Moonday, 27 Lamashan (still)

We were still facing, potentially, six more cloud giants. This room was highly defensible and the walls of force and fire helped break the opposing group into nice digestible chunks. (Odd turn of phrase considering the blade barrier we had going next door.)

Avia, as we’ve come to expect, headed up to find a cloud giant largely by touch. One swung at her, revealing itself, and she responded in kind. She took some damage, but not as much as she gave.

Kane dispelled the fog cloud and put an end to that sort of adventure. The giants might still be flying but they were no longer invisible. (Rigel silently went invisible and we were all pretty sure we knew what she was trying to do.) For my part, I picked out a cloud giant and threw three scorching rays at him.

Now with visible targets, Avia went to town on the giant nearest her. Giant blood dribbled down to the floor below. Nolin technically got the killing blow on Avia’s target, but was staggering a bit himself. Takkad set him up with a powerful heal spell and he looked MUCH re-energized. I took advantage of all this to get a mage sword started on one of the giants. While I am unlikely to draw as much blood as the fighters, every little bit helps! Sedgewick tried a bit of tomfoolery by mimicking a giant’s voice and calling out, “It’s all clear in here now”. But since we weren’t exactly invisible and some others could see clearly into our room, it evoked derision more than anything.

As Avia continued her bloody attack, I tried another scorching ray. Only one of the three got through this time. But Sedgewick started an image of another blade barrier around a small group of them, and that did cause them to pause. There was ample evidence around them that one did not mess with a blade barrier, and it gave them pause.

Sabin told them to drop their weapons and surrender to their betters. They seemed inclined to do the first, but then the second seemed to reinforce their backbones. Then we invoked the desires of the Champion of Greed and gestured towards Nolin, who revealed his rune. This cowed the giants, and they left weaponless to go to the city.

We retrieved two more sihedron rings from the corpses, but left the huge morningstars and armor we’d never be able to adequately lift or wear. We inspected the arch and markings in this room and determined that Karzoug was pretty full of himself, and that the archway led to Karzoug’s personal lab and harem. Certainly something to check out in the end – the ladies would no doubt be thankful – but we need to seal the deal first and put down Karzoug.

About this time we heard a voice say in Thassilonian, “The champion ordered WHAT?” There was a mumbled reply and then an order to go get Khalib.

We looked at each other. It seems we were not yet done making this place safe for us. A door was pushed open and a glyph of warding that Kane had established blew up in a giant’s face. Takkad looked at the giant, which was one we’d sent off earlier, and dressed him down for not obeying the Champion of Greed. This caused a few things to transpire.

Rigel went invisible.
I cast greater invisibility on myself to better attack anonymously, because it was pretty obvious this was not going to be a diplomatic mission.
Sabin cast heroism on himself.
Avia and Nolin positioned themselves optimally.

The look on the giant’s face told us all we wanted to know. He was not here of his own volition. Another giant shoved past him and a voice from behind compelled them: “Go on, go kill them!”

Takkad bluffed once more — “You dare defy the champion of Greed? What will Karzoug do to you?” They paused but then came in followed by a rune giant right behind them. Behind them, through the doorway a human came as well.

Avia provided a flurry of blows on one of the cloud giants. Sabin cast haste on all. Nolin ganged up on Avia’s giant and made it bleed worse. But one of the giants attacked Takkad, who is not normally front-line material. Another attacked Avia, Nolin, and Sabin, while Sedgewick began a song of courage even as he attempted to dominate a cloud giant.

Rigel saw her opportunity and got a sneak attack in on Avia’s giant, killing it. Avia simply aimed her sword at another giant and began systematically dismantling it. I got a mage sword going against the rune giant, and got some satisfying cuts into it. Sabin tried a feeblemind on Khalid, but it failed. It did, however, invoke a response of magic missile back at him – contingency spell, I suspect, that fired whenever he was attacked – and then tried to disintegrate him. But his weapon absorbed the spell harmlessly, frustrating Khalib greatly. The rune giant was a powerful foe, hammering hard on Nolin, Avia, and poor Takkad.

But then Rigel got a sneak attack on the rune giant, and Avia inflicted some serious wounds as well. I hit him and Khalib with chain lightning (Khalib looked like he might have ducked) and Sabin and Nolin also attacked him. All of us at once was a lot for the rune giant to take, but both he and Khalib still had some fight left in them.

