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Sander sighs deeply, though whether it's over Quill's decision -- or that he can't make the same one himself right now -- isn't quite clear.
"You are a real hero, son" he says. "You've helped keep us alive plenty of times with your arrows, and your hugging. But I understand. I wish I could go home too, but I need to make sure Louly's safe before I do. I'll feel better if you're there, though. I know you'll protect her if anything else happens to Trunau."
He rummages in his bag, pulling out a sheaf of papers that barely fit into a scroll tube. "This is what I have written for Louly, if you can deliver it. Tell her I'm sorry it's so short and I couldn't get more details in, but ... they were too horrible to relive. So many horrible moments where we almost all died."
"You did alright, Elf-boy," Molly says after the others have had their say.
She drums her fingers on her belt, then smiles. A bit.
"Go have a good life. Make some quality arrows. If we ever stop by Trunau, give us a discount, yeah? Also..."
She leans over and whispers in Quill's ear for what can't possibly be more than a minute, but will probably feel like a very uncomfortable eternity for the young fletcher. When she'd done, the Witch gives him a very wicked grin.
"... And if you do all that, she'll not only bark like a dog, but she'll likely never let you of her sight again for more than five minutes. Good luck."
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Even Chwaer blushes after Molly's ... talk. "I haven't been with you long Quill, but it's been a joy to see how all of you operate. It was nice to know when I was running toward a giant, your arrows would be flying overhead. It sounds like you have a lovely home to return to, enjoy it."
With Quill gone, there is a hole in your roster. While no one could doubt Storn and Chwaer's ability to deal out damage to gigantic foes, Quill's loss left you feeling vulnerable. So you did what any good adventuring party would do...put out a notice on the Adventurer's Guild board.
There weren't too many applicants, after all who in their right mind would want to take on a giant army? But there were a few. One stood out, though, not for his combat prowess but for his ability to lend the party much needed support and healing. With some combat healing in play, maybe you wouldn't have to rely on consumables so much. Also, having a bard along could be entertaining.
You take the time to fill this new addition to the party in on your experiences so far, starting with that horrific day when the orcs attacked Trunau, and ending with your clearing of the Cathedral of Minderhal and the information you found there. And then you spoke of your intention to find this village of Skirgaard and disrupt the training camp there, along with trying to find the location of the Storm Tyrant's sky castle.
As you wait a few days to rest and recover, and allow Molly to create a few items, you make your plans to move on Skirgaard. From the maps you found in the cathedral, you figure the trip will take 2-3 weeks from Janderhoff, even with judicious use of the Zeppelstorn. Given that Skirgaard lies high in the Mindspin Mountains, a much higher elevation than Minderhal Valley, it is likely that you will encounter cold weather, perhaps even extremely cold weather. Also, from the notes, you can tell that there will be a lot of giants there. Certainly more than the six of you could reasonably assault from the front. You'll have to wait until you get there to assess the overall situation, but the odds are good that you'll have to take some kind of hit and run, or guerrilla warfare approach.
Sander decides to purchase some cold weather clothes -- a nice fur-lined coat and hood and mittens -- as well as checking his notes to make sure he's got plenty of ingredients for his warming extract .
"Are you sure you want to come with us, Pyrrhus?" he asks as he collects his gear. "We're probably all going to die. You're not leaving anyone here, are you?"
Pyrrhus returns to his seat carrying a big mug of dwarven stout in one hand and a plate with dried sausage, hard cheese, fried mushrooms with garlic and warm, hard bread.
"Yes, I've already decided and I've given you all my word... I generally don't go back in neither decisions nor words." He raises his eyebrows, concerned. "Unless of course, you have someone else in mind or don't want my company, in which case I'd have no choice."
After a long drink of his ale and cleaning his moustache and beard, Pyrrhus continues. "We are all going to die someday, and while I do prefer to live for many years yet, I don't recall reading or hearing of a tale were someone over-worried about dying did not indeed died!"
He then points in the direction of the common room behind the walls. "I'll be leaving all them... all my people, and they are the reason behind my decision. If what you are doing is as important as I understood, it is my duty to my kin." He then smiles, showing he is not that worried. "Also, you have not heard many tales, do you? Only those who ever have something or someone to return to, do indeed return."
Storn enthusiastically greets Pyrrhus. Storn is a massive hulk of a man with wild hair and beard in spiked plate armour, dripping with weapons, with a large sack over his shoulder. Notably one of his hands is completely made of steel. "You should come with us, there is a good chance we will all die gloriously!"
