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Even in its insubstantial state, Thom's desperate measures make an impact. The skeleton turns a baleful gaze on the mage, suggesting that if it ever gets him in its grasp it will not be a pleasant experience. The Maw clings on, taking another bite out of M1 and suffering a return attack as a result. The indiscriminate flailing slams into the Maw and Raya, pushing them both flat.
Grupnok shakes his head. "I can't help with Muglok. He was driven out and if I know him, he'll have hunted for work somewhere to earn enough to find the Progress. I can guarantee no more raids though. You can tell the farmers round here not to worry. We'll stay out of their way. Don't know how you'll make them trust that promise though." "Gnolls are bad news for everyone except other gnolls. I don't know about that. We've been a bit caught up in internal politics. But I can find out. Might help earn a bit of well-wishing if we do. Got to be practical if you're a goblin."
Barel rises and swats viciously at the incoming Mangler, driving his hammer hard into its legs. Once more the creature retaliates instinctively, hurling Raya and Barel to the ground once more.
On her knees, Raya hears Ruinblade's triumphant song scream through her head as she channels her power and the undead start to burn. No mere minion can stand against her. Divine light sears over the battlefield, wiping the minor undead away and severely wounding the remainder. James' helm glows as the dessicated souls fall and he absorbs their ancient energy. The Manglers and the outsize skeleton maintain their attack, determined to oust these enemies of dead Nerull. The skeleton turns insubstantial and seems to grow more dangerous the closer it gets.
As the companions step inside, Cronin and Guldarin both hear a faint hiss coming from the plinth supporting the white dragon statue - as though, for example, something has activated.
Vondal's eyes gleam as he runs and expert eye (to say nothing of hands) over the new piece of artifact. It is immediate apparent to him that the shard is made of the same strange rock as the larger chunk found among the tainted halflings. He could even postulate that the same distorting effect was at work her - albeit to a milder degree. What he cannot do is identify anything useful about the stuff. Grupnok looks at his fallen leader with some sympathy. "Leave him with us if you like. He won't come to harm. Urgog's just an idiot and we've got a few of them. Now in a properly organised society, he wouldn't be in any position of power at all, and if things go right here from now on, he'll never be in that position again." He looks straightforwardly at Luce. "Goblins have enough trouble without bringing more down on their heads. We're not popular. Muglok was forward thinking and most of us would like him back if you can find him. Getting the Progress to approve his claim would help a lot. Might make a real place for ourselves then."
"Clock says another ten minutes," calls someone from behind the door.
Monocular though he is, Don does note that the red and blue dragons are not on revolving plinths.
"Hold on a moment." Grupnok kneels beside Urgog's prone form and rummages in his belt. "Thought so," he says triumphantly, pulling out a piece of strange, glassy and blue-glowing stone. He offers it to Kendall. "That spider only showed up when this got mined. Can't say I want it around here. Don't know what it is, and don't want to. Got enough to do rebuilding." "Urgog's big and stupid, but kicking out the rightful heir wasn't much like him."
Arishat presents herself as a more tempting target than Thom with a brisk swish of her tail, but fails to stab her opponent.
Grupnok nods. "Never did take to Urgog. Goblins get bad enough without him helping out. Thought we were going the right way with Muglok, but he's banished and we must fend."
There is some scuffling and the same voice can be heard muttering to his comrades. Fragments of the conversation float down to the waiting companions. "... not as though we liked Urgog's ways ... bloody shiny spider ... make them promise not to gut us ... give us your shirt then ..." Finally, a pair of goblins appear, one bare-chested and clutching his shirt in a gesture of truce. "Right. We're surrendering. Best all round. This here's Grupnok and he says he's got plans to open a goblin market." "We've got skills," confirms Grupnok. He seems undaunted by the companions and brighter than his own comrade.
Lyan vanishes into the bowels of Madame Fisk's establishment and is (presumably) out of contact if things go badly with Ballian.
James slinks into the shadows, but remains visible to his victim. Dead Nerull's power is long gone, but his ancient purpose grants extreme willpower to his creatures.
