Eladorn quickly scans the remaining ramparts, making sure they're clear of foes. That's where those bolts have been coming from! he thinks as he sights the last remaining guard. He fires off another pair of arrows in the gate guard's direction.
Shael continues to try to gore the troll, weaving her antlers around its movements, trying to find purchase in its soft belly.
As Garran beckons her to rummage through his backpack, Linge searches it and finds a small vial of Alchemist's Fire. Quickly understanding his plan, she grabs it, and is about ready to throw it when she realizes that she won't be able to splash the troll without hurting anyone standing close to her, including the still prone Sigrun.
Trusting Garran, Eladorn and Horn to protect the fallen magus, she pockets the vial and runs to a position where she can have the troll clearly in sight.
the troll drops her axe taking no damage from the burning haft.
Horn manages to get a blow in, but the rest of the group struggles to hit the troll.
Eladorn takes out the final guard on the wall.
the troll heals again
it swings its fists now with no axe, punching at the bear that just injured it
Horn proves to be plenty sturdy to deal with the attacks.
the party may act
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Garran HP: 18/23 - AC: 18/11/17 Status:
Eladorn HP: 21/21 - AC 17/13/14 Status:
Shael HP: 19/19 - AC 19/14/15 Status:
Linge: HP: 17/20- AC: 15/13/12 Status:
Horn: HP: 23/23 - AC: 21/19/13 Status:
Paldo HP: 6/17 - AC: 14/14/11 Status:
Sigrun HP: -6/24 - AC: 17/11/16 Status:NPCS:
Red guard HP: ?? | AC: ??
yellow guard HP: -17 | AC: ?? | dead
Purple guard HP: -13 | AC: ??
Green guard HP: -16 | AC: ?? | dead
Troll HP: -33| AC: ?? |
Emboldened by his previous success, Horn aims for the troll's fingers, snapping at her and leaving scratches on her leg as he attempts to find grips to hold onto her.
Linge moves dangerously close to the troll, and chucks the alchemist's fire at her with surprising accuracy.
With the ramparts clear, Eladorn can finally focus on the real threat in the courtyard: the ice troll. He lines up his shots and lets another pair of arrows fly over Shael's broad shoulders.
Shael keeps pressing her attack, trying to find the soft center of the troll with her antlers.
;
Garran levels a well aimed, powerful sword chop at the troll .
Paldo maneuvered himself down the stairs and another stream of fire arced from his hands towards the troll.
finally able to all focus together with no other foes in the yard, the party directs a flurry of attacks against the troll, including fire from Linge and Paldo. the troll falls, and lays still. its healing cannot push through the burns and it dies.
The courtyard falls silent as the party finishes with the troll. large double doors lead into the tower, with smaller doors along the two sides where the rampart connects to the main tower.
Eladorn looks around the yard. He breaks the wintery silence with a simple question. "So, front doors? Or do we scale the wall and try the sides?"
”Best we tend to the wounded first” Garran quickly examines Sigrun to make sure he doesn’t hurt her worse when he moves her away from the troll.
Once Sigrun is dragged far enough away Garran stands and says: ”Gather round. I’ll call on Iomedae for healing.”
Paldo moved closer to Garran while holding a deep slash in his side dealt by the Trolls wicked looking Axe. Paldo watched it heal as the power flowed through Garran and into Paldo and breathed a sigh of relief from the pain.
Paldo looked at the steep walls and then to the stairs leading up to the ramparts. "I am not one for climbing, but I can take the stairs." Paldo said with a sly grin. "I suggest we try one of the smaller doors. It should attract less attention... hopefully..." Paldo said trailing off.
Linge lowers her hands with a look not unlike guilt on her face as the troll collapses on the ground.
"I guess I didn't let her much choice to surrender either," she mutters. She takes a look around her finally assessing the carnage that the party caused in front of the tower, and blinks in surprise when she realized that Eladorn has killed all of the soldiers while they were struggling with the troll. " That was some... Impressive marksmanship!"
"I highly doubt Horn could climb those walls. I'd rather take the stairs," she gives Paldo a nod. "Sigrun, are you feeling alright? Can you stand on your feet?" She offers the Magus a hand to help her stand up.
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Sigrun stands, but is still badly injured
I've had worse. thank you Garran.
the walls do have some ramps leading up to the top from the courtyard side. they are not stairs, but the slope is flat enough that you can walk up and down them. or slide down in a pinch!
"Well, if the guards could get up there, I would guess it's safe enough," Linge reasons. "Come on, Horn!"
She begins walking up the slope.
Linge makes her way to the top of the rampart easily. the ramps are heavily textured to make it easier to walk up and down. Horn follows happily.
Having moved up one of the ramps during the heat of battle Paldo knows the steps can be easily climbed and eagerly follow Linge up the ramp.
Garran pauses just long enough to ditch the guard’s shield, and pick up his own shield and backpack. Then he trudges up the ramp, following Linge and Paldo.
Eladorn leads Shael up the ramp with the others.
you see that at either end of the rampart is a closed door. these are normal doors made of wood, though they are locked.
Paldo looks at the locked door. "Perhaps we should check one of the guards for a key?"
”Good thinking Paldo.” Garran agrees. He turns and strides down the ramp, heading toward the troll. ”This one was probably the boss, right?”
you take a moment to examine the bodies. the guards each have the same gear (so X4):
potion of endure elements,
chain shirt
light steel shield
longsword
light crossbow
8 bolts
15 gp
the troll has
a thunderstone
a mwk battleaxe (large)
Garran's keen eye spots some glinting metal in one of the dog kennels around the edges of the courtyard. tucked into a semi-hidden hole is a bag with 400 gp! looks like someone has been stealing money, or stashing payments for quite some time.
