Thorgull shrugs at Stian's behavior.
"Why search for more troubles when we already have to deal with something bigger?"
Zadok helps put up the tent and get out the blankets and supplies for the night before hunkering down for a night of sleep.
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You continue your journey through snow and ice, certain now that you're getting very close to the origin of the hoarfrost that gnaws at you. Pondering these thoughts, you finally arrive at a clearing near a hill where four igloos have been built in circle. A well-packed trail of large footprints passes between them, heading both north and west. There's also a cave opening into the hill flank, but your attention is caught by something far more impressive. A bank of quill-like icicles spear outward in a ring, seemingly grown from a heavy sheet of ice covering the ground. A second ring of giant icicle-shaped monoliths stands inside the outer ring, surrounding a swirling cylindrical vortex easily ten feet in diameter. Icy winds and driving snow blast from the vortex, creating the wintry weather in the clearing. In front of the ring of icicles, a huge troll stands in your way, covered with snow and rime. Its claws look like razor-sharp icicles, ready to gut you. Its voice stutters as if it was frozen.
"Y-y-you hav-v-ve come to d-d-die! You won't s-s-stop the winter from c-c-coming! Hommelstaub, to me!"
With these words, the massive troll lunges into combat, assisted by a tiny winged fey.
The Winter Portal's Guardian - round 1
1. Teb
2. Zadok, Stian
3. Hommelstaub
4. Thorgull, Virgil
The troll is the first to react, downing a potion and starting to stride on the snow unimpeded, as if it were grass.
Stian looks at the creature in barely concealed awe. "A moss troll! Bigger than any I've heard off, it has almost mythic proportions!" Stian stammers.
Seeing the fey creature, Stian sets his jaw, wades through the snow five feet, and fires an arrow at the creature.
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That troll is unlike anything you've heard of. He looks far nastier than any troll, and its powers appear to be directly linked to the essence of the winter portal behind him. As a mythical creature of legend, Stian knows that he's bound to be very hard to kill, being warded against the elements but also immune to a vast number of attacks including mind-affecting ones, sleep, stunning, paralysis, poison and polymorph. That creature appears to be a savage one, thus does not have the ability to use magic, but its natural weapons cause heavy bleedings.
The ranger's arrow strikes true, finding the fey despite of the bad weather conditions and the creature's tiny size.
The Winter Portal's Guardian - round 1
1. Teb
2. Zadok, Stian
3. Hommelstaub (6)
4. Thorgull, Virgil
Zadok tries to call on the powers of the cosmos to blow the mind of the flying fey, hoping that it will not be immune like its ally.
He then pulls out his bow, just in case it is needed.
Virgil trudges forward through the snow, covering little ground thanks to the heavy snowfall. The duellist draws his rapier as he moves, giving it a few practice swipes.
Thorgul starts to summon.
"Ξαι ωραιμεντ λες βουλες, ωιενς μαιδερ!"
Stian's eyes widen as the troll closes. "Could use a little help over here!" He calls over his shoulder, then fires two arrows at the troll.
Zadok stays behind the warriors and tries to keep the flying fey confused for a bit longer.
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Stian's first arrow is deflected by the beast's tough hide, while the second one gets lost in the snowy mist.
This time the fey resists the madness lurking at the edge of his mind. He grabs a scroll and reads it aloud.
A creature appears out of nowhere, summoned by Thorgull to aid you!
The Winter Portal's Guardian - round 2
1. Teb
2. Zadok, Stian
3. Hommelstaub (6)
4. Thorgull, Virgil
The mighty eagle of doom appears and smites the troll!
for
for
for
When he hears the magical words of the fey, Thorgull tries to concentrate on it to understand which spell it is but he's definitely too busy trying to get out his wand of scorching ray from his belt!
He points the wand in the troll's direction and shouts "Cinders!"
for
Virgil trudges into combat against the troll, taking up a flank with the summoned eagle.
With a flourish, the duellist sweeps up with his rapier.
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The eagle's righteous beak and talons manage to pierce the beast's hide twice, opening two large wounds which then start closing thanks to the troll's fantastic regeneration. A fiery ray surges from Thorgull's wand, but finishes its course against one of the nearby igloos, partly melting it.
Virgil closes in on the troll, and luckily for him the massive spear it's wielding whistles too high to impale him! Placing himself in a vantage position to strike, the swashbuckler uses the opportunity to see the troll distracted with the summoned eagle. His aim is peerless, but sadly the wound is only a graze.
The troll howls in pain and turns his spear against the fearsome eagle, deciding it is currently the most dangerous opponent.
