Post by Bandgoat on Oct 18, 2013 2:46:09 GMT -6
Kuthona 16, 4707 – Early Afternoon
My Dearest Husband Illya,
What an exciting day! Unfortunately, I have little time to go into much detail, since we still have much to do this day once my cohorts recover from our latest battle. What a battle it was! I cannot wait to tell you all about it, but I must first start with our exploits in the morning.
Last night, we decided to stay in the bowels of Jorgenfist overnight to recover from our harrowing encounter with Mokmurian. To keep ourselves from prying eyes, Soril magically traveled back to Magnimar to fetch some scrolls, including one that would provide magical shelter and concealment. Upon its casting, we rested in the extra-dimensional space it provided. A few hours later, as we kept watch at the portal the spell provided onto Mokmurian’s chamber, we saw a couple of obviously excited, upset stone giants running into the room. They ran to Mokmurian to rouse him, but they quickly discerned he was dead from his obvious wounds. The two giants appeared to argue for a moment and ran out of view. A few moments later, the two reentered the chamber with four more giants that looked like guards and another one that dressed in more martial finery. Once they saw the body of Mokmurian, the older stone giant contemplated a moment and then issued a few orders as they all left the room. Nothing further happened while we rested.
Several hours later, after our rest, we exited our magical shelter and began exploring the lower levels of Jorgenfist again. We first tried to open the door that was on the raised platform in Mokmurian’s chamber. We were eventually able to pull the stuck door open. Behind the door, we saw a tunnel that was completely filled with rubble. We then decided to head back the way we came and further explore the floor.
We came out of Mokmurian’s room, out of the room where we encountered the alien dogs, and down a wide corridor. The long hallway had a looming ceiling forty feet above and was decorated with an intricate display of stone supports and beams. The walls were carved in long swaths of densely scribed runes – the seven pointed star was repeated often. Down the corridor, the hall ended in an immense bronze door that bore a huge mirror-like silver inlay of the ubiquitous seven-pointed star. This set of doors had no obvious hinges, handles, or locks, save for a single tiny star-shaped indention at the center of the mirrored star. We had a key from Mokmurian that at first glance did not appear to fit the lock. Strangely, though, once we got to the door, my sword, Blackthorn, in my mind began speaking to me in a strange language that I have never heard before. Though I had always known Blackthorn carried strong magical powers that I had learned to manipulate, its communications to me had never been in such perspicuous and definite syllables: I had only ever received general feelings and ideas, sometimes expressed in pictures. I recognize a few of the phrases, but I could not quite grasp the entirety of the speech. Once my sword had said it, it told me in Elvish that it could read the runes and that I should repeat them. (I resolved to have further conversations with my rapier in the future.) Concerned as to the possible repercussions of reciting a language I did not understand, I told everyone to stand back and I tried to repeat the syllables. As I did so, I began to feel awash with comfort and calm. My sword told me that what I just said was a meditative prayer to the “Peacock Spirit.” Soril corroborated that he had at least heard of something called the “Peacock Spirit” in one esoteric tome he may have read at some point. I then tried to open the door. When I touched it, something appeared in the hallway next to me. It was shrouded in bright light, the eyes and mouth emitting bright beams of light. It was a creature of burning light and strange geometry, vaguely humanoid with strange hands that each bore four fingers. A psychic roar like metal tearing was heard in my mind. Soril and I instantly guessed this was a Shining Child. Allegedly, it comes from the edge of reality. They are very intelligent, are sometimes summoned by wizards to answer or ask questions, and are a mysterious outer planes creature. Immediately, the whole party was blinded – all except Soril and I, of course, who knew not to stare at it. It then attacked me, dealing massive fire damage. At that point, my calm emotions retreated and, stepping away, I drew my sword, and followed Soril’s lead by casting magic missile on our new foe. The Shining Child hit me with rays of light from its eyes, hurting me with fiery death. The flash blinded everyone else and dropped me unconscious. I awoke later having been hit by an acid bomb that went awry from the blind Nala. Bosh’tet. After Tolgun, Soril, and Ryll were able to kill my attacker, Tolgun was able to shake off the blindness effect. He then grabbed Soril and teleported back to Magnimar to find some scrolls of Remove Blindness. Half an hour later, he returned to our corridor and removed our afflictions and healed me.
