It only takes a few moments for the group to collect their gear and extinguish the fire in the center of the room as they decide to make their way deeper into the fort in search of a larger and more retreat-oriented room. From inside the room those that approach the door can easily hear the wind howling outside, a sign that the blizzard still hasn't given up on burying the entire mountain in snow. Just as Lorelei reaches out to grab the handle though, there is a loud thump against the door followed by the sound of something being scraped on the wooden door. The scraping only lasts a second but the timing seems eerie at best...

(OOC: What do?)

"Well, that doesn't sound like us being sealed in at all, does it?" Tevlin said with a wince.  "Maybe that's just coincidence, but I hope you all know how to handle yourselves." He added, eying the gargoyle with an appraising look.

He stepped back from the door, several of his favorite spells coming to mind as he waited and watched intently.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:59, Sat 29 Dec 2012.

Strange returns the look with a flare of his glowing eyes and a slight tilt of the head, "I am ready for anything.. hmm.."  He still didn't think it was anything truly dangerous - at this point he was of a mind that it was another traveler stuck out in snow or even a wild animal that blundered inside.

OOC - If the door does prove to be sealed Strange will assist in any attempts to bust it down (+2 to the STR check I believe?)  If an enemy pops up on the other side he will be ready to tumble past them (+8 Acrobatics) in order to achieve a flanking position.

The loud thumping sound made Lyria jump, her tired and barely calmed nerves tensing once again, almost to the point of snapping. Caught! she cried internally. Her eyes having yet to adjust to the darkness, she could not help but feel helpless and blind as her breathing quickened once more.

With trembling hands, Lyria reached towards her companion who managed to scramble down to her right shoulder after almost being dislodged from the unexpected jump. For once, the creature did not protest as she picked it up and held it close against her chest. Spotting her usual spot nearby, Niffa clambered in as quickly as she could and, once nestled safely, she stretched out her elongated body to peek out from the neckline, curious as to what had caused such a reaction from the girl.

Uncomfortable with the oppressing darkness, Lyria clasped her hands together and began to mutter softly. For a moment, the weasel's eyes seemed to turn white and glow before they were overshadowed by bright light emanating between the entwined fingers. Lyria's muttering ceased as four wisps of light floated up from her opened palm and hovered just above her head, illuminating the enclosed room.

OOC:
Cast Dancing Lights

Gren felt the muscles in his shoulders tighten as something thumped against the door.  "Well, don't just stand there; someone try opening that door.  We'll deal with whatever it is."  He drew a silvered javelin and rested it on his shoulder ready to throw it should danger present itself.  Images of giants covered in white fur raced through his mind.

Kassadria was already on her feet when they heard the sound, but she jumped somewhat when she did hear it. She had no idea what it might be, but the scraping sound made her think of a wolf's claws or some kind of snow beast. If she wasn't shivering, she'd be completely still, listening out. As no sound came and the others started to ready themselves around the door she followed suit, drawing her rapier (the mundane one) and stepping up to the door beside Strange.

She looked at the gargoyle, signalling to him with her free hand that she intended to try to open the door on the count of three, and then started to count silently, mouthing the numbers as her hand settled on the handle, twisting it if it was that kind of handle. "One... two... three!" She pulled the door, brandishing her rapier if it gave.

Lorelei almost casually dropped her bag as sh walked forward towards the door, keeping her ears strained to hear anything else besides the original scrape. She wasn't going to be the one opening the door since the others seemed to have that planned. She on the flip side WAS going to be ready to take down anything waiting for them on the other side.

One hand on her trusty rapier, the other on the door handle, Kass rips open the door at the end of her countdown and squares herself for a fight with whatever was making a racket outside their room. The door almost came off its old rusty hinges at the enthusiasm of the eager tiefling and as the door crashes open, outside the room, staring down the group with a malevolent gaze is...nothing? Sure enough, nothing stood outside where only moments before there had been someone although as the outside of the door becomes visible, the question might be less of who was out there rather than what. Five long, slender gouges in the wooden door stretch from nearly the top of the door and make it down to a normal human's waist height. No normal person could possibly keep their nails attached to their fingers and make that deep of scratches. Now though, the only thing with the group seemed to be the wind and the snow.

