3.06 - On Ice part 2

General Summary

We started this session In Media Res. The warehouse froze to subzero then below. The floor became a lake of ice. Zizkek created a bonfire to warm the group from the cold. Shivering, the party huddled around and waited for what was coming. Then there she was, standing fully formed from the ice beneath them.   The Ice Woman was at the warehouse and she didn't want to talk, not really. She was beautiful and cold. A human in simple robes made entirely of ice. She said she wasn't here for them. That they weren't a part of this. Then she hurled a boulder of ice at Zizkek, AAlan, and Fae. Zizkek dodged into the fire, AALan and Fae took the boulder square on and were hurled back into the wall. AALan got a good spiritual paddle on her and Tol flung a large crate into her face. Cracks began to show on the woman and on the pillar of ice in the center of the room.   She reappeared and flung her own block of ice at the group. Fae and Tol were thrown back again. Fae retorted with a fierce charge, gliding on ice to tremendous speeds. The woman dodged. She swung again and she dodged again. But by then Zizkek was prepared. He hurled one fireball and then another, melting the woman where she stood.   The room thawed and with it the block of ice with the man inside. A slushy puddle was all that remained of the woman. Tol searched the puddle and found a scroll case with two pieces of paper, one an arcane spell the other a news clipping....   'Gang warfare breaks out in Backside as unknown group clears out The Den, home of the Pale Dogs' by Kadi Goodkind...   Meanwhile, the party finds the body in the middle of the ice is alive?! A grey man, gaunt, thin, tall, with an oblong head and large almond eyes. One eye is puckered and red from a scar. Soureye is this creature's name. He speaks mentally to the group. He wants to be left alone. He didn't do anything. She was the one to blame. He wants to leave. The party tries to stop him but are thrown back by a psychic force. Faezyre sneaks up and tackles him, forcing him to explain what his was rambling about.   Soureye tells them of a female reporter from the Watchtower, a newspaper on the island. She was investigating a connection between Harold Aces, owner of Aces High, and a place called Duskport. She was asking questions around the docks. Soureye claimes she was killed by his friends, but that he didn't have anything to do with it. Someone knocks on the door then and asks after them. The party helps Soureye slip away with a promise to help later.   Nick takes the group to a bar called the Grey Gull. There, they rest up and talk. Nick tells them that he learned from Sally Pricklebottom of her limited connection to the Ice Woman. That Miss Pricklebottom met the woman briefly before she walked into The Church. She was there as a missionary for the Church of the Orange God. Nick learned that Aces High is both a casino and the temple for this strange religion and that Harold Aces is at the center of it all.   Tol studies the scroll and learns that it is a component of a Simulacrum spell. He suspects that the Ice Woman has been modeled after the reporter, Kadi Goodkind, by someone powerful. He also warns that she may be back, and possibly many more than one.   With this, the party sends Nick off to The Watchtower to learn what he can of Kadi Goodkind. They then head up the side of the island towards Aces High.

Rewards Granted

Tol has a special component of the Simulacrum spell. This will allow any wizard to cast this spell once as a 6th level spell without burning a spell slot. While Tol himself is not able to cast this, he does know wizards who can.

Missions/Quests Completed

The party is focused now on learning about Kadi Goodkind's murder and what it has to do with Harold Aces and Duskport.

Character(s) interacted with

Soureye is not an ally, but he has been an informant. Party also briefly met Ole' Bobbins Backbay, an old sailor who ferry's goods around the island to different ports. Bobbins can be a good contact for all manor of information regarding sailing, shipping, and the like.

Notes

To this point, Unforgiven has been in the discovery phase of the investigation. In this phase, the game was more a Who Dunnit than a traditional D&D stab and loot. As such it has been intentionally light on loot and prizes. That all changes in Aces High, where there is much to win and much to lose.   Let me say this upfront to the players. Everyone at Aces High is evil and deserves what is coming to them. This is a dungeon crawl with a twist, so if you find the urge to exact a liberal amount of lethal justice, just know that is how it was designed.   Also, we will be leveling up the party once the next plot point is reached. That may be as soon as 3 - 4 sessions from now.