HP 97 | AC 23 T 16 FF 17 | Fort +12* Ref +11 Will +10* | CMD 20 | Init +7 | Perc +15
With the way now clear over the dam, Siruss hobbles southward like a lame nagaji salesnake that has had way too much all night.
Double move south. This will provoke from red if it still stands, although Siruss would delay slightly to Ox and Baald to see if they can finish it off before he begins his hobbling maneuver.
Oxirane and Baaldryn work together to drop one of the hill giants! As everyone else moves up, Bizzle uses a blast of force missiles to topple one of the giants to the ground.
Initiative:
1. Baaldryn, Siruss, and Oxirane
2. Giants
3. Buckwheat, George, and Bizzle
If 15, then George flounders some more, but is in no danger of drowning.
George swims to the surface and towards the shore, attaching his extract to the potion vaporizer attachment on his mask. He breathes in the life-giving vapor as he frog kicks to shore.
Yeah, calm waters. . . for now! Nah, they won't be able to collapse the dam now. I was hoping they'd get another round to collapse it and send George washing away to sea. . . . [evil GM laugh]
The green giant stands up from the ground and tosses a rock back at Bizzle.
HP 97 | AC 23 T 16 FF 17 | Fort +12* Ref +11 Will +10* | CMD 20 | Init +7 | Perc +15
Siruss finally liberates his eastern nodachi from its scabbard as he barrels eastward past Baaldryn.
As he closes, the air about him appears to shimmer as snakeline spirits, half smoke and half ectoplasm circle about him, whispering curses in a harsh, foreign tongue. To the keen eye, they almost appear like nagaji or naga spirits swirling about him, berating him.
"No time for sspiritssss.... Ssssirusss must finisssssh giant!"
Free action to rage (controlled, strength). Spirit totem will get an attack this round as there's a giant next to Siruss at the end of his action. Siruss will power attack.
Meanwhile, Baaldryn moves in on the other giant while Buckwheat glues it in place and allows Siruss to knock it unconscious.
The final remaining giant is not able put up much of a fight against your combined strength.
Out of combat!
The outpost contains four large burlap sacks filled with the hill giant’s most prized possessions. While most of the items are nearly worthless to you, such as the log with hundreds of hair-covered nails and the strips of shredded clothing roughly sewn together into a blanket, other items are valuable. The sacks contain a masterwork dire flail, a masterwork halberd, a phylactery of faithfulness with its scripture torn out, and a stone of alarm. They also contain the following art objects, worth a total of 5,000 gp: an ivory-and-jet cloak clasp, a darkwood ship’s figurehead depicting a roaring linnorm, a platinum crown stripped of gems, a leather satchel stuffed with cat’s eye opals of varying sizes, a golden flute with its holes stoppered with wax, and a collection of masterfully painted ceramic jugs containing ale of dubious quality.
You also discover a folded letter labeled “deliver to Averaka”.
I’ve noticed an unusually high amount of giant activity nearby. Most pressingly, I spotted a group of trolls and ogres heading with purpose toward the west, in the direction of the Winter Lodge. I’m heading to the Winter Lodge to investigate. I’ve sketched my planned route below. From there, I will go wherever the giants lead me. If you find this update, please deliver it to Averaka.
The letter bears Hagal’s printed name and signature at the bottom, as well as a crude map of his planned route, which shows that he plans to cross the Little Thunder at a bridge to the north, then take cover behind a ridge of trees at the foot of the mountains as he journeys west.
Once combat is over Baaldryn will watch the raging member to see if he is one of the rare berzerkers who will attack friends until regaining clarity, and if his companion is fine, Baaldryn will assist the swimming member to climb out of the water.
"Let's continue on." George says as Mr. Chips jumps from Buckwheat over to his master.
The alchemist brushes off the excess water and pushes a nearly invisible switch on the side of his mask to deactivate the water breathing apparatus.
"If the man's route ... leads us the same ... way, then we should ... check on him to ensure Averaka's ... safety. The army can handle ... the delivery of this ... letter."
George words are interrupted by Mr. Chips bonking George on the head with a wand.
The Averakans return and under the direction of Dhiara start working on the dam and send a few messengers back to deliver the letter and update the army's intelligence on what has transpired here.
The next part of your trek, then, is to travel from the dam on the Little Thunder to a winter lodge about four hours away by which point the sun is well above the horizon. Supposedly a band of trolls has taken residence here; they have been sending out forces to battle the rogue ettin who has been causing so many problems.
The trails lead to an immense lodge built from coarsely shpaed boulders and mortar with a heavy slate roof. Massive doors stand slightly ajar, but they are so thick that even the steady gusts from the Steaming Sea hardly shift them. Deep chortling punctuated with dull chopping sounds drifts out from the structure along with wisps of smoke.
Male Dwarf HP 89/89, 1 Con | AC 29/T 23/FF 26 | CMD 39 (45 vs. trip, 43 BR, 41 grap)| Saves +12/+12/+11 (+2 vs. psn, stun, paralyze, spells & SLA, ench.) | Init +4 | Perc +23 | SM +16 | Ki 6/10 | ElemF 6/10 | StunF 6/10 | Heroes' Feast, Bark, ResistAcid30
"It sounds like there's trolls and ogres inside, but maybe one of us can sneak inside to make sure. I'm a fair hand at scouting, especially if one of our spellcasters can render me invisible."
