"Are you the witch?" Samuel seems confused as the birds fly around, but once they start to bite on his companions he shots at the strange woman.
The Taldan steps to the side while he quickly reloads his musket with another bullet.
"She brought up a wind wall! Your bullets are useless! Kill the ravens before they blind all of us!" Letitia yells before targeting the woman with her Slumber hex, taking her out of the fight for a few seconds.
it is indeed wind wall.
the blindness will last for at least a day or two if left to heal naturally. it could be cured sooner with cure blindness/deafness, or a DC 20 heal check. the heal check will take longer than you would have during combat (it's not specified, but I'm going with the same duration for healing injuries from caltrops and spikes which is 10 minutes)
Samuels bullet is buffeted by the strong winds, but manages to strike the blue woman, causing her to bleed from her shoulder.
Letitia casts a hex on her, but she is unaffected. her eyes narrow and she focuses on Letitia, clearly knowing what the witch was trying to do.
bold may act:
Ashling, Callix, Alec, ravens, woman, Letitia, Samuel
Callix staggers to her left, trying to get away from the birds while drawing a flask of alchemical acid, then hurling it back where she was standing. Hope that works, I only had the one flask...
for
Taking the long way around the room to avoid the flock of birds, Alec walked right up to the magic using woman and pointed her blade directly at her.
"Surrender now and call off your birds!" Alec threatened.
Uncertain and blind Ashling is backing away and falling out of combat to better assess her situation
"Ashling, stay close to the birds! Your cold aura will continue to hurt them!" Letitia shouts.
I Am Blind! More so than usual, i can't even see the birds! She actually shouts back
Callix and Ashling stumble around, trying to move away from the swarm of birds.
As she moves, Callix tosses a flask of acid back at the swarm blindly, missing the birds. the flask hits the ground under them and does only minor damage.
the woman yells out as the bullet passes through her protection and injures her. almost instantly, the swarm of birds swirls over toward Samuel, engulfing him in a pecking, scratching mass.
Samuel is caught off guard by how quickly the swarm changed targets and is unable to protect his face at all. his eyes are damaged and he is unable to see
the woman then steps back from Alec and casts a spell. Letitia feels a pressure on her mind that is trying to force her to stop fighting.
Letitia was well warded against witch magic, but this seems to be something... else. somethign with divine power that went right through her practiced defenses against witch magic. her limbs suddenly freeze in place and she is unable to do anything but breathe.
The whole party may act
Global Condition: none |Party Condition: Hex Ward on all
Callix HP: 18/24 - AC: 17/13/14 Status: blind
Letitia: HP: 20/20 - AC: 12/12/10 Status: paralyzed
Alec HP: 26/26 - AC: 18/12/16 Status:
Samuel HP: 25/27 - AC: 18/15/13 Status: blind
Ashling HP: 15/24 - AC: 18/14/14 Status: Black Rider mode, blindNPCs:
woman: HP: -17| AC: 18? | status:
Raven swarm HP: -5 | AC <22
You can't hear them? Letitia thinks, but decides not to voice it.
She works herself free of the spell, but precious seconds are wasted.
"Damned creatures, aaah!" Samuel screams as the ravens scratch his eyes.
When the blood starts to cover his sight the Taldan curses three times while he tries to protect himself from the ravens. Still holding the musket in his left hand, the Sentinel draws his cold iron sword with the right and swings blindly at the ravens trying to kill some of them or at least dispersing them enough to stop bothering with him.
listening to the other, Ashling heads to the crows and takes a defensive stance
Alec could feel the cold radiating off of Ashling, but it did not deter him. He stepped forward and brought both his shield and falcata to bear against the bird lady.
Callix takes a breath to calm herself, then spins the axe in her hand again, I don't have a spell that'll stop the ravens, so I guess I'll just try to swing where I hear wingbeats...
for
Letitia is unable to help her allies but is able to break free of the oppressive weight on her own mind.
Samuel, Ashling and Callix swat at ravens through their blindness, and are able to do only a little bit of damage.
Alec gets a good hit on the woman with his shield, but his sword is avoided.
feeling pressured by the party's advance, and bleeding from multiple wounds, the woman retreats to the back corner fo the balcony.
"Enough! you have won this fight, I do not want to lose my life this day."
