The Thrice-Blessed IC

[Ridai]

Sìle looks to the wreckage, then nods. "I believe so. However, it will immediately draw the raiders, so please ready yourselves."

She floats upwards a few feet. Shiver and Drufi watch as she weaves a fireball between her hands, launching one at the wreckage to the left, one to the right. The already badly damaged wrecks are blasted apart by the bombardment, providing enough of a push to have the giant ship drift away, the shoreline no longer visible in the fog from the railing. Naturally, the explosions are immediately answered by giant shouts, and in the fog, they can hear the heavy running footsteps of the raiders. Whether on purpose or by accident, they come at the ship from multiple angles, and soon, Shiver can see giant forms leaping through the air, landing in the water reaching up to their bellies, weapons in hand, war cries on their lips.

Echo and Slider are ready, baring their fangs and growling. Drufi has her axe and boulders ready. Sìle's hands are burning with magical fire as she floats in the air, her dress billowing in an unfelt wind. And at the center of it all, their leader, Shiver, the harbinger of a new age for the frost giants. All of them feel suffused by Sìle's magic, making their reactions and motions faster.

Mistress Slissht, do you wish for me to go all-out? It will come at temporary cost to my body, but for you and Mistress Drufi, I will gladly do it. Shiver can feel Sìle's voice, filled with deep love and devotion for Shiver and Drufi.

Spoiler: OOC

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Shiver's turn. Shiver and Drufi basically have a supply of boulders they can simply throw, no need for extra actions to pick them up or anything, so you can do full attacks with the rock throws. As a reminder, everyone in the fight can see up to 60ft before the fog becomes too thick, and from the edge of the ship, the shoreline is no longer visible. Shiver and Drufi have a few rounds of prep time before the raiders begin the assault. Sìle hastes everyone right as the fight begins.

There are currently three visible frost giants in the water. Full-size frost giants treat the water as difficult terrain, which also means they can't run or charge while in the water. Due to their movement speed and reach, they will need to spend at least one round in the water before they can try to pull themselves aboard, might be more depending on wreckage or other circumstances, but one round is the most common. More giants will come into visibility range each round, but the number can change.

Important note: You have a choice to make. Sìle has Arcane Thesis for fireball, but can also go beyond the normal limits for metamagic by temporarily burning her own physical ability scores. This will let her put out a lot more damage and make the fight easier, but she will need some time to recover after the fight. If you want the fight to be harder or to go for maximum martial glory, tell Sìle to not go all-out or focus more on support.

Shiver can also choose whether she wants to protect the two chained frost giantess slaves or make them join the fight.

[MikelaC1]

Dont kill yourself. Just give us your normal support level and we will take things from there.

Slissht gathers up boulders and starts tossing at the targets she sees, the haste allowing her to toss 3 rocks per round

Spoiler: Rolls

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(1d20+8)[20] attack & (1d6+8)[14] damage
(1d20+8)[20] attack & (1d6+8)[14] damage
(1d20+3)[22] attack & (1d6+8)[14] damage

(1d20+8)[17] attack & (1d6+8)[13] damage
(1d20+8)[18] attack & (1d6+8)[10] damage
(1d20+3)[4] attack & (1d6+8)[9] damage

(1d20+8)[26] attack & (1d6+8)[11] damage
(1d20+8)[23] attack & (1d6+8)[11] damage
(1d20+3)[7] attack & (1d6+8)[9] damage

Not sure how many rounds I have, so I included 3 just to be sure...as soon as they are trying to climb on board, Slissht will be head banging with her greatsword

[Ridai]

Following Shiver's order, Sìle focuses on support instead, imbuing both giantesses with the ability to leverage their strength for their throws.

With that, the battle begins, the war cries of over a dozen frost giant raiders filling the air.

With big splashes and waves, the frost giants leap into the unknown and the bay, axes held at the ready as they push on through the water.

Round 1
Against this first wave, Shiver and Drufi unleash a storm of thrown boulders due to their ready supply and Sìle's magic. Drufi follows Shiver's lead, concentrating fire on the same approaching giant she is throwing at. With the superior numbers, she is out to thin them out as quickly as possible, as every standing giant means another set of sword arms to cut into them. Sìle draws on her most powerful magic reserves, throwing an empowered fireball at the first two frost giants. Between the boulder barrages and the fireball, harrowing damage is dealt to the frost giants, leaving one dead in the water as a bludgeoned and charred corpse, another barely standing, while the third man is unharmed save for what minor wounds were sustained during the raid.


Round 2
Two more frost giants appear out of the fog, closer than the others did, having jumped farther and from better positions. Shiver and Drufi rain their boulders on the closer giants, Shiver caving in the skull of the barely standing frost giant before moving on to the third. Drufi proves to have a somewhat surer throwing arm, her expertise in hunting giants aiding her. Sìle throws another empowered fireball at the same giant, the combined might ending his life. Three corpses float in the water before the dragonboat, and Shiver can feel Sìle burned the last of her most powerful magic reserves. Fueled by fury, the two remaining visible frost giants push on, getting dangerously close to the ship.


Round 3
It had been going well so far, but from the fog from four different angles, the last four giants appear with big splashes. All the raiders are here now. Shiver and Drufi continue their barrage, once again Drufi whether through luck or huntress expertise has the surer aim. Sìle throws yet another fireball, this one notably less powerful, but it is enough to fell another frost giant before he can do any harm.

However, the fifth raider is now in reach, pulling himself out of the water with his monstrous strength and promptly swinging his axe with a bellowing shout at Shiver, cutting into her for 27 damage. Two more men close in, now close enough to pull themselves up onto the ship soon. Another man advances a bit less, but throws a boulder straight at Sìle, injuring the woman as she diverts the rock just enough so it does not hit the enslaved frost giantesses.

Something unexpected happens, however. The ninth raider, a woman of Shiver's clan, recognizes her and Drufi now that the fog no longer obscures her view. Within a heartbeat and in a move that will surely will be the death of her (or a worse fate) should this battle not go in her favor, she raises her weapon and shouts "My life for Slissht! Death to the false jarl!" She throws her boulder at one of the men now close to the boat, and while the man is able to shield himself with an arm, the rebel giantess closes in, axe in hand, to pin the men against the ship as shouts of "Death to the traitors!" fill the air. Echo and Slider move against the raider on the ship, undeterred by the fact that a full-size frost giant is an extreme threat to them, able to distract the raider enough for Slider to find a spot to bite deep into and chip away at the massive stamina of the frost giant.

The water is red with giant blood and viscera as the violent brawl continues to escalate.

Spoiler: OOC

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Shiver's turn. Shiver is at 123/150 HP. Switching back to her sword does not cost an action in this case, Shiver can full attack with her sword this turn.

Drufi is at full health, Sìle is lightly wounded, Echo and Slider at full health. The rebel frost giantess that is fighting for Shiver is 30ft from the boat, lightly injured (likely from abuse by the males and any fighting during the raid) and engaging frost giant 6 and 7.

Four frost giant raiders have been killed by Shiver, Drufi, and Sìle. Four hostile frost giants remain (numbers 5, 6, 7, and 8). Raider 5 is on the ship, 6 and 7 are about to pull themselves onto the ship, 8 is a bit further away.

