Taking shelter from the blowing snow created by Fyn’s stormy spell, the party heads into the cave with the blue dragon’s ribs casting shadows on them from above. Just before the tunnel takes an upward turn, a gargantuan statue of a rune giant stands vigil, coated in a thick layer of ice.
Further examination of the ‘statue’ reveals it to be a perfectly preserved body of a rune giant warlord from the times of ancient Thassilon: Gargadros, the first of the Dread Kings. Most interesting, perhaps, is the huge Sihedron medallion that hangs around his neck like a gorgeous wagon wheel. After learning about this giant, the party decides that perhaps it would be best if they don’t mess with the medallion just yet. They can always pick it back up on the way out of the cave.
As they turn to leave, however, Barnaby scrambles up the rune giant and lifts the clasp over its head. The medallion clunks loudly to the ground, the sound reverberating throughout the tunnel system. Half-expecting the rune giant to come back to life, the rest of the group turns around and prepares for the worst. Fortunately, the body crumbles to dust immediately, only leaving behind the medallion and its armor.
The noise, however, attracts the attention of a pair of ogres down the hall, who rush towards the party to investigate!
While the party engages with the ogres, blocking off the rest of the hallway, a hill giant lumbers forward and begins hurling rocks at Fobias. Although none of them find their mark, the party realizes that they need to dispatch these enemies quickly or else the sounds of battle are sure to rustle the rest of the Kreeg camp. But before the ogres are ‘taken care of’, the telltale sounds of clanking metal and stomping feet start to echo throughout the cave.
Reinforcements are on the way.
Fyn casts Grease on the hill giant, effectively incapacitating the foe while trapping the hallway in anticipation of their next threats. Fobias, Trace, and Barnaby all take up arms at the front of the group, protecting the ranged attacks of Krask, Shalelu, and Jak. Richard narrowly escapes becoming eviscerated by an ogre before retreating back to Fyn’s side as the flow of battle progresses further down the hallway next to the edge of a stench-ridden pit.
And then they see it – a veritable HORDE of ogres barreling down the tunnel.
Fyn, doing what any self-respecting spellcaster would do, instantly casts confusion on the wave of enemies. Not only did this make a headache of the combat, but it certainly slowed some of them down to a point where the party could manage the battle more easily. The rest of the party braces for impact as Fyn then follows up his confusion with a powerful cone of cold energy, which causes half of the ogres to freeze up with chilling death throes.
Barnaby uses his invisibility to setup his dazzling swordwork, while Fobias and Trace do their best to prevent the ogres from reaching the ranged combatants. There’s simply too much space to cover in the hallway, however; they need something big and beefy to plug up the remaining real estate in the tunnel.
Fyn’s got it covered.
He summons a huge rhinoceros, who stampedes towards the ogres and begins goring them repeatedly. This is the proverbial straw that breaks the ogres’ backs. One by one, the rest of them fall, leaving the party wondering what else this cave has in store for them.
How many more Kreegs are in here? Where is Garitran and his Bloodless entourage? Can ogres get frostbite?