Daseem nods and starts heading north, with a feral grin! There was an enemy ahead, he was sure to be ready!
Amira kicks the door open. Well, she tries, and then slooooowly pushes them open, so Daseem, and whoever comes along can move on. The floor of this spacious chamber is tiled in black stone, with a large sunken area in the middle. Four columns of white marble, each carved with the faces of giants along its length, stand in the corners of the room, supporting the vaulted ceiling overhead. Double stone doors are set in all but the north wall. A short flight of steps leads up to a raised platform to the west where doors of black stone stand in the wall.
There is a giant with hair and beard like a hobo and definitely undead.
Menrozzar tries to find whatever axe the skull was talking about.
Menrozzar didn't know what it was, but it looked undead giant-y. Setting Nargrim Steelhand's spear, he positioned it ready for a charge from the giant even as he roared in rage.
"We're going to slam a devourer
his unlife will be ending soon
but don't let it come to close to yer'
or he'll take your soul as a boon!"
The undead storms over, anger burning fiery in its hollow eye sockets. He impales himself on the spear, before reaching out to touch Menrozzar.
Bupkis powers up and blasts the undead.
With a rapturous look in his eye, Daseem cried with unusual eloquence, "Gorum! Gide my sword!"
Ignoring Amira's no doubt very sensible advice, Daseem sprinted to Menrozzar's aid with a wordless cry and he swung his Gorum blessed blade in a vicious arc, hoping to lop something off!
Bupkis shoots from a safe distance and shoots a hole into the undead and Daseem cuts something off - the connection of the undead abomination to the magic keeping it 'alive'. The devourer crumbles to dust.
A quick assessment shows that there are no valueables in this anteroom or on the remains of the giant.
Menrozzar felt a significant chunk of his life force drain from him at the giant's touch. but fortunately Daseem and Bupkis were there to finish the thing. "We should withdraw and find a place to rest."
Bupkis says, "Let's take head to show to skull!"
"No time for resting!" Amira states and hits Menrozzar with a few spells.
"Is this the giant we were supposed to kill?"
"No, he was just in the way. We are supposed to go through the eastern door here." Amira tells pointing to one of the three doors of this anteroom.
As often happened Daseem had been listless withdrawn after battle, but at Amira's words he perked up, becoming animated.
Lightly he stepped towards the eastern door, which he examined closely before listening at if, and he deemed it safe he tried to open it.
Bupkis examines the door that Amira undicated and checks for traps.
The door is not trapped and not locked. A portion of this large room has collapsed into a wide chasm to the north. The chamber’s structural integrity remains intact thanks to three support columns that run in a line from east to west. A smaller chamber opens to the south. The settings for hinges in the doorway suggest its intended use for future expansion. To the east is another set of double doors.
Where the room collapsed, a broad rift in the earth opens under the mountain here. The finished room you are looking out of, suggests that
the fissure opened after the tomb’s construction was complete. Numerous chunks of rock and finished stonework lie in heaps on the floor of the chasm. A wooden suspension bridge stretches across the divide into the darkness.
Sword drawn, Daseem approaches the wooden suspension bridge. He gives it a dubious look before testing whether it'll take his weight.
In the middle of the bridge are two one eyed giants guarding it. So there is no worry about it will withstand Daseem's weight.
Amira casts know direction. "I don't think, that leads to the head we need to aquire. This way." she points to the door.
Bupkis trusts Amira's instinct and opens the dooo that she points to.
Mernozzar sighs in annoyance as his companions' continue looking for a giant they had to kill. I really hope this doesn't get us killed.
Five thrones line the walls of this icy chamber, nestled between support columns in each of the four corners. Runes are inscribed upon the headboard of each throne.
"Those undead are vulnerable to fire and best fought with sharp blades. And this is the head we need." Amira tells while pointing to the corpse on the center throne.
She casts haste on all and starts singing an encouraging song about beheading giant cowards.
Daseem felt an indescribable yearning to cross the bridge and fight, but he was compelled[i] to go east. Part of him was worried he'd be denied a fight - a foolish notion in a place like this!
So when he saw five thrones he perked up, even more so when Amira spoke. Now [i]here was a fight, he was sure! Grinning from ear to ear, he invoked the magic of his armour and called upon Gorum's blessing for what was to come!
Bupkis blasts the undead.
Which leaves a large hole in the undead body.
Springbane comes charging in a rage at Ivan. Must be that special hate for dwarves.
