"HAH! YES! I GOT YOU, YOU STUPID GREEN-SKINNED NO-PANTS WEARING B$*@~!" screams Cervin, pointing ecstatically at the enraged troll and forgetting the various things he's not supposed to say.
He then pauses.
"Friends, we are in no state to explore the tower further! With the troll trapped, let's beat a hasty retreat and attempt the tower a second time after we've had time to recover. I'm uh, sure I can find a way down from the catwalk."
Yagello and Arkady can hear Cervin saying something, but he is drowned out by the screaming troll from the stairway. It is difficult to say if Cervin has reached safety!
Arkady helps Nevinia and Nadya slowly move toward the courtyard, watching for any further trouble. Once he can see and hear Cervin, he asks, "Is there anyone left here? With all that noise, I'd be surprised. We still have to find Nadya's children."
Cervin double moves away from the troll, and falls down an icy chute to meet with the group.
"That's a tower in front of us. There has to be a way up we haven't found, but we do not have the luxury of discovering it in our current state. We need to get out of here and recover and attempt another assault. If that troll gets loose it could kill us all if we aren't healed."
Arkady reluctantly agrees. "You're right. We'll just have to pray nothing happens while we're recovering."
Nevinia gives her potion to Nadya.
Nadya staggers along, exhausted from the fight, smiling weakly. She looks at the remains of their sleds and dogs in the courtyard. Obviously, the troll has fed on their dogs.
"We not get far if they trying to find us. Maybe better to defend room inside?"
Cervin looks in dismay at the butchered dogs.
"It does look like we're stuck here. Barricade a room from the troll it is. This is grisly work, friends."
As the potion goes down his throat, Yagello slowly stirs awake and sees Nevinia crouching over him. "Yu, Yu, You're an angel...," he stutters before regaining his composure.
A bit embarrassed now, he stands to his full height and takes stock of the situation. He walks with the others through the courtyard, hobbling from his injuries but his will still resolute and strong.
"Yes, we cannot leave Nevinia's children to the enemy. There may be retribution for our actions. We should search the bodies of all the guards we defeated. We may find more healing potions to restore our vigor."
He also turns to Cervin. "If that troll is trapped in the stairwell, what's there to stop us from pummeling it with arrows and those fire liquids we got from Igmar? I believe there is still some fight left in us,my friend."
Cervin claps Yagello's back.
"Back we go, Old Deadeye preaches caution in heroism; do not hunt a deer when a rabbit will feed your family. But your words strengthen me and we cannot leave this place."
He looks up at the catwalk.
"I have an alchemist fire and an acid flask, but can pass those over to someone else as my best weapon is the bow. DO we have a rope?"
Cervin groans and removes his own pack, producing a good length of silk rope. He then pulls out the alchemist's fire and oil before handing them to whoever wants them.
"Let's search the bodies and hope we find a potion. I can then use the rope to climb up and we'll batter the troll from both sides."
Cervin heads back into the base of the tower and searches the captain first before checking the guards.
"As long as the troll is trapped, I can continue to flick acid at it, but if it comes free I won't last long with these injuries. How much other fire and acid do we have among us? Also, the longer we talk, the more time it has to recover."
As Cervin rifles the body he calls over his shoulder.
"I have one alchemist fire and one acid flask. I think that's it. But we can harm it faster than it can heal if we're all piling on attacks at the same time. Yagello and I with bows, you with your spells."
He looks at the door.
"I think we can place two of us at the bottom of the stairs, one at the top. Maybe you can take the top Arkady? You're a stronger climber than I am."
"I just have to have a clear shot within about 25 feet of it."
Arkady moves to take up his position.
Cervin provides Arkady his rope to help the ascent to the catwalk.
Yagello moves quickly, getting into position as well. He nods to Cervin, "Your plan is sound. We have to hit this beast quick and hard before it frees itself. I agree with Arkady; we will not last long if it reaches us."
He also turns to Nadya, "Stay with me, and I'll protect you as best I can. Together we'll pound the creature and take cover at the doorway if it breaks free of its entrapment. Take these flasks Cervin gave me. I have some of my own, and two pairs of arms are better than one."
