Zahim grunts in pain as a tiny arrow slams into his thigh, he looks around for the assailant.
STAGGERED
He catches one of the little buggers and uses what little strength he has to point at it and send a bolt of fire towards it!
...and misses horribly. He does hear Castiel though and replies "In the trees, there's some kind of tiny beings shooting at us!" hoping his pointed finger would indicate where they are.
Zahim grunts in pain as a tiny arrow slams into his thigh, he looks around for the assailant. He catches one of the little buggers and uses what little strength he has to point at it and send a bolt of fire towards it! ...and misses horribly. He does hear Castiel though and replies "In the trees, there's some kind of tiny beings shooting at us!" hoping his pointed finger would indicate where they are.
"I knew it! Look above, into the trees!" Sonja says as she takes the light crossbow from her back and aims. Her bolt grazes near one of the little attacks; a narrow miss.
Snarling at the rogue's close attack, the sprite abruptly darts down and lands in front of the group and throws and arm forward. A prismatic wave of dancing colors washes over the party, bombarding their senses.
Castiel casts a spell with no visible effect and drop prone into the snow. "What's happening?" He shouts to his fellow travelers.
Seeing their diminutive attackers, Embrianna draws her bow to shoot up at the nearest one. He arrow connects with her foe, but the fairy's icy skin seems to deflect much of the impact. Angrily it and its compatriot return fire, with one of their tiny arrows painfully sinking it to its desired target.
Cass is felling lucky for some reason...
"Oh! I see it . Them. Step aside I got this" He shouts to his half-orc guide.
He will stand and cast a Color Spray ( DC 15 ) himself effecting the creatures in both h6 and j4 assuming they haven't moved.
SUCCESS!
Zahim retreats into the treeline himself, hoping to play them at their own game as he points at the nearest one with another gout of fire.
Will save
Sonja blinks as the strange colors dances around ,but the magic only angers her.
Little pest!
Sojna falls unconcious, slumping to the ground, her senses overwhelmed by the spell. Zahim retreats into the treeline himself, hoping to play them at their own game as he points at the nearest one with another gout of fire. The blast of flame washes over the small creature who screeches in pain. It glows with luminous anger, cursing the priest. It looses a string of words in a melodic language before darting off into the trees at high speed.
"Oh! I see it . Them. Step aside I got this" Castiel shouts to his half-orc guide. He casts a spell himself, resembling the effect the sprite used moments eariler.
The pixie promptly faints as the prismatic wave fades and falls to the earth.
The remaining attacker, seeing its diminutive friends retreating and down, nervously casts about, its luminous body flickering. He gives a rude gesture before likewise flittering off into the woods.
One Round
"Ha Ha did you see that?"Cass will walk over to the fallen foe and remove any weapons it may have, before wrapping it up tightly in his blanket. "Soo? Anyone know what this thing is or what it was saying?"he says before noticing that sonja's down. He'll set Phrophet down next to the creature with instructions to watch it, then trudge his way over to Sonja and making sure she dosen't suffocate in the snow. "Hey what happened to you? this isn't the time for a nap you know. Oh. Right. Color Spray. Nevermind I remembered"
"I think they said 'The fire that one wields hurts even worse than it looks. I'm not going to get cooked over this damn plan.' I wonder what 'plan' they were speaking of?' Oh, and they are winter-touched sprites. They can be rather nasty little creatures. Is Sonja okay?"
Oh she's fine probably I think. Just a little light headed. Since you can talk with these buggers why don't you have a chat with that one over there when he wakes up and find out what this plan is?
Castiel removes the tiny fey's shortbow and longsword, which look to be little more than toys in his hands, and binds the miniature man tightly in cloth. It isn't long before Sonja awakens, and shortly after regains her sight and faculties. About the same time the bundled blanket begins to stir restlessly as well.
Embrianna picks up the tiny fae and holds it in front of her with both hands and gives it a little shake to make sure it is awake.
