"The tracks look to be a single giant and several ogre henchmen."
"I'll take first watch, unless someone wants to do that instead. If any of you wizard types need more sleep, speak up, no sense in you not getting all your magic stuff back."
Ebixus sets up his bedroll and stands his sword and armor next to it.
"Those shelter magics would be nice, too. Especially if it'll keep eyes from spotting us."
Dolgrym examines the footprints before heading to the copse of trees to determine how far behind they are.
He then looks at the trees and says "That will be a great campsite. I can take any watch needed."
Dolgrym examines the footprints before heading to the copse of trees to determine how far behind they are.
Track: 1d20 + 15 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 15 + 4 = 25
He then looks at the trees and says "That will be a great campsite. I can take any watch needed."
You believe you are about 3 days behind but catching up slowly.
Alistair dismisses his mount and calls into existence the large orb that will fit all the party.
"Here you go, it will last all night and keep us warm and safe. Now I will need some time in the morning to study, so first watch would be good for me."
"I'll take the last watch."
I'll take the first.
"I would prefer last watch. I say my prayers as close to dusk as possible. It is out of the darkness that our fate arrives, after all."
As you bed down for the night and set up your watches the line of the Jotuns in the distance makes you realise things aren't as tranquil as they seem. Thankfully the night passes without incident but the shapes of figures moving in the pre-dawn darkness makes Naji and Fitzroy cautious.
Fitz and Rauber get up for the last watch, the little raccoon paying closer attention to the environment than his master (who is somewhat distracted by his spellbook)
The shapes clearly get Naji's undivided attention.
Rauber sees the shapes quite clearly and races up to Fitz's shoulder to get his attention pointing them out while squeaking softly. Naji sees them fairly clearly as well, although without low-light vision his judgements are harder.
Do they appear to be headed towards us, or by us? If towards us, then it is time to start (quietly) waking others. If they don't look to be coming very close, I think I would rather let the others sleep and track them once everyone can armor up. . ..
Fitzroy's eyes widen as his familiar points out the movement in the dark.
The raccoon quickly dives into the little pack on Fitz's belt that he typically rides in.
Fitzroy quietly incants the words of a quick spell, casting Vanish on himself.
Invisible, he whispers to Naji: "I saw them too."
At this Rauber chitters indignantly.
"I'll take a closer look while you get the others awake and ready."
"Zzzzzzz..."
They seem to be moving across your vision at an angle. If they keep moving at the same heading it is likely that they will pass near enough to see your camp if you don't attempt to hide.
Fitz moves forward to investigate, stubbing his toe on a rock as he leaves the camp.
As Fitz moves closer to the figures he quickly becomes able to see them more clearly. They have grey skin and little to no hair and range from 6' to 12' with the shorter ones seeming immature, possibly children.
They are carrying large stuffed backpacks as well as pulling overly large hand-carts. Although most the adults are carrying weapons most of them are not in a combat ready position. They are instead being carried in the carts of fastened to backs.
Fitz is unable to definitively determine the type of giant but he is certain it they are not hill giants or ogres. With Fitz's vanish spell quickly running out, time is short to determine a course of action. Will you engage, in either discourse or combat? Or will you hide and try to let them pass by?
Fitz moves back to the party.
When he arrives he tells the others in a low voice.
"There is a party of giants approaching. I couldn't make out the type. I've never seen them before, but they aren't hill giants or ogres."
He continues:
"They definitely don't look like a war party. They appear to be a mixture of males and females, adult and young. If anything, I would almost think that they look something like the refugee parties of humans we've seen. I'm not sure what they'd be afraid of though."
"We can probably avoid them, or alert them to our presence and see if we can get information from from them."
With the party unable to come to a decision it is not long until a cry goes up from the travelling group. They have noticed you. The giant moving at the front of the procession grabs a long pole from the front-most cart, at the top of the pole is a large cloth, which (under low-light vision) appears to be pure white. He waves the makeshift flag a few times and waits to see your responses.
Fitz steps out in front of the giant with open hands and speaks (in giantish)
"Easy friend ... we are but fellow travelers in this land. We offer no trouble or offence...."
Naji looks about cautiously, trying to understand why giants would claiming refugee status in an area they had razed . . ..
Alistair waits and watches how his colleagues deal with the giants.
