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<blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1137685" data-attributes="member: 6294">&quot;Something's Cooking&quot; and &quot;The Ettin's Riddle&quot; (WotC Free Adventures) - Part 11The man who answers their knock is a taciturn half-elf, quite burly in stature, with close-cropped hair that reveals a bad scar in his scalp.Malwick - for this is he - exhibits no pleasure in seeing the adventurers at his door, but there is a gleam of interest in his eyes when they mention the giant.&quot;Yah.&nbsp; 'tis an Ettin.&quot; He spits, &quot;Beast killed m'father.&nbsp; I been looking to settle wi' it ever since.&nbsp; You fixin' t'kill it?&quot;&quot;Really, we're interested in finding out what happened to the adventurers.&quot; Ming Li feels a need to be honest about the group's intentions, &quot;We'd prefer not to fight the creature at all -&quot;&quot;But we will if it gets in the way.&quot; Elspeth interrupts, her tone making it clear that she is as eager to fight the giant as Malwick seems to be.&quot;Beast looks t'be comin' from the ruins o' Oldkeep.&quot; Malwick crosses his arms, &quot;Same place as those adventurers went.&nbsp; I'd say they went in its gullet, like enough.&quot; He pauses, and gives his visitors an appraising stare, &quot;Y'think ya got what it takes t'kill the beast?&quot;&quot;I've never lost a fight to a giant, yet.&quot; Macwood boasts.&nbsp; Which is true, as far as it goes.Malwick looks unconvinced, but eventually he shrugs.&quot;I'll take ya t'see the ruins after dark, t'night.&nbsp; Beast might be asleep then, and we can git the drop on it.&quot;Briar frowns,&quot;Would a creature with two heads ever need to sleep?&quot; she wonders, but no-one else seems to care.&quot;If nothing else, it will make it harder for it to see us.&quot; Elspeth grips her bow, &quot;All we need to do is get in sight of it, then hide and start shooting.&nbsp; By the time it finds us in the dark, it'll be dead.&quot;&quot;I don't want to fight a giant.&quot; Marble whines.&quot;You won't have to.&quot; Briar rolls her eyes, &quot;Our young, uh, page here isn't up to a fight like this, Malwick.&nbsp; Can we leave ... him ... in your home while we're gone?&quot;The half-elf looks doubtful,&quot;There's nah bed for visitors.&quot; He grumbles, &quot;Nor food for 'em, neither.&quot;&quot;We'll make sure he is fed.&quot; Twinkle pipes up, digging in her pack.&nbsp; She produces a rather crushed-looking bundle.&nbsp; &quot;Scones from the inn at Duvik's Pass.&quot; She beams, &quot;A little stale and battered -&quot; at this, a shower of crumbs falls from the bundle, &quot;- but still good.&quot;Macwood nods vigorously,&quot;And he can sleep in the attic.&nbsp; He'll be quiet as a mouse and never stir.&quot; The Halfling promises, with a sharp look at Marble, &quot;No-one will ever know he's there.&quot;Marble looks sullen, but she gets the message, and nods a glum acquiescence.&nbsp; Malwick, looking no more cheerful, agrees to the suggestion and admits her to his home.That night, with Marble bundled up in the attic, under stern instructions not to move for anything - &quot;Just cross your legs.&quot; is Macwood's helpful suggestion - the five adventurers set out for the woods, led by the taciturn Malwick.The half-elf, dressed in leather armour and carrying both a spear and a bow, certainly seems to know his woodcraft.&nbsp; He silently leads the group across the fields and into the forest, easily tracking the giant's footprints in the bright starlight.&nbsp; Once under the canopy of trees, he continues with the same surety, his sharp eyes finding sign's of the Ettin's passage, despite the gloom.Eventually, the group comes in sight of the remains of Oldkeep: a semi-circle of tumbledown ruins, facing a half-collapsed tower.&quot;No sign of the giant.&quot; Macwood observes, eyes straining to catch sight of anything in the darkness.&quot;Only place big enough to hide him is the tower.&quot; Elspeth murmurs, pointing it out. &quot;The ground floor looks like it is still pretty much intact, and the grass in front of the doors is flattened.&nbsp; All of the other doors are still grown over.&quot;&quot;I could sneak up and take a look through one of the windows.&quot; Twinkle suggests, then blinks as five pairs of incredulous eyes are turned upon her. &quot;What?&quot;&quot;You actually mean it.&quot; Macwood sounds surprised.&quot;Of course.&quot; Twinkle pouts, &quot;I'm good at sneaking and hiding, you know.&quot; She catches the looks being exchanged by the others and pouts still further, &quot;What, you thought I kept hiding because I was scared all the time?&nbsp; Well, maybe a little.&nbsp; But also because I'm good at it.&quot;&quot;Okay.&quot; Briar nods, &quot;It's a good idea.&nbsp; Certainly one of us should go.&nbsp; We may know he's in the tower, but it's big enough that we don't know where he is inside it, and what else we may find there.&nbsp; Taking a quiet look would be a good idea.