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Callix shakes his head at Letitia's comments, Here I was setting up the tower to tear itself apart, and she's defused it. A false name is all that we needed... I can't help but think that she's still doing her best to make sure the power structure itself isn't torn apart as we do this...
She sighs, then says, "Be ready to strike when we return."
----
On route, Callix pushes the others, "Samuel? Alec? Any sign of the patrol's route? Are we gaining?"
----
Callix steels herself as they arrive at the house, fearing the worst has already happened.... then realizing, based on the news they were about to deliver, to Nadya, it had. She is grateful when the others speak up, not wanting to be the one to break the news. She says with a level voice, "The news is worse than that - the Forlarren told them you were helping, and they were threatening sending guards against you. While I'd like to think that what we just did will have them focused on other things... I could as easily see them looking to follow our backtrail. Your help has put in you in danger, Nadya. It's not fair -- in fact, it's horrible.. But it's true."
She turns to Letitia and says, "We came to close the gate, and we have -- but it's insanity to think that we've saved the south..." ..and some of us, apparently, were born to save the North.... She takes a breath and then says, "You're not free of me so easily, Letitia." Mother would be so pleased... She surprises herself with a chuckle as another thought comes to her, Well, less so about the company I'm keeping... which, to be fair, has been true for more than a decade now.
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Anger clouds Nadya's face at the news of her daughter's death. she sits in stunned silence while you discuss among yourselves who will be continuing on to Whitethrone. finally she speaks
I will see Nazheena pay for this. I don't know how, and I may very well die trying, but I can't live with myself for not trying to do something. The depravity of a woman who would torture a young girl to the point of suicide... my poor Thora's death is on Nazheena's hands, even if she did not strike the killing blow.
You have done much by killing her apprentice. he was not weak. I do not know what I can do against a powerful witch like Nazheena, but I think you may be able to succeed where I cannot. I cannot ask you to do more than you are willing, but if the opportunity presents itself, please help me kill her!
her voice shakes and is full of pain, but you can see the resolve and steel inside of her rising with every word.
We're going to take this fight right to the gates of Whitethrone if we have to. you say you want to go there, let me be your guide. I know the way, and I know the dangers we will face. this land is not hospitable to those not used to it. and if you did kill a Jadwiga... you will be hunted.
Luckily, I know a man who can help. my uncle works in the village just outside the walls of the capital. he has been helping a resistance movement called the Heralds of Summer's Return within the capital by smuggling in supplies and food. if anyone can get you inside the walls of Whitethrone it is him.
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Letitia nods at both Callix and Samuel as they agree to come with her to Whitethrone. She was relieved that they needed no persuading, because just because they closed one gate did not mean that Elvanna's campaign against the south was over. Though perhaps their final goals were different, at this point their immediate needs aligned.
Before Ashling and Alec speak up about their intentions, Nadya speaks. Letitia's ice-blue eyes narrow when she mentions the Heralds. She'd heard of them. Maybe dangerous to a lone witch, or if left to flourish, but much like the Ulfen howling outside their borders, they were hardly a threat to the Jadwiga. But they may actually serve a purpose, now, if they can get us inside Whitethrone, she thinks.
"Nadya, you may certainly guide us to Whitethrone. You may fight with us when we face Nazhena. I welcome your help, and will do what I can to help you see her dead."
We do need to remember, the mission bestowed on us. She motions to the cloak in reminder, Detours would not be recommended so a guide would be nice
Samuel nods to Nadya in acknowledgement of her feelings "The road will be safer with you as our guide Nadya"
"If we are to do this, we should have into account Whitethrone is the capital. The most powerful allies of the witches will be there. We must be discrete by all means. We need to think about a good cover" then turning first to Nadya then to Letitia "We will need contacts or other source of information to discover where exactly has Nazheena gone. As well as what weak points we might find on there to succeed on our goals"
Alec spoke looking at no one in particular. His voice was shakey, yet somehow resolved.
"I will go as well. I can help keep us hidden."
Great, it is settled then. I do not have much that i need to bring with us Nadya explains. However, the events of the last few days have made it clear that we cannot stay here. Nazheena or her allies will come back for me. I am going to take my sons with me, at least as far as Ellsprin. I will get everything ready, and we will be set first thing in the morning.
In the morning, Nadya is up early, packing food and tents onto a dogsled. her boys sit on top of a second sled.
