Kanzen, tossed about on the two-headed giant's back, holds out a warning palm to the duergar. "Hold your attacks! We can subdue this creature, and question it, or put it on trial! Hold!"
The duergar grunt while swinging their weapons and dodging the massive knees and elbows that are flailing about. The apparent captain shouts "We're puttin' this thing down! Protectin' the streets!"
"I fear 'e might be ta far gone ta save," Eddrikk shouts before jumping back into the pile.
Eddrikk gets a firm hold on the giants neck, keeping it held low to the ground.
Galinndan says nothing, but quietly assists in the grappling.
Putting him down? He already is down!
With the giant disabled Cyrus draws his blade and jumps into the frey.
Kanzen abandons his attacks on the giant, instead doing his best to grapple it.
Kanzen twists as he wrestles the creature, snaking his legs between its in an attempt to immobilise it.
With the giant wrapped up in rope, Galenus ties off one end and goes in to aid with the knocking the giant out.
Pulling out his axe, he shifts it to hit the giant with the back end.
The giant's second head roars in frustration as the puny foes continue to swarm and overwhelm him. The first head whimpers in fear, confused as to why he has a second head and his strength has left him. The guards lay into him again with their weapons, drawing cries of pain. Cyrus throws him a fierce jab. The giant breathes heavily.
Two more big blows or 3-4 small ones will either knock out or kill the giant.
Galenus axe crashes into the giant's head, leaving him dazed looking. Galenus then jumps on the giant and helps bind him, leaving the giant unable to move, for the time being.
Irdril speaks to the duergar attacking the giant.
"You can see something's not normal here! Subdue him so we can find out what's going on. If you kill it we have no option!"
stupid dice roller..
The duergar are very reluctant to let a threat rampage in their streets but, seeing that you have somehow managed to tie up a stone giant, they hold their blows. "Er... um... Ye do seem to have the situation in hand... what do we do with 'im now? Maybe we should just knock 'im out?"
"Well I'm no expert but we should probably knock it out and then try to figure out why it has two heads. Perhaps the other Stone Giants could provide insight."
Something caused this curse on the stone giant. If you can find that, you'll probably be well on your way toward helping him.
"It is a curse. We must seek whom cursed the giant."
"Well he came through that gate.. Let's go see.."
"Agreed. Where will this giant be secured in the meantime?", Galinndan asks out loud, looking at the guards.
You need to hurry! Galenus warns. He won't stay this size for long. We've got less than a minute!
The giant is knocked out and, a few seconds later, grows back to his normal size. The bindings are drawn extremely tight but do not break. Then you hear thundered pounding coming from the direction of the gate the giant broke through. A one-headed stone giant rushes forward in massive, twenty-foot strides. In a booming baritone, he asks
Nay, we just 'ad to knock 'em out 'fore 'e could do too much damage, do you know 'em?
"It was obvious he was not himself.. It appears some curse has caused him to grow an additional head. Said additional head seems to be violent and in control of the actions. You have any idea what could have caused this?"
Galinndan speaks up:
"Who cursed him? Do you know?"
Galenus, proud he was able to help stave off the desctruction of the street and local businesses, can't help but smile. It wasn't just me. It was all of us. Finally, we're working as a team. We trust each other and we work off each other. This is it. This is the first glimmer of hope. We can get out of here. We can get people home.
Looking up at the giant, Galenus agrees with Eddrick, He'll be fine! A bit confused, tied up, and unconscious, but he'll be fine. None of us got the power to undue this curse, though. If'n you got something that'll lift curses, I'm sure he'd be happy to know!
As more guards arrive on the scene and confer in serious tones, the giant nods thoughtfully. "He is Rihuud, an apprentice of the Stonesoeaker, as am I. I am Dorhun. Rihuud here was communing with the sone when his second head sprouted. He began screaming and rushed out of Cairngorm Cavern." He shakes his head gravely and leans over Rihuud, checking his vitals. "I thank you for your wisdom in this matter. Rihuud has done nothing wrong of his own will. Please visit us at Cairngorm Cavern. Stonespeaker Hgraam will surely wish to speak with you."
Dorhun turns to the nearby guards. "Please escort these fine visitors to Cairngorm where they will be awaited by the Stonespeaker." The guards grumble somewhat but when Dorhun regards them solemnly they nod and agree. Dorhun then lifts his giant companion onto his massive gray back and lumbers back through the wrecked gate. The guards look to you "Well are ya ready to go or what? We ain't got all day."
"Aye, lead da way boys," as Eddrikk follows he tries to stay behind the grey dwarfs so the dont have the group surrounded.
Galinndan feels a pang of guilt about the arrow that he initially fired at the giant, but is glad that the group ended up saving Rihuud's life, and he assisted in that.
He walks next to Eddrick.
Galenus is happy not only at saving the Giants life, but also discovering that the Stonespeaker may be able to lift curses.
As they walk, he says, Is anyone else surprised that the Stonespeaker turned out to be Giants?
"Nah, nah really, I mean Stonespeaker stone giant, now iffen 'e was a cloud giant of some other sort I guess it'd be a shock."
"In truth, I had given less thought to the matter than I might have."
