"Riftun, tell them to surrender! I don't want to keep killing them!"
Torra sends another blast of earth at any of the visible thugs.
Riftun tries his best not to vomit at all the gore. As he chokes down his bile he nods solemnly to Torra.
"Yuto and Andy focus up on the one in the door if they don't back down!"
RIftun urges the Frozen Shadows to surrender - though his words go largely ignored. Even as he does so, he urges his fellows onwards, as is his wont.
Seeing that they are as yet unwilling to surrender, Torra advances to get a shot lined up on one of them. Dodging between her comrades, she spies one - a Varki man with a spear . Aiming carefully, she blasts a projectile at him. However, he throws himself out of the way, and thanks to her fellows standing in between them, the dodge is enough to get him out of the way.
Two of the thugs step into the back end of the room, ready their spears, and hurl them at Yuto. One simply flies wide, striking the wall next to him, but the other nearly strikes home. The samurai is prepared, however, and parries it with a sweep of his father's blade.
The others simply stand ready, their weapons gleaming in the light from the overhanging lamp.
"T-they don't seem prone to su-surrender" Yuto looks at Riftun, then eyes at Andochtuir "W-what shall we do?"
Looking at the nest of readied weapons, Yuto clenches his teeth before moving in "Then you will pay for your liege deeds!"
Andochtuir squares his chiseled jaw. "Then such is their choice."
He begins moving forward into the room filled with assassins. "Riftun, maybe you shouldn't watch this." He softly speaks on the way there.
The next moment, another one of the shadows gets bisected with a brutally precise cut of his glowing - and now blood-soaked - Fauchard.
As soon as Yuto steps into their reach, the two thugs nearest to him attack - even before he has the chance to. Fortunately, Helgarval's defensive aura keeps the first's axe well away from him, while he just manages turn the other's spear away from his vulnerable underarms.
In a vicious counterattack, Yuto slashes deep into the axeman's shin. He lets out a horrific yelp, leaping away as best he can with the injured limb.
Andochtuir steps into the room, which prompts another of the Frozen Shadows to rush him with a charge. Fortunately, the surgeon is more than prepared, and cuts the woman with a broad sweep of his fauchard. Though it nearly disembowels her, she is able to heave her axe at him before collapsing. Unsurprisingly, the weapon does little more than tap against his hardened skin before dropping to the floor.
Following through on the attack, he hews another thug down, cleaving her messily in twain.
Torra shifts for a better view and aims for one of the Frozen Shadows against the far wall, before they have a chance to rush Yuto and Andochtuir.
Riftun averts his gaze as bidden, biting his lip uncomfortably as he hears the screams of another dying person. The bard tightens his fist and looks forward taking a few steps forward towards the open doorway. "We'll do what we must then... Andy pleas finish that ne in the corner. Let's try to get a good grouping." He says with deadly resolve.
Riftun begins to advance as he continues to inspire and advise his companions. Torra, aided by his insight, hurls a blast of earth over Andochtuir's head that falls and cracks into one of the thugs' heads. The woman doesn't even get a chance to scream before she falls to the ground, unconscious and bleeding.
The rest of the thugs move in, apparently resolved to die. With a shout, the closest one to Andochtuir rushes forwards, swinging her spear with a heavy hand. The half-elf is more than prepared to deflect the attack with the haft of his polearm, and does just that, swatting the spear tip aside.
A Tien man in the back charges forwards as quickly as he can, hoping that Andochtuir's parry has kept him distracted. Unfortunately for him, the half-elf is more than prepared to strike at him as he charges forwards, his fauchard flicking out in a heavy arc. Blood sprays from the wound and the man topples before he can even get in range of the alchemist.
The other two Frozen Shadows near to Yuto continue their assault on him, stabbing haplessly. One manages to get a lucky strike in, piecing through his armor and Helgarval's aura both. Though it only clips his skin, the pain still burns up his stomach. The other fighter is significantly less fortunate - her spear bounces off of his armor.
Too worried for the spears being thrown, Yuto shouts in pain when the pointy metal stabs deep on his side "Y-you wanted this..."
