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Ghourmand Vale (3.5 campaign)
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<blockquote data-quote="Richards" data-source="post: 9082065" data-attributes="member: 508"><p><strong>ADVENTURE 28: SECURITY DEPOSIT</strong></p><p></p><p>PC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Ageratum Purslane, halfling rogue 8</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Alistair Mandelberen Pastlethwaite, human sorcerer 8</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Chaevaris Noarunal, elf archer 8</p> <p style="margin-left: 20px"> Harlan Starblade, half-elf paladin 8</p><p></p><p>NPC Roster:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px">Orchid, elf druid 8</p><p></p><p>Game Session Date: 27 July 2023</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>The five adventurers spent the night in the stone giant quarry - more specifically, in the extradimensional house behind the door keyed to Chaevaris's magic necklace, once she placed the door incongruously along the stone wall of the quarry's interior. But after they spent the night in slumber, they found the next morning that the stone giants had spent the evening dumping the corpses of the hill giants into the combat pit and filling it back up, leaving behind no evidence of their recent intrusion into the lair of the Karkaletch Stone Giant Clan.</p><p></p><p>After talking to Blue Lichen and learning the exact location of the hill giants' former lair - the place she and an escort party of orcs and an ogre had been sent to fetch hill giant hooch for a party at the quarry - the adventurers vowed to go check it out and take care of any of the remaining invaders who had been sent there to fetch any items (perhaps treasure?) the hill giants wanted moved into their new lair, that of the stone giant quarry. According to Blue Lichen, it was about 50 minutes away on foot, shorter on horseback. So, once they'd gotten their bearings, the heroes were off to find the former hill giant lair: a single story (albeit 20-foot-high) wooden structure off in a forested area.</p><p></p><p>The dwelling wasn't difficult to find, as tall as it was. Orchid cast a <em>barkskin</em> spell upon herself and then wildshaped into an eagle, joining the grackle Ambrose on an aerial scouting mission around the premises. Ambrose returned to report there was just the main entrance to the building, the pair of doors that were currently both open, while four orcs scurried back and forth into and out of the building, dragging in orcish items from the sledge out front and bringing back out items belonging to the hill giants. It seemed that while the hill giants were planning on moving into the stone giant quarry on a permanent basis, the orcs were planning on moving into the giants' massive building. Their alliance, it seemed, had been a temporary one. There was an ogre standing outside the door, apparently serving as security while the orcs did all of the lugging back and forth - it was up in the air whether he'd be joining the hill giants at the quarry or remaining with the orcs when the sledge was filled up and ready to go. He was armed with a greatclub and some javelins, while the orcs wielded blades, likely falchions but difficult to identify from the distance between them and the observing heroes.</p><p></p><p>"What about hill giants?" asked Chaevaris. "Did you see any inside?" Ambrose explained there had been at least two in the back of the dwelling, although they'd been talking to someone off to the side he couldn't see.</p><p></p><p>"And no other ways in but the front door?" asked Alistair.</p><p></p><p>"Just the hole in the roof above the fire pit," replied his familiar. Alistair mused a bit. "It would be nice to seal that off somehow," he said. "Maybe we can smoke everyone out and force them to come through the front door, where we could pick them off at range." There were trees scattered here and there between where they stood and the door to the giants' building, but the sorcerer knew Chaevaris would have no trouble targeting them from this distance - some 150 feet away - and he could likewise toss <em>magic missile</em> spells at them from this far back with no problem or loss of efficacy. He looked around for something he could shrink and have Ambrose drop over the roof opening, until Ageratum reminded him he already had something at hand: the shrunken cloth form of the red dragon they'd slain. "You know, that should do the trick!" replied Alistair.</p><p></p><p>A plan quickly formed: Ageratum would ride with Harlan upon Nova, who would fly around in a wide arc and approach the building from the rear, flying low so the orcs wouldn't see their approach. Then they'd drop off Ageratum onto the roof, and she'd drop the cloth dragon on the edge of the hole, dispelling the <em>shrink item</em> spell Alistair had cast days ago and reverting the dragon corpse to its full size, blocking the hole in the roof and causing the building interior to fill up with smoke. Harlan and Nova would then land along the northern side of the building, while Orchid cast a <em>spike growth</em> spell covering the forty feet in front of the building, around the door. That would cause the orcs and ogre to hurt themselves if they moved, while Alistair and Chaevaris sniped at them from a safe distance, firing only when the smoke no longer rose from the roof of the building - that would be the signal to attack. The other mounts would stay far back, behind the two snipers, where they'd be safe; safer still with Ambrose and Shushitan looking after them.