"Sounds like some kind of warning. Forward men!"
To the north is a long hallway lit periodically by torches. Some of them have smoldered out, leaving areas of the hallway in somewhat dimmer light but it is still enough to spot the grisly decor-limbs and entrails and heads hewn from bodies both humand-sized and gargantuan litter the hallway and hang from the walls by spikes or chains. The air is rancid and foul.
Bert easily notices (and disables) a set of five pit traps hidden in the floor along the length of the hallway. There are five doors leading off from this hall.
The wooden walls of this wide timber room are adorned with dozens of trophies, some of which seem to be still alive judging by their feeble twitchings and cries. The majority of the trophies are animals—bears, aurochs, giant lizards, and a few monsters—but here and there hang the mutilated bodies of orcs or humans.
As you head back up, General Stom is waiting for you. "Almost forgot," she says, "here's some stuff Jubbek left upstairs. Help yourselves."
Amid the countless heads, limbs, and tusks hanging from the roof or lashed to the walls are an incredibly dirty but very fine rug worth 600 gp, a masterwork pike, three +3 crossbow bolts jammed into a doorframe, a pair of sable gloves worth 150 gp, a tapestry depicting humans vanquishing giants that is covered with foul graffiti in charcoal worth 200 gp if cleaned, a Medium +1 breastplate, and a scroll of spell resistance unfurled and used as a knife target
Argust spies the tapestry. Humans? Should be dwarves.
Brelar points to the closest door on the western wall, "Let's start there."
"Hey, maybe I should listen at them first!"
-Posted with Wayfinder
Bert can hear muffled sounds through the thick door; something is certainly inside, although he can't tell what.
Once you throw open the door, you see that the chamber's floor has been divided into three long forty-foot-deep pits, each separated by a ten-foot-wide wall. The tops of the walls double as walkways between the three pits. Openings ten feet off the ground int he east walls of the pits connect to what appear to be greased chutes leading up. Each of the pits is filled with a hideous, foul-smelling slurry of gravel, water, splintered bones, and decayed globs of flesh.
The room itself is guarded by a group of three wyvern-like purple dragon-kin with large orange wings.
The first pit contains two hill giants and one fire gaint, all of whom have had their hands lopped off. the middle pit contains seven trolls. The final pit contains a fat hill giant wearing shackles and a chain around his neck.
(+2 underground)
The dragons lurch forward with a surge of speed to fly at the party and block your entrance to the room! Their pounces are followed by a series of savage attacks!
The third stays back and spits a ball of acid at the party which explodes into a cloud of noxious poison!
"Rift drakes! Watch out for their acid bre--oops, too late."
The agile halfling ducks and lets the noxious fumes pass harmlessly by him, then bounces up and shoots at the one on Karn.
Bert puts a bullet in one of the drakes as Karn follows that up with a heavy blow from his hammer!
#2: 51 dmg
Argust seems unhappy with the recent turn of events. He then takes a 5' step forward and attacks!
for
for
for
Brelar casts scorching ray using 2 rays at the most wounded one and the third ray at the first.
Argust easily chops up one of the drakes! Brelar then helps bring the next one near to death! It still fight on though and both drakes focus all of their ire on the dwarf who killed their companion!
#2: 101 dmg
Bert calls on his magical reserves and shoots the wounded one!
Argust moves to the next enemy!
for
for
for
Brelar waits to see if the wyvren survives the onslaught.
If so, he sends a volley of magic missiles at it!
Bert puts a bullet in the drake and a small tap from Argust collapses it to the ground! Argust then swings into the next one with reckless abandon! Brelar hits it with a set of missiles as it savages attacks Argust!
It then takes little effort from Argust to take down the last drake.
The lone occupant of the farthest pit begins calling out, "Please! I swear on the name of all the giant clans to serve you faithfully to the end of my days! You have destroyed our wardens! Our saviors!"
Savin' giants? What's going on, Brelar? I thought we was killin' evil giants?
"Evil giants, most certainly. Though not all giants are evil Argust. Some can be down right reasonable." Brelar explains.
"You there, giant, what is your name? What can you tell us of the others in this area?" Brelar asks.
"Oh, praise you, savior! This one is called Togbad." You note that this fat and particularly disgusting old hill giant has been hobbled and crippled so that he can't walk or stand. The other pit contains two hill giants and a fire giant, all three of whom have had their hands savagely cut off. The seven trolls have not been maimed, it seems.