We then looked more closely at the key we had found on Mokmurian and noticed that it too had seven sides. It was strange that we did not notice the similar shapes before. Inserting it into the seven-sided key hole in the door, the door opened. On the other side, we found a very large, circular room. Numerous glowing crystal lanterns hung on fine chains from the domed ceiling, filling the room with bright light. The walls of the room were carved with more runes and sigils while overstuffed wood and leather chairs and polished oak tables surrounded a shaft in the floor. “This is nice,” remarked Ryll. The room appeared to contain an immense library. The central shaft in the room contained shelf after shelf after shelf of books, scrolls, tablets, and other means of storing information. The books appeared to be in excellent condition, as did everything else in this room. There were no ladders or stairs – it appeared that whoever uses that library is expected to be able to fly. There was also a creature in this room. It was a curious clockwork creature that shambled over to us. As it clattered and smoked, it hobbled over to greet us in an ungainly lurch. One of its three legs appeared not to work anymore. It addressed us in a strange language that my sword readily translated, asking “Which volume of lore would you like me to retrieve for you? There are currently 24,491 volumes, scrolls, pamphlets and unbound manuscripts available to you. Please indicate your wish by author, title, subject, or date of acquisition by the Thorassic Monestery.” When it spoke those words, by heart leapt with excitement. What a marvelous treasure we had found! Though it would take decades to commit oneself to the study of the tomes collected therein, no doubt such a magically warded library contains a wealth of historical and arcane knowledge long lost to all but the sagest of living creatures. If only we did not have such pressing matters at hand… The creature patiently waited for us to answer.
I began to ask a few questions of the librarian, thanks to Blackthorn telling me the correct syllables to say to communicate my thoughts. When Nala butted in, trying to talk in Taldane, the creature reacted as if it did not understand. Asking a few basic questions, we learned the following: The material could not be removed from the library. The oldest volume was The Tributes of Baden with Accountings and Predictions. There were also less than a dozen works regarding the item known as the “Runeforge.” There were numerous volumes concerning the “Thorassic Monestery.” The librarian had been there for nearly 10,000 years. Once we leave, the doors will close automatically and the area is warded against teleportation. After some discussion, the party, led by Tolgun, decided we HAD to spend time researching the anvil artifact we had found. Upon reading a text about the “Runeforge” (again, thanks to my sword, Blackthorn), we quickly found that that was not the name of the anvil. There were several artifacts held by the Thorassic monks, and two tomes concerned the anvil. Nala read one, and I the other. The information I found was concerning something called an “Arcane Anvil.” The description matched what we had found. Nala continued reading about the Arcane Anvil at Tolgun’s urging. Meanwhile, the rest of us looked for information on the cauldron we found. Spending about an hour on each, we learned a great deal. The “Runeslave Cauldron,” as it was called, can take the body of a freshly slain giant, revive it, and transform it into a Runeslave. We also found the specific ritual to destroy the artifact involving a good giant who volunteers to sacrifice itself. Runeslaves are apparently giants with numerous flickering runes on their flesh. It seems to be stronger, larger, and more agile than normal giants. It is based on ancient Thassilonian magic. We found out more technical information about it, but those were the important parts. The book on the Arcane Anvil gave us specific instructions on how to transfer magical energies from one armor or weapon to another. Tolgun loved that idea. So much so, that he, giddy as a little schoolgirl, gaily skipped as best as his dwarven legs could carry him to the Arcane Anvil room, took some of the weapons we had found as loot, and proceeded to enchant his own weapon. Too bad nothing he had done actually improved his aim. Bosh’tet. The most recent tome in the library was An Accounting of the Holdings of Greater Shalast, which was over ten thousand years old.