Strangely, though, Khalib didn’t have much. He had the disadvantage of being a magic user, and perhaps more importantly NOT being giant. He threw some more magic missiles at Sabin, but attacks by first Avia and then Sabin sent his soul to Karzoug.

It was Avia who finally dealt the killing blow to the rune giant, and my mage sword continued to beat on other giants. The clerics kept a steady stream of channels and cure critical, mass going and although we did at times get close to death, never did we knock at death’s door.

Khalib’s corpse granted us

[1684] Staff of size alteration (10 charges)
[1685] Amulet of natural armor +2
[1686] sihedron ring
[1687] robes (like arch magi, but +4 IN rather than resist)
[1688] gold ivory statue of himself
[1689] spellbook of all known spells but for enchantment and illusion
[1690] container of gem dust (~5000gp)

We held a quick strategic discussion. Although it seemed we were wearing down Karzoug and that he might be low on magic, the same was true of us. Our healers were nearing the end of what they could do to help us, and as tempting as it might be to strike at Karzoug while he was weakened, the same penalty would apply to us and we rely too much on the constant healing available to us. The decision was made to stop for the night and rest, to recover spells.

We set up the usual rope trick, with the usual guard duty, and began to rest.

Toilday, Lamashan 28

We awoke rested, refreshed, and restocked on our spells.

No doubt, so did Karzoug.

We began exploring. We quickly found a room with a 20 ft gold statue of Karzoug, with a smokeless fire. There was a green lens about 2.5′ across over the brazier, in an iron frame. It was decidedly magic with a transmutation aura.

This all looked interesting but we thought we probably ought to be able to inspect this without interruption .. which meant a bit more exploration yet to ensure we were alone. We found a series of small cells, less prisoner cells than simply meager accommodations, perhaps something similar to what a monk may use. We found what we think may have been Khalib’s “room” and noted there were books in there that might be of interest. But about this time, another rune giant challenged us.

“What are you doing here?”
“I am the champion of Greed.” replied Nolin.

And apparently that’s all it takes to start a fight with a rune giant. No pleasantries about one’s mother or heritage, hygiene or appearance. Just, boom.

With a bit of a sigh, I cast haste on all. Another rune giant appeared, and seemed to smirk as he announced, “I got this.” I’ve heard that before. Looking around, I didn’t see Rigel – no doubt invisible by now. Sabin made many images of himself and Nolin challenged the first rune giant. Kane shrewdly cast create water and thus created an ice patch right where the 2nd rune giant was about to step, and he slid gracefully into the blade barrier Takkad had just created. Such teamwork.

I magic missiled the first even as the second hit the ice and went into a skid. The bigger they are … Takkad cast prayer on us all, and Sabin moved to hit the second rune giant. Meanwhile, Nolin and Avia were beating hard on the first one.

My trusty mage sword came out against the second rune giant, but missed. Sabin and, of all people, Kane and Rigel became the objects of his wrath. Rigel tried hard to sneak attack the rune giant but just couldn’t quite make it work., The fighters kept beating on the rune giants, though, and finally my mage sword took down the last one with a final triumphant swing.

We collected [1691, 1692] sihedron rings, but left the rest of the giant-sized paraphenalia where it had landed. We studied Khalib’s diaries and discovered an important fact. Karzoug was trapped on another plane he’d created to survive the fall of his kingdom. To return, though, needed power – power he was collecting through souls sent his way by Mokmurian and his agents. But if he didn’t get enough power that way, he’d be trapped there.

He was nearly there, but not quite yet.

Takkad suddenly got that look in his eye which proclaims, “I’m about to be impulsive and illogical” and strode down to the room with the green lens and shot at it with is crossbow. The bolt bounced off. But when he asked for Sabin’s help, Sabin obliged by striking with his adamantine axe and a strange thing happened.

There was a wavering in the air, and beyond appeared a chamber that looked easily 200′ in depth, across white walls, looking like a shaft. At the bottom there appeared to be water.

I am apprehensive about this. Some in the group want to enter, but how do we get back? If Karzoug can’t get out, how will we? If we enter to destroy Karzoug, are we also consigning ourselves to the same eternal fate?