Hamilton switches weapons, and instantly he is given a flash of insight:
Brinya’s Love is a +1 dagger infused with the soul of the fallen hero Rodrik Grath and the tears of his fiancee Brinya Kelver. Once per day on command, the wielder can grant the weapon the ghost touch weapon special ability for 1 minute. During this time, Brinya’s Love sheds light equivalent to a daylight spell and the wielder gains a +3 sacred bonus to his CMD against disarm and sunder attempts directed at the hopeknife.
Skreed roars in pain and anger at the hit, reaching for a weapon to fight back...
To the south, Ushyle connects with the troll a split second after Whistle Pig hits her in the ugly face with a well placed bullet. She nearly falls, but holds on. Thankfully, her wounds don't heal.
Round 4:
Enemy: Fight
Hamilton: hit
Raen: Go
Doxon: Hit
Whistle Pig: Hit
Ushyle: Kill
Vael: Go
Skreed: 11 (7 bombs remain)
Vael protects Raen, and prepares for the final confrtonation with Skreed.
Round 4:
Enemy: Fight
Hamilton: hit
Raen: Go
Doxon: Hit
Whistle Pig: Hit
Ushyle: Kill
Vael: Shaman-fu
Skreed: 11 (7 bombs remain)
Raen lets Vael give her an out and takes advantage of the wormhole he opens for her. She need not have worried, of course, as Doxon and Ushyle make very short work of the troll.
Only one remains. Raen issues fresh orders to her summoned servant.
The elemental surges forward and slams into the murderer with the force of a thrown boulder.
The wizard herself moves in and whips chains of twisting, collapsing color at his eyes, hoping to knock him out. Next to Hamilton, the elemental returns home in violent implosion of dirt and dust.
The elemental smashes into Skreed. Ribs shatter, and the half-orc spits blood, but he's still up. Raen rushes close, gambling with her proximity. The riotous colors erupt by Hamilton and smother the alchemist. .
Blinded and stunned, there's little the half orc can do...
Hamilton looks down at the blind and delirious killer at his feet.
He deserves death, comes a thought. It sounds a little like da.
Ham's jaw grinds and he pushes the half orc over with his foot in a gentle kick, and sheathes Brinya's Love. He reaches for the coil of rope attached to his pack.
Which, despite the bitter taste, feels like what Mom would do.
Give me a reason, murderer. Please. Come on, lads. Let's truss this game hen and take a look around before heading back to Trunau.
|
WP quietly walks to the downed troll while drawing his shortsword. He pauses for a minute as if studying the thing at his feet. With shocking speed, he plunges the sword into where he believes the heart of the troll lies. Pig mumbles something under his breath as he wipes the blood off his blade. Before leaving, he searches the body for anything interesting. He stops when he finds a small item, a bead maybe and smiles. He throws it up into the air and catches it. "This will do nicely!" the cheer back in his voice. "A new weapon needs some ornamentation, don't you think?" Whistle Pig ties the bead onto a small leather strap on his sling staff. He looks at the rest of the group with a smile. "what shall we do with that guy?" as WP gestures to Skreed
Already tying him up, Whistle.
Choosing order over vengeance the party ties the orc up after divesting him of his belongings.
Skreed seems to be meticulous. He has labelled everything in orcish:
potion of cure moderate wounds, acid (2), alchemist’s fire (2), black adder venom (2 doses), bloodroot (2 doses), blue whinnis, liquid ice (2), oil of taggit,tanglefoot bag, thunderstones (2), antitoxin (2), and his alchemy formula book as well as a a portable alchemist's lab. There is also something Raen identifies as a Forumla alembic
He is also very well equipped for an orc: mwk studded leather, mwk cold iron falchion, dagger, light crossbow with 10 bolts, a nice locket, and mwk thieves’ tools.
Finally he has 37 Gold coins of various makes and THIS LETTER
Knowledge: Local for The Twisted Hearts
...Nevermind.
Does the locket open?
