Chaos of the Tundra [IC]

[PersonMan]

Outside it's snowing. This isn't that uncommon, but the fact that the snow is coming down far more heavily than it has been for the past few weeks is indicative of the change of seasons. You don't have all year, after all - mounting an expedition during the winter would be inviting certain death. For the next few weeks, though, the weather should stay mild enough to continue your quest. Mild, in this case, meaning that you can go outside while it's snowing and actually find your way back to the door.

Inside Rauduria (the locals are insistent that you not attach an article to the name) the temperature is warm. Due to the nature of the village, the inn/tavern/brothel/city hall is the largest structure for miles and only of the main sources of income for the people living here. The tavern/hall occupies almost all of the ground floor, with the kitchen/bar forming the center. This way, the semi-discrete meetings that oh so many expedition leaders enjoy having are kept, yet there is still an easy way to cater to the large numbers of people who come through. Large doors on each side of the bar lead into the mostly-empty hall where plays and other village-wide events are held.

The table you're at was reserved for you - Jozat seemed more than happy to do so. The hobgoblin barkeep isn't short of time now that the expedition season is drawing to a close. Your group is one of the last ones left in the village - three others are there, as well. Two are returning and one is heading off to another village further west before going out into the wastes.

Not long after you've sat down, a fairly revealingly dressed woman approaches you. One of the first things (ok, it's almost certainly the very first) you notice about her is that her skin is a crimson red and she has a small pair of horns growing from her forehead. Her blouse is cut low and her skirt end at mid-thigh, both are a mix of light brown and green in color - a common color scheme up north, for some reason.

"Would you like anything?" She asks, smiling and leaning forwards to put her hands on the edge of the table in a manner that's entirely unnecessary. Closer up, you can see that her eyes are red-brown.

OOC:
Well, here we are.

A few things:

1: OOC thread link. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=13609822#post13609822)

2: People who've been to Rauduria before and would be the type to talk to the barkeep:
The woman is Maniya, she works as a barmaid and came from the south.

Sense Motive DC 15
The woman is entirely aware of how much she is 'showing off' with her clothes and posture. It's clear that her choice of words was carefully chosen to not only mean food and drink.

[bindin garoth]

Nexus is slumped down in his chair, a bitter expression on his face. The voices were starting back up. 'Why wouldn't they just leave me alone?' He thinks to himself.

"I'll have one....Better yet, make that two mugs of the strongest thing you got." He says with a quick glance to the waitress, hoping to drink away the voices. He can't help but notice how she is dressed, but the voices prevent him from enjoying the view, as they are too destracting at the moment. He hopes they can get going soon, the sooner he gets that fragment, the better.

[THEChanger]

Simon merely glanced up at the waitress, before sighing slightly. Blood touched by some extraplanar evil, no doubt. Poor humans, always getting mixed up with odd creatures. "A glass of Southern Wine, if you have it, and some bread." Simon turned towards the companions Nexus had introduced him to. Yet another human, and some sort of massive, rock-like humanoid. A goliath, Simon thought he heard them call themselves. Odd folk to say the least.

[Keegan__D]

Bolae takes in what the waitress is putting out, but he's not picking anything up, much less buying. "I'll have what they're having, and the names of anyone looking for something dangerous to do in the snow." Simon and Nexus seemed interested in picking up more companions, and those working in bars tend to have an ear to the tables.

[PersonMan]

The waitress nods and smiles as everyone orders, turning to go back to the bar. It isn't long before she returns with three mugs and two wineglasses, holding them all in the manner that is used all over by those carrying more than they really should be.

Without comment she gives Nexus his drinks, then Simon and finally Bolae (one mug of 'the strongest stuff' and one glass of wine). To him she says "Well, just about everyone who would've been up for something like that is gone down south now, so I can't point you to anyone, sorry," you notice that, when she speaks more than a few words, you can tell that her accent is different from that of the people up here. It sounds more southern.

