Beyond Myria (IC) - Book 2

[Gygaxphobia]

Library

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IH basic SRD - http://www.cusick.ca-a.googlepages.com/home.html

Myth-Weavers transfer:
http://www.myth-weavers.com/games.php?gameid=2243__**__

This is the second IC thread for the Beyond Myria campaign for Iron Heroes.
OOC http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50104
IC#1 http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48965

Page 1 - Meeting the Thane (Egrek)
Page 2 - Thieves! Cadinoc! Argh!
page 3 - Wendigo in the Mist?
page 4 - Disaster!
page 5 - Shiverbits!
page 6 - The Meat of Misfortune
page 7 - First Night
page 8 -

page 22 - Defending the Tower
page 23 - Mammoth Back Fighting!
page 24 - Meeting Your End / Funeral
page 25 - Escaping Sacrifices
page 26 - Meeting the Warden
page 27 - Plea for Aid
page 28 - Can the Column Wait?
page 29 - Preparing to Leave
page 30 - Healing Jyn
page 31 - Ogres and Gas Are A Bad Combination
page 32 - Wolf in Your Midst
page 33 - Wolf on You Side?
page 34 - Ingvar in the Buff
page 35 - Inside the Mountain
page 36 - Raenis'/Granish's Tale
page 37 - Revelation! Lupin or Wolvun? [Raenis' version of history: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...=48965&page=37 ]
page 38 - While the Guardian Battles
page 39 - Getting the Sun
page 40 - Bridge Over the Lava Lake
page 41 - Finishing the Lizards
page 42 - Recovering Faillune
page 43 - Discussing Destiny (Inside the Vault)

The Journals

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The Lorebook of Raenis Goldsage
((The journal begins with a series of diary entries – these begin with a meeting of the champions and their quest to find the Vendigo. Much of the beginning part is extremely archaic and will take considerable time to translate.
HOWEVER, as the book proceeds Raenis seems to acquire more and more words from languages that you know between you. With you all involved, the last entries are readable. The second half of the book is in the form of notes, with the back pages used for rough jottings))

((Entries are in the order they appear in the book, not necessarily the order in which they were translated.))

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((Second translation - This section is the first one that is close to the common Myrian language.))

Finally we have them! With the pledge of the people of the Kumsbin Peaks and of Rivermynd Trakand we have our fourth champion and our coterie is forming. Only a few more and we will have champions from all the Peoples, all the races from all the corners of beautiful Myria.
Now we have the leaders and many fertile lands to recruit strong warriors for our army we can begin to muster and train. Our coterie must start this before we can away to do our tasks.

The Kumsbin people are notorious in the mid-East, although many of us in the West had never heard of them. It seems they live their lives almost entirely in the mountains, having suspicions bordering on superstitions about the lowlanders and the flat open plains. They trade when traders come to them, and since their high peaks are so rich in red ores and strong herbs then many are willing to make the journey. They have little use for the prized foods of the farmers but they seem to very much like fruits and oils. Although they spurn the hides of livestock as leather cheap won if they have not killed them in battle, the oils for tanning are very valuable to them.
Whatever we offered them or warned them of or enticed them with glorious battles, none of these things would persuade them to come join us.

It was only the magic that the dvarf showed us that finally persuaded them. The vial was made and we collected blood from every tribe we could find. Near every family we encountered was represented there. Even the Kumsbin people -or Avalanchers as the largest group call themselves- gave willingly, but none would drink because of their superstitions. Niper grew furious, one moment he came to me threatening them, the next he wanted to forget them all. Finally he cursed them and took to his horse, insulting their mothers and their manhoods for cowards. I thought they might cut him down, but one of the oldest warriors stepped forward and said he would drink. I will never forget his words, “You speak to me of courage and your troubles. Yet you never asked what troubles us here. You ask me to drink, yet do not drink yourself. I call you Stranger, not Friend! I should laugh at you and throw you from my mountain. Yet instead, I will drink and if I do not like the taste I will tell you it is bad wine and send you on your way. If it is poison then I will cut you down before I die. You will see Avalanche courage and you will always remember my name. I am Votinel Onyader and my father was Hurralan and his father was Nojamin and his father was Hurraffain and he was descended from Rig who is the Thane of Great All and guides our people.”

