Fortunately, the nimble aasimar makes the jump without incident. She finds a broken outcropping to tie the rope around, allowing the rest of you to easily cross the gap in the causeway.
You make your way through the open doors of the tower. Windblown snow has drifted into the corners and along the walls of this trapezoidal chamber, piling up in deep drifts. Identical hexagonal openings exit the room to the south, north, northeast, and northwest. A strong wind blows out of the northern hexagon.
Four ice-encrusted undead emerge from the snowdrifts, snarling and flexing their claws!
"Flori, I don't understand undead. They are snarling, right? But they don't breathe, so how do they snarl?" the archer asks to distract herself as she pulls back a flaming arrow and lets it fly toward the nearest of the snarlers.
Sylyn's first arrow catches one of the wights in the forehead, and her follow-up shot takes it down. The remaining three rush forward, but Ahreni blocks their progress. They swing on the aasimar, but her armor holds!
Ahreni slices at both undead as they close in before weaving away from their frosty blows, demonstrating the wisdom of her not wearing any heavy clothes. She uses this momentum to spin behind the undead and unleash another heavy blow.
"All yours Kitasai!"
Sylyn lets her eye drift a little too much at the dance Anreni is giving, almost as if she is showing off her wisdom for not wearing any heavy clothes. With a slight shake of her head, she dismisses such a silly thought and sends another arrow into one of the things faces.
Relisha takes a step up, the katana in her hand bursting into flames as she swings at one of the icy undead.
Ahreni 60/60
Relisha 73/73
Flori 35/35
Kitasai 58/58
Sylyn 58/58
Flori looks warily at those in front of her, worried her magic might not be able to affect such creatures. "No idea Sylyn, these things are so unnatural you cannot explain them"
Between flaming arrows, flashing blades, and a splash of acid, the remaining wights quickly go down!
You traverse the ground floor of the tower, moving around to the rear hall. A hexagonal opening leads into the tower's central core, a twenty-foot-wide room with no ceiling. Instead, a smooth-walled shaft rises through the tower’s interior. A crackling blue sphere of energy hangs in the air high above the shaft. Powerful winds howl down the shaft, making flying or climbing hazardous. However, you do spot a crystal control panel outside of the doorway.
"I think we're relying on your clever types to deal with this." Ahreni says, looking to the young women in the party. She adds a wink for Sylyn once Flori turns away to examine the mechanism.
Flori looks quizically at the crystal control panel before looking back at Sylyn. "This absolutely seems like your kind of thing, you like a good puzzle? Right?" Flori says hopefully.
"Me???" the red head startles. She had been distracted by the wink and letting her gaze linger.
Bending over and looking at the panel she thinks she might have it like it is one the tip of her tongue.
As Sylyn works, Relisha offers a quick prayer to her goddess and places a supportive hand on the woman's shoulder.
With a bit of guidance, Sylyn activates the panel. A hexagonal platform of blue force forms on the floor of the shaft, slowly rising up to the tower's next level...
With a questioning look at the others, Relisha awkwardly hops up onto the platform as it begins to rise.
Ahreni chivvies everyone else on to the platform and then leaps nimbly on just as it reaches the height of her head.
The platform raises you up 50 feet to the second level of the tower. You step out into a large chamber, where a guardian beast awaits you! An immense centipede-like beast rises before you, rows of chitinous plates on its back glowing red-hot. Flames burn between its mandibles!
With the layers of armor, Sylyn takes a moment to aim before sending a flaming arrow it's way.
"How does it breathe fire in temperatures like this?" Ahreni asks rhetorically before rushing around the beast to distract it.
Kitasai moves in to attack, but misses with his punch. Sylyn's arrow strikes the worm, but the fire has no effect! Ahreni lands a good hit, slicing into the worm's body.
In response, the creature's scales begin to glow red with heat as it becomes enraged! It snaps at the aasimar, closing its jaws around her and grabbing a hold!
Flori reflexively throws out her hands, whilst conjuring a greasy pool beneath the creature's feet.
Freeing herself from the visions of the future, Relisha speaks a quick prayer to her goddess and a weapon of divine energy appears near the fiery creature and strikes at it.
Ahreni 42/60
Relisha 68/73
Flori 35/35
Kitasai 58/58
Sylyn 58/58
"LET. GO. OF. HER!" the red haired woman screams as Ahreni starts to get eaten. Flaming arrows flying at each word.
Ahreni struggles furiously, but her glaive is completely the wrong weapon for a struggle at such close quarters.
Kit tries to furiously pound on the creature to help get Ahreni released, his fury causes him to lose focus as he delivers less than accurate strikes.
Aided by Flori's magic making her clothes and body slippery, Ahreni slides free of the monster's maw. Kitasai jabs at the thing but can't find a chink in its armored hide. Relisha's spiritual weapon lands a light hit, while Sylyn scores two hits with her arrows, though once more, the fire has no effect.
Abandoning its attempts to eat Ahreni, the monster attempts a cleaving bite against both her and Kitasai. Its teeth rend both of their flesh.
"You are a worthy foe, but I don't give up easily!" Ahreni declares, before spinning into battle once more.
"I don't think it understands you!" Sylyn yells, but in happy tones, since Ahreni can talk instead of just being eaten.
As the damage accumulates, Relisha presents her holy symbol and with a prayer to her goddess, healing energy washes over the group.