Well, if you are all ready let us be off at once!
Letita spends the day and evening going over all the magical items that they've collected. Unless someone wants them, she takes possession of the scrolls they've collected, since they are either spells she can add to her familiar's repertoire or spells that she can reasonably expect to unlock. She also keeps the icicle wand and continues wearing the cloak of the yeti, though she doesn't need it for its insulation against frigid temperatures.
If someone goes to town for supplies, she asks them to buy some rations for her as well, and supplies them with money if they ask for it.
In the morning, she joins Nadya and her sons as they ready to set out.
On the morning Samuel uses the coin to buy another wand for healing and gives it to Letitia in order to split the healing potential of the party.
"Yes, let us be off as soon as possible Nadya" the Taldan mounts on the sled covering his feet from the freezing coldness "What can you tell us about the trip? How long will it take?"
Callix pauses, "Would we be able to stop for supplies in this Ellsprin, Nadya? Might be better to be off quicly with what we can carry, just in case -- preferably before someone comes looking."
"we should be able to make pretty good time with a group as well-equipped as yours, Nadya replies to Samuel. Still, the journey is not easy and will take us at least a week. there are some dangers on the road most of the time, which will only be made worse if Nazheena is trying to find you.
to Callix she says
Ellsprin is not much larger than Waldsby, but it is possible you could find some traders there. My uncle could probably help you with finding or selling things once we get to him in Whitethrone.
the party collects a few things they need for the trip, but set off quickly the next morning.
travel starts smoothly, as the weather is nice and Nadya is more experienced running the sleds than you were.
you see about a half-dozen ravens slowly cirlcing above you in wide lazy movements. as you watch, more ravens seem to be joining the flock
Lazlo hoots urgently as he circles overhead, trying to get everyone to look up.
Letitia scowls when she sees the ravens circling overhead. When her owl lands on her shoulder, hooting, she looks at him with a half-smile. "Do you want to go play?"
Silently, the snowy owl glides up, nearly invisible in the frost-covered boughs of the trees. Lazlo picks a raven and snatches it out of the air in his powerful talons.
Samuel remembers the Aerie of the tower as Letitia points out the Ravens with Alex "They are spying us"
" Shall I scare them?" the man looks at Nadya hoping she knows what to do. If she, or other ones, is not against, he shots at the mass of birds hoping a death and the noise will make them fly away.
Callix says, "Those birds are ruining Alec's covering our backtrail. Though, I guess it's fair question whether it's the witch, or our friend from the Aerie."
Lazlo streaks up to the sky and grabs one of the birds. the others move to peck at him, but they are not fast enough to match the arial predator. Samuel's gunshot scatters them for a few moments, but soon they congregate again, seemingly with more birds this time.
the birds form up into two distinct swarms of ravens and descend on the party!
The whole party can act!
"Lazlo! Swoop low!" Letitia shouts as she sees the flock of ravens coalesce into swarms.
She moves back, hoping the swarms will get low enough to the ground for her new wand to work.
x.5=16
"Quickly! Disperse before they can catch us all!" Samuel quickly advances as fast as the snow and his snowshoes allow him. By when he reaches as far he can, he lowers his musket at shots at the crows coming over Nadya.
The musket suddenly gets stuck "Rats!!!" the Taldan starts hitting the firearm frantically until the bullet frees out of the chamber.
"Nadya, move!" Alec shouted as he quickly slipped his hand out of his shield and let it fall into the snow beside him. He dashed forward through the snow, drawing his shortbow as he moved to stand between the two sleds.
Far up...i'm not the best at ranged combat but i can attempt Ashling Draws her longbow and takes a shot
Callix sees the birds and thinks, Not again.., then looks at the two groups and whispers the words to a spell. If Samuel can make a racket, then so can I...
Nadya moves back a bit, unslinging her longbow. she takes a shot at the closest swarm
Ashling also releases an arrow into a swarm. she kills a bird but they keep coming
Callix hits a swarm with a sound burst spell
Samuel jams his gun and clears it out.
the swarms fall on the party
Letitia causes a giant spike of ice to rise up among one of the swarms as it moves around Alec.
