The Book of the Titan has long guided Yulia, leading her to ever greater adventures, and towards a destiny she is only beginning to understand. Its most recent demand is that she find a giant wizard with whom she should enact a specific and complex ritual. In her search for such a wizard, she has learned of a cloud giant named Zoarth that lives in the Kodar Mountains bordering the Lands of the Linnorm Kings. Unlike most of giantkind, Zoarth is not automatically hostile to the smaller races, although he does like his privacy. His castle lies at the very top of a high peak.
There is a road—more of a path, really—that ascends Mount Kallaris in the northwestern spur of the Kodar Mountains, allowing travelers to reach Zoarth’s castle. Yulia and Imperia are at the base of the path, after a long journey from their home. The trip up the path would be long and arduous on foot.
"So, how do you want to do this?" Imperia asks.
They can see that the top of the peak is enshrouded in a massive bank of clouds, extending what must be a mile in all directions from the top of the mountain. No matter the strength of the wind, the clouds never seem to move or drift.
The ever loyal Triva II "purrs" as his Oracle friend scratches behind his ear. The massive white tiger lazily yawns and settles into a sitting position, patiently waiting for future orders. Yulia lets out a gentle giggle at her best non-humanoid friend's antics.
"One moment, Imperia," Yulia answers as she closes her eyes to ponder the past. "I need to think; Lady Desna might have told me something important last night."
Question 1: Should we expect danger on the way up to Zoarth’s castle?
Question 2: Is my father Raelrunodin doing well?
Question 3: Is Jörmungandr doing anything of significance that will harm myself, Trigva, Imperia, or my family in the upcoming year?
Question 4: Huh. Got a bit sidetracked there. I mean, would a large bribe or an offered future favor be a good way to make Zoarth favorable toward us?
Question 5: Is Zoarth aware of our presence?
Question 6: Would approaching in my Four-Armed Gargoyle State be seen as hostile by Zoarth?
Question 7: Should we expect any traps if we travel up the mountain path?
Question 8: Should we expect an ambush if we travel up the mountain path?
Question 9: Would it be a wise idea to prepare for combat?
Question 10: Assuming we approach in an open and friendly manner, will Zoarth be willing to see us?
Question 11: Is Admiral Thrune doing well? You know, Imperia's father. She wants to know.
Question 12: Gah! Have to stop wasting questions! Hmmm... Will the weather be an obstacle today?
Question 13: Would just taking the mountain trail straight to the castle be the best approach?
Question 14: Is the price for Zoarth's help going to be heavy?
Question 15: Would it be better than the other proposed scenarios if Imperia and I went invisible and snuck our way up?
Question 16: I know you much prefer "Yes" or "No" questions, but is there anything you can tell me that might help with this quest? If not, thank you regardless, Lady Desna.
1) Yes
2) Yes?
3) Unclear
4) Unclear
5) No
6) Unclear
7) Unclear
8) Unclear
9) Always
10) Yes
11) Last time I cared to check.
12) Unclear
13) Unclear
14) Unclear
15) Unclear, but that's always more safe.
16) No, good luck.
Yulia's emerald green eyes snap open, and the Lunar Oracle wastes no time explaining what she knows to Imperia.
"Both of our fathers are doing well, which is always nice. Jörmungandr may or may not be up to something nefarious, which is always worrying. As for our approach, Zoarth isn't aware of our presence, so he is probably not actively monitoring the trail. Regardless of our approach, there will be danger on the way up. However, if we are openly and friendly, then Zoarth will be willing to see us, so it is not from him. Lady Desna also advises that we prepare for combat... which I completely neglected to this morning."
Yulia quickly tosses up some protective spells on herself, Trigva, and her equipment.
"You might want to do that False Life thing you do, Imp. Might as well," Yulia comments nonchalantly as she finished up with the casting.
The Lunar Oracle glances up the mountain path. "Given what we know, we really shouldn't split up. Keeping Trigva out would be wise too. Zoarth doesn't seem to have a problem with big tigers. Speaking of which, what lives up here, Imp? You always know that stuff."
While her friend thinks, Yulia decides to take a quick look up the trail.
