With another blast Bupkis almost take the giant out. Menrozzar makes sure the other one also won't last too long.
Daseem lustily engages Menrozzar's target, screaming a wordless battle cry as he swung his over-sized god-blessed sword towards the Giant's midriff!
The giant Bupkis shot at falls over. Daseem wounds the other one further, with a deep cut.
The giant tries to smash Menrozzar.
Menrozzar takes one hit, but roars back and stabs back twice.
Menrozzar makes short work of the remaining giant. One of the giants wears an interesting robe, that has a gem like eye pattern on each shoulder.
Bupkis examines the robe with interest, but he doesn't have the skill to figure out what it does, other than look pretty.
As the fight is over Amira is on her way to join the others again. And just in time to do her thing.
"The robe is magic, but I have no clue what kind."
"Perhaps we can figure it out later. Let's press on."
You move on. The ground grows soft and muddy in this branch of the valley. Initially dotted with small pools of mucky water, it transforms into a murky, fetid-smelling bog after a few hundred yards. Only a few patches of solid earth poke from the ominous, glassy black water, held together by knotted clumps of sedge grass and wild rye. Deep within the swamp, an unusual arrangement of curiously shaped, lichen-encrusted boulders juts from the waters, forming a widely spaced pattern that appears deliberate. You get the feeling, you're walking deeper into and not out of the valley.
Bupkis approaches the suspiciously arranged boulders, doing his best to be sneaky. He warily looks around for enemies.
There are four hunched large green creatures in the area. Two sitting next to a small timber raft, two more walking around, searching fro something in the water. Probably food.
Bupkis sneaks back to his allies and reports (counting on his fingers), "Four hunched big green creatures, two with raft and two walking around. Not sure what they are."
Not knowing anything much Daseem shrugged, "They're something ta k-kill?"
"I'm not sure what they are, but I think we're going the wrong way to get out of here. Maybe we should turn around."
Ivan waddles up to try and sneak a peek.
Well, ifn' we are wantin' ta fight them, we will need acid, or maybe fire.
Ivan is a dwarf full of knowledge, but the stealth is weak with him.
"F-f-fire?", Daseem concentrated on his blade and suddenly he was grinning with childish wonder as it burst into flames!
With a lusty cry of Gorrum! Daseem jogged off to do battle.
Buplis powers up and blasts the closest Scrag. He can't deal fire damage, so he just used a crossbow bolt.
Menrozzar shrugs. "So be it. Ivan, head in first, I'll move in behind you. Bupkis, cover us."
Menrozzar suits action to words, following behind Ivan as they advance.
Ivan begins his trott, gathering momentum as a boulder rolling down the mountainside.
The first troll comes for Ivan, roaring. It is like two trains approaching each other on one track.
The other trolls also come over and surround the attacking group. They don't seem to have issues to move in the shallow water.
His shield raised, as if the ram of a train Ivan does not stop his charge nor will it be slowed. Carrying himself on into Troll, his shield battering aside any resistance, and attempting to push it back to its kin. Yelling as he does so.
AAARRRRRRRGGGGGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH
Ivan shoves the scrag back 10 feet. The dumb look on the troll's face is priceless.
Bupkis powers up and unleashes a second bolt, but almost shoots himself in the foot.
Menrozzar picks the closest scrag and, roaring, starts stabbing it with the spear.
Mnerozzar walks over and stabs the troll once.
Tickled pink by his flaming sword and laughing like a madman, Daseem rushed Menrozzar's target and attempted to lop something important off!
The claw of the scrag scrapes over the iron of Daseem's armor, but that doesn't stop him from cutting deep into the troll, burning his flesh with the flaming blade, cutting him off from his life.
One scrag steps keeps laying attack after attack into Daseem. Another one walk over to Menrozzar. And Ivans troll comes to his senses and tries to take the dwarf apart.
Taking up Daseem's mad laugh in a deeper, much louder bellow of a laugh Ivan hammers two new imprints into the scrag infront of him.
Bupkis tries to make up for his previous embarrassing performance. He calms himself and fires a more accurate bolt.
Ivan hammers some kneecaps out and Bupkis finishes the scrag Ivan is working on.
