Trouble, Trouble, Trouble

The party paddled slowly back to shore, their way lit by the flames of Snorri’s funeral ship that was burning to the waterline behind them. They’d survived the undead Snorri and an ambush by ninja, but had little to show for their troubles but burned fingers and scorched eyebrows. They hadn’t found Ulf, they hadn’t found Suishen, and they were at a loss for what to do next.

At least Marie had managed to score one nice piece of loot from the hold of the funeral ship. She looked at the gold-plated helmet in her lab, its swept-back butterfly wings sparkling in the reflected firelight. “I hope this fits,” she muttered, and slipped it onto her head. Her eyes seemed to glaze over for a few moments, and her head turned to stare at Nicki.

“So what’s with the helmet?” Bella asked. “Is it any good?”

Marie seemed to wake from her reverie. “Apparently it’s mine, and I left it here before,” she said, not quite sounding sure of herself. Everyone turned to look at her.

Sawyer squinted down at the cleric. “You mean the helmet you just found in the hold of Snorri’s funeral ship? You left it there? When? How?”

Helgarval

Marie shook her head. “I don’t remember. There’s a lot of things I don’t remember. Anyway, her name is Helgarval, and she says she’s been waiting for me.” Everyone exchanged worried looks. Finally Sawyer broke the awkward silence. “Umm … your helmet’s a ‘she’? And ‘she’ talked to you?”

Marie just nodded. “Does she do anything besides talk?” Bella asked carefully. “Oh yes,” Marie replied, “she protects me from evil.”

Nicki laughed. “Well then, you’d better stay away from me!” Marie turned and looked at him oddly. “That’s funny. That’s exactly what Helgarval told me to do.”

Another uncomfortable silence followed, and then the group began pointedly talking about anything other than Marie’s mental state. They knew that Uksahkka would be waiting for them at the shrine to Shelyn in the Fire Quarter, expecting that they would have rescued Ulf. They hated to disappoint her yet again, but knew they had to break the bad news that the guide was still prisoner and they had no idea where he was being held. They made their way back to Kalsgard and into the Fire Quarter.

As they neared the square containing the shrine, they could hear a loud pounding, as if a work crew were breaking up stones, although it was much too late for any construction work. As they rounded the corner, they saw the source of the noise – an enormous earth elemental was pounding away at the walls of the shrine, rubble flying everywhere. A robed body lay in the street near its feet, but it didn’t appear to be Uksahkka. On a rooftop on the opposite side of the square, the blood-feather raven perched, watching balefully.

Bella immediately grabbed for her bow, intent on bringing down the cursed bird, but it was too quick; it gave a hoarse croak that almost sounded like a laugh, and flew off behind the roofline. Bella redirected her aim and fired an arrow at the earth elemental instead. It struck the creature solidly in the head, but rebounded off, doing little more than flaking off a chip of stone. Sawyer charged and swung his longsword. Against any other creature, the blade would have found its vital organs, but now it merely rang against the thing’s rocky body, leaving Sawyer’s palms stinging from the impact. Sandoval began singing as he moved into closer range, and Marie cast a Bless, both realizing that the party was going to need help against this foe.

Nicki pulled out his Metamagic Rod, and cast an Empowered Scorching Ray. The flames enveloped the creature like a blast furnace, leaving it glowing and smoking, but it continued battling. Sandoval cast a Sound Burst just behind the thing, but its sonic impact seemed to have no effect. Shinjiro joined Sawyer in the front lines, although hitting the thing was literally like punching a stone wall (fortunately, the monk had done just that as part of his training). The elemental swung its stony fists at him in retaliation. One connected, and continued on through Shinjiro to also hit Sawyer standing next to him, and both were staggered. Luckily Marie was nearby to provide some quick healing. Sawyer swung again, and again put his all into the blow – he would have sliced a lesser foe in half, but here he was simply blunting the blade of his sword. Finally Shinjiro summoned all his powers of concentration and delivered a devastating Flurry of Blows. The elemental staggered backwards, then crumbled into a pile of dirt and pebbles.

Sandoval rushed to the body lying in the street. He was an old Tian man in the robes of a cleric of Shelyn, and he was still alive, though unconscious. Sandoval cast a Cure Light Wounds, and the man’s eyes fluttered open. When he realized that the party had not only saved him, but defeated the elemental that was attacking his shrine, he began thanking them profusely. He said his name was Yin-Po, and that the elemental had just appeared out of nowhere and begun attacking the shrine without warning. Yin-Po had tried to defend his shrine, but he was no match for the huge creature.

Sawyer showed him the token that Uksahkka had given them, and the little cleric’s face brightened. “You’re Uksahkka’s friends! She said you’d be coming, and bringing someone else to hide with …” His voice trailed off and his face grew pale. “Uksahkka! I hope she’s all right!” He rushed around to the rear of the shrine. There, in an alley, a secret door in the back of the shrine stood hanging from its hinges. It led down into a small cellar and Yin-Po ran down the stairs. Inside were a pair of cots and a small table and chairs, now toppled over, but other than that it was empty. “I left Uksahkka here!” he cried. “Someone must have taken her!”

