Atsuko considers volunteering to go along with Ritti for better safety in numbers. But she doesn't feel confident enough about matching Ritti's ability to get around undetected. She would more likely just make things more dangerous. Atsuko waits.
Yuto pulls Suishen from his side, the ancestral blade humming in his grip as he lets its warmth spread through his limbs. The biting northern chill recedes slightly, but a shiver runs through him all the same.
He watches as Ritti vanishes into the snow ahead "A-a good plan. B-but I w-will stay close behind, just in case..."
He moves carefully, keeping a steady distance behind Ritti. As the group gets closer to the village, Yuto scans the buildings, eyes narrowed. He raises a hand, signaling to Ritti before whispering just loud enough for the others to hear "F-first house... we s-should check inside f-first. If something l-left in a hurry, or... i-if something is w-waiting, better to f-find out now rather than be surrounded l-later..."
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The would-be scouts slip towards the village as quietly as they can, searching for any signs of life. One thing that swiftly becomes clear, even from outside its borders, is that this village has been abandoned for some time - there aren't any signs of human footsteps in the frost-packed earth, nor any markers of domestic animals. The buildings have been left in extremely ill repair, with some near collapse. Indeed, there are several fully collapsed buildings that were not obvious from the first glimpse of the village.
Ritti feels a cold, choking certainty in her throat. There is no one here. There hasn't been anyone here for some time.
Ritti ghosts toward the next nearest building on the opposite side of the path, hoping – and not hoping – for more than just an abandoned building. Maybe she was moving too quickly as an old board snaps beneath her foot.
Yuto follows along, reaching the house without entering "F-for h-how long do you th-think the town has been abandoned?"
The Tian looks around for any signs of life or hints of what happened.
Torra trains their attention on Inuliak instead. Hadn't the hunter said that he was visiting the village regularly? How could he not know of this? Or perhaps he did, but chose not to tell them.
Icy winds tear through the paths of Rimakak, whistling softly as the scouts carefully advance through the empty village. There is nothing here. No humans, no animals. Only signs that once there were remain.
Despite their thorough investigation, the party simply cannot discern what happened to the people - there are no signs of battle, nor of flight. There are no corpses, nor even bones. Nothing remains save the buildings, leaving them with a question that sends glacial chills down their spines. What could do this?
She does, however, find a sign of what might've caused it. A mark in the hard soil - a claw with a strange flatness right next to it. She's not sure what it might be, but it's the only lead she finds.
Maybe Ritti endures the horror better than the others because of her conversation with Sandru days ago. She was braced for this possibility. She joins up with the others, ”I’m gonna hunt for supplies. If these folk left on purpose, I won’t find anything. If I find stuff… we’re taking it.” She leaves unstated the dire, logical, conclusion about what happened to the locals if valuables were left behind.
”I don’t think Inuliak said the last time he was here, only that he visited some time ago. Lookin’ at these huts, if he says it was half a year ago, the truth ain’t with him.”
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Yuto grasps Suishen tightly, his breath visible in the frigid air "Let's pick any supplies we find. But we still don't know what happened here. If there are answers, they will be in the buildings, or the pier. We should check both before we assume this place is truly abandoned"
Without waiting, he steps toward the nearest structure, his eyes scanning for anything out of place.
Torra helps Yuto search, although the dwarf is visibly unnerved and keeps glancing over their shoulder or starting at every creak of of wood and whistle of wind.
The four heroes make their way through the houses and other buildings - each one looking just as abandoned as the first few they investigated. The docks are equally damaged, with any canoes that might have once been left there long gone - though at this time of year, they'd probably have been stowed elsewhere, as ice covers the waters closest to shore. The roar of the waterfall in the distance does little to quell the unnerving absence... but wait. There. Movement in the water - something living, and large. And there, about another thirty feet into the lake - more movement.
"There! By the water!" Yuto scream is soft, taken by the tension of the moment. His boots press lightly against the frost covered ground as he makes a stand pointing to the source of the movement "Su-suishen, c-can you light it so we c-can see?"
The katana springs into flames, shedding light like a torch on the quickly advancing dusk "Do you see it? What is it?!"
"I can't see what they are, but there's... one-two-th- at least five in the water. Be careful, they might be dangerous. Perhaps they're why-" The dwarf gestures at the desolate village with one hand, while the other is already poised to begin the gestures that would summon a blast of frozen earth to strike whatever lurks in the dark depths.
