Jeydavu spies something as he examines the deceased zombies and carriage. He reaches under the seat and pulls out a small metal box. As he turns the box over in his hands to examine it, he says to the others, "The heraldry on the clothing these zombies were wearing matches the carriage. These guards must have been turned undead by something. I found an interesting box tucked under one of the seats."
Jeydavu checks to see if he can open it.
Tristan responds to Gaelin with a small but respectful tilt of his head and turns to see what Jeydavu has found.
Gaelin looks about at the scene. The bodies seem to be unanimated, most showing signs of violent death. The upright corpse is clad in a sheet of ice. It is a man, clad in a breastplate emblazoned with the same coat of arms. He is armless, the two bloody stumps cased in rime. His two arms lie at his frozen feet.
Jeydavu opens the box, which is a small brass affair with the coat of arms of the carriage picked out in niello. Inside on a bed of blue velvet is a tangle of jewelry. Jeydavu notes a large gold signet ring of the type used to seal missives among the tangle of gold and gems
"Valuables, Jeydavu?" Gaelin asks with his eyebrows raised as the oread looks through the box. "I would not expect to see all that left at the site of a robbery. Also, most bandits don't bother animating the bodies as a trap for whoever comes upon the scene." Gaelin creases his brow in thought. "I think we are dealing with something else entirely."
"Perhaps someone left tracks." He looks about for tracks leading away from the site.
Gaelin notes a fairly obvious trail broken through the snow drifts. It angles deeper into the forest. Horse hooves and humanoid footprints can be distinguished in some places
"We should be able to track them fairly easily in this snow." Despite his words, Gaelin regards the path ahead with some hesitation. "Although I admit I am not eager to delve into these woods..."
"We should be able to track them fairly easily in this snow." Despite his words, Gaelin regards the path ahead with some hesitation. "Although I admit I am not eager to delve into these woods..."
Tama speaks up, having been quietly contemplating the grisly scene.
"I doubt any of us are eager, but we are sworn to see this through to the end. At the very least, we should see justice brought to whoever did this to these men," she says, gesturing to the corpses on the snowy ground.
Gaelin seems somewhat startled when Tama chimes in, but is in fact glad to hear her speak up. "Yes, of course you are right." He breathes deeply and straightens himself taller. He looks about at the others, and if no one else has anything they want to check out, he turns and follows the tracks in the snow.
The path leads into the snow-shrouded forest. It narrows, only allowing single file without getting into large drifts
Jeydavu leads Chtonthoth and falls in behind Gaelin.
Tristan looks to the horse he rode out and thinks to himself, you wouldn't be very happy in those woods, would you? He ties the horse to the remains of the carriage and hopes that will be sufficient until the group returns. He then adjusts the cord running around his neck to reassure himself it's there before joining the line into the forest. He gives Chtonthoth's rear a wide berth.
The group winds through silent snow-decked trees. The sounds of Taldane Summer they had experienced not an hour ago are gone, replaced by a hushed silence broken only by the occasional loud crack of an overburdened tree limb snapping. The forest is filled with felled trees, their leaves caked in ice and dragged down from it.
After a while the group reaches a small clearing. Their quarry have trampled the area thouroughly. They also seem to have left something behind. A chest lies half buried in the muddy snowbank at the edge of the clearing
Gaelin regards the chest with suspicion. "Again, the supposed bandits have left their loot behind. More likely another trap."
Penelopy squints at the half-buried chest
"right. I think you are right Gaelin. This smells funnier than Qadiran goat cheese. "
She advances slowly towards the chest, warily scanning the area
"It could be some sort of fey trickery. Though usually their pranks don't go quite so far." Tristan shudders a bit thinking back to the frozen armless guard.
Penelopy gets close to the chest, her feet treading warily
There is a *tunggg* sound, and a large spiked log swings out of the trees at the young waitress
The spiked log drives square into Penelopy, lifting her off her feet with a sickening smack.
The girl is tossed aside, bleeding
Tristan's eyes go wide as the logs impact Penelopy. Frozen for a second, he goes into 'medic' mode, rushing over and pulling a small bundle out of his pack. "Hold still while I stop the bleeding. Looks like you got lucky, it didn't hit anything critical."
