"I don't like it Nadya, but this is your land and your plan, and so I respect your decision" Samuel is not fully convinced but he will help the group to find a nice spot to camp and help to build up the campsite for the night.
Letitia waits for Nadya to go on ahead, then she exchanges a look with Lazlo. He hoots once softly, then takes flight. He silently glides after her, staying out of sight and watching her.
Callix asks, "Would it be possible to pick up some items at their market for us, Nadya, or would that be risking too much attention?"
"I can try to locate anything you might need. this is a pretty small town, and likely won't have a lot of arms and armor, but give me a list of what you are looking for"
Lazlo follows Nadya into town, but does not give Letitia the impression that he sees any danger or that anything unexpected is going on.
"I think I am fine to go until we are able to get some coin from the tower guards stuff, but thanks Nadya" Samuel will try to secure the camp until Nadya's return.
Callix nods, "Then we should probably wait. We'll keep a campsite waiting for you... "
Nadya is not gone long. maybe an hour later she returns, alone.
We should not stay here more than a night. we are close now, my friends. this is the last leg, and likely the most dangerous.
this last stretch towards Whitethrone is through very wide open country. ice and snow stretch in every direction, more than some of you have ever seen in your lives. for others it brings a sense of home and familiarity. what it doesn't bring is cover. you feel rather exposed while riding along the snowy ground in dogsleds.
the road runs alongside a large lake, long since frozen over. it is simply called "Glacier Lake". as you near the lake, the road turns through a small copse of trees before turning towards Whitethrone, which despite the open flat land is not quite visible yet.
there are several birds above. not ravens this time, but falcons. they are circling above and fairly close to your group
you can see several humanoids hdiing in the trees, clearly taking efforts to conceal themselves, but your sharp eyes picked them out.
Samuel is happy to see Nadya is back and approaches to talk with her as the night falls.
____________________________
Samuel contemplates the infinite landscape while the dogs open their way through the snow "There is enough snow here to feed the Porthmos river for a century or more "
The man stares at the Glacier Lake "I did not expect it to be that large. Impressive. Where next Nadya?"
Lazlo hoots nervously and stays close to Letitia.
Is your Familiar Okay? he seems off. Ash comments looking around, Didn't you mention something about birds earlier? spies or something? because there are falcons over yonder
Having learnt to trust on Lazlo behavior, Samuel instantly brings his hand to the musket and starts to look around more intently "What's it Lazlo, what is unnerving you? Any idea Letitia?"
Then when Ashling mentions the falcons, Samuel aims to the sky "Shall I attempt to bring one down?"
"Falcons..." Letitia considers when her attention is called to the raptors circling overhead. "Not something the Jadwiga use as often as ravens. I wouldn't do something so overtly hostile. Word of your unusual weapon will travel swiftly enough as it is."
She considers if she knows anything about the use of falcons either as scouts or some other purpose.
As a precaution, however, she casts mage armor.
"Falcons? How many? Birds of prey don't normally fly together."
Callix says, "More than a few, in any case. They're circling like vultures."
Samuel nods and saves his musket while still looking at the birds "Let's try to conceal ourselves then. We can hide below those trees over there and wait until the birds fly away or the night falls"
[spoiler=Letitia}
it does appear that the falcons are what Lazlo noticed, and he is keeping his distance form them once he spotted them. they are obviously big enough to make a snack out of your owl.
you think about who might be using these birds. they are not something the Jadwiga ever made use of to your knowledge (they tend to use ravens much more), but falcons are easily trained and domesticated and are used by rangers and hunters. the Jadwiga do of course make use of soldiers, rangers, and mercenaries when needed, but there isn't anything in particular to help you know if these are agents of the Jadwiga or local hunters.
[/spoiler]
several members of the group spot the falcons overhead, but the decision is made not to try to shoot them down just yet. Samuel indicates a potential hiding place ot hunker down. it is at least a couple hundred feet away, but quickly reachable on your dogsleds.