Daseem's laughter turned into a vicious snarl as the filthy scrag bit his flesh. In retaliation he stepped into a classic overhand cut, aiming at the thing's neck!
Eager to keep in the fight, Daseem called upon Gorum's aid to sustain him and to staunch the blood loss.
Menrozzar viciously strikes at the one that attacked him.
Together Daseem and Menrozzar take down one of the trolls.
Bupkis tries to shoot down the last troll; it does not go well for the scrag.
Bupkis shoots the last scrag into oblivion. As the wounds of some of the trolls keep healing Daseem cuts them into pieces with his flaming blase, to make sure they stay down.
Besides dirty loin cloths there is nothing to gain from the dead scrags.
Ivan spits. Alright lads, lets head back ta' the cave we stashed our finds, then head ta' the nearest town for a good drink.
"Eh? Tis a l-long way, but I have built up a powerful thirst..." remarked Daseem.
Checking the surroundings for the cardinal directions helps to orient and after that is clarified, the group turns around and takes the other direction at the last fork they came past.
On the way out one or two more giant groups get dismembered on the way out of the valley. As you come through Shinnerman's Fortune you get a bed for the night and a meal in celebration of the return of the two fellows you freed from the cathedral.
Next day you move on and after some more long travel through the mountains - mostly uphill - you reach the dwarven Sky Citadel of Janderhoff.
First things first, Daseem finds the first tavern, no matter how lowly and heads in. He stops to make sure Ivan is follow, and the others if they're so inclined. He then orders a keg of beer, each.
Grinning the the Dwarf he suggests a toast, "To d-dead Dragons!"
Daseem gets surprised, as this city is different from what he expected. Clearly Ivan is a dwarf, but him living with humans in Trunau makes him rather a curiosity than a typical dwarf.
Now here it's dwarves all over. Of course there are taverns and plenty of them. But nothing like lowly ones. Where in human cities there are districts where the scum collects, where you'd expect a knife to the back every moment if you look like you got more than a day's wage on you, there is nothing like that here. A dwarf adheres to the law. There are be some rich and some poor, but even if you happen to stumble into one where the lower class drinks, the buildings are sturdy, the ale is great and the dwarves are gruff, but upright citizens.
The tavern Daseem stumbles in though is not the bottom kind, and all turn as this band of dirty adventurers enters the establishment.
Greetin's to tha' lot O' ye! We' just returned from killin' a gaggle O' giants, and are lookin' for a stones blessed good drink!
Ivan tries his best, but he'd never been a talker. Even by dwarven standards.
The waiting dwarf puts five mugs of ale on a table "Here ya go."
Bupkis has never seen a city this big! Plus, there's so much of it underground. He stick with the other party members; he's nervous about how the other dwarves look at him. He tries some of the dwarven ale; it tastes bitter and strange to him. Ivan seems to like it, through.
He tries some of the local food. He's been eating the same things for many days now. He wonders if there's anything different that he should stock up on now that he has the chance.
Ivan spends the remainder of the day at the tavern "making friends" and purchasing a room. The next day he goes to find the market area.
The next few days passed in a blur for Daseem, a mixture of drinking, hungover fry-ups, afternoon shopping followed by more drinking. Their once impressive hoard of gold was frittered away on this and that.
Daseem felt it had been worth it, he was particularly taken by an ensorcelled belt that made him feel as strong as a lion - and just as well its cost was eye watering. He also bought an amulet and a ring that the seller swore blind would make him impervious to blades. If a wild eye'd dwarf with crazy hair said it was so, that was good enough for him.
The village of Skirgaard is home to the Skirkaling frost giant tribe. According to the papers found in Minderhal's Cathedral, it is now also a training camp for all kinds of giants, deemed worthy for further training. Skirgaard sits on a mountaintop plateau at an elevation of approximately 9,000 feet, high enough at this latitude to lie above a permanent snow line.
The travel to Skirgaard takes about two weeks on foot. As you come close to the mountain the village resides on, you find large fields where potatoes, onions, wheat, barley, and hops are growing. The fields are worked by very poor and unhappy looking people that live in shacks. Which seems odd, for the fields look rich.