One Dam Problem After Another

After we left Turtleback Ferry to investigate their dam problem, we ran into Shalelu. She had heard the news and went to see if she could help out.
 
Inside the cave that we entered to get to the dam was a huge ettin. He blathered on in giant, which later was translated by Shalelu, as we responded with immediate violence. I hit it with a withering bolt, Minion hit it with his pickaxe, and Meyos hit it with his lightning. None of our efforts were as impressive as the shot by Storm Shadow, who took out one of the heads with a single arrow. That got the other head to surrender immediately, which Shalelu was quicker to translate. Meyos healed him of all of his wounds, including restoring his other head (would they be considered as brothers?).
 
Before I met Meyos, I had considered it a mercy to put enemies out of their misery when their wounds were beyond the capabilities of a couple of healing potions. I did not enjoy the killing, but had thought it a kindness. Now I am not sure. At least not with Meyos around. Apparently Sarenrae felt that the ettin should live. I have mixed feelings about having to do the will of some god. They are very powerful, as evidenced by their clerics, but I find their aloof judgments to be fickle and enigmatic. I have often suspected the cleric just claimed that whatever they wanted was the "will of their god". So unbelievably convenient.
 
On top of the dam, where the continuous downpour of rain had caused to already be 3 inches of water, were 7 ogres standing over what was a bloody battlefield. It looked like any living trolls had retreated. Storm Shadow killed their captain with an arrow, and then faded, as usual, into shadow. I hit the remaining 6 with a large fireball. Two were left barely standing, and Minion wounded them with a "thump" of a grenade. Shalelu finished off one with an arrow, and Meyos finished off the other with lightning. I guess it was not Sarenrae's will for them to live.
 
We investigated the large "wind"-ows of the huge eye sockets and saw several trolls huddled inside. We must have found whoever managed to escape the battlefield. Too bad for them, as we slaughtered them with arrows and magic before they could do anything useful to defend themselves. The burned well from fire and melted from acid.
 
Inside the dam were signs that warned us about a powerful being. I was disappointed to find it to be a pathetic scag troll. I recognized it for what it was and recalled that it needs to be in the water to regenerate. After Storm Shadow greeted it with an arrow, I cast a spell to lift it up out of the water to the ceiling. Minion hit it with a fire bolt, and Shalelu hit it with an arrow.
 
Somewhat impressively, the troll refused to die without a fight. It threw a javelin at Minion, and would have skewered him had it not plinked off his fish bowl. Minion, both startled and angry, yelling "he shot my BOWL!" and fired two flame bolts into the scag. wounding it. As seems his favorite past time, Storm Shadow finished it off with a well-placed arrow. I am glad he is on our side.
 
Meyos decided that it was time for us to eat lunch, and made us some scag-burgers. They were pretty good, if a little too chewy, but I pretended to be indifferent. I think it hurt his feelings as he muttered something about needing to become an even better chef. Who was they chef he likes to complain about, Jordan Shamzees? Something like that. He talks about him as an inferior rival that we should all know about.
 
In a large chamber was a skull ripper, a huge scorpion construct with massive sword-shears for claws and a sharp, pointy tail. Minion saw it before I did, and ran past me. I wonder why it scared him. Maybe he did not want to be chopped into pieces.
 
I cast a spell to scan a model of the dam that was in an alcove, defended by the skull ripper. I deduced that it controls the flood gates, but needs more power. We need to figure out why it is not getting enough power.
 
We found some large circles, one with some dust in it, the other with a weak, trapped pit fiend. I felt sorry for him and wondered what I could do to give him a hand, sending him back to Hell. As I pointed out to the others that those circles powered the dam by draining life from someone that goes in, I was surprised as Meyos walked into one before I could complain and point out his foolhardy action. The pit fiend vanished into ash, and the flood gates had enough power to activate the flood gate. Meyos was able to walk out without trouble, and easily healed himself of any wounds that it might have given him.
 
With one dam problem done, we moved on to reclaim a piece of that frost wight ranger that failed to defend his fort. Off to Hook Mountain. I wonder what we will destroy there.
 
We went up into a blizzard to the top of the peak of Hook Mountain. Somebody has made the weather worse through foul magic. At least it is not moldy. I have gotten tired of foul magic causing mold and slime everywhere, and it was starting to feel like the evil magic people were just lazy with the effects of their corruption.
 
At the mouth of the cave were 12 ogres. I came up with a diabolical scheme and set up a trap to cause the ogres to fall off the mountain, making it very, very, VERY slippery. After Meyos realized what I was doing had helped me to set it up. I borrowed Minion's boots of levitation, and taunted the ogres to come get me. They fell to their death. Later on I thought that I should have used an illusion instead of putting myself into potential danger, but I did not want to use up too much of my magic in case I need it inside.
 
After entering the cave, I realized it was really the skeleton of a long-dead blue dragon. I wondered how and when it came by here to die. It was thousands of years ago.
 
Storm Shadow scouted ahead, killed a hill giant, and ran back to us while the ogres came after him. Shalelu killed one with an arrow to the face, Meyos killed one with lightning, and Storm Shadow wounded an ogre with an arrow. Minion skewered one with his trident that he took from the scag (at least one thing was impressive about that scag). I hit three with a fireball, and shot one with an acid arrow from a wand with my tail. Minion hit an ogre with his trident as I hit the same three with another fireballl and the same one with more acid. Shalelu stabbed one with her sword, and Storm Shadow killed it with an arrow.
 
Several ogres ran out of a chamber and threw javelins at us. One hit me, and I lost track of the battle for a bit until Meyos healed me. I zapped 6 ogres with a lightning bolt, and one that managed to barely survive was torched by a fire bolt from Minion.