JollyDoc
Explorer
The following update is related to the Teaser from Sunday, Nov. 2
RUMOURS OF WAR
Giants…the word was on everyone’s tongue in Magnimar. Stories spoke of remote villages attacked by hill giants mounted on trumpeting elephants, of platoons of ogres raiding remote farms and eating everyone, and of bands of stone giants pressing every southward through the Malgorian Mountains, Churlwood, and even down along the Lost Coast. None of the larger towns along the Lampblack River or Ember Lake had reported attacks, but the growing number of sightings at the fringes of civilization were enough to cause Magnimar’s standing army to take notice. Patrols were increased along the Lost Coast Road, the Dry Way, and the Lampblack Trail. Signs of giants were there…immense footprints, houses crushed to splinters, and second-hand tales of sightings by hermits and hunters. Yet, the giants had still not engaged in a full-on assault…yet…
Wesh had spent the two weeks since the resolution of the Lantern Man murders in Sandpoint. Though Ameiko had never learned of his death, Wesh felt that his time in the Afterlife had been an eternity, and he had been anxious to return to his lover. She had, of course, been overjoyed to see him again, but it was nothing compared to his gratitude for his second chance. He had relished the time to reacquaint himself with his home town, friends and neighbors, and to allow himself the illusion of normalcy, even though he knew that he and his companions would have to soon depart for the Iron Peaks. So it was with a sense of disappointment and resignation that he answered his door one morning to find Shalelu Andosana.
“Shalelu,” he sighed, “to what do I owe this honor?”
The elf’s face remained sober. “I assure you that I’m no more happy to deliver this news than you are to receive it, but when I learned that you had returned to Sandpoint, it saved me the trouble of having to track you down in Magnimar. I realize that you and your companions are planning on pursuing your leads on the stone giant, Mokmurian, but I think that after you hear my report, you may reconsider your priorities. You see, over the past weeks, I have been finding increasing evidence of giant activity in the area. I’ve not actually seen any living giants, but the signs are clear…Sandpoint and its environs would seem to be a target for giant reconnaissance. Do you think that you and your allies could spare the time to aid me in investigating this matter?”
Wesh nodded somberly. “I’ll contact the others immediately. Hopefully these are just scouting parties, but I agree that this bears looking into. Thank you Shalelu, and forgive me for my mood. These are dark days, and seem to only hold the promise of darker ones to come.”
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When Reaper received Wesh’s message, he was just putting the finishing touches on organizing his new shock troopers for Fort Rannick’s defense. He acknowledged the wizard’s request, and turned to Thufir. He and the priest stood atop the snow swept crest of Skull Crossing, alone save for their new recruits.
“I have to go,” Reaper said.
“The Iron Peaks?” Thufir asked.
“Sandpoint,” the necromancer replied, shaking his head. “Seems they’re having some local giant problems of their own. I’m leaving you in charge of the fort. I trust you’ll know what to do with them,” he nodded towards the silent soldiers.
“Of course,” the priest nodded. “I’ll take them in through the falls after nightfall, and I’ll place them in the dungeon until they’re needed.”
“Excellent,” Reaper replied, and then dismissed his cohort. He watched with pride as Thufir departed the dam, closely followed by two-dozen shambling ogre skeletons. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the necromancer vanished.
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“So you’ve made your decision?” Draton asked, his tone carefully neutral.
“Aye,” Duerten nodded once. “An’ I’m takin’ Cruemann with me. The boy needs takin’ in hand, an’ I’ll feel better with’im under me eye.”
The senior priest nodded in return. “I’m…disappointed. I had hoped you would be able to see past your prejudices.”
Duerten’s face reddened. “I’ll nae be seein’ past murder, if that’s what ye mean! What’s more, I plan on seein’ to it that no more’o his kind be killin’ more innocents!”
Draton dropped his eyes for a moment, then raised them again and placed one hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You’ll be missed. Go with the Dawnstar.”
He turned without another word and walked away towards the massive stone giant that waited on him.
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With the aid of Reaper and Sinclair, the seven companions were transported instantaneously from the bustling streets of Magnimar to the quiet lanes of Sandpoint. News of their coming had preceded them, and though of the original town heroes only three remained, the entire company was welcomed with open arms. The mayor and sheriff Hemlock were especially pleased to see the adventurers, given the news brought by Shalelu. Though they were flattered by all the attention, the group declined the numerous invitations by the locals to join them in feasts and revelries. Instead, they met in private with the mayor, Hemlock and Shalelu, discussing the nature of the ranger’s findings. Ultimately, it was decided that the group would accompany Shalelu the following morning to examine the evidence for themselves.
Dawn the next day found Duerten in the courtyard of the church, going through his morning rituals. Across town, Adso was awake as well, practicing his kata outside the House of Blue Stones, where he’d spent the previous night. And in the stable yard of the Rusty Dragon, Dexter honed his own sword skills, working off some nervous energy. It was Dex who first spotted the silhouettes standing atop the nearby tors of Ravenroost, backlit by the rising sun. The size of the figures left little doubt that the giants had arrived.
Duerten, being nearest to the northern gates of the town, heard the first impact against the massive portals, closely followed by shouts from the guards, and the deeper shouts of their assailants. The dwarf began hustling towards the wall, shouting over his shoulder at some of the acolytes who’d been roused by the ruckus.
