Before going to sleep, Garran questions Lady Alice a little more. ”I saw that man; frozen into an ice block. Did you see who, or what did it?”
At dawn, Garran begins his devotions to Iomedae. Once that is done, he says:”Gather around, everyone.” He looks at Rohkar. ”Iomedae is not prone to mercy. I will heal you this once. Should we battle again I will show you no such kindness. Only the way to Pharasma’s Court.”
Garran raises his goddess’s symbol and channels a wave of holy light.
Glim rises from his pallet with a groan that is quickly supplanted by a sigh of relief as Garran washes away his wounds.
With a stretch, the limber deep gnome gathers his belongings, fussing over his pouches, formulas, and ingredients for a few moments before turning to the others with a smile.
"Could have sworn by the smothering dark that was the end of me! That skeleton came rushing with its blade, and I thought: Well Glim, I am guessing you shall not be winning another Koi Contest! Yet here I am being. My thanks to you, my friends."
And he bows low.
Turning his attention to Lady Alice, he bows yet again, a quick bob from the waist. "Glim Murnig at your service, my lady. My old heart is quenched with joy at your salvation. We have journeyed through peril and adventure, and have won through! Ah, it's enough to make one smile despite the cold. We must now be taking you back to the human village for safer keeping."
He considers Rohkar. "And this one? A grausch, no? Where I am from, one who betrays the roost is put to death. But the surface is a kinder place. Are we wishing to be marching him back with us for human court justice?"
"We should check the map and the house before we head out. Are you ready to go back to the village, milady?" Linge asks Lady Thurdanhelm.
Paldo is unable to ID the oils, but they do look to be the same thing. the cloak is a Cloak of the Yeti
the spellbook contains:
alarm, chill touch, expeditious retreat, feather fall, identify, locate object, ray of enfeeblement.
in the morning the conversation continues once everyone is feeling a bit better and receive some healing from Garran.
the lady replies to Glim "Yes, I would very much like to get back to the nearest village. I would be grateful for your escort, but if you must press on I will understand and will find my own way back.
I did not see what froze my guard to ice. by the time the bandits pried me out of the coach, he was already frozen. It must have been one of the fey.
Rohkar pleads with you
"please don't bring me in. I will give you anything you want. anything in this lodge is yours for the taking. I will tell you anythign I know about the fey. I even have one of them held captive upstairs! I was forced to work for them, but I fear the leaders of the village won't see that and I will be punished unjustly! I swear on anything that I will not impede you in any way. you will never see me again if you let me walk out the door! I want to be far away from any of this unnatural winter and fey plots, and fighting...
Paldo holds up the cloak, the hood dropping down in front of his face. "Oh my... A brave man must have faced off against this beast to make a cloak out of it'd fur. Well it's thick enough to provide some protection (+1 Natural Armor) and it will keep it's wearer warm. (Endure Elements) This disturbing mask might even scare a foe or two. (+2 Intimidate with Hood drawn.). Does anyone want to wear it?
Glim's voice turns gruff. "A fey held captive upstairs? What's this? What manner of fey, boy? How is it imprisoned? Why did you imprison it?"
"No thanks," Linge casts a dubious glance at the cloak. The hood is so large that she's almost certain it will just hide her face and shroud her vision...
Despite her little tolerance to acts of kidnapping and thieving, she finds herself hesitating when face with Rohkar's apparent desperation.
"Did they force you to hire thugs and practice necromancy as well?" she retorts, steeling her resolve in a hint of sarcasm. "You killed the Lady's guards and tried to murder us as well. I suspect that raising the dead was your design. You showed no mercy. Why should we believe your change of heart?"
Garran studies Rohkar closely. ”We’re going to need to hear your story, before we can decide. Yesterday, you mentioned a plan. One that wasn’t working out. You can start by telling us about that.”
As the interrogation of Rohkar continued, Paldo drowned it out as background noise as he read through the other mages spell book wondering how he might use these new spells to his advantage.
In the morning, Sigrun finally rises again, with a little dizziness and slight aching where some small wounds remain. Disoriented by the sudden change of surroundings - at least from her perspective - she instinctively reaches for a shield or weapon or anything to continue the fight before realizing where she is and what probably had happened...namely, that she'd fallen again and her allies had finished the fight without her. She sullenly and curtly introduces herself to the Lady and spends the rest of her time fixing up her gear and looking over Rohkar's spellbook with Paldo - though she does keep an eye and ear on the captive bandit leader.
