Greetings and welcome.
This is going to be someplace where the characters of my campaign can have a little in character chats with each other as necessitated as we progress through the story. I will begin by introducing our cast and then bring you up to date on the majority of events that have transpired thus far.
First we have Ilgam, a long time native of Heldren, longer than the memories of any of the current residents as a matter of fact, as even Ilgam doesn't remember how old he is being an Elan and having forgotten his past exploits, he is now a mind blade of some power.
Next we meet Tatiana, transplanted to sleepy Heldren from the glories of Whitethrone herself due to some dispute her mother had with a more influential Jadwiga. Not quite settling into her new surroundings and circumstances. Whether trained by her mother or learning the craft of her own volition she has become a winter witch as her heritage seems to demand of her, and with enough promise to outshine her mother and many others she would be compared to.
Vesper was born to the simple life, daughter of farmer, and marrying into a family of farmers after being orphaned by a plague. Her husband could not quite settle for farming, and such became a ranger, a ranking member of the sentinels who protect the region. But vesper has a secret, the same plague that claimed her parents nearly claimed her, only the intervention of Sarenrae saved her marking her as an oracle, a chosen of Sarenrae.
Randt comes from a small community of Maenads that lives on the fringes of Heldrens community, mostly keeping to themselves but also friendly and willing to contribute for the greater good of the whole. A bit of a hothead, he began manifesting psionic power with his emotional outbursts. He now focus's his outbursts of rage into potent blasts to augment his melee skills with the falcata he inherited from his grandfather.
The group is rounded out by Gren, a halfling druid who has been known to wander the wilds riding his tiger Tralfar. Gren is well known over a large portion of southern Taldor, but seems to favor Heldren as more than just a village. He is respected and listened to when he speaks, and always seems to be where he is needed.
These noble adventurers whe called upon to rescue a taldan noble and investigate the strange wintry weather affecting the region. They rescued the noble, then set back out and found a portal to be the source of the unusual weather, when out of the portal rode a rider all in black upon a black steed. He urged them go thru the portal to stop the plot of Queen Elvanna which imprisoned his master, Baba Yaga, and now threatens to cover all of Golarion in an eternal winter.
Our brave heroes proceeded thru the portal, receiving gifts of power from their new patron. On the other side they made contact with the native irreseni and not long later, ran afoul of the authority of the region. This led them to deduce that the source of the portal was likely within their place of power, the pale tower.
Our discussions begin shortly after the heroes have made entry into the tower and defeated some of it's defenders, as the last of a squad of guards from the first of 2 barracks attempted to surrender Tatiana impaled him with an icicle flung from her magic, an act that Ilgam takes offense with, and the young and impulsive Randt suggests a somewhat controversial plan to attempt to force the residents of the second barracks into a surrender.
The older man steps towards Tatiana as she dismisses his words as those of a fool, claiming he gives up advantage in accepting surrender. He looms over her as the narrow wrinkles around his eyes deepen into furrows with his anger.
"Advantage lies in fights you never have to fight. The Jadwiga rule easily because they terrify the populace so that they're obeyed with merely occasional force. If nobody ever tells the tale, nobody learns to fear us and we're forced to exert ourselves over and over. Point in case," he mutters, turning towards the doors on the other half of the room, "Instead of sparing one of them to both lend credibility to the idea that surrender has merit and the danger of refusing, we're going to have to do this -again- to clear out the other room." He turns his eyes back onto the witch, scowling. "You're the fool, girl, and the sooner you learn it, the better."
Tatianna flashes him a fell smile as her familiar perched itself on her shoulder a litany of curses falling from its cruel gleaming beak aimed at Ilgam. "Ilgam the Elder,Ilgam the Twisted, Ilgam the Secret. Seven, Nine. The father drowned and fish-scaled and the mothers bones hidden in forgotten dust and quenched by fires of old. Touch. Blood like water, end of line." The raven crooned and preened as if proud of Zier self for what Zie revealed. "Calm yourself, Sudice-Strzygoń." She said in skald as his vicious talons dug into her shoulder causing glittering rubies of blood to well up and stain the ermine trim of her gown. She paused for a moment a flicker of true emotion flashing across her features twisted into a mask of annoyance and then fear for revealing the name of her beloved spirit's twin.
"The Jadwiga have ruled for a millenia and rightfully so. Fear is a useful tool but is is an inefficient tool at best. It breeds unrest and resentment. One cannot rise against you if one is dead." She turns away from him and returned her dagger to her bodice. "This is war and ever advantage we must take, we must assume that the alarm has been raised with the death-throes of the troll below. The information we have gleaned from the guards was the the alarm, if it has been raised, was inefficient. To allow that woman mercy was to let her raise the alarm, a threat I could not allow."
