Posted: 27 March 2022 (reading time: 4 minutes; 645 words)
Recap by Melissa Savlov
Our story resumes in the hills northwest of Vogsal, inside a cave. After battling the Bone Collective and numerous mamura, Asgardey∂a continues searching through the debris-strewn bedroom that appears to have belonged to a 20-foot-tall creature of some sort. In our last episode, Greunthrn discovered a ring that bears the image of Glasya, daughter of Asmodeus and ruler of the sixth plane of Hell. The inscription on the ring reads “Ulvik” in Infernal.
Now, in the same drawer, Greunthrn finds an ancient book with most of its text worn away. But there is enough there to identify the language as Infernal and discern that it was handwritten in an angry scrawl. It appears to be many hundreds of years old.
Belnirith can read Infernal and reads the following:
“Forgive me, I’m not going to make it to meet you at <unreadable, but looking like a scribbled version of the rune Vyshka keeps researching>. Being by your side and doing your bidding has been the greatest honor of my life. Ever since your father…”
Their search complete, Greunthrn opens the portal using a purple gem shard. Soon, they find themselves in another world, somewhere in the Far Realms…
When Asgardey∂a emerges from the portal, they find the air to be acidic and only barely breathable, slowly burning them from the inside. In fact, sometimes it is so severe they double over for a few seconds, unable to act.
Meanwhile, six mamura standing inside a circle of purple gems. They seem to be wondering why their portal isn’t working. Then they notice Asgardey∂a and advance. Greunthrn plugs one with two arrows, and giant-sized Laguza gives another a mighty blow. Belnirith waves her spear and slows all of the mamura, while Vyshka summons her Spirit Guardians (in the form of mini-Viggos).
Vyshka gets poisoned by the sting of a mamura and is unable to heal herself. Furious, she hopes her companions will heal her. But they are too focused on fighting their common enemy, adding a pinch of mild yet bitter betrayal to the mamuric poison in Vyshka’s veins. Greunthrn inflicts some damage; then, Laguza kills two of them and bashes one with a shield. Vyshka, despite being poisoned, smashes one of them flat on the head until it splats into the ground.
“Fuck you for poisoning me,” she growls, as a Lil’ viggo-shaped angelic guardian bites one of them to death. Greunthrn kills the monster who was hovering over Vyshka. Sounding her gong, Belnirith inflicts necrotic damage on the last mamura before Laguza slays it. Then, Greunthrn heals Vyshka from the poison and she thanks him with: “It’s about time!” and a disgusted sneer.
Then, Asgardey∂a destroys the portal gems, and with the caustic air still stinging their lungs, they all rush back to Gruenthrn’s portal. Vyshka and Belnirith make it out first. Eventually, Giant Laguza throws Greunthrn over her shoulder and dashes back to the portal. On their way out, Laguza and Greunthrn quickly glimpse some headless giants with mouths on their chests and eyes on their shoulders.
When they return to Vogsal, they find the town walls badly damaged and seeping black ooze. There are human and orc bodies. There’s no sign of the Shoggoth. All the frost giants remain alive, but a bit battered. Goxa, the stone giant who trained Laguza to be a rune knight, and Gaaz, one of the stone giants who’d adopted Laguza, are there.
Goxa calls out to Laguza: “I hear they’re calling you Little Giant now. I like it.” Laguza smiles and notices that Goxa and Gaaz are wrapping up wounds of the frost giants. Normally, stone giants and frost giants don’t talk much. But everyone’s working together to clean up the mess that their common enemy made of Vogsal.
It’s an encouraging sight as Asgardey∂a make their way toward the Great Hall.
TO BE CONTINUED…
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