Another one comes at Menrozzar.
Menrozzar roars in rage and pain as the giant hits him with its axe, then steps into its reach to begin rending and tearing it with tooth and claw.
Menrozzar tears the giant in front of him to shreds. Only a pile of broken bones and dust with a chainmail, a shield and the axe mixed in is left.
But the undead giants hate of dwarfs and small people in general is bigger than their ability to reasonable assess a situation.
The third giant joins to take revenge
With a bloodcurdling cry Daseem charged the giant that attacked Menrozzar! His Gorum blessed blade inscribed a mighty arc, slicing through the Giant - attempting lop a leg right off!
Daseem cuts deep into the foul flesh of the undead giant. But it is not enough to bring it down.
Bupkis shoots another bolt at Daseems giant, adding some more damage.
Amira charges into the battle to end Daseem's giant.
The already heavily wounded giant crumbles to dust when infused with magical healing energy.
Hhurrun Springbane steps up and unleashes his fury on Daseem.
Menrozzar turns towards Hhurrun Springbane and roars as he launches himself at the giant, trying to rend it to shreds as he did the other one.
Menrozzar in his rage rips another giant apart, and only seconds after this fight started, it is over again.
Each giant leaves a chainmail, a mwk heavy steel shield, and a battleaxe. Looking around the room you find a book bound in bloodstained leather. This heavy tome is scarred like the flesh of a seasoned warrior and contains many generations of martial knowledge .
Amira grabs the skull of Springbane. "Off to Akargrim!" she proclaims, waddling off with the heavy skull that is half her size and rather heavy for her.
As the group returns with the trophy to the room of skulls the spirit of Akargrim rises again as blue flames around his skull. "Springbane comes to this hall of shame at last! Long have we waited for him! Leave him here, alone, while we hasten to judgment. I require my axe no longer—it is yours."
"Now listen to my final advice. A terrible spirit malingers on the door to the queen’s throne room, the place I charged you not to go. It is the other half of the Headless One’s soul, bitter and tormented and a more vicious haunt than I. We have sensed the queen’s court traversing the catacombs, just east of this room. I am sure there are dangers there, but there might also be a secret passage that leads to Skirkatla’s throne. But if you must assail that black door, consecrate it and demand the Decapitant Lord remember his name! Otherwise he shall return again and again to seek your murder!"
The flames shortly rush over the axe of the dwarf, after which it looks as good as new .
Bloodied and bruised, Daseem perked up at the thought of fighting the other half of the Headless One’s soul. "Oooh!" he said, "We shall bring war to the other half too!"
With the irresistable urge to kill this giant and bring his head back gone Amira comes to her senses. This means crazy charges on towering undead are over and patching up her companions is one of her priorities again.
Singing a song, while playing the rythm on Daseem's armor like a triangle with the wand.
"Maybe we should fall back before pressing on now?"
"If I understand Akagrim right, then the headless rider will be back if we don't deal with the thing haunting at or behind the door to the queens room."
Daseem thanked Amira for the healing.
After listening to Amira's point about the headless rider, Daseem his arms crossed and said with an air of finality "Eh? We f-fight!"
"Who can do something with positive energy?" Amira inquires. "Channeling would be best, but other ways might work as well. If we are careful and fast, we might be able to cripple the haunt before it affects us."
Menrozzar shrugged. "I have no divine abilties. Daseem, have you been granted such gifts?"
"Daseem can at least use healing magic. And Bupkis can too." That is not great, but should work. "Do we have buffs to make us more resistant, if we fail to end it and need to withstand its attack? The worst haunts attack your mind."
"Eh? M-mebbe Gorum can help?" stammered Daseem who sounded terribly unsure. He had little use for magic hoodoo unless it gave an edge in battle.
"Okay. Everyone prepare for meeting an undead evil haunt and listen and look carefully when you see a sign of the haunt. Without hesitation, cast a cure spell on the location the haunt manifests."
Amira leads the way.
Back to the anteroom it is. The floor of this spacious chamber is tiled in black stone, with a large sunken area in the middle. Four columns of white marble, each carved with the faces of giants along its length, stand in the corners of the room, supporting the vaulted ceiling overhead. Double stone doors are set in all but the north wall. A short flight of steps leads up to a raised platform to the west where doors of black stone stand in the wall.
As the group nears the door to the left, those paying close attention notice a thin rime of ice quickly spreading over the doors.