Letitia thrills to hear what she surmises to be Baba Yaga's actual voice. It gives her actual chills, which to a Winter Witch is a good thing.
She savors the sound of her ancestor's voice and rolls the words around her mind as if she were savoring fine wine. Elated by the proof she was following her grandmother's wishes, she then tries to parse out their meaning.
"Queen Elvanna is Baba Yaga's daughter, so she has to be Grandmother's own blood who has betrayed her. It's frightfully simple, but clearly she had no desire to give up Irrisen's throne and resisted Baba Yaga's plans to supplant her. I've already guessed that Jadrenka is the Changeling who holds one key to the Hut's cauldron. Remember the clue to the other key -- the 'place where time catches up to us'? A place called the 'Eon Pit' sounds like exactly that."
Letitia leans against a menhir, considering their clues and their tasks ahead. It wasn't a happy reverie. They still had frost giants and the unfriendly denizens of Artrosia to contend with. She forces herself to smile at Nostafa. "Thank you for the message. We have an idea of our next moves. What are your next orders? Are you to assist the Riders? Will you follow us to the Eon Pit?"
"Yeah, it would be great if you could guide us to the Eon Pit, or at least tell us how to reach there..." Samuel succinctly comments, still not used to the unnerving presence of these feys, hags and witches...
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"Indeed, it sounds like Elvanna has done something that has called Baba Yaga away to deal with it. I do not know what such a mere human woman could do to be a threat to the Great Witch, but she certainly seemed worried.
Llewellyn tries to think about those named places. He has no idea what the Eon pit could be. the Thrice-Tenth Kingdom sounds familiar from a fairy tale he heard told sometime in his recent travels. As a children's fairy tale it was light on details. In the thrice tenth kingdom beyond the thrice nine lands flourishes a vivid world full of talking wolves, shimmering firebirds, immortal soldiers, and capricious fairies. It is said to be the home of Baba Yaga, or a land created to mirror whatever her true home might be.
The woman continues
"The eon pit is here, in this fortress. it is the womb of the Crone, a place that is used for the rituals of coming into the full power of the witch. decending the stairs of the eon pit will cause your life to pass before your eyes as the pit itself ages you through the span of your years. It is dangerous to go through unprepared.
I believe it is also what the Giants are here for. There are rumors that it was involved in sealing away an ancient foe of Baba Yaga's, built as a seal to a prison for a demon Lord. It will be dangerous to approach.
I cannot come with you, or I would be putting myself in grave danger. I am trying to stay out of the infighting that is going on with the Coven. that's why i was hidden here, waiting for a sign that the Riders had returned. Jadrenka's mother is making a power play, and trying to take control of the place for herself and for her Coven. If you want Jadrenka's help, and if you want me to be free to aid you, you will need to deal with the upstart hags."
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"Hmm I see. Which upstart hags in particular are you referring to? It wouldn't do if we were to, ahem, deal with the wrong ones." replied Llewellyn.
Doing other people's dirty work left a bad taste in his mouth, although he supposed less hags in general was an improvement...
"We heard something about a Demon Lord before. Someone called Kostchtchie, who apparently had a hatred to women and witches. We heard frost giants in Iobara worship him and want to unleash something known as the Deathless Frost." Samuel confirms part of the fey's words "I guess that gives us a direction"
The Taldan points back at the corridor they came through "Was that before not the Crone? The Eon Pit must be there. We only need to prepare to face that aging curse Nostafa talks about"
"Yes, we were just in the Crone. But we need to decide about the coven. We know at least one of the hags is working with the giants."
She considers what they've learned so far. "Anna made claims that Jadrenka was a hag in disguise. In fact, she was quite insistent that we see her as a threat. Either she is a fool, a skilled liar, or more is happening here which we do not know." She thinks hard on the clues they've learned so far. She was inclined to believe Nostafa, for the mere fact that Nostafa was openly supporting Baba Yaga.
"Perhaps we should see if Anna will tell us the truth this time?"
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The hag listens to your conversation for a moment, but interjects when Letitia comments about Jadrenka
"Oh no, Jadrenka is no hag. that's what caused the whole mess, you see. Her mother Caigreal is a powerful annis hag. Jadrenka is a changeling you see. Her mother wants her to turn to a hag and join Caigreal, giving the mother power in these towers. But Jadrenka has no desire to be a hag, and has served Baba Yaga dutifully as warden. if she breaks her oath as warden then her mother will gain power over her as the Great Witch's protection will fall.
Caigreal assembled a coven with two of Artrosa’s other hags, Grishelmuk and Silyzil, to ensure Jadrenka’s failure as warden. They fought. Silyzil was slain, though she returned as a witchfire. the three have stopped fighting as openly, but still are looking for ways to disrupt Jadrenka's authority.
