Daegan swats vaguely in the direction of the offending hand, as if irritated, but cannot suppress a grin. "Good luck, my friend. Hopefully you don't make yourself as obvious to our enemies."
Outside, Cervin begins carefully scaling the wall.
Focus Cervin, must be... oh who cares. THIS IS SO MUCH FUN!
Gleefully, he scampers along the side of the building, testing the limits of the spell as he detaches different limbs from the wall. For a moment, he moves to hang upside-down from the front door, peering his head under to look at his companions.
Finally righting himself, Cervin begins to scale along the side of the building, moving towards the room he sensed the evil presence from. There, he moves to a window and stares in, trying to move lightly and not attract attention.
Arkady peers up at the door from the main room, but does not notice any obvious magical auras.
Cervin makes his way towards the nearest window and peers into the room above. Inside, an L-shaped table with many chairs takes up most of the floor space in this loft. A second smaller table sits near the entrance, and several windows look over the snowy grounds of the lodge. In the southwest corner, a large map hangs on the wall, opposite another door in the northeast wall.
Hiding around the corner from the door, backs pressed right up against the window Cervin is peering through, two sets of living bones stand silently. Their forms seem to have an aura of bluish flame that appears ominous. Cervin holds his breath, hoping they do not turn around to see him, as either one could quickly smash through the window and grab at him.
Cervin lets out a small breath as he remembers that he cannot be seen, and takes a closer look into the room. Focusing, he can confirm that the two living skeletons were the weaker auras he had detected earlier, but the stronger aura appears to no longer be in the room, as if it had moved down into the main room, or into the western wing of the building.
Quickly, Cervin returns to the front entrance of the lodge and hops down. He enters, giving Growler some space before he pokes Daegan on the shoulder.
"Two skeletons. We know who made our undead now at least. Rokhar is nowhere to be seen, I think he had one of these potions too and moved out when the door opened."
Yagello feels a bit silly speaking to the thin air but does so nonetheless. "So two skeletons whose position we know, but Rokhar could be anywhere!"
He exhales deeply. "A frontal assault is going to be difficult. They're waiting to ambush us as soon we walk up those stairs. Maybe we should explore the rest of the first floor first and look for our kidnapped Lady. If we're lucky, Rokhar might blink first and send his skeletons after us, and we'll be the ones able to ambush them."
Cervin's expression is unreadable, largely because you can't see it.
"Well the skeletons are by the window rather than the door. We'd take them out without too much issue. But let's explore this floor first anyways, Rokhar left the upstairs and if he's at large no telling what he's up to. I'll poke my head in that south room and we can move on. Look for doors left open or the like."
Without waiting for a response, Cervin heads to take a quick look over the room to the south.
Four beds, two large chests, and a single table with four chairs occupy this room. Two blankets are laid out on the floor as makeshift beds as well. Three windows look out to the east, west, and south, providing a grand view of the snowy gorge outside the lodge. The air inside is stale with a faint smell of acridity, which Cervin wrinkles his nose at as he pauses at the doorway.
Cervin wrinkles his nose and turns back to the main hall. He makes his footsteps obvious as he approaches the group.
"Nothing much in there, let's start opening doors and looking around. What -is- that smell?" Cervin taps the conscious brigand as he speaks.
The man jumps as Cervin's invisible touch, but after realizing it is Cervin, nods towards some of his unconsciousness companions. "A few of them got some kind of sickness from all this cold. We've been keeping the sick ones in there so that the rest of us don't have to deal with them. Ten-Penny here fancies herself a chef," he nods towards the half-orc starting to awaken, "so she's been working on a soup for them in the kitchen."
Hearing Cervin give the all-clear, Yagello decides to take a look around for himself. He moves into the southern room, though he's sorely tempted to visit the fireplace instead. Being cold and wet all day has not been pleasant, and Yagello can't wait to dry off and put on a fresh pair of clothes. The two chests pique his interest, and he examines them closer.
If he doesn't find any traps or other ill omens, he'll open each chest in turn.
As Yagello explore the south room Cervin moves on, confident in his invisibility.
"Let's move quickly, cover what ground we can." Cervin moves to the north door beside the tied up bandits and tries it. "Let's all try doors. Just be prepared for Rokhar to jump out or something."
Yagello moves into the room and explores the room. Some of the sheets inside are stained with sweat, but the room appears harmless. Yagello looks carefully at the chests and, satisfied that there are no dangers, opens each chest in turn. Inside is a disappointing assortment of small coins and a few changes of clothes, very little of value.
To the north, Cervin nudges the men lying on the ground out of the way and peers into the facing room. Inside, a bed and chest sit across from one another in this small room. Two doors serve as exits, and a window looks out on the north side of the lodge.
Arkady follows Yagello, supplementing his visual inspection with a magical one, ready to shout if his supernatural senses tip him off to danger.
Arkady does a pass through the southern room that the sick bandits came out of, but after peering about, does not notice any magical auras.
"Chest in this room," calls out Cervin before he moves to the next door along the north, letting others loot. He unshoulders his bow and keeps it on hand as he checks the next door.