"I don't have enough supplies with me to do much for her. Can any of you do anything?" He asks, looking to Gaelin, Jeydavu, and Tama.
Penelopy groans as she struggles to stand up. Her midsection is a mass of puncture wounds. Under her leathers there is likely a harsh bruise. Blood trickles down her clothes
"Urgh. Thanks Tris. OWW! By Sarenrae's holy teats that HURTS!"
Gaelin's eyes widen with shock and concern. "Are you alright my lady? That was quite a blow." He considers for a moment. "Another trap. Whatever we are dealing with, they are sophisticated and deadly. We should all be on our guard." He looks at the sprung trap to see if it is still a danger.
The log rolled a bit, but came to a halt in the snow.
Jeydavu rushes to the injured woman. "I can help'" he says. He murmurs something in a strange tongue and a burst of energy leaves his hand and covers Penelopy's wound.
Jeydavu's healing energy washes over Penelopy's wound. The blood flow stops and the look of pain on Penelopy's face eases
"thank you Jeydavu. That is much better!"
She glances at the chest
"Shall we continue?"
"I should think so. Proceed with caution, though." Gaelin's brow creases. "It may very well be an empty box. But there may also be some clue as to what we are dealing with."
Penelopy once again heads towards the chest, looking up as well as down this time
She flips it open
"Empty!" She hollers back to the group
A woman in light, blue travel attire suddenly bursts from the bushes ahead, almost tripping over the kneeling Penelopy in her hurry. She stops at the sight of the party and you get a good look at her.
She is clearly winded, as if she has been running for a long time, and her shirt is ripped open at the shoulder to reveal a nasty bite wound. While the edges of the wound are starting to frost over, her headlong run through the forest has obviously kept the wound open, so that blood coats the area around it. Taking great breaths between words, she manages to gasp "Dragon wheeze attacked wheeze me, wheeze was wheeze following wheeze." before she collapses to her knees in the snow, her wounds and impromptu exercise finally taking their toll.
Penelopy stares at the newcomer in surprise
"Oh by the Dawnflower's sword, what now?"
She runs over to the fallen girl
"A little help? Anyone think to bring some wine?"
Gaelin looks alarmed. "A dragon?! Here, in the wood? This is worse than I could have imagined."
"I...don't think we're supposed to have those here." Tristan goes to help Penelopy, though he's out of any truly useful medical supplies; he does his best to improvise with the cloth the other supplies had been wrapped up in.
Heal to provide first aid (if needed)
Jeydavu moves over to the newcomer. He looks at the wounds. Jeydavu pulls out the potion of cure light wounds that the group purchased before leaving and offers it to the woman. "My name is Jeydavu. Here, drink this, it will heal your wounds. Then you can tell us what you saw."
The woman seems to be shivering, not surprising seeing that she is dressed in only light travel clothes in this snow, and looks up weakly as the others crowd around her.
She takes the offered potion and slowly drinks it down.
The vicious bite on her shoulder starts to knit back together, not fully, but enough that the woman seems in much less pain and even sits up.
"Thank you strangers," she says as she looks around once more at everyone, this time with focused eyes. "My name is Ecaterina, and I am newly arrived in this strange, and yet familiar, land. I have managed to avoid many of the dangers here while searching for the answers I seek, but was set upon by a terrible wyrm and was forced to flee for my life. It must have given up the chase though, for in my weakened condition I fear I would not have been able to continue my retreat from the beast. What is the name of this land that I have come to?"
The confidence has returned to Gaelin's voice when he speaks again. "This wood lies near Heldren..." He then adds, "In the realm of Taldor."
"I am Gaelin Northvein. From where do you hail? And what brings you to this accursed wintery wood? Have you been deeper into it?"
"How big was this wyrm?"
Penelopy looks at the partially-healed wound
"Not a huge one at any rate."
Looking much better now, her shivering stopped despite the bitter cold, she look up at Gaelin and says, "I come from Irrisen. I was investigating some strange goings on in my homeland at the request of my mother and went through a portal which deposited me here. I have come some way from the portal, looking for how far its influence extends, but have yet to find the edges."
