Callix says, "I wonder if those are markers -- though, if they are, it'd be nice to know we're following the correct ones. Be a shame if that was marking the way to instant doom."
Letitia has settled after her experiment with the library, though she is somewhat perturbed that she apparently cannot check books out from it.
Later, then, she thinks as she joins the others in their exploration.
"It's an occult symbol indicating twilight. I'm quite familiar with it, although my patron is of the moon, not the evening star," Letitia says with authority.
Not dissuaded in the slightest by the symbol on the door, she gestures for Samuel to open it once he's finished checking it for traps.
Samuel finds no traps in his examination of the door. several people give opinions of what the symbol might mean, but Letitia immediately knows the symbol from her own studies.
Samuel opens the door, which moves easily and is not locked.
he room beyond is dimly lit, but appears to be about 25 feet wide by 40 feet.
A slight chill wafts through this room, carrying the stale scent of carrion and peat. Beyond, an impossible forest seems to have devoured the entire chamber. The walls are woven from tangled knots of black, leafless trees, and fine flakes of rusted iron cover the floor, softly crumbling to dust. A pale light emanates from a fist-sized orb that rests within a nest of black iron branches in the center of the room, turning all forms into ebon silhouettes.
Llewellyn shivered as he entered the chamber but that was nothing to do with the cold, the uncanny forest set him on edge.
Finding himself talking in hushed tones for no apparent reason, he said "If that's not enchanted then I don't know what is... Let's see what we're dealing with here."
He then stared to hum a centring tune, one that focused his senses on the invisible currents of magic.
"Intriguing," Letitia says softly, not wanting to break the stillness of the room. "Ashling, I suggest you resume the form of the Black Rider. Then we must determine if this is the entrance to the fabled Artrosia."
She quickly casts detect magic and surveys the room for magical auras. Then she concentrates on the glowing orb in the center, to determine if it has any other properties other than shedding light.
"What a strange place" Samuel states looking to side and side while Letitia and Llewellyn scan the area "This is like a sick druid's place"
Refraining to touch the light emitting orb until they know what is it, Samuel focuses on searching the rest of the room.
Callix nods at Samuel's comment, "I'm wondering if it's a matter of the magic protecting this place having failed -- allowing the encroachment."
Ashling resumes the Blackrider form, and continues marking thepath with chalk with the hut unbound, its impossible to know anything. Baba yaga far exceeds most Mortal spellcasting... i am curious as to how Elvanna even bested her...
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"Elvanna is no doubt powerful in her own right, but it doesn't seem likely she could have beaten Baba Yaga all by her self in any kind of fair fight." noted Llewellyn who was eyeing the Blackrider cloak and the resulting transformation with considerable interest. He was going to have to work it into his play, perhaps exaggerating the effects - a minor darkness spell could work wonders on the stage to make her look menacing.
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That was my thought, all my life i grew up hearing tales of how powerful Baba yaga and her riders were from my father. She had to have had help... from someone or something abnormal. Or Baba has some kind of weakness Ashling speculates, she does seem to be holding a more normal friendly tone with Llewellyn, however the young albino assassin seems to be thinking deeply, before she speaks , Letitia, a question if i may? How does your magic work? I know the basics some draw power from prayer, others like myself are simply given. But i do not see a spell book on you like my brother had
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Letitia snaps her head around to look at Ashling, a scowl on her face seeming to ask, is now truly the time for this? If the strange room-slash-forest stays quiet and undisturbed, she gets a far-off look as she considers how to answer Ashling's question.
"... I've struck a bargain with an entity -- a patron. All witches do. I am forbidden to go into the details of the arrangement, but it is not like what a god demands. I do not worship my patron. I do not proselytize. I do what is required of me and in return I receive power, which I am free to use as I see fit."
Her ice-blue eyes glitter in the dim light, though she does not meet anyone's eyes. "I've learned that outside Irrisen, most folk distrust the powers witches call upon despite the fact that it's our choice to use them for good or ill. If there is evil in the witch, it's in her heart, not her patron. But witchcraft is my birthright, and I do not apologize for it."
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i understand, i am not trying to criticize. Distrust is... intelligent, trusting people can be difficult when one has a hard life or trauma. Ashling takes a moment once again to think before she speaks, The purpose of my question is to try and Understand Baba yaga and Elvanna. How their skills would work, magic operates on laws and rules so it stands to reason... as witches their magic would work as yours does... if so would The witch Queen not require a familiar of her own?