The coven is three hags, an Annis, a Green and a witchfire. does that answer your question, half-orc?"
Letitia considers her knowledge about the types of hags they will likely have to confront to assist Jadrenka.
"Thank you for this information. It leads me to deeply suspect the helpless noble girl we first met. We should confront 'Anna' --" she abruptly smacks her forehead. "Anna -- Annis? I am such a dunce!" She fumes at herself for missing such an obvious clue.
"We should make haste. We know where she lairs. Hopefully we can find her before she joins with her other allies and forms their coven. Together, they will be nigh unbeatable."
"Indeed it does." he nodded before taking a curious look at Mr Samuel. Turning to The Granddaughter he murmured, "Anna's story did seem quite suspicious to me, but we'd best be certain before we ahem deal with her..."
Llewellyn considered what he knew of the trio of hags.
one could not have known... that said we should use stealth on approaching the lair. Mages are less deadly before the spell is cast
"A family mess. This starts to seem a soap opera." Samuel grunts at the revelations made by Nostafa, he checks the cannon of his musket in a grumpy manner "If that is the case and we have been lied, this Annis hag is going to learn better..."
"That said, if she is really Jandreka's mother, for much of a challenger to her authority she might be, a mother is a mother. We should have that into account, and try to find a different resolution to her" Samuel looks at Letitia, knowing her own issues with her mother and her knowledge of magic "If she is in disguise, is there any way we can break that disguise and expose her to admit her defection?"
Other than that, Samuel looks around for the different exits on this room, and trying to find out what might be a good door to go back to Anna's room.
Letitia shakes her head when Samuel and Llewellyn voice concern about the ways to break the hag's disguise. "Anna's story is the only one inconsistent with the other denizens with whom we have spoken. I think it is the time to act, not to let her further obfuscate matters. If you are not ready to fight her with lethal force, then let us plan to incapacitate her. Ashling's command spell, with my own hexes, could render her helpless. Or reveal her true nature. Are we agreed?"
Callix shrugs, "She's fought against her mother, and her bloodline, her whole life. Thinking that's not likely to change because of us."
"I am just concerned we might be completely misjudging someone while we are entangled in the hags and feys lies" Samuel frowns as he thinks on the tender and weak Anna, but looks at Letitia's eyes and sees that look of determination "But let's do it. That is, if we are able to find her again in this hag's maze."
"We're in the Mother. If we go back the way we came, we will return to the Crone. But if we follow the tunnel that led us there, we'll be back in the Maiden near the light room. Anna's abode was just off that chamber," Letitia states, having been keeping close attention to their exploration.
Llewellyn sighed, "I suppose we'd better get this over and done with." With that he started walking back towards Anna's chamber.
My spell doesn't last terribly long a few seconds at most. Its a simple...compulsion. We've fought a dragon so I'm not terribly worried but still. Do we know how Annis hags work physically, resistances or weaknesses, spell types, anything?
"I guess some of that blanch from Letitia should do the trick Ashling" Samuel offers as an advice, then nods to the witch and Llewellyn "Ok, let's bring our asses back to the Crone then, and then follow up into our trip to the Maiden"
"If nothing else, I think I will gain a bunch of drinks back at Heldren with all the stories of our comings and goings" the Taldan laughs "That, or I create a company to organize trips to the 'Best Snowy Lands on Golarion'"
The group discusses the possibility that Anna is in fact one of the hags.
Letitia and Llewellyn put their heads together and can explain some details about the three types of hags to the rest of the group:
Also known as black hags or iron hags, annis hags are the largest and most physically intimidating of their foul brood. Known for their iron-hard, wart-covered skin that varies from shades of deep blue to black and their claws like rusty blades, annis hags forgo much of the cunning and deceptiveness of their kind to revel in the more visceral evils of torture and slaughter. The typical annis hag stands just over 8 feet tall and weighs upward of 300 pounds.
Dwelling in dark caves, tangled hollows, and cursed ruins deep within frozen swamps or icy moors, annis hags stalk forth by night to sow fear and hunt the unwary. Although possessed of cunning minds, annis prove more decadent than most other hags, frequently indulging in their taste for living flesh and the music of pleading screams. Unlike green hags, they use their ability to assume humanoid form via alter self not to infiltrate societies but to lure victims into a false sense of security before attacking—often posing as travelers in need of aid or pilgrims seeking to share a camp.