The party examined the room. Lying near the door was a talisman they’d seen before – an oversized black feather. Shinjiro continued searching, and found a blowgun dart lying against the far wall. Its tip was coated with a thick blue substance, but no one in the party had the alchemical skills to identify it. Yin-Po, however, was skilled with potions. He sniffed and gingerly tasted the paste, then made a sour face. “It’s blue whinnis poison. It renders the victim unconscious, so hopefully whoever was here took Uksahkka prisoner instead of killing her.”

Marie spoke up. “It was the Frozen Shadows.” She nodded at the feather. “That’s their calling card.” Everyone looked at her curiously – what made her so sure of this? She ignored their looks and turned to Yin-Po. “Do you know anything about the Frozen Shadows?”

The cleric nodded. “There are rumors in the Jade Quarter that an assassin’s guild has begun operating in Kalsgard using that name. Indeed, as you say, they mark their victims by leaving behind a large black feather. No one knows who they are, although to my shame, it is said they are Tian.”

Marie shook her head. “No, they’re not really a guild, because no one has been able to hire them. They seem to be working for themselves, or for someone else who’s calling the shots”

Bella had had enough. “Just how can you know that?” she demanded. “Earlier today none of us had any idea what the phrase ‘Frozen Shadows’ meant, and now you claim to know all about them. What’s going on?”

Marie looked embarrassed. “Helgarval told me,” she explained, as Bella rolled her eyes. “No really,” she said, trying to make the skeptical party believe her. “She said she’s been … investigating, I guess. She said no one knows why the Frozen Shadows kill, but many of their assassinations have been to the benefit of the Rimerunner’s Guild, and there are whispers that the Frozen Shadows may be working for them. That’s really all I know.”

Once again the party was left trying to decide whether to believe Marie, whether she was possessed, or just plain crazy. Before they could choose between exorcism or straight-jacket, Marie asked Yin-Po if he could perform a Restoration on her. The cleric eagerly agreed, and even waived his normal fee for the spell, although he said that she would still have to purchase the 1000 GP worth of diamond dust that the spell required (and which he conveniently had on hand). The party agreed to chip in for the cost (crazy or not, they needed Marie’s healing), and Marie soon felt her lost life-force returning to her.

The party returned to the inn. It was late when they got back and the other guests had all retired, but Ollie and his family were still up, cleaning the inn and laying out preparations for the morning’s breakfast. He greeted the group warmly. “How was your day?” They exchanged looks – how to explain what they’d just been through?

“We decided to go to Snorri Stone-Eye’s funeral,” Zhustin explained, deciding that the truth was always best, as long as you didn’t use too much of it. Ollie was enthusiastic. “Oh, that must have been grand! I heard it was going to be quite the send-off.” Zhustin nodded. “Yeah – there were a lot more people there than we expected.”

The rest of the group was trying to stifle their laughter, but Ollie was oblivious. “Did you get anything to eat while you were out?” When they shook their heads, he looked concerned. “You must be starved. Mama made a wonderful mutton stew for dinner, and there’s still a pot left in the kitchen. Sit down while we warm it up for you!” He gave orders to his wife and two children, and soon the party found big bowls of warm stew and flagons of ale in front of them. They ate hungrily, but after a few minutes they began to feel cramps in their stomachs and their fingers and toes began to go numb. Most of the group was merely seized with cramps, but Sandoval and Zhustin felt paralysis begin to creep up their limbs. Sandoval managed to shake off the effects of the poison, but Zhustin continued getting worse, and his lips began to turn blue as he struggled to breathe. Marie was doing her best to help him, cursing herself for not having Slow Poison or its ilk at the ready. Ollie was panicked, and sent his wife off to fetch a healer, while his children sat crying in the corner. Zhustin’s eyes fluttered closed and he sucked in a last, shallow breath, and there was a long silence while everyone waited to see he would draw another. Finally, with a hoarse gasp, he began breathing again.

Sandoval and especially Zhustin still felt numbness and stiffness in their arms and legs, despite Marie casting a Lesser Restoration on Zhustin, but the worst had passed. Ollie’s wife arrived with the “healer”, but Marie took one look at his jar of leeches and satchel of bleeding knives and sent him on his way. Ollie was horrified at the prospect that the party could have been poisoned. “We fed all our other guests that stew. My children ate that stew!” Ollie and his wife insisted that no one unusual had been in the kitchen that day, and while the party thoroughly examined the kitchen, they couldn’t find any evidence of how the poison could have been delivered (once again hampered by lack of alchemical knowledge). The party finally stumbled up to bed to the sound of Ollie’s wife throwing out foodstuffs and scrubbing everything in the kitchen with lye.

