”I realize securing the young is difficult, otherwise you’d have done it already,” Rilka replies writing down the weapons the giants are using. ”Do they guard differently at night? Are the eggs and fledglings in a ground floor room? What I mean by that is, could we dig under the floor and steal them away at night?”
"No change at night, they have so many giants they patrol all the time."
"Yes they're on the ground floor, but there's quite a few of them and they're in the same room as the cloud giants."
As Rilka's questioning continues, Pazeek leans against a nearby wall with a thoughtful expression. He's no expert at this sort of planning, but he tries nonetheless to think up anything that he can contribute to make this venture more likely to succeed. "The best thing I can come up with," he offers after a time with a considering look at his bandolier of flasks. "Is hitting those guards with something that'll take down a bunch of them in one or two doses. Either go for a straight knockout, or just make them too busy trying to keep on their feet to fight effectively."
His expression shifts to a scowl as he continues. "Unfortunately, giants are pretty hardy and anything I could cook up wouldn't even be noticed by the majority of them." Eyes shifting over to Rilka, the tengu tips his head to the left slightly as he asks of her. "But perhaps one of the Aestherics has a spell or two that can manage that?"
The old bird clucks. "Can't get our hands on any poison anyways, all been taken from us. Giants seem to be smarter than the ones we usually have to deal with."
”Great, smarter than average giants,” Rilka says. ”Illusions may be a possibility to hide the eggs. Our wizard is better at transmutation though. Is there a spell that transmutes eggshell to steel? A web spell would be good at restricting the giants’ movements, but its flammability is too risky. Perhaps we could use darkness and darkvision in conjunction.”
Rilka sighs and makes some notes. ”These giants are devious. How easy would it be to give the fledglings potions? Tell them to drink it when they hear a specific signal. We could use some invisibility spheres or tiny huts I think. It might take longer to procure though. I like thinking out loud. Some of my ideas aren’t very feasible, I know.”
Clicking his beak absent-mindedly, Pazeek gives some thought to Rilka's ideas. While no spellchirper himself, he's heard of a few of the spells she mentions, and considers how they might be used effectively. "If you could cast those darkness spells in such a way that they go off at waist- or head-height on those giants, that'd be useful for blocking their vision without hampering our own," the tengu offers. "Then use invisibility to move the eggs and fledgelings away to safety, after which you can cover the giants in that webbing." Pazeek's tone grows absolutely savage as he continues, and had he the bodyparts to do so, he'd undoubtedly be baring his teeth in a vicious expression. "At that point, the risk of the webbing catching fire isn't so much a problem as a benefit," he concludes with a gentle but pointed pat of one of the flasks tucked into his bandolier.
”Good point about the darkness spells and the webbing,” Rilka says. ”You too, Toramin. Thanks for reminding me about wall of force. Shall we do more scouting of the area?”
”Good point about the darkness spells and the webbing,” Rilka says. ”You too, Toramin. Thanks for reminding me about wall of force. Shall we do more scouting of the area?”
Using the communicative jewelry, Dalton felt the need to weigh-in on the suggestion being made presently. "While the wall is strong and invisible, it is of limited area and duration. The assault would need to be an ambush, perfectly timed to take advantage, and the wall would only cover a rectangle of the eggs' vulnerable side."
The talk of numbers and assault on gaints was making Dalton nervous. Headstrong Bjorkus thinks he can wrestle with them? Hope he has Desna on his side... At least the bird-warrior and Rilka were safe thus far.
What was more curious to him though was the Aestherics repeated disengagement with the situation - or to be specific, the seeming ambivalence of the council. They like others doing their bidding. Reminds me of the tales of gods and demigods. Always room for a noteworthy mortal or two as long as they serve...
"Don't forget I can scry if need be, though it takes roughly an hour to invoke."
Pazeek briefly thinks over Rilka's question, then nods sharply. "Yes, I believe it would be a good idea to get what we can in the way of useful information while we are here." Looking then to his former teacher, he examines her with a curious tilt to his head. "If you're up to being the mean old b+&!* that I know you can be, the one that takes nothing from anyone without giving back in kind, perhaps you could assist our efforts? I'm certain that others here have been keeping watch over these giants, making note of things like patrol paths, predictable routines, and slack behavior. If you could shift your dry old bones and ragged feathers enough to step outside and quietly ask around and gather this together, it would help." As he speaks, Pazeek quite purposefully speaks with just the tone of voice that he knows will drive Akip up the wall, having practiced it during their abrasive term as apprentice and master. Seeing this old bird, though he very much dislikes her--and is quite aware that the feeling is mutual--so broken is rather unpleasant. He hopes that his needling and prodding will get her out of her slump and back into a mood to fight.