With a word from the woman, the ravens stop their attack and swirl in a small cloud between her and the party.
"What is it you seek in this tower? and who are you?" this last questions seems directed specifically at Letitia
You can tell the woman is not in good shape. if you press the attack now you may be able to kill her quickly. or you can stop fighting long enough to talk with her. what do you do?
Long story short. restoring the natural order. We have good authority that it's going to destroy everything
Callix quietly calls on the Drunken Hero, closing some of her wounds, hoping it includes the damage to her eyes.
Still blind Samuel keeps swinging his sword to the now gone ravens in a defensive stance "We came here to defend Taldan national lands from this unacceptable snowing invasion of its frontiers!"
Realizing the ravens are no longer a menace the Sentinel finally calms down "What witchery have you done to our eyes? We would be more amenable to talk if we had our sight restored"
the woman approaches Callix and looks at the injuries to her eyes.
I can treat this, as long as you give me your word not to attack me again once you can see me.
if you allow her to, she is able to restore your sight in about 10 minutes
Callix says, "I will not attack you, so long as you don't try to slow us, stop us or raise an alarm."
Letitia folds her arms regally. "I am Jadwiga, that should be all you need to know. We're looking for Radosek. All we require is the phrase that will allow us to reach him. Do you know it?"
You have my word as well She turns back to her normal form and shuts off the cloak
Samuel nods at Letitia's words "Exactly. And there is a portal at the top of this tower. Tell us how do we reach there and you are free to go. We have nothing against you. In fact, whom are you and what are you doing in this tower?"
The Taldan looks at the ravens "You have them well trained and feed, are you some kind of bird trainer?"
while still working on Callix's eyes, the woman replies to Samuel:
My name is Jairess. I am the keeper of the Aerie. I speak with these birds and hear their reports, then bring those reports to the masters of the tower. I have not been here long, but I have found this place to my liking.
to Letitia she says
I know what you are. and I do not wish to interfere with the affairs of witches. if you have reason to have conflict with Nazheena and Radhosek, I will not be caught in the middle of it. perhaps it is time for me to leave this tower and seek somewhere new to offer my services.
if you want to get to the top of the tower, you must go through the portal in the main hall on the second floor, there is a room with two ice sculptures standing next to a teleport tile. there is a passphrase, but i believe the portal has been locked so as to not disturb The Apprentice while he does his work. However, if you promise t let me go and not tell them about my aidign you, I can give you a key that will let you use the portal. Radhosek gave it to me once hoping that I would be... interested in him.
Letitia nods in agreement. "That is a fair arrangement. I believe some of my companions will bear the signs of your resistance for some time, to lend credence to the tale that you did not aid us willingly."
Assuming the deal is done, Letitia starts to help Samuel, doing what she can to restore his sight while Callix's eyes are being fixed by Jairess.
As the others talked, Alec did his best to lend his aid to helping heal those that had been blinded.
Samuel nods in agreement to the deal.
The man sits patiently as Letitia works in his injuries "Your hands are cold like the ice witch" he does smile amused though and starts blinking trying to adjust his sight as he starts to recover it.
At that point he turns to look at Callix "So it seems we got what you were looking for after all"
Before the party leaves, the Taldan will check the Aerie in search of useful stuff.
Callix blinks, her vision returning, then looks to see if there are others who need her help, now that she can see what she's doing. She eyes the ravens carefully, I'd really like to smite that pile of feathers and claws..., then sighs, ..can't say I ever thought that a pack of birds would be such a ... formidable opponent... I'm sure You're getting a good drunken laugh over this...
She adjusts her gear, then starts looking at the wounds of others, drawing out the healing wand to tap Ashling, She looks worse than I did before I healed myself...
She holds out the wand to the others, asking, "Anyone else hurt and need this? And please don't act stoic - if a flock of birds can hurt us this badly, the witch is going to be even worse."
Finally she chuckles at Samuel's statement, "I'm not just a pretty face with spinning axes, you know. This almost seemed designed to be an object lesson about rushing ahead blindly, don't you think?"
She then says, "But, on the plus side, we're not really any worse for wear, we know exactly how to get where we need to go -- and, knowing that, we can even use some magic to help us fight."
"I am feeling better now that you have healed my eyes" Samuel rejects the wand while he finishes his check of the Aerie.
