Session 2: The Ancient Snow Temple Report
General Summary
The sky seemed to open and the rain would not relent. A downpour that made the climb up the ancient stone steps slippery and trecherous. Despite their excellent elven vision, nothing more then a 100ft ahead was obscured in the downpour, the rain crashing so loud they could barely hear themselves think, clothing and armor soaked to the bone, but thankfully their winter nature did not impart them to cold of the early spring rains. The top of the small plateau would reveal the remains of an ancient stone temple. A small graveyard found in the distance, the stones long haven given up the names of the dead found below. As the expedition ventured carefully in, Nymeria was fascinated with the stone work and preservation while others explored the magical aura that seemed to protect much of the building from the ware of time. Drawing closer to the great altar and statue many would notice that it was an ancient depiction of Leowyn long before the fall and blight, an uneasy feeling of sadness tugged at several of the parties hearts. Aelorna however had ventured down a side hall finding an ancient mausoleum, however not protected by the magic, the elements eroding away most discernable features of the stone images of those who lay in rest beneath.
Aria would send her Raven up to investigate the rafters of the old Temple as they inched closer to the statue. A bolt of shadow magic would strike Torrent as a shrill battle cry echoed around them. The Buzzing of tiny wings would reveal pixies, whose flesh seemed sickly pale with dark blots of some blight, oozing a terrible ichor from their soars surged from their hiding places. "You can not have it!" a voice shouted from the statue. One pixie pierced Torrent sending the bird in a spiral to the floor where it landed with a thud as two others surged forward striking Aria with their blighted Rapiers. A short gasp as she collapsed blood pouring from the tiny punctures. Daereth would curse having been distracted by the ancient burden and would rush forward to cover his fallen matron with his shield and make ready for the sudden attack. The leader would hover before the statue and summon a blast of ice that would cover the floor before the altar causing Zaelith to lose his footing and crash down upon the ice. Nymeria would swing around her reapeting cross bow would hiss as bolts would fly at the pixies swooping down from behind them towers Talindra and herself. Bahzel would step into the gap created when Aria fell and would square off with the small swarm of undead pixies. Zaelith would crawl from the ice where he had lost his footing and would strike from the ground delivering a magical blast to one of the pixies at the edge of his sword blade. Talindra would move forward and send her healing magics into their leader, Arias eyes flashing open with a glare. Aelorna down a hallway was not exempt as a pixie zoomed into the catacombs room and she was forced to duck a flying rapier strike. Spinning to the side clutching a small trinket of cold iron the Pixie would be impaled on cold iron darts sailing from her fingertips.
Daereth, Zaelith, and Bazhel would cut thru the first wave of pixies and would advance upon their leader who would have sent more blasts of icey magic into their midst. Aria would regain her feet sending howling of winds and storms behind them. Talindra would send out a large pulse of healing energies, mending small wounds and burning the flesh of the undead pixies. Howling in a furry the pixies behind drive their rapiers into her flesh, causing Talindra to fall next. Isenara from her hidden vantage would fire her crossbow into the leader before falling back to provide aide to the downed Talindra. Aelorna would rush into the room, sending another hail of cold iron darts into the pixies, joining with Nymeria as the attack from the rear was subdued. The pixie leader would howl his defiance and turn on Daereth, the small blade finding the gaps in his plate armor, downing the faithful guardian next. The sudden pixie assault was soon ended as Bazhels hammer smashed the leader and ended the pixie leader once and for all.
Looking around Aria took stock, 3 of her company herself included bore serious wounds, the rest looked battered and frayed except for Aeloran and Isenara. Deciding taking refuge here from the rain would do, they set about to patching their wounds and making camp. She would then take not the pixies did not vanish, as most creatures from the Spirit realm do when slain. Their spirits had been bound to this place, perished and were risen again by the terrible corruption. Bazhel, Aelorna and Zaelith would regard the statue of the former queen of winter, then in a combined effort would put their prayers to the cause of restoring the consecration here. With a shimmer of frosted light the statue would begin to morph. Its sharp elven features softly rounding and wings emerging from the statue, changing from the visage of Leowyn to that of Shaelache, the new queen of winter. The next morning they would set out to finish exploring the temple, the rain having stopped. Aelorna would show them the sarcophogi, reading incase the dead within would wake they carefully pried them open. Inside a few bone fragments remained but most non magical objects had long since decayed. Collecting several rules and rare items, the first bounty of the ruins would be taken by the expedition.
The remainder of the day would be spent returning down to the city ruins and clearing out the remains of an old fort. The expedition would take note that several more inteligent like undead were watching their movements closely. The ship would come as close as possible and begin to unload supplies, as well as other members of the expedition, setting up a proper basecamp for the reclaiming of Lunathariel.