They tend to have fewer spell-like abilities and focus more on physical strength, enhanced by magic
Terrifying crones known to haunt foul swamps and tangled forests, green hags harbor an intense hatred for all beauty and purity. Making use of their varied deceptive abilities, these crones delight in murdering innocents, unhinging noble minds, and debasing the pure of heart. They are particularly fond of using disguise self to assume the forms of alluring young maidens and then seducing young men away from their lovers or families. In this form, they can infect such noble and upstanding citizens with all manner of debauchery and scandal. Some green hags prefer to reveal their true natures to their lovers at a moment precisely engineered to drive the man mad with horror and shame. Others drag out their dalliances and do what they can to utterly ruin the lives of the men they seduce before showing the broken shell that remains the truth. In the end, the luckiest of these unfortunate lovers end up being eaten by their green hag companions—for the unlucky, their final doom can be much worse, for the cruel imagination of the green hag is vast.
A typical green hag stands between 5 and 6 feet tall and weighs just under 160 pounds.
Their magic can draind the strength of their victims and many of their spells focus on deception and misdirection.
When an exceptionally vile hag or witch dies with some malicious plot left incomplete, or proves too horridly tenacious to succumb to the call of death, the foul energies of these wicked old crones sometimes spawn incorporeal undead known as witchfires. These ghostly creatures appear much as they did in life, although the grotesque undead energy that births them makes them appear young and attractive and wreathes their insubstantial bodies in a powerful aura of sickly green flame, a ghostly fire referred to as “witchflame” in local legends.
Strings of will-o’-wisps are often found in the immediate vicinity of witchfires and are typically led by the undead, leading scholars to speculate that the creatures feed off of a witchfire’s flames and fury.
they are incorporeal udnead that have immunity to fire, and can engulf a foe in magical fire that weakens that person's defenses against flame.
The group debates whether they should attack Anna immediately or try to speak with her first. It seems that the group agrees with LEtitia that they should go in aggressively and not give Anna the chance to muddle things any further.
Letitia knows the way back, and leads the group back through the Crone and into the Maiden where they had found the light gem.
Callix says, "Incapacitate, as we said. She may be the only one willing to fight her mother. Other than us, of course."
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Letitia shakes her head. "The hag is the mother, Caigreal. Jadrenka, the current Warden, is the Changeling daughter of the hag. The information we have is that Caigreal wishes her daughter to become a hag like her in a power play for control of Artrosia."
She checks the ingredients in her spell component pouch. "If Anna is Caigreal in disguise, then we'll know soon enough. I'll begin by hexing her, to strip away her resistances to other magics. She'll be much easier to deal with then. And if Anna is innocent, she will be unharmed."
"...so she can seize control of the coven, is that it? Or I have understood nothing?" Samuel checks his musket once the group is back at the light gem room.
"I am going to be seriously pissed off if she is indeed a hag..." with his firearm pointing towards the room where they met Anna he adds "Will try to let her not cast any spell"
"Deception is supposedly one of their favoured pass times..." murmured Llewellyn. The conversation they were about to have was already going through his mind, he had particularly on the nose line he wanted to try.
Callix says, "We should probably start by scattering if we're to give Letitia's plan time to work. Last thing we need is to all be gathered close enough to eat a fireball or a cloud of something noxious while we're trying to subdue her."
The group stages in the room that once held the light gem and the lurkers in light.
Letitia leads the way, ready to start things off by hexing Anna.
They head back into the living quarters room. curtains are strung between the poles to make three separate rooms, but they don't do much to block sounds. You can tell that Anna is still in the room, waiting for you like she said she would be.
Letitia strides into the room flanked by her companions, drawing the curtain aside.
"We've some hard questions for you, Caigreal," Letitia announces, following up with an Evil Eye hex designed to strip her defenses away.
"I thought her name was Annis, I mean Anna." said Llewellyn in mock surprise. He watched her response to all this very closely.
While the others scatter, Samuel steps next to Letitia in case she is physically menaced, and to remove the curtain with the cannon of his musket so the witch has line of sight.
"Stop the lies, if you are Caigreal, we are here to solve things up" the Taldan warns the creature while he tries to make sure there is no confusion this time.
The woman looks at you with surprise when you say that name, and looks like she is about to argue with you, but with the way that all of the party speaks to her, her eyes quickly harden.
"I see. Been talking to some of the others around here, have you? Be cautious, everyone in this place lies. schemes and lies and plans, all circling around each other in this place.
She eyes Samuel and the musket poitned her way
"it seems you are not really here to simply ask questions are you? Looks like your minds are made up."
She definitely reacted strongly to hearing her real name. She looks ready to fight, but intimidated by the idea of taking on the whole party. You think she is stalling for time while she comes up with a new plan now that her identity is revealed.
Callix spins the axe in her hand, "More a matter of being ready for answers we don't like."
