Kalt grimaces as the caryatid strikes him, but is once again grateful for the protection Lana is providing him. He then deals another shattering blow to the statue.
With the final hit, Kalt smashes the statue of the princess. This time, a notch is put in his greatsword, but the blade holds its integrity.
Fortunately for the heroes, there seems to be no immediate response from the sounds of the conflict; perhaps the grinding of gears helped hide the sounds of melee.
Shanya puts her gloves back on after giving the statues a disdainful glare. "That went about as well as expected."
She turns her attention back to the doors. Having not noticed anything out of the ordinary about them, she opens one as quietly as possible...
”Nice blade there, Sven,” Kalt ribs his blood brother, ”got plans for it, now that I’ve knocked down the nice lady carrying it?”
He then follows Sven through the door, saying a quick thanks to Lana as he moves.
This room features hardwood floors free of dust and debris. Double doors stand to the east and west, and a single door leads north. The low rumble of some great mechanism is clearly audible in the background, accompanied by a ratcheting sound at regular intervals.
" Wait a moment..."
Ankih begins as the others pile into the building.
Damn fool Ulfen...
As he enters the room behind the others, Ankih says a short prayer and a quick channel, making sure Lana is in range.
" Milady bless..."
Shanya promptly grabs Sven by the arm. "Wait."
She moves up to the eastern doors and checks them.
Evidently, Shanya's still stewing over something--she's not paying much attention to the doors as she'd like.
Kalt smiles at the image of Sven wearing a dress. Haven't seen him do that in a few years...
Then, seeing Shanya's distracted state, Kalt takes a careful look at the doors as well.
The group stares at the doors but finds nothing exception about them, nor are they able to hear anything through them. It is, however, rather loud in this room as the grinding of clocktower gears resonates throughout the tower. Individual sounds seem hard to pick out among the clangor - a double edges sword, as it both conceals the sounds of combat and hides the the sounds of waiting foes.
Kalt joins Sven in entering said doors.
Double doors stand to the east and west, and a single door leads north.
Weapon racks line the north and south walls of this room while two armor dummies stand in the northeast and southwest corners. A long table sits near the middle of the room, covered with weapons of various sizes.
An ice troll sits at the table, sharpening an axe. At his feet is a vaguely canine-like creature, but foul-smelling fluids ooze from weeping sores across the scaly skin of the squat beast.
Upon seeing Sven open the door, the ice troll gives a start and cries out a warning.
The canine-creature leaps up, snarling with great globs of spittle flying from its jaws. It rushes towards Sven, stopping short of him and snarling.
Initiative order:
Thukk
Lana Shahakh
Sven Bjornson
Avora Teremocles
Amagarra
Ankih Tohep
Shanya
Kalt Ìsson
Rorgurt
Ankih Tohep
Avora Teremocles
Shanya
Kalt Ìsson (+2 in cold)
Lana Shahakh
Sven Bjornson
" Ware! The dog is troll kin with the same abilities, regeneration, disease ridden and skilled at tripping foes , much like a wolf. The Ice Troll is immensely strong and regenerates, but is vulnerable to fire. Watch yourselves, they have been known to Rend their opponents if both claws latch on..."
"Vulnerable to fire, you say? Excellent!" Avora replies with a wicked grin.
Edit: As she cannot reach the troll directly, she instead begins casting an extended flaming sphere. She directs it to the troll dog.
The sphere moves as long as you actively direct it (a move action for you); otherwise, it merely stays at rest and burns. It can be extinguished by any means that would put out a normal fire of its size. The surface of the sphere has a spongy, yielding consistency and so does not cause damage except by its flame. It cannot push aside unwilling creatures or batter down large obstacles. A flaming sphere winks out if it exceeds the spell's range.
As this spell has been extended using the metamagic feat, Extend Spell, it will last for 10 rounds.
"Fire..."
The Northwoman closes her eyes for a moment as she calls on the memories of that day, weaving them into a ball of flames that begin to lick at the troll's ankles.
The troll at the table scrambles back as Lana's sphere approaches, and manages to stay clear of the hated fire. The trollhound, however, is taken by surprise as the fire rolls upon his haunches and he cries out in pain.
Events suddenly become more dire as the southern door is thrown open and an immense female troll poker her head out the door. Her rolls of fat look immense and thick, and she moves with a speed and grace which clearly shows her superior gace and strength despite the fat. She seems terrifyingly strong compared to a normal troll
She growls.
Thukk
Lana Shahakh
Sven Bjornson
Avora Teremocles
Amagarra
Ankih Tohep
Shanya
Kalt Ìsson
Rorgurt
" That one looks like yours Sven!"Ankih states as he lines up a shot of fire at the trollhound.
" Dawnflower Starburst."
With her mace in hand, Shanya eyes the trollhound critically, searching for possible weaknesses...
Trollhound. Regenerative properties... also quite filthy. Attempt to avoid being bitten, if at all possible. Breaking jaw will go a long way towards that.
