"I will go as well. If there are survivors, perhaps i can treat them. How long is it to reach them?" He asks the Shoanti, as he takes out his mutagen.
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Sandru waves Ritti goodnight, though he doesn't reply, seeming quite thoughtful.
Lone-Pillar looks at Sandru for permission, and the caravan master nods. "It's about a fifteen minute ride from here." The half-orc says. "I didn't go in too close, just in case there's something aggressive there."
Sandru considers the matter. "I think perhaps it would be best to send Ritti in as a scout. Yuto, Andochtuir and any other volunteers can go and investigate as well."
Zaiobe shifts on her talons, and Riftun speaks up. "Zaiobe says she could fly over and investigate."
Shalelu nods. "I'll join as well."
Ameiko looks thoughtful, but Teruko touches her shoulder, shaking her head. The Kaijitsu heiress sighs and nods.
Torra joins the forward scouting as well, out of curiosity, an unwillingness to let her close companions out of her sight, and a chance to stretch her frozen legs. Still, knowing she's not the quietest person, she hangs back a little - far enough to not spoil Ritti's sneaking, but close enough to put a shard of rock between the eyes of anyone or anything that bothers her.
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With the ‘go ahead’ from Sandru, the thief becomes all business. She drops her backpack and looks around at the terrain. From her pack, she pulls out a set of large colored scarves then selects a few that match the terrain. She quickly strips out of her winter coat and pants. Down to the black silk shozoku, Ritti pulls the ninja hood over her head then wraps and ties several of the scarves around her body and head – matching the terrain’s colors and effectively breaking up her silhouette. She throws a bandolier across her chest before stuffing all her extraneous gear into her pack and slinging it into the nearest wagon.
Ritti double-checks the contents of her bandolier. Satisfied with her preparations, she says, ”OK, so what’s the play? We double-up on horses and ride for 10 minutes or so, then walk in the rest of the way with Zaiobe here on overwatch?” she offers her hand to the harpy, ”Nice to meetcha, ma’am, I’m Ritti! Then we split into two groups. Me and whoever is VERY light-footed move forward for a sneak n’ peek… and we play the rest by ear? That sound about right?”
"So-sounds like a plan" Yuto reinforces Ritti's intentions, then moves up with the rest of the group, having a look at Zaiobe as it takes flight.
When the group gets close to its destination, Yuto gets slightly behind of Ritti and readies his bow, in case she needs some backup from the team "P-please, t-take care Ritti San"
As they get closer, the Tian looks around for tracks or any other hints of activity.
When they reach the point where the teams plan to split up, Ritti watches Zaiobe - their eyes in the sky - for any indication of trouble or distress.
If nothing seems the matter, Ritti switches her Winterland boots for her Burglar boots, with a shiver at the sudden cold. She speaks quietly, ”I’ll be as careful as I can, Yuto.” She looks to Shalelu, the one person she’s never worked with. ”Are you sneaky and coming with me or hanging back? No pressure. I’m used to working solo.”
Once the groups are sorted, Ritti makes any final adjustments to her camouflage, moves to the side of the trail, then slinks forward cautiously, trying to get eyes on the destroyed caravan.
Zaiobe grasps Ritti's hand, and the Varisian hears a voice in her head.
Releasing her hand, the harpy unslings her bow and takes to the sky, looking somewhat annoyed as she does so.
The group sets off along the road, which winds slowly through the hills. After ten minutes, they stop to get ready to advance stealthily. "I'm stealthy enough." Shalelu replies. "We can go together."
With that, Ritti and her away team move forwards.
Atsuko tags along as well. It troubles her to find a wrecked caravan so soon. She would have figured travel this close to the south would be comparatively elementary, and surely others would have passed this way fairly recently. I wouldn't think it's been there long...
She doesn't want to mess with Ritti's groove, so instead of staying right with her, she advances to keep Ritti within bowshot so she can support her if there's trouble right away.
Yuto nods, and keeps the distance with tension as he observes Ritti go. With an arrow nocked on his bow, he waits patiently for news, but constantly scanning the area for any danger that may happen.
