At Sylgja's invitation, Asgrid and Grugkt rise from the snow and openly approach the cabin. Asgrid's pretty sure she and the eidolon hadn't been fooling everyone. As most everyone gathers in, Asgrid places a hand on Grugkt's shoulder and asks him to keep watch outside. The big furry eidolon grumbles a bit but hunkers down beside the door. "Don't worry, I'll bring you some hot food, if you keep watch here."
Inside, Asgrid seems up for some troll hunting, and agrees to help with an attempt to rescue Sylgja's husband Finngarth. She reminds the group of cache of alchemist's fire, which had proven effective against trolls before.
Outside, Grugkt watches impassively as Cara creeps to the front door of the cabin. He doesn't say anything to reveal her presence, instead scanning the surrounds for anything suspicious.
Outsider, Cara creeps closer to the door and eavesdrops on the conversation within.
Sylgja is delighted by your response. Her face lights up and she sets down her mug to clap her hands together. "Oh thank you, kind strangers. I am so grateful. My husband is all I have...I cannot bear the thought of living without him!" She takes one of the candles on the table and moves it, setting it back down near her. "This is our cabin." She takes another candle and sets it further away from her on her right. "This is the cave where the vile troll dwells...it is not far. Maybe a half of a mile northwest. There are no true paths there, but a light game trail cuts away from the road and will take you most of that distance. A week ago I tied a purple silk ribbon around a branch on a tree as a reminder that the troll's territory was near. If you see that ribbon, cut into the unmarked woods a short way and you should find the cave. Oh thank you, thank you. I only hope it is not too late."
Not detecting any magical auras, Geedra drinks the beverage in one long gulp, burping afterwards. "Tell Geedra more about Magic treasure. Am make group eager to help," the goblin inquires.
"N-not that we're not... erm... already eager..! We're always up for helping people in need!"
Katie looks down awkwardly and takes a sip of her drink.
"But I am curious about the treasure you're offering..."
Skäne scowls in the direction of Geedra and Katie at their focus on treasure;
"I expected that from the puki, but not you Rosten. Mind that fight this troll for metnaðr! To make names of ourselves!"
"Sylgja, if the troll's cave is so close I'm surprised you and your husband haven't had run ins with it before. Who was here first, you or the troll? Did the troll arrive recently?"
"Glory is fine and dandy, but it doesn't refill my inkwells! Getting paid for doing a good job never hurt anyone."
Syglja leaves the room upon the request for knowledge of the treasure she promised, and returns a few moments later carrying a hide sack. She takes it over to the table and extracts the sack's contents - a steel bear trap with a trailing chain attached to a spike. She sets it down on the table with a thunk and sits back down, pushing her red hair back behind her shoulders.
"Do not be fooled by its mundane appearance, friends," she says slyly. "This is a magical trap and has many powers. It can shut, open, and reset at a word. The spike can be set or removed from any surface, even solid stone, with ease. It can turn invisible, and can even emit a magical alarm." She seems proud of the item, stating its functions haughtily. "Save my husband and it is yours, along with my gratitude, hot meal, and warm beds."
"The troll moved in recently. A bear once lived in that cave, but I think the troll must have killed it."
After you finish your tea, you decide to set out to find this troll. Be it for glory, honor, reward, or generosity, everyone is in agreement that Finngarth needs be saved, or at least the moss troll slain. You get back to the sleds and let Nadya know about the situation, and she seems oddly assertive in her support to go off course to save this woman's husband.
She leads the dogs on through the path until you reach the game trail that Sylgja spoke of, and at this juncture the sleds can go no further, so you disembark and start the trek through the close-knit expanse of trees. You can hear the sounds of animals in the brush and in the branches as you move, and the wind whistles through the foliage. It isn't long before you find the silk ribbon tied around the branch, indicating you are going in the correct direction and pointing you the rest of the way.
