Crummock pulls out the wand, and starts healing the wounded.
"Right. Now that that is sorted, perhaps we should rest for the night?"
'blasted cold curse, it should not outlive it's caster!' His teeth rattling still as he leaves the breastplate off to prepare for bed. "Danke, Mister Whiskers und Cummock-i-Phail, vee can move avay a bit from zee blood und camp in zee glade over zere, ya." Throwing the cloak of the Yeti over his shoulders, he drags his breastplate, pack and glaive to the glade and attempts to start a fire, but due to the wind it takes a couple of attempts before he gets a good blaze going.
The party turns in for the night. Crummock, Einar and Ziva rotate watches in their 3 hour shifts. Their watches pass uneventfully. As the party sleeps, they all dream an identical dream.
They are back at in Heldren, in Cadence’s home celebrating a festival called Christmas, with Ziva and Crummock. The house is decorated with Freya’s dancing lights, and the family is singing Christmas carols. There is a marvellous feast laid out for them on the table. The appetizers consist of chicken liver pate on crackers, and prawn cocktail cups. The main course consists of Cider roasted turkey, rare beef with mustard Yorkshires, roasted pork loin stuffed with sage, onion, and chestnuts, Jamon-wrapped cod with borlotti bean stew,roasted marmalade ham, seafood risotto, roasted brussel sprouts. The soup is a lobster bisque, with loaves of white bread. The desert consists of a Christmas pudding with dribbled over with vanilla and brandy. As the party turns to leave after they have eaten their fill, Beatrice hands them each a gingerbread man. ”For luck,” she claims.
Both of you are seated at a dining table, with people you do not recognize except for Cadence and the rest of the party. Cadence invites you to tuck in to the Christmas dinner, while introducing you to the rest of the family. The house is decorated with dancing lights, and the Cadence’s family is singing Christmas carols. There is a marvellous feast laid out for them on the table. The appetizers consist of chicken liver pate on crackers, and prawn cocktail cups. The main course consists of Cider roasted turkey, rare beef with mustard Yorkshires, roasted pork loin stuffed with sage, onion, and chestnuts, Jamon-wrapped cod with borlotti bean stew,roasted marmalade ham, seafood risotto, roasted brussel sprouts. The soup is a lobster bisque, with loaves of white bread. The desert consists of a Christmas pudding with dribbled over with vanilla and brandy. As the party turns to leave, after they have eaten their fill, Cadence’s mother, Beatrice gives them Crummock a gingerbread man, and Ziva, a gingerbread man, and a greenish looking grasshopper pastry that smells like mantis food. ”For luck,” she claims.
The next morning, the party finds a gingerbread man in their pockets, except for Ziva, who finds not only a gingerbread man, but a greenish looking grasshopper pastry as well.
The party continues along the trail, following the map that the ex-bandits gave them. Einar, Crummock and Ziva notice some faint tracks in the snow.
Some of them appear to be cart tracks, and the other, clawed footprints of something large. The tracks appear to be made quite some time ago.
Looks like the tracks of a troll, Mr Whiskers. Of the mossy variety.
The snowfall begins to increase in intensity and the weather gets much colder, as the party follows thorough the thick snow. Mr Whiskers figures the cause is due to some confluence of arcane energies in the vicinity.
Crummock frowns.
"A cart came through here, along with something mawr, with clawed feet. We should be on our guard."
He then keeps moving, wading through the snow as best he can.
Einar awakens rolled in the bear hide, ’What an odd dream, another feast with Cadences family, I had not thought I would be there again.’ Putting his gear away he feels an odd lump in his pocket. ’what is… a cookie, a cookie from the feast, how amazing, the force magic runs strong in Cadences family and they are still kind, amazing.’ Keeping his thoughts to himself, Einar quietly eats the cooking thinking of the dream.
Looking around at the change in weather, Einar nods his head, ”zee cart ya, but vat vould leave zee footprints?" As he looks around, "Und zee storm is taking a turn, Wir müssen wachsam bleiben.”