We have plenty of other research to do, but we will just have to save that for a later time. Having satisfied our curiosity for the time being, we concluded we finished the exploration of that level. We headed back the way we came, again placing a magical wall around the golem protecting the Runeforge Cauldron. Emerging onto the next level up, where we encountered trolls, tanners and smiths, we found a dead stone giant, killed with a spear. We knew we had not been responsible for that one. We kept going. We went back through the makeshift barracks, the smithy, the tannery, and the kobold cave. We noticed that the remains of the giants we had slain were now gone. We continued our exploration. We headed through a natural stone corridor. A small grotto in the corridor led us to a secret door. Opening it, the cavern opened up into a room with hanging bear furs and piles of the material on the floor, probably used as a mattress. There was an impressive collection of scalps and war trophies along the walls. There were also what appeared to be the beards of at least 100 dwarves, each neatly bundled with a silver ring. Tolgun was gravely disheartened to see that. There was also the preserved head of a frost giant, an impressively tattooed hide, broken bits of dozens of armor, and a grouping of 33 shields, the backs of which were marked with names of humans, elves, or dwarves. One of the shields was magical, belonging to an Anston Yeager. Ryll and Soril knew that the Yeager family is Korvosan nobility. Ryll wanted to return the items to their families. We continued through another door and we saw a large pit, about forty feet across and eighty feet deep leading up to the surface. This was the first sight of the sun I had seen since we last entered the dragon cave in the mountain over a day ago. It did my heart some good. The floor of the pit was a tangle of bones and broken bodies: humanoid, giant, and even dragon corpses. Flocks of crows, buzzards, and other scavenging birds swarmed over the bodies, picking at the flesh until only bone remained. We quickly realized that all of the uneaten carcasses had the sihedron rune carved on their torsos. In the distance, we faintly heard yelling and the sounds of a mob. Nala flew up to investigate, but could not discern anything further.
We returned to the corridor and continued our exploration of the floor. The corridor opened up into a large cavern. This huge cavern contained four large tables set up around a central platform on which sat an immense stone throne. From the ceiling above hung carved stalactites, some fashioned to look like dangling spears, others like dragons’ teeth. The flicker and light of a large fire burned behind a row of stalagmites to the south. In the room was two more stone giant corpses. Searching the cavern, we found nothing of interest. A door to the southwest led to a kitchen and pantry, also containing nothing of interest. We then went through a narrow corridor to the north. It turned and entered a cave, the walls of which were painted with red, yellow, brown, and black figures, among which were apparent images of giants, mammoths, elk, deer, and wyverns. Other pictures were harder to figure out, ogres perhaps or giant children or even humans. The dwarves are very clear with beards and tiny axes being crushed under enormous giant feet. I gave a quiet chuckle at the amusing caricature. A simple oil lantern lit a small altar at the far end of the cavern, a modest offering of antlers, hooves, and patches of fur piled upon the altar. There was also a giant here, a female who appeared injured. When she saw us, she grimaced, put her hand on her side to cover a wound and tried to sit up. She said in an accented Taldane, “I do not have much time, but I know why you are here: you came to slay Mokmurian. I am your ally. This is a place we can speak. I would like your assistance.” Her name is Conna, and she was one of the pair of elders that ruled the tribe to which Mokmurian belonged before he rebelled. Tolgun and Ryll healed some of her wounds. She said Mokmurian was a magical blasphemer who somehow managed to take over the tribe recently. He taught that all of Varisia belonged to the giants and that the humans, elves, and dwarves were interlopers. He convinced those who would follow him to relocate to the off-limits tower of Jorgenfist. To solidify power, he murdered Conna’s husband a few years ago. She has been quietly waiting for a chance to actively oppose Mokmurian. When news came from the giant commander, General Galenmir, that Mokmurian had been slain, the general tried to take power for himself. There were a few giants still loyal to Conna and she tried to mount a rebellion, but it seems to have failed with the deaths of most of her followers. She sought refuge in this cavern because most giants were afraid to enter because it was inhabited by the spirit of her husband, who was slain here. She sought our help to stop General Galenmir taking command of the army. She hopes that with his removal and a little more resistance, the army will collapse and return to their more peaceful lives. She was full of useful information about our surroundings. Trusting this giant, we set off to kill the general.
Despite not fully exploring the level of Jorgenfist, (according to Conna, there were dragons, priestesses, and hill giants on the level below ground) we decided to go ahead and confront Galenmir in the hopes of disbanding the giant army: the threat to Varisia. Also according to Conna, on the surface, we may encounter rocs, harpies, and the Black Monk (whatever that is). There are also somewhere in the complex a pair of frost giant brothers who were negotiating with Mokmurian for the services of a contingent of frost giants – particularly vicious and bloodthirsty.
