[Game Thread] IV. The Ruins of Archeebald Mountain

[mountainbound]

The snow falls hard, sometimes audibly, throughout the morning. Unlike Silas, it takes Dan several hours to get used to his winter walkers, all the while using his staff ineffectually to steady himself in the snow. More than once Tasha, merciless with his whip against the mule’s backside, gives the wizard a menacing glare. Even though the huge northerner doesn't speak, his thoughts about Dan are clear: Weakling. You will never survive this expedition.

As Dan struggles and lags further behind, not even Karla gives him any sympathy, or even a glance. He had long ago stopped trying to make conversation with her. And so, left on his own, with his best friend ranging Gods-know how far ahead, the wizard slowly plods along, a distant tail to the group.

Walking steadfast in front of the pack animal, Olaf removes his hood, seemingly impervious to cold and the blowing snow. Often the man laughs as the wind whistles around the group, seeming to intuit some jape in the harsh weather. It’s only when Fahd asks about the mountain spirit that Olaf reigns in his jubilation with the elements. “You are healer, I am healer. We two are same. We call spirits to help us. The hidden power of the land flows through our veins, yes?” He looks shrewdly at Fahd, his furry eyebrows white with snow. "Our power is different though. I teach you. The power of the spirit world, it is there to command. But you, you are like dog. You beg for treat. Me, I take.” He laughs and claps Fahd on the back, dislodging an inch of snow from his Ichvaal cloak. “That is special cloak. I sense it. You must tell me where you get such cloak, yes? Anyway, the mountain spirit lives near the ruins. There is much to learn from it, but a price too. Secrets of deep places, how be immune to cold, how be large as mountain, solid as earth… Like me!” He bounces his bear-claw fist off of his chest. “When dealing with spirits, must be powerful like man, not capering like dog. Fearless! You will learn! You will learn!”

Around mid-afternoon Rip and Silas circle back to the group after their ranging. The party has been walking all day through the driving snow, and Dan for one, is exhausted. About ten minutes after the group stops (with Rip and Silas just rejoining it), Dan finally catches up. When the wizard slogs into your midst, Rip is just finishing up his report to Olaf. “There’s a stream to the south-west , not frozen, and no good crossing points. Maybe the west is better. I saw little in the way of tracks. The mountain seems wide open -- no crawlers.” He looks to Silas. "Anything to the East?"

In the distance you can see the trees begin to climb up, up, up the skirts of the Archeebald mountain range. Fahd, Silas and Dan spent a day or so walking in the mountains’ belly, but they had yet to experience their face in the brunt of winter. The peaks of the hills above are cloaked in gray cloud as the snow continues to fall all around.

Dan finally catches up, cursing his snowshoes and breathing hard from beneath his heavy hood. He looks at Tasha, who as always stands guard next to the sledge. "You got..." he pants, "Any wine... in there?"

[Krimchee]

Silas bent down low to examine a set of tracks freshly pressed into the damp snow. He held on to a birch sapling for balance as he squatted down on his haunches.His cheeks were rosy in the cool air that ruffled his aging brown cloak. Even still he stumbled a bit as his weight shifted, causing one of his snow-walkers to sink a bit suddenly. But his attention was fixed on the strange looking tracks before him. "What in the names of all things blessed is that?" he whispered incredulously.

As he looked around, there was more evidence of whatever had passed through here. It hadn't passed gently by the looks of several birch splintered over. As Silas examined the broken white barked trees, the breaks were obviously fresh. He turned back to the tracks, a sense of forboding coming over him. What the Eff... He didn't have a name for what made them. He didn't like it. No, he didn't like it at all.

Worried for himself, as well as his friends, Silas turned to meet Rip and make his way back to camp to tell the others.

[Tangler]

Fahd: Current HP 20/20, Spirit Healing 6/6 remaining, Cloak PSP 5/5 remaining
AC17, AC12 flat-footed, AC16 touch, Fort/Ref/Will +6/5/5
+10 Fire resistance (Ichvaali Cloak)

Lynx: Current HP 16/16
AC 21, (AC13 flat-footed, AC18 touch, AC25 vs OA (Mobility), Fort/Ref/Will +4/9/2-status/defenses-

As the group travels, Fahd frequently looks to the rear where Dan, Tasha and Karla walk. Though his gaze frequently lingers on Karla, he also scans the forest on either side. He is looking for Lynx, his spirit companion, who he has attempted to call several times as they moved away from Jessup. He makes the attempts surreptitiously, when Fahd thinks Olaf's attention is elsewhere. If Olaf is aware of Fahd's attempts, Fahd has seen no indication of it. Unfortunately, so far Fahd has also seen no sign of the cat.

