News of a giant harassing the village of Conyberry had spread, causing concern for the townsfolk. Seven of us set out from Tempered Vale: Aoris, Grognak, Mermur, Sedai, Tor, XIII, and myself. When we got to town I followed the group to the local tavern, where we learned that the giant, known as Ergont to himself and Grizzleguts to the villagers, was being given offerings of food in return for leaving. Especially troubling in times like these, when supplies can be hard to come by. Also troubling was the disappearance of a local hunter, Harlon Means, who was expected back from a hunt some time ago.
Aoris needed to resupply before we left and purchased a haunch of meat from a suspect butcher and a barrel of ale. He is truly dedicated to his stomach.
We set out from Conyberry along the east road, as a herd of caribou had been seen nearby. If the townsfolk were hungry for caribou, perhaps the giant would be as well? Besides, the tracks would make it easier for the smaller among us to wade through the snow. We found some tracks and followed them north, to the base of a mountain. We made good time and caught up to a group of three caribou grazing near the tree-line. XII and I stalked after them with Tor and Mermur following behind us, to offer support. We couldn't get close enough for a decent shot, but we did discover the mouth of a cave a ways up the mountainside.
The cave looked promising from the entrance and XIII offered to investigate. Mermur worked her magic, turning the tabaxi invisible before he headed down into the darkness. XIII returned after a handful of minutes to let us know the cavern opened up a little ways in and appeared clear of danger. Aoris was kind enough to light my lantern with a spell before we descended.
We passed between two stone hands raised up out of the rock, which Aoris stopped and marveled at. Loud scraping sounds echoed in the cave, but we couldn't tell the source, and kept on going.
Our progress was halted by another of these damned underground rivers. Bad enough, to be so deep in the ground and unable to see the sky. The river was incredibly deep. I could barely see the bottom. A perfect spot for some fishmen or other unknown to ambush us. I warned everyone to be on the lookout for both fishmen and that disgusting jelly abomination that we'd encountered before. There's no way I'm going to go out drowning at the bottom of a river, and spent some time trying to hook my rope to an up-thrust rock formation across the water from us. Grognak must have a death wish, since he just jumped in and tried swimming across. He sank to the bottom almost instantly. Luckily XIII was able to dive in and snag him with my grappling hook so we could haul him out.
We were able to secure some rope across the river and Mermur started ferrying us across one at a time on an extremely tiny boat she made of ice. I wasn't keen to test its buoyancy, but the others seemed confident enough. Halfway through we were attacked. Some small spiders attacked those of us waiting to cross to little effect, but things were more serious on the other side. I couldn't see what exactly, but Sedai, Tor, and XIII were able to drive it off. We managed to cross uneventfully after that.
On the far side we discovered the source of the scraping noises: a giant, holding a massive... (what did Tor call it?) stalagtite, stalacmite... stalactite in one hand and a rock in the other. Leave it to dwarves to have so many words for pointed rocks. We approached cautiously and I called out a greeting to him in Giant. It reminded me of home, to speak such, and I was glad of the chance to do so. He was willing to talk and introductions were made. His name was Brotosch, and he believed his god Skoraeus Stonebones had sent him here. He was not the giant threatening Conyberry, but suggested we look further to the west. His purpose in the cave was to carve a detailed history, and his ability was incredible. I cannot recount it all here, but battle seemed to be a frequent theme. After sharing his barrel of ale with the giant, Aoris and Tor were allowed to examine Brotosch's work. Perhaps they gleaned more of the meanings held within. It reminded me of the Reverent Wall; no hero could deny an offering made with such skill.
Brotosch came with us back to the river and threw myself, XIII, and Tor across until a rather rough landing made him change his mind. We caught our breath at the mouth of the cave before heading back down the slope towards the woods. It felt damned good to get out of that cave and breathe some fresh air.
We headed west, looking for tracks. Grognak was delighted when we came across an exceptional white oak, and XIII helped him recover a choice branch. Sedai's sharp eyes spotted a little girl shivering against a tree. She's lucky he did, the cold out here is no joke. The little girl, Charlotte, had been traveling to Conyberry from Tempered Vale with her parents when she got lost. She showed no enthusiasm when I asked her if she'd like to hunt a giant with us, and it was decided to return to Conyberry for the night, it being only a few hours away. Charlotte was turned over to a guard on our arrival, and we departed again the next morning.
We caught a strong stench in the wind and followed it to another cave. The smell was almost unbearable, but we followed it through several passages until we found the den of Ergont. We were approaching him when his two giant dogs fell upon our flank. The time for diplomacy had passed, and we waged a fierce battle against Ergont and his dogs.
In the end the giant and his dogs lay slain at our feet. A search uncovered multiple bodies, mutilated by the giant. He had killed several guards as well as Harlon Means. We also found a small box holding a locket of dark hair tied in a blue ribbon. Ergont had been sniffing the hair when we found him, and Aoris and Tor recognized the smell from Murdock's lair. We laid the bodies to rest in stone cairns with their weapons, and burned the bodies of the giant and dogs before hiking back to Conyberry with some of the victims' personal effects. The people were saddened of course by news of Harlon's death, but pleased the giant would not trouble them anymore.