She turns to Penelopy at the woman's question and looks her up and down. "No, it was not a large dragon, slightly bigger than myself, but it was large enough."
"Irrisen? That's...quite a ways from here, isn't it? We've just come from the edge of the...influenced...region ourselves, it's not far. Or at least it wasn't...I wonder if it's spreading."
She turns to Penelopy at the woman's question and looks her up and down. "No, it was not a large dragon, slightly bigger than myself, but it was large enough."
Penelopy looks dubious
"Are you sure it wasn't a giant lizard?"
Ecaterina looks at Penelopy as if she had been slapped. "Are you calling me a liar? I was attacked by a Dragon. A baby Dragon to be sure, but a Dragon nonetheless..."
She turns her nose up at the woman and mutters, "I am most certainly nowhere near Irrisen if this is how I am to be treated by the common people."
Penelopy's green eyes narrow
"I don't know who or what you are, princess, but in our country we like to ask questions. Most dragons I have ever heard of eat people whole, not nip them on their bony shoulder."
She turns to the others
"Should we trust this stranger? How do we know she's not leading us into a trap?"
Tristan frowns at Ecaterina's sharp response. Turning away from her and speaking quietly to the others, he asks, "How do we know she isn't the cause of all this? I've heard strange tales of Irrisen, and her manner suggests she's not common folk."
Gaelin addresses the daughter of Irrisen firmly, but politely. "My lady, you seem defensive. Understand that these are difficult times. A great evil has taken hold of this wood - a blanket of snow coats the summer leaves, people go missing, the dead walk. And a woman hailing from the land of the winter witches strides into our midst. Please imagine our roles were reversed."
After this entreaty, he steps closer and stands up straight, his full height towering over the others. "Give us a reason to believe you mean no harm, and your aims are as benevolent as you say."
Ecaterina scowls at Gaelin's suggestion that she had anything to do with what is going on. Then she seems to deflate and she looks at the ground before speaking.
"You are right of course. You have no reason to trust me, as I have no reason to trust you." She looks up at him. "You say that you are looking for the cause of this disturbance, well I too am looking for what has happened. My Grandmother, Yelizaveta, was Queen before the current one was put in place by mighty Baba Yaga. Yet my Grand Aunt, Queen Elvanna, has labelled my branch of the family as outcasts. We still hold some rank, as befitting our station as Witches of the Winter, but we have been largely banished from Whitethrone. My Mother and her Sisters have been keeping an eye on Elvanna however, and they believe that she is planning something. Something that must soon come to pass, as the time of her own replacement as Queen is coming. I have only recently been reunited with my mother, after enduring most of my childhood as a captive of the foul Fey of Chillblight. When my Mother heard of a strange portal being opened, she despatched me to investigate what it was, suspecting that it was caused by one of Elvanna's agents, most probably one of her Daughters or Granddaughters."
She begins to rise, her strength returning from her long flight through the forest. "And so I have told you my tale, whether you choose to believe it or not is your own business. Yes, I am a Winter Witch," at this, a small shower of ice erupts from her hand into the air in front of her, "but if what you are saying is true, then maybe we should work together to halt whatever is happening here."
Jeydavu listens to Ecaterina's story. "Growing up so close to Iririsen, I have heard stories about the changing leadership amongst the winter witches. What you say may be true but it could be just as false. Nothing but time will yield the true answer. For now, I think we should take you at your word. But our trust is only provisional at this moment."
Tristan visibly scowls when Ecaterina reveals her lineage, and wards himself when she produces the spray of ice. Despite his visible disapproval, however, he says nothing to oppose Jeydavu's recommendation.
Gaelin considers a moment more, his brow knit as he weighs the group's options. Then he speaks in agreement, "You are right, Jeydavu, and your wisdom is a blessing. Let us work together for the time being, until circumstances or new information say otherwise."
Penelopy sidles closer to Tris and whispers in his ear
Tristan:
Tristan nods once to Penelope, his face retaining the slightly troubled expression he's had for the majority of this unusual encounter.
The party continues on, following the trail of the mauraders. As they go along, the snow starts getting deeper and deeper. Snow drops in large clumps from the trees, forming ridged lumpy drifts. The air gets even chillier.