Hylota studies the ring, then shrugs. "Mine's prettier - and just as effective. Terrible fate for good Captain whatever-his-name-is. I wonder if Queen Elvanna knows that her granddaughter brought him here - and what she likely did to him if he displeased her."
She hefts the dagger. "This is nice, though nice and sharp. Anyone mind if I keep it?"
Vincent shakes his head, "Be my guest. None of this is useful to me." He then looks upward, "I would gather up the stairs is our next objective?"
"None of it is really anything that I can use. Let's just plan to sell it when we get back and divvy up the proceeds. Of course, for now, go ahead and use what you need to."
"Time to proceed."
Tazwell heads up the stairs and takes a look in the steaming hole.
Szasa will join Tazwell.
Hylota follows along behind Tazwell and Szasa, alternately gliding and skipping, humming a little song as she goes.
As you cleared the third corpse and continue to search the area, a hollow rumble resonates within the stairwell's chamber and a great gust of scalding water and steam erupts from the melting hole the stairs encircle.
"Off the stairs! Quickly!" Vincent yells as leathery wings sprout from his back and he takes to the air, hovering several feet off the ground. His hands and face all of the sudden seem to be covered in gleaming, copper colored scales as he quickly looks around for any other such melted holes in the ground and/or the walls.
After being scalded by the geyser, Hylota curses and flies up next to Vincent, a furious look on her face.
Tazwell flys 45 degrees up and to the side 20 feet to the right.
Retreating to Vincent's side or equal distance, you witness the steam begin to cool and freeze even as it leaves the geyser. The corpses that were burnt are covered in the freezing water and are refrozen, returning to their coated state.
You feel the water on you begin to freeze as well, but you managed to avoid a great deal of the damage and are not coated in ice. A solid shake of your garments removes any ice that built up.
Hylota slips a wand from her belt and casts it on herself and Tazwell a few times.
Hylota observes the reaction of the geyser's water. "I suppose my cousin wasn't feeling particularly annoyed, then. Still, we should bypass this quickly. I don't want to be here when it erupts again."
Nodding, "I concur completely, Hylota. Let us be off." Noticing the wand is able to heal their wounds, Vincent is visibly relieved. He then flies over to Szasa, "If you wish, Lady Szasa, I will carry you to where we must go," he offers as he hovers in the air. "The stairs have obviously proven to be far too dangerous. And Hylota has a wand that will heal your wounds if necessary."
As the clouds of burning rain drop down on the group, Szasa's perception of time slows down. She can see each drop of rain fall very slowly, and she begins stepping through the space between them. After a moment, time corrects itself and Szasa finishes moving up the stairs and out of the raining boiling water.
Further up the stairs, you see a hole made in the wall on your left where the steam and hot blasts had eroded the wall here. Hurrying past, you hear the geyser go off again below you.
A little further reveals a foyer of ice with a towering ceiling. To the south you see a turret opening carved out of the Veil's surface. To the north you see another stairwell going up, and scattered across the floor are a venerable layer of bones, some fresh, some clearly ancient, and many in between.
"Hmmmm ..... if you make it past being frozen, then something strips the flesh from your bones."
"Hmmmm ..... if you make it past being frozen, then something strips the flesh from your bones."
Nodding in agreement, "That is definitely for certain. The question is... what?" he asks as he looks around from mid-air. "With the steaming geyser issues we've recently had, I dare not ask what purpose that opening has," he says, motioning toward the turret-like opening.
Hylota had gotten bored again, the geyser past. Looking around at the bones, she said, ”Do you think a creature does this? Do you think it can be tamed? It might make for a good pet, or something I can ride. What do you think it is?”
As you take in the room, a hollow whisper speaks to you. "Who are you? You must not be here. Leave this place, leave this place. Leave ... leave ... leave."
Raising an eyebrow in curiosity, Vincent looks around trying to discern where the voice is coming from. "I am Vincent. Why must we not be here and why do you wish us to leave? And who might you be if you do not mind my asking."
"You mean we shouldn't be here, because we most certainly are here." says Szasa.
Hylota looks around for the voice. "Hello, lovely to meet you, whoever you are. Tell me, did someone named Ilivorr Karanasi come by? Why don't you want us to pass? I can plainly see we are not the first to come this way, but you aren't very hospitable. Should we have a cup of tea with you?"
Hylota's babble seemed strange and rambly, but the words served to facilitate Vincent's line of questions.
"We're certainly not looking for any difficulties, but we have business here."
"You must not be here, all who come never leave. They join those who came here long ago, no one leaves. Business you may have, but those who come here remain ... they do not leave ..."
"But you are ... different." You hear ice being cracked and broken above you, but you see nothing as the voice changes from morose to curious. "Perhaps ... you shall prevail where others fail. Speak ... Why are you here, pray tell? What business do you think you have in the Veil?"
"We're looking for something that was left here that we've been tasked with returning to it's rightful owner."
Hylota gives Lady Szasa a look of curiosity. Queen Elvanna wasn't even close to being the rightful owner of the Torc, and while a case could be made Baba Yaga was, the fact that the mother of all Winter Witches had left it here likely meant she intended to keep it here. Still, it was enough of a truth that it might keep them from having to lie. Lying usually wasn't good when you couldn't see the thing talking and they threatened death.
Tazwell looks up at the ceiling to see if anything is there or if any of the ice is moving.
