After just over an hour of snowshoeing, you arrive before an enormous, spiny pile of volcanic slag, perhaps 100' high. Jo-owrn points out the two enormous obsidian valves, facing southeast, which are the entrance to the place. They are each 10' wide and 29' tall, and are closed.
The area immediately before the doors has been cleared of snow. However, there are no tracks in the snow leading away from the doors.
Britan looks up and down the tall doors and says, "I wonder if there is any sentry on the other side of those doors?"
Then he looks to Humphrey and says, "We may even find a few sparing parthners inside here to hone up on."
Jon says, "I will go invisible and scout if you want...."
This he does, but he returns a few minutes later. He could not hear anything through the doors; nor could he open them to explore further.
Tabrina grows impatient, and fires a knock spell at the doors.
The doors slowly swing open. They are a good 3' thick.
On the other side is a 20' wide passage heading northeast. The floor is of obsidian, and tattered wall hangings adorn the walls. Flickering torches in wall sconces provide illumination.
You climb down from the snow bank and look in. The passage runs for some 60' on the right wall, then opens up into a wider hall to the east.
You move in, but you have only gone some 20' before two enormous creatures, which look like some sort of bastardized troll-giant crossbreed, rush out from behind a tapestry on the left!
"Hey! Invaders! Cool!" yells one of them. These fellows do not strike you as being particularily bright, but the spiked clubs they are swinging at you look menacing nonetheless.
"Hey! Guards! Cool!"
Britan whips out his glowing magical sword and charges the giants, attacking the first one he comes up to.
Illyana draws her two handed sword. "So much for the quiet entrance."
Ayazin draws his scimitar and shield but stays back and guards the party's rear.
Jon bypasses the monsters and scouts ahead to the east acting as an early warning for the party.
Farad nods toward Raz and Beth. "Let's save our spells for emergencies. Someone get some fire ready in case these things regenerate."
He moves forward also with his sword and begins to attack.
Raz steps back out of the range of combat, figuring that the fighters have the situation under control. He'll have a magic missile spell ready though in case things get ugly.
Humphrey swings to attack with his magical short sword. With the left he will parry an attack.
Britan and Farad face one giant troll, while Illyana and Humphrey face the other.
Britan ducks under the nasty spiked club that the first monster swings at him, but then fans with his longsword. Farad attacks a hairy flank, and opens a lovely gash across the giant's thigh. The troll howls, but you see the wound start to close.
Illyana also sidesteps an incoming club with dexterous ease, then follows up with two hard, fast cuts with her old two-handed sword. The giant troll staggers back, blood streaming from two abdominal wounds, but he quickly charges in again. This time Humphrey is the one to meet it, and he cuts the monster down with one blow.
Jon, meanwhile, has reached the end of the passage...just as two more monsters arrive there from the east, too. One is a troll - an ordinary but very large and well fed specimen - while the other is the largest giant that you have ever seen. His pallor is coal black, his hair is ruddy, and his temperament is angry.
"FEE, FI FOO FUM!" he bellows the ancient war-cry of giants across the multiverses.
"This is more like it," says Jo-owrn, as he draws his sword and moves forward.
Kelar launches a magic missile spell at the new giant and then moves up with scimitars.
"This could be fun," says Kelar with a grin.
His two missiles singe the nose hairs of the fire giant.
Farad, already engaging the giant trolls, yells to Beth and Raz. "A giant counts as an emergency I think. One hit from him could take most of us down."
Farad's comment shakes Raz out of his thoughtful haze. "Oh yes...I see, well, I can certainly help with the giant."
Raz quickly fires off a magic missle spell at the giant....
His four missiles do somewhat more substantial damage into the monster.
"Right-o," Beth says, casually tossing a lightning bolt in the direction of the giant.
There is a crackle, as her bolt strikes the giant in the kisser, blackening it. He bellows in anger.
"FEE FI FO FUM!"
Aldarin points in the direction of the giant and the troll direction and releases a bolt of lightning, forking it to strike each one of them, aiming for their heads and upper body.
The giant does not take so much damage this time, but the troll is very nicely sizzled.
Aldarin then moves forward to attack with his sword, choosing the troll if he has an option.
"Fee Fi Foo Fum this you smelly giant."
Britan continues to attack.
Sharone prepares oil and torch, she will burn any parts of bodies, especially bits that look troll like and may regenerate.
