89: And I'll be there a'fore ye

[Ebiris]

[13:34] <@Ebiris> Freshly fortified with hearty and hot food, the group continues their journey, albeit now carrying some rather fine tableware appropriated from Zeus's Folly along with the earlier repast. Sadly against the freezing temperature and the burdensome effort of wading through hip-deep snow, the meal doesn't hearten any stomachs for long. After an hour without sighting dragons cold and miserableness rules the day once more...
[13:35] * Sierra_Dreaming is now known as Lucie
[13:35] <@Henrietta> "We can send the tableware back now?" Henrietta suggests, as their decided-upon time for making a second contact arrives.
[13:36] <Lucie> "Long as they send back coats," Lucie suggests.
[13:38] <Rudy> A dog soldier is duly dispatched to return for supplies! "I wish I could do that, y'know," he voices, as his minion teleports away.
[13:39] <@Ebiris> "One day you might?" Liamae offers. "Not many ever become that capable, but you've got someone who can demonstrate it for you at will, so that's got to spur the learning process."
[13:41] <Rudy> "I can already do it a little ways! But not miles," replies Rudy, thoughtfully. "I guess it's just down to the power behind it."
[13:42] <Lucie> "Not like any of us are scholars anyway," Lucie notes. "Try it enough, eventually it works. Probably."
[13:43] <@Ebiris> "Practice is learning," Liamae insists.
[13:44] <@Ebiris> Shortly the dog reappears, burdened down with an armful of thick furred coats. There's also a cream-coloured bonnet tied with a red silk bow on top of the coats. Its other arm is burdened with several thick coils of rope, and a basket full of pitons with two small hammers. Last but not least is a slender wooden wand cradled in its fingers. "With the lady's compliments, sire," the canine growls, arms extended. "She also wished to quiz you upon the nature of the threat. A wing of three courier dragons can be dispatched urgently but should the threat be greater than their capabilities she can hold back for more powerful breeds."
[13:46] <Rudy> Coats are swiftly distributed amongst them, and the wand is passed over to Lucie whilst the bonnet goes to Henri. "How tough is a courier dragon?" he asks, glancing at Liamae.
[13:51] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+13
[13:51] * Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+13 and gets 19." [1d20=6]
[13:52] <@Ebiris> "They're not meant for front-line combat and they rarely have elemental breaths, and they're pretty small. But they're still *dragons*," Liamae explains after a second's thought. "One of them's pretty close to that hydra we fought back in the swamp."
[13:54] <Lucie> "Take any help we can get at this point, right?" Lucie says with a shrug.
[13:55] * @Henrietta uses a ray of frost to turn a patch of nearby snow into ice before admiring her new hat in it. "They sound pretty fast, so that should be a plus?"
[13:56] <@Ebiris> "They're bred for speed and endurance, yes," Liamae nods.
[13:56] <Rudy> "Let's get the fast help rather than the big help. I think we had it on the ropes before," replies Rudy, before turning the hound. "The courier dragons would be excellent. The creature is quite dangerous, but the biggest problem is that it can teleport in and out of combat," he explains. "And that the infestation might spread whilst it lives, but that's all the more reason to act as quickly as
[13:56] <Rudy> possible. Please tell m'lady this."
[13:56] <@Ebiris> "As you command, sire," the hound bows formally before vanishing.
[13:57] <@Ebiris> "I think it's the right call," Liamae agrees. "If this thing does spawn more then yeah, we'll need an army. But there's no sign of that so far, and it's probably going to need a few days licking its wounds."
[13:58] <Rudy> "Courier dragons will help to find it, too," adds Rudy, nodding. "Tracking it down is one of the biggest problems, with keeping it from escaping being the next."
[14:00] <@Ebiris> The dog returns now. "Sire, the dragons will be dispatched within the hour. They're expected to reach the area within three days and will begin searching for either yourselves or the quarry. You are requested to use a flare signal should you spot any of the dragons in the sky so you can better coordinate their efforts."