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Letting out a long breath, Letitia tilts her head to her owl perched on her shoulder. They nuzzle for a moment and she scratches just below his beak. "I've never met Baba Yaga, so I don't know if her magic works the same. I can't imagine if there's a patron out there powerful enough to be hers, but if there is one it must be strong indeed. And I don't know if she needs a familiar.
"I did meet Queen Elvanna, though. Words are entirely inadequate to describe her. Beautiful as a glacier, and just as immovable. Regal beyond measure. She had a raven. Her words were filled with power and her eyes were cold as the deepest winter. I was in awe. She was orders of magnitude greater than Nazheena. I don't know how she bested Baba Yaga, but... if anyone could it would be her."
Letitia grows quiet a moment, staring at the floor in the direction of the orb. "That time I met her was also when she ordered my death."
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I can sympathize...To...Stare death in the face, especially when it's related to someone you admire. It has a way of... making emotions complicated, everyone deals with these things differently... She removes her mask and looks back toward Letitia with a distant but certain gazed, You will not die, you will grow stronger and surpass those who seek your death. Strong though Elvanna may be, there are qualities you have that she does not and that is what will make you better. Letitia...if it comes to it, i will protect you. Where this sudden what passes for kindness from the normally stoic assassin comes from is difficult to ascertain, what goes through her mind tends to be an enigma. However, lost in thought, perhaps an old memory of her she doesn't speak of it out loud and continues walking... there is a tear in her eye she quickly wipes.
"She will not get you, I will not allow it" Samuel states after Letitia remembers her day of death sentence.
"Be damned Elvanna and her magical evil pacts. She is still a person that breathes, eats, pees and pooes" Samuel rises his musket in a gesture of aiming "If I can put a bullet in her forefront, she will die, I will hunt down her raven, and we will have a dinner party on its squishy bones to celebrate..."
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Callix smirks and says, "There's a joke to be made about eating crow, there."
She smirks, then says softly, "We will all need to protect each other, Samuel. We have thwarted Elvanna's will, now. The will of someone who was able to defeat the Baba Yaga -- and, while I've no doubt she used surprise to manage that -- it would take both power and treachery to succeed."
She takes a pull from her aleskin and shakes her head before letting out a bitter laugh, "My mother had to flee the North because she blooded a Daughter -- one with the power to send those dolls after her night after night. Mother wasn't even Irriseni, and because of the insult of having harmed the Jadwiga -- a sworn enemy of our people -- she was forced to flee all the way to Taldor. To save her own life and the lives of those that would defend her. And even there, hundreds of miles away, she wouldn't let her guard down -- enough that when the snows came, it was my first thought."
She takes another pull, "And, we've just done far worse than Mother ever did. We've stolen the Hut from the greatest of the Daughters -- the Queen herself. We've announced the return of Summer." She drains the skin and puts it back on her belt, saying finally, "So, we'd better all be ready to make Samuel's little BBQ happen, because it's the only way any of us get out of this alive." She then quickly casts a spell to refill the aleskin.
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The group walks into the strange forest to look at the orb. the casters begin detecting magic, which they find to be very difficult.
the magic auras of the hut are all around, which makes it hard to pinpoint magical sources in the room. there are many illusion spells working together in the room in addition to the power felt in the firs hut room that the party tried detecting magic in. the orb is magical, but it appears after some study to be just a light source.
your keen eyes spot a pathway leading further into the forest in the back left corner of the clearing the light is in.
Letitia spends a few moments describing the way that her magic works as the group wonders about the methods that could have posed any real threat to someone as powerful as Baba Yaga.
in fact, you know Baba Yaga is so powerful that she herself is a patron to many witches. her power is close to that of a demigod for her to be able to grant magic to others.
but of course that doesn't really answer the question of how she has her power or if she has to have a familiar and patron of her own at this point.
As Samuel talks about finding and eating Elvanna's raven familiar, a cackling laugh echoes from the shadowy boughs of the trees. a black Raven flutters donw from a branch and lands on top of the orb of light, casting weird shadows all around.
the raven sits on the orb and looks at you all, tilting its head back and forth.
there is a leather thong holding a small amulet around the raven's neck.
The strange promise from Ashling surprises Letitia. The girl had always proved inscrutable, often professing to be beyond emotions. That kept them from making much of a connection even though Letitia is only a few years older than her and they both suffered significant trauma involving the loss of their families. The brief moment they shared left Letitia uneasy, and she looks away.
Callix's story about her mother was nothing new to her, but her talk of returning summer to Irrisen made her scowl. She bites back a comment, instead focusing on her joke about crows.
"Be very careful about comparing crows and ravens. Crows are detestable creatures, whereas ravens are--" Letitia is cut off by the cackling laugh and the appearance of the raven.
