Garran scowls. He had lied to the sergeant at the end, in hopes of preventing needless bloodshed, but not to Nadya.
"Are we sure it's the same Thora though? The circumstantial evidence points to it, but are we one hundred percent sure? Telling her that her daughter is dead will cause her great grief. If it turns out that her daughter is alive we would have caused great pain for no reason."
Garran scowls even more as he tries to decide if it really is best to tell Nadya about the doll.
"Even if it is the same Thora, we don't know for sure that she's dead", Sigrun says with her brow furrowed, "though perhaps it's likely. We should tell Nadya what we know, she probably knows more of what the witches are capable of."
"Let's just tell her what we saw," Linge sighs.
She hopes Nadya won't hold their former silence against them, but she isn't feeling particularly optimistic about it.
"What exactly did you see?" Eladorn asks, wondering what all this is about. "What did the witches do to her daughter?!?"
the group makes their way out of town and awaits Nadya on the road.
shortly, Nadya comes up on one of the same dogsleds her group was using when you met her. she has some rations and other supplies piled up on the sled, and has her weapons
"there you are. thank you for waiting for me. I don't know that it will make any difference at this point, but I didn't want all of us to leave town at the same time. Let's get moving. word of what you did will surely spread quickly. the witches are always watching. we will have to assume any soldiers we see at this point will be looking for you.
she offers to let anyone put their gear on the sled. it is not big enough to hold all of the people, but can take a load off your shoulders.
"the tower is several hoours away, even by sled. we should make it before dark
"Wait, Nadya, before we go..." Linge clears her throat. It suddenly feels very dry. "We think you should know something. Remember how we said that we came from another country? Southern Taldor? While we were there, we saw a hut, and when we approached it, we were greeted by a kind of- something like an illusion, of a little girl who told us her name was Thora, and that she came from Waldsby That she had been taken away in a tower."
She inhales, knowing she'd have to choose her next words very carefully.
"We tried to talk to her, but- then, she vanished. All we could find within the hut was a, a doll. Everything was enchanted by something powerful, and ancient, and, uh, evil, like the things that were stalking us. We didn't want to tell you, at first, because we didn't really know what any of this means. Maybe Thora is in the tower, and we only saw illusions. But if you are to accompany us, we thought you might want to know the whole story."
Eladorn listens carefully, his eyes darting from Linge and the others to Nadya, hoping that the worst this revelation suggests isn't true.
You saw her? what did she look like?? a doll... you saw a Guardian Hut?
you can see her working your words over in her mind for several moments. then she just stiffens and sits down hard on the edge of her sled.
"my poor Thora. what did that witch do to you?! all this for a badly-timed insult... and to let me go months working to pay a debt that would never be resolved.
"Those dolls are evil. We go our whole lives ignoring them, telling ourselves that it is ok because the Guardians keep our borders safe. no one questions where the Jadwiga get the souls to fuel their creations. we tell ourselves that whoever is sacrificed for our security was probably someone who deserved it. but my Thora? a child?! to do this to her...
her eyes turn cold
"Nazheena will pay for this. even a cold woman like her must hold something dear. I will destroy her for this
”We were hoping that the girl might still be alive.” Garran says. ”It seems it was a vain hope. I will help you destroy this Nazheena, and justice will be served.”
Nadya shakes her head, tears falling from her eyes.
"no. if she was used to create one of those dolls, she is long dead. please, did you take the gemstone from the doll? usually set into it's body either as jewelry or as an eye. it is a soul gem. it would be what was used to capture my poor Thora's spirit from her body
Garran sighs. ”We left it behind in the ashes of the hut where we found it. None of us knew what we should do with it.”
"We destroyed the hut," Linge says, mournfully. "And everything that was in it. I'm sorry. Had we known what the gem was... But if your daughter was in that doll-"
For a moment, she is unable to finish her sentence. Memories of her mother's stories- what she had always taken to be fairy-tales- relentlessly play in her mind.
The moving dolls. A little girl running away.
Had her mother actually seen the dolls, as a little girl?
And with Thora's soul imprisoned in the doll- with the doll actually having once been a human child-
"I hope she's at peace now," she manages to choke out, in spite of the lump in her throat.
Nadya shakes her head. "she will not be able to know peace while that gem is intact. can you describe where you found the hut? I will seek it out and finish the job.
But first, I will do as I promised and lead you to the Pale Tower. we must make that witch pay for her actions.
she collects herself, sadness fully giving way to anger. she drives the group forward at a fast pace, and soon you can see the tower ahead.
it is a tall tower made entirely of ice. it looks like a tall inverted icicle, splitting into two slender towers that stretch high into the air. the base is surrounded by a wall of ice, 20 feet tall and perfectly smooth.
