Mists of Winter, Chapter Two

[steveflam]

"Vat do ve know about Hags den?"

[ewancummins]

THE MANOR HOME OF THE BARONET

Galandel continues onward towards the Manor, to tell Sicart what he has found.

...

Galandel knocks on the door, and the old serving man admits him.

The elf has a few minutes catch his breath and dry off a little by the Baronet's new wood-stove, and then Sicart enters the room dressed in an oilskin slicker.

''Ah, Galandel. I was getting ready to go check on you. Are you quite alright? You don't look well. And did you find anything notable-- the trespasser?"

[RocEter]

GALANDEL AT THE MANOR

"I found the trespasser, I believe him to be dead but in haste I did not confirm this." He says. "The entrance to tunnel was trapped with a poisonous could of some kind. It lead to lair where dark magics were at work, I saw a group of adventures fleeing so I too fled out the tunnel I came in." He says.

Pausing for a bit to let this information settle before continuing. "During our retreat I heard some one giving chase. I set up an ambush outside but it would seem my persurer has strange powers. It some how managed to avoid exiting out the mouth of the tunnel and instead attacked me and my wolf from the behind." Galandel explains.

"What ever this creature is, I can't not take on it myself. I know of some people who could help in this matter, I saw one of them in lair of this beast. I will go to them ask to join them but first I must return to sanctuary and tend to my wolf's wounds. He was injured far worse than I."

[alhoon]

"Have we surmised that we have to deal with a hag? It seems likely, but I'm not convinced yet. I'm sure the eyes are made from the victim's eyes. Powerful emotions create powerful things. Evil things."

[ewancummins]

GALANDEL AT THE MANOR

"I found the trespasser, I believe him to be dead but in haste I did not confirm this." He says. "The entrance to tunnel was trapped with a poisonous could of some kind. It lead to lair where dark magics were at work, I saw a group of adventures fleeing so I too fled out the tunnel I came in." He says.

Pausing for a bit to let this information settle before continuing. "During our retreat I heard some one giving chase. I set up an ambush outside but it would seem my persurer has strange powers. It some how managed to avoid exiting out the mouth of the tunnel and instead attacked me and my wolf from the behind." Galandel explains.

"What ever this creature is, I can't not take on it myself. I know of some people who could help in this matter, I saw one of them in lair of this beast. I will go to them ask to join them but first I must return to sanctuary and tend to my wolf's wounds. He was injured far worse than I."

''Alarming news! I'm glad you weren't badly hurt. I do hope your wolf will be well.''

The Baronet frowns, tugging at his gray whiskers.

''Despite the danger, hadn't we better take some men with us and hasten to check on the man in the tunnel? You say you don't know if he's alive or dead. I hate to think of an injured man, trespasser and burglar though he may be, lying alone in the dark with whatever the devil it was that attacked you maybe coming back for him."

[kintire]

Kat listens to the discussion with interest, seeming to recover from the troubles within quickly

"I fear the element of surprise may be gone... but I think we have little choice but to end it here."

[VAN]

Sara shivers at the thought of getting back there with the hellish eyes. Dorgio was right that more lives were in danger if Jenny managed to escape but if they weren't prepared properly they could probably die from the eyes or drown.

"We can get going back there right now and hope this Jenny hasn't returned yet. We may try to ambush her if possible. I'm a bit concerned about the eyes though, they managed to get almost all of us and we barely escaped all alive. We can hope that now we know their effect on us we can deal with them better. However it will be nice to have a way to counter their effect."

Looking at Dorgio she asks:

"Do you have a prayer that can help us with the eyes? I noticed that you were the only one that they haven't attacked even once. Or do you have a way to make us get back to our normal selves if they manage to look at us and our behavior change? Apparently we will not have much time before the river floods the entrance, so we better be efficient and not have at least half of our group unable to react one way or another. Otherwise we can come back tomorrow prepared for the encounter."