Fahd nods as Olaf describes his relationship with the spirits. In practice, he knows, there are some spirits, malign spirits, which might require such treatment. In principle, however, the young shaman resists the idea, inclined to continue his practice of cooperation over coercion. It was the approach taught to him by his mentor, and is more in keeping with his own philosophies. So while he is interested in learning from Olaf, and shows Olaf no sign of his reticence, he is far from being a convert to the big man's more brutal approach to dealing with the spirits.

"We found the cloak in a room beneath the inn in Archeebald when we followed the innkeep, the man who used the silver horn in Jessup, through his cellar." Fahd does not elaborate, nor does he add that Silas's bow and Dan's staff were also found there. "We found a box that looked as if it might have held the horn, also. We hoped to catch him before he escaped with it, but we had an accident along the way that delayed us."

"You mentioned that there was a price in dealing with the mountain spirit. What is the price?"

[HenryLockwood]

Karla walks in silence, for the most part. No point making conversation with Tasha; the big man's not a talker and Karla doesn't need to make him talk. It's enough for her, at least for now, that she's accepted. This rough camaraderie, tense though it is between the newcomers and the northerners, is closer to friendship than she's seen in months.

"No wine, Dan, but there's lantern oil. Might warm you up."

[mountainbound]

The big northerner in the bearskin cloak looks to Fahd as he asks about the mountain spirit's price for knowledge. "The price depends on size of gift you want. Depends on depth of knowledge you seek. Also... depends on how hungry is spirit."

It's then that Rip and Silas appear from out of the blowing snow, returning to join the main group once again as they break for food and to get a sense for the paths up the mountain. Rip reports finding no good crossing point, but Silas has found a narrowing of the creek that skirts the base of Archeebald mountain, and he's found something more as well. The young ranger from Leyman's Hollow tells a strange tale of prints larger than the biggest serving tray imaginable. Prints with five long claws that rend ice as easily as they destroy the frozen trees of the wood. Silas speaks of birches splintered or overturned, their roots now great clods of earth torn from the ground by some incredibly large monster.

As Silas finishes his report, Olaf gives a great bellow of laughter. "HA! The spirits told me of such creature. Yes, good! And is on the way to paths up the mountain. Good! You will show us way bowman, yes?" His unexpected mirth in the face of Silas's grim report is punctuated by a clap of his bear-clawed hands. "Tasha, our young friend wants wine. You get it now. We have drink and then we climb." Obediently Olaf's hulking bodyguard removes the canvas from the sledge and takes out a small cask. He uncorks it, holds it up to his mouth for several large gulps, and the thrusts it at Dan, who immediately knows what to do, slurping the liquid loudly. As the cask is passed around, Olaf sees to the items in the sled, and it seems he pays particular attention to one wooden box, around the size of a doublewide suitcase. The shaman contemplates it for a few moments before securing the canvas back over the sledge and spurring the mule along.

About an hour later, guided by Silas, the group makes it to the area described. Now well into the afternoon, the snow has finally stopped, having dumped enough to reach the waist of a man. How the mule is able to walk without sinking in, and without snowshoes, is a mystery. Snow drops upon the group as a black bird jumps from branch to branch -- a grackle silently looking down upon all.

There isn't time to consider pack mules or birds though. All around you, overturned trees and broken branches highlight the path of the beast. "The ruins at top of mountain can wait. This is rare thing to have giant from western wilderness come into lands of men. We must follow its path." Olaf turns to Fahd, "Must meet this spirit and know its strength. Come!"

Bolstered by Olaf's fearlessness, and perhaps a bit of wine, Dan seems more limber. "I want to see what can break a mature tree in half, don't you Sy? Karla, hope you brought your real sword, and not that wooden one you been playing with." The wizard smirks, filled with an uncharacteristic bravado. His chuckle dies on his lips however. In the near distance, a horrendous CRACK echoes through the woods -- the sound of a tree snapping under duress. A sure sign that the beast is close.

