The party turned south, filing through the trees. Norde could see the one Hedrak had pointed out now, he moved south after you quietly. Hedrak noticed another, hidden a little further from the road, and a spider like the one you had seen before.
Gitana applied a charge of mage armor to herself and Will. "I'd like to avoid a battle if we can, not that I don't think you boys are capable of defeating these again. We don't know how many more may be hiding behind trees."
Norde nodded at Gitana's suggestion, and once implemented, he reminded Will to keep control of his horse, instructing the others to somewhat surround Will, so we don't lose him during our wild ride.
Gitana extracted a strand of horse hair from her spell component pouch, said, "Spiritus animalis praebet equus quattuor," dropped the horse hair, and held up 4 fingers. When the hair touched the ground, it vanished in a puff of white and four fast horses appeared, one next to each of the adults.
Gitana pulled out her wand to cast Mage Armor, causing an invisible shell of armor to materialize around herself. Seeing this, your assailants broke cover and came racing towards you before she could cast another spell. In addition to the three you had seen already, another three came from the woods north of the road. There were six foes in total, two of the giant white spiders, three who stood ready to use their claws, and one with shadowy wings that rose on either side of his head. The wings on this one were larger than those on the one you had seen before, but they still didn't seem quite big enough to fly with.
The prospect of being held prisoner by his former captors terrified Will, but he held onto his horse as Norde instructed.
Zordt cast his own enhancement spell and kept moving forward, hoping they could outpace most of their assailants.
Gitana groaned as the other ambushers revealed themselves. She cast the spell to summon the horses, hoping all would have time to mount them to make an escape.
One of the figures, the one with shadowy, batlike wings, called out to the others.
"She is summoning more horses. Don't let them escape!"
It then raised its cold blue hands in anger, casting a spell.
A moment later, a many layered mass of strong, sticky strands of spiderweb appeared, lashing themselves to the trees on all sides of the party. Zordt was unaffected. Hedrak and Gitana managed to dodge avoid the fibers, but they ensnared Norde and Will's horse, who immediately pulled free.
The other forces moved forward, one running straight for Zordt, two coming through the woods to close on Hedrak, and a couple more just getting close. They didn't seem to be hampered by the snow at all, though their feet sank into it; they still moved quickly.
"Fleeing is out, time to dust them!" Zordt steps away from the ambusher in front of him and his deep throat singing begins.
"бук!" Gitana spat out when the webs materialized around them, a swear word in Necril that was best left untranslated. Then she realized only Norde was actually stuck in the web. She uttered magic words, "Ignis meos," and touched her holy symbol and then her forehead, causing her eyes to glow like coals. She directed her gaze at the webs connecting Norde to the nearby tree and a ray of fire shot from her eyes to burn away the webs.
Then Gitana moved into the area her pyrotechnics had cleared out and yelled, "Faier, welks w' ay!" at the one with the wings.
"We can still grab the horses and make a go for it" - Hedrak grunted, his morningstar already gleaming with Arcane Power.
Casting an invisible ward of force to protect him, he wades in on the closest enemy.
----------
Norde growled as the ambush was sprung, his blood boiled, he leapt forward (5' to the north) and attacked the ambusher that was up on Zordt and Gitana...
x3
The creature Norde attacked was fast, dodging away with almost preternatural speed. But not fast enough. It fell to the ground, unconscious and bleeding. Hedrak sent his foe reeling, but wasn't able to finish him off.
The one with wings seemed to quail as Gitana stepped towards him. But his wings rose, and a moment later he flung his head back and shrieked, a terrible sound that felt like thorns rubbing against the inside of your ears. The light in the forest seemed to dim, and each of you felt your heart tested.
Will nearly turned and galloped off on his horse. Instead, he turned and looked straight down, one hand over an ear, the other holding the reins fast.
