Chapter 3: The Bigger They Are

"So Grunther, did you know Phallus, err, Falon?" -- Kurik

O nly the tunnel remained to be explored, the rest of the manor house having been thoroughly searched. No sign of Desatysso had been discovered, and from the disastrous condition of the keep it was apparent that none save giants had lived there for many years.
  Rosvenir's Presence spell detected only the fire elemental within its 250 foot radius, the remaining giants having fled via the tunnel. Skilled adventurers all, the party expected that a boulder would at some point be sent rolling down the tunnel at them and determined to take precautions against it. Mystical kept a Stonewall spell ready to block or deflect such a thing, and everyone was turned invisible in the hopes they could catch their opponents unaware.
  Haer kept an eye out for traps or trigger mechanisms during the ascent. Quite an ascent it was, too. The tunnel curved into a spiral, rising at nearly 45 degrees in places. Lacking references it was easy to become disoriented. After what seemed like days, but had more likely been only hours, by best estimates they had climbed fourteen loops in the spiral and were now about seven hundred feet above the valley floor. Finding a relatively flat area the group determined to rest, having constantly exerted themselves in combat or climbing for long enough. Guards were posted and Rosvenir cast Dream to know of Desatysso and of what lay before them.
 

Rosvenir's Dream
  Blackness... then dim light. Standing in a tunnel, but perfectly straight and level... Look behind, there is Nothing... No light, no darkness, no heat, no cold: Nothing... Look ahead, a giant female stands in front of sunlight at the end of the tunnel... The light grows brighter and brighter...
 

Day 5
  The wisps of the dream fell away as Rosvenir awoke. The dream made little sense.
[Onrushing Boulder]   Feeling somewhat refreshed and not wanting to start climbing again, Mystical cast Fly spells on everyone. Progress was much more rapid. After a short time Rosvenir's Presence spell detected fourteen life forms at the edge of his range. Mind Typing on several found them to be humanoid warriors of various levels. The party cast defensive magics and crept slowly forward.
  Suddenly a crash and a rumbling was heard from the tunnel ahead: the long expected boulder had finally come. With active Fly spells it was of course quite easy to float above it, though Rosvenir and Kahlen chose to teleport behind the oncoming rock (why? because they can!)
  Obviously the party had lost the element of surprise. Continuing forward they ascended another spiral and noted dim sunlight from ahead. Around the final bend in the passage stood two giant females at the entrance to a large chamber, arms crossed in front of them. These were the two Mystical had seen during her Mind Probe of the giant outside. Behind the two females was a wide ledge open to the midafternoon sky.
  

younger giant female: Why did you attack us?
Kurik: It was you who attacked us.
younger giant female: This is our home. We defend our home. Why did you
    come to our home?
Kurik: We seek Desatysso.
younger giant female: Desatysso isn't here any more. Go away.

  Kurik had intended to press the question, but suddenly felt that it was time to go. Haer and Rosvenir also determined that it was clearly time to go. Thus the three of them turned and headed back down the tunnel. The older giantess smiled slightly, pleased that her spell had been so effective. Mystical realized what had happened and created two walls of stone, one in the tunnel in front of the three retreating adventurers, and the second behind the two giant females.
  
Mystical: We didn't come here to attack you, we came to find Desatysso.
	We just want to talk. The walls will make sure we can talk,
	and no one will bother us. It is very important that we find
	Desatysso.
Haer: Hey, whats this? Its time to go!
younger giant female: (looking nervous) Desatysso isn't here anymore.
Mystical: I understand that. Do you know where he went?
younger giant female: Desatysso went away. We don't know where. Now
	go away.

  Just before the wall coalesced into being, a lone figure strode forth from the spiral tunnel. She was a tall, heavily muscled woman, clearly of the High Man race. In their ensorceled state Haer, Kurik, and Rosvenir didn't pay much attention to her sudden arrival. After all, it was time to go, and only the wall between themselves and the tunnel really mattered.
  
older giant female: (peeks over the wall behind her and mutters something.
	The male giants begin tearing down that wall.)
Mystical: Did Desatysso leave anything behind, any papers or books?
younger giant female: He left lots of strange things.
Mystical: Could we see the things he left, to try to find him?
younger giant female: We don't let people in here, this is our home.
Kurik: This is all very interesting, but isn't it time to go?
Haer: Yeah!

