TOPIC: [R6] Storm King's Thunder - Discussion

Journal of Dragor Taliovic - Days 4-18

I came out of the woods and headed back to the ogre and goblin cave. It was empty. From the recent tracks of human feet leading away from the cave entrance, it would seem the others had successfully located and freed the missing townsfolk in my absence.

I headed back to Nightstone in the hopes of catching up with them again. Somewhere outside of the town walls I met up with the Druid, Therutir, coming out of the forest. We nodded to each other in greeting but I sensed some tension between us. I know not the cause of this and I'm not one to dwell on the feelings of others towards me so it bothered me not. I'm sure the reason will reveal itself in time.

We entered the town in silence and were greeted by the sound of intense labour. People were hard at work rebuilding the ruined town, trying to make it habitable again. In amongst all this activity, the rest of the party were found, helping out where they were able. The paladin seemed to have acquired some sort of lady friend since I last saw him. The way she kept looking at him, moon-eyed with infatuation, told me he was going to have a difficult time of it. I chuckled to myself.

Suddenly, a cry went up from the town walls and we rushed to see what fresh trouble had found us. I was rendered dumbstruck as a castle tower, held aloft by a bank of clouds, drifted closer. Could this be the same castle that attacked the town only a few nights before?

This assumption seemed to be confirmed when the ranger scowled at the approaching edifice and muttered something about giants.

What was most strange about this flying building, aside from it being a flying building, was that it was adorned with a giant wizard's hat! A floppy purple monstrosity decorated with gold stars and other symbols people feel are mysterious.

Instead of attacking though, it merely settled to the ground on the outskirts of town and waited there. Large birds of indeterminate type circled the crown of the tower but they were too far away to discern what species they may have been.

We decided to investigate this new arrival in case the occupants bore further malice towards the town. We rode out to the tower and reached the base of a tall stairway that let up to a door hundreds of feet above us.

Feeling energised by my rest in the forest over the last few days, I bounded up the steps, taking them two at a time, while the barbarian and druid easily kept pace with me. The others, however, must have had a hearty breakfast or something because they struggled with getting to the top. These highly trained adventurers, slayers of ogre and goblin, wheezed and panted and staggered up the steps as if they were elderly drunks seeking their beds. It was an amusing sight!
Once at the top, those too knackered to continue dropped in a heap by the tower entrance and tried to regain their breath. The barbarian, druid and myself required no such respite and boldly strode into the entrance hall of this oversized keep. It was clearly a place built for giants.

Inside was bare, save for a large table as high as a milking shed, upon which a large tome resided. You could have attached wheels to either side of this book and hitched it to a shire horse to deliver barrels of ale, it was so large.

There were no stairs or means of reaching the higher levels, except for a massive hole in the ceiling a hundred feet above our heads. Without warning, a huge figure descended through this hole, using some magical means, to land in front of us.

It was indeed a giant, albeit a rather befuddled looking one. It was obviously some sort of magic user as it was wearing a purple robe and a pointy hat much like the one perched atop the tower. He held a great staff, most likely an entire oak tree uprooted and stripped of its branches.

In a loud booming voice, it spoke to us and told us that it had had visions of our little troupe and how we were destined to help prevent a great disaster involving a giant war because of something called 'the Ordning'. I'm not sure if that is the correct word but it's what he seemed to be saying. It was to do with the hierarchy of the giants having been broken and that, unless stopped, it could spell catastrophe for Faerun if it came to war.

As we talked to this giant mage, I went outside to help bring the others in so they could be part of the discussion, although I wish the ranger had stayed, if I'm honest. His constant rudeness towards the giant began to grate on me somewhat and could have jeopardised the whole situation. I have no wish to end up on the receiving end of a giant's battle spells.

I realise Rufious must have some reason to fear and hate giants so much. I get it. But humans treated me poorly when I was just a boy, threw me out and left me to die in an unforgiving wilderness. It doesn't mean I hate all humans just because a few of them were credulous fools. OK, so I don't trust most people but I can at least hold my tongue until I uncover their true intentions.

Anyway, we determined that we must travel to some town up the coast somewhere. I'm not clear on the details, it was something the others had been told about while I was busy igniting bushes. To be honest, I'm not too concerned with what the mission is, I'm just tagging along for something interesting to do.

The castle rose into the air shortly afterwards, and the giant disappeared up through the hole again. I got a terrifying glimpse up his robes as he went. I really wish he'd been wearing some sort of undergarment. It's an image that's going to haunt me for months, I fear.

We were then left to our own devices for the most part. The druid wandered off somewhere, muttering about gryphons or something. I tried to read the massive book on the table but it was written in giantish and I could make no sense of it. Romero had some understanding of the language and, more to while away the days than any real desire to learn the language, he began to teach me the rudiments of it.

