Just before Sven opens the door, Kalt hears Avora’s request and his eyes widen. ”You want me to teach you to fight so you can lie with Bjornson?” he asks incredulously. I thought I had seen just about everything when those barmaids brained each other with tankards, fighting over who got to give Sven his next ale…he never did get that drink.
Kalt shrugs, the realist in him stepping to the fore, and he replies, ”I’d be happy to teach you to fight, Avora, though I’ll do it so you can keep yourself safe on this mad journey we’re on. You’re already more than handy enough in the wild, and you’ve got a certain, um, feral side that will serve you well in a fight. If you can’t keep your head in battle, you can at least fight like an animal and make sure the other guy loses his – in more ways than one. For now, whatever’s on the other side of this door, play it safe and watch what I do. And watch Sven too, as I’m sure you will. The man’s a force to be reckoned with in a fight.”
Kalt suppresses a grin as he adds mentally, He must be quite a force in quieter moments too, the way Greta and Avora scrap over him.
He grips his blade tightly and readies himself for the fight to come.
The cold whips through the heroes bones as they slip through the door and into the Iobarian winter.
KRAAAAK
Splinters and stone rain down from overhead as a stone bounces off the side of the hut, and the bird legged structure rocks back and forth for a few moments from the force of the impact. As ears stop ringing from the tremendous noise a great, guttural sound is heard from across a clearing.
(Giant)"Something comes from the witches hut! Something comes! Humans! Blood for the Deathless Frost!"
Across the way, a white skinned giant bearing a powerful greataxe in his hands bellows the warning, a sound that must easily be heard half a mile away.
In the distance the sound of branches breaking and thunderous footsteps begins to echo through the forest in response. Birds scatter from branches in droves and a scared pair of deer bound across the clearing. Overhead, the sun shines with a fierce, actinic glare.
Initiative
(+2 in cold or underground from Kalt)
Ankih Tohep
Avora Teremocles (+3 in cold)
Greta
Kalt Ìsson
Lana Shahakh
Shanya
Sven Bjornson
G1
G2
G3
"I do not believe this giant is fond of Baba Yaga," mutters Lana quietly to the others. Intoning an incantation, Lana summons fire to burn the giant!
The giant yells in surprise as the flame sears his leg; the fire almost seems to melt his flesh away. Still, the creature is not nearly as wounded by the flame as one might hope.
He belts out into the trees, screaming through his pain. (Giant)"Witches! They have witches with them!"
The creature is a frost giant, some of the most wantonly evil and wicked giants. They are at home even in magical cold, but terribly vulnerable to fire. They possess great strength, speed and fortitude; they take prisoners for both food and slavery; some of their Jarls keep winter wolves or even white dragons as pets.
"Use fire... his spirit is weak to it," Lana informs the others. As is mine... but what I have, I must use.
Kalt steps through the open door into the snow, refreshed by the cold air. Wondering just how many giants there are here, he lays a hand on his blade, giving it greater heft and power. He looks about carefully, all his senses tuned to the land around them.
Greta leaps down from the huts porch to join Kalt, growling and ready to bite the giant.
The frost giant wastes no more words. With strides the length of man's body he lopes forward to strike at the first creature he can reach - in this case the white wolf. The giant lands a telling blow that leaves bright red streaks of blood and rent flesh in the wolf's hide. The worg hows in pain and her initial attack is spoiled, but a second bite lands true and takes a chunk of flesh from the giants heel. Greta attempts to pull the mighty giant down, but his size is too great for even her.
Avora, content with having cover, remains where she is, but commands the ice golem to join the fight.
The giant swings its mighty axe at the creature of ice as it moves closer, and it tears a great piece of ice from the body of the construct. The creation naturally feels no pain, but stumbles momentarily as it approaches.
Kalt darts past the injured winter wolf, positioning himself opposite the ice golem. He can't help but note that he is much like the other creatures so far locked in this fight, children of the winter - yet he strikes at the giant all the same.
Shanya rolls her eyes as the Giant starts ranting. "Oh, brilliant. Well, at least it's a change from the fey."
She starts moving, tumbling into position next to Kalt...
Won't be able to reach his vital organs from here. Different approach--strike at tendons and ligaments in the heel and calf. Potentially crippling.
She thrusts her rapier...
" Well if fire is their weakness, then fire you shall have."
States Ankih as he hustles off the porch to Sven's side.
" Milady grant him your flame."
Touching Sven's axe he intones a prayer.
