Now that she's revealed the shaman and got Kit his wings, Flori tries to decide if she has something of more immediate use. The best thing she can come up with is stripping the man of his magics, hopefully the one keeping him up in the air.
It doesn't work very well.
Kit manages to land a jab on Tunuak while Ahreni leaps up and slices him with her glaive. Though injured, the old shaman refuses to relent. "I have the favor of Sithhud's chosen! I will not fall!" he shouts as he conjures another spiritual ally, this one flanking Kit. This time, the force creations slice into the monk with their swords!
Knowing enough about magic to be confident that taking out Tunuak will end his creations, and well aware that he needs to be distracted from the badly damaged Kaijitsu Ahreni repeats her previous tactic - pushing off the wall and leveraging her glaive's long reach to strike!
Ahreni's glaive slices open Tunuak's back! The old shaman groans in pain as he floats down to the ground, coughing up blood. The spiritual creations flicker and vanish as the life begins to fade from him. "Katiyana... I'm sorry... I failed..." he gasps, then he slumps to the ground, his blood staining the ice around him a dark crimson.
With Tunuak's defeat, you can look more closely at the pictograms painted on the walls. One of the pictograms along the walls shows strange black standing stones rising from icy hills, another displays a cluster of towers glowing with a strange blue light, and a third shows a single monolithic tower rising above what seems to be a black lake, with white mountain peaks behind it. A fourth pictogram depicts a spiraling storm with long arms ending in ice-fanged jaws devouring Erutaki villages, but with longer jaw-arms reaching toward forests, crudely drawn castles and cities, and what may be ships at sea. Warriors are shown trying to fight the storm with spears before being engulfed and sealed in tombs of ice. The final pictogram shows a blue-skinned woman with dark wings and hair, wearing a silver crown or circlet. Her hand grasps one of the claw-symbols like a scepter, and spiraling streaks of silver and white curl from it in every direction.
notes beneath the picture of the winged woman that speak of an obsessive love for “Katiyana, who speaks to me on the winds from her tower in the Storm.”
A quick search of the basin reveals a number of white shards, similar to ceramic, piled before the altar.
The paladin sends another wave of healing energy out to fortify her companions while her summoned katana makes its last attacks on the shaman before vanishing.
~~~~~
Not recognizing the significance of any of the pictographs, Relish defers to her more knowledgeable friends.
Ahreni 60/60
Relisha 57/73
Flori 35/35
Kitasai 58/58
Sylyn 58/58
"So... he was crazy right?" Ahreni asks as she examines the pictograms. "Anyone have any idea about any of these?"
She clearly doesn't...
"Well, yay. Don't you remember back in... well whatever that Ulfen city was called... that drunk sailor that wanted tried to show Flori his large 'Nameless Spire'. Well I asked about what that was, not to the drunk guy cause Kit broke his nose and there was blood and he wet himself, which was gross and funny at the same time. But to some other sailors..." she finally gets to the point, as she points to the cluster of towers glowing with a strange blue light. "Those are the Nameless Spires. It's a ruined city up near the North Pole, whatever that is." then she points to the white mountains "And those are the Alabastrine Peaks."
Relisha rubs some of the icy crust off her eyebrows and adjusts her fur-lined hood.
"They're not going to like either the news or us for delivering it, but we should inform the village that their shaman has been betraying them," she says with a sigh.
When you report what has occurred, both Chief Nalvanaq and Hearthmistress Sonavut are shocked by Tunuak's betrayal. They ask to accompany you back to the shaman's hideaway, where they study the pictograms. They can also identify the Nameless Spires, where the Erutaki believe the wind spirits reside—a dangerous place, but a source of great visions for those brave enough to seek it. Tunuak himself undertook a vision quest within the last year; most likely he fell under the spell of this winged woman. The standing stones are strange to them, but a few hunters on the High Ice have reported seeing such monoliths in recent months. They are also familiar with the fang-armed spiral of the morozkos, the seemingly living storms that can devour entire villages and that almost seem to seek out their victims like living things. Neither Nalvanaq nor Sonavut recognizes the winged woman figure illustrated in the pictograms.
The dragon eggshells found in Tunuak’s Bore point to the shaman as the one responsible for the dragon’s attacks, but even with Tunuak defeated, Iqaliat is still in danger from the predations of the dragon Vegsundvaag. You have already done the village a great service by exposing Tunuak’s treachery, but both Chief Nalvanaq and Sonavut would greatly appreciate your aid if you are willing to take on the dragon!
