Skane eyes the weapon, then taps his shield with a hard grin;
"Prefer to have my skold. More befitting of Rosten I think."
Mithas tosses a skull to the goblin. "Have a souvenir."
Satisfied the haul and finding a dead end, Mithas move back to the previous room and listens a the eastern door, before trying it.
"Blade's a bit big for my liking," Katie says. "Let's take it along, maybe I'll take a few swings with it at camp and see if I can get used to it."
Moving back to the previous room, Mithas moves to the eastern door and puts his ear up to it. After a few moments, he pushes it open cautiously to reveal another bedchamber, this one not nearly as large and lavish as the last. A filth-covered pile of bedding and a soiled pillow lay atop a heap of straw, and a footlocker sits near it. Other than that, only stains adorn this room.
The footlocker proves to be untrapped and unlocked, so Mithas opens it to reveal a stash of what appear to be children's toys, most in various states of damaged. Some glints peak out from beneath all of the playthings, and moving them around you uncover 75 gold pieces and, disturbingly, a slender, severed, mummified hand attached to a loop of gold chain. The arcanists of the group can ascertain that this is a hand of the mage.
Moving to the northern doors from the armory, Mithas again gets close for a listen.
Mithas steps back from the door and whispers to the party. "Sounds like we have hostiles on the other side of the door. Doesn't sound like they've caught wind of use get. Why don't we give them a surprise."
Mithas gestures for Skane to take the lead, as the burly Ulfen is better suited to stand against the violence that will soon be unleashed.
Geedra sniffed at the hand of the Mage. ”Am not strong enough,” she says dismissively, keeping her voice at a whisper, so the group doesn’t lose their possible advantage.
Switching positions, Skäne takes the lead to be the first to confront whatever adversary may lay beyond the door. With everyone prepared, he throws the portal open.
The next room is home to a set of prison cells. Three line the north wall of the chamber, while a fourth is set into an alcove in the east. Toward the northeast corner stands a large butcher's block covered in old bloodstains. A cleaver too large for human hands is embedded in it. A bare table rests along the west wall. The cages look to hold a total of six human children, three girls and three boys, and none of them look to be older than twelve. The children look disheveled and dirty, dressed in roughspun, ratty vestments and though they appear to be cowed and frightened, do not show any obvious injuries.
Standing in the center of the room, taunting the children, is a seven foot tall, burly humanoid with a solid form and broad shoulders. Though its back is to you, you can see it is armed with an ogre hook and armored in leathers. It has wide wedged ears and a heavily furred white head. Upon hearing the door open it turns its head to reveal a goblinoid looking face, but dead white eyes.
It licks its lips and speaks in Skald with a cold, gravelly voice. "You're interrupting play time..." His menacing tone seems to chill the air as he brandishes his hook.
Init:
Krosh 21
Mithas 20
Skäne 13
Geedra 7
Enemy 6
Katie 4
Round 1
Krosh mutters a few words and jingles one of his trinkets, waving a hand out in front of him. You all feel a balmy warmth tingle across your flesh.
”Ugh..northern bugbear! Am nasty mongrel,” Geedra tells the others.
Geedra uses her ability to twist the tendrils of luck, trying to alter the bugbear’s.
Mithas rushes into the room. "Hush now little ones, no ones going to hurt you anymore."
Nocking an arrow, he lets loose.
Round 1 Continued
Geedra gestures toward the jailer, fingers ever so briefly in a dance that coaxes up her fell arts. The bugbear narrows his eyes at her, his visage twisting into a sneer before he suddenly starts looking left and right, even above, as if some invisible presence is looming around him.
Mithas takes the opportunity of the momentary distraction to dart into the room, banking a hard right to come to a stop in front of one of the cages. He shoots an arrow at the bugbear, who comes back to his senses just in time to get a read on the elven scout. The arrow glances off of his armor.
Faced with the winter bugbear, Skäne bellows a challenge at the creature ;
"We are your dǫuðar-orð foul buggi! I will wear you as a skikkja so all your þjóð will know your and their own feigr by my hand!"
:
Teeth beard the warrior shifts forward and attempts to skewer the beast with his magical spear;
:
:
Skäne advances, wielding a terrifying demeanor as well as his spear. Though his words carry venom, the white-furred bugbear seems almost eager for the challenge as a devilish grin spreads across its features, knuckles tightening on its armaments.
