Reign of Winter: The Snows of Summer IC

[Frosty]

Ana is glad the magical elk of undying-ness finally goes down! With a whoop, she fires upon the little thing that is tryin to skewer Kira! And then reloads again.

Spoiler: ooc

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Shoot small buzzing shape with light crossbow. (1d20+2)[18]
Damage: (1d8)[3]

Reload.

[Aldurin]

Trallus reloads his crossbow with a victorious swagger as the elk finally falls, then takes aim and tries to take down the creature attacking kira.

Spoiler

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Attack:(1d20+3)[12]
Damage:(1d6)[3]

[Stelio Kontos]

Dorrin circled 'round to put the little monster between himself and Kira, his foot slipping slightly on a small icy patch as he took a poke...

Spoiler: OOC

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Using this round of archaeologist's luck (I think I have 1 more round left after this one)...

attack (1d20+6)[26], damage (1d4+3)[5]

[The_Shaman]

The small creature avoids many of the hits, and seems to be remarkably resilient to those that land (Dorrin's, that is). It continues trying to get to an eyeball, an artery or any soft piece of flesh, cursing at Kira, while the other one take another shot at Dorrin.

Spoiler: Actions

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Berserker
Attack: (1d20+8)[27]
Damage: (1d2-1)[1]
Sniper
Attack:(1d20+7)[8]
Damage: (1d3-4)[-1]
Stealth to hide: (1d20)[3]

[PersonMan]

Kira steps back and slashes at the creature with her dagger.

Spoiler: Actions

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5' step and then attack. I do believe we're flanking, so...

A: (1d20+5)[25]
D: (1d4+1)[2]

[Stelio Kontos]

"The sword! It's cold iron! Use that! Too heavy for me!" Dorrin shouted, pointing at Vilgeirr's fallen body as he scurried off in the direction of the mysterious archer in the woods.

Spoiler: OOC

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No luck used this round (I've got one round left today I think, and I ain't using it on this).

Withdraw in the direction of the sniper, trying to track them down.

[Frosty]

The sorceress, now bereft of useful spells, and seeing no success with her crossbow, simply moves to the treeline to hide.

Spoiler: ooc

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Move to trees, then Full Defense.

[Aldurin]

Trallus reloads his crossbow again and decides to stay on the defensive until he can figure out a plan.

Spoiler

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Move: Reload crossbow
Standard: Total Defense

[The_Shaman]

The dagger nearly impales little fae, but something turns it slightly aside and it cuts the inner thigh instead. While this draws blood, it is not enough to put the menace down. At the same time, a small luminescent figure flies out of the forest and a blast of light envelops Kira and Trallus. With a ringing cry, the wounded fae plunges in combat again

Spoiler: Actions:

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Sprite:
Move: moves in a position to hit Kira and Trallus (60 feet fly speed is enough)
Standard: color spray, DC 11
Killy menace:
Five foot step to get to Kira's square
Attack: (1d20+8)[27], additional modifiers if she fails her DC
Damage: (1d2-1)[0] + (1d6)[1]

As Kira falls, the blooded fey whoops and starts stabbing at her viciously.

Gretel can act this turn, she begins within 20 feet of Dorrin/Anastasiya and 45 feet from Trallus, Kira and the fae. Note that the first 15 feet are difficult terrain due to the snow and undergrowth.

[Frosty]

Anastasiya: HP 8/8

The sorceress swears as she sees her new friend go down, convulsing in some sort of seizure. "Crap crap CRAP! GET AWAY FROM HER!" She aims and shoots, even though she knows she is unlikely to hit.

Spoiler: ooc

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Shoot the one stabbing Kira: (1d20+2)[3]
Damage: (1d8)[4]

Reload.

[Aldurin]

Realizing how vulnerable Kira is, Trallus desperate rushes the fey and tries to tackle it so that it can't safely swing a killing blow at his helpless ally.

Spoiler

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Dropping the crossbow and attempting to grapple the fey.

Grapple check (1d20-1)[13]

[Stelio Kontos]

Dorrin looked around, with a bit of a helpless feeling -- though the arrival of a reinforcement could change the tone of the battle.

If one is good ... more must be better?

"Look! The cavalry is here! Break out the cold iron, gang!" Dorrin shouted, with a bit of glee, as he pointed back over Gretel's shoulder. Sure enough, turning a bend in the forest, perhaps a hundred feet away at most but closing in quickly, were a half dozen more figures, dressed much like the newcomer, their footsteps silent against the soft snow.

Spoiler: OOC

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Silent Image, of another six humanoids approaching rapidly on foot. Hopefully that'll scare them off?

