Glim lies dazed upon the snow.
Glim and Garran remain impaired on the ground.
Linge is able to wake Garren up, but he is still unable to move and cannot see.
Paldo casts a spell, making Sigrun much larger than she was just moments ago. for her part, Sigrun takes a defensive posture.
the sprites continue to harass the group. the green sprite protects itself and moves up and away
the other two fire arrows again, and fly higher in the air
neither is able to hit
The party may act
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Garran HP: 10/10 - AC: 16/11/15 Status: stunned, blind
Glim HP: 7/8 - AC: 19/16/14 Status: unconscious, stunned, blind
Linge: HP: 7/9 - AC: 15/13/12 Status:
Horn: HP: 10/17 - AC: 17/15/13 Status:
Paldo HP: 7/7 - AC: 14/14/11 Status:
Sigrun HP: 6/10 - AC: 17/11/16 Status: staggeredNPCS:
Red: HP: ??? | AC: ??? | dazzled
Blue: HP: ??? | AC: ???
Green: HP: ??? | AC: ??? | dazzled
Glim moans and twists in the snow as if caught in the icy grips of a nightmare.
Feeling better - and bigger - Sigrun draws a third spear and then casts a spell on herself.
Gripping his cold staff sling Paldo takes aim and fires a small bullet at his target. (Red Sprite)
Garran stirs, and finally opens his eyes. Linge helps him sit up, all the while attempting to comfort him through his temporary blindness:
"Garran?... Oh, good, you're awake. Wait, let me help you up -here we go. Now, you may not be seeing anything at the moment, but that's perfectly normal. You've taken a blinding spell to the face, so you need a few minutes to fully recover. Don't hesitate to close your eyes if it eases the pain. We just have to wait until the effect of Dancing Lights wear off, alright?"
Linge gets up. A few feet ahead, a suddenly very tall Sigrun (is this blasted spell having some side effect on the druidess' sight?) is facing two sprites on her own.
"Sigrun! Do you need Garran's cold iron sword?" Linge calls out, before Sigrun gets one of her spears ready.
Well... Maybe it can wait.
On her right, Glim is still lying face down in the snow, whimpering, stirring in his sleep and -goodness gracious, was he convulsing?
"Ah... Mr.Murnig needs some help," Linge explains, squeezing Garran's shoulder. "I'll be back in a minute. I won't be far."
The druidess trudges through the snow as fast as she can to kneel by Glim's side. Fortunately, what she mistook for convulsions just appears to be a bad nightmare.
Without enemies or instructions, Horn looks even more confused than before. Disoriented, he walks back to Linge, pacing back and forth in front of Glim, Garran and the druidess as if he wanted to defend them without knowing how.
Apparently running down out of ideas, he eventually stops near Glim's head, turning back threateningly towards the nearest sprite, and letting out a loud roar that sounds like a warning.
Probably the bear equivalent of: "come nearer, and I'll rip your head off and snap your spine between my jaws like a twig."
Garran feels like his head is inside a bell. That someone is banging furiously with a mallet. His vision is obscured by brilliant flashing lights. As soon as Linge leaves, he crouches down is the snow, resting his forehead in his hand.
the group continues to try to hit the tiny flying critters and Paldo finally scores a hit, though even that successful hit doesn't look like it did as much as it should have.
the three sprites fly around the clearing, firing tiny arrows again
both sigrun and paldo are hit by arrows, and once again Sigrun feels like she is having trouble moving effectively.
Bold may act: Linge, Horn, Paldo, Sigrun, Glim, Garran, sprites
Global Condition: None |
Global Condition:
Garran HP: 10/10 - AC: 16/11/15 Status: stunned, blind (5)
Glim HP: 7/8 - AC: 19/16/14 Status: unconscious, stunned, blind (5)
Linge: HP: 7/9 - AC: 15/13/12 Status:
Horn: HP: 10/17 - AC: 17/15/13 Status:
Paldo HP: 6/7 - AC: 14/14/11 Status:
Sigrun HP: 5/10 - AC: 17/11/16 Status: staggeredNPCS:
Red: HP: -2 | AC: 17 | dazzled
Blue: HP: ??? | AC: ???
