"It is cold and I no longer have the patience for this" Aiden announced. He moved his hand towards his target, but where last time it was a swinging fist that launched a ball of fire, this time it swung his arm horizontally with his hand flat and fingers splayed. From his hand came an arc of fire, roiling forth in a cone centered on the snowman.
The flames roll over the snowman, who stays unmoving during the attack. Heat emanates from Aiden's fingertips, and the air around the snowman becomes distorted and moves with the heat. After the cone of flame disperses, the snowman reappears in a messy puddle of melted snow. The stick arms and wooden sign charred or burnt to a husk lay near the base of the once tall statue. It appears that the way across the creek is now clear.
The creek itself is completely frozen over, and is hugged on both sides by tall snow dunes and snow covered trees. Across the creek you make out what vaguely appears to be the same prints you've been tracking. Your prey came this way and crossed the creek, so it appears.
"See, no more talking snow. Onward! I think I see the prints!"
Cassandra heads to the edge of the river, and looks at her reflection in the ice.
"Pretty, and it's not snow! I like this better already.
If none of her companions interrupt her reverie, she'll start across shortly.
Lyda remains eerily quiet and still, watching, waiting, anticipating even. This was going to be funny or anticlimactic. A lesson was about to be learned. Who was she to get in the way of progress? If anyone tries to say something she holds her bow out in front of them to prevent them from speaking.
"Uh oh"
As you walk out onto the stream, you find a weak spot in the ice. It shatters below your feet, and as you start to fall in, Lyda grabs you by the cloak and pulls you back off the stream. Only the bottoms of your feet are wet, but you can see that near the hole in the ice, it had been shaved off from the bottom to weaken it so travelers like yourself would fall through. The ice is clear, but you have to take care to walk over it . You cannot tell from the top of the stream if there are anymore weak spots.
If you continue to cross the stream
"Ice bad," is Lyda's only explanation. As apology, she pulls a dry cloth from her pack and hands it to Cassandra. "Staying wet also bad." Possibly deadly depending how cold and wet you were. Once the cat-woman's feet are dry again, she attempts to cross the frozen river, being more careful than her easily distracted friend. One step sends a vibration through the ice and for a moment the hunter thinks she might have made a mistake. But the rumbling is followed by a roar upstream. Two creatures either coated or made of living ice appear to be charging them.
Without hesitation, Lyda hopes off the ice and prepares for combat.
"I know wanting to see it is the reason I left my homeland, but I am fast becoming tired of this solid water."
Cassandra spends the first round drying her feet, in accordance with her curse.
Merge also steels himself for the fight, waiting for the elementals to approach.
The elementals will use the first round to move forward 60 ft (run).
Cass shakes one paw then the other, loosening up as the elementals close with the group.
"The only good part of fighting ice elementals is that I am reasonably confident we won't have to wash any blood off."
Lyda takes aim at one of the elementals, steadying he breadth and watching their movements. They were big lumbering things with shiny, tough looking exteriors. Thinking she might need more power to punch through their tough looking bodies, Lyda pulls a little further back on the string than appropriate and foils the shot.
Shadow takes off soon after the shot and tries his best to bite one. But his teeth can't get through the ice any better.
Mikhail reaches for the butt of his pistol reflexively but winces when he catches himself and instead grabs a small metal vial from his belt and steps back.