Dorn's Deep

Vincent walks over to Ras and relieves him of the Heartstone Gem.

Zenithral nods and casts message, whispering the name of a location to her.The Heartstone Gem? They couldn't give up that...could they? It was the artifact they needed, wasn't it? They spent so much effort to obtain it and learn how to use it! Then again, they couldn't exactly defeat four fire giants and Ilmadia in the state they were in either...

Alalla's eyes narrow. "The Gem?" She shakes her head. "It doesn't seem wise to give Belhifet the tool he needs to discover all your secrets, Mistress Liadon. With the Gem, he doesn't even need to know you have them to uncover them." Alalla stands with a grunt. "Even if you intend to keep it from him, that's rather risky isn't it? No, it's safer- you and your secrets are safer- with us." She looks at the woman levelly. "Try again."

She crosses her arms. Hopefully Zenithral's mother finds that reasonable. Al told Reothadh that she didn't think spending lives would buy them anything here. But keeping the Gem out of enemy hands... She had died for that already. She would pay all of their lives to keep it safe.

Next time we're leaving that thing with Halla! If there is a next time.

With a snort Druzil sits up on the throne, eyes blinking blearily. It yawns, exposing several rows of needle-like teeth, then gives its wings a quick flap and stretches, then hops onto the throne's back. A moment later it becomes a raven again and settles down to watch the goings-on.

Feeling the pressure of the situation, Vincent's hands dip in and out of Ras's backpack as deftly as any master thief. Slipping the weighty rock into his own pocket, he moves over to Ug to get a close look at using whatever the key unlocks as an escape route. Pulling the Heartstone Gem out to verify he really got it, Vincent holds it up, but only sees the floor. Right, I'm invisible, and so is it... Walking over to the throne, Vincent places the stone on the ground behind it, and instead of seeing the Heartstone Gem, he finds a normal rock. Ok, it was a nice rock, probably a really nice rock if you're a Druid who's into that sort of thing, but Vincent had no expertise in rocks. Putting it back in his pocket to give back to Ras later, it disappears from view once more.Hmmmm, Now what do I do?

Ilmadia stares Alalla down. "Fine," she seethes. Zenithral hears Ilmadia's voice in his ear as she returns his Message, mouth barely moving. "Wait until I'm gone before you do anything. And remember," she fixes him with a scolding stare, "I can only spare your friends so many times."

She turns back to the party. "Have it your way," Ilmadia declares. She snaps her fingers at the giant guards. "Grab them. Throw them back out into the snow. Except him." She levels a slender finger at Ug. "Put him in the slave pens. Recompense for my lost property. And a lesson." She passes an imperious glare over the party, then turns away.

"Come, Druzil." The imp flaps over to land groggily on her shoulder. A quick hand gesture opens a door in the air, and Ilmadia, the right hand of Belhifet, the Black Swan, Zenithral's mother, steps through. The doorway closes as the giants advance.

The four giants move forward. Carthom points his axe at Ug. "You heard the Black Swan. The mountainborn comes with me. The rest of you will be escorted out now. Resistance will be met with death." His smile shows enormous square teeth. "Move out!"

Alalla stiffens and looks around quickly at the giants, measuring them up. Should they fight? They are tougher than she is, but their gear isn't as good. They haven't finished their work here! Still, it's risky. Many of them are so tired. She looks to Zenithral. He is their tactician, and the one making deals with the enemy.

Zenithral casts message and quickly speaks to Alalla. "She wants the twins." He tells her the location. "If we want to catch Ilmadia where she's most vulnerable, it will be there. I'm not sure we can fight the giants in our current state, but we also don't know how defenses will change if we leave and return. Vincent might be able to help Ug escape, however...my instincts tell me we should leave as they wish and regroup."

"Fine." Alalla leaves her glaive where it is on the floor, so as not to alarm the giants. Erevain can always retrieve it later. She gives Ug what she hopes is a reassuring look. "We won't resist."

