Ariadna carefully accepts a drink, still not very comfortable around this group of strangers that she recently tried to fight. in fact she is quite obviously nervous around Callix and keeps Samuel between herself and the Ulfen woman. after all she did bloody Callix a bit and is worried the woman will seek revenge. especially after drinking...
the kikimora cleans a bit more of the mud you tracked in then takes her leave
"celebration is well and good, even needed sometimes, but don't tarry here too long! Baba Yaga is still missing, the world is in danger. the hut is ready to go as soon as you are.
but she does not push any more than that. she walks to the fireplace and vanishes from sight again.
With all the talk of drink and hoarded bottles produced, it was obvious to Llewellyn that the group desperately needed some respite from the horrors of battle. Yet the frostiness between Ariadna and Callix presented a problem, perhaps music could help them overlook their animosity? It was a challenge he accepted with relish.
While the other talked he listened, and he took out his flute and started playing. Softly at first with a slow melody, easy on the ear. Gradually though he picked up pace and wove in increasingly complex motifs until his fingers where dancing along the flute in a jig that stirred the soul.
"It has been scant hours! We will leave on the morrow!" Letitia responds to the kikimora.
She goes to sit next to Ariadna when she sees the girl looking warily at Callix. "You have probably been warned about the barbarian Ulfen tribes that lurk outside Irrisen's borders. Told that they were brute savages, howling at our borders. I was taught the same." She looks at Callix as she speaks. "She had been taught to hate the Winter Witches in her youth. Yet... we work together. That's all you need to know right now."
When Llewellyn starts performing, she listens quietly while observing Ariadna.
Samuel smiles as Ariadna takes a sip. He nods approvingly "We have all proven ourselves and look, we are still here alive against all the freezing coldness of the North, the trolls and even those unsettling mirror men!"
The Taldan is in a very good mood now that the spirits have forgotten the bones. He looks around and not seeing any food, he brings open his backpack "I think I still have some cheese from Heldren and... hey! Look here! The black bread the Heralds of the Summer Return gave us" he takes a large bite then offers to the others.
"So... are we planning to pass here the night?" Samuel looks at the driving egg "What if the witches come looking for Nazheena or the hut during the night?"
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Callix opens her mouth to say more, then simply nods at Letitia's statement, and takes another pull of the skin. She darkens a little at Samuel's comment, sighing, and raising the skin, saying only, "Not all of us. To lost friends," before draining it... and then refilling it once more.
She shakes her head to clear away the dark thoughts and addresses Samuel, "I'm thinking, given how much it took out of us to get into the Hut, our best chance for success is to hole up and hope that everyone's fear of Nazheena protects us." She takes a pull, then adds, "Besides, the Black Rider is in the Hut, so wouldn't the Hut itself resist any incursion?"
Letitia also gets quiet and somber for a moment as lost comrades are remembered.
When Samuel asks about staying the night in the hut and the possibility of the witches showing up after them, she ponders, then speaks. "Here's what we know: Queen Elvanna has been inside the hut. She took it from Baba Yaga, brought it to Whitethrone, and shackled its legs to the ground -- presumably as a trophy. Because if she still needed it, she wouldn't be keeping it in so prominent a location where a group like ourselves could reach it and take control. Half or more of the threats we faced outside was not put there by the queen," she observes.
"As chilling as that is, I'm forced to surmise that Queen Elvanna got what she needed out of the hut, if she needed it at all. The hut's usefulness as a trophy and show of strength, though, stopped when the forest sprang out of nowhere around it and fey started to try to suck the whole area into the First World. Nazheena was probably tasked with figuring out a way to shut it down." She looks at Ariadna for confirmation.
Letitia gets up, takes the aleskin from Callix and takes another drink. "I think we will be safe for a day or two."
After running through a number of songs, Llewellyn paused in his recital realising he was parched, he'd not had anything to drink since the previous day. He was was about to ask if Callix was willing to share when the Jadwiega spoke of the first world.