  Surveying the scene, the newly arrived woman (who had been trailing the party for some time) decided to act. Unslinging her lute, she began to sing. Softly at first, then with increasing forte the Charming Song took effect on the older giant female. The older giant, Reshaale, was clearly the dominant of the two and invited the party into the lair to find what they could of the whereabouts of Desatysso. She also graciously cancelled the spell affecting Kurik, Haer, and Rosvenir.
  The bard who had been trailing the party introduced herself: her name is Endira. As groups of experienced adventurers are apt to do when they recognize a fellow Player Character, she was immediately accepted into the party.
 
[Lair of the Giants]   The giants lived in squalor in a small series of caves. The main room opened onto a ledge which looked out over the valley floor nearly a thousand feet below. A room to the left led to the sleeping quarters, if the rank stench from it were any indication. In another small room a natural spring pushed clean water through a crack in the rock. Nearby a large boulder blocked the entrance to the giant's "treasure room".
  Like beauty, "treasure" is in the eye of the beholder. To the party's eyes, the giants lacked both. The treasure room contained a heaping pile of crushed furniture, broken glass, and bits of things that might have been valuable had the giants not smashed them. From a crude spike in the ceiling hung a golden chain leading to a multi-hued ball of broken glass, casting colorful reflections on all of the walls ("Oh no, they're into disco." -- Kurik). Off in one corner was an elaborate rolltop desk which appeared to be less battered than the rest. Reshaale wondered if her new friends could open the desk, as the giants had been unable to. Even dropping it from the ledge to the valley floor below (an operation which had apparently been repeated many times on most of the junk in the room) had failed to open it.
  Excited by the vast treasure sure to be held within, Haer set to work on the desk. It was elaborately carved with legs to resemble dragon claws, complete with rearing dragon head to one side. Careful inspection revealed a keyhole deep inside the dragon's mouth, roughly the size of the key Mystical had found in the keep. Haer checked for traps, and finding none inserted the key into the keyhole. He turned it, and was rewarded with a mild electric shock for his trouble. The desk top majestically rolled open.
  The mess inside stank like a grad student who lost track of the time while studying for finals, emerging three days later in a fog of sweat and coffee. Whatever enchantment had protected the desk from harm had not extended its dweomer to the contents. A large ball of paper maché was all that remained of Desatysso's extensive notes, while broken ink bottles and something that might have been acid had blotted out whatever text remained. The giants crowded about while Kurik poked through the mess. Encased in the wet parchment was a small, leather bound travelling book. Kurik glanced through the pages, but the ink and acid had done their work thoroughly and most of the writing was irrevocably gone. Only one page remained legible. Kurik quickly scanned it, knowing a spell would recall the exact memory later.
  Meanwhile Haer searched the chest for hidden compartments. A small wooden panel under the top sprung open when depressed just so. Inside lay a leather pouch which was snatched up by Reshaale. Clumsily opening the drawstring with her enormous fingers, she shook a round, purplish stone out onto her palm. Staring at the stone for a few seconds she shrugged, and tossed it on the pile with the rest of the "treasure". Rosvenir was certain the stone was magical, and the group decided to buy it off of the giants. Haer, in a tactical blunder of epic proportions, dug one of the recently acquired items from his bag of holding: the tarnished silver goblet recovered from the filthy pile of tapestries and cloth back in the keep. The younger female giant, of course, considered the goblet to be one of her pretties, which was why she had concealed it in her bed in the first place.
  The giantess thought that a Charm spell she had cast earlier on Kurik had been effective. Enraged, she commanded the paladin to punish Haer for stealing her pretties. Thinking quickly, Kurik (who had in fact resisted the spell) picked up Haer and began to shake him violently, at the same time giving a subtle nod to Rosvenir. Coins and small gemstones flew from Haer's pockets but fortunately the bag of holding, where all the real treasure was, remained closed.
  The giants were growing restless, all 2716 hit points of them. Reshaale grew angrier and angrier, dissatisfied with the thrashing Kurik was giving Haer. Mystical attempted to calm her, buying time for Rosvenir to complete his Voice of Beguilement spell. Appealing to their ego, he said, "Please, friends, believe us. We would not steal from you, for you would crush us like the bugs we are. Our little friend simply made a mistake. He was distracted by the beauty of the item, and lost his head. He won't let it happen again." By the grace of a good Spellcasting Static Maneuver the ruse worked and the giants calmed down. Haer solemnly swore that he had not taken any other pretties, and indeed none of the others had showered the floor during Kurik's shaking.
  The immediate confrontation having passed, Reshaale regained interest in bargaining for the purple stone. She decided it must be worth at least fifty gold pieces. Fortunately, though she knew that fifty was a big number, she could not actually count that high. When offered the various coins which had spilled from Haer's pockets (many of them gold, but far less than fifty), she accepted.
  The welcome had been thoroughly worn out. The two female giants were tiring of visitors, and no more information concerning the whereabouts of Desatysso was forthcoming. Mystical renewed the Fly spells on everyone and they stepped from the ledge to float gently to the valley floor below.
  
