"There's got to be some way to counteract these constructs. They seem imperviable to sonic and physical attacks."
"Hmmm...a most curious development."
"Think we can move them?"
"I would gather not. At least, not without the negative energy treating us most unkind." He shrugs. "But I honestly do not know."
"Back up then." waiting for the others to comply, Szasa will try and either turn or move one of the statues.
Hylota, you manage to piece together from your various studies that the most reliable means of combating Negative Energy is with "holy" or Positive Energy. This clicks in your mind as Szasa reaches forward to place her hands on the statue of her choice...
"Szasa, wait! The best means of combating this Negative Energy is with Positive Energy, typically used by priests of divine spellcasters. 'Only by the Power of Faith shall ye pass Beyond.' That inscription above the door wasn't referencing passage through the door - it was referencing passage through this room! Is anyone capable of channeling such magic? I have something that might work, but I'm not sure."
"We also have this longsword we claimed earlier that is blessed with positive energy." Taz offers.
"That sword could work, although someone would have to strike the statue with it. Let me try something."
Hylota pointed at a statue, and used the powers she'd learned from her patron to try and stop the effect.
Pondering in deep thought, "Okay, I shall give this a go. If it does not work then maybe we should attempt at flying over. Although, I am not so sure it can't reach us. And if that doesn't work...," he pauses, thinking on it a moment before reaching into his pack and pulling out a rod. The sorcerer builds up his magic from within and then shoots his arms out in front of him, hands extended out with the rod in one of them, aiming for the lot of the statues. And as he does, a multitude of tiny slivers that sparkle like diamonds come shooting out at a fantastic speed in a wide cone.
Hylota's hexed statue becomes frosted from the effects of the hex, and across the statue several gashes appear, the broken stone turning to ash but the statue remains standing.
As this occurs, the Negative Energy writhes and arcs more fiercely for a moment, but then returns to its unpredictable pattern from before.
The Diamonds shatter upon the statues, seemingly having no effect. The statues grin and cackle at Vincent now.
Hylota observes the effects, then uses a greater power on the statue.
"Sure doesn't seem to like that healing magic." Tazwell observes as Hylota uses her power on the statue.
"I have a wand if it will help." Szasa says, offering up one of her healing wands.
Tazwell waits to see if the burst of healing from Hylota destroyed the statue.
While the statue is almost destroyed now, it still retains enough form to function. The cackling has stopped now, however, and the negative energy hisses as it arcs between the remaining statues.
Hylota says, "Thank you, Szasa. It might."
Hylota touches the wand to the statue.
Hylota uses the wand Szasa had given her to apply more healing energy to the statute.
As the charge of the wand is released into the statue, the stone that remains makes a grinding sound before crumbling into pieces that further erode into dust, leaving a jagged stump behind. As a purple mist rises to about waist height from the remains you all hear the sound of a crone's cry of frustration and anger. The negative energy arcs fiercely across all of the rows before simmering down.
As Hylota destroys the statues, one-by-one, Tazwell advances up to the red door on the map and checks it for additional danger.
Staring off into nothing for a moment, Vincent turns to the others. "I feel we should return to the chamber to where the giants made their camp. I believe it to be necessary," he states plainly. He then heads back into giant's lair and looks around for a specific wall.
"Well, now Vincent's being weird." Taz says.
"But he is part dragon, so maybe he knows something."
Hylota eyes the doors she struggled to pass last time, then sighs. "Very well, but let's make it snappy."
Tazwell flies back into the room where we killed the giant and helps Vinnie look around.
As the statues are destroyed one by one, they all reveal small porcelain dolls of the same gnarled crone , including one behind the rubble of the statue already destroyed at the far end of the room. Tazwell finds no danger with the red door.
After collecting these, you pass without issue back through the doors - and back again if you try before carrying on - and return to the giants' camp. Vincent and Tazwell find a section basically outlined by the blood handprints rather easily. Giving the slightest push, the door swings open.
Inside is the lifesized version of the statuette Vincent carries, her eyes looking impatiently at you as you enter. At the statue's feet a small pedestal of ice sits with a handfull of small artifacts, the most notable of which is a large white scale enveloped in flame.
Kneeling before the statue is a large, frostbitten troll wearing polar bear furs and decorated in human bones and pale blue gemstones. He turns to see you enter and smiles genuinely - if grotesquely.
