Piotr steadies himself in the winds before summoning another ball of flame. He hurls it at Yeti C.
Mikhail's quarrel thumps into the fleeting foe's back, then it explodes into fire from Piotr's spell. It struggles on, barely able to stand.
STATUS
Mikhail - 38/112 hp
Kernithar - 72/102 hp, Frightened 1
Piotr - 36/80 hp, Frightened 1
Yeti B - 48 damage, Frightened 1
Aristu - 27/72 hp, Wounded 1, invisible, flying (30')
Alister - 10/96 hp, Wounded 1, Clumsy 1 (frostbite), prone
Yeti C - 111 damage, Frightened 1, Fleeing
Kernithar rushes over the yeti in battle with Mikhail, assessing his prey on the approach.
The second yeti moves away and both seem to just... fade into the snow.
And like that, the combat is over.
Piotr descends slightly, but continues to hover over the snow.
"Most of those were yeti's, but the one in charge - what was it?," he asks his companions.
"Maybe their weapons will tell us something," says the wizard as he moves towards the dropped weapons.
"It was a sort of Minkaian demon. An onidoshi. I can't imagine why it's all the way up here, but they're known to seek powerful warriors to corrupt."
Kern cleans his blade on one of the fallen yeti before searching the bodies.
Standing from his task, he looks to Alister's blackened with frost limb.
"We need to find you some shelter or magical heating for that. Or perhaps you want a yeti coat?"
Mikhail begins tending to the groups wounds.
When he is finished Mikhail says, "That is all I can do for us now. We should find shelter and I can do more for us when we are able to stop and rest."
"I can create shelter anywhere. Here, though, has several large pieces of partially cooked meat laying about. And that might attract something bigger ... maybe the roc, maybe something else," says Piotr.
"Should we find a more sheltered spot to spend the night?"
Aristu lands before his flight runs out. He points his thumb over his shoulder, towards the cliff wall. "Before we go, do we want to check out the cave with the runes?"
"I was thinking the cave might be a good place to rest. Lets go take a look and see." Mikhail says as he turns to head towards the cave.
Kern nods to Aristu before following Mikhail and overtaking him to scout ahead.
Kern, the only things of value you find on the body of the onidoshi. It's heavy falchion is clearly of superior manufacture. In addition, it bore a pouch in which you find nine pieces of beautifully-carved jade. You estimate that you could sell these in Restov for at least a hundred silver coins each.
The runes at the entrance of the cave are strangely familiar. They remind you of the runes found at Candlemere Island (which you'll remember contained a temple with dangerous portals to elsewhere.) Kern recognizes them as elvish, but in a tongue so old he cannot read the runes. Beyond the rune-covered archway, a dusty floor leads back into the shadows of a large cave.
STATUS
Mikhail - 61/112 hp
Kernithar - 100/102 hp
Piotr - 59/80 hp
Aristu - 45/72 hp, Wounded 1
Alister - 29/96 hp, Wounded 1, Clumsy 1 (frostbite)
"Well, this looks ominous. But I think finding shelter warrants taking a look. Unless we want to seek Piotr's shelter and explore this tomorrow? Mikhail says as he looks over the rune covered cave.
Aristu pulls out one of his scroll cases and opens it. He flips through a few pages before pulling on out. He reads the mystic words, and as he reaches the last one, he looks at the runes and wills them to reveal their meaning.
STATUS
Mikhail - 61/112 hp
Kernithar - 100/102 hp
Piotr - 59/80 hp
Aristu - 45/72 hp
Alister - 29/96 hp, Clumsy 1 (frostbite)
_______________________________________________
Alister eases himself to the floor of the cave, clutching his side. "I think I'm in no shape to go anywhere for a bit. I don't like the look of those runes, but we may have no choice, but to camp here. Hopefully they don't come back."
"The runes seem benign - a prayer to goddess of stars, Desna."
Kern leaves the blade but pockets the jade for another time.
"Well hopefully all the gods bless us this day."
He sets about finding resources for a fire.
"Oh, Mikhail, that falchion the demon had may be worth something, I know these jade pieces are."
Kernithar shows his loot to the party before stuffing it back into his bag.
"I cannot wield something so crude, but perhaps we should pick it up and bring it with us to sell. It could be magical. Could you carry it?"
"Perhaps I can tell something about the falchion. And, maybe, the jade carvings, too," states Piotr.
"Can I examine the items?"
