"That was close..." Krokod says glad he was further back so his noise didn't kill them all. "Never saw those before but they did not look like the friendly tree giants in the stories that pick you up to save you walking while they sing deep throated songs you don't understand."
If folks decide to eat some of the hard tack or other rations on the go, he kindly offers to heat it up for them a bit with a spell. Otherwise in this cold, the rations would likely be hard as rocks.
About 20-feet out you see what looks like feathered bundles and strange fetishes hanging from those branches. (Example) They are all swaying and shifting in the wind. Looking around, you see that they are all over this part of the woods.
Oi, Anyone knos what these are? I kind of predict dumb fey shenanigians
"Mm what's that , Kriemhild? Good eye, what's this?" And he moves closer and his eyes widen "The bundles are crows.. the frozen things are pinned." A shake of his head, "Could someone be using them in some ritual?"
He mutters arcane words and makes a motion
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"That was close..." Krokod says glad he was further back so his noise didn't kill them all. "Never saw those before but they did not look like the friendly tree giants in the stories that pick you up to save you walking while they sing deep throated songs you don't understand."
"You mean like the adventures of Mippin and Perriodock Nook," Mia asks.
About 20-feet out you see what looks like feathered bundles and strange fetishes hanging from those branches. (Example) They are all swaying and shifting in the wind. Looking around, you see that they are all over this part of the woods.Oi, Anyone knos what these are? I kind of predict dumb fey shenanigians"Mm what's that , Kriemhild? Good eye, what's this?" And he moves closer and his eyes widen "The bundles are crows.. the frozen things are pinned." A shake of his head, "Could someone be using them in some ritual?"
"I-if it's not a ritual, w-why would someone do that to crows?"
Mia stays close to Krokod, not wanting him to be by himself if something happens. Fraendi is in her hands.
She looks to Kriemhild, her expression worried. She doesn't like this, not one bit.
Linge visibly relaxes as the moving trees appear to walk away. She's put one arm around Horn's neck the whole time, holding him gently but firmly into place -and for once, he's obediently sat through the whole encounter.
"Frost firs," she explains once the woods have fallen silent again. "Highly territorial creatures from the northern forests. We could have been in trouble if they'd spotted us. The feys must have brought them so far south."
"I know their language, but..." she frowns. "I don't know if they'd listen to me."
The macabre trinkets hanging from the trees make Linge positively horrified.
"Oh, that's awful! Who'd do such a thing?" She does her best to untangle the dead crows from the nearest fetish. As they drop to her feet, she looks around to see many, many other ones...
She turns to Krokod instinctively, since he's the only one of the group with some knowledge of what they're dealing with.
Linge visibly relaxes as the moving trees appear to walk away. She's put one arm around Horn's neck the whole time, holding him gently but firmly into place -and for once, he's obediently sat through the whole encounter.
"Frost firs," she explains once the woods have fallen silent again. "Highly territorial creatures from the northern forests. We could have been in trouble if they'd spotted us. The feys must have brought them so far south."
"I know their language, but..." she frowns. "I don't know if they'd listen to me."
(Earlier)
"Frost firs. That does not sound good. Thank you." He looks troubled. Frustrated So, the dangers I could warn my friends about, I only know a bit of. Wonderful, Krokod. Maybe you should have listened more to the hateful old witch than you did.*******
(Later)
"I-if it's not a ritual, w-why would someone do that to crows?"
"Oh, that's awful! Who'd do such a thing?" She does her best to untangle the dead crows from the nearest fetish. As they drop to her feet, she looks around to see many, many other ones...
A glance to the ladies, "There are some who do far worse for amusement back where I was a child I... mmm pardon." And he keeps checking for magic.
Mia looks around at the many, many fetishes and wonders if they are a warning or just there for amusement. She shudders and hopes that their good fortune in not meeting the fey that did this and the carnage back where Lady Argentea's carriage was ambushed will hold.
She doubts that it will, though.
So, if we find them, we talk or attack on sight? Outside of my expertize, do fey fight each other? Kriemhild asks
"I have no idea," Linge answers, embarrassed. "I can try to talk to them first..."
“Whether the crows were done up like this for some sort of magical thingy or it was done to spook anyone foolish enough to follow a trail through the snow, it doesn’t really matter, does it?”
Kessir looked to Mia, still refusing to meet her eyes, “What’s the plan?”
Mia starts when Kessir asks her what the plan is. She isn't leadership material and she knows it. She looks around at the others, her cheeks burning as she sees them waiting on her answer.
"W-w-w-we sh-should--" she starts quietly before shaking her head and trying again, this time a little louder. "W-we should keep going, but probably skirt around this." She gestures at the dozens of macabre fetishes hanging from the tree. "They probably don't do anything, but I'd rather not risk it."