[bindin garoth]

"Have there been any rumors about barbarians around that?" Nexus asks the waitress before taking a big swig of the drink. No kidding, it was really strong. If everything went as planned, he'd soon be passed out, and wouldn't have to listen to the voices tonight. Right now, they were telling him to kill everyone there, luckily though they weren't as strong as they normally were. Otherwise he might actually do it!

[PersonMan]

"Well, people say a few expeditions got attacked, but not much else," the waitress responds, shrugging. "I know someone who might be able to tell you more. I'll warn you, though, she's always on the lookout for people she can try and get to accept these potions and treatments she makes. They can be good...or bad," she adds.

[jojolagger]

"Luckily, I am trained in potion-making and will likely be able to identify the potions as good or bad beforehand." Says Davven, who is not partaking in any drinks at the moment. "Hopefully, we can retrieve everything before they can put it to use."

[PersonMan]

The waitress shrugs. "Well, if you think you can handle it, sure. I'll go grab 'er, just wait right here," she says with a smile, turning and going across the room. She says something to Jozat on her way then goes up the stairs and out of sight.

[bindin garoth]

Maz takes a few more swigs of his drink while waiting. To many, he was just a drunk staring at a pretty waitress. But that's now what Maz saw. Not even close.

True, he was looking in the direction the waitress has traveled. But past her he saw noting but a sea of green flames. Such sights had become familiar these days, as the voices steadily grew stronger, day by day. Then, two figures stepped through the flame, although not enough to fully make out what they were. One was...... Roughly humanoid, to say the least, and the other seemed to be a floating cube. They never came close enough for a good view.

And then, with but the blink of the eye, they were gone from his sight again. 'It's never going to end is it,' he thought to himself as he takes yet another swig of the drink.

[PersonMan]

Not long after the waitress leaves, you see her coming back down the stairs, leading a cloaked person. As the two approach your table, you can make out some of the cloaked woman's features. Her skin is quite pale and there seem to be thin lines going from her eyes across her face. The eyes themselves make her heritage clear - she's a snow elf, but the same dark lines from her face extend into her eyes as well, gathering in the center to form a sort of pupil-like dark spot.

The two reach your table and the elf looks across all of you, clearly interested. She lifts up one arm and gingerly places a brown bag on the table, waiting until it settles and the noise of glass-on-glass from inside subsides before letting go of it.

"I hear you want information. I want someone to help me test something - it looks like we can work out a mutually beneficial deal," she says. Up close, you can see that her skin doesn't seem quite normal, somehow - it's hard to place, but there's just something off about it.

[bindin garoth]

"What would you like us to test?" Maz said. It definitly couldn't be worse that what he's been through, could it?

[PersonMan]

The elf smiles at Nexus looking him over before her eyes settle on his weapons. Her face is, despite the smile, devoid of emotion in an unusual way. It's not like she's simply expressionless, it's...somehow different.

"For you...I'm not sure, actually. I have this for your arm muscles, this one for your coordination...I'd have you test both, but so far that's always been fatal," the elf says, taking a pair of vials out of her bag. Each is filled with a clear liquid and unlabeled. The elf looks up from the vials, glancing over the other three at the table. The waitress maneuvered her self away as soon as the cloaked woman had reached the table. She seemed quite eager to get somewhere else.

"So, what about you? Willing to take a few risks for the future?" The elf asks, gazing intently at each person in turn.

[jojolagger]

"I am actually trained in potion-making, might I ask what recipes you used? Maybe between our knowledge, we can test more efficiently." Says Davven, who seems to be carefully examining the potions.

Artificer Knowledge
[roll0] potion 1
[roll1] potion 2
A successful check (vs DC 15) reveals said objects aura (ex. Strong transmutation, Faint conjuration)
I'm assuming that with access to the recipes, I can easily identify the potions, as a DC 25 spellcraft check can identify a potion by sight, and I can take to to hit DC 20.

[PersonMan]

The elf smiles her emotionless smile again. "While I don't want to cast doubt on your intentions, I prefer to keep my methods a secret. You might be under the impression I work for the advancement of my field as a whole. If so, you're mistaken. If I were, why would I be working in a place like this? No, I want to learn all about these things and then take my knowledge to my grave," she explains, one hand fiddling with the two vials she retrieved from her bag.