"I will help them." Ahreni says calmly as the caravan gathers for their evening meal. "I feel like it is the right thing to do. I speak only for myself, assuming the Empress will give me leave to go." She adds with a slight nod to Ameiko. "Any of you who wish are welcome to join me. I would be glad of the company but I don't expect it."
Sylyn seems startled by the turn of Ahreni's words "What? Of course, we're going!" she looks away from the blonde Aasimar to her friends "Right?"
The aasimar doesn't say anything but one hand snakes out to brush over Sylyn's, and the ifrit can see that Ahreni is grateful for the support.
Relisha agrees with a short nod.
"With the Empress' leave, of course we'll help them. It's the only right thing to do," she says. "We should set out tomorrow morning."
" I will come." Kitsai says, turning from Ahreni to Relisha. He winces in pain as he twists, pointing to his left side. "Do you have any more of your healing magics left before we depart by chance? If not, it's just a scratch and I'll be fine."
Ameiko nods. "Yes, we will help them, of course. Besides saving their lives, we also need to deal with the dragon so that we can proceed on our journey. I have nothing but confidence in your abilities to defeat it!" She grins and gives Relisha's shoulder a squeeze.
Hearthmistress Sonuvat gives each of you a set of claws of the ice bear to help in your hunt. Chief Nalvanaq also offers to provide a guide to take you the dragon's lair while the caravan remains behind in Iqaliat.
The next day, you set out from the village. The white dragon Vegsundvaag makes her lair underneath the icepack about 60 miles north of Iqaliat, in a vertical rift that spans a vast gulf over subglacial rock-spires. During sunny periods, meltwater slicks the icy walls of the rift before cascading in an algid spray into gravelly pools below. The 20-foot-wide rift stretches over 100 feet long at ground level but narrows to half that width below before widening into a massive subglacial chasm 400 feet deep.
To Ameiko, Kitasai boasts "You may not know, but I can fly now. I can easily dispatch a dragon.". Looking back at his companions he sweeps his hand across them and adds "With their help, of course."
---
Surveying the scene, he asks "Do we have enough rope to tie off to assist with the descent down? That should ease this process for those that cannot fly." He looks to Flori, expectantly.
" I will come." Kitsai says, turning from Ahreni to Relisha. He winces in pain as he twists, pointing to his left side. "Do you have any more of your healing magics left before we depart by chance? If not, it's just a scratch and I'll be fine."
The tiefling examines Kit and furrows her brow. "Hmmm..." she ponders. She gives a brief supplicatory prayer to her goddess and presses her hands on the man's shoulder.
~~~~~
Relisha utterly fails to conceal the grin that results from Ameiko's praise and her face turns the color of a ripe tomato. "I will endeavor to not let you down, my empress," she says, her eyes seeking out the woman's before looking back at the ground.
~~~~~
Pulling ropes that she brought from the caravan, Relisha gives a nod at Kit before beginning the tedious process of knotting them. Once that's done, she gets assistance in securing one end before dropping the other over the edge and watches as it settles down on the ledge below.
"It would be helpful if you would remain flying near us as we descend," she suggests to the monk before taking a deep breath and levering herself over the edge to descend into the crevasse.
Ahreni, equipped with magical ice claws, is able to scramble down the face relatively easily. She does pause a few times to wait for the others, with a particularly cautious eye on Sylyn.
Sylyn looks at the sheet wall and then at the lovely knotted rope of Relisha, and decides wisely to follow behind her.
You safely climb down to the ledge within the glacial rift and move deeper into the long cave. A deep growl echoes from the darkness ahead, followed by a roar and the beating of wings! Emerging into your light is a large dragon with scales glittering like polished ice edged with silver. Her scaled face is marred with claw marks, and the horned frill surmounting her head is tattered and scarred, enhancing the menace of her dark, deep-set eyes. Her body is stout and muscular, and measures about 15 feet from her snout to the base of her thick tail.
"Murderers!" she shrieks in Draconic. "I will have vengeance for my unborn children!"
Ahreni would retort, but she doesn't understand what the dragon is saying so she contents herself with a challenge of her own and charges!
"For Iqaliat!"
Sylyn is in awe of the magificant creature before them. A bewildering mix of terrifying and stunning. "Um... Flori... should have asked this before but... is there anything we should know about dragons?"
She doesn't wait for an answer before lining up her shot, though she delays a moment to study the creature before releasing.