[Therumancer]

Gretel staggers into the battle in progress, obviously having trouble with the cold. She advances menacingly towards the fey stabbing Kira and yells "Hey, over here!"

[The_Shaman]

Trallus is able to drag the small, but vicious fae off Kira, and while he is unable to hold him for long, that and the arrival of the huntress turns the tide. If the berserking creature had its wits about it, maybe it would have fled, but as it is it went down fighting viciously, spitting insults and literal spit at the party and wailing about the death of its prize vassal. It calls on the sprite to keep fighting, and that delays it long enough to get cut down as well.

Then, all is silent but the wind.

[Therumancer]

Gretel continues to shiver in the cold and says "Hello, I am Gretel the Slayer... You may have heard some stories about me and a certain witch in the local taverns. I'm guessing your the group who set out to find that missing noble? I wanted to help out with that, but arrived a little late. I've been tracking you ever since". Gretel shoulders her axe and tries to look impressive without being overtly threatening.

[Stelio Kontos]

The thin halfling spiked his rapier point-first into the snow, both out of frustration and in an effort to disarm himself before the stranger, allowing his illusion to pass out of existence. Wincing slightly as he felt around his side for the tiny arrow that had poked him moments before, he extended his other hand in an offer of greeting.

"Miss, the folks at the tavern can say whatever they want -- so long as you're about the only thing in this forest that doesn't seem to want us dead, you're all right by me. I'm Dorrin. Let's wait a bit on the formal introductions 'till we figure out who's banged up the worst, if it's all right with you?"

[Aldurin]

In the desperate struggle, Trallus hadn't the presence of mind to get out of the way when the powerful woman took over the fight. Now panting and covered in fey blood, he trembles to overcome the surge of adrenaline. "I'm . . . I'm Trallus Enkso. Thank you for arriving when you did." He pauses to take another deep breath. "I've only got one spell left, to patch up whoever is in the worst shape. We should return to town and come up a more effective plan for tomorrow's outing."

[Therumancer]

Gretel says "I'm all for heading back to town, I thought I was better prepared for the cold than I apparently am. I'm freezing. If you wish I think I should be able to lead us back without much of a problem".

[Frosty]

"Good to have you aboard, Gretel. You'll need to tell me more about that witch of yours sometime. I am...familiar with witches from the north especially. But for now, we must retreat. Can you help us carry the body back to town?"

[Stelio Kontos]

Dorrin pondered that thought, of carrying the body back to town. "That's one possibility. But, I believe in proper Ulfen tradition, the body of one who fell in battle would be prepared either with a small barge of some kind to float the body out to sea, or else with a proper mount. That way, the warrior within can travel with great haste into the joy of battle in the afterlife. As there's no water around..." He shrugged, and gestured at the fallen elk. "I think that would do. I know it's more work, but... well, I think he'd have wanted it that way."

[Therumancer]

"Sure, I can help you carry the body" Gretel slings her axe over her back and picks up the body when the group is ready to go. "If you want I can tell you my witch story on our way back"

[PersonMan]

Kira rises from the snow slowly, rubbing the last of the stars out of her eyes as she stands; judging by the quiet, the fighting was over. Looking over the clearing, she frowns, until she sees their new companion. She pauses for a moment, giving a silent thanks to whichever deity had chosen to bless her before standing fully. "You weren't here before, were you? I can't have been hit that hard," she says, introducing herself as she takes a swig of the drink at her belt.

"Might be best to take him with us anyways. Can't bury someone properly if the ground is too cold," Kira comments, as she passes Dorrin and their fallen ally. "If you've got rope, we can make a sledge, using the elk to keep him off the ground, too..."

Spoiler: OOC

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Anastasiya, at least, has rope, so we can probably just skip over us setting up a basic sledge to haul him with us back to town and burying him there?

We may also want to set up a little camp site out near the edge of the cold zone, since we may be needing another two or three trips in...Could shave off a few hours of travel, that way.

[Stelio Kontos]

Dorrin opened his mouth as if to say something, then stopped. "I guess that's fine" he finally mumbled. "Let's at least get him back to town then."

[The_Shaman]

You come to Heldren late at night, cold and miserable. The next morning sees you attending the lonely memorial service that Elder Safander, the local priest, conducts in the rain, with only himself, his wife and assistant, and those of you who insist on making it to the wet, muddy graveyard near the town in attendance.

After a rather brief ceremony, the priest looks at you from under the wide-brimmed hat that keeps at least part of him dry. "You knew him better than anyone here. Is there something you'd like to say about him and in his memory?"

