After a few questions asking what sort of animals she saw, Vothos postulates to the group, "Something here doesn't make sense. Predators bonding with prey and sleeping in the same den? Are you sure? This reminds me of the stories we were told when we were kekei, just young pups. Though, I've forgotten most of them now..."
Vothos trails off as it is evident he is lost in thought perhaps remembering the fonder times of his youth.
As the heroes pull back and begin to coordinate their plan, Haribo is slowly examining the moon dial, his back to the hole. Then, he looks up, and turns to the others, "You hear that?" He says, turning back towards the hole. Before anyone can react, a massive white moose charges out of the hole, and impales the wizard on his antlers, before throwing the limp body to the side and turning to glare at the others. It's hot breath streaming out of nostrils fogging in the cold air.
“Oi, here’s our beastie now. One moose head, comin’ right up!”
Svfra assumes a ready stance, her yklwa poised for action! The beast charges toward her, but she nimbly dodges its already bloodied antlers.
Up close, the creature is enormous, the gnome barely as tall as its legs. Swallowing her fear, she thrusts in, letting loose an involuntary battle cry, “Aaaaaaggghh!!” ...but the white moose easily parries with its immense rack.
Following up with an upward jab of her fist, she nearly slips in the snow and ice, but her crampons dig in. Svfra recovers with a kick to the beast’s legs. It connects, and the crampons only add to the fire in the enraged moose’s eyes!
Before the moose reaches Svfra, Vothos raises his hands, moves them about in a ritualistic sort of way, mutters some words in Giant, and points his ring at the oncoming moose. A small wisp of shadow forms around the moose before disappearing.
In the same motion, Vothos clenches his hand and points the ring again at the moose. First snow, then ice, then pebbles and dirt from the earth below him rises and swirls around his outstretched arm momentarily before firing at unexpected velocity towards the moose. The burst of earth and magical force glances off the large antlers of the moose and does not seem to slow it.
Now visibly nervous, Vothos begins backing away as more snow, ice, dirt, and pebbles begin swirling about him.
A few seconds later Vothos collects his thoughts and concentrates, the dirt and snow spin around his forearm and with a small flash are launched at great speed toward the moose. This time the moose isn't so lucky as the force blast hits the moose directly in the side. As the moose turns toward him, Vothos takes a deep gulp and prepares himself to dodge the incoming beast.
As the creature turns its attention to her Goliath companion, Svfra lunges again, this time striking true!
Svfra takes off after the white moose, and proceeds to harry it while the beast lashes out at Vothos with its antlers, and rears up to strike with its hooves. Lunging in with her yklwa, she spears it in its massive flank, and follows up with a crescent kick.
“Svfra!!” The sharp cry, and exhalation with it, is a release of energy, her Ki. So much a part of her that she chose to adopt the sound as her name, when she gained her freedom.
Pulling her weapon free, blood drips down to stain the snow crimson. The small but mighty warrior finishes with a jump axe kick, which catches the creature in its wounded ribs while it is still rampant, reared up on its haunches. She can tell her blows are starting to wear the animal down!
Less than thirty seconds later and the fight was over. Despite the intelligence of the moose, it was barely able to scratch the heroes who whittled the beast down, before finally being dropped by the gnome monk.
The air stood still as steam rose off the corpse of the moose, and off the body of Haribo.
Vothos walks over to the downed wizard and shakes his head. It is evident that the wounds are too grievous and his soul has already left his body. He picks up the corpse of Haribo and slings him over his shoulder and props him against the now dead white moose; wincing as he does so.
Spending the next few minutes waving his ringed hand around and muttering some incantations in a strange, guttural and primal language, Vothos bolsters himself with some necromantic magic that seems to give him some new life.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you but I wouldn't mind a short time to bandage my wounds. After that we can explore the home of this strange beast and figure out a way to pull the both of them back to town." With that, Vothos reaches into his coat and pulls forth a roll of bandages and begins cleaning himself up.