“Ring th’bells, ye rock heads! We’re under attack!”
By the time the bells began to toll, Dexter was already in motion. With the aid of the glamor placed upon his armor, he rose into the air, calling out to the inn as he departed for the gates, hoping his sleeping companions within were awake. Before he ever came in sight of the wall, however, Adso was already there, the fleet-footed monk having even outrun the much closer Duerten.
One-by-one, the others woke and leaped into action. Sinclair shunted himself through the walls of his room in the inn, and then quickly took flight himself. Similarly, Reaper and Wesh, also at the Rusty Dragon, teleported directly to the gates to join their companions. Lastly, Cruemann, who had passed out in the common room of the Dragon the night before after having been bought several free rounds by his new admirers, roused himself and made his way to the roof of the inn. From that vantage, he could see the gates, but more importantly, he could also see a second group of giants approaching from the east, hidden from view from his friends and the town’s defenders…
Wesh appeared on the ramparts above the north gate. Two-hundred feet down the road, four gray-skinned stone giants stood, calling out taunts and jeers in broken Varisian. Behind and below the wizard, terrified guards cowered and frantically moved wagons into place to barricade and reinforce the gate. The giants began laughing even louder when they saw the lone human standing on the wall. Their laughter died a moment later, however, as a line of streaking blue missiles arced from Wesh’s hand and directly into the chest of one of their number. For a moment there was only silence as the giant doubled over in pain. Then, he slowly straightened, scorch marks on his chest and a small boulder gripped in both hands. He raised it high over his head and hurled it with all his strength. The rock hurtled towards the wall and struck the parapet at Wesh’s feet, sending the wizard sprawling, blood pouring from a large gash in his head. When he looked up through the dust, wiping the blood from his eyes, he saw the four giants advancing steadily up the road.
On the far side of Tanner’s Bridge, three more giants emerged from the woods at the edge of the river, driving four massive bears the size of elephants before them. No one saw their approach save Cruemann, as the mercenary stood alone and unarmored on the roof of the Rusty Dragon. He cursed to himself and fished a flask from his belt, uncorking it and drinking it in one smooth motion. Gripping his bow, he rose into the air, buoyed by the magic of the draught. Cursing again and shaking his head, he knocked an arrow and drew the string well behind his ear. Sighting on the foremost of the giants, he loosed, and the shaft flew straight and true, embedding itself in the creature’s shoulder.
“Bet you didn’t see that coming,” Cruemann smiled to himself. The grin faltered, however, when he saw all three giants pointing at him and hefting rocks.
“Oh, sh…!” he cried as he tried to veer away, but his body was unfamiliar with vagaries of flight, and he moved too slow. All three rocks struck him with the force of battering rams, and he both heard and felt bones crack as he started spiraling towards the ground.
“Wesh! Wesh, are you ok?” Sinclair had appeared at the wizard’s side, the little gnome hunkering down behind the ramparts, out of sight of the giants.
“I…I don’t know…,” he stammered, his head still ringing from the blow.
“Stay down then,” Sinclair said. “We’ve got this covered. See?”
Wesh looked up and saw Dexter fly over them, headed for the road. Nearby, a pair of hands seized the top of the parapet and Adso hauled himself on top of the wall, and then promptly leaped down to the other side, following Dex.
“If this is all they’re sending against us,” the gnome laughed, “then they’re in for a big surprise!”
He stood and began casting, his high-pitched voice ticking off the words to his spell. An instant later Wesh saw a tiny ball of flame streak from Sinclair’s hand, followed by a loud explosion as it detonated among the giants.
Cruemann managed to pull out of his dive just above the rooftops, glancing quickly behind him to see if more flying rocks were coming towards him. Instead he saw that the giants and bears had made it across the river and were smashing in windows along the waterfront buildings, grabbing screaming townsfolk and stuffing them into large leather sacks. Cruemann knew he had no chance of stopping them alone. He paused in mid-air for a moment, fired off one more shot, and then streaked off towards the main gate.
“Lie still fer a minute, lad,” Duerten instructed Wesh. The dwarf had flown to the top of the wall like an ungainly bumble bee, the necessity of magic-assisted flight overriding his racial aversion to having his feet ever leave the ground. Wesh lay back as the priest passed his glowing amulet over his body and felt his pain ease and his thoughts clear.
“Thanks,” he said as he pulled himself to his feet. Next to him, Reaper was just hauling himself over the rampart, crawling up the wall like a great, black-cloaked spider. Sinclair stood on his other side, a fierce grin frozen on his face as he unleashed a second fireball. The giants began to scatter as the flames engulfed them, but not before Reaper sent another scorching blast among them. At that point, the four badly burned brutes broke into an all-out run, heading straight for the wall. Wesh saw that Dexter and Adso had positioned themselves directly in the middle of the road, and two of the giants were moving straight towards them, but the other two veered off, still coming for the gates.
“Ah, rat farts!” Duerten cursed. “Looks like th’lads need me help.”
