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Bubbles attempts to use his tail to wipe Molly’s face but ends up smearing the blood around instead. He floats away and shakes himself off like a dog while Molly walks back from the dragon corpse, dripping uncomfortably with gore.
“Does anyone have a wet-nap. Maybe a tissue? It’s, well it’s everywhere.
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Molly looks Hendric up and down as she rattles that idea around in her head.
“That would be exhilarating. To be judged the strongest by Baba Gaga’s own magic, that would be like a dream. Maybe we would have to show which of us is to remain, we might even have to fight each other. Then I would have to fight against others.”
Molly gets misty-eyes for a moment but Bubbles’ tail flicks against the wind which pulls on the Kurgessans head to get her attention.
“Oh right, that would probably be bad. Umm, well I don’t really have a thought on the magic behind the riddle. It seems like we have all of the pieces but we lack a instruction manual. Maybe it’s somewhere in this place. I’d rather not have to spend time figuring out what goes where while we are being attacked by statues.”
Peter and Gillian both feel that the chains and figurines are enough for the ritual. Peter knows there are some rituals that operate fairly similarly and that placement is important. Gillian can tell that there is a very faint magical aura to both that complement and completes the other, but what that is the key for she wouldn't know.
Hendric, Molly and Wynn head down to the room with the negative energy statues, finding that all of the ones that didn't have their cores removed are nearly reformed. It takes a only a little bit to determine that the doors at the end aren't designed to take anything like a chain or a figurine.
Peter heads down to the clock tower, fairly sure the statues wouldn't recognize him through his mind blank and invisibility, and sure enough they don't react to him. He searches the tower, but there's no obvious place to place the chains or figurines built into the tower.
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"A stitch in time saves nine - a common enough expression, but also a clue as to where we should place our items.
Near a clock ('time'). And there was a clock on each face of the tower, so which one? I would say the one which had the one wavy hand permanently pointing to where the 'nine' would be.
The clock tower does spit out a seemingly infinite number of hostile statues if we approach it. I suppose we have to just hope this works quickly."
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Molly puzzles her puzzler 'til her puzzler is sore.
"Ringed in steel. Bubbles tells me that the chains that we pulled out of that sadness chair have 27 loops. I guess we could put the dolls in the middle of a chain loop. The giant clock had two tracks that also could be loops. Umm, maybe have the chains touch the clock's track thing? Oh! Maybe we also kneel in the chain loops. The solution could be one of these shots in the dark, all of them, or my ideas are just a bunch of fake crazy nonsense."
Peter is able to stay close to the tower and checks every side as Hendric suggested. The wavy hand seems to be in place on every side, but only the south side is it pointed at the nine, and only that nine is actually the riddle written in cramped script.
Also given how the statues would likely keep coming and coming, you guess the ritual probably doesn't take that much time to complete, espeically given how few components it seems to need.
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Sir Hendric will store Sentry in his Hosteling armor, to protect the warhorse from any adverse effects of this ritual.
He will stow his lance in his Scabbard of Many Blades (so he has his shield in one hand, and the porcelain doll in the other).
"Okay, let's do it. Put the dolls in the middle of a chain loop that touches the tracks on the south side. If that doesn't work, then we also kneel in the chain loops.
Everybody ready?"
Peter walks up to the base of the tower, chain in hand. He moves to set down the chain, but it slips from his grasp and settles onto the ground in three loops of nine, only wide enough for a number of figurines to be set into it and definitely too small for maybe all but Purs to have kneeled in it. The theurge gives a signal to everyone else outside the range of the statues that the chain has been set.
The party moves in, and the golems starts to activate, but before they can take more than a few lurching steps, everyone has set a figurine into the ring of the chains.
Each porcelain figurine gives a small clacking sound as they touch the ice of the floor. Everyone immediately notices the heretofore unmoving hand of the clock tower starts to spin, and gathers speed, picking up each other hand as it moves. The face starts to glow bright with the friction of the moving hands as they become too fast to track. 6 seconds after the first doll is placed the clock face suddenly seems to bend inwards, the light blinding, but somehow entrancing, drawing and pulling you inwards.
After a moment the statue golems stop moving, the village square and space around the tower empty, links and figurines gone, as well as the party.
The lights blind everyone for a second, dazzling vision and senses. There's a lurch and sudden stopping without the sensation of ever moving. The air is definitely different, for one the freezing chill that stalked the edges of one's senses even through magical protections, is gone, retreated for now. Additionally it's still, stuffy, unmoving and stiflingly silent.
