He nods, "Then, Noble Stag with the origin of old, I do believe that you have already met Ellowin." he motions with his hand and a smile, then looks to Kara "This lady here is Kara" he then claps Viktor on the back "Then there is Viktor and his friend, Arthorion." he gives Arthorion a respectful nod. "Then there is Narsius. All of whom I have only just recently met, but all of whom I credit with the saving of my life and I gladly bestow upon them the title of 'friend'. Now, Noble Stag, as far as our quest goes, the heart of it is this unnatural winter, but we are also seeking a missing person."
"In truth, I do not think that any of us have met this person whom we seek. She is part of the aristocracy and was traveling in this area when the winter hit. Thus, when we willingly volunteered to investigate this winter, we also volunteered to locate Lady Argenta. I don't know if what befell her is the same force that has caused this cold, but based on the fiends we encountered at the site where the lady was assailed, whatever attacked her quite possibly had a nefarious power to reanimate the dead. Therefore, even if this force has nothing to do with this winter, it is still a force worth nullifying."
Kara discretely points to Daevin, then she turns around on the pretense of looking into her backpack in order to mask the movement of her lips.
She whispers the following:
Ellowin, staying where she is, is not as trusting as everyone else seems to be, "Tell me, White Stag, from where do you come? I have never heard of local legends speak of you. Perhaps you could tell us more of yourself, so that we may know of the wonder before us?"
And that voice... it does not sound as if a creature such as this would speak in such a voice.
Kara continues to search in her backpack while her eyes once again turn blue. She waits a short moment, takes a swig from her waterskin, and turns back towards the stag.
Viktor's eyes open wide. "Old Deadeye is watching over us. It is an honor to meet a follower of Erastil such as yourself."
Ellowin glances at Viktor, "I wouldn't be too sure..." She then walks back to where Kara still stands, hopefully out of earshot of the beast and whispers to her, back still turned, pausing momentarily at the blue hue in Kara's eyes but deciding to ask anyways, "Is there some way to see if this thing is some sort of phantasm to deceive us? The fey are known to be fond of such things."
Kara speaks to the stag, before casting her spell. "Forgive me, graceful one, but we have been deceived by fey before, and I know they tend to use illusory magic. I intend to detect magic for such illusions. I hope you will not take this as an insult."
"Má tá tú Fey, tá tú aon rud a eagla ó dúinn chomh fada agus a léiríonn tú féin mar a tá tú go fírinneach."
Kara speaks an incantation and her eyes begin to glow blue.
Arthorion takes his hand to the sword's hilt, and watches with interest the stag's reaction to Kara's incantation.
Kara visibly relaxes before turning back to the group. "I'm sorry everyone... But I'm still not sure we could trust the stag. He left in a hurry once he new I was detecting magical auras."
"There was a magical aura about the stag. It left too quickly for me to identify it."
"Either it was truly the avatar of Erastil, which I doubt since it was too small and it spoke Taldane, or it was yet another fey trickery, which, considering the circumstances, I believe to be more likely. If it was an avatar, it wouldn't have left tracks..."
Ellowin searches the ground, looking for tracks left by the stag, and seeing if the direction the stag left corresponds with the direction they were traveling while following the tracks from before.
Viktor shakes his head with a grunt. "Perhaps a devout follower of Erastil at best, but not the avatar of him. I say we leave the beast be."
Ellowin nods, if for no other reason than to provoke the dwarf on his faith, "Perhaps. We shall leave it be, then, and continue our previous trail. I pray that it is not too late for Lady Argenta."
Rubbing her arms for warmth, Ellowin continues to follow the original tracks, trying to determine if they are getting fresher, older, or staying the same.
Ellowin's words make Arthorion curious about the humans' devotion to this rescue. As they walk, he takes the time to get to know these people better. "It is interesting, this sense of community you have. You claim to have never met the woman, and yet you seem genuinely worried about her. My kin feel the same way about us snowcasters, though I for one value individuality greatly. I always thought humans were more like that, too, since time is crucial in the forming of bonds; and yet, you seem completely commited to the duty imparted on you by your townsfolk and, more surprisingly, to the well-being of this aristocrat, one who probably revels in privileges not at all deserved except by luck of birth. Is that... common among those of your race?" The elf's interest looks authentic, and for one who has been so quiet for a while, his eloquency is unexpected.
Daevin thinks about it for as they walk. "I wouldn't necessarily call it common. I think some people would volunteer because they genuinely care and some people wouldn't because they genuinely don't. It's hard to pin down exactly what is common when it comes to our race simply because the common things that are valued can vary based on who is bestowing the value to make a thing common." he furrows his brows in thought. "I will have to think more about this, though because it is truly interesting. I mean, there are so many things that can impact how a person behaves or what a person values."
Ellowin, still concentrating on finding the signs of passage and paths of least resistance, answers slowly, "It has nothing to do with race for me. True, I do not know this woman. But I do know these woods. And there is someone in trouble. I have the skill and knowledge to help them, so I am volunteering to find them. It also gives me a chance to find out what is going on to better be able to protect my sis... the village. I honestly don't see how I couldn't help."
Narsius follows his companions silently, pondering Arthorion's question.
Viktor steps forward, enjoying the snowman before happily trudging forward along the trail.
Arthorion puts a hand on Viktor's shoulder and says "Careful, Viktor. It could be another trap."
"Probably. That is why I am going first my friend."
Arthorion lets go of the paladin, respecting his decision. "If that's what you want." He stands back and watches Viktor advance past the snowman, letting his own hand slip to the sword's hilt yet again. The lynx stands by the elf's side, mimicking Arthorion's behavior and merely watching Viktor.
Before Viktor walks non-chalantly past the snowman, Ellowin would like to examine the area around it first, looking for any traps, mechanical or magical.
Shrugging, she stands back and nods to the dwarf to proceed.
Kara will Detect Magic, focusing around the snowman and sign.
Viktor halts, waiting for Kara to discover what the magic does.
Daevin grips his sword and feels his pulse quicken.
Kara points out that there are two separate auras. "One of them is strong and the other is faint. We'll need to be cautious here."
Viktor motions everybody back, then stands 20 feet away from the snowman and fires a crossbow bolt into it.
Viktor shrugs, but tries scanning the snowman with detect evil. If he picks nothing up he goes over and knocks it down with this shield.
Ellowin whispers to Daevin, "Glad I'm not a snowman!"
She continues to cover Viktor's advance with her bow, looking for anything out of the ordinary.
Daevin chuckles and tries to hide his laugh in a cough. "I suppose there's actually a time and a place to shoot the messenger."
As his humor subsides, his eyes turn blue as he looks at the snowman.
Narsius stays close to Kara the whole time, watching and keeping quiet.