|
"My name is Lilybeth Zey and these are my companions Mason the Wall of Kortos, Loxx, Betha Wotither, LifeLover, and Sickly. We are all pathfinders and we are currently on a quest to help our fellow pathfinder Svala Ice-rider. Svala’s mother is of Varki descent, so she is very interested in Erutaki culture."
Lilybeth tries to remember and relay the exact details of the mission as good as possible.
"Svala found an ancient loresong that had been translated and recorded by Ulfen traders, which spoke of a glacier on the Whitefang Peninsula which protected the lands from the coming of the dark of winter. It sounded like a typical local legend, but Svala came to believe that something had been lost in the translation. Svala’s expedition left a couple of months ago. They sailed to the edge of the ice pack and then went inland by dogsled. Svala has been sending regular reports by messenger, but her last report indicates things have taken an ominous turn. She and her team have uncovered a large ice structure buried under the snow, as well as signs of an Erutaki village, but the site is contaminated with blackfrost, a toxic and corrosive substance that blows down from strange ruins at the north pole. What’s worse, there seem to be a number of unusual undead creatures also buried in the snow, of a kind never before seen. Svala is worried that perhaps there were more translation errors, ones she missed, that might shed light on what this site is and how it should be handled. We were hoping you could help."
|
Sickly seems totally preoccupied trying to ward himself from the plethora of scents and smoke wafting about the lodge... not at all in tune with his surroundings, it appears.
He only vaguely follows the first part of the conversation, while the comprehension spell LifeLover cast earlier, still lasts. He briefly wonders if it can even interpret a language where part of the conversation involves moving one's hands in odd sweeping gestures and other parts subtle facial expressions. It was no wonder Svala's translations were in question.
Such musings don't last long though, as his eyes start to water up, and a rash begins forming along the left side of his neck, requiring some attention.
Seshu nods at the mention of Svala's name. "Svala Ice-rider is known to us." Tikasak relays. "She and Kuokei are frequent visitors."
As Lilybeth explains the rest of her mission and Tikasak translates, Seshu's eyes widen, first in surprise, but then in horror. She interrupts Tikasak, speaking a flurry of syllables that seem to blend together and vary more in pitch than in pronunciation. Tikasak nods as she absorbs the elder's initial words, then begins to translate.
"Svala was here before her journey, but we did not know where she was going. The Whitefang peninsula is a bad place, we do not go there. The ice structure you mention, it is a ward... "
Suddenly Tikasak gasps, her eyes wide, and a hush falls over the Lodge. Tikasak stares at you in shocked silence for several seconds as Seshu shakes her head sadly.
"Svala has freed the Pilungak?" she asks Lilybeth, her eyes filling with tears.
The room descends into silence as the Erutaki elder Seshu moves to the center of the room. She begins to chant in a low voice, punctuating certain words with hand gestures and facial expressions in a performance that is part lament, part interpretive dance. Tikasak translates the loresong, but it is clear she is abridging the story in order to keep up with the elder’s tale.
“Once, long ago, the People were spread across the land. Each found its own way to live in harmony with the Animal World, the Plant World, and the Spirit World. Some of the people followed Caribou as she moved back and forth on the land. Others made a place near the sea, and hunted Seal and Black-Finned-Whale. All were different, yet all were the same, and things were good.
“One day, some of the People went north to Malu Aninuk, what you call Whitefang Peninsula, to make a summer camp. The land there was poisoned with an evil that lay sleeping since before the world was made. The People who lived there became poisoned by this evil in turn, and they danced with the aurora and killed without gratitude, even eating human flesh. We call these people the Pilungak—the flesh eaters.
“The Pilungak made a fortress of their village, with wooden walls covered in ice. From here, they brought terror to the worlds of animals, plants, and humans. When the aurora leaped high over the ice cliffs, we could hear the voices of the Pilungak howling in the night, and we were afraid.” The elder pauses her song, to allow Tikasak to catch up, and then begins again with a low droning chant that fills the room.
