Kingdom on the Brink - Session 60
General Summary
The party reconvenes and decides to spend the day in downtime, so Uriel and Rosemary can finish reading their tomes, Duromar copies a globe of invulnerability into his spell book, Merigold makes food. Del Varis spends time on the Star Drake and dries it out and preserves it, at the beginning of the next day Uriel and Rosemary finish their tomes. The group sets out on foot and spends several hours walking, the party hears some giants ahead of them, they find a small outpost. Uriel approaches the outposts and hails them; he says they are on their way to join up with the giant encampment. The Giant is a little surprised by small people wanting to help the giant's cause, they speak of strength and how it can apply to different things. The interaction seems to be going well until Merigold points out the strength of Uriel's dragon mount, referring to it as "the daughter of the Gods." This causes the giant to question the party (the Giants serve Nadranth), questioning who the party serves (Del Varis is helping Uriel translate). Uriel says that it's a translation error, Merigold isn't talking about strength, when she says strength in common; she means sacks of poop in giant. The giant starts to joke and points to different things, calling different things poop, eventually pointing to Gregori. Merigold casts comprehend languages and understands what the giant says and defends Gregori, Uriel speaks of Gregori in the same way as a mount and rider. This helps the giant to find common ground with the group and the party is allowed to continue on. The group makes it to the main giant encampment and finds the chieftain they spoke to a few days ago. The party asks when they can speak with Grankaros, the chieftain laughs and says the party has just joined, puny people just cannot expect to see the clan leader. Merigold says she isn't puny, she is strong. The chieftain explains that many things can be puny and strong, he points to some rocks and metal tent stakes (puny is essentially the giant way of describing small). The party asks what they can do to facilitate this meeting, the chieftain starts to mention tasks around the camp, but it was menial things in comparison. Uriel asks if they can prove themselves in a combat with their champions, the chieftain laughed and says that can be arranged. The party thanks him and they part ways for the night, the group decides what they are going to do around the camp. Merigold goes and finds the dining area and starts to season the food better and draws a decent crowd, Rosemary and Del Varis scout out the camp defenses (finding out the ballistas are well made for what they are). Uriel flies around on his dragon mount, looking for any tent that was ornate, finding it he lands and he is approached by a guard. There's a brief tense standoff but Uriel gains a little respect from the guard, mentioning how the party will be participating in a honor fight in the morning. The party regroups back at the tent and enter the magnificent mansion, each making a report of what they found when exploring the camp. Del Varis spends time trying to understand the Mytholabe more so he can focus his ki to resist damage, after a few failures (using the Dragon's Breathe torch while having a ring of fire resistance on), Merigold hears a commotion and checks. When Del Varis sees her, he tells her to shoot him with arrows, this perplexes her but complies. Del Varis notices the arrows get partially deflected and Merigold keeps firing, eventually the arrows get through. Del Varis shouts at her to stop, Uriel checks on the noise and says that Del Varis isn't a porcupine and to get some rest. The party long rests.
In the morning the group exits the mansion (which is hidden in a tent) and the chieftain takes them to a fighting arena, there is a crowd of giants in the stands. On the other side the party is faced with a Cave Giant, Cloud Giant, and Fire Giant. Gregori closes the distance to the Cave Giant and Merigold strikes multiple times, with a surge of energy she has taken the giant by surprise. Amber Kerogen asks Del Varis if he wants to get closer, he refuses saying he has this under control (and refuses a greater invisibility so the giants can witness his strength), Amber cast mirror image on herself. The Cave Giant attempts to strike Merigold, but she deflects with a shield spell, the Fire Giant moves to flank Merigold and gets one strike in, the Cloud Giant throws a boulder at her but it misses. Rosemary moves up and strikes the Fire Giant several times, leaving him poisoned from her hand of harming ability. Uriel flies on his mount towards the Cloud Giant and casts armor of Agathys on himself, Amber covers his approach with eldritch blasts. Merigold strikes down the Cave Giant and the Fire Giant attempts to strike Rosemary, but one of the attacks is easily dodged thanks to the poison, Del Varis moves up and uses his hand of harming ability that further weakens the Fire Giant. The Cloud Giant strikes Uriel with his Morning Star, but he is struck by a cold blast from the armor of Agathys and takes psychic damage from Uriel conquest oath. Uriel and his mount strike the Cloud Giant several times, smiting it in the process. Rosemary continues to strike the Fire Giant with a flurry of blows and Amber hurls eldritch blasts into the Cloud Giant. Del Varis strikes down the Fire Giant and moves to stabilize the Cave Giant. Uriel is exchanging blows with the Cloud Giant, Gregori carries Merigold up the boulder the Cloud Giant is on and Merigold lands a sneak attack. Del Varis stabilizes the Fire Giant and moves towards the Cloud Giant, the fight has devolved into a melee, but Del Varis runs up the boulder and brings his fists down on the Cloud Giant, knocking him out. Uriel heals the giant for one hit point, the crowd stops for a moment and begins to show the party respectful gestures of strength. Del Varis starts to heal the other two giants and when they awake, they say that while Rosemary and Merigold are puny, they have the essence of the mountains running through them. The Chieftain walks up and says with that demonstration the party can stand shoulder to shoulder with the clan, Uriel says that's great and says now let the drink and food flow forth; a party takes place.