The dwarf launched himself off the wall, bobbing and weaving unsteadily towards the ground just in time to intercept one of the oncoming giants. The big brute snarled in rage as he lifted his massive club and Duerten braced himself behind his shield. When the hit came, it came with authority, and though his feet were solidly planted, the dwarf was driven several yards backwards, his boots carving deep furrows in the dirt.
Wesh watched it all. Duerten had at least succeeded in slowing down one of the attackers, and as the other two reached Dex and Adso, the rogue stepped directly into the charge, dodged nimbly to one side, and stabbed his sword cleanly through the flank of one of the pair. The artery was severed cleanly, and the giant exsanguinated before he even hit the ground. Still, there was one giant unaccounted for, and to Wesh’s growing discomfiture, it was still coming right towards him.
“Is anyone else concerned about this?” the wizard asked his two associates.
“Not especially,” Reaper shrugged. “I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
Wesh wasn’t sure he liked the necromancer’s smile. When he turned to Sinclair, the gnome was still grinning like a madman.
“Burn!” he squealed like a giddy schoolboy as he sprayed ropes of fire down upon the oncoming giant.
“Nicely done,” Reaper nodded appreciatively, “but it lacks style. Observe…,”
Dexter circled his remaining foe warily, looking for an opening. His chance came in a most unexpected way as the giant he had just felled slowly rose to its feet. As it did so, it left its flesh behind, only its skeleton making it vertical. Its brother’s jaw dropped as he saw what had become of his tribesman. Horror and revulsion crossed his face as he swung his club, shattering the mandible of the undead monstrosity. Dexter didn’t question his stroke of luck. He was pretty sure of its source. Instead, he darted into the fray, his blades flashing. One of them struck the giant across the eyes, blinding him, while the other plunged repeatedly into his belly. The last thing he saw was the grinning skull of his former kinsman standing over him.
Adso left Dexter to his own devices, confident of his friend’s prowess. The monk streaked down the road, closing the distance to the giant assaulting the gate in a matter of seconds. The brute was still reeling from Sinclair’s blasts when Adso arrived. A moment before the orc struck, the giant saw him coming, and swung his club wildly. The shot was lucky, and sent Adso flying. By the time it turned back to the wall, Wesh was waiting, and he sent a point-blank blast of missiles into its face. That only left one giant facing Duerten. The dwarf had recovered from his pummeling, and was taking the fight back to his enemy. He fended off more blows with his shield, then put his head down and rushed in, axe swinging furiously. When he finally looked up again, the giant lay on the ground bleeding from multiple gashes, heaving its last breath.
“We’ve got more problems,” Cruemann said as the company regrouped at the interior of the gates. He told them of the other group of giants, though the screams echoing from the east side of town were testament in-and-of themselves.
“Those of us who can fly, start heading that way,” Wesh instructed. “The rest, come as you can.”
Sinclair, Dexter and Cruemann took flight once more, and sped towards the east, while Adso took off at a run along the ramparts, moving faster than his flying companions. Duerten lifted off as well, though his ungainly maneuvering insured that he would be well behind the others. Wesh cast a quick spell of flight on himself and hovered above the wall.
“Coming?” he asked Reaper.
“I’ll be along,” the necromancer replied. The giant skeleton stood silent guard beside him, and then, at an unspoken command from Reaper, it started off at a steady lope through the center of town, its master following in its wake as townsfolk ran screaming inside their homes.
The defenders had only crossed half the distance across the town when an ear-splitting roar sounded from the sky above them. As one, they raised their eyes and felt fear seize their hearts. Wheeling out of the light of the blinding sun was the unmistakable winged, sinuous shape of a dragon. Its crimson scales glistened in the dawn, and when it opened its jaws for another ground-shaking roar, a great gout of flame spewed forth, washing over the town garrison. Fortunately, the bulk of the building was made of stone, but several guardsmen were roasted alive on the battlements. As if this new threat were not enough, three more stone giants with huge, tree-trunk clubs emerged from the swamp on the far side of the mill pond, just downstream from Tanner’s Bridge.
“More prisoners!” they bellowed. “Brings us your fat, greedy merchants, and we shall spare your miserable lives! Fail, and you’ll burn in dragon fire!”
They then lifted rocks and began bombarding the town, raining destruction even more devastating than the dragon’s.
“The giants!” Wesh shouted to his friends. “Take out the giants! We can’t let them take any of the townsfolk!”
The wizard led the charge with a barrage of magic missiles leveled at a giant bear menacing a washer woman. The beast roared and reared up on its hind legs. The giants ceased their depredations and looked to the sky, pointing and shouting at their new targets. Dexter touched down at the end of the street and began yelling, trying to draw the attention of the bears. They turned towards him, all teeth, claws and boney spikes protruding from their fur. Dexter gulped, then nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt a hand fall on his shoulder.
“You didn’t think I’d let you have all the fun, did you?” Adso asked, the monk not even breathing hard from his run.
“Well, I kind of wanted to be the hero,” Dex grinned.
“Looks like you’ll get your chance,” Adso grimaced.
At that moment, the bears charged. Dexter braced himself, and tried to leap aside, but the lead bear’s massive paw swiped at him and set him tumbling. Dex rolled to his feet only to see the bruin bearing down on him. Suddenly, the air around him erupted in fire. A cascading explosion of flames leaped among all of the bears, as well as one nearby giant. Dexter looked up and saw Sinclair swooping past overhead. The little gnome tossed him a grinning salute as he went by.