"Giants, and animals mostly." Imperia responds to Yulia's question, before casting her own preparatory spells. She summons a suit of magical armor, and then casts false life.
Stepping up into the air she inquires, "Do you want to follow the path, or should we head straight for the peak?"
Yulia glances up at the clouds. The fact that none of them are moving worries her. Moreover, she had not gotten a decisive answer on the weather.
"Hmmm... While she knew that there'd be danger, Lady Desna sounded unsure about if we'd actually be attacked. I think that depends on our choice of path. Given the locals, let's just go straight to the peak. I'll renew the Air Walk spell as needed, but we can probably scale the mountain in forty minutes. Just keep your eyes peeled," says Yulia as she too steps into the air.
With that said, Yulia quickly makes some hand signs to Trigva, who stands up into the air and begins trotting alongside his allies. While walking without solid ground underfoot would normally freak out most animals, Trigva was smart enough and trained enough to just roll with it.
Meanwhile, with the skill of a hawk, Yulia keeps her eyes and ears open for any signs of danger.
Shortly after the three of them start their ascent they pass over four massive humanoids coifed in chain hauberks and carrying gigantic clubs studded with nails and barbs trudging up the road. Each is accompanied by a spike-collared wolf the size of a small horse. A fifth wolf, closer to the size of an elephant and draped in chain armor, walks ahead of the group. A group of bulging, bald men—large, but smaller than the armored giants—brings up the rear, carrying a large and heavy pallet laden with boulders between them. They’re wearing the same spiked collars as the wolves. The giants look up as the tiger and two women fly overhead, but the they just shrug and return to the work of lugging the pallet up the mountain.
Flying up the mountain path into the cloud is like entering the densest fog ever encountered. The cliché about being barely able to see your hand in front of your face is quite accurate here. Even two people ascending at the same time could only see each other if they huddled together. Still, the path itself, although little used, suggests a safe and relatively smooth passage to follow. They walk a few feet above the ground to keep the way in sight. Partway through the mist, Yulia needs to renew the air walk spell.
Once they near the peak the mist parts slightly. Standing at the pinnacle of the mountain, a truly remarkable sight rises overhead. A round castle of brass and glistening white stone floats amid and atop swirling clouds, rising like a massive pillar. Only a winding brass pathway, which starts at the mountaintop and swoops steadily upward, connects the castle with the ground. The Castle of Zoarth floats 150 feet above the mountain peak. It is 280 feet tall and 200 feet in diameter. The white stone blocks from which the structure is built are reinforced with glistening bands of brass and adorned with inset panels of dark, etched wood.
Yulia and friends can hear the sounds of distant combat and pounding coming from the castle.
Yulia's half-elven ears twitch at the sound of the distant combat.
"If I had to guess, the lesser giants are attacking Zoarth," Yulia postulates as she instinctively puts a hand on her cold iron sickle. She turns to her sorceress friend and adds, "Good call on the enemies, by the way."
Yulia carefully listens further.
"Before doing anything else, we need to know what's going on here," Yulia says to Imperia. "Given the prospective enemy, invisibility should do the trick. Cover yourself, and I'll get Trigva. Hold on to him, and I'll lead us all closer. Again, I'd rather not split the group."
Yulia activates her Ring of Invisibility and vanishes from sight. She quickly casts an identical spell on Trigva and waits for Imperia to do the same for herself. Once everyone has vanished from sight, the Lunar Oracle leads the group toward the battle.
Imperia nods, making herself invisible as well. She grabs gently onto the tiger's tail. "Do you want to walk up that brass ramp, or airwalk up to the door? I can't see anything clearly in this fog, the fight might be happening on the ramp."
"Let's keep to the ramp," answers Yulia's disembodied voice. "There might be clues along the way."
A 10-foot-wide walkway of reinforced brass winds up and around to the entrance of the keep. The slope of the path is fairly steep. The entrance is 150 feet above the mountaintop. As the three of them are walking up the spiral it curves all the way around the castle, circling it once before swinging back to the main doors. The sound of repetative booming and banging grows louder as they climb. About halfway up the spiral it suddenly jerks and shudders without any warning.