Lyan looks about him and sees that Madame Fisk follows an inclusive racial policy. Delicacy is not in great supply, but he spots a graceful drow idly twanging a harp with more enthusiasm than expertise. Norrin's approach pays dividends. "I can sort your shoulders, no problem. Let's just call it a "convenient starter"". Madame points a long finger at Shoso. "I don't do rental. You use my girls and boys or you get out. If you want fun and games with the little jaw-kicker, do it in your own place. If you just want some muscle to back you up with Ballian, be my guest. He's getting irritating. No mess, mind."
Don's tentative explorations reveal that the large central dragon is set on a turntable of some kind.
Before he can protest further, Urgog is struck both by Sigvard's poetry and his blade. Kendall staggers upright and deals the death blow.
"Erm ... are we still a collective?" queries a hidden goblin.
Caine moves back along the cliff and looms menacingly over Urgog, daring the goblin to climb any higher. As it happens, Urgog is too concerned with holding on to do anything dangerous. Although far from surrendering, he seems very distracted by the adrupt disappearance of his ally and his support. "Help me you morons," he bellows encouragingly. "Oh yes. We'll help you. We're just having a bit of a meeting to work out how. Very collective."
Lanthair's abrupt appearance on the scene clears the field of battle considerably. As he slams into the Mangler, it flails wildly, catching Barel and the halfling in its involuntary movement.
Madame Fisk rolls her eyes. "Ballian? You got bad taste there girl. Second room on the right and make sure he pays you." She casts a speculative eye on the rest of the party. "Just don't bust the place up, cos if you do, I'll have get active. You don't want to see that."
Regardless of Rothel's scruples, Shoso makes her way unerringly through a set of seedy backstreets to a small square. Madame Fisk's establishment is colourful, well advertised and verging on the tawdry. The lady herself is a well built half-orc with sequinned tusks and a cheery greeting for Shoso. "Back again? You sure you don't want to take up that offer I made you? Better money than singing and trust me on this, shorter hours."
Thom steps closer and unleashes a roll of thunder that wipes out one of the swarms and sends M3 reeling backwards. He is still dangerously exposed to an incoming zombie however. Weakened though it is, the Maw continues to do sterling work on the side of the angels, keeping at some of the enemy occupied.
Don sneaks his head around the door and tries to assess the situation. The room beyond seems large and the most obvious adornment is a dragon statue which largely blocks his view of anything else.
Nayce's instincts prove sure. The promised map is a gloriously bejewelled affair, shoved carelessly into a corner. As with the books marked with Kaima's insignia, there are signs that later Kadrana giants had less respect for their foundress. As Guldarin's cursory exploration reveals, the goddess Kaima raised the Kadrana above other giants. Teaching them her skills, she ordered the building of the flying city to protect her during her hibernation. Her purpose was forgotten over the centuries that followed and it appears that later generations of Kadrana giants returned to the worship of their original primordials. The oklu plan to reawaken her may not be welcomed by all parties. Nayce and Cronin examine the map and gradually decipher it. The key to Kaima's tank is kept in a secret chamber only accessibly through the mini-portal at the entrance. Three sigils will unlock it. One, you already have. The second lies beyond in a chamber that has strong warning signs indicating fire, ice and lightning. The third is in a small chamber decorated with the triangular sign of Kaima.
Barel swipes hard at M2, while Raya plants her standard and simply waits for the foe to come to her. She does not have to wait for very long. Undead converge on all sides battering at the companions. While not mindless, they are nonetheless intent on defending their territory.
The zombies merely lurch closer, drawn in by the battle standard, but the Manglers take advantage of their position and swat at Raya and the Maw.
Distracted by her need to protect her companions, the paladin doesn't spot the incoming blow and stumbles as the putrid arm swings into her.