Early draft of the RTOH Screenplay
27 EXT -- VALLEY IN FRONT OF KEEP OF DESATYSSO -- LATE AFTERNOON
  The warrior stands impassively. Framing shot shows the back of his
  shoulders and head, massive sword strapped to his back. Camera pulls
  back and up, catching movement as the six other characters descend
  from the ledge. [[Alternate: if no special effects budget available,
  have them jump up and cut to the landing.]]

  The warrior briefly considers whether the six are friend of foe.
  Closeup of right hand slowly clenching and unclenching (rest of
  body motionless). Camera pans up, zoom on Endira [[hopefully played
  by Sandra Bullock!!]]. Cut to closeup of warrior's right hand relaxing.

                     Endira
              Zem, good. You took care of the Orcs?
  
  The warrior, Zembahk Kaydian, nods gravely. His eyes never leave the five
  strangers. [[Who should play Zem? Snipes? Val Kilmer? Schwarzenegger might
  do it if we make Zem a cyborg...]]

  Zem was Endira's travelling companion. As a Player Character he too won instantaneous acceptance. Zem is tall and pale with gold flecked skin. His eyes are generally grey, but frequently change color. During the journey back to Kalstrand Zem spoke little, though he did say he was a member of the elder race of the Kaydian. Not even Mystical in all her travels had heard of the Kaydian. [Editor's note: no, Zem is really not a cyborg. That's the other campaign.]
 

Day 7
  The two day journey back to Kalstrand passed uneventfully. Kurik cast the spell allowing total recall of Desatysso's travelling book. The sole legible entry was written shortly before Desatysso embarked on a journey of some import. He wrote, "with the Amulet in my possession I should be able to push through the final void and confront the Devourer in his true incarnation." Desatysso realized the need for a strong party to accompany him on this journey, and planned to hire Falon T'Selvin of Kalstrand and his company.
  This being their only lead, the party returned to Khale's Inn in Kalstrand. They arrived early enough for Haer to enjoy two fine meals that night. The group would see Ahrens the Sage the next day. In the meantime Rosvenir studied the stars, and cast Dream to know more of Falon T'Selvin.
 

Rosvenir's Dream
  Blackness... then dim light... Standing in a tunnel, the same tunnel as before... The tunnel only goes Forward, it is impossible to look Back... Others have gone Back, some were left there... Come to a fork in the tunnel... To the left is Nothing, to the right is a middle aged, muscular man... The man looks behind him where a grove of Elm trees beckons... He looks at the Nothing, and shudders...
 

