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"Of course I am Kolvi! Who else were you expecting!?!"
I dunno. The witch who framed her maybe?
"Put me to rest? Oh, no, no, no,"
She wags a finger at Elena.
"I do not need to be put to rest. The only way to appease me, however, is to set fire to Frostbreach. That's right! Burn it to the ground!!!"
She cackles evilly,
"Hahahahaha!!!"Her face turns to a serious expression,
"Will you do that for me?"
She asks kindly.The elk bobs its head and snorts.
"And you, little one."
She addresses Pai.
"There's no need for you to cower up there in the air. Come down and talk like a normal person."
Pai warily uncurls, but doesn't fly down to the ground. "I don't know about that. You...can't seem to decide if you're going to be nice or mean. How 'bouut...a story. After all this time, you know, folks have forgotten a bunch of what happened. And all we know is hearsay from a bunch of folks that weren't even born yet when that hullabaloo happened. Care to tell us the tale? From the beginning? So we're not a bunch of bumbling ignorant doofuses?"
"Burning Frostbreach to the ground would be the only way to teach those townsfolk a lesson; if you defame a witch, it will come back to you ten-fold!"
While talking to the Jarlsblood Witch, everyone except Elena notices a red, bushy tail poke out momentarily from behind the woman's robe.
She nonchalantly brushes it aside and tucks it back in under her robe.
"Oops. You didn't see that."
She says under her breath with an embarrassed giggle.
From the front, a huldra appears to be a beautiful human woman, yet two distinctive features mark the huldra as something supernatural: her long, foxlike tail, and the fact that she doesn't have a solid back—merely a hole that reveals her body to be a hollow, bark-lined shell. Most huldras wear their hair long to mask the hole in their backs, and they prefer long gowns to hide their tails when interacting with humanoids. Though huldras are not ashamed of their status as fey, they react rather negatively when someone points out their tails. So long as humanoids are respectful, however, huldras tend to be curious about other races, and may aid those who pass through their territories by telling them the best places for hunting or fishing.
The Jarlsblood Witch throws up her arms in defeat and sighs.
"Ugh. Fine. You got me. I was just trying to have a little fun, but, it appears you saw through my ruse. My name is Olisarra, guardian of these woods, along with Moss-on-South-Trees up there."
She nods at the majestic elk.
"So, you want to know what truly happened here between Kolvi and King Alvard?"
She curls her lip in disgust mentioning the king while the elk bleats angrily and its eyes glow red with otherworldly flame.
"Well, that no-good, deal-breaker king pleaded with the creatures of the wild to help him hunt a linnorm that had appeared here. Moss-on-South-Trees heard his cries, and I helped broker a deal between the two to grant the king permission to wander the ijiraq’s lands, help in finding the dragon, and give him fortune in his fight against it. The king in turn promised future concessions that he never honored. When the warrior Kolvi set out into the forest, she showed proper respect to the local fey, yet the king taunted his past benefactors by daring to enter the ijiraq’s territory once more. Moss-on-South-Trees called down a terrible blizzard, and here Kolvi repelled the king and his companions, beheading the king with her sword."
With a puzzled expression, she looks at each of you in turn.
"It looks like you have some questions. What would you like to know?"
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Elena seems pleased with the information.
"That information is just what we hoped for. If we can show the townsfolk that the king was at fault here, that might be the easiest way to clear her name. I do not know how fae conduct their deals. Do you have a contract that the King and Moss-on-South-Trees 'signed' or... something along those lines? I don't supposed you would agree to come to town. If they reacted like that with Kolvi, I'd rather you stay safe."
So..Kolvi had nothing to do with the blizzard. I see why the others back in Frostbreach think she might have. Without knowing that Moss-on-South-Trees summoned the storm, they wrongly deduced Kolvi did. It explains a lot... Mykel says after bowing his head to the fey.
"Yes. The king’s companions saw the magic of Moss-on-South-Trees firsthand. She was a warrior through-and-through. Sure, her sword bore enchantments and was forged of cold iron, but that was the limit of her magic. Kolvi was no witch."
Elena seems pleased with the information.
"That information is just what we hoped for. If we can show the townsfolk that the king was at fault here, that might be the easiest way to clear her name. I do not know how fae conduct their deals. Do you have a contract that the King and Moss-on-South-Trees 'signed' or... something along those lines?"
“No, there was no contract. They were promises long-since broken by him and his people. The details are no longer important.”
"I don't supposed you would agree to come to town. If they reacted like that with Kolvi, I'd rather you stay safe."
