Rosorc’s tree chopping brought the attention of two dire wolves, and later a druid. The Dire wolves attacked, one dragging Rosorc to the ground and the other attacking Theona, knocking her over.

I had resolved to stay out of the fight because of Rosorc’s senseless actions, but when Theona was knocked to the ground I realized that Solonor Thelandira had blessed me with an answer to the question I had asked.

I was filled with a sense of dread that I have never felt in all my life. I immediately abandoned my resolution, and ran to help Theona. I killed the wolf, and Rosorc and Tassar dealt with the other.

We had no more than stopped fighting, and a man stepped into the clearing. His peaceful demeanor and his symbol of Mielikki marked him as a non-combatant.

He introduced himself as Beowulf, a druid in the service to Mielikki. He also called forth a companion: a black wolf he had named Shadow. We exchanged greetings, and after a few minutes of conversation, the group decided that it would benefit everyone to have another man of nature traveling with us.

We rested the remainder of the night and awoke the next morning finding Tassar missing and a note left in Dietricha’s bag saying that he needed to pay his rent, so he was heading back to Silverymoon on his own.

I think Tassar has gone over the edge. He knew we were headed back to Silverymoon. I can’t understand why he thinks he could get there faster than us. As I recall, he was the one who was huffing and puffing to keep pace with us!

We quickly packed up our gear and headed down the road. I easily found his tracks and followed them along the path. After a while we came upon a place where there were signs of a struggle, and Tassar’s tracks disappeared. Fearing the worst, we followed the giant tracks off the path and through the rocky terrain to a cave. I found a defensible spot not to far from the cave, and while my companions were setting up a camp, I snuck up to the cave to investigate.

The entrance was well worn, so I could not estimate the number of creatures inhabiting the cave. I carefully snuck in, until I saw an ettin stirring some type of stew over a small fire. I returned to the rest of the group and told them what I had seen.

Beowulf turned into bat, and flew into the cave, scouting relatively unnoticed, or at least hopefully unnoticed. He returned safely, and told us that he had detected two ettins, a small storeroom, and a door deeper in the cave.

We decided that going in for Tassar would be the best course of action, rather than waiting and going in the next morning. Rosorc volunteered to be the bait, as he has had special training in fighting giants. The rest of us moved a safe distance from the cave and prepared ranged weapons.

Rosorc entered the cave, shouting for Tassar, and came running back out shortly after, with two ettins hot on his heals. The first ettin fell between Rosorc burying his axe in it and the fusillade from everyone else. We were not nearly as fortunate with the second ettin. Theona broke her bowstring and Rosorc stepped into my line of fire just as I let my arrow fly. The arrow slipped through armor and Rosorc staggered slightly (but not enough to dodge out of the way of an incoming blow).

We did manage to kill the second, and then we made our way into the cave. Theona and I were checking out the supplies when we heard Rosorc yell in surprise. He was being attacked by a door! The door actually turned out to be a mimic, but it did manage to get a good hold on Rosorc, Beowulf and myself at different points during the battle. Rosorc threw a flask of oil on it, and Theona lit one of my arrows, which I fired into the beast, lighting it on fire. I tried to shoot a second arrow at it, but I pulled too hard and my bowstring broke. The mimic succumbed to the fire a few seconds later, and we holed ourselves up in the storeroom, hoping that nothing else wandered out during the night.

Theona and I are still keeping watch over each other while we rest, and the others supplement our watch, or maybe we supplement theirs….

I did repair both of our bowstrings for the time being though, and I need to make bolts for Theona soon, as she doesn’t have that many left.

Theona is now stirring from her meditations, so I must do mine. I hope that we are able to find Tassar soon and get back to Silverymoon.

Posted by Tim on July 4, 2004, 07:55 | Areon’s Journal