Callie’s Journal
I choose to lose the glitter but keep my new wings. They’re interesting, and I already have all kinds of ideas for inventions to help me live with them. Plus: flying! I’m a little stumbly right now, since I’m not used to them, but I’ll practice whenever I have time.
- For my ward, I choose to learn a specific weakness of any creature. This will work one time, when I decide to use it.
- Oz chose Enhancement for his ward, triggered when he wants: one extra attack for eight rounds.
- Vondal took Displacement: on his next wild surge, he gets (up to) a plus or minus 16 to whatever he rolls.
- Freki took Transmutation: he can turn into a creature of his choice, for up to 8 total minutes (in 1 minute intervals).
- Grohnia also gives us all a ward against the cold, which I really appreciate…
- …and puts me in charge of deciding when we come back. I guess I have the right mix of smarts and cowardice. I accept!
We find ourselves on a glacier. It looks really cold but I can’t feel it, ha ha ha. There’s an enormous door, like really tremendously colossal, about a mile away. There’s also some giants, probably lookouts. We decide to hop onto the flying carpet for the trip. Bec has made us invisible, since it’s not like there’s anything to look at out here. Aside from the ice shelf with the door in it, there’s nothing but plain white nothing as far as the eye can see; anything moving would draw attention. Vondal hops into our portable hole, for which he requisitioned a bottle of endless air. I think he also found a couch on the curb somewhere and dragged that in there, and who knows what other amenities he’s got. Probably a cookie jar or two.
On our way towards the door, Cal recognizes one of the lookouts as Jorik Iceshield, an honorable and paternal figure in the Ordning, not the kind of hothead who would support an uprising. The other looks vaguely familiar, but he can’t place her. He also knows there’s probably some other way in besides the big giant door, but he doesn’t know any specific location.
When we reach the ice shelf, about 250 feet from the lookouts, Cal hops off the carpet and instructs us to look for another way in while he goes to talk to Jorik. We’re just looking for little cracks or holes in the ice somewhere.
Heading towards the entrance, Cal is spotted by Jorik. The two lookouts approach him. They seem pretty friendly, actually, although the woman sounds a little suspicious. I mean, I would be if I were her.
Cal tells them that he’s heard some troubling rumors, but he’s talking to them because he knows they’re honorable. Jorik confirms that the stables aren’t safe inside and invites Cal to look inside. But Cal can’t see much due to his short stature, so Jorik lifts him up on his hand. Inside the cave, Cal can see some exploded giants. They still have heads, but…not much else.
Cal decides to tell them that he heard rumors that a cult had taken over this place. The lookouts confirm this and say that Hyperion told them to keep anyone from going in, including him. Jorik says he saw it happen with his own eyes: when they entered the cave, the storm grew inside them uncontrollably until it tore out of the from the inside. “Not a fate I would wish on my worst enemies. So I’m afraid there’s nothing much for you to do here,” Jorik concludes.
Cal tells them that Hyperion sent him, but Jorik isn’t just going to take his word for it and orders Cal to step back. “How do I know you have not been compromised by the cult?” “I could ask you the same question,” Cal claps back.
“Then we are at an impasse,” says Jorik, and draws his greatsword.
Cal stabs his sword into the ground and asks what he needs to do to gain Jorik’s trust. “Bring a writ from Hyperion himself. Your word is not enough.” His eye twitches. This is weird. Cal has met this guy, and they had a rapport. His word should be enough, and the twitch confirms that Jorik isn’t under his own control.
“The time has come,” says Cal, to let us know it’s time to come help. “GET HIM!” wouldn’t have sufficient gravitas, I guess.
Freki aims a fire arrow straight at Jorik’s beard, combining insult with injury. He is thoroughly annoyed as his beard catches fire! Then Freki shoots an arrow of Dreadful Glare at Jorik, hoping to paralyze him with fear.
The giant woman tosses a javelin in the direction that the arrow came from, where we are now visible because Freki’s attack broke the invisibility spell. A blast of icy wind pushes Cal back. That reminds him who she is: Magna Frostbeard. Oh yeah, she did that wind attack when they sparred before.
Bec zips towards Cal on the carpet, though we can’t cover the whole distance in one shot. At the same time, Bec is watching for any sort of crevice or hole we could potentially hide in.
Cal whips at Jorik’s leg. He doesn’t quite snare him, though, so he tries again on Magna and manages to topple her. “Hoh hoh! Mighty indeed! It’s a shame I have to kill you!” says Jorik.
Then Jorik takes a giant step towards Cal and swings his greatsword. Cal manages to block some of the hit, meaning he didn’t immediately get cleaved in twain.
I’m on the carpet and not close enough to do anything, so I just hang on. Freki, on the other hand, dive-rolls the hell off the carpet and unrolls the hole so Vondal can get out. “Wand of Wonder!” Vondal calls out, and suddenly there’s an elephant falling on Jorik’s head. “Did that help this time?” Vondal calls, not bothering to get out of the hole.
Magna gets up and swings her sword elegantly at Cal. He moves to parry with his own sword, and avoids having his head cut off. His sword fills with electricity, absorbing part of the attack. Her second swing hits harder. Magna smirks and her body disperses into a cloud of storm energy.
Bec yells “Cal, we’re coming!” We’re still pretty far away. She has spotted a place where we might be able to slip into the glacier, at least. But we’re also close enough that she can tell that Jorik has been enchanted. She shoots a big ol’ bolt of Dispell right at Jorik, who clutches his head and screams. Vondal, in the hole, is impressed by the performance of his elephant.
Jorik cries, “What is happening?! Stop! Stop! No!”
I fly off the carpet, fluttering over to Cal, and ready Dispel Magic for whenever Magna takes shape again.
The elephant gores Jorik with its tusks. “Ugh, stop it!” Jorik commands.
Freki takes off running towards Cal, changing into wolf form as he does. Don’t tell him I said this, but it is METAL AS HELL. I should have readied some popcorn for this fight.
Magna rematerializes above Cal with a crackle. I cast my Dispel Magic, but I was too distracted by everything else going on to pull it off. That’s the story I’m going with, anyway. Cal whips her leg and tries to pull her off her feet again. Thinking fast, Magna shoots lightning down the whip! He’s still grappling her, though, which gives Bec an opening to shoot her with Dispel.
Finally, both giants stop fighting. Jorik stops gibbering and sticks his sword in the ground like Cal did earlier, to indicate that the battle is over.
The elephant runs a short distance away and wheels around to trample Jorik. “Come on!” Jorik taunts it.
“Probably good eating!” says Vondal from the hole.
The elephant charges Jorik, who waits until the last minute to aikido it to the ground, where he pins it with a knee. Freki moves over to try and calm it down.
Meanwhile, Magna says, “We must be gone. Time is short. They know you’re here. The cult’s scout undoubtedly heard our battle and will tell the others.”
“Let’s go!” says Vondal, turning toward the door.
Magna looks at him like he’s crazy. “That is where they will come for you.”
After a quick huddle, Jorik suggests we small folk hide in the crevice while he and Magna pretend to still be ensorcelled. We flee!BD