Peeking around from her icy post, Kira saw the shaman engage Hengar and hoping that was distracting enough that she was hidden let loose an arrow at the enraged Shaman.

---

20:01, Today: Kira rolled 20 using 1d20+5.  Shortbow vs Shaman.
20:02, Today: Kira rolled 4 using 1d6+3.  Damage.
20:03, Today: Kira rolled 4 using 1d6.  Sneak Damage if she is considered hidden from Shaman.

If allowed the sneak, that should take the crazy man down.  *fingers crossed*

"Heh-haha!" Thane flashed a wolfish grin of thanks at Hengar when the man took down the last of the Fury women, and he let out another cry of exultation as he warded off the spectral bear.  His wolfish grin turned into a determined sneer at the Shaman as the Bears' man started to sprout arrows.

"I prefer my maidens warm, how 'bout you pay this Frostmaiden a visit for me?" he suggested wryly, then smashed the man with his flail to help seal his fate.

---

OOC:
Action: 23:19, Today: Thane Harkensen rolled 22,7 using 1d20+5,1d8+3.  Melee Attack vs Shaman (AC12) (Flail).
Hit for 7 damage

OOC:

Well, I think that the shaman is well and truly dead this time (we'd have had him early on if Kira and I hadn't both rolled crap for damage in the 1st round).

Kira, I think that you are entitled to your Sneak Attack damage regardless of whether your Hide Check was successful, given the fact that Hengar (and maybe Thane, too) were within 5 feet of the shaman (at least that's the way I read the rogue's Sneak Attack write-up). :)

The adventurers team up against the Bear Tribe Shaman, punishing the man with a barrage of attacks. Their combined might proves too great and the shaman succumbs to his wounds, collapsing in a broken heap on the icy ground.

Hengar wastes little time celebrating the victory and turns his attention to the captured members of his tribe. Releasing the captured members of the Elk Tribe proves to be a comple affair, the larger challenge is seeing to their welfare. All are in terrible shape. Those few who are able to speak coherently in their present state inform the adventurers that the Ice Witch lurks in the room beyond and that one of their own tribe members'--Soren Arnsfirth--was already taken there by the Bear Tribe Shaman, Bjami, as the witch's first victim.

While Hengar went to release the prisoners, Kira immediately went to the fallen Bear tribe members and unceremoniously yanked off their pelts.  "We need to get them warmer and these will help.  Maybe put 'em together, skin to skin and cover them while we take care of the witch?" she suggested, a hint of a smirk forming as she remembered a certain conversation like that happening before though under much nicer circumstances.

Hengar nods while gathering the bear pelts off the fallen, eventually bundling his tribesmen with these.

"These men need warmth, food, and drink," he affirmed Kira's thoughts, and he himself pitched in to get the men huddled together and cloaked with the scavenged furs.  He dug through his pack and gave the men what was left of his rations and his water skin.

"It isn't much, but eat all you can," he encouraged the men.  He jerked a thumb towards Arnan.  "He's a hunter, if there's game around here, maybe we can all have some fresh meat for the journey home.  But I think we have somethin' else to deal with first," he continued before shifting his attention to Hengar.

"You're a tough man, but maybe you should stick to this when we go against that Ice Maiden," he said quietly while holding forth his crossbow and quiver of bolts.  "I can't do anything for your new wounds unless we rest.  Does your man have enough time for that?"
This message was last edited by the player at 16:29, Thu 13 July 2017.

OOC:

Waiting to hear Hengar's answer re: available time to see whether Arnan should use short-rest healing or a Fighter's Second Wind to heal himself. :)

Hengar recommends everyone take a short rest before moving on, "Let's gird ourselves for what is to come," he says solemnly.

OOC: Short rest makes sense. Give everyone an opportunity to spend hit dice to heal up before moving forward. Hengar heals 17 on his short rest, so he's back up to full hp/
This message was last edited by the player at 23:28, Thu 13 July 2017.