Yagello runs towards the doorway, his bow and flasks ready.
Cervin loops the rope and sends it up to a parapet before handing it to Arkady.
"Well at least my aim is all right for now."
He then makes his way to the south door with Yagello, an arrow nocked.
Arkday gets into position. Peering through the door, he sees the troll struggling against the wall, trying to turn around.
Yagello gets close to the lower door, and can see the troll's rear claw lashing out desperately near the door. It is impossible to get into the stairwell without getting with reach.
Yagello looks at the limited firing lanes and shakes his head in frustration. He turns to Cervin and puts his arm on the paladin's shoulder.
"Perhaps you should take the first shots Cervin. Your arm is far steadier than my own. I'm afraid my temper interferes with my ability to hold a bow straight at times..."
Cervin nods to Yagello.
"I'll move into the first lane while you attack through the doorway. I think I can take a couple of more hits in case it scratches me. Start firing the moment I'm in position."
Sucking in his breath, Cervin goes into a crouch, and then sprints for the alcove at the bottom of the stairs, doing his best to avoid an attack from the troll.
If he survives the attempt, Cervin screams "NOW!" as he spins to nock his bow and begin firing.
As soon as Cervin signals, Arkady sprays acid at the troll.
Yagello also heeds Cervin's call and hurls one of the flasks of alchemist's fire at the troll.
Once in position (if still alive) Cervin wheels and fires off two arrows.
The troll's swipes wildly, but misses. Arkady misses with his acid, but Cervin's arrows hit the immobile beast and Yagello's fire burn the beast down.
As Yagello's two flasks connect Cervin takes a moment to aim at the troll. A parable of Erastil plays through his mind about the appropriate treatment for a trapped muskrat. Unfortunately, they are in no position to be humane about their execution.
Trying to out-do the troll's rapid regeneration, Cervin fires arrow after arrow in synch with Yagello and Arkady's attacks. When he finally takes the troll in the throat and it keels over he lets out a groan and collapses back.
He slowly approaches the troll and prods it with his toe.
"I need to stop being so cautious."
As the troll collapses under the assault, Arkady runs up and sprays its body with magical acid one more time for good measure. Exhausted and barely standing, he looks to the others and says, "Now what?"
Cervin wanders over and recovers what arrows he can from the troll, kicking it swiftly for good measure.
"I believe the recommendation is that we continue and try to find Nadya's daughter. There has to be a secret way up."
Cervin returns to the main room and starts checking the alcoves in the south and north ebfore moving to the rest of the room.
"Yes, let's try to find her and then get to safety. I'm barely moving and can't take another fight."
Cervin peers into the alcoves. A glassy pattern of striated, crystalline ice covers the tiled floor in each of the open alcoves to the north and south, illuminated by a soft, blue light.
Arkday works through the guards, seeing nothing of value in the barracks. Each guard has a set of what appears to be a standard issue of mostly unremarkable gear and one potion each. The troll's corpse contains nothing of value, other than her axe that Cervin discarded earlier.
Arkady is eventually drawn by Tsuritsa to the captain, where Araday can detect multiple magical auras. Arkady searches the captain's goods, noting that she appears to still be alive, but only barely so. Arkady finds four magical potions, two magical crossbow bolts, an a mirror that has a magical aura as well. Curiously, Arkady also finds a strange blue crystal, which is cool to the touch.
Cervin looks over the tiled patterns and soft light curiously.
"Arkady, when you're done with the items can you take a look at these?"
Arkady looks where Cervin is pointing.
Arkday peers at the potions intently in turn, sipping a small taste of some of the potions that initially stump his magical detection, carefully re-corking them before putting the potions in piles organized by function.
The majority of the potions are similar to a common spell Arkady knows and has been frequently casting lately, protecting a body from the intense Irriseni cold. Two of the potions are healing potions, which the Varisian knows the party needs most of all at this moment. The final potion is an evil thing, forcing the imbiber to tell the truth or else feel pain. Arkady shudders at that potion's intended use.