And so he drank from the vial of ancestors that the dvarf had shown us how to make. And like us all he had the revelation. He felt the weaves that spin between his People, he felt the heart of everyone close to him, he heard the voice of their concern. He was made jarl of his people for a year and a day for his courage, and a great leader he was. He said he was too old to help us, and so he sent us Rivermynd Trakand who was the greatest warrior that I have ever seen.
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The one I was sent to meet has joined us. The Cadinoc have ‘lent’ us one of their sisters, Gerthwyn Fleetfoot Cadinoc. She is a remarkable person, intelligent and powerful yet at times teasing and brooding. The Wolvun have many ways that are strange to me but I will understand them as any language. I just must not forget that they are very different, no matter how close they appear. She has a remarkable grasp of spirits and again some very different ideas. I try and question her but she seems to find out more about me for every question I ask.

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((Third translation))
We have achieved a victory today, though the price was high. At the Brightwood Dell we put many of our ideas and our hard training to practise. The Ringed Forest people and the Kumsbin fought alongside us for the first time, though the former had more at stake for the battle was on their land and they lost many good people.
Our training has certainly paid off and it served us well for we believe one of the Vendigo was present for a while and still we won through. Again there were many of the hairless ones from the East arrayed against us and they do indeed bear striking resemblance to the Kumsbin, but without any such discipline or focus. Those great savage beasts that come with them I still have no idea of - for they seem mindless – but the Kumsbin treat them not like a horror but like any other foe and that courage strengthened all our men.
We unfurled our banners when their roaring began following our plan. It seemed to puzzle those beasts! Apekatt, I have heard some call them, and they are so simple-minded that the colours and cloths confuse them.
As we believed, the peoples took heart from seeing our huge emblems and symbols of their homelands held high and those for whom it had became a point of pride shouted back in return, joining in with the wild Fanoc Callers who seem to hate them so. The others have begun to see the point as well, the more martial ones see how easily our packs moved when they could see their markers around the field. And for us in command we gained great knowledge simply by how and where they were flown.

We scattered their herds and cut many down but our dead number dozens. Nigh a century of our Peoples fought perhaps twice that of them and we give many thanks for our close victory. The Kumsbin took a great risk in leaving the hillside flank we put them on. We thought to keep them out of the lowlands but they streamed down like diving eagles when they had the chance to fight. Their tactics are unorthodox and glory-seeking but they do watch out for each other.
We found the carrying chair the Vendigo are held up on by their slaves so the incantor must have fled. If left a large book of sorcery behind and Gerthwyn has it though I warned her to be careful. The book may indeed give clues to their magic but anything that calls on infernal spirits is dangerous and we must beware it. It is bound with chains for a reason I am sure.

The forest people are grateful, though we see the pain in their eyes. All the others are hardened to our cause too, so we have gained in more ways than one. Bathoc pointed this out of course, he can be so coldly practical, but I cannot doubt the truth of it.

----------------------
((First translation))
While we have continued to search for her, we can only assume that Gerthwyn is lost to us. Last we spoke, we have agreed that she would not attempt the rite, but she has broken that agreement. We know because she has taken the book again, she must be preparing to create the spawn she wished for. If she births that army we can never be safe. The thought of what she would do to herself sickens me, it cannot be her. She must have been fully taken by the spirit now.

---------------------------------

Since the battle at the Rigthane Spears it seems we have been truly broken. We cannot continue to fight the Vendigo whilst that damned sorceress plagues our flank. I do not believe she cares aught for the sun any more, as long as the moon hangs high she will see it as a victory. She has finally accomplished what nothing else could, the Lupin and Wolvun are come to bloodshed. Many times have I heard reports of skirmishes now.
The dvarf have spoken of intervening. Those strange spirits are noble in their way, but they terrify me. They speak casually of balance as though that could explain their actions. We had asked them if a weapon could be wrought to weaken the moon walkers, but in balance they said they must have one to harm the Lupin as well.
And they went to their forges and did just that. It seems that two of the dvarf were close to ascending and they had to have the weapons ready to contain their souls. They will hold both until one of them is needed.

