Jorgen began to explore the room as the giants did not react immediately. He moved west and east but did not see any other secret doors or hidden items. The smashed statue was made of wood and resembled a stooped and ancient beldame, now broken into many pieces across the floor.
Amadeo began to edge into the chamber while the others basically waited in the tunnel for some action.
The giants then yelled "Intruders" in Giant which Santrel related for the group. At this the giants began to slowly move forward to attack.
Amadeo moved up as Casia followed into the chamber. The immediate affect was Amadeo hitting the floor as one giant unleashed a vicious attack. Casia fired the musket and then switched to swords as Santrel through a fireball into the fray. The other giant attacked Jorgen and Casia.
Fanara moved into the chamber next to Amadeo to take the attack. Milos moved to Amadeo to grant some healing and get him back to consciousness. The battle continued with Fanara, Casia and Jorgen engaging the giants, Santrel continued with his fireball attack. Then Jorgen went down just as one of the giants was dispatched.
Unfortunately for the heroes, the doors behind the giant opened and two more giants emerged. They stood by the doors and did not move. The final original giant also was dispatched and Casia began to suggest a retreat. Milos headed to Jorgen, who Casia pulled toward the tunnel. Santrel flashed another fireball at the new giants and headed up the stairs. Amadeo leapt up and headed to the tunnel.
Fanara on the other hand headed toward the giants and was struck down. She appeared dead as Milos hurried to her side. He applied some healing in any case. Fanara opened her eyes and thank him while asking what she missed.
"That is right, get out," said a Giant.
"Same to you," Fanara replied in Common.
"That means you too," the other Giant responded in Common.
With this latest development the rest of the party headed up the stairs to the former cornfield and locked the door. Much more healing was needed as the party counted the possible losses. Fanara, as always, was pushing to continue the fight but Santrel and Milos prevailed on the group that the spellcaster and healer were lacking in spells. They preferred to spend a rest period and identifying the magic they party had picked up.
Fanara was finally pacified and the party spent a rest and found themselves at a new level which could be used to their advantage. They had no idea what was in the room beyond the double doors. After Fanara's seance Santrel cast Displacement on both Fanara and Casia. Fanara cast enlarge on herself and Milos gave the party a prayer. Then they headed down the hallway once again, eschewing exploring other parts of the mesas.
The giants stood guard at the stairs, the party entered the chamber and the guards moved forward into Fanara's opportunity attacks and both giants hit the floor. The party quickly moved to the doors which were not trapped according to Jorgen
and they did not have a lock either but neither Fanara nor Jorgen could push them open. The iron doors seemed to be blocked or barred in some fashion. Fanara and Jorgen began pounding on the door with bludgeoning weapons. Some small damage was inflicted.
Fanara then had a brainstorm and took out her Chime of Opening and sounded it. The group heard metal hitting the stone of the floor and Fanara kicked open the door before her. Immediately the party was hit by a spell from a Centaur inside the immense room. A cold, cloying miasma of greasy darkness surrounded the party inflicting damage and everyone was sickened except Fanara.
Just west of the perimeter of the stone ring trotted the fierce-looking centaur carrying a great warhammer, his hirsute body drenched head to hoof in blood.
The party edged cautiously into the room, Caisa fired her musket at the centaur and then grabbed her sword. Invisible Jorgen fired a crossbow at the same. Fanara cast haste on the party and then moved quickly into the room to the west of the centaur. Santrel fired off a fireball and Milos slowly moved into the huge chamber.
The centaur slammed the hammer onto the floor which released a crackling bolt of ice that sped across the floor toward Fanara. The aim was true even with the displacement and Fanara was surrounded by a thick pillar of ice around a foot thick. She was breathing but otherwise helpless. In shock at seeing their companion completely engulfed with ice that party heard what sounded like several horses galloping across the stones.
The creature moved toward Amadeo, who was the closest hero and was not stopping as Amadeo tried to hit the creature as it trampled him. Casia was next and she failed to hit also and took trample damage. Next in line were Jorgen and Milos who both tried to dodge and took less damage. The creature stopped close to the ice encased Fanara.
Amadeo headed for Milos, Santrel threw a fireball to catch the two enemies. Casia moved up and breathed fire on the eight legged creature and Fanara's ice. Milos channeled healing for the group. Fanara dismissed her enlarge spell, and now with room, took a swing at the ice and then another. The ice broke in a shatter across the floor just as the centaur cast another spell, a multicolored explosion of leaping, ricocheting energy hit all the party but Santrel.
By now the party knew that they were fighting a Svathurim, which was a monstrous humanoid. It took off back in the direction it came from, trampling Amadeo and Jorgen once again. The party then focused on the centaur but the Svathurim charged back into the battle at Casia with it lance. At times the creatures attacks missed the displaced heroes and Milos was busy trying to keep everyone healthy enough. Santrel managed another fireball and a burning arc. The centaur managed to call down a Channel Negative energy on Fanara as he hit her with the hammer. After that the centaur fell to the party and Jorgen dispatched the Svathurim, his invisibility was affective in allowing precision damage.
Again the party was in need of healing as they finally could manage a complete look at this vast chamber. The ceiling soared out of sight above the pit. To the southeast, a ring of towering black basalt menhirs surrounded a great gaping pit torn into the cavern floor. Spiraling runes etched in white chalk covered the faces of the standing stones, which were painted with fresh blood. The bodies of two frost giants lay on the floor outside the ring. A border of countless skulls, both human and animal, surrounded the pit. A break in the border formed an entrance leading to the edge of the pit. There, a flight of stone steps carved into the perimeter descended into the abyss. The air above the pit seemed to waver and ripple as if from heat, though there was no discernible change in temperature.
The centaur had a few magic items, the hammer was of particular interest to Fanara. Casia spied a large, ironbound chest on the floor near the standing stones. Jorgen investigated and found no traps but it was locked. He tried the keys he was in possession of but none of them opened the lock so he picked it. Inside he found coins, rough- cut gems, art objects, and jewelry, quite a lot of gold available there.
Santrel and Fanara were examining the pit, it was deeper than they could see and both noted it had a strong aura of necromancy. Santrel thought that some ritual was responsible for the gaping hole or at least the necromancy. Fanara determined Psychic Significance of Baba Yaga gleefully "constructing" the pit.
"I think we should investigate further. Maybe we won't have to enter the pit, or it might take us elsewhere," Casia suggested.
The remaining party members agreed. No one was anxious to enter the nightmarish pit. The party headed back to the corn decorated room once again ready to try the remaining two doors.
DM's Notes: The party earned 5,333 for their work.
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