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Company of Chaos - All Around Golarion
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<blockquote data-quote="Lwaxy" data-source="post: 5826127" data-attributes="member: 53286"><p><strong>The Chasm of Screams - PF Scenario 2-14</strong></p><p></p><p>Bjön had found Teltz back at the inn, and relayed to him all that had happened. The bard had put up a good show of mourning about his lost son. The news about them not being able to travel through Molthune anytime soon was depressing to Teltz, as it meant they would have to travel half through the Inner Sea region to meet up with the others. Back with a boat the way the paladin had come would have probably drawn too much attention, so they settled on the long journey with a heavy heart. While the dwarf was about sending a message all the long way by river to Macridi to the temple of Desna there – something they had agreed on while on the island just in case – about not coming up to Druma but going to Falcon's Hollow directly, Teltz had more bad news in the matter of the folks pursuing him and Samin. Not only had they found their way here, they were, supposedly, already aware of where he was staying. News of the island adventure had traveled fast among the interested parties, and while the Pathfinders in the city were none too happy about the supposed failure of the mission, they were at least relieved to hear that the cult members, too, had vanished. </p><p></p><p>Bjön came back all excited. It happened that one of the Pathfinder's high profile members was in a bit of a bind, needing some parts for a cure of an afflicted friend. Said cure had supposedly been crafted by a good friend and was now ready to be picked up. The group that was supposed to do the pick up had been in some magical battle and wouldn't be able to do it in time, so the job had been offered to Bjö and "any aid he could procure." Obviously, this was referring to Teltz. This in itself might have been an annoyance rather than helpful, as Bjön was not really in a position to refuse a high ranking member of his society. But the pickup location was right on their path around Molthune. Additionally, a teleport beacon and a wizard capable of using those would place them right there, and the beacon could also return the materials without their need to come all the way back. Teleports were expensive, and they had already tried to find someone able to get them at least to Kraggodan, with no success. </p><p></p><p>Teltz, who had been packing their stuff including additional warm clothes, listened carefully. His spirits perked up when the dwarf mentioned their destination was "way into Nidal and halfway down Molthune," as the paladin jokingly put it. "But if the stuff can be sent by a teleport beacon, why send anyone at all?" he inquired. </p><p></p><p>Bjön held up a small scroll,. More like a paper token. "Because this has to be put on it. The woman we are looking to pick up from was supposed to own one, but she was described as prone to losing such things, which is why they arranged for pickup to begin with."</p><p></p><p>"Alright, then," Teltz agreed. "Sounds pretty much routine to me. I don't suppose we get paid?"</p><p></p><p>"No, but we get a free teleport cutting weeks from the journey. We might arrive in Falcon's hollow same time as the others."</p><p></p><p>Teltz nodded. He had not been able to find out much about Falcon's Hollow yet, save that it was some sort of lumber town ruled by some evil sounding company, which was probably why the kobolds needed some help. He was eager to go there, fix whatever was amiss and probably settle there for a while if it proved safe enough. </p><p></p><p>The same afternoon, they met with the mentioned Pathfinder, a druid, at an exclusive teleport point used by Pathfinders only. Even Bjön had not known about it until now. As advised, they were dressed in their warmest clothes, despite there being little snow in Nirmathas yet. But, so Teltz thought, there were certainly colder areas already, and maybe their destination was known for cold. </p><p></p><p>He was definitely right. They emerged in a swirl of snowflakes driven by a piercing cold wind. As it looked like, they were standing on a mountain trail covered in medium high snow. Glints of sunlight darted through the clutching, skeletal branches of towering yellow pines. The incline softened into a small dell, set against the backdrop of the gray, toothy peaks of immense mountains. Near the center of the clearing stood a small hovel of rough basalt stones, neatly covered with sod to protect it from the mountain’s wintery chill. </p><p></p><p>The bard took in their surroundings in awe, then he turned to the dwarf. "Where, in Desna's name, are we?" He mentally kicked himself for not having asked about it earlier. </p><p></p><p>"Ah... Mindspin Mountains," Bjön grinned. But no problem, see, there is the den of the beast... err the woman... already."</p><p></p><p>"Mindspin... hey, around this time of year this is not a place..." But the dwarf was already moving to the fenced in yard of the hovel. A minute or two later, they were standing in front of the door. No one answered their knocks. Not too surprising, as they had not been announced. A sickly yellow glow emanated from the grease-smeared windows Teltz peeked in through, leaving the rooms dim and shadowy. The illumination highlighted a small table of rough-cut pine in the main room. A note rested atop the table, weighted in place by a small soapstone figurine carved to resemble a seahawk.</p><p></p><p>"Looks like she left a note. Is the door open?"