Skarn has no plan to go back down to the bottom, so he starts to explore the area where he is. What was the creature guarding? Any more threats about? Loot?
+2 vs unusual stonework, +1 vs giants
Trox steps forward and spots the giants exposed and swings with all thier might. "Don't forgot about me. Come and get me up here."
Despite the tight squeeze, Reynard attempts tear into the giant with tooth and claw.
Trox, Erond, and Reynard make short work of the giant.
Meanwhile, Skarn starts to explore the giant's lair. The stench from dozens of mostly eaten firepelts, deer, and even a few humans is incredible--worse than the latrine at the Hagfish after someone tries to drink from Norah's tank. However, there's a small pile of more interesting things by the heap of furs that served as the giant's bed.
"Sorry guys, I did not think he would fall quite so easy. At least it worked out."
Skarn shows the group what he found.
From the other side of the giant's lair, a staircase leads up and to the north.
"And there's a staircase to the north. Big steps again though!"
There's another 15' climb to reach the bottom of the stairs.
"With a three dwarf climb to get there."
"With a three dwarf climb to get there."
"We can all make it at this point I would think. Lets keep moving."
Trox heads to the stairs to climb with the others.
Since there's nothing to threaten you on the stairs, the only thing the climb costs is time (and not much of that). There's a trickle of water running down the stairs from above.
The top of the dam--the upper walk of Skull's Crossing--is relatively free of rubble, although a three-inch layer of water has pooled across much of its surface. Here and there, sections of the dam's surface have crumbled away, although this damage appears relatively old. A tower of skull-shaped domes sits at the top center of the dam. To the north surge the choppy waters of the Storval Deep, while to the south the slope of the dam's face drops away nearly three hundred feet to a muddy, roiled lake below--the headwaters of the Skull River.
Near the tower, a quartet of ogres hammer at the ancient stones while a fifth ogre sits on a block and watches them. They don't appear to have noticed you yet.
"What the thunder do they think they are doing?"
The engineers among the party guess that they're trying to weaken around the recent break in the dam, so when the water level in the Storval Deep finally overtops it the whole thing will fail at once.
"Anyone have a fireball to waste those ogres?"
"Likewise, minus the shooting. Say, that gives me an idea. I'll bet I can sneak up on that fifth ogre, grab him and fly off, dropping him once I'm past the dam. He looks in charge, that should throw the others into chaos."
Trox looks at Renard and raises one eyebrow, kind of. Raising one eyebrow is hard for some people and Trox is one of them so it is more of a grimace.
"I knock one down and you want to one up me." shrug [/b] "I will start hustling over and charge one of the others." [/b] Looks over at the drop. "If you see me drop prone it is to prevent being throw off."
Druamin pats his thigh to call Kobu close to him. "Don't get too close to the edge there. It's a long way down."
I'll bet I can sneak up on that fifth ogre, grab him and fly off, dropping him once I'm past the dam.
"That would be a nice trick, for sure. Are you strong enough to carry one of those guys though? They look pretty big and heavy."
"I think I'll manage." Reynard says with a smile.
In a blur of actions, Reynard pulls the apparent leader off the edge and drops him to his death, while the rest of the party makes short work of the remaining exhausted ogres.
Past the fallen ogres, the skull-domed tower squats athwart the great dam. Despite stopping the wrecking crew, it's apparent that if the rain continues the dam will eventually fail...unless the sluice gates that can be seen below can be opened. There are two sets of double doors facing the party; the northern set appears to have been smashed in and hastily repaired, while the southern set is intact. There are a pair of 5' openings 10' off the ground, the eye sockets of the skull-shaped facade.
"Any of you engineering and brainy types know where we can control this thing?"
Trox shakes her head. "At least we can go in and make sure there are not more ogres messing about." Trox starts heading for the doors to see if they can get in.
"I think we need to get those sluice gates opened, or this water is gonna overtop the dam, and who knows what more besides!"
In answer to Skarn's question, Cordwin will try to use his engineering knowledge.
Cordwin has read about this specific dam, no doubt because it's a marvel of arcane technology. The control center and power source are supposed to be somewhere below, in the body of the dam, but no one has done more than theorize about it for centuries.
Trox finds that the intact doors don't open. They may be barred from the other side.
Trox shrugs. "Want me to check the eyes, see if you can get though them? Seems like a bad design if you can."
The wall is a relatively easy climb, and Trox is able to get up to peer into the western eye. There's a large room on the other side, its walls thick with green ropy fungus that hangs down over the window almost like a curtain. Several large heaps of the stuff, hollowed out almost like nests or beds, cover the floor. There's a set of double doors in the east wall.
Cordwin tries to identify the fungus and maybe what creatures made the nests.
Cordwin determines that the fungus is harmless, and that the nests are made by Large humanoids of some sort.
Trox hos down into the room and heads to the double doors.
"Anyone want to check this for traps or anything? Seems unlikely."
WHen ready Trox will try and open the double doors.
Skarn is always happy to stay on and cover Trox's 6!
"Let me give it a look see." Reynard says, moving up as he pulls out his thieves' tools, just in case.
Reynard joins Trox inside the building and checks the door. It doesn't appear to be trapped.
Druamin waits on the ground while others climb up and through the eye hole in the wall. "Hey, does someone want to open this door? Or do you want me and Kobu to try to climb up there too?"
Either way, eventually Druamin and Kobu make their way into the larger room. He stands next to the double doors and grips his axe. "Well. I guess there's no reason to wait. Let's see what's on the other side."
Tros will sheath his sword to open the door.
Piles of rubble dominate this large room, along with bits of flesh, broken weapons, splashes of blood, and a few dead ogres that have been torn limb from limb. Wind and rain howl through circular openings to the north that look out over the Storval Deep, and puddles of water have collected on the floor. Thick sheets of ropy green fungus grow along the walls here, winding in through the windows and through numerous cracks in the domed ceiling thirty feet above; behind the fungal vines, the walls are decorated with hundreds of skull-shaped carvings.
Also behind the fungi are four large green humanoids, which anyone with any ranks in Knowledge (Local) recognizes as trolls. They were apparently expecting more ogres, but leap out with hostile intent anyway.
Round 1:
Initiative order
Cordwin
Reynard
Trolls
Erond
Trox
Druamin/Kobu
Cordwin knowing trolls regenerate will cast haste on the party.
Reynard steps forward and takes a swipe at the nearest troll.
Round 1 (ongoing):
Reynard steps up and lands a glancing blow on the troll that nevertheless inflicts a decent amount of damage. However, that leaves him the only one in the room when the trolls act. Fortunately for him, even flanking they can't touch him.
Trox quickly steps in to help alleviate the flanking advantage on Raynard.
"How are you even uglier then the ogres?"
Round 1 (ongoing):
Initiative order
Cordwin-acted
Reynard-acted
Trolls-acted
Erond
Trox-acted
Druamin/Kobu
Trox steps up, getting bitten on the way in , and lands a solid blow on the greener troll.