"Anything does include.. hmm.. nothing," a bit of humor is audible in that gritty voice of his.  He nudges his way through the group and steps through the door fearlessly, "An animal perhaps, scared away by.. hmm.. the scent of people.  I shall take the lead and you.. hmm.." here he turns hand nods toward Tevlin, "can direct me where to go if you would be so kind."  He was certainly eager to prove himself right and, while he generally did not like to put his back toward strangers he was starting to feel more at his ease with this new duo.

Gren's eyes wince as he catches sight of the scratches.  The images of giant white-haired ape men, continue to run through his mind, but he keeps such thoughts to himself.  "Hmm...look like bear scratch.  Any prints in the snow?"

Kassadria resheathed her sword when she saw that the only visible threat remained the cold, and upon seeing the scratches, immediately stepped out to look out into the snow. The blizzard was too thick to see anything beyond a few yards, but as she knelt down and examined the snow she found snow-prints. "Tracks. Are we going out after this thing?" It was clear, by the tone of her voice, that she'd prefer not.

OOC: 17:45, Today: Kassadria rolled 16 using 1d20+6. tracking. I'm expecting a DC of at most 10, so that should be a success. I'll edit if I'm wrong. If she did indeed find tracks, what size is the creature and is there anything else she might have been able to glean from the shape of the print?

Indeed, Kass does notice what could pass as tracks on the ground outside of the room. Two sled-like drag marks lead away from the door down the path the group took to enter the area. Oddly enough though, there doesn't seem to be any tracks that lead to the door and as soon as the group follows the trail to the door leading out of the room with the collapsed ceiling, the tracks end abruptly, and not from being covered by snow either as the next room is largely in tact. Leading out of the room is of course the passageway that leads to the front of the fortress as well as a doorway sans door and an old stone staircase spiraling down from the back of the room.

(OOC: Out into the blizzard, into a different part of the upper levels, or down into the heart of the fortress? Feel free to meta this a bit in OOC if it helps. This isn't a dungeon per say but there are a few parts to it.)

The claw marks and mentions of animal did the opposite to Lyria as they did to the others. It calmed and allowed her to think more clearly. There was no doubt that whatever it was could not have been members of the Thieves' Guild or guards from Theranin. As the half-ogre and the gargoyle have mentioned, they were bestial in nature. Of course, there was a possibility that the figure she had seen was a different entity to the one that just paid them a visit but examination of the tracks, as discovered by Kassadria, confirmed in her mind that it was one and the same.

"See how these tracks disappear," she whispered, having slunk towards the door where the majority of the group now stood, "The figures I've seen seem to be able to do exactly that. Vanish. Also, they looked considerably more human so I very much doubt that it's a mere bear, unfortunately. I have no doubt now that, whatever it is, it has definitely found us so I agree with Strange." Lyria's gaze shifted from the tracks towards the living statue and nodded as a sign of her agreement.

"We should move further into this fortress."
This message was last edited by the player at 03:04, Mon 31 Dec 2012.

"I'll agree with Lyria. Barricade the door, move deeper. I doubt they can vanish out of the snow, and breaking through will give us good warning who or whatever is coming."

Lorelei rubbed her throat as she absently picked her bag back up. She wanted to explore these ruins a bit, and all things considered it was much harder to punch a bear or the like then another human being. She'd rather avoid wild animals if she could.

"I would be more comfortable if we have a better defense; we will be here some time, it seems, with this storm embracing us, so we may as well take the precaution of fortifying our position instead of leaving ourselves vulnerable by going out into the snow."