Cutting off of the path at that point, the going becomes slow. You pick your way through the trees, brush, and snow drifts as there is no true path here. It is only about a quarter of a mile, but it seems like it takes forever. Finally the trees break to a small clearing where the land slopes and a cave bores into a hill. Two pine trees grow on the top and haggard looking brambles climb the mouth of the cave.
You presume you are in the correct area.
Skäne eyes the cave entrance sourly, then looks to the others;
"Do we bring the troll to us ,or send in augar to see more?
The grim warrior nods toward Geedra;
"The puki perhaps... small und quiet, yet if eaten she may stífla its throat..."
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Geedra sticks out her tongue at the warrior. "Big, brave human. Go bring troll to group. Not sure if troll am like chubby human flesh."
After the rest of the group finishes their chat with the human woman, Cara is waiting outside with her bow. "Let's go." She says without further comment.
Arriving at the cave mouth, she looks around cautiously for any traps. If she sees none, "Let us just go all together. Splitting up the group sounds like a terrible idea."
Skäne scowl back at the cheeky goblin, then has a subtle glance at his own waistline.
Cara's comment does little to lighten his black mood;
"Hold. Out here we have room to fight Cara Álfrmær. Inside the troll gren we fight on its terms."
"If it's just the one troll, then you and I may be able to stop it from getting past us and to the rest of them--definitely so, if Asgrid's pet helps."
Katie strokes her chin for a second, thinking.
"So long as we have light, it's not a bad plan."
"Then let's summon it out of its hole and finish this quickly." Cara says in agreement with Skäne's plan, her bow at the ready.
The group exchanges ideas for a minute under cover of the forest while looking out onto the clearing and the cave. It is decided that the frontline fighters will advance towards the lair and draw the moss troll out into the open to do battle with everyone.
The two Ulfen and the eidolon go into the clearing, the clumps of pine needles, pine cones, and snow crinkling beneath their steps. Even only a quarter of the way to the cave a terrible stench can be detected, some sort of rot and decay.
Not much noise needs to be made at all to draw the cave's inhabitant forth. A figure lumbers out of the mouth of the lair and into the clearing. Close to seven feet tall, the burly creature is covered in patches of strange bluish moss and mold. It is accrued upon its shoulders and down its arms, handing in strings and strands to the ground and even coiling around the battleaxe it carries. The mold seems to gather in a large sac or bulb on the back, taking up the area between the shoulder blades, the back of the neck, and up onto its head. Through the patches of moss you can spot clothing - bit of sturdy leggings and studded armor, even boots - all strange for a moss troll. The face is mostly obscured by tendrils of hanging moss, but something certainly seems off about this troll. It definitely looks strangely different to the one Cara, Asgrid, and Geedra did battle with in the Border Wood in Taldor.
The thing grunts and flails its axe as it sees you, and begins its approach.
Init:
Cara: 23
Geedra: 20
Troll: 19
Skäne: 18
Asgrid: 8
Katie: 2
Geedra casts Misfortune on the strange mossy figure. "Troll am not look like troll from before. Trolls not wear clothes, best Geedra knows!"
As Cara attempts to recall some pertinent facts about trolls of this type, she wastes no time firing two arrows at the creature.
With an odd look at the trollish creature, Cara and Geedra set an attack into motion. Cara fires off two arrows at the mossy brute, one of which sails past as the second bites into flesh. The thing grunts and sways a step. Geedra plies her witchcraft, manipulating the supernal forces of fortune surrounding the creature. It's eyes glaze over for a fraction of a second and it cows slightly in its stance, suggesting that the hex has taken hold.
The troll lumbers forward, covering the distance between you with a shuffled stagger. It hoists its battleaxe and lets fly in a wild chop aimed at Skäne. Despite Geedra's hex enchanting it, the troll strikes true, leaving a horrid gash in the ulfen warrior.
