"I am uncertain whether any giants remain alive within the cathedral walls," Raen replies, looking tired. She eyes the stairs to the south that lead somewhere unknown. "I believe we neglected to inspect the kitchen, and wherever those steps portend. There is, of course, an army camped below the mountain."
Doxon knows the hammer does the deed magically, not mechanically.
It'll take him just a minute per item.
The halfling inches towards the stairs, when he hears a trio of large creatures trying to be quiet. One is harshly whispering to the others.
Up the stairs.
Ham's breathing returns to normal and he slowly sits up and cleans himself off, chewing on some iron rations while he stretches. He cracks the bones in his hands and his neck, and gathers his things back onto AJ.
The Shamanistic healing feels strange. Different than a divine spell or druidic magic. My Thanks, Spirit Talker.
He looks around.
I think we're done here. We should find some rest and gear up for a trip to the mountains and the training facility. And we should have a sort of... War Conference... and make sure we're in agreement about the path ahead. Thanks to Vael, I'm ready to ride when you all are.
"I could use rest. I've called upon tha spirits more this day than ever, and though they've answered, each time it drains me. I'm nae too proud ta say it: I'm tired," Vael glances at Raen. "And methinks our wizard here is too. If we forge ahead, I've only a few tricks left."
"I am spent, yes," Raen nods. "Yet I do not think our day is done here."
She considers WP's news for a moment, then moves to the edge of the stairs. "You may come out to meet us," she calls to the hidden trio. "For a parley."
The only response is an audible, "shhhhhh" from one of the voices.
Raen casts extended see invisibility and invisibility on herself, then proceeds cautiously up the stairs.
Vael moves closer, trailing a bit behind so as not to be heard.
A flight of stairs climbs to a large balcony blocked off by a great curtain stitched together from patches of animal hides. The wooden benches that once spanned this choir loft have been torn out, smashed, and pushed against the walls. Toward the rear of the balcony, thick woolen blankets and furs cover a great pile of stuffed sacks. Nearby, flies swarm around a collection of wooden casks that stink of honey and alcohol.
There is a trio of giants. They're all hill giants, though one of them is clearly stronger and more scarred than the others.
Invisible, Raen steps a few feet further into the room. "We are not leaving just yet. If you desire to live, lower your weapons."
The trio of giants are obviously drunk.
"Holy crap! It's the wizard woman! Holy crap! Holy Crap!"
The two weaker giants immediately lower their clubs.
The larger one raises his, "I'm not shum dummy. Yer done ushede up yer shpellsh. I'll brain ya."
Not willing to share the truth of the matter, Raen resorts to a cantrip.
"My spells are plentiful, potent, and deadly. Do you truly wish to die?" a whisper comes into the ear of the scarred Hill giant, close enough to have been spoken by a buzzing mosquito.
Raen sends another ghost sound whisper back the the halfling. "Not quite yet. Violence may be unnecessary. Stay hidden."
The giant, full of liquid courage approaches. "I'll shmash you."
Raen ghost whispers back to the halfling. "Go back and get the others please." She then quietly and invisibly skirts to the South, giving the approaching giant a wide berth.
Raen casts fly on herself, then floats up toward the ceiling. She uses her magic again to taunt the hotheaded giant.
"How can you smash me when you cannot find me?" the voice calls from down the stairs.
The giant drunkenly makes his way down the stairs. At the bottom, he sees the rest of the party in waiting. With a massive road he starts swinging his greatclub!
Round 1:
Vael: Go
Raen: Go
Ushyle: Go
Giant: TBD
Hamilton: TBD
Whistle Pig: TBD
Doxon: TBD
Vael curses. "Durned fools."
He then calls upon the Spirits of the Heavens, asking them to lift him up.
He then flies back towards the group, ascending 10ft.
Ushyle smiles slightly at the giant's entrance. It doesn't take a ton of insight to realize the oversized brute is three sheets to the wind. He takes a heartbeat to study him, and wryly, the half-elf speaks as though he were Katrezra in one of the oracle's lessons. And then, sometimes, the enemy is kind enough to come to you. When that happens, you should reward them. Richly.
He charges forward, Milani's Thorn in hand, to engage.
Raen flies along the ceiling to the north and keeps a watchful eye on the other two. She begins a lengthy spell from a wand.
Vael beats a hasty retreat to a better position, as Ushyle draws its focus with a solid slash across the thigh. Meanwhile Raen begins a complex spell.
The giant swings hard at Ushyle:
Drunken miss!
