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"I can understand the unprincipled feeling of killing a sleeping enemy, but I also feel confident that these giants didn't have any honorable principals in mind when they attacked."
"To that end, would anyone going in like to be made invisible? The spell will cancel after your first attack, but it might be helpful to get into position if any of the giants wake up.
"Or maybe enlarged and invisible?"
"You're right. It falls to us to stop them. if you can spare an invisibility, that would be great." Elena says as she readied herself for combat.
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As people are ready to go in, Axton passes out invisibility spells like they're candy.
Bharak's weapon transformed, changing into a heavy mining pick. With Axton's spell making him invisible, he silently moved forward. Coming to the first of the giants, the dwarf raised his pick and carefully chose his target. Swinging it with all of his might, he went for an immediate death. Slitting throats was an option, of course. But that could wake the giant, and cause it to run around, bleeding out and waking everyone. He thought it better to kill it with one hit. Aiming for the pterion, the weakest part of the skull, he aimed to destroy the brain. One good hit, one dead giant, and then move on to the next. At least, that was the plan.
The Giants eyes flickered open for a fraction of a second as it felt its own death arrive. Aside from the pick sliding into its brain and the slight sigh it made as it died there was little noise.
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The party, hidden and observing sees Bharak appear by the head of the first Giant, a swing of his nasty looking pick and the Giant slumps into terminal silence.
Next
It is a very grim and grisly spectacle watching Bharak stealth over to a Giant, raise his pick and end its life with almost mechanical precision.
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Keep going
As Bharak draws near the sleeping giants, Elathras carefully moves around the perimeter of the ruined village, hoping to stay near enough he can join a fight quickly, but staying far enough away to not waken the giants or ettins.
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It was a grim task, but Bharak set about doing it. A pained look crossed his face, for there was a difference in fighting with one’s life on the line and executing a helpless foe. He fell into his battle trance, in large part to escape the horror of ending one life after another. He moved mechanically, his pick rising and falling with precision time and time again.
The snoring farting and other sleeping sounds cease as Bharak completes his grisly task without misstep.
What now?
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Numbly Bharak beheld his handiwork. His people had few interactions with giants, given that their hold was in the Mana Wastes, and as such he had never been taught the traditional methods of fighting them. It had also meant that he never learned to hate giants as his northern kinsmen did. It had made the grisly task much harder. Still, he reasoned that it had to be done. From what little he knew, the vast majority of giants were evil by nature and these ones had proven themselves to be enemies. Their deaths made the world a better place, and he told himself that he should be proud. That, and he did not want to disgrace himself in front of Vhane, who represented the traditional and stoic Dwarven outlook. His tattoo was embarrassment enough already, without his actions proving it right.
Quietly and with trained precision he went about searching for tracks. It was not the hardest task, given the size of the giants. But it seemed important to find a trail to follow, should the group decide to follow the giants’ trail back towards whence they came.
As they move into the abbey proper now that the giants have been dispatched, Axton gives Bharak a long look. Finally, he nods at the dwarf.
Does the nod mean approval? Consolation? Not even Axton knows for sure.
Watching as Bharak finishes the last of the giants, Elathras begins to move towards the abbey entrance. He watches as his friend double checks for tracks, figuring once they were done with the abbey they may need to make sure no more giants would attack. Approaching Bharak, he notices Axton's nod, chiming in, "Axton is right, it needed done. Grisly work, but at least they did not suffer and it will keep them from doing such things again."
Gesturing towards the abbey, he asks, "Shall we proceed."
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Elena's disembodied voice speaks from above Bharak as he regards the many dead left behind in his wake. "Thank you, Bharak, for shouldering this burden. If you wish to talk about it later, you're always welcome to."
The invisible cleric then withdraws back to the group. "I would like to check the buildings in this area at some point or another. But for now, it might be best to swiftly move into the abbey before whatever allies they had realize their 'sentries' are dead," she reasons, ready to follow the frontline into the fort.
Numbly Bharak beheld his handiwork. His people had few interactions with giants, given that their hold was in the Mana Wastes, and as such he had never been taught the traditional methods of fighting them. It had also meant that he never learned to hate giants as his northern kinsmen did. It had made the grisly task much harder. Still, he reasoned that it had to be done. From what little he knew, the vast majority of giants were evil by nature and these ones had proven themselves to be enemies. Their deaths made the world a better place, and he told himself that he should be proud. That, and he did not want to disgrace himself in front of Vhane, who represented the traditional and stoic Dwarven outlook. His tattoo was embarrassment enough already, without his actions proving it right.
[dice=Survival take 10]10+23+2
Quietly and with trained precision he went about searching for tracks. It was not the hardest task, given the size of the giants. But it seemed important to find a trail to follow, should the group decide to follow the giants’ trail back towards whence they came.