-----------------------

We returned from the Widow’s Peak with her infernal book. She will come for it, soon, and we must be ready to trap her.

In case that we do not succeed in binding her, those that come after must be given some chance. And so we bind what we have gathered in here, in the armour store of Mettenheim. Gerthwyn’s journal and mine shall go in here, together with the book of chains. The great blades that the dvarf have forged will dwell here too.
In case our peoples weaken and fall, we have the artefact that we hoped might save the Wolvun. With the vial of ancestors interred here, we know that they still have a chance to take the form of their forefathers again. We have collected a droplet of blood from every group of the Peoples that we have met and believe it will work for any of them. If this spirit that Gerthwyn has released manages to affect another one of the Peoples, this should aid them too.

In case our histories are lost, those that come after must know what went before. The loremen have undertaken to gather the knowledge of all the peoples, they will take the best of warriors and sages and learn from them, spreading the learning. They will try and gather all of them in great Tywyn, though the journey will be long and perilous, and they may travel for years, they have sworn themselves to the duty until the death of all their kin.
The first that they took were the Cadinoc, so finally we know that pure Wolvun blood is far to the West, well away from Gerthwyn and what she has become. Let us hope that others of the many tribes join them in days to come, so that all our Peoples may survive.

The Voice of Raenis Goldsage speaks through these pages. Ddetholedig bencampwr chan'r brenin chan'm boblogi. R'n fawr chiwdod chan'r fynydd bant agenna at efell afonydd.
((Chosen champion of the king of my people. The great clan of the mountain valley split by twin rivers = Ffridd Uchaf/Upper Mountain Pasture))

Let all who know me respect these words as my given truth.

((I will add more to this translation as you spend more time on it.))



The second book, supposedly of the Adelmada, Gerthwyn Fleetfoot Cadinoc

((This journal is marked on every alternate page by straight scratches in differing patterns. There is large blank section in the middle. The back pages contain an entirely different set of symbols, many of them analogous to natural phenomena: sun, rivers, trees, mountains, lakes, snow, ice and animals. The moon and stars are used at the start of several pages.
Often, there are sections at the bottom of pages with some very peculiar symbols, these are large blots of ink with no real sense to them, but they seem to crawl across the page, your eyes cannot focus properly on them, they look different every time you blink. They hurt your head when you think about them too much and cause real pain if you try to copy them down or remember them after the book is shut.))

Summary of History known

• [1]Wendigo identified as threat somehow.
• [2]Raenis begins his journey with his brother Niper/Gniepr from the city of Tywyn (meaning "On the sea")
• [3]Along the way they meet with the leaders of many tribes, to ask for their pledge to fight the Wendigo and a champion to be found to represent them.
• [4]Also some unknown race or spirits called dvarf aided them with crafting and magic
• [5]The coterie of champions is completed by a highlander from the Kumsbin mountains and a Wolvun called Gerthwyn
• [6]The army is joined by recruits of all the races and tribes pledged to fight the Wendigo
• [7]Gerthwyn conducts some unknown sorcery against an agreement with Raenis
• [8]Gerthwyn - now transformed by a demon spirit - seems to interfere in the campaign against the Wendigo somehow
• [9]Raenis seems to think that his coterie and army will fail in fighting the Wendigo, so he prepares to stop Gerthwyn (now the Adelmada) to save something of the tribes
• [10]The "loremasters" aid him in preserving some artefacts, knowledge and wisdom in case the worst should happen and agree to lead survivors to Tywyn
• [11]Raenis traps Adelmada/Gerthwyn's spirit inside his body and sets up the physical/magical/spiritual prison to keep her there.
• [12]The Wendigo rite succeeds and the sun loses it's power
• [13]It seems that the Adelbrood (the Wolvun spawned of the Adelmada) hunted on the Lupin and other races for some time, before settling into a hunter-raider culture. Breeding with men, the Wolvun blood was seriously diluted and the demon blood suppressed.
• [14]Hundreds, possibly thousands of years later, the Adelmada's power is stronger and her Adelbrood of Wolvun awaken and take over the Cadinoc tribes

