She holds her hand out to him to help her to the table where she takes a seat. "I can't wait to try it, I think I'm starving."
She holds his arm after he lets her go and looks up at him with a smile. Staying positive and trying to reassure Vivi tha teverything is okay, she says "Nonsense. I did what needed to be done. You would have done the same in my place, I know it. I am blessed by the Gods to have returned to you all and I am quite sure now more than ever that I never want any part of adventuring ever, ever again."
Delendir scouts beyond the trees and then returns back to the party to inform them of what he saw. Four ogres with several captures cows that have likely been stolen from the surrounding lands.
As the half-elf makes his way back to the rest of the group he quickly speaks in whispers "There are four ogres. They are capturing cows from the surrounding lands... I know our main mission is way more important, but my heart cannot quite help the thought this monsters are ruining and killing the land. I say we act"
When Jessica raises her question he somehow realizes she has not been there during their struggle at Hook Mountain "Regretfully they are just beasts allied with the giants on their desire to conquer lower Varisia. They killed most of the Black Arrows, merciless, the way they killed their commander Lamatar Bayden and his lover was most despicable Jessica, they even set a trap and forced her to see his death..."
"If you also think we have to stop them, we need a plan. We have the numbers on them, but we cannot sort out there are some more to help them once the combat starts. If we can create an initial distraction the rest of us can land over them on surprise and finish them before they can even scratch us" Delendir looks at the group for help on coming up with something.
”I said she didn’t want to know,” Sunday growls before rubbing the side of his head.
Yavenee shudders at the thought. "If they catch you, try to kill as many as you can, and force them to kill you if you cannot take them. It would be better that way." she says ominously.
Delendir nods to Daud "Yes, yes, I know what you said. Well, about moving forward, maybe the distraction can be this: Daud, you charge straight against them and kill as many as you can, just as Yavenee proposed. Meanwhile we will fall back from behind them with all our strength to cut any retreat. We do not want having to spend days looking after fleeing ogre bandits"
”Works for me.” Sunday says as he looks towards the trees.
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The witch nods, a thrum of power pulsing from her hands as she begins to draw upon her magic, tracing symbols in the air. Looking over at Sunday with a smile, she walks over to him, pressing a hand to the center of his chest as she goes up onto her toes to lightly plant a kiss on his cheek.
"This may buy you time to get close....and add to the pain you bring them."
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Sunday arches a brow curiously at that witchy smile, knowing something was coming soon after. The feeling of the magic flooding in to him, both pleasant and unpleasant at the same time for him, almost made him miss the kiss, causing him to blink quite a bit as his entire body expanded. Smirking down at the even smaller witch he simply says ”My thanks, Miss Yavenee. It should indeed.”
Then he strides towards the noise.
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Jessica listened to what she was told about these ogres and how to deal with them and didn't understand just how vile they could be until she heard about what some of them did to the two lovers. That made her eyes narrow in anger but she still held herself back as she said, "Are they so universally evil with no chance of being decent beings? Short of creatures that originate solely on evil aligned planes I find it difficult to believe that they are all evil and should be slaughtered."
The way that Yavenee spoke of what to do if she was overrun truly threw Jessica off. She didn't know the witch all that well but Jess found it hard to accept that the outlook would be so bleak. Jessica couldn't conceive of such a situation where death was preferable, even after all she had suffered, and especially since she had a child to return to when this was done. She questioned her friend and asked, "Is the outcome truly so bleak that life and the possibility of one day getting away would be outweighed by the need not to suffer?"
Seeing that her companions were determined this must be done, which Jessica couldn't disagree with given that in the best case these ogres were looters and at worst they were killers and they must be dealt with appropriately. With that in mind Jessica called upon her goddess' grace and prayed for Sunday. When she finished she laced a quick kiss on his cheek and said, "Be the hero we know you to be Sunday."
Jessica then prayed over her weapon to ask Shelyn to guide her strikes as she protected those important to her.
”I’m not inclined to ask,” Sunday states at Jessica’s apprehension at their tactics.
If his flesh still had the ability to flush he’d be lookin quote feverish now after the kiss from Jessica as well. ”I’m...” he starts to protest but looking down at the bubbly priestess he comprises with ”I’ll be who you know me to be.”
Delendir looks down a bit ashamed he cannot give hope back to Jessica "I cannot tell they are all terrible, but all I have seen ever from their kin was horrible. Not a single act of goodness in one of them. You have witnessed the trace of death and destruction in our countryside. This needs to be stopped"
The half-elf is tempted to propose Jessica to try speak with them and change their minds as that will create a good distraction for the others to approach, but he negates throwing away the idea as he cannot imagine putting the woman at such risk for so little.
