After a rest, the party decides to explore the other hall. Jumping over the trap, they make it to the other side of the small hallway. Tin, being the smallest of the group, almost loses some toes, as he barely manages the jump.

The other hall is almost an exact copy of the one they have just left. But instead of a stairway, there is a a kind of throne, made from the blue-veined stone, on which the skeleton of a giant sits, in his hand a halbard. The blueish metal of the blade is almost as long as Tin is tall. On the other side, the soft blinking of gold and silver can be seen in a niche.

As they explore the hall, the skeleton suddenly comes to life, rising from its seat, and brandishing the halberd. From the niche, that is filled with treasure, a dog-like creature emerges, with three heads and three pairs of burning red eyes.

The party tries to draw their foes into the narrow hallway, and maybe into the trap. Tin summons an Earth Elemental with his staff, then turns and runs. Asvald casts lances of green flame at the skeleton, burning it badly with the power of the Green. Hjørdis has to face the three-headed dog-creature, which suddenly exhales a cone of fire, badly burning the fighter, Vitentius and Svala.

As they flee into the hallway, Asvald conjures a wall of fire behind them, but the dog-creature calmly walks through. The Elemental fights the badly burned skeleton, smashing it to pieces.

They are in a panic now, as the creature seems to be immune to fire, their weapons only doing little damage. In this moment, Asvald tries something desperate: he polymorphes the creature into a pig. Now, susceptive to fire, Hjørdis sword biting into it, the creature falls, and slowly begins to tranform back to its original form. Svala plunges her sword into it, finally killing it.

They are reluctant to take anything from the treasure trove, but Asvald finds a giant-sized flask of healing potion – from  which they fill six vials of their own. Then, they make their way down the stairway in the other hall.

Down there, they find ballistae, rigged to shoot intruders. Disabling them is not hard, and they explore, what seems to have been the living quarters. They find another room, with a stairway down, rigged with another two ballistae, as if guarding against intruders from below.

In one of the empty rooms, they find a tome, still intact after all these millennia. It’s the log of the Underhall, and it tells about the attack of the Snakefolk, and how they evacuated it. After some searching, Svala finds mentions of Trajan’s Hammer – but it seems not to be an artefact, but a forge. There seems to be a tunnel, below the sole of the mine, that runs directly to the forge.

They make their way down the stairs, climbing down and down into the darkness, finally reaching the mines. It takes them a long time to explore the empty mines, finding two shafts that lead to deeper levels, probably once filled with elevators.

Tin throws a pebble with Light cast on it down one of the shafts, and it falls a long, long time, finally landing with a splash of water. But then, a low growling comes up, and they decide to leave alone whatever lives down there.

They have to climb down the other shaft, but they won’t have enough rope with them, and no place to secure it. Asvald finally has the idea to polymorph into a Giant Ape, carrying his friends with him down the shaft. After a long climb, the ape lands in water and turns into the sorceror again.

The water slowly flows down towards what seems to be northwest, and they follow the tunnel. After a while, they come to a kind of resting station, and the water flows off into a hole. They take the chance, and make camp.

They trudge on for another four days, through the darkness. And then, they find the tunnel collapsed before them, just a small opening blinking with daylight. Tin summons an Earth Elemental, which opens the blockade, and they emerge into daylight.

Before them, the mountains fall down into flat land, dotted by lakes, big and small, clouds wafting above them. And to the west, following the mountain range, Svala discerns a strange mountain, a flat cone, like a cold vulcano.

They have emerged above the Lakelands, on the other side of the Dragonspine Range. And to the east, far in the distance, where the Inland Sea would lie, smoke rises into the sky…

After taking in the lay of the land, they decide to look for some settlement to replenish their supplies. They are running short of food and other necessities already, and their goal – if it is indeed this old volcano – is still far away.

They march downhill through rough forehills, traversing deep gouges, that run through the light woods like deep scratches. They try to hunt and gather, but Svala manages to bring poisonous mushrooms, and they all get sick. The minstrel therefore leaves this task to Vitentius and Hjordis.

The second night they make camp, they are attacked by Snakefolk. Deadly spells rain down on them, and the constrictors are tough. When their attackers are dealt with, they try to rest, but their foes have learned. They ignite the woods above them, driving the flames downhill – and the party has to make a run for it.