[Tangler]

Fahd: Current HP 20/20, Spirit Healing 6/6 remaining, Cloak PSP 5/5 remaining
AC17, AC12 flat-footed, AC16 touch, Fort/Ref/Will +6/5/5
+10 Fire resistance (Ichvaali Cloak)

Lynx: Current HP 16/16
AC 21, (AC13 flat-footed, AC18 touch, AC25 vs OA (Mobility), Fort/Ref/Will +4/9/2-status/defenses-

Fahd is less than satisfied with Olaf's answer about the mountain spirit and is deciding whether to push further for an answer to his question when Silas returns, forestalling any attempt at pinning Olaf down further. Instead he listens silently to Silas's description of the tracks he has found, trying to identify from the ranger's description what the creature might be. His first thought is of a bear, a very powerful one from Silas's description of shredded trees, but Fahd can't understand why a bear would be active at this time of year. Olaf's reaction seems to suggest that it is not a bear, either, for nobody would need the spirits to tell them about a bear. Once again Fahd is left dissatisfied with Olaf's willingness to part with specific information.

Fahd frowns at Olaf's sudden, unexpected solicitousness toward Dan, whom the big man has been barely tolerant of up to now. Though he doesn't want to think it, a suspicion grows in Fahd that Olaf wants Dan inebriated, vulnerable to whatever creature they will be facing. When Dan begins to drink the contents of the cask, Fahd tries to discourage him from consuming too much of the contents. "We may have need of your magic soon," he tells Dan. Fahd himself abstains from partaking of the contents of the cask for the same reason that Olaf does. The fruit used to produce the wine has undergone too much processing to retain its prana, the spiritual energy plants and animals contain in abundance in their natural state. Like the baked goods which had separated his own father from his connection to the spirit world, the wine would inhibit the shaman's ability to connect to the spirit realm.

As they follow Silas, Fahd keeps an eye on the grackle as it hops from branch to branch to keep pace with them. When they arrive at the place Silas found the tracks, Fahd is able to examine the tracks firsthand. The shaman is no more able to identify them than he was from Silas's description, but the sheer size of the tracks, larger even than the tracks left by their snowshoes, widens his eyes. Fahd also sees some sign of Lynx's presence, her tracks looking pitifully small compared to those of the beast. When Fahd sees her tracks, he opens himself up to the spirit realm and feels her presence, agitatedly circling the party. Then he hears the crack of a tree snapping and his head automatically turns in that direction.

[HenryLockwood]

Karla had pushed her cloak back already at Dan's jest, simply showing him both swords instead of reacting angrily. Of course I have a "real" sword. Does he take me for some child, playing at fighting? That's more his way!

Suddenly, a tree snaps nearby. Karla knows enough of the forests to realise something big is near, something potentially dangerous, and quicker than thought she's holding a sword in both hands, glancing to left and right, and making sure that only allies are behind.

At least, it would be nice to think that only allies are behind: but Olaf was always a dubious "friend", and Rip... well, if the beast were to kill Rip and depart, Karla would not be first to mourn.

[Krimchee]

If Silas was curious about what made the tracks before, hearing Olaf's reaction to the news made him even more so now.However, Dan's enthusiasum brought him up short. Was he sauced again? Blood and ashes, he thought irritably. While he was keen to see the beast, he definitely didn't want to get too close to something that seemed to smash healthy trees with aparant ease.
Without a word to his companions, and with a dark glare for Dan, Silas led the group back the way he'd come, wincing at all the noise they made in his wake. It'd been good to be out alone in the woods again. It was still good. But he'd preferred to have stealth on their side if it came to having to fight whatever they faced up ahead.

As they neared the wreckage of the giant's passing. Silas readied he bow, hoping he wouldn't need it for anything more than game.

Percept Check perception check Dice Roll: 1d20+10 (15)+10 Total = 25

[mountainbound]

Dan gives Fahd a sour look, wiping the wine from his sparse beard. "Let's see this giant," the wizard says. He takes one more drink and then hands the wine to Karla, a little more fearless with drink in his belly.

The bear-skinned northman grins at Dan's enthusiasm and tightens the straps of his winter-walkers. "I know these tracks. Soon you know them too." He motions to Rip, who nocs an arrow to the string of a short, redwood bow. Tasha ties the mule to a tree and takes out two large spears, hefting them over his shoulder with a grunt. "Stay behind me until I give signal," Olaf says as he follows the wide track of plowed snow through the forest.