The thief takes a step back. ”If they’re at home in the water, you might want to head inland a bit.” Ritti moves around the corner of a dilapidated building and attempts to vanish from sight. She has no idea what is coming from the water but she’s reasonably certain – whatever they are – she wants to hit them by surprise and from behind.
"Five?" Yuto frowns worried, then moves Suishen to the side, giving her the command word for air walking "We should be prepared to walk over the waters if needed here"
As far as Atsuko is concerned, there's really no reason to keep investigating. Whatever happened, it was long enough ago that it won't be undone now. It's time to gather what supplies they can and move on.
There is a new problem to deal with though.
"We're supposed to be parting ways with Inuliak here. That's harder to do now, but I think we still need to. For me, it's one thing if we can't get a read on him and he's only one person among many in the area. Now it's seeming like there's only one person in the area, and it isn't a good look for him."
The shadows beneath the waves don't immediately seem to respond, and most disappear further beneath the waters, out of Suishen's burning light.
"Be wary." Suishen says. "We do not know what manner of creature might be dwelling here... nor whether they are hostile."
As long as the shadows do not approach, Yuto keeps ashore, but in front of the others "I agree Atsuko San. There is no much left for us here. Only the darkness."
Without losing sight of the shadows she points towards the direction where they left the caravan "W-we would do better to avoid this place. The-there is something evil. I can almost feel it. I-if we do not need to stay, and we can have the caravan avoid the t-town, w-we better just leave now"
From her hide position, Ritti speaks quietly. "Not sure we can do that, Yuto. Seems like the caravan has to move around the edge of the lake, unless there is a trail through the trees. Whatever is in the water could come at the us at any time. Probably best to figure what we're dealing with before bringing the caravan close."
"I'm not going out onto the ice" Atsuko states flatly.
Fortunately, the heroes are spared the difficult decision of whether or not to attempt to go deeper by the eruption of two giant humanoids from beneath the ice.
One bellows something in a language none of the party understands, and prepares to move.
Despised by the nasty appearance of the creatures and not having studied much about giants, Yuto's resolution is just to attack first to defend the party "These ones must be the reason of the villagers' disappearance!"
He steps forward and slices wide with Suishen flamming while his globes transmit acid energy into the attack as well.
Ritti leaps and delivers a flying kick to the monster Yuto is battling, hoping to kill it quickly.
”They’re aqua-ogres! They might drag you into the water!”
Sanity Score: 39 / 40 | Threshold: 3 | Edge: 20
Stunning Fist (4):
Ki Pool (4):
Shozoku (1):
Inspired (1):
Shuriken (30):
Shuriken Earthfire (2):
Scabbard (1):
Pot Mage Armor (9):
Pot Blur (2):
Pot Cat’s Grace (2):
Pot Invisibility (1):
Serene Ring (1):
Cat Boots (1): (if worn)
Effects:
Scabbard—Butterfly Sword is xxx
Mage Armor – AC +4 – 1 HR
Yuto steps towards the icy water's edge, slashing at the merrow closest to him . Although he doesn't yet have his guard up, his hardened skin deflects the first attack - though not the second, which slices a burning gash down his arm. He roars something incomprehensible, snarling at the samurai.
Ritti moves swiftly to join him, striking the creature with precision and ease. The merrow stumbles back, groaning in pain, but doesn't fall. Indeed, it lashes out right back at the two. Yuto's armor easily deflects the attack, but it rips a gash in Ritti's shoulder. The claw almost sinks into the flesh to grab ahold of her, but the monk manages to slip free just in time.
The other merrow above the ice glances at the battle, then thunders off of the ice and onto the shore, reaching for Torra. The claw rips into her, though her stony skin keeps it from being as bad as it could be. Unfortunately, the creature's hand closes around her and locks her in place.
A third merrow clambers up onto the icy outcropping, and lifts a javelin to hurl at Ritti. The Varisian woman's quick enough to evade the flying projectile, and the creature grumbles her annoyance.
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Although Torra absolutely did not want to be dragged into the icy water, the grip of the ogre was so strong that she very much doubted she could escape. Instead, she attempts to make his soon-to-be-over life as painful as possible.
"Watch out, this dwarf bite is a little spicy!"
Atsuko takes a quick step to the side to open up her line of sight on the merrow threatening Torra as wide as possible. She calls out to her companions, assuring them they will be okay and victory will be theirs. Lastly she gets off a shot with her bow at the merrow menacing Torra.
Torra unleashes her power over the earth in an astonishingly powerful blast that flies past the giant, who giggles childishly as she jerks the dwarf's hand up and away from her. With her other claw, she rips at the dwarf, who manages evades the attack easily..