When they rose the next morning, they began to debate their next course of action. Some were in favor of setting out immediately for this “Ravenscraeg” place they’d heard of, reasoning that since it had once been Snorri’s home, it might be where they’d taken Ulf, Uksahkka, and Suishen. Unfortunately, they didn’t know where it was, and others in the party weren’t so convinced that should be their next stop. They were in favor of “reconnoitering” the Rimerunner’s Guild – perhaps reconnoitering it right down to the foundation stones. Still others thought that visiting the Rimerunner’s was a good idea, but that a more stealthy nighttime infiltration would pay more dividends.

Unable to agree on what to do next, they finally decided to pay another visit to Fynn Snaevald. Perhaps the old trader could give them some more insight into the history and activities of the Rimerunner’s Guild. And it would be good to bring him up to date on their search for Suishen.

As they made their way across town to Fynn’s home, they came to a bustling market square, one of many that dotted Kalsgard. It was crowded with merchants and customers haggling over dry goods, or vegetables, or chickens. Sandoval stopped to flirt with an attractive young woman who looked very much like one of the thralls they’d rescued from Asvig's farm (or maybe all these blond Northron women looked alike to a man used to olive-skinned Varisians). Out of habit, Bella scanned the crowd for likely marks, while keeping her eyes peeled for any of the city watch. Zhustin, who was standing near Shinjiro, saw him suddenly stagger backwards. At first, he thought the barefoot monk had simply stepped in something unpleasant. Then he saw the black-feathered arrow shaft sprouting from his chest. Another arrow came whistling through the air, but Shinjiro had already recovered enough to bat it aside. Zhustin scanned the crowd and the rooftops for the source of the attack, but saw nothing. Nonetheless, he knew he had to warn the others. “ASSASSINS!” he screamed.

Bella, who was already on the lookout, was the first to notice that not everyone in the crowd was an innocent shopper. Two men near her drew daggers out of their belts, and a third dropped the bundle of firewood he was carrying and pulled out a stout quarterstaff, and all three began to advance on her. Without waiting to see if they simply intended to protect a poor defenseless waif like herself, Bella drew her rapier and dagger with a cry and threw herself at the nearest assailant. He fell beneath the blur of her flashing blades, but more thugs appeared to join their mates, and she found herself surrounded.

The marketplace was in a panic by now as screaming people ran for cover and merchants debated trying to protect their wares or their skins. However, all around the square there were some who moved in instead of away, as more thugs drew weapons and tried to isolate and attack the party members. Marie was moving to try to heal Shinjiro, with a thug in hot pursuit. They both reached the monk at the same time, and Shinjiro took him down before he could strike the cleric. Marie administered healing, but another arrow from the unseen sniper struck the monk, undoing her work. Sandoval began singing as he twirled his echoblade and readied himself to receive the thugs who were closing on him. Nicki and Zhustin both fired off Magic Missiles at their attackers as they bobbed and weaved among the market stalls, trying to avoid their pursuit and make themselves more difficult targets for the sniper. Everyone was scanning the rooftops, but there was no sign of the deadly bowman.

Marie cast a Prayer just as another pair of arrows zeroed in on Shinjiro. He batted one aside, but the struck home. On the other side of the market, Bella had killed another of her assailants, and backed in between two carts, forcing her attackers to come at her from only one direction, and she began to thin them out, although some of their attacks were finding their mark. Nicki cast a Flaming Sphere, and it engulfed a thug who was charging at him. He screamed horribly as he tried to escape it, but Nicki directed it to follow him, and he fell, burning. Unfortunately, some of the market stalls that the sphere had passed over were also now in flames.

The sniper had apparently grown frustrated by seeing Shinjiro flick her arrows aside, because she now switched her target to Marie. In quick succession, a pair of arrows buried themselves in the cleric, and she found she needed to focus her healing powers on herself. However, the sniper finally revealed herself; several of the party spotted a woman with a longbow crouched on a roof in the southeast corner of the square. Shinjiro took off at a run for the sniper’s building and then launched himself into the air.

Those who had seen the monk’s pathetic attempt to grapple the flying Decapus in the cavern beneath Brinewall Castle winced as they prepared to see him smack into the building’s wall. But Shinjiro had been practicing and meditating, honing his skills and his concentration. He called upon his ki force, and soared through the air, turning two somersaults before landing directly beside the shocked sniper. She dropped her bow and drew a short sword, but Shinjiro easily dodged her attack. He gathered his breath, and struck her in the center of the chest with a Stunning Fist. Her sword clattered from her nerveless fingers as she stood immobile before the monk. Without hesitation, Shinjiro pulled the sash from around his waist and securely bound her. On the ground, all the thugs had fallen. The sniper was their prisoner; what would she be able to tell them?

The PCs earned 2,678 XP for their exploits, putting them at 19,219 XP with 23,000 required for level 6. We’ll be back at Leo’s next Sunday, but Scott will not be there; he’ll give his latest character sheet to Roger.