Kalt returns to consciousness with a sudden start, as if trying still to dodge the blow that felled him. He lets out a quiet groan and looks around in some confusion, until his glance lights upon the fey pinned by Sven. A cold clarity returns to his eyes, and his hand moves unconsciously to where his fallen blade lays at his side. Without even getting to his feet, he lunges at the fey in Sven's grasp and drives the point of his cold iron sword deep into the creature's side.
Bugsby continues to stand watch while the group pummels the Fae, flask at the ready. Sure enough, a moment later the beast rumbles into view and the gnome lets fly, his alchemical flask shattering on the creatures back and bathing him in fire.
Avora looks out into the snow, trying to see her target, but in the whirl of snow, she only sees white.
The tiny fae was about to laugh about Ankih healing his wounds when Kalt's blade bites deeply into his back. Trying desperately to escape, he again erupts in a burst of cold as he kicks Sven in the face with a free foot.
The troll, having set planned to spear someone, barely registers that he is on fire before his spear bites into the dwarves thigh, undoing any healing she may have received from Sarenrae's blessings.
Kalt smiles grimly as he gets to his feet, very pleased at cutting short the laughter of the devilish ice-creature. However, he sees a wave of frost sweep across Sven, and his smile vanishes. "Time to end this one's little game and take care of that troll, eh, Sven? Hold him still a moment longer." He then grips his blade with both hands and stabs the faeling viciously once more.
If Avora can see the flaming troll, she will target him with her alchemist's fire.
Taking a step to the side to get a clear shot, Ankih releases a small bit of Sarenrae's Wrath at the Ice troll...
" Dawnflower Starburst"
Ankih bathes the troll in fire, but unexpectedly, it seems to have no effect on the beast. Looking closer, you see the burning gel of the flask is not singing the trolls flesh, and he seems un affected by it.
Sven hears bones pop and break as he slowly crushes tiny creature. It's eyes roll back into its head as it loses consciousness.
"The beast resists fire!" Avora shouts to her companions. Then, to herself, "I wonder if the same holds true for cold?" Steeling herself, Avora closes with the troll and intones the words to a spell (casting frostbite).
plus fatigue
Fatigue effect disappears when the nonlethal damage is healed.
Lachna roars and does her best to engage the troll again.
Avora’s spell strikes the troll, but the beast pays it no heed. Lachna’s bounces off his rugged hide. Bugsby takes a step back, his hands forming the familiar protoplasm that he then flings at the troll, hoping to bind the foe and end this agonizing cat and mouse game. As the goo is flung, a gust of wind bursts through the ravine, sending the throw off target and gooing up a nearby tree.
The troll continues his usual tactics of spear and fang, the spear glancing off Lachna’s shield, leaving her open for a bite on her shoulder. He then takes a step away, forcing those that want to fight him to come into his deadly reach.
Moving back long to the cliff, Ankih flashes another positive energy burst, attempting to exclude the bothersome troll.
Immune to fire, and hard to hurt.. Not sure how to proceed here...
Seeing an opening, the Troll lunges with his spear toward the hul;king Ulfen, but the man is far quicker than the troll expects, and deftly avoids the powerful thrust.
Ankih's healing washes over Kalt like whiskey poured on a wound, making him feel stronger, but stinging fiercely for a moment. Feeling recharged, he steps around the dead fae and moves past Lachna to the side of the troll, where he strikes mightily at it with sword.
Avora closes with the troll, feeling frustrated at her inability to do anything. She stabs at the monster with her spear.
Lachna slides up a bit and swings at the troll again, determined to take the beast down.
The combined onslaught from the party leaves the troll reeling, but not out of the fight yet. Hearing Kalt's voice in his head, the gnome summons his grease beneath the Troll, hoping to slip him up so the rest can knock it down. However, like before, the troll is too stable and remains upright
The troll then lunges for Lachna, a glancing blow across her chest knocks the wind from her and brings her low, causing the follow up bite to catch nothing but air.
Kalt takes a quick step around to the back side of the troll as he sees the beast beat Lachna to the icy ground. As he hears Sven's mighty blow strike the creature, he adds his own deadly two-handed strike, grunting, "Die, damn you!".
The combined might of the two ulfen cause the creature to collapse. No soon has it done so, than the wounds begin to close and heal.