Yulia falls right off the spiral. Trigva tries to snatch at where she was a second ago with his paw, but she's already gone. Luckily the airwalk spell makes it more of an embarrassment than a fall ending with several broken bones and a lot of pain. There's a tense moment as the shaking subsides and then Imperia whispers, "Everyone okay?" After receiving confirmation, the group continues on.
After a while more of walking, they come to the source of the booming noise. A group of giants have broken a huge breach in the side of the keep's wall and are in a pitched battle there. There is is a giant in black leather armor haphazardly studded with bolts and bits of metal. His face is swollen and misshapen as if he has been battered and bruised regularly and often and his features have never truly had time to heal. Scars cover his face and bald head, and his narrow eyes glare darkly. His hands appear to be giant metal hammer heads and he clangs them together as he moves forward.
In a large hall beyond the violent breach in the wall, six giants smash what appears to be a living, swirling cloud. One of the giants is slightly taller than his fellows, with rough, gray skin like granite. The body of a dead giant lies on the ground nearby. A pair of gigantic corpses lies on the spiral path, blackened and burned. The interior hall is a place of serene beauty, with marble busts on tall columns, a white and blue carpet with a delicate, woven pattern, and silver and white banners draped across the vaulted ceiling and hanging down the walls. The crude and ugly nature of the invaders and the violence they bring with them feels like a blight upon this elegant place.
Yulia ponders if any of the giants match any description of Zoarth that the group has.
Initiative
Hill Giants 12
Yulia 11
Bruiser 6
Stone Giant 5
Imperia 4
The hill giants are completely oblivious to the invisible trio in their midst, and they continue to attack the large elemental blocking their way further into the keep with their clubs, and pelting it with boulders. From her past experiences with such creatures Yulia can tell the elemental badly damaged already and won't last much longer.
The Ulfen blood in Yulia makes her crack an eager grin at the prospect of combat. However, the Elven blood in her causes the Lunar Oracle to strategize rather than draw her weapons and charge straight into the fray. After whispering for Trigva to wait for her signal, she carefully tip-toes around the hill giant in front of her. Once she has created a clear path for Trigva to attack, Yulia takes a moment to power up. The half-elf leans forward in mild discomfort as her magic alters her form.
Yulia quickly begins to enlarge to a size equal to her giant foes, and her skin changes from fair to ash stone grey. Her teeth sharpen, her mouth lengthens into a short, beastial snout, and her hands start to reform as claws. Yulia's legs reshape into something akin to the hind ones of Trigva. The half-elf's beautiful blonde hair recedes into her head, leaving her effectively bald; it is quickly replaced by a pair of long, wicked horns. An extra pair of arms jut out of her body, weaving through the wide sleeves of her kimono. To complete her change, a tail and large pair of wings sprout from her body. In short, Yulia assumes the form of a four-armed gargoyle, albeit an oddly but strikingly beautiful one.
After her transformation is complete, Yulia surges her magic throughout her being, enhancing all of her new natural weapons. Just for good effect, she channels a bit of the Book's power into them, making her strikes particularly deadly against giants. Once finished empowering herself, Yulia makes a clicking sound with her new stone tongue, a long established signal for Trigva to attack the nearest enemy.
Upon hearing the signal, Trigva charges forward with fierce roar. His sights quickly lock on the suspecting hill giant in front of him. The giant tiger's illusion of invisibility quickly shatters as he lunges on his foe in a flurry of claw and teeth.
With Triva's cover broken, Imperia prefers to keep quiet and low key. As usual, she plans to let her more boisterous allies do the fighting. The first thing the Chelish sorceress does is empower her friend's animal companion. Her arcane magic quickly surges through Trigva II, causing the tiger to double in size and strength.
_____________________________________________
The hill giants are completely oblivious to the invisible trio in their midst, and they continue to attack the large elemental blocking their way further into the keep with their clubs, and pelting it with boulders. From her past experiences with such creatures Yulia can tell the elemental badly damaged already and won't last much longer.