Kit speaks manage languages, but that of dragons is lost upon him. Once he sees Ahreni charge off, he quickly moves alongside her.
Kitasai's attack comes up short, but Ahreni slices into the dragon's flank, and Sylyn lodges an arrow in its chest, the fire burning it badly! Roaring angrily, the dragon steps up a bit and attacks Ahreni!
Seeing one she cares about so much get torn into throws off the archer's aim.
Stubborness is a defining trait of Ahreni's, and watching Kit make a spectacular fool of himself does not reassure her that now is a safe time to withdraw...
The flashing image in her mind of Ahreni being savaged by the evil creature is quickly replicated in the real world and the tiefling feels her chest tighten. Knowing that keeping the woman standing is paramount to their success, she grasps the sunburst-surrounded figure dangling from her neck and calls forth energy to fill the area.
Ahreni 24/60
Relisha 73/73
Flori 35/35
Kitasai 58/58
Sylyn 58/58
When the dragon steps up, Kit pivots to a flanking with position with Ahreni and tries his best to take this sucker down.
Flori casts haste on the party!
Kit moves to flank the dragon with Ahreni, allowing each of them to land a hit as they outmaneuver the creature. Thanks to Flori's spell, both warriors score an additional hit, while Sylyn hits with one flaming arrow from her volley.
The dragon is now badly wounded, and it tries to burrow into the ice to flee--
--but Ahreni and Kit slice and slam the dragon before it can escape, and it falls!
With the dragon's defeat, you are able to claim its hoard: one lesser dragon slaying arrow, a +2 short sword, a potion of protection from arrows, a ring of feather falling, a horse terra-cotta talisman, a wand of ray of enfeeblement (15 charges), a masterwork light steel shield, a masterwork cold iron spiked gauntlet, a masterwork composite shortbow (+2 Strength) with 11 arrows, a masterwork spear, a climber’s kit, 200 feet of silk rope, a piece of amber (worth 100 gp), three bloodstones (worth 50 gp each), a blue sapphire (worth 500 gp), a leather quiver decorated with winter wolf fur and tooled with Snowcaster elf designs (worth 500 gp), 3,104 cp, 2,521 sp, 594 gp, and 202 pp.
Ahreni spends a few moments breathing hard as her body processes the adrenaline of the fight and the pain of her considerable wounds before she runs her eyes over Kit to make sure he is unharmed. Having reassured herself that she is the only one who has suffered at all she bends to retrieve Sylyn's arrows, and then spends a little longer to extract one of the dragon's teeth.
With a little snow most of the blood and viscera is removed and she offers Sylyn the trophy along with her arrows.
"You should keep a reminder of the first dragon you killed." She says with a smile, before turning to Flori and embracing her briefly. "You saved us all." She says firmly. "Thank you."
Relisha ignores the uncovered dragon hoard as well as any 'trophies' acquired from the dead beastie. Her attention is drawn to Ahreni's wounds and she doesn't engage in anything else until said wounds are healed.
Ahreni 59/60
Relisha 73/73
Flori 35/35
Kitasai 58/58
Sylyn 58/58
Sylyn runs up to the warrior who is so torn, though the fact she refuses to sit still even when Relisha is trying to heal her speaks of her endearing but infuriating stubbornness, "Wait, you should... would you please... Ahreni!" the dragon tooth shuts her up though, making her stare at it in wonder "wow"
"I'm fine, Sylyn." Ahreni says gently, cupping Sylyn's warm cheek with her own cool hand. "Relisha's fixed me up just fine and we've done a great thing for Iqaliat. Don't worry, I'm fine."
With Relisha's healing done she sets to work gathering up the treasure, and splits the loot into two large packs, taking one herself and leaving the other for Kit.
"Let's get back." She says with a smile. "There's good news to share."
Looking at the fallen dragon, Kit soaks in what they just accomplished. He says to Ahreni "See. I told you it would not be a problem.", but turns to find the aasimar embracing Flori. He surveys the scene one last time before moving to look through all of the gemstones they've just obtained.
Kit takes the pack and hefts it silently, agreeing with Ahreni.
After slaying Vegsundvaag, youreturn to Iqaliat in triumph. The Erutaki hail you as mighty heroes, and hold a great feast of caribou, goat, and fish taken from the riverlands. During the feast, Chief Nalvanaq and Sonavut take you aside. The elders have studied the pictograms in Tunuak’s Bore and believe they have discovered more of the shaman’s plans. Ancient tales say that the morozkos were the roaring scourge wielded by the demon lord Sithhud, who ate the flesh of the dead and bound their bones to serve him in ages past. The three-fingered skeletal claw is Sithhud’s mark, and the pictograms suggest that the dark-winged woman may have found some way to reclaim the demon lord’s ancient power, perhaps using the strange black monoliths or other ancient magics discovered in the Nameless Spires.