The one facing off against Hedrak landing a telling blow to the warrior's skull, claws cold as a midwinter wind. The final Greyskin closed in on Zordt, pressing him back and landing a claw. The spiders both leapt forward, but neither was able to get a good bite in.
Vs Hedrak
Also Vs Hedrak
Vs Zordt
Also Vs Zordt
Norde fled, which provoked AOOs from the bad guys in P5 and P6.
Norde ended up 20' further south than the map allows.
The spider managed to catch Norde as he fled, biting at his calf and ripping away at his flesh. He was too hardy for its poison to have any effect on him.
"Bah, is that all you've got?" - Hedrak growls at his opponents - "Come on then!" - and casts a spell.
Then he swings again at the same one.
----------
Zordt steps back from the onslaught again, drawing a scroll and burning it to ether with a barked word. "Norde, still your heart!"
Hedrak managed to resolve his spell despite being damaged. He knocked the grey skin to the ground, finishing him with his mace a moment later.
Norde nearly ran, but Zordt's timely spell calmed him down, he took a step to the NW and swung at the enemy due north of him...
x3
Norde connected with his target, leaving her bleeding on the snow.
The mounts Gitana summoned appeared near or on the road as close to her friends as she could place them without putting them directly next to the greyskins and spiders.
But Gitana could not get to the horses without dealing with the undead and their pets. After casting her burning gaze spell and burning a path out of the webs, she was accosted by the horrible sound. She winced at the supernatural screech and her insides seemed to turn to jelly. Blood trickled from her ears and nose, but her eyes still glowed red, ready to burn the greyskins.
She stepped cautiously out of the area covered in webs and turned her gaze on the greyskin accosting Hedrak, since he was fighting two enemies and had been injured already.
The greyskin was briefly made to glow deep red and then the color coalesced into heat that tried to burn it and set it alight.
Gitana set one of the spiders on fire. It made a horrible hissing sound, turning and rolling in the snow to try to quench the flames, but to no avail. Its screams died, though it still clung to life, as did many who now lay on the ground before you. The other spider nipped at Zordt, cutting open one of his legs with its long, grasping fangs.
You were surrounded by carnage. In the background, the winged one was fleeing, bare feet flashing up and down as he quickly faded into the forest. Would he escape? How would you use the fresh horses Gitana had summoned for you?
Zordt once again steps back, this time beginning his own assault, starting with the spider that wounded him!
"Not today he doesn't" cried Norde as he rushed after the retreating spellcaster...
"Will, stay close"
Zordt finished off the last remaining spider, though not before it was able to bite him again. This time, he felt its poison numbing his veins.
Norde rushed after the fleeing Greyskin, the two of them quickly disappearing into the woods. Gitana mounted a horse, looking to Hedrak to see if he would join her in chasing down the final foe. Will listened to Hedrak, not moving or even looking up. He seemed terrified. From within the woods, the sound of another spell could be heard, though it was too far away to tell which one.
You rushed on, blinking the falling snow out of your eyes. Seeing that he was being pursued, the final spellcaster turned, empty black eyes staring you down. He raised his hands and uttered a few arcane words, resolving to sell what remained of his life dearly rather than be captured alive. A blue shimmer radiated towards you, and suddenly everything grew very cold, like you had plunged through ice into a frozen lake. Your hands felt numb, and your chest felt tight and constricted.
Despite his fatigue, Norde moved up to the enemy spell caster and attacked it with his sword.
x3
Crit Confirm...
x3
Norde finished off the last remaining foe with a stroke of his sword.
Will still sat on his horse, quivering. One of his ears had some blood in it, and he was clearly terrified. Most of the enemies were not yet dead, merely unconscious.
Norde dragged the dead spellcaster back to the group. ”I’m in bad shape friends. So cold!”
Zordt slaps his chest, causing his voice to warble and come to a sudden halt with a dramatic note. He grunts harshly strains himself against the venom.
Through sheer force of magical song, Zordt prevents the poison from taking hold.