Shanya and Kalt, a deadly pair indeed, circle the giant and stab at his tender thighs and flank quite effectively. Meanwhile, another two men - one holy, and one good enough to please some god, summon blessings of fire and courage for their companions.
The giant, although wounded seems to remain full of hatred and fury.
Lana summons more fire, while directing the first to continue its work.
The frost giant roars a bloody battle cry and leaps clear of the the flaming sphere - he is less nimble against the fiery rays that sear him and leave deep burn marks across his body.
The giant's axe glints in the bright sun as he raises it high and then swings it low and swift - the blade whistles through the air and it is clear he means to run it through the entire group in a single, inhumanly strong cut. The edge cuts straight through the ice golem, destroying it utterly in a shower of icy splinters - but blessedly the blade bounces off of Sven's breastplate. The mighty clash of metal on metal rings deafeningly. Only the magic of the well-made armor has saved the warrior from a grievous wound.
The she-wolf bites again at the heals of the giant, inflicting another savage blow yet still the giant stands.
Now mouths dry and sense of panic is palpable in the air - a second of the evil creatures emerges at the treeline and charges immediately at Kalt. Plate is bent and blood runs into the snow as the ranger feels the axe crack bones in his chest.
Eyes fearful after seeing the golem of ice so easily destroyed, Ankih staggers back a step and intones another prayer.
" Dawnflower Starburst!"
Then he hurls a glob of divine fire at the nearest giant.
"Eyahh!"[/] Kalts cries out in pain and surprise as the second giant smashes him hard with his axe. Taking a quick, shallow breath and gauging his body's response, Kalt determines that he can still function - it just hurts. [b]"You die next," he says to the newcomer through gritted teeth, then swings his blade in two powerful arcs at the first giant.
The first giant staggers back a few steps as Ankih's fire bolt lands squarely in the middle of its chest - and onto Kalt's waiting blade. Kalt wastes no time as his foe falls, yanking out the greatsword and stabbing it into the thigh of the next giant.
The newly-arrived frost giant snarls with icy spittle at Kalt. (Giant)"I will spit you and roast you, witchguard"
The giant swings his axe at the burly warrior as Sven moves in. This time, armor does not protect the Ulfen man and the axe lacerates his shield arm.
The sound of more thundering giant steps can be heard echoing through the forest - more of the monsters, swiftly approaching.
Avora also calls into existence a ball of flame, directing it to menace the giant.
Lana directs her flame toward the more wounded giant, then calls on her inner strength to bridge the gap between Sven's spirit and her own.
Flaming spheres swarm about the giants feet; while lifting his left leg to dodge one, a second sears at his leg and the creature shudders in pain.
Shanya turns to face the new arrival and narrows her eyes.
Great. More coming. Bring this one down quickly--spear it through the heels to hinder his movement.
She leaps into position...
...and strikes!
Shanya strikes at the heels of of the second frost giant, but her blade bounces off the thick skin. The giant responds with great sweep of its axe, slicing into the chests of Sven, Shanya, and Kalt in turn.
The grim battle takes an even darker turn as a third giant emerges from the treeline and charges for Sven. His axe falls short but his bulk looms over the warrior; the monster then begins to pull his axe back for another swing.
Suddenly, the hut springs forth from is torpor and lashes out with a huge clawed leg. Lana and Avora, still on the deck, are forced to hold on dearly as the hut lumbers forward so it can kick out with a clawed leg. Like a child picking up a fallen treat, it plucks the frost giant from off the ground and drops it into its giant beak. The frost giant only has time to half-utter a curse before being swallowed whole.
With this latest turn, the hut seems to emanate a palpable and terrible wrath; thankfully, none of it directed at the heroes. The remaining frost giant, however, seems to shake with uncertainty.
Lana frowns, directing her flame toward the injured giant, then extends her spirit toward Kalt.
Having already taken a crushing blow to his back, Kalt reels from the mighty strike to his chest, clenching his teeth and tottering for an instant before regaining his balance. His eyes widen as the hut rushes forward and swallows the third giant, and Kalt finds his vigor returning as the fierce grin of battle spreads on his face. He takes a firm step forward and returns the giant's attack vigorously, with a fierce overhand chop at the leg Sven isn't trying to cut off, followed by a high-reaching stab at the giant's midsection.
The giant barely dodges Lana's fire, stumbling to the left to miss the flame. Sven chooses that moment to strike, abandoning the protection of his shield and leaping forward. His movements waste no spare motion and is axe strikes once, then twice. In that moment he almost seems a vision of the giant in miniature, axe in hand and the fury of battle in his blood.