Once he has an opportunity to look over the letter, Vael says, "We've finally got a better understanding as to why this half-orc is here, and even maybe why the attack happened to begin with. How this place remained hidden and unknown for so long though... I can't understand that."
Vael seems Ham's wounds and walks over to the man. "Spirits, tend ta this poor soul..." the shaman's voice trails off into a quiet chant, eyes solid black as positive energy flows from his hand.
The party roughly tosses their tightly bound prisoner off to the side while taking their time to heal their wounds and search the tomb.
Ledges and stairs are carved into the stone walls of this wide-open, high-ceilinged natural cavern. Embedded in a fifteen-foot-tall spire of centuries-old bones stands the skeleton of a massive armored warrior. Though its flesh has long since rotted off its frame, the skeleton still stands proud and regal amid the trappings of battle and mounds of gleaming treasure. The skeleton’s battered halfplate and scarred helmet hint at its many battles, and the warlord’s hands are clenched around a massive stone hammer. Beneath the helmet, a thick, round rock has been embedded in one of the skeleton’s otherwise empty eye sockets.
The massive skeleton is still wearing extremely impressivehalf plate armor , and in his hand holds a hammer that must have an epic story to tell.
In addition, this giant was entombed with much treasure. The chests, vases, and other containers piled around the funerary spire are overflowing with coins, gemstones, jewelry, and other fineries (worth a total of 1,300 gp according to Raen.) In addition, scattered among the treasure are several items valuable in their own right, including a masterwork breastplate, a suit of masterwork splint mail, four wicked looking arrows that radiate magic, 13 adamantine crossbow bolts, a masterwork orc double axe, a wide leather belt held together with two strands of oxen skin threaded through holes on each end which radiates magic, a scroll of phantasmal killer, a scroll of tongues, and a wand of blackened ash...
The rock lodged in Uskroth’s eye socket is no simple stone either. Removing the fist-sized hunk of dark, igneous rock and examining its other side reveals it to be a magnificent geode whose rich violet and verdant emerald crystals form glittering crystalline patterns.
Appraise, Geography, and Local.
I wonder if that's the stone, and that's the hammer mentioned in the letter!
Can't wait to ID the stuff and divvy up the spoils! And the money will go a long way to help rebuild Trunau.
There's an orcish double ax here... If any Orc related knowledge can answer questions...
Knowledge Local:
Doxon sees that Ham is still walking with a limp after Vael's ministrations. He walks over to the warrior.
Here, lad. Torag can help you with your wounds. His light will see you whole again.
Seeing Ushyle in a similar state, Doxon walks over to the large half-orc and brings Torag's light to bear.
Identification:
Hamilton grasps the massive hammer to bring down to Raen. As he does it instantly shrinks in size to fit his hand. It is heavy, powerful, and feels good in the hand.
When the Varisian illusionist casts her spell the overwhelming strength of the transmutation aura makes Raen flinch.
Your prisoner, conscious now, spits words of livid fury at you all.
"DO NOT TOUCH AGRIMMOSH! UNWORTHY SWINE!"
AGRIMMOSH! The name strikes both Raen and Vael as if it were a blow from the hammer itself. AGRIMMOSH, the legendary Hammer of Unmaking!
Raen tells the tale of the hammer, nearly verbatim from her readings, "The stone giants of the Mindspin Mountains believe that the giant god Minderhal used his hammer Agrimmosh to forge the first giant. This creation was imperfect, however, so he crafted another and granted it life, creating the first stone giant. Pleased with what he had now wrought, Minderhal pulverized his first creation with a final blow of the Hammer of Unmaking, and its pieces became all of the other races of giants that came to populate the world..."
Hamilton taunts Skreed with the hammer. Maybe he licks it.
Tulia sometimes knows things...
Ushyle whirls on the bound half-orc, fire in his eyes and a fury running with the blood in his veins. He moves over to Skreeg in one fluid motion, grabbing the tongue-soaked hammer from Ham's grasp as he goes.