She turned to him again taking care to draw attention to her empty hands and cinched component pouch. "I hold no ill will towards you Ilgam the Twisted, Ilgam the Shaper, but, life in Taldor has made you soft. You see good where one should see a knife. This is a land where one is killed for not being cautious." She grows silent and tucks a white lock of hair behind her ear a brief wave of fatigue and listlessness assaults her frame and she appears small and older. "I have granted mercy and more that I should, by rights those ulfen peasants should be dead, I alone called for Vesperia to stay her hand, were she an adherent of The Savored Sting, The Unquenchable Fire, she would not have heeded my words and would be lost to the fire that burns in her heart, vengeance. I did not grant mercy so that in the future I may grant mercy and claim that I have called for the death of a woman for but a touch and I have seem too much bloodshed." Her hand goes to the twisted mark on her shoulder now coated in a fine layer of blood before rising to stroke the birds breast. "Ones greatest enemy is kindness for one will not think twice for killing the kind man for his shoes. Hair like snow and eyes that gleam. As a sign of trust and good faith I give into your keeping the name of that which I hold most dear Ilgam the Shaper."
Whispering into Tralfar's ear Gren asks if he can walk over to Ilgam and Tatianna.
Tatianna what have you done this time...
"Ilgam, Tatianna both of you bring up valid points. Ilgam you were a kind and benevolent leader over Heldren, whereas Tatianna and her family were once residents of this land. Should we continue on in this land I believe that we should follow her lead and act as her body guards. However in order to prevent the fighting before it even happens we will need to leave people alive so maybe instead of aiming to kill we aim to knock out."
Gren glares at Randt as he said that last line.
"Now I believe that Randt and Vesper were working on a plan to get the other barracks to surrender or flee without fighting."
Looking between Vesper and the bodies, before finally facing Vesper.
Maybe we can use this to our advantage...
"Hey Vesper, what do you think about this plan... We take the body of the leader of this last group, go over to their room, and throw in the corpse. We'll get 'em to surrender with the threat of ending up like their friends over there. Not having to fight another squad of guards, and conserving our strength would be helpful to us while we remain in this tower. To give them that extra bit of motivation, we could also use the other corpses if needed. Of course, we'd have to wait for those two to stop bickering..."
Baba Dola cawed and circled the room before perching on Vespers corpse. “The Lady of Fire is gone, she did not heed the words. She did not drink of the spring and drowned. To the bosom of her goddess has she gone?” The raven said before turning a hard eye to the others almost daring them to disagree.
Tatianna sighed, she could not deal with this her would-be friend lay dead, and pulled her long glittering hair into a loose knot at the base of her skull. She leaned on the rim of the cauldron and poked at the brew with a glass rod that sat nearby. She is noble Betyrina, not weak Kseniya, and must carry herself as such. “Baba Dola, away, tend to that which you must. They grow weary of your prophecies, anger them and they may pluck you like a feast day goose.”
The fair Jadwiga crossed the room to the corpse rapidly cooling on the floor as the raven fled and took up near the goat. “What will we do with the corpse of fiery Vesperia?” Tatianna turned to Ilgam. “I know not Taldan burial customs and I don't believe she would be happy with Irriseni tradition.” She looked almost distraught before quickly schooling her features into their ever cold mask and rising. “Taldor is far but the portal may be a way to return her to her husband and reproductive partner, would you like to reside in death in a frozen foreign land far from the love of family and your god?”
Whispering into Tralfar's ear Gren asks:
"Tralfar can you get closer to Vesper please?"
Tralfar walks up to Vesper alongside Tatianna.
Does that bird ever shut up? I don't know how Tatianna stands it.
"Well the portal maybe the best bet to getting her back to Taldor however how will we know if someone has found her before she has become one with nature? Perhaps we should leave a note on her person telling others who she is and why she is there. After all her husband would like an explanation as to why his wife is now dead."
As the party gathers around Vesper, wondering how she fell to such a seemingly superficial wound, when something odd begins to happen. The flames wreathing her armor begin to shift and grow, Finally convalescing into the image of a flame wreathed young woman not dissimilar to Vesper herself, but wearing strange garb unknown to the other members of the group.
"Do not worry children, Vesperia will be returned to her family. This was not her time, and not her place. You have many perils ahead of you, but fear not, I see that another of worthy abilities will join your cause very soon."
With that, the flames enshroud and seem to consume Vesper's corpse and then fly out the nearby open window, hurtling in the direction of the winter portal.