[14:01] <Lucie> "That shouldn't be a problem," Lucie says with a nod towards Liamae.
[14:02] <@Ebiris> "Second cantrip I ever learnt," she laughs at that.
[14:03] <Rudy> Rudy nods to the dog. "Very good. You may go," he states, before opting to re-summon Myra before they proceed.
[14:04] <@Ebiris> "Good luck, sire. From me and the young lady," the dog bows before vanishing.
[14:04] <@Ebiris> Myra reappears in his place, bringing her own ineffable presence to the group once more.
[14:05] * Lucie dons one of those heavy coats and looks to the mountains with a grimace.
[14:05] * @Henrietta does likewise, just in case.
[14:06] <@Ebiris> Pulling on her own coat, Liamae considers. "Once it gets dark I could send up flares to see if that gets the local dragons curious enough to investigate?" she suggests.
[14:06] <Rudy> "Can you throw up a message? Like a sign?"
[14:07] <Lucie> "Might as well try," Lucie agrees. "Saves us time and mountain-climbing, right?"
[14:07] <@Ebiris> "Not really," she shakes her head, "Illusions are best for that. All I've got are bright lights."
[14:08] <@Henrietta> "What if you summoned something that can fly and we gave it a twig with Light on it? Then you could ask it to make any sort of signs you like," Henrietta suggests. "Or we could cast Light on a feather?"
[14:10] <Rudy> "Nah, let's save them for if we're in trouble. Liamae's thing sounds like it'll work just as well."
[14:10] <@Ebiris> "What, you mean like have it fly around like a pen writing out letters?" Liamae asks, sounding dubious.
[14:11] <Rudy> "The light doesn't stick in the air, so they'd be hard to read zipping around like that."
[14:16] <@Ebiris> Hours pass, the cold biting into everyone even those rather inured to it if on a purely morale standpoint as they hike across inhospitable terrain. The sun is hanging low to the West, probably less than an hour of daylight left, and not far ahead is a sheer cliff at least a hundred feet tall rising up to a snow-coated plateau above. Behind is more of the same hills and valleys, though the last few were unreasonably steep at times themselves.
[14:16] <@Ebiris> OOC: fort saves for those not resistant to cold. +2 bonus for winter clothing. -2 for being naked.
[14:16] <Lucie> roll 1d20+8+2
[14:16] * Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+8+2 and gets 14." [1d20=4]
[14:17] <Rudy> roll 1d20+7 Rudy
[14:17] * Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+7 Rudy and gets 22." [1d20=15]
[14:17] <Rudy> roll 1d20+5 seems like no, myra :(
[14:17] * Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+5 seems like no, myra :( and gets 24." [1d20=19]
[14:18] <@Ebiris> It's horrid, but not debilitating at least. Though hunger is starting to gnaw on people again.
[14:18] * Lucie scans the cliff face for more convenient cave hideouts!
[14:19] <@Ebiris> OOC: spot?
[14:19] <Lucie> roll 1d20+16
[14:19] * Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+16 and gets 23." [1d20=7]
[14:21] -> *Lucie* about forty feet up you can see a nook that might open into a cave. Or it might just be a small ledge.
[14:22] * Lucie squints, gestures upwards. "Might be a cave I see up there, forty feet up or so, if we want to make for it tonight."
[14:23] <Rudy> Rudy follows Lucie's eyes. "Think we can make it up there?" he asks, surveying the route.
[14:23] <@Ebiris> "It's either that or clearing some snow to make camp down here or up there. Didn't see any caves back the way for a while," Liamae says, looking up to the cloud-filled sky. "No telling if it'll snow during the night."
[14:23] <Lucie> "Rather not stay outdoors if we can avoid it," Lucie adds.
[14:24] <@Ebiris> It'd be a fairly taxing climb, though with ropes secured by pitons it could be made more managable.
[14:24] <@Henrietta> "I think we should fly up."