"Oh, Chief Jubbek is a cruel one, that is no doubt. His rooms are that way." He points north. "Chief Jubbek, he did this to us, he punishes those he does not like. Shoanti prisoners I tried to help escape. . . caught. . . not look at Togbad! Togbad hates him, yes, hates Chief Jubbek! Please, I pledge my life to you!"
How come them trolls ain't been... oh, I get it! Argust laughs as if he found his own inside joke.
"You got it, Argust! How could you tell?" Bert chuckles along with the dwarf.
-Posted with Wayfinder
"How about the rest of you?" Brelar calls out to the rest of the captives. "Most of you look like you've had the fight taken out of you. Will you aid us against Chief Jubbek, or are you just ready to leave?"
There is some grunting and farting from the troll pit but the other giant pit calls out "Leave! Let us leave!" The trolls assent that they would like to leave as well.
In a much lower tone, "Are you three in agreement with this course of action?"
Brelar is really good at fire so I don't think them trolls will be any trouble.
Bert nods. "Let them go."
-Posted with Wayfinder
With a little help, the hobbled giants and trolls make it out of the pits and let themselves out. They give you no trouble and in fact seem grateful for their turn in fortune.
Across the way is a vast chamber torn into the volcanic stone. The room arches up to a vaulted ceiling some sixty feet above, while a natural ramp rises up to the east where mounds of ratty old furs have been heaped in several nestlike mounds. To the northwest, a large sinkhole slumps into the ground.
This cavern is disgusting and the only things of value that you find are a poorly cured dire bear pelt worth 50 gp, an emormous hat made of sewn mice and a set of three fractured garnets worth 110 gp. Finally, you find a piece of masterwork hide armor that has been stuffed with feathers and clearly used as a pillow.
-Posted with Wayfinder
Giants, fire giants, trolls, hill giants. All sorts of giantkin!
He would? Why? Its disgustin' in here!
The vast circular chamber you have stepped in to rises to a height of sixty feet, the smooth stone walls tapering upward to form a conical ceiling. The cloor of the chamber is made of a lyare of wooden planks, but periodic gaps between the floorboards reveal that a dark hollow space extends below. To the east and west large sections of wall have crumbled away to allow access to caverns beyond.
A lava tube to the west winds deeper into the rock. To the east looms a large cavern dominated by an immense throne made of wooden timbers and mastodon bones. Beyond this huge throne rise two ledges-the higher one is littered with a prodigious mound of animal pelts and furs, while a large battered chest sits against the eastern wall of the lower ledge.
Directly before you on the wooden 'stage', four surly hill giants are dressed as Shoanti barbarians staging a mock fight. Supposedly this is for the pleasure of Chief Jubbek, a fat hill giant who sits on the throne in the next room. Jubbek is attended by a fire giant bodyguard standing to the right of the throne. A female hill giant concubine lounges on Jubbek's other side and three more concubines occupy the chamber behind. On the ledge to the southeast is Jubbek's pet smilodon, Skullcracker.
"Who dares disturb my halls?" Jubbek thunders. "Kill the intruders! I'll have their heads for lunch!"
(+2 underground)
Brelar opens a hungry pit under the throne!
DC 23 Ref, DC 21 Ref for adjacent foes.
August moves forward and attacks Giant #3!
for
for
Bert casts good hope!
-Posted with Wayfinder
Brelar opens a pit beneath the throne and swallows up three of the giants in one quick move! Argust then rushes in and staggers one of the Shoanti-acting giants with a powerful blow! Bert gives the party hope as the giants come to their senses and try to recover!
The three actor giants go for Argust:
The concubines toss rocks at him:
The smilodon moves around to get closer.
The giants in the pit prove quite adept at climbing and pull themselves up towards the lip of the pit.
jub: 51 dmg
FG: 51 dmg
C1: 51 dmg
G3: 97 dmg
Argust will continue to attack #3, if he goes down I'll 5' step to #4.
for
for
for
Brelar casts phantasmal killer on the smilodon. "Bad kitty," he mutters to himself.
DC 22 Will/Fort or take
Jubbek makes some progress climbing up the pit but the others are hopeless. The pit chomps away! Argust steps over and chops up another giant and then deals a devastating wound to another! Brelar then fills the giant cat's mind with terrifying images of huge dogs and it drops dead in fright!
jub: 61 dmg, pit
FG: 64 dmg, pit
C1: 64 dmg, pit
G1: 50 dmg
Karn lays into one of the other actor giants!
jub: 61 dmg, pit
FG: 64 dmg, pit
C1: 64 dmg, pit
G1: 50 dmg
G2: 34 dmg