</p><p></p><p>The paladin tried and nodded. It opened smoothly without as much as a squeak, and they found themselves in a small room used for storage and work, as it looked like by the tablke and chairs filled with tools of skinning and hunting. The next room was barely separated from this one, but as they moved in, Teltz' sense of danger went up. "Something is wrong," he announced. </p><p></p><p>Bjön nodded and moved over to the note under the figurine. "Just gibberish it looks like. And there is a string set, looks like some sort of trap." </p><p></p><p>Teltz followed the string and found a simple, but effective, explosive trap set to destroy the main beam of the room so it would collapse. "Who is this woman trying to trap? Surely not us." </p><p></p><p>"Don't think it was her," Bjön mused and pointed to the ground. Some barely discernable boot prints, much larger than that of a normal woman, could be made out. </p><p></p><p>"So, someone else tries to trap her in her own home?" Teltz went to disarm the trap carefully. </p><p></p><p>"For some reason I do not think she would fall for that," the paladin mused. </p><p></p><p>"Well, what now? Think something happened to her? If so, we are not likely to find out what, in this weather. We should probably just stay here, there is food and wood and a bed wide enough for both of us," Teltz said, pointing into the bedroom. "And magic light to boot to save us from the constant smell of candles."</p><p></p><p>The paladin looked at a loss. "Yeah, well, it seems a good option, better than trying to camp out there anyway. We just need to be careful. I'll check the area for evil, anyway." Bjön nodded at Teltz and went outside for a moment, to see if there was any evil to detect close by. </p><p></p><p>Teltz had a good look around and then started to get the ingredients for a strong herbal tea together. Just when he was about to heat the water he heard shouts and the sound of steel on steel outside. Drawing his short sword, he went for the door just when Bjön came back in, pushing an unkempt, bearded short human clad in warm furs into the work room. Then he threw the bundle of his captive, including a longsword and a bow, into a corner. </p><p></p><p>"Look what the dwarf dragged in," the human said and put his sword away. "And who do we have here?"</p><p></p><p>"No idea yet, found him sneaking up to the windows. By my guess, to find out why the trap was not sprung." The paladin looked sternly down onto the man. "You better tell us everything you know, or, I swear by Desna, you will regret it."</p><p></p><p>The stranger seemed to recognize him as a paladin or, at least, someone in the graces of a divine power. Slowly, he moved back towards the wall, looking from his captor to the bard and back. "I just watch," he tried to talk himself out of the situation. </p><p></p><p>"Yeah, because we believe that," Teltz snorted, going over the possessions of the man. Some magic oils, he noted, so the guy could hardly be the barbarian out of the woods he seemed to be. Maybe he had been hired. Other than that, it looked like he hadn't traveled far to get here. "You have a camp nearby, don't you? How many of you, and what do you want?"</p><p></p><p>"There is just me!" The captive grew nervous by the moment. "I just watch."</p><p></p><p>"So, you were left to watch this place. For who? Where is the owner of the house?" Teltz looked to the dwarf, not even knowing the name. </p><p></p><p>"Eya," Bjön helped out. "Where is the human woman who lived here?"</p><p></p><p>"I just watch.." the man tried again, but the paladin took a step closer and suddenly seemed to glow in a divine light. Teltz, who could see from his point of view that the paladin was just using the magical light in the room to his advantage, could barely hide a grin. "In the chasm," the barbarian rushed out. "They kill me if I tell you. In the chasm..."</p><p></p><p>Teltz shook his head. "We know little of this place, so why don't you just show us where your camp is and tell us from the beginning?"</p><p></p><p>Staring at the paladin, the fur clad guy nodded quickly. "They kill me," he weakly replied, obviously believing the paladin would do the same if he didn't answer their questions. Teltz opened the door, grabbing his stuff to set out for yet another unplanned trek, this time in snow and wind in mountains he did not know. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Just a quick pick up, for sure." He locked the door magically and followed. </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>The camp was a short way up the slope among pine trees and bare branched birches. Within this section of the wood were the ruins of a small settlement. Heavily overgrown, only the crumbling </p><p>foundations of several small huts provided evidence of its existence. Within one of the foundations, a small, man-made clearing concealed the scattered remnants of a hastily fled campsite. Snow had been thrown upon the coals, though they were still warm, and indents in the ground marked the sleeping locations of at least four individuals. Near the fire rested a small woodpile and a sack with some candles, a half-day’s rations, and a few other mundane possessions. From a nearby tree dangled a makeshift birdcage, crudely woven from saplings, in the blowing wind. A raven with a broken wing was in it. </p><p></p><p>"What's this?" Teltz exclaimed, disgusted. "You either kill and eat an animal or you leave it alone." As he went over to take the unconscious, but still living, bird out of the cage, the barbarian mumbled something about talking witch birds. A familiar, maybe, the bard wondered. </p><p></p><p>On the way here, the captive had made little