[14:25] <Lucie> "I like that plan," Lucie affirms.
[14:25] <Rudy> "Gonna carry us?"
[14:25] <@Henrietta> "Yes!"
[14:26] * @Henrietta casts the spell upon herself and then flies Lucie up. She leaves her with the rope, just in case, and then repeats the process for the others.
[14:27] <@Ebiris> Upon reaching the spot with Lucie this better vantage lets her see it's just a cosy little nook. Two people could sit there in cramped conditions, covered from above but still exposed to the wind and with a long drop down should anyone slip or roll over.
[14:27] <Lucie> "Alright so maybe this wasn't the best plan," Lucie concludes.
[14:28] <@Henrietta> "We should fly for a bit more and look around!" Henrietta suggests. "I will fly, and you should look!"
[14:28] <Lucie> "Couldn't hurt," Lucie says.
[14:29] * @Henrietta tries to give Lucie a much better vantage point!
[14:29] <@Ebiris> OOC: elaborate plz. Flying up? Away from cliff towards cliff to the sides? Flying down?
[14:30] <@Henrietta> OOC: Up, then to the sides, then down that other way
[14:31] <@Ebiris> Watching the two flying up from the alleged cave Liamae comments to Rudy, "Guess it wasn't a cave. Wonder where they're going, now?"
[14:33] <@Ebiris> Ascending up with Lucie cradled in her arms, Henrietta crests the top of the cliff and above! Ahead they can see an expansive ledge atop the plateau, stretching quite a ways off and presenting something of a maze of ravines, caves, ice bridges, and icicle studded overhangs. All coated in white it's almost beautiful, if looking rather treacherous.
[14:33] <Rudy> "It's alright, they don't have to tell us. They probably know what they're doing," declares Rudy. "So is it true there's a spell that summons a house?" he asks, lowering his voice.
[14:34] <Lucie> "Ferry the others up, find some place to sleep up here?" Lucie suggests.
[14:35] <@Ebiris> "There's a few, actually!" Liamae brightens, "From little dirt hovels all the way up to gigantic mansions depending on how powerful you are!"
[14:35] * @Henrietta lands on the ledge with Lucie. "You think it would be better than staying below?"
[14:37] <Lucie> "All the same snowy wasteland, right? We spend the night up here, at least you're not wasting your flying spells tomorrow."
[14:38] <@Henrietta> "Well, if you say so," Henrietta relents, and then flies down.
[14:38] <@Ebiris> "Find anything?" Liamae asks as Henrietta returns, leaving Lucie alone up top to survey the inhospitable ice-scape.
[14:39] * Lucie scans the plateau for, well, anything that looks like it might serve as shelter, even if it might still be a good walk away.
[14:39] <@Henrietta> "A beautiful and deadly place!" Henrietta reports. "Lucie likes it so she wants us to sleep there." She extends a hand to Liamae. "Come on, I will show you."
[14:39] <@Ebiris> OOC: spot?
[14:40] <Lucie> roll 1d20+16
[14:40] * Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+16 and gets 34." [1d20=18]
[14:42] <@Ebiris> As Liamae is ferried up to leave Rudy alone with Myra, Lucie surveys her domain. There's no respite from snow and ice anywhere she looks, though there are a few potential shelters. Caves that are more tunnels swooping through the ice and rock are present here and there, or if one could safely get to the bottom of one of the ravines there'd be potential shelter under one of the swooping ice bridges.
[14:43] <Lucie> Anything cavelike will do, under the circumstances!
[14:44] <@Ebiris> Henrietta and her passenger soon arrive, Liamae whistling softly as she looks over the ice-scape. "It's almost like a maze."
[14:45] <@Henrietta> "We will surely get lost and die without being able to fly!" Henrietta agrees, returning for Rudy now.
[14:46] <Lucie> "Yeah, it is," Lucie agrees. "If we're lucky, you'll get someone's attention tonight and we won't have to deal with it."
