraid to move.
As the remaining crows flee she moves to Droguk to get a better look at the extend of the injuries "Let me see."
He turns in the direction of the witch's voice, and while he finds it difficult to open his eyes, he does his best to comply. "Can they be healed?" he asks stoically.
Natasha spends some time washing out Droguks eyes and applying some unguents and herbal concoctions. After her ministrations are complete his vision begins to clear though new scars have been added to his collection.
Natasha moves to Nadya attempting to heal her affliction as well.
Natasha spends some time on Nadya as well. The effort is more difficult but eventually she manages to return the rangers sight as well.
"Thanks you." Nadya says as she blinks away the last of the shadows from her eyes. "We should get moving. Ravens are often scouts for their dark masters."
Natasha nods in agreement, ready to continue on.
Nodding to the witch, "You have my thanks." Opening and closing his eyes a few times to help clear his vision, "Yes, time to move. Let us gather the others and continue on." Droguk then follows the dogsled trails to where the others are.
After beingcertain thatNadya and Droguk both have their sight restored to them, he moved on to check on the ones hiding by the sleds. "Orm? Mjoli? You boys alright?" Cyrus asks, checking to make sure both of children are in fair enough shape to continue forward.
After confirming it, Cyrus expresses his agreement that they should move on with all haste.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Kobad took some time examining the remains of the ravens that were killed already, as the others were tended to.
he then makes ready to leave. it won't be long before they catch up. we should move.
Pushing on you continue without incident until the sun is low in the sky. Nadya begins looking for a suitable campsite and soon finds an acceptable location. When you finally stop you're all tired and, with the end of your exertions and the fading light, the cold begins to creep in.
The night passes without incident as does the following day. The weather begins with a bit of sun but soon the clouds begin to roll in and soon a light snow is falling. This trek is both like and unlike your march through the Border Wood. In both cases the snow and cold are constant companions but there you were surrounded by trees and hills. Here the land is more open only the rise of the land and occasional corpse of trees providing cover.
It is near one such small wood that Nadya calls for a stop for the night. Tired legs welcome the rest and even the energetic sled dogs seem ready for the nights recovery. Taking time to make camp Orm head off to collect wood while his brother sees to the dogs and Nadya sets up their tent. The rest of you begin your own preparations and soon a comfortable camp forms.