Due to the chaotic brawl on the ship, all enemies on the ship are considered to be engaged with Shiver and Drufi, thus are considered flanked due to the giantesses' teamwork, but all movement beyond a 5ft step will also cause attacks of opportunity.

[MikelaC1]

Slissht acknowledges the woman's conversion with a salute of her greatsword which continues on into slicing into the giant that attacked her, with the haste still active she strikes 3 times at her opponent

Spoiler: Rolls

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(1d20+18)[20] attack & (3d6+16)[24] damage
(1d20+18)[25] attack & (3d6+16)[25] damage
(1d20+13)[31] attack & (3d6+16)[28] damage

[Ridai]

Shiver and Drufi strike at the raider aboard the ship, and they are like a meatgrinder as blood and viscera floods the deck, followed by the thud of a fresh corpse. In the chaos, it is too dangerous to send a spell into the fray at the ship's side, too likely to misjudge and accidentally sear Shiver, Drufi, or their newfound ally, so she sends another fireball out at the lone raider in the water to hopefully prevent him from also joining the melee.

Two more raiders climb aboard, with the rebel using the opportunity to hack into one of them, but the man simply snarls, refusing to fall back into the gory waters. The one closer to Shiver swings wildly at her, announcing a brutal attack, but missing narrowly. Drufi is less lucky, as the other raider catches her with a furious blow, splashing her blood onto the deck.

Down in the water, the remaining raider closes in on the rebel, quickly ducking beneath the water's surface to avoid the worst of the fireball, before swinging at the rebel and hacking into her, but she was ready to meet his aggression with her own, trading blows, intent on keeping him from boarding the vessel.

Echo and Slider move into action, splitting formation with the speed of animal instinct. Slider goes for the giant attacking Drufi, biting into his arm, but is unable to penetrate his armor and skin. Echo lunges for the raider attacking Shiver and bites into his side, the maws of both winter wolves now dyed red, but the massive size and strength of the raider prevents the wolf from pulling him to the floor.

Spoiler: OOC

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Shiver's turn, 123/150 HP. Drufi is at roughly 3/4 HP, Sìle is lightly wounded, the rebel fighting for Shiver is at roughly 3/4 HP. Echo and Slider are unharmed.

Raider 6 and 7 are onboard with light to moderate damage. Raider 8 is at half health, engaging the rebel down in the water in front of the ship.

[MikelaC1]

Taking advantage of the flank offered by Echo, Slissht's blade flashes again, determined to end this raider as quickly as possible. They seem to be holding their own but numbers could soon overwhelm them if they dont keep them down

Spoiler: Rolls

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(1d20+20)[27] attack & (3d6+16)[27] damage
(1d20+20)[40] attack & (3d6+16)[27] damage
(1d20+15)[19] attack & (3d6+16)[25] damage

[MikelaC1]

Thers a crit, time to bring some pain

Spoiler: Confirm

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(1d20+20)[24] attack & (3d6+16)[26] damage

[Ridai]

Shiver's blade gleams, and in an awesome display of might, she cuts down the raider in front of her where he stood, sending his head flying into the water and his body hanging over the ship's railing. Drufi attempts to follow Shiver's example, putting more power into her strikes, but a full-size frost giant is a brutal opponent. Severely bloodied and on his last legs, the raider shouts and attacks Shiver with reckless abandon, slashing into her for 42 damage, his backswing only barely missing Drufi due to the unhinged nature of his swings. Echo and Slider growl and go for the frost giant in retaliation, Slider biting into his axe arm, leaving him open enough for Echo to lunge straight for his throat, tearing it out, fueled by vengeance for Shiver.

Down in the water, the remaining raider suffers another blow by the rebel woman, only narrowly battering away a second strike that may have felled him. The man is close to death and against an overwhelming force at this point, standing in water filled with the maimed remains of his fellow raiders. Blood is flowing in rivulets from the ship's deck by now. Breathing heavily, the arm holding his greataxe is lowered, splashing into the red water, struggling to remain upright. There is no point in continuing the fight.

He pulls something from his belt. It looks like an icicle of a harsh white color, wickedly serrated in its shape. In the giant tongue, the man shouts "Thrym!" All present giantesses recognize the name as one of the sons of Allam the All-Father (father and god of all giantkind), the deity of the frost giants, ever restless and preparing for war, unbelievably violent and cruel in wartime, especially against the spawn of his brother Surtur, god of the militaristic fire giants. Chaotic evil through and through, and his example suffuses most frost giants, just as Surtur's iron-fisted inhumane regime is the ideal the fire giants follow. "Witness me! Death upon your champion's foes!" And with that, the half-dead raider rams the icicle straight into his heart in what looks like a last act of defiance and ritual suicide. With hate on his face, he falls back into the murky water.

The rebel woman chuckles, turning around facing Shiver, raising her axe up high in a sign of tribute and victory. Drufi catches her breath, Sìle looks relieved, moving to heal her mistresses' injuries and that of their new ally. One of the two chained frost giant women, however, looks unsettled, dread in her expression.

The fog grows colder around them, ice crystals in the air, snow beginning to fall. The bloody water begins to freeze in places. The phenomenon draws confusion from everyone present.

The next moment, with an inhumanly deep, piercing howl, the raider bursts from the waves, now more resembling a frozen corpse with both clear and red ice not just covering him, but also part of it, eyes dark except for pinpoints of harsh blue light. The icicle lodged in its chest, ice having spread from it like a festering wound. Its every sound, motion, and presence feels wrong to Shiver. She has encountered and fought much. But what this man has become, this creature, feels just unbelievably wrong, vile, and thirsting for blood. Never in her entire life has she seen something like this. The water around it begins to freeze, the very air around it devoid of all warmth.

The rebel woman turns around, raising her axe, but the berserk creature is already in her face, ramming its wicked ice-covered axe into her and battering her back against the ship, causing it to shake. The fearful chained woman on deck screams. The rebel is still alive, but heavily wounded at this point. The creature leaps out of the water, right on deck, frost immediately spreading as it lands with a heavy thud, freezing the blood mixed with salt water on the wooden planks. With another howl, it swings with unnatural force and bloodlust, hammering into Shiver for 54 damage, then at Drufi, inflicting grievous injury, making her grunt in pain through clenched teeth.

Alarmed, Sìle casts a fireball, aimed above Shiver and Drufi's heads, seeking to incinerate that of the creature. It is not able to dodge, the firey explosion charring its flesh, even blasting a chunk out of its skull. Yet in immediate retaliation, defying the care Sìle took not to leave herself open from casting her spell, the massive axe swings and catches Sìle, battering her away and to the floor, having her gasping for air from the brutal injury and freezing cold inflicted upon her.

"How is he not dead?!" Drufi shouts, axe raised. The man's previous injuries indicated he was basically defeated, the fireball should have absolutely sealed it, yet this thing still stands.

The creature howls. "RIP! TEAR!"

Spoiler: OOC

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Shiver's turn, 37/150 HP. Drufi is heavily wounded, Sìle is heavily wounded and prone, the rebel is down in the water and moderately to heavily wounded. Echo and Slider are unharmed.