"Because I don't work with magic, my brews have some kinks I need to work out. I tested some on myself, but by now my body has been permanently changed by them, so data I gather from myself isn't very useful. I really need to get a good survivor for my general enhancement mix. The last person who took it seemed to have a problem with internal bleeding and died after a few hours without magical aid. I found the source of the problem and removed it, so it should be safe now," she adds. While she speaks, her gaze shifts more towards Bolae than the others.

Simon:
Despite her appearance, the elf isn't calm at all - in fact, at the mention of recipes she gets quite angry. Furious, even. She's clearly quite skilled in disguising it, though - it doesn't seem like anyone else noticed.

Oh, and she's lying about her motive. You get the feeling that the whole 'take my knowledge to my grave' part isn't entirely true.

Davven:
The potions are, oddly enough, not magical. You vaguely remember something someone once said about how some alchemists used nonmagical means to do things normally only done with magic. It isn't a very common choice, though, and nobody you know chose to pursue it (neither did you), so you don't actually know much about how it works.

[jojolagger]

"Well Bolae, think you can handle the potions? I have some healing magic available, so even if something like what happened to the last guy occurs, you should be fine." Responds Davven, who is rather surprised at the apparent lack of safety measures for the previous test.

[THEChanger]

"No." Simon slid his arm in front of Bolae's, attempting to prevent him from taking the potions. "I think I should be the one to test these, ahem, conncotions." Simon locked eyes with the elven woman, studying her carefully for any false movement. He had dealt with too many charlatans in the past to let his new companions fall victim to one just as they were about to start. Besides, travelling with Nexus, Simon knew himself to be far hardier than the strange swordsman, and the other two did not look much better.

Active Sense Motive roll. If she is trying to pull a fast one, I want to know. Plenty of folks might try to disguise poisons as potions.

[roll0]

[PersonMan]

The elf raises an eyebrow, then shrugs. "Alright, if you want to, go right ahead. It doesn't matter much to me which of you takes it, as long as you don't have any magical augments in you. It would also be helpful if you came back alive or documented your death," she says. She keeps her strange eyes on Simon's for a few moments before turning back to her vials.

"This one is the one I want you to test for me," the elf says after fishing out another vial, unlabeled like the others.

Simon:
Apart from her blatant disregard for your lives, there isn't anything threatening or hostile about her - she certainly isn't knowingly giving you poison.

[Keegan__D]

Bolae finishes his alcohol and joins the speaking half of the conversation. There's plenty. We can both help her out. He eagerly holds out a large hand to accept what the clearly-mad scientist will hand him, giving Simon a big grin. He wasn't about to let someone else take risk without him.

[bindin garoth]

Nexus stays silent for a little bit. He decides it's not worth the trouble, and instead lets them figure out who takes it. Instead, he starts on his second drink, continuing with his original plan: Drink until the voices go away.

[PersonMan]

The elf nods, taking a few more vials out of her bag. She hands two to both Bolae and Simon.

"Don't drink a second one while the first is in your system. It takes about twelve hours for it to be flushed through, but I'd wait fourteen if you want to be sure," she says. "The mix takes effect after about twenty minutes and brings with it increases in strength, speed as well as perception. If you notice any side effects, please note them and record how long they last,"

Now that she's found people to try her mixes, the elf seems quite satisfied.

"Now, I hear you wanted to know about barbarian attacks or similar? I've collected quite a few reports about that - luckily for you I keep unimportant data around. In these scrolls you'll find directions to areas where they are very active," she explains, taking out three scroll cases. Each contains a single roll of paper(!), with in-depth reports written on it in neat handwriting.

[bindin garoth]

Nexus quickly snatches one of the scrolls and begins reading it over, eager to find where the barbarians stay.

[PersonMan]

The scroll is easy to read but has little structure - it seems to be an excerpt of a more complete document. After the first few sentences, though, you quickly find what you're looking for: an in-depth description of the regions where the barbarians are most active, as well as a guide to get there from Rauduria as quickly as possible.