Could these just be territorial markings? Perhaps even of whatever group of things took Lady Argenta with them.
Kriemhild offers
Like, I have been told some Kellid clans use demon heads for that. Crows are kind of tame
Map of Heldren
Map of Windswept Gully
Looking closer at the fetishes hanging in the trees, Krokod cast Detect Magic. Outside of anything magical on the party, he doesn’t detect anything magical. Those who are magically inclined would know that there are those that use fetishes in their practices, but there are no signs of that here. Nothing arcane in the way these are built or displayed.
The way these are constructed are more like horrific trophies that were set up as a warning. For what or whom is unclear.
As the party is deciding to move on Mia feels something stick her through her clothing and Krokod feels it twice. Once in his back and once in his neck. Quickly feeling his neck and removing what he felt, it looks like one of the pins from the birds. Looking closer, it looks like a tiny arrow. Both Krokod begin to feel a chill entering their bodies from the pin pricks and begin to feel Staggered. As if they can’t fully move.
The feeling only last a few seconds, but passes. With the snowfall and wind impacting your vision you see nothing as you spin around in the direction the tiny arrows came from.
Random 1d6 Kessir, Kriemhild, Krokod, Linge, Mia, Horn
Stealth
YOU CALL THAT AN ARROW? Kriemhild lifts a Pila and readies an action to send it flying as soon as she can get a bead on an enemy.
"No magic that I can sense, heck, its not even a proper ritua... oW!" As he gets pierced, "What the heck?" Seeing nothing he's not sure what to so he moves for cover, only to find that's about all he can do.
Alarmed, Linge calls Horn back to her, and looks around for any clues. "W-what was that?"
Mia cries out in pain as she's stung in her arm. Her left hand reaches up and pulls the dart out as her body feels heavy and leaden. She looks around, obviously scared but still in control of her fear.
"Winter-touched fey, by my guess," Mia says as she moves to put her back to a tree. "Their barbs are like ice and weigh your limbs with lead."
Fraendi is up and before her, though she doubts they'll come close enough for her to use the sword on them, at least not before they have had a chance weaken her and the others. She'd heard plenty of stories about the cruelty the fey could display from her master, but little in the way of useful information. She can almost hear the dead wizard gloating about how useless she is without him.
"K-Kessir, do we move on or stay and fight," she asks, nerves more than cold shaking her voice.
Map of Heldren
Map of Zone with Hanging Fetiches
After being hit by a few arrows, the group looks around. You think you see something move, but it is just a swaying fetich. Something catching your perifacial to the east, but it’s one of the dead birds. For those who are hunters, you have the sense of being the deer in the field being watched from a stand.
Linge sees it first, but then it becomes obvious to all. Lights begin to slowly glow from a few of the trees. First from a tree directly north, then in two trees over to the east, and finally in the tree directly to the west right beside Linge.
Initiative: Round 1
Kessir
Mia
X
Linge
Krokod
Kriemhild
“So this is what it feels like,” Kessir muttered. So many little lights. Even those tiny barb-like arrows could put one of them down if the group stuck around for too long.
“I say we move. Everyone to the other side of this tree.” Kessir nodded to the one behind Kriemhild. Then, he loosed an arrow at the light behind Linge. If it was a creature, maybe he would get lucky.
Not waiting to see if the arrow struck anything, Kessir started to push through the snow.
Mia puts away Fraendi and pulls out her bow. She can Galvinius laughing at her, cursing her for a fool, as she realizes that they aren't going to get away if their attackers can fly.
"A fool I am for thinking I could do anything useful," she mutters under her breath as she nocks an arrow.
Map of Heldren
Map of Zone with Hanging Fetiches
Kessen takes aim at one of the lights and loosens an arrow that flies past Linge and hits where the light is emanating from. You hear it cutting through the leaves and eventually sinking into the snow beyond the tree. You are unsure if it hit the light or what is causing it, or if it just passed through the light and beyond. As an expert marksmen, you believe that the wind and snowfall is impacting your arrow’s flight.
Mia switches from her sword to her bow as she beats herself down.
Three diminutive creatures almost impossible to see in these weather conditions appear. Each one fluttering as they fly from the tree producing bows and take aim at the group. The first two miss, but the third one finds a home in Krokod. Though he can feel the cold starting to penetrate where the tiny arrow landed, he doesn’t have the sense of his limbs being weighted with lead again.
These are what you’d recognize as a sprite, but they have been changed. This is what Yuln must have been talking about when he described the fey giving themselves over to the winter witches. Being Fey, you’d know that they have a resistance to any weapon other than Cold Iron, and being winter touched they are immune to cold.
Initiative: Round 1
Kessir
Mia
X
Linge
Krokod
Kriemhild
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Another stabbing pain, and he cries out in Ulfen "Et eller annet sted må den gamle heksa le. Faen henne!"
