An Unkindness of Ravens

A search of the Conservatory revealed no magic.  Casia smashed the mirror as they party had been doing all along.  Fanara and Santrel had not found any interesting new information from studying the transport portal outside the Conservatory.

"We should check out the kitchen before we try to advance.  We don't want to leave anything behind us." Santrel suggested.

"How do we get to the fourth floor?  We don't have a phrase for that," Casia asked.

"We could just try the phrase to the third floor in each transport area," Fanara suggested.

"But that doesn't get us to the fourth floor," Casia shot back.

"Maybe there is a way up from the third?" Fanara said.

Several cabinets lined the narrow walls of the oddly angular room. A chopping block, water barrel, and cauldron stood near the room's only door. The tantalizing smells of fresh baked bread and meaty stew filled the air. Santrel checked for magic and found that a single dragon shaped cookie on a tray of cookies was magical.  Santrel picked it up and licked the sugar feeling a strange sensation to eat the whole thing but he didn't and then found that it was a spiteful cookie enchanted with a Feast of Ashes spell.  Nothing else was of interest to the party.

"We should try the transporter with the red carpet first, even if we think it is wrong.  We will know if we try there first," Casia suggested.

The party headed to the alcove and and all stepped together on the blue tiles. Fanara intoned the phrase to transport to the third floor "Take wing, soar and fly, let me view the winter sky."  As she finished the phrase the party heard a sound like ice cracking and the two statues both moved forward one step.

A new battle was on between the party and two Animated Ice Nymphs.  This battle turned to the party early on as the Ice Nymphs did their best with cold slam damage.  However they were vulnerable to fire in their icy forms.  While they could damage the party, the final result was two piles of ice cubes where the Nymphs fell to the ministrations of the party.

After quick healing the party headed to the last remaining transport alcove and repeated the phrase once again.  This time the group was encased in ice and appeared in another chamber.

A triangle of crossed steel wires ran between three wooden posts in a crescent-shaped room that smelled strongly from the bird droppings scattered across the floor. Along the south wall, open windows look down from a dizzying height, admitting a brisk, cold wind. Inside the wires were several ravens flitting around.  In a far corner stood a human in robes with a spear in her hands.  She barked what seemed like an order in an unknown language.  The ravens began to cluster together and turned to face the party.

As the battle began the woman flew into the air and the raven swarm attacked the party.  The response was immediate from the party firing bolts at the woman who then fled to outside an opening in the south wall.  The characters under raven attack were not so lucky as some became nauseated and others blind from the pecking at their eyes.  In the worst case Santrel was blind and nauseated. 

Attacking the swarm was problematic as weapons appeared to do lesser damage.  Area of effect spells were needed as they did more damage to the swarm.  Fanara identified the woman as a human cleric just as she channeled positive energy to heal herself.  As the party rounded the wired cage to fire on the cleric she flew to a corner of the room and cast a wind wall in front of her.  The wind wall knocked down any arrows or bolts directed at her.

The raven swarm kept moving around attacking and blinding some heroes.  At one point it move closer to the cleric and received the channeled healing, which was denied to the party.  Casia moved directly under the cleric and fired her pistol upwards.  The cleric responded with Boneshaker on Casia.  The party began to focus on the swarm.  Nadya cleared her blindness with a successful heal check, although later she failed to help Santrel.  Milos summoned a wind elemental to attack through the wind wall.  He then cleared Amadeo and Santrel's blindness.

Casia's pistol misfired then Fanara was hit by a lightning arc as the cleric moved out of the corner.  She was now easier to hit and the party was back to a effective fighting platoon and soon cleric fell and the swarm was dispersed.

Casia began to strip the cleric body of any obvious items.  The rest of the party gathered for healing.  Casia found a sliver diamond necklace and a fine looking shortspear.  Also of interest was another ice key which she gave to Fanara who now held three such keys. Two doors exited the chamber, one next to a large mirror to the west and another standing between a pair of wooden chests to the northeast.

First Jorgen approached the northeast door which was not locked or trapped.  Dozens of stacked crates filled the angular storeroom. Several miniature dollhouses stood atop high shelves.  Jorgen began checking the crates which were filled with mundane items.  Santrel checked for magic and noted an item in one of the dollhouses.  The magic turned out to be a jeweled silver dagger whose hilt resembled the head of a blue-eyed winter wolf.  Several other items of jewelry or decoration were in the other dollhouses.

The northwest door was also unlocked and not trapped.  Two bookshelves, a chest, and a comfortable-looking bed heaped with thick blankets furnished the bedroom. A mobile of ice crystals carved to resemble birds hung from the ceiling, glinting in the light from frost-covered windows.  No magic was found in the bedroom.

The party gathered in the aerie again and began to identify the magic items.  Casia was concerned about getting to the fourth floor, "We don't have a phrase to use in the alcove.  It certainly is the other alcove below but how does it work?"

As the discussion was going on Santrel and Fanara found themselves on the transport alcove and suddenly they were enclosed in ice and disappeared.  The rest of the party was shocked as no phrase had been voiced.

Santrel and Fanara found themselves on the second floor also surprised at what had transpired.  They stepped off the blue ice and then returned and again they were transported to the third floor.

"It appears with three keys we do not need a phrase but everyone better be on the blue ice." Fanara posited.

At this point the party followed that process to return to the second floor followed by moving to the other alcove and attempting again. After Fanara stepped on the transport the party was encased in ice and appeared in a new location.

A translucent image of a globe hung suspended in midair, slowly rotating in place, above a summoning circle in the blue-tiled floor of the large chamber. Lines of arcane energy glowed across the globe's surface, faintly humming with power as they connect multiple end points in a radiant glow bright enough to illuminate the domed ceiling overhead. Many tables and shelves covered in books, maps, and large scrolls line the room's circular walls, and a large ornate mirror hung between two open windows to the west. Twin ice sculptures of demonic fiends flank a bubbling cauldron in an archway leading into a deep alcove in the southern wall.

To the west stood a goat and in next to the cauldron a male human stood with a sneer on his face.

DM's Notes: The party earned 534 XP for the night and now are at 4th level.