[Brock Marsh Runoff]

Dorgio nods at Sarah. "I do know a prayer that protects against malevolent intent. I can access its power once more today. And while these eyes caused us to panic, now that we have a better sense of what they are, we will be better prepared to shield our minds against those things."

"First thing is first, neutralizing those eyes. I will be taking point, but I want Benn and Raen backing me up. If the eyes are born of foul magic, we'll need magic at the ready. And we'll need people whose minds are attuned enough to magic to resist the panic that the eyes are wanting to spread. I will try to keep them at bay and perhaps we can find some course beyond destroying them. If they are Jenny's victims, maybe we can turn them into our allies for a time. But if not, we'll need to use Art and Prayer to destroy them."

"If Jenny shows up, we'll need our warriors then. Whatever she is, she has some kind of magical power. That means she might be able to resist our spells. So we'll need to bring her down with firelock and sword."

[ewancummins]

RETURN TO THE SMUGGLERS' TUNNELS

The party splashes through muddy water on the riverbank, ducks under the pier, and creeps into the tunnel mouth.

The sunrod shows the same tunnel entryway the party had passed through earlier.
The party stalks down the hall, watchful and ready for combat at any moment.

They move up the ramp, through the open hatch, into the large storeroom.

The stale air here stinks of blood and filth.

Golithos remains where they left him, sprawled out behind a line of crates.

They all see the double doors that lead into the Chamber of the Eyes, open as they left them. No sign of the eyes in the shadowy space beyond, but they cannot see all of that room.

Munchen growls.
Some among the group hear… (Listen DC 15, check OOC for rolls)

VIEW CONTENT:

…footsteps in the room—not quite in time with the pace and tread of their companions, and sounding closer to the walls.

Kat sees the heavy rectangular cover lift in the air and fall in place over the ramp, cutting off the party's means of downward escape. A heavy crate slides over the panel, as if pushed by unseen hands.

[RocEter]

Galandel at the Baronet's Manor

"If you feel that is best course action, then we shall take it. We should stop by the wood lot and see if we can gather any volunteers." Galandel Says.

Once the Baronet is ready, he will leave with him to the woodlot.

[ewancummins]

Galandel at the Baronet's Manor

"If you feel that is best course action, then we shall take it. We should stop by the wood lot and see if we can gather any volunteers." Galandel Says.

Once the Baronet is ready, he will leave with him to the woodlot.

''That seems wise."

The Baronet gathers two of his men, the game-warden and the kennel master. The humans take along a pair of hunting dogs.

...

With Gal loping along in the lead, the small party travels over the sodden ground to the woodlot.

A few elves emerge from the barn, eyes on Galandel as he draws near.

One asks (in the Sithican tongue)
-
''What is it? Some difficulty?"

[RocEter]

He nods to the elves. "Yes. My encounter with the beast did not end well." He responds in his native tongue. "Has my wolf returned, we search for more aid. This beast is a blight to the land and must be dealt with."

[steveflam]

RETURN TO THE SMUGGLERS' TUNNELS

Franz unsheathes his two blades.

[ewancummins]

RETURN TO THE SMUGGLERS' TUNNELS

Franz unsheathes his two blades.

Franz doesn't have his short sword or his arming sword-- those he last saw in the Chamber of the Eyes, on the floor.

Vlad was supposed to have recovered them, but something went wrong...

The Falkovnian still has a dagger, and the two-handed blade strapped on his back.

[ewancummins]

THE ELVEN REFUGE/THE OLD BARN

He nods to the elves. "Yes. My encounter with the beast did not end well." He responds in his native tongue. "Has my wolf returned, we search for more aid. This beast is a blight to the land and must be dealt with."

The young elf male who had spoken a moment ago, Lothas, now answers,
"Yes, the wolf came back. We tried to calm it and dress its hurts, but it won't let anyone close--not even your wife. It has dug in under some brush, back there--"
He indicates the rear of the large barn.

Lothas steps away from the barn, closer to Galandel, the humans, and the hounds.
"I don't speak for the others, but I will come with you if you are hunting a dangerous beast."