Letitia scans the otherwise bleak and featureless landscape. "We can hide in the trees, yes, but that's the only place anyone else can hide. I would not be surprised if we find others within that copse of trees. Or rather, they would find us. Hunters and rangers often train falcons. Though, there's no way to know from just the birds whether they are in league with the Jadwiga."
i'm fine either way, we should be cautious however She draws her blade, keeping an open eye
As the group makes their way towards the woods, they move cautiously, expecting a possible ambush. sure enough, Nadya, Letitia, Alec and Samuel all spot movement moments before several armored humans appear with bows. unfortunately they do not move quite as fast as the ambushers!
Surprise round
Alec and Nadya are hit by arrows!
Letitia, Alec and Samuel get a surprise round. 1 move or standard action
Global Condition: none |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 31/31 - AC: 18/13/15 Status:
Letitia: HP: 26/26 - AC: 12/12/10 Status:
Alec HP: 20/30 - 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: 13/24 - AC 15/12/13 Status:Red Falconer HP: ?? | AC: ??
Blue Falconer HP: ?? | AC: ??
Green Falconer HP: ?? | AC: ??
Yellow Falconer HP: ?? | AC: ??
"Rats! It's an ambush!" Samuel quickly reacts at the arrows shower by aiming at the only attacker at touch range for his musket, the one at the west tree, and sending a deadly bullet at him.
Letitia's face twists in annoyance, taking no pleasure in being right. She takes a step towards the one to the southeast and throws her Slumber hex at him.
Alec slid over to stand in front of Nadya, raising his shield and assuming a defensive posture. "TAKE COVER!" he shouted.
Samuel's bullet hits one of the rangers, injuring him but not enough to take him out.
the one on the other side struggles with Letitia's hex attack.
he suddenly falls to the ground asleep...
Nadya fires an arrow targeting blue
the three archers that are not asleep fire their own arrows in reply
Callix takes a surprisingly accurate shot to her chest before she can react. Ashling takes a flesh wound and alec is missed entirely.
while the archers attack, their birds fly in to harass the ranged party members
Letita has a bird scratching at her and is shaken for a round.
if all this wasn't quite enough, a massive pure white wolf is seen running through the snow at the party from the right! it is much larger than a normal wolf and looks quite dangerous!
this is not a regular wolf, it is a winter wolf. a large intelligent beast that can speak and is often used as a leader in the witch armies. they have cold based attacks in addition to being big wolves, and even have an icy breath weapon!
The whole party may act!
Global Condition: none |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 5/31 - AC: 18/13/15 Status:
Letitia: HP: 26/26 - AC: 12/12/10 Status: shaken
Alec HP: 20/30 - AC: 19/12/17 Status:
Samuel HP: 34/34 - AC: 19/15/14 Status:
Ashling HP: 18/29 - AC: 18/14/14 Status:NPCs:
Nadya HP: 13/24 - AC 15/12/13 Status:Red Falconer HP: -12 | AC: ??
Blue Falconer HP: -9 | AC: 21
Green Falconer HP: ?? | AC: ??
Yellow Falconer HP: ?? | AC: ?? | asleepGiant wolf HP: ?? | AC ??
Samuel moves his hand energetically trying to scare the falcons around him while he looks at Nadya to ask her "Who the f#%@ are this people? Why are they attacking us?!"
That said, he does not hesitate to quickly reload his musket and shot a second bullet at the one in red clothing.
"We have a white wolf approaching," Letitia says to the others. "Deal with the archers quickly, this beast looks powerful."
Rather than staying in the open, she moves to keep cover from the archers and to get the wolf inside the range of her hex. She targets it with her Slumber hex.
"Why do I get the feeling it's not just a normal..." Alec turned to see the wolf approaching. It was huge. Almost twice the size of any wolf he had ever seen before. and Letitia was moving right for it.
"...wolf."
He couldn't let hurt face the beast alone. Despite the size of the beast, he was more comfortable fighting beasts than he was men so he dashed after her, coming to a stop between her and the giant wolf, drawing his falcata on the way.