Driven by the flames, they run, stumble and fall downhill, finally leaving the woods and coming into highlands of grass and heather. In the early morning, a dense mist rises from the ground, and within only a short time, vision is limited to only a few feet. They try to use this to shake their pursuers from their trail, and change the direction of their march slightly. It shall prove to be a very bad decision.

Dark shapes appear in the fog before them, steles, ancient and weathered, once covered in runes. Now, only a few words in ancient Giant can be discovered and Tins magical looking glass can only reveal „Oath“, „Stone of Law“ and „Oathbreakers“.

As they cautiously move on, a strange hillock appears, and they soon discover it to be an ancient barrow. It has a kind of stone front, with a stone door – and that is, when the wraiths appear.

There are four of them. Two that may have been humans once, but the other two were clearly Giants when they were still breathing. Incorporeal hands freeze their hearts, and an giant sword manifests itself in the hands of one. Voices, filled with hatred and malice sound in their ears, sending terror into their mind and body alike. Soon, the fight goes sideways, and Asvald makes a decision.

He conjures up a wall of green flames, forming a ring around his companions before the barrow‘ door. He knows, that the „Stone of Law“ over which the wraiths made the oath they obviously broke, has to be down there. And he knows, that this is the thing that binds them to this world.

With his friends behind the wall of green fire, they may have a chance after all. When he shouts his knowledge, Hjordis pushes open the door with all her giantkin strength, and stumbles down the stairs that lie behind. The rest of them follows, as Asvald taunts the wraiths and runs off to give them time. Svala is reluctant to go, but the sorceror commands her to go.

In the barrow, they find a strange sight. Hung on chains of Adamantinium in a kind of broken doorway, hangs a tablet of dark stone, emitting a sickly greenish light. Behind it, a kind of stone sarcophagus looms.

Another giant wraith appears, and Hjordis again feels the icy hand touching her heart, paralysing her with terror. Svala, singing one of her Galdrar, swing her resonant sword, and hits the tablet. In a clash of thunder, the stone explodes, sending shrapnels around. The wraith dissipates, with a silent „Thank you!“

Almost at the same moment, Tin and the others hear a scream from outside. A death scream.

They rush out, but with fog and Asvalds magical way of throwing off followers, it is hard for even Vitentius to follow his tracks. When they find him, he is already gone.

Svala uses her magical flute to conjure his spirit one last time. They ask him his reasons, and he explains, that they would all have died, if he hadn’t done this. At least, that’s what he thought best at the moment. And he relays his wishes as to his funeral.

They build a pyre atop the barrow, and after the fire has burned down, Svala pushes her resonating sword into the ashes, making them fly high, where a gust of wind carries them over the land. She sees a Giant Owl flying off, a strange sight in the afternoon.

They may be sad, but their supplies are getting scarce, and they have to find a settlement. The first village they find is a disappointment. It still has a thorny hedge around for protection, but the houses have all fallen into disrepair. Not a living soul is to be seen around. Greynard, as the village seems to have been called according to a sign, seems to have fallen victim to the Plague. But there is still hope, as to the north, farmland can be seen.

Two days travel through fields of grain and vegetables, bring them to Drogdoran, the only village still occupied in this region. Farmers have told them, that there’s no ruler here – the people rule themselves as a community. But they have also told them, that they have a problem with Hill Giants…

Drogdoran proves to be a surprise for the party. Behind the wooden palisades, there is not just a small struggling village, but a thriving small town. But first, they have to pay the toll at the gate – at least that is, what the townsguard tells them. Not really believing them, Svala haggles and lowers the price.

The town is maybe the first settlement they have found on their travels, where there’s not the bleak sense of just surviving but instead an almost optimistic air. Farmers sell their produce at stalls and the local market, there are workshops and the party gets directions to the local inn – the Dancing Owlbear.

It takes them just an evening to become the talk of the town. Svala entertains the people with songs and stories, bringing them sympathy and fame.

They make the aquaintance of certain people, like the tavern-owner Peadair McEalar and his wife, Mairead. Or the – mostly drunk – Canonicus of the Theurgy Alasdair Gall. And they learn, the the town is governed by two councils, one for the men and one for the women. The hunter and butcher Uilleachan McShitrig heads the men’s council, while the healer Cotriona Blacach leads the women.

But both agree, that the party looks capable of helping the town with a certain problem: hill giants. They demand tribute at every full moon – and with two moons, this comes too often. After a week, when the party is about to leave, they ask them for their help.

The local druidess Stineag Dalais and her apprentice, Nathaniel, object against the plan to just kill the giants. Nature is balance, and the giants may be a nuisance, but do not deserve to die.

