The fire giants and hellhounds where nearing, the group took cover using the smaller dead dragons corpse, everyone opened fire who could, the hellhounds went down but the fire giants seemed very resilient and the group had to retreat to behind the other dragon where viscous hand to hand battle ensued. The group survived though some where badly injured, Ruby had collapsed a few times during the fight.
Magical healing was quickly needed as a force was ranking out of the keep. Into formation where 7 hellhounds on leashes held by giants in two ranks of twelve, behind which two fire giant witch-doctors and two shamans. At the rear where six triple-shooting giant crossbows each with three-troll crew.
Using the Lyre of building and brute strength of the group, the two dragons where stacked together, the smaller one being moved back to the larger one, and Ruby played a tune to build a set of battlements for protection out of the baked clay of the surrounding ground.
The army was approaching, and the battlements where barely completed when the army stopped around 200 yd. away, out of range of the groups attacks, and the giants released the hounds and started to throw rocks with their giant strength (and leverage). The ballistas opened fire, and the group ducked etc. Other giants ran forward. For a while the party used the battlements, the hellhounds died of missile fire, the giants where about to arrive at the wall when Tusker. Billy and Hungry leapt into combat hand-to-hand. River on the battlements aiming for groin-shots to incapacitate as many as possible. Tusker and Billy together in a blood bath.
From behind the keep arose a huge red dragon, atop which sat the King of the Fire Giants in front of a lava-bomb releasing wooden thing straddling the dragons neck. This dragon was of some age and approached with some speed. It released a fireball spell towards River on the battlements, followed as it got nearer by a magic missile of skewering which pierced River and left to hit Flashheart who was running to help him, burnt and unconscious.
The battle was going well. The ballistas where proving inaccurate, the magic using giants where dispatched by the fighters, as the last giant was falling to hungry. The Fighters used new found powers to fly up to combat the dragon Only to both fall to its massive fire breath. Billy lay burnt and unconscious, Tusker died.
The giant king operated his bomb load. On the battlements the cleric half-elf had just brought river to consciousness as the bombs hit, the battlements shattered but the injured turned and fired. A smoke cloud surrounded the dragon as it was hit by multiple arrows, ruby finishing it with a shot that sent it plummeting to the ground. The fire-giant king remained levitating in the cloud and floated down towards the rear of the battlements. A desperate fight, he died.
The trolls by now had fled the battlefield, and the party watched as many giants in none warrior garb left and fled also. The victory was theirs.
Carrying their giant horde they arrived, a bit battered, at school.
A few months later, they continued north, the mountains ahead allowing only one pass north into the neighboring country of the centaurs, a land recently struck by a plague where most of the race where left dead.
The first night they set up the camp as they rose into the foothills, already the temperature colder. That night they where attacked by a group of skeleton warriors. There was something wrong with this place. Something bad in the air.
The next day as they continued their ascent, the blizzard limiting vision to around 30yds they heard the approach of hooves. Out of the blizzard stormed 12 skeletal centaurs. The battle was quick.
Just before the crest of the lass a fissure had opened, about 25ft across, and down to the depths. Tusker, human and thief floated across, the elf started to bridge the gap with her lyre of building. The forward three noticed a cave from which ran two huge Frost, they where met before the cave, and as the half-elf (with is scroll caddie) where carried across the fissure by the construction of the bridge, casts a wall of fire with his wand of fire behind the giants, causing damage and preventing retreat. The giants where dispatched with some good work by ruby and fighters. The worst wounded hungry who had been struck by Billy accidentally and had stained his back as well as throwing a dart in his foot.
The giants lair was used a shelter, and raided. The next day was fine, ruby was up first watching a griffin across the pass feeding on a sheep. The weather seemed to raise spirits until the had started into their descent to the land of the centaurs.
Ahead lay a settlement, pole shelters, and some large houses. As they approached the carnage and slaughter became evident. Bodies lay around the town gates, a centaur hung and disemboweled by the gates. Inside a few ors where stabbing at a centaur with spears. After these orcs where dispatched, the town was found to be a slaughter, all centaurs lay dead, the last to die the players saved, though he was mentally distressed and largely incoherent, he mentioned an orc army controlled by a powerful demi-liche.
.
An encounter with an invisible yellow dragon and a few gorgons sent everyone into panic, the dragon was thwarted but the gorgons sent Billy fleeing and turned all the rest but Tusker ( who was flying out of reach) into stone. Luckily the bronze dragon who came from Talonia to assist the group knew a genie who sorted out the problem.