The skeletal giant stopped in the middle of the road and turned its skull creakingly towards Reaper. It nodded once to its master and bent to pick up a stone from the rubble of a nearby building. It lifted the rock above its head and hurled it clumsily at the dragon as it flew by. The boulder missed by yards. Reaper tensed, hoping the diversion would accomplish its goal and draw the dragon’s attention towards him. It didn’t. The wyrm winged over and started towards the cathedral.
“Time for something a bit more drastic,” the necromancer muttered. He drew a slender, black wand from his sleeve and pointed it towards the receding dragon.
“Muerte,” he said, and a thin, ebony beam of light shot from the tip and struck the beast’s flank. The dragon shrieked as cold necromancy pierced its soul. Longtooth, as the young wyrm was known, whipped its head about and saw the human and his skeletal companion standing at an intersection below.
“Fool!” Longtooth roared. “Now you have earned my ire, and the price for that shall be paid in fire!”
Dexter pounced, taking advantage of the bears’ fear and pain from the flames that still licked their fur. He plunged one of his blades into the throat of one of the animals, and a great, arterial gout of blood signaled an end to its life. Dexter kept moving, stabbing his second sword between the ribs of another bear. It reared to its back feet, pawing and roaring. Dexter backed away slowly, but before the bear could charge, Adso leaped between it and the rogue. The monk delivered a pair of strong side kicks to the animal’s gut, which seemed to only serve to anger it further. It threw a devastating swipe with its paw at Adso’s face, and as the monk reeled, the bear bit down solidly on his shoulder. The impact carried him to the ground, the bear following. Yet again, a mauling was averted by another blast of magical fire from Sinclair. When the smoke and fire faded, Adso heaved the smoking carcass of the bear off of him. Nearby, Dexter stood over the body of another.
Cruemann hovered clumsily above the battle, Wesh more stable nearby. Together, the wizard and the archer loosed a deadly hail of missiles, both arcane and mundane, at the clustered trio of stone giants. The brutes responded with a salvo of their own, hurling boulders the size of ponies at the two companions. Sinclair added to the chaos with more deadly fire, and one of the giants toppled like a great tree. Now Dexter and Adso were on slightly more even footing. They faced only two giants and one of the great bears, though those odds were narrowed further a moment later as Dex dispatched the last bruin.
Duerten found himself halfway between both battles, and from the look of things, Reaper needed him more. The priest gripped his amulet and began his prayer to Sarenrae, but for the briefest moment, the words faltered. An image of the stone giant necromancer flashed into his mind, and he was overcome with anger. Deliberately, he stamped it down and began his prayer again. When he finished, his body seemed to swell, stretching to twice his original size as he was filled with righteous might. As he turned and flew towards the charging dragon, he saw Reaper and the skeleton both begin climbing towards the roof of a two-story building. Duerten shouted a challenge, trying to draw the dragon’s attention. As it glanced towards him, the priest struck, his blade flaring with holy light as it sank into Longtooth’s hide. The wyrm howled and spun in mid-air, leaping upon the dwarf with teeth and fangs. Very quickly, Duerten found himself overwhelmed, and felt himself losing altitude. Suddenly, Longtooth shrieked as another bolt of black fire struck him. His prey forgotten, he released the dwarf and turned back towards the necromancer. Opening his jaws as he descended, Longtooth unleashed a torrent of flame upon the rooftop, engulfing Reaper and his undead minion.
Dexter charged towards one of the giants, while Adso closed with the second. The rogue drove his sword through the brute’s thigh, ducking a devastating swing of its club in the process. Adso was not so fortunate. His opponent grazed him as he came, then reversed the tree-sized club and brought it down solidly across the monk’s back. As Adso fell, he kicked out his foot and connected with the giant’s knee. The stone giant stumbled, but did not fall. He raised his club again, but before he could strike, he went up in a column of fire as Sinclair finished the job. Across the street, Dexter’s foe fell heavily onto the patio of an outdoor café and did not get up again.
Duerten tensed as the flames dissipated, then blew out his breath in relief when he saw that Reaper was still standing, though quite singed around the edges. Defiantly, the necromancer raised his wand, and fired at Longtooth again. Enraged, the dragon dove. As it did, Reaper commanded his skeletal slave to lift him into the air to meet it. The necromancer braced himself as Longtooth struck, its dagger-like fangs sinking into his side. Simultaneously, Reaper placed his hands on the dragon’s snout, arcane words falling from his lips. Black power pulsed through his palms, and Longtooth’s eyes flew open wide. Then, the dragon’s great heart simply stopped, and it crashed heavily to the ground below.
The three giants across the mill pond continued their bombardment of the town, and then, just south of the mill, another trio of giants crossed the southern bridge and stood in front of Two Knights Brewery. One of them bore the large ‘Welcome to Sandpoint’ sign in one hand, and hurled it at the building.
“If you don’t give us all the beer,” one of them shouted, “we’ll smash you flat! Beer or death!”