With their journey north set, Storn is very comfortably set up in traditional Ulfen fur-lined clothing. He is a man of cold weather and this is akin to a homecoming for the northerner.
Pyrrhus hits his mug against Storn's. "I'll drink to that! But I'd prefer to fight gloriously and live, of course, as no story is actually a story if there is no one to tell it!" He laughs.
Pyrrhus is tall for a dwarf, standing at 4 feet and a half in height and weighting around 200 pounds. His hair and beard are light brown in color, almost blond. His hair is kept long and loose, while his beard in short and braided in some points, as it is the norm for the warriors. He is well built and athletic. When he was a child, he lost his left leg, which was replaced by an ornate wood prosthetic leg reinforced with steel, giving him a somewhat strange gait as he walks.
Sander sighs, afraid their new companion is maybe a bit too like Storn. Both of them have already lost a limb and replaced it. He can't help wonder if Pyrrhus did it intentionally, like Storn did. Quill could be foolish sometimes, but he seemed to understand that they weren't just wanting to die, at least.
He sighs and takes a long pull of his own mug, hoping to drown his ever-increasing sorrows. He looks around and wonders why Molly has been so quiet lately.
Chwaer toasts Pyrrhus heartily, "welcome brother! Don't let Storn fool you, he flirts with death but so far has led the dance."
The maps you found in the Minderhal Cathedral led you straight to Skirgaard with a minimum of trouble. Past experience taught you how to get the most out of the zepplestorn, crossing high ridges and keeping a relatively straight route. You managed to convert a journey that would normally take 4-5 weeks into just over 15 days of travel. An added benefit is that you avoided a lot of the wildlife perils of the mountains, as well.
Mid-morning on the 16th day, you came to the plateau that housed Skirgaard. The camp was vast, as might be expected for a training camp of giants, with dozens, of not hundreds of giants present. There were watchtowers around the perimeter and in the camp itself, 11 in total, and several large buildings. There were two areas of tents, likely for the lowest level of recruits, one on the lower portion of the plateau, and one higher. Each had dozens of tents. Giants patrol the area inside the camp, as well as along a road that leads from the plateau to the base of the mountain, where captured slaves work fields of barley, potatoes, onions, wheat, hops, and forage for their mammoths.
From your vantage point, you get an overview of the situation, but are concerned about getting any closer because of the danger the watchtowers represent.
Storn looks at the place for an exceedingly long time, threatening anyone who interrupts his train of thought. Finally, he speaks.
"So we need to know where the Storm King is or whatever minion runs this place. Also training camps are bad. We should get rid of the training camp. Probably not useful to kill everyone, just have to kill the right ones - there will be blood enough for Gorum. Maybe free their slaves, disrupt food. Make life miserable so they don't want to be here. I think we learned in Minderhal that the giants aren't very loyal. Make it easier for them to leave than stay."
He looks at the group. "One of you sneaky people, go sneak. Tell us what the place is like."
Chwaer laughs at Pyrrhus's face when they all climb aborad the zeppelstorn, "hang on brother!"
When they arrive near the camp, she listens to Storn and nods, "I'll go take a peek." She secures all her gear to limit the noise and begins moving toward the camp.
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Pyrrhus laughs at the group's unusual way of transport. "I'll not write about this on my journal! It will be a ridiculous tale, and I don't write comedies." He then gives an idea prior to climbing aboard. "Have you thought about buying a saddle?"
---
As they fly around the camp, Pyrrhus tries his best search for anything unusual or that could give them either an advantage or a clue to the place's weak point.
Once on the ground, Pyrrhus gives his opinion about the matter as Chwaer leaves to scout. "This place is too big for a direct fight as you certainly know, so I agree with Storn that hit and run tactics are our best course of action... in fact, as long as we can keep our presence hidden, the better."
"You say these giants are not really loyal to each other, so perhaps we can start with some sabotages that could be pinned on themselves... we could start with their mammoths!" He smiles, thinking of a plan. "If we can scare the beasts and send them away, I bet many giants will go after them... then we could either ambush those outside the camps, or take the opportunity to invade it easier."
"Maybe we should try slipping in and talking to the poor slaves?" Sander suggests. "They can hopefully tell us more about the place, and we can see if we can free them!"
Pyrrhus nods to Sander. "We certainly could talk to them... however if we free them, it will become clear to the giants that someone is messing with them, causing them to become alert."
