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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Capellan" data-source="post: 1150040" data-attributes="member: 6294">"Something's Cooking" and "The Ettin's Riddle" (WotC Free Adventures) - Part 13"If you are a priest, why is it you cannot appeal to your god to lift the curse?" Ming Li asks, obviously still unconvinced by the giant's tale."I have tried." Comes the rumbling reply, "But Heironeous has not granted my appeals.  Instead, he has sent only a mysterious riddle.""Riddle?""Yes: when I prayed, I saw a cryptic verse in my mind.  I can still remember the words, as clear as if I were reading them from the page:Two heads have we, but born with one.We avenged, healed, and protected.Our master was Invincible,But punished we all who objected.Heeded we the six-armed king,And so by our god were rejected.Thus, this is our fate:One head, twice bisected.I know not what it means.""Me neither." Macwood mutters, with a shake of his head. "Typical god nonsense.""Perhaps it means that we must destroy the other head, and then he will be freed?" Briar seems willing to believe the giant's tale, at the very least."There is a chance that is the solution." Kyrnyn - for it seems it is he - acknowledges, "But I would not survive being mistaken, if it is not."The group discusses the riddle at some length, but are unable to come up with a better solution than Briar's proposal.  They even ask the impatient Malwick his opinion, and the half-elf voices his approval of the young rogue's idea."After all, even if she's wrong, we're rid of the giant." Is his less than charitable appraisal."What do you think, Kyrnyn?" Ming Li gives Malwick an unfriendly look, "Are you willing to try it.""I am." The giant sighs heavily, "I think it unlikely that this is the solution, but I have no better alternative.  And, as your companion says, the worst that could happen is that I will be with my lord.  Except ... you should know that if you strike me, Muk will awake.  He will fight you, and some of you may be harmed or killed.  You should prepare yourselves, before we try this task.""Good idea." Elspeth is in favour of anything that will make killing the giant easier. "We'll let you know when we are ready.""There's just one thing." Twinkle suddenly interrupts, "Before we try this idea.  Kyrnyn, we came here looking for a jewel that was sold to one of your companions.  It appears the item was stolen, and the rightful owner is very eager to have it back.  Do you know where it is?""It is in the tunnels of the wizard's lair, beneath this tower." Kyrnyn replies, "Or at least, I assume it is still there.  Arloys was carrying it when he fell, but I have not been able to enter the tunnels since I was cursed ... this body is too large.""We can look for it once we've got the curse lifted." Briar says, very determinedly hoping for the best, with their plan.The adventurers go into a huddle, determining what equipment they have on hand, that canbe used for the upcoming battle.  Potions are quaffed and spells readied, and then they arrange themselves around the door, ready to converge upon their opponent-cum-ally."We're ready, Kyrnyn!" Elspeth calls.  The ranger is ready to spring into action in the most literal of sense: having quaffed a potion of jumping, her role in the imminent combat is to leap in the air and try to specifically strike Muk's head."Here I come." Kyrnyn swings open the door, lifting aside the heavy wooden crossbar as he does so.  The adventurers leap into action, swiftly surrounding him and striking with their weapons.  Elspeth, as planned, leaps high, her sword cutting at Muk's head.The sleeping Muk awakens with a  roar, and visibly wrests control of the body.  Moving in a jerky, reluctant manner, the giant's powerful arms swing the crossbeam from the door.  The massive piece of wood catches Malwick square in the chest, crushing more than half of his ribs and sending the half-elf's broken body flying backwards to land in a crumpled heap.Desprived of their ally, the adventurers redouble their assault, using their superior numbers to swarm around their larger opponent.  Briar and Twinkle work in tandem, taking advantage of the giant's distraction to strike him with telling blows, while Elspeth continues to rain blows down upon his head.  Macwood and Ming Li, lacking the special skills or magical enhancements of their companions, merely concentrate on unleashing the most powerful blows they can.The barrage is telling.  Though Muk bellows and swings his club again, nearly batting Elpseth out of the air with the force of his blow, the creature's shoulders and legs are covered with blood.  The adventurers attack again, opening more wounds.  Twinkle, in particular, lands a wicked blow on the back of the giant's leg, while Elspeth gives a mighty overhead swing of her longsword.With a final, blood-choked roar of pain and defiance, the giant crashes to the ground.For a moment, all is still.  Then the creature's body glows, and shrinks, reforming slowly into that of the human priest Kyrnyn, lying silent and dead on the ground."I guess that wasn't the solution, after all." Briar bows her head."He met his end bravely." Ming Li kneels and closes the eyes of the corpse, then glances over at the body of Malwick, "Is he - ?""Dead." Elspeth confirms, "Probably never even felt it."While the monk tends to the bodies of the fallen, the others head inside.  Within, the tower is a ramshackle affair, the walls daubed with fragments of the prophetic verse Kyrnyn had recited, and the floor littered with the filthy, stinking remains of devoured cattle."His sword and armour are here." Twinkle points out the gleam of metal in the darkness."And the tunnels he mentioned are back there." Macwood indicates a dark opening in the floor. "We'd best head in and find the jewel, before those bounty hunters arrive."And then Ming Li calls from outside, her voice pitched low, but her tone urgent:"Someone's coming!"</blockquote>

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