"Your Grandmother is said to be something of a big deal in the first world, perhaps indirectly we are under her protection. For the time being..." remarked Llewellyn before he picked up his flute and started playing something slow and dreamy to echo thoughts of the first world.
Llewellyn was reluctant to say more, the talk of lost friends was intriguing, he hoped they'd continue.
yes, that sounds about right to me, as much as i could figure out Ariadna replies to Letitia.
the forest popping up was unexpected, and made some high up people pretty upset, especially when they couldn't figure out how to get rid of it. Nazheena and I were sent in to investigate, thinking that the Hut had done that. maybe some kind of defense measure. we were trying to get into the hut to learn more.
then the magical shell got raised and we were trapped inside. we were indeed trying to stop whatever it was, but we didn't know anything about what was going on outside this clearing.
She looks over at Llewellyn
guess it's not that simple. if fey from the first world were trying to capture the hut, they must not all be allies of Baba Yaga. or they were trying to help in their own way... guess we don't have any way of knowing.
Noting the bard's interest, Callix refills her second aleskin and throws it over. "That... is an interesting thought, bard," she says, then nods and adds, "But Ariadna's right - we have no way of knowing - at least not now when it'd be helpful."
"Maybe the Crone Mother's allies were trying to protect the hut. They are capricious creatures so no surprise they did not recognize us as trying to help" Samuel raises the aleskin and gets another drink stretching in the chair and yawning as tiredness starts to take him "It was my impression Elvanna was just trying to stop anyone from using the hut to travel to Astoria, but well, I hope you are right Letitia... the recent hours have been stoked with all kind of dangers... we fought ice trolls, fought a dragon..." he looks back somber at Callix and raises the aleskin honoring Alec without calling his name "...undid the First World craziness, defeated Nazheena and finally got into the hut. My arms and feet are calling for a rest as if I had been fighting Irrisen for a whole year"
He then gets extra comfortable while the alcohol drops him into a deep slumber "Please, wake me up when you need someone to have an eye to the hut..."
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Callix watches Samuel settle in, then looks up at his sister, and says simply, "As long as that man vouches for you, I'll not so much as raise my voice against you." She holds out an aleskin to the younger witch, adding with a smile, "He's been talking of nothing else since I met him, really."
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Ariadna accepts the skin and takes a small pull from it.
she chuckles. He always did need me to keep an eye on him. surprised he made it out of Heldren without me there to pester him.
the party has had an eventful day, and it is starting to get late. a warm safe(?) hut and alcohol help to make everyone feel the tiredness that comes from a hard few days of work.
Letitia works with her familiar to learn some new magic from the defeated witch.
you don't see the kikimora again during the night, and the night passes uneventfully.
when you awake there is sun coming in through the windows of the hut, though still shaded by the forest filling the market square
Letitia rests during the long periods between when Lazlo is ready for the high level spells to be learned, and busies herself during the shorter periods.
She ventures into the library and attempts to research Artrosia, so they may have some idea of what to expect.
At other times, she speaks quietly with Ariadna, learning what she knows and assessing her current skill as a Winter Witch.
================
Letitia looks out the windows at the cold morning light, feeling a small rush of excitement.
"I had a thought last night," she says to everyone. "We could use the keys and go, quietly and without fanfare. Or, we could control the hut to walk out of these woods and announce to everyone that we have the hut. This action should please our Herald allies, but will undoubtedly provoke Queen Elvanna's wrath."
She holds the cracked bowl and egg in one hand while gently stroking the device with the other. "But we've earned her ire regardless."
Llewellyn woke with the dawn feeling better than he had any right to, after all he ended up having several goes at Callix's ale skin.
The thought of antagonising the queen amused him so he replied, "A very public reversal for her majesty sounds rather poetic, especially if we're able to disappear before she can do anything about it. I guess that begs the question, just how long does it take for this hut to travel somewhere? I suppose the house spirit might know."
Samuel sleeps deeply but wakes up early. When the last one of the group gets up, he is already working with his gunpowder producing more bullets.