"She look so harmless but an Annis hag is anything but harmless. Even her words are weapons - nothing she can say is worth listening to Callix. Although she's right about one thing though, my mind is made up." murmurmed Llewellyn softly.
Then with a sudden bellow he cried, "TO ARMS!"
Letitia bares her teeth in a sneer. "If everyone in this place lies, then you have implicated yourself as well."
When Llewellyn calls for combat and speeds up everyone's movements, Letitia throws another hex at her target. This time, her aim is to reduce Caigreal's effectiveness when attacking her companions.
The moment Samuel notices the hard reaction, he knows the time of questions have past "There is a time when pulling the trigger first is the only answer that does not end with your head on the plate"
The High Sentinel performs a targeted shot, aiming for her head.
Llewellyn calls his companions to arms and gives them a burst of speed!
Samuel fires a shot that strikes the woman in the head but doesn't kill her. she looks a bit shaken up by the hit.
Callix, Ashling, Anna, Letitia, Samuel, Llewellyn.
Global Condition: |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 58/58 - AC: 20/14/16 Status: 1 CHA damage
Letitia: HP: 48/48 - AC: 18/12/15 Status:
Llewellyn HP: 59/59 - AC: 23/21/13 Status:
Samuel HP: 67/67 - AC: 23/18/16 Status:
Ashling HP: 44/44 - AC: 19/15/15 Status:NPCs:
Anna HP: -22 | AC: ??
Callix casts Spiritual Weapon, causing one of Cayden's rapiers to appear and attack Anna, while she closes to bring the hagspawn into reach of her axe.
for
Ashling casts Command: Halt
Halt: The subject stands in place for 1 round. It may not take any actions but is not considered helpless.
Dc 14 will save
She draws her Longsword but doesn't approach yet
Callix hits the woman with a spiritual weapon
Ashling tries a spell on the woman as well
both spells get through the woman's spell resistance, but she is unaffected by the command.
A thick cloud of billowing fog fills the room around 'Anna'
The fog obscures all sight, including darkvision, beyond 5 feet. A creature within 5 feet has concealment (attacks have a 20% miss chance). Creatures farther away have total concealment (50% miss chance, and the attacker can’t use sight to locate the target).
Letitia tries to hex the woman, but again her mind is too strong to be easily bent.
Samuel, Llewellyn, Callix, Ashling, Anna, Letitia
Steeling himself for dark deeds, Llewellyn closed into the cloud of fog next to where he'd just seen Caigreal and he struck out with his sword!
Llewellyn snarled, "You lied to us, you're going down Caigreal!"
"Hell's Teeth!" Samuel vents his frustration shaking the musket and bringing his aim down "I cannot see her with all that mist"
Advancing through the cabin with hasted speed, trying to find the way out of the fog, the Taldan emerges on the eastern side, where he can control that escape path.
With a natural and almost automatic gesture by now, he reloads the musket with a new bullet "She is not here. Must be inside the cloud still"
Callix rushes forward in the fog, calling on the Drunken Hero for aid, Could use a tiny fraction of the luck you used when you rushed blindly into the Starstone right about now..
for
the group finds that the woman is no longer quite where she was, and the party's attacks swing through the concealing mist.
Llewellyn sees a large shape moving in the mists towards him! the woman has been replaced with a large hag, which tries to bite him as it moves right up to him
The party may act
Global Condition: |Party Condition:
Callix HP: 58/58 - AC: 20/14/16 Status: 1 CHA damage
Letitia: HP: 48/48 - AC: 18/12/15 Status:
Llewellyn HP: 48/59 - AC: 23/21/13 Status:
Samuel HP: 67/67 - AC: 23/18/16 Status:
Ashling HP: 44/44 - AC: 19/15/15 Status:NPCs:
Anna HP: -31 | AC: ??
Llewellyn grunted when he got bitten, before snarling "DIE HAG, DIE!" as he counter attacked!
Ashling spends her first turn moving to flank where she thinks the hag may be, not seeing well normally due to her curse she is more used to making gut choices.
her second turn she immediately activates the cold aura of the cloak, and will take a swipe with her preferred Scimitar.
Not seeing Anna anywhere, Samuel guides himself by the shouts and noise of combat inside the mist. Moving in between Ashling and the chest, he suddenly takes sight of the horrendous hag in front "Hell's teeth! It is indeed a monster!"
Locked to fight in close combat where he cannot shot safely, he resolves to attack the hag with the butt of his musket, striking as hard as possible, trying to send the monster to the ground.
Callix follows Llewwllyn's cry, closing on the suddenly large figure. She spins the axe in her hand and attacks the dark outline, even as the hovering rapier at her side does the same.