</p><p></p><p>Orchid flew ahead to get into position, while Ageratum climbed up behind Harlan on Nova and the celestial pegasus took to the skies. The little halfling stifled the desire to whoop aloud at the feel of flying so fast above the trees - this was something she could easily get used to! But soon enough Nova pulled up, flapping his wings furiously to stay in more or less one place above the rooftop while Ageratum took her cue and leaped quietly onto the roof. She crept over to the smoke rising up from the hole before her, unrolled the cloth Alistair had given her, and tapped it on the edge of the hole. It instantly took on the full size and shape of the slain red dragon; she was now holding the end of its tail. And sure enough, its bulk blocked off the hole almost completely, as planned.</p><p></p><p>Orchid cast her <em>spike growth</em> spell and was pleased to hear two of the orcs discover the hidden spikes the hard way - by stepping upon them. One froze where he stood, fearful of what was hurting his feet, while another took additional steps to get back into the dwelling, where he was glad to see the invisible spikes did not extend. But both orcs now had bloody soles and a fear of approaching the sledge. Their fear didn't last long, however, for Alistair split a <em>magic missile</em> spell between the two of them, two missiles striking each orc and sending them immediately into unconsciousness, the one still outside landing face-first on a series of spikes and only hurting himself even more.</p><p></p><p>Chaevaris unleashed an arrow at the ogre, causing him to roar in surprise and sudden fury. He spun about, looking for who might have shot him, just as Harlan approached from the northern side of the dwelling. Greatclub in hand to punish his attacker - not even noticing in his anger that the half-elf paladin had no bow in hand, just his <em>flaming burst longsword</em> - he ran up to Harlan, only to hop about in pain as the soles of his enormous feet were pierced multiple times by unseen spikes as he moved through the druid's <em>spike growth</em> spell's area of effect. To make matters worse, he collapsed at the end of his swing, falling unconscious to the ground at the paladin's feet, bleeding from his feet and from the arrow shaft sticking out of the side of his torso. Knowing the <em>Blood Mirror</em> would stabilize the ogre and that Ageratum was still up on the roof, the paladin decided to do the "cleanup" job she normally did and slit the ogre's throat with his own blade.</p><p></p><p>Inside the dwelling, the two hill giants had noticed it was darker inside the building, for there was no light coming from the ceiling. They also noticed the smoke piling up along the ceiling and started pointing and talking about it in their own guttural language with the unknown individual out of view. Outside, Orchid flew to the sledge and used it as a perch, then cast a <em>summon swarm</em> spell inside the giants' building, causing a swarm of bats to manifest halfway between the open front doors and the blazing fire pit inside.</p><p></p><p>The two orcs inside the building took a moment trying to kick awake the orc Alistair had laid low, and who'd managed to land inside the doorway instead of on the hidden spikes. They then stepped outside and experienced the pain of the <em>spike growth</em> spell for themselves. The one closest to the sledge tried shooing Orchid away, think she was nothing more than a normal bird of prey. Another <em>magic missile</em> spell split between the two orcs took them both out as well.</p><p></p><p>Up on the roof, Ageratum ran forward to see if she could help fight off their foes now that she'd done her job plugging up the smoke-hole. She was a bit surprised to see everyone either unconscious or dead, but figured there must be more inside and the smoke would likely force them out in the open. And as for the two hill giants inside the building, Chaevaris's keen elven eyesight allowed her to draw a bead on one of them, even though she stood 150 feet away from the open doorway. The other one gave a sudden shout and started running forward, no doubt having noticed the orcs laying sprawled on the floor and the ground outside instead of loading up the sledge as they were supposed to be doing. As the second one moved forward, Chaevaris let loose her arrow, to plunge unerringly into the hill giant's chest, causing him to decrease his speed in sudden shock - and then be swarmed by hundreds of flying bats, who bit him all over with their sharp teeth. In a matter of mere moments, he was a bloody mess, roaring in pain and fury.</p><p></p><p>But then the hidden figure stepped into view from the back of the dwelling. It was another ogre, this one also wielding a greatclub, but one seemingly crafted with great care. He ran even faster than the hill giants despite his slightly smaller stature, and headed directly for the open doorway. Orchid, still perched on the sledge, cast a <em>produce flame</em> spell and tossed the resulting ball of fire at the ogre but missed, and then decided discretion was the better part of valor and flapped away - she had no desire to experience getting swatted with that greatclub!</p><p></p><p>Ageratum wasn't sure what was about to pop out of the doorway - she was still up on the roof and couldn't see into the building - but she figured now would be a good time for her to cast a <em>web</em> spell across the building's main opening. Having used that ability from her <em>cloak of arachnida</em>, she immediately used another one and started walking down the sheer front wall of the building, as eager to see what she might catch in her web as any hungry spider.