Hearing Zisel's cry for help, Grimkell turns around quickly. Seeing two of his comrads in distress, he yells out to them.
"Mirri! Newcomer! Be strong, free yourself from the monsters" his call is rapidly followed by a primal war cry which marks the first note of a rythmic song in Skald.
Still singing, the man rushes through the pine trees, wading through the snow as quickly as possible.
Finding herself pinioned in the arms of the elemental and drug back onto the ice, Mirri struggles to get free, "Let go of me."
Mirri breaks free of the elemental and does her best to reach the safety of the shore once again.
Mirri's struggles become desperate as she realizes that she isn't getting free of this thing herself, still she continues to try and get away.
Jamarcus, at the sight of the ice creatures grappling his companions, strides onto the ice.
He smiles a predatory grin at the primal tones of Grimkell's song and incorporates a few spins and groovy shuffles into his movement.
Now that's what I'm talkin' bout' son.
His dance moves and pace increases as he allows the music to pulse through his body. By the time he arrives by Zisel's side, he's breathing harder and a red mist descends over his vision
Ey girl, cover yo face fo' a second
A guttural shout escapes his lips and he drives an elbow down on the elemental with all of his considerable mass.
Lars' strikes out at the elemental but misses. Grimkell becomes aware of the danger and turns back, singing to encourage his companions. Mirri struggles to break free but is unable to do so. Jamarcus attempts to drive his elbow into the elemental but misses as well.
R1
Lars, Grimkell, Mirri, Jamarcus, Theora, Pym, Skrikks, Szassh, Zisel
"Zisel, dearie, try not to move so much, mmm?" Theora calls, sizing up the elemental grabbing the frosty woman. Sootfeather caws loudly, flapping over to hover near Grimkell, as if enjoying the song, as the woman takes aim with her longbow.
Theora takes a shot at the elemental but her arrow misses the target, instead sticking into the frozen creek.
Pym flies out of Mirri's hair, "Noooooo! Let go of the sisters! Let go! Sisters, sisters close your eyes! Close your eyes!"
At Pym's instruction Mirri closes her eyes, trusting the little pixie with her life.
Grimkell takes a steps back and closes his eyes for a second at most, too worried about keeping them closed for too long.
Jamarcus looks up briefly to the tiny creature during his pummeling of the ice elemental.
Watchu' talkin' bout foo? I ain't no sista
Lars shuts his eyes but keeps his blade and shield in front of him Crazy sprite...
Zisel, at the instance of Pym, firmly squeezes her eyes shut. She braces herself incase the elementals decide to take advantage of her blind state.
Pym throws out her hand and a vivid spray of colors shoots forth from her fingertips. Luckily, Theora and Jamarcus are outside of its range of effect but Lars is not.
R1
Lars, Grimkell, Mirri, Jamarcus, Theora, Pym, Skrikks, Szassh, Zisel
Lars tumbled to the ground, his sword laying next to him, free from his grip Bloody...sprites... Are the last words on his mind before his consciousness faded.
Jamarcus lets out a bout of laughter and a small wince as he watches Lars crash down onto the ice.
Damn son, tiny n#!+! be scary
Noticing the prone elemental, Jamarcus raises one leg high in the air and delivers a stomping axe kick on the icy creature.
After being quickly let go by the elemental, Zisel quickly plunges the dagger into the one who had held her's head as best she can.
With the frigid arms that were holding her captive suddenly releasing her, Mirri reaches out to gently grab Pym, "Takk søster, nå la oss gå av denne isen før den kommer også."
When Grimkell opens his eyes, the scene has changed quite a bit. The two elementals are down on the ground and so is Lars. Lars? quick, he needed to overpower the creature of frozen ice and come to his companion's aid.
Still singing the epic, he aims at the ... chest... of the elemental and strikes.
Pym allows herself to be scooped up into Mirri's gentle and caring hands. "Sister, it is okay! They are dead now, look!"
The ice elementals begin to sink into the frosty creek, their corpses becoming one with the frozen water.
You all suddenly become uncomfortably aware that perhaps luck was on your side far more than you realized when you faced off with Pym and her brothers.
Theora shivers as she thinks of what might have been, of how this encounter could have ended. Making her way onto the ice, she places one large, rough hand on Zisel's shoulder, looking the girl over. "Are you alright, dearie? That thing had you well and tight."