No words, but Glim hands Sigrun a mug of freshly brewed black tea, hot and steaming, as he passes her by.
you can tell he is truly desperate and fears what would happen to him in town. he seems willing to do literally anything to save his sorry hide. you don't think he would have the courage to attack you again if you let him go, but you also doubt his word that he was an unwilling participant.
"yes, I am a necromancer. I know how that is seen in most circles, but I did my best to take care of myself and my men. desperate times you know? I'll tell you what I know.
my men and I were in the Border wood when the snows came. the High Sentinels were slain by the fey trying to defend it. once they were dead, we took shelter here in their lodge. the fey found us here and threatened us. we could either work for them or be killed. we of course chose to live.
the leader of the fey, a troll named Teb Knotten commanded us to capture the Lady from her caravan when it passed by the Wood. he didn't tell us why he needed her, only that she had to be kept alive.
I captured one of their Sprites hoping to learn more about what they were doing here. I have not been able to learn anything, he is a horrible little creature. he is in a bird cage in the closet upstairs.
”Are you the one that froze the caravan guard into an ice block?” Garran asks.
Seeing Paldo struggling to identify the oils, Linge inspects the little vials closely in case she might recognize them.
"No idea. Sorry..."
"What language does the sprite speak? Can you communicate with it?"
Glim rubs at his bare chin, then glances at the others and nods upstairs before heading toward the stairs to investigate further.
"As a fey, I would guess that it speaks Sylvan," Linge says, following Glim upstairs.
No, I am not the one who froze that poor man. I am not well versed in ice magic. that was Izoze, a flying blue creature who I believe is a lieutenant under Teb Knotten. she is the one who usually comes to speak with us here, I have only seen the moss troll once.
The sprite speaks common, but yes I imagine he probably knows Sylvan as well. I of course, do not
if you allow him to show you, Rohkar will indicate a closet to the side of the single room upstairs.
the larger room has a big L shaped table and a big map hanging on one wall. (SW corner). the closet has dozens of small boxes and barrels stacked inside. on top of one box sits a small birdcage with a light emanating from it, flickering like a candle.
As Paldo intently studied the spellbook ignoring the interrogation nearby, he felt Sigurn looking over his shoulder and though he heard her mumble under her breath about the lack of effective spells in Rohkar's spellbook.
For the next couple of hours Paldo attempted to learn two of the spells in Rohkar's spellbook before going off to bed.
Spellcraft Checks to learn spells:
Paldo scribes the first spell into his spellbook, however the long day has taken it's toll and he fails to successfully copy the second one. Exhausted he falls asleep on one of the small beds in the northern rooms.
Linge takes a few steps in the room, watching as the fey's light flickers.
"Are you one of Izoze's soldiers?" she asks aloud.
Glim edges in beside her, peering curiously at the flickering point of light.
Garran stands back a little way, but close enough to hear, He keeps an eye on Rohkar, having no trust for the necromancer at all.
a little sprite rises up in the cage when Linge speaks to it.
"Oh you found me! please let me go! these horrible lying humans have captured me and stuck me in a cage like a common bird! please, let me go free and you will be rewarded. i am not a soldier, I am but a messenger! but if you free me, I will be sure to deliver a message to my masters about how very helpful you were!
"Hmm," says Glim, rubbing his chin as he glances at his friends to judge their reactions.
Linge glances back at Glim. She's unsure of what to think, but the fey have proven aggressive and dangerous so far, and she has no intention of releasing this one without questioning it first.
"Who are your masters?"
Paldo thinks about his knowledge of the Fey and what he knows about this strange creature.
Garran listens as he watches the small creature, trying to get a sense of it’s intentions.
my masters are the ones who bring this weather to your unbearably hot southern lands. we are but a small force sent by the witches of the far north to claim this land for the White Throne! help me and perhaps rewards will be yours when this land belongs to the Jadwiga
you know that this is a sprite. a fairly weak and small fey, but not to be underestimated. they are crafty and highly intelligent. they are unable to tell a lie and are bound by a very complicated set of rules. even though they never lie they are experts are telling half-truths and implying things that may not lead to the correct assumption.
underneath his promises for rewards for helping him out, you can tell he is extremely angry at being held captive, and get the feeling he is planning horrible ways to make Rohkar's life miserable if he is able to get free.
Not seeing anything of use to her on a quick glance, Sigrun moves back over to the rest of the group talking with the little caged fey. Hearing its spiel, she asks: "Your masters are the Jadwiga? But we're so far south, and there aren't any reports of such unusually cold weather anywhere in between here and Irrisen. How did you get here?"
Garran’ s lips form a grim smile. ‘Perhaps rewards...’ The fey certainly had left itself plenty of wiggle room. He keeps his opinion on Jadwiga invasions to himself for the moment.
