Session XCII: The Half-orc and the Fire Giant

Our ongoing Swords and Wizardry sandbox campaign...

Current Player Characters:

Thenus (Ranger)

Wang Du (Monk)

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

Su (Cleric) 

Grop (Kobold Wizard)
Tadashi (samurai)

NPC's

McDagger (thief)

Biggs (fighter)
Koshan (Ogre Magi)
Lothar (Firblog)
Lord Boomish 

Having miraculously defeated a large onslaught of Fire Giants, the beleaguered party began to explore the grand hall. Arg, Lothar of the hill people and Grop examine the massive obsidian alter and the magic circle holding a burning Fire Elemental.  Grop dispelled the Elemental back to it's plane and Lothar read the inscription on the alter.  But the respite is short lived as a massive Fire Giant in flaming armor and carrying a flaming sword burst out from behind another of the curtained alcoves.  The party and the Giant charge each other and a bloody battle takes place.  The Giant chief falls!

Grop detects that the armor, sword and the giant's two rings are magical along with the Fire Giant's obsidian alter.  But as they decide what to do with all this, the Giant's wounds begin to heal and he begins to rise once again.  Sir Gwain draws his Frost Blade and beheads the giant.  Arg takes the flaming sword for himself and the Giant's rings are split among the party, which they wear as crowns or armbands.

As they loot the corpse, yet another Fire Giant poked his head out from another curtained alcove and shouted in shock at the site of his dead companions and Chief.  He rushed back behind the curtain.

Fearing another attack from the Fire Giants and naturally concerned over their weakened state, the party decided it best to try to hide and recover.  They sought shelter behind the curtain of the Giant Chief but only find a dead-end.  A search for secret doors turned up nothing.  

Suddenly, they heard angry shouting coming from the main hall.  Arg peeked out from behind the curtain and  saw that the Fire Giants are arguing among themselves and that the two strongest began to fight each other for the right to be chief.  Letting the fight play out, the party watches as one of the giants is defeated and the other claims chief.

Arg decided to go out and challenge the new Fire Giant chief.  He stepped out with the flaming sword and the rest of the party follows, walking in a uniform line across the hall towards the giants.  Arg challenges the new Chief to a one-on-one duel for the ownership of the Giant's Flaming Sword.  The challenge is accepted and the party and Fire Giants circle around the the two combatants.  Thenus slips Arg a gourd of speed to aid in his combat and the battle in engaged.  Arg matches the Fire Giant blow for blow, both wounding each other but both not giving in.  Suddenly, the flaming sword flies from Arg's grip and is picked up by another giant.  Grop casts a web around that giant with angers the other Giant onlookers who start to push and attack the party.  Sir Gwain tosses his Ice Blade to Arg who caught it and then cut the leg off of the giant and then beheaded the mortally wounded creature!  In a rage the rest of the Fire Giants attack.  In the battle, Wang fell, mangled and dead, but not before he stunned one of the Giants which was quickly dispatched.  Biggs also fell. With everyone near death, the nearly finished party with one last effort dispatched the remaining Fire Giants.  They are once again victorious! 

In no shape for another battle, the party gathers their wounded and exits the fortress and heads back to the hidden village of the Firbolgs....