"I think you share my thoughts exactly," Freyr says dryly as his sister answers. "More so than usual. They'd only set up a hut here if they were planning to move in more people. We might be on a time limit." He takes a moment to mark the arrows so he can recognize the two enchanted ones and slides them into his quiver.
As the party moves on, he reaches back and places a hand on his blade's hilt. "I don't know," he admits when Kleora finally voices the question. "But I suggest we assume it's not good until proven otherwise." He draws his sword with a steely hiss. "I'll take point again."
"If we disable the hut it will slow them down... but... I still remember the words to turn on away from us. I can try that first."
Frjya remains close to her brother, worried about what is before them.
"I say we concentrate on what's before us and worry about talking dolls whenever they appear." Taya says.
She examines the clearing before them before proceeding.
As the groups examins the clearing, from a distance, Tayanalla's eyes are just sharp enough to notice a movement in the trees. Well, really, it is the movement OF a tree. The faint scent of pine sap accompanies this vaguely tree-shaped creature, which stands on two towering trunklike legs. Its arms resemble the branches of a snow-laden conifer.
The trees surge towards you, aware of you see them, but still the party gets the jump on them.
The are Frost Fir. Living plants that most likely have planted sapplins in this clearing. Once distrubed they will attack with there strong branches.
They are also covered in a sticky resin that makes them hard to grapple. This resin also can hinder your actions if they strike you.
Bold may act
[u] Round 1 [/u]
Tayanalla, Neji, Kelora, Freyr, Frjya
Red, Blue
Day 3 - 11:15am
23 Degrees
12” Snow -[u] Stat Tracker [/u]
Global Combat Condition: Difficult Terrain |Freyr HP: 13/13 - AC: 16/14/12 Status: Hold Person
Tayanalla HP: 8/8 - AC: 17/13/14 Status: AC: 22 DC13 Will
Kleora HP: 7/7 - AC: 12/10/12 Status:
Frjya HP: 7/7 - AC: 16/14/12 Status:
Maja HP: 9/9 - AC: 17/13/15 Status:
Neji HP: 10/10 - AC: 14/13/14 Status:
________________________________Red - HP: 15/15 AC: 13/10/13
Blue - HP: 15/15 AC: 13/10/13
Page 24
"Some kind of tree people!" Taya calls out in warning.
"They don't look friendly!"
She takes a 5' step forward, retrieves a flask of alchemist's fire from her bag, and lights up the red tree!
(touch attack, 2 range increments)
(touch attack, 2 range increments)
Kleora was startled by the sudden appearanceof the small tree creatures. Something about them niggled at her mind but she just couldn't place them in her surprise. Given the number of fey they'd encountered though she took a chance and spoke in sylvan as she said, "Hail forest folk, have we trespassed on your demesne?"
Kleora was oblivious what Tayanala was doing until it was too late to stop her and could only say, "Damnit! Don't assume they're hostile because you don't understand them!" It was too late of course but she had tried to talk first.
"If it is from Irrisen and not in a city, it is often hostile." Frjya told Kleora with a slight shrug.
Concerned she might not be able to offer any help, Frjya stays at Neji's side to offer some form of protection.
"These look... vaguely familiar, but I don't think I've ever seen one of these before. They don't exactly seem friendly though." Freyr steps forward and raises his sword cautiously, eyeing the tree creature as the fiery projectile explodes against it.
Kleora calls out to the trees in sylvan but gets no response other then rage. Ignoring her comment the Frost Firs press to attack. This attack works out poorly for the red tree as it is quickly ignited in flame which catches the sap burning and killing it.
Frjya moves to Neji's side to offer assistance while Freyr readies to attack. He does not have to wait long as the blue fir moves, unencumbered by by the snow, and takes a nasty thwack from the sword.