[14:46] <Rudy> Rudy is ready to be carried around by a girl! It's such a strange feeling, and he'll never get used to it...
[14:47] <@Henrietta> "Do I, you think, need to carry Myra up as well?" Henrietta asks hesitantly.
[14:47] <@Ebiris> Myra whines softly and looks beseechingly up at the pair as Henrietta steals her Rudy away.
[14:47] <Rudy> "No, it's fine," replies Rudy, taking a moment to banish her.
[14:47] <@Ebiris> She vanishes with a sad groan.
[14:50] <@Ebiris> with Rudy deposited up top, the group is whole once more! If sans Myra. "Alright, how about you guys make camp and cook dinner while I send flares up?" Liamae suggests with a smile.
[14:54] <Lucie> "Sure, sure," Lucie says, getting to it already.
[14:55] <@Ebiris> OOC: so going into nearest cave or down nearest ravine?
[14:56] <Lucie> OOC: we shall check for a usable cave first!
[14:57] <Rudy> OOC: Let's go for a cave
[14:58] <@Ebiris> There's a cave in somewhat easy reach to the left, albeit over some cracked and fragmented ground just barely wide enough to fall down if one were so unlucky. There's also another one ahead across a ravine that thankfully possesses a bridge and under an icicle-strewn overhang.
[14:59] * @Henrietta decides to look into the nearest one!
[15:00] * Lucie doesn't have to worry about the sturdiness of bridges when she floats oever them anyway, so she might as well take a look inside cave number two!
[15:02] <@Ebiris> Flying over the fragmented ice boulders Henrietta reaches the cave on the left. It's fairly short, about twenty or so feet and curving around a corner to slope downwards slightly before opening out again. It's quite regularly shaped and smooth, at least. Lucie heads for the other one, having to duck her head under some icicles before finding this cave only extends in ten feet before there's a sharp downwards drop that opens up at the bottom into one of the ravines.
[15:03] <Lucie> Well, that doesn't look very comfortable at all! She drifts back to see what Henri's found.
[15:03] <@Henrietta> "I think it should be enough?" Henrietta says, though she turns it into a question.
[15:04] <Lucie> "Not much else around," Lucie agrees.
[15:04] <@Ebiris> Liamae seeems content to wait where she is while those not constrained by gravity check things out. Lucie arrives just in time to hear Henrietta's question as the sorceress touches ground once more, her spell ended.
[15:09] <@Ebiris> "You guys going to make camp over there?" Liamae calls to the duo as silence stretches on.
[15:10] <@Henrietta> "Yes! Our chances of dying are the lowest here, I am certain!" Henrietta calls back.
[15:10] <Lucie> "Can't find anything better," Lucie concludes. "Might want to fly folks over, though, ground doesn't look too safe."
[15:11] <Rudy> "I have the tools! Just tell me where!"
[15:11] <@Ebiris> Walking to where the ground starts to fragment and seeing a path across requiring at least eight careful steps between unevenly sloped boulders just seperated enough for someone to slide down and have a hell of a time climbing back out, Liamae nods. "Yeah, could be tricky."
[15:13] <Lucie> "Well, let's see if this works while I'm carrying someone?" the levitating Lucie offers as she rejoins Liamae and Rudy on their side.
[15:14] * @Henrietta just tries to see whether the other opening would be easier for the others to reach.
[15:17] <@Ebiris> Heading through the cave Henrietta can see it opens onto a ledge that slopes down into a ravine that goes under the ice bridge Lucie crossed earlier. Meanwhile Lucie finds that picking up Rudy is easy enough with her hat-augmented muscles, and though she does wobble a bit unevenly she still keeps her feet off the ground. The effect isn't good for Rudy's stomach, though.
[15:17] <@Henrietta> "Hi!" she calls out.
[15:18] <Lucie> "Don't wiggle around or anything," Lucie warns Rudy as she ferries him over the dangerous ground to safety.