He grips the hammer held in such high regard in his hands and glares down at the prisoner. As he speaks, his eyes never leave those of Skreeg.
He leans over so that his nose is less than an inch from Skreeg's as he continues. And when at last you were dead, I would flay your worthless skin and leave your weak, brittle bones to be rejected by even the buzzards.
But I am not the craven, defeated simpleton that you are. And you meet me in a generous mood, so instead, I'll teach you a rather different lesson: that worth or unworth does not rest in one's blood or heritage; your tribe has lied to you since you were old enough to draw breath. Worth rests in your strength — and yours is lacking, as you can see by how easily you were bested here — and in the deeds you do.
Ham, taken aback by Ushyle's fervor, gently lays a hand on his shoulder.
Ease up, brother. He's not worth it.
Doxon sees the interaction between Ushyle and Skreeg. He rushes over and as Ham approaches, leans over to the ranger. What's happening?
Vael is also somewhat confused by the spectacle, especially given that he doesn't follow the Orcish. Seeing Ushyle lose his temper, the shaman speaks up.
"Put him down!" he says, placing a restraining hand on the powerful Ushyle. "He's a bound prisoner who'll answer for his crimes. He's nae harm now, so let it go," Vael says, then rounds on Whistle Pig. "And he's nae livin' target practice. That's tha type of barbarism I expect from our enemies. And never from a halflin'. Shameful."
Doxon sees the interaction between Ushyle and Skreeg. He rushes over and as Ham approaches, leans over to the ranger. What's happening?
In a whisper back, Ushyle's pissed off!
the “Twisted Hearts” as a combined tribe of orcs and giants that was led by the giant hero Uskroth. During Belkzen’s campaign to breach the Sunwall in the forty-third century ar, the Twisted Nail orc tribe counted the hill giants of the Heart Eater tribe among its strongest allies. The alliance was an unusual one in that the hill giants’ self-styled Hero Chieftain Uskroth commanded the obedience of both orcs and giants. The Twisted Hearts, as the combined tribes came to be known, were a force to be reckoned with, and Uskroth led the army to victory after victory against Lastwall, even claiming territory south of the Kestrel River while other Belkzen orcs were halted at the River Esk. Uskroth’s ambitions proved too great, however; without the backing of other orc tribes or giant reinforcements from the north, the Twisted Hearts were unable to hold the territory they had conquered, and they were eventually overwhelmed by Lastwall’s crusaders.
Whistle Pig gets distracted when he remembers the "Free Beer for Life" reward.
Tulia, in an attempt to break the tension, pipes in. "You know, I am familiar with the 'Twisted Hearts'. It's a combined tribe of orcs and giants, once lead by a giant named Uskroth. Unusual, I know. Well, as it so happens during the campaign to breach..." she goes on for a bit, explaining in a patient, almost patronizing manner.
"I think that's enough now," Raen says matter-of-factly to Skreed. She produces two strips of cloth and applies a blindfold and gag to the murderer.
She then sets to work identifying the various items. One scrap of writing takes her a moment longer than usually. Fear magic, yes, I see that... a quite powerful arcana, to be sure... She inhales sharply an instant later when she realizes what the spell actually does. It feels strange to hold literal death in her hands. She slowly rolls up the parchment. Zenobia's face appears unbidden in her mind's eye. "This one... this one I better hang on to. For an emergency."
Which I hope I never need.
STONE
LETTER
Skreed flinches with every word from Ushyle. In a matter of moments he goes from defiant provocateur to broken prisoner. His eyes dart back and forth between AGRIMMOSH and Ushyle. When he speaks, it sounds like a rationalization, though there is no remorse, "I know power. I know giants. I know strength. I know blood. The risk was worth it all. My job is done. Spilling your blood was only to be fun. Gorum will welcome me to battle again. Save your words. I don't need them." In his last sentence, he slouches. Clearly, the half-orc standing over him has cut like a knife.
