The Giants & Special Delivery for the Fellowship

 7th of Reaping High Summer

The party had been stopped by a messenger. A box had appeared at the Overlord Romack's HQ depot. Addressed to the Fellowship - listing all their names. [except Tibatluous] Appears to be from the Black Runes and IUZ. 

A package [black wood - ebony -  no visible lid, lock or opening] had arrived with all the heroes' names on it, with a symbol imprinted on both sides, [top

and bottom]and a tassel hanging from a blood red wax seal. The symbol they know well.. Black Runes. The wax imprinted seal as well.. IUZ. The messenger a gnome riding a sweat covered pony, advises it arrived at the HQ depot.. Know one sure how or who dropped it off.

What to do with this...? The party starts to think about trying to open then hear the activity in the village.

Located currently at Lotenford, a small village by the river. The party are carefully watching as it appears 3 giants and Firegiant a even larger deformed hill giant..? and what may be a younger hill giant that is fully covered in skins and rags. They are throwing boulders, rocks, chunks of masonry at various buildings in the town. The party do not understand the language - perhaps some type of undercommon - but the three giants appear to be having some type of game or competition in smashing the houses with the missiles.

The party make plans and then start to move off. Kantif, goes invisible, silent and stealthy as a shadow moves up amongst the buildings. Tibaltuous and Graxxuzazz skirt the buildings to the right hoping to perhaps put them giants in a crossfire with spells and more. Doc, Gothi and Thogra prepare. Gothi using her ranger skills, marks the firegiant preparing to take a deadly shot with her bow. Doc primes his musket and lines up on the firegiant just as the massive humanoid throws another chunk of masonry at what appears to have once been a stables. The missile pulverizes a wall with a large BOOM! CRASH! Timbers and walls cave in as the building slowly starts to collapse. It appears that one way to win this competition is to take out a building with one missile as the firegiant looks quite pleased with himself, making signs at the larger female giant. 

As Kantif is scuttling from cover to shadow, he hears a child's cry from a building ahead, appears to have once been a tavern. He stealthily moves up to investigate.

Meanwhile, the bard and sorcerer are making their way around the village, trying to be quiet and covert, even with the bard in platemail. The noise from the giants appears to make it easier for the two.

Thogra cracks a joke with Doc and Gothi now using Keen Eye - as they keep gun and bow trained on the giants waiting for the signal - Graxxuzazz's signature powered-up lightning bolt to crash into one or more of the giants.

Kantif moves into the former tavern and sees an older woman covered in dust and blood and child hiding in the back behind the bar. The rogue/monk shadowsteps up nearby and then quietly speaks to the two - invisible. Unfortunately this has the wrong effect on the two as the little girl shrieks in surprise and fear to the voice nearby - even though he was trying to talk in a comforting tone.

The firegiant appears to notice this and looks over at the tavern. 

Seeing this, Doc doesn't hesitate and the echoing shot of his musket booms out through the town. The shot goes true, and hits the giant in the back close to neck muscles. Gothi then looses her arrow as well
at the gunshot and Thogra grins and moves up fading into the shadows, muttering words to a his strange god SET.[DM: info]

Tibaltuous and Graxxuzazz hear the gunshot but were not in position yet so scramble to move forward. 

Battle ensues.

It appears the three giants are drunk as their aim and capabilities are off or sluggish. Doc does extensive damage [DM: dual NAT 20s] with his musket.

Graxxuzazz's lightning bolt double powered and wide cracks out to hit two of the giants doing

extensive damage to the two now smoking and burned. Tibaltuous charges up to the smoking and burnt giants. He lets off a faerie fire that envelops two of the giants. [DM: this single spell was key for the heroes attacks allowing advantage]

The giant's eyes turn black and energy wave washes over the bard but he is able to fight off the effects. The giant swings a massive club smashes the bard [DM golf shot] into a crumbling building. 

The smoking giant tries to affect Graxxuzazz with its evil gaze, but it does not affect the athletic and portly lizardfolk. 

Gothi's arrow goes deep into the firegiant's flesh between armour plates down to the feathers, doing massive damage. Her new cave bear friend - named Morsel - lunges forward to attack the giants as well.  Kantif uses his sneak attack and monkish abilities to glide in and deal bloody wounds and then

retreat out of range. Tibaltuous uses his bard skills, and finally flaming sword to cut and thrust into the smaller fomorian giant. Doc continues to shoot with his musket and pistol and hack away with his blade, blood flying in all directions  Graxxuzazz taps on his final power to let off more spells and blasts three giants with another lightning bolt. At one point the sorcerer floats in the river and pops up everyone round to cast a firebolt spell.

The party had not had time to rest since the battle for the CUBE and flight from Wayberry so all were low on spells abilities and more. [DM blogpost]

Thogra pulls out FLUFFY - a 3 headed skeletal hydra - and it starts attacking the firegiant as well as the rogue/priest backstabs one of the giants.

The giants continue to try to retaliate, doing extensive damage to the heroes but the party's skills at keeping them occupied from multiple directions and wearing them down with missile weapons, spells and attacks finally take all the giants down! 

All heroes of the Fellowship are covered in blood, sweat and more [blood hard to tell if their own or giants'] 

Breathing heavily, and bandaging wounds all take a moment at the silence.. then the sound of a bird in a tree nearby. The party rest and search the giants gathering some unique treasures.

The small metal long box that appears to be a coffin is in one bag of the firegiant. It appears to be

locked from the INSIDE. Trying to open, a guttural voice from inside tells them to go away. The party thinking this may be a vampire decide to NOT open as it was now dusk.

The party turn to the box from IUZ and the BlackRunes. Discussion back and forth on opening or NOT or just getting rid of..

In the end, the party decides - maybe not all - to OPEN the box. Tibaltuous cracks the wax seal and an

edge appears black light seeping out. Then it opens further and a black obsidian like skull is seen in a felt covered interior. 

WHUMP. Black energy ripples through everyone within thirty feet. Which hits the whole party. All the party fail a saving throw and look to be paralyzed - except Tibaltuous. Then a wave of destruction crashes over all. [DM rolls dice 100 hp. damage] The bard stumbling and bleary from the damage [1/2] throws the box as far as he can. 4 more waves of necromantic energy blast out from the box and skull. 

This 'gift' from IUZ and the BlackRunes could have killed the party.. the bard saved the party.

[DM: all party members appear to need to heal naturally1 HP per day or spell cast or 1 HP per Hit dice rested]. 

A large copper bowl continually seeping blood that appears to disintegrate living flesh it touches is found. All the party share a nightmare - appearing to be related to the blood bowl. All seem to drown in
blood. The party try to figure out how to keep it - but the nightmares.. 

Tibaltuous ties it to his back and the the bard now has a blood trail following him as he walks about.

The party rest.. again. 

What next for the Fellowship?