This time the serrated spear head hits its mark, impaling the eagle in a single blow! The blessed bird disappears in a puff of smoke.
The Winter Portal's Guardian - round 3
1. Teb (11)
2. Zadok, Stian
3. Hommelstaub (6)
4. Thorgull, Virgil
Zadok waits in case one of his allies is injured so he can heal them.
Stian keeps firing arrows at the troll.
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Stian's arrow both find a weak spot in the troll's icy hide! The beast howls in pain, turning to face the ranger with a wide, cruel grin. His eyes go from Stian to his grim spear, associating them together with wishful thinking.
The tiny fey disappears with a cackling laugh!
The Winter Portal's Guardian - round 3
1. Teb (25)
2. Zadok (D), Stian
3. Hommelstaub (6)
4. Thorgull, Virgil
Finally close to the troll, Virgil adopts the duellist stance he is all too familiar with, and lunges forward with his rapier.
Thorgull once again tries to hit the gigantic troll with a fiery ray but misses again.
for
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The massive moss troll appears to be much more nimble than he first appeared to be, for he dodges both stinging rapier and fiery ray with ease. He grins and chuckles at Virgil, the hero being humbled by the sheer size of the troll.
"You puny man dance like a girl. This is no real sword, this is toothpick! Watch what a real weapon is like!" says the troll as he thrusts his spear towards the swashbuckler's head. However, the impressive weapon is too slow and misses the nimble Virgil by a foot or two. Teb curses, muttering his discontent.
The Winter Portal's Guardian - round 4
1. Teb (20)
2. Zadok, Stian
3. Hommelstaub (6)
4. Thorgull, Virgil
Stian fires two more arrows at the troll.
Zadok tries to follow Stian's lead and fires a cold iron arrow at the smaller fey.
Virgil stabs forward again, his accuracy improved but his power lacking.
"Come again beast! Your brute strength us nothing against one trained in swordplay."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Thorgull frowns at his lack of competence in this fight and shoots another ray of fire.
"Cinders!"
for
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The hulking troll easily avoids the ray, but finds the duelist's sting penetrate his tough hide. With a slight groan, he retaliates with furor! Luckily for Virgil, the troll must be short-sighted, for his strike completely misses its mark.
The Winter Portal's Guardian - round 5
1. Teb (27)
2. Zadok, Stian
3. Hommelstaub (6)
4. Thorgull, Virgil
Zadok has no immediate way to deal with the invisible fey until it shows itself so he takes aim at the troll again and fires his bow. Despite his elven heritage, he is not used to such weapons and his arrow goes flying off into the snowstorm.
Stian fires two more cold iron arrows at the troll.
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As one of Stian's arrow pieces the rime-covered hide, another flask of liquid ice falls upon Thorgull! Luckily, it misses him and explodes not far from him, but splashes him anyway.
Other arrows fly by, but lack precision and get lost in the snowstorm.
The Winter Portal's Guardian - round 5
1. Teb (34)
2. Zadok, Stian
3. Hommelstaub (6)
4. Thorgull (3), Virgil
Bored of his problems to hit the troll, Thorgull mutters arcane words and suddenly, Virgil becomes larger.
Virgil trusts forward again, hoping to inflict some real damage.
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As Thorgull's spell starts enlarging Virgil to cyclopean proportions, the duelist appears to be startled by that sudden change and misses his strike. Teb tries to impale him once again on his spear. This time the blow is more precise, but Virgil manages to deflect it.
The Winter Portal's Guardian - round 6
1. Teb (34)
2. Zadok, Stian
3. Hommelstaub (6)
4. Thorgull (3), Virgil
Zadok has few other options right now so he continues to fire at the troll, hoping to get lucky soon.
Stian takes a deep breath, the exhales slowly as he aims, and fires two more arrows at the troll.
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Stian's first arrow pierces the troll's throat, forcing the beast into unconsciouness. However, it quickly becomes clear that due to its formidable regeneration, Teb will soon recover in no time!
A shrill voice is heard from above, grim and fey-like: "Master's dead? Better not tarry, lest I froze to death. Adios!"
The Winter Portal's Guardian - round 6
1. Teb (40)
2. Zadok, Stian
3. Hommelstaub (6) - ?
4. Thorgull (3), Virgil
While Virgil enlarges, Thorgull tries once more to hit the troll with his wand. Now or never, useless magician!
"Cinders!" he shouts.
for
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A fiery ray surges forth from the wand, piercing the icy moss troll's hide with great efficiency. Under the effect of the sovereign fire, the body stops regenerating, then quickly dissolves as if it was melting away. Soon there is nothing left but ash and melted ice - as well as Teb Knotten's spear.