Swallowing what remains of her pride, she calls across to Pyn, "An excellent move, little one! Remind me not to get on your bad side, mmm?"
Pym flies towards Theora, stopping a few feet from the woman's face and eyes the crow on her staff for a moment with thinly veiled disdain before meeting Theora's gaze. "Friend of the Crow was very brave," she flutters in midair for a moment, the color of her soft luminescence shifting colors before speaking again, "You tried to save the sister. You... care for the sister?"
Zisel dusts herself off from the little flakes of snow and ice the elemental had shed onto her before continuing to pick her way across the ice to the other side. Once securely on solid ground again, she looks around to the others.
"Thank you all," she says with a smile. "Especially you Pym. No idea what you did, but by the time I opening my eyes they were both on the gro--" Zisel stoped mid-sentence when she saw Lars on the ground, apparently sleeping like a baby. "Well done, Pym," she murmured with a smile. "I suppose we should bring him off the ice. He's going to catch a nasty case of frostbite if any skin is pressing against that ice too long."
Slowly Lars' blue eyes revealed themselves to the world once more. On instinct his hand snaked its way to his sword and he rose into a crouch, his head moving from left to right. With nothing left of their foe but melting shards of ice.
In eerie silence Lars left the river and found soft snow under his boots once "Pym" He called out his countenance show an unnatural friendly smile "You do this to me again and you'll hope the sea comes in land and drags you into it's depths before I get my hands on you"
"Don't be scared though cause this isn't a threat, it's a promise between 'friends' understand?" The word sounded too joyful considering the situation and message "And while I am not big on keeping my word I'll try my hardest to keep this promise" He turned and began walking towards their quarry "Let's go me lads and lasses, the bandits aren't going to just throw back ale and wait for us"
"Well, of course, little one," Theora shrugs, making her way across the ice. She taps the frozen sheet before her with her staff as she moves, testing it under pressure before setting foot on it. "The sister, as you call her, was alone, and presumably far from home. Grandmother Crow wants us to offer solace to the lost, and to the mourners - to keep them safe, and offer them solace in hard times." Making it across, she breathes a small sigh of relief, leaning heavily on the staff to catch her breath before leaning down to shake Lars' shoulder in an attempt to rouse the man.
"Thank you Pym, that was very well done. I'm glad to call you sister instead of foe, you are a great warrior." When Lars begins to threaten the sprite Mirri speaks up, "She gave you warning Lars, maybe next time you should listen to her. It's not right to make threats when you ignored the warning. She saved both Zisel and myself from getting dragged under and killed, I'd think you'd show her some thanks instead of anger." She looks around once everyone has made it safely across, "Now why don't we move along in case someone comes looking to see what happened to those two."
"Threats are for people who can make scary faces. Myself? I don't do scary faces, Not for lack of trying mind you, I just can't seem to get it right" Called back Lars as he continued forward Just focus on saving the noble woman, soon enough you'll be back in civilization, far away from crazy sprites. The scoundrel's feet felt heavier as he thought back to his supposedly desired civilization [b]"Yes civilization...dodging angry pirates and angrier witches...the fun that awaits me[/i] On that grim note Lars decided to plant his attention elsewhere...hopefully avoiding the next ambush.
Lars weaved through the trees trying to gain cover whenver possible, as he looked for any signs of danger.
Grimkell ceased singing and was about to kneel next to Lars to heal him when he noticed the man was breathing. With an amused smile, he stands up straight and sheathes his sword. Upon Zisel's demand, he drags the other blond man to the shore and leaves him in the snow.
After having left Lars on the shore, Grimkell made his way to where he had been moments ago, watching to see whether he could spot any other foes. Still, he kept listening to the conversation of the others, quite amused.
"Good, the bonds are strenghtening. The only one which might prove hard to make into a hero really is Lars... even Jamarcus seems to be adapting well."
Lars having joins him next to the tracks, Grimkell turns to him, serious.
"Can't make scary faces because you hide your emotions too much." he bluntly tells the man while also looking out.
Dusting the bits of ice and snow from his jacket, Jamarcus strides up to his bickering comrades.
Y'all need to loosen up
Without stopping..or caring, he keeps on walking, following the path left by the bandits.
"You're probably right...but when you're playing cards you don't show your hand" Lars replied to Grimkell, his foul mood seemingly gone without a trace "Even if I let you take a peek, you may not like the cards I am carrying" He took a look from his hiding spot behind a tree, a small more natural half smile having replaced the sinister one from before.
"You'll think 'why am I playing with a person like this? I could be making it big at another table' or something like that" The half grin grew slightly, showing parts of his teeth "And doesn't a hero that hides who he i,s a tale teller's dream? You could attach any motivation or let the listener wonder about the mysterious scoundrel, instead telling him a truth that could bore him" Lars looked up at the sky, his vision obstructed by the snow baring trees.
"For what its worth, the lot of you have probably seen more of my cards than I cared to share with most people"
Pym listens and watches Theora closely for a moment, following alongside her before she nods her head slightly having drawn whatever conclusions about the woman. When Zisel speaks to her, she flies to Zisel and lands on her shoulder. "I made the bright colors, sister. I will show you how. Tomorrow, maybe. I can't do it again today, it's hard. The sister does not like the Sharp Tongued Man? I will kill him for the sister."
Pym watches with amusement from her perch on Zisel's shoulder as Lars is dragged off of the ice. When he rouses and makes threats to Pym, she draws her sword and is just about to take flight when Mirri speaks up, halting her. Hearing Mirri's chastising words of defense, Pym sheaths her sword and crosses her arms with a smug look on her face. Zisel can hear the quiet "Hmmmph," that the sprite makes.
The temperatures inside the winter pocket are
considered cold (approximately 30° F during the day, and
10° F at night). Every hour spent in the wintry conditions
requires a Fortitude save (DC 15, +1 per previous check) to
avoid taking 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. Those who
have taken nonlethal damage from exposure suffer from
hypothermia (treat as fatigued), and if this condition is
not remedied, they also suffer from frostbite (Core Rulebook
442). If the PCs secure cold-weather outfits before leaving
Heldren, they receive a +5 bonus on Fortitude saves against
exposure to the weather while adventuring in the forest.
Zisel laughs openly, a hearty laugh from the belly. Poor Lars. it would seem he was getting the short end of the stick today.
"It's quite alright, Pym. I assure you that he is no match for me, though you'll be the first I go to should I find myself in a row with him. And I'd quite like another demonstration of such tactics, particularly if we find ourselves in the midst of a bandit horde."
Despite only having recently met these folks, they were certainly growing on her if for no other reason than they had certainly provided entertainment.
"Lets move on before the river spawns more elementals for us to wrestle."
After an hour or so of trudging through the snow, Jamarcus begins to slow a little bit. His steps take a bit more effort and and he's tucked his hands into his pockets.
Grimkell strongly slaps Lars' shoulder.
"yep, and that's why we like you."
Looking back over his shoulder, Grimkell notices Zisel. Still unsure about her motives, he sights:
"I've got to leave you in charge of Jamarcus, we can't leave him alone up in front. I'll be keeping an eye on our new witch." he says before heading back toward the rear of the line.
"I heard that," Zisel grumbled to Grinnell as she passed. "Where I'm from, calling someone a witch has some very specific connotations. In other places it has others. None are pleasant."
Zisel very purposefully avoids letting Grimkell get close, using her quicker speed across the snow to stay at least thirty feet from Grimkell at any given time. She was beginning to dislike being 'supervised' when it was her who was surrounded by strangers, not them.
"Now you've gone and shoved snow off my cold and bitter heart" Replied Lars in clear jest before he carried on with the search of the area.
With the tensions reduced Mirri moves along with her companions and beginning to wish she had some cold weather clothing. Fortunately for her these temperatures feel like a heat wave in the summer in her home range.
Sootfeather watches Pym with beady eyes as the sprite draws near, making a small noise in his throat when she departs. Theora reaches up to stroke his breast-feathers, murmuring softly.
"Grimkell, dearie, it's not fair to call her a witch," she mentions to the skald. "After all, she doesn't have a strange creature following her who she whispers secrets to, nor have we seen her cast foul magic on anyone. I'd say she's no more a witch than you or me - and I've seen them before," she ads in a quieter tone, her eyes darkening.
As the group makes it way through the bushes and back towards where the path continues on this side of the creek, you are halted by a strange sight. The legs and feet from a frozen corpse jut from a pile of snow.
"Oh, dear," Theora mutters sadly, catching sight of the lower extremities of the unfortunate soul in the snowbank. "Lars, do you think it's another ambush?" Despite the playful note in her voice, her eyes are deadly serious. "If it's safe, perhaps dear Jamarcus could pull the poor soul out of there?"