Green: HP: ??? | AC: ??? | dazzled
"Mr.Murnig? Glim? Come on, wake up!" Linge says, louder, shaking Glim a bit to wake him up.
Horn still keeps the nearest sprite at bay.
Seeing that one sprite remains unaffected by his flare spell Paldo fires another one off.
As she prepares to throw yet another spear, another pinprick strikes Sigrun, numbing her again and slowing her down - which her magic didn't account for.
Sigrun enhances her abilities with a spell and hurls a spear with increased ability, but somehow the missile still goes wide. hitting a tiny creature with a spear is apparently harder than it looks.
one of the sprites yells out to the others in a foreign language
"
તેમને છોડી દો. નેતાને જાણવાની જરૂર છે કે તેઓ આવી રહ્યા છે. તે તેમની સાથે વ્યવહાર કરશે"
leave them. Izoze needs to know they are coming. she will deal with them
at his words, all three sprites glow as brightly as torches. suddenly there are 4 or 5 motes of light in the place of each sprite, that all spin off in different directions and elave the clearing.
each sprite cast dancing lights and caused their own luminescence to blend in with those lights.
you are able to keep your eye on the original of the closest sprite and are not distracted by the duplicate lights. if you choose to make an attack on one of them as they leave, you will not have to roll the percentage chance listed below
as the sprites leave, you have one round until they are beyond your ability to easily reach them with any ranged attacks. if you choose to attempt an attack, roll against the creature as if it had a mirror image with 4 possible targets (roll a d4, on a 4 you hit the sprite, anything else and you hit a duplicate). or you can just let them go, since attacking hasn't done a whole lot yet.
Bold may act:
Linge, Paldo, Glim, Garran, Sigrun, sprites
Izoze? Who are they talking about?
Ever the keen observer, Linge is not fooled by the fake duplicates. Reflexively, she reaches for her sling, but renounces at the last second. They're too far to hit, and, frankly, she's rather relieved to see them go.
She waits until the woods are silent and calm again before speaking:
"Did you hear them? The sprites have a leader. They named her Izoze. Now, I'm afraid she knows we're coming."
"Well, isn't that ominous. I guess we'd better prepare for more attacks." It's clear the sprites are retreating, so Sigrun heads out to collect her discarded spears. What an ignoble way for this story to start. Hopefully it gets better...
"I've been afraid that this was going to be a recovery mission, rather than a rescue." Garran sighs, sadly. "If we don't look to our own survival, we won't rescue anyone. I think we had best rest, and recover our strength. Any element of surprise fled away with the winged fey, so our best hope lies in raw power, and careful preparation."
It is with a lump in her throat that Linge nods:
"I agree with Garran. Resting would be wiser, if you all agree. Horn and I can take the first watch."
The cub's ears twitch at the mention of his name, and he lifts his intelligent gaze up, watching Linge with curiosity.
Paldo thought to himself clever little pests! as he watched the sprites camouflage themselves with their dancing lights spells.
Paldo plucked the tiny barbed arrow from his shoulder, cursing and shaking his head he yelled ”Well good riddance you little shits!” as the sprites fled through the forest.
”As much of a setback as it will be, I agree we should rest up.”. Paldo began to unpack his bedroll and tent to settle in for some sleep. At least inside the comfort of his tent the snow would stop whipping in his face.
"Yes, I am in agreement, perhaps this blizzard will abate, aiding us in our efforts," says Glim once he picks himself up off the snow.
"Do not grow disheartened, friends. Recall with what efficiency we dispatched the zombies. This was but a minor setback. The road is long, and we cannot grow despondent at the very first sign of difficulty."
That said, he heats a small pot of tea over a candle flame, so that he's able to offer around thimblefuls of silty, rich mushroom tea to anyone who wishes to quaff it down.
"Salutary," he says. "Made from samples of amicus boletus that I collected while en route to the surface world. Good for your joints and with a pleasantly energizing fervor."
the group recovers, after almost a full minute those that were hit by color sprays are back on their feet and their vision is cleared.
the group is able to find a small cave that seems uninhabited to set up a camp and they get a fire going to keep warm.
"Do we have enough food for tonight and tomorrow morning?" Linge asks. "I have two trail rations, and I'll probably have to share with Horn... We can take the first watch, if you want."