Ashling charges the green falconer and swings her Scimitar, in addition activating the cold aura of the cloak
Callix winces and calls upon the Drunken Hero to start to close her wounds, then starts to rush one of the archers, keeping the tree between them for cover as she casts as spell to improve her defenses.
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Nadya fires two arrows, this time at the wolf
"I don't think this is a normal wolf! that thing is massive and doesn't act like a normal wolf
Samuel is able to ignore the falcons and puts another bullet in one fo the handlers. he is injured but not out yet.
the massive wolf shrugs off Letitia's magic. he turns his head to look directly at her. in a booming voice he speaks in common "Ah there you are little witch! Nazheena sends her greetings!
Ashling charges a falconer and deals significant damage.
Callix heals herself and tries to avoid taking more damage with some divine protection.
The falconer next to Ashling drops his bow in the snow, surprised at how quickly she got to him. he draws a longsword and swings at her, slashing to no effect
the other two falconers focus on samuel, frightened by the firearm he is carrying
they are unable able to score a hit, however.
the falcons continue to harass their targets, this time attacking with beak and claw trying to injure instead of disrtact
the giant wolf moves towards Letitia, but Alec is standing in the way protecting his companion. The wolf charges him, batting aside Alec's attempt to hit him as he runs.
teeth sink deep, bringing with them biting cold. the wolf tries to drag Alec to the ground, but in this he is just like the wolves that Alec is used to and he is not taken down.
the great wolf looks up, blood in his teeth and growls at Letitia
"nowhere to run little witch. you're mine
The whole party is up!
Global Condition: none |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 9/31 - AC: 18/13/15 Status: +2 AC
Letitia: HP: 25/26 - AC: 12/12/10 Status:
Alec HP: 3/30 - AC: 19/12/17 Status:
Samuel HP: 29/34 - AC: 19/15/14 Status:
Ashling HP: 18/29 - AC: 18/14/14 Status:NPCs:
Nadya HP: 13/24 - AC 15/12/13 Status:Red Falconer HP: -17 | AC: ??
Blue Falconer HP: -9 | AC: 21
Green Falconer HP: -15 | AC: 19
Yellow Falconer HP: ?? | AC: ?? | asleepGiant wolf HP: -2 | AC 18
Samuel deftly dodges one of the arrows, but only the metallic chains of his armor prevent the other one to pierce his skin "Oh! Care with that!"
"Nazheena?" the Taldan overhears the wolf menace "So that's it! She is sending her troops after us"
Despite he keeps defending himself with a hand, two of the falcons manage to bite him in the arm "Aaah!"
One of the bites are close to an eye, but fortunately the man takes it off in the last moment.
Relieved to see Alec came to help Letitia, Samuel steps into the road, quickly reloads and releases a shot on one of the falcons that are harassing him.
Between the sudden blood loss and the immense pain, Alec nearly feinted. His falcata fell to the snow silently as the darkness started to encroach in upon him. He became unsteady on his feet while the voice in his head screamed at him to run. Instead, he gave only a few feet of ground as his now free hand slipped a vial out of his bandolier. He quickly downed the contents before growling back at the beast.
"Come. Let's dance you and I."
"I'm not running," Letitia says as she grips her icicle wand in defense, though she takes a step to interpose Alec between her and the wolf. The ranger had gulped a healing potion, but resolved to stay in the fight. So if the wolf made a lunge at her, he'd get an attack at the beast's flank. If it continued to attack Alec, well, she had some healing spells.
But hopefully, her spell would take effect.
She throws a pinch of mica into the air, causing a burst of glittery particles to cover the wolf's coat and threatening to blind it!
Callix continues her trip around the tree, closing the distance with the archer as she starts spinning the axe in her hand, casting another spell as she does, then using the momentum to strike.
for
Ashling continues to chase and attack the falconer, focused on her target We've taken worse than you, surrender!