When the ulfen warrior punches a hole into his side with the spear, however, the bugbear looks less pleased. It lets out a pained grunt through clenched teeth, staggering to the side a step from the force of the blow. As Skäne pulls back, a spurt of blood spatters to the floor and the bugbear grumbles. There is a murmur of cheer across the room as the children, now standing at the edge of their cells, grasping bars with their fingers take their side. The bugbear casts a sidelong glance towards them, and their voices hush. It slowly turns back to regard Skäne.
"I do not fear you. My turn," the brute utters harshly. Before he makes a move, however, one of the little girls does.
"Then be afraid...of...this!" she says, suddenly throwing out a cupped handful of marbles that she produces from a stitched pocket in her patchwork dress. They scatter across the floor around the bugbear's feet, who, in mid step, nearly slips on them, but keeps its footing. Slowly its gaze turns to the little girt, who cowers back into the corner of her cell.
"You will regret that.. but first..." Its chop comes mid-sentence, a hard two-handed swing with the bladed hook at Skäne. The blow catches the viking off guard, and the side wound given to the jailer is reciprocated in kind. A deep cut bites through mail, and a warm lamentation of blood seeps from Skäne's side.
Katie is swift to rush to her mentor's aid. "And you'll regret that, you big dumb brute!" The bard's blade dances with arcane energy as she brings to to bare in a two-handed swing of her own. The bugbear tries to parry with its hook, but the force of the blade is unexpected and after crashing into it with a clang, the sword's edge grinds down the edge of the hook and finds its target. The bugbear howls as the longsword bites deep into its chest.
Round 2
Krosh rattles a trinket, whispers to the ermine weasel on his shoulder, and reaches his hand out towards the bugbear. "The spirits of those jailed past still linger...they seek vengeance," he whispers, slowly closing his fingers into a fist in the bugbear's direction. Suddenly, the brute's body seizes up, limbs lock, and its hook clatters to the ground. It visibly struggles, but an unseen force holds it still, so that only its eyes dart around, flushed with fear. "I have him," Krosh says, his voice returned to his deep monotone. "End it before it breaks."
Geedra looks at the other warriors. ”Bugbear am ugly and dum. Kill bugbear and move on,” Geedra says, showing her vote.
As unseen magics hold the brute fast, Skäne mirthlessly presses his spear up through the chin of the hulking goblinoid into its skull...
:
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Bound by Krosh's magic, the white-furred brute of a bugbear can only look on helplessly as Skäne maneuvers his spear beneath its chin and thrusts it upwards. The magical head of weapon pierces into the jailer's decidedly no-so magical skull, bringing a swift and unceremonious end to its cruelty. When the viking withdraws the spear, the goblinoid collapses to the ground in a heavy crumpling, never to move again.
The children within the cages all cheer, banging on the bars of their cells in excitement, jumping up and down as they witness their tormentor brought to justice. Krosh lowers his hand and shakes his head. He closes his eyes and draws a finger across several of the trinkets woven into his armor and dangling from his antlered helm. He whispers into the aether for a few brief moments before opening his eyes again.
"So many lingering spirits...they can pass now and find peace, and avoid becoming foul specters, or worse." He nods approvingly.
The bugbear doesn't seem to have been carrying much - the masterwork ogre hook that lies in the pooling blood, a suit of scarred masterwork studded leather armor, three javelins strapped on the back, a pouch with 75 gold pieces, and a non-magical necklace of...severed fingers. The bloodstained butcher's block has a whetstone and the huge, honed cleaver more fit for troll hands than any smaller creature. On a nail half-protruding from the side of the table is a ring of keys.
Setting the children free from their cells, they are quick to spring out into the room. They shower you with praise and thanks, a few of them even hugging your legs. One girl throws her arms around Geedra from behind, much to the chagrin of the goblin. One of the other girls who looks like the oldest speaks up.
"We didn't think anyone would come..." she says. "Is it safe to leave? Can we go home?"
Mithas puts a finger to his lips to try to get the children to hush.
"Quiet little ones. There are still unfriendly ears about. The way to the entrance is clear, but beyond that, I cannot speak to its safety. We've come for the dragon and alas cannot tarry to guide you home until the beast is vanquished. It might be best to wait here until we've checked the rest of the floor. We can give you the all clear before we continue with our task."
He looks at all the dirty faces, "How did you all end up here in the first place?"
Skäne allows Mithras to calm the children, then nods in agreement at the scout's words;
"We would do better to escort you all home children. As the alfar says, nothing evil lives here any more. Stay and be safe until our return."