"Well I'm going to go take a look around.  I don't know what I'll want to eat until I see what fruits are in the basket."  With javelin in hand Gren headed for the room that had the archway that led outside.  If he remebered right, there was a broken door in there.  He wanted to take a peek through it before he decides to head down the stairs.

"If you guys set a trap, do try to warn me as to where."  With that said he used his great size to shoulder his way past everyone.

Moving forward alone, Gren notices that the tracks do end at the door to the next room, one of the rooms with a ceiling open to the snowfall outside. Crossing through the small snowdrifts that sit undisturbed, save those that the group had passed through earlier, he makes it to the adjacent doorway and takes a peek inside. The room seems to have been once used as something akin to an inn or tavern's common room and in the back of the long room to his left, there is an opening in the stone that once served as a window to what was likely the kitchen. While all but one of the wooden tables that had once stood in the room had either been scrapped for firewood by others or were just lost to the passage of time, the door to the kitchen seemed to be somewhat in tact, the hinges holding it carefully in place. As Gren scans back, through the kitchen window and back into the shadows of the kitchen itself, he sees a figure that had not been there before, standing still with its arms across its chest, staring toward him. Catching him off guard, it causes him to flinch and involuntarily blink at which point, the figure is gone.

Gren could feel his heart pounding, but tried to keep his cool.  "Looks like we have ghosts," he called back to the others.  Gren checked the kitchen door to see if it was barred or locked.  He had neither spell nor weapon that could strike down a ghost if attacked.  His heart punded harder.  "Um...we come in peace.  We only seek shelter form the storm," he whispered to no one in particular.

"Gren, wait!" she called out as she saw his figure disappeared around the corner from the roofless room. Seeing how the half-ogre decided to continue his exploration of the abandoned building, she turned to the others and spluttered her reasoning. "We should not separate. Whatever it is, there must be a reason why it hasn't attacked us yet. Maybe, together, we outnumbered it. It seems, to me, that staying together would be our best defence. More than any traps we can lay. At the very least, I do not like the idea of splitting off into smaller groups." She looked pleadingly at Tevlin at the end of her sentence. The half-ogre had made up his mind and she would loathe to see him come to an untimely demise due to their indecision. What was the point of rescuing them from the blizzard then?

Her thought was interrupted as Gren's voice was heard across the rooms. At the mention of ghost, Lyria could not help but shivered, knowing full well that what she had seen certainly matched that description, if only for its ability to disappear at will. Looking around at the group one last time, she rushed ahead, curiosity tinged any fear she held, which had morphed considerably after she decided in her mind that the mysterious figure was somehow bestial in nature. Arriving next to him, she cleared her throat and touched his arm tentatively so as not to surprise the man. "Gren, we really should go back," she whispered, her head swivelling around to check that nothing had snuck up on them and to see if any from the group had followed after.

As Lyria enters the room, she can see that Gren is startled by her sudden appearance but then, upon finding her instead of a giant snow monster, relaxes a little. Checking the door, he finds that with minimal strength, it scrapes open, threatening to come completely off the hinges if pushed too far. After a quick peek inside the kitchen now that the door is open, Gren can see that there are a couple of hearths and a long stone countertop against the back wall but besides that, the room is empty. Asthe half-ogre turns around to relay his findings, or lack of, to Lyria, he finds the young woman standing stark still and staring toward the door. Eyes following hers, he finds that she may have been right to worry about splitting up. Standing with its arms crossed in front of it, a hungry gleaming in its eyes is their mysterious figure. Emaciated with its skin tight enough around its head to show every curve of the angular skull underneath and claws the size and sharpness of daggers, it opens its toothy maw slightly, it's canines like that of a wolf and dripping saliva. As the two are watching it watch them from the back wall, the upside-down 'u' run painted blue on its forehead shimmers slightly and it's gone...only to reappear next to the table and this time with it's claws extended toward the duo.

