Pizazz's Beyond Annihilation

There are no flames...the energy was radiant...but there is smoke, so Badger's tender skin is patted unpleasantly by Kari before she helps him up. He tentatively grabs the object, but...its as he presumed...its residual charge has been expended and its now safe to handle...until it charges up once again...which by his quick calculations should take several days. 

Slogging out of the mud, Kari and Badger head towards the cabin. 

Kurik has been poking around in the meantime and found the remaining rooms inside.  In the room furtherest to the left, the scent of wine fills the room. It contains four frost-covered barrels, all of which contain sweet red wine that is frozen solid in the extreme cold.  

The next room over contains a cold black fireplace and two empty bookcases. Tacked to the walls and strewn across the floor are frost-covered blueprints. Facedown on the floor next to one of the blueprints is a tiny man made of clay. Kurik has heard of such things. Wizards pets known as Homunculus. However without a master, they can not survive. 

The north east most room has a stiff wind blowing through a broken window in the east wall, causing the tattered gray curtains to billow and flap like angry ghosts. Snow covers a bed and much of the surrounding floor. The room seems long unused.

The final room south of the empty bedroom is another bedroom. Wooden planks have been nailed over a broken window in this room to hold out the wind. Furnishings include a saggy double bed and a bookcase containing some folded clothes, a few blank sheets of parchment, and a set of calligrapher’s supplies. Next to the bookcase is a soot-stained hearth, wherein a scroll lies amid the ashes. The scroll is stained with soot but remains intact.  Kurik gently inspects it and finds a hand-written letter. 

Climbing through the window to avoid the broken deck, Mal, Badger, and Kari move within. The floorboards creak loudly beneath their feet as Kurik shows them around the frozen cabin. Badger looks at the notes from the outhouse, and the ample notes from within the study, and begins trying to understand everything. Its soon clear to Mal, Kurik, and Kari that the gnome is going to be busy for many hours, perhaps days, trying to understand all of the work. 

Mal at first starts to laugh as it seems the sun itself encloses Badger and then her laughter subsides a little as she sees him still breathing, a bit of smoke wafting off his body but still alive.

Then she turns inward at the feelings from the Ring and her heart blossoms once more. Could this be the thing that is able to destroy this cursed ring once and for all and she can be done with it. She regrets daily taking this thing from that jungle death trap but she knows it was the right thing as leaving it there would have been the worse choice. It would have obviously found its way to another host, and probably Badger as he went back inside and claimed the dungeon for his own, and god knows what disaster that would have caused.

Thinking to the ring, Seems that something does frighten you and I can not wait for Badger to figure out how to stop trying to kill himself long enough to fix/control that ring. Once he does I will have to see what I need to do to introduce you to that ring and then maybe rid the world of the both of you.

"Alright so he," poking her thumb over her shoulder at Badger, "is going to be awhile at this. Not that I care much but maybe while we wait we can make this hut, if you can even call it that, a little more livable for the rest of us. We should be able to find enough supplies to at least stop the wind from blowing through and then maybe we can get a fire going in here for you lot."

Lucky for Badger his skin is already dark, so he managed to avoid a very nasty sunburn. However his face tingles mightily and he could really do for some ointment.

Badger will get to work studying the object to see if he can make it work. This is the kind of task a gnome wizard was made for!

(Badger never actually used any of his Portent rolls, so if they are still valid, he has a nat20 he could replace his Investigation roll for...)

As Badger heads into the study to begin his research and work, Kurik and Mal move about the place trying to make it more livable. Kari moves inside as well.  They begin trying to patch the gaps up and try and make this place potentially as livable as possible.  Outside, the mounts all clamber under the house and settle down in a large gathering of fluff.  ( 3 1:Kurik 2:Mal 3:Kari. ).  