Only the last raider remains as an enemy, having turned himself into the creature you see now, entering a berserker frenzy giving him a large increase in strength, greater Power Attack conversion, which the creature used to deal as much damage as it did, additional attacks, and swift action jumps. And apparently increased durability and the ability to flat-out ignore and punish defensive casting.

Now is the time to bring everything you've got and fast. Kill or be killed.

[MikelaC1]

How can he still be alive.
And how can we deal with something that wont stay dead

The rage in Slissht rises, any loss of defense stemming from her rage is pointless, this stupid thing can probably pierce that with no issue. Her blood boils, her eyes see red and she strikes with the full force of her barbarian and giantess powers.

Spoiler: Rolls

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(1d20+22)[32] attack & (3d6+18)[30] damage
(1d20+22)[38] attack & (3d6+18)[29] damage
(1d20+17)[19] attack & (3d6+18)[29] damage

[Ridai]

The creature's frenzy leaves it wide open, and Shiver has no trouble hacking into it, carving out chunks of frozen flesh, leaving gaping ruins, one arm looking like it is barely functioning at this point. Drufi follows her lead, just savagely hammering into the thing, hearing bones crunch and flesh being torn asunder. But it is not stopping. As it howls again, the rebel giantess pulls herself on deck, out of the frozen waters, seeing what damage the creature has sustained without going down. Seeing how it winds up another harrowing strike on Shiver, the rebel swings her axe. Whether on purpose or accident, the axe blade collides with the creature's frozen weapon, and with all the might behind the strikes, the frozen axe is shattered, the rebel's axe is deeply dented and cracked.

In its maddened frenzy, the berserker lashes out with its bare, ice-jagged hands. With its "healthier" arm, it just does a violent swing, slamming against Shiver's chest for 24 damage, knocking air from her lungs, but her fury put a lot more fight in the giantess. With primal savagery, the creature swats the rebel across the face, leaving two red lines where fingers managed to dig deeper, throwing her against the railing, the rebel giantess shaking her head and spitting blood, but still standing, still fighting. The ruined arm looks to backhand Drufi, but as she raises an arm to block, the underlying bone cracks, rendering the creature's left arm useless and dangling.

Sìle can't do much, casting would be the death of her right now, and the cold this creature spreads is slowly choking the life from her. Dragging herself away, hoping to get far enough away in time to use her magic again, shaking a lot from the pain and cold, Shiver hears in her mind Keep going, it cannot attack if it has no functioning body anymore. Shiver can feel the extreme pain Sìle is in, battling with the numbing supernatural cold. The chained giantesses unable to participate in any way, try to move as far away from the berserker as they can.

Echo and Slider lunge for the creature's flesh, ripping out what they can before getting thrown off.

Spoiler: OOC

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Shiver's turn, 29/166 HP (includes Rage HP bonus). Sìle, Drufi, and the rebel woman heavily wounded. Echo and Slider unharmed.

The berserker lost the use of one of its arms and its ability to walk has been diminished by its accumulating wounds increasingly destroying muscles and bones necessary to move. The fireball earlier destroyed one of its eyes.

[MikelaC1]

Slissht's rage is unabated, if anything, seeing how close to death Sile is from this abomination, its even higher.
Just one more round, just one...more...round

Spoiler: Rolls

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(1d20+22)[32] attack & (3d6+18)[29] damage
(1d20+22)[39] attack & (3d6+18)[27] damage
(1d20+17)[20] attack & (3d6+18)[30] damage

[Ridai]

The three giantesses really lay into the creature with all they got, just hacking away to tear it apart. The rebel carves into his torso, Drufi aiming for its shoulders to keep it from using its arms, while Shiver unleashes her might until she does one final swing, cutting right through its belly and up, severing the remaining arm and everything from the abdomen downwards, all parts landing on the frozen deck with crackling thuds. With the immediate threat dealt with, Sìle casts a spell, protecting her from the cold, along with an emergency heal. She takes a deep breath, rolling on her back, remaining there for a moment. She raises a thumbs up, indicating the danger to her life has passed, before letting it fall down, slowly picking herself up.

As Sìle comes over, distributing some healing to stop any bleeding on the giantesses, they all watch the torso of the berserker, still moving its head, trying and failing to snatch at them with its teeth, having no functioning limbs left.

The giantesses breathe heavily, Drufi frowning as she looks down on the creature, then to the others. "What in the hells?" The rebel woman, between heaving breaths, just shakes her head, never having seen this either. Echo and Slider just growl at the remains of the creature, white furs soaked with giant blood.

One of the chained giantesses, the one who first showed fear earlier, speaks with a haunted voice. "I've seen this. The jarl, he... he went away, and when he came back, he handed these icicles to his shamans, called them Thrym's Spikes. They were to give this to warriors. The jarl he, he had a cage with captured men from other clans. Picked one of our warriors, one who had been kind to me, and rammed the thing in his heart. He... he tore the men apart. Limb from limb." Her voice trembles. Most frost giants are no stranger to violence, often seeing glory in it. That moment, it appears, was different.

Shiver still sees the icicle, that "Thrym's Spike", lodged in the creature's chest, from where ice spread. It seems to shrink, gradually. Drufi grabs it and pulls it out, yanking it free from the ice. The moment she does, the creature immediately lies still, dead. What is left of the icicle melts even faster now, very soon entirely having turned to water and then evaporated. The cold leaves the foggy air of Port Llast.

"Thought I knew what was going on with Storvald. But not this sick ****," Drufi says.

A quiet moment passes, before Sìle speaks.

"You all did it. You defended Port Llast. You against twenty of them," she says. She will not let the moment be drowned by whatever evil Storvald is bringing into this world. It is time to look to Shiver's deeds. And her victory over the jarl's evil.

[MikelaC1]

Slissht works to clean the fur of Echo, washing the blood away from her body. Give me your best howl, maybe it will serve as a sign to the two others we left in the town, that they can come back to the ship. She then walks over to the chained female giantess, if she can, she simply breaks the chains, if she cant, she asks if they know where the keys are. Like I said, I intend to usher in a new world order for frost giants, one that will not only bring prosperity but will rise us up in the new ordning above the fires and maybe even above the clouds. You can chose to be a part of this or you can leave peacefully, but this offer is only available once. In fact this offer will be made to any frost giant, save Storvald, who by this deal has proven he is beyond redemption. In this new order men and women will be equal partners in the clan.

[Ridai]

Shiver tries to clean some of the blood from Echo's fur, just as Echo licks some of the blood off of Shiver's arms. Neither does a good job in actual cleaning, given the circumstances, but it is understood as a gesture. Echo howls, and not long after the two freed giants do show up. Evidently they followed Shiver and her group. The male former slave has an arm around the physically more imposing woman who still seems nervous to being around Shiver again, but now more ashamed than afraid. Despite having been viciously tormented by her recently, the young man looks like he forgave her, or is at least willing to try. A rare gentler nature among frost giant men. One that would have led to a death in agony and humiliation under Storvald.