"You are certainly a pretty axe that spins attached to northern arms" the Taldan laughs with Callix "So, we now know where to go and how to do it. Why don't we head towards the teleporter pointed by Jairess?"
There does not seem to be anything of use in the Aerie, just birds and the supplies to feed and care for them. there are two closed doors to the north, and the teleporter to get back down.
Once everyone has their sight restored, Jairess gives you another teleporter key that looks almost identical to the one you used to get to this room.
Letitia gives Jairess a nod as she accepts the teleporter key. She turns to the others. "Let's go. We've enough time to confront Radosek before our wards expire, but we shouldn't waste time needlessly. Make any additional preparations you need as we go back to the teleporter we passed."
She makes sure everyone is touching each other before she uses the first key they found on the tile they used to arrive.
"Wait a second, let me see what else is in the tower" as the team discusses the travel Samuel quickly opens and inspects the northern rooms of the tower.
If nothing relevant is found he just joins hands with Letitia and readies for transport.
Callix takes a moment to call on the Drunken Hero's blessing for the party... and, just as Letitia readies to activate the teleporter, she touches the cold iron axe, causing it to start to crackle with argent energy.
Samuel takes a quick peek into each of the rooms to the north. the one on the west side is a bedroom. inside is a bed, bookshelf, chest, and a mobile of ice crystals in the shapes of birds hanging from the ceiling.
to the east is a storeroom with dozens of stacked crates filling most of the area. one of them is open and appears to be full of grain. above the crates are several miniature dollhouses on shelves.
with a look from the doorway you don't see anything of particular interest.
Assuming no one goes back to dig through the rooms more, the party gathers at the marked tiles.
Letitia gathers the group together and activates the key, bringing them all back to the lower floor.
nothing seems to have changed in this hallway since you teleported away. the doors across the hall from you are closed, the door to the ornate hallway are still open to the east of your position.
Letitia pauses before activating Jairess' key on the teleporter to allow Callix to cast her prep spells. She then makes sure everyone is touching, and activates the magic.
"Sure. I totally agree, let's rush while we have the advantage of the surprise" Samuel checks his musket is loaded once more and with a wink to Letitia he takes her hand ready to teleport "I am getting used to this witch stuff"
As her vision returns she relaxes and readies to go through the teleporter, She speaks to Samuel I'm not... it's beginning to become bothersome. But yes, let's strike while the irons hot
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the party once again joins hands on the top of the stairs, activating another teleporter. ice encases them, and as it fades away they see an impressive sight.
A translucent image of a globe hangs suspended in midair, slowly rotating in place, above a summoning circle in the blue tile of the floor. Lines of arcane energy glow across the globe's surface, faintly humming with power as they connect multiple endpoints in a radiant glow bright enough to illuminate the domed ceiling 30 feet overhead. many tables and shelves covered in books, maps, and scrolls line the room's circular walls. a large ornate mirror hangs between 2 open windows to the west. Twin ice sculptures of demonic figures flank a bubbling cauldron in an archway leading into a deep alcove to the south.
as you take the room in, the first moving thing you see is.... a goat. a fairly normal-looking goat is standing just to the side of the summoning circle, watching you appear as if it was nothing out of the ordinary.
as you are watching the goat, from the southern alcove steps a tall human man, wearing black robes and a thick blue cape.
"Ah, there you are! I was curious how long it would take you to reach me! watching your progress has been very entertaining indeed. but I am afraid you are interrupting very important work here, and I must have you leave!
he tosses a handful of something into the cauldron and walks slowly towards you.
suddenly the room is full of movement. you spot a tiny winged creature fluttering around the globe and recognize the Atomie that got away earlier. from the icy floor, 4 ice elementals rise up, like fish breaking the surface of a pond.
the Atomie reacts first, casting a spell on Samuel.
it reaches out and touches Samuel's musket but nothing happens.
bold may act:
Samuel, Radosek, Letitia, Alec, Ashling, Callix, Elementals, Atomie
"A goat?" Samuel is clueless about the animal when finally Radosek shows off, only to be caught by surprise when he summons a group of ice elementals and the atomie shows up to attack him.
"You coward! I finally spot you!" without much thought to it Samuel shots his musket on the flying atomie.