</p><p></p><p>Alistair was able to see the hill giant on the left barreling down the central hallway of the building, so he sent a <em>magic missile</em> spell flying his way, this time letting all four missiles find the same target. The spell's energy-darts had no trouble finding their way through the strands of the <em>web</em> spell covering the open doorway. Harlan, unable to reach the doorway without stepping into the field of hidden spikes, walked around them to an area 40 feet in front of the open doorway, and started hitting his sword against his shield, calling on the giants to come outside and face him.</p><p></p><p>The ogre barbarian charged directly into the <em>web</em> spell, swinging his greatclub before him, hoping to push it out of his way as he ran outside. That plan failed on two completely different fronts, for the <em>web</em> not only failed to break, it adhered to the greatclub and when the ogre went falling backwards, his weapon did not come with him; rather, it hung in the middle of the webbing, seemingly floating of its own accord. The hill giants then each made it to one corner of the front area, flanking the webbed open doorway between them, allowing the front walls on either side of the door to shield them from arrows and <em>magic missile</em> spells alike.</p><p></p><p>Orchid, still in eagle form and perched on a branch, allowed another ball of fire to manifest over an outstretched wing, ready to toss at any of the giants if they exited the building, but knowing the webbing would likely burn if she threw her fire spell at it. Inside the dwelling, the bats continued their attack upon the hill giant they'd first swarmed around, not letting up with their attacks. Ageratum walked down the wall and directly onto her web, stabbing down between her legs at the ogre on the other side, mistakenly thinking he'd been stuck to the webbing - but no, he was only in close proximity, trying and failing to extricate his weapon from the sticky strands. Her quick stabbing motion missed the ogre, but Alistair could now see him and used him as his next <em>magic missile</em> target, blasting him through the webs and into his barrel chest.</p><p></p><p>Since his taunts weren't getting him anywhere, Harlan whistled for his mount and Nova came flying up to land behind him. Jumping up onto the celestial pegasus's broad back, the two rose into the air again. And Chaevaris aimed another arrow at the ogre barbarian, holding her shot until she could be sure the little halfling wouldn't be in the way. The ogre barbarian allowed the rage at being denied his greatclub overcome his other sensibilities, snarling as he tried pulling it free. Off to his right, the hill giant unencumbered by bats swung his own greatclub into the webbing, trying to brush it all away with the power of his blow, but to no avail. The second hill giant staggered out of the bat swarm cloud and tried the same maneuver, with the same results; at the very least, neither hill giant got his own weapon stuck in the sticky fibers. But then the bats swarmed all over the same giant again, battering him with their leathery wings and biting him with their sharp teeth. His instinctive defensive swats crushed a few individual bats, but the overall power of the swarm was undiminished.</p><p></p><p>About this time, Orchid realized the spikes were no long really serving any useful purpose and were in fact preventing Harlan from getting into the action, so she dismissed the <em>spike growth</em> spell. Unable to tell the others what she'd done while in her eagle form, she merely called out in an avian cry and hoped they'd understand her likely actions. Ageratum connected her blade with the ogre's flesh on her second attempt at stabbing down between her legs while standing sideways on the webs. And then four more glowing darts of energy came flying down from over her head as Alistair cast another <em>magic missile</em> spell at the ogre.</p><p></p><p>Nova flew over the area where the spikes had been and Harlan bent over the side to bring his flaming longsword severing the head of one of the unconscious orcs - if he couldn't fight off a more immediate threat, he could at least ensure those they'd already downed didn't get back up. And then Chaevaris found her shot as Ageratum stepped away from the web, fearing being knocked off by any further greatclub swings from either of the giants. The archer's arrow found its mark in the ogre's chest as he tried crashing through the web, which not only didn't free his weapon or break through the web but only got himself entangled in its strands.</p><p></p><p>The southernmost hill giant tried freeing his ogre companion by striking at the web with his own weapon, but it too failed to break all the way through the tough strands, although it did rip one corner of the webbing away from the south side of the doorway. The other hill giant tried to do the same but only managed to get his own greatclub enmeshed in the sticky webbing. He staggered back from the web, cursing, and was immediately engulfed in the cloud of bats again.</p><p></p><p>Ageratum leaped back onto the webs, stabbing the ogre for all she was worth. She pierced his armor twice, and then another <em>magic missile</em> from 150 feet away took the fight out of the massive barbarian; he fell forward into unconsciousness, his overly-large body supported merely by the strands of Ageratum's <em>web</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>By then, Harlan had decided the <em>web</em> spell had done its job and urged Nova forward, easily slashing right through the strands with his <em>flaming burst longsword</em> and carrying the swing directly into a hill giant's chest. Crying out in pain, the giant backed up, putting him once again into Chaevaris's view; the archer put another arrow into his shoulder. The second giant turned and ran back as fast as he could, ducking his head to try to avoid the bats and any arrows that might be sent his way. Orchid released her concentration on the bat swarm, knowing that in so doing the swarm would shortly break up, each individual bat going its own separate way.