In reply to Hengar Aensvaard (msg # 173):

Arnan nodded in response to Hengar's suggestion of a short rest, and moved over to the side to tend to his wound. The Bear Tribeswoman's javelin had caught him right on the hip, and he could feel it every time he took a step.

After cleaning the wound and applying a herbal mixture recommended by a local druid, he felt considerably better.

---

OOC:

19:54, Today: Arnan Aldwynne rolled 5 using 1d10+2 with rolls of 3. Healing (Short Rest).

"Okay," Thane replied, equally solemnly.  The fact that Hengar was willing to take a rest now bode poorly for the chance that his fellow, Soren Arnsfirth, was yet among the living.

"I'll look after these other men.  Maybe I can do somethin' to help them," he promised, and moved off to tend to the nearly frozen, half dead Elksmen.  While he looked after their health, by warming them, feeding them, checking for battle wounds, etc, he also softly pressed them for information about the plans of the Ice Maiden and what the Shaman was trying to do with them.

---

OOC:
Action: Take Short Rest and Heal Self (Expend 1 hit dice)
  - 10:11, Today: Thane Harkensen rolled 9 using 1d10+2.  Short Rest Healing.  Restored to 22 hit points
Action: Medicine Check to see after the welfare of the hypothermic Elksmen:
  - 10:13, Today: Thane Harkensen rolled 23 using 1d20+3.  Medicine Check (help the frozen Elksmen). Natural 20!  That's gotta be worth something...

Also: Maybe someone (Kira) would take the time to check the dead for belongings of note or information?
This message was last edited by the player at 14:24, Sat 15 July 2017.

Kira had taken out her own rations and the bedroll and blanket to add to the pelts they'd gathered to help warm the Elk tribesmen, knowing it wasn't much but certainly better than nothing.  She only had a small wound, something she didn't bring up and ignored for the most part, but was ready to go when Hengar suggested a few moments to rest.

Her mouth opened and she took a breath but then stopped, no protest spewing forth though in her mind she was thinking they might have time to save the one that had been taken.  It was his friend though and she would abide by his decision.  Plus she knew the others needed a bit of tending to for more grievous wounds than the little scratch on her side.

While they tended to that, she did look over the bodies though didn't expect to find much since they were naked.  Once she'd done that, she started searching the area around them to see if they'd stowed anything away.  If they had, then there would be that much more they could use to help the Elk get warm again.

---

13:06, Today: Kira rolled 7 using 1d20+6.  Perception - looking for stuff.  At least she got decent rolls for combat.  :/

The adventurers quickly attend to the needs of the Elk Tribe prisoners, ensuring each is in no imminent danger of succumbing to exposure to the elements. The brief respite also allows the party to catch a breath, bandage wounds and briefly search the cavern for treasure (none is found) before pressing on, deeper into the waterfall cavern.

A few of the more lucid Elk Tribesmen point toward a wide tunnel leading away from the large cavern and say the Bear Tribesmen led Soren Arnsfirth off that way. A few moments later, the group marches off toward the wide tunnel.

Hengar appears quite nervous as the party draws deeper into the ice lair. At one point, he comments briefly on the history of the enormous ice cave as being the lair of the white dragon, Ingeloakastimizilian, which the barbarians called Icingdeath. Hengar says the dragon was slain by the Elk Tribe hero Wulfgar over a century ago, but the tone in his voice and the slow, careful manner he marches forward suggests he half-expects the terrible wyrm to appear around the next corner.

The tunnel gradually widens even more, opening into a massive, sprawling ice cavern teeming with natural ice spires extending from the floor and dripping from the ceiling, which rises so high above it disappears in muted darkness. Near the center of the ice cavern, some distance away, the party sees a familiar sight, The Ice Witch stands next to the bones of the dragon Icingdeath. Before her, the Elk Tribe warrior Soren is begging and pleading with the Ice Witch, his wavering voice echoing through the cavern...