While moving about, Kari is walking across part of the main room when the board beneath the big half-orc do more than creak. There's a sharp crack and then they simply give way. The scorching they received from the Summer Star clearly weakening them beyond any good.  Kari drops.  The weakened floor must also be due to some collapsed supports beneath, because its in the same spot where the house hangs out over the chasm.  As Kari falls she sees only a long icy cliff stretching far below her.   

Kari: Dexterity saving throw please!

Ooc: would kurik be able to take an action to help?  If she does fall, how far will she fall before kurik can take an action?

No help action. She'll fall 90 feet in 3 seconds which is the earliest you could react.  It's 120 feet to the bottom. 

Kari, DC is 15. 

 DEX save: 22

The floor gives way and Kari plummets through it, hitting the rocky, icy cliff edge just below. She manages to cling onto that and not go falling into the gorge.  As she clings there under the house, the axebeaks all look over at her in alarm, then settle down, as if this is the normal going-ons of their strange bipedal masters. Meanwhile, Kari looks down into the chasm.  The wind bounces around sharply carrying up a cackling, laughing sound with it, as if the gorge is taunting her.  With the help of the others she pulls herself back up into the house.

The group spends a bit of time smashing out the charred, weakened floor sections and then while Badger focus' on his studies, the use some spare wood and planks from the woodshed to suitably repair up the place.  The sound of hammering and sawing fills the air for a few hours. They cover up big gaps, repair the floor, and otherwise make the cabin somewhat livable for a short time. Soon the stone fireplace has a crackling fire and, with the ice, cold, and wind kept out, the house begins to warm a bit...enough to pull off heavy winter gear, scarves, hats, and gloves, and feel a bit normal. 

Hair is matted with sweat from the manual labor of cutting, hammering, and carrying, and Kurik, Kari, and Mal all feel a bit more anchored to the world thanks to the basic camaraderie of doing a bit of simple construction. Beneath the house, directly under the floor, the Axebeaks all reposition themselves to benefit from some of the warmth soaking through the floor.

The darkness of the night stretches on and soon people fall asleep, while the gnome studies tirelessly away in the next room.

------------------------------------------

The next morning the group awakens. The Axebeaks have shifted and several are missing. However a quick investigation shows that they appear to have gone off into the sparse woods around the place and dug into the frozen ground and dug up a big section of dirt revealing all sorts of bugs that they've been eating.  It appears as if the others have already fed themselves and eventually they all return, pleased enough, to their spot under the house. It's quickly apparent they'll be waiting for Badger for some time. Several days at least. Does the group do anything other than 'hang out'? 

The rest of the group wait on Badger hand and foot, ensuring he is comfortable, has plenty of food and drink, light to read by, and all the necessary scribing materials. They don't bother him with impertinent questions but promptly answer every trifling demand he has.

Mal would of course casually, stealthily pick up items that Badger has just set down and move them slightly out of reach, then sit back and watch with a smile on her face.

Stealth: 25

Kari is mostly quiet. She finds chores to do, like chopping wood, looking around the cabin for an axe and wood pile or using her glaive as a last resort on any deadfall that may be nearby. She gives the little spirit one of her hand axes and sets it up with a chunk of thick branch so it can imitate her. She does a little hunting close enough to the cabin that she can still just make it out but hoping she is far enough away to find some kind of game animal, and crafts a tiny toy bow with little sharpened stick arrows for the chwinga. She even fashions a tiny flute and offers it to her tiny companion when she plays a song or two at night. But she mostly stays out of Badger's way, as he seems to think she knows what he is talking about when in fact it might as well be dwarvish for all she can tell. But she tries to be helpful when roped into it.

Before bed on the first night when Badger has gone back to his papers she asks Mal and Kurik if they have heard anything from the gorge. She stares into the fireplace as she asks, a thin layer of nonchalance covering her unease. There's something down there, I feel sure of it. I think we should find out what it is, but not until Badger is done. It's not safe to go leaving him alone with who knows what prowling around, voices on the wind and such. Should we keep a watch? Maybe convince 'Mr. I Don't Need Sleep I Need Answers' to do one of those barrier dome things to sleep in.