Presuming that his companions agree, Piotr will cast Detect Magic on both the falchion and jade carvings.
Mikhail shakes his head, "It would encumber me to carry much more weight. But if necessary I can just plan on dropping it if necessary."
Piotr studies the runes on the blade and learns that it is a +1 striking falchion (worth 102 gp). Even if you don't want the falchion, the runes are valuable.
Aristu pulls out a wand and with a short spell, invokes a bright light on it's tip. He moves towards the cave, stopping next to Mikhail.
You can store runes on a runestone.
No. Just valuable.
Aristu pulls out a wand and with a short spell, invokes a bright light on it's tip. He moves towards the cave, stopping next to Mikhail.
The cave is just a cave, narrow, dim and cold. But at its back is a set of narrow stairs carefully cut into the stone and winding up in a counterclockwise fashion.
"I think we should rest here. In the morning I would like to see where these stairs lead, but for now it would be best if I took more time to tend to our wounds." Mikhail says as he looks up at the stairs.
Piotr looks around at his companions before asking, "I can also summon a shelter that would be warmer. Unfortunately, there are only 3 cots but there would be room on the floor for the others. Would you prefer that? But it would be outside this cave."
"Can you keep snow or other creatures out of your shelter? If so that seems like it would be prudent. Even if does only stop the wind and snow it would be beneficial." Mikhail says.
"We should definitely rest."
Kern shrugs.
"As for where we rest, I'm as comfortable on a cave floor as I would be on the floor of your hut."
Alister nods and tries not to bleed on himself. "I think warmer would be nice."
"Yes, the cabin will do all those things. I will place it right outside this cave, unless you suggest otherwise. Once I summon the cabin, the door will be unlocked."
Piotr goes outside the cave and summons the cabin. He waits for his companions to enter.
Once everyone is inside, Piotr prepares to rest for the night and recover energy to cast spells on the morrow.
Great! So now you have a shelter, which is nice because the wind and snow are picking up.
Tell me how you spend your night.
Settling down, Kern observes the magical cabin with skepticism.
"Is this how all wizards stay the night outdoors? In Kyonin, we can usually find a decent tree bough to rest on."
He asks Piotr as they prepare their bed rolls.
"Trees are fine," replies Piotr. "Corb loves them. But he laughs at me every time I am in a tree."
"Houses, though, even Corb likes the warmth. Although he will pretend that he doesn't."
"Corn!" screeches Corb, more concerned about the supper preparations than the accommodations.
The gale outside blows all night, depositing nearly a foot of snow up against the magical cabin. The merry little fire inside keeps you all warm and snug, if a little cramped.
The next morning you are all healed and your clothes are mostly dry. After breakfast, you are all ready to continue your exploration. The day dawns cold and bleary, and the sky threatens more snow.
The elvish stairs await.
"I'll scout ahead."
Kernithar mentions as he ascends the flight of stairs ahead of his companions.
Mikhail casts his protection against the elements and follows Kern up.
The stair is just that - a long and narrow stair that winds up through the mountain peak, sheltering you from the worst of the weather. The stair emerges hours later onto a cloudy peak - you have reached the top of Talon Peak.
All around you are ancient ruins, elvish by the look of them.
Piotr sends Corb to scouting, reminding him to keep watch for the roc.
"Well that was a much better way of climbing the mountain." Alister comes over to examine the runes. "More elvish runes. Perhaps one of your arcane masters can decipher them?" He casts a detection spell to see if the rune or anything else at the peak are actively magical.
"Not me," answers Aristu, "I used my only comprehension scroll down below." He gives Piotr a questioning glance. "If Piotr can't, we should copy the runes down to translate later.
While Corb is scouting, Piotr casts Detect Magic to begin his examination of the runes.
He then begins attempting to decipher what has been written.
The buildings here are little more than crumbled foundations, preserved as much by magic as by engineering.
In a far corner of the ruins, you find a vast next of tree branches and withered grasses. Inside, you find a single enormous egg, several feet long.
Kern quickly searches the runes before examining the nest of the roc.
Mikhail begins assembling the device he got to carry it down the egg down the mountain.
Frizz, the runes are meaningless to you, But among the ruins you discover a dusty, cracked old ceramic jar. It looks really old and may be worth something. More astonishing still, it has a stopper in it that is also ceramic and contains a single rune on it.
Mikhail, your satchel is ready. Once full of egg, it must be carried by two men (though it can be lowered on a rope if properly prepared (a process that takes 2 full rounds).