Maps
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...AncientMap.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...p_labelled.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...atersofAll.jpg

[Gygaxphobia]

Introduction

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...33&postcount=1

http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showp...04&postcount=2

[Gygaxphobia]

Memories

Maps
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...AncientMap.jpg
http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a3...p_labelled.jpg

Geography
Kumsbin Peaks - Noj comes from a small but very high mountain range in the middle of Myria. The Avalanche people inhabit this area.

Shatterhorn - Mynas Thyr comes from a muster point for the Cadinoc tribes somewhere in the south-east tundras.

Gniepr's Mill - Ingvar comes from this small hunting community. Founded by Raenis' brother Niper as a Lupin colony, this settlement was once a lot larger than it is now. It has some interesting ruins and unused features such as cobblestone roads.

Ost Fjell - the East Mountains are vast and unexplored. Men are the dominant race here. The many tribes are solitary and individual.

Kirjasto - Jyn is from this river valley where solitary dwellings spot the hillside.

Spears of Rigthane - huge twin mountains on the Journey, south-west of the Kumsbin mountains and north-west of Pinval. An earthquake or avalanche split the Column.
The site of a huge defeat for the old heroes' army against the Wendigo.

Pinval - a warm and fertile valley, hidden amongst the hills and mountains ranges, forgotten by everyone, including the Cadinoc who once raided there. Kept from retreating to ice by the heat of:

Mittelheim - a mountain/volcano where Raenis trapped the Adelmada and imprisoned himself, along with the store of weapons and lore.

Widow's Peak - unknown battle site where Raenis stole the book of chains from Gerthwyn.

Brightwood Dell - unknown battle site where the old heroes had their first success against the Wendigo.

Tywyn - an ancient city and port far to the West where Raenis and Niper began their journey.


Friends or Foes?
Black Shield raiders - attacked in the night by a band of raiders you saw they had much in common with Cadinoc although many changes have occurred after a new leader rose to power. Some of them changed shape to become:

Wolvun - first seen running with packs of black wolves these creatures have arms and hands like men. In the history you have learnt, it seems they are pack creatures who hunt and travel by night. Long ago the bloodline was infected with a demon spirit who changed the line forever. They were cousins to the:

Lupin - a rare and solitary race in the past, they are all but extinct now. The prisoner in the volcano was a seer of their race, perhaps the only survivor. Except that Ingvar shows signs of having their blood.

Adelmada - one of the old coterie of heroes (Gerthwyn)who tried to stop the rites of the Wendigo bargained with demon spirits for power and she was forever changed by it. Now known as the Wolf Mother, she spawned the Wolvun line infected with demon blood and they were called the Adelbrood after their mother.

Cadinoc - the noble family once the leaders of the Wolvun people. They fought a covert war to selectively breed and keep the Wolvun blood pure in their family. Mynas Thyr may well be the last of the pure Cadinoc, though there is no confirmation of that.

The Kumsbin - allies of the old heroes, these highlanders have lived an isolated life, striving for individual glory though they have a strong cultural bond. The major clan alliance call themselves the Avalanche people, only rarely mentioned are other individual clans like the Hanging Tree, the Frozen Fall and Elk Stalkers.

Ringed Forest People - allies of the old heroes, a tribe of lizardfolk/saurians who moved to live within Mittelheim as guardians.

Fanoc Callers - allies of the old heroes, an unknown tribe

Men - Peoples from the East seem to have served the Wendigo sorcerers for many ages, fighting against the Western Peoples. They seem to have been very primitive and may have been more likes slaves, though there are no reports of slave-masters or chains.

Apekatt - huge ogrish beasts like monstrous men, they have some intelligence and maybe cultures.

Mammut - a massive woolly mammoth, legendary and very rare these creatures are extremely prized for their meat, fur and bones.