Nathaniel explains, that the giants are three brothers, and are really dumb. The eldest brother, Wilbur, has made a sketch in their cave, to remember when to demand tribute. Which leads Vitentius to an idea: What if they just change the sketch, so that they get tribute only when both moons are full? This only occurs about every fifteen years.

Nathaniel agrees to this plan, and offers to lead them to the lair of the hill giants. He changes into a Giant Eagle and scouts the land ahead, while the party marches towards the highlands.

In the night, a massive shape flies over the campsite, swooping down to attack. Hjordis sees the creature and alarms the others. As it flies in, Nathaniel cries „Bearowl!“ and draws a mask from his face, revealing himself in his true form – a Winged. Svala roars her anger, almost frightening the bearowl.

A grizzly bear with gigantic owl wings attacks them, and while arrows fly upwards, Nathaniel engages the creature in the air. A glowing arrow shoots from his bow showering the bearowl with sparks – and Tin casts a firebolt right into it, making it explode in shower of blood and feathers.

As they march on the next morning, Svala interrogates Nathaniel. The Winged disguises himself, because of the superstition humans carry for his people. Some think of them as some kind of demons, others see them as messengers from the One Emperor. Both is not, what the druid wants. He is an exile from his homeland, though he does not want to talk about the cause for his exile.

He summons a spirit of nature in the form of a small owl, he calls Jeshua to scout ahead – and the owl finds the three ginats lying in the shade of an old oak tree. So, they circumvent them, and find their lair.

The cave is dirty, the three heaps of fur and straw full of lice and fleas. The remains of an unlucky human rot in the corner, and the burned carcass of a deer hangs on a spit over the cold fireplace. On the back wall, a crude sketch drawn with coal, is the „calendar“ of the giants.

Standing on Hjordis shoulders, Svala repaints the moons, drawing two full moons instead of one. Both giantkin are targets for hordes of vermin.

The party leaves the cave, almost running into the returning giants, that carry their (probably last) tribute back. Nathaniel hides them within a globe of underbrush, and they can hear them talk – and the giantkin, understanding them, think about releaving them from their existence. They are really dumb!

After they have passed them by, the party marches back to Drogdoran. Nathaniel offers to help them reach Trajan’s Hammer – he calls it an ancient Volcanic Forge, long dormant. The friends discuss the matter among themselves.

The party returns to Drogdoran and settles in the Dancing Owlbear. They tell Cotriona, that the giants should not be a problem from now on, but the healer wants to await the next full moon, which will be in three days. The party agrees and makes themselves comfortable at the inn.

Nathaniel wants to know, what the adventurers want at the dormant volcano, and Svala offers him a quid quo pro – he tells them why he lives in exile, and they tell him about their mission. Reluctantly, the Winged agrees.

It seems, that the now druid once was an officer in the Windwatch, the border guard for the island of Guthland. He had an affair with a woman of another, very important house, and she got pregnant. As this was a terrible loss of face to both houses, the court exiled him. Searching for a way to redeem himself, he accidently found a new way of life: the way of the druid.

Satisfied with this story, Svala tells him about the Obsidian Tablets, the Snakefolk and their mission to destroy the Tablets. Nathaniel studies the tablets with the Spyglass and discovers some sentences, that seem to indicate a different venue. The tablets could also be sigils that keep the Great Serpent dormant – and destroying them could unleash it upon the world.

The party is shocked, but soon devises another plan. Destroying only one of the tablets would make it impossible for the Snakefolk to conclude the ritual, while only weakening the eventual spell, not breaking it. At least, that is what they hope…

With the coming of the full moon of the second moon, the town councils see their plan has worked out just fine, and they bring forth their reward. Knowing, that the coins won’t do them much good, they only take a small amount and ask for future food and lodging in the Owlbear, instead. The owner sccepts, and the next day, the adventurers set out for Trajan’s Hammer.

They reach the highlands, then enter a forbidding dark forest, when a lighting storm strikes. Through the deluge, they dredge on, looking for a place to make camp. Nathaniel warns them, that this wood seems to be a dark place – and soon, they learn why. A malevolent spirit of nature attacks them, a Leshy.

The being looks like a kind of humanoid tree, but wears human skulls as a necklace and the skull of a moose as a headdress. A sapling serves as club and walking stick.

