Brunhilde defeats Runa, cutting her down with her axe. Runa loses balance, drops her symbol and collapses.
Among Runa's possessions you find several well-written documents stating the Shadow Lodge plot to tarnish the Pathfinders reputation in the Land of the Linnorm Kings. It hinged on destroying coastal villages, and then blaming the Pathfinder Society to rally support against them.
She also has a note indicating the transport of one Rognvald Skagni. His destination is a Shadow Lodge hideout in the city of Irrisen, further north of Trollheim. With the Shadow Lodge's efforts to tarnish the Pathfinder name, the party can expect a chilly reception to go with the chilly climate.
The chest of documents will have to wait a little longer until it finds its owner...
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. "yeah... This guy was pretty boring."
Chalfon turn to group." Interpreting Chalfon was pretty boring. So i suppose i can give you my little secret."
Goupil return to his original kitsune form. "I am the master actor, goupil."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Based on Runa White's notes, you set your destination for the icy walled city of Whitethrone. Many of Trollheim's residents warn of the strange folk there, and even fewer of them are willing to travel there. They warn you of the bitter cold and the unfriendly climate there.
You are able to join a group of merchants and hunters who are on a diplomatic mission to Irrisen. They suggest you buy some winter equipment from Trollheim, and then disguise yourselves as traders and merchants.
Whitethrone is a town where humans and monsters like Goblins, Giants, and Trolls coexist, all with equal rights. There are about 25,000 citizens in total.
The city is very xenophobic and views outsiders with suspicion. Merchants are barely tolerated and adventurers are considered mass murderers.
Thanks to Baba Yaga's magic, many Lupines can walk around the town in human form. They tend to live in the Howlings district.
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Roscoe hangs with Marduk as she tries to gather information ...
"Not sure if it is you, me or George, but for some reason, the locals aren't very friendly with us ..."
. . 2nd—summon nature's ally II, summon swarm
. . 1st—magic stone, produce flame (2)
. . 0 (at will)—detect poison, flare (DC 13), guidance, light
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Take 10. "irisen. Land of the witch. The local is very knowledgable. First. Right is propotion of how you close you are to baba yaga. The descendant, then the monster, then the local, than stranger and than ulfen.
But it seem that whitethrone is more equal.
"
Goupil turns to the ulfen.
"
Princess, we still need to change some of your aspect.
Seconds, wolves can take human form and walk in it because of baba yaga's magic.
Third, you are marchands not mass murdurer /adventurers. I..."
Goupil transform to take a human form with almost white skin with a teint of blue.
"am a jagwiga."
-Posted with Wayfinder
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"before you sir, I never would have thought acting would be a key Pathfinder skill. I stand corrected."
-Posted with Wayfinder
The trip to Whitethrone is long, bitter and cold. The merchants warn the party that news from Irrisen is that Pathfinders are not allowed, and they should keep their disguises on for as long as possible.
The party continues to check on their cargo, the hundred-pound heavy oak chest. It's full of documents meant for the eyes of Rognvald Skagni and his alone.
The trip seems to go well, as you approach Whitethrone you see the city's ice white walls over a couple of hills. Some soldiers of the Irrisen's Iron Guard, accompanied by rowdy ice trolls, approach the caravan for a surprise inspection. As it turns out, they just want a lot of money. And when the merchants fail to react appropriately, the soldiers and the ice trolls attack!
Chaos erupts as the caravan scatters across the wilderness. Realizing the soldiers to be too strong to fight on your own, you carefully flee from them, carrying the oak chest into the wilderness. The screams of the caravan men and Iron Guard fade into the distance.
A biting cold wind blows from the north and snow blows in blinding drifts amid numbing fog. The bone-white walls of Whitethrone, capital of Irrisen and home of Baba Yaga’s white witch daughters, rise into the frigid northern night. Somewhere within is the Shadow Lodge headquarters hinted at in Trollheim where the poor historian Rognvald Skagni is being held. Reaching this point was a difficult challenge, but gaining entry into the city itself presents the greatest obstacle yet.
As you approach Whitethrone, you see The Iron Guard is in full force, patrolling the city perimeter. There are a few ways to enter the town without running into the guards, however:
Chruning ice blocks crash without warning, turning once safe paths into hazardous drops into the frozen waters below.
The Royal Palace—the seat of the queen of Irrisen—sits in the center of the harbor. Constructed entirely of ice and reaching a height far above the surface of the water, the palace provides a clear view of the frozen lake below.