She will also look to collect blood from the new monster and the giant.
Ayazin holds his position guarding the rear.
Britan again is missed, as he lands a grazing hit on the giant troll. A second swing connects, leaving the giant on its knees. Farad then kills it.
Kelar and Aldarin attack the troll. A single swing from Kelar topples the monster.
Meanwhile, Jo-owrn faces the fire giant alone. He easily dodges the giant's club, as he swings a bastard sword at the fellow. The blade connects, and the ranger disembowels the giant.
The monster howls one last time, and drops dead.
The battle is not over yet, though, as two more fire giants rush around the corner from the east. These fellows are smaller, though, and by the looks of anguish on their faces and their screams of dismay and fury, you suspect that Jo-owrn has just killed the ruler of this place.
"We better hurry up or we will be out numbered quick, because they would have to be deaf not to hear this down the cavern."
Britan continues to attack with his sword.
"Now..this might just get interesting real fast," comments Raz as he sends another flurry of magic missles at the new arrivals to the battle. The missiles blast into one of the giants, but he does not slow his charge.
"Hmm," Beth grunts, looksing one volley of magic missiles at each of the fire giants. Eight more missiles blast into the giants.
Aldarin spins and lets fly a hypnotic pattern in the face of the two new onrushers. The giants are unaffected.
Humphrey attacks one of the fire giants, and Jo-owrn goes at the other. The giants continue to have no luck at connecting with their opponents, while Humphrey lands hits on the worst injured giant, killing it. Jo-owrn also sidesteps an incoming club as he opens a massive wound up the leg of the second fire giant.
Farad, seeing that the ranger has the fire giant well in hand, instead hesitates for an instant before unloading his lightning bolt on the next monster, which is just rounding the corner. It is a hill giant, and it takes the elf's bolt full in the face, which hurts him quite a bit and gets him angry, too.
"YEEEEEEEEEEE!!" he bellows, making for the nearest enemy, who happens to be Humphrey.
Meanwhile, Sharone is merrily torching trolls.
Humphrey parries with the non magical sword and attacks with the magical sword.
Aldarin helps out with any creatures still left alive.
Britan continues to attack the nearest giant to him.
"This isn't starting to look good for the home team. We better start dispatching some of these guys."
Kelar heads over to the hill giant and takes him on with swords.
"At this rate all of the giants at this place are going to be up here. At least they are coming slowly," says Kelar.
Ayazin continues his valiant and doughty guarding of the rear.
Jo-owrn, who does not look too concerned, fights the last fire giant with Aldarin at his side.
Humphrey, Britan and Kelar gang up on the already badly hurt hill giant.
Jo-owrn lands a perfect hit on the giant with his bastard sword. The fire giant utters a terrible wail as the blade digs deep, and then drops dead on the spot.
The hill giant, apparently thrown off guard by the sudden demise of his only present ally, fans with his club. Humphrey, though, does likewise with his glowing shortsword, and the cavalier does no better. Kelar, though, connects twice, leaving the hill giant badly burt.
At this point an enormous, two-headed giant charges into the melee! Aldarin and Jo-owrn are there to meet it. It has two clubs, and swings one at the elf and the other at the ranger. Aldarin takes 6 hit points - the first damage that any of you have suffered thus far - and Jo-owrn is clobbered for 10. Aldarin replies with a powerful strike with his flame tongue, while Jo-owrn - who seems to know exactly where to strike a giant for maximum destructive effect - cleaves deeply into the monster.
Meanwhile, Humphrey fans badly again as he turns the giant's club with the flat of his one shortsword, but then he connects and kills the hill giant with his other blade.
Just as you are starting to think that you have the upper hand, four more giants come around the corner from the east. These fellows are smaller, though, but still ready for a fight.
"Verbeeg!" exclaims Jo-owrn, sparing them a glance.
Ayazin says, "Well of course they're very big, they're giants!"
The druid leaves his rear-guarding position and moves to attack the nearest Verbeeg.
Farad mindblasts the verbeeg. Rushing out into such a death zone can't be that intelligent.
Three of the new giants are unaffected by Farad's mental blast. The fourth one, though, screams and attacks the nearest creature to him: one of his companions. His blow falls wide, though.
Since Jo-owrn seems to be able to handle himself against these creatures pretty well, Aldarin spins towards the new danger and casts a quick Web spell on the verbeegs approaching the party.
