Wulfrum takes the blow before shrugging his enemy back off him. He slaps his hand to his chest, some of the wounds knitting just slightly as he raises the Warhammer to strike again.
He swings down again trading blows with the Ogre.
Wulfrum takes the blow before shrugging his enemy back off him. He slaps his hand to his chest, some of the wounds knitting just slightly as he raises the Warhammer to strike again.
The ogrekin slashes again with his ogre hook and cuts the giant dwarf.
Zekel is pinned by Nox.
Crom = AC 25 & 60/90
Hill giant AC 21, touch 8, flat-footed 21
Lys = AC 21 & 66/66
Nerak = AC 14 & 48/48
* Nox = AC 27 with DR 2/- & 84/84
Gwenhyfar = AC 23 & 27/27
Wulfrum = AC 28 & 60-22=38+5=43-19=24/60
* Zekel = AC 19 & 51/59* –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls
Wulfrum sags a bit after a second blow lands in a row. He looks up a bit of desperate anger in his eyes and the warhammer glows as if bathed in the light of his holy symbol emblazoned on his shield.
He strikes out again in righteous fury!
Wulfrum sags a bit after a second blow lands in a row. He looks up a bit of desperate anger in his eyes and the warhammer glows as if bathed in the light of his holy symbol emblazoned on his shield. He strikes out again in righteous fury! The ogrekin crumples into green deformities
Zekel stays pinned by Nox.
Wulfrum doesn't find anything of usefulness on the ogrekin except a giant-sized longbow and arrows. By the time he returns to the group, the curse wears off Zekel and Crom.
Crom = AC 25 & 60/90
Hill giant AC 21, touch 8, flat-footed 21
Lys = AC 21 & 66/66
Nerak = AC 14 & 48/48
* Nox = AC 27 with DR 2/- & 84/84
Gwenhyfar = AC 23 & 27/27
Wulfrum = AC 28 & 24/60
* Zekel = AC 19 & 51/59* –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls
Coming to himself Zekal looks around before noticing he has been drooling.
"So..... Hmm... That was different now wasn't it."
He looks around a bit sheepishly until Wulfrum shows up.
"Looks like you found a fight."
He lays a hand on the dwarf and mutters a short prayer for Erastil to heal the defenders of his people.
Wulfrum nods as he finally makes it back into the room with the others "Aye, that might have been a bit foolish. Twenty years ago maybe, next time I'm bringing on of you young lads." he says as he claps the cleric on the shoulder.
Crom wipes the sweat from his brow, "Blasted giant sorcery will be the end of me. Let's keep movin'. Dem brutes ain't gonna stop lookin' for us. Best to keep 'em on their toes."
He opens the double doors at the end of the hall.
"I think their is less sorcery and more curse at work here. Considering the hidden skull and all. After you all"
He really needed to add some counter curse spells to his spellbook after this. He may not be a priest but wizards have their own magic to deal with that sort of thing.
Patting Zekel on the back, Lys gives him an appraising glance. "Sure. I've had people tell me they'll eat me for breakfast or lap me up whole, but that was a bit different.", she sends a dark grin at the archer. "Now, come on, the sooner we get you out of here, we can get you something to eat." She chuckles. "Something more tender than those old dwarves." He'd have eaten him. Eaten him!, a wave of fear washes across Lys' face as she turns away from the rest, taking in a deep breath.
Zekal blushes at Elize's comments. Normally pretty unflappable is he pretty flapped.
"I.. What.. No.. I'm not hungry."
He shakes his head and smiles. "Yes, no dwarfs, or people really. Lets see if we can lift this curse and settle these brutes."
"Yeah." Nox says flatly, before looking at the blood sill trickling down his arm. "Anyone got something for this?"
"I am sure Erastil will lend me his power to aid you. Hold still."
He mutters a quick prayer and lays a hand on Nox's wounds.
They heal thyselves.
Beyond the double doors of the dining hall is the outer bailey. Once a beautiful green space, this open courtyard is now overgrown with brown weeds and prickly thistles.
To the south of the large mess hall , a lowered portcullis separates the outer bailey from the inner ward . After years of neglect and exposure to harsh weather, the mechanism that once operated the gate no longer functions, leaving the portcullis frozen in place . Some of the stronger hill giants manually lift the portcullis to pass between the two courtyards, but most of the fort’s residents use the doors in the mess hall.