Meanwhile, from a distance, unseen eyes narrowed as they focused on the town’s defenders, and murderous rage filled a heart long denied vengeance…
RUMOURS OF WAR
Giants…the word was on everyone’s tongue in Magnimar. Stories spoke of remote villages attacked by hill giants mounted on trumpeting elephants, of platoons of ogres raiding remote farms and eating everyone, and of bands of stone giants pressing every southward through the Malgorian Mountains, Churlwood, and even down along the Lost Coast. None of the larger towns along the Lampblack River or Ember Lake had reported attacks, but the growing number of sightings at the fringes of civilization were enough to cause Magnimar’s standing army to take notice. Patrols were increased along the Lost Coast Road, the Dry Way, and the Lampblack Trail. Signs of giants were there…immense footprints, houses crushed to splinters, and second-hand tales of sightings by hermits and hunters. Yet, the giants had still not engaged in a full-on assault…yet…
Wesh had spent the two weeks since the resolution of the Lantern Man murders in Sandpoint. Though Ameiko had never learned of his death, Wesh felt that his time in the Afterlife had been an eternity, and he had been anxious to return to his lover. She had, of course, been overjoyed to see him again, but it was nothing compared to his gratitude for his second chance. He had relished the time to reacquaint himself with his home town, friends and neighbors, and to allow himself the illusion of normalcy, even though he knew that he and his companions would have to soon depart for the Iron Peaks. So it was with a sense of disappointment and resignation that he answered his door one morning to find Shalelu Andosana.
“Shalelu,” he sighed, “to what do I owe this honor?”
The elf’s face remained sober. “I assure you that I’m no more happy to deliver this news than you are to receive it, but when I learned that you had returned to Sandpoint, it saved me the trouble of having to track you down in Magnimar. I realize that you and your companions are planning on pursuing your leads on the stone giant, Mokmurian, but I think that after you hear my report, you may reconsider your priorities. You see, over the past weeks, I have been finding increasing evidence of giant activity in the area. I’ve not actually seen any living giants, but the signs are clear…Sandpoint and its environs would seem to be a target for giant reconnaissance. Do you think that you and your allies could spare the time to aid me in investigating this matter?”
Wesh nodded somberly. “I’ll contact the others immediately. Hopefully these are just scouting parties, but I agree that this bears looking into. Thank you Shalelu, and forgive me for my mood. These are dark days, and seem to only hold the promise of darker ones to come.”
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When Reaper received Wesh’s message, he was just putting the finishing touches on organizing his new shock troopers for Fort Rannick’s defense. He acknowledged the wizard’s request, and turned to Thufir. He and the priest stood atop the snow swept crest of Skull Crossing, alone save for their new recruits.
“I have to go,” Reaper said.
“The Iron Peaks?” Thufir asked.
“Sandpoint,” the necromancer replied, shaking his head. “Seems they’re having some local giant problems of their own. I’m leaving you in charge of the fort. I trust you’ll know what to do with them,” he nodded towards the silent soldiers.
“Of course,” the priest nodded. “I’ll take them in through the falls after nightfall, and I’ll place them in the dungeon until they’re needed.”
“Excellent,” Reaper replied, and then dismissed his cohort. He watched with pride as Thufir departed the dam, closely followed by two-dozen shambling ogre skeletons. Then, with a snap of his fingers, the necromancer vanished.
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“So you’ve made your decision?” Draton asked, his tone carefully neutral.
“Aye,” Duerten nodded once. “An’ I’m takin’ Cruemann with me. The boy needs takin’ in hand, an’ I’ll feel better with’im under me eye.”
The senior priest nodded in return. “I’m…disappointed. I had hoped you would be able to see past your prejudices.”
Duerten’s face reddened. “I’ll nae be seein’ past murder, if that’s what ye mean! What’s more, I plan on seein’ to it that no more’o his kind be killin’ more innocents!”
Draton dropped his eyes for a moment, then raised them again and placed one hand on his friend’s shoulder. “You’ll be missed. Go with the Dawnstar.”
He turned without another word and walked away towards the massive stone giant that waited on him.
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With the aid of Reaper and Sinclair, the seven companions were transported instantaneously from the bustling streets of Magnimar to the quiet lanes of Sandpoint. News of their coming had preceded them, and though of the original town heroes only three remained, the entire company was welcomed with open arms. The mayor and sheriff Hemlock were especially pleased to see the adventurers, given the news brought by Shalelu. Though they were flattered by all the attention, the group declined the numerous invitations by the locals to join them in feasts and revelries. Instead, they met in private with the mayor, Hemlock and Shalelu, discussing the nature of the ranger’s findings. Ultimately, it was decided that the group would accompany Shalelu the following morning to examine the evidence for themselves.
Dawn the next day found Duerten in the courtyard of the church, going through his morning rituals. Across town, Adso was awake as well, practicing his kata outside the House of Blue Stones, where he’d spent the previous night. And in the stable yard of the Rusty Dragon, Dexter honed his own sword skills, working off some nervous energy. It was Dex who first spotted the silhouettes standing atop the nearby tors of Ravenroost, backlit by the rising sun. The size of the figures left little doubt that the giants had arrived.
Duerten, being nearest to the northern gates of the town, heard the first impact against the massive portals, closely followed by shouts from the guards, and the deeper shouts of their assailants. The dwarf began hustling towards the wall, shouting over his shoulder at some of the acolytes who’d been roused by the ruckus.
