Quillax's Journal
Journal (20-Nov)
We were just fixing ourselves up when we heard footsteps from the house above. We were wary, expecting either one of the rangers or possibly another ogrekin, and so a little surprised to see a new face.
He introduced himself as "Claw", a Goliath Barbarian who's encampment had been attacked when he had been out hunting. He had tracked the trail back to the Ogrekin's home, and with us slaying the last one, found himself without revenge. We explained our purpose and he agreed it was a worthy cause and as it would allow him to fight such creatures that attacked him camp, he decided to join our group.
With our new companion in tow, we checked the final door of the three. It opened into a storage room, filled with useless junk and another doorway set in the far wall. We searched through the junk anyway – in case some of the Rangers' gear was mixed in – then continued through the door. It opened into a small corridor and led to another door, this one rife with rot and moss, with a puddle under the door. We all agreed that this likely led to the Shambling Mound's room.
Claw charged in first and attacked immediately. I followed behind and squeezed in between the monstrosity and the wall, then shoved it, managing to topple it over.
Sepheria was not able to get a clear line of sight with all of us in the way but Neril darted in and was able to land his attacks. The Shambling Mound struck out at Claw and I but missed us both. Jarrick entered and struck the enemy repeatedly. Claw and I attacked and Sepheria then landed the fatal blow.
There was a door in the far wall, which Claw ripped open, revealing a chest. After checking it for traps, we opened it and found some treasure as well as the Black Arrow Rangers' gear.
We decided the best thing for this cursed land was to destroy the house and barn so that nothing else could live there and after we all evacutated the premises, I called forth a localised storm and blasted the two buildings with lighting, burning them down.
As we prepared to part with the Black Arrow Rangers, Jakadros warned us of the following:
If we travelled too close to Fort Rannick on the way to the dam, we would have to watch out for the Ogres, both scouting parties and those watching from the Fort as the road would be visible.
If we detoured through the Valley of Broken Trees to the West of the Fort, we needed to watch out for Erasmus, a supersized hill giant.
Jakadros told us that if we were able, the better option would be to negotiate with the Giant as some rangers were able to do this successfully.
At our request, they drew us a map of the Fort, including the Eyries of the Eagles, where the Giant Eagles nested. None of the Giant Eagles had been seen since the attack, so it was assumed they were all killed. He also pointed out where a secret passage was placed.
We sent the Black Arrow Rangers and Kibb back to the town with their gear to rest and recouperate and we continued on our original quest to the dam.
We rested overnight in Sepheria's magical hut and when we woke, it was to even heavier rain. A quick ritual of water walk allowed us to step over the growing puddles of standing water, though Sepheria chose to use the broom.
Claw informed us that he spoke Giantish and so we decided to take our chances with the Hill Giant and headed for the Valley.
As we progressed through the Valley, there was a growl to our right and a very large Giant stepped close, growling in his language. Claw conversed with him, then informed us of the Giant's request for payment. We offered the Ogre Hook. Some more conversation and a further demand was made. We offered the head of the King Ogre in the Fort once we killed him. Our offer was accepted and we moved on to the dam.
We reached the end of the Valley (approx 4:30pm) as the sun started to set. Some of the party were able to see Ogres and Trolls fighting on the dam, and much damage to one part of the structure. We decided we needed to move quickly. While we watched, the Trolls drove the Ogres away from the damaged area and then they went into the bastion.
Both groups of monsters seemed unusually organised. After some discussion, we agreed that there were probably 5 ogres and 4 trolls. Jarrick mentioned he had seen the Trolls crawling out of Storval Deep (a body of water) and so they were probably aquatic based Trolls, so water walk was no longer the best option. We decided to go through the trees up the far side of the dam.
Looking at the dam, we could see that there used to be a floodgate system where water was regulated through the eyes of the giant carved skulls on the dam. It appeared that the system had either stopped working or been purposefully damaged and we would need to get it started before the dam simply flooded over. There were also several stakes along the stairway we were climbing that were marked with skulls in a Karzoug/runelord symbol.
Sepheria sent her arcane eye ahead of us through the cave, across the wall, to the bastion. We found an Ettin chewing on a bone in the caves, and a ledge 15 foot in height that we would have to scale if we proceeded that way but little else of interest. The top of the dam had a series of damaged areas and 5 ogres, one of whom was obviously their leader. They were injured still, with one of them having a badly damaged arm. Inside the Bastion, Sepheria scouted out the best she was able, finding the four trolls hiding inside dark, mossy corners in one room, and another more interesting room with a sign written on the door. With some effort, she translated it to "Below dwells Wet Papa Grazoul" or something to that effect.
With a little ingenuity, we were able to get the entirety of the party onto the far side of the dam without being seen by the Ogres. (About 8:30pm). The dark aided our movements. As we landed, an enormous horse-like head, at least 15 feet in size rose out of the water of the Storval Deep then disappeared back under a heartbeat later.
We all agreed that was a Kraken and Black Maga was not just a myth. We also agreed that it was very important we did not fall into the water.
Examining the crumbling damage, I was able to fix the bridge with a large outpouring of magic, shaping the stone back into a proper structure. It would hold against normal wear and tear but not against systematic destruction so we needed to stop the Ogres from doing further damage.
We were able to get over the Bastion before our spells wore off but we had to leave Clank behind, which I do dislike but it was necessary.
From there, we went after the Ogres, who were damaging this side of the bridge but had not done enough to destabilise it. We threw stones and javelins at them as we ran towards them. Sepheria was able to ensnare 3 of the 5 with hypnotic pattern and we systematically killed them one by one. Claw landed the fatal blows on two, Jarrick also claimed two (shoving one off the side of the dam, not the Black Maga side), and Sepheria killed the last with her magics.
We headed towards the Bastion, with the hope of avoiding the Trolls while we looked for the mechanisms and to fetch Clank from the other side of the dam. We opened the "Papa" doors and revealed a long staircase. We started down, pausing to catch our breath part way down.
[2800 xp total, each. None for Clank]
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