Samuel shoots down one of the birds with a puff of feathers
Alec strategically falls back, drinking a potion. his wounds instantly start to seal and he feels much more prepared.
Letitia casts a spell, covering the wolf in dust!
unfortunately, other than making it sparkle, the spell doesn't bother the big wolf.
Callix and Ashling make quick work of their targets, both men falling down bleeding in the snow.
Nadya switches targets, firing at the second falcon above Samuel. two arrows hit it and it too falls.
the giant wolf growls at Letitia and Alec but doesn't take Letitia's bait. instead his growl turns louder, ice dripping from his fangs. the ice truns into a hail of ice that flies over Alec and Letitia. and the poor unsuspecting falcons...
both Alec and Letitia are taken by surprise and take full damage (18 to letitia and 16 to alec)
the final archer fires at Ashling, hitting her in the chest!
Ashling drops like a ton of bricks, her sword falling from her hand....
the party is up
Global Condition: none |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 9/31 - AC: 18/13/15 Status: +2 AC
Letitia: HP: 7/26 - AC: 16/12/14 Status: mage armor
Alec HP: 4/30 - AC: 19/12/17 Status:
Samuel HP: 32/34 - AC: 19/15/14 Status:
Ashling HP: -7/29 - AC: 18/14/14 Status: bleeding outNPCs:
Nadya HP: 13/24 - AC 15/12/13 Status:Red Falconer HP: -24 | AC: ?? | dead
Blue Falconer HP: -9 | AC: 21
Green Falconer HP: -32 | AC: 19 | dead
Yellow Falconer HP: ?? | AC: ?? | asleepGiant wolf HP: -2 | AC 18
Letitia scowls as her spell fails to blind the wolf, but fortunately her winter witch powers protect her somewhat.
Seeing that Alec was barely standing and he the best defense between her and the wolf, she casts a spell to take some of the chill off of him.
Then she calls to the others, "We have a wolf problem!"
"Good shot!" Samuel winks an eye to Nadya as their expert guide removes the falcon harassing him.
The Taldan observes astonished the deadly shot on Ashling unknowing she did survive "No!!! He killed Ashling!" still he turns right after hearing Letitia's shout "Callix, you will have to deal with that one alone. We have indeed a wolf problem here!"
Samuel quickly reloads his musket with a new bullet and aims directly between both eyes of the wolf.
The cold washed over Alec, chilling him to the bone. Again he was forced to grit his teeth to remain on his feet, but he would not surrender to the cold, not yet. Suddenly an unexpected touch and he started to feel the warmth again. He could feel his blood starting to race again and in that instance, he took a chance. He reached down and grabbed his discarded falcata out of the snow where it had landed and lunged forward, swinging the blade upward towards the huge wolf's muzzle.
Calllix nods, "On it," and rushes toward the other archer, covering the distance atop the snow.
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Letitia heals Alec a good bit, getting him back in the fight.
Samuel shoots the wolf, injuring it but not really slowing it down.
Alec picks up his weapon and slams it into the wolf hitting it as hard as he's ever hit anything before. somehow the massive wolf is still standing, with blood dripping from a deep cut.
Callix rushes the last archer.
Nadya fires two more arrows at the wolf, striking it twice but neither arrow does much to slow the wolf down.
The giant wolf eyes Letitia, but can't get to her around the man in front of him. he lunges again, biting at Alec
Alec is injured badly by another dangerous bite, but somehow keeps his feet again, much to the irritation of the wolf.
the last archer fires his bow at the woman rushing his position
she is very intimidating and the man cannot get an accurate shot.
The party is up!
- success!