“Ring th’bells, ye rock heads! We’re under attack!”
By the time the bells began to toll, Dexter was already in motion. With the aid of the glamor placed upon his armor, he rose into the air, calling out to the inn as he departed for the gates, hoping his sleeping companions within were awake. Before he ever came in sight of the wall, however, Adso was already there, the fleet-footed monk having even outrun the much closer Duerten.
One-by-one, the others woke and leaped into action. Sinclair shunted himself through the walls of his room in the inn, and then quickly took flight himself. Similarly, Reaper and Wesh, also at the Rusty Dragon, teleported directly to the gates to join their companions. Lastly, Cruemann, who had passed out in the common room of the Dragon the night before after having been bought several free rounds by his new admirers, roused himself and made his way to the roof of the inn. From that vantage, he could see the gates, but more importantly, he could also see a second group of giants approaching from the east, hidden from view from his friends and the town’s defenders…
Wesh appeared on the ramparts above the north gate. Two-hundred feet down the road, four gray-skinned stone giants stood, calling out taunts and jeers in broken Varisian. Behind and below the wizard, terrified guards cowered and frantically moved wagons into place to barricade and reinforce the gate. The giants began laughing even louder when they saw the lone human standing on the wall. Their laughter died a moment later, however, as a line of streaking blue missiles arced from Wesh’s hand and directly into the chest of one of their number. For a moment there was only silence as the giant doubled over in pain. Then, he slowly straightened, scorch marks on his chest and a small boulder gripped in both hands. He raised it high over his head and hurled it with all his strength. The rock hurtled towards the wall and struck the parapet at Wesh’s feet, sending the wizard sprawling, blood pouring from a large gash in his head. When he looked up through the dust, wiping the blood from his eyes, he saw the four giants advancing steadily up the road.
On the far side of Tanner’s Bridge, three more giants emerged from the woods at the edge of the river, driving four massive bears the size of elephants before them. No one saw their approach save Cruemann, as the mercenary stood alone and unarmored on the roof of the Rusty Dragon. He cursed to himself and fished a flask from his belt, uncorking it and drinking it in one smooth motion. Gripping his bow, he rose into the air, buoyed by the magic of the draught. Cursing again and shaking his head, he knocked an arrow and drew the string well behind his ear. Sighting on the foremost of the giants, he loosed, and the shaft flew straight and true, embedding itself in the creature’s shoulder.
“Bet you didn’t see that coming,” Cruemann smiled to himself. The grin faltered, however, when he saw all three giants pointing at him and hefting rocks.
“Oh, sh…!” he cried as he tried to veer away, but his body was unfamiliar with vagaries of flight, and he moved too slow. All three rocks struck him with the force of battering rams, and he both heard and felt bones crack as he started spiraling towards the ground.
“Wesh! Wesh, are you ok?” Sinclair had appeared at the wizard’s side, the little gnome hunkering down behind the ramparts, out of sight of the giants.
“I…I don’t know…,” he stammered, his head still ringing from the blow.
“Stay down then,” Sinclair said. “We’ve got this covered. See?”
Wesh looked up and saw Dexter fly over them, headed for the road. Nearby, a pair of hands seized the top of the parapet and Adso hauled himself on top of the wall, and then promptly leaped down to the other side, following Dex.
“If this is all they’re sending against us,” the gnome laughed, “then they’re in for a big surprise!”
He stood and began casting, his high-pitched voice ticking off the words to his spell. An instant later Wesh saw a tiny ball of flame streak from Sinclair’s hand, followed by a loud explosion as it detonated among the giants.
Cruemann managed to pull out of his dive just above the rooftops, glancing quickly behind him to see if more flying rocks were coming towards him. Instead he saw that the giants and bears had made it across the river and were smashing in windows along the waterfront buildings, grabbing screaming townsfolk and stuffing them into large leather sacks. Cruemann knew he had no chance of stopping them alone. He paused in mid-air for a moment, fired off one more shot, and then streaked off towards the main gate.
“Lie still fer a minute, lad,” Duerten instructed Wesh. The dwarf had flown to the top of the wall like an ungainly bumble bee, the necessity of magic-assisted flight overriding his racial aversion to having his feet ever leave the ground. Wesh lay back as the priest passed his glowing amulet over his body and felt his pain ease and his thoughts clear.
“Thanks,” he said as he pulled himself to his feet. Next to him, Reaper was just hauling himself over the rampart, crawling up the wall like a great, black-cloaked spider. Sinclair stood on his other side, a fierce grin frozen on his face as he unleashed a second fireball. The giants began to scatter as the flames engulfed them, but not before Reaper sent another scorching blast among them. At that point, the four badly burned brutes broke into an all-out run, heading straight for the wall. Wesh saw that Dexter and Adso had positioned themselves directly in the middle of the road, and two of the giants were moving straight towards them, but the other two veered off, still coming for the gates.
“Ah, rat farts!” Duerten cursed. “Looks like th’lads need me help.”
The dwarf launched himself off the wall, bobbing and weaving unsteadily towards the ground just in time to intercept one of the oncoming giants. The big brute snarled in rage as he lifted his massive club and Duerten braced himself behind his shield. When the hit came, it came with authority, and though his feet were solidly planted, the dwarf was driven several yards backwards, his boots carving deep furrows in the dirt.