She attempts to strike the trollhound with her mace while staying behind the cover of the door's corner.
Kalt says to Sven, "Take a step back, man, let the pup come to us and we'll finish it soon enough!" He then reaches around the door frame as well as he's able and stabs at the trollhound.
Shanya and Kalt combine blows upon the unnatural creature; it yelps in pains and lies still.
Thukk! Although the troll cries out in giant, anyone can understand Thukk is the name of the beast that was just slain.
The troll finally pushes away from the table. He turns table on its side and crouches behind it for cover (stepping out of Lana's ball of flame to do so).
Round:
Lana Shahakh
Sven Bjornson
Avora Teremocles
Amagarra
Ankih Tohep
Shanya
Kalt Ìsson
Rorgurt (behind cover)
Avora sends the ball of flame towards the male troll.
The creature is surprisingly nimble for its size and dodges the ball - but is forced to emerge from its barrier to do so.
Sven lands a solid blow on the male troll, who howls in displeasure.
The she-troll jumps over the ball of fire, her fat rolling in water-like undulations as she lands. She swings at Sven, but her battleaxe merely cuts deeply into the table instead!
Moving a little for a better shot, Ankih fires off another globe. This time at the rolling fat troll.
" Dawnflower Starburst." He intones as the glob of flame shoots toward his target.
Kalt darts through the doorway, finally getting a view of the scene in the room. Sven's instructions were clear enough, and Kalt heads for the female ogre, trying to dodge any attack she might make while he gets close enough to strike. Once in range, he lands a devastating blow.
Shanya uncorks her potion of cat's grace and knocks it back.
Kalt is engaging an ice troll by himself. Bad idea and a half. Flaming spheres will help, but may not be enough...
She then moves into the room, flipping and tumbling to avoid the female troll's attacks.
Kalt fearless leaps into the fray as Ankih expertly tosses a token of Sarenrae's wrath. Kalt's charge is not without cost, as the female troll slices off a the tip of his left ear; luckily, he dodges the greater part of the blow.
The flame and the blade have a far more devastating effect on the troll, however. The blade gashes open her stomach and the flame causes her to howl in anguish. She falls over semi-conscious and choking up green blood, her healing abilities suppressed for the blessed moment.
Seeing his commander fall, the remaining troll lashes out at Sven in a panic of claws, bites and axe blows - the axe bounces off his armor, while the rest Sven easily dodges.
Once the troll falls, Shanya immediately eyes her for weaknesses.
She's down. Smash her head. SMASH IT!
She leaps on the fallen troll and just starts beating the troll's head in with her mace.
Kalt grimaces briefly as Amagarra slices off the top of his ear, grumbling, "Damn! One of my best features, too!" Not satisfied with having taken his revenge on one troll, he then dashes forward, stepping over the fallen form of the female ice troll to reach the side of her companion. He once again hits the troll hard.
Avora directs the ball of flame to remain on the trollwife, insuring her demise.
With the casual grace of seasoned warriors the mercenaries quickly dispatch the the 2nd troll as Shanya permanently ends the life of the first. Despite the ruckus of the combat, it seems the grinding gears have masked the sounds of combat sufficiently to prevent the alarm being raised.
Each of the fallen trolls has a keyring, in addition to a smattering of other gear. There are two unopened doors to the east and north, as well as the room from which the female troll emerged to the south. In that room the group quickly spies a chest (to which they find a key on the keyring).
Rorgurt carries 20 gp in various coins and a pair of keys.
Thukk wears a leather collar studded with blue quartz “ice diamonds” worth 100 gp.
Most of the weapons in the room are unexceptional: a dozen longswords and six composite longbows (+2 strength); but a masterwork composite longbow (+2 Str) lies on the table, and one of the dummies is wearing a suit of +1 scale mail.
Inside the chest is the ice troll garrison’s payroll, consisting of 767 gp in various coins. The chest also holds Amagarra’s personal treasure stash: a Medium +1 greatsword, a potion of spider climb, an iron nose ring, and her collection of 12 brightly polished human skulls.
Upon seeing the skulls, Ankih will say a quick prayer for the departed and continue on...
This room is also a bedroom, but filthy and flea ridden. In a chest at the end of the bed there is a heap of children's toys mixed in with a magical hand of the mage and a pouch which proves to have 75 gp.
The northern door leads to a decidedly more interesting room. Three prison cells line the north wall of this chamber, while a fourth cell is set in an alcove to the east. Toward the northeast corner stands a large butcher’s block covered with old bloodstains. A cleaver too large for human hands is embedded in it. A bare table rests along the west wall.
Within the cages are 6 children. A sinister, 7-foot-tall humanoid with white fur and dead white eyes seems to be taunting the children, menacing them with an ogre hook and enjoying himself greatly, so much so that he hasn't seemed to notice you quite yet...
Shanya's eyes narrow as she eyes the goblinoid tormenting the children.
"A wikkowak. Resistant to cold, very strong, and can extinguish fire with magic. Vulnerable to physical trauma." She growls.