Having her full range of motion and her magic greatsword, Shiver has no problems cleaving through the chains in a few strikes, freeing the women. The giants present listen to Shiver's proclamation, and Shiver can tell she is reaching them. All of them have been through a lot under Jarl Storvald, and know the plight of many more. This is treason against the most powerful jarl of the Savage Frontier and a good ways beyond. The danger is enormous. There is a heavy silence for a while, save for the rebel woman (named Valka) once again pledging her allegiance without hesitation, sticking to her guns. Soon, one of the slave women comes forward.

"Even if... even if the ordning stayed like it used to be, even if not all frost giants would follow your ways... I want to be part of your new clan. Life in Storvald's clan is not living. Women are willing subordinates at best, and abused slaves at worst. In the end, Storvald wants all of us to be property and breeders, even if some might still deny it and some might be brainwashed enough to have no problem with that. Some men might think they live in a golden age, but they are under constant pressure and surveillance. Make a mistake, say the wrong thing, be outside the ideal in any fashion, or simply have bad luck. Any of these could make them prey, everything they did for the clan wiped away, to be hated and ground up to keep the rest of the clan in check. This isn't living. This is hell for anyone but Storvald." Shiver can see the words resonating with the other former slave woman, the former male "omega", and the woman beside him who has to face that she was in denial up until very recently and that it drove her to do vile things to her own kind.

"I'm pledging my life to you and your clan, Slissht. Either we achieve your dream, or we die in freedom," the former slave says. The pledge is mirrored by the other former slave, then the male. The defeated warrior woman hesitates, looking like she may be considering leaving. Until she, too, pledges herself to Shiver. Redemption is not something frost giants commonly seek. This one does. Drufi watches the proceedings, nodding to each as she stands to Shiver's side as her second. Echo is beside Shiver, just as Slider is beside Drufi. Sìle observes quietly, good at fading into the background despite her presence and beauty, smiling.

The giants begin chanting thrice: "Endless victories to our Lady Slissht!" Echo and Slider howl each time.

Afterwards, the male, Kassun, speaks, important matters weighing on him, and seeking Shiver's guidance. "What will you do now, Slissht? And what do you want us to do? We do not have a place to go to, and the sea might be too dangerous for us now."

Sìle quietly adds "The people of Port Llast are still in hiding and fear. I sensed the hope you brought to some of them, but they do not yet know what happened here."

[MikelaC1]

Tonight, we feast. We do not need this boat, so we are going to ram it full speed to get as far onshore as possible. We will then take the plundered foodstuffs and create a grand feast for the village, as well, we will take all the plundered loot off and return to the victims of this raid. Let them aid us in beginning to spread the word of what we intend to do. Tomorow we resume the quest of who stole my power.

[Ridai]

Shiver's newly founded clan acknowledges, and Sìle brings them up to speed in terms of Shiver's quest. The ship is brought next to the edge of the harbor and they begin to unload what was taken. Sìle takes over the duty of announcing what happened to the people of Port Llast, and little by little, the people come to the harbor to meet the avenging angels that saved them. Hesitant at first when they see some of the raiders, the situation is explained. The shock of the raid is still present, the dead are still lying in the streets and need to be recovered, there is still some animosity towards the raiders that switched sides. But the people of Port Llast have weathered much and rebuilt. They are a hardy people, all in all.

They thank Shiver for saving them. There is a period of simply returning what was taken and taking care of the bodies in the streets to give at least some closure to those who have lost relatives and friends. Sìle does her best to treat wounds with what healing she has left. But the feast does happen. Night has fallen when it does, and it isn't an exuberant occasion, but the people make the most out of it out of sheer dogged defiance against the hand they were dealt in the form of their town being raided this day. There is some awkwardness, some cultural barriers between the frost giants and the "small folk", Shiver and Sìle doing much to bridge this. The people marvel at Shiver's presence and beauty, and to a somewhat lesser extent, this also applies to the other giantesses. The women of the clan Shiver was born into had always been uniquely blessed, graced with beautiful forms, motions, and personalities in addition to their giant might, Slissht being perhaps the greatest example alive. Shiver is too young to have witnessed the time before Storvald, but it takes little imagination why the jarl wanted to subjugate these women in particular before extending his reach.

So, the survivors of the raid cheer to Shiver, the avenging angel of Port Llast, and her clan, defying the evil of the giant raiders. The news will spread, slowly but surely.

It takes a fair while until Shiver is not completely swamped with people's attention, both from the small folk and the other giants. Without any sort of declaration, Drufi seems to have just become Shiver's second-in-command in seemingly all ways, coordinating, at times delegating, and being the one the other giants look to if Shiver is busy. The huntress cares for the others. She always wanted to make her clan stronger, more prosperous. Happier, in her own way, though she wouldn't put it that way. A certain strictness, gruffness at times, clear words cutting to the heart of a matter, but a warmth underneath. Now she is in a position where she can tangibly make her ideals a reality. The giants now following Shiver, Drufi included, look to her and see a woman like no other. When the former raiders and slaves hear what happened to Shiver and seeing that she has not yet regained her true strength or even size fills them with dismay and anger at whoever did this to her.

During the feast, Shiver sees Sìle doing what she is wont to do, attending her mistresses with absolute love and devotion, at times anticipating their needs, and of course seeing the people of Port Llast as well as the giants are happy and cared for. Healing and food are distributed, her face gets many licks by Echo and Slider when she magically cleans their coats of fur, and she subtly gets both the big and small folk to talk to and understand each other. Shiver can feel a measure of content from Sìle, being happy with her current lot in life. And she can feel the peculiar human woman having a strong weakness to the women of Shiver's clan, strongest towards Slissht herself, something that has been present ever since they first met. Compared to a few mere days ago, Drufi and Sìle have grown close, the former having become protective of the latter, while the self-described servant-maid makes no secret of how she feels about her mistresses.

As the feast winds down, Sìle approaches Shiver in a quiet moment. "I mentioned earlier today I wanted to discuss the matter of healing. It is true, it will become harder for me to keep pace with you and Drufi, and magic supplies to shore this up would become extremely expensive. Looking for a healer to join us may become a necessity. However, there might be an alternative." She puts her elbows on the table, raising her hands, palms up. One hand is wreathed with magical fire, the other in the soothing light of healing, though its glow does not match that of the fire. "As you know, my talents grow with yours, and are shaped by you and your wishes. I always had both my sorcery and what I have come to know as gifts of the divine, even though I would not describe myself as a woman inclined towards worship of the powers. The priestesses of Sune, goddess of love and passion, and Sharess (or Bast, how she is known in her homeland of Mulhorand), demigoddess of festhalls, cats, and hedonism... they always seemed drawn to me, always encouraging me to join and worship with them. With the many dangers we faced, and because it was only you and me in the beginning, I could feel my magic focus on offense, feeding my sorcerous side." She looks to her burning hand, licks of blue flame occasionally dancing in it. "But this means my healing talents could not keep pace. But Drufi is with us now as well. Perhaps more, if you intend to take Echo and Slider, or perhaps even your new clan with you on this search. With your wish, I could make the divine my strong suit, though it would diminish my sorcery to an extent, though it would not go away. In broad terms, more healing and support, less offense. The change may well end up being permanent... but it appeals to me, the same way my current talents do. So which one would you prefer?"