Wesh watched it all. Duerten had at least succeeded in slowing down one of the attackers, and as the other two reached Dex and Adso, the rogue stepped directly into the charge, dodged nimbly to one side, and stabbed his sword cleanly through the flank of one of the pair. The artery was severed cleanly, and the giant exsanguinated before he even hit the ground. Still, there was one giant unaccounted for, and to Wesh’s growing discomfiture, it was still coming right towards him.
“Is anyone else concerned about this?” the wizard asked his two associates.
“Not especially,” Reaper shrugged. “I’ve got bigger fish to fry.”
Wesh wasn’t sure he liked the necromancer’s smile. When he turned to Sinclair, the gnome was still grinning like a madman.
“Burn!” he squealed like a giddy schoolboy as he sprayed ropes of fire down upon the oncoming giant.
“Nicely done,” Reaper nodded appreciatively, “but it lacks style. Observe…,”
Dexter circled his remaining foe warily, looking for an opening. His chance came in a most unexpected way as the giant he had just felled slowly rose to its feet. As it did so, it left its flesh behind, only its skeleton making it vertical. Its brother’s jaw dropped as he saw what had become of his tribesman. Horror and revulsion crossed his face as he swung his club, shattering the mandible of the undead monstrosity. Dexter didn’t question his stroke of luck. He was pretty sure of its source. Instead, he darted into the fray, his blades flashing. One of them struck the giant across the eyes, blinding him, while the other plunged repeatedly into his belly. The last thing he saw was the grinning skull of his former kinsman standing over him.
Adso left Dexter to his own devices, confident of his friend’s prowess. The monk streaked down the road, closing the distance to the giant assaulting the gate in a matter of seconds. The brute was still reeling from Sinclair’s blasts when Adso arrived. A moment before the orc struck, the giant saw him coming, and swung his club wildly. The shot was lucky, and sent Adso flying. By the time it turned back to the wall, Wesh was waiting, and he sent a point-blank blast of missiles into its face. That only left one giant facing Duerten. The dwarf had recovered from his pummeling, and was taking the fight back to his enemy. He fended off more blows with his shield, then put his head down and rushed in, axe swinging furiously. When he finally looked up again, the giant lay on the ground bleeding from multiple gashes, heaving its last breath.
“We’ve got more problems,” Cruemann said as the company regrouped at the interior of the gates. He told them of the other group of giants, though the screams echoing from the east side of town were testament in-and-of themselves.
“Those of us who can fly, start heading that way,” Wesh instructed. “The rest, come as you can.”
Sinclair, Dexter and Cruemann took flight once more, and sped towards the east, while Adso took off at a run along the ramparts, moving faster than his flying companions. Duerten lifted off as well, though his ungainly maneuvering insured that he would be well behind the others. Wesh cast a quick spell of flight on himself and hovered above the wall.
“Coming?” he asked Reaper.
“I’ll be along,” the necromancer replied. The giant skeleton stood silent guard beside him, and then, at an unspoken command from Reaper, it started off at a steady lope through the center of town, its master following in its wake as townsfolk ran screaming inside their homes.
The defenders had only crossed half the distance across the town when an ear-splitting roar sounded from the sky above them. As one, they raised their eyes and felt fear seize their hearts. Wheeling out of the light of the blinding sun was the unmistakable winged, sinuous shape of a dragon. Its crimson scales glistened in the dawn, and when it opened its jaws for another ground-shaking roar, a great gout of flame spewed forth, washing over the town garrison. Fortunately, the bulk of the building was made of stone, but several guardsmen were roasted alive on the battlements. As if this new threat were not enough, three more stone giants with huge, tree-trunk clubs emerged from the swamp on the far side of the mill pond, just downstream from Tanner’s Bridge.
“More prisoners!” they bellowed. “Brings us your fat, greedy merchants, and we shall spare your miserable lives! Fail, and you’ll burn in dragon fire!”
They then lifted rocks and began bombarding the town, raining destruction even more devastating than the dragon’s.
“The giants!” Wesh shouted to his friends. “Take out the giants! We can’t let them take any of the townsfolk!”
The wizard led the charge with a barrage of magic missiles leveled at a giant bear menacing a washer woman. The beast roared and reared up on its hind legs. The giants ceased their depredations and looked to the sky, pointing and shouting at their new targets. Dexter touched down at the end of the street and began yelling, trying to draw the attention of the bears. They turned towards him, all teeth, claws and boney spikes protruding from their fur. Dexter gulped, then nearly jumped out of his skin as he felt a hand fall on his shoulder.
“You didn’t think I’d let you have all the fun, did you?” Adso asked, the monk not even breathing hard from his run.
“Well, I kind of wanted to be the hero,” Dex grinned.
“Looks like you’ll get your chance,” Adso grimaced.
At that moment, the bears charged. Dexter braced himself, and tried to leap aside, but the lead bear’s massive paw swiped at him and set him tumbling. Dex rolled to his feet only to see the bruin bearing down on him. Suddenly, the air around him erupted in fire. A cascading explosion of flames leaped among all of the bears, as well as one nearby giant. Dexter looked up and saw Sinclair swooping past overhead. The little gnome tossed him a grinning salute as he went by.