Meanwhile, her summoned blade continues its assault.
Ahreni 22/60
Relisha 60/73
Flori 35/35
Kitasai 39/58
Sylyn 58/58
Sylyn shoots the monster again, and Ahreni lands a powerful strike. Relisha's spectral scimitar slices into the creature's neck, finishing it off! It crashes to the flor, its burning body rapidly cooling down.
Ahreni slows to a halt and winces slightly, but Relisha is rapidly leeching away her injuries so the aasimar does little more than nod thankfully towards the tiefling, shoot her girlfriend a quick smile and start looking for the way onwards and whatever danger will inevitably come next!
As the summoned weapon vanishes, Relisha presents her holy symbol a second time and blankets the group in the holy presence of Sarenrae.
She then sets to with her wand of healing.
Ahreni 59/60
Relisha 68/73
Flori 35/35
Kitasai 58/58
Sylyn 58/58
Kitasai pats Ahreni's back twice softly and looks around to his allies nodding with a congratulatory, "Well done. Pause here a moment."
Flori, once it becomes clear that Relisha has things in hand and no-one is in immediate danger, cautiously approaches the dragon-like creature. Once it's clear that the creature dead she pulls out her dagger and starts levering off one of it's iridescent scales for her collection.
"It's still warm!" She says in surprise, holding her trophy in one hand. "I wonder how on earth it managed that. Magic? Or does it perhaps have some sort of flammable substance inside it. Like the fire-breather at the summer fair!" She adds for Sylyn's benefit.
"So, where are we going next?" She adds, looking around for an exit.
There seems to be little else of interest on this level of the tower, so you once more activate the force lift and ride it up to the tower's peak.
Four stone platforms jut from the walls fifty feet above the floor. Above these platforms, a pair of open windows in each wall look out over the icy landscape outside. Six large crystals are embedded in the walls between the windows, glowing with a blue radiance. High above, a wide hexagonal opening pierces the ceiling. Beyond this opening, a massive sphere of blue light sheds a dazzling radiance. Bolts of crackling electricity join the crystals in the walls with the ball of energy. A howling gale sweeps downwards from the sphere, carrying a rumble of distant thunder.
A crystal control sits in the floor next to the shaft in the center of the room, where the force-platform has come to a rest.
Four of the ice-encrusted undead you have been facing patrol the floor of the chamber, and they snarl as they prepare to attack. Looking down from atop the northern platform is a lithe and graceful woman with pale blue skin marked with white whorls. Her lustrous midnight blue hair drifts about her head like wisps of storm clouds, and wings of blue-black feathers spread from her back. Her silvery fingernails glint like razors.
"I know not who you people think you are," she calls, her voice carrying to you despite the howling winds, "but I will not allow you to stop me. I am Katiyana, and the morozkos are mine to command! Soon, they will slay enough mortals to fuel my master Sithhud's return to prominence! Now, die!"
"Sylyn, the crystal! Use it! We'll keep them off you!" Ahreni calls, "Flori, Rel. Keep her safe!"
Moving through the wind isn't easy but Ahreni bends with the flows, using them to ease her path around the edge of the room to the nearest skeleton.
"Sithhud is dead, and he's going to stay that way!" She yells, trying to draw the odd woman's attention onto her.
Sylyn startles from her open gaping at the spectacle they are witnessing at the top of the tower. Frozen undead, stunning bolts of energy slamming between crystals, and then there is the half-naked blue feathery woman.
"Oh! Um, crystal, I WILL TRY!" she shouts as she tries to make her way through the wind.
Moving into position opposite of Ahreni, Kitasai pushes through the wind and strikes!
Once the familiar sensation of deja vu passes, Relisha prepares to protect Sylyn, beginning with the casting of a spell of protection.
Relisha 68/73
Flori 35/35
Kitasai 58/58
Sylyn 58/58
Sylyn is needed so she grits her teeth and pushes through the wind, inch by inch, as the wind tears into her. It feels like minutes, even an hour of struggle over a mile of terrain. In truth, it is less than 3 seconds and only 10 feet, but the WHOOP she gives is for the mental hour-long mile.
Flori staggers in the winds and begins chanting the words for a lengthy spell.
Ahreni and Kitasai team up to destroy one of the skeletons as Sylyn forces her way past the howling winds to the control panel. As Relisha and Flori weave their spells, the winged woman gestures, calling a bolt of lightning down on Flori to try to disrupt her spellcasting! She follows up with a silence spell on the wizard.
The icy undead move to attack Sylyn and Kitasai, but they all miss!
Pushing alongside Sylyn, Relisha keeps close while summoning a divine weapon to attack the blue woman.
Ahreni 59/60
Relisha 63/73
Flori 18(29)/35
Kitasai 58/58
Sylyn 58/58
"Okay, how to..." Sylyn stares at the crystal control Thing, wondering why anyone would think she'd understand how to turn it off. "Oh, maybe..." she starts pressing on it.
Beep Blup Beep later.
Ahreni curses as she realises she's left the group open and leaps back into combat, trying to take down the undead assailing Sylyn.
She lands a powerful blow and leaps back a few feet, her gleaming blade a menace to any who dare to move!
While he had his confidence bolstered by the lack of successful attacks against him, Kitasai's retaliation is less than effective.