Session XC: Knock, Knock, Knocking On The Dragon's Door

Our ongoing Swords and Wizardry sandbox campaign...

Current Player Characters:

Thenus (Ranger)

Wang Du (Monk)
Centari (Elf)

Wolfheir (Viking)
Arg (Half-orc)
Sir Gwain (Paladin) 

Su (Cleric) 

Gorp (Kobold Wizard)
Tadashi (samurai)

NPC's

McDagger (thief)

Biggs (fighter)
Koshan (Magic User)

Having finally exited Hidatha's maze with his enemy Koshan as their new ally, our fearless party once again headed north towards the Grey Mountains and their face-off with Agatheron, the ancient red dragon claiming dominion over the land.

One evening at camp, Thenus shouted out a warning as the ground beneath their feet shook and opened and out crawled a group of Giant Ants.  The party responded and soon dispatched the insects. They resumed their rest and soon also their journey.

Entering the foothills, they saw in the distance the twinkling lights of a small village.  Su knew this village to be Litafjord.  They decided to make for the village and rest there before their final trek into the pass.  Upon entering the village, however, they found it to be mostly deserted save for the Craggy Inn run by the inkeeper and his dwarven wife.

The party learned that everyone had left the village on account of the reemergence of the Dragon and that he had gathered an army of Fire Giants to aid him.  The stubborn Innkeeper had decided to stay along with the village's lord, Lord Boomish.  Thenus recalled having worked for a Lord Boomish a while back in the town of Berkenstok when they recovered the family shield from the Ruins Beneath Xlarthan's Tower (back in session 75). They learned that this Lord is a cousin of the one that they had previously helped.

The next day they met Lord Boomish and he recognized the party as the ones that recovered his family's shield from the ruins beneath Xlarthan's tower.  The shield was used to defeat the dragon with Lord Blackmoore many years ago.  Lord Boomish decided that it is his destiny to face the dragon one last time and will aid the party.

The next day the party, along with Lord Boomish, left the village of Litafjord and head out into the mountains. They soon ran across the corpse of a fire Giant with it's head on a pike. Examining the ground for clues, Thenus discovered a trail leading off the path and into a canyon.  Following the trail, the party soon got the feeling that they were being watched. Arg shouted out their hatred for the Fire Giants and soon after, a Firbolg steped out.  The party befriended the giant hill people and were welcomed into their village.

They learned that the Firbolg's have been attacking their enemies, the Fire Giants, every chance they could.  The Firbolgs will not attack the Giants directly as the Fire Giants are too strong and are using hit and run tactics to weaken their enemies. The Firbolgs decided to help the party and will lead them to the entrance of the Dragon and his army.  One Firbolg, Lothar, volunteered to join the party and help infiltrate the Dragon's lair in search of his missing brother that was captured by the Fire Giants.

Lothar lead the party through the canyons and into the mountains and one evening they are standing before a pair of massive iron doors.  The great doors, outlined with a glowing dragon are discovered to by barred from the other side. Su turned McDagger invisible and uses his magic to unbar the door.  Arg and Wolf pushed the iron door open just a crack and Su and McDagger slip inside. The rest of the party peered in and saw and expansive long hall lit by torches made of trees.  At the far end were a number of Fire Giants....