The sounds of the screaming choir provide a mellow backdrop to the Freeport morning as the companions exchange names and credentials. Even for this town, however, the diversity of the group draws a few curious looks. You seem to be drawing some cautious attention. Swarmy, Bustnose and Whiney have long gone, but word seems to have travelled that you are well able to take care of yourselves. Most unusually, nobody seems inclined to try and rob you. Apart from the expected docks, a surprising number of important looking buildings line the shore. The most prominent landmark is the all-important lighthouse, and sheltering in its shadow, a pair of rather grandiose buildings. One seems to be yet another pub, but the other boasts arcane services for hire and seems to be the natural starting point for finding a wizard.
Distracted by the abrupt turn-around in his fortunes and anxious to correct his minions, Urgog is in no position to fend off Varis' well placed arrow. Narrowly clinging to the wall, he glare upwards, more concerned about his tribe than the intruders.
"Collective means "you do the collecting"." "Don't think so boss, Grupnok here says different."
Holdred told you the following: "Three sigils to be activated, as you can see. Typical Kadralu paranoia, they're all in different parts of the archive. The Study, the Blood Chapel and the Dragon Chapel contain them - and naturally they are all guarded. I fear that only the awakening of Kaima will allow me to rest. A nuisance, but there it is." As Nayce places takes Ollosendre's blade, something catches his eye. Around the dead king's neck hangs a delicate chain and on it, a medallion marked with a strange sigil. If memory serves him correctly, the marking is the same as one in the rune circle in the main hallway.
The party takes a breath and look around. There is an exit at the far end of the library, or it is also possible to go back the way you came and explore the other wing of the building.
"That's right. You said we'd be a collective. I remember that part." Another disgruntled goblin voice chimes in.
Beyond being dead and unpleasant, James can't tell much.
James bounds into the garden, eyes alight and obliterates a zombie with his usual carefree abandon. Movement catches his eye, however and he notes that some of the bone piles are building themselves up into creatures. Composed only of bone shards and a certain chilling intelligence left over from their component parts, they are a fear-inducing sight.
Luce pounces up the wall, tearing at Urgog's legs. She yanks the would-be monarch back to the ground, dropping him at Kendall's feet, even as the steely knight returns to the land of the living. Luce's dog-self snarls a warning as Urgog blusters and scrabbles for his weapon. "My subjects chose me." "Werl ... more a kind of un-choice since you had that whalloping spider on your team." comments one of the goblins in the ceiling.
The labels can be pieced together and are a fine example of Kadrana arrogance. Sent from colonies as tribute, the items confirm some part of the Oklu stories. Trignotarb - Wonder of Peikadda
Malsalix - Intelligent Plantlife with multiple uses and applications for the glory of the Empire of Kadralhu
In addition, one of the books details the symbology and story of the goddess Kaima. Noticeably, the book has been pushed to the back of the shelving, almost as though the later giants were embarrassed by their connection with her.
Sigvard's spear finds a happy home in Urgog's side. The strike sets up a great opportunity for Luce or Varis to take full advantage of his vulnerability.
Lanthair kicks accurately and notes with disgust that his opponent simply folds up and collapses.
Varis' glancing blow finds a weak spot and bloodies Urgog. The ursurper grits his teeth and clings on to the wall.
Cronin runs his fingers through the residuum and notes the rarity. He makes some mental calculations and comes to the conclusion that it is worth 23,000gp. The Kadrana had been carefully accumulating this material over centuries and it barely fills the goliath's palm.
Varis flaps ineffectually, but manages at last to shrug aside the pain of his wounds. Trapped on the cliff, Vondal decides to help the greater good and allows Sigvard to channel power from him.
Caine takes avantage of the abrupt demoralisation of the goblins holding him, bellowing at them to get into line. As they break away from him, he turns back to help the stricken knight. "Nobody goes down on my watch." Aware that his main support has vanished, Urgog aims for the higher ground and the more tempting target of Vondal. He backs slowly up the wall.
Lyan's expression bodes badly for someone. The huge hobgoblin fits beautifully into the Freeport scenery.
Thom conjures a little bit of hell to torment Nerull's former servants. It chomps happily on the nearest zombie, causing a welcome distraction.
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