Soon you enter a sparse area of conifers -- the only trees still green this time of year. There's another loud CRACK! and at first all you can see is a great plume of white as a spruce tree is shaken violently. The snow in the air settles around the tree's attacker: an animal of enormous proportions. Standing on its hind legs, it raises an arm to shear the needles of another branch, and then languidly brings the handful up to its mouth. Its head is long, with tiny eyes that turn to gaze upon you as the group approaches. It munches placidly, even as the tree it's leaning upon bows from the stain of its weight.

"We used to call them Forest-killers back in North Country," Olaf says. "Most strong of any animal. Now you will see something." He turns to Fahd. "Watch now, this is great spirit. Must be gentle, make trust with. Then..." he shows his teeth.

With his arms outstretched, the big northerner goes toward the giant sloth, singing low and melodic, coming nearer and nearer the creature. The song has a strange effect, making your ears ring and seeming to quiet every bird in the forest. Even the white squirrels stop their chatter as the Bear Shaman and the beast encounter one another.

Looking on, Fahd feels a familiar pressure against his leg. There beside him appears Lynx. The cat growls low and long, ears pushed back and tail fluffed in agitation.

The huge sloth drops down onto all four feet, its head (which is about as big as Olaf's chest) sniffs the snow, wary but very curious. Olaf makes another slow step forward, coming near enough to touch the giant creature's head, which is down low near the snow in a display of trust. With one hand, Olaf reaches out to touch the snout of the creature, and with the other, he withdraws a twelve-pound hammer from his belt.

Nearby, Rip readies his bow, his eyes on the beast's neck. Glancing aside, he mutters to Silas, "Well, what are you waiting for? Get your bow. When he strikes, we gotta take the bastard down quick -- finish it off while Olaf does his magic trick."

The giant sloth makes a pleasant rumble, it's long tongue licking Olaf's hand, even as the Shaman raises his hammer to smash its skull.

Combat notes Sloth: AC 17, Undamaged.

[Krimchee]

Looking at Rip, Silas scowled. But he did indeed get out his bow. He looked again at the sloth, at it's languid movement, its munching of trees. Silas nocked an arrow. He watched as the sloth licked Olaf's hand. He watched as Olaf drew his hammer. Wrong, he thought. Wrong, he felt it in his very bones. He could feel Olaf's intentions. He could see the beast's gentleness, its trust. It meant them no harm, and they had no use that he could see in its slaying.

Silas drew his bow, but he didn't point it a the sloth. "Put the hammer down Olaf," Silas commanded, his arrow knocked and aimed at the back of Olaf's neck. "The beast means us no harm."

P-Check perception check Dice Roll: 1d20+10 (10)+10 Total = 20

[Tangler]

Fahd: Current HP 20/20, Spirit Healing 6/6 remaining, Cloak PSP 5/5 remaining
AC17, AC12 flat-footed, AC16 touch, Fort/Ref/Will +6/5/5
+10 Fire resistance (Ichvaali Cloak)

Lynx: Current HP 16/16
AC 21, (AC13 flat-footed, AC18 touch, AC25 vs OA (Mobility), Fort/Ref/Will +4/9/2-status/defenses-

The animal that appears as the snow settles, magnificent in its enormousness, mesmerizes Fahd. The shaman has never seen an animal so large. Equally apparent is its peaceful nature. It seems to show no fear as the group approaches, but neither is there any sign of belligerence that Fahd can see.

Olaf's song brings a faint smile to Fahd's face. He nods, understanding what Olaf is doing, and his first reaction is one of approval. Until, that is, he sees the hammer in Olaf's hand. Almost simultaneously Fahd feels Lynx pressing up against him, her agitation apparent, and hears Rip telling his Silas to ready his bow. What... Fahd can barely even finish the thought, paralyzed by confusion at what Olaf is planning. His paralysis ends, though, when he hears Silas's words.

"Olaf, no!" he says urgently, striding toward the bear shaman. Simultaneously, though, he holds a hand back up toward Silas. Though the creature may seem peaceful, if the bonding ritual were to be interrupted by Silas, especially with an arrow, there is no telling how it might react. "Olaf! No!" he repeats. "Stay your blow! Explain!" Fahd continues forward, ready to try to restrain Olaf's blow if he must, though he has few illusions who would win a battle of strength between himself and Olaf.