As the third one comes into view to wound him further, Krokod snaps with anger and calls out words of power and his fingers dance! Once more a bolt of fire and heat shoots out .. maybe even if it misses, it will at least clear some of the flurries out for someone else's attack. His hair flutters as red as embers and his eyes blaze.
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Linge can barely see the feys, and understands quickly that she's not going to be able to hit them at all. Commanding Horn to heel, she trudges through the snow to reach Kriemhild and touches her arm. She murmurs a spell that fills the half-orc's head with visions that appeal to her hunting instinct: the thrill of pouncing on an unsuspecting prey, claws out; the satisfaction of seeing her pilum fly through the head, and pierce a demon through and through.
Map of Heldren
Map of Zone with Hanging Fetiches
Krokod fires off a bolt of fire that hits the trees and misses the creatures. Linge cast Guidance on Kriemhild.
Kriemhild, bulster by Linge begins to move forward defensively . Not knowing what else could be out there: traps, zombies, wyrms… She doesn’t take any chances.
Initiative: Round 1
Kessir
Mia
X
Linge
Krokod
Kriemhild
Mia moves to get a clearer shot at one of the fey they see, hoping that the lights re just a trick and not more of the blasted creatures.
Unfortunately, numb fingers fumble the string and the arrow goes about five feet before diving into the snow.
Calm down Mia. Calm down!
“Sprites!” Kessir shouted. “Winter touched Fey like Yuln mentioned. Cold iron to get past their defenses.”
Kessir cursed the bad weather and moved back towards the creatures. He grasped his holy symbol and uttered a prayer to Erastil. A thwump pulsed from Kessir, passing over his allies harmlessly as if seeking the three evil creatures.
Map of Heldren
Map of Zone with Hanging Fetiches
Kessir’s Bane overtakes the three sprites you can see. The creatures move into the cover of the tree, but you can still see them. The other lights in the trees begin to move around within the trees.
Initiative: Round 1
Kessir
Mia
X
Linge
Krokod
Kriemhild
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OI CAST BOINK!
Ah fugnuggets
Kriemhild, while enthusiastic, fails to hit the agile foes.
Oi bet you teeny pansy prancing sprity arses arent even capable of performing properly insulting rhymes! You throw things at us rather then attacking our self esteeem? What has Faerie come to?
A teeny weeny sprite
head higher then a kite
Cant do anything right
and falls down on he side
"They have defenses? As if being nimble little snots isn't enough"
This time he tries a weaker but hopefully luckier ray of flame at the nearest foe!
Map of Heldren
Map of Zone with Hanging Fetiches
Kriemhild and attacks out but her attack misses and tries to draw the attention away from her swing to her poetry…
Krokod channels energy through the flames that kindle within her and lets go a ray that looks like ice, but it is flames. The heat from the flame melts away at the snow covered leaves and begins to burn the leaves, but not catch fire.
Linge, standing besides Kessir, cast Guidance on him. Blessing his bow with the powers of the Great Eld.
Initiative: Round 3
Kessir
Mia
X
Linge
Krokod
Kriemhild
Kessir nodded a thanks to Linge. He took a couple of steps forward through the snow and loosed an arrow at one of the creatures.
Mia nocks another arrow and lets loose at one of the fey she can see.
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Map of Heldren
Map of Zone with Hanging Fetiches
Loosening their arrows, Kessir and Mia watch them stray off target from where they would normally had expected them to fly.
Bursting from the tree, one of the sprites approaches Kessir & Mia, and a flash of clashing colors springs from its hands. Causing Kessir & Krokod to crumple to the ground. Mia, Kriemhild and Linge see their two friends fall to the ground into the cold falling snow.
A second comes before the group and causes a spray of colors to pours from its hands. Linge drops her weapon and falls to the ground as the third one approaches and let’s free the same spray of color. This one causing Mia and Kriemhild to fall unconscious as their companions.
Your eyes open and you’d expect to feel the cold from the snow and wind freezing your face like Yuln. Except you feel the warmth of summer, and the sun cutting through the trees overhead. You can hear children playing and laughing in the distance.
Following the sound of their laughter you are hit with a wave of cold, then hit, and cold again. Forgetting the cold you round the corner and see a woman sitting in a chair talking to a child. You’re in a study. The stone floor feels cold through your boots, but the child’s laughter distracts you and look to the woman in her chair, in the study, with the child.
The child isn’t a child, it’s a gnome. You don’t understand the conversation, but the gnome submits to the woman. And she plunges an ice shard into the gnome and you watch as its skin turns blue and its eyes to ice.
Your eyes open, but this time the cold is there. The snow is there, and your companions are there. But the sprites are nowhere to be seen.