As things are getting started Uriel asks the chieftain about what they are searching for in the mountains, he says that there is a rock that fell from the sky, it is believed to hold some sort of power. Uriel wants to go find it, his reasoning is if they find it, they can present it to the clan leader, further demonstrating their strength. The chieftain takes little convincing and says that's a good idea, Uriel whispers to Rosemary and has her send a message to the Steward. Rosemary heads back to their tent and uses the sending spell to ask the Steward about a falling rock/meteorite/star in the Berkmark mountains. The Steward says that there was such occurrence several centuries ago, mentioning a river and a strange rock face, he can't provide much more detail before he gets cut off mid-sentence. Rosemary reports back to Uriel, Rosemary is cooking more stew that proves to be a hit and then gets a hold of a small barrel of ale and starts to drink it. The group gets a short rest in, as the party winds down Uriel gets the group together and says they are going to look for the rock. If they find it, they can get an audience and challenge Grankaros to a ritual combat, potentially winning the giants over; and ceasing the attacks on other giant clans. Uriel had bonded some horses to the party earlier to scout out the area and the chieftain had given a general area to search. The group sets out as the evening begins; time is of the essence.
The group makes it several hours into the mountains when they encounter a frozen river, Rosemary and Del Varis test the strength of the ice, they believe that it's still weak in some spots. Uriel remembers that Del Varis has a ring of water walking and gets it from him and brings it back to Merigold and Amber. As they are discussing how to get the rest of the group across the ice starts to crack, several chunks get flung into the air, Del Varis and Rosemary run to the opposite side of the river. Two Sea Serpents start to surface from where the ice cracked open, Rosemary begins to punch one as Amber uses dimension door to get Gregori across to the other side. One Sea Serpent bites and begins to constrict Rosemary, the other one manages to bite Uriel. Uriel takes flight, evading a tail strike, he then casts a spell to summon a magical lance. The Sea Serpent constricting Rosemary takes a bite out of her, Del Varis runs up to Rosemary and gives her a vial of wonder. The effects teleport her out of the Sea Serpents constriction, makes her a medium creature for a short time, and causes her to cast magic missile at the Sea Serpent. Merigold takes out her broom of flying and takes to the air, she also readies her bow. With Del Varis in reach one of the Sea Serpents swat him with its tail, flinging him 30 feet away. Rosemary uses hit and run tactics on the Serpent that was constricting her, Amber begins to hurl eldritch blasts at the other Serpent. The Serpents are enraged, and they unleash their cold breath, hitting Uriel, Merigold, Del Varis and Rosemary. Del Varis attempts to move away and launch his needles but he's too cold to accurately strike. Uriel charges in with his lance, landing devastating strikes and Merigold begins firing volleys after volleys of arrows. The Sea Serpent land more blows on Rosemary (constricting her again) and Del Varis, Uriel kills one of the Sea Serpents with his lance, freeing Rosemary. Rosemary uses her staff of healing and Del Varis lands a few blows on the other Sea Serpent, Amber finishes off the last Sea Serpent with an empowered eldritch blast. Del Varis is able to salvage a gland that helps with its breath weapon and Uriel and Gregori attempt to pull one of the Sea Serpents out, but they realize it's a fabrication similar to what they found in the factory. They decide that it probably isn't edible and try to get a few more hours of travel in before they rest.