</p><p></p><p>In fact, the bats took the opportunity to fly out of the now-shattered <em>web</em> spell in the doorway, heading directly for Harlan and Nova. As they surrounded the pair, the paladin urged his mount up into the air, hoping they could outmaneuver the swarm. Ageratum climbed up the side of the wall and completely dismissed the <em>web</em> spell, making it easier for the other heroes to enter the building and perform the necessary clean-up action. It was getting smoky in there with the chimney-hole plugged up, and the halfling smiled at the fact that it would be worse for the taller races, as the smoke rose to the top of the ceiling and slowly worked its way down - another advantage of being a halfling!</p><p></p><p>Alistair could see the hill giant Chaevaris had just shot, and he let loose with another <em>magic missile</em> spell; by now, he'd cast more than his normal allotment and was fueling such spellcasting with arcane energies usually reserved for more powerful spells. But he liked the fact that <em>magic missiles</em> never missed, so long as he could see even just an outline of the living target, and the blazing fire in the back half of the building lit the giants up rather nicely.</p><p></p><p>Nova outpaced the bats, and Harlan leaned over as they sped past the roof, grabbing up Ageratum lest she become the bats' next target. But the good-hearted paladin need not have worried, for the bats were already splitting up, each going their separate ways. But the two heroes found they were being trailed by Orchid, who flew to them and cast a healing spell to close up the numerous bat-bite wounds Nova had sustained. Harlan took care of his own wounds, using Pelor's healing energy at the touch of his own hand.</p><p></p><p>Chaevaris locked on an arrow to the second hill giant, worrying that it was getting harder to distinguish them the further they went into the back of the smoke-filled building. She got off her shot, burying the arrow up to the shaft in the hill giant's shoulder, but then the two had reached the far end of the building, where there were niches on either side that shielded them from view of the snipers. "Well, bother!" complained Alistair, who had found he rather enjoyed picking of enemies from a great range. He whistled for Zephyr and climbed up into the saddle. "Come on, Elfy!" he cried, holding out a hand as he rode past the archer. "We can't do much else from back here!" Chaevaris quickly realized the sorcerer was right and rather than go fetch her own horse, Talkacha, she took the proffered hand and pulled herself up behind the normally foolish young child. Zephyr ran forward towards the giant building, speeding into it at his master's coaxing. Chaevaris activated her <em>boots of speed</em> and leaped off, already placing another arrow into her bow as she ran forward, seeking either of the two hill giants who'd thus far avoided their well-earned deaths.</p><p></p><p>Surprising the archer and the sorcerer both, Nova came flying down the length of the building's interior, passing them. The bat-bitten hill giant, devoid of his greatclub, resorted to tossing a small boulder Harlan's way as he approached on his aerial steed. Orchid advanced as well and the other giant threw a rock her way, but she easy avoided it in midair. Ageratum leaped from Nova's back and threw a kobold spear at the northernmost giant, but she also missed. And then Nova surged forward, allowing Harlan to make a charge against the giant with his flaming sword, slicing through the foe's armor and burning a stripe of pain across his torso. The hill giant staggered back but retaliated, hitting the paladin with his greatclub, the blow almost throwing Harlan from Nova's back.</p><p></p><p>Over at the other back corner, the bat-bitten giant made to leap forward at Chaevaris, who shot at him as he did so and uncharacteristically missed. Orchid tossed a ball of fire down at him, catching him in his greasy hair and starting it blazing. Ageratum tried rushing past the distracted giant to stab at him from behind, and was successful to a point - she got in her stab up into the back of his knee, but not before he knocked her almost senseless with a swung fist that felt like it was going to rattle her teeth loose. And then Alistair brought him crashing senseless to floor with yet another <em>magic missile</em> spell, the sorcerer still astride his trusty horse.</p><p></p><p>Harlan channeled smiting energy through his blade and brought the other hill giant down with two quick strikes of his <em>flaming burst longsword</em>, leaping back to avoid being crushed under the suddenly limp body as the giant fell forward in a bleeding heap. Ageratum smiled, knowing what came next, and started applying her blade to the throats of those downed victims who still had the temerity to continue breathing. Then the two elven women started searching the dwelling for treasure as Harlan gave Alistair a ride on Nova to the roof, so the sorcerer could retrieve the dragon corpse with another casting of the <em>shrink item</em> spell.</p><p></p><p>Upon returning to the ground, the paladin and sorcerer learned that pretty much all of the treasure had already been brought out onto the sledge; the house itself held nothing of value. But the ogre barbarian had a greatclub, hide armor, and a ring all of a magical nature, according to a <em>detect magic</em> spell cast by Alistair. These items were stripped off the body of the massive barbarian for eventual resale back home.</p><p></p><p>"Are we ready to go?" asked Harlan, receiving nods from the other heroes. "Then let's report back to Krag about the success of our mission, and then I think it's time to head back to Ghourmand Vale." It sounded like a good idea to the others.