He focuses on slashing again at the yellow one, trying to finish the injured one first.
Acting on Riftun's instructions, Andy moved further into the room, cutting as he went!
Yuto sweeps his blade at the injured man, cutting him down with an elegant flick of his blade. Blood splatters on the wall behind the thug, staining the stone red.
Andochtuir takes a few steps into the room - away from his attacker - and slashes open the woman's stomach. She drops, bleeding copiously onto the ground. Sunlight shafts through the windows to the east and Andochtuir's blade gleams red.
The last remaining Frozen Shadow grows panicked, looking desperately at the door beyond Andochtuir and Yuto.
Torra drops her defenses; no-one was getting even close to threaten her. Instead, she puts all her focus into her strike, willing a very precise amount of force into it.
"Torra try to take out this last one in a way we can still question them later... Andy if you could do the same?" Riftun instructs in a defeated, melancholic tone.
Riftun feels himself growing exhausted, but pushes onward with his advice and inspiration of his companions. As he does so, chips of rocks and earth tear themselves from the floor and walls as Torra focuses her power into a non-lethal burst of power... which unfortunately crashes into the wall above the remaining thug's head.
With a desperate lunge, the last woman attempts to get away from the pair of warriors. With swift feet, she's able to dart away from Yuto before he can attack, and slip past Andochtuir - but only until she reaches the door, at which point Andochtuir's long weapon lets him get the chance to attack her. Despite this, however, she is able to dodge away without letting him have the chance. She flings open the doors, letting in a blast of cold air, and runs across a bridge in the distance.
"Oh no! She is escaping!" Yuto moves after the warrior, exiting through the same door to reach the bridge.
If she is not at reach but he can spot it, he tries to redo his feat from Brinewall and throws the katana directly at the back of the fleeing warrior "Don't run! Just fight!"
Yuto rushes out of the open door, and (in a repeat of a long ago attack), hurls his father's sword at the fleeing Frozen Shadow. Though still less than aerodynamic, it hurtles through the air and catches the thug in the back. She yelps and stumbles, but manages to keep her feet through the pain.
Andochtuir joins the samurai outside, grabbing a javelin, and hurls it at the Frozen Shadow in turn. This spear darts through the air with relative ease compared to the sword. Unfortunately, as she is stumbling from the previous attack, she goes in a different direction than the half-elf had anticipated, and the javelin goes wide.
The meadow outside is surprisingly picturesque, despite the fleeing and bleeding Frozen Shadow occupying it. It squeezes between the steeply sloping flanks of the nearby crags that rise a hundred feet or more overhead. A narrow waterfall rushes in a torrent down one of these slopes and collects in a catch pond next to a thatch-roofed lean-to with two large fieldstone chimneys. A small torrent exits this pond, wending its way toward the great hall, where it disappears into a metal grate in the hall’s foundation. A path from the lean-to leads over a narrow bridge of rough-sawn logs arching over the stream and farther down the defile, until it is lost among the rocky outcroppings beyond.
Riftun runs forward to catch up with Andy and Yuto, once again impressed by the samurai's sword throwing skills... Now certainly there were swords whose design lended themselves well to throwing but a katana was certainly not amongst them!
It's all that Torra can do to keep up with the long-legged Andochtuir, and the dwarf bursts through the door leading outside in time to see the last Frozen Shadow fleeing.
Riftun and Torra both advance as quickly as they are able, joining their allies outside. The bitter chill of the air bites at their skin, and Riftun is left breathless enough that he can't keep up his insightful advice.
Meanwhile, the thug continues dashing away from the party, pushing herself to escape in the direction of the outcroppings - to the south, and well away from Ravenscraeg.
She calls something over her shoulder as she dodges around a sheep.
Yuto follows after the man through the bridge while drawing his wakizashi into the free hand, he throws it in an attempt to convince the man to keep running "You better abide by those words and never come back!"
Yuto will not further chase the man and will move forward just to recover his katana and wakizashi before coming back into the building.