The old bird flares up her feathers. "Ha! You think I haven't already done that? At any one time there is anything between two to six hill giants near the main building, I know how to time it so there's only two. Other than that they're lazy wandering s*@!s who do what they please and stay somewhat spread out in the village. With a strong enough group you could quietly take out some of the wanderers, but they would likely learn about it within an hour."
Rilka cuts into the conversation, not wanting it to get too cantankerous. ”Okay, so you can lead us there when the guards are minimal. We can use a wall of force spell to protect the eggs. If only we had half-a-dozen dwarves to help. They’re exceptional giant slayers.”
Rilka finishes the rough map in her book showing the village’s layout. ”What are the giants eating? Do they have tengu doing the cooking? I’ve found a little intestinal distress can go a long way.”
"Yes were cooking for them, we could certainly throw something in there, but we don't have access to any poisonous supplies right now."
”Giants can eat what I’d consider spoiled food,” Rilka says with a soft shake of her head, ”so unless we have poison they’d probably be fine from rancid meat. Plus a number of giants suddenly falling ‘ill’ may alert them that an attack was imminent.”
She opens her book and starts a new map, showing the room where the eggs and fledglings are. She gets Akip Swifttrap to help her with the layout and dimensions and where the guards normally are. ”Thanks,” she adds. ”Anything else you want to do Pazeek before we return?”
Considering Rilka's question with his head cocked to side, Pazeek shrugs slightly. "Aside from gathering the information that we need, there's nothing else to do here for now. And Akip seems to have covered much of what we came here to learn, for that matter. Skulking about outside might let us refine those details, but it increases our chances of being found as well." The tengu stops and thinks hard for a moment, then shakes his head slowly as he resumes speaking, a talon unconsciously stroking his scarred beak. "If there's nothing more that you need to know, then I think it best that we leave for our final preparations. That will also give Akip time to spread the word among the other tengu here, so that they too can make ready."
”I’m satisfied with what we learned,” Rilka says looking at the maps she sketched and the notes she made. ”Akip, what’s your opinion to be the best time to strike? Is there a shift change at night?”
When Rilka gets an answer, she nods in thanks and extends her hand to the old bird. ”Thanks for your help.”
"They aren't on a strict schedule, but they usually change sometime around dawn and dusk, and again sometime in later afternoon." She stands up and cracks her neck with a look of relish. "Oh it's going to feel good to stand on top of them."
Rilka extends her hand to Akip, ”That’s the spirit!” the halfling says. ”It is going to be good to get rid of these giants.”
She puts her ear to the front door to make sure nobody is outside.
After some observation, Rilka is sure no Giants are close by the building. It's time to start moving back to meet with Liamsho.
”Alright,” Rilka says, taking out her other invisibility extract and about twelve feet of rope from her bag of holding. Passing it around her belt in a hitch knot, she ties the end to Pazeek’s belt in the back. ”That should be better in case we need to do some tumbling or dodging.”
She drinks the extract and disappears. As they leave, Rilka proceeds on her toes, stepping quietly and softly.
With matters settled for the moment so far as planning is concerned, Pazeek makes ready to leave as well. He watches with some amusement as Rilka ropes herself to him, but raises no objection. Before they leave Akip's residence, however, he does mention his intentions for their exit from the occupied village. "With those big bastards standing watch over the way we came in, I think it best if we don't try our luck leaving the same way." Digging into his satchel, the tengu draws out the vial whose contents will markedly improve his climbing skills and gives it a shake. "So instead, we'll be using these to go up and over one of the nests near the quarry. Should be a lot less risk to that."
After giving Rilka a few moments to voice any complaints about this plan, Pazeek gulps down his own concealing extract, quickly fading from sight as well. Taking care to be as unobtrusive as possible in his movements, he then slips quietly from Akip's nest and begins the trip back toward the outer ring of nests that make up the periphery of the tengu village.
”That is a good idea Pazeek,” Rilka says pulling out her spider climb extract from her belt pouch. She keeps her left hand on the rope as she is led by the tengu.
The trip takes quite a bit longer, but besides some interesting sightseeing and some creatures that raise their heads and sniff warily as the two pass, the trip is uneventful. They make their way back to Liamsho, who turns and looks at them as they enter. "Ready to return?" Once they're prepared, Liamsho casts the spell and they vanish from Pazeek's captured village.
Pazeek, Rilka, and Liamsho reappear with a faint humming noise and a small flash of light. Liamsho bows his head to the council, then glides away and leaves the party and the council to discuss their plans.