They met many problems, a couple of reptilian gargantuans on a reef giant island. An orc pirate vessel. A couple of blue dragons. Pretty straight forward stuff. Anyway…
By the time they reach Kirkwood, the port on the north side of Lake Blemish, they had found out the following:
The Tarrasque is released and heading for ruby and archers home woodland areas.
The Land of Talonia is under civil way, the Evil dragons led by Tiamat (who has risen from her ninth hell home) have taken control and the Orb, Scepter and Crown of might are under their control.
The evil dragons are out to hunt the group as they are against their quest succeeding [Death and Destruction being their thing]
They continue north and eventually arrive at the outskirts of Talonia, a land inside a 200 mile diameter crater, within a 0.5 mile high circular wall. Guarded by dragons of all types. But instead of peace, they see battles before the walls, dragons fighting each other, fire and destruction. A huge black tower pierces up from hell into the center of Talonia, Tiamats tower.
They battle into the battlefield, taking on a couple of orc and ogre divisions, a great wyrm red dragon (one of Tiamats Generals), and Tarak, the infamous Elf-killer of the Fangway Forest Massacre, a human mercenary, a great hackfighter. This was the first occasion the players felt really tested since they entered the wilderness on their great journey north.
In this battle Flashheart the half-elf died, to be worshipped as an ancestor.
Further towards the gates, giant portcullises closing them to passage, slaughtering evil orcs. The group, now battered where running towards two orc divisions with pit fiend backup, and an ogre mercenary troupe had the attention of ruby, the where teleported into a dark place, somewhere in the Black Tower, where Tiamat looked down upon the group, they felt like tiny creatures caught in a snow globe. She mocked them, and sent upon them four Great Wyrms, her remaining body guard, A Blue, Green, Black and White Wyrm, each from the four points, a devastating onslaught.
Two stunned battle survivors where rescued, a dwarf and Thomas, a half-elven Cleric of Odin, who was also a magic user of decent ability.
The battle leaves Billy fighter, River, George the pack ape, the newly found party member, a dwarven battle-mage (who died before invoking his first spell!).
Tiamat delayed and the half-elf restored to life the dead party members (though full resurrection is still needed), the dwarf was left dead (they didn’t really know him).
Tiamat appeared to smash through the glass dome and confront the group, her huge bulk towering above the party, the five heads each talking in unison. To her side, out of the shadows came Tarok, recovered from his previous encounter.
She mocked them, saying the items they sought had been sent to the icy north, the harsh deserts of the East and over the sea to the West. Though diplomacy was attempted by Tusker, Tusker, Tarok, in a rage at the party almost defeating him previously shouted "Enough of this!", and ran in to attack.
The battle was difficult, Tusker and Billy flew in to attack the Evil Dragon Queen, hungry, ranger, and archer attacking Tarok. River providing back-up to both.
Tarok is defeated, but the battle is going badly, though one of the Queens heads flops limp. Thomas has his arm is bitten off (losing his favorite ring), but he activates his magic Belt Buckle of Holding, and Tiamat, his arm (though it will regenerate), and his rings vanish within.
A Demon is released but everyone treats it a minor nuisance as they relax, heal, and loot before escaping the crumbling tower. Tiamat has in part lied, the Crown of Might was found was Tarok, and ruby adorned it.
The traveled now east on a magic carpet, part of the haul from the Dragon Queens lair, ruby sensing through the Crown of Might that the closest companion object lay in that direction.
Flying over a desert they followed the rangers sense down to an oasis. Billy fell in a hole, revealing a wight infested tomb, coincidentally over a huge orc underground city, where the signal was glowing.
Through a trap door and flying down they saw orc villages, and entrances to orc temples. On talking to the orc, a fight started, and they retreated into the Temple of Gruumsh, hundreds of orc troops leaving their barracks to pursue them. Ruby played her Lyre of Building and the rock entrance collapsed, the lightning bolts of the half-elf helping the cave in. They where inside the temple, red glow within, rhythmic drums they had heard dimly from the wights tomb above now showing their source.
Around a huge room, clerics and zealots gathered, the four Avatars of Gruumsh, Illneval, Lithic and Gruumshes huge son Baghtru awaited the group.
The fight, was difficult, Lithic becoming the target after using her healing abilities on her Husband. Once she fell, Gruumsh, then Illneval, then Baghtru. The hysterical orc onlookers ran at the group.
