Arianwyn bursts back into the clearing and discovers exactly why his companions are rooted to the spot. Stars flaring on his brow, he lashes out at the guard and misses.
G1 attempts to immobilise the warlock and fails by a narrow margin to overcome the eladrin's powerful will.
G1 giggles slightly and jabs at Tutavak with its halberd before scampering lightly away.
G2 likewise jabs at Whiteclaw before attempting to hold her in place once more.
G3 Stabs at Kia and does his best to keep her still, while G4 does his best to hold Arianwyn down and stabs at Tutavak.
Chary is stunned after the arrival of so many large guys. She is not sure what to do, and in an uncommon moment of panic, she can only manage to fling her dagger at the one that is holding Arianwyn immobile. She then regains her poise and moves to Whiteclaw's side to offer her aid.
"Curse you all, deviant gargantua!"
Chary finds the incoming giants to be less well armed than their leader and fells one with some ease. Whiteclaw nods her gratitude as the drow draws alongside her before taking a breath to prepare herself for the next bombardment.
Kia fires off an arow at the Guard that is attacking her. Overjoyed at being mobile for the first time in this battle, she make sure of her mark.
"We need to finish this quickly and then 'fly' as Arianwyn so eloquently says"
Taking some small pleasure is actually being able to move, Kia retreats a couple of steps to C20.
Arianwyn turns into silver mist and reappears closer to the last guard before firing deadly energy into him.
He turns to the others, "I suggest we retreat and clarify our plans."
Arianwyn obliterates the last guard.
Arianwyn scrawls (in Elven) "Death to the foes of the Mountain clan" on the ground.
"Good idea."
Arianwyn obliterates the last guard.
Baldrech looks slightly surprised at the group's reappearance in his lair, but takes it in his stride.
"Thrown a rock at the hornet's nest have you?"
"Of course. Now to our next band of merry marauders - perhaps a more... hidden approach this time..."
Whiteclaw licks her fur clean and shrugs. "We don't have the stone yet, but there are a few less of them."
"The centre cannot hold..." Arianwyn murmurs. "Baldrech; pray tell, where lie the other clans? I propose more strikes but of a more opportunistic nature: we shall wreak terror."
Chary is uncharacteristically silent after the last encounter with the giant. She was a bit thrown by her inability against it.
Baldrech squints slightly as he scrawls a map in the earth.
"The Hill clan you know about. Apart from that, the bastards have somehow re-opened the old kobold mines. I haven't explored there. I told you they'd made a lake out of the old burial grounds? That's a bad place. Worse, I mean."
He thinks for a while stabbing at the rough drawing. "The stones came from the hill in the first place and the Hill Clan hold that ground fiercely. But if you can get the other stones back there, they won't be attacking you. They're crazy enough that they might even help."
"Just let me be clear here: I'm not going to play the prisoner again unless we also remove the weapons from Whiteclaw and Tutavak and we agree on a signal when to attack. I suspect we were lucky to get away then."
She looks around at the group.
"Just thought I'd say..."
"Ach..." Arianwyn waves a hand dismissively, "No, not again. We will make a show of strength."
"With five of you? Six, if you count me. That's still bad odds."
Baldrech points out the realities as he sees them.
"A feigned one, hence a show."
"Using that? Walking trees?"
Tutavak blithely ignores (doesn't notice?) Kia's jab.
"Mistress Rubarka, your insights would be valuable here." Arianwyn says charitably.
"Hmmm?" Kia stops thinking of mugs of cider and gives her attention to the matter at hand.
"Well, we were supposed to be sowing discord among the formorians. The plan worked to a small extent. Do we have any way of finding out what the final result was? If we have manufactured something we could take advantage of, the best time to take that advantage would be now. Before any of the victims have had time to recover or discover the true facts."
"We can discover about the mines later or we might find out something when we investigate what, if amything, we have wrought."
"Looks as if you've upset the forest clan. I don't know if you meant to or if it was just your cuddly personalities." Baldrech smiles grimly. "They're buzzing like hornets and they won't take prisoners this time."
Whiteclaw muffles a snort of what might be laughter. "I just say go to the centre, take the stones, put them back. Kill anything in our way."
Whiteclaw grunts and shrugs, but rises to her feet, shouldering her axe. "We're just going to march up there then?"
Baldrech also rises. "I'll scout the forest clans and see what they're up to. Good luck."
He follows Whiteclaw out of the cave and turns towards the forest. Whiteclaw strides firmly towards the rising ground, making no particular effort to hide her movement.
"The sooner we find them, the sooner we can kill them."
Arianwyn finally loses his cool and races after the gnoll, standing in her path, "We're not killing them, you mangy moron! At least, not yet. We-make-nice-with-them, savvy? The other fomorians can kill them later, for all I care, but for now we have to ally with them!"
Whiteclaw shrugs indifferently. "You talk then. I'll kill them once they've disembowelled you."
She heads up the hill.
"Idiot."
The rough path leads directly upwards as some of you will remember. At the top, as you recall, the area is cleared, but surrounded by trees and approached via a small pool of clear water. The hilltop is a natural fortress and intruders will be clearly visible from far away.
The wind rustles the leaves, and carries with it the unpleasant sound of fomorian voices. They are coming no closer, but neither are they going away.
"Right, this is the plan. We go up, Arinawyn talks nicely to them, and do don't attack until I say so. If I say so. Is that clear? Tutavak? Whiteclaw?"
"It's nothing personal, I just want to get out of this alive."
Arianwyn smiles (not pleasantly), and gauges the best way to appear in front of the giants. He concentrates and steps into the Feywild, reappearing closer to the fomorian group in a swirl of leaves, crown a- gleam, and announcing himself thusly,
"Stand not amazed, o worthy guardians of the stones! I will harm you not. I would seek parlay with your leader."
Whiteclaw pounds after Arianwyn and appears at his shoulder as he materialises on the edge of the clearing.
In the comparatively small space, the fomorians all but fill it, prowling restlessly among the four gaping holes that once held the Rune Stones. In front of the single, unviolated stone, sits the apparent leader, his hands twisting around a rod as he gazes lovingly at the rock in front of him. He whispers and croons to it continually, watching for any sign of response.
As the warlock arrives, a Painbringer turns.
"What do you offer us," he asks greedily?
Whiteclaw growls.
Arianwyn gestures around the area, "The stones." he replies simply.