Olisarra smirks. “You think that the Ulfen people would trust the word of fey? No matter how intriguing I find your cultures, there is a gap in how we understand each other. To the people of Frostbreach, I am merely a capricious forest spirit and Moss-on-South-Trees is a malevolent elk.”
"Actually, I will go."
She agrees after a bit of coaxing.
"However, you must collect more evidence first. There are abandoned catacombs miles from here that the Ulfen people have forgotten, yet we have used them rarely to hide away that which need not be found or that which my companion would rather eat later. Both she and the king’s corpse lie there. If you wish to see them for yourself,” she trails off and looks to the ijiraq for a moment,
“you could do so. I can provide you a token to see through the illusions that hide it. I warn you, though, we have not used it for several human generations, and those hills feel increasingly… troubled.”
"Troubled? In what way, if I might ask?"
“Some hauntings are merely my companion’s magic. However, there are unnatural things that linger here that I don’t understand. It is a curse that has lingered here ever since the traitorous king’s betrayal. If you wish to dispel the myth of the Jarlsblood Witch, you must also teach the people of Frostbreach that the fey do not deal with double-crossing humans.”
Olisarra hands you a carved antler token.
"The caverns lie to the east. This token will allow you to see through the illusions that hide them. It should take you only a few hours to get there."
Olisarra also gives you detailed directions on how to get there by using natural landmarks that mark the way.
The great elk bucks its head, then scampers down the natural steps of the outcropping. It runs off, disappearing into the forest.
"Fare thee well, mortals. I shall watch for you on your way back to Frostbreach and, true to my word, will accompany you into town."
With that, Olisarra also retreats into the snowy woods.
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The journey by sleigh from the Snow Elk Wilds to the catacombs takes about 3 hours at a steady pace and is relatively uneventful. Following the directions from Olisarra, you reach a series of low-lying hills. Leaving the horses and sleigh in a safe area (there is actually a dilapidated cabin nearby) you search for the entrance. As you approach an inconspicuous hill, the fey antler token begins to glow with faint red light. The closer you bring the token to the hill, the brighter it glows. Once within about 50 feet, the token melts the illusion veiling the hill (hallucinatory terrain), revealing a long, rocky outcropping with several smaller stone mounds inscribed with weathered petroglyphs. Worked stones partly seal a cave along the outcropping’s southern side, creating a formal entrance into the caverns beyond. All along the rock face jut pieces of bone or fossilized remains of some immense fanged creature, as though it were clinging to the cave.
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As soon as Olisarra and Moss-on-South-Trees are out of sight, Pai finally breaks her uncharacteristic silence. "Uh, yeeeeaaaaahhh. So, we definitely need to gather that evidence. You think those folks back in town will just drop a generations-long feud just because we said 'Oh, some fey said you got it all wrong--just trust us'? Heck no! Let's go gather corpses and whatnot. I just hope they're dead-dead, not undead." Pai shudders, then flies back to the sleigh.
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Upon breaching the illusion, Pai babbles about how impressed she is about it. "And that fangy-creature at the entrance? Super creepy cool. I like it. As long as it's not going to actually chomp us when we try to go inside. Hey, can anyone check to see if it's got magic on it? Or traps. I guess I could look for traps. Or ambushes. Why not?"
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"That worked surprisingly well. I'm pleased to hear that she wasn't the witch they accused her of being. It sounds like the king and his companions betrayed her, but she's right. We need more proof than the word of a fey creature for the townspeople to believe us."
As they approach the hill, especially once the illusion is broken, she casts false life on herself. "Would someone like a barkskin spell? I can use it myself, but I try not to be near the front line.
"The "fangy creature" is a linnorm, Pai. Dead, as far as I can tell from here. Yes, that is what the Linnorm Kings have to kill to become king."
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Elena will take the Talisman of Life’s Breath and hands the Talisman of Warrior’s Courage to Mykel.
"If you are in the front, it's best you don't get scared out of your wits. I fear the haunt we encountered in the town will be the least of our troubles."
She uses:
Fortifying Brew 1 hour +2 will saves vs fear
scroll Heightened Awareness (10 min)
scroll of protection vs evil just as they cross the entrance.
~THE BETRAYER'S TOMB~
Entering the cave, the faint scent of decay mixes with the fresh air outside. Frozen grime covers much of the entry cavern. Two sets of rough-hewn stairs lead downward to the northeast and northwest, and the large, wide central column bears a large inscription written in weathered Skald script.
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"Uh, guys? There's a ruckus in here somewhere. I just heard a roar, but I can't tell which way it's coming from." Sssoooooo...Undead? Or living creatures that chose to live in some caves protected by illusion magic? Pai shudders as she flies over to the eastern side and tries to discern whether or not the sound is coming from that direction.