sense, just going on about taking the witch woman on the orders of their mistress. He was obviously very afraid about revenge of that woman if he talked, and implied everyone else in his tribe would feel the same. To Bjön, it did sound a lot like an evil entity taking advantage of the less civilized and less capable inhabitants of this region. </p><p></p><p>Pushing the captive, who had his hands bound tightly, to the ground, Bjön went to check the campsite. He found a small sack of the sort they had seen in the hut, but before he could search further, Teltz came over with the bird. "I was thinking of putting it out of its misery, but it may be a familiar. Maybe you can heal it?" </p><p></p><p>Slightly at a loss, having never healed anything that small, Bjön carefully took the raven in his hands. Before he could think about if this would work at all, the divine magic granted to him by Desna already went to work. A golden glow surrounded the bird, and the wing mended. It woke up, too, looking distinctly disoriented, but it was obviously tame. </p><p></p><p>Bjön wanted to give the bird back to Teltz. When he turned, he heard a muffled curse and saw the bard sprawled out on the ground. He rolled over, rubbing his leg. "Darn snow was covering up a box."</p><p></p><p>Indeed, an old, rusted box peeked out of the snow. It was too old to have anything to do with their matter at hand, but the dwarf's Pathfinder senses awoke. "We take that along, too. He can carry it. It is getting dark and colder, and the bird and us, too, need some warmth."</p><p></p><p>"What about him?" Teltz pointed. The captive was shaking slightly. </p><p></p><p>"We can tie him up outside, maybe Desna will let him live through the night," Bjön growled. He didn't mean it of course, it was just to show Teltz that they had no choice but to keep him inside, too. But the man, who had given his name as Aran Thokskaw, hunter of the mountains, did not know that. He only knew there were two people able to wield magic, a power hardly anyone in his tribe had. And one of them had a direct line to one of the many gods. "I was just watching," he mumbled again as Teltz dragged hip upright, putting the rusted box in his outstretched arms. The barbarian had trouble not to let it drop but he somehow managed to keep the balance despite having his hands bound. </p><p></p><p>Teltz had little sympathy for the guy. Forced or not, they had abducted the woman they had come for and thus possibly made their mission unaccomplishable. Worse, it delayed everything, including their leave from here to wherever Eya would have been capable of sending them to. </p><p></p><p>The hovel was as they had left it, with the fire the bard had started before they had left still burning. Teltz put on another log and went to make that tea – only for the two of them of course – while an impatient Bjön secured the prisoner, tying him between two heavy crates. The box he had carried was on the working table now. Then he pried the rusty lock of the box open with his dagger. Inside, he found a crumbling leather-bound journal.</p><p></p><p>Before he could open it, the bard set the tea and some bread and cheese he had found on the table in the main room. "Hey, the raven is awake," he said. </p><p></p><p>"Vetta," the bird cried out. "I Vetta."</p><p></p><p>"So it is a familiar, then." The dwarf sat and started on the food while they listened to the weird speech pattern of the raven, </p><p></p><p>Vetta had been out of the hovel, flying about the forest when several men came and attacked her mistress. As she raced back to the hovel, the agents knocked Eya unconscious and Vaetta lost contact with her. She arrived just in time to witness the barbarians dragging her mistress off. The raven did her best to tail the agents and was able to safely follow them back to their campsite where she flew in close enough to observe them, and once in range, she again began to sense Eya. Soon after, the agents began talking about taking her to a place called the Chasm of Screams. Upon mention of the Chasm, Vaetta felt Eya flood with fear. Without warning, one of the agents knocked Eya unconscious again, and they broke camp and dragged her off with them. At that point, one of </p><p>the men spotted the raven and shot her. That’s all Vaetta remembered. Her panic was evident, her confusion as well. The insistence that the two of them help her mistress was touching, but there was nothing to be done this night. Snow was falling heavily now, and it was getting dark quickly. </p><p></p><p>Bjön instead perused the book, ignoring all questions and pleas from their captive. The journal recounted harrowing tales of icy winters, disease, and starving Eagle Knight operatives. In later entries, the soldiers became haunted by frightful dreams that led them to a strange location they called the Chasm of Screams. Over the next few months, those drawn to the cave went mad, broke from the settlement, and began systematically hunting and eating their kin.</p><p></p><p>Bjön read the most relevant parts out loud. "Must be the same chasm. Now we know what happened to the settlement, and why Eya was so afraid, according to Vetta."</p><p></p><p>"You don't really think it is a good idea for us to go there, do you?" Teltz inquired. He was all for aiding those in need, but by no means self destructive.