Her eyes go wide at the bird's arrival. "--Ravens are noble and fine beings," she hastily adds. A current of fear races through her as she immediately wonders if they are encountering Queen Elvanna's own familiar.
Her mouth is dry as she says to it, "Greetings in the name of Baba Yaga, proud raven." She watches its reaction.
Samuel raises an eyebrow at the appearance of the raven "It seems we have summoned someone... Hello little one, you would not happen to be Elvanna's raven, are you?" he looks at the amulet, trying to see any distinguishing details that might help recognize it.
Just as he says this, the Taldan's eyes seem to spot something at the end of the room, he approaches while the others greet the raven "Look, there is a pathway here leading further into the forest"
"You're a bold thing, aren't you..." remarked Llewellyn. He glanced at Mr Samuel and swallowed hard before saying mildly, "I think this is somebody else's, she'd never let us get so close."
Speaking to the raven he asked, "Is that amulet meant for us? Or do you want us to do something?" Ravens were said to be the most intelligent of birds, he hoped it understood -- or maybe part of him knew he was talking to a bird and possibly making a fool of himself. He suppressed a laugh, after the incident with the Kikimora and his clothes he really didn't that much dignity left to loose.
"Look, there is a pathway here leading further into the forest"
Llewellyn saw it now too and nodded.
Callix watches the raven and mutters, "Speak of the beast and it appears..." She waits a moment, watching the bird's response to the Bard's questions.
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The bird laughs at Samuel's question in a very raven-like sound.
when Letitia speaks the name of Baba Yaga it speaks. in common
“Baba Yaga is not here, but you can find her, never fear. First, however, you must persuade me you possess the strength necessary to bear my knowledge. My question is a simple one:
Born twins, they live not,
Yet they grow until death.
Their fates are of’n tied.
Ever-crescent, as the moon,
Symbols of the warrior’s pride.
“The answer to this question lies in the chamber beyond. Bring me the answer, and I shall give you what you seek.”
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Letitia doesn't react in surprise when the raven speaks eloquently, showing to all of them it was no ordinary bird. Her brow furrows in concentration as it recites its riddle. She opens her mouth, expecting that the answer would be obvious and her own intelligence would swiftly work it out. Unfortunately, nothing immediately springs to mind that meets all the clues so she remains quiet. She looks for the passage that would take them into the next chamber, as she nods.
"Very well," she says to the raven. "We will answer your question, but know that we have defied Queen Elvanna and overcome many challenges to come here. You would save much time by not sending us on fruitless dalliances and trusting that we have strength to spare."
Inwardly, she seethed at being forced to take on this challenge when time was of the essence. She further disliked the insinuation that they were not worthy of the raven's knowledge, though Letitia was ever-mindful that they were in Baba Yaga's realm. It wasn't so surprising that they would continue to be tested.
Llewellyn on the other hand found this delightful even if the question was rather condescending, "Oh! It speaks in riddles! This will be wonderful for my pla, ah-hm." Moving swiftly on he added, "I'm not sure what the answer to this particular riddle is, but I've heard of similar ones where the answer was a stalactite and a stalagmite. I guess we'd better see what lies beyond..."
"An interesting guess," Letitia replies to Llewellyn, whose answer to similar riddles got her thinking. "Though not crescent-shaped, nor am I aware that warriors prize them." She follows the half-orc into the next chamber, staying a few paces behind as she puzzles out the riddle.
"Something, two somethings that grow, curved, but stop growing at death. Not living themselves, though. A warrior's prize. What grows in a crescent shape?"
She glances at Lazlo, perched upon her shoulder and notes his curved talons gently clinging to her. "Claws, perhaps? But only two -- Oh! Fangs! Be careful, we will likely be facing a fierce predator ahead!"
or boar tusks, it would have to be something on a creature, they are primarily nocturnal Ashling takes interest in the riddle as well.
"This raven has more speech than most people we found in Irrisen" Samuel chuckles as the raven states his riddle "Is this some kind of bearded witch riddle?"
The Taldan moves forward into the next room still laughing "Because my foster father did not value anything else more than his whiskers. The dwarf liked to show up with his musket forged in the Five Kings Mountains, but there was no better way to offend the man than making a bad comment on his facial hair he braided and groomed 'til his death..."
Callix shrugs, then says, "Rather than just guessing, let's see what's in the space beyond. I'm sure we'll be able to figure out if it's claw, fang or tusk."
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"-- or horn," Letitia adds. "Don't many Ulfen warriors favor a pair of horns on their helmets?"
