The Village Mystery Report

General Summary

Hudsi 14   Adaon has been researching elemental plane gates. He uses this to create an air portal that brings in a warm, gentle breeze that flows through Bear Keep and keeps the temperature pleasantly warm, ranging from 21 C in the basement to 16 C on the top floor. This, of course, makes it nice because they will not having freezing pipes or have to burn wood to heat the place.   Late in the day Ivan receives a petitioner. The person is representative of an outlying village named "Goat's Reach" (which is a mistranslated of "God's Reach" due to accents). Karl Pigherder is then put up and given a meal. Ivan says that he can stay until this is over and they will let him know that it is safe to return home. Our heroes gather their horses and supplies and head out, after Adaon reads the man's mind to find out where his village is.   After riding for 4 hours ahead the horses shy and don't want to go any further. Cyren speaks to them (as he can speak to horses, magically) and they tell him that there is danger under the snow ahead. Cyren calms them and the other two get off their horses and prepare for something attacking them. They search ahead, but can't see anything, so Adaon uses a spell to detect ahead. There is a snow snake hiding ahead.   Ivan uses his lightning bolt to flush it out, and it charges. Adaon casts a thunderclap spell that stuns it! Ivan slams his warhammer into its head, keeping it stunned, so he strikes again. He tries once more, barely missing. At this point Adaon has come up and he strikes it with his ablative ice spell, further stunning it. Ivan strikes again with all his might, smashing its skull. His hammer gets stuck in its skull, He wrenches on it hard, gore spurting out of the head, its final death throes cause Adaon to dance back, but Ivan slips, covered in brain matter and blood.   Now that it's dead, they discuss how to make sure it is still there when they return, as Adaon wants several parts of it for magical research and components.   Adaon takes the eyes, in the hopes that these are going to help him understand the python's heat detection. Of course, he doesn't know that they have separate sensors for this.   Hudsi 15   After travelling a couple of hours both Ivan and Adaon notice some strange ice formations ahead. Ivan thinks ahead and realizes that these are the traps of ice spiders. The traps themselves will freeze whatever touches them. As well, the spiders are known to nest in small groups and will pursue prey.   Ice Spiders: Will nest in groups of 3 to 12. Size 5-8. Con d6+8. Webs will freeze anything that touches them. Normally do not attack intelligent species, but will if caught in webs. Will attack anything that they deem a threat, unless it is overwhelming, in which case they will flee.   Adaon casts earthquake, severely damaging most of the webs. The spiders are flushed out, some repairing the webs, others scurrying in the bushes. Cyren shoots and kills one repairing the webs. Adaon starts burning the webs with Flame Hose. It is 1/3 as effective as normal. As this happens the spiders flee.   They start to ride through the area and Cyren notices something dark in the bushes. They dismount and start to walk towards it, Adaon burning the webs ahead of them. Then they see that it is the corpse of a "small" Bear-Bug.   They continue to the village.   Adaon creates the illusion of the child It wanders across town and nothing happens. Therefore, he creates another one. This time the child disappears, and no-one see what happened. They then see it 10 metres in the air! All three shoot at the creature carrying it, which they have a hard time seeing. Cyren hits it with the heavy crossbow so well that it plummets from the sky. They run to where the illusion child lay on the snow. The creature looks much like a gargoyle, and is as large as Cyren, plus wings. It is practically invisible against the snow.   Adaon realizes that this is a fiend, and that since it is not fading it is likely to regenerate and come back.   So, Ivan stick his warhammer through the wound, which will trap the creature on the ground. They carry it in to the Elderman and explain that it is a fiend and will not bother them again. They also warn about the spiders and explains how they can be useful and to travel in groups, as the spiders will flee from them then. Adaon explains that they will be working with the foresters to make signs warning of ice spider areas. They then decide that in the morning they will investigate the knight's tower.   "Murder is easy, it's figuring out who to murder that's hard." Ivan Thurisaz.

Created Content

Ice Spiders:
Will nest in groups of 3 to 12.
Size 5-8.
Con d6+8.
AGL: 1d6 plus 15
Webs will freeze anything that touches them. Normally do not attack intelligent species, but will if caught in webs. Will attack anything that they deem a threat, unless it is overwhelming, in which case they will flee. Bite releases a slow venom that will cause hypothermia. Will inject frozen/disabled victims with digestive juices that dissolve their insides so the spiders can eat them.