Nutar begins the casting of a difficult spell of summoning, while Junan takes the fight to a more personal level.
With fiery claws extending from his arms, he tears into the two targets in front of him, destroying the skeleton and killing the bandit, at the price of a mild sting of cold .
All goes quiet, save for Nutar's chanting, and the sound of wind rustling the snow off the nearby trees. Uthred stops singing, but holds his axe ready, on the chance that there are more bandits hiding nearby.
A voice comes out of nowhere, seemingly somewhere behind Oriol. "Norgorber take you all!" then a chanting of another sort overlaps with Nutar's for just a moment. Suddenly the bodies of some of the bandits start moving and stand up.
Uthred strikes at the nearest zombie as it stands.
Initiative:
Nutar
Zombie (red)
Oriol; -7 HP
Uthred
Rohkar
Zombie (blue); -10 HP
Junan; -2 HP
Zombie (green)
As the zombie rises, Oriol is quick to strike at it, but his wounds are weighting his willingness to keep in the thick of the combat. "And Norbert, his bald brother, take your flesh ring!" Oriol shouts back...
Oriol reacts violently to the bodies raising from the dead. He takes a reactionary strike at the one nearby, and the another to keep it from moving again.
The zombie on Uthred takes a swing at the Skald.
Initiative:
Nutar
Zombie (red)
Uthred
Rohkar
Oriol; -7 HP
Zombie (blue); -10 HP
Junan; -2 HP
Junan strikes out as new foes rise from the fallen. Just after this swing the flames on his arms die out. Landing a nasty blow he spins to the other foe and lashes out again.
Nutar fires a bolt of fire!
In a savage display, Junan tears into one zombie as it rises from the dead, dropping it immediately. He quickly turns and slashes at the other with both hands, nearly ripping it in two.
Uthred looks a little disappointed that all the zombies were destroyed so quickly, and he just stands there, waiting to see if anything else will happen.
He's not long to wait, as that same voice speaks again, coming from the air. "You are formidable indeed, but Norgorber shall have his due." A few brief moments pass, magical syllables being spoken before two things happen: a wave of noxious negative energy washes over everyone, and two men appear in the snow, right beside each other, both with the same face.
Initiative:
Nutar
Uthred
Rohkar
Oriol; -7 HP
Junan; -2 HP
[ooc]Everyone gets to go!
The eagle and fire are directed at the new target!
The eagle manages to sink a talon into Rohkar's shoulder, and Nutar's fire bolt lands square on his chest.
Initiative:
Nutar
Uthred
Rohkar; -9 HP
Oriol; -7 HP
Junan; -2 HP
Nutar manages to resist the wave of energy.
Initiative:
Nutar; -3 HP
Uthred
Rohkar; -9 HP
Oriol; -7 HP
Junan; -2 HP
The wave of dark energy washes over Oriol and he can't steel himself against it, almost falling... Still conscious though, Oriol focuses solely on his defenses as he hopes for a healing potion or spell.
The raging Junan winces as the wave of energy sweeps over him. He launches into the newly appeared man hoping to prevent another burst.
Junan and Oriol both get hit hard by the wave of energy, and while Oriol goes into a defensive stance, Junan launches into an attack, scoring a hit against the bandit leader.
Uthred takes the hit, and steps in to deliver his own in retaliation.
The axe splits the man open from stem to stern in one great sweep, ending the bandit leader's reign.
The area seems to grow still after the long battle, but there doesn't seem to be anyone else willing to pit themselves against you, and the doors to the lodge are hanging open, bodies strewn throughout.
Nutar; -3 HP
Uthred; -3 HP
Oriol; -13 HP
Junan; -8 HP
As the angry chanting man falls, Junan lets go of his rage. The claws transform back into hands and he falls to his hands and knees struggling to catch his breath. After a couple moments he gets back up looking at his hands with a mix of disgust and wonder. "So what now? Go inside and see where those skeletons came from? Some of those bandits seemed less than healthy before we got here. Last time I went first didn't work out well... but I'll do it again."
