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Dawrbrün puts one of the sick humans out of his misery and he collapses to the floor. Meanwhile Hekla tears the throat out of her opponent grasping at her ruined neck before passing out. Frank and Barnaby both consider their choice in profession and Lyudmilla passes a late breakfast to Alethea.
Broulnindre rakes her claws into the nearest skeleton with such force that it breaks a few of its ribs, but when she pulls her hand back it is nearly frozen solid and quickly turning black.
Alethea, Lyudmilla, and Frank all hear a yelp and a bear trap slam shut. Looking to the south they see, not a bear, but a half-ork woman with a newly mangled leg. She swears, ”Son of a flea-bitten gutter whore!” After taking a breath the half-ork pulls out a set of tools.
The remaining humans meekly try to fight off the dwarven terror but are too tired and nearly vomity to be any threat at all.
Broulnindre deftly maneuvers just out of the scary skeleton’s reach. However the cold emanating from the pair begins to get to Broulnindre and Hekla.
Hekla swings at the skeleton menacing her, then takes a step back!
Dawrbrün continues to swing his axe at his attacker.
Alethea, with as much dignity as she can muster, scarfs down the goodberries, letting out a sigh of relief as their healing energies flow through her. Rolling her shoulders, she steps back into the fray, leaping back up onto the table to fill the gap between Hekla and Barnaby.
"Stupid pugilistic..." Frank begins muttering as he reloads his crossbow again.
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Broulnindre, after collapsing from quick onset hypothermia, lifts herself up on an elbow that already feels like a stump to lash out with her good claw.
"Hy- gots... Hyu..."
Lyudmilla allows herself a second of relief, sighing as Alethea's wounds seal somewhat. She scoops up the bolt and slides it into her crossbow deciding the skellies are the more immediate threat over the momentarily trapped Half-Orc. Her recipe continues but begins to slow as there are only so many steps to Crow Pie!
Barnaby and Anticipation both decide to go around to get (eventually) into a flanking position with Broulnindre.
Coming!
Hekla savagely tosses the pile of bones to the ground, scattering them across the room. When she pulls back her clawed hand it has numbed from the cold.
Dawrbrün ends another of the sick humans while Frank and Lyudmilla make noise.
In a last desperate attempt Broulnindre breaks the other skeleton and destroys her other claw in the process. The cold permeating her body becomes too much and steals consciousness from her.
As Barnaby passes by the chimney to the north Ant tugs at his sleeve but still dutifully follows. It doesn't take long for him to see why. A rugged man in a white fur cloak appears suddenly holding an unholy symbol aloft in his hands, a mask with one eye.
Dark energy bathes the area, sucking light out of those nearby. In one stroke the evil cleric has murdered nearly all of his allies and gravely harmed the party.
Ant begins to shake and shiver as its warmth is stolen by the injured but remaining skeleton.
Broulnindre seems to dissolve with the blast of negative energy, but there's not trace left of her after the blast.
Frank flinches as she disappears, but quickly recovers and summons a celestial dog with an iridescent coat. It appears next to the nearer end of the table, with clear charging lane to the remaining skeleton.
Not waiting around to see how the dog does, he walks around towards the half-orc lady outside.
"Surrender or die." He explains to her.
Meanwhile, the dog charges at the skeleton, trying to grab itself a cool bone.
Dawrbrün moves around the table, attempting to close the distance to the priest.
Hekla takes the full force of the cleric's assault on life and tries to stagger out of danger.
Barnaby winces as Anticipation begins suffering from a cold. The Giant Ant sneezes.
They both smile when the blue balled frosty nuts shatters. They both frown when some fur wearing asshat cleric comes out to ruin thier fun with some disgusting vibes!
Who invited this guy!
The Hunter nods his head at Anticipation to set up a flank. Anticipation nods back at the gnome to go first.
Barnaby complies as usual. The gnome strides over to stare at the furball, as Ant comes around the corner into a Flank.
They both then attack him!
Lyudmilla cries out in pain, staggering back and nearly falling over as the sudden blast of cold dark pours from the cabin. Her teeth begin to clatter horribly as it tears her warmth from her in seconds, cursing as the spectral armor provides no aid. Her mounting panic subsides somewhat watching Barnaby and Ant expertly engage the newly appeared caster. She continues her chattering rant and fires at him with shaky hands.
