GM Boldr's PFS 6-18 High-Tier (4-5) From Under Ice (Inactive)

Game Master MisterSlanky

"Can't hurt to give it a try. I agree start with just a little bit and see what it does. How did that stuff work again?" Rose asks. She shivers slightly, but not nearly as much as Amhranai is.

Untir looks in concern Amhranai's violent shivering and chattering of teeth. I should have gotten more of the scrolls. "Yes, but let's try to move fast. We have to move them out of this blistering cold wind quickly." He moves near her, getting ready to provide some healing as soon as her shivering stablises.

This might help decide what to do next.

This pliant black clay is always pleasantly warm to the touch. Working blackfire clay in your hands for a full round causes the clay to grow much warmer, granting you a +4 alchemical bonus on saving throws made to resist cold weather. You can combine five blocks of clay over the course of a minute to produce a source of warmth equivalent to a small campfire, allowing you to heat a campsite and cook food.

Blackfire clay only produces heat, never light, smoke, or odor. The clay emits warmth for 1 hour before hardening into an unusable lump. A newly created brick of blackfire clay is composed of 10 blocks.

Wondering how the others plan to have the clay rest against the wall, Skødir grabs the pickaxe off the mule and begins chipping away at the ice wall, intending to make a hole deep enough to fit a block of the clay.

Lenora begins going through their supplies as Skodir starts work to consider how much of the blackfire clay they have versus how much it might take to get through. How much blackfire clay do we have again? They said it would be plenty, right?

I think we have ten blocks.

"Thank you, good Skodir. That is good thinking. The rest of us, let's get the clay ready. As soon as Skodir is done, we can apply it to the wall."

"Why don't we let Amhrinai work the first block of clay. It should help warm her up." She moves up and helps Skodir by moving the chipped pieces of ice away from the block. "I can take a turn with the pick when you get tired."

Skødir keeps working at the wall, making another indent for a second block of clay. He's not really planning it, so much as he's thinking one on the right half and one on the left half. He'll give the others a nod of approval.

With the tree-singer shivering, he'll recommend she take the next set of ice-picking.

"If you keep moving it's not so cold."

Skødir begins hacking away at the wall and makes two small niches after about thirty minutes of continued picking. He estimates that the wall itself could take days of arduous work to make it through. During this time the chill continues to pierce the three that did not bring along protection from the elements.

Amhranai Damage = 5 non-lethal
Crann Damage = 9 non-lethal
Donkey Damage = 5 non-lethal

After quickly admiring his handiwork, Skødir shoves one block into "righty" and the other into "lefty" and lights them on fire. The warmth quickly heats up the immediate area, providing the frostbitten a moment of respite. It only takes a few moments though for Skødir to realize that the two blocks are much too slow to melt away the wall with any real capability and that entire cache of clay is likely required to have the wall melted by nighfall.

I'll try to get in an early one tomorrow, so hopefully that's enough time to deal a little with Amhranai and Crann.

Amhranai begins working the other bricks of clay. As she plies them in her hands she feels the heat begin to release from clay, warmth tingling back into her fingers.

She begins to work the kneaded clay into a large pile on the wall with the other bricks, and moves to put one brick's worth of malleable clay onto Crann, before pausing and looking at the group expectantly, as if awaiting approval.

Amhranai begins molding a block of clay as the wall melts behind her. While hovering over Crann, a small hole begins to appear to the tunnel beyond.

A ghostly white wolf appears from nowhere among the northern drifts; only a small divot betrays that he has been buried there in ambush. Teeth bared he snarls at the group, "My name is Rigroy, envoy to Baroness Urgalaena. You will hand over Uliyara to me now, or you will feel her, and my, wrath." He is splitting his look between Skødir and Haltani as he speaks.

Please keep your tag lines up to date with current HP, thanks!

Crann is unconscious from Nonlethal damage...

Crann only has 9 damage, not 14.

"I don't know who or what Uliyara is. I also don't know who this Baroness is. Why are you asking us for something we don't have?" Rose huffs It's cold and now we have to deal with a talking wolf.

Does this wolf look familiar? Possibly like the one we saw along the banks?

Lenora starts in surprise at the wolf's sudden appearance. "I'm with my friend here - who is this Uliyara you're speaking of?" she asks. "Threats or not, we can't exactly help you if we don't know what you're talking about." Really, a talking wolf? Mattias is going to love this!

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

"Uliyara? Who the f~$+ is that?"

While keeping his hands clearly away from his weapons, Untir moves away slowly and nonthreateningly from the group so to spread further apart. He speaks in a measured tone as he does so, "What my comrade is saying, what we are all saying, is that we can't very well hand over someone who is a complete stranger to us. Perhaps your source of information is mistaken?"

diplomacy, aid Lenora: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

The wolf growls and points his nose at Haltani, "That is who I seek. Don't pretend you don't know. Enough of your honeyed words, hand her over. "

Haltani shifts uncomfortably.

Lenora is sure she made an impassioned plea, yet the wolf really doesn't seem to care.

