Chateau de Tarascons, Outside of Port-a-Lucine; Just Past Midnight of March 24th, 770
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The Route de Tarascons proved to be a road just outside of Port-a-Lucine, a dirt road that crossed across the River Selune and led you deep into the King's Forest. It was a fairly broad path, and in other times might even have been pleasant. But now it was cold, and dark, and the trees seemed to press on either side of you, perilously close.
A wolf howled in the distant forest. There were wolves in Dementlieu now, coming very close to the city. This hadn't been the case a decade ago... but many things had changed since then. You trudged through the snow and avoided the occasional patches of ice, making good progress despite the miserable conditions. It wasn't very long that, with Nicolas's able guidance, you reached #1.
The Chateau de Tarascons was a walled compound in the middle of the King's Forest. It looked old, with masonry walls and hints of a tiled roof underneath the snow. Old and well-built, with sizeable grounds inside the stout walls and remote from all. It was a perfect lair for a cult. The gates were open as you approached, and the Chateau itself seemed deserted. No light came from inside, nor sounds could be heard from the house. As you entered the grounds a bit further, however, you found your target.
There were seven of them, Dr. Nicole Poincare and a half dozen people who looked like her assistant restorers. Students, mostly young, mostly women, dressed warmly against the chill in heavy coats and fur gloves and scarves. They were on a small island in the midst of an ornamental lake before the house. The assistants were in the process of manhandling a large crate into a row-boat, which could at least double as a sledge atop the iced-over lake. Dr. Poincare was supervising the loading.
Dr. Poincare spotted you at the same moment you saw her, or just before, if that was possible. She was easily distinctive, a mature, red-headed woman with just a touch of silver in her hair, with strong features and a cold gaze. She regarded you for a moment, though whether she was surprised or not at your presence was impossible to tell.
In any case, Poincare, unlike Anne-Marie, was not one for wasted words. She reached into her coat, withdrawing a length of corroded black iron which she twisted. A darkling blade of ice and shadows snapped forth, a long and visciously sharp glaive.
"Kill them." Dr. Poincare said crisply, pointing her blade at you. The cultists saw you, and with movements too swift and graceful drew knives of bone. Poincare sighed. "Damn it, where are you, Bidelia?"
Dr. Poincare cuts right to the heart of the matter, doesn't she? Combat Time.
Roll Initiative. If you roll equal to or above a 20, you may act this turn, before Dr. Poincare and the Cultists do. If you roll below a 20, you must wait until after the DMs post and Dr. Poincare and the Cultists take their turn.
Also, Perception DC 20 (free action, can try again as a minor action often as you want to spend actions).
Terrain!
Ice: I'm going to run this slightly like a trap. At the end of each turn, the Ice will make an attack roll against your Reflex Defense if you are on the ice. If it fails, nothing happens. If it hits, we roll a d20 randomly on the following table to decide what happens:
- 1-4: You slip and fall Prone.
5-7: You slide 1d4 squares in a random direction (determined by a d8)
8-10: You slide 1d4 squares in a random direction (determined by a d8) and fall Prone
11-13: You slip into some shallow water. You take 5 Ongoing Cold Damage (save ends).
14-16: Extremely slippery ice forces you to move very carefully. You are Slowed until your next turn.
17-18: Your foot catches in a crevasse in the ice. You are Immobilized until your next turn.
19: You take a very bad fall. You take 10 damage and fall Prone.
20: You stumble, causing a spray of freezing water to splash you in the eyes. You are Blinded until your next turn.
You may take a Move Action to steady yourself (DC 5+ Acrobatics). For every 5 points you exceed the DC by, gain +2 to your Reflex defense only against the ice. So if you got a 17, you get a +6 to your Reflex defense against the ice.
Water: Anyone who enters or starts his turn in a water square takes 5 Ongoing Cold Damage and is Slowed (save ends both). To move onto an Ice Square requires a DC 12 Acrobatics or DC 12 Athletics check as a Move Action.
Forced Movement & Water's Edge: If you are, by reason of Forced Movement, knocked into the water, you can make an immediate saving throw. On a result of 10-20, you remain on the ice, though you fall prone. On a result of 1-9 you are pulled into the water. Until you make the save, I shall leave your PC in between the two squares, and then you can count your origin square for the turn based on your save result.
PCs:
Cyrus Isfahani (C): 54/58, 8 HS
AC 18, F 18, R 17, W 19
Darius Isfahani (D): 60/60, 9 HS
AC 23, F 17, R 19, W 19
Sister Nerit Doherty (N): 47/47, 4 HS
AC 18, F 14, R 17, W 21
Mr. Agale (A): 43/44, 6 HS
AC 18, F 16, R 19, W 21
Nicolas Etienne de Castaigne (Nc): 56/56, 6 HS
AC 21, F 18, R 20, W 21
Tomas Eisenwald (T): 59/59, 10 HS, Resist All/1,
AC 24, F 18, R 18, W 20
Prof. Lia Mournswaithe (L): 44/50, 7 HS
AC 20, F 16, R 18, W 17
Kerrian Mauganson (K): 53/53, 3 HS
AC 17, F 19, R 16, W 20
Celeste Viardot (Cv): 50/50, 3 HS
AC 16, F 17, R 18, W 20
Enemies:
Dr. Nicole Poincare (P):
AC: 24 Fortitude: 18 Reflex: 22 Will: 23
First Cultist (1):
Second Cultist (2):
Third Cultist (3):
Fourth Cultist (4):
Fifth Cultist (5):
Sixth Cultist (6):
AC: 20 Fortitude: 19 Reflex: 21 Will: 19
!