Alethea, her confidence briefly restored, collapses to the ground, blood trickling from her ears.
Having been stabbed, bitten and shot near to death the rogue cleric does the wise thing and retreats.
They both then attack him!
Ant and Barnaby cut down the cleric as he attempts to flee. A quiet settles on the lodge as the melee comes to an end. It's broken by a half-ork complaining to Frank, "Listen you chubby, mewling, hook-nosed day-dreamer. I'm not with them." She motions to the lodge. "Get me out of this or are your ears all stopped up with the last of your brains running out if them?"
With all threats neutralized, Dawrbrün moves over to the unconscious Althea and touches her with his power.
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Alethea sits up, groggy, but still alive. "Thank you Dawn--Dawr--Master Amberbasher."
Hekla slumps down to the porch, leaning against the building. Between ragged breaths, she asks "Any h...healing to sp-spare? Any on the-em? Or am...am...I p-powering thr-" She's interrupted by a hacking, bloody cough.
"I only had enough magic in me to cast the spell once," Dawrbrün replies to Hekla apologetically. "Maybe the evil priest has a potion or wand on him?" Dawrbrün moves over to the fallen cleric and begins rummaging through his pockets and pouches.
"Heh, that must hurt. I hope you can forgive my paranoia, but I need to ask you to toss your weapons down so my friend can get you out." Frank says to the orc outside.
"HEY BARNABY, YOUR TRAP CAUGHT SOMETHING." he explains loudly to everyone inside.
"Ever hear of Norgorber, by any chance?" he asks the trapped orc lady.
Hekla gathers her strength and powers through anyway. "So I suppose that's what being pushed to the limit feels like. How is everyone? Alicia, are you alright?"
She glances over the party, then heads over to the half-orc caught in the trap and stares her down. "Who's 'them?'"
Alethea climbs to her feet, once again, returning her falcata to its sheath and wiping the blood from her face. She limps out of the lodge, giving Hekla a wan smile in answer.
She stops well out of reach of the half-orc woman and gestures to the ground between them. "Relinquish your weapons, please. We've all had a very trying day."
Lyudmilla props herself up againt the porch to catch a second wind, hovering between fainting from the chill in her bones and charging inside to work off her nervous energy. As the conversations spark around her, she revels in the victory that they’re all mostly alive. “Ve all seem to be present, though I think ve all could use a meal and good nights rest?” she says jutting a thumb towards the only residence in sight. “Truly exceptional verk, everyone.”
The chef gives herself a good honest five minutes to catch her breath before her workaholic tendencies take over. Avoiding looking directly at the carnage inside the cabin, she drags the recently deceased cleric outside (apologizing quietly whenever she bangs him against furniture) so she can better take over the fireplace. Repossessing a nearby table she sets up her mobile cauldron with a fire and gets to work on their non-crow dinner.
In a dirt covered chest you find:
On the various bodies you find:
There may be more hiding within the lodge somewhere...
The half-ork throws her weapons on the ground, "Fine. Get me out of this thing. And those people were Rohkar Raider's, bunch of sadistic bastards. I've been looking for an out. I draw the line at whatever foul magic Rohkar was doing to bring those skeletons back."
Hekla grabs the crowbar from the pile being accrued. As she picks it up, it shocks her to see how much blood is on her hands. She tries to put it out of her mind as she walks over to the trap, and she'll lever the thing open with the crowbar.
"Aye, that's fell sorcery. You're better without them. What's your name, what happened here, and where are the people who live here?"
While helping sort through the contents of the chest, Alethea pauses to examine the signet ring, frowning.
"I don't recognize the insignia," she says, holding it up for others to see, "but I doubt it belongs to any of these brigands. Hopefully we can find someone more skilled in heraldry back in town." She tucks the ring into a pouch on her belt before heading back outside to help watch over their trapped bandit.
"Doesn't look familiar, though I'd more likely recognize a dwarven House Rune than the sigils of you tall folk."
Hekla glances over and states matter-of-factly, "Malassene. Lady Argentea I'd guess. It's a start at least."