Only one verbeeg avoids becoming entangled in the webs.
Kelar also moves over to help with the verbeeg.
"Okay this is getting old real quick. Can we stop having these darn giants come?" says Kelar quickly.
Britan turns his attacks to the Verbeeg giants instead.
"Yep Kelar this is getting old fast..."
Humphrey continues to attack with his magical short sword and parrying with the other.
Illyana sets herself to face the newcomers. "I never expected this stiff of a resistance."
Humphrey says, "What did you think that they'd say? 'Here's the key to the keep, welcome to it'. My guess is it has only started."
"By the gods they're worse then termites!" exclaims Raz as he turns and lights up a flame arrow at a giant in the center of the arriving group. However, no one is available to shoot the magiked arrow.
Britan comments, "Yea but with termites you can aleast call the Orkin Man..."
Sharone, having built her troll bonfire... drags any stray pieces to it.
She follows along at the back of the group, torch in one hand and flail in the other.
"Seems we've stirred up quite a hornets nest..... I thought this was a covert operation."
Jo-Owrn easily dispatches the ettin with one last swing of his sword.
Kelar faces the only free verbeeg, with Britan and Humphrey flanking it. The wood elf is poked for 10 hit points, as he lands a glancing blow with one scimitar and misses with the other. Britan lands a better blow, though, and the giant staggers. Humphrey concludes the life of the giant with a swift thrust of his glowing shortsword.
Three verbeeg giants remain trapped in the webbing, though they are struggling to get out of it. No more enemies seem to be on the way...for the moment.
"Check the area out. We've done this lots of times."
Illyana walks over to the three verbeeg.
"Can you speak?"
Britan goes over by Illyana and waits to see if the giants cooperate with her or attack.
"F**** #%&^!!!!(*&$*(++$$#^%!!!" one of the verbeeg replies.
They are steadily tearing their way out of the webbing.
Humphrey will attack the first verbeeg that gets out of the web right as it frees itself.
Farad doesn't waste that much time, and stabs his sword into the webbing to deliver killing blows before they can escape.
Aldarin follows Farad's lead and does the same.
As Britan watches the rest decide to attack the giants, and he notices the giants are not going to cooperate at all he attacks them also..
Seeing everyone attacking the trapped giants, Kelar binds his wounds and watches to see what else will appear.
It only takes a moment to kill all of the giants.
Sharone throws her torch into the webbing. "Maybe this will change your mind."
She incinerates the corpses.
Ayazin heads back to the rear of the party to resume guarding it.
Leslie reappears, next to Laurie and Tabrina.
"Looks like our help won't be needed," she says to the high priestess.
Laurie nods.
You wait for a few more minutes to see if anything else shows up, but no one does. Jon has rejoined the party.
Searching the corpses, all you find is a heavy sack on the hill giant, containing 4000cp.
You move northeast to the intersection, and look.
A 40' wide passage runs east at this point. This grand hallway has a floor of reddish black, polished stone. A row of pillars carved into the likenesses of dwarves straining to hold up the ceiling overhead, runs down the passage. Illumination is provided by jets of burning gases spouting out of cracks in the walls. The place is smoky, and smells of sulphur. Several tapestries hang here and there along the walls. They are old and tattered. The hall runs east for 150', then opens up into a chamber in the distance. At this (west) end of the passage, another hallway, 20' wide, runs northwest. In the 60' - 90' section of the east passage runs another passage, northeast.
You look northwest. This smaller passage runs that way for 20', then forks into two 20' wide passages...one running north, the other west.
Farad asks Beth to see about collecting portion of the giant that might be used for creating a girdle of giant strength. "Perhaps someday we can have one made."
Ayazin can see that they are safely stored so that they don't deteriorate.
Ayazin says, "I see, and which...uh...'portions' of the giant will it be necessary for me to carry around?"
The elf looks over at the giant. "None of us will carry it around... I'll take it to the Astral plane where it won't deteriorate. Its unlikely someone would come across it and steal it."
"As for what to get, I'd say some blood, sweat, hair, skin and muscle. I just need you to make sure its wrapped well."
"All right." After careful consideration, Ayazin removes a sizeable chunk from the fire giant's armpit, which includes all of the above. He wraps it up in some tapestry cloths to keep it from rotting, and hands it over to Farad.