“The Spirit World decided to help, and so they sent Winter’s Favored to the Human World to deal with the evil. Winter’s Favored went to the Pilungak and asked them to stop their dances and howlings, but the Pilungak would not stop. Winter’s Favored asked them to move far away, but they would not move. So Winter’s Favored transformed their own bodies into howling blizzards, and covered the village of the Pilungak with snow and ice. Not one of the Pilungak was spared by Winter’s Favored, and the Animal and Plant and Human Worlds were glad.
“But the evil was not destroyed, only buried and sealed away. To keep it from being uncovered again, Winter’s Favored made a special seal from the ice, with the power to restrain great evil. This seal they placed over the Pilungak village, and it keeps the evil trapped to this day.”
The hall falls silent again as the chant dies away, and Seshu turns to address you directly.
“Many summers have come and gone since those days,” she says in Taldane. “The evil has been trapped by the sign of ice that Winter’s Favored made to protect us. Now, young Svala has dug up the Pilungak village and uncovered the seal, and spring is coming. If the seal melts, the evil will be released to roam the Land again, and no one in the Four Worlds will be safe. With some of the undead Pilungak already released, the seal must already be damaged or failing. It may already be too late.”
|
Mason leans forward and listens intently at the mention of flesh eaters and the undead they may have become.
Mason shivers as he recalls his last run in with flesh eating undead, the sight of his teammate helpless and paralyzed as a ghoul feasted on their still beating heart; to far away to save them... "If the wards have failed. How do we fortify them?"
Seshu turns to Lilybeth and nods, switching back to Erutaki while Tikasak translates.
"Winter's Favored are legendary creatures who defend the four worlds from harm. They are giants who wander the lands. When we follow the caribou, we leave them offerings at stone shrines. There is a shrine northeast of here."
"Malu Aninuk - the Whitefang Peninsula - is about three weeks away by dogsled if you go straight across the ice. If you stay on land, the journey is less dangerous but slower - five days more."
Tikasak doesn't translate the question about the whale skeleton, but answers herself. "It has been here many generations. We say that it is the first whale who gave itself to the Erutaki when they first came to camp here."
Seshu turns to Mason, and Tikasak translates. "If some of the ward remains, it can be repaired simply by reforming the ice that completes its pattern. This is what I believe - likely Svala damaged the ward, and some of the Pilungak have begun to waken. If the ward had failed completely, and all of the Pilungak were released, Svala and her companions would already be dead, and all would be lost."
Seshu looks Mason in the eye, and again switches to common speech. "Will you go to repair the damage your friend has caused? We will help as we can."
The other elders both rise, and go to an elaborate wooden chest tucked in one corner of the room. They remove several coffers and bring them forward, placing them at Seshu's feet.
|
|
Lilybeth turns to her companions.
"So here's my plan.
We leave tomorrow morning. I'm going to stay here for the remainder of the day. I'm going to take measurements and make drawings of this lodge and this amazing whale skeleton until I know every nook and cranny.
Loxx, can you ask around and get detailed descriptions of how to get to the shrine and the Malu Aninuk/Whitefang Peninsula.
Mason, LiveLover and Bertha can you three do some shopping? Mason seems to have made friends with some of the local traders already, but I'm sure some eye candy won't hurt. If there is a Lesser Rod of Extend available, please buy it. Furthermore, food/fuel for two weeks and tents or whatever is needed for a good nights rest. Loxx can probably give you a list of things needed. Oh, Sickly might be happy with this: we won't be needing dogs in my plan.
Sickly, you can help me with examining the lodge.
Tonight I'll shrink half of the food/fuel supplies, so it won't burden us too much.
Tomorrow morning I'll use Loxx' Lesser Rod of Extend -and hopefully another one- to cast Phantom Steeds for each of us. These will be able to easily traverse ice and snow at great speed . If we can't acquire another rod, I'll need to sacrifice some more arcane power to recast some of them.
