Rise of the Runelords

You grabbed your gear and horses and started off after the giants.  Halfway through the first day as you tracked them through a copse, a few of you noticed a pile of furs and hides that looked out of place.  Closer examination revealed it to be a dump of giant armor.  You figured they reduced their encumbrance in order to move faster.  The trail was still good so you continued.  At the end of the third day you came upon an old camp on top of a high hill a few miles south of the road between Radigast and Brotton.  Malloric noticed that a couple other small groups came together here and then headed off together NNW.  You were awoken early by a heavy rain.  You started off lest you loose the trail.  The rain was too much and the trail was washed away.  About the same time, you noticed dense smoke perhaps a mile or so away, but off the general trajectory the quarry had been following.  You approached.

When you came closer you found a single farmstead with the main house a smoldering ruin and a few other small outbuildings destroyed.  The rain had put out the fire but too late to save the building.  There was one corpse face down in the center of the yard.  One of the barn doors was open and the other torn from its hinges.  You cautiously approached when out came an ogre carrying a great club in one hand and a dead cow over a shoulder.  It dropped the cow, yelled something back into the barn and started advancing.  D'Argo and Wolfgar both said "There's more inside."

The battle was fast and furious.  The ogres gave you three surprises.  First, they were fast.  You were caught a bit off guard by how fast they were able to advance (and charge).  Second, was the viciousness of their club blows.  Bach was nearly knocked off his feet after just a few seconds of fighting.  The last was their tenacity.  Even after they were beaten, they refused to fall.  They would attempt to crawl away.  After three of them fell and one was on its knees, the last fled only to be dropped from a distance with arrows.

From this last ogre you learned that they were with the retreating giants, but headed off by themselves to raid the countryside.  The giants and other ogres were heading to some place called Jorgenfist.  The name didn't mean anything.  Other information gathered from the ogre included the fact that there are several clans gathered at Jorgenfist.  This ogre was from Clan Crannoch and Barl Breakbones was Clan Kavaratti.  During the questioning, Golian remembered that Jorgenfist is a giant fort built around some very old black stone tower located deep in the Bandit Kingdoms.  Where exactly he couldn't remember. You tightly bound the ogre and left it.

You headed overland to Didielin where you heard many more stories of giants and ogres raiding farms and moving roughly north. A few of you looked up family, friends, and/or contacts in town.  Some further information about Jorgenfist confirmed much of what you already knew.  It's location was more clear however.  It is several days roughly NNW of the human outpost named Wraithkeep.  (it was located off you map)  Two days to Hardwyn to cross into the Bandit Kingdoms.  There was little news of giants here, supporting your idea that they crossed the river further to the east.  Hardwyn was under lock-down to keep the refugees from the BK out.  You were allowed entry and offered luck as you indicated you were heading north.

The few days to Wraithkeep were uneventful.  This is a sparsly populated area and only a few home/farmsteads were seen near the road.  The closer you got to Wraithkeep the more often you were told of giant sightings.  Wraithkeep is a tiny settlement around a small, fortified keep.  You found and inn and stabled your horses.  You started asking around for information and directions.  You stated you were headed to Jorgenfist and were often treated to giggling or outright laughter.  Your innkeeper asked you to pay in advance.  You were able to learn more about Jorgenfist's geography and location.  Edwin queried Pelor in the morning about your ability to find the captives at Jorgenfist.  The Sun Father replied that it depended on when you got there.  You decided to head out without you horses.  After a few days hiking, you approached.  The entry to the high plateau was through a very long and narrowing ravine.  Soon some of you noticed a stair ahead with steep walls on either side.  On each side was a 'shelf' and you could see a stone giant standing guard on each side.  They had not appeared to notice you.

The group moved to one side of the ravine and some moved up hiding in the shadows and skulking from rock to rock.  You closed about half the distance when Bach was noticed.  One giant started hurling rocks.  You moved more quickly and an enlarge and spider climb was cat on Bach who started scaling the cliff toward one giant.  This giant, unable to target the group with rocks, started loosening and kicking them down the cliff face.  Bach had to scramble to avoid being rolled over.  Several large rocks hit him and he was the main target of the other giant.  That forced him to climb back down some distance to get aid from Edwin.  D'argo launched a few spells at the rock hurling giant.  Others ran up the stairs to get to them.  Malloric was the first up and started firing arrows.  Golain was next and stopped short.  He noticed two other giants hiding behind rocks and in crevasses.  He warned those behind him and whistled to Malloric who was now between giants.  The fight was brutal.  These giants were wielding great clubs with skill and power.  Your advantage was that their tactics were pretty one dimensional.  A grease spell kept one giant occupied, Bach killed one before it killed him, and as the remaining ones focused on the dwarves, a few smites from Henrik helped kill the last.

After healing up and gathering treasure, you moved to look over the plateau.  A mile or so in the distance you could see a circular wall with five smaller towers and one large, black one.  Arranged around the keep were at least three separate encampments.

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