The mirrors and crystal do not reveal themselves to Arkday, and he stands up with them to get a better look at the patterns in the alcoves. Arkady looks intently at the pattern, before looking down at the strange items once again. The blue crystal bears a similar pattern to the floor tiles! As Arkday moves closer to the south alcove, the key begins to glow with a faint blue light. Arkady steps over to the north alcove, and the crystal glows again when it nears the pattern on the floor, fading as Arkady returns to the middle of the room.
Nadya's eyes widen at the glow. "Maybe we explore after fixing up?" Although she keeps her casual compsure, Nadya is clearly still in pain from the battle.
Yagello looks around the chamber and sighs wearily. "Live by the sword, die by the sword..." he quietly whispers.
Wincing at bit from his battle wounds, he walks over the group and replies to Nadya, "Yes, we need to find your daughter first and foremost. Let's divide up those healing potions. I say Nadya and I take one apiece so we can continue to protect the front line of our group."
Ever spiteful of magic, he is intrigued nonetheless by Arkady's glowing blue crystal. He scans the alcoves, looking for any signs of a depression or opening where the crystal could be inserted.
Arkady nods. "I agree, you are in the most need, but keep in mind that I am barely standing. I will need to stay back. I have little magic left to me until I sleep and study my book again, but I'll contribute how I can. "
Yagello scans the two alcoves in turn from just outside the alcoves, but the walls and floor are just smooth ice, other than the small area covered by the tiles on the ground, just large enough for two people to stand side by side.
Cervin looks at the tiles and then to Arkady.
"I'm no expert on magic, but that crystal obviously interacts with the tiles. Perhaps it activates a lift or something like that hidden beneath the floor? We still see no way up but these magical alcoves appear to be our key. Let's stand on the tiles with the crystal and see what happens."
Arkady nods. "I don't see any better approach."
Yagello looks frustrated, "Confound it! I don't understand this damned magic either, but the tiles must be the key. Let me get ready in case we run into any danger."
He grabs one of the healing potions and quickly quaffs it down his throat.
Moving into the alcove, he draws his elven curve blade and reluctantly asks Arkady,"Do you want me to take the crystal? I'm in better condition to face any opposition than you right now."
"No, you hold your weapons ready. I'll stand in the middle and see if I can activate it, and you be waiting to handle anything dangerous."
Cervin nocks an arrow and nods to Arkady.
Cervin and Arkady step onto the tiles, and almost immediately the crystal in Arkady's hand glows a bright blue. Arkady and Cervin find themselves unable to move, as ice crystals form around them. Yagello, Nadya and Nevinia stare agape as the ice covers the two for just a moment, before they disappear. The ice falls to the ground in a puddle on the tiles, the only trace left of the two men.
Arkady and Cervin cannot move while the magic transports them, but find themselves in a Y-shaped chamber. A crescent-shaped dining table occupies the room, while two large mirrors on the north and south walls create the illusion of an even larger space. Twenty feet overhead, an immense chandelier of ice crystals hangs from the ceiling. To the east, rounded steps access a short hallway, flanked by twin ice sculptures of dryads holding ice-carved tree limbs, creating an elaborate archway. Translucent, glasslike double doors are set in the hall’s north and south walls. To the west, Arkady and Cervin stand in one of two alcoves that stand between three windows providing an amazing view of the wintry landscape outside the tower below. Another set of blue tiles are just behind them.
Standing across the room, at the top of the steps is Mierul Ardelain, the horned woman that sang songs and shared food with the party on their first night in Irrisen. She wears a white cloak clasped together with an elaborate gem-studded necklace. "What a surprise, the Varisian! I suppose you two were responsible for the ruckus downstairs?" She stands confidently, with her hands behind her back.
Cervin's eyes go wide as he is covered in crystal before he is transported upwards before he finds himself staring at Muriel.
This is bad, this is bad, this is bad.
Cervin keeps an arrow in his bow as he eyes Muriel evenly. The slender paladin stares at the horned woman for a moment before speaking.
"It's a small world. Where is Nadya's daughter?"