Do Not Open

September 3, 2020

The group arrives at the ruins with several hours of sunlight left and isn't sure where to start.  They see the ruins of some larger buildings.  To the north, there is a circle of stone plinths with tops, and to the north of that, two mausoleums on either side of a domed building.  They finally head north to the circle of stones and Dio finds he is uneasy next to it.  The others go inside and see evidence of sacrifice on the slab in the center.  Several notice runes and symbols but can't quite recognize them with the style used to draw them.  As the others move off to find a place to camp and look around, Dio starts a ritual to cleanse the stone circle.  

There are tracks around, Rolen and Gorstag find.  Giant prints, mostly likely frost, but maybe some hill giants.  Although none have been here in a tenday or two.  Near the ruins, there are lots of human tracks.  Things are smashed, drying racks, clothes line poles, and small pieces of furniture, although not many of those.  Someone had lived in the ruins but left before the giants arrived.  The group sees that the smaller mausoleums have dwarven family names above them but the domed building's door has been chipped away at but never opened.  Writing might have been on the door but it's been removed by the chipping attempts to open the door.  

Gorstag and Rikard go set up camp and get some food prepared.  Kaji and Rolen are watching Dio finish the ceremony.  When it does finish, the temperature drops inside the circle and it gets darker.  They see ghosts of people, no one they recognize, appear and spin around and then Dio's spell finishes and sends them to their rest.  Kaji feels their pain and gets a headache from it but Dio comes and heals it.  

The group then rests and gets a full night's sleep.  However, just after they finish getting ready the next morning, figures are heading toward the area.  Giants and wolves!  Dio shudders when he hears that but gets ready.  The giants go to the stone ring and are checking it out.  The group eases down from their camp and hides in the ruins.  However, while they weren't spotted, the wolves caught their scent and come forward, howling!  

The wolves don't do well against the group.  One is down before it gets close.  The other three manage to get close but are severely wounded.  With the focus on the wolves, though, the giants close the gap and soon the group finds itself split, with Dio and Gorstag taking one giant, and Rolen, Kaji, and Rikard taking the other.  Gorstag and Rolen go down at one point but the others manage to heal them and get them back into the fight.  A wall of fire burns both giants but also slows Dio when the fight starts to happen on the other side of the wall!  Both sides are going hot and cold.  (heh)  One person will get a huge hit on an enemy and then miss for the next three attacks or more.  The giants slowly get worn down but the characters are also slowly feeling the effects of the fight.  At the end of the fight, the giants are down!  The group slumps with fatigue but grateful as Rikard and Dio heal who they can.  

Rikard mumbles an apology as he couldn't hit the giants with any of his attack spells.  

Even though they just woke up, they are feeling how much this fight took from them and they decide to spend the day skinning the wolves and reading through the scrolls they had found.  Kaji takes the time to burn the remains of the bodies.  At the end of the day, Dio walks up to the domed building and wonders if he can open it.  He puts his hands on the door and hears, "Do you want to open the door?  This cannot be stopped."  He prays to Moradin for guidance.  When he explains what happened, Rolen says it sounds ominous.  They discuss it and decide they will open the doors the next morning, after they have recovered a bit more from the fight.  

The next morning, after eating, praying, reading, they go to the door.  Again, as he touches it, Dio hears, "Do you want to open the door?  This cannot be stopped."  

"Yes."

The doors open.  Wind whips up around the building.  Dark storm clouds appear and a large figure, over thirty feet tall, bursts out of the top of the domed building.  Lightning comes down from the clouds to the outstretched hands of the giant, who seems to revel in the feeling.  

"The destroyer is free!"  The giants voice echoes across the ruins, the valley, and into the sky itself.  

2900 xp

GM Notes

• I am using a headache to describe the psychic damage Kaji took from the attack.
• I'm still not thrilled with the bonus action rules of 5E.
• Not what can be done with it but I don't think it has been applied consistently.  Sometimes you get one, sometimes not, and it's not consistent, imo.
• I was told that door was going to be opened even if it had Do Not Open signs on it. 
• Had a few tech problems with d20Pro.  Again, problems syncing up with people.  
• While it got better when Marc left, indicating that it might have been on his side, it wasn't perfect.  Better but not perfect.
• This worked well but there was still talk of going back to 3.7.  I'm wary of that only because movement and syncing is much better in 3.9, even though there are issues but I will go back to it if that's what the group wants.   

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