Dvarf - mysterious creatures -possibly spirits- that come from the mountains or deep in the earth, they seem to have great skill with crafting minerals and pass their souls into their final work when their lives end.
Faillune contains a dvarf soul, as did Vesha's maul until it released the dvarf Brathan into the statue at Mittelhaim.

Shiverbits - ferocious black wolves possibly related to the Wolvun.

Spindleweaves - arctic spiders that hide among rocky outcrops, they lay snares and are well camouflaged.

Trunchkins - arctic gremlins, seldom brave except in packs and when hungry, these tiny white furred creatures are savage animals that fight to the death. Very dangerous at night when they may steal your food or bite your throat for warm blood while you sleep.

Bathoc's People - allies of the old heroes, a society of Men who settled south of Mittelheim, now possibly in league with the Adelbrood.

[Gygaxphobia]

Reserved For Future Info

[Gygaxphobia]

More Information Posts

[Gygaxphobia]

The Continuing Saga...

To Be Continued...

[Gygaxphobia]

Spoiler

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Book 1 thread: http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...=1#post4063752

Book 2 - Heritage and Honour

Outside the rough mountain tunnel, Noj exhilarates in the sensation of the cold air on his skin after the armpit heat of the cave. He cools his skin with a handful of snow and looks upwards.
The ice-blue sky pales with misty clouds low above his head. The darker storms are moving swiftly away to the south. The small ledge overlooks the East side of the mountain, down into Pinval valley. Some hundred feet below are the cliff tops that edge the field of soft earth and trapped gases where the fierce battle was, not hours earlier.

A pin-prick distracts the higlander's consciousness, and his smile of pleasure falters somewhat as he feels the mental prickling. For a few long moments, the Avalancher stands completely still, save for a single muscle under his right eye twitching.
Several miles to the West one of the life-lines that he feels winks out and the Avalanche travellers started to die.

Abruptly, Noj falls to his knees, and then to his hands and knees, Mynas' waterskin forgotten in the snow. Almost a minute passes before the lithe mountain man springs to his feet and begins an abrupt descent of the cliff-face, abandoning caution for the sake of speed as he scrambles back down to the steam-vents below like a pika.

Skidding down the rocks with awkward haste, Noj finally reaches the ground.

Noj lands on the soft earth underneath the cliffs and takes a few tentative steps to test it.
The flocks of birds have returned to the cliffs, but there is unease in the air, the disquieting sense of being watched as well as scent of dead creatures, but no remains.

Breathing heavily for a moment, then stepping quicker, he sees only one geyser - a much more gentle venting than before, then he leaps up on the rocks of the North face and strides away.

The view is staggering from here, the North face has some gentle steps but for the most part it is steep rock and rubble for several hundred feet. Perhaps five hundred feet below the slope becomes much more gentle and the snowline starts. This gentle slope continues down to the remains of the Wardens Tower and the valley, where there is no sign of the Column.

So Noj slides down the rocks some way before finding a suitable path and sprints off to the West.

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From within the mountain vault, the tremors of a grumble in the mountain were felt. It shifted like an old man trying to dislodge wind from his breeches, and the faint sounds of shifting rocks and falling dust were signs of real movement.
When a belch a cloud of noxious smoke puffed into the room, coming up from the well at the centre there was sudden action.

Jyn, Vesha, Ingvar and Mynas Thyr coughed at the first taste of the acrid smoke and moved to cover mouths, crouching low beneath the rising gas.

After the initial surprise some beat was heard. A repetitive thumping, it was faint and far off, but hummed through the air of the mountain.
The quick discussion weighed up the threats and actions to secure themselves against any new foes, then Ingvar nodded to Vesha, slinked off to find the source of the noises as stealthily as possible.

[The Great Skenardo]

Noj Onadare
Noj skids around a corner, the ice slick under his boot as he dashes West. The hammering of his heart in his ears drowned out his thoughts, and for a long time the Avalancher does nothing but run, jigging around rocks and up and down scree in a mindless, nearly desperate sprint.

Minutes pass, and eventually the mountain man jogs to a halt, hands on his knees and breathing hard. He spits into the snow.

I'm a damn fool. A damn fool.

