Moloch pt 18

The party sneak up on the tower with Barry casting pass without trace effectively hiding the group.
Arranis and Jazzjar teleport to the top of the tower, killing the 2 guards and poor druid on the top.
Meanwhile Zinzir casts fog cloud to keep the party hidden as they await the party to help them by pulling them onto the roof 1 at a time.
Milo then tries his Vfnir (viking accent) to convince the guards to let them in - but is terrible and only gets grunts of liar and a little laughter from behind the towers main door.
The rest of the party are then winched to the top while confusing the garrison of Vfnir mercenaries of the Werebears of Vfnir clan. Initially Zinzir is winched up by Arranis, till Jazzjar in bear form takes over after he scared the Vfnir mercenaries into hiding in the tower, and the bear runs off with the rope, pulling the characters up at a somewhat faster rate than Zinzir could manage by winding them up.
Milo is left till last - being all alone, when he notices the sound of bears running through the woods only 300 foot away....being dragged off the ground by Jazzjar as the breath of a werebear feels hot against the nape of his neck
Arranis meanwhile burns the door open on the roof, then charges through with him and A114 being turned into pin cushions. Going down to the 1st floor they take out the 10 archers, but a sneaky rogue stabs and poisons Arranis, knocking him unconscious, while A114 casts ice storm destroying 7 archers in 1 go to take this 2nd level.
The party heals Arranis bringing him back to a couple of hits, and he realises he is rather upset with Mr Sneaky the bastard....
Milo then leads the charge down to the ground floor, where more guards, there captain, the sneaky bastard, are there but they have let in 4 larger than the average sized Werebears appear (having spent time arguing with the mercenaries to let them in (who think it is the werebears gone mad on the roof). from the wild North of Vfnir SHORT FACED BEAR

Jazzjar then casts wall of thorns, taking out a couple of guards...
A view from Zinzir....

The assault without
Frost flinched as a great boom from Arranis's spell instantly transported the mage and Jazzjarr to the top of the tower. So much for the quiet approach he thought. Having just spent the last hour stealthily approaching the tower, his companions happily returned to their default position of shouting and hitting things.
It wasn't the worst plan he thought, at least this time they had a plan. Their forced rapid departure from the three horseshoes tavern was still fresh in his memory. However, it made little sense to stand in the open, waiting to be shot with a bow. He focused his mind a moment, drawing from the magic within himself. A word, a gesture and a great cloud of thick mist rose to conceal himself an those companions still on the ground. Then he moved away from the wall, falling oil being as lethal as an arrow, and soundlessly disappeared into the vapours he had just conjured. Concealment, silence and patience was the only reasonable tactic at this point, while they waited for the rope to be lowered down.
Patience, in Milo's case was generally depleted in about three seconds "Hey! let me in they've just thrown me from the roof" Milo shouted at the top of his voice while banging on the heavy tower door. Perhaps unsurprising, the deception did no work. Given that he is a halfling, sounds nothing like the locals and wasn't dead. The likely result of being pushed from the roof. The defenders did not open the tower door.
Fighting continued on the roof as their companions fought for a foot hold. There was a bears raw, that would be Jaz, and the crackling statico detonations of combat magic from Arranis. Then, wait? was that another raw, this time in the distance away from the tower? Frost felt a shiver go down his spine, and it wasn't from the cold.
"Come on they are attacking us from the roof" Milo tried again and the defenders continued to demonstrate that they that they were not dribbling idiots. The door remained closed.
A pause in the fighting above allowed a rope to be dropped down. Frost grabbed it quickly and wrapped it around himself. Two tugs and he began to rise, pulled from above.
"let us in the bears are coming" Milo tried a different approach, this time attempting to imitate the locals accent.
Frost shook his head. You had to give the halfling credit for persistence, but seemed only to evoke laughter from within the tower. Frost tiled his head to listen glancing in to one of the arrow slits. As he did so he locked eyes with a crag faced man, a scar below his jaw and glint of satisfaction in his eye as sighted down an arrow on Frost and bow string taught.
Suddenly Frost flew upward, the crag faced mans arrow hitting nothing but air. Jazzjarr, in bear form, had tired of waiting and lent his strength to the rope. Apparently, Jazz could be as patient as Milo, and Frost silently thanked what ever weird nature deity the druid worshipped for the inspiration.
Once at the top Frost tossed his crow bar toward the mage, who was busy blasting a door with fire and ignored the tool. There was a separate structure at the top of the tower and the defenders were holding shut the only door in fear. Bears, apparently had that effect on bear cultists and Jazz was enjoying the irony. If it was possible for a bear to grin, Jazzjarr was grinning. 