Rising his eyes from the workbench for a second he chuckles "Making a show up? Hu! You have me in by sure Letitia!"
"We should be ready to throw the keys in the cauldron in case things get ugly" he looks towards the aforementioned cauldron before adding "And hope it really works bringing us out of here"
Letitia allows herself a satisfied smirk at the idea of sending the hut on a dance through downtown Whitethrone. "Absolutely, Samuel. I will be ready to use the keys immediately."
She glances to the doors to the map room. "Should we deal with the pile of bones, now that we're rested and at full strength? I don't knownwhat it is, so I don't know if it's safer to leave it be, or to destroy it, whatever it is."
Dryly Llewellyn observed, "If we're going to spend any length of time in this hut, I think we should learn more about it..."
He really didn't like the idea of it suddenly animating and strangling them in their sleep or worse although he kept those probably unfounded fears to himself.
Instead he thought through the various kinds of undead he'd heard or read about and wondered if it was a match.
"Yeah, what are those bones?" Samuel gives them a glance, trying to understand if they are human.
"Perhaps the library has some information about the rituals the queen took, but I guess we will need some days to figure that out from there..." with a few hits on the lead, the Taldan completes one more bullet placing it on water to temple the metal.
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Letitia sets the bowl and egg aside. "All right. Ready your weapons and spells. We've no idea what those bones are, but hopefully we can overcome them."
She gives Lazlo a nod, who is snoozing quietly in the rafters after a *very* long night. Letitia activates the magic in the hyperboreal robe and becomes dangerous to touch. With Emberchill in one hand and her icicle wand in the other, she gestures toward the door. She gives Callix and Samuel a half-grin as she says, "What's the Taldane saying? We've got a bone to pick with the queen?"
Letitia spends some time in the library looking for information on Artrosia. there is unfortunately very little real information about it. the place is referenced in a few texts as a temple or a bastion of Baba Yaga, or as a place of pilgrimage for witches. you follow a trail of references to a book that should have more information but it is in a language you do not know, or even recognize.
a plan is formed to ride the Hut out of the unnatural forest before using the keys to go to Artrosia.
But before anyone actually attempts to use the egg-in-a-bowl controls, the group considers dealing with the threat in the maps room.
you stud the bone pile from a short distance and realize that it is not an undead guardian, but is still a potent threat. it is a bone golem. resistant to most physical damage, and immune to most magic, the are very sturdy. healing spells can slow one down, and some specific necromancy spells can harm it.
Samuel prepares some bullets and then tries to identify the bones. he doesn't recognize any specifically, and it looks like there may be a combination of a few different owners of the bones.
Letitia gears up in her new witch attire and moves towards the map room
Suddenly blanching Llewellyn warned the others, "Ermm! Maybe we should all take a step outside..." before ducking out of the room.
In hushed tones he explains, "Unless I'm very much mistaken, her majesty's house gift is actually a bone golem... They're as tough as old nails, immune to most spells although healing can slow them down and apparently some necromancies can harm them. We should probably remove it, but I recommend preparing first."
Letitia considers Llewellyn's information for a moment, then gives a satisfied smile. "Ah. Then my former queen is *not* dabbling in necromancy, as I'd first thought. She, or one of her followers, is well-versed in golemcraft then. We've already faced an ice golem that was assigned to do Nazheena's bidding. And we have the tools to deal with golems."
She gives a pointed glance to the adamantine longsword at Ashling's hip. "Our assassin has just the tool necessary, and we also have a warhammer claimed from a dragon's hoard, if someone is up to the task of using it.
"It will be a dangerous adversary, but I believe we have the tools to defeat it. My own spells will be of less use against it. I wonder if that's why Queen Elvanna employs the use of golems. The White Witches are less effective against such constructs."
"Mmmm an adamantine warhammer sounds tailor made for dealing with golems, could I borrow it?" asked Llewellyn with a cheeky grin.