[Gygaxphobia]

The naked hunter holds his thick bear skin behind him as he steps lightly from the stone room. The stairs outside feel rough on his silent feet as he slowly ascends, letting his senses attune and guide him.
The spiral carries him upwards and quickly he faces the open chasm of blackness and the strange wind that alternates hot and chill around him. Over to his left the lake continue to drop globules of thick red lava down into the depths below, where now there is the smallest of faint lights.

The bridge can be seen barely from here, and crouching low to stay close to the central column of the stairs, the hunter can see the bridge move and ripple. It swarms with dozens of swaying heads, a host of lizard-like fiends hum with their eyes closed, shuffling from side to side along to the thrumming beat of hide drums that comes from behind them.

[Helfdan]

Ingvar the Wolf

Ingvar carefully makes his way back to the vault.

Spoiler

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Hide (1d0+11)[12]
Move Silent (1d20+11)[26]

He speaks in a hoarse whisper. "There are dozens of the lizard-demons on the bridge. We must leave this place now."

[Kain_Tempest]

"I had a feeling this would happen." Thyr places her hands on her hips for a second and looks around taking stock on what can be salvaged. After a quick scan, she heads over to the shard of Faillune and feels to make sure if they are too hot to be handled. She looked painfully at the crate of steel bars, realizing they would have to leave those behind.
"How bad is it, Lupin? If we can, we should probably try and take at least all of the special treasures. The iron arms and armour won't be much use."

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((Need to make sure we have all the special items... Jyn as the Scroll, Books, and the Ranseur, Noj to the scimitar, Ingvar took the broadsword... If possible I would like to grab a servicable axe or pick-like weapon in case we get into a fight.))

[Grymmheart]

Jyn curses along with the others, "we will have to find another way out of the mountain. Maybe with more strength we can return to secure this area. I worry about carrying the Alemada's book from this secure vault. If we fall and her children gain the book, I worry what that may mean. Even if we lock it away, we will be carrying the keys that they could get from us and gain access to the book. DO you think we should destroy it?"

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Jyn had picked up a battleaxe from one of the lizard men. Mynas can use. I think Jyn may need to leave some of her gear for Ingvar to carry, or someone stronger. She is at med load already, and if we need speed, she will need to lighten up alot.

[Gygaxphobia]

Mynas takes up the iron axe from the rotten wooden rack to test. It has good weight but the axe head is in poor condition and the haft is corroded. It would be adequate to temporarily attach to Failune, and while the pick’ teeth remain hot they could fit over the end and grip tighter as they cool. A leather wrap around the haft should compensate for the corrosion.
The battleaxe offered by Jyn is a well-made weapon but badly cared for and requires a much different fighting approach than the pick of Thyr’s choice.

Whilst most of the good weapons are taken, and Vesha still holds the leather gourd, most of the tarnished equipment remains untouched.

Left behind in the vault at present are a polished steel buckler and a hauberk of fine scale mail with leggings. Some of the plate and chain armour might be serviceable, with a bit of work to repair it.

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I would think that someone has kept the map, Jyn maybe? Jyn definitely needs to check her encumbrance, especially if she’s keeping the battleaxe. The pouch inside the chest was left uninvestigated.

[Ozzy_G]

Vesha grimaces, looking around. That is the Adelmeda's book? It might reveal how the sun can be freed. We need to know that. We could take the symbols and close this tomb up behind us again, so the lizards can't get in.

[Grymmheart]

Jyn empties her waterskin and pours the oil into it, before carefully inserting the map and rolling it up to find a place within her pack. She regretfully leaves her morningstar and places her torches and rope on the floor.

"Ingvar or Vesha, could you possibly carry my battleaxe if we need to run fast? I will carry the ransuer and leave my morningstar here. If you think you can carry these torches and rope, please do. I worry they will slow my flight. I would leave my bedroll, but I would hate to die from the weather if we make the run."

Grabbing the journals, she stuffs them in her pack, now that room is available.

Spoiler

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Silly question, but I have played where some DMs do not count clothes as part of encumberance/weight. Do you count it? I have cold weather gear listed at 7lbs. It makes sense to count it, but hey why not ask, 7 more lbs free could mean alot.