Global Condition: none |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 9/31 - AC: 18/13/15 Status: +2 AC
Letitia: HP: 12/26 - AC: 16/12/14 Status: mage armor
Alec HP: 5/30 - AC: 19/12/17 Status:
Samuel HP: 32/34 - AC: 19/15/14 Status:
Ashling HP: -7/29 - AC: 18/14/14 Status: bleeding outNPCs:
Nadya HP: 13/24 - AC 15/12/13 Status:Red Falconer HP: -24 | AC: ?? | dead
Blue Falconer HP: -9 | AC: 21
Green Falconer HP: -32 | AC: 19 | dead
Yellow Falconer HP: ?? | AC: ?? | asleepGiant wolf HP: -34 | AC 17
"Hmmmm... that's crazy" Samuel observes admired at the resistance, or perhaps stubbornness of his friend Alec, holding his position in front of the massive wolf.
Noticing the white wolf is too considerably bleeding, the man waits to see if the ranger is able to send down to the snow the wolf. If he does he changes target to the last archer, if not, he shots again at the wolf, fearing for both Alec and Letitia.
"Show the beast how we Taldans smile death with a sharp edge!"
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Alec began to smile. "You're going to die here today. Even if you kill me, you won't get her. You've failed, and either way, you'll pay with your life." He spit into the snow and began to laugh. He stabbed forward with his falcata, but the wolf's bite had left his arm mangled and the attempt was feeble. His other arm, his shield hand still had strength and fight left and came around to smack the wolf in the snout.
Thus far, the beast was resistant to Letitia's magics, but she was desperate. If this worked, she would save Alec, but if her spell failed he would likely fall to the wolf before they brought it down.
She produces a bone needle and some sinew from her pouch and weaves them together in a complex gesture. The spell takes effect and threatens to stitch the wolf's jaws shut!
lipstitch sews the target’s lips tightly together if it fails a saving throw, such that no clear speech, bite attacks, spellcasting, or use of command words is possible. The target takes 1d6 points of damage as the stitches weave through flesh.
Callix closes the distance, spinning her axe in her hand as she trudges through, rather than over, the snow. As she closes the distance, she pushes up through the snow, striking in a lunging attack, while taunting, "This isn't quite going according to plan, is it?"
for
Callix continues on, slashing at the last falconer, injuring but not killing the man
Nadya fires two more arrows missing entirely....
Letitia uses another spell on the wolf
finally, the wolf fails ot resist Letitia's magic. its massive jaws seal shut!
The wolf struggles at the bonds, slicing them with a claw but hurting itself in the process...
the last falconer attacks callix again, a desperate look in his eye
the whole party is up!
Global Condition: none |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 9/31 - AC: 18/13/15 Status: +2 AC
Letitia: HP: 12/26 - AC: 16/12/14 Status: mage armor
Alec HP: 5/30 - AC: 19/12/17 Status:
Samuel HP: 32/34 - AC: 19/15/14 Status:
Ashling HP: -7/29 - AC: 18/14/14 Status: stable
NPCs:
Nadya HP: 13/24 - AC 15/12/13 Status:Red Falconer HP: -24 | AC: ?? | dead
Blue Falconer HP: -17 | AC: 21
Green Falconer HP: -32 | AC: 19 | dead
Yellow Falconer HP: ?? | AC: ?? | asleepGiant wolf HP: -54 | AC 17
Finally seeing an advantage, Alec pressed the attack while the giant wolf was somewhat distracted, but whether it was fatigued, blood loss, or just cockiness, his attacks were wild and lacked focus. Still, he wanted to keep the beast reeling while he could.
Callix watches the longsword slide across her protective magic with a smile, "Sorry, we're a little harder to kill when we can see you coming." She spins the axe in her hand and swings it at the falconer.
for
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Samuel reloads his musket and tries to support Alec by aiming past him and to the wolf. He puns at the lipstitched beast "Final words wolf!"
Now finally, the Sentinel finds his aim and lodges the bullet in the wolf's skull.
Letitia gives the wolf a fierce grin of triumph that her spell took hold.
Even though Alec's attacks were less than effective, Samuel's bullet rips into the wolf. If that is enough to finish the beast, Letitia moves over to be ready to finish off the sleeping falconer.
If the wolf is still up, she activates her wand to cause a lance of ice to thrust upward from the ground, hoping to finish it off.