Upon our ascent out of the ceremonial pit, we found the interior of the fortress as we had seen it several days before. In an open area, we spotted a giant that looked like the one we saw giving orders in Mokmurian’s lair this morning. We figured he was the general in question. Having the element of surprise on our side, we prepared ourselves: Stoneskin, Mirror Image, Cat’s Grace, and Shield for myself; Divine Bond for Ryll; Tolgun asked the blessing of his deity on our behalf; Soril used Invisibility Sphere and See Invisibility on himself. Ryll and I also empowered our particular weapons, making them burst with fiery light. The battle that followed felt like it lasted three hours, but according to the movement of the sun above, lasted mere minutes. Soril and I started by hurling a few Fireballs at the crowd amassed around Galenmir, including three stone giant guards and a dire bear.
During the battle, I was in my element – mixing formidable spells with decisive, killing blows from Blackthorn. I was never harmed, though most of my allies were. Galenmir, armed with curative potions, at the beginning of the fight blew a giant-sized war horn, summoning additional foes for us to fight: two frost giants, a huge taiga giant, two rocs, and three harpy monks who concentrated their attacks on our back rank of ranged combatants.
Fire flew from the air, cast by Soril striking multiple enemies. Flashes of starry light were summoned by Ryll while her radiant sword smote through her foes. Arrows flew from Lai’Ki lightning quick, dropping several of the largest enemies. Lightning flew from my hand dropping two and damaging a third. Bombs of fire and acid were flung from Nala who winged above the battle. Tolgun, unfortunately, spent most of the time lying down or wrestling with an enormous bird a hundred times his size. It would have been a wonderful sight to behold. Being so well prepared made me feel like I was back in the Mierani forest fighting Those-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, except, of course, that my most recent foes were much, much larger. Tolgun, Nala, and Ryll were nearly killed. Soril was damaged and at one point Nala and Lai’Ki were being controlled by the harpies. However, we were victorious. We will soon head back to report to Conna the death of Galenmir. We hope this will end the threat of invasion upon Varisia and we will soon begin the process of researching the one controlling Mokmurian’s transformation from tribal outcast to the leader of an invasion force. I have to believe our efforts are quickly leading to a final conclusion, though that may yet be the hardest fight we will ever face.
- Hopefully Yours, E
My Dearest Husband Illya,
What an exciting day! Unfortunately, I have little time to go into much detail, since we still have much to do this day once my cohorts recover from our latest battle. What a battle it was! I cannot wait to tell you all about it, but I must first start with our exploits in the morning.
Last night, we decided to stay in the bowels of Jorgenfist overnight to recover from our harrowing encounter with Mokmurian. To keep ourselves from prying eyes, Soril magically traveled back to Magnimar to fetch some scrolls, including one that would provide magical shelter and concealment. Upon its casting, we rested in the extra-dimensional space it provided. A few hours later, as we kept watch at the portal the spell provided onto Mokmurian’s chamber, we saw a couple of obviously excited, upset stone giants running into the room. They ran to Mokmurian to rouse him, but they quickly discerned he was dead from his obvious wounds. The two giants appeared to argue for a moment and ran out of view. A few moments later, the two reentered the chamber with four more giants that looked like guards and another one that dressed in more martial finery. Once they saw the body of Mokmurian, the older stone giant contemplated a moment and then issued a few orders as they all left the room. Nothing further happened while we rested.
Several hours later, after our rest, we exited our magical shelter and began exploring the lower levels of Jorgenfist again. We first tried to open the door that was on the raised platform in Mokmurian’s chamber. We were eventually able to pull the stuck door open. Behind the door, we saw a tunnel that was completely filled with rubble. We then decided to head back the way we came and further explore the floor.