A little while into our journey, I wondered out onto the platform to take in the view but noticed several specks headed our way. It wasn't long before they resolved into some sort of mounted patrol. We couldn't determine if they were hostile or friendly. I feared the former was most likely.

Retreating back inside the room, we attempted to push the massive doors closed but, despite the barbarian's prodigious strength, we were only able to move one door a little. It would have to do.

The mounted patrol landed on the exterior platform, some unsavoury looking soldiers riding giant vultures it turned out. They had a snooty look about them that I took instant dislike to. Their expressions suggested they had discovered a bad smell that they couldn't ignore.
Their manners matched their mounts - ugly. Right from the outset they assumed we were but minions of the wizard giant and demanded we summon our host, ignoring our polite requests to tell us what they wanted. My patience grew very thin and one more insult later, I had heard enough.

In order to drown out their uncouth voices, I made a simple gesture and an intense ringing sound tore through the party that had landed outside. I'd obviously tapped into another new source of magic hitherto unknown. My powers seem to be growing fast. The spell had the effect of throwing our adversaries back several feet, with one of them sliding over the platform to grasp desperately at the edge to stop plunging thousands of feet to his death. Their mounts, startled by the ear splitting noise took to the skies.

The ensuing fight was short. The whereabouts of the druid were soon revealed as he flew into view on the back of a gryphon, tearing at a vulture rider as he swooped past.

The leader of the these people was cut down and we were just about to finish the others off when the giant descended into the room, alerted by my shattering spell. I made sure I didn't look up as he came down.

He cast some sort of calming spell over us and, despite my attempts to resist, I felt myself relax and the desire to fight dissipated into the air. It seemed to affect almost all of us in the same way and the battle was over.

Eyeing each other suspiciously across the room, the two parties kept an uneasy truce while the giant deliberated over whether to ally himself with these interlopers or not. Turns out they were emissaries of some sky prince or something. They were attempting to sway this Ordning business by recruiting people to their cause. I hoped the giant would refuse their advances as I had no wish to throw myself in with these arrogant bastards.

Reason prevailed and the vulture riders were politely dismissed by the giant, their gift returned. Angry at being turned down, the riders left, hurling empty threats at us. Good riddance I say.

After this bit of excitement, the calm of this stately journey through the skies returned and we sat around, keeping ourselves as entertained as much as we could.

A few days later, we received a further delegation of visitors. This one even more bizarre than the last. A silver dragon arrived, dispensing a group of angry dwarves from its claws to attack the castle. Drinking some potion, they turned incorporeal and drifted upwards to the giant's chambers. I loosed a spell at them which hit but did little damage.

Unable to reach the rooms above, only the druid could intervene as the dwarves proceeded to hit something. We could hear the dull clanging even down in this room. We discovered afterwards that the druid tried to rouse the giant from some meditative state, which he succeeded in doing but not before the dwarves had cracked the mystic orb responsible for keeping this tower aloft.

The dwarves left with the dragon as suddenly as they had arrived and we were left to fall with the stricken castle.

Fortunately, our descent was slow enough to not be fatal and we picked ourselves off the stone floor with only minor bruises to show for it.

Our skyborne journey however, was over for the time being. The giant felt that the magic orb was repairable but it would take some time. We went outside to get our bearings and discovered we were only a few days' hike out from our destination.

I'm no stranger to walking, so I shouldered my pack, pulled my boots on tighter and took a step outside...

0

Whirr-thud-clatter.

"No, you're using your arm too much. The power of the throw comes from the wrist. Try again."

"I'll never get this right. Can't I use the crossbow?"

"You can't always carry a crossbow around with you, but you can weave one of these into your hair. Now, again."

Whirr-thud. The dart streaked across the few feet between Daphne and the table-leg and bit into the wood.

"Well done", said Jaya, clapping her hands. "Just a few more throws and we'll take a break."

"Are you sure that giant won't mind us damaging his furniture?" asked Daphne.

"A few tiny dents near the base of something the size of a tree trunk? I don't think so."

Jaya watched Daphne practice her throws, and her mind wandered back over the last few days. Being the only other woman in the tower, it had not been surprising when the ex-lady-in-waiting had started to spend time with her. That is, when she was not following Romero around like a lovesick puppy. Jaya suspected that the paladin was actually quite glad she was there to give him a break from Daphne's adoring attentions. For her part, being able to gossip a little about her companions with another woman was a welcome relief from the tedium of the aerial journey. The giant conjured food and wine for them in prodigious quantities which led to rather tipsy fits of giggling and more outrageous topics of conversation.

It had been after the first night that Daphne had revealed an unusual talent - lip reading. Jaya had begged her to teach the skill in exchange for lessons in self-defence, and Daphne had been delighted that an adventurer like the rogue would be interested. Since the days spent travelling were largely uneventful (apart from the visit of the emissaries of Yan-C-Bin) there was plenty of time for Jaya to practice, and eventually she could pick up the rudiments of a conversation even when just out of earshot. Daphne, for her part, was able to pick up a basic proficiency with a thrown dart or dagger, and fight a little with a dagger and whatever other weapons Jaya was able to scrounge from her colleagues.