She frowns. "Let's hope the answer will be obvious and we will not have to guess."
lets go, i think we have an idea what we're looking for now anyway. Ashling will also walk toward the room.
Callix shrugs, "Mother didn't. Can't say much more than that."
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Ashling leads the way as the group moves ot see what might be in the next room, armed with a few guesses about what they might find.
It turns out Ashling had the closest guess, as she spots in the next room a giant boar with flaming red eyes. it sees her come into the room and starts pawing the dirt floor.
Callix and ashling are caught a bit flat-footed, but the rest of the party is quick to react
bold may go
Llewellyn, Letitia, Samuel, Boar, Callix, Ashling
Letitia steps up to the entrance and eyes the boar with her potent hex.
"Ah!" laughed Llewellyn, "Tusks! I might have known..." Especially considering my useless vestigial ones, he thought.
Somehow his voice lifted your spirits despite the giant's boar's demonic looking eyes. With a thought his sword started glowing softly as he cautiously advanced.
"Ding ding ding! Prize for the blue girl!" exclaims Samuel amused as they spot the red-eyed boar "By the size of it, we are having dinner party tonight too"
As things start to happen quickly around him, the Taldan waits to see if the boar resists Letitia's hexing. If the animal is still on foot, he steps forward to have a clear line of sight, rises his musket and shots a targeted bullet to the head of the thing.
Llewellyn moves up to the boar in a defensive posture, while inspiring his allies.
Samuel quickly aims and shoots the boar in the head, doing some damage and dazing it slightly.
Letitia quickly assesses the situation and determines that this is a fiendish dire boar. This gives it some resistances to physical, cold and fire damage but doesn't do anything to protect it from witch magic. She tries one of her slumber hexes on the boar
This time the hex works perfectly, and the boar falls asleep before it can assault the party.
the party can 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: defensive fighting
Samuel HP: 51/51 - AC: 23/18/16 Status:
Ashling HP: 44/44 - AC: 19/15/15 Status: Cold 5NPCs:
Dire boar HP - 13 | AC: ?? | sleep
Callix steps forward to the sleeping boar, "Give me a moment, I'll take it's head off."
Samuel reloads his musket and holds his aim at the boar in case it decides to surprise Callix. Otherwise, he waits for the Ulfen to decapitate the beast "Do you know if fiendish meat is as good as woods' meat?"
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"Its fiendish taint may affect the beast's edibility. If its resistances carry on after death, it may be difficult to cook," Letitia says with a half-smile.
She gives Callix a "hurry up" motion. "It will be asleep for nearly a minute, so you have the time to do it right, but not forever."
"That's not how I expected this fight to go!" laughed Llewellyn. He gave the Jadweiga an amused glance as he drew his sword and waited for the northwoman to strike.
Callix brings the axeblade down on the beast's neck, with a solid blow.
Letitia watches the butcher's work from a safe distance, in case the boar's unnatural existence lets it survive Callix's axe stroke. She prepares a hex to make it easier to be hit by the warriors around it just in case.
Though her eyes stay fixed on the boar, she addresses Llewellyn's surprise. "I simply felt it more prudent to hex the beast to sleep. Even normal boars can be deadly. I'd rather not risk that this creature injure one of us."
Samuel observes the strike from outside "That thing got a sleep for the eternity"
Doubting it will survive, the man advances himself and uses the cold iron longsword to cut the tusks from the boar "Well, you were right after all Ashling" he walks over to the back and gives them to Letitia "You do deserve giving them to the crow"
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Callix takes her time and assuming that this fiend is similar enough to a normal boar she knows just where to strike. in fact the bones seem quite weak on this particular one, and the neck snaps with less effort than expected. the beast is quite dead.
it is a simple matter to remove the tusks
"Neatly done." remarked Llewellyn to the northwoman, "Lets go return our prize to the raven..." With that he slowly started walking back to where they last saw the bird.
Letitia takes the trophies from Samuel with a half-smile. She doesn't react to the tusks' bloody stumps or show any signs that she is disgusted by handling them.
She nods in agreement with Llewellyn. She walks at the same pace as the others, though takes a couple steps forward once they're in the raven's chamber.
"Twins curved as the moon, ending their growth in death. I present to you the tusks of the great boar -- and the answer to your riddle. Slaying it was a trifle." She sets the pair upon the ground.
"I trust we have proven ourselves to you. Now, you have answers for us."
Callix nods at Llewellyn's comment, then smiles to say, "That victory is Letitia's, as much as I swung the final blow."
Indeed...Foolish to ask by what was a boar doing here? Ashling seems to brush her own question aside, She pulls out a skinning and carving knife and sets to work skinning and carving meat off the boar