The trapper leads the group to the ogres. He prepares the bow if they are at open camp, or the sword and shield if they are inside a building or cave.
Delendir moves ahead quietly, getting into position and preparing to launch the assault. The terrain is mostly plains, with occassional sections of trees and hills. The ranger is able to devise a path for the approach to the cattle rustlers while keeping the group hidden from sight. When they close within sixty feet of the tall giants, he knows he can't lead the group any further due to the cover of the trees ending.
Making a sign for the others to position, Delendir loads a freezing trap on one of his arrows. Taking aim at one of the ogres holding cows he shots the trap arrow as a surprise while shouting "Now!"
On impact, the trap in the arrow explodes with a burst of ice that damages and encases the ogre.
With her glaive in hand Jessica saw their enemies and quickly cast a prayer up to her goddess. She didn't like attacking first but she knew she could make sure that these were evil beings. When she finished her prayer a burst of holy energy exploded amidst the ogres, carefully aimed to avoid anything else that might be in the area.
Sunday promptly saunters up to the snacking orges and strikes the first one in reach, a wisp jumping frommm his blade mmid slash.
Yavenee pulls on her intricate mask, made of gold-plated iron, writhing snake tails radiating from the gemstone upon the brow, as she advances, her eyes piercingly intent behind it.
Delendir's trap springs when his arrow lands, dealing damage and freezing the ogre in place.
Jessica's prayer injures the creatures, but they seemingly are willful enough to resist being blinded and maximum damage.
Sunday charges in as planned and deals a tremendous blow to the first one in his reach, nearly hacking off an arm in the process.
Jessica sent another prayer out and a bolt of searing light shot from her holy symbol at the nearest of the ogres before she began to move in closer so she could get into glaive soon.
Stepping up the rest of the way Sunday continues hacking at the Ogres in reach as his friendly wisps eats at them as well.
Drawing the wicked-looking longspear from across her back and racing forward with the others, Yavenee locks her gaze on another of the ogres as she gets close, weakening it's ability to defend itself.
Vivi charges in with his kama drawn to the closest ogre in their initial attack.
Seeing the success of his first two swings, Vivi tears into the brute with a full flurry of blows.
The ogre fails to resist Yavenee's spell as the party unleashes some pent-up frustrations on the cattle-meddlers. In a little under ten seconds the party sends all four poor, unprepared ogres down to the ground, dying.
With the ogres felled and the remaining cattle saved, you search the local area and find that the ogres have accumulated a few bits of treasure from their raid apart from the cattle. A chest filled with 6,000sp and three barrels of fine brandy worth 400 gp each (each barrel weighs 300 pounds).
Vivi relaxes a bit, cleaning the gore off of his kama before securing them once more.
"Well... that went quicker than they deserved. What should we do with the stuff they took?"
"No mourning for them. This is how the giants army pawns shall fall. Quick and easy. That Mokmurian and his lamias though. Be ready for the worst my friends..." Delendir advances to the stash the ogres have accumulated and palms with satisfaction one of the brandy barrels "We can return all the stuff to the villagers in Ravenmoor. One of these prettiness though, this will be good payment for our efforts"
The half-elf smells the barrel deeply and smiles "Ah, deep wooden smell with grape scents. By the smell of it this is an Andoran Cognac, ten years aging"
"Have you ever tasted a good brandy Vivi?" Delendir takes his silver hip flask, well earned during last Sandpoint Butterfly Festival and opens the barrel to replenish it.
Vivi shakes his head.
"Never been much of one for strong drinks, Delendir-san. They cloud the mind, impair the senses, slow reactions. Some monks I have met use that to their advantage, but my order always has been about discipline." After a moment's thought, he adds, "That said, there is a place for such things. If we get through all of this, I will toast with you our success for removing the giant weed that threatens to overgrow the town we both have come to love." Smiling at the ranger, he turns to Jessica, Sunday, and Yavenee. "I pray to all the kami, big and small, that you are all there with us that day. I will make us all commiserative... no... conservative... no, no... commemorative... yes, commemorative scrolls. So that, no matter how far we journey or where our paths lead us, you can remember companions and victories hard won."
"Ah! Let's safe this cask for that day then Vivi my friend" Delendir replies with a wide smile "I am really looking for one those scrolls. And if I am the only missing, then toast on my health too, no mourning. I am here to root out the giants one and for all"
Satisfied with the task, Delendir looks for a cart or something similar in the environs and loads it with the ogres' stuff. Once everyone is set, he resumes the trip, guiding the group to Ravenmoor where they deliver all the stuff, rest for the night and resume the route to Jorgenfist.
