"Kaos, Droja and me, we can disguise as a group of orcs offering some dwarven captives to get a new alliance with the Giants. As Anga says we just need to reach and defeat their leaders. If things go bad we shred behind a sphere of invisibility " Leira then raises her bow "But I guess we can just advance killing Giants and improvise if they pose too hard"
Well, stealth, Subterfuge, and then kill as needed. Sounds like a plan, but can I suggest that we fall back, and re-provision first?
This way, we come at them stronger
"If we rear back now we might end finding stronger resistance in this walls once we come back. I suggest we advance and look for a hidden and safe place for a Rope Trick were we can rest and prepare our disguises "
Well then, Majority rules
Haskyll pauses to think.
A scout, first to find the easiest and most covered way for those of us who cannot sneak around.
Haskyll takes the pack saddle off, and starts stuffing things into the big bag.
Kaos, you had a point on the mule, but I do not wish to just set it free to be eaten by the giants, any suggestions??
Ulfgard shrugs and points over his shoulders.
"We could stable it in one of the caves we found. I mean that strange temple!"
The temple seems to be the best bet, before we push on. We can do that, while our scout goes looking
"I can do it " Leira takes some sand and paints her face with it to better blend with the nature " Let's join here again at sunset. Removing the bodies to avoid calling attention might be a good idea "
Immediately thereafter she accommodates her bow and starts moving at the edge of the path, looking to hide behind bushes and rocks.
If discovered, Leira casts vanish and then uses dimensional slide to look being safe.
Leira will note plenty of rocky crags to hide behind. Good locations for a Rope Trick.
Studying the Giants, Leira will observe that the Hill Giants are the most numerous. There are other sizables groups of other Giant types. They stay within their groups. There is an exception. Leira will notice a groups of Ogres pushing a cart, going from one camp to the next. They appear to be collecting dung.
best be offski, then
When Leira returns she debriefs the group about what she has seen " There are many groups of Giants. I found some good spots where to hide a Rope Trick. Also, there is a group of ogres with a cart collecting dung. May we use that to enter unnoticed?"
"We should be able to. The mule can pull the cart. The dwarves can hide in the cart. Only problem is they are way larger than us two"
ye want us taught hide in a dung cart!
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No we want you to hide in a cleaned out ex-dung cart. So you can be brought deep inside an enemy camp filled with angry, stupid, and violent giants. While two humans and a half try to talk there way into a fortress surrounded by those same angry, stupid, and violent giants with no eascap plan and with out knowing how to speak giant. But I will promise you the cart will be cleaned out as much as we can manage. Of course we have to get it first. Then again I wounder if we all hide the the cart and let them take us in. Either way we will all most likely die but there is the chance we will become legends in the process. And of course take as many giants down with us as possible.
But if anyone has a better idea the floor is open. And believe you me I would love to hear a better idea.
Ulfgrd grumbles and replies."Go in and kill them all!"
"We would all die," Droja looks at Ulfgard, then at the vast array of Giants in the valley.
Droja sighs, "With the mule, it would be difficult to get to the cart undetected. Also, the mule would not fit into the rope thingy, much less be able to climb it."
She ponders the situation a little more, "It is not long until dark. I could animate these two stupid beings here." Droja points to the Hill Giant and Ettin. "We could then move toward the Cathedral using their corpses as cover, along with the night, and keeping to the mountain's edges. I am not sure it would work though."
Ulfgard smiles and nods.
"But gloriously!"
No we want you to hide in a cleaned out ex-dung cart. So you can be brought deep inside an enemy camp filled with angry, stupid, and violent giants. While two humans and a half try to talk there way into a fortress surrounded by those same angry, stupid, and violent giants with no eascap plan and with out knowing how to speak giant. But I will promise you the cart will be cleaned out as much as we can manage. Of course we have to get it first. Then again I wounder if we all hide the the cart and let them take us in. Either way we will all most likely die but there is the chance we will become legends in the process. And of course take as many giants down with us as possible.
But if anyone has a better idea the floor is open. And believe you me I would love to hear a better idea.
someone is a bit touchy. If yes want an alternative, didn't someone mention a sphere of invisibility? We could sneak close, drop that and dimension door up. It depends on if we can move everybody
"I can prepare that invisibility sphere. Let's try Droja's plan, and disguise if we are discovered "
"How long do those spells last? I thought they are somewhat limited.
But I am just a dumb dwarf and no expert in those hocus pocus things!"
Droja will look at Ulfgard, "Once animated, the giants become Zombies. They remain that way until destroyed."
Well, let's get too it.
Anga has a quick look at her gear, casting mage armour on herself if needed
Droja will pull off her backpack and search it. She pulls out two black onyx figurines, "I only have two of these, so this is it until we find more onyx." She places one of the onyx figurines on the Ettin and the other on the Hill Giant. It is a short incantation, but when the Half-Orc Oracle finishes, the onyx figurines break down and enter the corpse's bodies. The Ettin and Hill Giant begin to rise slowly, even clumsily, but they rise none-the-less. They let out unintelligible grunts. The Ettin's grunts has a certain harmony to it.
The party opens the crude gate that allows passage into the valley. It is about this time that it begins to rain, a cold miserable rain.
Both the Ettin Zombie and Hill Giant Zombie tower over Droja. Droja picks up her backpack, "Follow me." The Half-Orc Oracle leads the Giant Zombies to the other side of the wall. Then commands them to stop.