Sìle looks to Shiver with a bewitching smile. "The sorceress that weaves trickery to ensnare foes and incinerates all who stand against you and refuse to respect your ways?" The flaming hand flares up, and Shiver sees a figure made out of fire in it, a wilder facsimile of Sìle as a sorceress of war, causing a surge of adrenaline in Shiver. "Or the priestess kissing away your every wound, becoming your envoy, and making you and yours the best you can be until you become unstoppable?" From the shining hand, a figure of light emerges in flowing angelic veils, a soothing yet surprisingly enticing form, Shiver feeling a mixture of comfort and desire well up for a moment.

Spoiler: OOC

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Here is a choice. Currently, Sìle is a gestalt character with Sorceress on one side, and her Maid class which also grants her some divine casting but with a slower progression on the other. If Shiver wants Sìle to embrace her divine gifts, she would become a full divine caster, and her Maid class would instead provide a slower progression of sorcery. She would still be able to throw fireballs, but not as many and not as powerful as now, in exchange for vastly improved healing, unique buffing benefits, and new support options.

There is the possibility of a secret third option which can occur at some point, but that has to be discovered via Shiver's actions, which may or may not happen in this game.

[MikelaC1]

Back when it was just the two of us, I needed your offensive sorcery. I wouldnt be where I am now without it. But you are correct, the appearance of Drufi and the wolves, not to mention the others, has changed that dynamic. Not only is it harder for you to cast into battle, we need healing more than that. My wish is that you embrace your priestess nature even more...and with the occasional sorceress spell to befuddle, rather than blast, would be best.

[MikelaC1]

As the feast draws to a close, Slissht draws her new giants around. I am so glad you have joined with me, and when the moment comes, I will call on you to come to me and we will topple the false jarl. But for now, I was stripped of much of my power leaving them to wonder just what a full power Shiver would look like and since hes probably some sniveling finger wiggler, we need to be covert or he will just disappear each time. You all would make the search easier, but the final battle would become an issue because if it looked like we were winning, he would skeedaddle. I will take Drufi, Sile and my wolves to continue the search. I would like you to stay here and help rebuild Port Llast, that in itself would herald a new era for frost giants.

[Ridai]

Shiver's clan has been wondering why their new jarl was stuck at her size, but given she and Drufi had no issues tearing raiders apart, it once again drives home just how powerful Shiver was at her peak. No one who ever challenged her won, not even Drufi, and Drufi both did so a lot and was extremely difficult to defeat in her own right. They nod to her orders, grumbling at the thought of "that spineless bastard" who took Shiver's power. If she thinks this is the best way to catch him, that is how it is going to go down. She is their finest, after all. Valka, first one to rebel against the raiders, grins. "Town's gonna look great in no time. Might clean up outside a bit, knock some bandit and hill giant heads."


When Shiver tells Sìle her wish, she chuckles. "Always felt strange about Sune and Bast, how their priestesses told me I was blessed by them, my drifting from one master or mistress to the next like their fancy drifting from one lucky mortal to the next. Growing stronger and falling in love with the one I swore to serve, seeing them achieve their dreams and find their true love, be released, lose my power but keep all my feelings and memories, and begin another journey all over again. I thought I was cursed, mocked by those fickle goddesses. Part of me dreads when you will become queen of the frost giants, find the one meant for you, and release me from my service. But I can bring happiness on the way, and help you build something lasting." Sìle laughs to herself. "Years of pushing the Ladies Sune and Bast away, only to find they already live in my heart." She shakes her head, smiling, before leaning in, lowering her voice, gently laying her hand on Shiver's. "I sense no priestesses of my Goddesses here. Would you and Drufi honor me by initiating me instead?"

Shiver has a remarkable effect on others. There is no frost giant man who does not want her, chances are even most if not all women would consider themselves lucky to have her attention, and the small folk fare no better. Rarely is she on the receiving end of such a presence, but in this moment, she is. Before her eyes, Shiver feels the change in Sìle, filled with divine inspiration, and it makes her so hard to resist, the young woman wishing to share one of the most important nights of her life with her beloved mistresses.

Spoiler: OOC

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And with that, I think we can safely skip to the next day. Drufi has warmed up significantly to Sìle, so she agrees to the request, given how important it seems to be to Sìle (Shiver knows Drufi is historically not looking for female partners, though she has yet to meet a man she found worthy of continuing her bloodline with).

While I am busy rebuilding Sìle, seeing what fun tricks I can give her, I would like you to know that you gained XP for defeated 20 frost giants (one way or another), a frost giant shaman, and a Thrym's Spike Berserker. This makes Shiver, and by extension Drufi and Sìle, level 10. On the frost giant class, it is not the most eventful pair of levels, but it does mean a net increase of +3 natural armor, +2 Str, and +2 Con.

I decided to give poor Echo and Slider a bit of a leg up as well, treating them like cohorts, so they are up to 9 racial HD and gained Improved Natural Attack (bite) as well as bringing their Intelligence up to 10 so they cna enjoy getting 2 skill points per HD instead of 1. The Magical Beast HD is actually surprisingly decent. Here is their shared character sheet. For my own sanity, I am keeping both of them mechanically the same.

[Ridai]

Shiver awakes, refreshed, the unforgettable night still felt. She feels the sheets she liked so much, morning light creeping into the room. A soft chuckle draws her eye across the luxurious bedchamber, to her lover Morwen Daggerford, duchess of the small but consequential town of Daggerford. Athletic, yet not at the cost of her femininity, one of the few ruling women as capable with the sword as with leadership, at times harsh, but always fair. And framed by the sunlight and casting a smoldering look to Shiver lying in her bed, her incredible beauty like she rarely truly shows in everyday life is on full display. She sashays over to the bed with a smile full of promise, mirroring Shiver's desire. Yet behind her, a shadowy figure, like an evil omen, moving their arms, weaving vile magic to inflict upon the duchess and Shiver!

Shiver awakes from her dream, lying next to Drufi in Sìle's tent. The dream showing her resurfaced memories, and vividly so. Her heart is still pounding from spotting the danger in her dream... but also from remembering both Morwen in it, as well as the last night in the tent. Shaking off the haunting dream, Shiver feels amazing. She can feel more of her strength having returned, feeling tougher and more powerful, more like she used to be. She is getting closer, her true form feeling within her grasp, the mystery of what happened to her ever closer to being resolved.

Drufi awakes soon after, stretching. She, too, looks like she has grown stronger again. Perhaps her bond with Shiver is accelerating the recovery process. "Slept well?" she asks, getting out of bed, going over to where the bath is. She looks over to the noon sunlight seeping into the tent. "Huh. I was out like a light. Guess Sìle and the wolves were up earlier."

Pushing the dividing fabrics aside, Shiver sees breakfast was prepared for the giantesses, ready on the dinner table, along with a note written in Sìle's elegant handwriting, wishing her mistresses a wonderful morning and informing them she is assisting the villagers and frost giants this morning and will be back soon, since she didn't want to wake Shiver and Drufi. As they are having breakfast, Shiver can see Drufi has some things on her mind, lost in thought.

