Posted: 5 July 2021 (reading time: 8 minutes; 1569 words)
Recap by Arash Shahangian and Melissa Savlov
From Vestri Keep to Vogsal is a 4-day trek. Greunthrn makes sure the group is able to keep on the uncleared, snowed-over bare road. It is slow-going, very cold, and very snowy. There are many little hamlets and farming villages with 2-dozen families. Right now, there isn’t much farming happening, just making sure the crops don’t die under ice. Everything is snowed over. Thankfully, the group is able to find warm shelter in the small farming villages, usually in exchange for some of their food.
On their fifth and final day of travel, the party hears the whining sound of a creature off to the side of the road. As Greunthrn takes a closer look, he discovers the sound coming from a male dire wolf pup, approximately the size of a fully grown wolf. The wolf is shivering and looks looks scared and hungry. Laguza suggests that Greunthrn offer food, which the wolf eats ravenously. Belnirith pets the wolf, casting prestidigitation to warm him and dry off its coat. The puppy’s tail wags and he licks Belnirith and Greunthrn. Laguza points out that the parents may be nearby, but the party find no evidence of any other wolves nearby. Belnirith, enamored by the pup, suggests that he accompany them, as befits a cleric of Odin. Everyone agrees.
The party arrive at Vogsal by mid-afternoon, looking for Radhani’s agent, Fridmund. The party is directed to a warehouse where they find Fridmund. Hrafn shows Fridmund the goods carried in the cart. It takes Fridmund and his men the rest of the afternoon to sort through the stuff.
Fridmund hosts the group for dinner. Later, he asks them to come back next week. The group stay overnight with Fridmund and acquire a mule for the next days’ travels. Laguza guides the group from this point, because she grew up in nearby territory. They are looking for a huge hole in a mountain, a half-day’s journey from Vogsal. Laguza knows exactly where it is and they arrive without issue.
At the rock face, Laguza shouts: “Ukvartnggg!!!” Two large Stone Giants emerge from the hole, each nearly 18 feet tall. One giant looks down and says, “Laguza, you’re here. You brought friends. They said you would be here. But we didn’t know you would be here. Who are your friends?”
“Where are Lög and Gaaz?” Laguza asks.
“Inside, but they are not well.” The guard says. He explains that everyone is sick as they lead the party to the main hall, which has been turned into a huge infirmary. In one corner is a large pile of bodies. The ones who are dead no longer look bluish-gray like the live giants. They are completely white. The ones who are sick have splotches of paleness. Seeing Laguza, Lurgh says, “We knew you would come. We need someone small…”
“Someone small? For what?” Laguza asks.
Among the giants, Laguza recognizes Wugar and knows that he is the leader. Laguza also recognizes the woman with a double-axe. Laguza has always admired her. Her name is Goxa. She has runes all over her arms and legs. They are fierce warriors, but communal.
“A few weeks ago, our people started getting pale and sick. But we didn’t know how or why,” one of the helpers says. “I have magic, but I still couldn’t see what it is. But one of our friends, someone small, knew what it was.” They call forth a ancient drow elf. He carries a longbow covered in runes that he is uses as a cane, with a seax equally decorated with runes. Both are black.
“My name is Lorthr. My people, too, are suffering and ill. I am of the drow. I went out to find what’s causing this… and I found it, half a day’s walk from here. But now I am too old to do this by myself. I used to ferry the gods over the sea. I have broken bread with Odin, Thor, and Tyr. I have watched people die. Now I am watching my own people die.”
“How can we help?” asks Greunthrn.
“Somewhere inside this humanoid-sized temple is a strange mold that has leached into the water. There was a necromancer who escaped into this hold. He was an idiot and weak, but he thought he could grant himself eternal life with necromancy. But he blew it, and I think he is the cause of this illness that has emerged many years later.”
“There is a zombie owlbear guarding this place. I can guide you there,” says Lorthr. He gives Laguza a glowing black box. “Put that mold in this container and bring it back. Our stone giant alchemists can probably find the cure.”
