Session 22

=September 27th, 2018 - Down the Long Road=

Next Steps
The session began on the morning after the party fought off the fire giant attack on Triboar. They awoke in the Everywyvern Inn, and after a splendid continental breakfast made their way into the still reeling town. Townsfolk were in the streets in mass, helping to search through rubble, bury the dead, the militia gathered from the surrounded farms, and black smoke still rose from charred buildings. Before speaking with the Lady Protector, Rachen first wanted to visit Foehammer’s Forge and Cadmus escorted him. There, Ghelryn Foehammer was pleased to see his old friend still alive and well, and thanked them for saving the town.

Rachen asked to acquire a shield, and in gratitude for his service Ghelryn gave him a fine round metal shield for no cost. In addition, he wrote up a letter of recommendation for Rachen and his companions. Before the dwarf sealed the letter with wax he let Rachen read it, and it was a glowing letter to the Duke and Duchess of Khaz Thorum, Gheylrn’s home. He said if they found themselves there to present this to the lord’s of the Khaz and they would be handsomely rewarded. On the way back to the center of town, Cadmus entrusted to Rachen details of an apocalyptic vision he had been given the night before.

In the central courtyard outside of the town keep, the remaining members of the Thirteen were mounted and using ropes to slowly drag the corpse of the dead fire giant away from the keep. The dirt was dark with blood and the stink of death was inescapable. The rest of the party were awaiting Rachen and Cadmus, and just after they arrived a pair of men approached the group. They thanked the party for all they had done yesterday, especially for exposing the loss of their brother, Mirak. They described how the woman they brought to justice yesterday was their brother’s wife, and how their brother had been lost for over six months.

Turns out the woman appeared to have imprisoned him within her inn, as his was the body the party found shackled and burned alive in the rubble. In appreciation for knowing what had happened to their brother, they gave the party his enchanted hand crossbow (+1), a family heirloom that had no one to pass onto. The group gave the crossbow to Rufus, the only crossbow user among them. Next, the party were escorted into the keep to meet the Lady Protector. Darathra Shendrel once again thanked the group in person, gave them what little coin she could spare for a reward (200 gp for the group), and asked them for a favor.

Thankful that the Lord’s Accord was finally taking action in response to the giant threat by sending the party, she feared another faction she is close with may not be aware of the extent of the threat. The Lady Protector explained how she is sympathetic to a group of wizard’s known as the Arcane Alliance who seek the peaceful spread of magical knowledge. That is one of the reasons she allowed the local wizard, Hyuth Kolstagg, to build a home in the town. Kolstagg was still recovering from almost dying the day before, suffering from extreme smoke inhalation. She asked the group if they would travel south to the city of Cresthill, the nearest place with an Alliance base, to inform them of what had happened.

She gave Rachen an insignia with the Triboar symbol upon it, and directed them to an inn within the city named Danivarr’s House. The Alliance base was a white stone spire known as the Moonglow Tower, but it had no doorways. When they arrived at Danivarr’s House, they should present her insignia to the inn keep, a half-orc named Dral Thelev, and he would do the rest to grant them access. The Lady Protector could arrange horses for the group, as well as a few tendays of rations if they made the journey. Next, the group discussed what to do about the adamantine ring. With the militia gathering, Darathra felt the town was relatively protected from the return of the fire giant, but they could not stay mobilized for too long.

All in the room knew of the threat from the now deceased fire giant, that nothing would stop his mate from returning to claim the piece of the Vonindod. The party decided the best course of action was to have the wizard Kolstagg open a teleportation circle back to Lady Silverhand’s estate to keep the ring safe. It would take quite a large force to attack the massive coastal city of Ironbay. Rachen used his sending stone to send a message to Lady Silverhand summarizing this, while Cadmus went to where Kolstagg was recovering an used his magic to heal him. The group then escorted the wizard outside to the north of town where the two thousand pound adamantine ring still lay in the Long Road.

Down the Long Road
Lachlan and Alburt described the runic symbols for the teleportation circle to the wizard, and he proceeded to use his magic chalks to craft the circle in the road. While the wizard was preparing the ritual, an adult female approached the party and asked to speak with them. She was an older dark woman named Urgala Meltimer, who said she ran the respectable Northshield House Inn. Thanking them for their service, she offered some potential help in return. She described how she use to be an adventurer like them, and knew that one of her old party members had in his possession a giant-slayer great sword.

The old knight named Harthos Zymorven had retired at his ancestral keep known as Zymorven Hall just off the Long Road between the High Moor and the Mistwood. She said if they traveled there and told Harthos of their need and mentioned her name, he would likely give them the weapon for their cause. After thanking the woman and she left, Kolstagg finished the circle, borrowed his old wand from Rhogar to finish the spell, opening another swirling hole in reality inches above the ground. The party collectively levered the ring upwards and through the portal, as it then smashed into the ground inside Lady Silverhand’s teleportation chamber. The group went through after it, and once again traveled hundreds of miles in an instant.

It wasn’t long until the party was brought to meet with the Ironbay noble once again. After discussing all that had happened in the day since they left, it was clear they had made the right choice in bringing the ring here. The Cult of the Dragon caravan had just left this morning, and so they likely had multiple tendays until Jemna could locate the treasure’s destination. At the parties behest, Lady Silverhand gifted them two more spell scrolls the wizards thought they would find very useful in the coming days against giants - enlarge/reduce, and hold person. Not knowing the rune pattern for any circles in Cresthill, Lady Silverhand then sent them back to Triboar via another teleportation circle spell.

Back in Triboar, the group collected the supplies and horses that the Lady Protector had arranged for them. Then, they turned in early for the night one final time at the luxurious Everwyvern Inn, not knowing how long until they next slept in such accommodations. At dawn of the next morning, the party set off south down the Long Road. It was easy travelling down the road the first few days, there were plenty of small villages along the road and many places to camp at night. On the second day they passed a fleeing family with all of their belongings in their single wagon. The family was heading to the safety of Triboar, after rumors of a giant attack on a village just west of theirs.

Over the two days they encountered very few on the road, but did see the ruins of one smashed village. On the third day of travel, in the late afternoon, they encountered another wagon traveling northward. This time, it was laden with kegs of dwarven ale and escorted by a small group of human peddlers. Knowing of the dangers of the region, the group asked if the capable looking party would camp with them for the night for safety. They offered plenty of free ale in return, and the party obliged.

Two kegs were tapped as the day turned to night and the group got very drunk, and very loud. Amid the crackling campfire light the inebriated group celebrated life, but soon their bluster attracted a single hill giant, lumbering out of the nearby trees towards the sounds and smells of their camp. Rachen, speaking in the giant tongue offered the creature all the ale it could drink if it would sit and join them peacefully. Wary of how it eyed their horses they watched as the dimwitted giant sat by the campfire, and began breaking the tops of kegs and consuming them in single gulps. Soon, the group saw the halfling Rufus silently climb the back of the giant unnoticed, as he held his blade out and motioned to the party, “should I do it?”

Perhaps it was the drink, or the fear in the eyes of the peddlers, but some of the party nodded, and Rufus proceeded to lung his blade into the jugular of the giant. The hill giant immediately stood in a fury and tried to club Rufus from his back, but only managed to smash his own shoulders. The party leapt into action and helped down the giant. Even in their extremely intoxicated state the group was able to fell the monster without a loss to their group or those they were protecting. The session ended there, on the night of the eighty third day since the raid on Greenest, as the group continued drinking in celebration of killing another giant.

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