</p><p></p><p>"A good idea? No, but it is what my path dictates me to do." The paladin turned to the prisoner. "Tell us all you know about this chasm. And hurry up, we need to catch some sleep." Teltz unpacked a small flute from his pack and started playing a certain melody he used to assure he would know truth from lie. For the captive, it was just a nice tune and it calmed his panic to boot. </p><p></p><p>About an hour or two later, the two of them were not much the wiser. Supposedly a wonder of nature, the chasm attracted the curiosities of local tribes who braved its wind-haunted labyrinths to test </p><p>the fortitude of their best warriors. Few returned from the brutal and grueling trial, while those who did return were driven mad. These individuals soon broke from the sunlit lands of their birth and descended deep into the gloomy caves. Collectively, their existence formed the basis for later rumors </p><p>that cannibalistic tribes dwelt within, and that the chasm’s horrific screams came from the spirits of their victims. Aran didn't understand when both the paladin and the bard scoffed at a tribe wasting their best warriors in tests of pointless courage. "It always was like that," he simply stated.</p><p></p><p>A while ago, however, the situation had changed and something had moved into the chasm. From the barbarian's description of an ice-woman, they could not quite get what this woman probably was. Several things came to mind, but Aran was unable to describe her in a useful way. She made the tribes worship her ad bring her sacrifices. Anyone not complying would just end up as a sacrifice, too. </p><p></p><p>When they finally went to bed, Teltz could sense Bjön's just anger at the evil lurking... well, wherever the chasm was. A typical paladin, the bard mused silently. Well, typical at least in such matters. There was, however a very good possibility that they would be unable to do anything about the monster, and he said so. </p><p></p><p>Bjön looked at the older man with resignation. He would have liked to tell him that Desna would prevent him from failing, but he had seen with other paladins that this was not always the case. He would have liked to inspire the bard – as weird as that felt – to go into this with all they had, but he had to admit they did not have much. So he just nodded and went to bed without more words. Teltz had seen more from the world, and it would be unwise and also impolite to rebuff him just now. </p><p></p><p>Somehow, they both managed to catch some sleep. The next morning dawned bright and calm, and they went through their supplies, seeing what they might be able to use. Luckily, they had the most of the magical and protective stuff of their group. This made Teltz worry about Samin, though, and he had to force himself to focus on the matter at hand. </p><p></p><p>Aran led them on, always looking about nervously as if some member of his tribe or the other would jump out from the forest and kill him. From what they had learned, before any such thing would happen, he was more likely to go down with an arrow in his throat. </p><p></p><p>Walking in deep snow was not a fun thing to do for either of them, not even talking of the trail they left. There had been no snow shoes, and Teltz wouldn't have known how to use them anyway. Both of them were tired already and slightly sweaty under their clothes when they first heard the noise. The wind picked up again, too, as they drew nearer. The familiar, Vaetta, was all upset now, and claimed she was able to sense her badly injured mistress. </p><p></p><p>Even from a distance, the strange and horrid screaming echoed unnervingly through the mountains, drowning the silence and driving away living creatures, leaving the snowy hillside lifeless. Along the baseline of the mountain’s face where its roots wedged into its neighboring peak, a gaping chasm opened from which the howling emanated. Here, its wretched wail belched forth in frigid, almost gale-force blasts. It was about impossible to hear anything else. </p><p></p><p>"What a weird entrance," Teltz shouted. Before he could ask what to do about Aran now, he noticed 3 more humans huddled in furs close to the maw around a fire. They looked to be guards. Bjön waved his hands around; it took the bard a moment to understand that, since they had not been noticed yet coming just out of the forest and the noise covering their approach, they should surprise them. The paladin readied his weapons, but Teltz grabbed his arm and shook his head. "Do you really want to fight in this snow and wind?" he mouthed. Bjön blinked, then understood and nodded, watching the bard getting into his spell component pouch. A few seconds later, the figures slumped over, barely avoiding rolling into the fire. A snore loud enough to be heard over the wind once they were closer showed that they were all deeply asleep. </p><p></p><p>"What to do with them now?" Teltz shouted, ignoring the amazed stares of their first captive. He quickly searched their pockets and found a few potions and oils, just like they had with Aran. </p><p></p><p>"Help me," the paladin shouted back. With amazing skill, as if he had done this a lot of times before, the dwarf build a makeshift cold shelter from snow and a ´few rocks. Then he motioned for the now bound with their own ropes sleepers to be brought inside. "No one can see them easily, and they are safe from the cold winds," he shouted. "Now for Aran..." </p><p></p><p>Before Teltz could ask if he should use a sleep spell again – not his favorite choice as it meant losing a spell that might come in handy again – Bjön drove his first into the base of the once more kneeling barbarian's neck. The man dropped like a fly. Teltz was about to ask how to do that and where to learn it, but then shrugged and helped deposit him with the others. Certainly, Bjön was not your usual paladin, and the bard had seen quite a few of them. </p><p></p><p>Moving into the maw proved difficult; the winds knocked them both over once or twice before they made it into the tunnel. Once inside, the force of the "air gone wild" as the dwarf cursed, lessened significantly. The howling decreased as well. The tunnel leading from the chasm maw ended at a shallow pit before making a sharp bend upward. Hundreds of bones lined the bottom of the pit. Every now and then, a cyclone-like swirl of wind mixed with icy shards and snow formed in different places. </p><p></p><p>"I don't quite like the sight of this," Teltz shivered, despite the warm clothes.