The warrior lays out 2 silver daggers and one of cold iron, beckoning three of the older children to take them;
"Take these. They will give you a bíta if something comes..."
He passes another his signal horn;
"... If something comes. Sound a note on the horn. One of us will komm. That I heit ."
As he eyes the other items, the viking beckons Krosh and Geedra closer, tapping a trio of scrolls as he whispers to them;
"These can make the dead rise yes? Perhaps we should send our own aptrgǫngu-maðr to smite the Ormr first?"
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Geedra points at Krosh. ”Weird Krosh deals with spirits and undead. Let Krosh decide on undead spells. Undead am yucky.”
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The children quiet down at Mithas's behest, a few crowding around him. "Stay here...?" one says. They exchange nervous glances. "But...but what if the trolls come to eat us?" They start muttering amongst themselves, and the eldest girl speaks up again.
"Some of us have no family...some of us just taken...some taken to punish family. There were more but...when they take you upstairs...you don't come back. Most of the time. I was up there once...there is an old witch that..cooks kids for the trolls! There's a ghost, too...and the dragon that's king of the tower. And a black monster that breathes fire! I almost got cooked but there was yelling and I got put back here."
One of the youngest girls also makes an addition. "There's a pretty princess! She sings...when she isn't crying." A few of the other children nod in affirmation.
When Skäne approaches and hands over the daggers and horn, that seems to settle the children enough to get them agree to stay put. The oldest girl takes the horn gingerly into her hands, looking up at the viking with a curious look. "You...look like my father did." There is a flat sadness in her voice, and her fingers tighten around the horn.
In regards to the scrolls, Krosh peers at them from behind his mask. "It is a foul thing, to force the dead to rise. To shackle a spirit. I am to serve the Riders now, and if the Riders would have me do so, I would, to serve the greater purpose...if I could. These scrolls are not my magic." A very subtle turn of the head sounds one small jingling of a trinket as he turns to Geedra. "These are your craft."
Geedra points at the west door and shrugs.
Bidding the children farewell for now. Mithas checks the western door. If nothing is untoward, he opens it.
The western door does not appear to be trapped, nor is it locked. As Mithas puts his ear to the door, however, he hears the presence of a few beings beyond. The slow, methodical grinding on stone on steel punctuates a guttural, deep voice that grumbles in a voice that he cannot understand. Dealing with enough trolls within Whitethrone, however, it is easy to suspect that is what the voice belongs to. In response to the grumbling voice, a second one speaks - slightly higher pitched, more raspy than guttural. This voice seems more authoritative. After that voice speaks, the grumbling one grumbles once again and you hear the shifting of heavy footfalls around the room.
After being alerted to enemies, in preparation, Krosh goes around casts guidance on everyone, touching a trinket to each of you as he mutters under his breath.
Geedra shakes her head. Two trolls would be a definite problem...
After hearing the grunts and guttural voices behind the door, Mithas motions for Skäne to take the lead in entering the room. The stalwart Ulfen nods and moves to the portal as everyone readies for the trial ahead. With a mighty thud of his shoulder, the viking pushes the doors open with urgency. The voices stop in response to the sudden intrusion. Beyond the doors is a large barracks; a spacious chamber that is fully function over form, housing only five giant-sized beds and two large wooden chests. The room looks like it has been haphazardly cleaned - not filthy exactly, but the grime and dust on the floor has more been pushed around and to the edges of the walls, and the beds shoddily made. A five foot square pillar juts from the south eastern corner of the wall, looking to be for support but housing a small door at its base.
As the voices stop, you see the cold eyes of two trolls slowly turn to regard you. One is male by the look of him, with one broken tusk and a half-swollen eye. The other is female, larger than the other trolls you have seen, with a huge ring in her nose and a tangle of straw-colored hair matted down to her shoulders. You sense a strange air of superiority around her. There is a moment of confusion, as if they were expecting someone or something else, before they suddenly yell out in surprise, scrambling to gain their bearings, looking to their nearby weapons. A third troll can be seen groggily stirring in a bed on the far side of the room.
Surprise Round
”Maybe they’ll write stories about us as trollslayers at this rate!” Katie says, as she begins to recite skaldic verse about old Ulfen giantslayers. Her words carry an arcane energy with them, and you can feel her intonations hum through your minds and bodies, bringing with them magical might.