Nathaniel conjures strong vines from the ground that bind it, then flies up to attack from behind. Arrows fly, blades hack, and finally, the Leshy falls, turning into an old treetrunk. As the malevolent spirit is bereft of its body, the storm overhead also disperses.

The next day, they reach a big cleft in the mountainside, where molten rock once flew downward. Farther uphill, they find ancient ruins, and the entrance to some underground tunnel. Nathaniel, having the most comprehensive knowledge about such things, identifies the amlost circular tunnel as a lavatube.

They follow it deeper and depper into the mountain, and meet a Draugr, but this time, it is an undead giant – a real one. It is Tin that fells it with green fire.

Finally, they reach an enormous cave, mostly filled with lava. The heat is almost unbearable, but there is a kind of gigantic anvil, and a mechanical hammer, that rests upon it. This has to be the place!

Alas, they are not alone. A hulking figure turns towards them, another undead giant, swinging a ball on a chain, that erupts in green flames, as it swings it. The fight is brutal, Svala is hit by the ball and wounded, while Hjordis has to struggle against being thrown into the lava. Vitentius magical arrows finally make the creature stumble and fall.

While Tin provides healing, they look for a way to use the mechanical hammer. Svala figures out, how to manipulate the levers, and Nathaniel flies up, and together with Tin’s Mage Hand, he operates the machine. Driven by lava, the hammer rises – and crashes down on the quickly placed tablet. It crushes it, sparks fly, and the mechine gets stuck.

They decide to throw another tablet into the lava – and then things go haywire. Where the tablet splashes into the molten rock, a fountain of it sprouts upward, reaching the ceiling and sprinkling death like water. They have to make a run for it, while the volcano behind them rumbles. Persued by a cloud of ash and heat, they run through the lavatube, barely making it out.

But there is no time to rest. The mountainside shakes, and a deep rumble comes from the volcano – and smoke rises above them. Using an air elemental, Tin takes Svala and Hjordis with him, while Nathaniel changes into a Giant Eagle, carrying Vitentius on his back. They fly, literally…

With the exploding vulcano at their backs, the party literally flies into the approaching night. Most of the outbreak seems to flow westward, though, and the wind from the east drives smoke and ash away from the Lakelands.

They land and make camp in the highlands. Nathaniel looks outward towards the approaching darkness of night and discovers a large mass of campfires far in the east, along the northern shore of Gorm Domhainn, the big lake east of Drogdoran. It looks to be a small army, or maybe the vanguard of a much bigger force.

The party decides to return to Drogdoran, even if the want to get back to Castel Confinia, the place they have come to call ‚home‘. But the poeple of Drogdoran may need their help, or at least a warning.

Marching through the farmlands, they meet farmers that are obviously fleeing. An army of monsters is reported to be headed towards Drogdoran, and those smart enough are taking what they can and flee towards the highlands. The townspeople are stubborn and want to defend their town.

When they reach the palisades, the gates are closed, but they are welcomed as valuable assets for the defence of the small town. The militia and every able-bodied man and woman is assembled before the Dancing Owlbear. where Conn, the captain of the militia, tries to organise his troops as best he can.

They also get to meet Stineag, the teacher of Nathaniel, and local druidess. She is a hard woman, but not unkind. But she is very determined to defend the small town and its inhabitants.

The party soon decides, that if the people are to survive this, they will need any help they can get. While Nathaniel uses his expertise as an officer in the Windwatch to organize a chain of command, Hjordis advises the townspeople of the use of armour and weapons. Vitentius schools them in archery and Svala and Tin construct fire bombs to throw them on the army. Tin summons an earth elemental and lets it dig out a ditch around the town, connecting it to the river, therefore creating a moat.

This night, Nathaniel assumes the shape of a Giant Owl, and with Tin on his back, they fly out over the camp to the north of Drogdoran. The army has split up to round Loch Innian, and there are two groups now.

Flying soundlessly over the camp, they drop massive bombs, that immediatly set large patches on fire. A  sleeping hill giant bursts into flames, taking a dive into the Loch, while smal explosions rock the camp, as Wyvernblooded and their fire bombs catch fire. Within the hour, the camp is razed, the army routed and scattered.

But there is still the larger army to the south – and they attack with first light. All around the palisades, the militia fights against Dragonbreeds, Wyvernbloods, human mercenaries and even more monstrous foes.

The parties section of the wall is attacked by Dragonbreeds and a hill giant. The fight is bloody, the giant sweeps Hjordis and Svala from the palisade, while the Dragonbreeds almost kill Tin. Nathaniel matches them in the air, using his magical bow and druidic magic. Svala hurts them all with a strange howling song, and finally, Hjordis drives her sword into the skull of the giant.