</p><p></p><p> - - -</p><p></p><p>As expected, we all leveled up to 9th level at the conclusion of this adventure. That means we all got to pick a new feat, and Alistair got to pick three new spells; I went with <em>cat's grace</em>, <em>haste</em>, and <em>dimension door</em>. I can't wait to try them out!</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Richards, post: 9082065, member: 508"] [B]ADVENTURE 28: SECURITY DEPOSIT[/B] PC Roster: [INDENT]Ageratum Purslane, halfling rogue 8[/INDENT] [INDENT] Alistair Mandelberen Pastlethwaite, human sorcerer 8[/INDENT] [INDENT] Chaevaris Noarunal, elf archer 8[/INDENT] [INDENT] Harlan Starblade, half-elf paladin 8[/INDENT] NPC Roster: [INDENT]Orchid, elf druid 8[/INDENT] Game Session Date: 27 July 2023 - - - The five adventurers spent the night in the stone giant quarry - more specifically, in the extradimensional house behind the door keyed to Chaevaris's magic necklace, once she placed the door incongruously along the stone wall of the quarry's interior. But after they spent the night in slumber, they found the next morning that the stone giants had spent the evening dumping the corpses of the hill giants into the combat pit and filling it back up, leaving behind no evidence of their recent intrusion into the lair of the Karkaletch Stone Giant Clan. After talking to Blue Lichen and learning the exact location of the hill giants' former lair - the place she and an escort party of orcs and an ogre had been sent to fetch hill giant hooch for a party at the quarry - the adventurers vowed to go check it out and take care of any of the remaining invaders who had been sent there to fetch any items (perhaps treasure?) the hill giants wanted moved into their new lair, that of the stone giant quarry. According to Blue Lichen, it was about 50 minutes away on foot, shorter on horseback. So, once they'd gotten their bearings, the heroes were off to find the former hill giant lair: a single story (albeit 20-foot-high) wooden structure off in a forested area. The dwelling wasn't difficult to find, as tall as it was. Orchid cast a [I]barkskin[/I] spell upon herself and then wildshaped into an eagle, joining the grackle Ambrose on an aerial scouting mission around the premises. Ambrose returned to report there was just the main entrance to the building, the pair of doors that were currently both open, while four orcs scurried back and forth into and out of the building, dragging in orcish items from the sledge out front and bringing back out items belonging to the hill giants. It seemed that while the hill giants were planning on moving into the stone giant quarry on a permanent basis, the orcs were planning on moving into the giants' massive building. Their alliance, it seemed, had been a temporary one. There was an ogre standing outside the door, apparently serving as security while the orcs did all of the lugging back and forth - it was up in the air whether he'd be joining the hill giants at the quarry or remaining with the orcs when the sledge was filled up and ready to go. He was armed with a greatclub and some javelins, while the orcs wielded blades, likely falchions but difficult to identify from the distance between them and the observing heroes. "What about hill giants?" asked Chaevaris. "Did you see any inside?" Ambrose explained there had been at least two in the back of the dwelling, although they'd been talking to someone off to the side he couldn't see. "And no other ways in but the front door?" asked Alistair. "Just the hole in the roof above the fire pit," replied his familiar. Alistair mused a bit. "It would be nice to seal that off somehow," he said. "Maybe we can smoke everyone out and force them to come through the front door, where we could pick them off at range." There were trees scattered here and there between where they stood and the door to the giants' building, but the sorcerer knew Chaevaris would have no trouble targeting them from this distance - some 150 feet away - and he could likewise toss [I]magic missile[/I] spells at them from this far back with no problem or loss of efficacy. He looked around for something he could shrink and have Ambrose drop over the roof opening, until Ageratum reminded him he already had something at hand: the shrunken cloth form of the red dragon they'd slain. "You know, that should do the trick!" replied Alistair. A plan quickly formed: Ageratum would ride with Harlan upon Nova, who would fly around in a wide arc and approach the building from the rear, flying low so the orcs wouldn't see their approach. Then they'd drop off Ageratum onto the roof, and she'd drop the cloth dragon on the edge of the hole, dispelling the [I]shrink item[/I] spell Alistair had cast days ago and reverting the dragon corpse to its full size, blocking the hole in the roof and causing the building interior to fill up with smoke. Harlan and Nova would then land along the northern side of the building, while Orchid cast a [I]spike growth[/I] spell covering the forty feet in front of the building, around the door. That would cause the orcs and ogre to hurt themselves if they moved, while Alistair and Chaevaris sniped at them from a safe distance, firing only when the smoke no longer rose from the roof of the building - that would be the signal to attack. The other mounts would stay far back, behind the two snipers, where they'd be safe; safer still with Ambrose and Shushitan looking after them. Orchid flew ahead to get into position, while Ageratum climbed up behind Harlan on Nova and the celestial pegasus took to the skies. The little halfling stifled the desire to whoop aloud at the feel of flying so fast above the trees - this was something