By the Gods ye things are cold, have to warm up on Torag's forge!" Henyan says
Shield held high Horvan moves up and attacks moving so he can step into a flank next round.
Stepping into the flank Horvan attacks again.
Raggnor's club blow is parried by the remaining ice creature, but that leaves it wide open to Horvan's flanking attack, which hits it for 4 points of damage. We are now caught up on Round 2, and it's time for Round 3:
Kryas <=== We are here
Donovan
Issi
Raggnor
Horvan
Skrikks and Szassh
Yume
Liam
Henyan
Donovan tries to strike in time with Grub,
Donovan and Raggnor bring down the last ice creature before it can strike again, and it shatters into cold shards of ice. You can now safely cross the creek, but I need everyone to make a Perception check to avoid any thin spots in the ice.
After the fight Horvan looks over the dead ice creatures. What were these things anyway? he asks. Poking through the shards of ice he wonders aloud And are any of these pieces useful?
Horvan follows Raggnor, pausing to tie onto a rope and passing it to everyone else.
"More o' these wicked Fey, good thing they had this cold Iron round town, We would be more hard pressed." Henyan says keeping an eye out.
Donovan heads onto the ice.
Following behind Raggnor and tied by the waist, the group makes their way across the creek...until Donovan steps just a few inches too far to the right, not realizing there was a weak section there, and the ice gives way beneath him, Horvan, and Henyan. Issi and Raggnor, safely away from the hole, struggle to pull them up by the ropes!
Raggnor is caught by surprise and nearly gets pulled in himself, but oddly enough tiny Issi manages to take up the slack long enough for him to regain his footing, and they manage to (eventually) pull the other three out of the creek. The dip into the ice is not without it's consequences, however.
The three boys are all chilled, but manage to escape without significant damage.
Now on the other side of the creek, you spot a pile of snow near the treeline with a pair of legs and feet jutting out from beneath it.
"Nother o' Them snow men? who be upside down?" Henyan asks shaking the water out of his beard.
Having a bad feeling about this Horvan approaches the pile of snow. It might be a dead man. he says with worry in his voice as he closes the distance and pokes at the feet gently with the flat of his blade.
Donovan pulls climbs out of the water with the help of his friends, expecting to be chilled to the bone, but to his surprise he does not feel the bite of the cold.
The legs do not stir after Horvan pokes them. It would appear that this is, indeed, a dead (or at least unconscious) person buried in a pile of snow.
Upon digging him out, Issi recognizes the body as Old Man Dansby, a farmer from Heldren. His fields are adjacent to this forest, and judging from his wounds, he was likely killed by the ice creatures that you defeated on the creek. Dansby had been a soldier in his youth, and even in peaceful Heldren always walked armed. You find:
- A Composite Longbow (+1)
- A Dagger
- A Masterwork Handaxe
- A pouch containing 14gp, 25sp, and 18cp
The bandit tracks are fresher in this area; you may be getting closer to where they have taken Lady Argentea.
Horvan looks worried.If these things can kill a for real soldier then we might be in trouble, for real. Help me bury him in the snow. We can come back for him later, if we get ta come back.
The trail begins to climb a ridgeline to the south beneath snow-laden trees. The prints of boots and horses mar the freshly fallen snow on the trail.
As the group draws closer to the trees, Horvan is the only one to notice three men hiding behind the trees with shortbows. They look a bit puzzled to see a group of children this far into the forest, and hesitate for a moment, arrows nocked and ready.
"Ye think we should burn his body? Could they be bringin' him back as a frozen zombie or some such?" Henyan asks
As they continue on, Henyan keep quiet as he can hoping to not make to much noise, his nose running freely into his beard.
Spotting the danger Horvan does his best to lead the group along their original path but also to some cover from those bows. This way everyone. He calls seemingly without a worry in the world. He hops and skips in theh snow loking back at his tracks and laughing but moving ever towards some concealing trees. We gotta make up some hand signals of something. he thinks.
Donovan has never seen anything as fine as the Longbow, he is standing trying to manage using it with his shield.
Henyan wipes his leaky nose, following Horvan and the others as quietly as possible.
No arrows are loosed, and you can hear whispered arguments among the bandits as to what they should do about five children. Finally, one of the bandits steps out from the treeline, lowers his bow, and speaks:
"Oi, what are you kids doing this far out from home? Ain't safe for kids in the wilderness, you know. We're uh...guards. How about we take up to the Lodge and someone can see about contacting yer parents?"
Horvan smiles up at the man. You three are guards, for real? Do you get to guard treasures and castles and kings? And is there any food in that lodge? We are hungry.
"We're just guarding the forest...look, I'll walk you up to the lodge, just follow me and stay close. I'm sure there's food available."
Horvan walks up next to the speaker. Its it a big lodge? What's in the forest to guard? How far is it to the lodge? I bet you got deer meat in the lodge right? Lodges always have deer meat. And some deer jerky too right? I love deer jerky. Specially if its got lots of seasoning. Does your jerky have lots of seasoning?
Henyan keeps his head down a bit, not wanting his face to betray everyone. "Ye got warm ale maybe ta help warm a cold Dwarves bones?"
"The lodge isn't too far, but it's up this ride a ways...if you're that tired, I can carry you up there, little girl. The rest of you will have to walk though; We can't all go up with you, they have to stay behind to stand guard." he says, gesturing to the other men hiding behind the trees.
Looking very serious Horvan asks do you want me to stay behind and help guard too? I ain't too cold and I can be brave.
"I don't be gettin' carried, no one carries a Dwarf." Henyan says with snot in his bear.
The guard lifts Issi onto his back and begins the ascent up the ridge. After climbing at least a hundred feet into the hills, the snowy trail finally levels off. In a clearing among the trees, a large wooden lodge overlooks a ravine spanned by a longrope bridge. Smoke rises from the lodge’s two snow-covered chimneys, and large woodpile is stacked against the outer wall. A small outbuilding stands east of the lodge, and a stone well nearly blanketed by snow is barely recognizable to the north. Several tracks lead southwest toward a detached stable.
The "guard", who introduced himself as Rhygar, steps carefully through the snow as you approach, instructing each of you to do the same.
"Tread carefully, and only step in my footsteps until we reach the entrance of the lodge. Then we can get you something warm"
Standing on the porch having a smoke is a lanky female half-orc, who raises an eyebrow at your arrival and frowns at Rhygar.
"Rohkar is going to have your hide for this. This isn't a nursery."
"Shut up, Tacey. They were lost in the woods and looking for the rang---err, for us. Take them inside and get them something warm."
"To hell with that, I'm not taking the heat for this. If I'm taking these kids you're going to see Rohkar right now and tell him what you did."
"Ye can nee take in kids ta keep em warm? Some rangers ye be then" Henyan says with a bit of disgust
Issi and Henyan know that the head of this ranger station is not named Rohkar; it's Garrus. Moreover, Issi recognizes the name "Rohkar" as that of an infamous bandit in this area that the rangers have been trying to eliminate for months.
Tacey gives Raggnor a weary grin then sighs, rolling her eyes.
"Fine, come on, kids. Let's go to the kitchen." she says, walking into the lodge without bothering to look back and confirm that you're following her.
"Ye got any lamb? It be mighty cold out there and I be needin' something warm." Henyan says.