Cervin opens the door adjoining the two rooms. Three doors open into the next room, with one to the south going back into the main room, and one leading to another room further west. A sturdy bed heaped with blankets sits near the only window, and a large maple chest occupies the southwest corner. The room appears otherwise unoccupied.
Daegan, slightly on edge, has his greatsword held tightly despite the casual way in which he holds it against his shoulder. He moves into the room Cervin calls from, opening the chest and searching for anything of note. He augments his sight with a spell similar to Arkady's, making sure he doesn't find himself the subject of any magical traps or tricks.
After giving the all clear Cervin heads to the rooms along the west side of the lodge, quickly opening doors, checking and moving to the next one. Once at the stairs he'll take a quick glance up to see if the skeletons have moved.
Cervin goes through the door to the adjoining room, where a single rumpled bed sits alone with a large heavy blanket. There is nothing else of apparently value in the room.
Cervin quickly goes out into the hallway and into the next room. A large fireplace takes up most of the north wall of this room, its radiant heat providing palpable relief from the cold weather outside. Cabinets and shelves line the remaining wall space, and four windows look out on the wintry landscape surrounding the lodge. A large pot hangs over the fire, the abandoned soup bubbling over the edges slightly.
Daegan meanwhile examines the chest. He finds no traps, but can detect a single faint aura inside the chest. A sturdy lock keeps the chest tightly shut, though, preventing Daegan from easily examining the contents. Daegan looks into the next room's chest, and finds a similarly locked chest, this one emanating three or four faint auras.
Suddenly, the sounds of a door being flung open and a fierce wind comes from outside, and Cervin runs out from the kitchen to see. A bearskin rug dominates the floor of this trophy room, and the heads of several deer have been mounted on the walls. The western doors are thrown open wide, bringing the wind into the trophy room, but no one is in sight.
Oh no you don't!
"West doors, he's invisible!" Cervin shouts out loud enough that, hopefully, the whole building can hear. Holding his arms out, Cervin charges through the double doors out onto the porch, trying to bowl over anyone who is in his way.
While on the porch, Cervin looks around frantically and checks the horses to see if they are avoiding anyone or skittish. Unfortunately a clump of snow lands on his face, blinding him momentarily.
Whistling to ask Growler to follow her, Aishe rushes around the side of the Lodge towards the western doorway in response to Cervin's excited shouting, readying her spear as she goes. Once there, she pauses to examine the snow around the doorway, looking for any fresh, anomalous footprints which would give away the position of an invisible individual.
Hearing the commotion coming from the back of the lodge, Yagello quickly drops what he is doing and follows the running half-elf. He draws his elven curve blade and also scans the area, looking for any signs of their enemy.
After clearing his eyes, Cervin does not immediately see any signs of Rokhar, or anyone else. There are a great many tracks in the snow, and it is difficult for Cervin to make out which ones are fresh.
Meanwhile, Aishe and Yagello circle around the outside of the lodge, trying to intercept Rokhar. As they round the southern edge of the lodge, they do not yet see any signs or activity.
Cursing, Cervin nocks an arrow and keeps an eye on the horses, looking for any skittishness or unusual behaviour.
By the gods, it's cold here. Danger lurks everywhere. What is a dwarf like me to do, against such evil? We were lucky that the half-orc fell to my lullaby, and now we deal with a foe that cannot be seen? Alas, I will carry on.
Igmar shakes his head, seemingly waking from a trance. Hearing the shouts, he moves toward the staircase, planting himself at the bottom to try to block anyone's progress down, seen or unseen.
The shouting stirs Daegan from his rummaging, and he looks up, bemused. He stands slowly and then heads to join Cervin, blade readied. "Hrmph, you'd think the commander would be made of stuff at least as stern as his subordinates."
He renews his magical sight and looks about, hoping to find a glimpse of something unusual meandering about in the snow.
Arkady follows Daegun out, similarly watching for magical signs.
Frustrated at apparently losing their quarry, Yagello tries a different tactic. He studies the tracks in the snow carefully, longing for anything that's changed since he last scouted this area.
Of course! I know how to track! Gah, and that poor woman is still in there, but we need to catch this bastard before he harms anyone else.
Spotting Daegan work on the tracks, Cervin rushes alongside, pointing out things here and there.
"There, this footprint doesn't seem as snow-covered..."
"Growler, is féidir leat smell an duine, ceann amháin nach féidir leat a fheiceáil?" says Aishe to her animal companion quietly, hoping that the she-wolf may be able to smell the bandit where no-one can see him...
Not really comprehending what her two-legged mistress is saying to her, but aware that something is amiss, Growler sniffs the air and the tracks in the snow, looking for a scent that is out of place...
Yagello catches up to and passes Aishe coming around the lodge, moving quickly to the bottom of the porch, where the horses have wandered aimlessly after being forgotten. As Daegan and Arkady remain on the porch, peering about for any magical auras, Cervin finally finds a fresh footprint as he fades back into view.