Loxx will first guide us to the northeast shrine where we'll leave offerings to the Winter’s Favored, before continuing our journey to the Peninsula, hopefully on time to repair the damage done.
If things go very badly wrong during our quest, the failsafe is to teleport back to this lodge, which hopefully I will have studied good enough to increase the odds of returning undamaged.
Does anyone see any holes in this proposal?"
|
|
"I Have a lesser extend metamagic rod you can use dear"
"That's great! That will greatly improve our travelspeed!"
then bertha bites her lip as if thinking for a moment then says A map or direction is good but its snow and ice for as far as the eye can see, I'm not much of a survivalist, maybe loxx is, but a local guide would also help?
"I think you can use stars and the sun as well as the use of compasses, but I'm no expert op polar navigation."
Seshu waits for Tikasak's translation, and then smiles at Mason's words. "Well said, " she nods to you, and then opens each coffer in turn. "These will help you on your journey, and to repair the ice rune. The entire site must be reburied before spring, so that it does not melt."
The coffers contain the following items:
* a campfire bead
* a fully-charged wand of endure elements
* an ivory carving of a husky that functions as a onyx dog
* a wand of ice shape with 22 charges. Ice shape is a unique spell which functions as stone shape but for ice and snow only. it is a 2nd-level spell on the cleric, druid, and sorcerer/wizard spell lists.
|
|
Lilybeth will buy the scrolls and scribe them in her book.
Preparation list for travel:
. 5th—summon monster V (2), teleport, wall of force
. 4th—black tentacles, scrying, secure shelter, tiny hut
. 3rd—phantom steed (6)
. 2nd—command undead (DC 21), create pit[APG] (DC 22), euphoric cloud[ACG] (DC 22), glitterdust (DC 22), investigative mind[ACG], suppress charms and compulsions
. 1st—adhesive spittle, endure elements, keep watch (2), mage armor (2)
. 0 (at will)—dancing lights, mage hand, message, prestidigitation
So the 6 phantom steeds for travel, the tiny hut for emergency shelter and the secure shelter for the actual camp. The two Keep watch so everyone (8 creatures) can get rest without actually needing to sleep.
She will get a feather of Kuokei.
"We need to send Kuokei to Svala, with the message to stop any further excavation. Tomorrow I can attempt to scry Svala and deliver a message that way, but chances that will succeed are slim."
She turns to Tikasak.
"Is there anything here that belongs to Svala Ice-rider? Or is there anyone who can create scrimshaw with her likeness?"
Ice shape is only available on the wand. You know that Svala is a ranger, and so it wouldn't be on her spell list.
Kuokei begins to peck at you when you try to take a feather from her, seemingly eager to bear whatever message you wish to send with her. Finally, she allows Lilybeth to take a tiny bit of fluff from her feathers.
The evening passes, and you are well fed and rested when you wake in the morning. The Erutaki offer dog sleds for you, and are surprised when you refuse. But Seshu speaks to the crowd, and nods to you with a knowing eye.
"The shrine where we leave offerings to Winter's Favored is here," Tikasak says, providing you with a crude map. "When one might be nearby, who can say? But if you seek their wisdom, they will find you. I only hope it will be in time."
|
|
Dear Svala Ice-rider,
Venture-Captain Bjersig Torrsen has sent us to help you. We arrived at Aaminiut today [current date]. The elders informed us that Whitefang Peninsula, what they call Malu Aninuk, is the resting place of the Pilungak—the flesh eaters. They think you may have disrupted the wards and that these should be repaired to prevent the wards from failing. Stop any further excavation and do nothing else that might speed up the decay of the wards. We will travel to you as fast as we can and hope to arrive on [arrival date]. We will make a quick stop near one of the Winter's Favored shrines. We will try and make contact with you using scrying to communicate with you further.