Day 8
  Ahrens had been busy during the week the party was away. He had found evidence of recent movements of the minions of the Devourer, and had determined that they centered around the Great Swamp to the south. Ahrens remembered seeing a reference recently to Falon T'Selvin and Desatysso, and was in short order able to find it. The text described a disastrous expedition twenty years earlier, and read, "and so the two remaining companions of Falon T'Selvin returned with him to Kalstrand, the place of his birth. Defeated, he never left his home at the end of Elmwood lane."
  The trip to Elmwood lane passed perilously close to a tavern, where Haer wanted to stop and have another breakfast. He was dissuaded, and soon they reached the end of the lane. A wrought iron archway proclaimed: Kalstrand Cemetary. Falon's grave was easy to find, the lettering clearly visible from yards away. A tall, muscular man stood in front of the tombstone. The stump of his left arm, long healed, lay cradled in his right. His name was Grunther.
  Grunther came to the grave often. He had been a member of the Band of the Hand, Falon's adventuring company. Grunther had been a warrior (good thing, too, being not the brightest bulb on the tree). He had lost his hand when he stuck it in a demon mouth in an underground complex twenty years prior. The Band of the Hand had been decimated by that expedition. Only Grunther and Sather, a priestess, survived. The other members of the band had perished in the maw of devious traps. Haer recognized the descriptions of several of the traps, having disarmed them during his own expedition to the Tomb twenty years before, but wisely kept silent. In the end, Falon's soul had been consumed by the demilich Acerak.
  It was difficult to get any useful information out of Grunther, as he was a bleeding idiot. Grunther thought that Sather was still alive and living in a town somewhere to the south. He couldn't remember the name of the place, but was sure he could guide them there. Pausing only to buy a horse for him, the party set off.
 

Day 10
  By keeping to the main trade route they crossed the mountains in less than two days. Near the end of the second day they arrived at Molnar, a small town consisting of thirteen buildings at the edge of the Rieuwood forest. The town was strangely quiet and completely deserted. Zem found faint signs of a number of heavy things dragged away to the south, possibly bodies. On the wall of one building was a recent carving of the sign of the Devourer. No other clues to the disappearance were found.
  Their horses exhausted, the party could travel no more that day. They made camp in the most defensible of the buildings. Fortunately nothing disturbed them during the night.
 

Day 11
  Leaving the deserted Molnar behind Grunther led them towards Pitchfield, where Sather lived. The thriving city of about two thousand was all abustle, with a stream of wagons loaded with possessions leaving the city. A plague had come. One panic-stricken resident said that nearly a hundred had died already. "They just wake up dead."
  Grunther wanted to find Sather, and quickly. Journeying deeper into the city found people going about their business as usual. Not everyone believed the mysterious deaths were a plague to be fled. The deaths occurred at night, killing entire households at a time. The victims would be found, cold and pale, without a mark on their bodies. There was never a sign of pox or disease. The whole thing reeked of magic.
  Sather's house was deep in the city, a dirty little house in a disreputable neighborhood. Grunther knocked, and after a brief exchange Sather opened the door. The years had not been kind to her. She walked with the aid of a cane, the injury to her leg in Acerak's Tomb never having properly healed. At the mention of the lich's name she gave a cry and fell, quaking uncontrollably. Grunther did his best to calm and comfort her, and shortly the quaking subsided. Taking a deep breath, she was able to speak. Sather had lost her leg, her God, and her friends in the Tomb. She never wanted to speak of the foul place again. Holding to Grunther's arm for support she crossed to a cabinet on one side of the room and removed a leather bound tome. This was the journal kept by Desatysso during their doomed expedition. Sather suggested that they read it before deciding to go there, and then decide not to go.
 