she could easily get used to! But soon enough Nova pulled up, flapping his wings furiously to stay in more or less one place above the rooftop while Ageratum took her cue and leaped quietly onto the roof. She crept over to the smoke rising up from the hole before her, unrolled the cloth Alistair had given her, and tapped it on the edge of the hole. It instantly took on the full size and shape of the slain red dragon; she was now holding the end of its tail. And sure enough, its bulk blocked off the hole almost completely, as planned. Orchid cast her [I]spike growth[/I] spell and was pleased to hear two of the orcs discover the hidden spikes the hard way - by stepping upon them. One froze where he stood, fearful of what was hurting his feet, while another took additional steps to get back into the dwelling, where he was glad to see the invisible spikes did not extend. But both orcs now had bloody soles and a fear of approaching the sledge. Their fear didn't last long, however, for Alistair split a [I]magic missile[/I] spell between the two of them, two missiles striking each orc and sending them immediately into unconsciousness, the one still outside landing face-first on a series of spikes and only hurting himself even more. Chaevaris unleashed an arrow at the ogre, causing him to roar in surprise and sudden fury. He spun about, looking for who might have shot him, just as Harlan approached from the northern side of the dwelling. Greatclub in hand to punish his attacker - not even noticing in his anger that the half-elf paladin had no bow in hand, just his [I]flaming burst longsword[/I] - he ran up to Harlan, only to hop about in pain as the soles of his enormous feet were pierced multiple times by unseen spikes as he moved through the druid's [I]spike growth[/I] spell's area of effect. To make matters worse, he collapsed at the end of his swing, falling unconscious to the ground at the paladin's feet, bleeding from his feet and from the arrow shaft sticking out of the side of his torso. Knowing the [I]Blood Mirror[/I] would stabilize the ogre and that Ageratum was still up on the roof, the paladin decided to do the "cleanup" job she normally did and slit the ogre's throat with his own blade. Inside the dwelling, the two hill giants had noticed it was darker inside the building, for there was no light coming from the ceiling. They also noticed the smoke piling up along the ceiling and started pointing and talking about it in their own guttural language with the unknown individual out of view. Outside, Orchid flew to the sledge and used it as a perch, then cast a [I]summon swarm[/I] spell inside the giants' building, causing a swarm of bats to manifest halfway between the open front doors and the blazing fire pit inside. The two orcs inside the building took a moment trying to kick awake the orc Alistair had laid low, and who'd managed to land inside the doorway instead of on the hidden spikes. They then stepped outside and experienced the pain of the [I]spike growth[/I] spell for themselves. The one closest to the sledge tried shooing Orchid away, think she was nothing more than a normal bird of prey. Another [I]magic missile[/I] spell split between the two orcs took them both out as well. Up on the roof, Ageratum ran forward to see if she could help fight off their foes now that she'd done her job plugging up the smoke-hole. She was a bit surprised to see everyone either unconscious or dead, but figured there must be more inside and the smoke would likely force them out in the open. And as for the two hill giants inside the building, Chaevaris's keen elven eyesight allowed her to draw a bead on one of them, even though she stood 150 feet away from the open doorway. The other one gave a sudden shout and started running forward, no doubt having noticed the orcs laying sprawled on the floor and the ground outside instead of loading up the sledge as they were supposed to be doing. As the second one moved forward, Chaevaris let loose her arrow, to plunge unerringly into the hill giant's chest, causing him to decrease his speed in sudden shock - and then be swarmed by hundreds of flying bats, who bit him all over with their sharp teeth. In a matter of mere moments, he was a bloody mess, roaring in pain and fury. But then the hidden figure stepped into view from the back of the dwelling. It was another ogre, this one also wielding a greatclub, but one seemingly crafted with great care. He ran even faster than the hill giants despite his slightly smaller stature, and headed directly for the open doorway. Orchid, still perched on the sledge, cast a [I]produce flame[/I] spell and tossed the resulting ball of fire at the ogre but missed, and then decided discretion was the better part of valor and flapped away - she had no desire to experience getting swatted with that greatclub! Ageratum wasn't sure what was about to pop out of the doorway - she was still up on the roof and couldn't see into the building - but she figured now would be a good time for her to cast a [I]web[/I] spell across the building's main opening. Having used that ability from her [I]cloak of arachnida[/I], she immediately used another one and started walking down the sheer front wall of the building, as eager to see what she might catch in her web as any hungry spider. Alistair was able to see the hill giant on the left barreling down the central hallway of the building, so he sent a [I]magic missile[/I] spell flying his way, this time letting all four missiles find the same target. The spell's energy-darts had no trouble finding their way through the strands of the [I]web[/I] spell covering the open doorway. Harlan, unable to reach the doorway without stepping into the field of hidden spikes, walked around them to an area 40 feet