Mr. Whiskers examines the tracks and declares "These are troll tracks. It is hard to tell what type of troll it is just from the footprints."
Mr Whiskers recognizes it as a moss troll...like all trolls they regenerate . And Moss trolls do not usually stray too far from their lairs, unless in search of food.
"I can prevent it from regenerating once we find it, but the snowfall is making that almost impossible! Crummock, can you watch the dogs for any indication that they smell it?" Mr. Whiskers asks.
Looking to Ziva, he asks "Do you have any alchemist fire? If not, I have one flask I can give you."
'A troll, that could be a problem' Einar shifts his two acid flasks where he can get to them easily, "Ein Troll, vee vill need to be carful." then shifting his glaive in his hands he continues following the path they are on, keeping a keen eye out.
The party is tromping around blindly in the snow, and Einar runs into an igloo. Then he hears a voice from somewhere in the snow, from above.
”It appears that Izoze has failed. We will not. “The voice coldly remarks.
” Vyx, Nyx, մենք ստացել ընկերությանը! Ստացեք Teb!”
Vyx, Nyx, we’ve got company! Get Teb!
"I'm falling back - its suicidal to press forward blindly without an ability to see anything" Ziva calls, tapping Einar on the shoulder as she pulls backwards.
The party hears a loud thunderous crash, then 3 different voices from the snow. Two are high pitched, one is gravelly.
"Նրանցից քանիսն կան. Որտեղ են նրանք? Կապար մեզ."
How many of them are there? Where are they? Lead us.
The first speaker replies, "Հինգ, հետեւեք ինձ", then says in another language, "Öt, kövessen!"
Five, follow me!
The deep gravelly voice booms, "Meg fogják bánni lépve közelébe a portálon.Fognak fizetni a vér árát."
The party flees through the snow to the sound of pursuit of unknown monsters, with the first speaker constantly yelling to the others, and stumbles upon a clearing as the snow clears.
The stuff the first speaker is yelling is the directions the party is retreating. It's as if the first speaker can see the party perfectly...despite the snow
"It be soundin' like only one of 'em can see clearly through the snow. Perhaps we can use that to our advantage?"
Heeding Mr Whiskers warning about the troll, Crummock keeps a flask ready in his off hand, whilst he clutches his starknife tightly in the other.
Ziva isn't entirely happy with still not seeing an enemy target but decides she might as well make use of the breather while she can. Ordering Vernai to hold until a visible target appeared, she casts magic Fang on her friend to improve her combat abilities.
The party sees two sprites fly out of the snow. They draw their bows in unison and shoot at Einar. One of the arrows grazes Einar on his cheek.
A large and lanky moss-colored humanoid has an elongated, toothy snout and appears to be covered in bits of foliage, steps out of the snow. It seems to be moving through the snow with effortless grace. "Azt öljék téged Nazhema nevére!", he roars at Einar as he stabs Einar with his spear which clanks off his breastplate.
Mr Whiskers hears the sound of spellcasting from the snow, recognizing it as Summon Monster 1
'Ahh, two fliers like the first one we saw, and some kind of troll...o "Ouch the little buggers have bows, and a very large friend with a spear." Feeling the arrow cut his cheek, Einar turns to see the troll charging forward and thrusting with his spear. Einar Snarls "Du kommst zu mir mit meiner eigenen Waffe?" He begins to rage, His body transforming Causing his Cambion ancestry to become very prominent. Taking the brunt of the spear attack on the breastplate, he thrusts at the large green troll.
Mr. Whiskers says "Someone is summoning."
He then casts Snapdragon Fireworks, spending a point from his reservoir for higher caster level, and targets the troll that Einar hurt.
The troll is surprisingly graceful for its size and narrowly sidesteps Einar's thrust.
The moss troll growls in pain as the fireworks dazzle it. Mr Whiskers notices that the troll seems to be...very flammable.
