Dilan nods along at the conversation knowing that there is falsensees and these giants would like to kill them after they complete the task. Still she feels it is better to know then not. The giants do not over worry her for some reason.
Taking note of the giant's less than honest motives, not to mention the half-eaten gnome tossed to the side, Korvan places himself between the giants and Figgy while the conversation continues.
"Well my friends, I think we know what we need to know. The one on the left first please."
Dilana looks at the giant on the left and whispers a word. "
Katulog"
Olimpia fires on the other giant from her concealment.
With a quick nod, Korvan draws his blade and heads toward the designated giant.
One giant simply slumps over and starts an ungodly snoring. The other is blasted out of nowhere by a stealthy Android who puts a musket ball deep into it's hide.
Pulling the starter cord on his chainsaw, Raktar hustles towards the wounded giant with his weapon held high.
"Springy go high!" Figgy shouts as he pulls a small vial of fire from his bandolier and throws it at the Giant no one is fighting.
Korvan rushes the still awake giant and hacks away.
(charge)
The Giants, taken by surprise never regain their footing and die quickly.
Treasure:
The hill giants have been lairing in this area for 3 weeks and have been haphazardly improving the camp over that time. The giants' latest innovation is a cooking spit utilizing the wheel from the Choking Tower's door.
While the wheel itself is valueless, restoring it to the door
makes opening the main entrance to the Choking Tower a much easier task .
One of the lean-tos contains a large bag that holds several items of value:
A lump of noqual that weighs 25 pounds and is worth 1,250 gp,
A Animated light wooden shield +1,
The bottom half of a half-eaten gnome that still wears a pair of
boots of striding and springing.
A nearby clay jar contains 3 doses of restorative ointment
In one of the other lean-tos is a dire wolverine hide with a
map drawn on it.
A crude map of Smokewood that indicates the locations of the giant camp, the metal monster (area C), the Choking Tower (area F), and a
glade (area D), the latter being indicated by a large drawing
of a butterfly.
A corner of the drawing has a short plan of attack written in Giant: [spoiler=Giant]
i. Get metal thing's weapons; 2. Test weapons on big bug; 3 . Use weapons on Technic League; 4. Revenge!
What are you doing now?
Raktar helps the others sort through the giants' assorted, sometimes grisly, treasures. "I'll hold onto this," he suggests, holding the clay jar of ointment at arm's length to avoid it's unpleasant aroma.
"This gear looks like it is from something, maybe we should take it wit us." Figgy says, eventually Figgy gets around to seeing the dead Gnome. Tears welling up, Figgy pulls out his spade and Springy does the same. Solemly they dig a hole to bury the Gnome in, taking out a small gear from his pack, Figgy scribes the words "Brigh" into it then plants the gear into the dirt with the fallen Gnome.
"Lets see this tower then?" Figgy wipes a tear from his eye and moves forward towards the tower.
"A map, to bad it does not mean much to me. Anyone else?"
Not offering to carry anything Dilana just waits to move on with the others to the tower.
'm sorry Figgy. Your kin has been avenged as best as we can do for now. It would be fitting for you to wear those boots I think. Olimpia helps with the burial.
After she looks through the items and asks [b[Does anyone mind if I give this shield a try? It might be a good thing if I have to stand and fight. I am not sure I'll like it though so do not intend to claim it yet. Perhaps you should take that strange metal Raktar. Maybe make some weapon or armor from it? [/b] Looking at the map she admits I never studied geography. Can't make heads or tails of this. Anyone speak the language written here?
"Perhaps," Raktar muses, looking over the lump of green, almost crystalline, looking metal.
"I've no idea what this map says either," he adds, bemused by the giants' crude work.
"Are you coming?" Figgy asks anger showing in his face
You have a untranslated map showing some sort of metal monster. A clearing with a Butterfly and the Tower. What are you doing now?
"Is that butterfly like the symbol of Desna?" Raktar ponders out loud. "If so, it might be worth looking there before we head to the Choking Tower."
"Sure, but we need to be careful. This woods is supposed to be deadly." Figgy says
I say the tower should be our last stop. Olimpia puts forth.
"That sounds reasonable." Korvan says to Olimpia's suggestion.
Carefully avoiding the area the metal monster is marked as lairing you travel east, arriving at a large clearing. The trees and grass of this peaceful glade glow with a faint luminescence. At the north end of the glade is a wide, flat rock covered with colorful lichen. Under the rock is a cave opening only 3 feet tall but 15 feet wide.
A successful DC 19 Knowledge (arcana) check identifies the luminescence
clinging to the glade's foliage and stones as glowsap residue from a star monarch, an enormous colorful moth that serves as an emissary of Desna and a guardian of dreamers.