.
.
Kessir pushed himself up to his knees and gasped in the cold air. Snow clung to his eyebrows and some of it had melted and refrozen in the stubble on his lip.
“What just happened?!” He shouted. A sprite had rushed him. Then a spray of colors. Then he had been in some off place with an old woman and a gnome. And she did something to it. A dream. One brought on through a combination of the foul magic of the winter fey and sleeping in the snow.
Sprite! Kessir fumbled for his bow in the snow next to him and stood up with an arrow at the ready. And saw no creatures waiting for them.
“Everyone alive?” He called to the others, still breathing heavily.
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"No! Ice heart.. I..." Krokod wakes breathing heavily, raggedly "That poor gnome"
Linge startles awake and bolts upright, crying out for Horn.
Mia jolts awake as the witch turns the gnome into one of the ice fey. Looks around, seeing her companions stirring, but that brings her little comfort.
"Wh-why are we alive," she asks, her voice and legs shaky.
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They want to prank us again later. By Koscthschies frozen phantom balls , Oi should have fookin raged!
Kriemhild is evidently pissed.
Mia panics as she is struck by a sudden thought and looks through her gear. Is there anything missing? Did they take anything?
Mia jolts awake as the witch turns the gnome into one of the ice fey. Looks around, seeing her companions stirring, but that brings her little comfort.
"Wh-why are we alive," she asks, her voice and legs shaky.
"That's a good question." He casts detect magic on himself then the others. Maybe cursed? Maybe bespelled?
Map of Heldren
Map of Zone with Hanging Fetiches
Confusion as to what happened, was that a dream, or even why the group was alive fill everyone’s thoughts. You aren’t exactly how sure how long you were under. The dream? made it feel longer than it might have been based on only having a dusting of snow covering you.
Krokod begins detecting magic on the others. Nothing on the surface level reveals any kind of magic curses or bespelled
As Linge wakes she cries out for Horn. He knew well enough not to leave the party defenseless and it only takes a few seconds before she sees Horn billowing through the snow towards her.
Mia looks through her belongings looking to see if anything is missing. It appears as if everything is there.
You start looking in a hurry to see if anything is missing, a spellbook perhaps? And you take a moment to slow down to give yourself a little extra time to make sure everything is there. With that extra time you discover a small steel coin that is polished to the point of reflection. The coin is about 1.5 in across .
1=Kessir, 2=Kriemhild 3=Krokod 4=Linge 5=Mia
Mia calms down a little as she finds that nothing's missing.
"This makes no sense," she mutters under her breath.
Linge throws her arms around Horn's neck and hugs him tightly against her chest. He seems a little confused, but not put off, and licks her face.
The druid finally remembers the sprites, and looks around to catch sight of them, still not letting go of the bear cub.
"No magic on us that I can sense. If we're cursed, it's not showing.. so... yay?" He tries a smile but it's a weak one.
Kriemhild busies herself scratching
Sprites have are little prics
with very flacid tiny dicks
in Orcish on random trees.
She is clearly venting.
“Well, if we’re all in decent enough shape, should we continue on?” Kessir pulled himself to his feet and started searching for his lost arrows. Without a reliable source, he really needed to do a better job of aiming.
"Well, sh*t," Kessir muttered. "That's three arrows lost to the snow drifts."
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"Depends on your definition of decent" Krokod places a hand over the frozen holes in his flesh "But sure, let's keep moving." A glance over to Kriemhild, "If we meet those things again, they better hope Kriemhild doesn't like her meals cold. Just saying."
Hearing Kessir about losing arrows in the snow, she pulls her quiver off of her shoulder and hands it to the huntsman.
"I'll go wherever y'all decide," Mia says, scared, but not willing to break from the group, "but do we have much of a choice? There's still someone we have to save, and we don't know why this is happening."
Mia gestures around at the snow piling deep in the middle of summer.
"And if we run into those fey again, we'll have to spread out," she adds after hesitating for a moment.
Map of Heldren
Map of Zone with Hanging Fetiches
Holding firmly to Horn, Linge looks around and is the first to notice that not only are the three Sprite gone but so are the lights that were flying in the trees. No sight or sound of the fey creatures.
Following the trail left behind those who took the Lady, the sun continues on past midday . The trail is following the carved-out trail that the High Sentinels use to travel from the main road to their lodge.
At one point the trail crosses a narrow game trail that winds its way through the trees and undergrowth here. Hoofprints mark the underlying snow, leading in both directions. They look fresher than the trail that you are following.
You can tell from the size and shape that these footprints are that of an Elk.
"Okay, Mia. You know tactics better than I."
When they find the game trail crossing the trail they're on, Krokod looks to those who are more wood savvy than him for guidance.
With embarrassment, he realizes that's just about everyone.