Summary of Desatysso's journal
  Desatysso had spent years researching Acerak, the mighty mage of myth and legend. After ten years of study he felt ready, and hired Falon T'Selvin and the Band of the Hand to accompany him to the Tomb of Acerak. He carried with him the Amulet of the Void, a strange artifact covered in runes which he hoped would open the way to the true burial vault. They travelled to the Great Swamp and entered the Tomb. Things went badly almost from the start. The Band of the Hand was slowly demolished by devious traps, dying one by one. The demilich Acerak himself destroyed Lyra and Falon. Desatysso grabbed something from the treasure pile in Acerak's burial chamber, something which had apparently been the object of the entire expedition. Maddeningly, the journal did not describe what the object is.
  Desatysso described the researches which had led him to this point. He had uncovered a document in Acerak's own hand, written nearly one thousand years ago shortly before the ritual which transformed him into a lich. The document described Acerak's origins: the product of a demonic rape of a human female, Acerak was a Cambion. His extra-planar heritage branded him a freak in human society but enabled him to achieve pinnacles of magical power of which mortals can only dream. Acerak mentioned a being called a Tenebrous, to whom he owed much of his magical power, but did not explain the details. Acerak intended to become a lich as only the first step in a much larger scheme, but one which he did not describe.
  In the document Acerak went on to discuss a Tomb, a City, a Fortress, and the Amulet of the Void. It was intimated that the Amulet would enable travel from one of these places to the next. The last line of Acerak's missive said, "And so in the fullness of time I shall cast the Amulet out into the lands of Men, that it may draw to me those of proper mettle. Only those of keenest luck and greatest skill shall win through to me in my ultimate Fortress of Conclusion. There, they shall receive a magnificent reward for their persistence."
  Desatysso was able to determine the location of Acerak's hidden Tomb. However, he found no mention of a City or a Fortress. After long effort Desatysso had recovered the Amulet of the Void. Of the interpretation of the Amulet, he said, "What a devilishly simple key it was, after all. For those who follow me on my journey of discovery, apply this key to the runes on the Amulet: subtract three, then read. There are two exceptions, but not troublesome ones."
 

Day 11, continued
  Desatysso had left the journal and the Amulet at the base of a portal through which he had apparently crossed. Sather had recovered both. Grieving over the loss of her company, Sather had cast the Amulet into the swamp near the base of the Tomb.
  Kahlen gave Sather an herbal tea to help her sleep. The party withdrew, leaving Grunther to care for her.

  Having heard a rumor that Count Hazendel had disappeared, our heroes decided to investigate. Arriving at the manor house of Count Hazendorf, they passed themselves off as a special investigative squad sent by the king. Our intrepid GMs improvised furiously, drawing the floorplan of said manor house and relating how the good Count Hazelnut had been seen by the guards the night before while preparing for bed. The next morning he and his family had vanished, along with the guard who had been on duty. The family pets had been killed, so of course Kurik cast Death's Tale on a dead pooch. After another round of furious whispering between the GMs the vision was related: three dark clothed humanoids had entered the house. Two of them headed towards the bedchamber of Count Hazendill, while the third killed the dogs with sadistic glee.
  Deciding that the true plotline lay elsewhere, the party purchased provisions and journeyed south towards the Great Swamp.
 

Day 12
  The group rode all day. Near dawn a strange fog rolled in from the south. Mystical was standing third watch, and kept her senses alert. The fog lingered for about an hour, then withdrew to the north. This was quite unusual for fog, which rarely has a sense of direction or purpose.
  At dusk the next day the party arrived at a tiny "village" consisting of a cottage, a stable, and a guest house. The man living in the cottage rented rowboats for travel in the Great Swamp. A generally unpleasant man, the party nonetheless rented two rowboats and arranged for the care of their horses. Mystical grew so impatient she used a Mind Probe on him. The man believes that he has very powerful friends who will protect him.
 

Day 13
  The party entered the swamp at dawn, and rowed all day in a southerly direction. Near dusk they picked a reasonably dry patch of land on which to beach the boats. The three Will o' the Wisps attacked almost immediately. Approaching under cover of invisibility they stunned Haer and pressed the attack against Rosvenir and Zem.
  Mystical encased one Wisp in a cage of ice. Zem sliced the second in half with a single sweep of his massive sword. The third Wisp took a beating from nearly everyone before finally being killed by Zem's thrown sword. The first Wisp got the "fish in a barrel" treatment for a while before being sliced in two.

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Experience awarded for this session:
A massive 7,000 EP bonus was awarded for dealing with the giants without resorting to violence.

Curious about the boulder image?