Alec takes damage
the second swarm attacks Nadya who takes damage
The whole party may act
Global Condition: none |Party Condition: Hex Ward on all
Callix HP: 31/31 - AC: 18/13/15 Status:
Letitia: HP: 26/26 - AC: 12/12/10 Status:
Alec HP: 27/30 - AC: 19/12/17 Status:
Samuel HP: 34/34 - AC: 19/15/14 Status:
Ashling HP: 29/29 - AC: 18/14/14 Status:NPCs:
Nadya HP: 19/24 - AC 15/12/13 Status:Green Swarm HP: -13 | AC 15 |
Blue Swarm HP: -16 | AC 15 |
"Nadya get out of there!" while holding the musket in one hand, Samuel retrieves one alchemist fire flask with the other and tosses it at the crows attacking Nadya.
Alec swung his bow in a brief panic at the ravens flying around him. Suddenly he remembered the arrows in his quiver. Drawing one of the finest arrows in his quiver, he quickly nocked it, took aim and let loose.
Ashling lets another arrow fly at the birds
Letitia's mouth twists in irritation, hating to use s finite resource against a flock of birds, but previous experience tells her that these ravens are a threat.
She causes another ice spear to rise among the swarm next to Alec, making sure he's not in the zone of danger.
x1.5=16
the group responds quickly to the threat if the birds, hitting them with several attacks. both swarms dissipate, the remaining few birds flying off in different directions.
End of combat!
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Nadya steps up to the group as the birds flee
Is everyone ok? I know the witches use these birds to spy, but I was not expecting to be attacked so quickly outside of Waldsby. you must have really ticked someone off! we should keep an eye to the sky as we continue, I imagine this won't be the last time the witches send someone after us
she looks at Letitia hesitantly when she realizes the venom in her voice when she says the word witch
Samuel, sensing the hatred on the word, interposes himself between both women and tries to refocus the situation "Aye, you are right Nadya. We must take care of these kind of attacks. Is there a way to divert or distract the ravens?"
The Taldan will later pack back all belongings that fell from the sleds as they reacted to the attack so the group can soon continue.
Letitia squints at Nadya while tapping the icicle wand against her thigh. "Why would you think I take offense at the word 'witch'? Or that I would have issue with your reason to hate them? I'm in as much danger as you, am I not?"
Callix shrugs, "Like I said, Alec can cover our trail quite well, but that may not be enough to help."
Nadya looks to Letitia and holds out her hands I am sorry. you are right, you have as much to hate these witches for as I do. You have to understand, we usually try to avoid any interaction with witches when we can. they have complete control here and are often petty and cruel. I have never met a Jadwiga that I didn't have good reason to fear.
to Samuel she says
I do not think we will be able to truly hide from spies in the air. the path between here and Whitethrone is too open. our best bet is to move quickly and be ready to fight off servants of the JAdwiga several more times before we reach any safety.
NAdya helps secure anything that was shaken loose during the fight and soon the sleds are moving again.
as the day wears on into late afternoon, the trail that Nadya takes you on leads through a small wood. set away from the path you see a rough wooden cabin. there is no sign of activity around the cabin, but you do see smoke rising from the chimney.
Danger is danger regardless of source, Magic is simply more varied a tool. It does not matter that they are "Witches" They are corrupt people with power and no counter balance and that is why they should be hated. She stows her bow and rejoins the sleds, Keep your heads and try not to announce us, That includes arguing and speaking of our enemies out loud. you never know what magics they have
Samuel stares too at Letitia "You do probably well to fear her. But without her we wouldn't make it this far. I think what she tries to do here will do good to your country Nadya"
As the sleds start to slide through the snow the High Sentinel takes a large breath of air "Can you believe it? Just a few days back we were sitting at Heldren's square sweating like dogs and we are here now, in the middle of Winterland"
----------------
When the group approaches to the cabin, Samuel takes the opportunity of the approach to descend early from the sled and go around the cabin to check who is there without being noticed and with his musket ready.
outside of the cabin in the back you spot someone sitting on a rough wooden chair, looking off towards a path that goes further into the woods. it is a woman with bright red hair wearing a very rich green cloak. even though you feel like you were very quiet on your approach she still turns her head towards you and sees you as you walk near her cabin.
"Hello there! are you lost? I don't get many visitors these days. I could use your help if you have the time! I'll make it worth your while
Samuel shouts back in order to let the others hear his own voice ""
"" the man attempts to inspect if the woman is truthful, and also looks around trying to see if there is a trap being set.