Relieved at the sight of a cave to shelter them from the storm, Paldo entered with his companions. After the stress of the day Paldo eagerly reaches into his pack removing some sweetened dried fruit & aged sausage and began to eat it. Knowing full well that he has at least a weeks worth of rations, but not wanting to share Paldo said "I too have only a couple days of rations, hopefully this venture does not take too long." He said with his mouth full of a perfectly aged sausage.
Taking the small thimble of Tea from Glim, Paldo looked closely at it giving it a quick smell. "Salutary is it?" He questioned before drinking it down."Hmm, not bad actually. My first mushroom tea but certainly not my last. Thanks Glim"
"So has anyone heard of this Izoze? Those annoying sprites mentioned the name before they left. There's a good chance we will run into them again, hopefully a little more prepared to do battle with creatures so small. And if anyone has any wood or can gather some, I can use my magic to get a fire going."
Once the cave is warmed and well lit by the logs burning Paldo nestled into his bedroll. As it was in his nature to avoid anything when he could, he hoped no one noticed that he didn't speak up to take a watch...
"A couple of days eh?" Garran arches an eyebrow at Paldo. He goes out to see if he can find some dry wood under all that snow.
The white landscape is presteen, and spotless, and all the wood is green; good for nothing other than making smoke. At least as far as Garran can tell. He heads back into the cave to huddle down and eat his hardtack and jerky. "I have some to spare if any of you didn't pack a lunch." Garran offers.
"I've got enough food for myself, for a few days at least. As for water, all this snow is probably plenty enough. I'd prefer not to take watch alone, though I could if I need to." After everything is settled, Sigrun settles in, apparently deep in thought.
the night passes uneventfully. though it is bitter cold outside, the group is able to keep warm around a small fire.
in the morning you find that conditions have not changed much, if at all. it is still slowly snowing, and shows no sign of letting up. on the other hand it hasn't gotten worse.
luckily, the trail of the bandits is still easy enough to see even after some extra snow. they were clearly not taking any precautions about covering tracks. maybe they are overconfident, or maybe none of them are used to being in so much snow.
The rough stone beneath Linge's bedroll is no proper replacement for her comfortable bed back home, and the young woman has a rather poor night. After another bout of insomnia around dawn, the druidess gives up on the idea of sleeping. She sits up, crosses her legs, and closes her eyes, letting her frustration fade gradually, and her thoughts drift away like clouds on a bright, windy day. Everything is still quiet in the cave.
Meditation was her favorite part of the day, although she much preferred to practice it outdoors. Between her work as a healer and her taking care of Horn, most of her time was dedicated to others. It was in the morning, when the sun was barely rising and the rest of the world was asleep, that she truly could enjoy a moment for herself. She would listen to the chirping of birds welcoming the new day and try to guess their species without opening her eyes, feel the grass bend under the wind and the almost imperceptible creeping of insects resume their endless quest of gathering food and supplies. Heldren and her everyday chores would simply cease to exist, her little, worried world spinning on its axis without her help. For an hour or so, she was filled her with an indescribable sense of belonging that she wouldn't trade for anything in the world.
Linge is floating, still vaguely aware of her teammates breathing, sighing and shuffling in their sleep. As her respiration harmonizes with Horn's deep, even breathing, she memorizes the formulas of her spells. There is one that might be useful against the strange, blue-skinned feys. She repeats it like a mantra, until she is absolutely sure that she won't forget the words.
Horn stirs in his sleep, and yawns, and the bubble is burst. When she opens her eyes, the sun is higher in the sky. After the group has packed up, Linge is relieved to see that the trail of the bandits is still clearly visible.
"Well... Off we go? Before we leave, could you get your spears back, Sigrun?"
Sigrun's watch is thankfully uneventful, and she gets enough sleep to recharge and feel fresh. She gets up a bit earlier to reflect on the previous day and to do her daily study of her spellbook. As the group prepares to head out again, Sigrun quickly looks over her gear. "Yes, I gathered all of the spears yesterday. All ready to go."
Garran sleeps as best he can, curled up in his blanket, his leather armor makes a makeshift pillow.