The Ulfen blood in Yulia makes her crack an eager grin at the prospect of combat. However, the Elven blood in her causes the Lunar Oracle to strategize rather than draw her weapons and charge straight into the fray. After whispering for Trigva to wait for her signal, she carefully tip-toes around the hill giant in front of her. Once she has created a clear path for Trigva to attack, Yulia takes a moment to power up. The half-elf leans forward in mild discomfort as her magic alters her form.
Yulia quickly begins to enlarge to a size equal to her giant foes, and her skin changes from fair to ash stone grey. Her teeth sharpen, her mouth lengthens into a short, bestial snout, and her hands start to reform as claws. Yulia's legs reshape into something akin to the hind ones of Trigva. The half-elf's beautiful blonde hair recedes into her head, leaving her effectively bald; it is quickly replaced by a pair of long, wicked horns. An extra pair of arms jut out of her body, weaving through the wide sleeves of her kimono. To complete her change, a tail and large pair of wings sprout from her body. In short, Yulia assumes the form of a four-armed gargoyle, albeit an oddly but strikingly beautiful one.
After her transformation is complete, Yulia surges her magic throughout her being, enhancing all of her new natural weapons. Just for good effect, she channels a bit of the Book's power into them, making her strikes particularly deadly against giants. Once finished empowering herself, Yulia makes a clicking sound with her new stone tongue, a long established signal for Trigva to attack the nearest enemy.
Upon hearing the signal, Trigva charges forward with fierce roar. His sights quickly lock on the suspecting hill giant in front of him. The giant tiger's illusion of invisibility quickly shatters as he lunges on his foe in a flurry of claw and teeth. Only his teeth and one of his claws manage to penetrate the giant's armor and thick hide. Even then the wounds are superficial.
The hammer-fisted giant shouts in surprise before responding in kind, lashing out with its adamantine bludgeons. The nimble tiger dodges the brunt of the blows, and his mage armor protects him from the rest of the force.
Inside the castle, the stone giant is as of yet unaware of the developments on the spiral, he continues to attack the elemental, bashing it about with his club.
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Miss
Miss
After seeing the sheer force behind the hammer-fisted giant's blows, Imperia instinctively gulps. The Sage Sorceress quickly throws up another protective spell for good measure. If not for her invisibility, there would be totally of five Imperias on the battlefield.
Imperia casts a spell and Trigva grows to dwarf the giant.
--------------------------------
Yulia and Imperia can hear the hill giants inside doing something, but they can no longer see them. Suddenly two small boulders come flying out of the breech at Trigva. They both miss horribly.
__________________________________
Yulia makes another click with her stone tongue and then strikes the giant before her with all her might. Her cover of invisibility shatters, but she still catches the enemy by surprise. With her new razor sharp teeth, she aims a bite at his neck. Her four arms then lash out at weak points in her foe's armor. She manages to jam her third claw into an artery, drawing pools of blood from the hill giant. She ends her reign of blows with her horns, which are aimed at the deadly would her third claw created.
Trigva attacks at the same time. Once more the tiger is a flurry of teeth and claws. In his eagerness to attack, one of his claws goes wide, but the rest look to be better hits than his first barrage.
After seeing the sheer force behind the hammer-fisted giant's blows and the flying rocks, Imperia instinctively gulps. The Sage Sorceress quickly throws up another protective spell for good measure. If not for her invisibility, there would be totally of five Imperias on the battlefield.
________________________________________________
Yulia
Trigva
Yulia and Imperia can hear the hill giants inside doing something, but they can no longer see them. Suddenly two small boulders come flying out of the breech at Trigva. They both miss horribly.
Yulia makes another click with her stone tongue and then strikes the giant before her with all her might. Her cover of invisibility shatters, but she still catches the enemy by surprise. With her new razor sharp teeth, she aims a bite at his neck. Her four arms then lash out at weak points in her foe's armor. By the time her third claw tears through the giant's leather armor, there is little left of the massive obese humanoid than chunks of blubber and grisly torn muscles and shattered bone in a sack of skin. The dead giant slumps and falls off the brass spiral, tumbling down to smack the ground with a sickening wet crunch below.