Clambering majestically from the cave comes a brilliantly colored moth rising taller than a house. A long tail resembling peacock feathers trails behind the creature. It rest atop the rock over the cave and regards you calmly.
What are you doing now?
"That is a Emissary of Desna, you can tell by the colour of the Lichen." Figgy says staying back a bit in Awe. "We come in peace." Figgy announces, "I am Figgy Greasefitter, sorta follower of Brigh and Tinkerer."
Stepping out with Figgy Olimpia stands dumbstruck for a moment, dropping he blade to the turf. Finally she manages Desna? Are you sure? She looks in wonder at the creature before slowing extending a hand and walking forward.
"Yep I am sure." Figgy says quietly
Figgy hadn't steered him wrong before. Korvan puts his weapons away and sits, content to let the gnomish tinkerer do the talking.
"An emissary of Desna?"
Dilana apprroaches slowly.
"I am a follow of the Lady Desna as well and never dreamed to see one such as you. Clearly we mean you no harm, I would help you if you are in need as well."
Though Raktar's own devotions were to Brigh, he nonetheless respected the other gods enough to recognise the butterfly as a symbol of Desna. He had never thought to see an emissary of the gods, and bowed his head politely at the creature, happy to let Dilana and Figgy take the lead.
The huge Star Monarch seems pleased, it steps off the boulder and comes carefully towards Dilana. One antenna extends to touch her head.
What are you doing Dilana?
Dilana is positively vibrating with excitement as the butterfly's antenna comes closer. If her thoughts were more clear she would be marveling at the honer of experience such a close contact with an emissary of her god. As it is the only thing she can do is smile and make a small happy noise.
Gone is the girl who has learned to fight over these past days. Gone is even the cobbler and daughter of an alcoholic all that is left is a girl, a teenager, who is having an experience.
All that is to say, she just stand there.
The star monarch itself is named Longdreamer. She's made these woods her home on Golarion for many, many centuries, drawn to the region by the dreams of the land's alien entities. Longdreamer recently returned after a long trip to a distant world only to find a foul-smelling tower had been erected in the center of her woods.
The star monarch is far too large to explore the tower's interior, but she is quite curious, and is eager to recruit like-minded souls to help
answer her questions about it.
Needless to say, you and your friends make much better subjects for this task than giants.
Longdreamer offers to aid you if you help satisfy her curiosity about the nature of the Choking Tower. Although she's not been able to explore its interior, she does know that there are creatures within who dream-in particular, she warns you of a particularly violent mind whose dreams are of "ravenous carpets of flesh-eating worms feeding upon the body of a man-always the same man-whom the worms know as Furkas Xoud."
She's attempted to communicate with the dreaming worms, but the worms' response has been nothing but hostility-she knows that whatever this mind might be, it harbors a deep resentment for all life, but none more than Xoud.
The fact that no other creature seems to dream within the Tower (apart from the bestial proto-dreams of unintelligent creatures she cannot communicate with) further arouses Longdreamer's curiosity-she does not suspect the tower is empty of life, but a tower almost empty of those who dream ... ? Curious indeed!
In return for satisfying her curiosity, Longdreamer prefers to use dream to receive reports from you, the star monarch offers up her cave as a safe place to rest. Further, she offers the use of her spell-like abilities to you.
She can use dream to send messages to distant allies, and use restful sleep on PCs who sleep nearby.
What is your response?
Dilana's eyes go wide as the metal communication begins. No stranger to supernatural this is still a whole new level of interatciont. It takes her a moment to organize her thoughts before she replies, both though thought and word.
"Longdreamer, you honor us with your presence and we are happy to help. We were on our way to the tower already but you give us new reason to do so."
She continues this time more to the party.
"The tower is not empty but Longdreamer says there are only a few within who dream. Of those that do.... well its not good dreams. She knows of a 'ravenous carpet of flesh-eating wroms', her words, that wants to feed on the man Furkas Xoud. She is very curious of the tower that should not be in her forest."
"She will grant us a safe place to stay as well as her magics if we help with this tower."
"Clearly we have to do this. We cannot ignore the call of the divine guiding us."
Olimpia stands in awe of the emissary of her goddess.
"SO we can sleep here without having to set a watch or be disturbed. Does she know of the metal creature in the forest? A carpet of flesh-eating worms? What is that." Figgy asks
Longdreamer knows nothing of the metal creature in the forest, and can't tell your anything about the worms.
What are you doing now?
Raktar listens patiently before nodding at Dilana's conclusion. "If an avatar of a goddess desires our help, who are we to refuse?"
"True, plus we have to see why that other Gnome was here and if there are more." Figgy says bowing to the Emissary and heading back to the path.
Olimpia looks in awe to be in the presence of a messenger of her goddess, but there is also a look of being somewhat shaken. Am I unworthy? she intones in a small voice as she steps back from the creature.