Reign of Winter: The Snows of Summer IC

[Stelio Kontos]

Dorrin's eyes narrowed in intense concentration, and a careful observer would have seen the tip of his tongue poking out the corner of his mouth just ever so slightly as he took a quick step forward. He let loose his sling bullet in the direction of the zombie, taking care to avoid any chance of hitting his comrades, before reaching into his belt pouch for another stone.

Spoiler: OOC

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5 foot step to get to 50'
Swift action: burn a round of Archaeologist's Luck (+2 to attack and damage, and some other stuff that hopefully won't apply)
Standard action: Attack! (1d20+6)[13], damage (1d3+3)[6], if by some miracle I crit I'll roll in OOC. I have Precise Shot so no worry about firing into melee.
Move action: reload sling

[PersonMan]

Kira moves forwards to strike at the remaining zombie.

Spoiler: Actions

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Stepping up and attacking. Looks like there's flanking happening now.

A: (1d20+4)[7]
D: (1d4+1)[5]

[Dark Hawk799]

Shira swings at the last zombie with her battleaxe.

Spoiler

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Attack: (1d20+5)[6]
Crit Confirm if needed: (1d20+5)[19]
Damage: (1d8+1)[5]
Extra Crit Damage if needed: (2d8+2)[11]

[drayen]

The tall blond haired human once again struck out at the shambling figure with his antique blade.

Spoiler: Actions

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Falcata melee attack (1d20+4)[15]
Falcata damage (1d8+3)[8]
Confirmation (if needed) (1d20+4)[19]
Critical damage (2d8+6)[21]

Spoiler: OOC

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Status
AC 19; HP 13/13; Init +2; Speed 20' (medium armour); Perception +1
F +5; R +2; W+1
Combat Stamina 3/3
Shield Bearer 1/1
Throwing Axes 4/4

[The_Shaman]

The blows rain, and finally, another solid falcata chop brings the creature down, where it is quickly finished. After one last spasm, the necromantic energy fizzles and it is once again dead. For a moment, all is silent except the wind and your ragged breaths.

Spoiler

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Perception checks, please.

[Stelio Kontos]

Dorrin cautiously approached the group and the dead zombies, sling loaded and ready to launch, as he mentally traced the line back from where he was to the group. "They're really down, right?" he asked with a slight tremor in his voice. "Are any of you hurt? I'm sorry, I know I wasn't much help..."

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception check for the DM: (1d20+5)[16]

[drayen]

Vilgeirr grunted in satisfaction as the last of the strange things fell twitching to the ground. Once it stopped moving, he cleaned the ichor from his blade in the accumulated snow on the ground before taking a rag out to wipe away the moisture from the blade. Done he returned his falcata to its sheath and began to look around for any clues as to what those things were doing in the carriage's trunk.

Spoiler: Perception

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(1d20+1)[2]

[PersonMan]

As the battle ends, Kira sheathes her dagger, heading back to pick up Lyubimaya Sestra and looking around again. The site seemed calmer, after the fight, as things always do. The lack of tension brings a smile to her face.

Spoiler: OOC

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Perception: (1d20+5)[12]

[The_Shaman]

Now that things have quieted down, Kira and Dorrin notice the tattered remnants of crumpled tabards on the zombies match some of the torn remnants of decorations on the carriages, but also colors of fabric from a partially broken box that has fallen underneath the other carriage. Upon closer inspection, it is a trunk of all manner of female clothes, including 3 sets of very well made clothing clothes with the noble family's crest, and various other decorations - likely the clothes of the lady's handmaidens and companions. The smell and bloodstains on the fabric under the door indicate someone - perhaps their former owners - lay dead inside. You recognize the same heraldry on the breastplate of the warrior frozen in the ice.

A broken spear bars the doors of the upright carriage, from the trunk of which the zombies emerged. The carriage itself is marked by damage - mostly arrow marks, but with few deeper notches as well.