Included here are the minutes of our meeting with the elders, a campfire bead and some shrunken down rations. Just toss the attached cloth onto a solid surface to change it back to it's original form. [minutes] [campfire bead] [rations].
With kind regards,
Lilybeth Zey
Mason the Wall of Kortos,
Loxx,
Betha Wotither,
LifeLover,
Sickly
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sickly did not sleep well... of course he was used to not sleeping well... but the Erutaki village was just ripe with vectors. From the many dogs they kept for the sleds, to the furs they used for their beds... it all seemed specially formulated to aggravate one of his many ailments. And of course it didn't help that, as soon as he closed his eyes, the entire world started moving. Three weeks aboard a ship apparently not so easy for the body to forget.
Still, at least their was no pollen or plant-based spores to worry about.
And then he remembered the Leshy.
He was nervous... not about the Leshy, or the mission... but about having to ride a horse all day... even a magically created one. He had never learned to ride... his one only attempt scrapped the moment his hands started to swell up from the contact.
He wasn't sure if magical horses would have the same effect, and didn't want to complain in front of the others... so had spent the early parts of the morning, sipping tonics, sniffing powders, and chewing on a few roots... all of which helped ward his fragile immune system.
The evening passes uneventfully for most of you. Kuokei takes the message and wings away to the northwest.
Mason spends time at Ulfen house, where much drinking and carousing occurs, although at a somewhat reduced volume compared to usual Ulfen standards. During the festivities, Mason learns from Bjorn that "Winter's Favored" is the Erutaki name for the race of tundra giants commonly known as Saumen Kar.
"They're masters of ice crafting - their weapons, tools, and houses are made of intricately-sculpted ice. It's supposedly passed down from generation to generation by some mysterious patron even they've forgotten. That's where the brands came from as well - their skin is covered in brands that look like some form of Giantish, but isn't.
"They radiate cold, and have magical power over ice. Tough combatants, if you ever fight one. But, they usually avoid people unless they got a reason not to. Like if they're hungry."
Lilybeth conjures a herd of phantom steeds and you set off to north by northeast, making excellent time through the frozen swamps that surround the river delta.
It takes only three days to reach the correct area and another to actually locate the shrine, thanks to the efficiency of the magical steeds and Tikasak's map. The weather is cold, and plummets at night. Along the way, you see flocks of birds overhead, and the occasional Erutaki hunter or trapper on dogsled. They stop and greet you, often offering to share their meager food with you. They have no news of Winter's Favored, but direct you to the shrine that is closest. "You must have the patience of the glacier if you wish to see them, unless you are very lucky," is a typical comment. The last two hunters you encounter do warn you about a great bear called Shaktu that has been terrorizing the local communities of late. Usually the bears are still out on the ice farther north, but this one is a killer, and so must stay near its favorite food on land.
On the afternoon of the fourth day, you arrive at the shrine, a small pile of stones on a natural hill under a lone pine tree that towers over the other greenery around it. From a distance you can see the hill is covered with furs, beaded cloths, and other offerings, haphazardly scattered across the stones and around the area.
How do you wish to approach the shrine?
|
|
Mason dismounts and strides forward located at a center-front, or a center-second row position in the group. As soon as he dismounts he draws his glaive, nervous for his team with all the speak of hungry giants and bears.
"Are those offerings supposed to be scattered everywhere?" he asks to no one in particular.
"Well, you can ASK me if I'm willing to do that. It is true that my superior senses will make it more likely to spot white bears in the snow, but next time please don't assume I'll volunteer."
|
|
Sickly clings to the horse with a white knuckled grip while it moves. Getting off of it immediately whenever they stop... much preferring to have his feet on the ground.
Thankfully, he is not allergic to magically summoned phantom steeds... but his brain still manages to cause a few reflexive ailments, to keep him busy.
When thy reach the shrine, he quickly gets off the horse, and seems more than happy to walk up to it... though Mason's comments get him to wondering.
Though he doesn't notice much, as something is causing his eye to tick uncontrollably.