There are a few notes about the general attack strategy of the barbarians (they always flank their prey, they attack during snowstorms most of the time, they lead with ranged bombardment prior to a melee rush) in the following paragraphs. Most of the writing is the transcribed descriptions of various people who had survived the attacks, with the final scroll being only location info, complete with a small map.

More reading shows that not only the barbarian strategies have things in common. After going through several of the accounts, it's clear that there are a few barbarians who participate in a great number of raids. One of them is described as always wearing a well-made silver cloak and is occasionally said to have more than two arms, the other uses a massive weapon made from horns and slings bolts of energy from it. You don't remember seeing anyone who matches those descriptions during the attacks you suffered from them.

[bindin garoth]

"Well, do you guys want to go ahead and head out?" He says. He hoped he wasn't too affected by his drinks, he could never tell when he had too much until it was too late. Then again, he usually just jugged them one after another to stop the voices.

[Keegan__D]

Bolae rose abruptly with gusto, sliding the bench far out of the way. "Of course!" He is eager to rectify his defeat from the earlier ambush. Hopefully, they will encounter the same band.

[jojolagger]

Alright, if nobody has anything left to do in town, we'll head out now. Says Davven, who rises from the table, as his clothes transform from fairly posh attire to a set of cold weather gear.

[PersonMan]

The cold outside is sharp, biting at your skin. It isn't yet enough to harm and some of you barely even notice it due to magical protection, but it's a subtle reminder that your time is limited. The snow you saw from inside still falls, and a fresh covering of the stuff sits atop the road, making each step crunch as you compress the new into the old. It doesn't take long to leave the village, and soon it leaves sight. Now, apart from your companions, there is only the constant cold and snow. The moon is hidden behind clouds, making it even darker than usual. Without the evenly-placed light of the village, it's hard to see much (not like there's much to see, anyways).

After a few hours of travel the road abruptly ends. Someone had decided that some arbitrary distance had been reached, or perhaps the ones who are sent here to shovel the path grew tired and went back home. Beyond it you see a depression where many have gone before, footprints and animal tracks long buried beneath the snow. A quick check of the map indicates that you won't be following this path, but rather going off to the west of it, towards the snow dunes.

You cover most of the flatlands before you need to stop. The darkness seems to have intensified, and the stress of walking has begun to take its toll. Going further, especially since the areas nearby have been listed as 'higher probability (see map key) of barbarian (see glossary) attacks (see 'Descriptions' parts III, VII and XVI)', is not a very good idea. You're strong, but not insane enough to try and push through the northern wastes without proper sleep.

The night is uneventful. For about seven hours the snow stops and for a few you can even see the moon. In the morning you eat (or don't) and set out again. It takes two and a half hours, but eventually you get through the hilly snow-covered tundra into the snow dunes themselves. Here, the going is slower and you often can't see much further than the next dune. Perfect ambush conditions, which is probably why the barbarians often attack here.

It won't be long until you reach the area described as 'most likely point of barbarian (see glossary) attack (see 'Descriptions' parts III, VII and XVI)'. Any plans before you continue?

[jojolagger]

Davven can't do much with his magic, though the others should be able to store gear they don't want to carry on his floating disk.

I'm taking extend spell next level so I can get decent durations. I'd be dropping buffs on people if I wasn't worried about them running out of duration before combat. Also, I do have a portable hut, which should make sleeping nice and safe and warm.

[bindin garoth]

Nexus just continues on with the others. Unlike them and their fancy magics, he can't really control the magics he has, well at least not well. He doesn't care though, he just wants to find his fragment.

Out in the distance he hears a scream. His head snaps in the direction, but he sees nothing. Turning back around, he notices none of the others had reacted. He figures it must of been those haunting him.

[Keegan__D]

While scanning the area, Bolae is rummaging his backpack for the vial that the elf witch gave him. After finding it, he pops the top and holds it out towards Simon, saying "Cheers." His tone is a little grim, knowing the dangers. Even so, he takes the drink with a smile. "Ahhh, refreshing!" and he throws the empty vial to the ground, watching it disappear under the snow, rather than hear the shatter.