The adrenaline quickly subsides from the brief, but violent encounter. Svfra shrugs the small round shield from her back, and proceeds to sit cross-legged on it. The steel is cold, but keeps her from the snow and ice, at least.
”The beast should keep in this weather, though it would make fer a smaller package, if we dressed it. An’ we should take Haribo back t’ town. Seems ‘is family is known there.”
The gnome wriggles into a slightly different pose, and sighs, looking down at her shiny perch. “Either way, we’re goin’ to need a bigger sled.”
“Oi, Cherry, wai’ up!” Svfra is still feeling depleted from the short combat, and quickly realizes there is no real recuperation to be had, so long as she is exposed to the elements in this unnatural cold. The Underdark had been mostly consistent, with little in the way of extremes, in regard to temperature at least. While she had never truly known warmth, nor had she experienced anything like this unrelenting cold.
”Tis no time t’ be wanderin’ into caves by yerself. An’ mind the drop.”
Through the hole in the side of the hill is a spacious chamber, strewn with bones and the sleeping forms of animals (foxes, hares, goats, owls, wolf pups, and young bears) that seem to be sharing the space peacefully. The hole is about ten feet off the ground, with a pile of rubble clumsily piled in a rough ramp to allow a medium-sized creature to easily enter and exit the chamber. As Vothos enters, he trips on the rubble and knocks several loose rocks and stones skittering down the ramp. A few of the animals seem to wake up and look over at him, but seeing no immediate threat, they merely roll over and go back to sleep. The room, while still cold, feels significantly warmer than outside, given the lack of wind and the presence of so many bodies.
Of note, there are three marble statues, identical to the ones outside, except a) the wind has not worn away the detail in their faces, b) they don't stand on pillars, and c) all three of them are facing east, towards the wall. Leading off from the chamber is a passage to the west, directly across from the hole the heroes have entered. A second passage leads off to the south. The chamber seems to end at the west in a reflective surface that is just barely visible from where the heroes enter, and continues around the gnomon circle.
In addition, in the southeast corner, at the foot of the statue, lays a small humanoid figure. In the darkness, it's hard to make out details, but its hands appear tied behind its back, and it appears to be breathing.
Vothos dusts off his pants and chuckles a bit to himself. "Sorry about that. I guess whatever in here has already heard us. Might as well see it as well." He pulls a torch from his backpack and lights it up.
He approaches the bound humanoid figure cautiously and holds to torch in front of him to try to get a better look.
Svfra approaches close enough to prod gently with the flat of her yklwa. “Oi, wake up, sunshine. Spring is here.”
That ought to do it. That’s all these surface-dwellers could talk about, how the seasons had stopped changing and they were still waiting for Spring. She keeps her weapon ready, though, just in case things are not what they seem.
In the light, and closer, the figure looks like a human male. He is clothed in simple layers of wool and fur that are ubiquitous to Ten-towns. Though there are some blood stains from holes in his clothing, no wounds are currently evident on the man. He is bound with rope at both hands and feet, and is gagged and blindfolded. He seems unconscious, though he flinches away from the touch of Svfra's yklwa.
"Well, he seems like he's not the only one feeling sleepy," Vothos says as he looks around the room ar the various critters. "Should we pull him out into the cold or give him a good smack? That might wake him. Or we could take a little rest ourselves and perhaps he will wake up by then."
After a few questions asking what sort of animals she saw, Vothos postulates to the group, "Something here doesn't make sense. Predators bonding with prey and sleeping in the same den? Are you sure? This reminds me of the stories we were told when we were kekei, just young pups. Though, I've forgotten most of them now..."
Vothos trails off as it is evident he is lost in thought perhaps remembering the fonder times of his youth.
(regrettably I am stepping away from RPGs for a while, just caused a big fallout with my family)
(I'm sorry to hear that. I wish you well, real life always comes first.)