Atsuko begins inspiring her companions, stepping aside and firing at the merrow menacing the dwarf. The arrow lands, piercing the ogre-like giant's shoulder. She shrieks in pain, jerking sharply, and her lip trembles briefly before it twists in a feral snarl.
A raggedly dressed creature with long, dark hair emerges onto the ice, approaching the heroes slowly. She says something in a sharp tone of voice, but none of the heroes understand it.
The most terrifying thing about the qallupilluk is what they do when they manage to grab ahold of their prey. If they don't drown them outright, they transform them gradually into a monstrous aquatic creature, which they treat as their own child... and eventually, mate.
Is that what happened here? Then these are the residents of Rimikaak... But there are only a few merrows... what happened to the rest?
A sweet scent drifts into Yuto and Ritti's nostrils, distracting them and promising forbidden pleasures and delights. The creature gestures, and a shudder of magic surrounds her. After a moment, she beckons Ritti towards her, a smile twisting her lips.
At a sharp command, the merrow closest to Ritti shifts subtly out of the way, clearly no longer interested in fighting her.
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There is something ‘motherly’ about the fish-woman’s lank hair, dead eyes, and sharp fangs. And given how the caravan suffers from the cold, Ritti is fairly sure this poor woman is freezing. A quick hug and brisk backrub to warm her up might be what she needs.
Against all reason, sense, and sanity, the thief carefully steps out onto the ice and opens her arms to hug the horrid hag!
Sanity Score: 39 / 40 | Threshold: 3 | Edge: 20
Stunning Fist (4):
Ki Pool (4):
Shozoku (1):
Inspired (1):
Shuriken (30):
Shuriken Earthfire (2):
Scabbard (1):
Pot Mage Armor (9):
Pot Blur (2):
Pot Cat’s Grace (2):
Pot Invisibility (1):
Serene Ring (1):
Cat Boots (1): (if worn)
Effects:
Charmed
Scabbard—Butterfly Sword is xxx
Mage Armor – AC +4 – 1 HR
"Wa-wait Ritti! Don't risk the ice, help Torra!" seeing Ritti abruptly leaves the enemy for a hug, Yuto tries to step to the side to get closer to her while swinging to finish the giant in front of himself.
If this one drops, he points to the green one and shouts "I challenge you, leave Torra!" while marking Ritti as his ward.
Ritti advances past the merrows, who seem quite willing to let her go, to give the strange creature a gentle hug. The ice doesn't break under her feet - though it does creak ominously.
Yuto, realizing that something is wrong, tries to keep close to Ritti as he attacks the merrow before him. The creature yelps in horrible sadness and agony, collapsing heavily onto the ice, which promptly cracks dramatically, dropping a hunk from where he fell.
The other merrows holler and yell, outraged by the samurai's presumption even as he quickly challenges the next closest of the merrows , who stares daggers at him.
The third merrow lunges forwards on the ice, clawing and tearing at Yuto as his focus is briefly on her ally. Fortunately, he's able to deflect her attacks with his armor and sword, knocking them aside without hesitation.
The merrow that grips Torra begins tugging her towards the water, trying to drag her along the shore. Unfortunately for her, the dwarf is able to break free of her slippery grip, and she growls her annoyance, shifting away from Yuto and the archer that had hurt her earlier.
A fourth merrow erupts from the ice to the south, clambering up and striding towards Yuto with a hoarse bellow. Fortunately, the samurai's armor is more than sufficient to protect him from the grasping, tearing limbs.
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Things are starting to look a little out of control to Atsuko. She decides she needs to try something to take some pressure off them. Atsuko begins casting, calling out the words for a spell.
"Räjähtävä kiiltävä valopallo!"
As she finishes, a small orb of intense golden light about the size of an egg appears between the two merrows off to Yuto's right. The orb immediately expands into an explosion of dazzling light particles, enveloping the merrows. The particles cling to them like paint, covering them in glowing yellow light.
As the spell goes off, Atsuko shouts to Yuto.
"Look after Ritti! Bring her back!"
Atsuko also hurries toward Ritti.
Now that she was finally free of the bone-crushing grip of the lake ogre, Torra takes a couple of steps back to assess the situation. There was a new creature out there, who was... hugging? Ritti? Wait, that wasn't right. Spurred on by Yuto's and Atsuko's shouts, the dwarf takes aim at the horrid hugging hag.