After a moment the lights clear and you sights return. This new chamber bears white lightly ornamented walls and flooring formed from ice beneath a matching forty-foot-high ceiling. A dark smudge of ash—humanoid in shape—mars one wall. Directly ahead is a throne of the same white stone, an inscription across its base. A life-size figure of a beautiful woman carved from the same white ice as the room sits upon the throne, with a twisted, rune-scribed golden collar around her neck. Before her, a crystalline sphere stands on a white stone pedestal.
The figure eternally stares out at the space behind the group, which proves to be a wide circle on the wall, displaying a blurry image of the cliff outside the Witch Clock. The remains of the chain and figurines used in the ritual blowing away in the wind. A few air currents from the turning to look at the circle cause the surface to ripple like a pond.
A sound echoes around the chamber as what sounds like the braying of a giant ram echoes out. Turning back everyone is faced with the head of a spectral ram charging at Hendric. It slams into him and deals damage and tries to bull rush the cavalier. It fails to budge Hendric and his heavy armor, but it immediately makes everyone aware they are standing in a puddle of grease.
In the middle of the room a woman covered in ice and in a form fitting outfit floats down from the ceiling, hovering 30 feet over the center of the room. A ring on her finger fizzles with the same light that made up the spectral ram from earlier. She then starts to prepare another spell. Seems the party has finally caught up to the woman who'd been going through here before them.
++++++++++++++++
Wynn: DC 17 Reflex save or fall prone
Peter: DC 17 Reflex save or fall prone
The woman: 30' in the air
Gillian: DC 17 Reflex save or fall prone
Dear
Sir Hendric: -10 DC 17 Reflex save or fall prone
Molly: DC 17 Reflex save or fall prone
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Current map
Peter quickly recognizes that this woman is an Irriseni Ice Witch, one of likely great power. He also recognizes her as Ilivorr Karanasi, granddaughter of the previous queen of Irrisen, Queen Elvanna, declared missing and dead for over a decade now. There were rumors she was the head of the expedition that Queen Elvanna sent here, but any way of confirming that would have disappeared with Elvanna. Queen Anastasia, the current queen, would probably love to hear this.
Everyone stays on their feet (or flying in the air) as the woman starts to gather power around herself, Wynn moves to one corner, spotting how Molly will be moving in just a moment. Arrow prepped he waits for her to start casting a spell.
As soon as he recognizes that she's starting to cast a spell, he fires an arrow that just barely slides pasts all her defenses and slams into her side. The arrow doesn't dig as deep as it should, slowed rapidly by the layers of ice all along her body. However, she does pause in her casting, stumbling some, and tries to regain the composure she needs to use the arcane powers. Sadly, the arrow proves a minor thorn in her side and she quickly grasps the thaumaturgical threads.
Ilivorr gives a sweep of her hands and a visible wall of sound flings itself straight at the bunched group of pathfinders in the room. The sound hits and barrels past everyone, sounding not unlike a screaming wail of a banshee, enough to shatter psyches and destroy ear drums.
She then stays hovering 30' above the ground, ensuring she stays out of melee reach.
Molly moves to the opposite edge from Wynn and takes aim at the woman, readying to handle any further spells she might cast.
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Peter:
Ilivorr Cast a spell
Gillian: DC 25 Fort save or take 200 damage
Dear: DC 25 Fort save or take 200 damage?
Sir Hendric: -10 DC 25 Fort save or take 200 damage
Molly: Moved, readied a shot DC 25 Fort save or take 200 damage
~~~~~~~~~~
Wynn: DC 25 Fort save or take 200 damage
Peter: DC 25 Fort save or take 200 damage
Ilivorr -15
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Current map
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Peter readies to counter her spell, should it come down against them.
Well, if we're opening with a showstopper, I'll make this for my entry
Peter begins to chant and gesture, as a string of light forms in his hands, he stretches it out into a web and then directs it throws it directly at Ilivorr, where it wraps around her body as it coalesces into solid glowing golden chain of light. . He also quickly casts haste on his allies.
You have heard Ilivorr was famous for using spells that affect wide swaths of people, such as the Wail of the Banshee she just cast, or a Cone of Cold. She also is prepped to handle other spell casters given that the witches of Irrisen are known to fight each other every now and then.
She has a large selection of hexes at her disposal, sepcifically the agony, blight, evil eye, death curse, flight, forced reincarnation, healing, major healing, misfortune, retribution, slumber hexes if you knew your history at all. Finally she's not got any truly special defenses, but does have a small amount of Spell Resistance.
