Return after harpies!

We return to our usual group of adventurers for an eventful session!

We re-join the group after they have defeated three of the four Harpies which had attacked them. The one left is still cowering before us, Aralon threatens her for information, going so far as to cut her neck slightly with a summoned dagger. She tells us that she and the other Harpies had a deal with the giant on the mountain, they were to guard the horn which we have uncovered. She tells us that the horn will summon the giant, Thraback carries the horn. Thraback then cuts her head off, taking it as another trophy to add to his collection. Vandal checks the Harpies nests and finds numerous amounts of gold as well as a strange magical rod. The two clerics look this over and discover that this is a Rod of Resurrection. It is decided that Agrippiana will hold onto it. We then take a long rest in the ruins to recover our strength before moving further up the mountain. As we are resting Aralon hears a voice calling to him. Ictar, the Imp appears and tells us we must come with him. As almost all of us accepted gifts from the devil’s daughter Glasya, Aralon’s patron, we must go to her and see what the price will be. The reality around us all warps and twists as we find ourselves in the 6th level of Hell surrounded by devils, demons, fire and death. We hear the screams of tortured souls, we smell death and the sky rains blood down upon us. We see the former ruler of this realm, a Hag, stretched out across the mountainous terrain, forming the very fabric of the dominion we find ourselves in. Each member of the party reacts differently to this terrain. Lukas finds that his connection to his deity is severed here, he is extremely uncomfortable and is disgusted at what he sees around him, however, he manages to hold it together and push through. Agrippiana is not able to deal with what is happening around her and completely breaks down, her connection to her deity is also severed. She finds herself weakened and exhausted, longing to leave as soon as they arrive. Vandal, although not comfortable here, is able to steel himself. Aralon has many reasons to be worried, this place is a reminder of his dark past. Vorn and Thraback, although not overjoyed at being in this realm, are not overly fazed and go along with the group fairly nonchalant about it all. Ictar leads us to Glasya. We find her sitting on a throne of bones, surrounded by devils, demons and imps. She is stunningly beautiful and deadly. She sits in a marble cavern waiting for our arrival. She stands around 8ft tall, with a copper sheen to her skin. She is very much the daughter of the devil, with a serpentine tail, wings and horns. She reminds us of the gifts which we received from her and although Vandal did not receive one, he has made use of the ones the rest of the group received. Glasya talks to her servant Aralon, tormenting him with the deeds she made him commit in his past. She promises him that he will be allowed to see his sister if he retrieves something that was taken from her. Using the Hags eye from Vorn she is able to delve into our deepest secrets and offers us information. Vandal staunchly rejects anything from her – earning the wrath of Glasya, he will find out later that she has cursed him. Agrippiana asks the nature of the curse which was put on her by the witch who was burned at the stake by the Leviathan tribe and her betrothed 12 Trees. She asks for this information to be revealed to only her. The news of the curse shocks and disheartens her immensely. Glasya reveals much to Vorn, that he is being hunted by many ‘old friends’ and that Lollith has a high price on his head, that he is “Born to die”… Vorn asks for her help to which she promises to make a deal with him later down the line. To Lukas she mentions a stone lady whom he seeks, that this stone lady knows the fate of his father. He will find this creature at the ‘crossroads of the world’, Caliem. Glasya then sets out our task which we must complete, honouring our contracts. She tells us that something has been stolen from her by a lackey of Orcus, a powerful deadric prince. It has been hidden on the Island of Nosferatu, we will be able to reach it after making our way through Wave Echo Base. She then reminds of the shadow or presence that is on one of our backs. She tells us that it will go through us all and that we will soon find out the true nature of it. She dismisses us to complete her task and Ictar shows us out, we can hear the chuckling of Glasya as we leave, as the plain starts to shift, Ictar reminds us that they will be in touch. To the relief of the group we find ourselves back to where we had been before, feeling the need for another long rest before moving on. Before leaving, Agrippiana checks her belongings and