As they land, Tiknesr hyperventilates until he starts to cough. "Gauggh! Gauck! Did you...did you see how they were all looking at us? Those predatory eyes...?" He shivers.
As he collects his wits, he looks in wonder at the clearly alien tower. When he sees the commander's gaze narrow on him, the Old Rat extends a soft pink paw and croaks out, "Pleased to meet you, I'm Tiknesr Th'th'th'th'slifp. I'm from the undercity of Cassomir...in Taldor...on the world of Golarion." He looks for any sign of recognition. "As my compatriot Sven says, we seek something left here by a great and terrible witch, in order to stop a curse affecting our own world.
"And here we see your world faces its own blight. Perhaps we might be of aid to you, and in return you could help us to find what we seek? I am somewhat familiar with the ways of magic, and my compatriots are at least as talented in their own arts."
Not understanding the languages being spoken, Avora simply remains silent and waits for the translation.
The commander looks dumbly at the antics of talking rat-like creature as it continue to carry on about it's strange world.
It's clear that when the discussion turns to Baba Yaga that the Triaxian commander is baffled, perhaps unfamiliar with the concept of witches as they appear on Golarion.
(Draconic)"A... witch?" He frowns. "Do you mean... one of the dragon-blooded?" He points to a nearby Triaxian, clearly a sorcerer of draconic heritage (as can be seen by the bronze scales poking through his fur). He strokes the fur of his cheek, clearly an affectation suggesting concentration. "I can not in good faith turn away any assistance from fighters or mages, not now, but yet some deals are not as cheap as they appear. If the object you seek is from a great and terrible "witch", then is it as great and terrible as as the witch herself? Is it some sort of weapon?" The surrounding soldiers stir with interest at the mention of this possibility, murmering among themselves.
"It's as my companion says," Kalt adds to the conversation, "we have collected a number of these tokens. They have been...strange. A beard, an egg - nothing that would turn the tide in your fight. But my friends and I have fought many powerful foes in our time - and I have only died once. We could make a great difference for your side."
The commander parrots back the groups explanation. (Draconic)"So you have come seeking something like a beard or an egg, something that was held by someone a bit like a dragonblooded, but not really. It's all very clear now." The triaxian shakes hand by his right ear; perhaps the local equivalent of rolling ones eyes...
"At least the furless ones are willing to help." At this comment some of the assembled troops laugh, a throaty growl from the white furred Triaxians and serpentine hisses from the dragonkin, accompanied by small bursts of fire, acid, or electricity. "So, men, what should be do with the strangers?"
Some of them clamor loudly. "They're spies, don't trust 'em! Toss them out!"
"But they slew three monsters and a Drakeland rider!"
It seems that the garrison is caught between incredulity and the faint glimmer of hope that the heroes offer.
Kalt does his best to seem helpful and trustworthy as he waits for Sven or someone else to make their case to the Triaxians. Unfortunately, his effort is more than a bit stilted, and he does little to aid their cause.
Shanya's nose twitches as she steps forward.
"People of Triaxus, let me be the first to say that I understand just how... outlandish... our explanation for being here is." She scratches her head. "I did not expect to be welcomed with open arms, not during a time of war."
"In the interests of proving our goodwill, allow us to place ourselves at your service for a time. Give us a task to prove our intentions, and we shall accomplish it."
The commander looks at Shanya and Kalt for a spell, and then turns to scan the roiling morass of Dragonland armies far below as they lay siege to the fortress. A fireball arcs up from the attackers, only to wink out a few seconds later as some industrious defender counterspells it.
Commander Pharamol turns back to Shanya. (Draconic) "Fine, you can stay. If you want to make yourself, help defend the walls when they make their assault. It may be today or tomorrow, but no doubt they will come. If we're alive after, then we'll talk about your mysterious missing objects."
The commander leaves the group to have free run of the fortress. The complex proves to be extensive, although there are only defensive structures on the surface.