"Maybe even the Jadwiga's guards are not as loyal as they appear," Linge comments when Garran comes back with the hidden bag of gold. Her attention, however, quickly returns to the locked door. "I can order Horn to take it down, but... Perhaps it's best to be discreet."
She inspects it to see if she can spot any obvious trap.
"I agree, it would be better if we could be discrete. But without a way to pick this lock we are stuck bashing it in." Paldo held up his hands innocently. "Sadly I don't have any tricks up my sleeve that would help, or the strength to smash this door."
"Picking locks is definitely no skill of mine. Locks are found in cities; I try to avoid those as best as I can."
”Well, we can batter the door down… Or, we might try the main gate. Garran looks around the courtyard. ”We should expect someone to come out to check on the racket, if we start battering a door down, at any rate.”
"Right," Linge sighs. "I'll go and check the main gate. Be right back. Come on, Horn."
The bear follows along, looking none too happy about getting down the slope and back up again.
the main gate is close, but not locked.
Linge takes a look inside
steamy air fills the inner gallery, emanating from a bubbling pool recessed into the floor of a raised dais, surrounded by 6 pillars of ice. 4 foggy mirrors hang from the walls near ice sculptures of helmeted, pike-wielding warriors
Garran joins Linge at the gate. He calls on Iomedae to augment his vision, then scans the interior area that he can see without entering the tower just yet.
Eladorn guides Shael down the ramp, joining the others at the front gate. "Unlocked is definitely easier...."
as the group moves forward to the unlocked door, Garran checks for magic. the pool in the center of the room is giving off a magical aura, as are two sections of the floor where there are icy-looking blue tiles that don't match the pattern of the rest of the floor.
”A magic pool. And magic on those two tiles there.” Garran points out the two tiles. ”I give you ten to one odds that the tiles are trap triggers of some kind.”
"It does seem like it," Linge says. "Either we take care not to step on it or w find a way to trigger them safely. I have to say I'm not fully confident in Horn's footing. He doesn't realize how big he is, sometimes."
She chants the words of a spell, and a dim blue light comes out of her fingertips. When it hits the magical tiles and pool, it gradually changes colour.
Paldo poked out from behind Garran to peer down the icy blue hall. Seeing everyone muttering their spells Paldo also began an incantation, focusing on the tiles on the floor.
the two work together, but can't determine much over the course of a few rounds. all three spots emanate moderate magical auras, but Linge and Paldo are unable to learn much more than that
”Well, either we take our chances here, or it’s back to battering one of the upper doors down.”
Garran starts into the chamber. He keeps focus on his detect magic spell, since it enables him to see the suspicious floor tiles.
"Well, pink's for evocation - no, wait..." Linge watches, dumbfounded, as her magic light goes from a light, pink blow to a flashy yellow, then goes abruptly out in little sparks. She takes Paldo aside. "It has never done that before... I don't know what that means... Can you make sense of it all?..."
Then, after a while, the dumbfounded spellcaster sheepishly addresses Garran and Eladorn: "So.. I couldn't discover anything about the traps. I'd suggest... Simply walk around it? I'll lead Horn step by step and stay very close to him. Hopefully he won't set off anything..."
Paldo looked puzzled at the floor in front of the party. [b]"Sadly I can't make much sense of this magic either. It should easy to avoid those, also they are not situated in a very good location for a trap. Against the walls will not get stepped on a whole lot. I propose that they are more of trigger to open something. Also the mirrors are positioned so two are facing each other and two facing statues. Perhaps everything in this room is more than it seems.
Paldo studies the Statues closest to the door.
Nothing happens as the group moves into the chamber more fully. you hear the sounds of moving water. it seems that water is being moved through pipes into or out of the pool in the center of the room.
the room is surprisingly warm considering that so much of the place (including all the walls) is made of ice. you are all dressed for te cold, but it feels almost too warm in your heavy furs. you would probably feel perfectly comfortable without the cold weather gear in here.
Paldo looks a little closer at the tiles.
each has a glassy pattern of crystalline ice covering the tile, and is illuminated by a soft blue light
Linge carefully goes past the statues at the entrance of the room, her snow-soaked boots making a slight, squeaky sound on the tiles. She commands Horn to stay, and once he is safely sat on his butt near the pool where he can't trigger any traps, she inspects the nearest door a bit closer.
Once she has checked for traps, she casts Detect Magic again to see if an enchantment was placed on the door.
"I don't like these mirrors..." Eladorn mutters as he enters the central room. "And those patches... we can figure those out later. Let's see what we can find in some of these rooms," he adds, joining Linge.
Garran moves closer to the pool. He keeps an eye on the double doors across the room while Linge and Eladorn investigate the side room.
Linge hears nothing and finds no protections on the door. she opens it finding a set of stairs that lead up and out, with a barred door leading to the ramparts.
the next door reveals a very small room. it is a privy with indoor plumbing
Garran advances up the middle, eyeing the larger doors. nothing happens at the moment
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"What do you want to bet these are more stairs?" Eladorn asks facetiously as he checks the door on the opposite end. "And this'll be a storage closet, then, cause who installs two privies? What would that even be... one for men and another for women? Could you even imagine?" He checks both doors.