[Stelio Kontos]

"Someone did this, you know. On purpose" Dorrin murmured in hushed tones, a solemn, sad look on his face. "Made them, I mean. Those are zombies, you know. So whoever took the lady killed these people, then took their bodies and turned them into -- those -- and stuck them in there, for us to find. Well, not us necessarily, I mean, it could have been anyone..." That thought seemed to stop the halfling a bit short, so to speak. After a brief hesitation, he continued "Would you, um, excuse me for a moment? I need to try to find that stone."

With that, the young man traced the line back from where he was, past the group, and looked for a sign of impact in the snow some fifty or sixty feet beyond the felled creatures.

[drayen]

Vilgeirr walked up to the door of the carriage looking at the broken spear *** improvised lock. Frowning he asks as much to himself as the others, "Who would bar the door from the outside if their purpose was to attack the carriage and it's occupants? It's not as if it would keep the attackers out."

A roll of his broad shoulder hefted the heavy oaken shield into place while he drew his falcata. "Little man, your assistance again, if you please. Someone barred this door to keep something in, but we must inspect the interior to be certain the lady is not still here." Nodding his head to Shira he indicates the place beside him, "Öxukona, if you stand beside me, I can extend the protection of my shield to you if needed just as in the skjöldur veggur."

Spoiler: Ulfen

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Öxukona = Axe maiden
skjöldur veggur = shield wall

Spoiler: OOC

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Status
AC 19; HP 13/13; Init +2; Speed 20' (medium armour); Perception +1
F +5; R +2; W+1
Combat Stamina 3/3
Shield Bearer 1/1
Throwing Axes 4/4

[Stelio Kontos]

”Just a minute” Dorrin whispered loudly as he burrowed through the snow, having found the missing sling bullet. He shook the snow off the rock and his hands before dropping it back in his pouch.

“The purpose was to keep them in, so they wouldn’t wander off. So they’d be here to kill whoever opened it” Dorrin explained patiently. ”It’s barred from the outside, not inside. Still, can’t be too careful. On three?”. He grasped the end of the spear, preparing to pull it and scurry away.

[Dark Hawk799]

Shira moves to be standing next to Vilgeirr, drawing both her axes. "Any foul undead in this carriage shall be no match for us."

[PersonMan]

"Don't some of those just, happen?" Kira asks, as she carefully taps another shot's worth of black powder into her weapon. "You know, can't stay all dead because of how they died." She readies another shot and takes up position to fire on whatever's in the carriage itself.

[Stelio Kontos]

”Sometimes, yes, but not these” Dorrin replies. ”you’re thinking ghosts, haunts, that sort of thing. These are just sort of husks of dead people with a little kick of pure evil energy to keep them moving, and eating. No, I’m pretty sure these aren’t an accident. Anyway, here we go. One, two... and on the next beat, Dorrin yanked the broken spear loose and scrambled away.

[The_Shaman]

The carriage is silent, but sadly not empty as you realise when a wave of stench washes over you as you open the doors. Several more bodies are thrown inside, all missing various parts and starting to decompose. The carriage itself appears ransacked, as drawers are opened and thrown around and the seats are torn open.

[PersonMan]

"Great," Kira says, lowering her musket after a moment. "Looks like these ones won't be getting up."

[drayen]

"And that is the only good of it." The viking mutters as relaxes and sheathes his falcata. "I will pull out what is in there so we may identify who is here and try to account for everyone. Perhaps there will even be the bodies of any slain attackers so that we might convey the knowledge to those who will come asking."

Taking a step back, he sets his shield on end in the snow to keep it handy and shrugs out of his pack, setting it next to the shield. Taking a deep breath before stepping back up, he reaches in and pulls out the nearest body, or part thereof, moving it away to keep his work area clear before returning for another.

[Stelio Kontos]

"You do that" Dorrin said, turning reflexively from the stench and decay as he backed away. "I'll, uh, go check out some of the other wreckage, see if there's any other clues around, somewhere else. Sounds like you have this under control."

The halfling turned, making a retching sound as he doubled over briefly, and began to sift through some of the debris around the statue, looking for clues.