Before dawn he rouses, donning his armor, then praying to Iomedae. He has had a very similar idea to Linge's. Leaving her to her thoughts, he meditates on the tactical acumen of Iomedae, and receives the power to charge pebbles with holy energy. The small stones can pack a powerful wallop, if thrown or slung. He asks for Iomedae's blessing as usual.
Once everyone else is awake he says: "Gather around everyone. Let me share Iomedae's healing.
"Perhaps a bit more..." Garran raises his holy symbol again.
Paldo woke from his sleep glad to have a good nights rest without interruption. Although the cave sheltered him from the bitter wind, Paldo could feel the morning chill as his protection from the elements had worn off. Tapping into the ancient magic that flowed through his body Paldo cast is spell to ward off the cold.
Paldo sighed as the chill from his bones faded. Then watched as the piercing from the little arrow her received in battle healed itself up with Garran's magic. "Why thanks Garran! I feel refreshed and good as new!"
Paldo leaves the cave seeing that the tracks are still very easy to spot. "Well at least we can still track them. Even I can see their tracks!" Paldo added astonished.
the group gets up early, tired and groggy but healed and more or less rested after their fight yesterday. preparations are made, and the group starts off, keeping an eye out for the return of the little sprites.
after traveling for about an hour, the sound of water can be heard ahead. the trail continues until it reaches a river. the river appears to be entirely frozen over. the bandit trail leads right up to the bank of the river, making you think the bandits must have crossed here.
just on your side of the river, there is a human-sized snowman in the middle of the trail. around its neck hangs a crude sign.
as you get closer to the snowman you can make out words written in common:
Trespassers Turn Back!
Linge cannot resist taking a closer look, though the sign is less than encouraging.
"Trespassers turn back... We're walking on enemy territory. Maybe the sprites did this," she adds, taking off some snow from the snowman's shoulder. She hopes it is merely a sculpted pile of snow, but has the dreadful intuition that she might be facing he another unfortunate victim.
Paldo looked at the snowman and smirked. "Ha! Given their size, I would have liked to witness that!" He pictured how his brother and he used to roll large snowballs to make a snow man when they were young. Paldo's small stature made it difficult when the snowball got to his height. He pictured a hundred sprites all flapping their wings trying to roll a ball or even lift the smaller ones on top of each other.
Linge can't help but smile at the thought. If only the feys they were facing had no other motive but playing in the snow...
"I was referring to the sign. It seems in the same vein as the crows pinned to the trees."
Garran pauses as Linge moves up to check the 'snowman'.
He draws his sword, and looks around.
Paldo found himself stretching on to his tip toes trying to look around the trees to the other side. "Does anyone want to sneak over there and take a look? Would be nice not to get ambushed as we try to cross this bridge."
Sigrun leaves the examining of the snowman and the bridge to the others, keeping her eyes open and alert - or, as much as they can be in the snow, anyways.
as linge approaches the snowman, the mouth suddenly moves and a harsh voice yells out
"Can't you read? The sign says turn back! now get lost!
"Well, there's no need to be so rude," Linge calmly chastises the snowman. "May I ask whom we're speaking to?"
Horn, who had come closer to the snowman to sniff it delicately, is visibly startled when it comes to life. He jumps with surprise when it starts to speak and his ears flatten on his head. He lets out a bellow, seemingly in warning. The young woman squats down to pet his fur and comfort him:
"Calm down and look around, boy," she whispers in his ear while glancing at her surroundings. If this is the work of a spellcaster, they may not be far... "Look around! Sniff!"
"Neat little trick..." Paldo mutters under his breath as he tries to study the snowman to see if it's alive or merely some magical trick.
Sigrun flinches as the snowman suddenly roars to life, looking around in bewilderment.
Garran steps back, then shifts his sword to his shield hand. ”Iomedae, grant me your vision of the unseen.”
everyone is surprised by the snowman's apparent animation, but it does not seem to be moving from its place, and you see no other movement in the area.
there was a 'magic mouth' spell placed on the snowman, triggered by Linge stepping close enough to the object and using a pre-programmed phrase
the snowman is radiating magical auras. you detect 2 magical effects on the snowman. if you study it longer, you find that one aura is evocation and one is illusion.