"Be careful Ritti, though I'm sure that is just me stating the obvious. Please fall back to us at the first sign of trouble, all right?" Andochtuir says as the former thief heads out to scout on her own. He then goes unusually still as he keeps staring in the direction she went, altering his gaze only to briefly watch the sky at times. He was hyper focused on the slightest sound or other sign of trouble, putting his half-elven senses to their best possible use.
Shalelu curses under her breath. "I count seven. We should get back to the others!" She hisses.
Those are hoarfrost spirits - undead spawned of the iciest of climes. They can launch cones of icy wind at their hapless victims, and drain heat like a vampire drains blood - even their merest touch can chill someone to their bones. They are, fortunately, quite weak to fire, but totally immune to cold.
They can detect a body's heat easily - that must be how they spotted Ritti and Shalelu.
The others, meanwhile, see Zaiobe soaring overhead, circling several times before drawing her bow and nocking an arrow. There's probably something amiss!
Shalelu curses under her breath. "I count seven. We should get back to the others!" She hisses.
Ritti double-checks the elf’s count. She doesn’t bother keeping her voice down. ”Run, Shalelu!” She unceremoniously pushes the elf, giving her a head-start. ”I’m right behind you.” Ritti takes a moment to observe the monsters. Details mattered. She notes certain qualities, but can’t put a name to these things.
Ritti can run like the wind when sufficiently motivated… and she is more than motivated. She races after Shalelu, only slowing down when she catches up to the elf. She matches strides with her teammate, glances behind them at the approaching monsters, and starts yelling to the team. ”Ice spirits! Seven of ‘em, coming fast!”
"I-Ice spirits? W-what do you mean with that Ritti San?" Yuto seems very worried by what he hears, but can do little other than wait and see "Where?!"
Atsuko sees Ritti and Shalelu turn about and start a rapid retreat. She knocks an arrow and readies to take a shot as soon as she sees what's causing the problem.
Not wasting any time, Andochtuir drinks another potion, this one enlongating his arms as he makes for the front with Yuto. "All right. Get behind us and stay near if you can!"
Ritti and Shalelu retreat rapidly to the others, arriving a few seconds before the icy specters come into view.
One howls in a monstrous tongue.
The creatures rush towards the heroes, flowing freely through the chill air. Although most of them can't get close enough to do anything, one holds back far enough to unleash a blast of icy wind at Ritti and Shalelu. Ritti is able to dodge out of the way of its frigid path, but Shalelu catches some of it on her back, prompting her to suck breath in through her teeth.
As soon as Atsuko has a target, she lets her arrow fly. She recognizes what Ritti and Shalelu are retreating from as well.
"Those are hoarfrost spirits!" she calls out. "Use fire on them if you have it!"
After her arrow is away, Atsuko falls back so the hoarfrost spirits can hurt Andochtuir and Yuto instead of her.
Despite having avoided it, the icy breath attack worries Ritti. If we group up, we can get blasted. Alone, we get surrounded.
She opts for a fighting retreat, but not so fast that she leaves Shalelu as the tip of the spear. She hurls one of her precious flaming shurikens at the nearest monster then falls back adopting a set of flowing body motions and a defensive stance, ready to lash out at any of the monsters that try to rush past her.
Stunning Fist (4):
Ki Pool (4):
Shozoku (1):
Inspired (1):
Shuriken (30):
Shuriken Earthfire (3): x
Thunderstone (1):
Scabbard (1):
Pot Mage Armor (10):
Pot Blur (2):
Pot Cat’s Grace (2):
Pot Invisibility (1):
Serene Ring (1):
Thunderstone (1):
Cat Boots (1): (if worn)
Effects: None
"What are... Shalelu!" Torra had never seen the elven ranger get hurt, so the double shock of her mentor's peril and the sudden apparition of the ice specters leaves the dwarf speechless.
But not defenseless. Rallying to action, she sidesteps and plants her feet. A rumbling sound crescendos into a tremendous blast as snow and dirt begin to swirl around her. She throws her arms forward, fingers extended as a blast of earth and rocks sails across the intervening distance towards the frozen wraith that had hurt Shalelu.