"We need to get you some armour", said Jaya on the last day of their travels.

"A shining suit of mail like my beloved Romero wears, perhaps?"

"Now what have I told you about heavy armour? Fine if you spend your life hitting things and being hit, not so good if you want to avoid trouble and get away from it in a hurry. I think a nice suit of leather - not hide, it's too stiff and you can't move as well."

"But I want to be at my Romero's side, facing danger with him!"

"Daphne, we've had this conversation before. You've come along well in the last few days but you are no warrior. Do you want Romero worrying about your safety instead of whatever threats he is facing? Of course you don't."

"What about just a breastplate?"

Jaya opened her mouth to answer but just then someone bellowed "DRAGON!", and shortly afterwards there were more pressing things to worry about.

Journal of Dragor Taliovic - Day 19

We found ourselves entering the town of Tribor three days after leaving the giant's castle. We couldn't have arrived soon enough, the ranger kept drivelling on about some woman that appeared from a forest where there was no forest and touched his head or something. He kept pointing at me and saying 'Can you hear me? I can do this now!'

Of course I could hear him, he was stood right next to me! I had to check the hidden pocket in my rucksack to make sure he hadn't thieved my supply of 'special' tea. Fortunately he hadn't. That meant he was just plain crazy then.

Travel-stained, road-weary and a layer of dust thicker than dragon-hide coating our throats, we made our way to the nearest inn, but not before blocking the street while some of the others argued about where to go.

I hung back, wondering what all the discussion was for. I'm a man with simple and direct focus. If I walk for a while and end up in a new place, I find an inn, get a pot of chilled ale and sit my aching self on a stool and relax. I can then ponder my next moves at my leisure and comfort. Simple. No need for a Guild of Politicians debate every time someone farts.

While we stood there, a rather surly farmer was forced to manoeuvre his heavily laden cart up the pavement and around us. He grumbled something unsavoury at us. As he moved away, for my own entertainment, I used a little of my power to write 'kick me' in Common on his back in glowing letters. He didn't notice.

Eventually, reason prevailed and we found a cheap but serviceable tavern. The Debate Society convened once more and discussed, at length, the sleeping arrangements. Give me a spot on the floor and a pack to rest my head on and I'm content. I ordered an ale and sat down in a dim corner and watched.

At some point I became aware that Romero and Rufious had drawn a small crowd as they stood in the corner reciting poetry, singing and telling stories. What the hell was going on with these people?

Still, they managed to scrounge a few coins out of it so it wasn't so bad. I was approached at one point by a rather imposing but very handsome lady, dressed in the livery of the local garrison. She was no mere grunt though, the uniform was made of very fine material and adorned with medals and other frills.

She introduced herself as the Lord Protector of the town and asked us our business. I mentioned we were delivering some message to some store owner. Satisfied that we were not footpads or cutpurses here to rob her town on market day, she cautioned us against the threat of orcs raiding the surrounding villages and warned us to be careful. Many of her own soldiers were out on patrol to deal with the greenskin menace. The town was currently fairly unprotected for the time being.

She bade me farewell and recommended we visit the market which only convenes once a month and that, most fortuitously, was tomorrow.

I noticed that our impromptu entertainers had finished their set and Rufious was engaged in conversation with some female half-elf ranger at the bar. Over the hubbub of the crowd I could hear his feeble attempts to woo this woman. The expression on her face said it all.

Unable to resist the mischievous imp that lives in my head, I made Rufious's amorous efforts all the harder to successfully pull off. Mysterious foul odours caused those around him to wrinkle their noses in disgust, a stray draft caused his hair to flip over his head and other such phenomena. Being a solitary type, I often have to amuse myself at the expense of others.

After a time, the half-elf made her excuses and left for her bed. The rest of us soon sought the comfort of sleep also.

The following morning, after a hearty breakfast of porridge and honey, we headed out into the town to see what was about.

Most of the party disappeared into the town store to deliver the message we were entrusted with and to shop for any necessary items.

I had no need of anything so chose to wander around the market. I purchased a rather tasty meat pie to consume while I browsed.

I accidentally squirted some of the gravy into my eyes in my haste to devour this comestible. As I wiped the juices away, a huge crash sounded somewhere above me and massive chunks of masonry fell all about. The pieman and his stall disappeared under a huge boulder, crushing him and his stock. A stream of blood oozed out from under the stone and mingled with a similar stream of gravy to puddle in the gutter.

More masonry fell and I instinctively leapt to safety, narrowly avoiding being hit by half a wagon. People panicked and the peaceful market suddenly became a dangerous stampede of terrified citizens.