The trip to Ravenmoor is uneventful and the party delivers the goods and takes a brief respite before once more returning to their task at hand.
As our heroes head toward the Storval Plateau, there are signs of giant activity increasing. Even Vivi has to accept chasing down every hill giant and ogre isn't dealing with the problem... though a few easy quick diversions help sooth his thirst for vengeance a little.
Although the giants seem to be avoiding direct confrontations with settlements bar Sandpoint, they have attacked many caravans and lone hunters they encountered along the road. These battle sites should bespeak a terrible fury, littered with shattered stones and pulped bodies left for the scavengers after every bit of valuable loot had been stripped away.
Another day you come across some more giants, but you dispatch them as quickly as the first set. The following day holds a battle with four dire bears, which sees Vivi take a few vicious wounds that Jessica tends to in the evening. Two days later you once more find yourself engaged with giants again.
Although the giants are strong, there are monsters like wyverns, manticores, and flame drakes... such a large number of giants roving around has attracted their attention. You could come across a cairn of stones under which the body of a slain stone giant has been laid to rest.
Stopping at any town along the way, you can hear all manner of horror stories. Every third person seems to have either sighted a giant in the last few days or knows someone who has, and of these, at least half can tell stories of a friend or acquaintance who’s gone missing. In almost every case, the missing folks are merchants, soldiers, hunters, or travelers, and it’s feared they’ve been caught and killed by the giants...
Easily or not, chasing down every giant seems to be a fools errand. The Storval Plateau looms on the horizon and beyond that, Jorgenfist!
The mountains give way here to a wide valley perched on the upper edge of a cliff overlooking the Muschkal River. At the western edge of the valley entrance, a lone watchtower stands upon a low hill, but this structure is overshadowed by the larger one that looms in the valley proper. Here stands a ring-shaped stone wall, fifty feet in height and surrounding several buildings, the most impressive of which is a looming black tower with bladelike crenellations that overlooks the river gorge. Within the ring, a one-hundred-fifty-foottall .stone spire rises, surrounded by three low buildings. Apart from the black tower, five smaller towers are built into the fortress wall-one of these towers is wider than the others and seems to be the only gateway into the courtyard within.
The fortress is not the only sign of life in the valley, for surrounding it are seven large camps of towering tents, yurts, and stone shelters. Smoke rises from campfires and the sound of grating laughter and the clash of weapon training fills the air, competing with the periodic trumpeting of large and angry-sounding animals from somewhere within the fortress itself.
When they find the first dead giant Delendir mutters "Interesting how the land can defend itself against this plague..."
Each time the party finds out danger, Delendir is eager to dart ahead and scout. Quickly coming back and discussing the best strategy. As the advance through Varisia, it is clear how good the group is becoming on chasing giants.
"Here we are. The Black Valley. A dark place forbidden in Shoanti legends" the half-elf scouts ahead bringing on his sights "Well... as it seems, we can try two approaches. We either storm the fortress in a quick movement starting with the watchtower or we try to scout the surroundings to look for a side entry. What do you prefer?"
"There might be another option, but it involves a lot of cunning and skill to go through the giant camps without being noticed... we could try to approach invisibly but probably invisibility magic will be needed for everyone" giving thought to it he places yet another option "Maybe we can pose as merchants interested to sell weapons to the giants... but it might be dangerous and they might not buy the trick anyway..."
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”They’d just try to steal our ‘weapons’, why bother paying when you can just kill without a bother?” Sunday muses.
"Because we will just not bring up the weapons we would trade. That's the thing, we come to strike a deal so we might be able to reach their leaders" Delendir replies "By your answer I count you on the straight attack voting side, isn't it Daud?"
”No,” Sunday says before looking at the Ranger, ”Also that would just get us to their leader AND leave us surrounded with a still breathing army if it worked.”
"They have attacked or killed every trader and merchant for miles around, as we discovered on the way here. Any that would openly come here to trade would be very suspect and likely meet the same fate." Yavenee says, considering the proposed options.
"Ok, let's set aside the merchant idea. As we cannot easily disguise as giants, I would say the only other stealthy approach would be if we can all go invisible" Delendir gives a sip to the brandy trying to find courage "If that is not available... then... what do you prefer, a quick frontal assault or we try exploring around the valley for a backdoor?"
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"If I can get a good look at the inside of the tower, or even just inside the outer wall, I can teleport us in." Yavenee replies after a bit of consideration.
”I could fly you, but a giant bat would be something out of place here I’m guessing,” Sunday brings up.
"Ok, this is a valley, which means it is surrounded by mountains, so let me see if I can figure out a good path we can find to climb up the mountains and lurk at the insides of the fortress, or the top of the tower, from a vantage point. Would that work Yavanee?" Delendir looks around trying to find out if there is a good place they can climb the mountains without being spotted by the watchtower or the giant camps.