Farad pops to the Astral and leave the bundle there where it won't rot away, and then steps through the color pool to return.
"You could have just stuck it outside," comments Jo-owrn, when Farad pops back in, "Sure wouldn't rot in these temperatures."
Ayazin looks at the passages and says, "Ooh, pretty. Jo'owrn, do you remember which way it is to the portal to the underdark?"
"I think we go northwest," says the ranger, after a moment of thought.
"Sounds as good as any other direction," says Raz as he follows the others.
You go northwest to the fork. Looking west, you see that the passage runs for about 50', turning north after 30'. Another 20' wide passage runs south after 20'.
To the north, the passage runs for 60', then turns northeast. In the 30' - 50' section is a passage running east.
You go north.
The east passage ends after 20' before a large pair of doors.
Jo-owrn leads you on to the north.
After the bed, the passage runs northeast for about 30', then turns north again. You head up and take a look, and see that the passage only runs for another 20', then forks again...with one branch going northeast and the other northwest.
After some thought, Jo-owrn leads you northwest again.
The passage runs northwest for about 60', then turns north. About midway down is a 20' wide passage running southwest. Passing it, you see that this passage only runs for 30', narrowing down to 10' in width, and ending at a door.
You continue up to where this passage turns north. At the turn, another passage runs southwest...sloping downwards steeply. The other passage continues north for 20', then opens up into a chamber.
Jo-owrn looks down the descending passage and smiles, pleased with his memory.
You head southwest, and down to the next level.
However, you are only part way down the inclined passage, before you hear loud bellows from ahead, and see six ogres come charging at you!
Raz quickly sends a flurry of magic missles at the beasts.
His four missiles soften up four of the ogres.
Once Raz is done his Magic Missles, Britan charges up to the Ogres and attacks.
"The Heck with this! Let's take the fight to them, Instead of waiting for them go get to us."
Illyana draws her two handed sword. "You'd think they were smart enough not to charge when outnumbered."
"Well maybe they know something we don't, or maybe not??" Britan says.
Ayazin says, "Smart? Ogres? Hah!"
"Yeah!" grunts an ogre in barely understandable common, to Illyana. "Don't be insultin'!"
Ayazin draws his scimitar, but stays in the rear and lets the fighters do that thing they do.
Humphrey gets ready to greet their charge with his two short swords.
Farad stands ready to meet their charge, sword in hand.
Aldarin quickly extends a hand and sends his last lightning bolt down the hall toward the ogres (forking it so as to get maximum numbers).
His bolt manages to catch all six ogres, blowing them all to smithereens.
The warriors are left standing there...all dressed up with no place to go.
"Well..." says Leslie, from the back of the party and somewhere above you.
"This whole place doesn't exactly seem to carry smart monsters. But we should be prepared for more. They do seem to come up out of the woodwork," says Kelar.
He has barely gotten the words out of his mouth before you hear the whoops and yells of more approaching monsters.
You move quickly forward to the bottom of the inclined passage, where there is a 4-way intersection with another 20' wide passage.
Looking around the corner to the south, you see about a dozen bugbears bearing down on you.
Knowing that some day everyone will be glad of his habit, Ayazin takes up his customary defensive position at the rear of the party with scimitar in hand.
Aldarin releases two Magic Missiles spells into the lead Bugbears (1 spell each) and then readies his sword for melee. His two spells bruise a pair of bugbears.
"This is the last of my spells, my friends."
Beth, having lost complete track of her spell situation for the day, hangs back to see if the fighters can handle these.
"Well, at least this keeps things interesting," comments Raz as he casts another spell..sending a miniature meteor at the on-coming creatures. His first meteor strikes the third bugbear in the lead. Every few seconds or so, he throws another little meteor.
The warriors meet the bugbears head on with a clash of swords and armour.
Britan is hit for 5 hit points, but he then kills his assailant.
Illyana easily kills her opponent, then turns on another.
Jo-owrn likewise makes short work of a bugbear, as does Leslie.
Humphrey sidesteps a broadsword chop, then takes down a fifth bugbear with two swings of his shortswords.
Kelar and his opponent both miss badly.
Farad is grazed for 3 hit points before killing a bugbear.
Aldarin rushes up next, but misses. His bugbear opponent fares no better.
Kelar lands a solid hit against his opponent.
Britan begins to battle another monster, as does Illyana. The girl misses completely.