The surface defenses include eight towers built into the outer walls tower, and five blockhouses, each leading to a passageway descending into the living/work quarters of the fortress. Everything surrounds an inner keep with five additional towers. Archers and dragon-blooded sorcerers seem over the many walls.
The rooms within the icy plateau prove to have extensive barracks and any number of mundane facilities, catering to both the humanoid Triaxians and the their dragonkin allies. Of note is a shrine to Apsu, the good god of the draconic pantheon. These Triaxians seem to favor the worship of the scaled deity.
Surprisingly, a blue dragonkin named Nevra seems to be the Seneschal, overseeing support operations, while a gold dragonkin (Amerenth) seems to hover over the Commander when you see him, acting apparently as a lieutenant and right hand.
The guards deny the group entrance to the inner rooms of the keep and to the dungeons. Moreover, the groups is informed that any sort of magic the crosses space will be warped within the castle walls and lead to an oubliette of sorts.
Casual exploration seems to yield no clue as to the location of the missing key to the dancing hut, whatever its form. It seems, unfortunately, that if the keys are to be found, they must be within quarters that the group is denied access to.
A few other personalities seem to be prominently involved in the defense of the fortress: a black dragonkin and his rider, Herjan and Zusk; Talsune, a riderless copper dragonkin; Thronull, a Triaxian in charge of the garrison crossbowmen, and Jarilne, leader of a group of "Ice Seers" using magic to spy upon the assaulting forces.
Your heads swimming with names after the introductions, the groups is left to their own devices for the evening. The distant sun sinks low as the siege wears on...
Shanya feels slightly more comfortable when she sees the shrine of Apsu.
"Well, now that we have some time to think, how should we go about keeping those invaders out?"
"Battle is not my strong suit, so I'll play whatever role I'm most needed in. I'll revise my spell selection to reflect our strategy."
Two strong urges wrestle inside Tiknesr: the urge to hide when surrounded by predatory dragons and his hunger for knowledge and discovery.
Finally the latter takes the upper hand. He encourages his companions, "While we wait here, why don't we explore a bit? We're here on a new world, one few from Golarion have likely ever visited...except of course for the Queen of Witches."
Squatting while one leg comes up to scratch behind his ear, he continues, "And speaking of Kind Grandmother, those damn cryptic ravens were hinting with a stuffed two-headed eagle, an iron spur, and a drinking horn...and now here we are in "Hornspur". It seems Kind Grandmother is guiding us down her path.
"Of course this is a big place to explore, but if that's all we know...well we might as well start to poke around, eh?"
At that point, Tik's nasty man-faced familiar pokes out of his sleeve. "Was that the only clue that stood out to you? Pathetic. Were you too busy worrying about your hide to catch the passphrase Bescaylie gave when we arrived? 'One head looks to the future, the other the past! The eagle flies proud.'
"Do you think maybe that could be an important clue too?" the ratling sneers at his 'master'.
Tik's lip curls at the abuse from his familiar, but he takes a deep breath and says, "Aroden, noxious as he is, might well have a point."
Aroden continues, "Nobody likes questions from an old rat like Tik--and they tend to be even more prejudices against me, the bastards--but maybe one of you with honey on your lips could ask around a bit about if there really is some two headed eagle here? Or if it's their god or some damn metaphor or what?"
"I've never heard of a two-headed eagle, but it might, perhaps, speak of a banner or heraldry?" Avora offers.
It does not take much time wandering around lost before the group attracts the attention of one of the inhabitants - in this case, the seneschal Nevra the blue dragonkin comes hiss-clucking in a almost maternal fashion.
(Draconic) "So you've convinced Commander Pharamol to let you stay, and now you're wandering around. Be careful dears, you wouldn't want to give any one the wrong impression. What is it that you seek?" The seneschal curls one clawed hand underneath her chin waiting for an answer.