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Lwaxy, post: 5826127, member: 53286"] [b]The Chasm of Screams - PF Scenario 2-14[/b] Bjön had found Teltz back at the inn, and relayed to him all that had happened. The bard had put up a good show of mourning about his lost son. The news about them not being able to travel through Molthune anytime soon was depressing to Teltz, as it meant they would have to travel half through the Inner Sea region to meet up with the others. Back with a boat the way the paladin had come would have probably drawn too much attention, so they settled on the long journey with a heavy heart. While the dwarf was about sending a message all the long way by river to Macridi to the temple of Desna there – something they had agreed on while on the island just in case – about not coming up to Druma but going to Falcon's Hollow directly, Teltz had more bad news in the matter of the folks pursuing him and Samin. Not only had they found their way here, they were, supposedly, already aware of where he was staying. News of the island adventure had traveled fast among the interested parties, and while the Pathfinders in the city were none too happy about the supposed failure of the mission, they were at least relieved to hear that the cult members, too, had vanished. Bjön came back all excited. It happened that one of the Pathfinder's high profile members was in a bit of a bind, needing some parts for a cure of an afflicted friend. Said cure had supposedly been crafted by a good friend and was now ready to be picked up. The group that was supposed to do the pick up had been in some magical battle and wouldn't be able to do it in time, so the job had been offered to Bjö and "any aid he could procure." Obviously, this was referring to Teltz. This in itself might have been an annoyance rather than helpful, as Bjön was not really in a position to refuse a high ranking member of his society. But the pickup location was right on their path around Molthune. Additionally, a teleport beacon and a wizard capable of using those would place them right there, and the beacon could also return the materials without their need to come all the way back. Teleports were expensive, and they had already tried to find someone able to get them at least to Kraggodan, with no success. Teltz, who had been packing their stuff including additional warm clothes, listened carefully. His spirits perked up when the dwarf mentioned their destination was "way into Nidal and halfway down Molthune," as the paladin jokingly put it. "But if the stuff can be sent by a teleport beacon, why send anyone at all?" he inquired. Bjön held up a small scroll,. More like a paper token. "Because this has to be put on it. The woman we are looking to pick up from was supposed to own one, but she was described as prone to losing such things, which is why they arranged for pickup to begin with." "Alright, then," Teltz agreed. "Sounds pretty much routine to me. I don't suppose we get paid?" "No, but we get a free teleport cutting weeks from the journey. We might arrive in Falcon's hollow same time as the others." Teltz nodded. He had not been able to find out much about Falcon's Hollow yet, save that it was some sort of lumber town ruled by some evil sounding company, which was probably why the kobolds needed some help. He was eager to go there, fix whatever was amiss and probably settle there for a while if it proved safe enough. The same afternoon, they met with the mentioned Pathfinder, a druid, at an exclusive teleport point used by Pathfinders only. Even Bjön had not known about it until now. As advised, they were dressed in their warmest clothes, despite there being little snow in Nirmathas yet. But, so Teltz thought, there were certainly colder areas already, and maybe their destination was known for cold. He was definitely right. They emerged in a swirl of snowflakes driven by a piercing cold wind. As it looked like, they were standing on a mountain trail covered in medium high snow. Glints of sunlight darted through the clutching, skeletal branches of towering yellow pines. The incline softened into a small dell, set against the backdrop of the gray, toothy peaks of immense mountains. Near the center of the clearing stood a small hovel of rough basalt stones, neatly covered with sod to protect it from the mountain’s wintery chill. The bard took in their surroundings in awe, then he turned to the dwarf. "Where, in Desna's name, are we?" He mentally kicked himself for not having asked about it earlier. "Ah... Mindspin Mountains," Bjön grinned. But no problem, see, there is the den of the beast... err the woman... already." "Mindspin... hey, around this time of year this is not a place..." But the dwarf was already moving to the fenced in yard of the hovel. A minute or two later, they were standing in front of the door. No one answered their knocks. Not too surprising, as they had not been announced. A sickly yellow glow emanated from the grease-smeared windows Teltz peeked in through, leaving the rooms dim and shadowy. The illumination highlighted a small table of rough-cut pine