"Helvete! Hva skjedde med Hungarrr? Danner en linje!" comes the deep booming cry from within.
Still under orders to attack, Trigva quickly advances into room and tries to take a bite out of the nearest hill giant in sight. Unfortunately, the brute somehow manages to deflect the blow with his weapon. Nonetheless, Trigva gets ready for a second flurry of claws.
____________________________
The stone giant runs up to Trigva and swings his greatclub at the tiger. He strikes a solid blow, but it rebounds harmlessly off the thick magical armor coating the huge cat.
Miss
After seeing the sheer force behind the hammer-fisted giant's blows and the flying rocks, Imperia instinctively gulps. The Sage Sorceress quickly throws up another protective spell for good measure. If not for her invisibility, there would be totally of five Imperias on the battlefield.
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Initiative
Hill Giants 12
Yulia 11
Bruiser 6
Stone Giant 5
Imperia 4
The hill giants quickly move to surround the massive tiger and begin walloping him with their huge wooden and metal clubs.
Miss
Crit
Miss
Hit
Miss
Miss
Miss
Miss
Most of the blows are deflected by the animal's magical protection, but one club strikes Trigva solidly and resoundingly in the forehead, cracking his skull. The tiger yowls in pain.
Trigva roars in agony as one of the giants' club busts his head open. Without receiving instruction from Yulia, Triva hurls himself at the enemy who made him bleed. His fury causes him to miss a blow or two, but the giant white tiger still manages to nail at least one good hit.
Yulia takes a more tactical approach. Using one her claws, she beckons her sorceress friend over. Once she feels Imperia grasp one of her arms, Yulia the Gargoyle says, "D-Door us behind that giant."
Imperia wearily nods, and with a single word, she and Yulia vanish from existence... only to appear in the room a split second later. With a fierce battle roar of her own, Yulia unleashes a hail of claw, teeth, and horn upon the nearest enemy in sight.
The hill giants quickly move to surround the massive tiger and begin walloping him with their huge wooden and metal clubs. Most of the blows are deflected by the animal's magical protection, but one club strikes Trigva solidly and resoundingly in the forehead, cracking his skull. The tiger yowls in pain.
Trigva roars in agony as one of the giants' club busts his head open. Without receiving instruction from Yulia, Triva hurls himself at the enemy who made him bleed. His fury causes him to miss a blow or two, but the giant white tiger still manages to nail at least one good hit.
Yulia takes a more tactical approach. Using one her claws, she beckons her sorceress friend over. Once she feels Imperia grasp one of her arms, Yulia the Gargoyle says, "D-Door us behind that giant."
The stone giant swings his club twice at Trigva, trying to crush the giant tiger before it can wreak more havoc on his giants. The tiger's mythic armor is enough to protect him once again, as the giant's heavy blows rebound from the field of force.
Imperia wearily nods. She walks over to Yulia, and touches her. She chants a brief incantation and a door appears in reality. With a single step, she and Yulia vanish from existence... only to appear in the room a split second later through a twin door. With a fierce battle roar of her own, Yulia unleashes a hail of claw, teeth, and horn upon the nearest enemy in sight. She detroys the giant that Trigva just finished biting, and manages to also claw and gore another of the giants from behind.
-----------------------------
The hill giants whirl at the huge roaring gargoyle in their midst and begin to attack it instead of the invincible tiger. The swing at Yulia with their greatclubs, screaming in a combination of dull brutish terror and battle lust.
__________________________________
Miss
Miss
Target you and touched objects or other touched willing creatures
Imperia is certainly used to bloodshed. Such things are to be expected growing up with an Admiral father who insisted on dragging her along on his missions when she had been a child. Some of the things Imperia had seen hunting pirates in the Shackles really hardened her tolerance for gore.
However, it is times like this when Imperia sometimes wishes that she had stayed in Cheliax. Sure, it would have meant a terrible afterlife in the misogynistic Hell, but at least the Chelish are civilized people. They make their kills quick and clean. The Ulfen and other residences of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings just plain take violence to the next level.