Rilka bows to the council. ”I’m pleased with our reckon efforts. According to Akip, the giants are being led by a ‘normal-sized’ person in a cloak. Three cloud giants are nearly always in the main hut. The return from the village had a longer route, but I think it may be safer to use it than our initial path into the village. We -- I -- nearly collided with a giant. Do you think it would be better to use the exit route to infiltrate the area, Pazeek?”
After Pazeek answers, Rilka continues, ”With some advice from Toramin, we think a wall of force will be the best method of keeping the eggs and fledglings safe while we fight the giants. Now once the giants are under attack, I’m confident an alarm will be raised. Pazeek, do you think trapping some of the doors to the building would be a good idea to keep any reinforcements at bay?”
Rilka looks down at her sketch of the village and notes. ”The mysterious person teleports in and out. None of the tengu has gotten close to them. Two of the cloud giants have morning stars and the third has a falchion. Toramin, you’re better tactically than me. How should we divide our force to meet this enemy? You and Takaral take one giant, Bjorkus and I another, leaving Pazeek and Dalton with the last. Ianna supporting us as needed?”
Pazeek settles back after the return to the council and gets his innards under control while Rilka begins laying out the information they've collected; this teleporting stuff may be useful, but the sudden changes in environment certainly take some getting used to. When the short female speaks his name, the tengu blinks in surprise and takes a moment to figure out what's going on before responding. "Certainly, it would be better for a quiet entry, so long as everyone has the ability to make the climb required. The route by which be entered might be faster, provided the giants guarding it could be taken down swiftly enough."
His attention refocused on the discussion, Pazeek isn't caught out a second time when Rilka addresses him. Considering the matter at length with unconcious clicks of his beak, it is some time before he answers the question posed to him. "Yes," the tengu begins with some hesitation in his voice, talons tapping out an aimless rhythm on the tabletop. "Traps could help, depending on what they are. They'd have to be set quickly, however, and those sorts of traps either don't do enough damage to really bother a giant, or they do so much that everyone in the area is at risk." Brow furrowed in thought, Pazeek falls silent, then shakes his head with a warble. "I suppose some could be set, if the opportunity is there to do so, but I believe it best if we don't make that an integral part of any plan."
Before Rilka can resume her briefing, Pazeek interjects with a suggestion of his own. "If anyone here can chirp the spells for it, there is one idea that might help us out in delaying reinforcements. Some years back, a spellchirper I worked with during a bandit hunt had a neat trick he liked to use. We'd sneak into a bandit camp while they slept, and he'd use a couple of spells to make it look and sound as though nothing was amiss to the guards or the rest of the camp." As he recounts the tale, Pazeek sketches out an invisible camp on the table with a talon to provide some detail. "The spells would be set around the area we were targeting, and inside that area he'd then chirp a spell that blocked all sounds in or out. That left us free to deal with the bandits in small lots while their fellows were unaware. We'd repeat that until the camp was cleared or someone figured it out."
Looking up from the table, he eyes the Aestherics' agents curiously, much of his attention settled on Dalton. "If you have those spells, or similar magics, perhaps they could be used in that manner while we secure the eggs and the fledglings, and take down the giants we need to get rid off? It would be hard for reinforcememts to interrupt us if they don't know that they're needed, after all." Having offered his suggestion, Pazeek leans back in his seat to let Rilka get back to her briefing.
"I suppose I'm chopped liver than." Geoffrey jokes in response to Rilka's breakdown. He laughs and waves his hand. "Anyways, we could take a difficult approach, but Alia and Liamsho are confident they can overcome the wards and teleport us on top of the giants. A silence spell should be easily managed, although it would put our spellcasters at a disadvantage. Not if we prepared with silent metamagic rods though."
Heff jumps in. "We can loan out a pair of normal ones, no problem."
Geoffrey nods. "And remember that means no communication on our part either, which can be an issue. Of course we still need to physically block them from exiting, through one means or another. If they tried to escape that is."
After listening to the synopsis from the scouts, Bjorkus rumbles his two coppers.
"We're not goin' in with enough men to physically keep the giants from breakin' loose to warn the others. The silence spell will help keep 'em quiet when we first arrive but we're gunna need something bigger to shut'em up for good. That spell isn't wider than a merchantman and any giant that isn't crippled can cross a span like that in a breath. Rilka, do you have anything alchemical that'll slow 'em down? Maybe some glue like that stuff Toramin got dropped in months ago."
"Perhaps a pit spell and have us be enchanted with flight?" Geoffrey offers.
