Session 0022 : The Trouble with Giants

Game Date: 17 Zepter 3022

• After a restful sleep, The Heretic awoke the next day relatively refreshed. Everyone began eating their breakfast rations, sorting through their equipment and preparing for the upcoming day. Cathlynn, being the unofficial official party's "mother", made her rounds to bid everyone a good morning and realized that Matteu was not amongst them.

• Cathlynn alerted everyone to this fact and asked if anyone had seen or heard anything about his whereabouts. Nebula said that she had seen Matteu pacing a bit early in the morning, just after midnight or so, but that it didn't strike her as being a particularly odd thing that Matteu would do

• After a few minutes of discussion, The Heretic decided that they needed to stay on mission in finding more abducted children, and if they find Matteu along the way, so be it, and if not so be it. Ikiri made the particular point that since Matteu made no effort in letting anyone know where e was going, or at least leave a note or something, that perhaps he's not worth finding. She then added that he couldn't have been abducted without anyone seeing or hearing anything, but then repeated that to herself as a question rather than as a statement. Could he have been abducted without anyone seeing or hearing anything?

• The party packed up their things and agreed to meet by the fountain that sits at the end of the corridor that leads to the Umber Hulk Lair. There they discussed which direction to go. After a few seconds of discussion, everyone agreed that Cathlynn should scout ahead Wildshaped as a small spider -- something that Cathlynn frequently does in situations exist where it is unknown what lies before them.

The Fountain by Chad Watson via DnDBeyond

The Fountain

• Cathlynn went directly eastward down the hallway. Shortly, the hallway ended in a large circular room. Within, she saw two very large creatures that loosely resembled a moose, but were much more horrifying.

Round Chamber with abominations by Chad Watson via DnDbeyond

Leucrotta by Chad Watson via Midjourney

• Cathlynn, still in spider form, scuttled past these creatures towards a hallway found in the southern-most wall of this circular chamber. Following the hallway led her to a set of stairs going downwards. There, she entered a chamber that had a similar set of stairs immediately to the west of the stairs she used. Both sets of stairs led to a chamber that had a hallway that led to the north. Guarding entry to this hallway stood two large, and unusually disciplined Troll guards. Cathlynn briefly explored where the western stairwell led, and found that it went back up the the 3rd level of dungeon, to a hallway that was a mirror image to the one she just came from on the eastern side.

Troll Guards by Chad Watson via DnDBeyond

• From there, Cathlynn returned all the way back to the 3rd level of dungeon, retracing her steps. Once there, she went down the diagonal hallway that she explored the day before, the one where the guards were leading the children through. Then, she saw the guards lead the children through a doorway, but hadn't followed them all the way through. This time, she retraced her steps and continued down the hallway where she left the guards.

• Once on the other side, she saw the hallway continue forward then turn southward. Before that turn in the hallway, she found a diagonal hallway running in a southwesterly direction, ending at a doorway. She followed this diagonal hallway and crept underneath the door. There, she saw a dozen children, all sitting on the floor, staring blankly at nothing in particular. To her, they all seemed either really drugged up, or perhaps starving to the point of not having the ability to do much. They all appeared at or near emaciation. She quickly scuttled back to the fountain to meet the rest of the party to tell them of her findings.

by Chad Watson via DnDBeyond

• The party wasted no time in going towards the children to rescue them. They prepared themselves for the creature that Cathlynn saw in the antechamber that led to the hallway where the children were found. Cathlynn tried to describe it as best as possible: it was a giant Humanoid, almost like a giant, but not quite as big, and it had two heads. Each head seemed to think and move on its own.

• With Ikiri, Ironcast, and Tigeth in tank position, they proceeded down the hallway. Once at the antechamber's entrace, Ikiri peered around to see what the creature that Cathlynn described was doing. She knew immediately what this creature was: an Ettin. After talking through their strategy for a few minutes, The Heretic decided to rush in and take the Ettin by surprise. After 3 rounds of fighting, The Heretic was successful in taking the Ettin down.

• While the party recovered from their post-battle wounds, not 2 minutes after the Ettin fell, two very large Hill giants entered the antechamber from a corrider leading from the antechamber's northwestern wall.

• After nearly six rounds, and having to revive both Ikiri and Benneth, The Heretic were finally able to kill the Hill Giants.

Ettin and Hill Giant challenge by Chad Watson via DnDBeyond