After outrunning a thoroughly enraged and grief stricken giant, Modric and Eofin stop by the side of the road to Urist to await their companions. Eofin’s gallant rescue of the sprinting dwarf and their subsequent escape from the giant seems to have made the pair bond, and when the rest of the party find them several hours later Modric is in gales of laughter as Eofin mimes small dwarven legs frantically pumping and screaming in an exaggeratedly high-pitched voice.

As the day only has about an hour of balmy sunlight left the group decides to set up camp for the night. As the others are pitching their tents and starting a fire with the intention of cooking some dire rat meat, Eofin scouts the tree-lined road ahead. After an hour of riding he faintly hears the sounds of a battle coming from the forest. He quickly dismounts and stealthily makes his way into the forest towards the mêlée, keeping to the shadows. He stops at the edge of a clearing and tries to observe the battle within it, although the gathering gloom obscures any of the details of the combatants. What he makes out is a number of dwarf-sized humanoids and the unmistakable looming shapes of three giants all noisily engaged in trying to kill each other. After a couple of moments of scrutiny it is apparent that the side with the giants is winning. He also notices that there is a person in a pool of firelight, who is somewhat smaller than the dwarfs with long white hair draped forward covering its face, chained to an immense monolith.

Eofin’s simple mind is enraged by the sight of the captive, which brings back strangely conflicting memories of his own time spent in captivity in the God realm, and he feels compelled to help this stranger. He sneaks back to the road and tries to explain his plan to his horse. The horse nuzzles him affectionately and then returns to eating grass from the road’s verge. Eofin takes this as a sign of consent to the plan and mounts up.

He bursts into the clearing at a full gallop, startling a number of the nearest combatants, riding directly towards the chained figure and, incidentally, a knot of dwarf-sized beings. Just before reaching this group Eofin gets his feet onto the saddle and pushes off, somersaulting over the enemy and at the same time pulling and releasing an arrow which thuds wetly into the shoulder of one of their number, causing him to yowl in pain and anger. He lands softly and sprints towards the chained figure, turning once to loose another arrow which blinds an eye, but this gives the enemy enough time to close with him and wrestle him to the floor. His second to last sight is of two powerfully-built dark shapes hovering over him in front of a backdrop of a starry sky framed by dark treetops. His last sight is a close-up of a chain mailed fist.

The rest of the party begin to get worried as dusk falls and Eofin does not return, however they are all aware of the mental acuity of the elf and reach the consensus that he probably got lost and they will follow his tracks in the morning. They finish their Chult-style dire rat meal, rub down the horses and mend their gear before going to bed.

In the morning they break camp and continue along the road to Urist, following Eofin’s tracks. They come across the spot that Eofin had stopped the previous evening, seeing the horse’s tracks milling around as if it had been waiting and then moving off at speed into the underbrush. No elf tracks can be seen, but that is not unusual. The group decides to cautiously follow the tracks of the running horse into the forest and leave the horses and the still comatose Paws by the road in the care of Hobox and Aeowin. When they arrive at the edge of the clearing Eofin discovered the night before they see a scene of carnage. Bodies litter the clearing and obviously very little has been done to pay respect for the dead other than a little bit of light looting. One giant survived the encounter and three of the dwarf-sized humanoids, which Olorin is able to discern are Duergar, or Gray Dwarves. Three figures are now chained to the monolith: A small figure with hair over its face, a bloodied dwarf and Eofin.

Striking from cover, the group catch the surviving members of the war party completely by surprise, with Hardean immolating two of the duergar and Olorin incinerating the third. The giant, obviously a leader of its race, withstands a good deal more punishment. While the duergar suffer the rage of the wizards, the giant picks up the severed head of a dreugar and hurls it like an armoured bowling ball at Modric. This abruptly interrupts Modric’s attempt to free the captives as the head slams into his back and throws him against the monolith where he then slumps to the ground. As he is shaking the stars out of his eyes he notices that a small cylinder of “exploding chalk” has fallen out of the small figure’s pocket. Seizing this opportunity, Modric shoves the cylinder into a link in the chain holding the captives against the monolith and lights the fuse. With a loud crack the chain is cut in two and the prisoners are free. The dwarf immediately runs whimpering into the forest and the small figure slumps to the ground, apparently unconscious; Modric tenderly boots him in the face to check if he is playing possum and gets no response.