We came out of Mokmurian’s room, out of the room where we encountered the alien dogs, and down a wide corridor. The long hallway had a looming ceiling forty feet above and was decorated with an intricate display of stone supports and beams. The walls were carved in long swaths of densely scribed runes – the seven pointed star was repeated often. Down the corridor, the hall ended in an immense bronze door that bore a huge mirror-like silver inlay of the ubiquitous seven-pointed star. This set of doors had no obvious hinges, handles, or locks, save for a single tiny star-shaped indention at the center of the mirrored star. We had a key from Mokmurian that at first glance did not appear to fit the lock. Strangely, though, once we got to the door, my sword, Blackthorn, in my mind began speaking to me in a strange language that I have never heard before. Though I had always known Blackthorn carried strong magical powers that I had learned to manipulate, its communications to me had never been in such perspicuous and definite syllables: I had only ever received general feelings and ideas, sometimes expressed in pictures. I recognize a few of the phrases, but I could not quite grasp the entirety of the speech. Once my sword had said it, it told me in Elvish that it could read the runes and that I should repeat them. (I resolved to have further conversations with my rapier in the future.) Concerned as to the possible repercussions of reciting a language I did not understand, I told everyone to stand back and I tried to repeat the syllables. As I did so, I began to feel awash with comfort and calm. My sword told me that what I just said was a meditative prayer to the “Peacock Spirit.” Soril corroborated that he had at least heard of something called the “Peacock Spirit” in one esoteric tome he may have read at some point. I then tried to open the door. When I touched it, something appeared in the hallway next to me. It was shrouded in bright light, the eyes and mouth emitting bright beams of light. It was a creature of burning light and strange geometry, vaguely humanoid with strange hands that each bore four fingers. A psychic roar like metal tearing was heard in my mind. Soril and I instantly guessed this was a Shining Child. Allegedly, it comes from the edge of reality. They are very intelligent, are sometimes summoned by wizards to answer or ask questions, and are a mysterious outer planes creature. Immediately, the whole party was blinded – all except Soril and I, of course, who knew not to stare at it. It then attacked me, dealing massive fire damage. At that point, my calm emotions retreated and, stepping away, I drew my sword, and followed Soril’s lead by casting magic missile on our new foe. The Shining Child hit me with rays of light from its eyes, hurting me with fiery death. The flash blinded everyone else and dropped me unconscious. I awoke later having been hit by an acid bomb that went awry from the blind Nala. Bosh’tet. After Tolgun, Soril, and Ryll were able to kill my attacker, Tolgun was able to shake off the blindness effect. He then grabbed Soril and teleported back to Magnimar to find some scrolls of Remove Blindness. Half an hour later, he returned to our corridor and removed our afflictions and healed me.
We then looked more closely at the key we had found on Mokmurian and noticed that it too had seven sides. It was strange that we did not notice the similar shapes before. Inserting it into the seven-sided key hole in the door, the door opened. On the other side, we found a very large, circular room. Numerous glowing crystal lanterns hung on fine chains from the domed ceiling, filling the room with bright light. The walls of the room were carved with more runes and sigils while overstuffed wood and leather chairs and polished oak tables surrounded a shaft in the floor. “This is nice,” remarked Ryll. The room appeared to contain an immense library. The central shaft in the room contained shelf after shelf after shelf of books, scrolls, tablets, and other means of storing information. The books appeared to be in excellent condition, as did everything else in this room. There were no ladders or stairs – it appeared that whoever uses that library is expected to be able to fly. There was also a creature in this room. It was a curious clockwork creature that shambled over to us. As it clattered and smoked, it hobbled over to greet us in an ungainly lurch. One of its three legs appeared not to work anymore. It addressed us in a strange language that my sword readily translated, asking “Which volume of lore would you like me to retrieve for you? There are currently 24,491 volumes, scrolls, pamphlets and unbound manuscripts available to you. Please indicate your wish by author, title, subject, or date of acquisition by the Thorassic Monestery.” When it spoke those words, by heart leapt with excitement. What a marvelous treasure we had found! Though it would take decades to commit oneself to the study of the tomes collected therein, no doubt such a magically warded library contains a wealth of historical and arcane knowledge long lost to all but the sagest of living creatures. If only we did not have such pressing matters at hand… The creature patiently waited for us to answer.