"Giants are not so fearsome. I stand ready"
Rilka listens with a grin on her face as Pazeek describes using illusions and silence to good effect.
Shaking her head to Bjorkus in reply to his question, ”I do remember what a pain that was. I don’t have any and creating it takes knowledge in a branch of alchemy that I do not know. I do have two tanglefoot bags that could help slow them down. The giants are strong so they’d have a good chance of breaking free. But I do think that it’s worth trying. Good thinking.”
Rilka makes a note in her book. She glances up after Tormain’s comment, giving him a quick nod.
”Dalton do you have any musings you would like to add?”
Hours pass, and the time comes for the attack. The party gathers and Liamsho gets prepared to cast the spell, waiting for all of the party members to get ready. Liamsho casts an impressive array of protective spells on himself. Clearly he has no intention of joining the battle or getting harmed.
Once he is given the go-ahead, Liamsho weaves another teleportation spell and the party is sucked into the ether...
Whoosh! The party appears in a flash of magic, right in the heart of where the cloud giants have taken residence!
The three cloud giants are present, two to the south of the party and one to the north. The cloud giant to the north looks to be older, with a full beard and set of well-worn armor. He is currently sitting with a monstrous falchion and a whetstone. The two to the south appear to be younger giants, one a male who seems to be carved from crystal and the other a female with high cheekbones and a haughty expression. They all look surprised as the party suddenly arrives, but quickly reach for their weapons.
The eggs are in the western side of the room on a red carpet, piled together at the center of it.
Geoffrey casts a glance at Dalton, seeing if the mage wants to cast any magic before they start acting.
Geoffrey
Bjorkus
Rilka
Enemy 1
Enemy 2
Dalton
Toramin
Ianna
Enemy 3
In preparation, Toramin will drink his shield infusion. "Bjorkus, please cast your vigor spell upon me before we arrive." Then he channels a bit of holy power through his armor.
Toramin steps forward and draws strength from the stone assuming his stance. He lays into the female giant before him with brutal efficiency.
Dalton often deferred to protecting his allies as an immediate response to being put in danger, but this was a unique circumstance where doing so might just quash the hopes of the tengu village being amenable to their presence; the eggs seemed to be of priority tantamount to their own survival - at least that was the inference Dalton got from Pazeek.
So it was Dalton instead moved to the west an invoked a Wall of Force to protect the eggs, letting his allies quietly know on the way. "I'm protecting the eggs. The giants' downfall must be quick though!"
The mage's last act in preparation was to draw his accuracy wand. If they think they're going to foil us with clouds, they have another thing coming.
Ianna prays over Pazeek and Toramin wrapping them in the power of her faith.
She then calls down a mighty blessing from the Golden Gift, the Grace of the Dancing Goddess.
When they arrive, Ianna offers a Prayer up to Heavens, "I beg that you look upon us with favor and hinder those who would do us harm."
Before the teleportation, Rilka sets her pistol to silence.
Once they appear in the tendu village, Rilka’s eyes narrow on the female giant as she studies the giant’s body posture, clothing, and weapon. She thinks she sees a weakness to exploit during her attack. Standing where she teleported, she raises her pistol and fires at the giant.
Pazeek has little to do for himself before the strike team leaves, and so takes the available time to relax and observe these new companions a bit. While no stranger to working with--or for, for that matter--non-tengu, this new association is quite a bit beyond the guide and guard contracts that are his usual fare. And in view of the matter that forces this association, the tengu swordbird is quite understandably interested in learning as much as he can about those with whom he will apparently be partnered.
All he can say at this point, however, is that they certainly seem competent, and he recognizes the signs of people who've become accustomed to working togther in dangerous situations. Any further musing on the subject is cut short by the announcement that the team is ready, and Pazeek--after drawing his dual blades and taking a deep, steadying breath--joins the others and braces for the nerve-wracking touch of teleportation magic.
As soon as his sense clear, Pazeeks sharp gaze flits around the area, taking in their new location. He spies the eggs quickly enough, and is pleased to hear the spellchirper's announcement that they are warded by his magic. "Excellent," the tengu clucks mentally as his glittering, hate-filled eyes settle on one of the chamber's other points of interest; a giant. "That leaves us free to manage these future meals." He warbles softly as he drops into a slight crouch, then addresses the visibly startled foe in Tengu, his tone of voice extremely cutting.
"Hello there, you inbred whoreson. Enjoying your visit to my home? Hope you took time to see some of the more attractive sights we have here, because the last thing you'll be seeing today is my beak before I plunge it into your head and eat your eyes."