"Alright little one, time to talk to us. What brought you and your kind this far south? What plan did you speak of earlier? Did you see anyone passing by earlier carrying a captive lady?"
Zahim picks his priorities and tends to his wounded allies.
"Embrianna, you can speak to these creatures? What did it say?"
Embrianna nods at Zahim's question and looks over to him as she answers, trying to figure out how surprised he is as he knowing their language.
I hope he's not surprised that I'm smart enough to know more than one language. Just because I was born half-orc doesn't mean that I'm some dumb savage.
"My adoptive mother was a wandering druid and she taught me to speak Sylvan, the native language of the fae. This little one here says that he and his friends were supposed patrol this wood; scouting to make sure it's clear of threats to a human bandit named Rohkar until he's done whatever it is he's going to do and 'strengthen Irrisen's presence' here. He's the one that has that lady. He claims to not know why. He also spoke of coming through the 'Winter Portal', whatever that is."
Embrianna looks back to the little fae as she addresses it again.
Sonja mutters in her sleep.
Sorry father i won't drink from the mead again.
Then opens her eyes.
"Uh, what happened?"
" You had a rainbow induced nap time but your awake now, unless this is all just my crazy rainbow induced dream state but its not nearly vivid enough for that so your actually awake. Oh. and I caught one of them." Castiel replies with a grin pointing toward Embrianna.
"You are absolutely right, I don't want to go to Irrisen. Now, do you also happen to know where Rohkar did take the mouthy girl?"
Zahim just watches the conversation curiously. "When we have our information, please be sure to let it go. It is, after all, no longer a threat."
"Pym says that a bandit named Rohkar has taken the lady to a lodge in the woods and that it used to be home to a bunch of hunters, or trappers, or wardens, or sentinels, or somthing like that. Rohkar's crew cleared them out, slew the lot of them a couple of days ago, and moved in. Last he heard Rohkar was headed back that way. If we're looking for it, just keep following the trail the bandits cut. They aren't bright enough to double-back and leave multiple trails to throw off pursuit, it seems. Or maybe they didn't think whatever they were going to do with the mouthy one would take long enough that someone would wander by. Damned if he knows."
Feeling that she has all the useful information that she is likely to get, Embrianna will begin to unwrap the sprite.
"That'll do. Farewell to you then Pym. Hopefully any future meeting with you and your sisters will be more peaceful."
"Pym gives his word not to alert Rohkar about our search for him. I suggest we keep following the trail and search for the cabin."
The ice-blue sprite bows with an ostentatious flousish before his wings become a blur a motion and he zips off into the woods.
Another mile into the forest leads you down a narrow game trail that winds its way through the trees and undergrowth here. Hoofprints mark the underlying snow, leading in both directions. A flash of motion catches your eye, some 60 feet to the north-west. A stag with ashen fur so white it near seemlessly blends into the snowy surroundings digs idly at the ground with a hoof. It looks up and sees you as well. Instead of darting from your presense, as most elk would, it takes a few strides in your direction and cocks its head to the side curiously, shaking a bit of snow from its impressive antlers.
"More humans?" It inquires, in a rather clear voice.
Zahim clears his throat and gives a little, respectful bow. Something this magnificant deserves respect, after all. "Yes, plus other races of equal merit of course. We come in peace and do not mean to intrude any longer in these woods than we must." he smiles "My name is Zahim and this is Castiel, Sonja and Embrianna. We were sent from the councilor of the nearby town to rescue a Lady Argentea. We heard that the bandits who may be responsible may have passed this way. Please, have you seen anything like that?" Zahim inquires, trying to be as polite as possible.
Cass turns and whispers to his other companions "What the frell is that? Am I hallucinating again?"
The white stag takes a few tentative steps closer, pausing at about 45 feet from your party before speaking once more. "Yes, many humans have passed this way recently."
Sense Motive
Sonja watches the stag carefully.
"Walking dead, talking animals...i hate this forest!
Many humans? Where did they go?"