I began to ask a few questions of the librarian, thanks to Blackthorn telling me the correct syllables to say to communicate my thoughts. When Nala butted in, trying to talk in Taldane, the creature reacted as if it did not understand. Asking a few basic questions, we learned the following: The material could not be removed from the library. The oldest volume was The Tributes of Baden with Accountings and Predictions. There were also less than a dozen works regarding the item known as the “Runeforge.” There were numerous volumes concerning the “Thorassic Monestery.” The librarian had been there for nearly 10,000 years. Once we leave, the doors will close automatically and the area is warded against teleportation. After some discussion, the party, led by Tolgun, decided we HAD to spend time researching the anvil artifact we had found. Upon reading a text about the “Runeforge” (again, thanks to my sword, Blackthorn), we quickly found that that was not the name of the anvil. There were several artifacts held by the Thorassic monks, and two tomes concerned the anvil. Nala read one, and I the other. The information I found was concerning something called an “Arcane Anvil.” The description matched what we had found. Nala continued reading about the Arcane Anvil at Tolgun’s urging. Meanwhile, the rest of us looked for information on the cauldron we found. Spending about an hour on each, we learned a great deal. The “Runeslave Cauldron,” as it was called, can take the body of a freshly slain giant, revive it, and transform it into a Runeslave. We also found the specific ritual to destroy the artifact involving a good giant who volunteers to sacrifice itself. Runeslaves are apparently giants with numerous flickering runes on their flesh. It seems to be stronger, larger, and more agile than normal giants. It is based on ancient Thassilonian magic. We found out more technical information about it, but those were the important parts. The book on the Arcane Anvil gave us specific instructions on how to transfer magical energies from one armor or weapon to another. Tolgun loved that idea. So much so, that he, giddy as a little schoolgirl, gaily skipped as best as his dwarven legs could carry him to the Arcane Anvil room, took some of the weapons we had found as loot, and proceeded to enchant his own weapon. Too bad nothing he had done actually improved his aim. Bosh’tet. The most recent tome in the library was An Accounting of the Holdings of Greater Shalast, which was over ten thousand years old.
We have plenty of other research to do, but we will just have to save that for a later time. Having satisfied our curiosity for the time being, we concluded we finished the exploration of that level. We headed back the way we came, again placing a magical wall around the golem protecting the Runeforge Cauldron. Emerging onto the next level up, where we encountered trolls, tanners and smiths, we found a dead stone giant, killed with a spear. We knew we had not been responsible for that one. We kept going. We went back through the makeshift barracks, the smithy, the tannery, and the kobold cave. We noticed that the remains of the giants we had slain were now gone. We continued our exploration. We headed through a natural stone corridor. A small grotto in the corridor led us to a secret door. Opening it, the cavern opened up into a room with hanging bear furs and piles of the material on the floor, probably used as a mattress. There was an impressive collection of scalps and war trophies along the walls. There were also what appeared to be the beards of at least 100 dwarves, each neatly bundled with a silver ring. Tolgun was gravely disheartened to see that. There was also the preserved head of a frost giant, an impressively tattooed hide, broken bits of dozens of armor, and a grouping of 33 shields, the backs of which were marked with names of humans, elves, or dwarves. One of the shields was magical, belonging to an Anston Yeager. Ryll and Soril knew that the Yeager family is Korvosan nobility. Ryll wanted to return the items to their families. We continued through another door and we saw a large pit, about forty feet across and eighty feet deep leading up to the surface. This was the first sight of the sun I had seen since we last entered the dragon cave in the mountain over a day ago. It did my heart some good. The floor of the pit was a tangle of bones and broken bodies: humanoid, giant, and even dragon corpses. Flocks of crows, buzzards, and other scavenging birds swarmed over the bodies, picking at the flesh until only bone remained. We quickly realized that all of the uneaten carcasses had the sihedron rune carved on their torsos. In the distance, we faintly heard yelling and the sounds of a mob. Nala flew up to investigate, but could not discern anything further.