A surge of wind suddenly blasts from the swirling vortex in the ring of icicles, gusting outward in a stinging spray of snow and ice. Suddenly, a gaunt horseman with curling ram’s horns and wearing coal-black armor lurches through the portal astride a black warhorse, surrounded by tendrils of cold, dark mist. The rider slumps in the saddle, a shard of blue ice jutting from his back. As rider and mount come to a halt in the snow, the horse suddenly dissipates into black smoke, and the horseman falls to the ground with a groan.
The fearsome rider bears a frightening, or at least otherworldly, facade unnerving you. However, this illusion soon fades and the rider now appears in his true form, that of an old human man, exhausted, pale from blood loss, and close to death. He beckons you as he appears to be about to die.
"You! You are my last chance... I was once called Illarion Matveius, but I am now known as Black Midnight. I am Baba Yaga's Black Rider, harbinger of the Witch Queen's return. As you see, I am about to die. And you, who are you?"
Zadok sighs an icy breath of relief, the steam lingering in the air. He is about to start studying the spear and the surrounding area for magic when the blast of wind from the vortex distracts him. Run! he thinks instinctively until he sees the horseman falling. Pausing for a moment, he instead decides to run over the snow towards the injured man.
"Baba Yaga? You are a long way from Irrisen, Illarion. I am Zadok Allendil, a student of the Black and watcher of the skies. Who has killed you and why? Can we ease your pain?"
Thorgull eventually proud of himself, despite having only hit an immobilized and prone target, casually walks towards Teb's spear. He states after a moment of study:
"This is a spear of manhunting! It is a +1 boar spear and automatically resizes to match the size of its wielder when grasped. Once per day on a successful critical hit, the wielder of this spear can cast hold person as an immediate action on the target hit by the attack. A beautiful piece of a weapon!"
When the fearsome rider, soon also known as the "old dying dude", speaks, Thorgull raises an eyebrow and looks at the others, clearly not knowing what to answer.
Stian nods solemnly to the newcomer. "I am called Stian. Stian Ovesen. How is it that we are your only hope? What are you talking about." Glancing at his companions, he raises his eyebrows. "So....We lost the fey, then?"
Virgil pauses as the troll he was about to stab disappears and the rider appears. The duellist enters an en guard stance until he realises that the rider poses him no threat.
"I am Virgil Ardelean, bastard noble of Ustalav and duellist of Lepidstadt University. Who did this to you, and who is Baba Yaga?"
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A chuckle can be heard from the dying rider's mouth, soon stopped by a hacking cough revealing blood.
"You know not who Baba Yaga is, then?" he answers Virgil. Upon hearing Zadok's remark, he can only nod wearily. "I am indeed. Those who struck that mortal blow were the servants of Queen Elvanna, ruler of Irrisen and betrayer of her own mother. Baba Yaga is the one true Witch Queen, and has been travelling through many worlds since she conquered Irrisen hundreds of years ago. She always returns every hundred years though, to place one of her daughters on the throne of Irrisen, and leaves again with the former ruler. The daughter then reigns for a hundred years, until Baba Yaga's return. That is our way. However, Queen Elvanna had other plans, it seems. Baba Yaga was planned to return this year but she hasn't, and Queen Elvanna slays everyone loyal to her mother. She hunted down those of us who would herald Baba Yaga's return and slew my two associates, the White Rider and the Red Rider. Thus, I am the last of the Witch Queen's riders and a threat to Elvanna's plans."
He pauses for a handful of seconds, interrupted by the cough once more.
"Elvanna intends to take Baba Yaga's place, and claim all of Golaion as her personal kingdom. Irrisen is a land of endless winter, created by Baba Yaga's magic. Elvanna seeks to cover the entire world in ice and snow, using portals like this one. You can find this portal's source in the Pale Tower, on the other side, but this portal is only one of many. Through them, Elvanna will spread a new ice age across your world, consuming it for all eternity. Closing this portal might save your kingdom, but Golarion would still be doomed. You must find Baba Yaga. Only she can defeat Elvanna. Only the Queen of Witches can undo what her daughter has done."
"I have never heard of Baba Yaga as a particular source of good in the world," Zadok admits, "although I think I prefer her brand of evil over what you claim is Elvanna's plan to turn this place into a frozen wasteland. Oh, this is indeed a choice between the lesser of two evils."
Zadok's eyes remain downcast for some moments as he considers the options. "How would we close the portal? If we were to help you and, in turn, help Baba Yaga against Elvanna-what is there to be done? How can we, simple wanderers, possibly find the greatest and most powerful witch of all time?"