As Yulia and Trigva aim their claws, teeth, and horns at the weakened hill giant, Imperia opts to keep quiet and stare at the ground, hoping that it will all be over soon. Her companions certainly seem to have things under control. Why bother getting in their way?
_________________________________
Trig (All Flanking):
Yuyu (All Flanking):
The hill giants whirl at the huge roaring gargoyle in their midst and begin to attack it instead of the invincible tiger. The swing at Yulia with their greatclubs, screaming in a combination of dull brutish terror and battle lust. None of their blows do any damage to the great cat.
Imperia is certainly used to bloodshed. Such things are to be expected growing up with an Admiral father who insisted on dragging her along on his missions when she had been a child. Some of the things Imperia had seen hunting pirates in the Shackles really hardened her tolerance for gore.
However, it is times like this when Imperia sometimes wishes that she had stayed in Cheliax. Sure, it would have meant a terrible afterlife in the misogynistic Hell, but at least the Chelish are civilized people. They make their kills quick and clean. The Ulfen and other residences of the Lands of the Linnorm Kings just plain take violence to the next level.
As Yulia and Trigva aim their claws, teeth, and horns at the weakened hill giant, Imperia opts to keep quiet and stare at the ground, hoping that it will all be over soon. Her companions certainly seem to have things under control. Why bother getting in their way?
Another two giants fall to the floor under Trigva and Yulia's combined efforts. She also begins savaging a third, tearing a huge chunk out of its chest with her fourth claw.
--------------------------------
The reamaining hill giants scream in abject terror as they watch their companions cut down like infants before them. The stumble back, shaking in fear and drop their clubs. "We no sign up for this! No kill us!"
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Initiative
Hill Giants 12
Yulia 11
Bruiser 6
Stone Giant 5
Imperia 4
"Stay," Yulia calmly orders Trigva as she turns her attention to the wounded hill giant. She does not want any of them fleeing, and her animal companion will serve as a wonderful roadblock to prevent just that. The Half-Elf Gargoyle moves herself toward the hurt enemy as demands, "Put up your weapon and fight."
While mercy isn't exactly common in the Land of the Linnorm Kings, Yulia Rockne at least tries to show some honor in battle. The Lunar Oracle finds no satisfaction in mindless slaughter. True, she might occasionally resort to unorthodox tactics, but that only happens when the enemy doesn't play fair themselves. These hill giants have at least fought like warriors.
Meanwhile, Trivga stays put as ordered, but the giant white tiger sets his sights on the lone enemy stone giant, a foe perfectly within reach. The feline lunges at the stone giant, but he proves to be more competent than his lackeys. He at least masterfully deflects both of Trigva's claws.
____________________________________
Trigva:
The tiger bites through the stone giant's rocky skin, drawing blood but not seriously wounding the larger giant. He returns the favor by trying to slam Trigva around with his stone club. As skilled a warrior as the giant may be, Trigva's magical defenses remain impenetrable.
The hill giant shakes his head, holding up his hands and wincing, expecting to be gutted the rest of the way at any moment. "I want work for you!"
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Without lowering her guard (her four arms are still clearly raised to strike), Yulia asks the remaining giants, "Why are you attacking Zoarth?"
The stone giant screams at the two surrendering hill giants in their own tongue, "Begynne å slåss eller for kjærligheten til Gorum Grunf vil tårer du biter mye saktere enn dette gargoyle tispe noensinne kunne!"
The giants look torn for a second at their racial cousin's outburst, but appear to steel themselves and get ready to keep fighting.
Round 5:
"I wish I spoke Giant," Yulia grumbles in her mind. Her father speaks practically every language known, so the Lunar Oracle finds it slightly embarrassing that she knows all of four.
However, seeing the hill giants steady their resolve, Yulia gives them a content smirk and takes the time to cast a quick spell while waiting for them to pick up their weapons. After uttering a brief prayer to Desna, the Gargoyle feels the Star Goddess' divine might surge through her.
Round 6:
After the Hill Giants have pick up their weapons and/or resume combat, Yulia readily returns the favor. She unleashes yet another reign of blows upon the nearest hill giant, once again landing several heavy hits with her teeth and claws. Her fourth claw strike is particularly devastating, tearing clean through the hill giant's armor right near his heart.