"Deeper within the forest," he responds casually, approaching a bit closer once more, this time halting at about 30 feet out. "You say that you are to rescue a human female? What is it that you plan on doing with the other humans who are with her?" The white stag asks.
"I'm gonna give them a great big blast of my lucky charms cass awnsers sarcastically . Guys I think its trying to stall us. Lets leave before it decides to get frisky. Nothing friendly should be living here." cass says. Clearly suspicious of this odd creature he then takes a few steps away it.
"Well, ultimately our goal is to rescue Lady Argentae and bring her back safely. I would hope that we would not need to harm anyone any more than is necessary to achieve that end. I have no intention of causing a massacre. Unless our lives are threatened we should like to pass by peacefully."
The stag looks at Castiel after considering both his and Zahim's responses for a moment. "If that will be your attitude perhaps I won't show you a quicker way to the group of humans. The path they took is very winding, and a more direct route could get you there faster." The massive creature turns back to Zahim. "May peace find you, priest, enjoy your journey." Unceremoniously, it wheels about and starts to lazily trot away through the heavy snow.
"Please, wait." Zahim says, clearing his throat "Please, forgive my friend. He is a good person, but lacks the ability to comport himself modestly. I understand if you found his remarks rude, but remember this journey is not for our personal gain. Innocent lives are at stake, people whose survival should not be jeparodized by something like a loose tongue. I know that you respect this forest, which is all the more reason to help us. These brigands will likely want to continue their crimes throughout this region if they succeed, including the woods themselves. If we can reach them in time, there's a chance we can settle everything peacefully but we need your help."
"All right then, human priest. Follow me and I'll show you a way through the forest that will take you to the end of the trail far more swiftly," the stag responds, looking over its shoulder as it speaks. It continues to trot north through the snow.
Sonja stare at the stag and whispers:
"Is this wise?
I mean, animals don't talk,how do we know that he is not demon or something. And why is he helping us?"
"I don't know, but we don't exactly have any leads and we're barely avoiding getting lost in this forest as it is. This is the first time we've been encountered and the creature has not immediately tried to kill us. I think we should trust it."
[B" I'll trust your judgement on this brother but if it goes south you will hear no end of it from me, fair warning"[/b]
Embrianna shrugs. "It hasn't given us any reason to distrust it yet. It also doesn't seem like a creature that would be aligned with a group of brigands."
Embrianna will follow the stag.
The stag takes off at a pretty strong pace away from the trail you were on. It is a struggle to keep up with the powerful creature through the snow. Everyone once in a while it circles a tree as it looks around or doubles back, as if getting its bearings before starting off in a new direction.
After another half hour or so (it becomes a bit difficult to tell with the heavy snow blocking out the sun) you find yourselves in the thick of the woods. The stags kicks up the pace and starts to gradually pull away from your group. With the snow already covering much of the tracks you've made that you can see, it strikes you that your tracks over the last hour are likely lost to the weather and that you could be hopelessly lost without the stag.
Cass glares at Zahim with a look of I told you so on his face then turns to Embrianna "Were not lost are we?
Sense Motive :
Survival :
Sonja looks around.
I think we are.
Embrianna looks a bit worried at Castiel's question, though she declines to answer and instead addresses the stag.
"What to you know of the winter portal or of a group of little sprites?"
Though my mother always trusted her animal companions, I really hope we weren't too quick to trust this one. I've lost our trail back.
Zahim stops dead at the odd behavior of the stag. "Companions, wait. I amm having second thoughts...I have seen this snowflake before." He points at the stag "It is leading us astray! What kind of villain are you?"
The stag glances over its shoulder at you once more at Zahim's comment, before quickly and silently bounding off into the snow. Before long the flurries of snow in the air completely conceal the beast.
"We have no chance of matching the stag's speed in this snow and undoubtedly it would enjoy leading us on a chase around the woods. Let us head back while we still can."
"I agree, let us travel back while I can still remember the way. A thousand apologies to you all." he says, looking a little ashamed of himself.