[15:18] <@Ebiris> OOC: like shouting?
[15:18] <Rudy> "I really can't!" protests Rudy. "You're like a goddamn vice!"
[15:18] <@Henrietta> OOC: Not enough to cause an avalanche, enough to be overheard within 10-20ft?
[15:19] <@Ebiris> OOC: That's just normal talking!
[15:19] <@Ebiris> Henrietta says hello but no one else can hear her.
[15:19] * @Henrietta returns back to Lucie in regret.
[15:21] * Lucie sets Rudy down on the other side. "Yeah, well, better you get a little bruised than take a fall down the ravine," she says, going back to retrieve Liamae.
[15:21] <@Ebiris> Liamae bounds happily into Lucie's arms to let herself be carried to shelter!
[15:23] <Lucie> Floating Lucie takes a moment to regain her balance. "Whoa, don't knock me over here! We'll be inside soon enough."
[15:26] <@Ebiris> "Sorry," Liamae laughs, "Probably shouldn't be jumping around in a place like this, anyway." Once on the other side and set down, she goes to stand outside the cave and starts launching flares into the sky, bursting into light forty feet overhead every few seconds in the dimming twilight while trusting everyone else to make her a nice dinner and set up her bed.
[15:26] * @Henrietta can handle the sleeping arrangments easily enough and does so!
[15:26] * Lucie being eager for food and sleep both, Lucie is amenable to doing both of these things! Although presumably Rudy will handle the food...
[15:29] <@Ebiris> roll 1d100
[15:30] * Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d100 and gets 11." [1d100=11]
[15:31] <@Ebiris> In short order food is prepared and shelter and bedding both set up. Still, the sun is down by now, just some faint gold on the horizon to say it ever existed as Liamae takes a break from her work to dine. "I'll keep going for another half hour after I've eaten. Are we having anyone on watch tonight?"
[15:32] <Rudy> "I'll take one," volunteers Rudy.
[15:32] <@Henrietta> "I think we should, because, umm, the cave opens into a ravine? We are outside! In nature!"
[15:32] <Lucie> "Might as well," Lucie volunteers. "Got good night eyes these days. Too much time spent outdoors I guess."
[15:33] <@Henrietta> Still traumatized from being abducted by a stupid dragon while on watch, Henrietta refrains from volunteering herself.
[15:34] <@Ebiris> "I'll take last watch and fire off a few flares while I'm up then," Liamae volunteers around a mouthful of adventure-chow.
[15:38] <@Ebiris> Thus dinner finishes and Liamae fires off a few more flares before going to bed with Lucie and Henrietta, leaving Rudy in charge now that it's fallen completely into darkness.
[15:39] <Rudy> Rudy has Myra with him, now, and she can see in the dark far better than he could! She is his eyes, for the evening.
[15:42] <@Ebiris> roll 1d100
[15:42] * Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d100 and gets 26." [1d100=26]
[15:44] <@Ebiris> The night passes mercifully without interruption. Or sadly for those expecting stupid dragons. A wanly lit morning greets the group the next day with the sun barely squeezing through gaps in the mountains, just providing enough to see by as camp is broken. "No dragons," Liamae annnounces as others wake up, having prepared breakfast to greet the day. On the plus side the clouds have started to break up, stark blue sky beginning to break through above.
[15:45] <Lucie> "Figures they wouldn't show when we're looking for one," Lucie complains. "Maybe that last one got what he wanted and they're not looking for humans any more."
[15:47] <Rudy> "Still two more days for the couriers, too," muses Rudy.
[15:49] <@Ebiris> "Well, just have to keep going? And hope a dragon can fly us down from here before we have to walk and climb back," Liamae sighs, looking up at the still terrifyingly high mountains overhead.
[15:52] <Lucie> "About the size of it," Lucie says, packing up for the day's travel. "Sooner we get moving, sooner we can find one."
[15:52] * @Henrietta nods resolutely, her things packed up.