Aoris needed to resupply before we left and purchased a haunch of meat from a suspect butcher and a barrel of ale. He is truly dedicated to his stomach.
We set out from Conyberry along the east road, as a herd of caribou had been seen nearby. If the townsfolk were hungry for caribou, perhaps the giant would be as well? Besides, the tracks would make it easier for the smaller among us to wade through the snow. We found some tracks and followed them north, to the base of a mountain. We made good time and caught up to a group of three caribou grazing near the tree-line. XII and I stalked after them with Tor and Mermur following behind us, to offer support. We couldn't get close enough for a decent shot, but we did discover the mouth of a cave a ways up the mountainside.
The cave looked promising from the entrance and XIII offered to investigate. Mermur worked her magic, turning the tabaxi invisible before he headed down into the darkness. XIII returned after a handful of minutes to let us know the cavern opened up a little ways in and appeared clear of danger. Aoris was kind enough to light my lantern with a spell before we descended.
We passed between two stone hands raised up out of the rock, which Aoris stopped and marveled at. Loud scraping sounds echoed in the cave, but we couldn't tell the source, and kept on going.
Our progress was halted by another of these damned underground rivers. Bad enough, to be so deep in the ground and unable to see the sky. The river was incredibly deep. I could barely see the bottom. A perfect spot for some fishmen or other unknown to ambush us. I warned everyone to be on the lookout for both fishmen and that disgusting jelly abomination that we'd encountered before. There's no way I'm going to go out drowning at the bottom of a river, and spent some time trying to hook my rope to an up-thrust rock formation across the water from us. Grognak must have a death wish, since he just jumped in and tried swimming across. He sank to the bottom almost instantly. Luckily XIII was able to dive in and snag him with my grappling hook so we could haul him out.
We were able to secure some rope across the river and Mermur started ferrying us across one at a time on an extremely tiny boat she made of ice. I wasn't keen to test its buoyancy, but the others seemed confident enough. Halfway through we were attacked. Some small spiders attacked those of us waiting to cross to little effect, but things were more serious on the other side. I couldn't see what exactly, but Sedai, Tor, and XIII were able to drive it off. We managed to cross uneventfully after that.
On the far side we discovered the source of the scraping noises: a giant, holding a massive... (what did Tor call it?) stalagtite, stalacmite... stalactite in one hand and a rock in the other. Leave it to dwarves to have so many words for pointed rocks. We approached cautiously and I called out a greeting to him in Giant. It reminded me of home, to speak such, and I was glad of the chance to do so. He was willing to talk and introductions were made. His name was Brotosch, and he believed his god Skoraeus Stonebones had sent him here. He was not the giant threatening Conyberry, but suggested we look further to the west. His purpose in the cave was to carve a detailed history, and his ability was incredible. I cannot recount it all here, but battle seemed to be a frequent theme. After sharing his barrel of ale with the giant, Aoris and Tor were allowed to examine Brotosch's work. Perhaps they gleaned more of the meanings held within. It reminded me of the Reverent Wall; no hero could deny an offering made with such skill.
Brotosch came with us back to the river and threw myself, XIII, and Tor across until a rather rough landing made him change his mind. We caught our breath at the mouth of the cave before heading back down the slope towards the woods. It felt damned good to get out of that cave and breathe some fresh air.
We headed west, looking for tracks. Grognak was delighted when we came across an exceptional white oak, and XIII helped him recover a choice branch. Sedai's sharp eyes spotted a little girl shivering against a tree. She's lucky he did, the cold out here is no joke. The little girl, Charlotte, had been traveling to Conyberry from Tempered Vale with her parents when she got lost. She showed no enthusiasm when I asked her if she'd like to hunt a giant with us, and it was decided to return to Conyberry for the night, it being only a few hours away. Charlotte was turned over to a guard on our arrival, and we departed again the next morning.
We caught a strong stench in the wind and followed it to another cave. The smell was almost unbearable, but we followed it through several passages until we found the den of Ergont. We were approaching him when his two giant dogs fell upon our flank. The time for diplomacy had passed, and we waged a fierce battle against Ergont and his dogs.
In the end the giant and his dogs lay slain at our feet. A search uncovered multiple bodies, mutilated by the giant. He had killed several guards as well as Harlon Means. We also found a small box holding a locket of dark hair tied in a blue ribbon. Ergont had been sniffing the hair when we found him, and Aoris and Tor recognized the smell from Murdock's lair. We laid the bodies to rest in stone cairns with their weapons, and burned the bodies of the giant and dogs before hiking back to Conyberry with some of the victims' personal effects. The people were saddened of course by news of Harlon's death, but pleased the giant would not trouble them anymore.
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