in the main room. A note rested atop the table, weighted in place by a small soapstone figurine carved to resemble a seahawk. "Looks like she left a note. Is the door open?" The paladin tried and nodded. It opened smoothly without as much as a squeak, and they found themselves in a small room used for storage and work, as it looked like by the tablke and chairs filled with tools of skinning and hunting. The next room was barely separated from this one, but as they moved in, Teltz' sense of danger went up. "Something is wrong," he announced. Bjön nodded and moved over to the note under the figurine. "Just gibberish it looks like. And there is a string set, looks like some sort of trap." Teltz followed the string and found a simple, but effective, explosive trap set to destroy the main beam of the room so it would collapse. "Who is this woman trying to trap? Surely not us." "Don't think it was her," Bjön mused and pointed to the ground. Some barely discernable boot prints, much larger than that of a normal woman, could be made out. "So, someone else tries to trap her in her own home?" Teltz went to disarm the trap carefully. "For some reason I do not think she would fall for that," the paladin mused. "Well, what now? Think something happened to her? If so, we are not likely to find out what, in this weather. We should probably just stay here, there is food and wood and a bed wide enough for both of us," Teltz said, pointing into the bedroom. "And magic light to boot to save us from the constant smell of candles." The paladin looked at a loss. "Yeah, well, it seems a good option, better than trying to camp out there anyway. We just need to be careful. I'll check the area for evil, anyway." Bjön nodded at Teltz and went outside for a moment, to see if there was any evil to detect close by. Teltz had a good look around and then started to get the ingredients for a strong herbal tea together. Just when he was about to heat the water he heard shouts and the sound of steel on steel outside. Drawing his short sword, he went for the door just when Bjön came back in, pushing an unkempt, bearded short human clad in warm furs into the work room. Then he threw the bundle of his captive, including a longsword and a bow, into a corner. "Look what the dwarf dragged in," the human said and put his sword away. "And who do we have here?" "No idea yet, found him sneaking up to the windows. By my guess, to find out why the trap was not sprung." The paladin looked sternly down onto the man. "You better tell us everything you know, or, I swear by Desna, you will regret it." The stranger seemed to recognize him as a paladin or, at least, someone in the graces of a divine power. Slowly, he moved back towards the wall, looking from his captor to the bard and back. "I just watch," he tried to talk himself out of the situation. "Yeah, because we believe that," Teltz snorted, going over the possessions of the man. Some magic oils, he noted, so the guy could hardly be the barbarian out of the woods he seemed to be. Maybe he had been hired. Other than that, it looked like he hadn't traveled far to get here. "You have a camp nearby, don't you? How many of you, and what do you want?" "There is just me!" The captive grew nervous by the moment. "I just watch." "So, you were left to watch this place. For who? Where is the owner of the house?" Teltz looked to the dwarf, not even knowing the name. "Eya," Bjön helped out. "Where is the human woman who lived here?" "I just watch.." the man tried again, but the paladin took a step closer and suddenly seemed to glow in a divine light. Teltz, who could see from his point of view that the paladin was just using the magical light in the room to his advantage, could barely hide a grin. "In the chasm," the barbarian rushed out. "They kill me if I tell you. In the chasm..." Teltz shook his head. "We know little of this place, so why don't you just show us where your camp is and tell us from the beginning?" Staring at the paladin, the fur clad guy nodded quickly. "They kill me," he weakly replied, obviously believing the paladin would do the same if he didn't answer their questions. Teltz opened the door, grabbing his stuff to set out for yet another unplanned trek, this time in snow and wind in mountains he did not know. "Yeah," he mumbled. "Just a quick pick up, for sure." He locked the door magically and followed. The camp was a short way up the slope among pine trees and bare branched birches. Within this section of the wood were the ruins of a small settlement. Heavily overgrown, only the crumbling foundations of several small huts provided evidence of its existence. Within one of the foundations, a small, man-made clearing concealed the scattered remnants of a hastily fled campsite. Snow had been thrown upon the coals, though they were still warm, and indents in the ground marked the sleeping locations of at least four individuals. Near the fire rested a small woodpile and a sack with some candles, a half-day’s rations, and a few other mundane possessions. From a nearby tree dangled a makeshift birdcage, crudely woven from saplings, in the blowing wind. A raven with a broken wing was in it. "What's this?" Teltz exclaimed, disgusted. "You either kill and eat an animal or you leave it alone." As he went over to take the unconscious, but still living, bird out of the cage, the barbarian mumbled something about talking witch birds. A familiar, maybe, the bard wondered. On the way here, the captive had made little sense, just going on about taking the witch woman on the orders of their mistress. He was obviously very afraid about revenge of that woman if he talked, and implied