**By the Light of the Sun, you will burn!**
Previously BENEFICENCE
DM: Storm Lord's Wrath || Syr Valor Dayne: Sleeping Gods || tooltips | guides | dice |
As the heroes pull back and begin to coordinate their plan, Haribo is slowly examining the moon dial, his back to the hole. Then, he looks up, and turns to the others, "You hear that?" He says, turning back towards the hole. Before anyone can react, a massive white moose charges out of the hole, and impales the wizard on his antlers, before throwing the limp body to the side and turning to glare at the others. It's hot breath streaming out of nostrils fogging in the cold air.
**By the Light of the Sun, you will burn!**
Previously BENEFICENCE
DM: Storm Lord's Wrath || Syr Valor Dayne: Sleeping Gods || tooltips | guides | dice |
“Oi, here’s our beastie now. One moose head, comin’ right up!”
Svfra assumes a ready stance, her yklwa poised for action! The beast charges toward her, but she nimbly dodges its already bloodied antlers.
Up close, the creature is enormous, the gnome barely as tall as its legs. Swallowing her fear, she thrusts in, letting loose an involuntary battle cry, “Aaaaaaggghh!!” ...but the white moose easily parries with its immense rack.
Following up with an upward jab of her fist, she nearly slips in the snow and ice, but her crampons dig in. Svfra recovers with a kick to the beast’s legs. It connects, and the crampons only add to the fire in the enraged moose’s eyes!
Before the moose reaches Svfra, Vothos raises his hands, moves them about in a ritualistic sort of way, mutters some words in Giant, and points his ring at the oncoming moose. A small wisp of shadow forms around the moose before disappearing.
In the same motion, Vothos clenches his hand and points the ring again at the moose. First snow, then ice, then pebbles and dirt from the earth below him rises and swirls around his outstretched arm momentarily before firing at unexpected velocity towards the moose. The burst of earth and magical force glances off the large antlers of the moose and does not seem to slow it.
Now visibly nervous, Vothos begins backing away as more snow, ice, dirt, and pebbles begin swirling about him.
A few seconds later Vothos collects his thoughts and concentrates, the dirt and snow spin around his forearm and with a small flash are launched at great speed toward the moose. This time the moose isn't so lucky as the force blast hits the moose directly in the side. As the moose turns toward him, Vothos takes a deep gulp and prepares himself to dodge the incoming beast.
As the creature turns its attention to her Goliath companion, Svfra lunges again, this time striking true!
Svfra takes off after the white moose, and proceeds to harry it while the beast lashes out at Vothos with its antlers, and rears up to strike with its hooves. Lunging in with her yklwa, she spears it in its massive flank, and follows up with a crescent kick.
“Svfra!!” The sharp cry, and exhalation with it, is a release of energy, her Ki. So much a part of her that she chose to adopt the sound as her name, when she gained her freedom.
Pulling her weapon free, blood drips down to stain the snow crimson. The small but mighty warrior finishes with a jump axe kick, which catches the creature in its wounded ribs while it is still rampant, reared up on its haunches. She can tell her blows are starting to wear the animal down!
Less than thirty seconds later and the fight was over. Despite the intelligence of the moose, it was barely able to scratch the heroes who whittled the beast down, before finally being dropped by the gnome monk.
The air stood still as steam rose off the corpse of the moose, and off the body of Haribo.
**By the Light of the Sun, you will burn!**
Previously BENEFICENCE
DM: Storm Lord's Wrath || Syr Valor Dayne: Sleeping Gods || tooltips | guides | dice |
Vothos walks over to the downed wizard and shakes his head. It is evident that the wounds are too grievous and his soul has already left his body. He picks up the corpse of Haribo and slings him over his shoulder and props him against the now dead white moose; wincing as he does so.
Spending the next few minutes waving his ringed hand around and muttering some incantations in a strange, guttural and primal language, Vothos bolsters himself with some necromantic magic that seems to give him some new life.
"Well, I don't know about the rest of you but I wouldn't mind a short time to bandage my wounds. After that we can explore the home of this strange beast and figure out a way to pull the both of them back to town." With that, Vothos reaches into his coat and pulls forth a roll of bandages and begins cleaning himself up.
The adrenaline quickly subsides from the brief, but violent encounter. Svfra shrugs the small round shield from her back, and proceeds to sit cross-legged on it. The steel is cold, but keeps her from the snow and ice, at least.