"One feature of the cloak I bought when we were in Magnimar, is that it allows me to become a bird for a short while each day." the sorceress says with a smile, indicating the feathered garment draping her shoulders. "That would be much less out of place by day, though we could strike at night for an added element of surprise."
”Do you believe you could scout in there safe enough to transport us later?”
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Vivi pulls out his carpet. "I can fly as well, though I cannot say that I am... proficient... at doing so."
"Ah! Nice tool Vivi! We really had to haggle hard to get that one in Magnimar's Bazaar" Delendir looks at the fortress "I guess we can fly there, but the night will not help us either to cover up. Giants can see in the darkness"
"If we can get Yavanee to see the interior of the fortress for she to teleport us there, I think that is the most solid alternative. Otherwise, we can sneak as close as possible and let Yavanee and Vivi to fly over the walls and try to somehow open the gates for us to access"
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Yavenee turns into a bird and flies around scouting the area, she finds a couple of caves hidden in the large ravine on the southern side of the fortress and one cave entrance hidden high up in the mountains to the east.
As she flies over the gate, she notices the fortress has a solid stone gate-two doors that tower 20 feet high and 10 feet wide apiece. It fits neatly into the wall between two of the 70-foot-high towers, and looks very difficult to open which appears to be guarded by a trio of harpies. Each of the towers within the fortress is manned by a stone giant. In the courtyard she sees a mammoth accompanied by a stone giant which stands adjacent to a large pit that is at least 30'x30' in the center of the fortress. Two other buildings whose purpose she doesn't immediately recognize are also in the fortress along with the black tower and the spire.
White streaks cover the sides of the stone spire and the surrounding ground, thick as paint. Among these immense bird droppings are splintered elk bones and scraps of hide. The spire rises to a needle point one hundred and fifty feet above, but at a height of fifty feet an opening in the northern face allows access to a round chamber within which has been built an enormous nest.
This tower is not like the others that compose the fort-its architectural style is far more intricate and ancient in appearance, bearing similarities to many of the other ancient monuments that dot the Varisian landscape. Made of black stone and decorated with gargoyles, the tower's walls are streaked with thick lichens and moss. It soars twice as high as the other towers, its facade effectively dominating the view. The Black Tower has one entrance, a large stone door that swings open easily at a touch on the northwest facade.
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Jessica enjoyed the trip to Ravenmoor as much as she could under the circumstances and was relieved they had a chance to rest before pushing onward. As they continued their travels and began to learn about all of the missing people on their way to the giant's headquarters, the tragedies were numerous, and the few attacks they suffered challenging but not enough to stop their advance. Jessica did what she could to keep the others alive and well and so they finally reached their destination in relatively good shape.
As they began to discuss how to proceed Jessica couldn't help but think posing as traders was a bad idea, and a frontal assault maybe more so, fortunately the idea to fly was quite doable. "I too have a way to fly now," she gestured at a beautiful golden ring with seven different colored gems adorning it, "It is a ring crafted by the temples of Shelyn that provides both protection and the ability to turn into a songbird seven times a day. It doesn't last for too long and each use causes a gem to dull in color until the next morning, but it can be very useful."
When Yavenee returned from her scouting mission Jessica considered it all carefully. After a moment or two of thought she said, "The two things that most bother me are the pit and the tower with the nest. Could you see what was in the pit or nesting in the tower? Did it look like the bones around the tower had maybe been meals for whatever lives in it? If so that could be a serious threat to us."
Delendir waits for Yavanee to reveal her findings, then nods to Jessica's observations also willing to know the answer to them "Well, it seems like flying is getting a trend in here" the half-elf turns to Daud "I guess you being a bat as well leaves me as the only one unable to fly" the ranger exhales and stares at Vivi "Mmm... perhaps if I hug you strong you can take me in your flying carpet for some seconds over the walls?"
"Still, the approach might be difficult, specially with a flying carpet and a giant bat, not to say the harpies are like to pose resistance" Delendir thinks a bit more before concluding "You said you could easily push the Black Tower entrance doors with ease. Perhaps the best for now is if you could teleport us there directly? It would be most likely way to avoid guarding eyes catching on us"
"Alternatively we could try to scout the caves you found hidden in the large ravine. It seems safe and they could prove as a good base of operations if we have to retreat or pass the night"
When requested by Yavenee, Delendir tries to give more thought on what the creature might be "Mmmm... bones and droppings you say... well, there can be many things..." then starts a back and forth between what she has seen and what he can figure out, to try round down the list of possible candidates.