Lay of the Sluagh Sídhe - a Reign of Winter PbP (Inactive)

Game Master Mark Sweetman

Kelgar grabs the bound guardman, dragging his body towards the kennels and gives Hilde a nod indicating that she's welcome to follow his lead.

"Alright lads n' lasses. Thar's no tellin' who's attention we've gone n' attracted. Best we hide these two and keep movin' before the whole tower's on our arses."

Hilde will take hers captive if possible but kill him if she has to. Assuming she can take him captive, she tosses him with Kelgar's captive.

Moving to The Halfhand, she bends over, placing her hands on the shoulders of the critically injured mage.

Lay on Hands: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 3) = 8

To the others she says,

"Return the dragon's gaze,
the door below must we go through.
Two above do passage offer,
one of these must we go to."

What, if anything, of interest do we find on the guards/troll?

No-one has stated in character that they've searched the guards or troll yet.

Back to full health once the spell runs its course!

The Halfhand winces as Hilde lays her hands on him, averting his eyes as he mumbles his thanks. He had never been this close to the princess before. She was not like the women he had known in his youth - their beauty and grace paled in comparison to the faerie princess. It was almost off-putting.

"That's enough." He says quickly, pulling away from her. Steam roils from his wound as the flesh pulls itself together. Neither the scar nor the ache would disappear any time soon, but for the moment... he was alive. He adds, almost an afterthought: "... Thank you."

Rubbing his shoulder, the Halfhand staggers over to the fallen trow before giving it a swift kick.

"Wretched creature." He spits a wad of acid onto the troll's face, and it quickly begins to eat away at the flesh.

Enemies dealt with, he utters the Detect Magic incantation, sweeping his gaze across the courtyard.

I was waiting to ensure we didn't get attacked once we dragged the guard bodies into the kennels before attempting any searching. Can we assume the kennels are clear?

With the first guard deposited in the kennels, Kelgar marches back into the snow, grumbling all along the way about missing other large barbarian-types with which to split the load.

Grabbing the trow by an oversized leg, he turns and like a toddler carrying a teddy bear twice his size, drags the creature into the kennels.

With a final huff of exertion, Kelgar finds something suitable to plant his rump onto and looks at the others like a grumpy grandfather before turning towards Bastagar.

"Ah'lright wee lad, see what 'e 'as."

Bastagar will snap to attention, gleefully rifling through the corpses.

Turning over the guardsmen you find that they wear a chain shirt and cold-weather equipment; though their more easily liberated possessions are a light steel shield, cold iron longsword, dagger, heavy crossbow with 10 bolts, and 50 gold between them. The gagged guardsman dragged down by Kelgar stares balefully at you.

For clarity - two are down and unconscious; the slumbered one is wakeful but gagged and bound.

The trow proves hard for Kelgar to move and overlarge to be stuffed within the kennels - her bed spilling out instead to one side of them.

Halfhand's gaze yields no sign of magiks arcane or divine.

You've spent about 5 rounds doing that - just to keep a track of the time you're taking.

Hilde moves over to the door on the lower level to see if it can be opened from this side, and if so, how.

The kennels are the little 5x10 buildings on our latest map?

Are any of those "buildings" multiple stories? It looks like there might be more stuff off the map to the left? Anything of interest?

Kelgar, feeling like the guards are secure, sees little point in questioning them. Instead the old dwarf moves anxiously to a window to glance out at the courtyard and see who else they have attracted the attention of.

"Best ye all get healed up real quick. 's just a matter o' time before we get inta our next fight."

Aye - the 5x10 'buildings' on the map are the assorted kennels. They're just of a height appropriate for dogs / wolves. The big unknown to the left of map is where Hilde is headed - the pale tower.

At the last moment Kelgar sneezes, and looks down to notice a lump in the trow's bedclothes. See above spoiler.

Moving to the double doors that lead into the Pale Tower, Hilde sees that they could easily be opened from outside... but as she nears the doors - she also hears muffled voices and noise from within the tower.

Hilde's perception isn't high enough to pick out exactly what is being said - but you can confirm that there are three ways into the tower:
1) The double doors you're currently at.
2 & 3) Entry from the top of the walls at either side and elevated off the ground.

Hilde motions one of the others over with one finger held up to her lips.

Ah, I, as Kelgar's player failed the spot check on noticing that spoiler somehow. For the sake of being complete...

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Kelgar kneels down and liberates the troll of his gold, holding the treasure up for the others to see.

"Now, we jes need t' live t' spend it!"