Spoiler: OOC

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Dunno if there's anything else to be found around the camp, but this seems like a great spot to take 20 on perception checks all around.

[The_Shaman]

((Those who actually get in the carriage, give me a perception check please))

[drayen]

Spoiler: OOC

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Just posted in OOC and don't want to double post, so just making the perception check here.

Spoiler: Actions

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Perception check: (1d20+1)[2]
As it should be.

[Stelio Kontos]

Dorrin pondered the frozen man-statue for a moment, then began gathering bits of wood and sticks into a decent bundle, placing them a few feet upwind. "When you're done over there, come take a look at this" he called out to the group. "Someone went to a lot of trouble with this sword; it's not magical but it's not the sort of thing you just have on the front rack at the shop, you know? Plus we can't very well leave him like this."

Reasonably satisfied that the bundle of twigs and larger sticks was arranged into something resembling a decent campfire, he rubbed his hands together and snapped his fingers, a lick of flame springing to life on one of the twigs in the center of the bundle.

Spoiler: OOC

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I'll use Spark (assuming these freezing temperatures and snow counts as cold terrain!) to start a fire near this guy to try to thaw him out. I'll take 10 on a Survival roll (11) to hopefully make a competent fire.

[The_Shaman]

Drayen sets up at his thankless task, despite the stench that makes his eyes water.Dorrin's efforts are evenually rewarded as despite the now regularly falling snow, the fire eventually catches and the ice on the body begins to thaw.

[PersonMan]

"Cold's probably a boon there," Kira says, watching as Vilgeirr begins, eventually joining him despite the nature of the task. The difference between freshly-killed and rotten corpses is made abundantly clear by how worse the latter are, and Kira is glad that the cold has numbed her nose and filled it with enough mucus to at least take the edge off.

[The_Shaman]

As the carriage gets emptied, you notice a rough-edged hole in the back, leading to the trunk from where the zombies fell out.Other than that and some other damage to the upholstery, you do not notice anything particular about the carriage as you are dragging the corpses out in the clearing on a growing pile. Dorrin's fire grows slowly - it may be a while until you get get the ice off the man and his shattered hand. The bodies, by their clothes are mostly various hangers-on, with no signs of wearing armor or carrying serious weaponry. They appear to have been hacked or stabbed multiple times haphazardly.

[drayen]

"Well, news. She's not amongst these bodies. Someone should search inside the carriage." Vilgeirr calls out to his fellows as he eyes the pile of bodies gauging how best to quickly return them to their place of origin.

[Stelio Kontos]

"I suppose I can help with that if you want" Dorrin said, rubbing his hands together by the fire. "You go ahead and get warmed up, keep the fire going."

Seeing Vilgeirr's look at the bodies, he suggested "when we're ready to go, we'll have to burn them I think. We can't bury them, ground will be frozen solid. Start gathering some more wood, we'll need a big fire for that."

With that, Dorrin poked his head inside the now corpse-free carriage and began to have a thorough look around. He had nothing but time.

Spoiler: OOC

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Since Vilgeirr asked, I'll take 20 on Perception in there, because why not. It'll take a few minutes, but it's not like we're going anywhere.

[drayen]

The northerner grunted in response to the halfling's supposition, "Ground shouldn't freeze solid in two days, but seeing as we didn't bring picks and spades, it's a moot point. Big fire means big smoke. Be seen for many miles. Might be best just to return them to the box until we come back or send the villagers to handle it once we return."

[Stelio Kontos]

"I don't think that's a good idea, leaving them to get eaten by animals or ... well, worse. What if whoever left the zombies for us happens back and does it again?"

[PersonMan]

"I'm fairly certain the idea is to go kill whoever made the zombies, and not let them wander back around," Kira says. "And...have you burned a body before? I wouldn't want to do it like this," she continues, nodding towards the small fire and their surroundings. "I say we leave this for now, kill the folks who did it, rescue the lady, then come back for a burial. Who knows, maybe their spirits will rest easier knowing we axed whoever did them in?"