Gitana mounted one of the horses and rode after Norde, but by the time she caught up, there was nothing more to do.
Upon returning, she asked, "We could tie and gag this spell caster and heal him enough to question him. It might help if we can convince him to talk."
"I do not mind risking that - but I am going to put all the others down for good" - Hedrak snarls - "The child does not need to see this" - he nods at Gitana.
Hedrak finished off those who still drew breath.
Hedrak went around to each in turn, finishing them off. Will averted his eyes, but snuck a peak every now and again. One of them was awake, eyes fluttering, and as you approached him, he stumbled to try to get to his feet for a moment, though he was in no shape to stop you. As the others had before, after dying they reverted to impossibly thin human forms.
One of them had a pack. its contents were similar to those of the previous one, grisly mementos of past victims, but this one also had a small wooden box with a few gemstones that were probably quite valuable.
The spellcaster was clinging to life, though he seemed to have stopped bleeding for the moment. It took a minute to tie him, then craft a gag using the materials you had and could find. "I don't like this," warned Will. "What if he breaks free and...screams?"
Gitana applied her healing hex, and he jerked back to life, struggling against his bonds.
Norde continues to feel extremely cold!
While the boys were taking care of malingerers, Gitana applied healing hexes to any who suffered damage during the fight.
Turning to the one still clinging to life, Gitana spoke Old Common, translating what she is saying to the others who don't know the old tongue.
"Norde, be ready to end this one's life if he makes any noise louder than a whisper." She repeats this instruction in Old Common, just to be sure the wounded one knows what she said. When Norde or one of the others is ready to administer a coup de gras, she addressed the creature.
"Tell us your name and what manner of creature you are."
"Were your kind the ones who applied this cursed tattoo to Will and if so, why?"
"Where do you come from?"
"Were you sent to capture Will or to kill him?"
"If you were to capture him, where would you take him?"
"Thank you Gitana" - Hedrak nodded, as she applied the healing magic to his wounds.
Gitana applied healing hexes to any who suffered damage during the fight.
Will shied away as you approached him. "No thank you," he said softly.
----
The creature struggled against his bonds at first, but he seemed afraid of Gitana's eyes. Perhaps he remembered the way they had burned not long ago. He soon stilled, though he occasionally glared up at Norde, who was still feeling the effects of his magic. He seemed a pitiful creature now, small and emaciated. His long dark wings were pinioned tightly against his thin form, and his empty black eyes looked frozen.
As you removed his gag, Will gave a soft grunt. Then the creature spoke, voice quiet, but somehow also hard and cold as a northern wind.
"Tell us your name and what manner of creature you are."
"I am Abel. As for the manner of creature I am, you can plainly see that I am more than a mere man." He tilted his chin up with pride. "I have been touched by the blessed hand of winter."
It was hard to be sure about such things, but something made you think that his pride was merely a facade. How could anyone want to be such a creature?
"Were your kind the ones who applied this cursed tattoo to Will and if so, why?"
He smiled deeply, revealing disturbing white teeth that were slightly pointed. "Yes, did he not tell you of his leading role in our glorious ritual? We couldn't have done it without his help..." Abel turned slowly to look at Will, who was quivering.
Will tore his eyes away from the creature. He glanced at Norde first, but seeing that he was occupied, he looked to Hedrak and Zordt in turn. "Please, can we go away from this one while he is being questioned?"
"We beckon to our lord, calling him from the aether. You shall as well, when the time comes," Abel called out after Will, who was now very shaken.
"I won't, I won't, I won't, he repeated, over and over again.
"Where do you come from?"
This question seemed to puzzle him for a moment. "Do you mean where I was born, or where...I was reborn?" He struggled at his bonds for a moment, trying to stand up. "I was a man once, a hard man. I went to the mountains north of here, through lands rumored to be haunted, in my day." His voice was hollow, the memory of being human clearly brought him no joy. "There was a mountain which all of us climbed, at one time or another." His lips made the shape of a smile. "We climbed it barefoot and blood shod, and at the top we found a cave. The old man walked in, and I walked out."