Atsuko unleashes a spell at several of the giants, sending a burst of golden light and dust over them. One of them shakes off the blazing blast, but the other shrieks, his voice an agonized wail that pierces their ears.
As she approaches Ritti, Atsuko catches an oddly pleasing scent, one that tickles her nostrils and gently welcomes her.
Torra gathers a powerful burst of metallic debris and stone at the hugging hag creature, which cracks against her shoulder, shattering it. She hisses a venomous word at the dwarf.
She should at least tell her off. Torra's clearly misunderstanding something.
A jolt of agony crosses her skin. Something strange is happening to her, but... it isn't too wrong, is it?
The embraced woman's body begins shifting slightly, skin becoming scalier and getting a greenish tint. The creature that holds her, however, gestures at Torra with a scowl. The dwarf feels something intruding on her mind, but throws it out with an effort of will.
Ritti steps between Torra and her new friend holding up her hands, trying to play peacemaker and keep the mistake from escalating. ”Woah! Take a breath here, girls! The ogres might be a threat, sure, but she’s not with them. Come’on Torra, leave her be!”
"This is her boss Ritti! They must have been the ones that made the villagers disappear!" Yuto sees the giant rubbing his eyes from Atsuko's spell and takes the opportunity to step over him and slash multiple times.
As Ritti attempts to pull away from the creature, she growls, closing her arms tighter around the monk.
Yuto steps up towards the blinded merrow, slashing with Suishen's blazing blade. His enemy quails, crying loudly as the blade cuts repeatedly through his flesh.
The now-badly hurt and gold-covered merrow stumbles backwards, trying to escape Yuto, but leaves himself open to another strike from the samurai, who slices through his throat and sends him tumbling back to the ice, crashing hard and cracking it even further.
The uninjured merrow bellows her grief, lashing out at the samurai from outside his reach. Fortunately, the young man's armor protects him from the slashing claws, saving him from any significant injury.
The other remaining merrow, equally distraught, shrieks something in the unfamiliar language, stepping down the shore to strike at Torra once more. The first series of strikes the dwarf is able to dodge and deflect, but the second set land home, tearing through her stony skin and cutting deep. More troublingly, she is once again held tight by the creature's powerful hands.
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Atsuko reaches out to touch Ritti while chanting a short incantation.
"Udeeya dushtam tvam atra pravishtum na shaknoshi!"
After the spell is concluded, Atsuko backs away to greater relative safety.
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Ritti pulls away from her BFF, trying to console and reason with the fish-hag at the same time. ”It’ll be fine. I’ll be right back. I just need to explain it to Torra. Trust me.”
Gritting their teeth against the pain, Torra doesn't attempt to escape the lake ogre and focuses instead on the hag that had bewitched her friend.
"Are you sure she's not with them?" Torra doesn't know how to explain with everything that is happening, but the dwarf has a strong feeling that the strange-looking woman is somehow involved in the current state of the village.
Atsuko summons her magic, protecting Ritti from the depredations of evil creatures. Ritti feels the magic swell through her, and realizes that something's very wrong. Why was that creature somehow a friend?
Torra tries to blast the hag-creature that has enchanted Ritti, but the projectile goes wide as she ducks out of the way, snarling angrily. She gestures with a hiss, and a whirlwind of sleet suddenly consumes the three heroes other than Ritti.
The whirling storm covers the ground with a thin layer of ice, and each of the heroes loses sight of everything save the sleet obscuring all vision.
Then she takes a step forwards, following Ritti.
"Ritti, I am with you! Push away the evil thoughts that creature is trying to magically make on you! Your safety is my oath!" Yuto declares, channeling his resolve to bolster her defenses against the evil magic.
Determined, he presses forward through the obscuring sleet, deftly navigating the treacherous terrain as he tries to find himself outside of it.
He confronts the first enemy he finds, most likely the silhouette of the hag-like creature, but maybe the other giant. Without hesitation, Yuto raises Suishen, the blade gleaming with fire, and strikes with all intent to defeat it before it can cause more problem.
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What caused the thief to suddenly snap out of the charm – the protective magic of her allies, the cold that was seeping into her bones, the spray from the sleet hitting her face, or Yuto’s words? Ritti wasn’t sure and maybe she never would be. But as she turns to see the fishy hag she’d been hugging like her mom… she is instantly horrified. She also knows she’s been used badly and that converts her horror into inchoate, icy rage. And rage frees her to act.