"Also, while a noble deed, are we certain we can protect the slaves once we free them? It took us two weeks 'as Storn flies' for us to reach here, with no settlement close by... if we send these slaves on their own, I'm not sure they'd survive 4 to 5 weeks of march and if we keep them with us, it would be impossible for us to remain hidden, and an open battle would be inevitable."
From your vantage high in the sky, you can't see much about the slaves' conditions. The ones on the plateau always have eyes on them, and the fenced in area to the Northeast seems to be a holding pen with barrack-style buildings and a fence with a gate. The ones down at the bottom of the mountain working the fields have a few overseers and the patrols.
The mammoths were stabled in the large paddock on the western side of the plateau.
"Yeah, we probably can't free them all right away, but ... we should make sure they know we plan to!" Sander says.
"I would need to rest so I can prepare the right extracts," he continues, rubbing his hands together to keep them warm -- though the earlier extract to protect him from the cold means it's not really necessary, but it's hard to stop the habit when he can see his breath misting up. "With invisibility and disguise self, I could probably sneak in and talk..."
"Certainly, and if possible I'd like to join you, even if I can't be as sneak as an invisible person." Pyrrhus offers.
Storn looks somewhat wistfully at the mammoths. As a refugee from the Realm of the Mammoth lords after the Worldwound drove his people out, he hasn't seen one of the holy beasts for years. Eventually he looks back.
Storn nods once. "We free the slaves first, they will know much and if they have no labour, they start to have problems already. Every supply line we find, we cut."
Chwaer laughs at Pyrrhus's face when they all climb aborad the zeppelstorn, "hang on brother!"
When they arrive near the camp, she listens to Storn and nods, "I'll go take a peek." She secures all her gear to limit the noise and begins moving toward the camp.
Stealth: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (10) + 22 = 32
Perception: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (6) + 19 = 25
Chwaer works her way toward the camp, keeping an eye out for anything useful. She struggles at first to climb up toward the upper camp but eventually finds some hand and footholds. Anticipating Storn's fascination with the few things in the world hairier than him, she takes a look at the mammoth cages before trying to determine how difficult it will be to open the slave pens. She focuses specifically on any small openings that she and the others may be able to utilize but that the giants may have ignored (EA Tight Space).
That done, she reports back to the group.
As the others planned for their excursion to the fields, Chwaer used the cover of night to sneak up the plateau road and find the palisade nearest the slave pens. She managed to get over the wall with a bit of noise, and over to the fences around the slave pens. These weren't that high, and they were slatted, more for general isolation than for actually keeping the slaves contained against their will. In a fenced in giant camp on a mountain plateau, where were they going to go?
As she was trying to decide what to do, Chwaer heard a bark, followed by another, and then a howl. There were wolves in the camp!
At the first sounds of wolves, Chwaer curses to herself. She begins to move as quickly as she possibly can back to the others. She vaults over boulders and debris in her way while trying to stay quiet.
After stumbling over yet another pile of giant wolf scat, she looks around to make sure she's going in the right direction. She grabs two rations and tosses them in opposite directions before continuing to flee.
Chwaer throws herself at the fence.
The wolves begin to bay, the sound a more heart-piercing version of the hunting dog's. Chwaer scrambled away, fleeing in panic, and not being nearly as stealthy as she hoped. She threw herself at the log palisade, quickly climbing, jaws snapping at her heels as the first of the truly gigantic wolves burst into sight. The noises of giants rousted from their beds and patrols shouting at the wolves covered the last of Chwaer's escape as the dwarf slid down the mountainside to her rendezvous with the others.
The slave pens in the camp are lightly guarded. Not too surprising with the patrols and the wolves roaming the camp here in the wild mountains. From the little you were able to glimpse, the slave pens looked barely more than barracks - places for the slaves to sleep and not much else. Communal fire pits among the buildings were likely dual purpose warmth and cooking places. The slaves were all in their barracks, but an estimate based on the size of the buildings and their layout suggested a population of 50-60 humanoids.
Chwaer ducks as the group reacts to her bolting into camp, "don't shoot! I think I lost them!" She settles to the ground to catch her breath, "They have gigantic wolves up there - I know a few smelled or heard me. It looks like the slaves are really only there because there's nowhere to go or any way to escape ..." She finishes telling them what she learned as her heart rate starts to return to normal.
Sander winces as he hears the wolves.
I don't want to hurt her feelings, but I'm not sure she's quite as good at this as Kipa was. Oh well. I really hope they don't follow her.
He sighs heavily.
"Maybe it would be good if some of them followed you? We could lure them out and deal with them just a few at a time? Though then the rest of the camp would probably be on guard."