"Were you sent to capture Will or to kill him?"
Abel considered this question for a moment. Would answering it give up too much? "Either way," he said at last, voice dripping with disdain. "We care little."
He's lying. They want the boy alive.
"If you were to capture him, where would you take him?"
"We don't need to take him anywhere. Why should we, when the winter is all around us already?"
He's lying. There must be somewhere they would have to take Will if they were to capture him.
"Blessed? Winter? Surely the man is mad, for those two words should never exist anywhere near each other."
Zordt gathered up Will and took him out of the room, out of earshot of the twisted specter being questioned. He set the young one up with some trail rations to work on, and placed himself in an area he could oversee Will while overhearing the conversation.
Gitana said nothing to the first response. She nodded slightly when Zordt questioned the connection between winter and the state of being blessed. She sensed some faint regret in his voice, as if he was deep down ashamed of what he had become.
When he gave his account of the mountaintop experience, she again nodded, only because it confirmed Will's account.
When he said he cared little whether or not they captured or killed Will, Gitana made a sour face of disgust. "That's a lie. You attacked us and left the boy unharmed. No one follows another through trackless wilderness if they don't care whether he comes or goes, lives or dies."
Gitana was not sure, but she suspected his last statement was a lie also. The solstice was approaching and the evil entity behind all this was probably still in its mountain home. That was likely where the ritual they planned would have to take place.
While Will was far enough away not be be detected, she cast her spell to sense fiendish presences to see if this was in some sense a fiend or if it was just a sad case of evil corruption of a person.
Once the was done with that, she thought of one other question. She asked the question first in normal common to see if the prisoner could understand. If not, she asked it again in Old Common. "How many blessed winters have passed since you were converted into what you are now?"
Will followed Zordt, though he didn't eat the food he was offered. He was too shaken, at the moment, and seemed almost on the verge of a breakdown. It might be important to rest somewhere safe and comforting tonight.
"That's a lie. You attacked us and left the boy unharmed. No one follows another through trackless wilderness if they don't care whether he comes or goes, lives or dies."
"You took what was ours. We followed you to get it back, simple as that."
It was clear that this creature had been touched by something...other.
Whatever had done this was powerful, capable of magic beyond what most ordinary mortals could muster.
The spell began to reveal things that were not truly there. A disembodied hand, one which looked the same as the one depicted in Will's tattoo, held Abel by the throat. It was clear that he was under the influence of some fiend from beyond this world, perhaps the same one that was trapped within Will's tattoo.
"How many blessed winters have passed since you were converted into what you are now?"
Abel laughed. "Many more than you shall ever know, though most were passed in...slumber."
Hedrak snarls a bit at the cat and mouse game, but refrains from any comments, except for one question - "If you were given a chance, would you like to be released from this... State you are in now? Would you like to go back to who you were before?"
Norde gladly accepts Gitana's healing touch...
"I feel much better now, thank you Gitana!"
"If you were given a chance, would you like to be released from this... State you are in now? Would you like to go back to who you were before?"
"The old man is dead. Were I to be 'released,' I would be like those that lie all around us..." he indicated the fresh corpses of his former allies with his head, "...carrion."
You couldn't be sure whether he actually knew this or was just guessing.
Zordt tapped his foot on the boards outside the room, which indicated to the others he was privy to the details of the conversation and ready to discuss if need be.
Gitana allowed herself to feel a little pity for the man who he had been, but then snarled, "Then you must be destroyed. Will does not belong to your master. He's our child now. We've adopted him and he shall come to no harm while we breath. Now take your rest."
She nodded at Norde, meaning for him to kill the creature. In case he doesn't comprehend the nod, she gestures a finger across her own throat.