Krosh looks into the room, and brings his hands in front of him, swirling them about in a slow, methodical pace. As he mutters words under his breath, the eyes of his white weasel begin to glow red. ”Spirit of flame beneath the cold earth, rise and smite these who trespass…” He swipes his hands against one another, and a speeding red orb of flame jets into the room before detonating in a huge explosion of roaring fire.
The screams and howls of the trolls fill the air as the fire licks their flesh. You all feel the wave of heat from the room through the doorway as the sphere fills almost the entire chamber, bringing the acrid smell of smoky embers. After a moment, the flames disappear, but the trolls still howl in pain. You see that the standing male troll avoided some of the blast, but his flesh is still marred in blackened char and curling smoke. The other two weren’t so lucky, and their bodies show many more burns.
Skäne presses the opportunity granted by Krosh’s spell, charging in at the largest target with his spear. Even in her agony, however, the troll manages to push Skäne’s spear away before it punctures her with a heavy swipe of her charred arm.
Map
Init:
Mithas: 17
Female Troll: 15
Katie: 15
Ice Trolls: 12
Krosh: 12
Skäne: 8
Geedra: 7
Geedra points her finger at the large lady troll and uses her ability to twist the tendrils of luck, trying to alter the troll’s for the worse.
Mithas shoots his bow at the troll on the opposite side of the room (if non-prone).
He then steps into the room before taking another shot at the non-prone male troll.
Surprise Round
Mithas lets an arrow loose across the room to the farthest troll, and it punches into the groggy giant's clavicle. He grunts and groans at the sudden pain, already reeling from the fireball. He wavers where he sits, looking to be on the edge already. Geedra uses her hex of misfortune on the she-troll, who appears to be cowed under the witchcraft. .
Round 1
Unrelenting, Mithas continues his archery, this time shooting the second male troll who is closer to the party. This too strikes true, punching into the giant's abdomen. He looks down at the shaft protruding from his torso and grimaces.
Finally getting herself together, the female troll grabs her battleaxe and begins an assault on Skäne, lashing out with the weapon, claw, and fang. Between the hex preying upon her luck and Skäne's bulwark of defenses, however, all of her blows ring out against the face of his shield or fail to penetrate his armor. The troll roars, quite enraged by the ineffectiveness of her flurry.
Katie draws her sword, continuing her tale of troll-smiting glory, and rushes into the room, moving to go toe to toe with the nearest male troll. As she brings her blade into a swing, she channels some of her arcane might into it, energizing the sword with a surge of bright motes of energy. The sword cuts a deep gash into the troll's side and he staggers from the force of the blow, groaning out in a mix of roar and hiss.
The male troll strikes back, trying to rend Katie apart with his claws. She dodges out of the way of one swipe, but puts herself into the path of the next, yelping as the wicked claw digs into her arm. She is able to deflect the troll's attempt to bite her with her buckler, however.
The troll with the arrow in his throat shakily gains his footing, but looks disinclined to join the frey up close, especially as he looks at his damaged body - still smoldering from the flame, wisps of blackened smoke rising up from the unclosing wounds. He fumbles with a spear near the bed and turns, hurling it at Mithas. With surprising accuracy and speed, the spear tears past the elf, opening a gash in his side and embedding itself into the opened door behind him.
Krosh enters the room next, already moving his hands again. He holds them out in front of him, palms facing the floor, and touches his thumbs and forefingers together, reddish light starting to weave between his fingers. Coming to a stop between Katie and Skäne, the shaman lets out a gout of flame that spreads out in a wide arc before him, just missing the two Ulfen to surge over the two nearest trolls. The male troll fighting Katie screams again as his flesh is licked by flame, and keels over. The female fighting Skäne is also burned, unable to turn away from the brunt of the flames.
Seizing the advantage, Skäne goes for the troll again. This time, his blow strikes true, the spear punching into her gut. She cringes and flinches from the blow, coughing up a viscous black blood as she does, though she remains on her feet.
Init:
Mithas: 17
Female Troll: 15
Katie: 15
Ice Trolls: 12
Krosh: 12
Skäne: 8
Geedra: 7
Geedra cackles to keep his hex hamstringing the large female in effect. She points at the spear throwing troll. ”Hex on boy troll too, dummy,” Geedra sneers, hoping to put him under the same jinx as the female.
Mithas lets out a cry of pain as the spear cuts into him. Clutching at the wound he repositions himself and fires another shot at the wounded male troll.
Geedra cackles in glee from just outside the room, reveling in her abilities to sow misfortune and discord in the fight. While bolstering the affects of her hex on the female troll, she subjects the remaining male troll to the same affliction. A look of fear settles into his features.