"What? What did she say?" pants Torra as the dwarf emerges from the keep. The view of the sheep peacefully grazing is jarring after all the bloodshed and death experienced inside but a moment ago.
Andochtuir looks at the fleeing thug, hesitating a moment until Yuto hurls his wakizashi (missing the woman) before nodding in agreement with Torra's question.
Helgarval interjects. "She wishes to flee and promises to never return." He says, his voice seeming to Yuto to come from inside his own head. An alarming result of wearing something that could speak.
Yuto looks up, perhaps confused he did not think to say what is sounding in his head, until he realizes about Helgarval "Ah... y-y-yes, h-he will not come back. I guess."
With his weapons recovered, he makes it back to the group "Ho-how are we fearing so-so far?"
Sheathing back the wakizashi, he takes a look at the valley and at the building, paying particular attention at any window or other opening "W-what a strange place for a valley. Do you think anyone noticed us?"
Now that the party has a chance to stop and look around, they are able to count that there are, in fact, seven sheep with thick wool wandering the small dell. They keep well away from the heroes, likely wary of the smell of blood on them.
"We better make it back into the structure. W-we are too e-exposed in here" Yuto eyes the sheep one last time and then walks back into the building.
In order to keep going with their mission, Yuto makes it through the corridor and opens the door to the north by the end of the corridor.
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Riftun puzzles over the surrounds, this was pleasant surely, even idyllic, but coming so soon after dealing with the blooded halls of the fortress it felt almost wrong. Riftun shakes his head. "My voice is fairly strained at this point but I should be able to keep going, though perhaps less effectively than before. B-But yes, let's head back into the fortress and finish what's been started. We owe the dead that much." The boy says before muttering a prayer to Desna as he follows his friends and allies back inside.
"I just wish they'd believe us when we tell them it's better for them if they surrender," sighs Torra. "So much pointless death. And I doubt that their sacrifice will be honored by whoever commands this keep."
With a new focus, the dwarf follows Yuto, keeping an eye out for surprises.
After Yuto recovers both his swords, the party returns to the holdfast and, passing through the blood-soaked room that they realize must be the kitchen, they head into the long corridor. Careful observation reveals that among the many, many tools hanging in the hallway there are some very finely made smithing tools and even a portable anvil.
Turning away from the trapdoor in the ceiling, they head towards the eastern part of Ravenscraeg, where Yuto pushes on one of the doors, only to find that it's locked.
The other door, further to the east , however, is not. A careful ear to the door doesn't reveal any unusual noises, nor do either Torra or Yuto see any traps.
"This one seems closed" Yuto turns to the other door and noticing there is no noise there, he pushes it open "Ho-ope they really hear us n-next time Torra. Bu-ut I fear m-more their master than they f-fe-fear us..."
Yuto opens the door, revealing a tall chamber that is likely the base of the tower they had seen outside. The room itself has been hewn from the rock of the crag, and a wooden stair rises along the walls to the north. Tables and workbenches fill the chamber, holding all manner of alembics, crucibles, burners, and assorted tools, as well as a large glass case holding what appears to be a human body. A variety of dried herbs and plants dangle in profusion from hooks on the bottoms of the stairs, and sacks and chests holding additional equipment and components have been shoved underneath the stairs. A torch mounted on one of the stair posts illuminates the chamber with a flickering glow.
As soon as they enter, the body in the glass reveals that he is, in fact alive, as he starts banging and speaking in an oddly droning voice. None of the heroes understand his words, but it is fairly clear he wants to be let out.
There is something clearly quite wrong with the man, however - it looks like there are a whole lot of tiny creatures crawling beneath his skin.
In Hell, there are innumerable vicious beings that are subordinate to devils but not actually among their number - hellhounds, cerberi, and so on. One such creature is the so-called hellwasp. Though they are called wasps, these infernal nightmares are worse in every way - up to and including a malign intelligence when gathered as a hive or swarm.
Hallwasp swarms are, of course, swarms, and have all of the qualities that one might expect - being incredibly unpleasant to be surrounded by, attacking those within the swarm, and so on - but also have unique abilities to of their own.