Samuel listens intently to Letitia's and Llewelly explanations "A golem? If it is made of bones I doubt it is harder to deal with than those skeletons in the Border Woods" the Taldan smiles and loads his musket with a new bullet "Leave it to me and I will made him wish to be out of the hut and far away from us..."
"Yeah, take the warhammer Llewellyn"
The man readies himself and moves to the spot in the map when the group decides to deal with the golem.
Letitia gives Samuel a concerned look after he dismisses the threat of the bone golem. "Queen Elvanna left it. She wouldn't bother if it were as simple as that."
She motions for the bard, gunman, and other warriors to move ahead into the room, and she follows after them.
Llewellyn hefted the an adamantine warhammer appreciatively, testing its balance, "Nice craftsmanship on this." he grinned to Samuel, "Lets see how it does in combat!" With that he followed the witch into the room.
Letitia casts mage armor on herself before stepping inside.
Ashling casts Divine favor on herself as a prebuff
the group backs out of the room to prepare, but are soon ready to go back in with the report from their new companion
you know this kind of golem has DR Adamantine and bludgeoning.
Healing spells slow it
A raise dead, resurrection, or true resurrection spell negates its DR and immunity to magic for 1 minute.
it is also capable of using parts of its body to capture opponents.
luckily, no one got close enough to the golem to trigger it, and you're able to get the jump on it!
the whole party may act
Global Condition: |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 58/58 - AC: 20/14/16 Status:
Letitia: HP: 42/42 - AC: 18/12/15 Status: mage armor
Llewellyn HP: 52/52 - AC: 23/21/13 Status:
Samuel HP: 51/51 - AC: 23/18/16 Status:
Ashling HP: 44/44 - AC: 19/15/15 Status: Cold 5NPCs:
Letitia looks at Llewellyn. "The hammer will be our best weapon against it, so strike true. Any spell that heals the living will slow the construct down. And its bones can entrap a person, so be alert."
She steps within 30 feet and lays a hex upon the automaton, stripping away the strands of fortune for a moment.
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Picking up the Jadweiga's refrain, Llewwellyn grinned "Got ya! Strike true, and strike fast!". To this he added a strange phrase which sent a jolt of electricity through the party, more than doubling everyone's heart rate and making them move like the wind!
.
He then winked at the musketeer and launched into a spirited rendition of an old Taldan marching chant, "Kingdoms rise and nations fall, but Taldor endures! Onwards brothers! Onwards sisters! Glory awaits!"
"Hurrah! Great words my friend!" Samuel cheers up as Llewellyn speaks "Let's show the hut is ours now!" he moves to his current position and readies his musket to blast at the golem if it really does something.
Ashling will prepare to attack, circling around to behind the pile and attacking
you can move through the middle of the room. the map is projected like a silent image over the floor.
Llewellyn give the group some supporting magic and the fight begins!
Samuel strikes the golem with a buller as it rises from the throne. Ashling and Callix move in to attack
Callix, golem, Samuel, Letitia, Ashling, Llewellyn. will do the golem after Ashling marks her position and Callix moves.
Global Condition: |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 58/58 - AC: 20/14/16 Status:
Letitia: HP: 42/42 - AC: 18/12/15 Status: mage armor
Llewellyn HP: 52/52 - AC: 23/21/13 Status:
Samuel HP: 51/51 - AC: 23/18/16 Status:
Ashling HP: 44/44 - AC: 19/15/15 Status: Cold 5NPCs:
Golem HP - 18 | AC: ??