Eofin, freed, launches himself screaming at the giant who, in the process of picking up the rest of the dead duergar he is using as ammunition, pauses to quizzically consider the elf before heaving the duergar into the tree line, flattening Hardean. Olorin is shaken by the ferocity of the flying corpse and his next few spells either fizzle out as he draws on his will to cast them or they glance harmlessly off the thick hide of the giant. Pressing his advantage the giant stomps over to where Modric is still shaking himself out of a daze and savagely clubs him back into the monolith. With his armour ringing from the massive impact Modric instinctively raises his hands and casts a flame bolt at the giant which has just raised its leg in order to stomp on him. Unfortunately this is the leg with Eofin still clinging onto it and he catches the full force of the flaming bolt in his back, throwing him to the ground and knocking the giant off balance. Springing to his feet, clothing still smouldering and aflame in small patches, Eofin fires a fast, straight from the shoulder punch at the nearest part of the giant, his penis. The giant howls in pain as his gargantuan organ swings backwards like a punch bag and then returns, causing Eofin to dive backwards, landing at Modric’s feet.

The giant, now thoroughly displeased, lowers his head and starts to gather his momentum to charge the dwarf and the elf. Before he can cover half of the distance though a brief beam of dazzling ruby light sweeps across the clearing and bisects the giant in the middle, cutting through the right forearm which falls away and horizontally though his torso at solar plexus level. The giant’s expression changes from enraged to puzzled at his legs stop obeying his commands and he crumples to the ground in bloody chunks of meat. The group all look to where the beam came from and see Hardean still on the ground, half covered by the duergar corpse and looking pleased with himself.

Eofin and Modric look at each other and start chuckling. Modric tells the elf, “It was good of you to try to cripple this one’s cock before it could get to Olorin.” Peals of laughter emanate from the clearing.

As the adventurers are catching their breaths, Olorin inspects the monolith more closely and realises that it is a gateway to the Underdark, and warns the group that more unsavoury characters could emerge at any time. Quickly the group decide to block the tunnel and use the most readily available material they have to hand, the bodies of the fallen. Hardean creates a hovering disk that moves the giant to the entrance and the others follow suit, dragging the bodies of the duergar.

Feeling a bit safer with the tunnel blocked, Modric says a prayer for the fallen dwarves as the rest of the group dig a series of graves. The final resting place of each dwarf is marked by his sword driven tip first into the ground and his helmet is placed on top of the sword grip. Olorin says a few words of respect to mark their passage into the afterlife.

The small, unconscious figure on the ground next to the monolith starts to come round with a groan and a sits up, rubbing the swelling area on his head where Modric kicked him. Modric rushes over and helps the old and frail-seeming gnome to his feet saying, “Sorry sir, I did not mean to kick you so hard.” The gnome gives him a beatific smile and replies, “That’s quite all right son, I’m sure things were a bit hectic while you were rescuing me.” Olorin comes over and administers some healing to the old gnome, who reveals that his name is Salizar and that he is a travelling alchemist. He says that he will accompany the party at least as far as Urist.

The dwarf that the party freed from the monolith makes his way cautiously back into the clearing, clearly embarrassed at having lost his nerve, and thanks the group profusely for freeing him. He tells them that he was part of a patrol sent out from Urist to try to find any gaps in the giants’ lines, but in the dark the duergars’ vision is more acute than a normal dwarf’s and they were ambushed. He is going back to Urist to re-join the defenders there. The group heads back to the road and horses then continue on to Urist. The immense fortress is now very close and takes up a large proportion of the vista. What look like small patches of smoke and flames can be seen coming from several sections of the fortress, but as the perspective become apparent the adventurers realise that they are actually large conflagrations engulfing whole buildings or towers.