Paldo glared at the little creature trapped behind bars. "Watch this things silver tongue. His kind do actually abide by an odd set of rules in which he cannot tell a lie, however the truth is always in the eye of the beholder. We should be very careful in what we choose to believe from this creature. I would not trust any rewards he promises.
"Why did your masters want to ambush a human Lady?"
"And why come this far south to claim this land? Hmm. Seems too twisty a tunnel to warrant striking out for this particular cavern."
the little sprite lets out a very high pitched giggle
You really have no idea what is going on do you? they said it would be easy, I didn't believe you southerners would be so slow to understand what was going on! yes, the Jadwiga. we are invading this land, using the powerful magic of the jadwiga to transport ourselves many miles and to bring the icy cold of home with us! you weak, warm southerners are no match for the fury of an Irrisen winter.
As for the lady, I am just a messenger I don't know the plans they had for her. probably to use her as a bargaining chip to negotiate the surrender of one of oyur cities.
The thought of Lady Alice being used as a 'bargaining chip' to invade Heldren or the even smaller villages seems like a lot of effort for those little 'cities'. However, she knows better than to underestimate an enemy. The fey might have needed the Lady as long as they were outnumbered and needed additional leverage to make the humans yield. However, if there are more coming out of those portals, kidnappings and petty blackmail could have soon been abandoned in favour of a more brutal conquest.
The portals needed to be closed.
"Where are your masters now?"
"I agree with Linge. We should definitely escort the Lady to safety. If we stay here much longer we risk the other Fey discovering us. We can return to investigate the portals once she is safe."
”Hmm. You’re just a messenger eh? Presumably bringing messages to Rohkar here. Why do you suppose he decided to stick you in a cage?” Garran asks the fey.
I think he intended to leanr more about the fey that sent me. I think they didn't really tell him much and it made him mad. he spends a lot of time asking me questions about the plans of my masters, but I have no answers to give him that he doesn't already know.
to Linge he replies
they are on this side of the gateway. but where exactly, how could I know? I have been locked in a cage. let me out and I will be able to find them again
"Do you know where the gateway is?" Linge asks the fey. She takes a look at the map, in case Rohkar would have marked the emplacement of the gateway on it.
”You would find them, how?” Garran wonders.
Of course I know where the gateway is. I don't think i understand your question. I would go back to the portal, and my allies would be there. so i would find them. you're wastign a lot of time asking silly questions. just let me out of here and I'll see to it that my masters know who you are and what you did for me
”Silly questions indeed.” Garran agrees. ”We don’t know where the portal is. So direct question: Where is the portal to Irrisen? The place where you would like to meet your masters.”
Follow the ley line to the center of course. oh right, you probably can't see ley lines can you? I think the evil one who put me in a cage has it marked on a map if that's easier for you. I've ansered your questions, now please, let me go!
Sigrun has mostly been listening quietly to the back-and-forth, but now she speaks up softly, pulling the others back so that the fey can't hear her speak (or she hopes). "I grew up in the north, and everyone there knows the Jadwiga are bad news. I don't think we should set it free. Let's go check out this portal thing first."
Paldo crossed his arms across his chest "No way would I let this thing go... I don't trust it at all. I think we can manage just fine with leaving it caged. Should we escort the lady back to town? We could return the portal after." Paldo turned toward Lady Thurdanhelm "Unless of course you feel safe enough holed up in this cottage until we investigate the portal and return for you?"
”I would suggest we take the fey prisoner, and Rohkar both back to town. Then return to look for the portal.
"I'm all for keeping this malevolent creature caged," Linge nods. "But shouldn't we keep it away from the village? If it finds a way to break free or contact its masters, it could result in the villagers being attacked. Maybe we could leave it here for now, and come back to take it with us later? I don't trust the fey one bit, but we can use it to find the portal, and find a way to deal with it away from the civilians."
Garran shrugs. ”You could be right, Linge. We do need to warn the authorities, though. That much, I’m sure of.”
Paldo pondered the ideas of his friends “If we leave it here, it’s friends could be arriving any minute. Then they set it free and it tells them all about us.I think we should be safe taking it to town if we keep an eye on it.”
"So it's settled then? We bring it with us?"
"Aye, agreed. It'll be a burden on the authorities back home, and I warrant I can guess what they'll decide to do with it, but if anything hearing its testimony and learning first-hand of the threat that faces us will strengthen their resolve to do what's right."
Glim rubs at his bare chin. "Whatever that might actually be. But yes. Back to town, with the necromancer and fae. Justice awaits them."