The giant plants his flag in the middle of the open area between your 2 groups when you appear to be friendly and speaks when Fitzroy approaches. “Greetings, little folk,” he rumbles, easily loud enough for the rest of the party to hear. “I am Thane Ogier of the Stone Folk, once of the lands of the Oberulsprulheim, or that which you call the Crystalmist. Who might you be?” He looks tired, like he has not had a good rest for some time.
"I am Ebixus. We are out here to slay monsters and evil wizards. And you lot appear to be neither. Tell us where they are, since you obviously flee something hostile, and we will go end them."
Ebixus starts strapping on his armor and getting his gear ready as the giants converse, confident they wont immediately attack under the truce flag.
Karl stays quiet. These giants are big.
Thane Ogier seems friendly enough and speaks giantish in a rumbling voice.
"My people are travelling away from our ancestral homes in the Crystalmists to the Barrier Peaks in the North."
He frowns, looking vaguely distressed. “The stones say that evil times are coming. Our lesser brothers burn and destroy the lands of the Little Folk. And behind them the are darker energies. Their power we can feel in the rocks. It is time for you, Little Folk, to arise.”
He stays silent for a moment, giving you a chance to respond.
Recognizing the peaceful nature of the exchange, Naji relaxes quit a bit, as he patiently waits for someone to have the time to explain the discussion to those who don't speak giant.
In common to the group:
"It seems like these giants are peaceful refugees. He says that other giants are making war, but that something even more evil is behind it. He also says that they're leaving and fixing it is up to people like us."
in giant:
"Thane, do the other giants have a king or leader? If they do, where does he or she live? and do your stones tell you anything else about this evil behind the giant attacks?"
"Well hot damn. There's something these big fellas are scared of? Sound like something we're gonna want to kill right fast. Do they know where they are? Or what kinda baddies they are? Those might be useful bits of info."
Ebixus continues to gear up and get ready for monster slaying.
Alistair perks up hearing about the "Darkness" behind the giant's rampage.
"Do you know anything about this 'darkness'? Any hint as to what it might be?"
He asks as the others also pose their questions.
The giant shakes his head. "I do not know anything of the darkness that lurks behind my lesser brethren, the stones do not speak in the words you or I use." He stops to think for a moment. "The chieftain of the hill giants is call Nosnra. That is all I will tell you about this matter. We may not agree with the actions of our lesser kin but we will not actively betray them either. But considering your path." With this he turns his head slightly to look south towards the Jotuns. "It would appear you have your own opinions of where the danger lies."
"Go in peace then, Thane Ogier." Fitz tells the giant.
Frustrated by the giant's response, Alistair turns away, muttering to himself.
"Well, now we know to look out for hill giants, right?"
Dolgrym watches the exchange between the giants and his allies in silence. He doesn't like giants but knows not all are evil.
Karl watches the giants go, then settles back down, patting Cutie, who was still sleeping.
Dolgrym watches the exchange between the giants and his allies in silence. He doesn't like giants but knows not all are evil.
Kn: Loacal Giants: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 1 + 4 = 22
Dolgrym is aware that although stone giants are generally neutral, they are similar to humans in that they may have good or bad individuals. They tend towards being insular and somewhat isolationist, preferring to live in places that are difficult for humans to get to.
Seeing that the conversation is over Thane Ogier returns to his people and continues moving north. The path towards the Jotuns is clear... At least for now.
"Continue on this path tomorrow, when the sun rises?" Fitz asks the others.
"Seems the best path. Interesting that the giants have refugees fleeing as well. More interesting that they are bigger giants than the ones causing problems for the country . . .. Shouldn't the bigger giants just beat the smaller ones into submission? Isn't that how their society works?"
Dolgrym snorts, "Not all giants act like that. Those are stone giants. They tend to be more like humans. There are good ones and bad ones, though in general they are neutral. That is probably a band of good ones who didn't want to get into any conflicts. Why don't we get ready and move on."
After watching the band of giants walk into the distance the sun continues to rise, your party packs up your camp and continues to move towards the mountain.
Karl continues to pathfind
Your party continues on, moving through the rolling hills and occasional scrub towards the mountains in the distance. Your recent encounter with the stone giants of the Crystalmists has brought the existence of another force to your attention, making an already dangerous mission even more cloudy.
Fitz will stay close to Karl and his water buffalo.
More like a rhino. Doesn't like water much