But as the giant falls, another danger approaches. Gliding along the palisade is a monstrous creature, the body of a lion with the heads of a dragon and a goat, flying on leathery wings. Militia jumps from the walls in fear, but Hjordis stands firm. Fiery breath singes her, razorlike claws rake her, but the giantkin holds fast.

The Dragonbreeds fall, one by one. Nathaniel blinds one of the heads with a strike of his double-spear, than Svala shoots arrows into both wings of the chimera. In its death throes, the monster flies out, over the palisade, and crashes beyond the moat, dead.

The attackers have had enough. Seeing first the giant and then the chimera fall, they turn tail and flee. They did not look fresh to begin with, so they might already have been on the loosing side in a batte, and this was too much. Under the loud shouts of victory from the walls, they scatter into the west and south.

The aftermath finds all of Drogdoran at the Dancing Owlbear again to celebrate. The party is declared the ‚Heroes of Drogdoran‘, and beer and ale flow freely until the early morning. The last man standing is Canonicus Alistair, who had been magically sobered by Stineag to be useful in the battle. Drunk but happy, the Theurge holds on to the bar, as Svala turns in in the morning.

After spending another week in Drogdoran, the party finally decides on their way. They want to travel eastward, towards the Inland Sea, where they want to sink another one of the tablets. And maybe they can get some information as to where that army came from.

Their first obstacle are the marshes. Marching through the marshlands between the lakes takes considerable time, and there are no boats that could be transported to the Gorm Domhainn, the great lake to the east. Svala finally decides, that they could build a craft made from reeds to cross the lake – propelled by a water elemental, this might get them across in no time.

So, they take their leave from the people of Drogdoran, and march off into the marshes. Two days later, they find themselves at the shoreline of a vast lake, its dark waters rolling against the marshy shore. They camp for the night, then get to work in the morning, cutting reeds, binding them into bundles, and strapping thouse bundles together into the shape of a boat.

When they finally take to sea, Nathaniel jumps into the water, taking the shape of a reef shark, pulling the boat along while Tin and Hjordis row. After noon, when the druid is exhausted, Tin summons a water elemental, and they make it across the lake by nightfall.

Marching along the northern shore of another great lake, they turn northeast, climbing the foothills of the mountains. It is here, that they get attacked by Dragonbreeds. By now, they are almost used to dealing with the flying attackers. Hjordis pulls one from the air by sheer force, while Nathaniel paralyzes another, sending it crashing to the ground. Vitentius pumps arrows in another one, and Svala takes the head off the last foe. Tin almost got killed in the fight – and looking at the injuries they sustained, the frail healer is very important for the party.

Finally, they reach the coast of the Inland Sea, and the old North Road, where merchant caravans travel to and from Olbomenus. They quickly gather news – and hear astonishing tales. Tales of an army of monsters, and two dragons fighting and scattering it. And then, a fight between the bronze dragon leading the army and a great golden and a brass dragon, that killed it somewhere farther down south. It seems, the Conclave has met its first direct resistance, and their strategy has been thwarted.

The Dragonbreeds and other monsters that attacked Drogdoran obviously were part of that army, scattered survivors of the dragon’s attack. They may try to regroup, but that will take a leader – and their dragon is dead.

A few days later – and almost at the end of the supplies – they reach Olbomenus. The city at the mouth of the river Menus is surrounded by high walls, and has a bustling harbour, where ships with white sails come and go.

The first impression of the city is, that it’s clean. A lot cleaner than Tarratoria. And it is thriving. Where Tarratoria is like a husk, Olbomenus is bustling with life. There are farmlands around the city, markets where produce can be bought, craftsmen and merchants.

And then, looking for directions, Vitentius spots a familiar face: Cornelius, the head of the Explorer’s Guild of Tarratoria. After friendly hugs, Cornelius invites them into a nearby tavern to talk. It seems, Tarratoria also got attacked by a Dragon army, and here, a black dragon intervened. During the siege, the Proconsul got the High Theurge apprehended, and broke his power – for the moment, at least. The warrant on their heads has been lifted, it seems. Cornelius is here for a meeting of all the guildmasters, only mentioning very interesting findings.

Cornelius takes them to the guildhall, where Caristania is very pleased to see them. And at last, they can sink into the hot waters of a bath…