Untir ninjaed me. The moment he begins the move the wolf attacks. I'll deal with it later.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Untir has been moved back to his starting spot but with the 5-foot step that started this.

The wolf growls as Untir moves, "If you will not give me Uliyara, then my pack will tear you limb from limb. The time for discussion is over."

Skødir, always the pessimist, appears to be the only one that was ready for this inevitability.

Skødir may go.

Skødir, ever itching for a scrap, steps forward and draws his swords.

It looks like the square to the north of me would be squeezing? Trying to draw this thing into an easy flank for the others.

As Skødir moves forward the wolf eyes him suspiciously. He raises his head in a howl before moving slightly to the right. He appears to be waiting for something. Readied Action.

Untir and Rose may go.

Untir takes a quick glance at Haltani, but quickly turns his attention back at the wolf. We'll sort this out later.

Knowing he is not a combatant, Untir moves and spreads out, drawing a wand as he does so. He activates the wand, calling upon divine blessing on the party.

Activate wand of bless. Hope it's ok I moved him out of the map.

No problems with the map. Rose, Amhranai, Crann, and Lenora may go.

Lenora frowns and pulls out her light crossbow, most certainly curious about this new turn of events. She slips a bolt into it, having removed the one from earlier - she hadn't wanted to ruin the spring, after all.

Draw weapon, load weapon & 5-ft step.

Rose draws her rapier while moving to stand in front of Haltani/Uliyara and waits for an attack to come. "If she is this person, we still wouldn't hand her over. She's our ally."

"Move up, and attack it if it gets any closer"

Handle Animal, DC 10, +4 Animal Companion: 1d20 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 + 4 = 22

That was a Move Action

Then Amhranai will 5-footstep into the space Crann was in and draw her shortbow.

Crann moves towards the animal, and stands poised for an attack.

Move 30 ft. Readied action to attack the wolf with a slam when it gets in range.

Skodir may go.

Skødir decides to make his own flank and moves 40' around the boulder/ice-chunk/kajigger, moving up on his foe. His eyes bristle with fury.

move 40', rage free, standard attack
bsword: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
dmg: 1d10 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

Feeling the biting blade, the wolf howls in pain. He turns to withdraw from combat entirely, fleeing as fast as his wolf-legs will take him. As he flees, the party can hear him howling and the sound echos across the icy chasms.

Yup, combat over!

In the meantime the blackfire clay continued to do its job, opening a yawning portal into the side of the cliff face. Beyond lies an intricate gilded stonework entrance with a complex marble mosaic which paves the floor. Arrow slits flank both the north and south sides of the hall, but the north side has collapsed and is choked with rubble. On the eastern end of the hall lies two ten-foot marble statues of armored dwarves flanking a fresco depcting an opulent throne room. The faces of the statues of have been broken off.

"What was that about Haltani or is it Uliyara?" Rose asks. Her tone makes it clear she's asking for clarification and not in accusation.

She enters the room carefully, and looks around.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Image to the side of the map on slide #4.

Haltani takes off her winter hat. As she does so her visage changes from the rougher Valkari to a beautiful blonde woman. Her thick winter furs also begin to change into a more opulent finery. She looks to the ground, as if embarrassed. "I am terribly sorry for the ruse," she admits. "Please forgive me."

Looking to everybody she straightens and introduces herself, "I am Uliyara, daughter to Baroness Nadya, the White Witch of Dalun and heir to her throne. Not a very good heir I might add. At least that's what my mother would like to regularly remind me. I knew my aunt Urgalaena was wicked, but I did not know she had identified my assumed persona. For that, and the fact it put you in danger, I am deeply sorry."

She gives a slight smile before continuing. "This is not her first attempt at kidnapping me and using me as political leverage. My mother sent me to Whiterook to open trade with the Ulfens. We know that people do not trust the Jadwiga but I had negotiated a meeting with their leader. All was going well, but my aunt sent raiders to instigate a border skirmish at the gate the moment we approached. Assuming the worst the Ulfen defended themselves and both my guards, and the city watch were slaughtered. I barely escaped with my life."

Giving a pause, she continues, "I truly did not mean to put you in danger. I merely wished to prove to my mother that I can be entrusted with what is my legacy. She knows we need to make peace with our neighbors and open trade for both our people to flourish. When that mission failed, I thought perhaps I could find more luck in Kalsgard. When I heard Bennary needed a skilled guide for this trek, I saw it as an opportunity for both of us. I would be able to return home with what my mother wanted, and I could also help you find what you came here for. Again, I did not mean to catch you up in something larger."

She pauses a minute before looking down the tunnel, clearly hoping for forgiveness. "But we are here for a reason are we not? And it appears the tunnel is open?"

Lenora shrugs off the deceit. As far as she's concerned, this is a story not unlike the dramatic books and plays that she'd read and seen, far beyond the strange things that even Mattias had told her about.