(OOC: Actions and initiative! If you are new to my combat system, everybody does their actions and then I resolve the combat via a wrap up post. Feel free to PM me if you have any questions.)

Unsure of why they had stopped and why Gren was going on alone Strange was rapidly growing impatient, his wings twitching and his eyes flickering as he turns to Tevlin, "Should we not be.. hmm.. moving forward?  And where has your friend gone?  Hmm.. something is not right..."

He moves toward the opening that leads to the large entry hall to look for Gren and Lyria without losing sight of the others.

Move Action:  Move to Q-13
Standard Action: Move to K-13
This message was last edited by the player at 04:46, Tue 08 Jan 2013.

"Gor'dem!  What in the Abyss is that thing?  It looks like some Necromancer's barber!" he yelled out, hoping to attract the attention of the rest of the group.  Lyria started casting a spell, but her casting technique was strange to him.  He hid his fear behind a look of determination; the dead belonged in the ground or at least part of it.  He was carefull not to stand still for too long.  He did not want to get caught within reach of the creature's claws.  "With fingers like those I doubt he's offering a handshake!"

Gren threw his javelin in a strange underarmed pitch.  It seemed to fly true, but likely wouldn't have the strength of an overarm throw.

What was taking the others so long?  Had they not decided to move and explore the complex like he thought?

If Lyria doesn't cast Daze I'll modify my post slightly.  Will take a five foot step or move with out provoking AoO should the creature come within melee range.
11:06, Today: Gren Boarshead rolled 7 using 1d8+6. damage (arcane strike considered magical for overcoming DR).
11:05, Today: Gren Boarshead rolled 20 using 1d20+3. iron javelin attack.
11:02, Today: Gren Boarshead rolled 3 using 1d20+2. initiative.
This message was last edited by the player at 04:31, Sun 06 Jan 2013.

Her heart almost stopped beating when the creature materialised on the doorway, blocking their exit, but it certainly did when the creature disappeared only to reappear even closer. A high pitched squeal from Niffa seemed to jump start her heart again, and she began to breathe rapidly, her eyes flickering back and forth between the half-ogre and the salivating creature in fear.

Once she found her voice once more, she whispered half-jokingly, "It looks hungry." The words did not seem to have the effect she intended, unfortunately, especially as her voice choked towards the end. Inhaling deeply to calm herself, she reached into a pouched tied on her waist. Sand seeped between her fingers as she muttered a short incantation. Opening her clasped hand, she blew the grains in front of her, each fleck glowing white as her own eyes.

"Time to go to bed."

OOC:
Slumber Hex with DC of 16
If the hex doesn't work, I will move back to B0(?). Other room, basically.
If the hex works, I'll take a standard move to E9.

14:36, Today: Lyria rolled 11 using 1d20+2. Initiative.

Though the blizzard ess loud, it sedn't loud enough to drown out the sound of Gren's deep voice, or indeed the impact of his javelin. Kassadria, though nervous about going out into the open without knowing what was there, knew that if they allowed one or two of them to be picked off, it wouldn't be long before whatever-it-was killed them all.

"You all heard that, right? Let's go!" she drew her rapier once more and hurried out into the hallway and made her way to the door, where the sound of Gren's voice appeared to have come from. "Where is it?" she called into the room, all memory of the cold forgotten.


OOC:
22:58, Today: Kassadria rolled 11 using 1d20+6. INIT.
I posted later so I'll go after Lyria.
Double move to G12 (or as close to that as I can get... I'm bad at counting.)

Lorelei was quick on her feet and heading at a quick pace for where the noises were coming from. She wasn't going to outright run in case there was something waiting for her, and she was on her guard. But she was going to move quickly to help her allies for the trip. She didn't know what was around the corner, but she was going to make sure they all walked away from this safely.

17:31, Today: Lorelei rolled 19 using 1d20+3. Initiative.
Move: R7 to Q12
Standard: Q12 to K12