Perception
(+2 in cold, mountains, underground from Kalt)
Avora Teremocles (+4 in cold, +2 in natural settings)
Greta
Kalt Ìsson (+6 cold, +4 underground; +2 mountain and forest)
Lana Shahakh
Shanya (+4 v. traps)
Sven Bjornson
Tiknesr Th'th'th'th'slifp (+2 if scent based)
During your wanderings, you notice an ice wall that seems to have an irregular stone wall behind it. You're not certain, but it seems possible that there might be a well hidden door behind the sheet of ice.
Before they run across the blue-hued seneschal, Kalt notices something curious and points it out to his friends. "Try not to look at it too obviously," he says, with a glance over his shoulder to indicate what he's talking about, "but there's something funny about that ice wall, the stone behind it is uneven. I think there's a door behind the sheet of ice, a very well hidden door indeed."
When Nevra approaches and asks what they're after, Kalt keeps his own counsel, waiting for one of his more diplomatic companions to be the first to speak.
Shanya clears her throat.
"I assure you, seneschal, that we have no intention of causing your commander undue harm. We simply have a couple of questions... specifically, about the two-headed eagle."
"I am simply curious as to what you refer to by that."
The ice is not too thick, although the door obviously hasn't been used in decades, if not centuries. It's hard to tell where it might lead, but it is buried deep within the fortress so an exit to the outside seems unlikely.
----------------------
The dragonkin looks amused - although the emotion is slightly unsettling when expressed by a draconic face.
(Draconic)"Two-headed eagle - you talk of the Commanders pet? A strange beast, that one. Some local seer - an ancient woman - gave it to him a few years ago. A troublesome beast - a proud creature, and it tends to bite the hands of those who are unlucky enough to have to feed it. But you won't find it wandering about, so you might as well go back to your quarters - it's in the Commanders office and don't get any ideas about going in there. How is it that you aliens came to learn about that mutant?"
"Well, I suppose you'd have Bescaylie to thank for that... the passphrase she gave caught my ear." Shanya admits, scratching her head. "Admittedly, I didn't think it was an actual creature--I thought it was something out of local legend, or something metaphorical."
(Draconic)"A legend in its uniqueness. How many two headed eagles have you seen." Nevra stops and rubs her snout in contemplation. "Of course, I say this to the strange, hairless aliens. Perhaps where you come from, such creatures are everywhere. Well, make yourself comfortable, you've a long night ahead of you... many long nights ahead of you, as long as the siege holds." She turns her attention to the mundane matters of keeping the fortress alive, leaving you to your own devices.
After the seneschal wanders off, Tiknesr whispers, "Well, something secret and hidden is certainly intriguing...but lets wander past again and look to see if we think we can unobtrusively investigate, or if we'd have to shatter ice to get in.
"If it looks safe to approach, I'm certainly curious...but, well, perhaps we should learn more before we risk upsetting our hosts. Like, for instance, learn how we could make a speedy retreat if we need to.
"In any event...who wants to bet that that ancient 'local' seer was Baba Yaga herself? Perhaps after tomorrow's battle we should ask the seneschal if she's still around, and if we can meet her."
______________
Avora is open to exploration, but if we are going to weather the siege, she needs to know what spells to prepare.
Within the deep halls of the fortress, the sounds of battle are faint and distant - male and female Triaxians screaming either in frenzy or pain, the thud of ballista against the walls. The night yields up to heroes without incident.
The panic chooses to creep in with the dawn, and rise along with the winds that begin to buffet and howl against the outside of the fortress. The storm that threatened on the journey in has erupted in fully, and thick flurries of snow fall all about blinding the defenders. Shouts can be heard from the army in the valley below - although sight is loss, it is clear that the weather has not stopped their attempts at entry.
Around the group, defenders rush by with crossbow, sword and hastily donned armor. It seems moment of truth is appoaching.
Shanya drinks some extracts: shield, cat's grace, barkskin, fly, and stoneskin.
Kalt admires Shanya as she swallows potion after potion, joking with her, "Drink that much before a fight, you'll have to pee the whole time. Sven's done that once or twice. Sometimes makes him a better fighter - he wants to get the damn battle over with so he can let it all out."
He looks around and says, "I'm going to see what's going on," before disappearing into the snow.