If that weren't enough, something strange occurs next. The gathering of moss and mold atop the troll's shoulders shudders and a seed or something akin to it suddenly dislodges and flies at Geedra. The projectile sails over the goblin's head, however, and strikes a tree. As it does, the seed bursts and a strange accumulation of mossy spores erupts from the shell, falling harmlessly to the ground.
Now that the troll is closer, you can see that it is no troll. Beneath the mold and moss, it looks to be a man, most likely human, wearing clothing and armor. Though the moss is definitely linked with the man, it seems almost to be a separate entity...
A rare find this is - a mindslaver mold! The gathering of moss on the man's back is a sentient, infectious plant monster from the first world. It has taken this man as its host and is controlling his actions.
"Uhh... That's not a troll, it's a guy with some moss growing out of him!"
Katie keeps her shield up, delaying until someone tells her what to do. This is probably her husband, and getting him back alive would be a lovely end for everyone.
"Does anyone know anything about it?!"
Perception
Know. Nature
"So Not a Troll am human's mate? Group am not kill Not a Troll, or human won't give over treasure! Be careful!"
"Are you sure it's not a troll?" Cara asks haughtily, not quite willing to accept that a non-elf would notice something of this nature before her. "Let the the two large ones subdue it if that's the case." She adds a moment later, sounding almost disappointed.
As the creatures ax bites deep, Skäne bellows in pain, eyeing his foe with a mix of trepidation and respect...
:
... that is lost as the red mist of descends.
The warrior laughs blackly, biting at his shield and roaring his challenge;
"Har! A good bite troll! Yet your bani stands before you now!"
Before bringing his own heavy blade to bear on the moss troll:
:
:
:
:
Time seems to slow for Skäne as the "troll's" axe sweeps across his body. The blood drums a war beat in the warrior's ears and his gruff exterior cracks, giving glimpse to something far more dangerous lurking beneath. He starts laughing; a wicked, wild sound. His teeth clatter upon his own shield as he roars out a challenge and threat to the enemy. He puts his newborn fury behind the strike of his longsword and the mossy beast never sees it coming. The blade rips into the figure's side and carves a sanguinary channel through moss, mold, armor, flesh, and bone. The troll-man groans and gurgles in pain but the blade doesn't carry a clean cut through the beast and Skäne wrenches it lose. The troll breathes heavily, blood steaming in the cold air as it egresses from both the terrible wound and its mouth.
Katie and Geedra suddenly make the claim that this creature is not a troll. Skäne is too lost in bloodlust to listen, and Cara is skeptical of the revelation.
Asgrid speaks up as well, however, making a more astute identification...unfortunately, it is in Aklo, the only language Asgrid can speak in timers of duress due to her curse.
But then, a gravely voice carries through the clearing; uncouth but understandable. It is then you've realized that you have rarely ever heard the eidolon Grugkt speak.
"Asgrid say not troll - man! Evil mold on back take over mind! Kill moss!" the yeti blurts. He leaps toward the fray and attacks the amalgamation of plant matter on the man's back. The yeti's fist looks like it is about to strike true, when suddenly the mossy growth shudders and moves, avoiding the blow and causing Grugkt to strike the man beneath. The mold's host drops to his knees, still conscious but obviously overwhelmed. Grugkt looks bewildered at the outcome of his attack. Asgrid trudges forward towards the melee.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Hit the plant, chubby human! Not a troll, Geedra am say!". The goblin waits to see the outcome before taking an action.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Cara slows her breathing as she attempts to aim her arrow precisely enough to hit the animate mold without hitting the human underneath. Unfortunately, the situation is still quite distracting and her attempt at precision is for naught.
With new information at hand, Cara breathes deeply and lines up a shot at the plant mass atop the man. Between the shouting of her allies and the melee between Grugkt, Skäne, and the moss-man, her shot goes wide. Geedra tries to corral the raging Skäne and waits to see the fallout before acting one way or the other.
On his knees and bleeding heavily, the ma is compelled to attack on. He swings his axe at Skäne again, forcing more blood out of his wounds from the movement, and the axeblade skitters harmlessly off of the Ulfen's shield. The moss mass itself shudders, shifting slightly in its spot, obviously doing something....
