Scene V: Still In The Steading

    "What are we gonna do with the giantess?" Bruce asks the party, now beginning to look around the room, but not letting his guard down. "I think we ought to go ahead and finish her. What do you think Shaman?"

    Mog says, "I've wizard locked the doors, but I can dispel it at will. It will hold against even giants, as long as the surrounding door frame does not collapse. Krulek says that the way to the stairs is through the door behind the female hill giant. We must deal with her some way. I have no spells to incapacitate her without killing her. And I do not want to waste my spells just to kill her. That is a job for your steel." Mog seems indifferent as to her fate. The evidence of the giants' opinion of humans is clear-- they have obviously been feasting on humans (as well as orcs and other species).

    Blade generally frowns upon killing females, giantess or not. Still she could raise an alarm if left to her own devices. He thinks maybe he will just let the others kill her, that way he doesn't have to worry about it.

    "I suggest we follow the orc," says Blade as he begins pilfering the dead giants' treasure.

    "We cannot allow her to live, she was eating humans for gods sake. She will also sound the alarm!" Bruce readies his axe, preparing to launch himself at the giantess, aiming for her head, hoping to kill her quickly.

    As Bruce makes this statement, Ghotu says, "Wait, we can tie her up. We should also question her to see if she knows anything about why the giants are attacking human settlements." Ghotu dumps out one of the hill giant's bags, and there is a long coil of hemp rope. He carries it toward the hill giantess and says, "I know you can understand me. You are either going to let us tie you up, or you are going to force us to kill you right here and now. Your choice." Both Ghotu and Bruce are standing before her as Ghotu says this, axes held at the ready. The giantess looks at the slaughtered bodies of the other dead giants, which the company dispatched with relative ease, and realizes that she cannot hope to fight past her human captors. She drops her skillet and lies down on her stomach. She allows Ghotu to tie her hands behind her back as Bruce holds his axe over her head, ready to strike should she make a wrong move. She does not. Ghotu reverse hogties her, tying her bound hands to her bound feet behind her back.

    Ghotu tries to question her, but she claims to know nothing about why the other giants have been attacking humans. "For food and slaves, of course," is her initial answer. Ghotu threatens her with his axe, saying, "Bruce, get ready to behead this beast." Bruce immediately steps around to the giantess's head, raising his great axe.

    "Wait!" says the giantess. "I don't know why Nosra has been raiding so much, but I do know that we don't usually have frost and stone giants staying here. They are often in close counsel with Nosra in the daylight, when most of the other giants sleep. That's all I know!" Satisfied, Ghotu stuffs a curtain in her mouth and gags her.

    After the giantess situation is resolved, Ghotu joins the others in a quick search for loot. This takes a tense few minutes as they go through the possessions on the dead giants. Mog stands guard while the others search.

    The two hill giants have between them (in their bags) a haunch of meat (probably goat), some big rocks, a moldy half eaten cheese, a drinking horn, a salt block, three mangy pelts, a skull (orc), 120' of strong hemp rope (used to tie the giantess), a pair of smelly sandals (giant sized), 103 sp (silver pieces), six pieces of jewelry worth 300 gp (gold pieces) each. The cloud giant has 4 pieces of jewelry worth 1100 gp each. The giantesses have nothing of value on them.

    Ghotu asks Mog to talk to the orc more, to find out if the orcs in the caves below will help us fight giants, or if they only want to escape captivity.

    Mog talks to the orc Krulek as Krulek arms himself with a kitchen knife, and Krulek replies fearfully, pointing to the humans in the party. Mog speaks more to him, and Krulek answers. Then Mog turns to the party and says:

    "Krulek says the orcs below are besieged and have few weapons to fight with. They survive mostly by hiding. They would want to escape if they can, but they will help us however they can no matter what. Krulek says he has respect among them and they will be thankful if we bring him to them."

    Bruce answers cynically, "Seriously, do you think this orc tells the truth? Why he will say anything just to save his skin. I doubt the orcs will fight for us, so we had better be prepared for the worst. The action in these places always seems to be down, so I will follow."

    Mog replies, "Actually, Krulek just asked me if I trusted you humans and whether you would slaughter all the orcs once you found them as you did these giants. I told him you were men of honor and would not kill his family, that we are here for giants, not orcs."

    As the group gathers the loot, Mog moves near to Bruce and whispers, "I do think he tells the truth, at least about where the other orcs are. I think it unlikely that the orcs are willingly helping giants, judging by the orc skulls in the fire pit. More likely they are slaves as Krulek says. And I wouldn't be surprised if he speaks the common tongue, so be aware."

    After the search, Bruce puts the jewelry and silver in his pouch of holding, which he emptied (except for a few personal items) before coming on the journey for stashing treasure in (as had been the practice of the Company of the Thorn years ago). [A- Do you take any of the other items of the giants? If so, you can Post Your Action if you are signed into yahoogroups (subject line Turn 5, A-); or you can E-mail Your Action directly.]

    When the party is ready to exit, Mog waves his hand before the door he enchanted. The door briefly flashes a dim blue as he dispels the magic lock. Bruce and Ghotu each take one of the double doors and heave on it, pulling it inward with no small struggle. The party exits through that door, the west door of the great hall. The marching order is as follows. Ghotu and Bruce go in front, followed by Mog and Krulek, with Blade as the rear guard.

    Outside a great peal of thunder is heard, and the rain drumming on the roof of the steading intensifies. "Good," thinks Mog. The rain should help hide the sounds of combat. Perhaps that was why they had not encountered more giants so far. Perhaps.

    Ghotu and Bruce are first through the doorway and they see a hallway running to their left which is ten feet wide, and to their right a hall twenty feet wide. The hall to the right is lit by two torches, one on either wall. Straight ahead of the party as they exit is an open portal from which faint voices can be heard. Seventy feel ahead of them, through that portal and into the next room, they see a great hearth. The room opens out of their view to the right.

    At Krulek's direction, the party turns to their right as they exit the great hall, heading north down a tall wide passage (a normal hallway for giants). _ feet ahead of them they see five ogres jog into the hall from a side passage (to the party's right, or the east side of the hallway). The ogres are carrying their weapons ready, as if they expected trouble. The brutes stand easily seven feet tall, with coarse hair covering most of their bodies. They wear mismatched armor of plate and chain mail and carry great axes at the ready.

    The lead ogre barks orders to the others, and the rearmost ogre darts back down the passage from which they came. The other four advance on the party, calling out loudly as they do so. Their voices are partially muted by the heavy rainfall, but still seem very loud to the party. [Anyone who speaks Ogre understands what the ogres are saying. In any event, Mog translates:]

    "They heard our earlier battle, or perhaps the hill giantess's shouts. They sent the one to alert Chief Nosra of our presence."

    [Please post your statement of intent, including your attacks for two combat rounds (three attacks total). Pursuit of the ogre who fled to warn Nosra will require you to get past the other four ogres first. The ogres are bellowing the entire time, so reenforcements are likely to arrive quickly. Roll your "to hit" dice (d20) with the dice link below, and e-mail to eternal_warriors@yahoogroups.com. Please remember to roll all "to hits" separately, since the roller adds them together.]