Irrisen is 90% surrounded by imposing bone-white stone walls guarded day and night by the hardy and ruthless Iron Guard. The walls are 40 feet tall.
The merchants who routinely visit Irrisen aren't very fond of it. With a silver tongue and a handful of gold coins, you may be able to join the caravan. Nontheless, you'll still need to convince the guards to let you by. They are suspicious of any newcomers, especially new merchants.
Or...something else?
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Using a tap from my wand of Endure Elements.
Before we get that close, "Okay Goupil, it's up to you. Act casual, but not TOO casual..."
Aside from a dagger (more a utility item than a weapon) Nemis plays the part of an academician looking for an opportunity to begin trading and doing research. Since everything I'm about to say is the truth, I'll stick with the disguise check unless the GM want something different.
"Greetings and salutations! Marvelous. I am truly eager to learn much of this place. So very impressive. This is my first time here. Please direct me to where I need to go to look into starting a business!" Nemis will spend time actually taking notes on his travels. If the guard asks for a toll, I'll pay it.
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Goupil in her glamorous robe walks graciously in the front door like she owns the place. Not looking at the guards, she says "they're with me." with the ulfen beside her.
Take 10 disguise 29
Take 10 diplomacy 20
Take 10 bluff 20.
If the guards stop her, she gives 20 po and says" Elvanna will hear of this" more money can be possible.
If all of that does not work use of his bardic performance to fascinate to enchant the guards while her allies pass.
-Posted with Wayfinder
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Marduk uses her wand of endure elements because some pathfinders during her training told her that it could be helpful in particularly hot or cold areas. She even tried to apply the spell on a burn but it didn't quite work. Magic be magic. Difficult to understand.
She's fine and very happy to play the bodyguard of Goupil.
The guards at the front gate eye Goupil cautiously. "What was your name again?" The head guard pulls up a scroll full of names. Goupil hands the guards 20 gp and he puts the scroll away. "Ah yes, I see your name now. Make sure you register downtown and produce official documents. If you're not there by tonight, we're gonna have to look for you again."
With that, the guard steps aside and you all enter the town of Whitethrone.
Past the gates, you see all manners of creatures travelling together. A pair of ogres begin a brawl not far from you, with a pair of ice trolls leading them on. A white goblin pack try to sell you "rats-on-a-stick" before a winter wolf chases them off.
Runa White's notes indicate a Shadow Lodge housed in an abandoned brewery named "Auntie Marny’s Bitter Brew." You get directions to it from a dour merchant, and note it's almost in the middle of town. You decide to quietly and discreetly travel there.
A large, dilapidated building sits crammed between equally dilapidated warehouses and flophouses. Its doors are chained shut, its windows are filled with broken glass and boarded from the inside, and its facade is faded, crumbling, and encrusted with icicles. Faded, hard-to-read letters are painted 10 feet tall across the top of the ruined structure—they read: Auntie Marny’s Bitter Brew.
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the solidity of a system is equal to the value of his components.
"whitethrone is very prorecycling. Looks of all this bones used in construction."
-Posted with Wayfinder
Three notices two entrances to the brewery on the east and western sides.
A mass of broken tables, chairs, and barstools clutter the center of this dusty room, and a crumbling bar still stands in front of a broken mirror on the central wall. Three small alcoves in the southeast corner once served as semiprivate bar booths but now host only rubble. The door to a storage room in the southern corner hangs loose on its hinges, the smell of rotting refuse wafting from within. Two sets of double doors lead to the street and farther into the building.
The remnants of a once-working brewery are neatly organized around this large, warehouse-like room. Huge metal colanders, giant steel pots, enormous fermenting vessels, and a massive steam boiler stand covered in cobwebs and dust, their edges coated in rust and their support joints and screws popping and bending under years of neglect. At the west end of the room, the floor slopes down to large roller-doors that are chained and boarded shut and the southeast corner of the room holds three tables covered in empty bottles, faded labels, and broken glass. High above the room, thick oaken rafters span north to south and support enormous wooden arches that reach up thirty feet above the floor to the ceiling, the roof pock-marked with holes and bird’s nests.
As you approach the central door you hear barking.
3 dogs rush out of the door, foaming from the mouth and yelping erratically.
These are dogs, but they've gone rabid. Don't let them bite you!
Marduk
Goupil
Nemis
Roscoe
Three
Dogs
Brunhilde
Brunhilde wasn't expecting dogs, apparently.