Init:
Cara: 23
Geedra: 20
Troll: 19
Skäne: 18
Asgrid: 8
Katie: 2
Geedra uses her fortune hex on Cara, improving her odds of hitting the strange mold that was controlling the human.
Katie casts a Cure Light Wounds spell, then closes into melee to touch the man and try and staunch some of the bleeding.
"Just hold on. We'll get that mold off of you, and get you back to the woman you love!"
As he stands before the moss troll-man Skäne momentarily halts his blood rage. He knocks his shield-rim against his helmed head as if shaking loose the cobwebs, then flashes a hard grin;
"Your fell fróðleikr has no grípa on me troll!"
The warrior slams his shield into the creature attempting to drive it backward;
:
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
"Skäne, he's not a troll. The plant is controlling him. It's probably the man we are supposed to save." Cara shouts to the big human, apparently now believing what the others noticed earlier.
Regardless of whether or not the man heeds her words, Cara lines up another shot at the plant mass, this time aided by Geedra's Hex.
Skäne shakes off some sort of power coming off of the strange plant and laughs, still under the assumption that his adversary is indeed a troll. He bashes his shield into the moss-man, knocking the already-kneeling foe over backwards in a flailing arc. That arc takes the plant mass directly into a surgically placed shot by Cara, aided by Geedra's manipulations. The arrow sinks straight into the mossy mass of plant matter, ripping deep into it. Though there is now sounds of pain, the damage of the arrow is visible by the strange blackish-green ichor seeping heavily from the mound. Katie rushes over as this happens, hand aglow as she lays it upon the man, closing some of his terrible wound and staunching the poor soul's bleeding.
Asgrid and Grugkt descend upon the toppled enemy, Asgrid bringing down her axe on the moss bulb while Grugkt savages it with his claws, both careful to avoid injuring the man further. Both Asgrid and her eidolon land their strikes, ripping and rending the moss mass more, forcing more dark viscera from the wounds.
Suddenly, a great sucking, popping sound is audible as the sac of mold and moss ejects itself from the space between the man's shoulder blades. The man - who some of you now assume to be Finngarth - groans in agony as the horrific creature dislodges itself from his body. The tendrils of moss and plant matter are pulled off of and out of him as well as the mindslaver mold attempts to wriggle away from this battle. Trailing blood from both itself and its host, the mold barely makes it a few inches before Katie, Grugkt, and Asgrid all fall upon it with claw and blade, ending its parasitic existence in that instant.
There is a moment of silence and confusion that follows the execution, ended when the man groans again, shakily getting back up to his knees. He has terrible welts and bore marks on his back, where his clothing and armor has been shredded to expose his flesh. Pus and slime and scabs and bits of moss cover his skin there, and small rivulets of blood run down over his shoulders and arms. He is till suffering from Skäne's vicious blow as well, his left side in a ruinous state. He opens his mouth to speak, coughing up blood flecked with green and black.
"Th-th....thank...you..." he stammers, clearly straining from the talk. "P..please...help.." He seems to run out of strength to talk, and while not falling unconscious, he slumps back down to the ground, using the energy he can muster to breathe deep.
Geedra quickly covers the distance to the human, smiling broadly as she does so. She places her hands on him and uses curative energy to try to make him hale and hearty again.
CMW
"Hope human am feel better. Human wife am promise but reward to find human! Good day, Geedra say," she grins broadly at the luck that has befallen them.
Bereft of his troll foe, Skäne's beserkr rage disapates leaving the warrior weary and cantankerous.
He fetches the man's axe, then trudges o'er to where the strange plant lies, prodding at it with the hatchet's handled end;
"Another of this fell land's vándr ?"
"Probably..." Katie sheathes her sword again after cleaning it off with a quick Prestidigitation.