We returned to the corridor and continued our exploration of the floor. The corridor opened up into a large cavern. This huge cavern contained four large tables set up around a central platform on which sat an immense stone throne. From the ceiling above hung carved stalactites, some fashioned to look like dangling spears, others like dragons’ teeth. The flicker and light of a large fire burned behind a row of stalagmites to the south. In the room was two more stone giant corpses. Searching the cavern, we found nothing of interest. A door to the southwest led to a kitchen and pantry, also containing nothing of interest. We then went through a narrow corridor to the north. It turned and entered a cave, the walls of which were painted with red, yellow, brown, and black figures, among which were apparent images of giants, mammoths, elk, deer, and wyverns. Other pictures were harder to figure out, ogres perhaps or giant children or even humans. The dwarves are very clear with beards and tiny axes being crushed under enormous giant feet. I gave a quiet chuckle at the amusing caricature. A simple oil lantern lit a small altar at the far end of the cavern, a modest offering of antlers, hooves, and patches of fur piled upon the altar. There was also a giant here, a female who appeared injured. When she saw us, she grimaced, put her hand on her side to cover a wound and tried to sit up. She said in an accented Taldane, “I do not have much time, but I know why you are here: you came to slay Mokmurian. I am your ally. This is a place we can speak. I would like your assistance.” Her name is Conna, and she was one of the pair of elders that ruled the tribe to which Mokmurian belonged before he rebelled. Tolgun and Ryll healed some of her wounds. She said Mokmurian was a magical blasphemer who somehow managed to take over the tribe recently. He taught that all of Varisia belonged to the giants and that the humans, elves, and dwarves were interlopers. He convinced those who would follow him to relocate to the off-limits tower of Jorgenfist. To solidify power, he murdered Conna’s husband a few years ago. She has been quietly waiting for a chance to actively oppose Mokmurian. When news came from the giant commander, General Galenmir, that Mokmurian had been slain, the general tried to take power for himself. There were a few giants still loyal to Conna and she tried to mount a rebellion, but it seems to have failed with the deaths of most of her followers. She sought refuge in this cavern because most giants were afraid to enter because it was inhabited by the spirit of her husband, who was slain here. She sought our help to stop General Galenmir taking command of the army. She hopes that with his removal and a little more resistance, the army will collapse and return to their more peaceful lives. She was full of useful information about our surroundings. Trusting this giant, we set off to kill the general.
Despite not fully exploring the level of Jorgenfist, (according to Conna, there were dragons, priestesses, and hill giants on the level below ground) we decided to go ahead and confront Galenmir in the hopes of disbanding the giant army: the threat to Varisia. Also according to Conna, on the surface, we may encounter rocs, harpies, and the Black Monk (whatever that is). There are also somewhere in the complex a pair of frost giant brothers who were negotiating with Mokmurian for the services of a contingent of frost giants – particularly vicious and bloodthirsty.
Upon our ascent out of the ceremonial pit, we found the interior of the fortress as we had seen it several days before. In an open area, we spotted a giant that looked like the one we saw giving orders in Mokmurian’s lair this morning. We figured he was the general in question. Having the element of surprise on our side, we prepared ourselves: Stoneskin, Mirror Image, Cat’s Grace, and Shield for myself; Divine Bond for Ryll; Tolgun asked the blessing of his deity on our behalf; Soril used Invisibility Sphere and See Invisibility on himself. Ryll and I also empowered our particular weapons, making them burst with fiery light. The battle that followed felt like it lasted three hours, but according to the movement of the sun above, lasted mere minutes. Soril and I started by hurling a few Fireballs at the crowd amassed around Galenmir, including three stone giant guards and a dire bear.
During the battle, I was in my element – mixing formidable spells with decisive, killing blows from Blackthorn. I was never harmed, though most of my allies were. Galenmir, armed with curative potions, at the beginning of the fight blew a giant-sized war horn, summoning additional foes for us to fight: two frost giants, a huge taiga giant, two rocs, and three harpy monks who concentrated their attacks on our back rank of ranged combatants.
Fire flew from the air, cast by Soril striking multiple enemies. Flashes of starry light were summoned by Ryll while her radiant sword smote through her foes. Arrows flew from Lai’Ki lightning quick, dropping several of the largest enemies. Lightning flew from my hand dropping two and damaging a third. Bombs of fire and acid were flung from Nala who winged above the battle. Tolgun, unfortunately, spent most of the time lying down or wrestling with an enormous bird a hundred times his size. It would have been a wonderful sight to behold. Being so well prepared made me feel like I was back in the Mierani forest fighting Those-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, except, of course, that my most recent foes were much, much larger. Tolgun, Nala, and Ryll were nearly killed. Soril was damaged and at one point Nala and Lai’Ki were being controlled by the harpies. However, we were victorious. We will soon head back to report to Conna the death of Galenmir. We hope this will end the threat of invasion upon Varisia and we will soon begin the process of researching the one controlling Mokmurian’s transformation from tribal outcast to the leader of an invasion force. I have to believe our efforts are quickly leading to a final conclusion, though that may yet be the hardest fight we will ever face.
- Hopefully Yours, E