Amira, still invisible starts an encouraging song.
The dragon doesn't look good anymore, after Ivan sends lightning through it.
Bupkis, buoyed by Amira's heartening song, powers up and unleashes another blast at the wyrm. "No good eating here!"
Bupkis shoots the dragon right out of the air. The blast pushes the dragon back, it falls backwards, hits the edge of the tower floor and plummets down. You hear as it hits the roof of the cathedral and then slides down to fall into the yard.
Daseem blinked and stared over the edge in surprise murmuring, "Oh..."
The angelic choir vanished along with the dragon as it plummeted to a messy end below. This wasn't how it was supposed to be, Daseem really wasn't sure what to do!
So he started looking around for something to do or ideally fight.
Amira abruptly ends her song. "That was anticlimactic." her disembodied voice comments.
In the corner is the bed of the dragon which consists of a large spined shield, a +1 light pick, a +2 shortbow, a potion of delay poison, a potion of displacement, a potion of haste, a scroll of blade barrier, a scroll of charm monster, a scroll of hold monster, a scroll of summon monster V, a scroll of wall of force, a noble’s outfit, a copper amulet with garnet setting (worth 80 gp), a brightly painted clay ceremonial mask with bronze feathers and glittering blue sapphire eyes (worth 545 gp), a set of three lapis lazuli carvings of leucrottas (worth 50 gp each), a black pearl worth 500 gp), 180 pp, 1,240 gp, 4,490 sp, and 13,800 cp.
Bupkis helps to gather up the mass of treasure and load it into Ivan's large bag. He leaves the copper coins for last, since the party might not be able to carry them all.
Once he's finished he askes his companions, "Now where we take the people we rescue from cages?"
Menrozzar looks over the trove. "Between this and the chimera's treasure, we should have brought a cart. Maybe one of those two knows how to build one. We should take those two to the village we passed through on our way here - they may be from there."
Trying but failing to be helpful Daseem added earnestly, "Or m-mebbe one o those bottomless pits that you can f-fold up and carry with ya."
"That would pay for a wardrobe full of nice clothes." Amira states. "But bringing it in coppers, it'll look like I earned it from singing. And not in a good way."
Pondering Bupkis's question Daseem suggests "That village? Or maybe back to Trunau - a long w-walk that! Then we need ta f-find Skirgaard!"
"We're done with this forge? Because Agrimmosh can resize persons. And if there is a grain of truth to the legends, then the giants forged the weapons of their dwarven enemies into weapons for giants here."
"If that would work the other way around... but selling the stuff and buying something that fits works too."
"I don't think we have all the tools we would need to relight the Forge right now - what was it we needed again? The hammer, the breath of a dragon, and what else?"
"The horn to get a dragon, the prayer on that silver disc, some stones, and another thing I can't remember..., clay, it was clay."
Daseem shrugged as he mumbled, "Meh. We n-need ta prepare for Skirgaard!" That's where the glory was!
He looked at Ivan and Bupkis and Menrozzar and grunted, "Eh? Eh?" as if to say don't you agree?
As there is nothing left to be done in this cathedral, the group leaves. The villagers come along. They are used to evade giants in these mountains, but at least until they are out of the giant's camp they prefer to travel with this company.
The group sneaks out of the cathedral and into the valley. To not have to cross all of the camp again you turn the other direction. After some distance the mountain flanks draw together, creating a narrow pass that is blocked by an impressive wall that spans the entire valley. Sloppily cemented stone and timber make up the wall, which contains a large archway in the center blocked by a massive portcullis of sharpened logs bound together with thick hemp rope.
On top of the wall are a hill giant and an ettin and through the portcullis you see two large smilodons who pick up your scent as you approach.
Bupkis eyes the wall. "Looks like they have big dogs behind gate!" He tales a shot at the hill giant on top of the wall.
Bupkis manages to get the attention of the guards. As they see who is approaching, they open the gate for the oversized cats. It will be interesting to see how long the cats need to close the distance of some hundred feet once the gates are open.