As the soldiers start to bustle about him, Tiknsr steps back against the wall, taking care to avoid being trampled.
He casts two spells, and then offers, "Alright, dearies. I can put a protective ward on two of you. Who will it be?"
As they wait for the conflict he plays with his tail nervously.
_________
As Kalt slips into the storm, he says over his shoulder as he vanishes, "Tik, if you had me in mind for one of your wards, give it to Shanya. She's quick enough, but it pains me to see her hit."
The cries of battle grow louder as the the heroes prepare. In time, a messenger - a panting Triaxian soldier - rushes up to the heroes. (Draconic)"The commander says earn your keep! The western walls are being assaulted - warriors upon dragonkin!"
This situation is indeed grim when the group ascends to the upper levels of the fortress. Perhaps twenty mighty Drakeland warriors swarm about one of the fortresses' bastions, along with half that number of drakes. By and large, the defenders seem to hold the line. However, a particularly vicious pair of invaders seems to have cut down the last of defenders between the bastion doors - they seem to have mischief on their mind...
Initiative
(+2 in cold, mountains, underground from Kalt)
Avora Teremocles (+4 in cold)
Greta
Kalt Ìsson (+6 cold, +4 underground; +2 mountain and forest)
Lana Shahakh
Shanya
Sven Bjornson
Tiknesr Th'th'th'th'slifp
On seeing the invaders intent on making further progress into the fortress, Kalt mutters, "I'm not used to a defensive fight, I've usually been the one storming the walls. But I think we let them come to us." He runs a hand down the length of his blade, then hefty it, ready for the invaders to come at them.
.
Tiknesr nods to Aroden (sitting on his shoulder). The man-faced rat opens his mouth and a rotten egg falls out of it, into Tik's pink hand.
Lobbing the egg into the air, he singsongs, "Egg that's worse than stinky cheese / Make those morons puke and wheeze!"
Avora begins casting a spell of her own. It will finish on her next turn.
Where the egg hits the groups it bursts into a voluminous cloud of gas, snaking into the nostrils of the three drakeland warriors. A fit of coughing emerges from the clouds. Meanwhile, Avora begins her incantation.
Lana moves over and lays her hands upon Shanya, offering her the sweet succor of divine aid.
Dragonkin, barb 2: nauseated
Shanya draws her shortbow and nocks an arrow, ready to fire. She looks down at her bow and cringes.
"...when was the last time I shot this old thing?"
The dragonkin and one of the Triaxian stumbles out of Tiknesr's noxious mist; the remaining Triaxian warrior stumbles straight ahead, screaming a bloody warcry and charging at Sven. As he does so, bow and axe hew into him, leaving great bloody wounds.
Still, the fury of the barbian carries him through, and lands a solid strike on Sven, which threatens to cut deeper but for it being halted by bone.
A scraping distance is hear in the distance - a giant tower, pulled by cryohydras below, seems to be pulling up in the distance, although it seems still some time away from where the heroes fight.
Barb 1 26 damage
Barb 2 - 5 rounds
Dragonkin - 4 rounds
"Oh, nicely done, Tik!" Kalt cries out as he sees the rat-man's spell scatter their foes in several directions. He circles around the warrior attacking Sven, coming at him from behind with his great blade!
Tiknesr giggles as their foes gag and retch.
"Pigeon pie and wormy flan / Your bad luck goes on and on!" he singsongs, trying to cast a cloud of malaise over the two barbarians. "Heeheeheehee heh heh heh heh ho ho ho ho ho."
As he does so, he tries to see just how far away the giant tower is.
As Avora finishes the words to her spell, there is a rumble in the earth as a huge ankylosaurus materializes and charges into the fray, attacking the dragonkin with it's mighty tail!
Lana holds her magical energies, preparing to release them upon any who threaten Tiknesr.
Kalt just misses landing his blow, but Avora's dinosaur is much more effective - not only does the mighty tail smash into the barbarian, it knocks him senseless for a moment!