Crom = AC 25 & 60/90
Hill giant AC 21, touch 8, flat-footed 21
Lys = AC 21 & 66/66
Nerak = AC 14 & 48/48
* Nox = AC 27 with DR 2/- & 84-33+14=65/84
Gwenhyfar = AC 23 & 27/27
Wulfrum = AC 28 & 24+16+11=51/60
* Zekel = AC 19 & 51/59* –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls
Wulfurm looked around in the new room. "Yea, looks like the right proper mess hall here. Nothing here though by the looks of it." he said as he took a better look around it.
"Lets get out of this room. Not liking being around this hand."
Zekal noks an arrow and follows Wulfrum though the door ready to move past the giant dead hand.
Crom nods at the towers. "Do we want to clear out those giants?"
Wulfrum grunted "Took care of the one nearest us. I'm getting too old to even take care of a sick one by myself. So I guess that leaves just the one furthest from us." he said grumbling.
"Let's put him out of his misery, then."
"It would be unwise to leave any of them behind us. We can be linked to Treunau to easily and they could warn others."
"Our resources are limited. We won't be able to destroy every last enemy in a day. So long as no one loses their hopeknife, we are no different then any other adventurer. Let's prioritize leaders and not get overly concerned with minions. Anyways I doubt our orc allies will remain so after the deed is done. We should save something for them."
Lys nods at Nerak, reflexively tapping her neck for the knife that's no longer there. "Pfft. I'm special.", a half-hearted attempt at a joke. "And I agree, it'd be insulting for the orcs if we let them rest, betray us, and then we kill them despite all that. I mean, I'd let them have the excuse, but...", she chuckles. "Not that I don't like caution, Zekal Dwarfeater, but what are the giants going to say?", she asks, before starting to stumble in a giant's walk. "By the way, you know that place we attacked some time back? Half a dozen guys from there came and raided our fortress, I suggest we go back and hunt them on their own territory!" She frowns. "I think they might just be dumb enough to go for that, actually, don't answer that." She sighs.
"Anyway, will you open a door for the lady, or do we crawl through the side doors?"
Crom shrugs, "I vote to kill every last giant. And orc for that matter."
I like the idea of killing them all but the meaty gunslinger has a point...
They discuss.
Crom = AC (v. giants 25) & 60/90
Hill giant AC 21, touch 8, flat-footed 21
Lys = AC 21 (v. giants 23) & 66/66
Nerak = AC 14 & 48/48
* Nox = AC 19 (v. giants 27 with DR 2/-) & 65/84
Gwenhyfar = AC 23 & 27/27
Wulfrum = AC (v. giants 26) & 51/60
* Zekel = AC 19 & 51/59* –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls
Wulfrum simply shook his head at what all they were talking about. He wasn't one to go back on the word that he gave.
He stepped his way through dining hall and popped open the door on the other side.
Crom follows Wulfrum.
AC 21 regular, 25 vs giants.
Wulfrum simply shook his head at what all they were talking about. He wasn't one to go back on the word that he gave. He stepped his way through dining hall and popped open the door on the other side.
The giant dwarf finds a small chamber contains a simple latrine, but the room is far too cramped for him or the giants to use, making it a good temporary hiding place for you if you want.
Crom heads in and relieves himself.
Crom = AC 21 (v. giants 25) & 60/90
Hill giant AC 21, touch 8, flat-footed 21
Lys = AC 21 (v. giants 23) & 66/66
Nerak = AC 14 & 48/48
* Nox = AC 19 (v. giants 27 with DR 2/-) & 65/84
Gwenhyfar = AC 23 & 27/27
Wulfrum = AC 22 (v. giants 26) & 51/60
* Zekel = AC 19 & 51/59* –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls
Crom looks around at the others staring at him as he leaves the latrine. "You'll want to stay out of there for a while."
He then moves across the courtyard to the double doors and opens them.
Tucked in behind the dwarves Zekal makes sure his bow is ready.
"Lets push on. The gods will not solve this for us."
Crom then moves across the courtyard to the double doors and opens them.
Crom looks around at the others staring at him as he leaves the latrine. "You'll want to stay out of there for a while." He then moves across the courtyard to the double doors and opens them.
He finds a partially collapsed guard tower.
Crom = AC 21 (v. giants 25) & 60/90
Hill giant AC 21, touch 8, flat-footed 21
Lys = AC 21 (v. giants 23) & 66/66
Nerak = AC 14 & 48/48
* Nox = AC 19 (v. giants 27 with DR 2/-) & 65/84
Gwenhyfar = AC 23 & 27/27
Wulfrum = AC 22 (v. giants 26) & 51/60
* Zekel = AC 19 & 51/59* –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls
Crom moves and opens up the door to K10 and then K9.