Storn beams at Chwaer. "Giant wolves?! This is very good. You should have killed them and brought us pelts, but there will be a next time. Here is my plan. We stand by where the wolves and patrols go, and then beat the patrols to death with the wolves. Then we let the slaves go. It is a very good plan."
Pyrrhus is still very concerned about freeing the slaves in the mountains. "Storn, I mean no offense, but your plan will probably kill the slaves if not all of us... according to what Chwaer said, the defenses around the slave camps are poor because there is simply nowhere for them to go! We are high on the mountains, surrounded by peaks, snow, and an unknown number of wild animals, giants, and possibly other monsters."
"The giants are not worried about guarding the slaves because they know that if they flee, they'll die in the wilds... by freeing the slaves, we'll be responsible for their lives. Unless we can find a hidden cave where we can hide them all, or guide them back to some town, we'll have to take care of them while trying to keep hidden from the giants, or they will attack us all at once."
Storn furrows his brow as he listens to the eloquent dwarf. "Hmrph. Probably right then. Need somewhere to free them -to-. If they are not guarded well, then we can just walk up and ask one some questions? They would know if freeing them is safe. Also slaves may know a lot and have good information."
His face lights up. "Also we can still kill some patrols that way."
"Yes, that's the plan!" Sander says exasperatedly. "But we're going to sneak in, to talk to them. We'll let them know we're here and plan to free them as soon as we can, but also get more information!"
The rest of the night passed uneventfully. There were some wolf howls in the distance, up the plateau, but nothing closer. The next morning, you made your preparations to approach the slaves. You spent the morning watching from a distance, learning the patrol patterns and seeing the general layout of the farms and how the slaves were put to work. As expected, the giant overseers were few, and the two patrols you saw mostly just walked around talking to each other, occasionally sneering at the slaves or beating ones that seemed to not be working hard enough. It would be easy enough to sneak in under the guise of invisibility, though there wasn't much cover otherwise. Alternatively, if someone wanted to shuck their armor and wear ratty clothing in the cold, there was a chance you could just blend into the slave population.
Molly has eyed the whole situation in silence for a while, chewing on a single blade of grass she's dug up from somewhere. Possibly from her pack.
Finally, she speaks up: "Sander, have you got one of those extracts of invisibility? 'Cause I got a suggestion. What we need is a diversion, and I mean a big diversion. And hey, there's some mammoths. And hey..."
The Witch turns her mismatched eyes, sky blue and imperial purple, on the others, and gives them a mirthless grin.
"... I can talk to animals, which mammoths sure is. If I can talk them inta throwing a wobbler, the mess should be big enough so's we can do whate'er the heck we like. An' unlike Chwaer, I can just fly in, so the wolves shouldn't have so easy a time spottin' me."
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Chwaer's jaw drops at the possibility, "are you saying you can talk to the mammoths, sorry, the invisible mammoths and have them run amuck?" Her eyes go wide, "that is awesome."
Pyrrhus nods. "That could certainly work... with this distraction and us disguising ourselves as slaves, we could certainly get some answers."
"Nah, it'd be me going invisible," Molly corrects Chwaer. "The mammoths is in the camp, we saw them from atop Zeppelstorn, remember?"
The Witch's grin turns wolfish.
"And yeah, I kinda love the idea'a mammoths plowing through Giants, too."
Molly smiles at Pyrrhus, next.
"Who knows? If we can cause a big enough mess, maybe we can pull a Storn and smash the whole operation in one go. You'd like that, wouldn't ya, big boy?"
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Pyrrhus ponders Molly's question before answering. "The answer for your question depends on a lot of 'ifs'... if the giants defenses are that disorganized... if we don't get the slaves in danger... if we can kill them faster than they can call for reinforcements."
"My people have a long history of fighting giants and so far, most of the battles were won with planning. Yes, I'd like for this battle to be easy, but I advise you against not planning accordingly and just hope for the best."
Molly stares at Pyrrhus... and gives him a hearty clap on the shoulder.
"Pyrrhus, I know we haven't known each other long, but I already like you. We're going to get along just fine."
"but I advise you against not planning accordingly and just hope for the best."
Storn shrugs. "Battle command is the realm of others, provided there is battle." He ponders the mammoths. "Mammoths are scared to my people, and as such sending them to rampage over giants is very good. They will die in battle as all of us should."
He takes a very long moment to think. "So we cause a big distraction and go question some slaves while the guards deal with mammoths. Fine. Let's do it. Do we know what we are to ask? How many giants, who are the scariest ones, where they get their supplies, and if there is a safe place for the slaves where they can flee to."