The guards lead you out of the Darklake District and into Laduguer's Furrow. You pass the mean homes of many derro, who give you crazed and suspicious glances as you pass. You are escorted through an iron gate into the richer portion of the city. The hammering and smoke are, if anything, even thicker here. The guards lead you to the southwest where a great tunnel leads into the rock. Standing at the entrance to the tunnel is a massive figure with a long gray beard. The craggy wrinkles of his face imply great age but his back is as straight as a board. He nods to the guards and addresses you in a slow and ponderous tone "I understand I owe you my apprentice's life. Please, enter." He stands aside from the massive opening and gestures for you to enter first.
Galenus heads straight in without hesitation.
"Aye, we 'ope 'e'll be ok" Eddrikk says to the giant and trails behind the wizard through the opening.
Hgraam bows and follows you into the tunnel. Massive pieces of artwork cover the interior of the passageway, carved painstakingly into the rock by huge, patient hands. He leads you into a cavern where massive piles of furs, some of the furs clearly from terrifyingly large creatures, form the cushions of a seating area. He takes a seat and gestures for all of you to sit on a four hundred square foot cushion near him. He stares silently toward the opposite wall for a few moments then speaks in a low, rumbling tone
“Something evil stirs in the Underdark. The rock itself cries in pain and horror, and a madness creeps from the blackest depths. Pay heed to the signs surrounding you. A cave with two faces. Rock devoured, and the land overgrown. The pebble believes itself flesh. The earth rejects its wards, and the tunnels shake in fury. By these portents, you shall know of evil’s presence and of evil’s face. This is what the stones tell me.”
he falls silent again for a little while then shakes his head. "I do not know what all of this means. But it troubles me greatly." He bows his head respectfully. "Thank you for being solid stone to me and mine in a time of shifting earth."
Kanzen is somewhat awed by the impressive surroundings, and the noble demeanour of the Stonespeaker. He frowns at the vague portents Hgraam speaks of, not understanding a word of it. After the giant thanks the party, he speaks up, his tone respectful but naive.
"We were glad to avoid the death of your apprentice as well, Stonespeaker, and you honour us. But what is this place? What do you do here, and what was wrong with your apprentice?"
"Let me ask you a question Great Stonespeaker. Have you ever heard of Demogorgon?"
Galenus is humbled by the interior of the giant's temple, and a bit ashamed of himself by his own rude entrance once he's reminded of common courtesy from the others.
He was just a bit too eager to get in and hopefully get this curse removed. But still, it was no excuse.
He remains silent as the others inquire the questions he had and speak of the demon they saw. Perhaps the two are related. If it were true, then at least they'd have some consistency in this mad and crazy world. There's too much choas going on for his liking.
The giant nods at Kanzen's politeness. "This is where my people come to commune with the stone and learn its wisdom. Skoraeus Stonebones has blessed this place for us. We create beauty in the stone and contemplate the ways of life." He turns with troubled expression to Irdril when she asks her question. "No, I have not. But the name sounds ill."
"Vile two 'eaded monstrosity destroyed da fish city."
The stonespeaker bows his head gravely. "While the kuo-toa are strange and erratic, I would wish no such ill upon them. This news is dire indeed. Whatever evil is happening, it has some haunt here in Gracklstugh, though I know not where it is." He is silent for a while longer. "I thank you for your service. Is there anything I can do for you?"
Galenus clears his throat. Um, yes, sir.
First, thank you for inviting us here. This place is magnificent. I have been placed under a curse myself, similar to your apprentice. I was wondering if you could lift it?
Hgraam ponders. "Perhaps. Tell me more. What is the curse? Why and how was it placed upon you? By whom? These answers are vital. Without this information, I can do little." He shakes his massive head, thick ropes of beard and hair making swooshing noises in the air. "This is why I can do little for Rihuud at the moment but ensure he does not hurt himself or others."
"Demogorgon is the Prince of Demons. An unspeakably chaotic creature that will most likely destroy the Underdark and possibly make it's way to the surface. I am unsure how it made it out of the Abyss though. I thought such beings were stuck there. You are the first we have spoken to about this here. Perhaps you can facilitate telling some Duergar in power? We haven't made much headway in speaking with them thus far."
The great gray man shakes his head in sorrow. "Dark news indeed. I will speak to the Deepking of this. I wonder what mortals can do in the face of such power..."
I.. umm.. well.. I had some stones. Valuable ones. When we arrived at the kuo-tao village, they expected us to give an offering to their god. But you know the kuo-tao - their gods are often fake. They worship anything. Even a rock. So I tossed the stones on the alter. But they were mad at me for it. Apparently they wanted something rotting. So I took them back and put a fish on it. And since then, I've smelled like rotten fish.
But who knew it would matter? Their gods are usually fake. They worhsip anything. Hell, half their clan was even worshipping -
Galenus stops dead in his tracks.
They were worshipping Demogorgon. They had a two-headed alter. There's no way Demogorgon's influence could have reached here by now. Not without a local cult. I bet there is someone here directing chaotic and demonic power.
The stonespeaker chuckles at Galenus' explanation. "Perhaps you will learn not to trifle with a god. Skoraeus Stonebones would have done much more to you than that for stealing a gift from his altar. I can remove this curse." He begins chanting for a minute or two then touches you as lightly as he can on the head with his massive club. It knocks your head a bit but doesn't hurt you. "The next bath you take will wash the smell away."
At talk of a local cult of some sort, Hgraam nods. "That would make sense of much."
"I ain't gonna be volunteerin' to wash yer back by da way." Cyrus huffs.