[Stelio Kontos]

Dorrin spent much of the night and the following morning in solitude, alone with his thoughts and a few sheets of rice paper upon which to write. He had done his best to prepare himself for the day -- his clothes were neatly cleaned and dried, and a few applications of his prestidigitation cantrip made sure that his clothing was an appropriate shade of black for the occasion. As the priest offered an opportunity to speak, he looked briefly around at his companions before stepping forward, taking the father's place at the front of the group, pulling out the thin paper, huddling over them a bit to shield them from the rain dripping off his cloak and hair. It was clear that he had given some thought aforehand to the occasion. Clearing his throat, he began speaking clearly but subduedly into the pounding rain.

"I can't say that I, or any of us, knew Vilgeirr all that well -- just for these last couple of days of his too-short life -- so I shall speak in generalities. I will try to be brief.

"In the time I have spent among the Ulfen people, I have known them to be strong people, fierce people, proud people, perhaps a stubborn people, an honorable people, but most of all a fighting people, willing to boast of their own achievements, without denigrating those of their neighbors. Vilgeirr, I believe, was no exception to any of these. I choose to believe that he rather enjoyed his last days -- the challenge of our noble quest, the contest of visceral combat, the struggle against the elements which we may find harsh, and unforgiving, but which I believe in which he would have found the comfort of home so very far away from his homeland. I will tell you that I have spent a fair bit of time considering my own place in all this -- uncomfortable, unsure -- and whether this is something worth pursuing, running off into the woods in search of a woman we've never met, for a reward we may never receive, into a climate that should not exist. But, I believe we can all take a lesson from that strength, that stubbornness, that honor, to fortify ourselves against the contests, the struggles, we all shall face in the days to come.

"Vilgeirr once said 'it is the dream of any man to slay a wyrm'. I told him I thought he had very strange dreams. Upon reflection, I believe he may have had the right of it. I don't mean, as I believe he did, that we should run out and find some more snakes in the woods to cook or bludgeon or skewer -- but, we all have our own battles to fight, our own wyrms to slay, whether they be literal or metaphorical. These last few days, we have come together with a common wyrm to slay, and though we have not yet brought it to submission, we must remember the lessons that I believe Vilgeirr, were he here, would have stressed upon us. The real joy, I believe, is not in the slaying of that wyrm, it's in the pursuit, the contest and and in the desire and commitment of body, mind and soul, to see the battle through, as he would have. With strength. Fierceness. Pride. Honor. I think he would not bemoan our failures, our inabilities to keep him with us, that he would ask no more of us than that though he has fallen, that we continue our pursuit of this task, this wyrm. That we see it through. That we slay it together. I can think of no better way that we could but to repay his sacrifice to us, and to honor his memory. Together, laughing against the futility of the cold, seeking out that wyrm."

He exhaled a bit, the unpleasant task done, looking around at each of the group, hoping his words meant as much to them as they did to himself. He calmly folded the papers, tucking them back inside the breast of his shirt, as he returned to his place.

Spoiler: OOC

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I don't actually expect this to affect any players or do anything in game, but what the hell I can take 10 on Perform (oratory) for a 16, so, you know, be suitably impressed.

[Therumancer]

For her part Gretel remains stoic, despite having carried this guy back to town she didn't even know his name until it was mentioned during the Eulogy.

[PersonMan]

Kira is absent from the ceremony entirely, instead waiting for its end near the entrance to the graveyard, silently looking out into the rain and waiting for the return of those who attended. She doesn't offer an explanation for her absence, simply giving a nod and joining them for the rest of the day's business.

[Aldurin]

Trallus awkwardly waits outside the funeral, having nothing to say and his feeling of guilt to shake off. He just quietly stares into the snow, leaving Kira to her silence.

[Frosty]

The sorceress is actually at the funeral, along with her father. The man did give his life in a fight. It wasn't specifically to protect her, but Ana wanted to be there since she benefits from his heroism. She is uncharacteristically silent, not wanting to say anything that might disruptive or uncouth at this occasion. Afterward, she says to her father, "That could've been me. I was out of magic for the day, and I was mostly useless. It could've easily been me. I think I'll need to hold my temper in check even when it comes to roasting evil winter fey..."

[The_Shaman]

The rest of the ceremony is quick and seemingly bland, and you can't shake the feeling this is far from the first such service the pair have held in recent days.

As you once again enter the forest, it takes you until well after noon to reach close to where the fight took place. The heavy rain predictably turns to snow, falling around you and blanketing everything outside your immediate vicinity as in a fog. The skies are leaden and gloomy, and the slight wind rustles the leaves,punctuating the quiet with the noise of a small drift falling from a branch.