A Giant Problem

 

October 15, 2020  

 

The group freezes at the sight of the beholder.  Time seems to stretch and speed up.  Maybe their hearts are only pounding harder.  The beholder says it will go back and prepare and seems to say it will look toward Polina, the Storm Giant, for the signal.  Polina nods and then the beholder uses its eye stalks and beams that shoot out of it to create a portal.  Then it disappears into the portal.  Polina nods, and tells the rest of the giants that this is the start of something great.  Then turns into lightning, blasts up a hundred feet and then heads off toward the northwest.  Olaf and Drallak leave feeling giddy about the prospect of war.  That leaves, the stone giant, Hanz, the cloud giant, Vasily, and the fire giant, Janusz.  

 

"I guess this is what we are doing now," says Janusz, slowly toward them.  

 

"I guess it is," says Hanz.  "I will go and have my clan prepare.  We will see how much the beholders are able to do.  And for how long."  Giving them each a look in their eyes and nodding, Hanz turns and walks into the stone of the cliffs and disappears from view.  

 

"You talk to your people, da?"  Vasily says to Janusz.  "I will talk to mine.  We will proceed cautiously."  Then Vasily floats up into the air and fades from view, as a chameleon hiding in the underbrush.  

 

Janusz sees no reason to stay, and picks up and leaves.  With his big strides, he's out of the valley before the group really speak.  Although, they didn't want to speak until they couldn't see any of them anyway.  

 

"We need to go to him," Dio blurts out right away.  Rikard pauses in his own thought to let that sink in.  Then responds, "Well, I caught something there as well, but I'm still stunned by what I saw.  By what we saw."  

 

"I agree," nods Rolen to both of them but turns to Dio.  "And I agree we need to catch up to him and speak to him.  I don't think he was completely on board, and I don't think the other two were either, but Janusz we at least know and he seemed most reluctant."  

 

The group talks as they break up their camp, packs up everything, and then heads toward their horses.  

 

Janusz can move!  By the time they get things packed on their horses and head out, they can't even see him.  Gorstag and Rolen easily find his trail, what does he have to hide?  They follow but it still takes an hour to catch up to the giant.  When they do, he's waiting for them.  They dismount, tie up their horses, and approach Janusz.  

 

"We need to talk," starts Dio.  "We don't think you want fighting."  

 

Janusz nods at this.  "Good, the Countess got my message and took it seriously.  Come, we must talk."  Then he turns and walks to a cave opening.  The group follows, exchanging glances.  He was the one that warned the Countess about the council?    

 

Janusz leads them into some carved passages and into a room with a large table on it.  The caves are functional but the wooden chairs are comfortable and there are glasses and a keg.  Janusz has already filled a pitcher from the keg and slid it to the group.  Then he grabs a mug and fills it from the keg.  Before talking, he takes a deep drink.  The other enjoy the mead but drink sparingly as it is potent.  

 

"I don't think you want war," says Dio again.  "We don't either and were hoping you could get us information.  As you have obviously shared with the Countess before."  

 

Januzs holds up a finger between him and Dio, perfectly cutting his face in half with it from Dio's perspective.  

 

"I will not put my clan in danger.  First and foremost, know that about me.  But, no, little ones, I do not want fighting.  The elf may remember this," Janusz says, nodding toward Rolen.  "I was only twenty seasons and eager to prove myself when we had to fight the drow.  I don't even remember why we came to these tunnels but we to secure them and secure them we did."  He thumps his fist on the table with that last.  "It took years before the fighting was truly well and done and we had sealed the lower passages so they couldn't come back easily or without us knowing.  But they are young," he says after a pause.  "They have not seen true war or they would not want it.  And war it will be if they truly go after Sundabar."  Janusz looks thoughtfully at the group.  

 

"I know of your Silver Marches compact.  I know that while Lowvale, Elkwell-"

 

"Elkwell has fallen," blurts out Dio.  "What do you know of that?"  

 

"I did not know.  This you bring to me.  I do not know who did it or why it happened.  And let me be clear.  Elkwell would not be war.  Lowvale AND Westhold AND Ashriver would be a skirmish or two but none that they would hope to win.  But Sundabar?  Sundabar would be war."  

 

"How do we stop it?"  Gorstag asks.  

 

"I do not think we can stop it."

 

"Is that why there was a force north of Westhold?"  Dio blurts this out.

 

"Again, you bring this to me.  I did not know but it makes sense.  Dralluk, the hill giant, has been recruiting ogres for a while.  Hundreds.  Perhaps more.  He has been wanting it as has Olaf.  They do not like the smaller races.  I do.  But know this, I will still pick my own clan over the smaller races."  

 

"What can you do?" asks Dio.  