Frost noted the druid laying in a bloody pool, the signal torch dropped, scroll in his other hand, and a nap sack on his back...
They lowered the rope again for A114, then again for Afkaria. Arranis, in a very un-mage like fashion, stormed though to engage the bear cultist directly, surrounded with illusionairy duplicates of himself. A114 ran to support him.
Below Milo continued his shouting. "The wearbears are", the was a momentary pause in his sentence, then, an octave higher, "The're coming, They're coming! let me in!". That impressive Frost mused to himself Milo's acting acting was getting better. Persistence to the point of insanity has its rewards.
Sounds of battle continued from the stairs inside the tower as Afkaria was pulled over the top. "The wear bears are coming" he said.
"Yes" Frost responded with a wiry smile "so I hear".

"No" Afkaria said, his face flushed from exertion, but voice calm "There are four of them, and they seem bigger than the others" he didn't look worried, but then the paladin never looked worried. Working together they quickly lowered the rope again for Milo. While the the sounds of combat magic and thrumming bow strings intensified from the stairs.
Four massive bears, or more accurately bear like beasts, charged around the tower. "Milo, shall I drop the mist?" Frost called down. "No!" came Milo's immediate, and, firm reply.
The beasts plunged into the mist, directly toward where the rope disappeared into it. Frost and Afkaria, felt a tug on the rope and they pulled together with all the speed they could manage. Frost's concentration broke with the effort and the mist faded, just in time to see the beasts swiping at Milos ascending feet.
At the top, his acting carrier abandoned, Milo grinned "Right! time for some real fun" the crazy hafling said. "This way" the paladin smiled back and they both turned and headed down into the tower.
Frost turned and looked at the bears below, he ground his teeth. Time to bring the pain he thought. Works of power tripped from his tongue and, twisting his hands in the air, a line of pure cold leaped from his fingers, streaking down toward the creatures below. Completely missing all of them. Deflated he turned toward the sounds of shouting and things being hit, perhaps some one needed healing he thought, knowing it was the one thing he could depend on.

part 2

Bloody and burnt bodies of at least a dozen defenders were already down before Frost began his decent into the tower. The inside was an open spiral stair case with an open common area at the base. There was no cover, and those defenders not directly engaged, were peppering his team with arrows. Their bows were simple but effective. Arranis and A-fourteen were looking a bit wearied and then A-14 took a nasty hit. Flinching he quickly lifted his staff, it looked like a spiky shard of ice and then it started pulsing from within. Fist sized freezing hail, appeared in the air and slammed in to the row of archers, downing several of them immediately. Frost staffs are frosty, Frost thought to him self. I've got to get one of them. Milo, taking advantage of the cleared path, dashed further down. Not quite at the base he struck at another Vfnir warrior from the stair, "should have opened the door" he muttered to himself as his twin scimitars carved into his target. Afkaria and Jazz were not far behind and had already dispatched their opponents. Frost began his own decent, thinking the battle was almost done.

But it wasn't, from a shadowy nook, a figure stepped out, and stabbed, Arranis.

With no more duplicates to fool his attackers, the dagger plunged into the mage's gut. Once again Frost locked eyes with the crag faced man, who had switched his bow for a dagger but kept the smarmy look of satisfaction. Reflexively, Frost through out another pulse of cold, aiming for the bastards scar. A hit! His smirk now frozen (literally) the assassin flinched, momentarily distracted. Frost then drew on the divine gift from within himself directing healing magic at his fallen comrade.

"OK! I'll open up" Frost heard from below.

Milo's earlier Ernest request was answered, but not for him. One of the last cultists had unbolted the tower door and, as he pulled it open, four bear beasts rushed in. One of which immediately charged the halfling, tearing into him with savage cursed claws. The other three rowed with bloodthirsty glee and the remaining cultists attacked with renewed vigour. Milo was hurt but not down and started backing back up the stairs. Jazz roared, then dropped his own bear form. Melting back to human shape. Like A-fourteen he too held a staff. This one was a pole of twisting wooden knots that actually moved as Jazz spoke resonating words of druidic power. Vines burst from the ground covering almost the entire base of the tower. They twisted up and around the beasts, razor sharp thorns slashing as the grew. They blocked the beasts path buying the team time rally. 

Round two I guess, thought Frost and he continued his decent.