Vhane walks up to his fellow dwarf, looks at him calmly and gives him an affirmative nod along with a, "Well done," before readying to head into the abbey.
What were once two of the most impressive structures of the complex, the central chapel and the great guesthouse, have been almost completely destroyed.
The tallest building of the abbey complex remains the 150-foot-tall Pharus Pharasmae, a white marble lighthouse, but now that the chapel and guesthouse lie in ruins, the second tallest structure is the 6o-foot-tall
gatehouse, followed by the 40-foot-tall chapter house.
The Windsong Tower, connected to the main complex by an elevated corridor and standing more than 100 feet above the foamy waters of the reef, is the only part of the abbey that seems not to have suffered any kind of damage during the recent assault.
The abbey grounds also show signs of abuse and destruction, especially the service buildings and the graveyard.
An old 20-foot-wide stone wall encompasses the actual abbey grounds.
This 10-foot-tall stone belt dates back to the times when the cult of Groetus dominated the region, and was the plinth of the outer palisade of a primitive fort, which was destroyed and abandoned a long time before the foundation of Windsong Abbey.
The base of the old wall has been long plundered for construction material, and presents many gaps and collapsed sections along its course.
The abbey's wharf, consisting of a pier and a boathouse, lies on a small sandy beach at the base of the cliffs. On the landward side, the structure is surrounded by impassable rocks, and is connected to the
top of the cliff by a wooden staircase built on sturdy poles.
No boats remain moored to the pier.
THE WlNDSONG
A famous feature of Windsong Abbey is the fact that the entire structure functions something like a musical instrument. As the winds blow in from the sea, they funnel through a number of pipe-like tunnels located at the base of Windsong Tower, creating a haunting sound known as the
Windsong, and giving the abbey its name.
On a typical day, the breeze blowing in from the sea picks up in intensity as the day goes on, while at night the typical wind patterns avoid the pipes entirely.
Almost completely silent at night, the tower pipes and the air ducts that crisscross the abbey and the dungeons begin producing low, whistling sounds as the day progresses.
A1. MAIN GATE
The main entrance to the abbey opens into the middle of an enormous gatehouse. A monumental archway, twenty feet wide and almost as tall, allows passage under the bulk of the structure into the abbey courtyard to the west. The great wood and-iron outer gate has been battered down, one massive leaf partially open, the other unhinged and lying on the stone-paved floor. Fragments of stained glass lie scattered over the ground.
You are currently observing the main gate from concealment in the ruined village. What are you doing now?
Looking toward the monumental archway, Elathras comments aloud, "The passageway is tall enough for giants to have entered." He looks toward sthe others, "Might be asleep, but I doubt it. Maybe we should proceed in force?"
Bharak walked with his head just that much higher, at having had the support of the group. Knowing that he was not alone, and not looked down upon, made walking their road much easier. Which was good, given that the next group of giants they were to encounter were not likely to be asleep.
"Aye. We should do so." He said, his weapon transforming back into something resembling an axe. "Go in quietly and with eyes sharp."
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Nodding in agreement with Bharak, Elathras, keeping his polearm at the ready, begins to move forwards. "Let us check the tower first, if there is access to the top we can view the landscape and see if there are any more giants about."
A quiet as he could possibly be, Bharak went about entering and climbing the tower. If there was to be a threat inside, he was going to find it.
From there, he used the vantage point to learn what he could, so that the group could properly make a plan.
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Bharak slips forward like a silent shadow towards the archway.
A1. MAIN GATE
The main entrance to the abbey opens into the middle of an enormous gatehouse. A monumental archway, twenty feet wide and almost as tall, allows passage under the bulk of the structure into the abbey courtyard to the west. The great wood and-iron outer gate has been battered down, one massive leaf partially open, the other unhinged and lying on the stone-paved floor. Fragments of stained glass lie scattered over the ground.
As he gets close enough to examine the entranceway Bharak immediately spots the 4 murder holes in the ceiling. He also sees something wearing red on it's head watching through one of the holes, ready to drop something on anyone entering!
As a Dwarf Bharak also notices that the stonework around the murder holes has been weakened considerably. Something big and heavy is going to be dropped it appears?
What are you doing now?
Silently making his way back, he reported what he saw. ”So, what’s the plan? Sneak in past the defenses? Or use an illusion or whatnot to make them drop whatever they’ve got early?”
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"There are three ways I can help here. First, I can probably stoneshape a walkway or crawlspace straight through the wall to have us sneak past. Alternatively, these creatures are deathly afraid of religious symbols. I could conjure up an illusion of holy symbols flying or walking up to them. Aside from wasting thier trap, there's a decent chance they'd run away in terror and it is silly enough that whatever evils are inside might not believe them if they report it."
"Lastly, I could ask Shelyn to grant us all the ability to walk on thin air. We can then 'fly' straight up to the top of their fortifications and fight them there. This one is more taxing on my power, though. And it is a direct assault, thus the end of our sneaking around."