Meanwhile, guarding the exit all the while, Trigva continues to duke it out with the stone giant. However, his foe once again proves to be quite skilled. Despite taking one bite to the arm, he manages to deflect the tiger's claws and second bite attempt with ease.
Not knowing giant herself, Imperia instead tries to commit the words to memory. Maybe Zorath can decipher them if she repeats them to the cloud giant. Based on how they motivated the hill giants, something important was clearly said...
________________________________________
Round 5:
Round 6:
Yulia:
Trigva:
Yulia shreds the hill giant and the stone giant, and Trigva bites the remaining hill giant. Then a second later Yulia steps up and turns him into a pile of raw meat.
The keep is beautiful on the inside, serene and elegant in its construction and decor. Most everything is white, blue, or silver. Rare woods and stone can be found throughout, and silver inlay, other precious metals, and even semiprecious stones were used liberally to tastefully adorn every aspect.
Everything inside the structure is scaled for a giant about 15–18 feet tall. The doors are all massive and heavy, made of brass with inset wooden panels. The furnishings are far too large for humans to use easily. A full-grown human sitting in a chair found here would appear smaller than a child or a halfling. On average, ceilings range from 30 to 50 feet in height.
Several moments after the battle subsides, a cat approaches them from the open doorway. It speaks. "“Please. I need your help. I’m in the central hall holding off the main force, but some… thing is at the foundation. Somehow, it’s causing damage. I don’t know how that’s possible, but please find it and stop it. Any stairway that you find can take you down to it—it’s at the very bottom of the keep.”
Imperia quirks her head and says, "Someone is speaking through the cat using some variation of an animal messenger or whispering wind effect." The cat runs away after it speaks.
Yulia leaves the stone giant's armor for now. It is much too heavy for them to be lugging around the castle during a siege. Moreover, without an actual Bag of Holding (as opposed to her dinky Handy Haversack), they had no way to carry it.
However, as Imperia searches for paperwork and collects the giant's money, Yuyu eagerly scoops up the gauntlets and attaches them to her extra set of hands.
Yulia listens carefully to both the cat and Imperia. "Well, let's go help Zoarth. He said "please" after all. Moreover, I don't want this place crumbling down on my head."
Before they depart, Yulia takes the chance to tap into the Book of the Titan's immense power. In an instant, she flashbacks to the memories of a former wielder, one who could use the gauntlets to their full potential. She pauses for a second to assimilate the new information before turning to Imperia.
"Let's go."
If there are no further objections, Yulia leads the party down the nearest staircase.
It is easy to find a staircase; three run up and down the entire height of the structure. These staircases are open shafts 50 feet across with stairs spiraling around the sides. The steps are made of white granite and are sized for giants—they are 12 feet wide with a steep incline. The bottom 50 feet of the shaft is shrouded in thick, white mist like that found outside—beyond 5 feet, creatures and objects have total concealment.
The stairway spirals down an open shaft through the thick mist. Eventually the stair stops and the mist becomes solid like a floor. This area is a chamber of sorts whose the floor, walls, and ceiling are also solid mist. The central portion of the chamber is a column of white mist sixty feet across. Near it is a bizarre creature that looks like a humanoid insect, twelve feet tall with a long tail and a thick, ice-blue carapace. It wields a wickedly barbed spear in both hands and is stabbing it into the misty column. With each blow, a portion of the mist turns to ice and shatters into a thousand brittle bits. Every third blow or so, the entire castle shudders and shakes. A giant with pale, blue-white skin and a scraggly white beard crusted with its own frozen drool guards the creature. The giant stands hunched over and looks toward the staircase with a weird, half-vacant look.
"That's an ice devil! Very dangerous Yuyu, be careful. I would guess that from the look of that frost giant that the devil was possessing him. They must be linked somehow," Imperia informs Yulia.
Initiative:
Imperia 23
Ice Devil 18+
Yulia/Trigva 18-
Bran Fir 4
"Mind Slowing them down for me, Imp?" Yulia asks Imperia as she rotates one of her four arms to stretch it.