Crom explores. In K10, he finds a narrow tower flanking the fort’s gatehouse. Because they’re so cramped, however, the hill giants have stuffed them full with furnishings too small for giants. When the door to the tower is opened, a cascade of furniture spills out onto the ground outside, creating a loud crash.
Crom = AC 21 (v. giants 25) & 60/90
Hill giant AC 21, touch 8, flat-footed 21
Lys = AC 21 (v. giants 23) & 66/66
Nerak = AC 14 & 48/48
* Nox = AC 19 (v. giants 27 with DR 2/-) & 65/84
Gwenhyfar = AC 23 & 27/27
Wulfrum = AC 22 (v. giants 26) & 51/60
* Zekel = AC 19 & 51/59* –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls
Wulfrum moves back outside and walks up to the unopened double doors that remain and opens them now that the smaller dwarf has explored more.
Zekal holds back a little as they move.
"I think that one takes us back to the orcs you spoke of. It seems there had to be more giants in here. Though there are less they are the bigger threat."
After a moment he smiles at his bigger comment. Well of course they are bigger.
Wulfrum explores. He finds a partially collapsed guard tower with stairs leading up.
Crom = AC 21 (v. giants 25) & 60/90
Hill giant AC 21, touch 8, flat-footed 21
Lys = AC 21 (v. giants 23) & 66/66
Nerak = AC 14 & 48/48
* Nox = AC 19 (v. giants 27 with DR 2/-) & 65/84
Gwenhyfar = AC 23 & 27/27
Wulfrum = AC 22 (v. giants 26) & 51/60
* Zekel = AC 19 & 51/59* –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls
Wulfrum looks over his shoulder "Oy, you lot. I think we got a way up right here to find the rest." he said before he began up the stairs.
At some point in the searching, Nox returns to normal size.
"Same as always, you go ahead, and don't worry about me accidentally shooting you. That almost never happens.", Lys chuckles as she hurries along with the rest. "Can't we just shout, and hope the giants come to us?", she asks mid-way through the search, clearly anxious to nail a giant or two.
You wander around Redlake Fort staying inside the castle and avoiding a confrontation with the orcs, yet.
You find another dead manticore from bludgeoning damage on the wall. However, you find no giants or ogres alive. They must have left during your stroll in the kitchens and outer bailey. Even the ogrekin archer is gone.
There are three rooms left unexplored.
Crom = AC 21 (v. giants 25) & 60/90
Hill giant AC 21, touch 8, flat-footed 21
Lys = AC 21 (v. giants 23) & 66/66
Nerak = AC 14 & 48/48
* Nox = AC 19 (v. giants 27 with DR 2/-) & 65/84
Gwenhyfar = AC 23 & 27/27
Wulfrum = AC 22 (v. giants 26) & 51/60
* Zekel = AC 19 & 51/59* –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls
"Very quiet in here. Lets make sure we checked all the buildings. No since leaving something behind us."
Zekal shrugs and starts to head back into the fort unless someone overrides this idea.
Crom follows Zekal back and opens the double doors near K12. "Surely we can find some more giants around here to kill - I'm just getting warmed up!"
"Say, what did we ever do with that skull? Maybe now would be a good time to take care of it."
Wulfrum felt that the threat had finally passed. He couldn't hear them, he couldn't smell them anywhere. He relaxed a bit even as others began to complain.
"You take that one, I'll go ahead and toss these open." he said wanting to make a thorough job of it before the green tide started swarming in.
"My guess would be that the skull must be reunited with the rest of it's bones and properly laid to rest. What that entails I am not sure. Could just need a simple grave or depending on this curse something more."
He says from a few dwarves behind.
"Lets check the rest of the rooms. There may be more clues to this skull and its curse."
When Crom opens the double doors, you see a circular chamber containing the fort’s water supply. A rectangular hole in the ceiling opens above,
allowing access to the well from the keep above.
Crom = AC 21 (v. giants 25) & 60/90
Hill giant AC 21, touch 8, flat-footed 21
Lys = AC 21 (v. giants 23) & 66/66
Nerak = AC 14 & 48/48
* Nox = AC 19 (v. giants 27 with DR 2/-) & 65/84
Gwenhyfar = AC 23 & 27/27
Wulfrum = AC 22 (v. giants 26) & 51/60
* Zekel = AC 19 & 51/59* –2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls
Zekal mumbles as he looks in the room. "Water?"
Zekal looks around for the next unopened door with a sigh.
Crom moves over to support Wulfrum as he opens the doors near K20.