The doors to the lodge lead into a Great Room, where a large table and two benches run the length of the hall, and a twenty-foot-high vaulted ceiling rises into the rafters overhead. To the west, a roaring fireplace provides a welcome heat and light while south, a flight of stairs ascends to a wooden balcony overlooking the room. Several doors connects off this room the one to the south, and at the top of the stairs are open.
Oriol joins Junan in exploring the place. "While it is possible that he have more enemies inside, I believe the one responsible for those skeletons was the same guy that raised the undead."
Oriol steps over the bodies to make his way into the lodge, first heading for the open, southern door.
Four beds, two large chests, and a single table with four chairs occupy this room. Three windows look out to the east, west, and south, providing a grand view of the snowy gorge outside the lodge.
It doesn't take much to tell that the four bed have all been recently vacated.
Remembering of the sick, Oriol doesn't enter the room. "Those beds were used and I'm pretty sure by those bandits that were sick..."
Noticing the room is empty, he turns around to inspect the other rooms.
"I can't imagine how much harder that would have been if some of them weren't bedridden." Nutar tries to understand what illness spread here.
Nutar is able to quickly discern that these poor sods were most likely inflicted with the Chillbane Shakes, a less virulent strain of chillbane fever. Rummaging through this room for too long will most likely subject someone to the illness.
Moving on, Oriol checks the next door, this one having been left closed during the recent fight. Finding nothing amiss, the door opens into a bedroom setup for a single person. A bed and chest sit across from one another this this small room. Two doors serve as exits, and a window looks out on the north side of the lodge.
Oriol enters the room and tries for the other door, while pointing to the chest. "We can search them later, when we know we are safe..."
"Chillsbane shakes...cover your mouths, and don't spend too long. It's highly contagious."
Moving through the bedroom to the other door, nothing seems to trigger any warnings, and the door seems to be safe.
Opening the door reveals another bedroom. Three doors open into this room. A sturdy bed heaped with blankets sits near the only window, and a large maple chest occupies the southwest corner.
Oriol continues to move forward. He opens the closest door, already suspecting it will lead them back to the main hall, before continuing to the western one.
Correctly assuming, the southern door leads back out into the main part of the lodge.
Moving onto the western door, it also comes up clean for danger. It also opens up to a bedroom, this one smaller than that others, and less furnishes, housing only a single rumpled bed. Another door to the south leads out of the room back to the main area.
A bearskin rug dominates the floor of this trophy room, and the heads of several deer have been mounted on the walls. Doors lead north and south, while two hallways go farther east, back into the Great Room.
Oriol notices that there seems to be a hidden trap door under that rug.
Junan follows Oriol as he explores. Every time he opens a new door he grips his spear waiting for another enemy to jump out.
Oriol kicks the bear rug away to reveal the trapdoor to the others, but doesn't open it. "Probably the main place where the bandits are storing their ill-gotten gold..."
He then moves to the northern door and then to the southern one.
Uncovering the trap door, everyone immediately sees the padlock, keeping the door locked tight.
Moving on to the next door, quickly checked for traps and found lacking, it opens up into the kitchen. A large fireplace takes up most of the north wall of this room, its radiant heat providing palpable relief from the cold weather outside. Cabinets and shelves line the remaining wall space, and four windows look out on the wintry landscape surrounding the lodge.
The southern door fare little better in being special in any way, revealing another small bedroom, though this one seems to have been untouched, with a single bed and a small wardrobe.
Oriol turns to the others, already more relieved. "Well, it appears we've dealt with them. No one in the ground level." He then points to the trapdoor and the padlock. "Since it is locked, I doubt there is someone down there, unless as a prisoner, so lets first check the second level..."
Oriol proceeds to climb the stairs, opening the first door he finds.
Juan looks thoughtfully at the padlock before moving on. "All I could do is try to break the door. That lock is probably sturdier than the wood it's attached to."