Bold may act
[u] Round 1 [/u]
Tayanalla, Neji, Kelora, Freyr, Frjya
Red, Blue
Day 3 - 11:15am
23 Degrees
12” Snow -[u] Stat Tracker [/u]
Global Combat Condition: Difficult Terrain |Freyr HP: 13/13 - AC: 16/14/12 Status: Hold Person
Tayanalla HP: 8/8 - AC: 17/13/14 Status: AC: 22 DC13 Will
Kleora HP: 7/7 - AC: 12/10/12 Status:
Frjya HP: 7/7 - AC: 16/14/12 Status:
Neji HP: 10/10 - AC: 14/13/14 Status:
________________________________
Red - HP: 04/15 AC: 13/10/13
Blue - HP: 03/15 AC: 13/10/13
Page 24
Neji fires off a crossbow bolt that sticks in the tough bark of the Frost Fir doing know damage.
plus sticky resin
The Frost Fir retailiates, swinging at Tayanalla but its tough wood branches cannot connect.
Bold may act
[u] Round 2 [/u]
Tayanalla, Neji, Kelora, Freyr, Frjya
Blue
Day 3 - 11:15am
23 Degrees
12” Snow -[u] Stat Tracker [/u]
Global Combat Condition: Difficult Terrain |Freyr HP: 13/13 - AC: 16/14/12 Status: Hold Person
Tayanalla HP: 8/8 - AC: 17/13/14 Status: AC: 22 DC13 Will
Kleora HP: 7/7 - AC: 12/10/12 Status:
Frjya HP: 7/7 - AC: 16/14/12 Status:
Neji HP: 10/10 - AC: 14/13/14 Status:
________________________________
Red - HP: 04/15 AC: 13/10/13
Blue - HP: 03/15 AC: 13/10/13
Page 24
Tayanalla dances back out of it's reach and tosses a glob of magic acid at the tree.
(in combat, touch attack)
"Decidedly not friendly then," Freyr mutters. He brings up his sword again and attempts to hack away at the sentient plant's trunk.
Stepping up to join the combat, Fryja swung at the creature.
The normally deadly Freyr cannot connect with his attack but both Frjya and Tayanalla manage to land their respective bolts or acid. Frhya is a little faster and her shot enters though what would be the mouth of the creature killing it before the acid hits. The creature thrashes for a second before toppling like.... um.... well... toppling like a tree.
[u] 160xp each. [/u]
The disturbed patch of grown shows no sign of life but you know that seeds have been planted and, if the area remains winter, more Frost Fir will grow. There is nothing else of interest here. The path contines off to the west.
Day 3 - 11:30am
23 Degrees
12” Snow -[u] Stat Tracker [/u]
Global Combat Condition: Difficult Terrain |Freyr HP: 13/13 - AC: 16/14/12 Status: Hold Person
Tayanalla HP: 8/8 - AC: 17/13/14 Status: AC: 22 DC13 Will
Kleora HP: 7/7 - AC: 12/10/12 Status:
Frjya HP: 7/7 - AC: 16/14/12 Status:
Neji HP: 10/10 - AC: 14/13/14 Status:
________________________________
Red - HP: 04/15 AC: 13/10/13
Blue - HP: 03/15 AC: 13/10/13
Page 24
"Anyone want to start a fire and burn off these seedlings?"
"I can't cast fire magic." Frjya admitted with a small shrug from her shoulders. "Nor do I know how to start a fire."
"I'm carry some basic camping equipment, including flint and steel. I'm not sure how well fire will catch with the snow though. And I'm hesitant to use alchemical fire for something like this. Perhaps if we can find a bit of dry wood to help start the blaze. I'll take a quick look around. If someone wouldn't mind making sure there's a bit of clear area around the seedlings, I would appreciate it. I'd rather not start a forest fire by accident."
Kleora seemed saddened by the death of the Frostfirs and shook her head at the idea of burning the seedlings. Her tone gave further evidence to her sadness as she said, "I would prefer we leave them be. They are no threat to anyone right now." She knelt next to the mound and stroked the ground carefully as she said, "If it manages to grow and sprout it will have a hard enough time just surviving without parents and likely won't make it. Despite that it deserves the chance to try."
"Well, if you feel strongly about leaving them then I guess we can. They don't seem to belong here and I think they'll be a danger in the future though." Taya responds to Kleora.
"We had best keep moving." she says to the group.