I darted for the safety of the fort in the middle of the square and got inside just as the doors closed behind me. The Lord Protector appeared from her quarters and, seeing me covered in brick dust and gravy, demanded to know what was going on.

'We are under attack!' I cried, the adrenaline surging through me at my narrow escape.

I dashed upstairs to the battlements to better see what form our adversaries were to take.

Over the tops of the buildings, two huge figures could be seen, hurling rocks and anything else they could find.

The rest of the party spilled out of the store just as a huge rock levelled the building, trapping Daphne inside.

There was no sign of the barbarian, he must have still been at the inn sleeping off all the ale he'd put away last night. If this didn't wake him up, nothing would.

Ahead of the giants were a group of mages of some description. They wore heavy cowls so I could not determine their race. Their intent was all too clear though, they hurled magical destruction left, right and centre, tearing buildings apart as they went. They were still too far away from me to take action however.

At one point, I had to duck behind the battlements when an ox cart shattered against the wall of the fort, covering me in tiny splinters.

I could also make out two groups of orcs riding some sort of giant chickens but the guards and others of my group were making short work of them. As one group got closer, one of the two guards that had latched onto me to make sense of the situation took an orc rider out with his bow. I followed this up with a double firebolt. They were soon overwhelmed by those defending the town.

My two guards, brothers as it turned out, Marten and Johan Redshirt, stood by me as the great giants approached. I dropped an effective shatter spell in the midst of the hooded mages, disrupting their casting for a time.

One of the giants, a female it would seem, started digging a hole in a garden across the square and I wondered what she was about.

I didn't have time to ponder long on it though as the other giant, huge red beard bristling, reached the fort. We stared at each other eye to eye...

With a roar, he reached out and plucked Marten Redshirt off the wall and started waving him about, squeezing as he did so. Marten was in great pain and I could hear his bones cracking as the great hand closed on him. Valiant to the end though, he managed to stab the giant in the head, distracting him for long enough so myself and Johan could rush downstairs to relative safety.

I suddenly had an idea and demanded to be let out of the fort. The guards bracing the doors refused but, using my best smile, told them they'd see something pretty awesome if they let me and Johan out. Johan was eager to avenge his brother who we could still hear screaming on the other side of the oak barricade.

I have never been so persuasive in my life. The guards obviously felt safe enough to let me and Johan slip through the doors which were slammed and bolted once we were through.

We were just in time to see Marten hurled over some nearby houses and disappear with a sickening crunch out of sight. The giant, my head level with its shins, turned and lumbered over to help the other one dig a huge hole.

Johan, blind with rage, leapt to attack one of the mages and was struck down quickly. I trusted that the Redshirt brothers would be united in whatever afterlife they subscribed to. Wasting no time to mourn, I darted over to the giants with a plan that would hopefully swing things in our favour.

Manoeuvring so that the giant was between myself and the hole it was digging, I reached down into my core being to draw upon the well of wild magic that simmered there.

With a tortuous roar, I thrust my palms outwards and sent a massive wave of thunder out from me which hit the giant full force. The giant was forced backwards, howling in pain and lost its footing, tumbling into the huge hole.

As the giant fell, the female hoisted something out of the way just in time. It was some strange construction, the like of which I'd never seen before but was obviously some powerful artefact that had lain beneath this place for a long time.

The male giant picked his battered body out of the hole and the two of them started lurching away from the fighting. They had what they had come for.

There was still some fight in me and I was loath to let these oversized village idiots get away so easily.

With no thought other than the need to catch up with them, I dashed towards the sound of massive feet slamming into the floor...

Another day another fight .... I think I am in love. A fellow ranger she challenged me to a shoot out after my nearly smooth moves.
We found a ranger and the shoot out was on. We shot 3 arrows and boy did she have a smooth action. She could really wrap her fingers around a shaft. Then she let it go. ... anyway back to the shooting. We were neck and neck. So she said that we needed a tie breaker. There was an orchard and she tempted me with an apple shot. She said who ever could hit the apple would be the winner ! I was never one to let a challenge go away. . So she shot and missed . It was my turn. I aimed and shot ..the goddess of love guided my shaft ! Not only did I hit the apple I cut the stalk and the back of the arrow hit the apple and it hit the trunk and bounced back and over the wall. I caught the apple and gave it it to her. I saw her melt in my arms.
The goddess of love gives and she takes away. .. as I was going in for the kiss , a boulder landed and the world moved for her . .. and the rest of the village too! We fought it out with the orcs who looked like berney cliffton . We fought it with them my ranger friend and I were a great team . Till an arrow hit her and nearly killed her. I was able to save her with a potion. Then I went after a the giants. .. I had murder on my mind. ...

Reminder that there will be no game tomorrow.

@ Gary: still level 4.