"Ah, velcome. Haz zhe spook to you az vell? Come een, and let her ken yer name."
"Yes, apparently she spoke to one of my companions. My name is Szasa, and it's nice to meet something here that isn't trying to murder me."
"Good afternoon. No one has spoken to me, but one of us has been hearing voices." indicating Vincent.
Hylota, a bored look on her face, looks to Vincent with some impatience, waiting for him to talk to this troll.
"Ah, velcome. Haz zhe spook to you az vell? Come een, and let her ken yer name."
Stepping forward, "Yes. It is I she has spoken to. And I confess I am curious as to who 'she' is and the purpose behind which she has called."
The troll nods knowingly. "To be on-esht, I do not ken who she iz ether. I haff ben trien to spook to er fer sum time." He gestures to dozens of fur, feather, and bone fetishes hanging from the icy walls.
Upon closer inspection, the woman's statue emerges from the far wall, her feet hidden within. Behind the pedestal of ice is an altar made of a dark grey stone that looks greasy despite the frozen nature of this place.
The troll silently listens to something before returning his attention to you. "I be Shathbardok. I ken Shasha now, but who iz he that zhe haz spook to?" He gestures to Szasa and Vincent respectively.
As the troll speaks, Vincent cuts his eyes toward the the flaming scale for a moment. Narrowing his eyes in thought, Hm... that might prove useful. With the troll's broken common, Vincent attempts to make conversation easier.
Hylota studies the strange woman and the strange stone, finding something interesting in the room at last. "The stone is not of Golarion - it is from elsewhere."
"I would not touch this stone - doing so would cause harm to any living creature that touched it."
"Good to know. I'm going to go keep watch." says Szasa with a bow of respect to the Troll.
"Who is doing the talking?" Taz asks.
"Is it Baba Yaga trying to pass on a message or warning because people are mucking about in her icy prison?"
Vincent pulls out the idol from his pack, "Whoever 'this' is is the one doing the talking I would gather."
Shathbardok nods at Szasa as she leaves, smirks at Hylota's observation, and turns to sit cross-legged in front of the two men.
He speaks in Giant: "I am pleased to see you are willing to speak in a far more pleasant tongue than that of the milk-drinking humans that cannot survive one winter's night alone. It is not the Queen of Witches who speaks through these icons." He gestures to the statue behind him and the statuette in Vincent's hands. "I believe she to be something older than even Baba Yaga. She spoke to me first through that idol you now hold, and once I uncovered this room I sought to speak more. She has had little to say, but I am compelled to listen."
His ears twitch for a second, and then Vincent hears a sing-song voice whisper in Draconic.
Vincent perks up a moment as he concentrates on the voice. Turning his attention back to the troll when the voice goes silent, "I believe I am in need of the flaming scale, Shathbardok. May I acquire it?"
"Is it possible that this place spreads a curse of madness?"
Hylota listens to the conversation in Giant, then answers Tazwell’s question, ”Anythimg is possible - it is certainly something Baba Yaga would do. However, I rather suspect not - further, I suspect that...Shathbardok...is right. That statue is not of Baba Yaga, and I do not believe it is she speaking through it.” Hylota was clearly reluctant to acknowledge the ice troll was right, but she always gave credit where credit was due.
"It is not mine. Take it." Turning from Vincent to Tazwell, the troll shrugs. "It is quite possible, I have admittedly not been myself since coming here. Either was Ferric. A pity he had to die, the loyal dog that he was. I guess Black-Ice has no more serious rivals now, save us clerics."
He then looks at Hylota. "You are a winter witch. You are repugnant, but your magic fascinates me. Tell me, what is it like to be gifted such mysteries? Is it unlike worship of the divine? Has Baba Yaga revealed anything to her foul children in the last few centuries?"
While he is clearly antagonistic towards the two women, the troll is genuinely interested in the answers to his questions.
"Definitely insanity...."
Vincent nods, "Thank you." The sorcerer proceeds to walk over and retrieve the flaming scale before returning to the others. He then patiently waits for the conversation to end.
”And you are an ice troll, so I find you hideous and rude. However, despite your poor manners, I will answer your question. My magic is not gained from the divine or prayer - my patron teaches it to me, and then it is mine. However, such patrons choose their subjects based purely on their whims, and their motives are unknown. As for whether Grandmother Crone has revealed anything new in the past few centuries...well, I cannot speak for all of them, but I can say that my education has been different than those of my relatives.”