Trapped in the tomb the party could to nothing but slaughter their attacked, they became drenched in blood and guts. They where victorious.
As we leave them until next time, they are trapped within the Temple of Gruumsh, outside the orcs are working to break in and amassing a huge army to attack. The group do though have a Mattock!
With mass armies of orcs waiting outside the sealed entrance of the Temple of Gruumsh time was dragging. The orcs where starting to dig through defenses but a few minutes remained to muck around with a Deck of Many things.
The result of this was that Billy and Hungry has their souls trapped in the void and their bodies trapped in hell along with the other characters who had been wished their to accompany the bodies.
A brief foray through the 6th level of hell involved an encounter with a possessed flying evil sword, a screaming demon with writhing intestines and a scream that drove many mad, and many pit fiends.
A illusionary battle with the Tarrasqe ensued, but soon the heroes noticed a way out of this hallucination and jumped, with Hungry and Billy’s souls, back to hell. Another wish brought the group a dark cavern 10 mile below the great western sea.
Earth Elementals attacked from all directions, the cavern collapsing and air running out. Thomas, the half-elf, turned into giant size using Flashhearts’ (RIP) ring of Giant Size. Using the Mattock the Titans and with Ruby using her magic lute to assist they became the long tunnel upwards.
They came by a carved cavern as they broke through its wall. Ahead sat a man, of medium height and dressed in robes. In his hand he held a box. He asked for a leader to step forward, Tusker stepped forward, the others behind but cautious.
No introduction was given but the man told that he held the Scepter of Might in the box before him. To get it the party where to complete a test. They had to survive to dawn. Each had to name his most valuable possession, on naming the possession the vanished.
All found themselves on a beach, naked but for the chosen item. Billy realized they where miles from where they should be, far to the South, in the southern hemisphere.
The beach was not very wide, to their right, as they faced westward, a dense forest clung to the ever steeper slopes of a huge volcano. From its sheer funnel sparks erupted, and a glow of red could be seen from lava flows on the western side of the island.
Movement in the forest near was investigated by Hungry and Billy with Tusker behind. Ruby and River, realizing that in each choosing to bring just their bows had no arrows where looking for wood, and River, being a Fletcher was fashioning as good a flight as he could.
A Bear came out of the undergrowth, and after a bit of trouble Ruby calmed it and the situation was resolved peacefully.
Next a Tyrannosaurs Rex jump down a shallow embankment and attacked, it was dispatched but not as easily as normal.
A village of Localthe fish-men misinterpreted the parties signs of peaceful approach and attacked. Throwing spears to halt the groups approach, a fight did result, and the village eventually plundered of the fish-mens item store from wrecks they had plundered. [Tusker was hit by three critical hit with thrown tridents in two rounds, but virtually brushed it off].
Farther along the beach, around the island, as light approached dark, a fire was seen ahead. Ogre Magi where dancing around a fire in some celebration. Ruby was enraged at their prisons but restrained herself
With the help of Blaggar Sum, the chaotic Good hackmage, they arrived in their home village, now devasted and lifeless. The attack and destroy some men-like crows and a weird flabby dragon before the final battle vs the Tarrasque ensued.
Tusker with a mighty twart knocked the huge beast to its knees, Hungry tasted its horn in the neck, but the beast was destroyed, and kept dead with wish.
The party then set about the good thing of liberating and elven village from a party of scorn giants, on the way they encountered a few new and strange creatures.
A viscious Grizzly Squirrel fond its way into Georges armor as they sat within the boundries of the elven woods on their way east towards the nearest kobar.
Then four hardcore cavivourous aires gave River a fright.
A few Dire Fireflys came with the scent of the gnome George, though the guards quickly took care of these small, yet energy-firing insects.
Crossing a field of sheep led the the groups frst encounter with dopplegangers, in the for of four Dopplewes in amongst a flock of sheep they to investigate a farm house. The tentacles and explosions where brushed aside by a rather odd farm woman whose husband had recently died to a monster called the Grendel, wo lived in a cave near an evil clerics tower to the east.
After a cup of tea and cheese and a warning of the 'Planet of the Dopplegangers' they headed onwards.
Incoming artillery from a host of Giant artillery beatles, which where accompanied by a host of flying giant cocroaches, appeared like a grey cloud of the east. Tusker went in to close combat against the artilery beatles by flying ahead and although injured by there exploive deaths did a decent job. The two wood elves picked the other flying ones out of the air before any effective attack could be made.
The old farmwoman still didn't want to move, she seemed a bit odd.