The skeletal giant stopped in the middle of the road and turned its skull creakingly towards Reaper. It nodded once to its master and bent to pick up a stone from the rubble of a nearby building. It lifted the rock above its head and hurled it clumsily at the dragon as it flew by. The boulder missed by yards. Reaper tensed, hoping the diversion would accomplish its goal and draw the dragon’s attention towards him. It didn’t. The wyrm winged over and started towards the cathedral.
“Time for something a bit more drastic,” the necromancer muttered. He drew a slender, black wand from his sleeve and pointed it towards the receding dragon.
“Muerte,” he said, and a thin, ebony beam of light shot from the tip and struck the beast’s flank. The dragon shrieked as cold necromancy pierced its soul. Longtooth, as the young wyrm was known, whipped its head about and saw the human and his skeletal companion standing at an intersection below.
“Fool!” Longtooth roared. “Now you have earned my ire, and the price for that shall be paid in fire!”
Dexter pounced, taking advantage of the bears’ fear and pain from the flames that still licked their fur. He plunged one of his blades into the throat of one of the animals, and a great, arterial gout of blood signaled an end to its life. Dexter kept moving, stabbing his second sword between the ribs of another bear. It reared to its back feet, pawing and roaring. Dexter backed away slowly, but before the bear could charge, Adso leaped between it and the rogue. The monk delivered a pair of strong side kicks to the animal’s gut, which seemed to only serve to anger it further. It threw a devastating swipe with its paw at Adso’s face, and as the monk reeled, the bear bit down solidly on his shoulder. The impact carried him to the ground, the bear following. Yet again, a mauling was averted by another blast of magical fire from Sinclair. When the smoke and fire faded, Adso heaved the smoking carcass of the bear off of him. Nearby, Dexter stood over the body of another.
Cruemann hovered clumsily above the battle, Wesh more stable nearby. Together, the wizard and the archer loosed a deadly hail of missiles, both arcane and mundane, at the clustered trio of stone giants. The brutes responded with a salvo of their own, hurling boulders the size of ponies at the two companions. Sinclair added to the chaos with more deadly fire, and one of the giants toppled like a great tree. Now Dexter and Adso were on slightly more even footing. They faced only two giants and one of the great bears, though those odds were narrowed further a moment later as Dex dispatched the last bruin.
Duerten found himself halfway between both battles, and from the look of things, Reaper needed him more. The priest gripped his amulet and began his prayer to Sarenrae, but for the briefest moment, the words faltered. An image of the stone giant necromancer flashed into his mind, and he was overcome with anger. Deliberately, he stamped it down and began his prayer again. When he finished, his body seemed to swell, stretching to twice his original size as he was filled with righteous might. As he turned and flew towards the charging dragon, he saw Reaper and the skeleton both begin climbing towards the roof of a two-story building. Duerten shouted a challenge, trying to draw the dragon’s attention. As it glanced towards him, the priest struck, his blade flaring with holy light as it sank into Longtooth’s hide. The wyrm howled and spun in mid-air, leaping upon the dwarf with teeth and fangs. Very quickly, Duerten found himself overwhelmed, and felt himself losing altitude. Suddenly, Longtooth shrieked as another bolt of black fire struck him. His prey forgotten, he released the dwarf and turned back towards the necromancer. Opening his jaws as he descended, Longtooth unleashed a torrent of flame upon the rooftop, engulfing Reaper and his undead minion.
Dexter charged towards one of the giants, while Adso closed with the second. The rogue drove his sword through the brute’s thigh, ducking a devastating swing of its club in the process. Adso was not so fortunate. His opponent grazed him as he came, then reversed the tree-sized club and brought it down solidly across the monk’s back. As Adso fell, he kicked out his foot and connected with the giant’s knee. The stone giant stumbled, but did not fall. He raised his club again, but before he could strike, he went up in a column of fire as Sinclair finished the job. Across the street, Dexter’s foe fell heavily onto the patio of an outdoor café and did not get up again.
Duerten tensed as the flames dissipated, then blew out his breath in relief when he saw that Reaper was still standing, though quite singed around the edges. Defiantly, the necromancer raised his wand, and fired at Longtooth again. Enraged, the dragon dove. As it did, Reaper commanded his skeletal slave to lift him into the air to meet it. The necromancer braced himself as Longtooth struck, its dagger-like fangs sinking into his side. Simultaneously, Reaper placed his hands on the dragon’s snout, arcane words falling from his lips. Black power pulsed through his palms, and Longtooth’s eyes flew open wide. Then, the dragon’s great heart simply stopped, and it crashed heavily to the ground below.
The three giants across the mill pond continued their bombardment of the town, and then, just south of the mill, another trio of giants crossed the southern bridge and stood in front of Two Knights Brewery. One of them bore the large ‘Welcome to Sandpoint’ sign in one hand, and hurled it at the building.
“If you don’t give us all the beer,” one of them shouted, “we’ll smash you flat! Beer or death!”
Meanwhile, from a distance, unseen eyes narrowed as they focused on the town’s defenders, and murderous rage filled a heart long denied vengeance…
![:]](http://www.enworld.org/forum/images/smilies/devious.png "Devious :]")