The elders believe that the third pictogram shows a place that the Erutaki call the Storm Tower. So named because of the storms that always seem to swirl above its pinnacle, this spire is similar to those found in the Nameless Spires, but it stands alone near the Alabastrine Peaks. The morozkos have already been awakened, but if the woman gains full control over the hungry storms, none will be able to stand before them, and your caravan will never make it across the Crown of the World. If you hope to make the crossing, you must journey to the Storm Tower and deal with her before her designs are complete.
You can rest at Iqaliat for as long as you wish. In addition, Hearthmistress Sonavut gives you a sashimono of comfort and two fully charged wands of endure elements to help the caravan survive its trek across the High Ice.
Relisha insists that the banner is affixed to Ameiko's wagon, ignoring any protests the empress-in-exile may make.
She questions to find out how long it will take to travel to the Storm Tower and what sort of foes they may face on the journey. She'd also like to learn more about this 'dark-winged woman'.
Ahreni quite enjoys the feast, although the food is somewhat heavy for her tastes. The news... is less good, and somehow it doesn't surprise her that her second trip across the Crown of the World is going to be even worse than the first.
"I'm never leaving Minkai again." She mutters to herself, "Or if I am I'm taking a bloody boat!" Still, lots of people are being cheerful and the mood proves infectious so she's soon smiling again.
She soon finds herself in a little ocean of space so she takes advantage and casts around for Sylyn.
"Hello Sunshine." She says with a smile. "Are you having fun?"
Sylyn was chatting with a few girls, seemingly her age (or at least visible). "Very much." she smiled back, waving to the others as they left the two alone. "Amazing how friendly they are now, in comparison to that warm welcome we got when we arrived. They gave me this." she lifts, from the bed of her red hair, a crown of dried vines fitted with pretty light red pebbles. Then she raises it up over Ahreni and lays it on her head "Looks better on you, I think." her smile widens, as the act of crowning the blonde warrior got her very close.
The journey from Iqaliat to the Storm Tower is 700 miles across the High Ice and into the Boreal Expanse, bearing north and west of the Alabastrine Peaks rather than following the Path of Aganhei eastward. Ulf has never been that close to the pole before, but he has heard stories and seen enough maps that, using the mountains as a landmark, he is confident in his ability to bring the caravan there, and afterwards guide it beyond the far end of the Alabastrine Peaks to rejoin the Path of Aganhei at Dead Man’s Dome.
Traveling across the High Ice is more difficult than the tundra, both because the terrain is more rugged and because it is more desolate, and thus harder to navigate. The environment also becomes more extreme the farther north the caravan ventures. One hundred miles north of Iqaliat, the elevation passes 5,000 feet. The thin air makes it difficult to breathe. Extremes of light and darkness are also exaggerated as the caravan approaches the pole. In the winter, polar night reigns supreme, meaning that the journey takes place in nearly uninterrupted darkness.
The biting winds and extreme cold would be devastating without magic like the sashimono of comfort to protect you. Still, as the days turn into weeks during your journey through the desolate wasteland, it begins to wear on you...
Thankfully Ahreni can see in the dark, because this has got to be one of the least pleasant trips she's ever taken. At her insistence, backed by both Relisha and Sylyn, the 'normal' people are more or less confined to the wagons where they can at least be guaranteed a modicum of warmth and shelter. It's a sensible decision, but one that leaves Ahreni out at the front of the caravan for long periods of time and tests her natural resistance to cold to its limit.
Thankfully Sylyn's natural warmth and good cheer has been a sustaining force this far.
The pleasantly warm archer does her ever-loving best to be of good cheer as much as possible around everyone, especially Ahreni. It is a bit hard since the landscape is "Utterly crap. Frozen crap, with a side of bleak fungal pudding." she manages a trembling smile "At least no one's tried to kill us in a few days."
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Relisha is kept busy battling the threat of frostbitten extremities in her companions to pay too much attention to the beautiful but deadly terrain. If she's spending extra time tending to the future empress of Minkai, that might be explained by the care her station warrants. Sometimes that extra care, though, is expressed in less than diplomatic terms.