The sound seems to come from both directions.
Shidou follows the western passage while the others follow the tunnel to Shidou's left where they eventually meet in a round-about. Lying on the ground are the remains of two Ulfen warriors clad in chainmail. Cautiously watching for a moment, the skeletal warriors do not animate.
Searching around the room, the northern wall bears a clumsy inscription in Common carved with a discarded spear tip:
“Alvard knew the woods well. It’s where he hunted his linnorm, he said. We laid our ambush, but fey attacked. They shouted he betrayed them. Could see in his face he knew and was afraid. A screaming elk, ice for eyes. Kolvi. She was best with an axe, took away the king’s head. Can’t find our way back. Armor belongs in the family and dying”
The writing becomes increasingly unsteady and illegible before trailing off mid-thought, and one of the two skeletons lies facedown underneath the inscription, still wearing a suit of chainmail that shows rust in only a few places.
The other skeleton still cradles a horn into which he has carved a last message with a discarded arrowhead.
“This horn was from a linnorm Alvard killed. He was a good warrior but fearful—always talked of the linnorm coming back. Jumped every time I blew the horn. Did he fear Kolvi being a king? Or did he fear the linnorm being back? He never was right after the hunt.”
Detecting magic in the room, only the suit of chainmail and the horn glow with a magical aura. You have found +2 wrathful chainmail & a Horn of the Huntmaster.
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Elena will take the chainmail to return it to the family. She looks for any crest of symbol that might show what family might have been from.
"They were caught in the King's betrayal... at least we can bring this back. If he feared the linnorm had come back, maybe the bones outside are theirs? Maybe the king killed it over here?"
Elena lets Shidou ahead through the next tunnel.
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"Oh wow." Pai breathes. "I wonder what they thought of Kolvi when she cut off the king's head. Sounds like their respect for him wasn't enough to completely blind them to his weakness. If no one else wants the horn, I can put it in my handy haversack. Pity the writing on the wall is too big for my parchment. Maybe we can organize an expedition out here to show interested parties the inscription. I'll write it down, on our way out just in case, but I think we gotta go find the scuffle first, right?" And hope it's not the linnorm coming back and fighting the undead king. Pai resolutely does *NOT* allow herself to dwell on that thought. No sirree-bob.
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Elena will take the chainmail to return it to the family. She looks for any crest [or] symbol that might show what family [it] might have been from.
A tag that remains on a loincloth of one of the skeletons, and is barely still legible, reads "CoalB... Handwash Only ... ♥ Mom".
Huh...how thoughtful... Mykel says as he looks about. He moves down a tunnel, blade at the ready.
~THE FROZEN RAIDERS~
As the group moves forward through the ice coated passage, the area ahead opens up with passages branching off in several directions.
These halls contain numerous alcoves with niches that hold human remains that look very old. In many cases, the only remnants are skulls carefully arranged in the niches. Several dozen other bodies were interred whole, and the perpetually chilly catacombs have dramatically slowed decomposition such that many of the bodies still have some skin and hair remaining.
Atop his owlbear mount, Shidou slowly moves forward to get a better look as the rest of the group trails behind while keeping a watchful eye out for trouble...
*Seize the Initiative (Shido).
Pai notices a hideous creature step from the shadows as it makes a frightening raspy hiss and reaches for Artic. Another one quickly shambles up to Shidou and the owlbear.
Covered in patches of ice, the flesh of this walking corpse is rotting and putrid, its body skeletal in places and the eye sockets glowing with red light.
~THE FROZEN RAIDERS~
Pai blasts the hideous undead with a torrent of water. The monster reels backwards and then lunges at Tobi...
And can't hit the broadside of an owlbear.
The one in white slams Artic with its fist...
Artic gets the wind knocked out of her and feels her life force draining away.
Pai:
Shidou:
Tobi:
Elena:
Artic: -14 hp
Mykel:
Lulari:
Blue: -32 hp
White:
Lulari knows that these creatures are advanced frost wights (LE Medium undead [cold]). Not only do their slam attacks do cold damage, but they can also drain the life force from those that they strike (energy drain).
Lulari's mini fireball soars overhead and fizzles out as it strikes the far wall.
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"Arctic!" Stretching out her arms, Pai strains as arcs of electricity and streams of water appear and streak toward her, absorbing into her body. She vibrates in the air, glowing with elemental power for a brief moment before releasing it all into the white wight. "AAAAAAAAAA!!! DIE FOR REAL THIS TIME!!!"