Drunken luck for
Round 1:
Vael: Yikes
Raen: Magic
Ushyle: Hit
Giant: ATK
Hamilton: Go
Whistle Pig: Go
Doxon: Go
Giant: 18
Just enough movement to get there.
Ham picks up his new hammer and runs full out, heedless of entering the giant's reach and charges.
AoO?
Charge!:
Confirm:
I am assuming a hit... As Ham's brutal swing connects with the giant's knee on the inside of the leg.
The drunken giant tries to hit the roughrider:
for and connects, but it's nothing compared to the hit that Hamilton delivers in return.
The giant looks bloodied!
Round 1:
Vael: Yikes
Raen: Magic
Ushyle: Hit
Giant: ATK
Hamilton: CRIT!
Whistle Pig: Go
Doxon: Go
Giant: 55
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
The giants club swings across, forcing Ham to slide in on his knees. The blow knocks him around, and Ham tumbles, stumbles, but catches himself and brings down the hammer right on top of the giant's bent lead knee. There's a crunch as the kneecap shatters and blood sprays. Ham takes the moment to recover and stand up. Wincing at what he knows is a cracked couple of ribs. He straightens up and moves to a guard position.
Not to be outdone, Doxon follows Ham and charges in.
Whistle Pig....
It's followed immediately by a heavy hit from the Hammer of Unmaking!
Round 1:
Vael: Yikes
Raen: Magic
Ushyle: Hit
Giant: ATK
Hamilton: CRIT!
Whistle Pig: Go
Doxon: Hit
Giant: 55
Vael's life force flows, yet again, to his allies...
He then begins a low chant, calling upon the spirits to manifest some help.
Whistle Pig's first two stones strike dead center. Once Doxon swings his hammer, it's all over. The giant falls like a sack of bricks!
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Raen finishes her spell and an orb of light appears before the cowed giants. She is confident that will not recognize it for what it is. A pair of tongues flash instructions.
Raen floats down to just above the archon, giving the impression that her voice flows from it. To the two remaining hill giants, Raen speaks her audience's tongue.
"You, in the blue, you are to travel south to the camp and find the strongest, most powerful giant there. You are to share with them the news that General Urathtash is slain and that his seat of power, this Cathedral of Minderhal, is empty for the taking."
"If you fail to remain in this room until the sun has set, or you fail to complete this task as payment for sparing your lives, I will feed you to littlings before you see your next sunrise."
"I require your acknowledgement of these terms."
She waits.
Both giants nod, slowly, and in unison...
"Congratulations on your continued health," Raen concludes in Giant, then dismisses her archon and flies out of the room.
She rejoins the others. "I have set a civil war in motion," informs them with sadness. "Let us ensure the kitchens have nothing to spoil our victory. We should be away well before nightfall. This place will soon be a cauldron of death."
The giants continue to nod, even as they leave.
Raen leads the others over the mess hall, then to the larger room that she can only presume to be the kitchen. Once Whistle Pig has inspected the double doors, Raen opens them.
Whistle Pig gives the all clear. Huge crooked shelves of raw timber line the walls of this room, buckling beneath the weight of bulging sacks of grain, large crates, and cracked plates. A large washtub filled with murky water sits in one corner. In the opposite corner, an enormous broom is propped against the wall.
Standing still in the corner is a teary-eyed Ferin. "She's dead isn't she?"
"Yes," Raen's disembodied voice confirms. "The Forge has been lit. She chose that moment for her betrayal, and it was her last act."
She pauses.
"If you have no love for the Storm Tyrant, you will find nothing for you here. Leave. Forge your own path."
"Indeed, I have no love for him, nor for Etena's path. I'll be gone of this place for good. May Minderhal's bellows keep you burning."
If no one stops her, she's going to leave.
"You bear a wisdom your mentor did not. May your path bring you purpose, peace, and prosperity."
Once Ferin has departed, Raen scans the room for anything of interest.
She moves on to the next set of doors and asks the halfing to inspect them, pushing them open once he is satisfied.
The only thing of note is a bite odd. A large broom leans in one corner, and radiates moderate transmutation. Raen determines that it's a Broom of Flying! Though large, it doesn't seem to be any more powerful.
The next room over is a fully stocked larder, though it reeks; the giants don't understand food preservation.
"Perhaps this could serve to send a message to Trunau, if we cannot return ourselves," Raen postulates, stuffing the oversized broom into the oversized bag of holding.
After gives the disgusting larder the same perusal , she moves on to the two smaller rooms off the mess hall.