"Dammit, Ameiko! I told you to keep those gloves on!" she snaps, finding the young woman, again, handling the reins to her wagon herself instead of letting one of the others lead it. Purposefully ignoring how the tiny white crystals of ice transform the Tian woman's face into that of a otherworldly fairy princess, she snatches the leather straps from the cold hands. After checking for any tell-tale signs, she shoves the fur-lined gloves back on Ameiko's hands. "Please," she says in a softer voice. "Your hands are too beautiful to start losing fingers."
Neither of them has any time for the party for the rest of the night...
"You always know how to keep things cheerful." The aasimar says with a smile, the flash of teeth showing light in the snowy gloom for a moment. "Shame that isn't going to last."
It's curious, the longer they spend in the snow the more important it seems to become for Ahreni to warm up thoroughly at night. This tends to involve Sylyn, a pile of blankets and as much skin to skin contact as can be arranged since, as Ahreni points out, 'wearing layers is just going to stop me enjoying your body warmth'.
The moans and occasional scream that accompany this 'warming up' are probably just tricks of the wind.
Ameiko sighs at Relisha. "Alright. I don't need you doting on me, you know. I can take care of myself. But I know it's just your way of showing that you care, and so I do appreciate it." She kisses the tiefling on the cheek.
***
In order to make more progress, you are going to have to deal with the morozkos--the "hungry storms"--prowling the region. The clues you discovered earlier point to the Storm Tower, one of the “Nameless Spires” created by some ancient race in ages past, though standing about 150 miles from the Nameless Spires that loom atop Golarion’s North Pole.
When you get within 50 miles of the Storm Tower, you can see a bluish glow at the northern horizon that intensifies as the tower comes into view. Within 10 miles, you can see the massive black spire itself, and the strange blue light emanating from its apex. The Storm Tower is a hexagonal spire of black basalt, towering hundreds of feet into the air. The tower is mired in a lake of black slush, with a shattered stone causeway leading across the lake toward a gaping hexagonal opening in the wall at the base of the tower. A huge, crackling ball of blue light floats just above the tower’s roof, while a raging white storm turns in an expanding spiral overhead.
There appear to be a large number of skeletons roaming around the enormous spire. It might be best to keep the caravan hidden while you approach the tower on foot.
"We'll move quickly and as quietly as we can." Ahreni suggests once the caravan is circled in the lee of the largest crag that can be found. "It's going to have to be a stealth mission, in and out. Lets go while we still have some light and be back before dark - hopefully."
Not wanting to be constricted in her movements Ahreni strips down to little more than a light jacket. "I'll be fine." She says when Sylyn starts to protest. "Let's just take it as incentive to move quickly."
"And if I get too cold you'll have to hold me close and warm me up." She adds in a more private whisper.
It is hard for Sylyn to know whether to narrow her eyes at her... oh goodness... girlfriend? the very thought of the word sends fluttering tickles into her belly, which is very not the warrior archer image she is trying to portray at the moment... where was she, Oh yes, whether to narrow her eyes at the stupidity of striping any layers and widening of the very same eyes at the private whisper.
She settles on a brief worried hug.
Relish is unable to hide the shy grin that hijacks her face and her attempt to continue being stern in her protectiveness suffers by it. Even without the grin, the fact that her face turns the color of a ripe tomato shows how much the simple touch of lips on her skin affects her.
"Well, yes ... I ... of course ..." she stammers out before checking the woman's gloves one more time as well as taking a long look at Ameiko's face. Entirely in her capacity as a healer checking for damage from the cold, of course. Realizing that she's staring at the woman's eyes she clears her throat. "Um ... well I best be off to check the others," she finally says before taking her leave.
~~~~~
"I don't know how quiet we're going to be," the healer says with a frown as she gazes out at the tower and causeway. "But those things aren't going away just because we want them to."
You slip past the wandering undead and approach the tower. The remains of a great causeway of white stone leads up to the base of the tower, though it has long since succumbed to time and elements, leaving only a few ruined spans standing exposed above the black slush surrounding the spire. A wide gap separates the end of the causeway from a hexagonal portal in the tower’s wall.
Ahreni takes a few paces back, hands Sylyn most of a coil of rope and runs towards the gap with the other end in her grasp.
With a mighty leap the aasimar sails across the gap as a momentary break in the clouds illuminates her in light for a fraction of a second.
It takes a moment for the What is Happening to take form in Sylyn's mind, then she scrambles to brace the rope in case Ahreni does not make that jump.