You notice something about the geode. It's been worked subtly. The crystals on the inside have been chipped a bit. You turn the stone around in your hands when a flash of insight comes to you. The geode’s chipps are no fluke of nature; the geode’s crystalline valleys and mounds reflect the EXACT topography of the Mindspin Mountains, and a carved groove along the mountains seems to indicate a trail through the mountain range. It's incomplete though, there's a large piece missing.
You also recognize the name in the letter. Grenseldek is the hill giant leader of the Twisted Nail orc tribe.
Does this chamber go deeper, beyond in this direction?
Negative. Map is up to date.
"This has been worked," Raen says quietly, peering closely at the stone geode. "It's fine work. Very precise, barely noticeable."
She looks up. "It's a map. But only half."
The stone. The Orc in the letter said he needed both his and this one. The stones make the map, the Hammer is the key. We need to get them far from Trunau. Maybe even go on the offensive and get the other stone ourselves.
Who is The Giantkiller?
"I am uncertain. But I am certain that finding their tomb would be helpful to ending the Twisted Heart threat." Raen considers a moment. Better to be on the move, no? Harder to be found. "I am willing to make the journey."
First things first... We need to drag the prisoner back to Trunau, we need to bring all this treasure back, and we need to decide if we're going to let the spiders and stork parasites be, or if we should wipe them out so they don't find their way into town. Are we feeling up to a little pest control?
Ushyle thumbs back to Skreeg. Take that back first, he growls. Then we'll look into the rest.
Ushyle, he's tied up, blindfolded and gagged. And I think you really took the wind out of his sails there. He's not going anywhere. Let's just sweep through that chamber on our way home.
Oh, hey, meant to to this before... Do Orcs worship Gorum??? Knowledge Local:
They do often worship the Lord of Battle.
The party emerges from the hole again. This time with Skreed in tow. Ushyle, quite literally, drags the prisoner through the water, not caring how much he swallows. On the far side of the water stands a gimlet-eyed Kurst Grath.
Ushyle throws Skreed down at Kurst's feet. The surviving Grath brother's emotions swirl and his words are a melange of all the emotions from the last few days. "Thank you. Thank you, Heroes of Trunau. You are Giantslayers and Justice Bringers."
After the party explains the events within the cave, Kurst nods. "We have much to do, both in rebuilding, and in looking forward. Although Trunau has weathered many orc raids in the past, the Twisted Nails’ attack was by far the most devastating in recent history, and left the inner quarter largely in ruins, despite your victory there."
A bird's cry from the cave cuts him off. "It sounds like your work is not yet done. Go, clear out the cave and make sure no other saboteurs remain. We'll find this piece of filth a home. We have much to discuss. Meet me tonight at the Longhouse. We will plan our next move over a meal in peace, and drink to my brother."
Don't make that home too comfortable, Ushyle sneers as he hefts his axe and makes for the bird call with the group.
Skreed winces at Ushyle's words. As the party makes their way back into the tomb, a quick look back shows that he's not getting any better treatment from Kurst.
Hamilton skulks down the path east, longbow in one hand and a sunrod in the other.
Stealth:
Perception:
Hamilton creeps eastward, towards the noise in the cavern. Eventually he wanders beyond the natural light and has only his sunrod to see. Tangles of thick white webbing fill a ravine at the eastern end of this cavern. A thick, flat slab of dark gray stone forms a bridge across the ravine. A pair of hawk-sized avians which look much like a six-legged storks dances and pace in the large cavern. Their feathers are unkempt and greasy, and their beaks look razor-sharp.
They don't seem to take notice of the ranger.
Ham calmly puts down the sunrod and fires an arrow at one of the birds.
Hamilton, heard still pounding from the fight with Skreed wastes no time getting the jump on the Gryphs.
Surprise Round:
Hamilton: Go
Round 1:
Ushyle: Go
Hamiton: Go
Whistle Pig: Go
Doxon: Go
Raen: Go
Vael: Go
Enemy: TBD
SURPRISE!
Longbow:
Round 1:
HA! Wow...