”The beast should keep in this weather, though it would make fer a smaller package, if we dressed it. An’ we should take Haribo back t’ town. Seems ‘is family is known there.”
The gnome wriggles into a slightly different pose, and sighs, looking down at her shiny perch. “Either way, we’re goin’ to need a bigger sled.”
Piemin seems shaken from the sudden and brutal attack.
"I- I knew coming in here was a mistake, we should have... we should have..." Piemin chews his lip and busies himself investigating the cave.
“Oi, Cherry, wai’ up!” Svfra is still feeling depleted from the short combat, and quickly realizes there is no real recuperation to be had, so long as she is exposed to the elements in this unnatural cold. The Underdark had been mostly consistent, with little in the way of extremes, in regard to temperature at least. While she had never truly known warmth, nor had she experienced anything like this unrelenting cold.
”Tis no time t’ be wanderin’ into caves by yerself. An’ mind the drop.”
Vothos follows behind Piemin trying not to make too much noise himself.
Through the hole in the side of the hill is a spacious chamber, strewn with bones and the sleeping forms of animals (foxes, hares, goats, owls, wolf pups, and young bears) that seem to be sharing the space peacefully. The hole is about ten feet off the ground, with a pile of rubble clumsily piled in a rough ramp to allow a medium-sized creature to easily enter and exit the chamber. As Vothos enters, he trips on the rubble and knocks several loose rocks and stones skittering down the ramp. A few of the animals seem to wake up and look over at him, but seeing no immediate threat, they merely roll over and go back to sleep. The room, while still cold, feels significantly warmer than outside, given the lack of wind and the presence of so many bodies.
Of note, there are three marble statues, identical to the ones outside, except a) the wind has not worn away the detail in their faces, b) they don't stand on pillars, and c) all three of them are facing east, towards the wall. Leading off from the chamber is a passage to the west, directly across from the hole the heroes have entered. A second passage leads off to the south. The chamber seems to end at the west in a reflective surface that is just barely visible from where the heroes enter, and continues around the gnomon circle.
In addition, in the southeast corner, at the foot of the statue, lays a small humanoid figure. In the darkness, it's hard to make out details, but its hands appear tied behind its back, and it appears to be breathing.
**By the Light of the Sun, you will burn!**
Previously BENEFICENCE
DM: Storm Lord's Wrath || Syr Valor Dayne: Sleeping Gods || tooltips | guides | dice |
Vothos dusts off his pants and chuckles a bit to himself. "Sorry about that. I guess whatever in here has already heard us. Might as well see it as well." He pulls a torch from his backpack and lights it up.
He approaches the bound humanoid figure cautiously and holds to torch in front of him to try to get a better look.
Svfra approaches close enough to prod gently with the flat of her yklwa. “Oi, wake up, sunshine. Spring is here.”
That ought to do it. That’s all these surface-dwellers could talk about, how the seasons had stopped changing and they were still waiting for Spring. She keeps her weapon ready, though, just in case things are not what they seem.
In the light, and closer, the figure looks like a human male. He is clothed in simple layers of wool and fur that are ubiquitous to Ten-towns. Though there are some blood stains from holes in his clothing, no wounds are currently evident on the man. He is bound with rope at both hands and feet, and is gagged and blindfolded. He seems unconscious, though he flinches away from the touch of Svfra's yklwa.
**By the Light of the Sun, you will burn!**
Previously BENEFICENCE
DM: Storm Lord's Wrath || Syr Valor Dayne: Sleeping Gods || tooltips | guides | dice |
Svfra inspects the man’s injuries, but is unable to discern anything especially useful.
”Well.. I do no’ think this one is hibernatin’, but I canno’ make anythin’ more o’ it.”
"Well, he seems like he's not the only one feeling sleepy," Vothos says as he looks around the room ar the various critters. "Should we pull him out into the cold or give him a good smack? That might wake him. Or we could take a little rest ourselves and perhaps he will wake up by then."