Lorthr guides the party to the temple, arriving at a manmade stairway. From the top, they spy the zombie Owlbear. Thwonk! Gruenthrn shoots an arrow into its shoulder. Hrafn decides to delay to go after Laguza. Laguza moves closer but holds action. Hrafn winks at Vyshka. “Watch this.” Right as he gets to Laguza, he leaps onto her back, vaults onto the Owl Bear, and using his short sword and dagger stabs him in the head, then vaults backward behind Laguza.
“How about a little warning next time,” Laguza groans. Belnirith moves away and uses her eyes to send a freezing gaze its way. The owlbear briefly shivers, Belnirith backs up. Vyshka decides to Turn Undead. Then she lifts her Battle Axe: “By the power of Thor, I send you away!” The owlbear just shrugs.
The owlbear manages to strike its claw into her head. Hrafn does a melee strike, stabbing straight into its brain. They travel through the caverns, checking for traps and anything valuable. Everything here is ancient. There’s a musty, clogged, decaying water fountain. Hrafn opens one door to find TONS of spiderwebs. Hrafn says, “Eww!” and jumps back. Vyshka says. “Wimp.”
Laguza suggests that they fill the room with fire. Greunthrn lights a torch with his tinderbox and tosses it in. It gets stuck in the webs and begins burning. Laguza suggests that they back up and let it flame out. It’s going to take a while. They leave to other passages and a magically locked door, until they find one unlocked door. On the other side of that door are several armed skeletons and a statue behind some moldy-looking lava. There’s a shrine and another skeleton that’s attempting to perform a ritual.
Vyshka and Belnirith see the mulch glowing bright red and it hits them like a brick! Their hands are suddenly pale. But then Belnirith’s spots disappear as she manages to shrug off the effect.
This skeleton leader cries: “I AM THE EMPEROR OF BONES! FEAR ME!”
Vyshka shoots the “emperor” with a crossbow bolt. Belnirith stands on a ledge and flings magical acid. It lands on some of the skeletons, beginning to dissolve them. The emperor casts mirror image. Laguza destroys the statue with a single crossbow bolt. The emperor pouts and says, “I loved that statue.”
Hrafn charges the nearest skeleton by the wall, attacking with his shortsword. The skeleton’s skull crashes against the wall and the body disintegrates.
Belnirith casts Magic Missile to eliminates the mirror images of the emperor. Now, only the real Emperor remains. A chilling hand appears next to Belnirith and hits her with necrotic energy, but because she is resistant to such energies, it does very little damage. Belnirith says, “Ow, it stings.”
Laguza wields her battleaxe and slices from the Emperor from neck to armpit. “That’s what you get for holding me!” As he dies, he wails, “But I’m supposed to be immortal!” Laguza grinds his skull beneath her boot.
Belnirith and Vyshka perform ritual ceremonies and consecrate the area to Odin and Thor. An absolutely horrifying creature appears from behind the shrine and terrifies the non-clerics in the group. At first, Hrafn trembles, but then he finds his courage. Greunthrn is scared but he’s okay when the thing vanishes. Laguza collects the mold.
Hrafn goes back and checks to see if the arcane-locked door opens, now that the Emperor is dead. Inside, there is a bed that looks like it has disintegrated. Greunthrn checks it out. As Hrafn approaches the chest and Belnirith guides him. The chest is in bad shape, but Hrafn opens it and finds valuables and a spellbook.
The team re-emerges from the temple, to Viggo’s and the Drow’s great joy. They then return to the Stone Giant cave. Wugar takes the mold from the container from Laguza and brings it to a cavern. Eventually, he emerges with a cure potion. Wugar gives Vyshka some cure potion. It is the worst thing she has ever tasted! It tastes like “misery, sadness, and rotten eggs.”
Greunthrn asks the drow to mentor him in walking the horizon. Hrafn asks to be mentored in swashbuckling fighting techniques. Lorthr agrees to train them both.
Belnirith hands Yuki’s gem to Vyshka. Belnirith, Viggo, and Belnirith’s raven familiar Asja are immediately transported to a crazy, psychedelic place. She sees gems everywhere, then ends up in Yuki’s hut. Belnirith shows the Odin-blessed spear to Yuki, who offers to extend her arcane training and teach her Divination magic.
Laguza stays with the stone giants for her own training. Vyshka also opts to stay so that she can study the rune language of the giants and decipher her mystery rune.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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