For one, hellwasps are entirely immune to weaponry. Not even the most holy enchanted sword can meaningfully harm them. Only spells and other unusual means of damage can truly do them harm. They are, as one might expect from natives of Hell, very resistant to fire, and difficult to harm with even something like alchemist's frost or acid flasks - holy water is the only reliable means.
Such swarms are also capable flying into the orifices of larger creatures - anything from a halfling to an ogre's size - so long as they are either dead or rendered unable to resist. Though they do not possess the creature as such, they are able to wreak havoc on their insides and generally use them as a shield from any hostile actions.
Finally, as with mundane wasps, the stings of hellwasps are poisonous, numbing the body and locking the joints.
Needless to say, releasing a swarm would be a terrible idea.
As Riftun steps forth into the chamber he is taken aback by the sudden shift once again into the realm of the scientific... not what he expected from these ninja... and yet when the man in the glass moves he is brought out of his state of curiosity and into one of shock! His initial reaction is to try and release the man and yet... the bard's sharp mind quickly assesses the situation and he reaches an arm out to stop his friends.
"I-I've read tales of these in old religious texts in my parent's library but... I hoped never to actually see them... my gods... The man has clearly been overtaken... infested even by a swarm of hellwasps, without holy water or potent magics there isn't much we can do a-and to release the swarm would only mean our deaths... Maybe they stashed the cure somewhere around here? I would ask the man but... I believe he's speaking in Infernal, y-you can tell by the heavily structured format of the language... Riftun explains, eyes wide and swallowing hard.
Torra recoils in horror, taking a half-step back from the creature in the glass case. "Where did these hellwasps come from? Is someone here summoning demons? What -"
What have we gotten ourselves into?
Shooting wary glances at the writhing creature, Torra begins to search the room for anything useful.
Yuto swallows seeing the state of the man and hearing Riftun's story "Well then, we better leave him there. I-it is nothing o-of our business..."
The young Tian goes over the doors in the room and tries to open them. First the one that seems a small storage, then the one at the other side of the room.
Despite he knows his loyalty is only with his liege, he cannot avoid giving a look or two at the afflicted man while he works his way through the room.
Helgarval speaks. "Just so. The being radiates evil." It pauses, its wings fluttering slightly. "It is a threat beyond us. We should alert others, more potent than ourselves, to its presence here."
Between Andochtuir's expertise in matters alchemical, Torra's survival knowledge, and Riftun's wide education, the heroes are able to identify that most of the herbs and plants dangling about are poisonous - specifically from the nightshade family of plants, though one small sack lying on a table contains dried malyass roots - enough that Andochtuir could probably make some malyass root paste, were he so inclined.
Other than that, the place is a mess. A longer, more thorough search might reveal more valuables or items of use, but the disorganized scatter is not ideal for searching through.
The door that Yuto checks is firmly locked .
As it becomes clear that the party is ignoring the swarm's pleas, the corpse begins banging feebly on the glass, its droning voice growing louder.
Yuto looks at the swarming body in disarray, then points to the locked door "I-I think there is someone there locked. I ca-can hear someone crying inside..."
The man leaves space for Riftun to unlock it, or maybe Torra doing some trick to create a passage through the rock.
Riftun notices the body's pounding and his heart begins to race, what if it broke out?
He quickly grabs his thieves' tools and sets to work. "Y-Yes, we should help as quickly as we can... a-and perhaps vacating this room as quickly as possible would be a good idea too."
Torra shouts through the door as Riftun attempts to unlock it. "Who are you?"
Riftun manages to jimmy open the lock after a few attempts, and opens the door to reveal what is fairly clearly a prison cell. It is ten feet deep and no more than five feet high has been excavated in this corner of the tower’s foundation. The cell is rank with the smell of sweat and urine, and a pair of rats scurry among the rib cage of some former inhabitant.