Round 2
Wounded and hexed, the remaining male troll has no defense against Mithas's next shot. The arrow looses perfectly, hitting the brute directly in the center of his head. He stumbles back over the cot and sprawls across the floor.
The she-troll lets out a raspy scream of fury as he lashes out at Skäne again. Though her claw and grotesque fangs fail to find purchase on the Ulfen warrior, her axe does slip past his defenses to deliver a wound to his side.
Katie rushes over to help her comrade, punctuating her lyrical saga with a robust stab, shoving her blade up through the troll's torso at an angle. The troll shrieks as black blood pours out of the wound and slumps to the ground with a wet thud.
"Always was a good verse," Katie quips.
At Krosh's behest, you set to executing the trolls properly to prevent them for regenerating, and take stock of the room. Other than the large-sized battleaxes and scrappy hide armor, there isn't much to be found other than 22 gold pieces, as well as 2 keys held by the she-troll. A search of the footlockers turns up only foul-smelling personal effects of the trolls, though interestingly, at the bottom of one of them, you find a fine, leather-bound sketchbook. Within are pages of provocative illustrations of several members of the ruling Jadwiga caste, including Queen Elvanna herself, in various states of undress. The art is extremely well done, likely beyond the capabilities of a troll. and is certainly a strange find.
Geedra picks up the naughty sketchbook. She grins broadly and lets out a low wolf whistle. ”Queen is pretty,” she adds.
Mithas lets out a low whistle at the racy drawings. "Might just hold onto these," he says, stuffing them into his pack. He also grabs the keys, adding them to the collection.
Once everyone has taken a breather, Mithas checks the door to the south. If nothing seems amiss, he opens it.
Mithas leads the way into the next room south of this barracks, the door being both untrapped and unlocked. The adjoining room is roughly 20 by 30 feet and is dominated mostly by a huge wooden table made of heavy wooden slats that are several inches thick. Around the table sit three large wooden chairs that look sized for trolls. Piled of discarded bones and partially cooked meat heaped upon oversized platters cover most of the table. The stench of blood, fat, and rot permeate the chamber.
"These bones..."Krosh says upon surveying the room. "Human. Young." His heavy monotone adds more weight to the words, and you can see his head incline ever so slightly into the direction of the prison where the children are being held.
The scene even freaked out Geedra to an extent. She didn’t love all the human children she met, but they had started growing on her, as long as she didn’t have to be in close proximity to them. ”Go check jail. Am need to save kids before group leave.”
Still wearing a hard expression at the ill fate that befell many of the children Skäne retrieves the keys found on the she-troll's corpse and follows Geedra to the small door;
"Here Puka, try one of these lykillr .."
He stoops, then offers both to the goblin, hoping one will release those still in the troll larder, before tapping the door;
"Barnr... The trolls are dead... you will be free soon. Have no fear little ones. The others are safe, now it is your turn. We have goblin and elf in our number... but do not worry, they are tame and will do you no harm...
:
After seeing the possible end result of the incarcerated children, you decide to drop back in on them briefly to make sure they are still safe before ascending the staircase to reach higher in the bell tower. You cross the main hall, through the armory and back into the holding area, the door to which is closed. You push them open, finding there to be slightly resistance, before gaining access once more. The table in the left part of the room had been moved in front of the door as a makeshift barricade, but it wasn't too difficult to push past. At the sound and sight of your entry, the children go on alert, the ones you had given weapons to springing to action momentarily before recognizing you.
"You're back!" one says. "Did you kill the dragon already?"
Before you have a chance to respond, you all hear the sound of heavy wood shifting behind you - the sounds of a door being opened someone else on the floor. A loud thump follows, likely the door hitting the wall, and you do not need to strain to hear the voices that accompany it; the garbled tongue you recognize as giant. The children exchange worried glances and look to you all for direction.
The voices and footsteps continue, becoming slightly more faint, before you hear a moment of silence and then cries of surprise and urgency.
From what you gather, it sounds like a pair of giants has just returned to the bell tower and have discovered the aftermath of your battle in the barracks...
Skäne grimly shakes his head at the child's question;
"Nei bairn, the wyrm still lives... the troll do not..."
At the sound of new foes, the warrior beckons the children to return to their makeshift fortifications, then hefts spear and shield as he moves toward the bellows;
"Tonight we drink from Jotun skulls my friends!"
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Geedra moves with the big human. If they were going to die, might as well do it out of sight of the children.