&quot;There are answering nods of agreement, and then Twinkle advances, moving stealthily from hiding place to hiding place.&nbsp; The gnome is every bit as good at this as she claims to be, and in less than a minute she is with a few feet of the tower.And that's when things go wrong.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Capellan, post: 1137685, member: 6294"] [b]"Something's Cooking" and "The Ettin's Riddle" (WotC Free Adventures) - Part 11[/b] The man who answers their knock is a taciturn half-elf, quite burly in stature, with close-cropped hair that reveals a bad scar in his scalp. Malwick - for this is he - exhibits no pleasure in seeing the adventurers at his door, but there is a gleam of interest in his eyes when they mention the giant. "Yah. 'tis an Ettin." He spits, "Beast killed m'father. I been looking to settle wi' it ever since. You fixin' t'kill it?" "Really, we're interested in finding out what happened to the adventurers." Ming Li feels a need to be honest about the group's intentions, "We'd prefer not to fight the creature at all -" "But we will if it gets in the way." Elspeth interrupts, her tone making it clear that she is as eager to fight the giant as Malwick seems to be. "Beast looks t'be comin' from the ruins o' Oldkeep." Malwick crosses his arms, "Same place as those adventurers went. I'd say they went in its gullet, like enough." He pauses, and gives his visitors an appraising stare, "Y'think ya got what it takes t'kill the beast?" "I've never lost a fight to a giant, yet." Macwood boasts. Which is true, as far as it goes. Malwick looks unconvinced, but eventually he shrugs. "I'll take ya t'see the ruins after dark, t'night. Beast might be asleep then, and we can git the drop on it." Briar frowns, "Would a creature with two heads ever need to sleep?" she wonders, but no-one else seems to care. "If nothing else, it will make it harder for it to see us." Elspeth grips her bow, "All we need to do is get in sight of it, then hide and start shooting. By the time it finds us in the dark, it'll be dead." "I don't want to fight a giant." Marble whines. "You won't have to." Briar rolls her eyes, "Our young, uh, page here isn't up to a fight like this, Malwick. Can we leave ... him ... in your home while we're gone?" The half-elf looks doubtful, "There's nah bed for visitors." He grumbles, "Nor food for 'em, neither." "We'll make sure he is fed." Twinkle pipes up, digging in her pack. She produces a rather crushed-looking bundle. "Scones from the inn at Duvik's Pass." She beams, "A little stale and battered -" at this, a shower of crumbs falls from the bundle, "- but still good." Macwood nods vigorously, "And he can sleep in the attic. He'll be quiet as a mouse and never stir." The Halfling promises, with a sharp look at Marble, "No-one will ever know he's there." Marble looks sullen, but she gets the message, and nods a glum acquiescence. Malwick, looking no more cheerful, agrees to the suggestion and admits her to his home. That night, with Marble bundled up in the attic, under stern instructions not to move for anything - "Just cross your legs." is Macwood's helpful suggestion - the five adventurers set out for the woods, led by the taciturn Malwick. The half-elf, dressed in leather armour and carrying both a spear and a bow, certainly seems to know his woodcraft. He silently leads the group across the fields and into the forest, easily tracking the giant's footprints in the bright starlight. Once under the canopy of trees, he continues with the same surety, his sharp eyes finding sign's of the Ettin's passage, despite the gloom. Eventually, the group comes in sight of the remains of Oldkeep: a semi-circle of tumbledown ruins, facing a half-collapsed tower. "No sign of the giant." Macwood observes, eyes straining to catch sight of anything in the darkness. "Only place big enough to hide him is the tower." Elspeth murmurs, pointing it out. "The ground floor looks like it is still pretty much intact, and the grass in front of the doors is flattened. All of the other doors are still grown over." "I could sneak up and take a look through one of the windows." Twinkle suggests, then blinks as five pairs of incredulous eyes are turned upon her. "What?" "You actually mean it." Macwood sounds surprised. "Of course." Twinkle pouts, "I'm good at sneaking and hiding, you know." She catches the looks being exchanged by the others and pouts still further, "What, you thought I kept hiding because I was scared all the time? Well, maybe a little. But also because I'm good at it." "Okay." Briar nods, "It's a good idea. Certainly one of us should go. We may know he's in the tower, but it's big enough that we don't know where he is inside it, and what else we may find there. Taking a quiet look would be a good idea." There are answering nods of agreement, and then Twinkle advances, moving stealthily from hiding place to hiding place. The gnome is every bit as good at this as she claims to be, and in less than a minute she is with a few feet of the tower. And that's when things go wrong. [/QUOTE]

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