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Smiling at Elena's comment about 'sneaking around' Elathras new he was about as 'sneaky' as a pachyderm, but he appreciated her not singling him out. He certainly had no desire to set off the evil Fey's trap, so as she spoke about the options, he considered them. Gesturing toward the wall, "My preference would be to open a doorway through the stone and give us access." He smiles, confessing his own 'self-awareness' "But I prefer as direct of an approach as possible."
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With no clear preference uttered among the group, Elena decides to go with the option that seemed to have the most support, marginal though it was. "All right. Let's go further south and I'll make a doorway trough the wall. We can then sneak by the river to the docks, search them and plan further actions from there."
The group travels south as suggested, searching for a spot where trees could be seen growing over the wall from the other side, so that presumably they had some visual cover. Elena kneels by the war in prayer. "Lapisartis." She says, touching the wall segment, the stone of which warped into a pathway through.
"Are you scouting ahead again, Bharak?" She then asks, letting the warriors take the front as usual.
Going south brings you to a ruined corner of the building:
A14 DESTROYED CATHEDRAL
What was once a magnificent cathedral now lies in ruins, its outer wall almost completely obliterated. The space inside is clogged with rubble, broken beams, and shards of stained glass. Splashes of dried blood and fragments of flesh and bone lie throughout the ruined chamber.
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Of more concern than crossing the rubble is what Elena sees hiding in the room waiting for someone to enter!
This appears to be a mass of floating intestines tangled around a fanged mouth—the tips of its coils also end in toothy maws.
They are waiting for someone to enter the room, but are watching the door and the ruined walls. What are you doing now?
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Moving at a snail's pace through the destroyed cathedral, Elathras glimpses the mass of floating intestines and freezes. Realizing he has no idea what the creature is, he turns towards the others, shrugging his shoulders almost unperceptively in his heavy armor.
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"Qlippoths. Chaotic demonlike entities. They use acid attacks and can attack you mentally to throw up so vivedly that you can't defend yourself." She says as she makes a face at the unpleasant thought."I can ward us against acid as well as ward us a bit mentally. Both spells won't last that long so i suggest that if we do that, we try and subdue any oppositionele we find here before they run out."
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"I can cast a spell to teleport us inside instantaneously. That will give us the element of surprise. Unless anyone wants to attack from out here?"
”This is why any fortress worth its stone will is warded against magic. Luckily, human forts tend to be umgak.” He said, eyeing the walls. ”Teleport us in when ye be ready. I’m good to go.”
* Umgak - Shoddy, poorly made; specifically something made by Humans.
"Qlippoths. Chaotic demonlike entities. They use acid attacks and can attack you mentally to throw up so vivedly that you can't defend yourself." She says as she makes a face at the unpleasant thought."I can ward us against acid as well as ward us a bit mentally. Both spells won't last that long so i suggest that if we do that, we try and subdue any oppositionele we find here before they run out."
"Also, they are immune to acid, cold, poison, and mind-affecting effects. And they are resistant to electricity and fire. But they should be susceptible to violence."
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”This is why any fortress worth its stone will is warded against magic. Luckily, human forts tend to be umgak.”[/b]
"It's not a fortress, it's an abbey. I imagine it's supposed to need repair occasionally to give the monks something to do."
Bharak raised an eyebrow. Then he remembered that humans didn’t make all of their settlements with such practicality in mind. And even stranger, they intentionally made their most valuable buildings without any defense in mind. Resisting the urge to say “Umgak” in reply, he instead nodded. ”Of course. Fortunate for us.” He said instead, feeling very diplomatic in doing so.
"Also, they are immune to acid, cold, poison, and mind-affecting effects. And they are resistant to electricity and fire. But they should be susceptible to violence."
Nodding, "I'm for susceptible to violence. There ain't much that's immune to that in my experience," the dwarf states plainly.
Chuckling at Vhanes response, Elathras nods in agreement. Shifting his pole to a 'readied' position, he asks. "Do we attack from range and bring it to us? Or does it have some sort of ranged attack itself requiring us to charge over this broken ground?"
"If we draw it out to us, we lose the element of surprise. I can teleport us right next to the one on the left , and the other one won't be able leave by the room's entryway without passing by us. If we are quick, perhaps we can destroy them before anything else in the abbey is made aware."
Eyes narrowed as he ponders the healer's words, "Okay, mustache, you move you and the two smashers to the one on the left - and the lass as well if that's what she's wantin' - and I'll concentrate on the one on the right. What do ya say?" Regardless of what's decided, Vhane will get into a position that gives him a clear line of sight to whichever bad guy he's to concentrate on.
Once Elena has casted her buffing spells, Axton has everyone join hands before he casts dimension door to move the group inside the tower, mostly right next to the indicated qlippoth.