Samuel reacts very quickly, shooting the atomie at almost point blank range with a musket. the small fey yells in pain, but is not killed by the shot
before anyone else in the group can react, Radosek brings his hands forward and a large number of icy snowballs fly from thin air in front of him, pelting the party with cold sharp objects.
Ashling and Letitia see the spell coming just a split second before the others and are able to avoid some of the incoming damage.
the small herd of ice elementals are of course completely unaffected by the flurry of snowballs.
bold may act Letitia, Alec, Ashling, Callix, Elementals, Atomie, Samuel, Radosek
Global Condition: none |Party Condition: Hex Ward on all
Callix HP: 15/24 - AC: 17/13/14 Status:
Letitia: HP: 15/20 - AC: 12/12/10 Status:
Alec HP: 17/26 - AC: 18/12/16 Status:
Samuel HP: 16/27 - AC: 18/15/13 Status:
Ashling HP: 21/24 - AC: 18/14/14 Status:NPCs:
Radosek HP: ?? | AC ??
Blue Ice elemental HP: ?? | AC ??
red Ice elemental HP: ?? | AC ??
green Ice elemental HP: ?? | AC ??
yellow Ice elemental HP: ?? | AC ??
Atomie: HP: -6?| AC: ??/ <21
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The situation quickly became grim. The cold was almost supernatural. Alec couldn't remember the last time he had felt such biting frost. He gritted his teeth against the pain and swung his falcata at the elemental to his left. Using his momentum, he spun in place and brought his shield around at the same level to smack into the elemental. He then shifted to his right to block the other elementals from encroaching on the others.
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Callix shakes off the spell, quickly calling on the Drunken Hero to undo the worst of the effects of the spell.
She glares at the witch, "Think a walking icecube is going to protect you?", she growls before springing forward, diving at the the elemental, then rolling in a tight ball before springing to her feet and rushing at the witch.
She closes the distance, raising her axe, bleeding with argent energy, and swings at Radosek with a smile, "My turn."
for
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"No one wants to hear your yammering, Radosek," Letitia says as she produces a bone needle and some thread made from sinew. She weaves a spell which threatens to stitch his mouth shut!
Ashling steps forward in front of Letitia and swings at one of the elementals
unfortunately she swings wide, still adjusting to her surroundings after leaving the ice teleporter.
Alec is unable to hit with his sword, but damages the ice elemental with his shield.
Callix rushes through one of the elementals, slipping between it and a second ice creature, but can't quite make it to Radosek.
Letitia casts a spell to try to prevent some of Radosek's spellcasting ability
a thin thread appears and stitches through the witch's lips, sealing them shut!
the elementals surge forward together, swinging at the party
the atomie slips in behind Samuel, stabbing his from behind with a small rapier
it isn't quite able to find a way through Samuel's armor
bold may act:
Samuel, Radosek, Ashling, Alec, Callix, Letitia, elementals, atomie
putting Radosek's action in a spoiler, in order to keep things moving quickly. everyone else feel free to post actions for your next round now.
Radosek glares angrily at Letitia, not able to do what he was planning on doing. he reaches up with the hand holding an icicle wand and uses it as a dagger to slice through the thread on his lip.
he then steps back (to current position on map)
Global Condition: none |Party Condition: Hex Ward on all
Callix HP: 9/24 - AC: 17/13/14 Status: staggered 1 round
Letitia: HP: 15/20 - AC: 12/12/10 Status:
Alec HP: 10/26 - AC: 18/12/16 Status:
Samuel HP: 16/27 - AC: 18/15/13 Status:
Ashling HP: 21/24 - AC: 18/14/14 Status:NPCs:
Radosek HP: -6 | AC ?? | bleeding 1
Blue Ice elemental HP: -3 | AC <22
red Ice elemental HP: ?? | AC ??
green Ice elemental HP: ?? | AC ??
yellow Ice elemental HP: ?? | AC ??
Atomie: HP: -6?| AC: ??/ <21
Finding himself surrounded, Alec lashed out at the elemental closest to Samuel , hoping to free his friend to use his strange weapon.
"Thanks friend!" supported by Alec, the High Sentinel takes his opportunity to try shot down the atomie.
Letitia moves out of the alcove to give herself more room to work. She then targets Radosek again with another debilitating spell.
AShling will move toward Radosek and attack