Iron Realm Log Ten
Year of Darkness 1123
16th day of the Wolf
The party head north into a strong icy wind. Hell's Ridge is aptly named as the cold is the biggest killer in the northern lands, save for the troublesome assassin Geoff, who still dogs their progress. Kysan'tel disappears as she hunts for the assassin; before long the wildling woman spots him searching the encampment they used the night before.
She beckons him down to speak and from a safe distance tries to engage Geoff in meaningful conversation. But the assassin declines the offer, merely stating; "I want the archer."
"Is that all this is about?" Kysan'tel asks, but Geoff has already gone.
Once back with the rest of the party Kysan'tel realises that they must stop Geoff, set a trap and be rid of him once and for all. With the knowledge that Valorn is the target they decide to set him as bait. Wyrrin conceals herself, Grimbrand the dwarf stays close with Malarbor and Kysan'tel With the Cloak of Deception Kysan'tel alters her appearance to look like Valorn, then with a masterstroke casts a mirror image of herself to put ten Valorn clones into the trap. Plo'Koon retreats eighty feet back and readies his sling.
Malarbor casts clarity and sees Geoff on a ridge one hundred feet above them. There is no time to hesitate; Kysan'tel is quicker than any of her companions and lights up the assassin with an accurate lightning bolt. This is followed immediately by Valorn's arrow of fireball and suddenly their assailant is ablaze.
The archer does not waste a second and puts a second arrow (with augmented fire damage) into Geoff's open mouth, a mouth that tries to form a scream of agony. The arrow punctures the back of Geoff's skull and he falls in a blazing heap, his flesh now melting, his clothes fusing with skin and bone. But the party do not relent. The wildling Wyrrin and dwarf Grimbrand continue to attack. Plo'Koon hits the body with a sling bullet for good measure.
Malarbor casts spider climb on the dwarf and Grimbrand climbs up to examine the corpse…or at least what's left of it. He kicks the remains off the ridge to land at the party's feet and they hack it to pieces to find the loot. The fireball and lightning bolt combination destroyed much of the equipment but they manage to find a Ring of Shadows (150,000gp value) and a throwing dagger called Viper's Tongue (50,00gp value). Grimbrand takes the ring and Plo'Koon takes the dagger.
The dwarf tries to track the pup using the ring, and without really understanding it can feel the very rock talking to him. The rock know of Salazar's passing and that the pup was close.
They move on but realise - through Malarbor's clarity spell - that they are being watched by a pack of wolves. One is an enormous white-coated beast with red eyes. Grimbrand uses the ring to communicate with the white wolf (called Ulnar) and the wolf is friendly.
Ulnar is looking for a pup, a white furred red-eyed princeling, and gives Geoff his real name…Salazar. Finally, the party know his name, but Ulnar tells them that he is part of a society of dark assassins that have - for a reason they cannot understand - taken the pup. "I thank you for slaying the thief,"
Ulnar says, "but I need to ask your help in tracking the others."
Kysan'tel sends up her crow familiar and soon spots four more assassins hurrying north a few miles away. She gives this information to the white wolf and the pack sprint away in hot pursuit. Kysan'tel casts mount and follows them; the crow keeping a close watch on proceedings, giving the wildling a grandstand view.
On one of the four assassin's backs is a sack containing the wriggling wolf pup. The leader barks an instruction to one of his killers and that man falls back to await the wolves. He sets traps, spikes and spears and watches with bow in hand as the wolves approach. Kysan'tel witnesses the whole scenario. Whilst the five normal wolves approach the white wolf appears magically behind the killer and bites a huge section from the killer's torso, exposing a gaping hole in his side. Ulnar then almost nonchalantly swipes a paw at the killer to rip out his throat and slay him instantly.
Kysan'tel follows the three remaining killers. Two of them fall back and disappear into the snow. Kysan'tel has no way to warn them as she is too far away; and when the two assassins do emerge it is to hamstring two of the normal wolves. But these two are set upon brutally by the remaining wolves and do not last long.
Eventually Kysan'tel catches up to the action. The scene is a distressing one for the wolves as the last killer holds up the pup and has a knife at its throat, his dead eyes regarding the circling wolves without emotion. It is a dangerous stand-off. Kysan'tel goes wraith form and slips into the rock in an attempt to get behind the assassin. This she manages and Ulnar ensures the wolves distract the killer enough not to notice.
Kysan'tel wraps her scourge round the killer's throat and squeezes, along with a few whispered words as she tries to hypnotize him into letting the pup go. The irony is not lost on the assassin, whose own preferred method of death - like Geoff (or Salazar) before him - is strangulation. The wildling's words are subtle enough to make the killer drop the knife and then there is no hope for him. With a knee in his back, Kysan'tel uses every ounce of her enormous strength to tighten the scourge. Such is her power that the assassin's head is torn from his shoulders.
The pup is safe.
With a tear in his eye Ulnar projects a thought into the wildling's head. "I am forever in your debt."
Valorn and Malarbor come upon the first assassin and decide to search the body. But the assassins have booby trapped their clothes. Luckily for Valorn the stoneskin spell prevents him from being hurt but Malarbor is not so fortunate; he feels the slight sharp pain in his finger as a virulent poison enters his bloodstream. It acts rapidly. Soon his face swells and he cannot breathe.
Grimbrand begs Ulnar to help and the white wolf surveys the scene critically. In a flash the wolf's fangs puncture the battle mage's throat and Malarbor dies in seconds.
The party recoil in horror but Ulnar is calm and projects thoughts to all of them. "It was the humane thing to do. The poison is called Rivers of Blood and there is no antidote…only a swift and painful death."
They burn the rest of the bodies. From the ashes they find a vial of poison (Rivers of Blood) which Kysan'tel takes and a magical Dagger of the Pit (25,000gp value) which none of the party fancy so Kysan'tel takes that as well.
The wildling Kysan'tel decides that she will head further north to her homeland, leaving the rest of the party to discuss their future. "Let's head for the capital," Valorn says brightly, his mood lifted after the death of his adversary Geoff (Salazar). "Castle Stormstone is supposed to be nice this time of year…"