"If this unnatural weather ends, they probably won't grow into more monstrous trees. Probably. This sort of creature was never really my specialty. Either way, I am willing to move on and leave it to fate. If worse comes to worse, we can hunt them down later."
Leaving the seedlings be you move on though the quiet unnatural snowscape. After some time you come accross an area of disturbed snow. Bloody animal tracks mark the snow where the trail descends from the ridge above. A bit of looking about and the group works out that there were some bear traps buried in the snow, most likely form the slain hunter you found earlier. The animal tracks are again from the giant weasel who clearly was two strong for the traps. It is not a big reach to understand that the weasel ended up hunting the hunter.
Moving further {M on the big map} you come across another clearing. More than a dozen boulder-sized chunks of ice litter the clearing ahead where a strange hut sits perched on tree trunks atop a raised mound of snow- covered earth.
Further into the clearing a small hut stands on four legs, each one a single tree trunk whose gnarled roots resemble the toes of a giant chicken. The hut is constructed of heavy logs with a patchwork roof of shaved bark shingles. Inside the hut’s open doorway, a small figure sits on a carved wooden chair, staring across the clearing at the trail on the other side.
As you enter the clearing, an image of a shivering young Ulfen girl—suddenly appears amid the ice boulders.
Freyr remains mostly silent as they pass the traps and bloody snow. It seems like the weasel is still lingering around, but they have more important things to worry about than a wounded animal at the moment. He is indeed proven correct when they approach a strange field of icy boulders. "What on earth..." he mutters as he reached back to ready his sword in the event of another attack. "This must be the hut we heard about. The boulders are unexpected though." He falls silent again when he sees the strange girl appear among the frozen field. "What?" he repeats. "Sister, does this make any sense to you?"
"That's it alright..." Frjya muttered. "Looks just like the paintings of it I've seen..." She added.
"She looks like she's freezing!" Fryja told her brother as she stepped foreword to get a better look at the girl. "Little one, what are you doing out here?"
At the sight of the strange hut Kleora felt herself staring in shock. To see such a thing was...unusual, particularly since the tree trunks it was standing atop almost looked like...legs?! She shook off that thought as it made no sense to her and instead looked to the boulders, only to see the mysterious child appear.
Despite how she might come off Kleora wasn't heartless, quite the opposite, and the cold child pulled at her heart a little. She very much wanted to do something to help the girl and only the fact she hadn't been there before gave her pause. Instead Kleora used her rational thoughts to warn her of danger and instead reached out with her mind.
A faint glow that was easily lost in the ambient light wreathed Kleora's head as she drew in her focus with her eyes closed. She opened her eyes then and looked at the child intently as her mind reached out to touch that of the girl before them.
"Nothing suspicious at all about a random kid crying in the woods."
As Kleora's mind brushes across the child the image screams “I’m sorry! Don’t hurt me! I never meant to call you names!” Before it vanishes.
Kleora the scream reverberates in your head and you find yourself losing control and fleeing the area.
Th image vanishes as soon as it finishes the scream.
A frightened creature flees from the source of its fear as best it can. If unable to flee, it may fight. A frightened creature takes a -2 penalty on all attack rolls, saving throws, skill checks, and ability checks. A frightened creature can use special abilities, including spells, to flee; indeed, the creature must use such means if they are the only way to escape.
Frightened is like shaken, except that the creature must flee if possible. Panicked is a more extreme state of fear.
You are dealing with a haunt folks.
Frjya looked around nervously as she asked "Where... Where did she go?" as the child had vanished. "What are we dealing with?"
Kleora let out an ear piercing scream of horror and began to run back the way they came as fast as she could through the snow. As deep as it was she wasn't making much headway but by the gods she tried.
Freyr's arms snap out instinctively, attempting to grab Kleora before she can rush into the woods and lose herself among the trees. Unfortunately, he is caught off-guard by the psychic's panicked rush and he manages to grab nothing but air.
Eventually Kleora calms and returns to the group. Freyr, who had fallen into the snow trying to grab her, is still brushing himself off.
There is still a 'maze' of stones between you and the hut. At the moment the image of a shivering young Ulfen girl is not visible at this point.