With his threat deliverd, the tengu pushes off into a sprint toward the sword-wielding giant, aiming to get in behind him before his enemy has a chance to respond intelligently.
Bonuses:
+3 deflection to AC
+1 luck to attack, damage, saves, and skills
Before the party departs to siege the occupying giants, Bjorkus hums a tune once again imparting Toramin with a portion of his legendary endurance.
Just before Liamsho whisks the team away, the bull strikes Tyrantbreaker's electrified edge across the flagstones sending a shower of sparks through the air that blurs the bull's brawny form.
***
Bjorkus brandishes his blade and gives a wordless warcry to further intimidate the startled giants. As the battle begins, the big bull shifts his stance becoming lighter on his hooves.
+2 morale to strength
+2 morale to constitution
+2 morale to will saves
-1 AC
+4 enhancement to strength
Bjorkus arrives from the ether and roars his defiance and the monstrous foes, inspiring his allies to take down the towering threats. Rilka takes a knee and fires a silent shot into the female cloud giant, landing in her shoulder and causing her to hiss in pain. Pazeek makes his morbid threat, but if the giants understand his tongue they don't let on as the quick bird slide past the older giant. Dalton quickly puts in the crux of the strategy: the invisible wall of force to protect the eggs. Toramin steps down to follow up on Rilka's target, swinging his buzzing weapons sideways and leaving a large gash in the female giant's thigh as she bares her teeth at him. And Ianna prays to Bolka to edge the battle in their favor. Geoffrey marches forward to the older giant, putting himself squarely between it and the rest of the party. "Pazeek and I have this one!" He shouts as he raises his shield.
Meanwhile Liamsho crosses his legs and levitates higher up into the temple, looking down as if he's watching a play.
Bjorkus
Rilka
Pazeek
Enemy 1
Enemy 2
Dalton
Toramin
Ianna
Geoffrey
Enemy 3
Bjorkus - Mirror Image (4 images), Fly, Dance of 23 steps
Rilka - Heroism
Dalton -
Toramin - Shield, Crusading, Shield of Faith
Ianna - GotDG
Pazeek - Shield of Faith
~Grace of the Dancing Goddess (GotDG)~
You are protected as Improved Sanctuary. Additionally, you gain damage reduction 5/Evil and Fast Healing 1. If a creature makes the save against the Improved Sanctuary effect, it does not negate the damage reduction or Fast Healing.
Veteran Cloud Giant - Prayer
Young Male Cloud Giant - Prayer
Young Female Cloud Giant - 34 damage, Prayer
Pazeek chirps in surprise as a sudden wash of rage claws at his mind moments after the bull-headed warrior calls out his challenge to the giants. For a brief moment, he very nearly gives in to the lure of the potent emotion filling him, but manages to master it in the end; his way of fighting requires control and precision, not mindlessly hacking away at his foe like a blood-crazed maniac! Getting himself and his heightened sense of focus under control with a shuddering breath, the tengu returns his thoughts to the giant, though he does make a mental note for after the battle. "Have to speak with Bjorkus about whatever that was! That damn near threw me off of my stride, and I can't afford to be surprised like that in a fight." Still, he can feel his somewhat weak muscles flood with a rush of unfamiliar power, and knows that whatever the bull-headed warrior did, it will prove quite helpful in Pazeek's efforts to bring the giant down.
With one of his allies moving to pincer the giant, Pazeek can't stop the vicious, warbling laughter as he begins the first steps of an attack that has him alternately slashing and thrusting at the pillar-like legs of his enemy--and risking a brutal counter attack in his intense focus--while sliding and darting across the floor in a series of short bursts. With all of his focus on moving and striking, the tengu doesn't spare a moment to gauge the effectiveness of his attack until the very end, with a final blow in the form a wicked thrust of his beak into a particular spot on the giant's left leg. Coming to stop with the faint crunch of talons gripping on stone, Pazeek casts a curious gaze up at his foe, wondering if the great bastard will succumb to numbing effects of that nerve strike.
Toramin pulls strength up from the stones beneath his feet.
He strikes repeatedly against the female giant.
Ianna starts praying for celestial aid.
Bolstered by his own raging song, Bjorkus takes the fight to the male giant before he can raise his weapon to strike at Dalton. With a small crack of thunder, the bull's blurred form comes into focus briefly as he takes a mighty swing with Tyrantbreaker.
Rilka slides her left foot behind her body, assuming a fencer’s stance as she levels her pistol at the female giant again. A quick breath, her gazing lining up the sites, and two silenced shots erupt from the barrel.