in front of the open doorway, and started hitting his sword against his shield, calling on the giants to come outside and face him. The ogre barbarian charged directly into the [I]web[/I] spell, swinging his greatclub before him, hoping to push it out of his way as he ran outside. That plan failed on two completely different fronts, for the [I]web[/I] not only failed to break, it adhered to the greatclub and when the ogre went falling backwards, his weapon did not come with him; rather, it hung in the middle of the webbing, seemingly floating of its own accord. The hill giants then each made it to one corner of the front area, flanking the webbed open doorway between them, allowing the front walls on either side of the door to shield them from arrows and [I]magic missile[/I] spells alike. Orchid, still in eagle form and perched on a branch, allowed another ball of fire to manifest over an outstretched wing, ready to toss at any of the giants if they exited the building, but knowing the webbing would likely burn if she threw her fire spell at it. Inside the dwelling, the bats continued their attack upon the hill giant they'd first swarmed around, not letting up with their attacks. Ageratum walked down the wall and directly onto her web, stabbing down between her legs at the ogre on the other side, mistakenly thinking he'd been stuck to the webbing - but no, he was only in close proximity, trying and failing to extricate his weapon from the sticky strands. Her quick stabbing motion missed the ogre, but Alistair could now see him and used him as his next [I]magic missile[/I] target, blasting him through the webs and into his barrel chest. Since his taunts weren't getting him anywhere, Harlan whistled for his mount and Nova came flying up to land behind him. Jumping up onto the celestial pegasus's broad back, the two rose into the air again. And Chaevaris aimed another arrow at the ogre barbarian, holding her shot until she could be sure the little halfling wouldn't be in the way. The ogre barbarian allowed the rage at being denied his greatclub overcome his other sensibilities, snarling as he tried pulling it free. Off to his right, the hill giant unencumbered by bats swung his own greatclub into the webbing, trying to brush it all away with the power of his blow, but to no avail. The second hill giant staggered out of the bat swarm cloud and tried the same maneuver, with the same results; at the very least, neither hill giant got his own weapon stuck in the sticky fibers. But then the bats swarmed all over the same giant again, battering him with their leathery wings and biting him with their sharp teeth. His instinctive defensive swats crushed a few individual bats, but the overall power of the swarm was undiminished. About this time, Orchid realized the spikes were no long really serving any useful purpose and were in fact preventing Harlan from getting into the action, so she dismissed the [I]spike growth[/I] spell. Unable to tell the others what she'd done while in her eagle form, she merely called out in an avian cry and hoped they'd understand her likely actions. Ageratum connected her blade with the ogre's flesh on her second attempt at stabbing down between her legs while standing sideways on the webs. And then four more glowing darts of energy came flying down from over her head as Alistair cast another [I]magic missile[/I] spell at the ogre. Nova flew over the area where the spikes had been and Harlan bent over the side to bring his flaming longsword severing the head of one of the unconscious orcs - if he couldn't fight off a more immediate threat, he could at least ensure those they'd already downed didn't get back up. And then Chaevaris found her shot as Ageratum stepped away from the web, fearing being knocked off by any further greatclub swings from either of the giants. The archer's arrow found its mark in the ogre's chest as he tried crashing through the web, which not only didn't free his weapon or break through the web but only got himself entangled in its strands. The southernmost hill giant tried freeing his ogre companion by striking at the web with his own weapon, but it too failed to break all the way through the tough strands, although it did rip one corner of the webbing away from the south side of the doorway. The other hill giant tried to do the same but only managed to get his own greatclub enmeshed in the sticky webbing. He staggered back from the web, cursing, and was immediately engulfed in the cloud of bats again. Ageratum leaped back onto the webs, stabbing the ogre for all she was worth. She pierced his armor twice, and then another [I]magic missile[/I] from 150 feet away took the fight out of the massive barbarian; he fell forward into unconsciousness, his overly-large body supported merely by the strands of Ageratum's [I]web[/I] spell. By then, Harlan had decided the [I]web[/I] spell had done its job and urged Nova forward, easily slashing right through the strands with his [I]flaming burst longsword[/I] and carrying the swing directly into a hill giant's chest. Crying out in pain, the giant backed up, putting him once again into Chaevaris's view; the archer put another arrow into his shoulder. The second giant turned and ran back as fast as he could, ducking his head to try to avoid the bats and any arrows that might be sent his way. Orchid released her concentration on the bat swarm, knowing that in so doing the swarm would shortly break up, each individual bat going its own separate way. In fact, the bats took the opportunity to fly out of the now-shattered [I]web[/I] spell in the doorway, heading directly for Harlan and Nova. As they surrounded the pair, the paladin urged his mount up into the air, hoping they could outmaneuver the swarm. Ageratum climbed