"I beg you, daughter of mine, accept my life as sacrifice to appease Auril...but let the others go! Spare them! Hedrun...please, I ask of you!"

Neither the Ice Witch or Soren appear to be aware of the adventurers entrance, though they are some distance away yet.

Kira traipsed along with the others, listening to the tale of the dragon being killed long ago but seeing the trepidation in Hengar's gait makes her wonder too.  Still she was too intent on finding the Ice Witch and when they finally reached a point they could hear what was going on, she drew her bow and an arrow.  Not really waiting for the others, she tried to move from ice pillar to ice pillar as quietly as possible in order to get close enough to take a shot.  The thought came too late that they should have taken a bear pelt or two to get a couple even closer but they were here now and would do as best they could.

---

14:06, Today: Kira rolled 12 using 1d20+5.  Stealth.
The die roller seems a bit pissy today ... :/

In reply to DM Shard (msg # 177):

This Wulfgar must have been a mighty warrior indeed to slay a legengary Dragon such as Icingdeath, Arnan thought to himself as Hengar told his tale in hushed tones. The scout found it a little difficult to believe that a single warrior could slay a Dragon, and wondered that if the tale had grown in the telling over the years, as those things often do. But even if Wulfgar had help, having the courage and skill to take down a Dragon is a feat worthy of bards' songs and tales, he concluded.

Once the foursome had entered the large ice cavern, Arnan was more than a little surprised to hear the captured Elk Tribesman, one Soren Arnsfirth, referring to the Ice Witch as his daughter. What's this? Arnan wondered.

Is she truly his daughter? And if so, will he stand with her or with us if we attack her? Might not blood prove to be a stronger bond than tribal loyalty?

'Twas an interesting question, but not one that Arnan could ponder o'erlong. Kira was already on the move, creeping closer to Soren and the Ice Witch on little cat's feet, and Arnan followed her lead.

---

OOC:

12:23, Today: Arnan Aldwynne rolled 21 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 16. Stealth Check.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:16, Sun 16 July 2017.

Thane walked down the icy passages, alert but not as anxiously as Hengar.  It reminded him of a similar pursuit down a rocky tunnel back near Luskan when he and his company were chasing down a handful of Drow marauders.  The memory threatened to put him in a foul mood.

When the party arrived at the larger chamber, Thane felt an unusual sense of relief that the Elksman, Soren Arnsfirth, still lived.  His face broke into a weak grin.  While his companions sought shelter of cover, Thane stopped still and whispered to Hengar.

"What's going on here?  You know this Ice Maiden?!?" he asked with obvious surprise.

Sighing, Hengar responds, "Y..yes. I guess so. Though I did not know it until now."

Pausing to look Thane in the eyes, a steady look, he continues, "That is Soren's daughter, Hedrun. She was recently exiled from our tribe...after she killed Olaf, the son of my tribe's shaman. I...we...believed her dead, as she had the same fate as I had...in Bryn Shander."

In reply to Hengar (msg # 181):

Thane met Hengar's firm gaze with a solid one of his own.  His brow furrowed in concentration as he tried to understand what was at play here.

"This is a family squabble, then?  I don't know how this is my fight anymore if this is just a family problem," he whispered in response.  The wheels of his mind were rather slow to turn at times, and this was one of them.  He puckered his mouth and bit on his lower lip.

Then an idea must have struck, a bit of family wisdom perhaps, and the pucker drew sideways as he lifted his eyes towards the pair of barbarians beyond, the father and the daughter.

"That man needs our help.  So does the girl, even if she don't know it.  Let's move before she decides to kill her dad," he said, a bit louder, and then Thane started advancing toward the arguing pair of barbarians.  He felt he needed to distract the girl from her target, and perhaps even distract the father from the daughter, if only for a moment.

"I DON'T THINK AURIL IS GOING TO HEAR YOU DOWN HERE," Thane shouted loudly enough for his voice to carry to Hedrun and Soren.  "Leastways, when I tried calling over and over and over again to Tempus while inside caverns like this, HE didn't hear ME none," he continued, less loudly.