[Helfdan]

Ingvar the WOlf

Ingvar takes stock as the team makes preparations. He is already carrying 3 axes, 2 swords, a knife and a bow, a respectable load even for his rangy muscles. He thus shakes his head as he adresses Jyn. "I do have a spare moonwrought axe you can use, lass... What might this be?" He reaches for the untouched pouch to examine its contents.

[Gygaxphobia]

The pouch that Ingvar reaches for is flat and slick, the skin of a seal or other waterproof and well insulated fur.
It is divided into three sections. One contains a large handful of coins, thin as foil the silvers and golds are minted with a hole through the middle; one side is imprinted with weapons and the other with a face. Crude letters underneath spell BATHOC.
The other two sections contains equal parts of preserved herbs. One is pungent and oily like tobacco, the other smells like fresh grass and but is mixed with slivers of red petals.

----------------------------

With lungs burning and the crisp air blowing behind him, the fierce Avalancher kicks his heels up and stretches his stride and he continues his pounding run.

He slips several time on the shingle slope, avoiding falling but setting off a cascade of rocks rolling down the mountainside.

For some ten minutes he keeps up his heroic pace, but despite his determination the sprint has to end. In itself a breakneck run across a rocky mountain slope at over fifteen hundred feet altitude is extraordinary, were anyone there to see it.

Unbeknownst to him a mountain goat looks on, impressed.

The highlander can focus on the battle that rages up ahead though and as he crests a rise he squints into the distance, squatting so the rising morning sun does not silhouette him.

Having run four miles, Noj has come within another two miles of the Column. From high up on his slope he can see the couple of hundred travellers on the plains below.
The Column is to the West, clustered around the mouth of a north-south valley. It seems they are trying to hold the pass against a horde that are almost invisible with their white fur, and are at least as numerous as the men.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a306/dignitas/Map.jpg

[The Great Skenardo]

Noj Onadare
Noj stands for a moment on the edge, gazing down at the tableau below. Then, Reaching to his side, he picks up the horn found in the ice cave of the Adelbrood. Raising the silver tip to his lips, Noj takes a deep breath and blows!

[Gygaxphobia]

The horn is weighty to lift up to his mouth with one hand and the silver tip is cold on his lips, it mists as his breath touches it. Filling his lungs and blowing as hard as he can he strains, unable to make it sound, though it thrums in his hand.
With dizziness shaking his legs, his exhaling finally makes a buzz as the blood rushes to his head. The horn emits a low note and Noj finds he can continue to blow watching the light snow quiver on rocks, the stones themselves shake and the sound strengthens, building up to pound in his ears.

The blast shakes the whole valley, small clumps of snow and rock slides fall from the mountain and the wave of sound resounds far and wide, echoing back and building up on itself.
Not much detail can be seen at this distance, though there is some lull in the battle and it seems the figures stand still for a moment.

Inside the mountain, the drumming dies out and a hundred lizardfolk stop to listen. The mighty summoning is muffled but the deep bass resonates through the huge chamber, powerful and ominous. For some moments the note stands holding their attention and when it slowly fades, quiet hissed whispering begins amongst them.

[Ozzy_G]

What was that? Vesha's head pricks up when he hears the sound of the horn. He grabs Jyn's axe and the rope and ties them to his belt. Come on, he says, trying to get the golden sun amulet out of the back hole.

[Grymmheart]

"I have no clue, but I doubt it is good. Yes, let's get going, but what about this other armor? It is servicable and we may need it in the future," ask Jyn as she secures her pack and begins to move out.

[Gygaxphobia]

The Sun symbol comes free with a light tug, as Thyr's has already done.
With one last glance at the symbols carved into the stone you fancy that other images appear in the recess also. (Like staring at clouds and imagining patterns, it depends on how you look a them.)

You gather your treasures bemoaning the loss of valuable things, while your pragmatic nature tells you that survival is more important. If you hadn't learnt that at a young age, you would never have survived so many Winters.