Satisfied with the current state of the area, Oriol leads the others up the stairs to the balcony overlooking the great room. At the top, there is only a single door, currently hanging open.
An L-shaped table with many chairs takes up most of the floor space in this loft. A second smaller table sits near the entrance, and several windows look over the snowy grounds of the lodge. In the southwest corner, a large map hangs on the wall, opposite another door in the northeast wall.
Oriol enters the room and opens the last door.
The door opens into a musty storeroom, filled with dozens of small boxes, bottles, and papers. A small iron cage sits on the top shelf, emanating a flickering light like that of a candle.
"Hey!" Calls a small, angry, if somewhat weakened voice, "You down there! Let me outta here, or else!"
"Hmm, maybe if you try that again without the attitude." Nutar suggests back. He summons a small ball of light to try to find the source of the voice.
The voice's only response seems to be a low-muttering mockery of Nutar's words.
Oriol extends his hand to Junan. "Junan, would you be kind enough to lend me your weapon?" He then turns it around, using the pole part to latch into the cage and then, with care, more it around until it is resting on the top of the table. "Now... what do we have here?"
With the help of a well-made polearm shaft, Oriol is able to pull the cage off the shelf, if not exactly smoothly. He places it on the table where everyone can get a good look at the tiny creature inside.
The lithe, diminutive creature looks like a humanoid with wispy, moth-like wings, and long, thin ears. It's skin has a sickly bluish cast marked with spidery white veins, like hoarfrost on glass.
Nutar recognizes the creature from stories he's heard from the far north. While, physically, it looks like a common sprite, but the tell-tale signs indicate that this one is Winter-touched; meaning that it has gone through a complex ritual that makes them immune to winter's touch.
The little guy looks like he's been in here for a good amount of time. His natural glow seems to be fading in and out, and he's looking a little haggard. "Please let me out! I beg of you!" it cries.
Oriol eyes the tiny fey, remembering they did fight some winter fey this very day. "We'll free you for sure, but only if you promise not to do us any harm and explain what is going on with this off-season winter."
"I've heard that if a fey makes an oath three times, she can't break it." He states, not really believing such thing to be true but... who knows?
"Oh yes!" he nearly cries out. "Whatever you say, boss!" The little sprite just nods repeatedly.
You all notice that the cage is locked with a padlock.
Oriol looks for the key on the room. "Any idea where the keys might be, little one?"
"Oh please, listen to that begging. He would tell us the snow was purple if he thought it would set him free." Nutar scoffs.
The blue sprite gives Nutar a nasty look, then says, "Couldn't say for sure, but that nasty human was the one that kept me in here! Maybe he has the key!"
Junan shrugs at the remark. "I go check it out." he says plainly. He then goes to search the bodies.
Junan makes his way back out to the slaughter field that is the front step of the lodge, and Uthred decides to follow along, getting a little bored of the caged fairy. Finding the body that seemed to be the caster, he searches it, pulling out a few various items.
- 3 vials of some kind of oil
- masterwork studded leather armor
- dagger
- light crossbow w/ 10 bolts
- masterwork shortsword
- well made, shaggy, white fur cloak
- masterwork thieves' tools
- ring of 3 keys
- spellbook
- wooden symbol
- 15 gp
Looking over Junan's shoulder, the Ulfen singer pipes up. "Definitely look like keys. Think one might be for the cellar door?"
Nutar lets the others search while he goes back to poke at the fairy a bit. "Alright listen, we have no quarrel with you, so there's no need to lie. We're gonna let you go, as far as I'm concerned you're just a fey that's a captured victim of the bandits here. But you have to be honest with us. The more you can tell us, the more we can free your kin and help rid this area of the people who would cage you."
The sprite stares at Nutar for a full minute, but finally he crosses his arms over his chest and sticks his tongue out. "My kin will flay the flesh from your bones and force feed it to you. Perhaps Teb will play with your corpse first before having you for a snack."