HP 103/103 | AC 13 T 13 FF 10 | Fort +12 Ref +11 Will +4 | CMD 18 | Init +8 | Perc +20 | See in Darkness 120ft | Tiefling Mindchemist 10 | 10/21 Bombs | Ablative Barrier (100/100), Haste
Time for some puff puff pass...
Buckwheat lays out a set of potions.
"Okay, so like you drink the red one, then you gargle the blue one and spit it back out. This'll help free your body and soul from the tyranny of reality."
"I will gladly take the potions, but I am not as stealthy as our brother monk here. I shall charge forward when the time is right, as long as you tell us the time is nigh."
HP 97 | AC 23 T 16 FF 17 | Fort +12* Ref +11 Will +10* | CMD 20 | Init +7 | Perc +15
Siruss limps a little before coughing.
"Yessss, ssssneak in-haughh-caughh-HACKKK"
Wheezing a bit, he graciously accepts Buckwheat's offer before tucking the empty vials into his own belt as if that was the expected behavior after receiving a "sample".
Siruss will absolutely need invisibility to sneak. He'll apply an extended bull's strength on himself as well prior to any attempts at such (which should last 14 min unless it doesn't look like he's going to see any actions within 14 min).
Sounds like Bizzle will cast invisibility on Oxirane so he can check the place out first:
Oxirane peeks in and sees a large troll sitting at the head of the hall. Beside the leader troll lays a nasty dog-like beast with antlers and feathered wings-a peryton. Three trolls sit at the feasting table making a general mess. They speak amongst themselves in Giant, but Oxirane can't understand them.
Mr. Chips climbs through the neck of George's cloak to disappear into his tunic as the alchemist quaffs down an Invisibility extract.
"Go ahead and enter Baaldryn." the tiefling encourages the half-orc as he starts to shimmer into invisibility. "Unless you'd rather I handle the trolls with a bit of guile and poison."
If Baaldryn encourages him, George will pull out his remaining doses of modified Count Ambras' Punishment and quickly mix them together before spiking the troll's food as they eat. He will keep a wide berth around the dog to avoid any scent detection.
GM:
If you allow this, then each troll will need to make a DC 23 Fortitude Save against the poison. Two doses each. 1 Dex drain and Nauseated after one minute; 1d2 Dex Drain per round after that for nine rounds. If they fall to both poisons, then the DC is 25 and it lasts twelve rounds.
"Just entering would be rude. Unless someone was in danger. I shall knock first as that would be appropriate." Did Balldryns cursory search reveal anything?
Unless stopped, Baaldryn will walk up to the door and knock.
Baaldryn was not able to find anything interesting without risking blatantly getting the trolls' attentions by moving stuff around.
The voices inside go quiet as Baaldryn knocks on the door. A loud voice calls out something in Giant. Looks like no one understands Giant though.
DC 15 Linguistics:
"Enter!"
(Assuming you open the door) You see what was already reported: a troll sits at the head of the hall next to a disgusting dog-like creature. Three trolls sit at the table. They do not immediately reach for their weapons but just stare at you with dumb expressions on their faces. They seem to have moved on to a brutal game involving dice and lopping off each others fingers with a hatchet. Their fingers regrow as you stand watching.
Baaldryn indeed opens the door and stays at the entrance for a brief moment (allowing those who are invisible to enter) before he steps forward. he casts comprehend languages before he knocks "Greetings. My name is Baaldryn Ozemson and I have some inquiries for you. Can we parlay?
HP 97 | AC 23 T 16 FF 17 | Fort +12* Ref +11 Will +10* | CMD 20 | Init +7 | Perc +15
Siruss watches as the others reach for scrolls, surmising their purpose before ensuring his own scroll is in easy reach on his belt. However, he does not read its contents yet.
Linguistics:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Bobbing his head, he nods.
"Yesssss, sssssoundsss like mean, come in..."
Siruss shrugs.
"Ssssirrussss door-to-door sssssalessss... heard ssspoken in every imaginable language...."
Once they are in, Siruss attempts to make the universal signs for friend and trade, while waving his nagaji servants over to provide samples to the troll gathering.
Linguistics:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
He speaks in Common, independent of their ability to understand it.
"Yesss, free ssssample.... good to help skin regrow fassssster."
Bizzle and Baaldryn can understand the trolls speaking to each other. The head troll growls, "What the f@!$ are they saying? Who are these people." Another troll laughs and says, "Probably giving a report on the ogres' progress." The chieftain barks back, "A report on their deaths, you mean! Blasted ogres, I knew I shouldn't have trusted them going to the ruins alone! That ettin probably tore them limb-from-limb and now we'll be next!"
"The visitors..." one of the trolls reminds the leader. "Hrmph!" the leader grunts and turns back to you. "I am Underchief Shrakas! Who are you and what news do you bring?"