"Shall we go?" Droja looks at the party in general. She then looks at the Giant Zombies, "Walk slowly along this mountain side." Droja points to the steep barren right side slopes. The Ettin Zombie takes the lead, Droja stays near to its right leg. The Hill Giant Zombie follows.
Leira observes attentive while Droja proceeds "Wow. Those Onyx seems precious. How do they work? Are they trapping the spirits to propel the bodies?" Despite her orc blood, Leira looks at Droja with increasing respect.
Before walking forward, Leira uses her quick study to prepare invisibility sphere instead of haste .
Droja looks at Leira and shrugs, "I do not know how this works. It just does. I learned some of the incantations from my mother, but have only recently been able to make it work." She then sighs, "As to the Onyx, they were worth about 200 gold pieces a piece. They too once belonged to my mother. I originally had four of them. Now I have none." She turns from Leira and continues to walk along the right side of the Ettin.
For the next mile and a half, the party moves through areas that were not part of the Giant encampments. The rain continues and is steady. The party will notice that there are not too many giants outside of their massive tents.
If is very dark outside as the party passes between some giant tents and the mountain slopes. There was some stirring coming from one of the tents. A giant peeks outside, but then turns and goes back in.
The party moves about another mile or so undetected. In front and to the left, the party come across three large standing rock outcroppings that tower up to the sky. An alcove area to the right has giant tents and there are also some tents to the left near the towering outcroppings. The party would need to pass between these sets of tents or take a longer route around the alcove.
Fortunately, at present, there are not any giants outside the tents. The party can hear giant-sized snoring.
Leira renews her message spell on the party, then whispers "This might be a good moment to get invisible so we don't have to move around "
"All, pack around me and do not move farther than 10'. Do not attack anyone or you will become visible again " once she is sure everyone has understood Leira uses her rod to cast an extended invisibility sphere , then points towards the zombie Giants and, hopefully, moves with the party undetected.
"Don't include the Zombie Giants. In the dark, they will not look out of place," Droja says to Leira.
Leira cast the invisibility sphere over the rest of the party and the mule. The mule becomes disorientated, but Haskyll keeps it under control. Unfortunately, the spell wears off before they are able to cross the entire area, not far past the third pillar. The party finds themselves in a wider open area with valleys behind and to both the left and right.
The good thing, this is an area without tents or giant clans.
This deep within the camps, with the dark, and the rain, none of the giants were paying much attention.
The party makes it to the same mountainside where the Cathedral is located.
As the party gets closer to the Cathedral, within a quarter mile, they are about to be discovered by a patrol of Hill Giants.
Thinking quickly, Droja orders her two Zombie Giants to attack. This creates enough of a diversion to allow the party to make it to a location within about 500 feet or so of the Cathedral itself.
The great stone cathedral sits atop a wide plateau carved into the side of the mountain overlooking the valley. From the grounds below, a flight of huge stairs staggers up the mountain slope. The two-foot rise of each step is carved directly into the mountain face, and tall poles decorated with beast skulls, bones, severed limbs, and similarly macabre decorations are driven into the stone at each corner where the stairs change direction. At the top of the plateau, an immense palisade of trees and slab concrete surrounds the temple. Beyond the battlements rise the cathedral’s cold gray walls, carved from the ancient stone of the mountain itself. Above the monumental structure, three colossal towers climb hundreds of feet into the air. The central spire is tallest, flanked by two smaller towers offset to either side.The spire’s apex is crowned with a carved stone symbol of a huge anvil. Although heavily weathered, the cathedral appears to have mostly withstood the passage of time, though some walls bear the evidence of crude repair work where holes have been filled with ugly patches of concrete or sloppily braced with boulders and tree trunks.
Anga slips a shield scroll out in preparation.
so now whut? I cannae transport these brute dead things. We could order them to attack and we can slip by? she whispers.
" The zombies did well Droja. They distracted the patrol so we can reach the doors. But what now? If we storm in they might notice the dead guards..." Leira looks at Kaos "We might disguise now as Giants. I know their tongue. We can convince them we are taking dwarven prisoners in. I can enlarge us both for enough minutes "
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"Haskyll, close your eyes and hold to me. We are going to see Giants. Don't rage now "
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Don't take this the wrong way but can't we just go invisible again and dimension door to the other side of that door? Leaving the zombies behind. If Doja wants to she could send them off to make a disturbance in the camp. It may draw some of the guards attention or even get them to move off in that direction. Whispering through the message spell.
"I have already sent the Zombie Giants off," Droja shrugs.
Indeed, there is already a commotion going on near one of the giant camps. Truthfully though, that is not all that unusual.
Ragnir will grab hold of Haskyll when he sees the Dwarf wanting to follow the Zombie Giants.
Shaking his head, Haskyll abashedly offers thanks to those that help restrain him.
I don't know what came over me, but when I spy a giant, I feel an urge to go step on its body. This has been happening ever since I donned this.
Haskyll waves the steel hand slightly so the others can see what he was talking about.
Not that I am complaining about the side affect. Just letting you all know where the urge comes from.
Leira smiles to Haskyll " Not that I blame you. I feel the same each time I see one of those oversized bastards since they almost destroyed Trunau. But it's time to give them back"
"We could turn invisible once more but before Anga only could teleport three of us, and we need the doors open if we want to cross undetected " Leira addresses Kaos question.
or we kill them fast and silent.
Or give me 15 minutes, and I should have a method of breaching the stone. But that still leaves the giants there.
He looks at Heartspit, then looks at the giants, then clenches his fist, as he waves it in the direction of the Giants.
I dunno if it will work, but the stone walls should be able to have a hole melted into it.