"I know I don't speak for everyone," she points out, removing the bolt and putting both the bolt and crossbow away, "But you haven't done any harm to me. In the knowing, we can better prepare, but I understand that you also had to protect yourself and your own." Lenora smiles at Halta-- Ah, no. It's Uliyara now.

"Should we keep up the deceit in town?" she asks, curious as she begins eyeballing what lies beyond the small hole they've made.

Double checking - we've used all of the blackfire clay?

Haltani nods in thanks, "You should not worry about town, we have bigger things to deal with. Like your ruins here."

Unless you wanted to wait for days picking at the ice, melting the wall required all the clay.

Just wanted to double check! c:

Lenora nods at the reminder, "Fair enough! Let's get going, shall we?" She moves past the now somewhat slippery ice to see what lies beyond.

Rose shrugs "So far your deception hasn't harmed me. The wolf ran quickly enough. I have no problem with continuing. It's not as if you betrayed us. You still intend to complete the mission so let's go." She moves forward with her rapier at the ready.

Skødir doesn't look too happy. In other news, water continues to be wet. He sheathes his gladius before walking over to the others, cleaning the blood from his bastard sword as he trudges along.

"It's not every day a witch's dishonesty works out in your favor," he comments, making brief eye contact with Uliyara before sticking his sword into the snow, "but I'm not one to question luck."

In the effort to open the mouth of the cave, he will also suggest building some sort of fire to keep the "southerners" and the mule warm.

When the cave is opened, he'll pick up his sword and request a torch from Lenora, which, if given, he'll light and hold in his off hand.

Sorry for the delay. Work was bad today.

Untir is similarly troubled by the deception, staring at Haltani ... Uliyara for a while. Eventually, however, his features softens. "Much as I did not like being deceived, I understand the necessity of it in this case. And I am encouraged that you have eventually decided to trust us, even if prodded by external circumstances. I hope there is nothing further?"

sense motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Assuming nothing
Before entering the cave, Untir draws a couple of wands out. The first he activates on himself immediately, while the other take slightly longer before he figures it out.

activate wand of heightened awareness and UMD wand of longstrider. In combat, he'll dismiss heightened awareness to get +4 init bonus.

He then walks over to Skodir. "You are our main frontliner and we cannot afford for you to go down." That said, Untir starts calling on the power of his ancestral spirits, drawing on their divine power to lay protection on Skodir. The first thickens his hide to the hardness of tree bark, while the second surrounds him with a force that protects against unnatural coldness.

cast barkskin (+2 nat AC, 30min) and resist energy (cold 10, 30 min) on Skodir.

Untir gets a nod from the Ulfen.

This guy gets it.

"Of course," Lenora nods, passing her torch over for the Ulfen to handle. Crossing it off my sheet. c:

"Hey I'm the one who almost died last time. No good stuff for me?" Rose pouts at Untir, and Lenora. Then she grins and slips behind Skodir in the marching order.

Just being a young hafling here.

Chuckling, Lenora gives the halfling a quick grin, teasing, "You only get good stuff if you don't go half-dying!"

To Rose: "You're alive, aren't you?"

Skødir lights the torch and heads into the ruin, hoping to get as far away from Lenora's nausea-inducing "joke" as humanly possible.

Untir grins to himself as he activates his wayfinder, following behind the group.

"Yeah but I wouldn't have been half dead if I'd been given the good stuff in the first place." Rose points out with what she considers unarguable logic. Well unarguable logic to a halfling, but that's what matters, right?

"Fair enough," Lenora acknowledges cheekily, "But you gotta stick close all the same, eh?" She gives a stretch. "Just you wait - we'll find something on our way and it'll save both of our hides! That's how the stories usually go, anyways, right?"

Ice covers the floor, creating difficult terrain throughout the hallways as the party begins their journey into the dark.

With Haltani bringing up the rear with the donkey the group ventures forward. At the intersection with the statues, Lenora and Untir quickly notice a hidden switch. Pulling the handle behind one of the statues, a stone door slides open to the north revealing a collapsed guardroom. Though generally empty, an ivory-handled heavy crossbow and a masterwork steel shield (neither radiating magic) are found atop the rubble.

Continuing to the south, the room opens into a vast chamber. Thousands of icicles cover the ceiling of this spherical room. The outside edge forms a perfect circular curve, cutting into stone without mark of chisel or tool, impossibly smooth. Only places where ice flows over stone, or where the structures have collapsed, mar its perfect precision. The remains of workshops and living spaces, still furnished, peak through the holes in the spherical void. At the southern and western edges of the cavern, large portions of the stone and ice have collapsed, cutting into the immense void with piles of rubble.

Three doors can be seen to the east.

Untir whispers softly to the party. "Let's start with the one in the north and work ourselves around?" If there are no objections, he first examines the door to make sure there are no traps before gesturing to Skodir to proceed.

perception, heightened awareness: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 13 + 2 = 17

Untir finds no traps in the hallway's end.

"The door to the north works for me." Rose moves along carefully. What a pretty place. It would have been amazing with all the dwaves living here. My Da wouldn't believe the things I'm seeing."