"Resist?" Carthom's deep chuckle causes the party's clothes and armor to vibrate. "Didn't think you would. You seem like a smart lot. Well! Move along!"

A cry sounds up above the group and a rope descends from nowhere. Nancy shimmies down the rope, more spry than it seems a gnome her age should be. She lands next to the startled group and adjusts her dress.

"Off to the kitchens then, are we?" she asks no one in particular. She looks around the group and her eyes rest on Ug. "Is this my new kitchen boy? A little scrawny, but he'll do. It's nice to have some height in there." Her eyes twinkle at her son.

"We can always use another hand in the kitchen, right boys?" She looks expectantly at the fire giants, her face stern, as though waiting for them to escort her back to her post. Anyone would think she was the one in charge.

Carthom blinks in surprise at the gnome woman's sudden appearance. "Hey now! You were supposed to be released, cook." He looks at the charred gnome bodies that litter the area before the throne's dais. "But the Swan didn't say either way what to do with you or the blue one... Sure. But we can't let him keep these."

Carthom bends over to pluck Ug's weapons away, and grimaces uncomfortably as he touches the racist maul. With a grumble the drops the weapons into a pouch at his belt. "Well? We're hungry! Get to work!"

He shoos Nancy and Ug toward the kitchen as the other three giants shepherd the rest of the party away through the bowels of Dorn's Deep.

None of the giants realize that Vincent is left, invisible, to go where he wants and do what he wishes.

Alalla breathes deeply, and does her best to be meek and compliant. Walking slowly or being aggressive out of spite won't do anything for their cause. When the giants leave, she watches the door shut, face as hard as the stone. Reo opened it once. He can again.

"My glaive, sharuhk?" It doesn't make her nervous that someone else has control of her weapon this way. It doesn't. "Why don't you fill the group in on your plans while we wait for Ug and Vincent, Zenithral."

Erevain holds out a hand stained with blood and ash, and a moment later Alalla's golden glaive appears in his grasp. He tosses it to her, then also looks at the door. "At least the drow are dead." He sighs and shakes his head. "But now we are back where we started, only without Ug or Vincent."

One of the mushrooms nearby begins shrieking. Immediately Erevain goes on alert, eyes scanning the fluorescent fungus patches for any sign of movement. "It was not we who set that off that shrieker!"

A half-dozen sirens split the air as more of the shriekers take up the alarm.

"Something comes!"

And something does come. Something big. One of the treelike mushrooms crashes to the ground, and above it rises a an enormous snake-like creature with dozens of insectoid legs, hard ridge-like scales, bulbous multifaceted eyes, and far too many teeth. It lets out a whining howl of its own that sends shivers running down every spine, and then the creature's entire length flares with sudden heat and casts a fiery light over the room.



The remorhaz, a consummate predator of the icy North, moves in for the kill.

Alalla throws her glaive as the monster approaches, but it sails by. She draws her sword and ignites it. "The door, Reothadh! Get the door!" She engages the beast, grazing two legs with her sword.

Inspiration used to reroll that one. Beastie takes 23 slashing and 16 fire damage.

"Why Erevain, I'm offended. You now have me!" Zenithral says jokingly trying to lighten the mood. His smile fades into an awkward grimace.

...

Zenithral groans, unslinging his bow. "Do you think it's intelligent?"

He looses a volley, but to no effect. He tries curving one arrow bound to miss, but does so too late...the arrow glides off the creature, then curves---right at Ras. Zenithral's eyes widen and he braces himself as the arrow hits Ras in the arm. White light streaks from the gnome and pain shoots up his own arm as blood begins to drip from it. Ras' arm is fine, the arrow, clattering to the ground.(Fumble. Critical Hit an ally within 5 feet. Used Martyr's Empathy to take the hit. Zenithral takes 24 damage.)

"I knew that technique was going to come back to hit me someday... Zeithral says with a grunt, looking down at the gnome. "I didn't think it would work out quite like that..."

HP 85/98
AC 17

Seeing Ug and Nancy head towards the kitchens, Vincent follows close behind maintaining his invisibility.