up the side of the wall and completely dismissed the [I]web[/I] spell, making it easier for the other heroes to enter the building and perform the necessary clean-up action. It was getting smoky in there with the chimney-hole plugged up, and the halfling smiled at the fact that it would be worse for the taller races, as the smoke rose to the top of the ceiling and slowly worked its way down - another advantage of being a halfling! Alistair could see the hill giant Chaevaris had just shot, and he let loose with another [I]magic missile[/I] spell; by now, he'd cast more than his normal allotment and was fueling such spellcasting with arcane energies usually reserved for more powerful spells. But he liked the fact that [I]magic missiles[/I] never missed, so long as he could see even just an outline of the living target, and the blazing fire in the back half of the building lit the giants up rather nicely. Nova outpaced the bats, and Harlan leaned over as they sped past the roof, grabbing up Ageratum lest she become the bats' next target. But the good-hearted paladin need not have worried, for the bats were already splitting up, each going their separate ways. But the two heroes found they were being trailed by Orchid, who flew to them and cast a healing spell to close up the numerous bat-bite wounds Nova had sustained. Harlan took care of his own wounds, using Pelor's healing energy at the touch of his own hand. Chaevaris locked on an arrow to the second hill giant, worrying that it was getting harder to distinguish them the further they went into the back of the smoke-filled building. She got off her shot, burying the arrow up to the shaft in the hill giant's shoulder, but then the two had reached the far end of the building, where there were niches on either side that shielded them from view of the snipers. "Well, bother!" complained Alistair, who had found he rather enjoyed picking of enemies from a great range. He whistled for Zephyr and climbed up into the saddle. "Come on, Elfy!" he cried, holding out a hand as he rode past the archer. "We can't do much else from back here!" Chaevaris quickly realized the sorcerer was right and rather than go fetch her own horse, Talkacha, she took the proffered hand and pulled herself up behind the normally foolish young child. Zephyr ran forward towards the giant building, speeding into it at his master's coaxing. Chaevaris activated her [I]boots of speed[/I] and leaped off, already placing another arrow into her bow as she ran forward, seeking either of the two hill giants who'd thus far avoided their well-earned deaths. Surprising the archer and the sorcerer both, Nova came flying down the length of the building's interior, passing them. The bat-bitten hill giant, devoid of his greatclub, resorted to tossing a small boulder Harlan's way as he approached on his aerial steed. Orchid advanced as well and the other giant threw a rock her way, but she easy avoided it in midair. Ageratum leaped from Nova's back and threw a kobold spear at the northernmost giant, but she also missed. And then Nova surged forward, allowing Harlan to make a charge against the giant with his flaming sword, slicing through the foe's armor and burning a stripe of pain across his torso. The hill giant staggered back but retaliated, hitting the paladin with his greatclub, the blow almost throwing Harlan from Nova's back. Over at the other back corner, the bat-bitten giant made to leap forward at Chaevaris, who shot at him as he did so and uncharacteristically missed. Orchid tossed a ball of fire down at him, catching him in his greasy hair and starting it blazing. Ageratum tried rushing past the distracted giant to stab at him from behind, and was successful to a point - she got in her stab up into the back of his knee, but not before he knocked her almost senseless with a swung fist that felt like it was going to rattle her teeth loose. And then Alistair brought him crashing senseless to floor with yet another [I]magic missile[/I] spell, the sorcerer still astride his trusty horse. Harlan channeled smiting energy through his blade and brought the other hill giant down with two quick strikes of his [I]flaming burst longsword[/I], leaping back to avoid being crushed under the suddenly limp body as the giant fell forward in a bleeding heap. Ageratum smiled, knowing what came next, and started applying her blade to the throats of those downed victims who still had the temerity to continue breathing. Then the two elven women started searching the dwelling for treasure as Harlan gave Alistair a ride on Nova to the roof, so the sorcerer could retrieve the dragon corpse with another casting of the [I]shrink item[/I] spell. Upon returning to the ground, the paladin and sorcerer learned that pretty much all of the treasure had already been brought out onto the sledge; the house itself held nothing of value. But the ogre barbarian had a greatclub, hide armor, and a ring all of a magical nature, according to a [I]detect magic[/I] spell cast by Alistair. These items were stripped off the body of the massive barbarian for eventual resale back home. "Are we ready to go?" asked Harlan, receiving nods from the other heroes. "Then let's report back to Krag about the success of our mission, and then I think it's time to head back to Ghourmand Vale." It sounded like a good idea to the others. - - - As expected, we all leveled up to 9th level at the conclusion of this adventure. That means we all got to pick a new feat, and Alistair got to pick three new spells; I went with [I]cat's grace[/I], [I]haste[/I], and [I]dimension door[/I]. I can't wait to try them out! [/QUOTE]
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Ghourmand Vale (3.5 campaign)
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