Soon enough, Sìle returns. As she steps into the tent, there is a brief glimpse of Echo and Slider playfighting outside before following the priestess into the tent. Sìle looks different, her blue dress replaced by ethereal white garments with firey-red trimmings. Her old outfit was stunning, but this one feels like it suits her much more, a perfect fit, with the woman herself looking like she is more at peace with herself and her place in the world. Shiver and Drufi both note that where Sìle stands, her surroundings seem more vibrant, somehow. Echo and Slider walk to Shiver and Drufi, respectively, greeting them. Despite maintaining her mysterious presence, Shiver can spot Echo eyeing the bacon on the table.

"Good day, mistresses, I hope you slept well," Sìle says with a dazzling smile. "Repairs are going well, and the feast as well as the open-minded nature of your clan has done wonders for relations between the frost giants and the villagers. I also had a few wonderful conversations about the goddesses of the giant pantheon with some of your clan's women." Stepping closer to the giantesses and their winter wolves, she adds, looking to Shiver with delight and no shortage of giddyness: "I would like to present to you the gifts born from your wish."

Shiver begins to weave her magic, feeling different now, more artful, almost like song and dance. Once after another, miracles are woven and laid upon the giantesses and the wolves. There is an infectious feeling of joy coming from Sìle as she does so, and this joy makes them notably stronger, faster, and tougher, far more than they used to be. If she didn't know Sìle was invoking her human goddesses' powers, Shiver could swear she felt the touch of the giant goddesses. The power of the goddess of the hunt Hiatea, the protection of the goddess of love Iallanis, the guile of the demigoddess of trickery Diancastra.

"Every spell I wove will last the entire day, and I have a plethora more short-lived ones at the ready."

Spoiler: OOC

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Took me a while to rebuild Sìle, but here we are. You may be thrilled to learn she has access to Persist Spell now, and can mercilessly apply it a fair few spells.

Here is the total list of daily spells that are now applied to Shiver, Drufi, and/or Echo & Slider that last the entire day due to Persist Spell, or basically the entire day due to being hour/level spells that got Extended, so please add these bonuses straight to your sheet in the appropriate fields (you will also find this list in the first post of the OOC). These will be renewed every day without pointing out every day that they are cast:

• Elation (on the whole group): +2 morale bonus to Strength and Dexterity, +5ft to speed.
• Recitation (on everyone except Sìle): +2 luck bonus to AC, saving throws, and attacks.
• Righteous Wrath of the Faithful (on the whole group): +3 morale bonus to attacks and damage, and during a full attack, you can make an extra attack at your full base attack bonus (does not stack with extra attacks from haste and the like).
• Magic Vestment (on Shiver and Drufi): Shiver's clothes and Drufi's armor now grant a +2 enhancement bonus to AC.
• Greater Resistance (on Drufi, Echo & Slider): +3 resistance bonus to saving throws (was not cast on Shiver due to only marginal increase).
• Greater Magic Weapon (on Drufi): Drufi's masterwork axe now has a +2 enhancement bonus to attack and damage, and counts as magical.

Additionally, Sìle has applied persisted spells to herself, which indirectly benefit the others: Positive Energy Aura heals all living creatures within 10ft of Sìle for 4 HP every round, and damages undead for 8 HP per round. Soul of Light lets Sìle add +2 per spell level to the HP recovered by instantaneous healing spells she casts, and if she heals for 10 HP or more, she can also remove fatigue or downgrade exhausted to fatigued.

Aside from spells, Sìle also now has Augment Healing, increasing the healing done with her healing spells by 2 per spell level, and she has Touch of Healing, which gives her infinite standard action healing up to one-half of someone's max HP and increasing her caster level for healing spells.

Note that while Positive Energy Aura is a healing spell, I am not letting Augment Healing or Soul of Light apply to it, because I am not okay with healing everyone within 10ft for 20 HP every round. This is meant as out-of-combat healing for when there isn't a lot of time pressure, and to conserve spells, not top up Shiver in a minute.

[MikelaC1]

Shiver wordlessly points at her share of the bacon and then snaps her fingers at Echo. Wonderful to have the wolf so well trained from the start to not just help herself and it needs to be rewarded. She moves around, getting the feel of all things Sile can now do for her...If I had known what wonderful powers you had at your command, I would have asked for this transformation earlier. I look forward to seeing what other gifts you have mastered.
Her mood grows somber at this point. However, I had a dream last night. Not a premonition but a recalled memory. Duchess Morwen Daggerford, and I, being attacked by some vile presence...I'm sure it was the same incident. We are on the right trail

[Ridai]

Echo, perfectly wolf-ladylike, begins to dine upon the offered strips of bacon, one at a time. Slider, meanwhile, seems to have no trouble with being seen having fun with eating bacon when Drufi offers her some from her hand. The moment Shiver stands up and goes to try out her boosted abilities, there are distinct plate clattering and intense munching sounds, and when Shiver turns around, Echo sits where she was before, looking stoic and mysterious as she stares at nothing in particular. With a little bit of bacon hanging out of her snout. Shiver's bacon plate mysteriously empty. Slider is just happy with being offered some more bacon one at a time, merrily munching away, having a great time.

Drufi tests her boosted abilities, finding herself much faster and stronger. "Yeah, no kidding. If all of our clan received just half of these magics, it would make us as strong as one nearly double our size."

Echo and Slider, (temporarily?) no longer occupied by the Lure of Bacon, seem to test their speed, even doing a quick bout of playfighting, mentioning how powerful and fast they feel afterwards.

Sìle glows from the praise given. "I was surprised myself! I did not know I could weave spells like this, and I feel like I should be thanking you. The way I am now, it feels good. Right."

When Shiver mentions her dream, Drufi nods. A beat. "Daggerford? Wait..."

Sìle explains "Ruler of the town of the very same name that happens to be our destination. The settlement is small in the grand scheme of things, but bears political significance and Lady Daggerford is part of the Lords' Alliance, composed of the rulers of various cities and towns in and near the Savage Frontier, including Waterdeep, Neverwinter, and Baldur's Gate. They oppose the Zhentarim and similar organizations, and seek to maintain or restore what peace there is."

Drufi looks to Shiver. "Sounds like retracing your steps is working out. Wonder how the duchess fared. Friend of yours?"

Spoiler: OOC

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Quick question: do you want full control over Echo, like only you post whatever Echo does? Or do we share roleplaying Echo, while only you control her in combat?

[Ridai]

Once breakfast has been taken care of, Sìle puts her hands together. "I have another development to show you. If you would follow me outside, please."

Outside of the tent, Shiver sees they are on the northern of the two cliffs above Port Llast (walking down there take a few minutes, but it is a scenic walk, and evidently Sìle wanted to treat herself to a grand view of the Sword Coast upon leaving the tent in the morning). The priestess begins to cast, Shiver recognizing it as the ritual to conjure their ethereal mounts, so she settles in for the next 10 minutes to just relax or some light activity, though Sìle asks for Echo and Slider to stay close. At the end of the ritual... only one mount appears, looking like an ethereal winter wolf with similar designs like Sìle's previous mount.

Drufi looks to the mount with a sort of "mh, not bad" look as Slider sniffs with curiosity and Echo squints at it with inquisitive suspicion. The huntress looks to Sìle with an "is this it?" gesture, which ends up being her cue. "You are looking at your new mounts, as long as you are human-sized, of course."