Letitia folds her arms and sulks during much of the trip, fuming over Ashling's words about the witches ruling this land. They were given the right to rule by Baba Yaga herself. The land itself was cruel, and control had to be maintained with an icy fist. She was learning about practices she disliked -- the soul-bound dolls, for example. But she had a mother and sisters who were likely ruling sections of the country... provided they remained aligned with Elvanna. That question made her shudder. Did they oppose their queen, or stay loyal as she overthrew Baba Yaga? She wasn't sure which answer frightened her more.
Arriving at the cabin was a welcome respite from her troubling thoughts. She watches closely as Samuel approaches, and urges Lazlo to swoop in a little closer but to stay hidden.
Alec took half a step forward to follow after Samuel, but something inside him spared a glance over his shoulder in Nadya's direction and he froze. His friend had proven himself to be very capable and Nadya was still an unknown. Given how much she had already lost, and with what was left of her family in tow, Alec silently vowed to himself to remain by her side and protect her, to give his own life if need be. Whatever the cost to see her safely through whatever came next, it was a cost he was willing to pay. His hand tightened around the haft of his spear as Samuel continued to move forward, his eyes darting all around.
Callix watches Letitia's reaction to Ashling's words, I think I was right at the tower -- she was trying to preserve the power structure -- because she doesn't realize that this isn't a single bad actor, but a system who's very foundation is evil...
...
Callix says, "I'm guessing from his shout there's no sense in hiding.." and wanders forward, away from the sullen witch.
Lazlo does not see any other creatures around the house.
the lady greets Samuel warmly. "you are welcome to stay the night in my home, but in return I need your help. my husband has been taken. I saw a moss troll skulking in the woods near a cave nearby the day he went missing. I am sure that my husband has been taken by the troll. please, kill the troll and try to save my husband. if you bring him back I will give you something to make it worth your time. either way I will offer you the hospitality of my house.
Samuel breaths deep, caught by the lady's trouble "What's your husband's name and how does he look? I am compelled to help you lady, but let me ask my companions"
The Taldan makes a sign for everyone to approach, then he walks near the group where he is not at direct ear distance from the lady "She says a moss troll took her husband in a nearby cave... If that's true, we might be able to help her. This woman is desperate"
Samuel looks back again at the woman, trying to make sure this is not yet another witch trick.
"I will go, but we have children with us..." Alec let the open-ended statement hang in the air, unsure of what the best approach would be.
Callix says, "I'm in... Though, are moss trolls different than the ice troll we fought at the tower?"
"I believe so. I think the troll we fought at the winter gate was a moss troll. Likely formidable against a lone hunter, but something we can overcome."
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the woman walks a little closer to Samuel in order to answer him
thank you so much for your help. How many are you? I am sure we can find room for everyone, no need to sleep out in the cold. relief is very apparent on her face. Samuel does not get the feeling that she is being anything less than completely honest about her need for help.
My husband's name is Finngarth. he is a skald man, large and well-built. he was a mercenary for a while and knows how to fight, but settled down when we got married. In his prime there is no way a single troll could best him, but... that was years ago
you would not expect to find a moss troll in this part of Irrisen. they live mostly up in the branches of trees rather than in a cave. the trees in this forest are mostly evergreen and do not offer the kind of supportive branches that a moss troll would find most to their liking.
as the woman turns to see one of your party members you catch an odd movement at the base of her cloak. was that.... a tail?
Letitia gives the woman a tight smile, but says nothing.
the troll we fought looked quiet different from the one at the tower She follows casually commenting. Her hood draw up over her face and hand on her scimitar to respond quickly to danger. She seems unbothered by the snow and frost as usual, unhampered in her movement
"Mmmm... it's curious, I would find moss troll live mostly up in the branches of trees rather than in a cave. The trees in this forest are mostly evergreen and do not offer the kind of supportive branches that a moss troll would find most to their liking..."
Nevertheless, Samuel accepts the woman's words, trusting her "We will find Finngarth... mmm... woman. You say he was a mercenary. Was he part of any group in particular?"
And looking at his companions "I am all up to immediately look for him, as time might be tight here. But I am open to rest if you are tired from the trip"
I am sorry, I don't know the name of his company. we don't speak of it much. he was happy to leave that life behind, and I am happy to not have him running off to fight in any more wars...
It is currently late afternoon. there is plenty of daylight left if you want to go looking for this troll now, or even if you decide you'd rather keep moving and not take this woman up on her hospitality after all.