everyone else in his tribe would feel the same. To Bjön, it did sound a lot like an evil entity taking advantage of the less civilized and less capable inhabitants of this region. Pushing the captive, who had his hands bound tightly, to the ground, Bjön went to check the campsite. He found a small sack of the sort they had seen in the hut, but before he could search further, Teltz came over with the bird. "I was thinking of putting it out of its misery, but it may be a familiar. Maybe you can heal it?" Slightly at a loss, having never healed anything that small, Bjön carefully took the raven in his hands. Before he could think about if this would work at all, the divine magic granted to him by Desna already went to work. A golden glow surrounded the bird, and the wing mended. It woke up, too, looking distinctly disoriented, but it was obviously tame. Bjön wanted to give the bird back to Teltz. When he turned, he heard a muffled curse and saw the bard sprawled out on the ground. He rolled over, rubbing his leg. "Darn snow was covering up a box." Indeed, an old, rusted box peeked out of the snow. It was too old to have anything to do with their matter at hand, but the dwarf's Pathfinder senses awoke. "We take that along, too. He can carry it. It is getting dark and colder, and the bird and us, too, need some warmth." "What about him?" Teltz pointed. The captive was shaking slightly. "We can tie him up outside, maybe Desna will let him live through the night," Bjön growled. He didn't mean it of course, it was just to show Teltz that they had no choice but to keep him inside, too. But the man, who had given his name as Aran Thokskaw, hunter of the mountains, did not know that. He only knew there were two people able to wield magic, a power hardly anyone in his tribe had. And one of them had a direct line to one of the many gods. "I was just watching," he mumbled again as Teltz dragged hip upright, putting the rusted box in his outstretched arms. The barbarian had trouble not to let it drop but he somehow managed to keep the balance despite having his hands bound. Teltz had little sympathy for the guy. Forced or not, they had abducted the woman they had come for and thus possibly made their mission unaccomplishable. Worse, it delayed everything, including their leave from here to wherever Eya would have been capable of sending them to. The hovel was as they had left it, with the fire the bard had started before they had left still burning. Teltz put on another log and went to make that tea – only for the two of them of course – while an impatient Bjön secured the prisoner, tying him between two heavy crates. The box he had carried was on the working table now. Then he pried the rusty lock of the box open with his dagger. Inside, he found a crumbling leather-bound journal. Before he could open it, the bard set the tea and some bread and cheese he had found on the table in the main room. "Hey, the raven is awake," he said. "Vetta," the bird cried out. "I Vetta." "So it is a familiar, then." The dwarf sat and started on the food while they listened to the weird speech pattern of the raven, Vetta had been out of the hovel, flying about the forest when several men came and attacked her mistress. As she raced back to the hovel, the agents knocked Eya unconscious and Vaetta lost contact with her. She arrived just in time to witness the barbarians dragging her mistress off. The raven did her best to tail the agents and was able to safely follow them back to their campsite where she flew in close enough to observe them, and once in range, she again began to sense Eya. Soon after, the agents began talking about taking her to a place called the Chasm of Screams. Upon mention of the Chasm, Vaetta felt Eya flood with fear. Without warning, one of the agents knocked Eya unconscious again, and they broke camp and dragged her off with them. At that point, one of the men spotted the raven and shot her. That’s all Vaetta remembered. Her panic was evident, her confusion as well. The insistence that the two of them help her mistress was touching, but there was nothing to be done this night. Snow was falling heavily now, and it was getting dark quickly. Bjön instead perused the book, ignoring all questions and pleas from their captive. The journal recounted harrowing tales of icy winters, disease, and starving Eagle Knight operatives. In later entries, the soldiers became haunted by frightful dreams that led them to a strange location they called the Chasm of Screams. Over the next few months, those drawn to the cave went mad, broke from the settlement, and began systematically hunting and eating their kin. Bjön read the most relevant parts out loud. "Must be the same chasm. Now we know what happened to the settlement, and why Eya was so afraid, according to Vetta." "You don't really think it is a good idea for us to go there, do you?" Teltz inquired. He was all for aiding those in need, but by no means self destructive. "A good idea? No, but it is what my path dictates me to do." The paladin turned to the prisoner. "Tell us all you know about this chasm. And hurry up, we need to catch some sleep." Teltz unpacked a small flute from his pack and started playing a certain melody he used to assure he would know truth from lie. For the captive, it was just a nice tune and it calmed his panic to boot. About an hour or two later, the two of them were not much the wiser. Supposedly a wonder of nature, the chasm attracted the curiosities of local tribes who braved its wind-haunted labyrinths to test the fortitude of their best warriors. Few returned from the brutal and grueling trial, while those who did return were