"But enough about that! Geedra! Cara! Skane! Asgrid! We did it! Er... well... of course we did it, because love always triumphs in the end, but that doesn't make it any less great!"
She leans next to him, and checks for any other wounds that could cause problems if they were to move him. "I can carry him back. I promise I'll be careful!"
"That was definitely a parasite that I have never seen before. I hope no more of its kind of residing in the cavern." Cara says with caution as she begins making her way inside, "I suppose there is only one way to find out."
Geedra administers some more healing unto the poor man, serving to close more of his wounds but he is still quite woozy from both your altercation and the toll the mindslaver mold has taken on him. He half-sleeps where he lies, though much of his bleeding has been staunched. Skäne and Katie investigate the fallen plant beast, prodding and poking at it, and Katie offers to haul the man back to the cabin. Asgrid comes over and fusses over Finngarth a little, insisting that she dress the rest of his wounds before moving him, and sets about with her healer's kit and bandages.
Cara peers into the cave, suspicious as to what may lie within. Closing in on the mouth of the lair, a powerful stench of rot and decay takes hold, though no sound seems to emanate from within. Using her elven senses, Cara notices that there is some large mass near the back of the cave, but it doesn't seem to be moving. Stalking further inside, she eventually uncovers that the form is that of a rotting bear carcass. It has similar wounds on its back to Finngarth - disgusting bored holes and dried slime and other viscous fluid on its mottled fur.
Other than the dead bear there doesn't seem to be anything else in the cave. After Asgrid has dressed Finngarth's wounds you take him back to Nadya and the sleds, filling her in on what happened. She wrinkles her nose at the story, shaking her head and muttering something about jadwiga, and sets the cavalcade on its way, looping around to return to the cabin.
Sylgja is apparently expecting your arrival, and stands on the front porch. When she sees you approach she scrambles down the few steps to the ground and rushes forth, frantically questioning as to the status of her husband. When she realizes he is alive she throws her arms around him and breaks down in tears of happiness, stroking his head and hair and holding him close.
"Thank you all, thank you so much!" she said through her tears. "I am forever in your debt. My Finngarth - home and alive! Thank you!" She pulls Finngarth in close again he is able to speak, though weakly.
"Sylgja...I am..home."
"Quiet now, my love, you need rest and nourishment. You all deserve that as well, please, come in." Sylgja leads you into the house, not even noticing that Cara is among you, whom she never saw before. Katie helps get the man inside and to a bed, and Asgrid looks over him again to readjust his bandages while Sylgja finishes preparations for dinner.
Within the hour, you are all served hot stew with a surprisingly thick gravy, made with rabbit, deer, turnip, and carrot. Some hard bread and harder cheese, as well as nuts and berries, are also served, along with tea and mead. After serving all of you, Nadya and her boys included, Syglja lets you eat alone while she takes some hot broth and mead in to her husband. She returns a quart of an hour later.
"You have done me and my husband such a kindness. You are welcome to stay here as long as you need or want. We don't have any more bedrooms but you are free to find any place you like to sleep, and we have plenty of food. And of course, the magical bear trap is yours. Thank you again. I am so glad that the troll will not bother us any more!"
Geedra heads over to look at the magical bear trap up close. She picks it up, and sways under the weight. She nods at Skane. "Big human need carry. Am catch all sorts of things!"
"It wasn't any trouble at all! I'm just glad he's okay." Katie is in a great mood after the meal in particular, setting up in a corner by pulling out her journal and her inks.
"I'm feeling inspired by our dramatic story of love and reunion against impossible odds, so I'm going to do a bit of drawing before bed, alright?" Or so she says while she's already starting a sketch. "Have a good sleep, everyone."
Cara remains quiet as she sups on the human's food, never offering up any explanation of her appearance unless asked. Despite the cozy cottage, she still warns, "We should set up watches. I will take the last." If there is no issues with her statement, she finds the furthest corner of the house and gets some sleep.
Skäne eats heartily, enjoying the stew and the feeling of a full belly.