"Now Vernai" Ziva yells, making a slashing motion with her fingers, directing Vernai toward one of the sprites.
Narrowing his eyes, Crummock steps up, and takes a swing at the troll.
Zica moves up to the Troll, triggering her Animal Focus and striking with her Greatsword.
Vernai neatly hooks one of those little sprites in her mandibles, but Ziva notices that the mandibles don't seem to be fully penetrating.
The troll retaliates as Crummock steps in by stabbing him.
Seeing Ziva land a grievous blow onto the troll, the unknown speaker in the snow yells, "ստանալ աղջկա, դուք ապուշներ!" then yells again, "Szerezd meg a lány idióták!"
"Get the girl, you idiots!"
The troll attempts to stab Ziva with its spear, then take a bite out of her, before gracefully moving backwards.
The sprite Vernai caught struggles to get away, and easily wiggles free, then flies behind the party.
The other opens fire on Vernai, whose arrow whizzies just right over her head.
A fiendish eagle appears next to Vernai, on the ground, biting and tearing her with its beak and talons. She ducks the bite, and the talons clank harmlessly off her chainshirt.
The unseen speaker in the woods begins to cast another spell.
Mr Whiskers recognizes it as MORE summon monster 1.
Vernai catches the sprite as it tries to wiggle away, again.
"Another summons! The one doing this has to be within about 40 feet of us! Anyone know where they are?" Mr. Whiskers calls out.
He then casts his Acid Blob at the troll, following it up with another Snapdragon.
The troll is dazzled by the snapdragon fireworks. Mr Whisker's acid blob, as he is trying to avoid Ziva, lands at the troll's feet.
Steeling himself, Crummock steps forward, and takes a swing at the troll...
The troll attempts to stab Crummock as he moves in.
Crummock blocks the troll's attack with his shield. However Crmmock's starknife strike does not penetrate his leathery hide.
Crummock breathes a sigh of relief, and motions Einar and Ziva forward.
"Llad nawr!"
Seeing his friends attacked by troll and bird, Einar steps north of Ziva and thrusts his glaive at the troll.
The troll parries Einar's glaive strike with his spear.
The eagle tries to peck at Einar as he steps North.
It manages to peck Einar's ankle.
Vernai soars over just behind the troll, entering into a flanking position and lashing out with a claw.
Watching her companion take a flanking position, Ziva closes in again on the troll, 5 foot stepping forward and swinging her Greatsword, and triggering her Outflank ability
The troll sidesteps Vernai's claw. With a single overhand swing of her greatsword, Ziva lays the troll flat on the ground by opening a huge gnash on its chest, revealing its organs still pulsing inside.
The eagle bites and tears at Mr Whiskers, with its beak and talons then it disappears.
One of the sprites shoots at Ziva, hitting her in the knee at the chink of her armor.
Only to be yelled at by the unknown speaker in the snow. " Ստանալ նրանց դուրս Teb, դուք Յիմարներ!" The voice sounds closer now.
Get them off Teb, you fools!
The other, heeding the unseen speaker's orders, flies 15 ft above Ziva, unleashing a spray of blinding colours onto Ziva, Einar and Crummock.
Mr Whiskers recognizes the spell used as Colour Spray.
Thankfully, the party shrugs off the effects like nothing happened.
Another summoned fiendish eagle appears on the ground, biting and clawing Ziva with its beak and talons.
The unknown speaker in the snow begins to cast a spell...again...Crummock thinks its somewhere south west of him, but coming from above...
More summon Monster 1.
'he's down but not dead' Seeing the Troll still breathing einar lifts his glaive, letting out a roar, and thrust his glaive at the beasts chest.
The fiendish eagle next to Einar takes advantage of Einar's distraction to peck him. Its beak does not penetrate Einar's shin guards.
Einar thrusts his glaive, slicing the troll into two, length wise. The two halves fall apart, and stop twitching.
Upon seeing the troll well and truly splattered by Einar, Crummock breathes of sigh of relief, and starts healing his own wounds.