[15:52] <Rudy> Myra is summoned once more for the continuation of their trek!
[15:53] <@Ebiris> OOC: going to take the high road or the low road?
[15:59] <@Ebiris> OOC: acrobatics checks for everyone but Lucie to cross the fragmented ice, then.
[15:59] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+2 Liamae
[15:59] * Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+2 Liamae and gets 17." [1d20=15]
[16:00] <Rudy> roll 1d20+11 r
[16:00] * Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+11 r and gets 18." [1d20=7]
[16:00] <Rudy> roll 1d20+6 m
[16:00] * Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+6 m and gets 20." [1d20=14]
[16:02] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+3
[16:02] * Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+3 and gets 13." [1d20=10]
[16:05] <@Ebiris> With a few careful hops skips and a jump everyone makes their way across safely after the serenely floating Lucie. Crossing the bridge isn't particularly difficult, the heavily built up ice bearing weight easily enough. Ahead lies both the cave Lucie investigated yesterday, as well as a steeply inclined slope upwards and ahead that's coated in thick snow.
[16:07] <Lucie> "Up?" Lucie suggests. "Off-chance one of them happens to be flying around, we may see them up there, likely wouldn't down below. Want to make sure we're in a position for flares end of the day anyway."
[16:08] <@Henrietta> "Why not?" Henrietta agrees. "And when one of us falls, I will try to catch them."
[16:09] <@Ebiris> OOC: climb checks, it's steep enough not to be just a stroll upwards.
[16:09] <@Ebiris> roll 1d20+1 Liamae
[16:09] * Hatbot --> "Ebiris rolls 1d20+1 Liamae and gets 20." [1d20=19]
[16:10] <Lucie> roll 1d20+4 Hatsrength!
[16:10] * Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+4 Hatsrength! and gets 9." [1d20=5]
[16:11] <Rudy> roll 1d20 we have spikes and stuff right
[16:11] * Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20 we have spikes and stuff right and gets 8." [1d20=8]
[16:12] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+4
[16:12] * Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+4 and gets 14." [1d20=10]
[16:12] <@Ebiris> OOC: you do but this is more wading up a steep slope through two feet of snow rather than climbing a cliff. You could use them but you'd basically be swimming through the snow
[16:14] <Rudy> OOC: That sounds unpleasant
[16:14] <@Ebiris> Liamae scrambles upwards, powering through the snow and not slowing down until she reaches the top! Henrietta has more trouble, flailing and slipping just on the first few feet. But Rudy and Lucie have it worst, forcing their way up just enough to fall and then start sliding back down on the slippery ice, rocketing towards the ravine they just crossed!
[16:14] <@Ebiris> OOC: ref saves you two. Myra can try and save one as well with a DC 19 dex check. Decide before rolling the ref saves (her preference is Rudy)
[16:14] <@Ebiris> OOC: DC 10!
[16:16] <Rudy> roll 1d20+9 r
[16:16] * Hatbot --> "Rudy rolls 1d20+9 r and gets 26." [1d20=17]
[16:16] <Lucie> roll 1d20+7
[16:16] * Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+7 and gets 20." [1d20=13]
[16:16] <@Ebiris> Myra just stands their dumbly not trying to help either, but luckily both manage to grap onto jagged ice outcroppings enough to slow themselves down before falling off the edge!
[16:17] <@Ebiris> *there
[16:18] * Lucie hauls herself back up and onto her feet. "Maybe one of you two can toss down a rope?" she suggests to the ones that made it up the incline safely.
[16:18] <Rudy> "I'm starting to think this was a bad idea!" announces Rudy, following suit.
[16:19] <Lucie> "These days I think a lot of things were bad ideas," Lucie admits.
[16:19] <@Ebiris> Liamae's the only one up there! "Throw me up some pitons and a hammer, there's nothing to tie it to otherwise!" she calls down.
[16:20] * @Henrietta tries to get all the way up, since she's carrying them!
[16:20] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+4 I'll climb! Again!