"So you're the Ice Maiden?  The one setting Bear and Elk against each other?  That's a very sad thing to do, not family-like at all," he finished, having drawn closer by half the distance to the pair, and stopped.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:43, Sun 16 July 2017.

Arnan and Kira advance forward, both seeking cover as they draw closer to the Ice Witch and Soren Arnfirth. Soren continues to plead with his daughter, begging for her mercy toward the other prisoners, whom he has no way of knowing have already been liberated.

A bit further behind Arnan and Kira, Thane questions Hengar about the familial connection. The Elk Tribe warrior appears confused over these turn of events, but he does his best to explain to Thane's satisfaction.

Taking matters into his own hands to solve the issue, Thane calls out loudly in the great ice cavern, his voice echoing over Soren's pleas. This draws Father and Daughter's attention, both turn their heads toward Thane.

The daughter, the Ice Witch, visibly becomes enraged and a cold wind begins to whip around the cavern.

"Witness the power of Auril has granted her Chosen, and taste Winter's Fury!" she cries, as the ice-encrusted bones of the long-dead dragon shudder to life!

The girl's father, Soren, screams out in terror as the dragon lurches forward. Scrabbling on four, the man grasps for the hem of his daughter's robe and continues to beg for her mercy. The Ice Witch regards him with a cold, malicious stare, her mouth twisted into a wicked smile...



Hedrun Arnsfirth, "The Ice Witch"
AC: 14
HP: ??/?? [Private to GM: (19/19)]

Skeletal White Dragon (Icingdeath)
AC: 14
HP: ??/?? [Private to GM: (51/51)
]

PC        AC    HP    Insp  Spell Save  Conditions & Notes
Arnan     14   17/20    0      NA       AC 16 w/ shield
Hengar    12   22/22    0      NA
Kira      14   13/15    1      NA
Thane     18   22/22    1      NA


OOC: PCs are UP!
This message was last edited by the GM at 21:08, Sun 16 July 2017.

Hengar stammers in disbelief at this latest discovery. Never in his wildest nightmares would he have imagined the Ice Witch, to be be none other than Soren's daughter, Hedrun. This, coupled with the appearance of Icingdeath, albeit in skeletal form, and the Ice Witch's proclamation as being The Chosen of Auril, causes the Elk Tribe warrior's mind to reel.

Hengar draws his axe and warily advances toward the Ice Witch and the skeletal dragon. Calling out, he says, "Hedrun...don't do this!"

Kira was an orphan and even though she knew this was the man's daughter, she was a very real threat to not only him but everyone else and that meant only one thing.  She had to be taken down.  Ignoring the bones of the dragon reanimating for now, she let fly an arrow straight at the woman who seemed to be making it rise again.

---

18:55, Today: Kira rolled 25 using 1d20+5.  Shortbow vs Ice Witch.  CRIT!!
18:56, Today: Kira rolled 10 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 1,6.  Shortbow Dam/Crit.
18:56, Today: Kira rolled 2 using 1d6 with rolls of 2.  Sneak if applicable.
Total damage possible 12.  O.o ... dang low damage dice.

Arnan wasn't sure whether they were talking or fighting. Kira had obviously come down on the fighting side of the ledger, whilst Thane and Hengar were talking.

Taking a deep breath, Arnan nocked an arrow and waited for the Ice Witch's reaction. He would put another arrow into her if she reacted aggressively -- and truth be told, if he  were playing the odds, that is how he would place his bet after Kira's attack -- or if Thane tipped the balance away from continued diplomacy.

---

OOC:

Action: 22:50, Today: Arnan Aldwynne rolled 19 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 12. Readied Attack (Longbow).

22:51, Today: Arnan Aldwynne rolled 6 using 1d8+3 with rolls of 3. Damage (If Applicable).
This message was last edited by the player at 03:26, Mon 17 July 2017.