Kari finds an axe in the workshop, and the wood shed is well stocked and relatively dry. Though chopping frozen blocks of wood into kindling is a lot harder than it might usually be. Her hand-axes are still fully larger than her small companion is. The creature finds a twig though and seems. happy to follow along imitating her work. Though it does stop at some point and give a chunk of wood a big hug that it holds for at least a minute. It pats the wood softly as it walks away then goes back to pretending to hack through it. 

Badger does raise huts in the evening for the group to sleep in. They are safe, but also keep warm while everyone sleeps, without the need to keep a big fire going all night. 

In the evenings Kari's flute playing lends a bit of emotional warmth to room and even Badger from the study finds himself tapping along absently as he studies the complex work. During the days, Kari does go out hunting, catching mostly small game such as rabbits. She steers clear of the gorge. The others can tell hear what Kari is hearing. There's a clear 'laughing' aspect to the wind as it rushes through the gorge...though it comes and goes. 

The Axebeaks meanwhile roam around, staying within site of the cabin, but digging through the snow and frozen ground for the squirming animal life below. 

Five days pass in the cold cabin.  On the second and fourth day Kari notices a pair of Gnolls from a long distance while she's chopping wood. She leaves the axe and moves for her glaive, but they vanish into a copse of trees. On the fourth day when she spots them again, she sees only one. It regards her from a distance for a while, before bounding off with a cackle. The cackle has the same ring of the laughing on the wind from the gorge. 

On the fifth day, Badger emerges from the study with a big smile on his face.  He holds up the Summer Star, with its dim glow that extinguishes after a moment.  "Macreadus was smart. But I'm smarter. He misconstrued the Netheril calculations and didn't understand that a focus agent also needs a binding ring to prevent exactly the sort of thing that ended up killing him. I mean, really, you expect the energy to just cascade internally without any reflective elements? Come on!" 

Everyone stares blankly at him.

He looks up at their vacant stares.  Right, time to dumb it down.  "It needs a third ring. I need to add one. Time to go to the workshop." 

Badger figures it will probably take a couple days to properly create, enchant, and affix the third binding ring to the Summer Star. 

A few things are clear to Badger. First, Macreadus was reading a book from Netheril, the ancient powerful magical empire, to build the Summer Star. It should be able to counter the weather and unfreeze the region, however his calculations were incorrect. Adding a third ring will make the device function safely, but it will also curtail the range of the effect to only a mile or two. As for wether it can destroy the Ring of Winter, he's highly doubtful. Nothing of it's magic indicates it should do so. That said, he found another little tid-bit in the Netheril notes VERY interesting. The book he found was from the lost city of Ythryn. And the author makes reference to an "Anvil of Abjuration" which was specifically built to unbind arcane magic. If there's anything around that can destroy the ring, it would be that. The only problem of course is that the city has been lost for over a thousand years. But, if this book was found...then...maybe it's not far away?

Anything decide to do anything else during the two or three days? 

Kurik doesn't have much he can do during this time.  To bide his time he would gather up snow and ice to melt for water.  Cut trees for fire wood to keep the place warm.

Kari continues as she was for the most part. She tells the others about the gnolls, and sounds in good spirits when she says That's probably what the laughing is from the gorge then. It's probably best to leave them alone down there.

With Badger taking so long Kari starts to wonder if the axebraks need exercise. She saddles them up one at a time and trots them around near the cabin. She offers to put the chinga on the heads, where he can get a birds eye view, as it were.

The Chwinga is THRILLED to ride on the Axebeaks heads, and everytime the axebeak stops for a moment, the Chwinga hops up and down demanding more. 

Kari works through all of the Axebeaks. If she was expecting the Chwinga to get tired of the experience, she's disappointed, as it continues to silently hop and cheer after each ride. 