[16:20] * Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+4 I'll climb! Again! and gets 6." [1d20=2]
[16:21] <@Ebiris> OOC: ref save, Henri. There's three people who can try and save you, too!
[16:21] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+6
[16:21] * Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+6 and gets 26." [1d20=20]
[16:21] <@Henrietta> "I forgot how to climb!" Henrietta cries out in despair.
[16:22] <@Ebiris> Henrietta only gets high enough to build momentum when she falls, following Rudy and Lucie's earlier example almost perfectly.
[16:22] * @Henrietta tries to cast Fly once she is desperately holding into some solid ice.
[16:23] <@Ebiris> No try about it, she casts that spell perfectly!
[16:24] <@Henrietta> Now flying, Henrietta helps get Rudy up, doing the same for Lucie and even Myra afterwards.
[16:27] <@Ebiris> Myra coos happily as Henrietta flies her towards her master after briefly seperating them. Up top the ice field can be seen stretching far ahead towards a massive slope leading up to a dark cliff-face up the mountain. From this current vantage the slope rolls back down again into a depression filled with massive ice chunks and boulders spread all about. There's also an ice-wall about halfway down branching off the left which leads onto a ledge above that depression, a long drop into a crevasses on the other side. While taking in this view, a heavy creaking crunch is heard emanating from below.
[16:28] <@Henrietta> Myra will surely catch her one day as she falls, so that's alright!
[16:31] * @Henrietta then flies in a circle around their position to see what could possibly have been down there!
[16:31] <@Ebiris> OOC: spot?
[16:32] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+2
[16:32] * Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+2 and gets 22." [1d20=20]
[16:33] <@Ebiris> Henrietta can't see anything which could be responsible for such a loud and pervasive noise. About all she does see is a corpse down in the depression, one leg buried under a massive chunk of ice and dressed in winter gear that's rotted and worn from the elements.
[16:34] <@Henrietta> "There is a very dead person below!" she dutifully reports.
[16:35] <@Ebiris> "Any idea what killed him or her?" Liamae asks.
[16:35] <Lucie> "Seems we find a lot of those out here," Lucie notes.
[16:36] <@Henrietta> "Ice, maybe?" Henrietta floats down to have a closer look.
[16:40] <@Ebiris> Floating down the slope towards the boulder in question, the bodie lies on the far side out of sight for those up on the hill. It's not hard to tell gender with what skin remains rather mummified by the elements, this being a male lying in frozen repose. A grey woolen jumper pokes out under holes in his brown furred coat, a length of rope coiled across his torso from shoulder to hip and a backpack seen next to it where it lays on its back, one leg utterly crushed and buried underneath the boulder.
[16:40] * @Henrietta thinks she knows what you do at times like this. You cast Detect Magic, don't you? She does the same, after recasting her own flight spell.
[16:42] <@Ebiris> There's magic coming from the shoe on his exposed leg and from under the boulder where the other one likely is. It seems quite sturdy as footwear goes, with hooked spikes attached to the soles.
[16:43] * @Henrietta flies up some forty feet and then tries to burn the icy boulder with a pair of scorching rays.
[16:44] <@Ebiris> OOC: roll damage?
[16:44] <@Henrietta> roll 2#4d6
[16:44] * Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 2#4d6 and gets 33." [2#4d6 = 15, 18]
[16:46] <@Ebiris> A pair of deep conical holes are burned into the massive chunk of ice, water running off and steam floating up from them. It's not enough to destroy it completely but another one or two rays should do it. However as she does that, the corpse suddenly pushes itself up and starts scrabbling frantically against the ice to try and pull itself free!
[16:47] <@Henrietta> Her next pair of fiery rays spear the corpse instead!
[16:48] <@Ebiris> OOC: attack rolls?