Peter throws a wave of power back at the witch's wave of sound before it hits the party and disrupts the spell, preventing it from going off. Ilivorr's pupiless eyes and mask of anger seems to take on a look of surprise at her spell seemingly getting countered from thin air.
She then starts to key into there being another person in the room when Peter says his one-liner and starts a chant. However she isn't able to zero in on where the caster is before she gets wrapped in a web of golden chains, binding her body and keeping her from moving.
Hendric starts to climb into the air along Sentry's back, prepping for a good charge.
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Gillian:
Dear:
Sir Hendric: -10, Summoned, mounted, drew weapon, challenged
Sentry: Moved
Molly: Moved, readied a shot
~~~~~~~~~~
Wynn
Peter
Ilivorr -15
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Current map
Gillian lashes the retrained woman with a whip of energy, nearly stripping the spells off the other caster, but the witch just barely holds onto all of her spells and defenses, keeping them intact. However, she then gets wrapped up in the threads of Aether that Dear also created, binding her ever further.
Wynn fires a salvo of arrows at the paralyzed woman. Unable to even so much as twitch, she can't help but be peppered by the arrows as they thud into her. She seems to resist the first arrow for the most part, but the further arrows give her quite a beating.
Ilovarr struggles in the chains, before shifting slightly and the hcains of light fall off of her. However, Dear's strands of force keep her locked in place, and she just glares at the party, not trying to cast a spell. She seems to wait on the party to make their next move.
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Gillian: Hasted
Dear: Hasted
Sir Hendric: -10, hasted
Sentry: Hasted
Molly: Hasted
~~~~~~~~~~
Wynn: Hasted
Peter: Hasted
Ilivorr -92 grappled,
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Current map
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Sir Hendric will charge, and skewer the witch through the thigh.
That is, he is doing non-lethal damage, by striking in a less lethal location.
Figuring that the Queen might want to deal with her predecessor.
That should be possible; if it isn't, he can attack with Improved Unarmed Strike on a charge (for less damage).
The Witch glares at Sir Hendric and Sentry as they start to charge in. Hendric feels nothing but Sentry gives a small jerk under the knight as he is struck by a hex. The horse feels his soul being pulled forcibly pulled from it's form.
Sentry, with some expert guidance from Hendric, is able to overcome the force pulling on his soul and keeps thundering ahead. Ilivorr, restrained by Dear, is completely unable to resist nor dodge the knight's spear as it pierces her thigh. She gives an incomprehensible snarl at the knight before blood loss causes her to faint.
Nothing seems to shift or change in the room. Now that the near search light level of magical spells on Ilivorr have dimmed, Gillian can finally see that there's a heavy enchantment and conjuration aura to the room, as well as two other specific auras. The torc on the neck of the statue at the back of the room gives off a powerful aura of it's own, and then an orb on a pedestal near the throne also has a strong divination aura to it.
Just as Ilivorr falls unconscious Peter feels something try and pierce his mind.
Dear gives a small rumble of appreciation at Gillian's praise.
With a further spell, Gillian is able to pick up further details of the enviroment. She can tell the conjuration effect must be involved in creating the small pocket dimension they are in. The enchantment aura is also well beyond the grasp of set spells and likely some powerful creation of Baba Yaga herself. Under those two overwhelming layers, Gillian picks up the hints of a strong abjuration spell. A few seconds later and she realizes it is a Dimensional Lock spell, meaning the 'clock face' is likely the only way in or out of here.
Turning to the two other magical items not on the witch, Gillian recognizes that the torc is a near overwhelming aura of conjuration, and certainly not something she'd recognize off hand. The orb, however, clearly has a permanent See Invisibility spell on it.
Peter feels some almost incidious tendrils of some magic start to thread into his head a few seconds after Ilivorr is knocked unconscious. They play on his fears, his worries, whispering that he should protect this place, that anyone in here but himself is an enemy and must be destroyed. It takes him a few seconds, but he does overthrow the enchantment in the end.
The spell seems to then turn and target the next person to add their statue to the ring, Molly.
Gillian finds that the torc is the Torc of Kostchtchie Ilivorr was sent here for, and that Queen Anastasia has promised to let the Society examine. She lets everyone know this.
Molly feels the whispering call of some enchantment-esque effect in the room, but quickly steels her mind to the call and brushes it off with nary a thought.
The room targets the next person, Wynn suddenly hearing a faint whispering that calls to him, cajoling him into giving up control, into relaxing.
The Torc that two queens of Irrisen have lost family over glints softly in the light of the room, the orb next to it also shimmering slightly.