Inside is a skeletally thin Ulfen man with a few obvious bruises and the flush of a fever on his brow. "Y-you... you're not with the Rimerunners, are you?" His voice is weak, and his Taldane is heavily accented with Skald, but he seems... somewhat coherent.
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Yuto steps back as the reek reaches his nostrils, but once his eyes adjust to the low light, his heart turns as he notices the Ulfen features of the prisoner "U-Ulf? Ulf Gormundr?"
He looks for his waterskin and offers it to the man.
Rummaging in their pack for some food and medicine, Torra begins to provide the prisoner with urgent care. The dwarf mashes a piece of bark into a mortar, then adds a trickle of water to make a thick paste.
"Eat this. It's bitter, but should help with the fever."
"Who...?" The man blinks at Yuto. "N-no, my name is Haggersly. Lute Haggersly. You..."
He coughs, and eats Torra's offered cure. Coughing and spitting, he swallows. After several heavy, heaving breaths, he looks more clearly at the party. "I'm Lute Haggersly, like I said. I'm a... a shareholder in the Rimerunners Guild. Or maybe I should say I was."
He coughs again, clearing his throat. "I guess I managed to piss off the wrong woman. I voted against something Thorborg, that b%++~, had proposed. When her bullies came to threaten me, I... made the choice to refuse to bend." He gestures at his situation. "You see where that got me."
Yuto sorrows as he discovers this is not the man they are looking for, but still, he nods in appreciation of the man's story "Then you are a worth man, to keep loyal to the good of your organization even against a cruel patron. But what can you tell us about Thorborg and the other leaders of the Guild?"
He gives more food and water for the man to recover and will also ask "While you have been here... do you happen to have seen or heard about an ancient Minkai Katana?"
He hacks a chuckle. "You flatter me. I'm not so idealistic as to stand for the good of the whole organization if it went against my own long-term interests. The two were the same in this issue, however."
"I... can't say I've heard anything of that... but I do have news that might interest you - and every merchant in Kalsgard, at that." He grimaces. "My captors mostly sent a strange trollish sort of witch to... experiment on me and threaten me, as well as one of Thorborg's bullies, but I also met a purple ogre - and she is the true form of Thorborg Silverskorr! I'm certain of it." He speaks so emphatically that he begins coughing again.
"A purple ogre?" Yuto exclaims holding his breath.
"It sounds from your words that these troll and ogre are dangerous for Kalsgard. Why do you think so?" the Tian asks, also adding after there are some responses "Does Thorborg have any relation to Minkai or other region of Tian-Xia?"
Despite the term "mage," these oni are just as dangerous in martial matters as they are with their spells. Being a giant does have its advantages, after all.
Furthermore, he's heard that each oni can disguise themselves as some sort of humanoid, meaning that it's possible that Lute is correct.
Lute frowns at the question. "No more than anyone who lives in Kalsgard that has an interest in the Path of Aganhei... I think. Although she did have a... bodyguard? Friend? Something like that - who was Tien-Min. I don't know what happened there, exactly."
"'Did have', meaning she doesn't anymore?" Torra interjects, frowning. "So, a troll witch and a purple ogre." The dwarf shakes their head. "What a strange assembly." Torra turns to the others. "Do you know anything of such creatures? What should we do?"
Addressing Lute again, she adds. "Do you know where in the keep they are? Any other guards or allies that they have?"
"Y-yes, where can we find them?" Yuto asks still processing the reveal about the ogre.
The young man turns to the others to explain what he thinks "T-that purple ogre, i-it sounds like an oni there. V-very dangerous. Can fly and become invisible, a-and they regenerate li-like trolls" he does swallow visibly scared "Plus they can enchant people"
"Th-They sound quite powerful indeed." Riftun swallows hard pondering the words of the man they had just rescued it seemed.
"Do you think we can take them on as we are? Perhaps it would be wise for us to get mister Haggersly to safety before proceeding with an assault on such powerful foes."
"Don't know... we are quite far from the city... it will take us so much time, by when we are back they will be well readied or... gone..." Yuto looks at the man "I-I think w-we should keep going, can help him later. If it does not f-foil our goals"