Creeping to the door and crowding around to peer out at the bridge your neck hairs prickle at the sight of so many monstrous devils. They stand formally facing the West end of the bridge (away from you at present) and begin to march in two lines. Halfway down the column a large bronze pole is razed by one of them, draped in thick black and white furs and hung with cast off filmy skins - the scales of reptiles. Next to this standard skitters a wilder devil, frantically gesturing and calling out in a cackle it waves a large bronze mace around its head that makes it's dress of strung-teeth clatter.

The force troops along the bridge heading down the tunnel towards the bottom of the slope, level with the lake.

*Please note in your post which items you (personally) have taken from the vault*

[Grymmheart]

Jyn follows the others to watch the strange lizard creatures move out. Looking upon the standard, she gapes at the significance of it and wonders if she too could carry such a banner for her companions.

Spoiler

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Before leaving Jyn prepared her body for running by taking the Run feat as her wildcard feat.

ransuer with makeshift start at banner
backpack (some food supplies, flint, bedroll)
dagger, bow, no arrows
spare armor (preferably the light one, but does not matter)
waterskin filled with map/oil
two journals and pouch Ingvar found

[The Great Skenardo]

Noj Onadare
Noj breathes in a great gust of air, replenishing his lungs after the rumbling note. The lanky man raises his fist to the sky, and although it's unlikely anyone hears him, he shouts
"Men o' the Avalanche! Men o' Myria! This land is ours, and we'll claim it back from the ice, b'god, even if we've got to go up to the heavens, batter the sun unconscious, and drag his luminous ass all the way back!"
The irate Noj turns and waves a fist at the massed blot on the snow far below "And you! I'll no stand for ane of my people killed by you slubberin' Wendigo bastards! You hear me?! I kill every last one of ye and sh#t on your corpses, you fundling sons o' Juggerheads!"

[Kain_Tempest]

"Better we keep things as light as possible. I'll take the axe." Thyr nods to Ingvar and accepts the weapon and then begins loading her pack with what she could deem necessary. Glancing up, she spots Jyn taking the light scale mail. Thyr shrugs and stashes Faillune and a few of the ingots into her pack before shouldering it.

((After hearing the horn blow.))

Thyr curses and lashes the shield onto her arm and slips Ingvar's axe into her belt loop and follows after the rest of the group with a little less quickness than before.

Spoiler

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((Thyr takes the Shield, Ingvar's Moon-Forged Axe, the Shards of Faillune, and three steel bars, plus her current supplies. She is now carrying a medium load.))

[Helfdan]

Ingvar the Wolf

Ingvar pauses to place a few steel ingots in his pack, then slings the obsidian blade on his back in its makeshift scabbard. "This is our chance to get out. Let us hurry."

Spoiler

Show

As Jyn took the pouch, Ingvar will only take the blade and 4 steel ingots

[Gygaxphobia]

Creeping slowly out of the room, you push the stone door gently until it catches and holds in place.
Moving up the stairs, you see the last of the army leave the bridge far on the other side (the back ranks look like a wedge of the feebler framed archers.)
The Guardian seems to have retreated once more, so Raenis must have been able to contain the Adelmada again, or she is too weak from the fight to resist further.

The lizard creatures must be leaving by another path, since they do not pass by the stair well.

A strange feeling creeps up on Mynas, like she is touched by a cold finger. But that feeling becomes a sense of a presence somewhere, niggling at the back of her mind.
Straining to perceive it she realises that the demon spirit within Raenis is a small part of it, but more, she has kin several miles to the West, and she can taste the blood of Men in their mouths.

[Kain_Tempest]

Thyr tightens the leather cord of the Mark of the Moon around her neck. She freezes soon after, suddenly very aware of something. At first it was a feeling of elation but quickly darkened.
"The Black Shields are near." She murmurred.

[Helfdan]

Ingvar the Wolf

Ingvar narrows his eyes at Thyr's words, but says nothing. He turns to lead the way out of the cave.

[Grymmheart]

Jyn asks the group as Ingvar begins to move out, "Should we follow behind the host of Lizardmen or more safely depart the way we entered?" I think the way we are familiar with would be wisest."