Finally though it's time to settle down. That night a storm comes. Outside the cabin the world closes in to a tiny circle of light amidst the pitch black swirling of the storm. It's almost as if the rest of the world no longer exists and all that remains in the great void is this cabin and the dim light flickering in the fireplace.  Kari begins to get distinctly uncomfortable as the wind pounds the cabin. Board creak and bang with the gusts, and where wind finds cracks it comes through with a sharp whistling sound. The fire dances unsteadily in the gusts the blow through. The group finds themselves cold and bored once again in the dark cabin. 

Eventually though the gnome arrives, exhausted from working in the shop, and creates one of his domes. The group crawls within the warmth of the space, the air is still, and everything is quieter inside the dome...though the floor is still just as creaky and the sounds of the storm and the wind still reach you through the floor.  The Chwinga makes itself comfortable in Kari's discarded furry hat. With the light from the fire dimming to a ruddy red glow, and everyone trying to sleep, the world closes in once more. The cabin itself barely exists in the pitch black of the stormy night. The occasional clucking from the birds gathered below creeps up through the boards.  The bangs and creaks of the cabin perched on the edge of the cliff drive nightmarish thoughts of the whole structure toppling from its ledge. Sleep takes a long time to come. 

Eventually though it does. 

The next morning the dark world outside is lit by the bright moon in a clear sky.  The new snow covers everything in the world once again.  

Badger gets up and drags Kari and Kurik with him to assist with the workshop work. 

That evening Badger completes the task of adding the third ring. Beautifully rendered, using the casts that were discarded in the room, pouring more of the metal before a raging hearth fire that took forever to melt, then carefully cleaned and painstakingly engraved and enchanted throughout the day as Badger poured magical energy into it, the ring was eventually affixed to the summer star. Brief flare of energy lit up the room before dying away leaving the item feeling as it if were humming in his hand. The thing was complete. The first artifact Badger had ever had the pleasure of constructing. 

(Badger could have used Fabricate to speed up the process a bit, although no doubt the engraving and enchanting would still have taken as much time.)

Badger will attune to the item and then consult with the others before activating it. Despite his misgivings about it's potential effect on the Ring, he feels it is worth a try after expending so much effort. But then again, if this Ythryn place still exists and really does house an Anvil of Abjuration, then perhaps the Star might prove useful in the course of a search for the lost city. 

Before deciding, Badger will try to determine how often the Star can be used, when it might recharge, etc etc.

 Kari will suggest that they move away from the cabin again, and that it be herself to attune and try to activate the item. You weren't looking so hot last tome. Or, you were looking VERY hot! Either way, we need you alive. I'll give it back, of course, when we know if it's safe.

The summer star is a special artifact with a single charge. When its charge is expended, it can cast a permanent and modified version of control weather. Once it's charge is expended, the artifact loses its magic.  Badger knows the star isn't from Ythryn, it was created here by Macreadus. However he used the now mostly charred book from Netheril to create the summer star. If he's looking for an item from Netheril, then perhaps the charred spine of the book would be more useful. 

Does Kari or Badger activate the summer star? Inside or outside?  Either way, Badger, make an Arcana test.

(Badger's suggestion was not so much to use the Star to find Ythryn, but that the Star might be better activated in a different place. If they have to search the frozen wastes for a lost city, then there might be other areas where reversing the season would be more useful than just here around this abandoned cabin. Thoughts anyone? If the Star isn't going to destroy the ring, then should we save it for a 'rainy day'? Or just try it on the ring here and now?)

If the decision is to activate the item, then Badger is happy to let Kari do it, as long as he can observe the effects. Arcana: 10

Kurik joins the conversation.  "If this does modify the weather, I'm sure it will have a certain range.  What good does it do us here?  Wouldn't it be better over some prestine farmland or maybe if it's used at the source of the winter storm it will displace the whole thing?"