Vincent looks up at the sound of the cracking ice. He then floats to the ground and lands, his wings remaining out just in case.
"All in this place belong to the Great Crone. The dead, the inanimate, and the cold. If something is here you seek ... it belongs to Dear Grandmother, no one else."
You all hear a chilling sigh, and then the voice continues. "Explain yourselves. You have not come here of your own accord. Who commands you be here? Is it the same who sent this 'Ilivorr Karanasi'? Or do you serve the Deathless Frost?"
"We've come to make sure that the torc does not fall into the hands of the servants Kostchtchie."
Narrowing his eyes at the marks, Vincent shakes his head at the voice's words. "I know nothing about this 'Deathless Frost' you speak of so I would have to say 'No' to serving it. But I do concur with our fellow companion here and his words. He would be correct," he responds, keeping his eyes fixed toward the ceiling.
Vincent then brings forth magic from within and hopes that's what it takes to see what is making those marks.
"Is Deathless Frost known by another name?"
"The Deathless Frost is another name for Kostchtchie. We most certainly do not serve him. As to whether or not we were sent by the same person who sent Illivor, we do not know who sent her, so we cannot say with certainty we were sent by the same person." Hylota pauses. "How long have you been here? Did Dear Grandomther place you here as guard, prisoner, or both?"
Hylota's voice carries a certain amount of respect and fear when she mentions Dear Grandmother - one did not speak of Baba Yaga without it.
"Ah, I see I am revealed by my lesser." The voice no longer sounds hollow and faint, taking on a powerful bass quality. The icy ceiling above you shudders as a great beast lets go of its grip and plummets to the floor before you. As it lands, cracking the frozen floor, the invisibility it covered itself in is dispelled.
She is an ancient white dragon, but her form is wracked with an inner flame. Her scaly hide is cracked rather severely and as she moves bouts of fire escape and lash her outer body. Her eyes burn as she glares at you all.
"Fools, enemies of my Mistress! Give me a reason not to destroy you like all who have come before, I beg of you!" Her stress of the word "beg" is obviously sarcastic, but she has not yet made to attack you.
Hylota draws in a deep breath at the sight of the dragon, finding it to be one of the most fantastic dragons she'd ever seen. "My you are magnificent! A truly impressive specimen of dragonkind! Is your Mistress the Great Crone? I am distantly related to her, and know her as one to fear and respect. She returns soon - her Riders have already been spotted in Irrisen, verifying everyone's loyalty. Mine is not in question - only a fool attempts to challenge Dear Grandmother, and those who do suffer a fate far worse than death. Will you give us your name? I don't know if we can convince you not to destroy us, but will you at least answer my questions before you do? Someone of you power and age must know so much."
"Surely there's no need for conflict here. Mayhap we can offer you a suitable tribute to allow us to pass in peace and continue our mutual goal of protecting Baba Yaga's Torc from Kostchtchie's minions."
As the dragon reveals itself, Vincent appears in awe at its current state. "Fascinating."
"I find myself in agreement with Hylota. You are truly a fantastic creature and must be the only one of your kind. Because I have never seen nor heard of a Great White possessing fire. If I may ask, how have you come to do so?"
As the Dragon lands and begins parlaying with the group, Szasa says nothing, but she does lick her lips.
The fire within the dragon lessens in fury at the mention of tribute.
"I serve Baba Yaga, true, but she is a cruel mistress. She has tasked me with protecting the entrance to this place from all intruders, an order I have obeyed for hundreds of years."
A tongue, burned and dripping with boiling water, licked her steaming teeth. "However, if you seek to keep the property of the Witch Queen from her enemies, perhaps we can negotiate a ... toll fee."
Her stance relaxes a bit, resting on her haunches and spreading her wings to block the doorway to the rest of the Veil.
Tazwell floats over to Hylota and says "If I may ....." gesturing towards her bag of holding.
When the Winter Witch nods assent in puzzlement, Taz reaches into her bag and withdraws the +3 dagger we recovered from the geyser room.
Then he floats down before the dragon and says.
"I could not help but notice the magnificence of the treasure hoard you have accumulated here. Poor travelers such as ourselves could never hope to accumulate such wealth in our brief lifetimes. I would like to offer this minor gift to show our appreciation of your splendor."
with that Taz offers the enchanted dagger to the dragon.
Hylota hands Tazwell the +3 dagger off her belt, where she had been wearing it, an amused smile on her face at his presumptiveness. ”You know, you should really ask nicely. Manners are most important. If I’d misinterpreted your intent, it would have been...awkward...for you.”
The dragon lowers her head to regard the exquisite dagger. "This is not my usual taste, but I cannot deny the value of such a gift. Very well, you may enter. We will discuss your exit tribute ... should you survive."
She crawls up the walls out of your way, and once nestled up in her perch, she then speaks in Draconic, looking directly at Vincent.
"I believe a way to break my curse lies somewhere within the Veil. I'd search for it myself, but I cannot leave this room or the flames within me will consume me. Should you find something to free me of this state, I shall reward you."
"Most gracious your magnificence. It is good that we could settle this without any gratuitous conflict. Tazwell answers the dragon.
The bard's eyes open ever so slightly at the dragon's speech in Draconic, but he doesn't intrude on the conversation with the dragon disciple.
Szasa says nothing, but the slightest of tells suggest that she is disappointed at the outcome.