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Hiryla nods, "A good story, although told poorly, still teaches us lessons. Come, listen to our story."
One of the elders, her face painted white like those of Hiryla and the other warriors, stands from the bench. With no other cue the room falls silent as she speaks. Her words have a strength and resonance belied by her withered frame.
“This is the story that the elders told me when I was a child. Once, a great warrior came to our lands from the South, though his blood and his beard were of the West, in the land where the first dragons hunt and kill. With gold and magic this warrior built a stone keep at the base of a mighty mountain. During this time he came to us, in peace, and invited us to his hearth with gifts of furs. Humbly he asked the elders of our clan if he could hunt with them and share in our ways. Quickly he proved himself a friend to all, sharing in our customs and sharing his with us."
“By the time the last stone was laid in his keep, he had hunted with the elders many times, and made many kills. His axe, sheathed in fire, had protected us from the white wolves and the yetis, just as we too had used our food and furs to keep him warm against the deepest colds. When his banner was raised, the elders were guests in his hall, and some of his own house had already merged their blood with our own. For years the king and our elders prospered, and we learned of crafts, weapons, and ways different from those that came before."
“Then the white wyrms came. For beneath the keep, in the iced caverns below, the dragons had bred. For years their eggs slept and waited. When they hatched, they plagued the king and his new house, but he fought them back with the strength of his arm and the fire of his axe, and the battle was nearly won. But when a matriarch of the white returned to tend her brood, she was furious at the king and threw herself on the keep in madness. In the season of the longest nights, still the sun set and rose again before the battle was decided. The King struck the wyrm down, even though his armor and his beard were white with the ice of her breath. Our elders made trophies and talismans from what remained of the beast, and helped rebuild the crumbled tower."
“The mammoths crossed the plains ten times, three times over before the great king passed, and still the dragons were kept at bay. When the hour of his dying came, the great and generous Huscarl King gave all within his castle to those that had served and befriended his house, save for his mighty axe. With this, the elders buried him, and as we raise a mound of stones over the dead when the earth is too cold to dig, so did the elders bring the mountain down atop our king. Ever since have we held vigil over his tomb and what lies within. We remember his lessons, his ways that bled into the ways of the elders to become our ways. And we remember his beard, first white with frost, then with age, as it symbolizes what he protected us from and what he stood watch against.”
Hiryla nods once again, "You may go, we will no longer harass your journey, but we will not aid you in your cause either. I wish you good luck in defeating our common foes."
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”Thank you for sharing your story and your past with us! The bond that you formed with this foreign man ages ago shows that you are able to overcome cultural hurdles and thus I am even more happy to have shared my past with you! My companion is correct though that we need to find out what the other foreigners that invaded this land with malice are doing here!? Can you estimate where in their path will lead them?“ Jang asks with a bow.
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@Chrolo, "We know little more than you about your foes. Our best trackers believe that they are a group of 5, heavily armed and armored."
@Snorri,
@Jangafzaar, "Yes, my scouts know where they are headed. Lend me your map and we will mark their path for you. Again, good luck, I hope you survive these lands."
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You follow the path marked on your map. It leads you to the ruins of Ranulf's Keep.
The bones of two ancient stone watchtowers rise from the ground like sentries set to guard the entrance to Ranulf’s Keep. Snow and ice still cover their base, making them inaccessible, but they mark the edge of the Huscarl’s Keep, just visible in the distance.
A dark-skinned figure swathed in the orange and blue of a desert sky at sunset, strides defiantly forward. Her outline shivers with the heat emanating from the flaming greataxe in her hands. As snow swirls on the wind around her, flakes hiss and shriek as they fall on the blade’s open flame. “Come Pathfinders,” she invites in honeyed tone, as her companions draw their weapons. “Let Jedrek’s Shard warm you against the cold."
Standing with her are four armed and armored humans, likely Shadow Lodge agents.
Initiative Order, Bold May Go
Map Slide
Ethelinda
Chrolo
Enemies
Koruda
Rewyn
Jangafzaar
Snorri
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Chrolo manages to hit with his arrow, but it only leaves a small cut in the enemy.
The woman carrying the flaming greataxe chants a divine spell before moving forward.
The rest of the Shadow Lodge agents rush forward into melee combat with the party.
Initiative Order, Bold May Go
Map Slide
Ethelinda
Chrolo
Enemies, yellow -1hp
Koruda
Rewyn
Jangafzaar
Snorri
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Chrolo easily hits the same Shadow Lodge agent again, dealing a little more damage.
Rewyn throws a huge chunk of earth straight into the face of a shadow lodge agent.
Koruda just barely hits the blue agent with a vial of fire. It might actually feel kind of nice in the cold.
The wielding of the greataxe presents a holy symbol and many of you feel a lot worse because of it.
DC 13 Will save for half
Blue drops to the ground and rolls around to put out the fire, but is still burning.
Initiative Order, Bold May Go
Map Slide
Ethelinda
Chrolo
Enemies, yellow -7hp, Yellow is dazed, blue -8hp +fire
Koruda
Rewyn, -4hp
Jangafzaar
Snorri
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Jang steps back and starts casting a summoning spell.
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Rewyn will take a step back and provoke an AoO before she fires another blast at gray.