"We've burned it down, and I hope the gem was reduced to ashes," Linge tries to talk Nadya down. "And you have a little boy to look after. You can't disappear for a week. We can go back and destroy it once we've taken care of the witches."
____
When the group finds itself facing the tower, Linge is rendered speechless.
"Do you know how to get in?" she asks their guide.
Paldo felt his mouth slightly agape at the sight of the towers and the wall surrounding it. "Now that's impressive..." He muttered aloud.
Paldo agreed, "Yes a way I would be most helpful. As well as any idea which tower we should ascend? Assuming we have a choice that is..."
"I have not been allowed to see most of the tower. there is a gate, but it is not visible unless it is opened. the guards on the top of the tower can open it. inside is a large foyer where i met with the guards and the witches when I had business in the tower. they use magical ice portals to move between sections of the tower.
getting in, we have to either scale the walls or bluff our way in I believe. unless you all have other ideas
”It looks like a difficult climb.” Garran comments. ”I wonder if anyone would come out if we stood out here and shouted insults at them.”
"We could make them believe that we come with news of the Black Rider," Linge suggests.
Eladorn perks up at that. "That... might actually work. The Black Rider bit, I mean. Shouting insults likely just earns us a bunch of free arrows, as many as you can catch."
Garran smiles grimly. ”You’re probably right about that.” He tells Eladorn. ”But how about; we tell them that Nadya has come with a payment for the witch. That’s something they may be expecting.”
"it is not time for my next shipment. I just made a delivery. you met me on my way back to Waldsby from making my deliveries. I am not expected for 2 more weeks. Nadya seems curious about the Black Rider angle though
"do you have info on this rider they are looking for? they have been searching very aggressively for him. if you have enough info to at least sound interesting you might get an audience. they will try to take your weapons though
”So it will be a fight just as soon as we step in the door.” Garran muses. ”And yes, we know something of the Black Rider.”
"Not exactly the stealthy entrance we were hoping for," Linge sighs.
She sits down on the sled, taking out two blank scrolls out of her backpack, and starts scribbling healing spells.
"At least they won't easily take you away," she adds to Horn, patting his head. Suddenly, it gives her an idea. "What if we used him to lure soldiers out? If he showed up at the door with your coat, Eladorn," she gives him a look that quite indicates she's talking about the Black Rider's coat. "And he ran away with it, maybe the guards would follow. And we can ambush them."
Paldo chuckled at the idea Linge proposed picturing the tower minions chasing the bear in to the woods. "Ha! I like that idea!"
Linge briefly touches Horn's back, infusing his body with magic, before giving him the Black Rider's coat. She then instructs him to get within sight of the tower's doors, without getting too close. As soon as someone gets out, he is to dart away and lead them to the group.
Horn runs towards the ice wall, and you see that the guards notice him coming, as there is a large open area in front of their wall. he calls out to the bear before realizing it is just a bear. they do notice that the bear is holding something, and the guard waves to someone else.
suddenly a hole in the wall opens, in the shape of a perfect arch. three more soldiers with dogs come running out of the gate towards Horn.
The bear makes a muffled growling sound, cloak in his teeth then darts away. the dogs begin barking and make chase, heading towards the hidden party.
the guards and dogs are about 75 feet away right now and heading towards you. you will get a surprise round on them. what do you do?
Garran calles on Iomedae for support.
Linge draws her sling, and channels some of her magic to give herself some strength for the fight to come.
Eladorn casts magic fang on Shael, and aspect of the falcon on himself.
Several of the party prepare themselves with spells before the soldiers come into range. when they are about 30 feet away they spot the party, and draw weapons.
Bold may act!
Paldo, Linge/Horn, dogs, soldiers, Sigrun, Eladorn, Garran
Realizing that she doesn't have that good of a shot against the enemies, Linge squeezes past Sigrun and fires a stone at the nearest dog.
Horn gets closer to the group, and stops dead in his tracks, surveying his opponents as if he's trying to see where they'll go next.
Paldo uses his sling and attacks the same dog that Linge shot.
both stones hit the dog, but do little real damage.
the soldiers advance with crossbows at the ready. each guard shoots once at a target that has revealed itself before the dogs make it to the party
none of the bolts hit, thanks to the cover that Linge is in.
the dogs finish their pursuit, one attacking Horn, the other going after Linge.
the whole party may act
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Garran HP: 23/23 - AC: 18/11/17 Status:
Eladorn HP: 21/21 - AC 17/13/14 Status:
Linge: HP: 17/20- AC: 15/13/12 Status:
Horn: HP: 23/23 - AC: 21/19/13 Status:
Paldo HP: 17/17 - AC: 14/14/11 Status:
Sigrun HP: 24/24 - AC: 17/11/16 Status:NPCS:
Red guard HP: ?? | AC: ??
yellow guard HP: ?? | AC: ??