It was easily missed by Yagello, as the invisible person stayed close to the building, where the deliberate footprints were hidden among piles of snow that had fallen from the roof. The tracks appear to head north, staying close to the lodge before leading around the corner. Growler catches up and starts urging Aishe to follow the tracks around the side of the house as well. Arkady, still unable to notice anything, begins to get a feeling that something is wrong.
Alone inside, Igmar strains to hear what is going on outside. He hears a low whistle from the open door to the east, and the scratching sound of bone on wood in the room above tells Igmar that the skeletons are coming down on command. Surprisingly, a man covered in shaggy white fur comes into the room through the east door, and kneels down near the nearest bandit. His vacant gaze to some distant point unnerves Igmar, almost appearing as if it is dead.
Cervin
Arkady
Growler
Aishe
Daegan
Yagello
Igmar
Snowman
The snowman huddles over one of the bandits that are near death, their faces nearly touching, as Igmar hears muffled chanting. Igmar sees the bandit begin breathing heavily, his breath creating mist in the cold air near the door. The mist curls around the snowman as he breathes it in. The bandit takes one final breath before falling limp. The snowman stands up, surveying the other dead and dying bandits in the room.
At the top of the stairs, the skeletons emerge and move downwards towards Igmar, scratching at him.
Igmar feels the blue aura around the skeleton seep past his warm clothing, against his skin. He shivers involuntarily.
Cervin looks up at the noise and he quickly turns to charge back into the lodge. His shot is a little unsteady as he chants, obviously enraged. A white begins to shimmer across his bow.
"Oh you bastard. ERASTIL GUIDE ME AND DESTROY THIS EVIL!"
Yagello suddenly realizes they've been duped, and his blood runs cold as he remembers Igmar is all by himself in the lodge. He runs back into the building and sees Igmar get hit by the first skeleton.
"IGMAR! FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"
He tries to aid his friend but also doesn't want to block his retreat if he chooses to withdraw.
The "feeling" comes over Arkady, and without even really knowing why, he runs back into the building, and dodging around Yagello, he fires blindly, trusting his instincts.
Cervin and Yagello each fire at the white beast, but they miss in their haste.
Daegan charges past Cervin, casting a surprised glance towards the snowman. He disregards the potential threat for the immediate one, moving to join Yagello and Igmar by the stairs. He nearly winces at the sight of the cuts lining the dwarf. "Igmar, stand back. You'll be cut to ribbons at this rate!"
Aishe bustles inside as the rest of her companions rush in to assist the dwarven bard, but she's tapped out her ability to cast spells already for today, and once she sees the skeletons the sorceress realises that her crossbow isn't going to be of use. Instead she does what she can with her acid splash cantrip, conjuring and throwing a little globule of greenish acid towards the undead still halfway up the stairs.
Igmar groans as the cold touch of the claw sinks into his skin. He reaches for his pick, but thinks better of it, moving back carefully away from the skeletons.
The group moves back into the lodge. Aishe misses the skeleton, and Igmar retreats from the skeletons as he feels the cold creeping into his bones.
Across the room, the snowman looks upwards until the head falls back limply as a hood, revealing a human beneath. His front opens as well, revealing a blade covered in a sickly green substance in one hand, and an unrolled parchment in the other. The awake half-orc and human bandits cringe at his appearance.
"I am Rohkar!" the man booms across the lodge, "By foolishly slaying my men, you have only given me more of my necromantic wizardry powers. I will slay you all like I slayed this winter beast that I now wear." Rohkar's eyes turn to the scroll as he reads off the words, and then touches some of the dead raiders around him, including the one he was looking at before. The touched men rise from the ground at Rohkar's touch, their lurching gait and vacant expression making it obvious they are some form of undead. The two awake bandits go wide-eyed and
Seeing an opening at Igmar's retreat, the skeletons descend into the room, clawing at Yagello and Daegan.
... oh dear. To kill a snake cut off his head.
Incensed, Cervin rushes over to the fireplace, firing off an arrow through the crowd of zombies at Rokhar.
"Daegan if you have anything useful against the walking dead now would be a good time! There's five more of the things!"
Cervin's call to Daegan jogs a memory in Igmar's mind. He recalls a tale from the north of so-called frost skeletons, and tries to remember the details from the rhyming verses. These frozen piles of bones carry the cold of death with them, making it hazardous to near or touch directly. They are vulnerable to healing like most undead, but these agents of the cold are also particularly vulnerable to fires as well. The are immune to cold and most weapons, as blades and arrow points merely pass through their empty rib cages.
Hearing Cervin, Arkady moves around the fireplace. Seeing the rising corpses, he speaks a word, and a by now well familiar blob of acid flies from his hand to the nearest undead bandit.
Whistling loudly to call Growler to her assistance, Aishe copies the Varisian wizard and sends another orb of acid towards the nearby skeleton...
Yagello gives a horrified glance in Rokhar's direction upon seeing the dead rise from the ground. Frightful as the undead are, he doesn't have the luxury to dwell on these matters as the glowing skeleton savagely claws at him. He deftly dodges its blows but knows the situation looks pretty dire for his party.
He shouts to Igmar, "We're badly outnumbered here! See if you can elicit the help of the captured bandits in exchange for a full pardon!"