[HenryLockwood]

Karla watches, warily, as the giant beast approaches. It's big, but looks harmless - and then Olaf prepares to kill it. Not only that, but Silas and Fahd both take the sloth's side. This will come to bloodshed, one way or the other, and Karla's swords hiss as she draws them. No longer sparring, no longer standing upright and unafraid, Karla stands off to one side of the group, eyes darting from Olaf to Fahd and back again. She steps forward, seeming unaware that she does so, but then turns to see what Tasha and Rip are doing.

[mountainbound]

With an effort of will Olaf maintains a growing mental bond with the giant sloth, still head-down at the northman's feet, and manages to answer the young Shaman's question. "This is path of power. Path of spirit-strength. We take!" He raises his hammer high, and then repeats the words of an incantation older than the forest itself. In his hand, the small weapon begins to shine against a blur of snow and trees.

Closer at hand, Rip looks at Silas, frowning at the threat the young man from Leyman's Hollow has just made. Calm, though Silas's bow is trained on his master, Rip gives a low whistle and suddenly three winter jays and a black grackle descend from the trees. It's all Silas can do to keep his bow up in front of him as the birds peck and buffet and sqwalk about his face and head.

Dan, just beginning to enjoy the effects of the wine, looks at Karla, her swords in hand. "Wait a minute," the wizard says, questioning the quiet woman's allegiance to his friends. "Who's side are you on? Don't make me use my magic aga--!"

"Shut-up," Tasha grunt from behind Dan, roughly shoving the skinny young man into the snow and stepping on him to keep him pinned. The sword in Tasha's hand looks well-notched.

Rip says, "Just calm down and let Olaf do what he needs to. You lot are getting paid good money to help, so don't get in our way."

Combat Notes Enemy Status Sloth: AC 17, Undamaged. Olaf: AC 16, Undamaged. Rip: AC 18, Undamaged. Tasha: AC 14, Undamaged. Party Status Silas: -2 to attacks due to the distraction of the birds. Dan is effectively Pinned.

[Tangler]

Fahd: Current HP 20/20, Spirit Healing 6/6 remaining, Cloak PSP 5/5 remaining
AC17, AC12 flat-footed, AC16 touch, Fort/Ref/Will +6/5/5
+10 Fire resistance (Ichvaali Cloak)

Lynx: Current HP 16/16
AC 21, (AC13 flat-footed, AC18 touch, AC25 vs OA (Mobility), Fort/Ref/Will +4/9/2-status/defenses-

If this is his path of power, I will not follow it, thinks Fahd, his feet continuing to carry him toward Olaf even as the bear shaman replies. Fahd is, for the moment, unaware of the drama playing out behind him, focused as he is on Olaf and the sloth. Seeing that Olaf has no intention of staying his blow, Fahd says "Leg!" to Lynx, directing his spirit companion to attempt to trip Olaf, even as Fahd reaches out to grasp the hammer threatening the enormous creature laying prostrate in front of Olaf. "Olaf, no! This is wrong!"

ooc I rolled a 19 for Lynx's trip/bite attempt vs Olaf (3 damage). I'm not sure if and what I need to roll for Fahd's attempt to grab the hammer.

[Krimchee]

"Son of a....." Silas's curse was cut off as he ducked a beak that came perilously close to his eye. In a moment of panic, Silas swatted at the blasted things, dropping the arrow he'd had nocked. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Dan get thrown to the ground. He knew they were in for it now. He'd wondered if it would come to fighting Olaf and his men. He'd wondered, but suspected it would be inevitable.

Then Silas saw Tasha draw steel on his friend Dan, and that was all the confirmation he needed. Ducking another eye-seeking beak and vainly swatting at flapping wings with his bow, Silas sidestepped and drew the bow. With a grunt of effort from the off-balanced motion, Silas released the bowstring with a dry sounding 'thwack', sending a single bolt of Ichvaali crafted energy streaking towards Tasha.

rolls Attack Tasha Dice Roll: 1d20+2 (7)+2 Total = 9 Damage Dice Roll: 1d10+1 (6)+1 Total = 7