Sander nods at Molly's question, and then plan (though he can't help but thinking just sneaking in probably would have been safer!). "I was about to make some extracts, so I'll make sure I have an invisibility one prepared."
When he's done, he hands one of the invisibility extracts to Molly.
The day's plans in hand, Molly grabbed her extracts from Sander and headed up the mountain, while the rest of you headed to the lowlands to prepare for the slaves' arrival.
****************
Molly moved up the mountain, sticking to the crags when she could. When she got within a few hundred feet of the plateau, she realized that she wasn't going to be getting any closer without being spotted by the giants on the watchtowers. From her spot in a seam in the cliffside, Molly could see that the giants were fairly alert. They may be isolated int eh hinterlands, but whoever was running this place had a pretty decent eye for security.
****************
The rest of you took up positions near the fields. Not knowing which fields the slaves were going to be in today, or how they would be spread out, you found a small gully with a downed tree over part of it. Near to one side was a barley field, with corn and potatoes on the other side. Surely there would be someone in either of those fields to talk with. A road ran to the east of the barley field, and you guessed that was the edge of where the slaves were allowed to go.
Soon enough, you heard a commotion, and a quick peek over the gully's edge showed you a patrol of 6 frost giants leading a pack of slaves down to the fields. The slaves were quickly put to work weeding the fields and gathering grass in bundles, presumably to feed to the mammoths. Two of the frost giants continued down the road, while the other four took up positions around the fields.
As the giants approach, Sander drinks his barkskin extract, giving him just a little extra protection.
"I could also use invisibility and sneak in to try to talk to them," he suggests. "Though that could scare them. Maybe we should just try sneaking in and then pretending to help work? I can use invisibility to sneak out."
He tries to see how closely the giants are watching.
HP 69/69 (+20 for extract)
AC 21, touch 14, flat-footed 18 (inc. barkskin)
Fort +10 (immune to poison), Ref +12, Will +5 (+2 vs. fear)
CMD 18
Bombs: 0/14; Mutagen: 0/1; Spontaneous healing: 0/20; Blast 0/1; wand 50/50
Sipping jacket: displacement 0/9
Effects: +4 Con (+2 Fort saves), +2 AC, -2 Cha; barkskin (+4 AC), 100 mins.
Extracts; Blast Finesse ritual: []
[ooc] 1st (5/day): endure elements [x], expeditious retreat [], enlarge person [], shield [], stone fist []
2nd (4/day): alchemical allocation [][], barkskin [x], perceive cues []
3rd (4/day) fly [], invisibility [x], invisibility [], displacement [x]
4th (2/day) absorbing barrier [], assume appearance []
From his position, Sander gathered that the giants wee more looking for loafers and maybe dangers to their charges than actually paying attention to what the slaves were doing. Maybe someone small like himself could infiltrate without too much trouble. A large man like Storn would have more issues.
Sander looks nervous, and then realizes Chwaer is pretty small too.
Storn grunts affirmatively, waving Sander off to go talk to the giants while he waits back with Pyrrhus.
Chwaer nods along, "that will work. What happens if it goes south? Are we running? Fighting?" She finishes honing the edge on her axe and looks around with a grin on her face.
Molly moved up the mountain, sticking to the crags when she could. When she got within a few hundred feet of the plateau, she realized that she wasn't going to be getting any closer without being spotted by the giants on the watchtowers. From her spot in a seam in the cliffside, Molly could see that the giants were fairly alert. They may be isolated in the hinterlands, but whoever was running this place had a pretty decent eye for security.
First off, from her place of hiding, Molly casts Detect magic and scans the scene below her. If she does not spot anyone with magical auras among the guards, she drinks the extract of Invisibility she got from Sander and activates her Flight Hex.
Invisible, inaudible, and doing her damndest not to hit anything, the Witch flies into camp. At the first sign that she's been spotted, she activates Snake Style and makes ready to beat a swift retreat.
Pyrrhu nods to Sander and wishes him and Chwaer good luck as he awaits for their return with information. "If a fight is inevitable, we'll join you as fast as we can, but in this case we shall try to finish it as fast as possible in order to not draw the whole camp's attention."
Sander looks at Chwaer like she's grown a second head.
"Run, of course!" he yelps.
"Let's try to stay close," he suggests, "so I can sure my invisibility extract when we try to get out."
Once their preparations are set, he heaves another heavy sigh and heads out to sneak into the camp, staying even lower to the ground than his usual stature.