Ritti hisses at the hag, ”I’m gonna break you, b!tch.” She step into the fishwife’s embrace one more time, grabs the shreds of her sodden clothing and headbutts the hag, trying to stun her... She follows that blow with a punch to the gut, another headbutt hoping to break all the sharp teeth in the hag's foul mouth, and a final palm strike to the throat.
Sanity Score: 39 / 40 | Threshold: 3 | Edge: 20
Stunning Fist (4): x
Ki Pool (4): x
Shozoku (1):
Inspired (1):
Shuriken (30):
Shuriken Earthfire (2):
Scabbard (1):
Pot Mage Armor (9):
Pot Blur (2):
Pot Cat’s Grace (2):
Pot Invisibility (1):
Serene Ring (1):
Cat Boots (1): (if worn)
Effects:
Protection from Evil - +2 AC
Scabbard—Butterfly Sword is xxx
Mage Armor – AC +4 – 1 HR
Yuto struggles through the harsh winds, managing to keep his feet despite the rapidly gathering ice. He slashes at the first figure he sees - the strange female being. Perhaps it is due to the ice, or perhaps he's just unlucky, as his foe deflects Suishen with a clawed hand, suffering no harm.
Ritti goes on her own offensive, striking as hard as she can. Her fist lands in the woman's stomach, but she feels some resistance - she should be hurting her foe more. However, it's still enough to stun the unfortunate woman. Ritti smashes her several more times, but the resistance remains - and her final attack deflects off of the creature's skin altogether.
The merrow, recognizing the threat to her ally, roar and rushes to her aid. Stepping sideways, she slashes down at Yuto with her claws, bellowing words that seem coherent, but are nonetheless incomprehensible. The first one comes down swift and hard, tearing through his guard and armor, but Helgarval's protections and his own preparations keep it from being worse than it could've been - preventing it from hitting any major arteries. He's ready for the next one, knocking it aside with his blade.
The other merrow keeps a close grip on Torra, dragging her out of the sleet storm. This allows Ritti the chance to attack her, kicking out at the giant on reflex. Though she connects solidly, the merrow only groans, yanking Torra out of the way, crossing the ice, and tossing her into the water with a tremendous splash.
The contact with the freezing waters makes her body seize up for a moment, and Torra is unable to breathe. Then the dwarf gasps and thrashes, spurred on by the imminent danger of both drowning and freezing to death.
They manage to reach the jagged edge of the ice, but the sodden woolen layers and furs they are wearing are heavy, and they can do no more than cling to the frozen surface.
Atsuko is unable to see much at all. She certainly doesn't think she could get a bow shot off to any good effect. She did however just pass by Yuto. She makes her way back, trying to retrace her steps, until she gets to him.
She recites an incantation and touches him, delivering a spell to help him.
"Yuto! Can you see enough to know what's happening?"
Atsuko then calls out to Ritti and Torra, urging them to hold on. They will all get through this.
"Torra!" Yuto tries to grasp for the sinking dwarf, but finds himself too pressed on the fight. His confidence raises though when he feels Atsuko's warm hand on his back "Th-the giant just threw Torra to the water, s-she is fighting to get out of the freezing waters, b-but th-the beasts!" he does not have much more time for elaborate explanations, trying to defend himself and the group.
Torra desperately swims towards the ice, but between the cold and their own weight, they can't manage to quite pull themselves onto it - and it cracks, setting them back to where they started... desperately swimming to keep afloat. Strangely, the giant doesn't attempt to attack her as she tries to climb up...
Atsuko carefully moves across the frozen ground, asking for guidance, then enchants Yuto with greater heights of heroism and restarts her inspiring tale.
The hag-creature hisses something to the giants, trying to focus through the pain.
Yuto steps forward on the air, thanks to Suishen's magics, and swings the katana on the red giant "Finish the hag Ritti!"
The thief slides out onto the edge of the ice, flanking with Yuto to distract the hag’s attention and put Yuto’s advice into practice. Still furious, she delivers a flurry of punches and kicks aimed at putting the fish-wife down for good.
Sanity Score: 39 / 40 | Threshold: 3 | Edge: 20
Stunning Fist (4): x
Ki Pool (4): xx
Shozoku (1):
Inspired (1):
Shuriken (30):
Shuriken Earthfire (2):
Scabbard (1):
Pot Mage Armor (9):
Pot Blur (2):
Pot Cat’s Grace (2):
Pot Invisibility (1):
Serene Ring (1):
Cat Boots (1): (if worn)
Effects:
Protection from Evil - +2 AC
Scabbard—Butterfly Sword is xxx
Mage Armor – AC +4 – 1 HR