He nods in thanks to Sygla between mouthfulls, then casts a jaundiced look toward Geedra as she instructs him to carry the trap;
"The bjǫrn-trap is welcome... Do you have any snara for puki? I would make good use of those..."
The warrior's black humour is interrupted by Cara reminding them of their geography and the need for watches.
Skäne takes a final spoonful of the stew;
"I will takk first watch."
Despite the apparent safety of the cabin, you still decide to post watch throughout the night. Sylgja spends the night caring for Finngarth, doing her best to nurse her husband back to health. Skäne takes the first watch, patrolling the cabin and taking intermittent forays out onto the porch to keep an eye on the exterior of the property. Outside, the wind rustles through the trees and blows pine needles across the hard earth and snow. The howls of wolves serenade the twilight from a far distance, but the echo of their dirge carries this far. Fortunately, other than a few squirrels, there are no visitors.
The watch changes throughout the night, ending with Cara keeping a sharp eye on the surroundings along with her snow owl companion until the muted sunlight starts to filter through the trees and the rest of the cabin stirs. Asgrid, Geedra, Katie, Skäne, Nadya, and her boys awaken, and soon after Sylgja comes out of the bedroom with a limping Finngarth.
Finngarth grits his teeth through the pain and makes it a point to personally thank you all for ridding him of the parasitic plant and saving his life. As Sylgja eases him into a chair, he takes a moment to explain what happened to him. As he does so, Sylgja goes to the kitchen to gather some breakfast.
"...I knew there was a bear in that cave. Sylgja was convinced that a troll was making its lair there, but I had seen the bear just a day or two before. I was fixing to down that bear - lots of meat, fur, and fat...but when I went to the cave I found a corpse and all that strange mold and everything went dark..and then I was trapped. I could see and hear but couldn't control myself. Was terrible, it was. I am forever in your debt."
Sylgja brings out some bread, cheese, and roasted acorns in a few large bowls and sets them about for you to break your fast. After a brief meal and a little more conversation, Nadya politely clears her throat and informs you that you best be on your way. You exchange farewells with Sylgja and Finngarth, who tell you that you are welcome anytime to share their hearth and home.
Outside, Nadya sets everyone out readying the dogs and feeding them as well before setting the train off again, this time keeping to the main path on the forest. You clear the woods by midday, and the going becomes quicker once more as you are out on the open tundra. Nadya seems keen on pushing the progress a bit further and harder today, perhaps to make up for the lost time in the woods.
As you continue on, you notice something very strange in the distance. There seems to be a hole in the clouds above a few miles ahead, and bright sunlight descends from the clear spot of sky. As the sleds get closer, you can feel the air getting a bit warmer, until passing over a hill gives you a glimpse to the area of land below the cloudless speck of sky. Here, where the true sunlight falls, grass grows from the earth for what seems to be several miles before you - certainly farther than the eye can see, at least. The snow ends abruptly in a clear line where the grass begins. Trees dot the expanse, showing signs of growth in their leaves and blossoms. You can hear the sounds of rivulets of water in the distance as well.
Nadya pulls the dogs to a halt about a hundred feet before the snow ends and the grass begins. She looks quizzically ahead at the strange springlike region, and turns her head back to you.
"I don't know what to make of this...surely, this is not the work of the witches."
Arriving at the strange spring land in the middle of Irrisen, Cara appears quite concerned, "This cannot be natural. I would not be surprised if this was the work of the evil fey. It would be a welcome relief from the bitter cold, but I suspect we'd be better served going around it."
Know. Nature
Geedra sniffs the air and looks around, trying to find out what is going on here.
"Maybe it's thawed because of something that's good and pure?"
Katie can hope, but she's got nothing to contribute to figuring out what's going on here aside speculation.
Skäne too eyes the strange spring with suspicion.
"Wytchcraft? Perhaps we send in the puka first?"
Katie's ever optimistic words, the surly warrior merely scowls.
: