"No. We are dwarves. We will not say a prayer to a giant deity. This conversation is over. We will be on our way." Rask looks quite stern as he says this to Etena. Looking at Kurag, but not saying his name, "lead us from this place."
Sven nodded approvingly at Rask. ”Well said.” It was good to see that the younger generation still had value. The lad made their ancestors proud. ”I could possibly relight the Forge in Torag’s name. Possibly. But I know some clerics from Janderhoff with whom it would be a far more certain manner.” Glancing at the giants he added ”If they take to this with hostility, then after killing them I can give it a shot.”
With 2 of the group in agreement and Kurag ambivalent either way it seems the matter was settled. He takes point and leads the rest back out the way they came looking for any side passages on the way that might lead them deeper into the cathedral.
perception
Hearing that the party is leaving, Etena, yells, Fools! You are the prophecy! You cannot leave and you certainly will not leave with Agrmmosh!
She casts hold person on Rask
”Sons of Torag, to arms!” Sven yelled, raising his hammer up high. A golden rune formed in the air as he did so, infusing his comrades.
He then took off, running at the giants.
Ferin will throw a rock at Rask.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Having instigated the combat against them Kurag has no issues unloading a full compliment of arrows at the blind giantess. Thanks to Sven a fourth arrow comes streaking her way as well.
point blank improved precise rapid deadly aim favored enemy sneak for
rapid for
blessing of fervor for
iterative for
Rask stands there, not moving, as the spell takes it's affect on him.
Brother Hawthorne will perform...
+2/+2
Rask is unable to move. Kurag lands three out of his four arrows and Brother Hawthorne begins a performance.
Etena will cast Cure Serious Wounds on herself.
Tracing a rune in the air, Sven called on the nearest giant to see its comrades the way Torag did.
know local for info if needed
Ferin resists the urge to attack her mentor.
She will throw a rock at Kurag.
She misses.
"Prophecy be damned. Now you die!" Rask grows at Etena.
Kurag keeps firing at the problem giant. In his mind it was her fault for starting this fight anyways. Maybe if she is killed the other will surrender. Then again it might be best to just kill them both at this point.
point blank improved precise rapid deadly aim favored enemy sneak inspired for
rapid for
Fervor for
threat confirm for
iterative at Ferin for
threat confirm for
Kurag missed significantly on the first arrow but more than made up for it with his third. The arrow pierced the old giant right between the eyes ending her lies and evil ways for good. the last arrow was just as accurate as his third but was turned at Ferin. No one throws a boulder at him without paying the price.
Brother Hawthorne will throw a dagger at the nearest giant...
Arcane Strike, Bardsong, Blessing of Fervor, Deadly Aim, Point Blank Shot
19-20/x2, P/S
...and pull out his great club.
Rask hits Etena and Kurag brings her down. His other arrow at Ferin severely wounds the giant! Brother Hawthorne misses with his dagger.
With only a single giant left, Sven formed a dart made out of acid and sent it flying towards it. Amazingly he managed to miss the giant, with the acid hitting the ceiling. Even more amazingly, the acid barely seemed to damage the ceiling before it vanished. It was
Sven occupies his time trying to perfect his acid dart.
You killed her! You killed the Keeper of the Forge! Damn you all and damn Torag! Ferin screams as she attacks Rask.
"Damn you woman! growls Rask as he swings Agrimmosh, and with Fervor blessing puts her down. He then comments, "that's eight, Kiln"
Rask end Ferin thus ending her 2 second reign as Keeper of the Forge!
"Sven, I could use some healing, if you have spells to spare." Rask asks the cleric. He lets Kurag do his thing with searching as he keeps watch over the entrances to this room.
"Aye. Torag! Look now upon your sons, and bless their actions this day!" He called out, making the sign of his god with his hammer. The hammer glowed, filling the room with a warm light, that healed the wounded and refreshed the spirit.
"Now. Let us find this forge. I would see if it is in me power to consecrate it in Torag's name. Oh...and loot the bodies of the dead giants, will ye? They may have useful tools for the task."
"Thank ye Sven. Feeling much better now. Yes, lets find this forge and see what you can do."
Fully restored by Torag’s blessing Kurag looks around the room and searches the bodies as well for loot and information.
Perception take 20 = 37 +2 if stone
This room serves as a larder for perishable foodstuffs. The room is stuffed with casks of beer and wine, crates of bruised apples, and blocks of cheese caked with mold. Dried shanks of meat hang from the ceiling.
Each of these small rooms has a packed earthen floor and a thatched roof. An open trench lined with flagstones runs through the northern portion of each room, forming a crude waste removal system for the giants. The privy trenches connect to a larger sewer trench outside that is sealed with clay, covered with heavy stones, and concealed with sod. This trench runs to the cesspit southwest of the cathedral before eventually draining into a mountain stream outside the cathedral’s palisade.
While the smell in the trenches is nauseating, they are wide enough for Medium creatures to crawl through and can be used to covertly enter or exit the cathedral grounds. Of course, the trenches are completely unsanitary.
A huge stone bench carved with strings of runes runs along the circumference of this circular chamber. A narrow ledge along the back of the bench holds several dozen stone busts of stern-looking giants. To the southeast, a high-backed granite throne sits atop small platform overlooking the room. To the west and northwest, six tall stained-glass windows covered with iron grates line the wall. The glass is nearly opaque from centuries of dusty mountain winds. Numerous panes have cracked or blown out completely; the holes have been sloppily patched with wads of clay and dung.
A number of tree trunks are propped against the bench above large piles of wood shavings—each is in the process of being reshaped and bound into an iron banded club. Open crates packed with tools, rope, wood, chunks of coal and iron ore, and other objects are piled everywhere throughout the room. Dozens of broken or rusted weapons and shields have been haphazardly thrown into a scrap pile nearby. Near the throne, several human corpses have been stacked liked cordwood.
After the looting was finished Kurag lead the way onward clearing out this part of the fortress. The first room that he came to made his eyes water as tears formed. Hey guys! This way. We found the food and the beer! No more rations right now. Filli g his mug with beer Kurag takes a wheel of cheese and started cutting off the mold handing the good stuff to the others.
Of course the karma of finding the food and drink had to be followed by the nastiest foul smelling locations in the entire fortress. Kurag barely opened the door and for a whiff of the smell before closing it quickly again. Trust me guys you do not want to go in there. At a glance it seems we could escape that way if needed but that is a last ditch effort.
Should they need to run this way to escape Kurag does lay down a ranger trap that he alerts the others to. This will buy us some time should we hurry back this way.
At the throne room Kurag looks for any entrances or exits that might mean they are pinched between 2 sets of foes. He tries to disable one of the doors if possible.
Disable device
Looks like we found another throne room but no giants. What is going on and where is everyone? I would have expecting more giants in here for as many as are outside.
"It is a holy place for them." Sven said. "As good as drink and cheese may be, we have to find the forge. Either to consecrate it in Torag's name, or if we cannot do so, then to...perhaps destroy it. There are many giants outside, and they will have more clerics. I would hate to see any tool fall into their hands which could be used to cause more death and destruction to our people."
Rask will take the adamantine flaming warhammer, "this is a good backup for Agrimmosh if needed."
"It is a holy place for them." Sven said. "As good as drink and cheese may be, we have to find the forge. Either to consecrate it in Torag's name, or if we cannot do so, then to...perhaps destroy it. There are many giants outside, and they will have more clerics. I would hate to see any tool fall into their hands which could be used to cause more death and destruction to our people."
Uh, Sven, we just left the forge. That is where those 2 giantess’ attacked us remember?
Brother Hawthorne, that large warhammer that Rask is carrying is adamantine. It should work well if we want to destroy it. Although Sven is thinking that we could repurpose it and anoint it to the dwarven gods.
”If Sven says we can, then we can! A couple bottles of holy ale, some pretzels, and a miner’s pick is all we’d need, or whatever Sven says!”
The curved outer wall of this spacious chamber is set with tall, arched windows blacked out with mud and dung. The patchwork of hides stretched across the floor is stitched together with gut and sinew to form a makeshift rug, but is heavily trampled and caked with mud. A steep stone staircase climbs through a darkened arch in the eastern wall next to a wide-mouthed stone well. Crude doors fashioned from raw planks bound with hammered iron bands hang in archways to the north and south.
Chained to the bottom of the stairs is an Ettin, whose one head is missing an eye.
Relaying what he sees to the others Kurag asks, Its chained up? Not sure if it is a prisoner or not from the looks of it. I can take it down fairly quickly with my bow if we don't want to get too close and feel it is a threat.
surprise round for if sneak
all the usual for if sneak
rapid for if sneak
iterative for if sneak
round 2
all the usual for
not firing iterative as it drops
”Aye lad, kill it. Once we clear this place out I’ll return to the forge and see what can be done.”
The first arrow sails at the ettin and surprises it. It roars in pain as it picks up its javelins to throw at its attacker!
Try as it might, it can't seem to hit the dwarf before its life ends.
"What did I miss?"
Kurag returns from his quick targeting practice no worse for his efforts. Nothing but a half blind dead ettin. I did not see any mediumm sized bows for you either Brother Hawthorne. Be sure that when I do I will make every attempt to sneak in and steal one for you. In the meantime shall we head on?
loot the ettin taking 20 for 35
then stealth ahead
perception +4 giant +1 trap +2 stone
”Errr, medium sized? I dunno what that means, but I’ll take dwarf sized, to be sure!”
Yes, normal sized bows. Everything so far has been too large to use because of these stupid giants being to large.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
While the others went about pillaging and murdering, Sven decided to backtrack to the forge. Going before it, he carefully went about taking out the tools of his trade. He was not a craftsman in any traditional sense. He had been a miner for much of his life, and had left the mines to take up the role of a priest of Torag. As a priest, he had taken up the craft of alchemy, preparing holy ale and preparing potions. While not a smith by any conventional means, he was one on a spiritual level. His prayers to Torag took the form of 'forging.' Torag was the Forge Father, who had created the world on his anvil. His holy acts took the form of reshaping the world around him using the power of his God, much in the same way that the world itself was forged. Every God did this, but in his heart Sven knew that Torag was one true deity. The only one worthy of utter devotion. Others could offer power. Others could fight the good fight. Others could speak sweet words to beguile and charm. But all that existed was there because of Torag. He was their father, and as such filial piety was the only correct course of action.
The Forge sat before him. He thought about what the old crone said. Of how Mymrith the Maker, priestess of Fandarra, prepared fallen warriors for the afterlife by anointing their bodies with sacred clay. She lined the forge with the clay to contain the fire within. Sven slowly and deliberately went about lining the furnace with sacred clay.
The second was Aduromi, the Priestess of Crystals, whose veins ran hot with molten metal and who could temper steel to a hardness that would cut diamonds. She brought with her the secrets of the fire geodes, which once ignited would burn for a century. As such, Sven took the fire geodes and placed them inside the furance.
The third was Jogrothir the Hunter, guardian of the sacred horn Drakesbane, which he used to call the ancient drakes native to the surrounding peaks. Jogrothir brought the forge to life, for he alone was able to capture the dragon’s breath, the only flame hot enough to ignite the fire geodes. What was needed now was to ignite it with dragon's fire.
That...was a problem. They did not have dragon's fire. However, Kurag had a scroll. And Sven had a mind to use it.
"This spell summons to your side a natural creature (typically an animal, fey, magical beast, outsider with the elemental subtype, or a giant)."
Dragons are natural creatures, and the CR is low enough. So it should work!
"Kurag. Use the scroll. Use it to summon a wyrmling. A Brass wyrmling." Natural creatures of the desert, a brass dragon could breathe forth flame. Unlike the red counterparts, they were gregarious and whimsical. And importantly, they were most often 'good.' "Once it is summoned, direct the creature to breathe flame directly upon the geodes." He said this with a deathly serious voice. "I don't know if it will be enough, as it is fairly certain that the giants used the breath of an adult dragon. But fook them!" He said, a scowl on his face. "We are the Sons of Torag, and we need to make use of their allies. Before we stoop ourselves so low, we should make use of the tools at our disposal. Brother Hawthorne! Out of all of us here, ye have a tongue that is most gold. Coax the wyrmling to give all that it has to lighting the geodes, even if it must breathe upon them one at a time."
-------------------
The last step was the Blessing of Rosag, the Preserver. The holder of the secret of water as well as its capacity to quench the sacred flames. It was this blessing that would stoke the fires and sanctify the forge. Sven refused to do this. Minderhal was a pretender God. A base thief who tried to steal away the domain of Torag. He *refused* to say such prayers.
"TORAG!" Sven raised his hammer up. "Father of the Forge! Father of Creation! Our Lord! Hear our prayer!" Pointing his hammer at the forge, he declared "This Forge has been profaned! Infused with the lingering taint of Minderhal, the Pretender God! We are your children! Your sons! We fight, we bleed, we live and we die, to protect your creations! We beseech ye, bless this forge with your presence and your power!" Tracing the rune of Torag in the air, he continued "May the fires of this forge burn bright! May the fires of this forge burn true! This world and all within it were made upon your anvil. Sanctify this forge with the life-giving water that ye have provided us. Sanctify this forge with the flames to light it, so burn away all impurities, so that we may stand that much closer to your ideal!"
Turning to Rask, he pointed his hammer at the dwarf. "RASK HAMMERSONG! Approach! Bring Agrimmosh!" Turning back to the forge he declared "TORAG! This is Agrimmosh The Hammer of Unmaking. It is believed by the heretical giants that this hammer is one of creation and one of destruction in equal measures. We bring it here in your name! We dedicate it in your name! We, your sons, beseech ye, to bless our quest and to show your blessings!" Without turning, he declared "Rask...ye hold the Hammer of Unmaking. Strike Minderhal’s Forge...dedicate it anew as Torag's Forge. Strike now while the fires burn bright..."
All that was left was to wait, and to pray that this worked.
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Brother Hawthorne dutifully does what is asked of him. He searches his memories to determine the very best song and dance to inspire a dragon.
He will use his Inspire Greatness ability on the Wyrm. He will do this with both a dance, and a song in Draconic.
Kurag follows along with the ritual until such time as they need the clay and water. Sven, I think we stil lneed to get those. I thought we took some when we were at each of the required locations but at each of them, we were more worried about our health and our survivability than possible esoteric arcane ritual components. I will be happy to help gather those once we leave this place. However, I feel that we are in a unique position now to disrupt any plans the giants may have. We have already infiltrated the fortress here and remained unnoticed. Let us continue with this espionage now and return to the forge once we have time to gather the necessary ingredients.
Unless you have a way to teleport us to each of those locations and back here? That would make things much simpler and quicker.
”I know nought of your previous travels, but I am with you now and will follow where you all lead.”
Squalid sleeping pallets and thick, ratty furs are spread across the mud-caked floor of this circular room. Great arched window frames run about the perimeter of the walls, though they have been boarded shut and sealed with concrete. The scent of rancid milk and vomit hangs in the air.
A pair of hill giants are sleeping on two of the pallets, snoring softly.