Kalt racks his brain for any tales he's heard of how one kills trolls, when they are immune to fire, while joing Sven in hacking at the thing.
Kalt cannot come up with an answer, as everything he's heard of involves fire to finish a troll.
The clever Dwarf stands up, having only feigned her recent injury to distract the troll, allowing the others to slay it.
"After the pounding this thing gave me, there's nothing I'd like better than stand here and hack at it for a while."
Ankih will come forward after a quick step to the cave entrance.
He will pour a flask of oil over the troll and whatever wood/other stuff Sven has found to build a pyre with, then light it with his lamp.
" It must be elemental resistance of some sort, thru a spell or item..." He will look at the pile of things nearby..." Probably not an item then... Bugsby, can you detect magic, on the troll?"
Kalt vents his anger on the remains of the troll, continuing to pound it while Sven works on the pyre. Bugsby drags over the remains of the Fae and detects magic upon them both. Both glow with magics that he identifies as resistances to elements, and the troll's spear also radiates enchantment. Bringing the spear with him in to the cave, Bugsby takes his time with the locked chest and opens it after a few minutes. The gnomes eyes boggle over the amount of coin found within, and the other treasures buried under the coins.
Eventually, the pyre is ready and though difficult with the howling winds, eventually a fire is lit and sustained long enough to burn the pyre and reduce the troll to ash. Bugsby has used the time to sort through the treasure and items and presents the group a tally to amaze everyone.
"Just when our mule would have been most useful," Avora semi-whispers.
"Aye, Sven, that's some decent pay for a day's work. And I think Sven and I can manage most of the load, Avora. Between us, we're a jot smarter than a mule, and we're nearly as strong."
Hefting the spear they've recovered from the troll, Kalt continues, "This is a mighty weapon - might serve you pretty well, Avora."
"Well, if no one minds."
Kalt shakes his head as he stands by Sven in the mouth of the cave. ”I wish I knew where things were, Sven. Can’t see a damn thing in this snowstorm. Maybe it’ll settle down a bit with that faeling dead, but I’m not holding my breath. I say we pack up the most valuable stuff, what we can carry, and take a look around. Someone was set up to live in this cave and those igloos for a reason, let’s see what it is.”
Sven quickly realizes that the cave was little more than the trolls residence, with no way out other than the way he went in. Kalt does some scouting along the edges of the valley and quickly finds an odd ice formation. Gathering the others, he brings them south, from where the troll originally barged out from and you find a bank of quill-like icicle spear outward in a ring, seemingly grown from a heavy sheet of ice covering the group. A second ring of giant icicle shaped monoliths stand inside the outer ring, surrounding a swirling cylindrical vortex easily ten feet in diameter. Icy winds and driving snow blast from the vortex, clearly being the cause of the wintery weather in the clearing, if not the entire forest.
Bugsby detects magic and is nearly blinded by the powerful auras of conjuration and evocation, needing to take a few minutes to clear the imprints from his eyes.
"I'm not sure that we can," Avora replies. "Maybe if we go through, we can find a way to shut it off or destroy it."
At the mention of going thru, Ankih's heart is both lifted and terrified...
" If we go through, there may not be a way back. And there is no guarantee, that we CAN close it from the other side either! That being said, I am ready when you are...."
Finally recovered, Bugsby begins to look around the icicle ring for any sign of control runes or way to shut it off. After making a complete circle, he comes to understand that the effect emanates from somewhere on the other side of the portal, and that if they are to shut it off, they indeed will have to pass through it, much like Avora surmised.
Suddenly a surge of wind blasts from the swirling vortex in the ring of ice, gusting outward in a stinging spray of snow and ice. A shadow begins to manifest in the vortex, a gaunt horseman with curling ram's horns and wearing coal-black armor lurches through the portal astride a black warhorse. Dark tendrils of mist writhe around him, temporarily blocking the gusting snow. Before anyone can do much more than raise a weapon, the rider slumps forward in his saddle, a shard of strange blue ice jutting from his back. As rider and mount come to a halt in the snow, the horse rears up, it's red eyes boring through the group as it dissipates in a plume of black smoke that is immediately scattered by the arctic winds. The horseman falls with a sickening thud on the icy terrain, a groan escaping his lips.