Atsuko shouts out the nature of the foes, additionally revealing that striking them unarmed is liable to get the unfortunate attacker frostbitten - use of weapons avoids this icy aura. Further, their claws will suck the heat right out of their targets, freezing their muscles and slowing them.
Ritti ignites one of her shuriken with a word and hurls it at the closest spirit, which screeches and reels from the heat of the weapon. Fortunately for it, it manages to suck away the fire's heat before it ignites.
Ritti pulls back, retreating from the oncoming force of frozen dead.
Gathering her power, Torra unleashes a mighty blast at the hoarfrost spirit, but its frigid armor deflects the attack.
Atsuko fires at Ritti's target the arrow striking home in its chest. Though the creature staggers, it doesn't show any other signs of pain - but it is clearly damaged.
Zaiobe's arrow ignites on her bow as she fires down at the unfortunate hoarfrost spirit. With a swift, flowing motion, she draws another arrow, nocks it, and fires at the same target.
The hoarfrost spirit's shriek echoes down the road as it thrashes from the flaming arrow, just in time to catch the second, more mundane arrow in the head. Still, it manages to remain upright, unable to fall.
Shalelu whirls, drawing an arrow and aiming down her bow at the badly damaged hoarfrost spirit. The soaring projectile rips through the creature's icy form, and it sways, clearly on its last legs.
Yuto's heart raced as Atsuko's description of the hoarfrost spirits sank in. The chill of fear gripped him as he saw the creatures before him, their icy forms seemingly impervious to harm. Despite his best efforts to remain composed, a shiver ran down his spine.
Despite his hands are trembling slightly he summons the little braveness on his heart to keep the composure "T-these creatures... they're resilient" he remarked, his voice trembling slightly as he addresses the situation "B-but we must press on. W-we cannot let them overrun us!"
With a deep breath to steady himself, Yuto shots his bow at the black spirit in front, as he has a clear line of sight.
With his legs trembling, he steps back a bit.
Stunning Fist (4):
Ki Pool (4):
Shozoku (1):
Inspired (1):
Shuriken (30):
Shuriken Earthfire (3): x
Thunderstone (1):
Scabbard (1): x
Pot Mage Armor (10):
Pot Blur (2):
Pot Cat’s Grace (2):
Pot Invisibility (1):
Serene Ring (1):
Thunderstone (1):
Cat Boots (1): (if worn)
Effects:
Scabbard of Vigor +2 – Rnd 1 of 5
Hearing the abyssal tongue once again, Andy stiffens and glares at the demonic (?) spirits in undisguised hatred. "All right. I see we're playing this all-in, then." He states, reaching for another flask and drinking it. At first, nothing seems to happen. Then he lurches forward as a lumb forms on his back, then, two which break through his skin to form a set of batlike, leathery wings!
Refusing to Eleborate, he gives his new appendages a tentative flap, then flies forward to engage the spirits up front!
Andochtuir flies upwards, soaring towards the wraiths with his fauchard in hand. Meanwhile, Yuto draws his bow and fires at the closest of the hoarfrost spirits in rapid succession. The first arrow strikes its skull, shattering it like ice and leaving it to dissolve into a puddle of water, which swiftly freezes over. Adjusting his aim, he fires at another close spirit , but the arrow deflects off of its hide.
The hoarfrost spirits move forwards swiftly, with one unleashing a howling blast of icy wind at the companions.
The icy cone tears the heat from the heroes' very souls, but most are quick enough to avoid the worst of it - Ritti even manages to get entirely out of the way of the blast. Yuto is not quite so lucky, and he feels his flesh numb as the icy wind steals its way across his flesh.
The spirit that already unleashed its own magic flows forwards, its hungry gaze fixed on the hot forms of the party.
Another hoarfrost spirit flows forwards to join its comrade, and likewise unleashes a burst of freezing air. This time, Yuto is ready, and he is able to throw himself out of the way, as is Atsuko, but the rest fail to get out of the way of the oncoming burst, and feel their blood begin to crystalize in their veins.