In the morning the group exits the mansion (which is hidden in a tent) and the chieftain takes them to a fighting arena, there is a crowd of giants in the stands. On the other side the party is faced with a Cave Giant, Cloud Giant, and Fire Giant. Gregori closes the distance to the Cave Giant and Merigold strikes multiple times, with a surge of energy she has taken the giant by surprise. Amber Kerogen asks Del Varis if he wants to get closer, he refuses saying he has this under control (and refuses a greater invisibility so the giants can witness his strength), Amber cast mirror image on herself. The Cave Giant attempts to strike Merigold, but she deflects with a shield spell, the Fire Giant moves to flank Merigold and gets one strike in, the Cloud Giant throws a boulder at her but it misses. Rosemary moves up and strikes the Fire Giant several times, leaving him poisoned from her hand of harming ability. Uriel flies on his mount towards the Cloud Giant and casts armor of Agathys on himself, Amber covers his approach with eldritch blasts. Merigold strikes down the Cave Giant and the Fire Giant attempts to strike Rosemary, but one of the attacks is easily dodged thanks to the poison, Del Varis moves up and uses his hand of harming ability that further weakens the Fire Giant. The Cloud Giant strikes Uriel with his Morning Star, but he is struck by a cold blast from the armor of Agathys and takes psychic damage from Uriel conquest oath. Uriel and his mount strike the Cloud Giant several times, smiting it in the process. Rosemary continues to strike the Fire Giant with a flurry of blows and Amber hurls eldritch blasts into the Cloud Giant. Del Varis strikes down the Fire Giant and moves to stabilize the Cave Giant. Uriel is exchanging blows with the Cloud Giant, Gregori carries Merigold up the boulder the Cloud Giant is on and Merigold lands a sneak attack. Del Varis stabilizes the Fire Giant and moves towards the Cloud Giant, the fight has devolved into a melee, but Del Varis runs up the boulder and brings his fists down on the Cloud Giant, knocking him out. Uriel heals the giant for one hit point, the crowd stops for a moment and begins to show the party respectful gestures of strength. Del Varis starts to heal the other two giants and when they awake, they say that while Rosemary and Merigold are puny, they have the essence of the mountains running through them. The Chieftain walks up and says with that demonstration the party can stand shoulder to shoulder with the clan, Uriel says that's great and says now let the drink and food flow forth; a party takes place.
As things are getting started Uriel asks the chieftain about what they are searching for in the mountains, he says that there is a rock that fell from the sky, it is believed to hold some sort of power. Uriel wants to go find it, his reasoning is if they find it, they can present it to the clan leader, further demonstrating their strength. The chieftain takes little convincing and says that's a good idea, Uriel whispers to Rosemary and has her send a message to the Steward. Rosemary heads back to their tent and uses the sending spell to ask the Steward about a falling rock/meteorite/star in the Berkmark mountains. The Steward says that there was such occurrence several centuries ago, mentioning a river and a strange rock face, he can't provide much more detail before he gets cut off mid-sentence. Rosemary reports back to Uriel, Rosemary is cooking more stew that proves to be a hit and then gets a hold of a small barrel of ale and starts to drink it. The group gets a short rest in, as the party winds down Uriel gets the group together and says they are going to look for the rock. If they find it, they can get an audience and challenge Grankaros to a ritual combat, potentially winning the giants over; and ceasing the attacks on other giant clans. Uriel had bonded some horses to the party earlier to scout out the area and the chieftain had given a general area to search. The group sets out as the evening begins; time is of the essence.
The group makes it several hours into the mountains when they encounter a frozen river, Rosemary and Del Varis test the strength of the ice, they believe that it's still weak in some spots. Uriel remembers that Del Varis has a ring of water walking and gets it from him and brings it back to Merigold and Amber. As they are discussing how to get the rest of the group across the ice starts to crack, several chunks get flung into the air, Del Varis and Rosemary run to the opposite side of the river. Two Sea Serpents start to surface from where the ice cracked open, Rosemary begins to punch one as Amber uses dimension door to get Gregori across to the other side. One Sea Serpent bites and begins to constrict Rosemary, the other one manages to bite Uriel. Uriel takes flight, evading a tail strike, he then casts a spell to summon a magical lance. The Sea Serpent constricting Rosemary takes a bite out of her, Del Varis runs up to Rosemary and gives her a vial of wonder. The effects teleport her out of the Sea Serpents constriction, makes her a medium creature for a short time, and causes her to cast magic missile at the Sea Serpent. Merigold takes out her broom of flying and takes to the air, she also readies her bow. With Del Varis in reach one of the Sea Serpents swat him with its tail, flinging him 30 feet away. Rosemary uses hit and run tactics on the Serpent that was constricting her, Amber begins to hurl eldritch blasts at the other Serpent. The Serpents are enraged, and they unleash their cold breath, hitting Uriel, Merigold, Del Varis and Rosemary. Del Varis attempts to move away and launch his needles but he's too cold to accurately strike. Uriel charges in with his lance, landing devastating strikes and Merigold begins firing volleys after volleys of arrows. The Sea Serpent land more blows on Rosemary (constricting her again) and Del Varis, Uriel kills one of the Sea Serpents with his lance, freeing Rosemary. Rosemary uses her staff of healing and Del Varis lands a few blows on the other Sea Serpent, Amber finishes off the last Sea Serpent with an empowered eldritch blast. Del Varis is able to salvage a gland that helps with its breath weapon and Uriel and Gregori attempt to pull one of the Sea Serpents out, but they realize it's a fabrication similar to what they found in the factory. They decide that it probably isn't edible and try to get a few more hours of travel in before they rest.
It is evening of the 33rd day of Leranth 2517 AGF
Report Date
27 Apr 2024
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