Purple guard HP: ?? | AC: ??Red dog HP: ?? | AC: ??
green dog HP: -4 | AC: <17
Eladorn lets a pair of arrows fly from his bow at the closest guard, and sends Shael out to attack the nearest dog.
Shael darts out of cover, immediately lowering his massive rack of horns to drive into the dog's belly.
Linge drops her sling, and draws her spear, trying to stab the dog in front of her.
Seeing Linge in danger, Horn runs to her help- though she screams at him not to unclench his jaw. He lacerates the dog's flank with his claws, drawing some blood.
Garran steps up, and cuts at the nearest dog, with his cold iron blade.
;
Eladorn hits a guard with one arrow, the other going wide. he directs Shael to attack, and along with Garran the elk takes down the red dog.
Linge and Horn work together to drop the second dog.
Sigrun, Paldo, soldiers, Eladorn, Linge, Garran
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Garran HP: 23/23 - AC: 18/11/17 Status:
Eladorn HP: 21/21 - AC 17/13/14 Status:
Linge: HP: 17/20- AC: 15/13/12 Status:
Horn: HP: 23/23 - AC: 21/19/13 Status:
Paldo HP: 17/17 - AC: 14/14/11 Status:
Sigrun HP: 24/24 - AC: 17/11/16 Status:NPCS:
Red guard HP: -11 | AC: <20
yellow guard HP: ?? | AC: ??
Purple guard HP: ?? | AC: ??Red dog HP: -15 | AC: ?? | dead
green dog HP: -12 | AC: <17 | dead
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Seeing the dogs go down, Sigrun moves up towards the guards, swinging her shield clumsily as she goes to disrupt their crossbow fire.
Sigrun moves up and swipes at a soldier but fails to do any damage.
Paldo loads another rock and slings it at a soldier
the two unengaged soldiers reload and fire another round of crossbow bolts, targeting Linge and Horn
the other one drops his crossbow in favor of a sword and hacks at Sigrun
nothing the guards do seems effective against this group, and they look at each other hesitantly.
the whole party may act
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Garran HP: 23/23 - AC: 18/11/17 Status:
Eladorn HP: 21/21 - AC 17/13/14 Status:
Linge: HP: 17/20- AC: 15/13/12 Status:
Horn: HP: 23/23 - AC: 21/19/13 Status:
Paldo HP: 17/17 - AC: 14/14/11 Status:
Sigrun HP: 24/24 - AC: 17/11/16 Status:NPCS:
Red guard HP: -11 | AC: <20
yellow guard HP: -2 | AC: ??
Purple guard HP: ?? | AC: ??Red dog HP: -15 | AC: ?? | dead
green dog HP: -12 | AC: <17 | dead
Linge takes the cloak from Horn's mouth, so he can move around more freely, and whispers an order into his ear. The bear cub walks slowly out of the woods with a low growl, taking his time and clearly playing on his imposing size to intimidate the soldiers.
At the same time, Linge calls out in Skald:
"Surrender now, or I order him to attack you!"
Sadly, the rushing wind quickly drowns out her voice, rendered soft-spoken and squeaky by stress.
Paldo moves along the side of the hill positioning himself and lining up the soldiers in his sights.
Extending his hands in front of him a long jet of fire erupted from Paldo's hands burning all three soldiers.
Using a point from Arcane Reservoir (+1 DC)
Eladorn steps out of the trees and continues firing arrows at the guards, redirecting Shael to attack the guards as his bowstring twangs.
Shael, though, can't quite catch Eladorn's intend through the blowing wind and snow, and moves in front of Eladorn, taking up a defensive stance.
Garran strides over to the nearest soldier. ”Surrender, she said!”
;
He gives the soldier a cut, so the fellow will know why it’s time to surrender.
Sigrun catches the guard's blow on her shield, but the momentum throws off her counterstrike.
Paldo shoots a line of fire across the group of soldiers
the flames ignite two of the soldiers, killing them instantly. the other one is badly injured. Eladorn's arrow takes him in the chest and finishes the job
end of combat
each soldier has a potion of endure elements, and mundane gear including cold weather gear, longswords, crossbows, botls, and light steel shields.
Linge comes out from the trees among which she was hiding, looking rather distraught, if not downright displeased.
"They could have surrendered," she says plainly, before handing the Black Rider's cape over to the ranger. "Here's your cloak, Eladorn. We better get in the tower while the door's open."
Eladorn motions to the guards' tunics. "Perhaps a moment to disguise ourselves would give us a small advantage, though," he suggests, snugging the cloak around his shoulders.
Garran casts detect magic and checks the soldiers over. He’s looking for a key of some kind. One that would open the tower.