finds that the mysterious pages which she carries a heavy burden for, have been stolen. It takes no effort to realise who has taken them. She pleads with Vorn to have them returned as he does not know the full impact of his actions. Despite her pleas, he does not give in. He then suffers the exhaustion which the pages have caused Agrippiana. She relates this to the rest of the group who do not take kindly to this thievery, and when moving up the mountain, do not wait for Vorn to join them. Despite her normally friendly nature, she considers how best to get the pages back from Vorn. As they make their way up the treacherous mountain path, with Vorn dragging behind, a loud roar reverberates through the mountains surrounding them all… Ahead Vandal notices smoke, seemingly from a campfire. He sneaks up to take a closer look. He comes across 4 Grey Dwarves from the Under Dark. He eavesdrops on their conversation for a while. He gathers that they have been hired by the Black Spider to ‘babysit’ the giant. They are annoyed at their situation, complaining about the cold, the lack of pay and the strange white creatures that stalk them in the mountains. While the rest of the group waits on Vandals return, Vorn relents and strikes a deal with Agrippiana in return for the pages. They come to an agreement and an understanding is reached, much to her relief. Vandal informs us of what he has heard and seen, we move up towards the Grey Dwarves location slowly, readying ourselves for an attack. Vorn jumps straight in, though surprising them, isn’t able to do any damage. They mistake him for the Black Spider and are a little bemused as to his attack on them. The rest of the group quickly fall in and after a slow start, as we attack they show their ability to expand in size to around 8ft. Eventually, we are able to pick them off. However, as the group are licking their wounds, two more appear from thin air, using the ability to turn invisible to strike at Agrippiana and Lukas while their backs are turned. Vorn swiftly impales one with his rapier, making sure the other is kept alive, but badly battered, for questioning. Vandal takes the lead on the questioning and there is very clear bad blood between these two types of dwarf. Vandal even goes so far as to break his nose in his interrogation. He does, however, provide us with information. He tells us he and the other Grey Dwarves were hired by the Black Spider to secure Wave Echo Base. They had a deal with the giant. He would get a cut of the profits and in return, would make sure that he would keep people away from the base. It was to be mined by slaves, he tells us that there is another way to the base through the Under Dark. Thraback growls viciously over the mention of the use of slaves. Vandal then ends the life of the dwarf. He places an arrow on the ground, facing upwards and with great force slams the Grey Dwarf’s head into the arrow. Blood spurts out into Vandals beard, to which he quickly cleans out. We gather ourselves, taking stock of the information, and pressing on to find Frost Burn and Wave Echo Base. We eventually find ourselves in front of a large sheer incline of ice and rock. There are small footholds which would allow us to climb it. Aralon moves to climb the incline straight away as the rest of the group look on. When he is around halfway, we hear a rumbling sound almost like an avalanche. Above us on the other side of the incline we see three white ape-like creatures. Vorn recognises straight away that these are Yeti. They begin to throw boulders at Aralon and the others below, with one of them preparing to push a huge rock into the clearing. The group use their best-ranged attacks to take down the three yeti before we are all crushed. Agrippiana begins to climb as well, with Aralon close to the top. Vorn manages to kill the yeti with the huge boulder with an arrow after many attempts. As Aralon reaches the top, two of the yeti place a large tree trunk across the cavern, connecting the two peaks. Our warlock quickly reacts with a fire spell, setting the log on fire and showing the yeti’s fear of fire as they quickly turn tail and run. Aralon, taking in his surroundings, finds a leaver. He is not sure what it will do, so shouts down to Agrippiana to climb back down, just out of caution. On pulling the leaver, steps appear along the incline, allowing the group to make their way up quickly. It is at this moment, however, that the group kick themselves when they realise that there was another leaver at the bottom, right beside them… As we all reach the top, we can see in the distance, the Giant’s Fortress, with Thraback ready with the horn to summon him. It is getting darker on the mountain and the decision is made to find shelter and camp for the night before facing the giant. Until next week!