Amira readies herself for an inspiring song, as soon as someone wants to attack.
Preparing for battle, Daseem shouts "Gorrrum!" at the top of his voice, seeking Our Lord in Iron's blessing. He then grins at his fellow warriors waiting to see if one of them wants to take the lead.
The giant and the ettin are busy turning the wheel to open the gate while the smilodons try to press through the slowly opening portcollis.
Bupkis powers up and shoots again at the hill giant. However in his excitement he fumbles with his ammunition and drops it.
"Spread out so that we aren't bunched up if the giants throw rocks at us."
Menrozzar moves off to the side of the group a bit, then roars at the smilodons as he prepares for their charge by changing into a draconic form.
The portcullis moves up and as soom as its two foot off the ground the smilodons go through and charge. One goes for Menrozzar, the other one can't reach a target yet.
Screaming, "GORRRRUUMM!" Daseem charged the other Smilodon, and swing his sword with all his might!
Bupkis can tell that Menrozar could use some help! He powers up and shoots the Smilodon that's grabbed onto the draconic warrior.
Bupkis shoots the cat, and Daseem cuts his cat badly despite the four fleshwounds the cat's paw rips open on his arm.
Menrozzar is unprepared for the creature's charge, and so his attack misses.
Daseem grunted in pain when the oversized cat's claw raked his arm, he got ready to strike back!
Ivan rushes in to aid his allies, slamming a telling blow into the wee kitty.
Amira casts haste on the group while she keeps singing.
Ivan gives Menrozzar's cat a bad headache. But that doesn't change its intent to eat Menrozzar. Daseem also feels the painful claws and teeth of the beast.
The hill giant throws a rock at Ivan, dealing maximum damage to the flowers 10 feet besides the dwarf..
Bupkis tries to rescue Menrozzar from the cat trying to eat him.
Menrozzar roars in pain as the cat tears into him, but he doesn't hesitate to tear right back into the smilodon, claws and fangs snapping at everything.
Bupkis again wounds the cat badly and Menrozzar finishes it off.
Gravely hurt Daseem screams, "GORRUM WITNESS!" as he swings his sword like a scythe through the overgrown pussycat, hoping to chop its head off!
He then slams his hand into his wounded flank where he'd been savaged and some of his wounds closed as Our Lord In Iron's healing surged through him.
Ivan plays a beat on the kitty kats skulls, but very gently.
Once Ivan moves over to Daseem's kitty Amira moves up behind him. Using the dwarf's strange dance, where he swings the hammer around and around, always closely missing the cat and almost hitting himself, as cover for casting.
As she is done, Daseem disappears from sight.
Daseem hits his kitty hard, but not hard enough. And Ivan steps into a hole, throwing him off balnance. Only his last attempt hits the cat.
But with Daseem gone this one hit from the dwarf draws the cat's ire and it lashes out at him.
Bupkis isn't sure where Daseem went; he hopes that Amira cast some sort of spell to keep him safe. The goblin powers up again and tries to take out the last ferocious cat. But he hesitates at the last moment, afraid that he might somehow hit Daseem, by mistake.
The cat dies from the shot.
Daseem blinked as Bupkis's blast burst the wounded Simildon like an overripe grape, thinking, 'Damn!'
He glanced down, realising with a shuddering gasp that he was still badly wounded. He slapped his hand on the worst of the bites and thanks to Gorum's grace some of the bleeding stopped, he would be able to fight on.
He growled the word, "Gorum!" and six feet of blessed steel started to glow softly and he calmly walked towards the giants!
The giants wait on top of the wall of the gate built for giants to move through, well out of reach of any melee weapon.
Bupkis shoot at whichever target he can see on top of the wall, "Bupkis makes giants hide!"
Bupkis shoots the giant while the party moves closer.
The Ettin throws two javelins and the giant another rock.
Menrozzar looks for a way up to the giants.
The wall is made from big rough stones and would allow for climbing. But as you are on the "inside" of the wall, you could also climb the stairs leading up.
Ivan begins his long waddle up the stairs towards the giants.