And she gestures to Echo and Slider, who look to Sìle, then at each other with question marks over their heads, head tilt and all.

"You seemed displeased with the idea of riding horses, so I experimented with imbuing Echo and Slider with the magic driving the speed of the ethereal mounts. They are not any faster by themselves, but they will become very fast indeed when you ride them at human size. Additionally, I managed to make the spell a lot faster, and finally figured out how to let the mounts not just ignore muddy or uneven ground, but also walk upon snow and water. However, I would advise strongly against trying to make use of this speed in most combat situations due to the danger to Echo and Slider, and how difficult it may be to do combat effectively at such speeds. By my estimations, we should be able to cover the roughly 300 miles to Triboar in twelve to fourteen hours of travel, depending on circumstances."

Slider seems excited at the news, while Echo turns her nose up at the idea of serving as a mount. Which is undermined a bit by her tail wagging at the idea of extremely fast, water walking zoomies.

Spoiler: OOC

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So yeah. Since Sìle has become very good at metamagic when she has a fair bit of time, I noticed that the speed of phantom steed and thus ethereal mount fits the criteria of things that can be boosted with Maximize Spell, as a variable, numeric effect. The mounts now have the maximum speed of 240ft, or 24 miles per hour as per the travel rules.

Do you want to do anything in Port Llast or in regards to your clan, or do you want me to move things on to traveling to Triboar?

[MikelaC1]

Slissht has extra treats on hand to reward Echo for serving as a mount and promises a good rubdown, along with belly rubs when they rest for the night. She then mounts up with Drufi We have done all that we can here. Time to move on to Triboar

[Ridai]

The excellent wolf lady Echo is, she deems these offerings and the promised later pampering acceptable, but just this once (as the treats rapidly disappear in her maw with abandon). Mounting up at human size, there is no saddle or anything, yet it feels as perfectly comfortable and stable as the ethereal horse did, and with this personal note, it is easily the smoothest ride Shiver has ever had.

The winter wolves, now that their riders are mounted up, begin to move, finding they suddenly zip ahead at incredible speeds without losing any control. They stop after a few seconds, looking down at their front paws, then to each other, Shiver seeing the gears in their heads turning. Drufi makes a motion as if to say "bear with them a few minutes", because not long after, Echo and Slider begin to run again, but this time into and through Port Llast, and out onto the sea, zooming about on the water and waves. You can't give them this incredible speed and special abilities and not expect them to use them! A few minutes of racing each other on the sea later, they race back through Port Llast (becoming the source of a later folk tale of frost amazons upon white lighting wolves), finally following Sìle's navigation.

True to Sìle's estimation, they are making rapid progress towards Triboar. After only a few hours, they whip right past Neverwinter, eventually reaching the crossing Shiver saw in memories recovered in Luskan, heading east and away from the coast, following the Triboar Trail to curve around the Neverwinter Woods, leading between the Sword Mountains to the south and the Starmetal Hills towards the north on the last section of the road. On foot, the trip from Port Llast to Triboar would have taken a tenday at least. With Echo and Slider having become as fast as they can possibly be and having an amazing time, they make most of the trip before nightfall. Sìle suggests to make camp, even if the winter wolves could still continue and can see in the dark, simply to check on how they feel after a day of travel under the spell and for them to burn off some excited energy. Drufi goes hunting, asking Sìle to accompany her, while the wolves quite simply play and play-fight a whole lot on the clearing where the tent has been put. After dinner, Echo and Slider have been examined, deemed perfectly fine, and have sufficiently worn themselves out, Echo now graciously accepting to be royally pampered by Shiver, Drufi doing much the same for Slider, as Sìle takes care of clean-up and preparing their beds.

The next morning, Slider is basically doing a little giddy tap dance while waiting for them to continue their journey, while Echo carefully maintains dignified aloofness, undermined by tail wagging and trying to extract treats and praise from Shiver.

What distance remains between them and Triboar is overcome via two supercharged winter wolves in a matter of a few hours, meadows and forests zipping past them, soon seeing the sprawling ranches and farmsteads surrounding the town built around the crossing of inland trade routes. The land is mostly flat and fertile, with only a few natural rises here and there. They can see the buildings of Triboar soon, as well as the shapes of several trade wagons, squares to have markets setup, the central fortified tower watching over the place. But more importantly, they hear people shouting and screaming, running about, town militia mobilizing. They see a red-glowing boulder slam into a house, causing it to catch fire, smash through the other side, and crush a villager. And they see the unmistakable signs of a fire giant war party, as well as their throng of slaves and a large wagon, inexorably heading straight for the town as worg riders are sent ahead, circling towards the more southern parts of Triboar.

In an educated guess, Sìle weaves magic, imbuing all five of them, shielding them from fire. Drufi has already drawn her axe.

Spoiler: OOC

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Here we go. Triboar is about to be attacked by fire giants, and they look like they will simply batter through whatever is unfortunate enough to be between them and whatever their destination is. From their current vantage point, Shiver can see at least a half-dozen fire giants and a good amount of underlings that seem to be orcs or similar.

Sìle imbued the whole party with mass resist energy (fire), granting them fire resistance 20 for the next 100 minutes.

Here is a map of Triboar. The party is on the Triboar Trail in the west of town, while the fire giants are on the opposite end, having reached the town from the northeast, while sending worg riders to circle around to the south of the town. The militia seems to be mostly gathered around the central watchtower at the moment (T1 on the map), in the process of spreading out, but the two-pronged attack will likely spread them thin, and their chances against the worg riders will probably be a lot better than against the fire giant war party.

[MikelaC1]

Spoiler

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Northeast would put the giants on Long Road, while the worgs are on Evermoor

Sile, if you can use your magic to send a mental message to the militia to concentrate on the worg riders, and we are going to cut across the top of the city to cut off the giants before they get there. Time for us to start picking them off one by one as we get the chance

[Ridai]

Sìle nods, pushing herself higher on her ethereal wolf to get a better view, spotting the commander of the militia, and casting a spell. With the speed they are going at, they will intercept the fire giants in about half a minute, so they do not have the time to check how well the militia follows what Sìle said, but there appears to be a reaction. "Lord Protector Darathra Shendrel thanks you for your assistance," the priestess calls over, her ephemeral clothes billowing and flowing in the wind. The name sounds familiar to Shiver, memory emerging that Shendrel is the local leader of Triboar.

On the way to interception, the party realizes multiple things:
The fire giant war party is accompanied by what looks like a dozen small firey creatures, roughly divided into two shifting clusters of six roughly humanoid figures. Shiver can see a fire giant pointing at a house and one of the clusters running to it, setting it on fire. Sìle identifies them as magmin, small fire elementals, who while they shouldn't pose a threat to the party due to their warding magic, they are still dangerous to villagers.

While the six worg riders are unruly savage orcs, the five full-plated humanoids commanded by the fire giants and walking alongside them are orogs (or deep orcs). Stronger, smarter, and more fearsome than orcs, known as smiths of wargear and a much greater capacity for military organization.

The fire giants are too close to the town already to engage them away from the houses, so it will be a fight in the boundaries of the town.