[16:48] <@Henrietta> roll 2#1d20+6 ranged touch
[16:48] * Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 2#1d20+6 ranged touch and gets 36." [2#1d20+6 = 22, 14]
[16:49] <@Ebiris> OOC: damage
[16:49] <@Henrietta> roll 2#4d6
[16:49] * Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 2#4d6 and gets 22." [2#4d6 = 8, 14]
[16:50] <@Ebiris> The rays burn right through the corpse's head and chest, leaving it unmoving once more!
[16:50] * @Henrietta nods to herself in satisfaction, burning down the rest of the ice boulder trapping the dead skeleton.
[16:51] <@Ebiris> It takes up another pair of scorching rays to melt enough of the boulder down that nothing is trapping the corpse now.
[16:52] * @Henrietta looks around to make sure there is no other crawling corpse around, before she decides to take its nice boots and backpack, as adventures are supposed to.
[16:53] <@Ebiris> Nothing at least looks to jump out at her, just white ice and snow all about. The shoes are yanked off feet still carrying thick woolen socks, at least the first is. In pulling off the buried shoe she accidentally snaps the ankle and takes the foot with her.
[16:54] * @Henrietta tosses them into the dead man's backpack and flies back up!
[16:55] <Lucie> "Run into some trouble down there?" Lucie queries with a raised eyebrow.
[16:55] <@Henrietta> "He was not dead! Undead!"
[16:55] <Rudy> "There's just no respite!"
[16:56] <@Ebiris> "There's a reason everyone gets cremated these days," Liamae nods sagely.
[16:56] * @Henrietta nods empathically. "These mountains hate people so much, they make them suffer after they kill them!"
[16:56] <Lucie> "Wonder why," Lucie says. "Usually there's a reason someone rises again, right?"
[16:56] <@Ebiris> "Lets go with evil hateful mountains," Liamae backs Henrietta's story.
[16:56] * @Henrietta gives the backpack to Lucie. "And, umm, I think this is for you."
[16:58] <Lucie> "Is it?" Lucie peers inside the backpack, rifles around with its contents, then abruptly stops. "Are we collecting feet now? You needed a souvenir, or what?"
[16:58] <@Henrietta> "You need nice magical shoes!"
[16:58] <Rudy> "This job drives some people to weird places, don't it?" remarks Rudy to Liamae.
[16:59] * Lucie unceremoniously upturns the offending shoe until that foot tumbles out into the snow, then examines the footwear for magical traits.
[16:59] <@Ebiris> "She doesn't need shoes at all, she floats!" Liamae protests.
[16:59] <@Ebiris> OOC: spellcraft
[16:59] <Lucie> roll 1d20+13
[16:59] * Hatbot --> "Lucie rolls 1d20+13 and gets 17." [1d20=4]
[16:59] <Lucie> "Still need to keep my feet warm, don't I?"
[16:59] <@Henrietta> "Do you want the zombie shoes?" Henrietta whispers to Liamae, shielding her mouth from Lucie.
[16:59] <@Ebiris> Lucie has no idea about the magic. Maybe those hooks make them good for kicking?
[16:59] <@Ebiris> "Prestidigitation!"
[17:00] <Lucie> "Somebody else want to take a crack at this?" Lucie offers. "Magic's got me confounded."
[17:00] * @Henrietta reluctantly takes a second look....
[17:00] <@Ebiris> OOC: spellcraft
[17:00] <@Henrietta> roll 1d20+11
[17:00] * Hatbot --> "Henrietta rolls 1d20+11 and gets 24." [1d20=13]
[17:01] -> *Henrietta* You can tell these are mountain cleats. They grant a +5 bonus to climbing and remove the movement penalties for walking across ice or snow. They also wreck the shit out of nice floors.
[17:01] <@Henrietta> "Climbing shoes!"
[17:02] <Lucie> "Imagine that, what with the spikes," Lucie says, not sounding impressed by this basic act of deduction.
[17:02] <@Henrietta> "They are really good for walking on ice! Now you do not have to float!"
[17:03] <Lucie> "There some reason I shouldn't?" Lucie challenges.