On the way, the dwarf scout overhears the party talking about Baern in a familiar way, which peaks his curiosity. He asks the party several questions about Baern, including:

• Is it true he went across the ocean?
• Is it true he has the ghost of a dwarven king following him?
• Is it true he owns a human castle now?
• Did he really save a princess?

The heroes are able to answer, except the question about crossing the ocean. Satisfied that this group do indeed know Baern, but that they do not know everything about his history, he tells them the legend of Baern the giantslayer. (See Baern’s page.)

The scout is obviously full of admiration for and devotion to Baern and the party share several sidelong glances among themselves as he is telling his tale: something does not quite add up. The Baern they know is an abrasive, obnoxious character, far removed from this tale of a charismatic and dedicated leader.

The players are guided into the grand stone halls of Urist, or in the Dwarven tongue, Kalderrimrair. The fortress is grand but worried dwarven women run around with baskets of bread. Injured, dying and dead dwarves line the corridor, but all with a look of grim determination on their face. Priests of all the dwarf gods are represented in these halls, tending to the injured or giving last rights to those beyond any worldly salvation. Modric sees his stricken brethren, but decides to stay with the group rather than lend any assistance to their efforts.

The party continues through the depths until they enter what is apparently an enormous entrance room, mind-boggling large and hewn from the rock itself. At one end is a huge barricaded door. Several dwarves stand in regiments as inspections are carried out. A lone figure in the middle of the room, with powerful, tattooed arms exposed, appears to be in charge. As the players approach, they notice two things; it is their erstwhile companion Baern, and that his tattoos are moving. He’s a very different Dwarf. He has cut his hair and braided his unkempt beard. His armour, normally bashed and beaten, has been replaced with something that looks expensive, light and manoeuvrable. Olorin whispers to the rest that it is actually black dragon-scale armour, which is extremely rare. A large crest on the armour is that of Baern’s clan, which Hobox identifies. Baern looks intent, his eyes darting around, and the oddest thing happens when his eyes find the party: he smiles.

As the party approaches, the enormous door is burst open, sending dwarves and debris pirouetting through the air. An enormous giant, clad head-to-toe in badly-made iron plate armour, steps through swinging an enormous axe. With an enormous swing, he ploughs through the first line of dwarves. The dwarves flee, leaving Baern standing a good distance away but in the Giant’s path. The giant roars and drools out of his battered, pig-iron helmet before running towards the dwarf. Just has he is about to come within striking range, Baern barks out some commands in Dwarven; “Chains!”, and two groups of dwarves, hidden at the sides, pull hard on chains hidden under the sand. The giant falls with a look of shocked surprise, and the room shakes with his weight as he lands with the sound of metal on stone. With fluency the group has never seen before, Baern moves aside as the giant lands, leaps onto his back, and severs his head with an enormous war-axe. Calmly leaping down, he calls out some commands in Dwarven, and the other Dwarves immediately begin work to barricade the door once again. None seem to view this as a particularly unexpected sequence of events, and his commands are immediately followed.

Now, Baern has time to talk to his companions. He explains that his uncouth demeanour while he has been a member of the adventuring party was a ruse to allow him to distance himself from the legend of Baern the giantslayer. He fell in with this group as they offered the prospect of allowing him to keep his skills sharp, but when his tattoos began to writhe he had no option but to immediately leave and re-join his people.

As Baern and the party speak he is constantly being interrupted for advice and information by his lieutenants, which he deals with quickly and effectively. Eventually he cuts off and points out he has many things that demand his attention, but if they are willing he would appreciate their help against the giants.

He explains that the Father’s Axe, which was made for a dwarven king, was intended to be a gift for another dwarven King to the south beyond the giants. The king’s name is Cho-Hag and his stronghold is called Tengrimmhill. Baern’s dwarves need help to destroy the giants, but the giants themselves are blocking the route. Baern needs them to deliver the axe to the young King and explain the situation, and come to the aid of the dwarves.