Jo-owrn, however, easily disposes of another one.
Leslie helps out Kelar, and finishes off his bugbear.
Humphrey kills the bugbear on Aldarin, and Farad lands a heavy hit on the one on Britan.
Raz completes his spell, having softened up quite a few of the monsters.
Only two remain alive.
Britan easily kills his opponent, and Illyana follows suit a moment later.
All of the bugbears are dead.
Jon, after all the magic and such goes off, will search bodies. He finds a grand total of 132cp, 88sp, 55ep and 22gp.
No more monsters seem to be coming at you for the moment, so you pause and take in your surroundings.
You are standing at a four way intersection. The sloping passage that you just came down from the level above runs off to the northeast. The other passages run south, west and north, respectively. All are 20' wide.
To the north is a flight of stairs up, after 10'.
To the west, the passage only runs for 20', before ending at a pair of doors.
To the south, the passage runs for 50', turning east after 20' and becoming 30' wide. This is the direction that the bugbears came from.
Sharone moves aroung the wounded fighters, binding any wounds to avoid infection.
Humphrey says, "Should we go to where the bugbears came from? Charging through this area like this, I am sure that we are leaving behind missed treasure that could help us later on. Plus, we are getting low on spells."
"I don't know about missed treasure but we are sure clearing a path down here," says Kelar while wiping his brow. "We do need to think about our spells. I still have a magic missile and web spell."
"I'm still loaded up," says Tabrina.
"So am I," adds Laurie, "Though I am a cleric, so most of my spells are not for killing things."
"Humphrey makes a good point," says Leslie. "We killed a lot of monsters upstairs. They may have useful treasure. Plus, there may be more giants up there that we missed. I wouldn't want to meet them on the way out, if we're completely depleted."
She pauses, then takes out one of her portable holes and opens it. From it, she takes a small gold box.
"This might be able to help us find any treasure," she says.
Aldarin gives her a strange look, "And what do you propose to do with that triquet?"
"It detects things, like metals," Leslie replies.
Farad quickly goes around the party and heals all of your wounds.
Humphrey says, "I say we follow Leslie."
"I agree with Humphrey. If there is treasure to be found upstairs so be it. Plus it looks like we have something that will speed things up," says Kelar.
"Let's go for the treasure upstairs and rest," says the voice of the invisible Jon, very close by Leslie.
Farad looks around. "Before we go further treasure hunting I say we rest a bit to regain our magics. As you said, there might be more giants up there that we'd have to fight to get the treasure."
"You really want to go back outside and camp. We might be able to find a place in here if we keep looking," says Kelar "Then again I think I would prefer my tent than taking a chance in here."
You head back upstairs. Leslie turns invisible again.
At the top of the ramp the ranger asks you to pause. After a moment she says, "Nothing around here."
You follow her back down to the fork in the passage. Still she detects nothing.
You follow the meandering passage south. At the next fork you pause a third time. Still nothing.
You return to the entrance hallway, where you fought the giants and trolls. Leslie slowly walks down it to the door leading outside, then pauses. Several of you bump into her.
"Something to the northwest," she says, "Metals, but not too strong."
You search about, but find nothing. You head back the way you came, thinking of the first forked passage you came to when you worked your way north. Going to it, this time you head west instead of north. At the end of the passage, two more halls run, north and south respectively. Leslie leads you south, and into a kitchen, which is deserted.
You search, and in a large pot you find 7000cp and 3000ep.
"So much for that," says Leslie, sounding disappointed. "Do you want to keep exploring this level for treasure, or should we leave for the day?"
"Hmm," Beth grunts, echoing Leslie's dissapointment. "These giants ever use much magic? Any chance we might find anything interesting? If so, I say we keep looking. On the other hand, if we're only going to find big stacks of...."
At a pause, Beth flipps a copper piece into the air. "Pennies!" she exclaims.
Putting the copper piece back on the stack, she continues, "...then let's leave for the day. I could use a rest and a mental recharge myself."
"This gizmo can also detect magic as well," says Leslie.
You gather up the electrums and leave.
The trek back to your base camp is uneventful.
Once you are there, Leslie speaks.
"If today's sojourn was any indication, I don't think you need our help here," she says. "We have business to the east that I suppose we should be getting on with. We can check in every so often, though, to see how you are doing."
When the farewells are made, Leslie, Tabrina, Laurie and Rameen teleport out.