A wake of destruction

General Summary

The Muffin Men awoke to the morning sun shining in through the east door to the old tower where they camped. Planning to leave before the Hill Giant Moog returned, the party packed their things and headed out. Borgan recalled the magic beans Tengo left and felt he should honor their comrade by planting one in his honor. To his surprise, it wasn’t a plant that sprouted from the ground but a stone statue of Borgan himself. The statue seemed to be awake, and while rooted in the ground, began to curse Borgan’s name and taunt the kind gnome mercilessly. After a bit of a verbal thrashing the statue then tried to enlist the other Muffin Men in denouncing the evil that is Borgan Tometiller. Kauth soon had enough of the nonsense and dispelled the statue, ending what must have certainly been a cruel trick of some fey creature. That momentary diversion was all it took, and before the party could set out again on their journey north they had to duck for cover. A towering female Hill Giant called Moog had returned, carrying a lizard carcass over her shoulder. Ophio didn’t even try to hide his chub when his eye landed on the dead thing, and he debated whether or not he should try and animate it. The rest of the Muffin Men managed to convince him to save his fetish for later. Moog never noticed the party hiding some 50 ft from her because her ire was fixed on the stone interloper standing at her doorstep. She dropped her kill and charged the statue and with a furious “THWACK” she demolished the stone gnome.
As the party tried once again to sneak away, they were caught offguard as Moog hurled the statue’s head eastward. A dull wet thud was all they heard, followed by the painful bellows of another Hill Giant. Soon, Moog was engaged in a melee with the Great Wizard of Guh, Keef, and his wonderful ogre assistants. One of the ogres spotted the Muffins making their escape, and charged twirling a massive chain. Kauth was knocked unconscious by the brute, and Kaz rushed to her aid.
Moog held her ground as best she could against Keef, an ogre, and another Hill Giant while the party tangled with two more ogres. Borgan snuck in and got stabby with Keef, and angred the great wizard. Keef took “Burning Hands”, and proceeded to pummel the gnome with massive fists, now ablaze with flaming pitch. Somehow, Borgan held his ground and together with Ophio’s fireball managed to down Keef and an ogre. The rest of the group finished off the other ogre and turned their attention to Moog’s attackers. Within minutes the tables were turned and the attacking giants and ogres lay dead. Moog, fearful and grateful all at once, thanked her saviors.
Moog implored the party to keep their word and help her get her mate Hruk back from the clutches of the evil Guh. She shared the location of Grud Haug, the Hill Giant fortress where Guh reigned. The party did not want to double back to the area around Goldenfields now that they’ve come this far, and so they looked for a way out of the alliance with Moog. After some trickery, a good heart to heart, and the distraction a nice slab of lizard meat provided, the party left Moog in her tower and resumed their trek toward the ruins of Nesme.
That afternoon, about an hour from Nesme, the Muffin Men found another literal obstacle in their path. 8 mounted highwaymen blocked the Surbrin Trail. The leader, a tough named Asger, demanded the group go back the way they came. “Nesme belongs to the Zhentarim now,” he said. Kauth tried to negotiate passage in exchange for the opportunity to trade with a representative of the Queen in Ravnica, but the Zhents barely budged. They finally agreed that the Muffin Men could enter Nesme to meet their leader Fylo, but they would have to wait for the morning. Nesme was off limits, at least for this evening.
The Muffin Men camped nearby, allowing Ophio to take root in the soil and regain his lost spells. An hour passed, and the Muffin Men’s plan was in motion. Kauth calmly walked into the Zhent’s camp, offering samples of the wealth Ravnica could offer. Borgan slinked along the shrubs and bushes, Jian at the ready. On cue, Kauth let loose her bane on the Zhents and Ophio sent a fireball into the mix. Kauth took the full force of the blast, but so did most of the Zhents. Kaz rushed in on his attack goat, flinging javelins along the way. The melee that followed was anything but fair, with the Zhents vastly underestimating their foes. When the dust settled, the remaining two Zhents surrendered, begging for mercy as the Muffins closed in.

Report Date

23 Aug 2019

Primary Location

Nesme