Ensuring all his weapons are ready, he steps back into the snow to the west, following Hilde before gesturing for the others to follow.

The Halfhand double-checks his crossbow, quickly falling in behind Hilde and Kelgar.

"Invite us in these mortals have,
and now we may begin our coup.
For once you welcome fairie-kind
Fairie-kind will take their due."

Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (7) + 14 = 21
Apply Poison: 1d20 ⇒ 7

Bastagar will apply a double dosage of greenblood oil to one of his daggers, eyes glinting at the sight of the gold. He dogs Kelgar's heels, taking long, stomping strides in time with the dwarf's. "Much gold whitebeard has, yes..." the gnome begins, looking uncertain. Having never had much success acquiring gold and jewels, the creature seems uncertain what to actually do with them. "What will... what will this one do with it, yesss?"

Once they enter harms way Bastagar will slink to the shadows, ready to launch a ray of frost sneak attack at any nasties.

Ok, so you're all over by the double doors?
Do you open? - or just listen through for another span of time?

Kelgar, fairly certain that their battle in the courtyard was no less loud than the opening of doors, nods to Hilde and begins to push one of the two open.

I say we just open the doors at this point. Kelgar and Hilde each to open one.

Forcing the doors open, a ten foot wide entry corridor comes into view. Steamy air fills this inner gallery, emanating in lazy wisps from a bubbling pool recessed into the floor of a raised dais surrounded by six pillars of ice. Four foggy mirrors hang from the walls near ice sculptures of helmeted pike-wielding warriors. Across from the spring are two single doors - one of which is open and has the sound of footsteps and metallic scrapes of steel coming from it.

There are recessed areas out of direct view to the left and right of the entryway - but you'll need to move into the chamber to get line of sight to them.

"A spring?"

The Halfhand's eyes ring red as he stares down the corridor, hoping to divine any auras that may be lingering in the air.

Are we actually going into the tower now? Or is this another building prior to the tower?

"Ah don't like th' look o' those mirrors..."

Kelgar, gripping his axe warily, advances into the room, keeping his eyes trained for tricks or hostilities.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

"Strange that there are none here to meet us." The Halfhand says softly. His muscles are tense - the apparent lack of resistance seems to put him on edge. "I sense no wards either..."

"Ill-luck to linger in doorways." Bastagar snaps, his battered walking stick echoing down the hallway, smoke pellet in hand. He casts his eyes downward as he enters the hall, not daring to so much glance at his reflection. "... and to glance in mirrors in dead-men's-halls, he a wicked-fate befalls. These things and more Bastagar knows, yesss."

It is unclear who he is talking to, if anybody at all. Once he reaches the open door he falls quiet as a mouse, peering around the corner.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Stealth: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24

This is indeed the tower proper.
Map

The noises coming from the opposite doors where the edge of bedding is visible are clearly those of guardsmen readying themselves for combat. There does not yet appear to be any other inhabitants of the ground floor bar yourselves.

Bastagar's furtive venturing does not elicit much further information. The North and South stretch out by corridor to what appear to be the transport hubs that Hatch spoke of. There are also other doors, two appear to be to small chambers while two others doubleback towards the courtyard and you wager they allow passage up to the battlements.

Bastagar will move to H13 and hide, beckoning the others to take up their positions.

The Halfhand braces himself, ready to follow the others into the breach.

"Ahl'right lads. Company's coming. Best ye all make yerselves ready."

Kelgar nods to The Halfhand.

"Ah din't suppose ye've got some sort o' surprise waiting for them if there's a big ol' group headin' our way?"

Kelgar advances to interpose himself shoulder-to-shoulder with Hilde to square off against the oncoming guards.

"I just might..." The Halfhand pulls a runestone from his pocket. He can feel the skittering magic contained within, itching to be loosed.

The Halfhand will draw a scroll of colour spray.

I know this might be an odd idea, but we *could* possibly get one of us to step up and finish out book 1, which appears to end after we finish our work here in the Pale Tower. I'd wager with a "breath of life", we could wrap it up in ~4 weeks if folks got back to posting daily.

The carrot at the end of such effort would be we could all get the PFS chronicle, which is a fairly dandy one.

Anyone possibly stumble into knowing/spoiling Snows of Summer already with that ambition?

Kelgar - you're actually through the full section for the chronicle.
PM me and we can work out the details of getting it through to you.

I imagine some of the other PFS gamers wouldn't object to a tasty chronicle, either. I know Twigs and Luke are both PFS players.