driven mad. These individuals soon broke from the sunlit lands of their birth and descended deep into the gloomy caves. Collectively, their existence formed the basis for later rumors that cannibalistic tribes dwelt within, and that the chasm’s horrific screams came from the spirits of their victims. Aran didn't understand when both the paladin and the bard scoffed at a tribe wasting their best warriors in tests of pointless courage. "It always was like that," he simply stated. A while ago, however, the situation had changed and something had moved into the chasm. From the barbarian's description of an ice-woman, they could not quite get what this woman probably was. Several things came to mind, but Aran was unable to describe her in a useful way. She made the tribes worship her ad bring her sacrifices. Anyone not complying would just end up as a sacrifice, too. When they finally went to bed, Teltz could sense Bjön's just anger at the evil lurking... well, wherever the chasm was. A typical paladin, the bard mused silently. Well, typical at least in such matters. There was, however a very good possibility that they would be unable to do anything about the monster, and he said so. Bjön looked at the older man with resignation. He would have liked to tell him that Desna would prevent him from failing, but he had seen with other paladins that this was not always the case. He would have liked to inspire the bard – as weird as that felt – to go into this with all they had, but he had to admit they did not have much. So he just nodded and went to bed without more words. Teltz had seen more from the world, and it would be unwise and also impolite to rebuff him just now. Somehow, they both managed to catch some sleep. The next morning dawned bright and calm, and they went through their supplies, seeing what they might be able to use. Luckily, they had the most of the magical and protective stuff of their group. This made Teltz worry about Samin, though, and he had to force himself to focus on the matter at hand. Aran led them on, always looking about nervously as if some member of his tribe or the other would jump out from the forest and kill him. From what they had learned, before any such thing would happen, he was more likely to go down with an arrow in his throat. Walking in deep snow was not a fun thing to do for either of them, not even talking of the trail they left. There had been no snow shoes, and Teltz wouldn't have known how to use them anyway. Both of them were tired already and slightly sweaty under their clothes when they first heard the noise. The wind picked up again, too, as they drew nearer. The familiar, Vaetta, was all upset now, and claimed she was able to sense her badly injured mistress. Even from a distance, the strange and horrid screaming echoed unnervingly through the mountains, drowning the silence and driving away living creatures, leaving the snowy hillside lifeless. Along the baseline of the mountain’s face where its roots wedged into its neighboring peak, a gaping chasm opened from which the howling emanated. Here, its wretched wail belched forth in frigid, almost gale-force blasts. It was about impossible to hear anything else. "What a weird entrance," Teltz shouted. Before he could ask what to do about Aran now, he noticed 3 more humans huddled in furs close to the maw around a fire. They looked to be guards. Bjön waved his hands around; it took the bard a moment to understand that, since they had not been noticed yet coming just out of the forest and the noise covering their approach, they should surprise them. The paladin readied his weapons, but Teltz grabbed his arm and shook his head. "Do you really want to fight in this snow and wind?" he mouthed. Bjön blinked, then understood and nodded, watching the bard getting into his spell component pouch. A few seconds later, the figures slumped over, barely avoiding rolling into the fire. A snore loud enough to be heard over the wind once they were closer showed that they were all deeply asleep. "What to do with them now?" Teltz shouted, ignoring the amazed stares of their first captive. He quickly searched their pockets and found a few potions and oils, just like they had with Aran. "Help me," the paladin shouted back. With amazing skill, as if he had done this a lot of times before, the dwarf build a makeshift cold shelter from snow and a ´few rocks. Then he motioned for the now bound with their own ropes sleepers to be brought inside. "No one can see them easily, and they are safe from the cold winds," he shouted. "Now for Aran..." Before Teltz could ask if he should use a sleep spell again – not his favorite choice as it meant losing a spell that might come in handy again – Bjön drove his first into the base of the once more kneeling barbarian's neck. The man dropped like a fly. Teltz was about to ask how to do that and where to learn it, but then shrugged and helped deposit him with the others. Certainly, Bjön was not your usual paladin, and the bard had seen quite a few of them. Moving into the maw proved difficult; the winds knocked them both over once or twice before they made it into the tunnel. Once inside, the force of the "air gone wild" as the dwarf cursed, lessened significantly. The howling decreased as well. The tunnel leading from the chasm maw ended at a shallow pit before making a sharp bend upward. Hundreds of bones lined the bottom of the pit. Every now and then, a cyclone-like swirl of wind mixed with icy shards and snow formed in different places. "I don't quite like the sight of this," Teltz shivered, despite the warm clothes. [/QUOTE]
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