The third hoarfrost spirit rushes forwards, dodging behind one of the larger rocks on the path. It unleashes its own explosion of ice, but this one falls short of Atsuko - instead, it blows upwards to hit Zaiobe as well. Most of the
The last of the hoarfrost spirits advances towards the party, but doesn't close quite quickly enough to unleash its own cone of cold at the heroes.
Ritti dodges most of the wintry blasts… but she really wishes she had her winterland boots on right now, just to take the chill off. She quickly pulls a potion and drinks it before maneuvering closer to the nearby undead.
Stunning Fist (4):
Ki Pool (4):
Shozoku (1):
Inspired (1):
Shuriken (30):
Shuriken Earthfire (3): x
Thunderstone (1):
Scabbard (1): x
Pot Mage Armor (10): x
Pot Blur (2):
Pot Cat’s Grace (2):
Pot Invisibility (1):
Serene Ring (1):
Thunderstone (1):
Cat Boots (1): (if worn)
Effects:
Scabbard of Vigor +2 – Rnd 1 of 5
Mage Armor – AC +4 – 1 HR
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Atsuko suddenly finds herself with many things to do and not enough time to to do them all. Gesturing to the place where she wants it to happen, she utters a phrase, "Liukastua ja kaatua pahemmin kuin jää!", to slather the area between some boulders with Grease.
After the spell is cast, she follows up by drawing a scroll from the case she wears slung over her shoulder.
She's so cold that she cannot breathe. Her lungs and throat are aching with the frigid air, and her limbs are stiff. She blasts at the creature directly in front of her, then retreats behind a rock for a little bit of shelter.
Ritti pulls out a potion, drinking it and allowing the mage armor to guard her body from the cold creatures.
Meanwhile, Torra blasts at the closest creature, but her projectile deflects off of its frozen hide, leaving it largely unharmed.
Atsuko summons a pool of grease to keep the spirits away, then pulls out a scroll to further enhance her arrows.
Zaiobe pulls back her bow, glowering down at the hoarfrost spirit that hurt her, then launches a quick volley of arrows at it. Each arrow crashes down into its skull, shattering some of the ice and leaving it staggered from the sheer force of the arrows.
Shalelu chants a spell, gesturing with her free hand, and her bow shimmers briefly. "Focus your attacks on one target!" She calls. "We can't let them keep blasting us with those!"
Yuto shivers under the coldness of the creatures attacks, but he cannot stand on the back while his friends are bravely fighting the spirits "Suishen, we need your protection from the coldness of the spirits!"
Discarding the bow, he rushes forward to the only enemy he can reach, drawing Suishen, that bursts into flames, to slice through the red spirit.
Suishen likely using protection from cold.
Balancing carefully with his alchemically grown wings, Andochtuir inches forward through the sky and delivers a brutal cut to the orange-glowing ghost! Afterwards, he readies himself to strike at any foe lowering its guard!
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Andochtuir's wings flap hard, driving him through the cold air and slashes one of the hoarfrost spirits nearly completely in two. It hisses at him, but is clearly nearing destruction.
Yuto drops his bow and draws Suishen, which flares to life. "Understood." It says simply in response to his request, and suddenly the cold doesn't seem nearly so troublesome as it did moments before. The samurai leaps forwards, slashing the spirit with his burning sword. The creature shrieks in agony, staggering back from the blazing blade.
Aware that it cannot meaningfully harm Andochtuir, one of the spirits instead charges Yuto. However, the flying half-elf is more than prepared, and with several swift slashes by his fauchard, he slices the hoarfrost spirit in two.
However, as he is distracted by the passing enemy, its badly injured fellow unleashes the burst of icy wind from its mouth. Though Atsuko is just outside of its range - and Zaiobe is far enough away that the cone does not reach her - the others are struck full on. Despite their cover, Shalelu and Torra catch the brunt of the cold, which is noticeably less painful than the previous ones. Andochtuir, without any cover, also feels the heat drain from his body rapidly. Ritti, as quick as ever, is able to avoid the attack, while Yuto's magically enhanced defenses prevent the cold from doing much more than sting his skin.
One of the undamaged hoarfrost wraiths uses the chance to rush underneath Andochtuir and lash out at Ritti with a frigid claw. She is able to throw herself out of the way, but it is her potion's magic that protects her best, as it deflects the claw from her chest. Even still, she feels the spine-numbing cold merely from the close proximity of the attack.