While she waits for the cauldron to boil, Lyudmilla begins pacing around the main room before realizing they hadn't yet explored the rest of the home. Her eyes narrow at each closed door as if swarms of bandits waited behind them for the right moment to strike.
"Perhaps ve should clear out the rest of this place..." she starts before noticing the jewelry being discussed.
" Vell spotted Hekla! It seems these raiders really vere indeed a nasty thorn if they're robbing regional nobility."
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Barnaby and Anticipation give each other high-fives at the flooring of the asshat cleric! Then they both begin doing a series of secret, special (not overly complicated at all) hand shakes for a full minute....
At the voice of Frank rebounds off the inside cabin walls, both hunter and giant Ant both look at each other, smile and run excitedly outside!
Holy s@*~balls! It actually worked! We been employing those darn things forever and you are the first person we ever caught! Thanks! I'm Barnaby Bastien Bridge and this is Anticipation.
The giant Ant also is seen grinning and holding out his hand also.
"Glad I'm not the only one with a distaste for bringing back the dead." Frank says with a faraway look.
The half-ork looks at the sky in askance, "Yes yes pleasure to meet you all. My name's Ten-Penny. How are you? Yes I'm find thank you." Ten-Penny looks pointedly at her mangled foot and then at the gnome.
The party remembers the rumors around Heldren before they left. A sole surviving bodyguard of one Lady Argentea, came into town just yesterday reporting that the Lady was kidnapped and his comrades in arms slain.
Hekla looks at the mangled foot and at her own injuries.
"Ten-Penny, I don't believe that we have magical healing yet to spare today, but may come morning. In the meantime, I'm not skilled in the healing arts but one of my companions may be. Now, can you tell us what happened to the Lady Argentea? Is she here?"
An excited gnome begins removing and repacking his beartraps.
Anticipation chitters.
Barnaby glances at the giant Ant and back to the bloody trap.
Anticipation asks if you have had your shots?
Dawrbrün begins dragging the corpses out of the cabin into the snowbanks outside. "Pitiful, sick fools," he grumbles. "You weren't our quarry, and we had no cause to kill you until you started peppering us with arrows." He looks at the half-orc as he works. "The same applies to you, lass. If you stay your hand, we'll stay ours. Of course, if you prefer to join your companions in the ditch, feel free to continue your amiable banter."
"She did say she wasn't with them anymore." Frank reminds Dawrbrun.
"But speaking of our quarry, do you know what happened to the noble lady?" Frank asks.
"Lady Argentea." he explains.
"Just a gentle reminder that sincerity works better than sarcasm when your leg's in a steel trap," Dawrbrün remarks.
Along those lines, he does his best to gauge Ten-Penny's behavior, especially pertaining to intentions of back-stabbing or betrayal if the group lowers their guard.
Rolling her eyes at Dawrbrün and Barnaby, Ten-Penny stops begging and easily pops open the trap. She gingerly takes her mangled leg from the trap and it snaps shut with a clang. "Yeah Rohkar had her stashed away somewhere. Prolly some false door or some garbage. I've never seen her."
[dice=Disable device]1d20+10
Rolling her eyes at Dawrbrün and Barnaby, Ten-Penny stops begging and easily pops open the trap. She gingerly takes her mangled leg from the trap and it snaps shut with a clang. "Yeah Rohkar had her stashed away somewhere. Prolly some false door or some garbage. I've never seen her."
Hekla offers Tenpenny a hand. "Come on in at least, we'll get you some food and keep you warm as long as you cause any trouble."
Hekla will help her inside to the table and then she'll help poke around the house with anyone else who wants to.
"Hopefully, she still lives. Barnaby, would you and Ant be willing to help me search the rest of the lodge?"
"Search? Br- um... never mind..." Frank frowns before going to help move the bodies.
After collecting his bear traps (inspecting the one that got Ten-Penny carefully), both Gnome and giant Ant nod with enthusiasm to Alethea.
Ooo! Think that we may find any cupcakes!?
Ant-icipation nods and chitters excitedly.
Dawrbrün examines the half-orc's tracks leading up to the trap, trying to determine if the tracks they had been following most of the day had, in fact, been hers.