While a frost giant raid is a chaotic wave crashing upon an unfortunate settlement, fire giants are not only better equipped, clad in full plate, but also much more disciplined and organized, as well as being much more dedicated about enslaving "lesser beings". Slaves are a resource to them that should be spent to their advantage, so most slaves do not die from neglect or sudden fits of rage as with the frost giants who mostly take slaves when opportunity and fancy align. Slaves of fire giants are systematically worked to death, while their masters maintain a supply line of fresh slaves to replace them. And it looks like the fire giants attacking Triboar are collectively heading in the same direction, somewhere near the center of town, simply walking through buildings and killing people who are in the way.


Given the fierce battle that may soon erupt, Sìle uses the few seconds she still has left to weave additional protection for the party, Shiver feeling like Sìle's goddesses are shielding her.

Spoiler: OOC

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Keep in mind that the map is slightly rotated, as indicated by the compass, so the fire giants are approaching from the area between the northern Long Road and the Evermoor Way. Shiver and gang will intercept the giants in the area around T7 and T2, at which point some damage has been caused, but in the grand scheme of things it is still somewhat minimal. The worg riders are cutting across the Evermoor Way to terrorize the area around the southern Long Road (T4, T16, T22 or so).

Sìle casts mass shield of faith on the party, granting a +3 deflection bonus to AC for 10 minutes, bringing Shiver's AC up to 35 for this fight.

If you want to engage the fire giants and the orogs as soon as possible, you have basically one round to decide how to direct your party and how you want to engage in this fight. The fire giants are walking in a group with some space between each other (though trying to walk between them will trigger AoOs), while the orogs are slightly ahead of them in a curved line vanguard of sorts. If you want to attack, you can basically decide whether to engage a fire giant or an orog, have Echo move you into melee range, change size (and maybe activate rage), and do a full attack, with the brawl then beginning. Unless otherwise directed, you can assume Drufi will engage the same enemies as Shiver.

If you do not want to attack directly, you have more time, but the fire giants also get further into town, potentially causing more damage while getting to whatever they are seeking in town.

Current short-lived buffs active:
mass resist energy (fire): fire resistance 20
mass shield of faith: +3 deflection to AC

[MikelaC1]

Shiver directs Echo (and by extension, Drufi and Slider) to charge into the battle, vaulting off Echo at the last second, transforming into her proper giant size and engaging with a giant. For now she does not engage her rage, wanting to keep as much defense as possible for now...unless she needs to go nova offense at some point

Spoiler

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Not going to roll attacks until you tell me who has initiative

[MikelaC1]

Slissht charges into battle with a war whoop, vaulting off Echo at the last moment and transforming mid air into giant size, whereupon her sword aims at the nearest shocked fire giant.

Spoiler: Slissht rolls

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(1d20+29)[34] attack & (3d6+23)[30] damage
(1d20+29)[39] attack & (3d6+23)[26] damage
(1d20+24)[29] attack & (3d6+23)[37] damage

Working almost as one with her, Echo barrels into the same giant, biting and breathing on the hapless creature

Spoiler: Echo rolls

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(1d20+18)[28] attack & (2d6+10)[13] damage
(1d20+18)[33] attack & (2d6+10)[19] damage
(4d6)[15] breath

[Ridai]

Racing through the town, Slissht sees Sìle manifest an axe made out of ice. Rounding a corner, they spot the fire giants. When the giantesses grow to their giant sizes, the fire giants still exceed their height, but only by three feet. What they lack in vertical size, however, they make up for with the sheer mass of their rotund bodies swolen with muscle beneath thick plate. Their wide swords, almost shaped like sharpened gigantic planks of metal, glow with searing heat, flames licking at the blackened steel. What sneers and contempt they show to the new arrivals, and how little their superior size matters, however, soon become very, very apparent.

Slissht and Echo leap into the fray with wild abandon. Two fire giants react to the maneuver, trying to swing at the surprise frost giantess, but they are unable to even remotely connect. From one moment to the next, Slissht's target gets absolutely mauled by the giantess and her wolf, the latter even managing to, against all odds, bite into the less armored part of his armor in the back of the knee and make him topple to the ground, bleeding profusely and barely able to comprehend what just happened.

Next to them, Drufi and Slider follow Slissht's example. One axe blow glances off the plate armor, but the remaining hits make up for it with the additional strength put behind each. Slider, not to be outdone, bites and twists, leaving another fire giant on the ground.

Both toppled fire giants attempt to regain their footing, but are mercilessly cut down by the giantesses, suddenly having eliminated one third of a fire giant war party.

Momentarily stunned by what just happened, seeing two of theirs felled by two stunted frost giants and their snow mutts, the fire giants shout "Kill the frost whores!" and begin to encircle the giantesses, but their maneuver is hampered by Echo and Slider holding them enough at bay to deny them the tactical advantage of their surround. Regardless, they swing their chunky swords, air blurring with the heat emanating from them. They score hits, alright, each exactly one, Slissht being hit twice for a total of 54 damage, and Drufi also being hit twice, but the huntress doesn't have her new jarl's raw stamina, so the attacks leave her much more winded.

However, the fire giants learn a few things: they should have had a much easier time hitting the giantesses (really, fights between giants are often massive slugfests less about who can hit the opponent, and more about who can hit more often and harder). And their fire swords aren't burning them. The magmin try to burn the assailants, but they are unable to do anything to them.


Meanwhile, Sìle calls over "You appear to have things well in hand! I decided to keep the riff-raff from assaulting your wolves." as she cuts a stunning figure, armed with an axe of ice, floating in mid-air, as the orogs all collectively grunt ecstatically, their minds apparently occupied by something very much not involving combat. Only one of them appears to slowly come to her senses, but the rest show no sign of stopping.

Spoiler: OOC

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Some housekeeping: Echo and Slider's breath weapon is a standard action and not part of their full attack. I opted to let them attack twice instead of using breath weapons this round. You also forgot to roll Echo's cold damage on her attacks (1d6 per attack), and didn't do her trip attempts. I rolled those for you.


Shiver's turn. 146/200 HP. Drufi is moderately damaged. Sìle, Echo, and Slider unharmed.

Fire giants 1 and 2 are dead, fire giants 4-6 (unharmed) have moved to engage Shiver, Drufi, Echo, and Slider, but they are unable to flank due to how Echo and Slider positioned themselves, blocking space.
All orogs lost their turn due to Sìle's spell, rendering them stunned, but Orog 5 managed to roll a natural 20 on the first repeat save after the lost turn.


Miscellaneous comments:
Shiver and Echo left their giant on the floor with 4 HP, Drufi and Slider left theirs on the floor with 7 HP. Drufi rolled a natural 1 on one of her attacks, but made up the difference in hits with good damage rolls and Power Attack.

The winter wolves both lucked out on their trip attempts, both managing to trip the giants. No follow-up attacks for them though, since they are unable to get Improved Trip.

The fire giants rolled really damn well on their attacks, each managing to get one hit in.

I handled the AoOs triggered by fire giants 1 and 2 standing up, in the interest of time. They were so low on HP that I basically only had to check for natural 1s, which didn't happen.

Orogs have terrible Will saves. Sìle has mass stunning magic only usable on humanoids.