Another of the cold undead dashes past Andochtuir and lashes out at Ritti with its own claws. This time, she's more than ready, and easily evades the swipes.
A spirit that has yet to engage in combat advances back towards Yuto, avoiding the grease that Atsuko left on the ground and lashing out at the samurai instead. As the claws rip through his armor, he feels Suishen's blessing keeping the cold at bay. However, it still steals into his body, locking his muscles and draining his fortitude, but with an effort of will, he fights off the worst of it.
The last hoarfrost spirit shrieks and goes all out, tearing and slashing at Yuto with its claws. Fortunately, Helgarval's aura holds out, deflecting the icy talons from his vulnerable flesh.
Atsuko shifts slightly to her right in response to the shifting situation in front of her. As she does, she begins a speech encouraging her friends to hold firm and fight like wolves.
Ritti dances between the icy spirits to flank with Yuto. She carves into the back of the frozen enemy between them like a manic ice sculptor.
Stunning Fist (4):
Ki Pool (4): x
Shozoku (1):
Inspired (1):
Shuriken (30):
Shuriken Earthfire (3): x
Thunderstone (1):
Scabbard (1): x
Pot Mage Armor (10): x
Pot Blur (2):
Pot Cat’s Grace (2):
Pot Invisibility (1):
Serene Ring (1):
Thunderstone (1):
Cat Boots (1): (if worn)
Effects:
Scabbard of Vigor +2 – Rnd 2 of 5
Mage Armor – AC +4 – 1 HR
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
"Wait, Andochtuir can fly now?!" For a moment, their icy predicament is forgotten as Torra stares at the flying half-elf. "Wow, that is something!" Then another cold blast hits them, and the dwarf refocuses.
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Ritti lashes out at the undamaged hoarfrost spirit , chopping away at it with her butterfly sword. It is unable to respond before she cleaves it to pieces.
Torra unleashes a powerful blast at the hoarfrost spirit that threatens to harm Ritti further. Though it attempts to duck behind Shalelu, the elf is more than adept enough to deny it the cover it needs to avoid the rocky projectile, which shatters a tremendous chunk of icy "flesh" from its shoulder.
Ritti begins an uplifting speech, adjusting her positioning to close with Torra.
In the air, Zaiobe sweeps her wings forward, pushing herself just far enough to avoid giving the badly damaged wraith next to Andochtuir any cover from her fellow flier. She looses one arrow at its skull, shattering it and destroying the undead creature. Before the arrow even lands, however, she adjusts her aim to fire on the other horribly damaged undead creature. This costs her, however, as it is able to evade her attack by slipping sideways.
Shalelu fires her own bow at the same target, taking advantage of her incredibly close range. The arrow smashes into its chest, cutting into its spine and sending it toppling to the ground, returning to its death. Swiftly, she turns and fires at the next closest enemy . However, it is able to use the small boulder between them to avoid the arrow, which whizzes past its head.
Yuto grits his teeth as one of the spirits claws through his arm's skin "O-oh, no! W-we are in trouble he-here."
His attacks are more careful this time, Suishen's fire brights as menacing as ever.
Flying through the air and following up on his escape pray, Andochtuir sweeps down on the teal foe, flanking it with Yuto!
Andochtuir's wings drive him across the air, and he lands a short distance from one of the hoarfrost spirits attacking Yuto - with a sweep of his fauchard, he chops a deep gash in its back, causing it to stagger forwards silently.
Yuto slashes with Suishen chopping another searing scar on the damaged spirit. The creature shrieks in agony, flinching back from the blow - just enough to allow it to dodge the followup.
With an angry screech, the hoarfrost spirit drives towards Yuto, slashing and tearing with its icy claws. Fortunately for him, Helgarval's protective aura deflects one of the more dangerous strikes, while the second he is much more easily able to parry.
The other hoarfrost spirit steps swiftly towards Andochtuir and lashes out at him. The half-elf's defenses easily hold the frigid talons well away from his more vulnerable parts.
Ritti moves toward the icy undead and drives her blade into the one attacking Andy.
