Now that two of the cloud giants are completely out of the picture, thanks to Fyn’s spell, the remaining enemies are much easier to manage. Trace steps through the dangerous range of the morningstar, but comes out unscathed. Richard can’t say the same, as he proves to be an ample target for these cave-dwelling giants.
A combination of the martial prowess of Barnaby, Fobias, and Trace is more than enough to cause the giants to leak their cloudy fog-blood. Oh, and Krask helps from afar, allowing Richard to become a battered meat shield in his stead.
It’s finally Fyn who cleans up the mess with a well-positioned cone of cold, which freezes one of the giants from the inside. Krask fires a final arrow, and the party is left to the whirling wind of the canyon once more.
Fyn immediately goes over to Bjormundal’s body and rips the tattered Korvosan Guard banner from his waist. As it turns out, the banner is now a functional magical item known as a Belt of Fallen Heroes. The embroidered scenes of giant destruction rearrange themselves to form three distinctive tableaus:
- Theo being cut in half by the ogres at Fort Rannick
- Vale Temros’ ill-timed demise by the same ogres
- Barnaby’s mauling at the claws of the fearsome wendigo
Per the usual, it goes straight into the Bag of Holding.
Up in the cave, there isn’t much to glean apart from Bjormundal’s apparent distaste for being looked down upon by his fellow giants. Despite his militaristic accolades, he wasn’t taken seriously, and that weighed on his psyche.
Setting Sights on Xin-Shalast
The party continues towards the city, and only needs to trudge along the golden brick road for a handful of miles before they see Xin-Shalast sprawled out before them. It’s a city of massive proportions, descending down into the valley until rising up to the imposing peak of Mhar Massif.
Fobias uses Eagle Eye to gain a better vantage point of the city. Although his vision isn’t improved with the spell, he can make out certain landmarks that stand out to him:
- A partially-destroyed fortress constructed of black glass, that seems to contain a pasture of huge bulls
- A sprawling giant encampment with hundreds of giants milling about
- The remnants of lava floes on the eastern edge of the city that clearly resulted in severe damages to countless structures
- A building whose top resembles a familiar seven-pointed star
- Jagged spires on a fortress built up on the cliff looking down over the city
- The layered levels of a spiky ziggurat, whose walls appear to be caving in
All in all, Xin-Shalast appears to be the shell of a city, rebuilt upon itself over the years since Thassilon’s fall. Now, it is a base of operations for those welcomed under Karzoug’s thrall.
Fyn tries to teleport over to the peak, but is instead hit with a serious headache. Karzoug’s voice echoes in his mind, “No.” It appears that if the party was planning on relying on the element of surprise, that they may have lost that particular advantage.
They rest a half-mile off the beaten path on the outskirts of the city to rest up and plan their infiltration. Overnight, while the elves keep watch, activity is seen on the Golden Road. Presumably, the way forward will be tough with the steady stream of patrols and Karzoug’s eyes, which could be anywhere and everywhere.
A Kobold’s Task
Thinking back on Svevenka’s advice about Xin-Shalast, the party thinks that a direct assault on the city would be suicide – both career and otherwise. Perhaps the tunnels underneath the city, occupied by the skulks, are the way forward?
Krask uses his ring of invisibility to begin looking for signs of these tunnels, starting with an investigation of the crumbling black fortress of glass. There are a handful of vulture-esque sentries keeping watch on the wall as they overlook the courtyard. The kobold continues forward through a gate held together with scrap wood.
On the other side, two dozen massive bull-like creatures graze on the patchy golden grass growing here. Some of them exhibit aggressive behavior, butting heads and horns with their neighbors. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be a ladder leading down, or any cave openings that might lead underneath the city.
As Krask is sneaking away, there is a loud clap of thunder as a trio of sentries swoop down towards him. Apparently, they can make out his scent and demand to know what he’s doing here. If he wants food, they say, he’ll have to make an appointment like everybody else.
Krask weighs the options of just running away, or trying to bluff his way through the conversation. He opts for the latter, dropping his invisibility and showing himself.
The sentries question him, as they haven’t seen anyone like him in Xin-Shalast. Krask replies that he’s just out looking for any kind of food, and will gladly lead one of them to his campsite.
There’s a second thunderclap, and three more sentries fly down from the wall. They agree to accompany him to his tent to validate his story. And that is how Krask found himself on the edge of enemy territory, with arrows pointed at his big kobold heart.
What’s Krask’s plan to get out of this one? How will the party get past the giant encampment? Is the underground also made of gold?