 

"I can protect Lowvale.  They will have to allow a regent of my choosing.  They will have to be seen as subservient to me.  But I can spare them from fighting if they do this and dying.  My brethren do not want deaths, they want slaves."  Janusz nearly spat that word, finding it distasteful in his mouth.  "They want the little races servants to us again.  You say there is a force near Westhold?"  The group nods.  "Then I doubt I can help them.  I might be able to do the same for Ashriver under the same capitulations.  They would have to act quickly so that I can set the regents up as soon as I can."  

 

"But what happened in Elkwell-," starts Dio.

 

"I tell you, you bring this to me.  I did not know and I cannot do anything if it is already gone.  I can only repeat that my brethren wants slaves and so I doubt they killed if they didn't have to."  

 

"What if the beholder did this as a show of strength to your brethren?"  

 

"Then it is probably worse."  

 

The group all takes a few drinks.  

 

"Truthfully," beings Dio, "we cannot bargain for Lowvale.  We can take your message back to the Countess and let her know.  Do you have a way for us to contact you?"  

 

Janusz yells for another giant and eventually one is there.  A shaman from the looks of this giant.  Eventually, the giant takes a smooth pebble and carves something into it before giving it to Rikard.  "My symbol.  You can contact me that way."  Rikard nods to the shaman and puts it into an inner lining on his robe.  The giant nods and leaves.  

 

"Now, you should get back to tell the Countess as soon as you can."  

 

The group agrees and Janusz shows them out.  As they get to their horses and look back, they don't see the opening, the one as big as a fire giant, in the cliff anymore.  They know where it was.  They can where they went and would recognize it again.  But without going to look closer, which they are reluctant to do, they don't know if something slid into place or its an illusion they are looking at.  

 

They discuss some options as they head south.  An hour later, perhaps only another few hours from Lowvale, they find themselves ambushed by Wyverns!  They were so wrapped up in it, that Dio barely saw them.  Gorstag and Rikard took the worst of it but none of them escaped not being hurt.  They rest and heal up before heading south again.  

 

A few more hours shows the patrol of hill giants.  They got too close and as they turn their horses west, stones start coming down around them.  No one is hit and soon they leave them behind.  There is another hill giant patrol, though, pushing them further west.  Finally, out of sight, Rolen uses a spell to hide them and they try and sneak past some ogres.  It doesn't work.  Soon, they are fighting.  

 

The ogres nearly take out Rikard with several good hits from javelins.  They do take out most of the group's horses, though.  And the group gets no rest.  One of the previous patrols, or worse a new patrol of hill giants is bearing down on them, throwing rocks!  Rikard casts invisibility and the rocks stop as they head south.  It's another twenty minutes before Rikard has to drop the spell and rest for a few minutes.  Once he has caught his breath, they head toward Lowvale.  

 

They know how early it is but go see the Countess, wanting to tell her the news.  Seth was prepared for this and takes them inside, announcing them to the Countess.  Soon, they fill her in on all they have seen and heard.  

 

"This is troubling," she eventually says.  "You say we must swear to them?"  

 

"It's the only way," says Dio.  

 

"Would you," she asks of Dio.

 

He thinks about it before responding.  "If it saved my people, yes."  

 

"I think I must as well but do hope for more information.  And Ashriver must be told."  

 

"And Westhold," says Rolen.  

 

"My dear friend, if what you say is true, heading to Westhold now is foolish at best, suicidal otherwise.  You can at least help Ashriver if you go to Kristoff and tell him what has happened.  I doubt you can even help Westhold.  But I cannot tell you what to do."  She pauses looking at all of them.  "You are in an interesting position.  You have not sworn fealty to me, so there is nothing keeping you here.  But if you don't do that, there is nothing protecting you from the giants when they arrive.  Unless you want to do that, you must be gone as quickly as possible.

 

"And before you say you would swear, please know that I don't think I can accept it from you.  I think you all want to strike at the giants and it would be even worse for Lowvale if some of it's citizens attacked giants.  No, you are better off as friends to the area but not citizens.  Now, go, get some rest and hopefully you can help Ashriver."  

 

The group thanks her for her generosity and heads to the Inn.  The Sun is not over the mountains but it is light out.  Sofia and Tomas are there and she asks if she can get them anything.  They say they are leaving and ask if they want the weapons and other items they had stored.  Sofia says she would have no use of them so the group will have to figure out what to do with it all.  It will only slow them down and the Countess didn't have any horses or know where they could get any.  They thank her as she says she will have food for them whenever they are up and they go to their rooms and collapse in their beds.  It doesn't take long for them to fall asleep.  

 

 

7000 xp

 

GM Notes

• It has been a while!
• I took poor notes and I don't know that my giant accents were exactly correct.  Hopefully close enough. 
• Still a few quirks from d20Pro. 
• The players thought it was a good mix between role playing and combat, which is a nice sweet spot to hit.   

 

 

 

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