Callix uses the speed from the Haste to rush across the room, spinning the axe in her hand, calling on the Drunken Hero to infuse the weapon with more power, then using her training to strike with the flat-head rather than the blade.
for
Callix and Ashling rush across the room, faster than anyone here has ever seen them run, and lay hits on the pile of bones before it can move.
their attacks are not completely effective, but they do deal damage.
then the creature stirs, bones ties together by rope and metal itno a shape like a human but with too many limbs, and a whole lot of skulls spread across its body.
it lashes out at Callix with a fist, then tries to bite her. it lashes out wiht another slam at Ashling
the party may act
Global Condition: |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 46/58 - AC: 20/14/16 Status:
Letitia: HP: 42/42 - AC: 18/12/15 Status: mage armor
Llewellyn HP: 52/52 - AC: 23/21/13 Status:
Samuel HP: 51/51 - AC: 23/18/16 Status:
Ashling HP: 37/44 - AC: 19/15/15 Status: Cold 5NPCs:
Golem HP - 38 | AC: ??
Even with the tremendous jolt of speed from his spell, it took Llewellyn precious seconds to cross the room. He selected a position to the left of Callix that should help him and Ashling surround the golem!
Gleefully he cried, "Smash it! Smash it into itty bitty pieces! Like Aspex smashed his foes as he claimed half of Avistan in Taldor's name." Strangely his voice lent you hope and courage...
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Letitia rolls her eyes as the fighter given the most effective weapon chose to cast a spell and move around without actually striking their foe. She further grinds her teeth as yet another enemy resists her hex.
She throws a pinch of mica into the air as she says words of power, causing a burst of glittery powder to cascade over the golem. Outlined in glitter, the particles settle in its eyes threatening to blind it.
"Those bones are tough. Got it" Samuel lowers the aim of his musket targeting at the golem's legs "Then deal with this"
If Samuel manages to trip down the golem, he shouts at the others "Now that is kissing the floor, it is time to hit that thing hard with your adamantine sirs"
the golem shrugs off the glitterdust, but is covered in glowing particles.
Samuel uses the moment of opening the spell gives to shoot one of the legs, shattering bones. the creature falls prone!
Callix, Ashling, golem, Samuel, Letitia, Llewellyn
Samuel smiles seeing satisfied the golem losing balance "That!"
"We are going to make a nice new bony chair" he adds waiting for Callix and Ashling to smash the thing to destruction.
Ashling slashes at it while its down, Good Shot Samuel!
Callix whistles, "Well done, Samuel!", even as she spins the axe in her hand to strike.
for
for
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with speed unlike anything they hav experienced before, Callix and Ashling tag team and tear into the bone golem. they smash it to bits with their weapons, striking repeatedly. when they finish the sinew that was connectin the bits of bone is shredded, and barely two or three bones still have any connection.
end of combat
Samuel approaches the two warriors as they keep smashing to pieces the bones "I think that shall suffice" he pats their backs and laughs in good mood "We do not want the Crone to get angry that we broke the furniture..."
Looking around, he asks Letitia "So... is it now the time to try the key in the cauldron?"
Letitia watches as the warriors, enhanced by Llewellyn's spell, break apart the bone golem handily. She fans away the plume of gunsmoke from Samuel's shot casually.
"Probably. Unless we wanted to make the statement I mentioned earlier, of walking the Hut out of these woods to show the denizens of Whitethrone that Queen Elvanna is not all-powerful."
While that matter is discussed, Letitia takes a better look at the map on the floor of the room.
Callix starts to wipe her axe clean, then stops and laughs at herself.
She slides the blade away and takes a moment to look at the golem and the area for anything else, this time casting Detect Magic, even against her better judgement and trying to prepare herself mentally for the view. Just before she opens her eyes, she calls over her shoulder in response to Letitia, "Honestly, I like that. I mean, it's not like Elvanna is likely to be more upset with us than she already is, given what we've done -- and the potential to inspire the people seems well worth it. That is, assuming we can control the Hut well enough that we can get away."
With that, she opens her eyes, looking for magical auras while already inside an incredibly powerful one.
Handing the hammer back, Logan remarked "Guess I'll have to try this out some other time, thanks though - and holy heck that trick shot was effective." He had a feeling that the play he was planning to write was going to be quite spectacular.
He rather liked the idea of tweaking the queen's nose and grinned like a naughty schoolboy when it was discussed. The others surely noticed and he felt he didn't have much more to add to the plan.