nowbound

Part Five - Oathkeepers

Cain looked anguished as Jodotha and Trimus shook their heads.
"It's not as if you gave your word." Whined Jodotha. "You just said you would kill them if you found them and we haven't got any evidence that this is the home of the giants."
"There are some very large footprints in the snow over there." Added Darkhawk helpfully.
"Thank you Darkhawk!" Trimus rolled his eyes. "Oh well if we are going to do it lets start now, if nothing else it might offer us some shelter for the night."
They crept closer to the ramp following the footprints Darkhawk had seen which were interspersed with those of some kind of large beast.
"If these were smaller I would say they were wolves but these would have to be huge, the size of a pony. Fresh too, no more than a day old otherwise the snow would have covered them completely." Cain brushed snow from his leggings and looked up at the valley side. They could see now that a curtain wall some twenty feet high with towers at the corners had been constructed out from the rockface. A gatehouse was built into the centre and the ramp led up the valley side to a pair of tall wooden gates, which were shut.

A shadow passed over the party followed by a loud 'thump' and a cloud of snow as a large boulder thudded into the snow not a dozen feet from where they were standing. Trimus cast a spell and vanished though Jodotha could still see the footprints the invisible mage was making in the snow.
"That's made our mind up I think." Said Cain who led the charge up the ramp towards the gates. Using the power of his blade Darkhawk flew up the ramp towards the shaggy head of a giant that was peering over the parapet. The giant raised a boulder over its head and hurled it down towards Cain. It bounced on the snow covered stone and flew over the mystic before rolling down the slope into the valley. Darkhawk flew at the giant's head and taunted it and tried to distract it while staying out of range of the creature's long arms. The giant reached down and opened one of the gates and shouted something in Giantish. At once a quartet of pony sized shaggy wolves with shaggy white fur and eyes like crystalline ice bounded through the gates and down the slope. The giant plucked another boulder from the pile and hurled it over the wall. This time Ako, distracted by the onrushing wolves could not get out of the way and was struck a glancing blow by the boulder. He rolled back down the slope and appeared stunned and sore when he regained his feet. He cast a spell of healing upon himself before climbing back up the slope.

The wolves attacked Cain with their claws and teeth but one blasted the mystic with a gust of icy breath. Seeing that his taunts had no effect Darkhawk flew closer to the giant and attacked with his blade. Jodotha sunk to a crouch and hit the closet wolf with his crossbow before a tall wall of fire materialised in front of him.
"That's it Trimus, protect yourself why don't you." Muttered the rogue as he moved to the side to get a clear shot on the wolves and giant. The wolves stopped their advance seemingly wary of the opaque wall of flame and smoke that blocked their path. Darkhawk's blade struck the giant in the shoulder but it didn't seem to do anymore than anger the giant who swiped at the flying fighter with a club like forearm. Darkhawk was sent spinning back over the wall and crashed into the snow. Meanwhile Cain had dispatched one of the wolves and had gained the walls. He half-leapt and half climbed the rough frost fractured stone to stand atop the wall. Looking down he could see a small courtyard littered with ruined wooden buildings and another four wolves. Ako moved into a position equidistant from Trimus and Jodotha and cast a protection from cold spell, instantly the trio felt warmer and safer.
The giant barked another command and the wolves retreated back up the slope at a easy loping stride towards the dazed Darkhawk who fought his way back to his feet taking some nasty wounds in the process. The giant hurled another boulder, this one sailed clear over the top of the firewall but Trimus was to busy concentrating on his spell to do anything about it. Fortunately it landed some way away from the mage.
Jodotha had crept closer to the wall and managed to strike the giant in the head with a crossbow bolt when the giant stood up to throw a boulder. Cain leapt from the wall and landed on the giant's shoulders.
"You had better watch out Cain or he'll toss you off!" shouted Jodotha.
Darkhawk battered and bleeding grasped his amulet and transformed into the Celestial Knight and flew back over the wall. Jodotha finished one of the wolves with his crossbow and continued edging forward towards the gates. Cain attacked the giant's head with both fists but his foe just plucked him and threw him to the ground. Darkhawk seeing an opening blasted the giant in the chest with his magic ray. The giant's eyes clouded as he toppled to the ground crushing the ruins of a ramshackle building.
"Sit! Stay!" shouted Cain at the wolves but got no response, the beasts smelt blood and they converged on Cain, Ako and Jodotha. Cain rolled through the legs of the nearest one to reach the gate.
Jodotha and Ako, still outside where under pressure from those wolves still remaining and so welcomed the appearance of Cain and Darkhawk who had made quick work of those wolves still at large inside the compound. Trimus dropped his firewall in time to bind the wounds of those who had suffered from the attacks of the creatures after the final wolf had been killed by Jodotha's blade.

"The courtyard seems to offer some protection from the elements and appears safe. I saw no other exits. It must have just been a lone giant." Offered Cain as he helped Darkhawk and Ako drag the bodies of the wolves into the courtyard to join the other dead. Jodotha and Darkhawk explored the two towers at the corners of the courtyard. The broad steps and high doors suggest that the building had not been designed for humans. Looking out across and along the valley neither could see any sign of life other than the red stained snow on the ramp leading to the gate. Meanwhile Ako and Trimus searched the ruined buildings inside the courtyard. The largest and the only one retaining its slate roof appeared to have been a stable at one time. More recently it shows the signs of being the giant's dwelling.
"Ugh!" exclaimed Ako poking at a pile of refuse with his mace. "These look like bones, and from the fur it may have been a Cryion. It looks like your oath has been fulfilled Cain."
"This may be more to your liking." Replied Cain opening a number of sacks. "There must be several thousand coins in these, gold and electrum mainly. And the giant has been using this tapestry as a bedcover. It must have come from a fine castle of manor at some time but it's ruined now."
"Where would those have come from?" asked Trimus, "The Cryion seemed to have no use for coin and the tapestry would not have fitted in one of their tents. Curious."
"There must be another exit from this courtyard." Muttered Ako. "This place is too small and unimportant for someone to have built a wall and towers to defend."
"Unless it was to guard the pass?" suggested Darkhawk.
"I don't think so." Ako wandered around the courtyard muttering the words of a spell as he did so. "Ah ha!" he exclaimed as he stood facing the plies of snow banked up against the wall of the valley side. "There is a door behind this snow."

Using rotting planks from the ruined buildings they soon cleared enough of the snow away to reveal a stone doorway set into the rock face.
"It's too close to sundown to explore this now." Said Trimus. "We need to rest to recover spells and our strength."
The others agreed and they put the tent up in the centre of the courtyard, no one felt like spending the night in the giant's bed.

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