Stunning Fist (4):
Ki Pool (4): x
Shozoku (1):
Inspired (1):
Shuriken (30):
Shuriken Earthfire (3): x
Thunderstone (1):
Scabbard (1): x
Pot Mage Armor (10): x
Pot Blur (2):
Pot Cat’s Grace (2):
Pot Invisibility (1):
Serene Ring (1):
Thunderstone (1):
Cat Boots (1): (if worn)
Effects:
Scabbard of Vigor +2 – Rnd 4 of 5
Mage Armor – AC +4 – 1 HR
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Shifting her attention to the frosty spirit closest to Shalelu, Torra rips a good-sized chunk from the rocky outcrop in front of her and hurls it at the creature.
"Damn you! We're not ending up like the other caravan!"
Atsuko changes her mind about using the scroll, stuffing it away as she repositions for a shot at the spirit Ritti is fighting.
Ritti advances, slashing with her blade at the spirit and hacking chunks off of its back. It shudders, whirling on her.
Torra unleashes a mighty blast that utterly obliterates the hoarfrost spirit, shattering its body and sending the frosty fragments scattering across the open pass.
Atsuko fires, her arrow thudding into the temple of the sole remaining spirit. As it staggers, Zaoibe swoops low, pulling her bow back and firing an arrow to join Atsuko's own. This projectile shatters its skull, dropping the corpse to the ground once more.
"That..." Shalelu says slowly. "Was unpleasant. Let's try to avoid this sort of battle again." She grimaces down at her injuries, then glances up at Zaiobe, who swoops lower and lands nearby.
"It was well done." Suishen says. "But there will be yet greater dangers ahead."
Ritti quickly replaces her sneaky boots with her winterland boots and basks in feeling warm again. She hops around for a minute to get feeling back in her limbs. "I'm gonna go see what's left of that caravan."
As the last of the hoarfrost spirits fell, Yuto lets out a sigh of relief, lowering his weapon "Tha-thank you, Suishen, for your protection against the cold. Yo-your help was invaluable in this fight" he then nodded towards Helgarval "And th-thank you, Helgarval, for your protection as well"
He quickly scans the group "Is everyone okay?" concern is evident in his voice.
Once reassured that everyone is in a stable condition, Yuto focuses on the wrecked caravan "We need to find out what happened to that caravan. There could be survivors or important information. Let's move quickly but stay alert"
Taking the lead, he approaches the wrecked caravan.
"Are you alright?" Torra's immediate concern is for her mentor, but once it becomes apparent that her injuries are not life-threatening, she lifts her head to Zaiobe. "Thank you so much for your help, Zaiobe. We would have fared a lot worse without it."
Seeing Ritti and Yuto peel off, the dwarf follows at a fast waddle. "Wait up, I'll come with you. Perhaps I can help the survivors." She knows there likely are none, but cannot bear to extinguish that hope entirely just yet. They knew the road would be difficult and dangerous, but to meet with so much death so soon after setting out was a shock.
Atsuko moves on the the caravan as well. She doesn't expect survivors, but there may be salvage worth taking aside from any cargo carried.
Andochtuir lands a bit clumsily, not entirely used to his wings. He looks pleased at the effect, though his mood sombers when the degree of injuries most of those present have becomes apparent.
"I wish I could heal everyone... unfortunately my capacities are somewhat limited and ill-suited to treating large groups. We would need Koya or Spivy for that, I fear. Still, Shalelu, Torra, Yuto? You look most injured to me. Allow me to help you first."
After seeing to most of the injuries, he heads towards the caravan with the others, cautious for any further ambushes, at times looking back at his wings with a frown. "They should have fallen off by now..." he mutters on the way.
Shalelu nods at the heroes, looking somewhat tired - an especially marked change given her usual composure. "I'll keep watch for anything else that might come our way." She says, then looks at Zaiobe. "You should, too." The harpy considers this, then nods, flapping up into the sky once more.
Despite their thorough search of the caravan, there's nothing of especial value present - the most is some materials that might be salvageable if they spend some time working at it. There is, however, a small journal, significantly damaged by the elements.