20/x2
bludgeoning damage
+2 bonus vs. [language-dependant], glyph, symbol or writing-related spells, +1 trait bonus against enchantment spells and spell-like abilities, +2 bonus vs. fear and despair
Rewyn looks pretty hurt.
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Koruda easily kills the agent rolling around on the ground as he burns.
Snorri's weapon doesn't find a weak spot in the agents scale mail armor.
Chrolo's sword cane pierces the scale mail of the grey agent causing the snow to turn red around the man.
Rewyn's chuck of rock misses just about everything as it flies straight up into the air.
Yellow charges into Chrolo, seeking reven for the brutal hail of arrows.
Grey helps out by swinging at Chrolo as well.
Orange tries to deal with the monster that is Koruda, but is clearly nervous around the half-orc with claws dripping with blood.
The leader brings her flaming greataxe to the fight by swinging at the Cleric charging up a spell (Jangafzaar).
Jangafzaar feels the bite of fire and steel near his neck, but his armor manages to deflect the blow just enough to keep it from being fatal.
Initiative Order, Bold May Go
Map Slide
Ethelinda, -2hp
Chrolo, will save needed for 4/2 damage (DC 13)
Enemies, yellow -14hp, blue is dead, Grey -6hp, Orange -1hp
Koruda, -11hp
Rewyn, -8hp
Jangafzaar, -10hp, Concentration check needed DC 19
Snorri, -4hp
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Jangafzaar is truly disappointed in these Shadowlodge agents.
He tries to remain concentrated to finish his summoning spell and he is truly successful.
"It does not have to be like this! Please let us talk!" he shouts.
* * *
He summons a celestial eagle that appears out of thin air and after a short command of Jang immediately starts to attack the woman.
* * *
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Chrolo manages to kill yellow with a brutal stab into the heart.
Unfortunately it looks like everyone else has a string of bad luck and misses their opponents.
The leader seems unfazed by the daze as she steps over to Jangafzaar and swings her axe again. "Death to the Pathfinder Society!" she yells as she channels energy into her weapon.
Her remaining two goons swing at Jangafzaar and Chrolo respectively.
Everyone on both sides of the fight miss!
Initiative Order, Bold May Go
Map Slide
Ethelinda, -2hp
Chrolo, -4hp
Enemies, Grey -6hp, Orange -1hp
Koruda, -11hp
Rewyn, -8hp
Jangafzaar, -10hp
Snorri, -4hp, Fortuned
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”Yes, showing your hate is the first step to come together again sister. Attack me. Let my blood sooth your pain ... or embrace our bond ... stop attacking... “
Again, Jang takes a small step back and tries to trip the woman with his Glaive again.
* * *
The celestial eagle immediately follows to attack the woman.
* * *
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Jangafzaar hook's the leader's leg with his glaive and she comes tumbling down!
Being on the ground seems to be a death sentence to the woman as she gets pecked to pieces by the eagle, then by Koruda's claws and teeth.
Snorri hits one of the remaining Shadow lodge agents easily with his sword.
With the last two agents bleeding badly, none of you down, and their leader unconscious, they drop their weapons and put their hands on their heads before kneeling in the ground. "We...Surrender." one of them says.
Combat Over! Victory!
***Conclusion and Time to Make a Choice***
Defeating Melkorka Skur (the women with the axe) causes the Shadow Lodge’s power in the north to now lie in shambles, its influence eradicated. You must choose whether to return Jedrek’s Shard to the Snowmask Clan or bring it back with them to the society.
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Jang will immediately stabilise any of the fallen.
He says a prayer to Shelyn over the body of those that cannot be revived. ”I apologise to you and to all those who you loved and that loved you... I failed you ... I ... I am sorry ... “
He accepts the surrender of the remaining shadow lodge agents, takes care that they cannot do further harm and hopes that one day he can welcome them into arms of the Society again.
”All this fighting for a weapon... a weapon of power but also a symbol of friendship and a sign that investing into relationships forms bonds that cannot be broken. The Snowmask clan deserves to receive the shard. I am part of the Society and want to claim items of power but I am also a business man and stealing is the worst of financial crimes!“
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Snorri looks at the dead and shrugs his shoulders. "They chose treason. They paid the price. I shed no tears for those who break their vows."
He then looks at the agents who surrendered. "You will face justice via the proper means. Your actions will dictate your punishment by the Society.
He looks around at the short trees dotting the landscape. [b]"Too bad none of these trees are suitable for hanging traitors. I guess we'll just have to haul you back to the Venture-Captain for their decisions." He sighs disappointingly.
"The Shard rightfully belongs to the Snowmask Clan. It is right and proper to return it to them. I fear if we took it to Absalom it would wind up in the clutches of the Blakros family and their house of horrors."
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Chorlo keeps his sword out weary of more back stabbing from the Shadow lodge agents. "I agree that we should return it to the Snowmask Clan, we could even ask if they will work with the society on things in the future so as to not miss out on studying the shard more."
Chorlo helps to take the remaining agents gear and helps with leading them back.
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If you aid Hiryla and his warriors in replacing Jedrek’s Shard and reburying the keep’s entrance with a new avalanche of rock, ice, and snow, the PCs and the Grand Lodge earn eternal allies among the Snowmask people. To cement their new alliance, Hiryla grants each of you honorary status as Snowmask Brothers or Snowmask Sisters in a ritual induction ceremony into the tribe.