Imperia nods and walks slightly closer to the enemy to get a line of sight. Truth be told, she isn't sure that she will do much to the devil, but the Chelish woman figures that her magic can at least hinder the frost giant. Seeing that she has the drop on their enemies, Imperia wastes no more time and belts them with a powerful hindering spell.
"Mind Slowing them down for me, Imp?" Yulia asks Imperia as she rotates one of her four arms to stretch it.
Imperia nods and walks slightly closer to the enemy to get a line of sight. Truth be told, she isn't sure that she will do much to the devil, but the Chelish woman figures that her magic can at least hinder the frost giant. Seeing that she has the drop on their enemies, Imperia wastes no more time and belts them with a powerful hindering spell. The giant is affected, but Imperia's magic dissolves around the devil. "Those devils are difficult to affect with magic, they're immune to fire, cold and poison, regenerate and require good aligned weapons to harm!"
The ice devil completely ignores the intruders continuing to stab the column of mist with his spear, and lash it with his barbed tail.
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Yulia nods at Imperia's advice and quickly acts accordingly. First thing is first; greatly hindered by her friend's magic, the frost giant should be little problem for Trigva to handle. Yulia clicks her tongue again and points a finger at the possessed creature.
With a fierce growl, Trigva practically flies across the frozen floor, claws tearing into the icy ground as he travels. In an instant, he is upon the frost giant. He quickly pounces his foe, unleashing a flurry of teeth and claws as he lounges.
Meanwhile, Yulia readies herself. She taps into her latent arcane blood to enhance her strikes and then channels some of the Book's power to further empower them. She utters a mighty Ulfen cry as she calls forth the Divine Power of Desna, causing Yulia's stone muscles to promptly surge in size. Now feeling strong enough to properly fight the ice devil, Yulia stalks forward, an eager grin on her face.
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Trigva (Charging):
The possessed giant howls under Trigva's claws and then whirls and swings his greataxe at the tiger.
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Trigva roars in agony as the giant's greataxe cuts deep into his hide, sending blood gushing everywhere. Imperia winces as the tiger staggers to recover. Without fully thinking her options through, she moves closer to melee to help Trigva and begins channeling a wicked black energy through her finger tips. Once she has a shot, the Sage Sorceress takes it.
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Imperia's spell hits the giant, and it lurches under the effect. The ice devil continues to attack the column of mist supporting the castle, causing the structure to shudder more.
With a fierce battle cry, Yulia lounges at the ice devil. She quickly puts her new adamantine gauntlets to good use and lets loose a series of three powerful punches. She then follows them up with two swipes from her free claws, a bite to the outsider's neck, and a gore attack to the eyes. However, the ice devil reacts insanely quickly, spines around, and blocks and dodges the majority of her attacks.
Trigva continues to engage the frost giant. The tiger promptly growls at his foe and strikes once more with his teeth and claws. However, the brute proves to be quite evasive and dodges his bite and first claw swing. Only Trivga's natural dexterity allows him to recover and catch the giant's knee with his second claw attack, leaving a deep cut in its wake.
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Yulia:
Trigva:
The frost giant retaliates against the tiger, swinging his greataxe again. His wounds and the debilitating magic of the mythic pair of heroes is getting to him though, and his axe misses. He attempts to cleave through to Yulia, but also misses.
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Miss
Initiative:
Imperia 23
Ice Devil 18+
Yulia/Trigva 18-
Bran Fir 4
With the battle at something of a standstill, Imperia decides to call forth some extra assistance. If nothing else, she can help Trigva bring down the giant while Yuyu deals with the devil. Her course of action decided, the Sage Sorceress quickly takes a small hop toward the battle and begins calling forth one of Trigva's celestial brothers.
The ice devil whirls and brings its weapons to bear on the annoying gargoyle. "Я собираюсь заморозить вашей грудной клетки и носить его как жилет, земной!"
The devil manages to plunge its frigid spear into Yulia's belly, and then bites down hard on one of her arms when she brings it up to block.
Crit
Crit
=34
Pass