A moment later, Kalt moves in to try and finish the job, but only the strike against the leg lands - the a second blow bounces off the giants mail.
Avora steadies herself on the deck, even as she wills her ball of fire to move beneath the wounded leg of the remaining frost giant.
(Reflex save negates)
In a parody of the tortures inflicted in an Asmodean hell, the fires summoned by Avora and Lana leap up and finally catch the second giant afire. The giant staggers about in its immolated state for a time before collapsing.
Although a dozen more giants enter into the clearing, the heroes suddenly find themselves ignored. The huge hut seems to hold the attention of the frost giants in full. The hut begins flickering in and out of existence, while lashing out with beak and claw. It tramples over some of giants in an awkward strut, others it dispatches to a fiery fate belching out three lazily rolling clouds of fire.
Quickly enough, the area is littered with frost giant corpses, some eight in total.
Shanya, still reeling from the giant's blow, watches as the hut begins laying waste to the giant horde bearing down on them.
Her jaw drops open. "...wow."
Okay, now I want one of those.
As if to disappoint Sven, after a several minute battle the hut simply returns to the center of the grove and roosts. It occasionally scratches at the ground with its giant claws, but otherwise makes no movement.
The giants seem to carry little beyond their weapons, armor, and large bags for food - tracking them back to their camp shows a makeshift affair that show signs of them being about half of a larger group.
The bright sun shines overhead and the cold wind blows - yet still, the land seems slightly less frigid and unforgiving then the lands of Irrisen. The long trek towards Artrosa awaits.
Globe of Blizzards
Source Pathfinder #69: Maiden, Mother, Crone pg. 61
Aura strong transmutation; CL 13th
Slot none; Price 4,550 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
Tiny white crystals hang suspended in a clear fluid inside this fist-sized glass ball, which contains a miniature scene of leafless trees in a snow-covered landscape. Shaking the globe (a move action) activates it, and causes the crystals inside to fly wildly about the globe, taking on the appearance of a mad snowstorm for 1d6 minutes until they settle back down. Shattering an activated globe (hardness 1, hp 2) creates raging blizzard conditions in a 2-mile-radius circle centered on the location where the globe was shattered. In this area, temperatures drop to below freezing, winds blow at over 50 miles per hour, and heavy snow falls (see pages 438–439 of the Core Rulebook). It takes 10 minutes for the blizzard to form, and the conditions last for 1 hour before dissipating, at which point normal weather conditions in the area return. Once shattered, a globe of blizzards is destroyed.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, control weather; Cost 2,275 gp
Survival
(+2 in cold or underground from Kalt)
Ankih Tohep
Avora Teremocles (+3 in cold)
Greta (scent)
Lana Shahakh
Kalt Ìsson (+3 to track)
Shanya
Sven Bjornson
"These tracks show a small band, perhaps a dozen, heading north, but I can't quite tell how old they are. Kalt? It looks as though they are being led by a centaur, probably male. In fact, all of these giants are male."
"Look, see these drag marks beside the tracks? And the depth of the track? Our centaur is carrying a heavy-hafted weapon."
She searches around a bit more, following something to a nearby crevasse. An audible gasp escapes her lips. "A badger, and it looks as though whoever killed it did so with ritual precision and intent."
Kalt leans heavily on Sven for a moment, the battle with the giants having hit him hard. ”Thanks, Bjornson,” he says simply as he feels the healing energy course through him, then stands a little straighter.
He chuckles at the big man’s comment about the hut, saying, ”I don’t know, the thing’d make a hell of a guard dog, er, guard hut. But it’d be tough to walk on a leash.”
Kalt joins Avora and Lana in studying the giants’ camp, and as Avora describes what she sees, he whistles quietly, impressed. ”You’ve asked me to teach you a bit about fighting, but you need no teacher in woodcraft. I saw the giants and where they went, but missed the rest entirely. Too focused on whether we had other giants nearby to fight, I guess.”
Shanya limps and curses under her breath, her wounds trailing blood into the snow. She says nothing, but presses on in silence.
She examines the badger remains, trying to jog her memory...
The purpose of such a cruel killing of the mustelid is just a mite too obscure for Shanya.
"Shayna, did you need healing? I have a cure moderate wounds prepared."
There seems to be little else of interest in the camp other than these various signs of passage.
"A ritual," says Lana, frowning at the dead badger. "A bloodthirsty ritual for a bloodthirsty god of giants."