[u] What do you do? [/u]
"Do we want to approach the hut or just circle around it and avoid it?" Taya asks the others.
Frjya was quiet for a moment before she said "I want to look inside the hut." She didn't look back at the group, she just kept looking at the hut on the snow hill.
"You know what it's going to be, sister," Freyr projects. "I'll take the lead again. We don't know if that... illusion or whatever it was will cause more trouble."
As you make your way towards the hut the image of the frezing little girl appears again but this time the image is inside one of the blocks of ice. Again it yells in the direction of the party but not with the same malice as the first time.
"“I don’t want your stupid doll! I want to go home! Take me back!”
Freyr feels his heart sinking in his chest. Usually his sister was the empathetic one, at least compared to him, but it was hard to hear a child crying out in fear without being affected by it. "These seem more like memories than illusions or a ghost. I don't like this."
Shaken by what she had felt Kleora managed to return to the group. It was a good ting the snow slowed her down so much she couldn't get that far away and thus took little time to get back. As she reached them she heard them talk of going further she wasn't too sure of the whole idea but she decided that it would be for the best to just get it over with.
"I really don't like this...." Taya says as she approaches the hut to search.
Frjya froze in place as the words rang in her ears. "No... oh no..." Frjya muttered as she covered her mouth with one hand. "N-not you... why you..."
A small hut stands here on four legs, each one a single tree trunk whose gnarled roots resemble the toes of a giant chicken. The hut is constructed of heavy logs with a patchwork roof of shaved bark shingles. Inside the hut’s open doorway, a small figure sits on a carved wooden chair, staring across the clearing at the trail on the other side.
As the party movs closer there is a disturbance in the snow, a small amount flies up into the air in a puff of flakes and settles back to the ground at a normal rate. It briefly appeared that the snow had taken on many colors before it settled back down to white snow.
As you all catch the movement of the snow and glance that way a little laugh comes from the hut. When you look back it is still just an inanimate doll sitting there.
The images appears inside a different chunk of ice and screams its terrifying wail again.
“I have to get away! And you should, too, before they see
you. Run!”
It does not have the impact of before and no one feels compelled to flee in terror.
Kleora saw the girl in another chunk of ice, screaming for them to flee, but unlike before it didn't rattle her so much that she fled. She didn't like this, she didn't like this at all, and the puff of snow really worried her. Pulling her crossbow out the psychic prepared to shoot at the next puff of snow as she worried that there was something lurking nearby. "If we're doing this let's get it over with."
Freyr winces when he sees the doll. "This is going to be unpleasant." He sighs and nods to the psychic. "Yes, I suppose we should. I'll go first then." He takes a few more steps forward, carefully approaching the entrance to the hut.
Frjya however did not move. She didn't even reply mentally to her brother. Truly she seemed in a daze, looking at the place the ghost once stood. "It can't be..."
Moving closer Freyr recognizes a resemblance between the doll and the apparition that has appeared yelling and causing supernatural fear. The difference is the spirit image is of a young girl while this doll has the face of an old crone but is probably the same face.
Far more unnerving, however, are the doll’s mismatched eyes—one a blue gemstone, the other a small round mirror the size of a coin, reflecting
the world around her.
I am guessing that you have a connection to the little girl that I am not seeing in your backstory. Happy to help with this if you want to give me a little background on what you are thinking.
The doll appears to be nothing more then a creepy as heck porcelain doll as Freyr approaches.
For the moment the ghostly image does not appear but a rock protruding on the far side of the clearing glows with light.
[u] What are you doing now? [/u]
"Have you northerners seen the like of this magic doll before?"
Kleora noticed Frjya's lack of movement and was quite concerned. this didn't seem to be what she expected from the northern woman and it worried Kleora greatly. She stopped next to Frjya and ask, "Do you know something about what is going on here?"
"They're made from souls..." Frjya explained. "Souls forced into the doll, normally by gems..." She said as she covered her eyes with one hand. "The land in which they are made... it is cold, cruel... to all who call it home..."
"That's grim enough .... but what would such a thing be doing here?"