Hedrun's reaction was not what Thane was hoping for.  A swell of emotion surged within him, a complex mix of sadness, loss, bitterness, and disappointment.  Whatever hope there was for a "good" resolution of the situation between Father and Daughter, and between Elk and Bear, that hope was disappearing as quickly as the arrows that were flying to pierce the Ice Witch.

"No!" Thane yelled out, his subconscious rebelling at the idea of the shedding of blood which had meaning and that would only lead to loss for one side or the other.

"You're making a big mistake!  Look around you, we are here, and all your other men are not!  You're not going to win this!" he cried out, trying to make Hedrun see that by all appearances her side was on the losing one, revived skeletal dragon or not.

Thane meanwhile had swapped weapons, transferring his flail in his shield hand and the drawing forth a hand axe.  He was fully ready to throw the axe at her if she did not stop her hostile actions.

---

OOC:
Bonus: Intimidate: 09:44, Today: Thane Harkensen rolled 9 using 1d20+2.  Intimidate Check: Hedrun stand down. Probably not going to cut it.

Move: Swap Weapons (move fail to shield hand, grab hand axe)

Readied Action: Throw Axe at Hedrun - 09:53, Today: Thane Harkensen rolled 42 using 2d20+5 with rolls of 20,17.  Readied Ranged Attack (Hand Axe) (AC14).

     If Thane is within 20', then he hits with a natural 20 for a Critical Hit:
09:55, Today: Thane Harkensen rolled 10 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 2,5.  Damage IF critical hit.

     Otherwise the throw is at Disadvantage and he still hits with a natural 17 (+5 = 22)
     09:56, Today: Thane Harkensen rolled 5 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 2.  Damage if not critical hit.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:06, Mon 17 July 2017.

Kira looses an arrow as soon as she is able, striking the Ice Witch in the chest, chipping shards of her ice armor away in the process.

The Ice Witch cries out in anguish and then summons a sleet storm that falls all around the adventurers, dousing the party in icy rain and sleet. As soon as the ice begins to fall, Arnan looses an arrow and Thane throws a hand axe at long range in hopes of striking Hedrun down. She is struck again, both times, her ice armor continuing to absorb some of the damage.

The immediate area around the adventurers is now heavily obscured in sleet, anmy exposed flames doused and the ground covered with slick ice. The area around the adventurers has turned into a skating rink and it takes some degree of skill to even remain standing, let alone think of effectively taking up arms against the Ice Witch and skeletal dragon.

Speaking of which, the huge skeletal dragon charges at Arnan, completely unphased by the icy ground. The dragon claws and bites, sinking its fangs into and through the warrior's armor.

The Ice Witch cackles as she watches the ice fall all around the adventurers.



OOC: Arnan takes 11 points of damage. All PCs must make DEX saving throws (DC13) or they fall prone. Additionally, any addiitonal move or attacks within the ice sleet area must also be preceded by a DEX save (DC13), or else the character falls prone. The ice sleet area of effect is a 40 foot radius, centered on the adventurers. It will take a double move to get outside of the spell's area of effect.

The dragon is a huge creature and is currently in melee with Arnan.

Hedrun Arnsfirth, "The Ice Witch"
AC: 14
HP: -23/?? [Private to GM: (8/19)]

Skeletal White Dragon (Icingdeath)
AC: 14
HP: ??/?? [Private to GM: (51/51)
]

PC        AC    HP    Insp  Spell Save  Conditions & Notes
Arnan     14   12/20    0      NA       AC 16 w/ shield
Hengar    12   22/22    0      NA
Kira      14   13/15    1      NA
Thane     18   22/22    1      NA


OOC: PCs are UP!
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:18, Tue 18 July 2017.

Hengar is unable to keep his feet underneath him and slips and falls to the ground. Sliding around on the ice, the Elk Tribe warrior struggles to regain his footing, but eventually manages to stand up and begins moving, uneasily, toward Arnan.