The current high-king is the King of Urist, who has gone missing. It is not known if he has fled or been murdered. When Baern arrived they had not yet established who the new leader would be, but the soldiers immediately swore to serve Baern and to follow him to the death. Other Dwarves have started to take care of civilian matters. While there are important rules and traditions for becoming a leader, for the moment Baern is the de-facto leader of this fortress. Unfortunately, that doesn’t extend outside the walls and other dwarves are not willing to respect his requests for aid.

Baern asks the party to deliver the axe to the southern dwarves, and insists that they avoid a direct approach through the giants. There are several ways around the giants. Possible routes include:

• To the west of the Orsraun mountains, through the Gulthmere forest and south to Surkh. Take a boat over the Deepwash and continue south from there. Baern has sent three scouting groups this way over the last two weeks and two have not reported back. The third and most recently sent group are scheduled to return in tomorrow.

• Go south, along to the Aphrunn Mountains coastline and try to take a boat from one of the fishing villages there south to Chondath. Baern doesn’t like this plan as it takes the group too close to the giants, who have amassed in large numbers and are expecting this kind of action.

• Go to Tilverton, back in Cormyr, and charter an airship to take you Tengrimmhill, however this will be very expensive and air travel is not without its own perils.

• They could go under, using the treacherous underdark. Baern warns them that this would be a difficult road, and they would face many enemies there.

• The elves interject and say that inter-planar travel could also be possible, either via Sigil, the city of doors, or via the Feywild, natural home of the elves. They have knowledge of such things and could guide them through the plane.

Baern warns the party that they can hold off the giants for a while, but not for long. He notes that the giants are using guerilla tactics and are well-armed. Baern believes that someone or something is leading the giants and teaching them how to fight an entrenched foe. At a guess, Baern states that one of these giants is worth 10 of the giants he killed in the war.

(Baern will send along a Dwarven diplomat, who will deliver the message to the King. Upon hearing this, the dwarf scout the group saved from the duergar steps forward with this eyes lowered, obviously awed by being in the presence of a living Dwarven legend. “My lord, I wish to accompany these people in their quest. They saved my life but hours ago and I wish to travel with them for a chance to repay that debt. I can also deliver the message and the gift.”

Baern considers this young dwarf seriously for a few seconds before slowly smiling saying, “What is your name, son?”

“Kiro Oreender, lord. My entire battle group was killed and I have not joined a new one yet, no-one will miss me.”

“Alright then Kiro, you can go. Take good care of them as they are good people and close to my heart. Now back to the plan.”

When the message has been delivered, Baern will need a signal to launch an assault. As there is no way to know what the situation will be at that time, there’s no point in planning a message; Baern states “Just make sure I will know when to launch the assault”. Kiro has knowledge of Dwarven communication methods and will be able to help plan and send the message at the time.

When the signal has been sent and the Dwarves recruited, Baern will join the players in a huge battle to push the giants back past Xorhun, a settlement to the south. Baern’s forces will descend from the north and Cho-Hag’s forces will sweep up from the south. Cornered by the Orsraun mountains, they will be slaughtered like pigs.

The band must now decide which path they will take to reach Tengrimhill.

Later that evening, while nursing tankards of ale in one of the great meadhalls of Urist, the group fall into conversation with a number of dwarves eager to learn new stories from the group that was adventuring with Baern. As they talk the vibrations of siege engine impacts can be felt and dust flutters down from the ceiling, far above and out of the torch light. They learn that Baern has given specific orders that all surrendering giants should be disarmed, ‘branded’ and told to leave. Any Giant later spotted sporting a brand and holding a weapon would die a slow and excruciatingly painful death. Giant children, which are rare in a warzone, should not be harmed. This has resulted in several young giants being brought back into the fortress and locked away, and no-one is quite sure what Baern intends to do with them.