Day Three of the Odinsleep (The Plains of Vígríðr - A Perilous Defense Part 6)

Day Three of the Odinsleep – 9:50 am

Raven continues drawing and firing arrows as quickly as he can.  His face is painted with concern considering that the lead Jotun has yet to fall and the others are fast closing in behind him.  “Will this be a repeat of the first battle?” he thinks to himself as one feathered shaft after continues to penetrate the massive giant’s thick hide.  Even with the blessing of Shaundukal, his bow just isn’t doing enough harm to the massive giant.  As his last arrow leaves the string, he slips the bow back into his quiver with one hand while whipping Nightwatcher free of its sheath with the other.

 

Ra’ziir slides in close beside him, his feet shifting back and forth and his free hand moving through an arcane pattern in time with the rhythm of his steps.  He touches Raven on the shoulder while speaking the words, “Perspicuus Maior” and his companion vanishes from view.  The bladesinger slips away, still moving to the beat of a song that plays only in his head and lays into the lead Jotun with his fiery blade.  Deathblossom slashes back and forth, leaving a fiery trail in its wake as it carves through the shins and calves of the massive giant.

 

Cedron begins chanting, a low guttural vocalization that starts deep down in his chest.  The tone of his voice, the deep bass inures his mind against injury, allowing him to ignore injuries as he receives them.  While chanting, the minstrel priest reaches into a tan sack hanging from his belt and pulls forth a small brown ball of fluff.  For a moment, he gets the vaguest hope that whatever creature he is summoning isn’t a horse before dropping the puffball on the ground and pointing it in the direction of the Jotuns to command it to attack.  The ball expands, its fur transforming into a golden color except for a thick brown ruff of hair gathered around its neck.  Large, retractable claws spring from each of its four feet and a low, rumbling cough of a roar greets the world as a lion takes its place in line.

 

Hansuke continues to pummel the Jotun’s legs, driving his fists into the meaty flesh with punishing force.  His battle cry of “DABURU SAMAASOROTO”rings out over the battlefield and across the plain.  His blows don’t seem to have much effect on the massive giant, other than to distract it and keep it from focusing its full attention on Ra’ziir, Arthur, or one of the archers but the monk can tell that he is making little headway against this ponderous foe.

 

The lead Jotun, tired of the incessant attacks bellows its rage.  Froth and spittle spew from its mouth as it raises its axe and brings its crashing down at Ra’ziir.  The edge of the blade hits the half-earth “Elf-emental” squarely in the face.  The force of the blow is enough to drive the bladesinger’s feet nearly a foot into the ground and only the stoneskin enchantment protecting him keeps him from being cut in half from that single blow.  The giant lets go of the axe with his right hand and sweeps it in an arc around his legs.  The blade skips along the ground counter-clockwise, striking Raven, then Hansuke, and Grotto before the Jotun pulls it back up to grip the weapon with both hands again.

 

The remaining Jotun close in.  The first of the reinforcements smashes a wide hole in Grog’s conjured ice wall with two swift blows of its axe while the giant to the group’s left, swings wide around the far end of the barrier and moves to engage the Elder Elemental.  The final Jotun moves forward, crushing what little brush there is underfoot as snarls and raises its weapon against the line of earth elementals coming toward it.

 

Korbin swoops around behind the lead giant, rolls over onto his back in flight and pulls a decorated rod from the harness worn on his chest.  The talking crow squawks the command word as he levels the unpredictable weapon at the Jotun.  Grass begins to sprout from the giant’s flesh, quickly growing to cover his shoulders, neck, and chest in greenery.  The grass even winds its way through the giant’s beard and then down its back as the rod’s magic does its work.  While the new foliage does nothing to slow the berserk titan, the two Jotuns nearest to him slow their approach, as if unsure what they should do in the face of this unconventional attack.

 

Arthur continues to batter away at the Jotun with Lawbringer, moving his way closer to Ra’ziir with every swing of his silvered blade.  The holy weapon flares brilliantly with each mighty blow.  The enchantments woven into the steel wreak havoc on the Jotun’s flesh, blasting away huge chunks of muscle every time it connects.  The giant stumbles under the onslaught, staggered by the ferocity of the attack.

 

Shadow is quick to take advantage.  He swoops in close and Spewer springs from his shoulders, disappearing into the grass-infested mop of shaggy hair covering the giant’s head and scampers into the walking mountain’s ear canal.  The lizard hocks up a glob of sticky digestive fluid and sprays it out, coating the inside of the ear and spattering the eardrum with gooey acid.  The giant roars in pain, although if this is due to the additional insult inflicted by the lizard, the unrelenting assault on its legs, or its unbridled rage is open to interpretation.  The dark elf takes full advantage of the massive titan’s distracted state and presses in close to bring his weapons to bear.  Swiftwind, the phoenix-blessed rapier flashes silver as it punctures the giant’s throat again and again.  Blood erupts in a fountain that runs down the giant’s chest and spatters Shadow in gore, soaking through the sleeves of Shadow’s gray tunic as his enchanted dagger, the Nasty Surprise gouges deeply into the opened wounds, widening them even farther.

 

Morn moves in as close as he can to support the front line fighters, launching arrow after arrow at the Jotun.  His second shot hits the brute in the center of the chest but the massive giant’s thick hide armor and tough skin prevent even that perfect shot from dealing much damage.

 

As chaos rages around him, Kysek twists his ring, activating its magic and vanishes from sight.  The thief rolls forward and comes to his feet with both of his shortswords in hand and launches a two-bladed thrust at the giant’s Achilles tendon.  Both swords sink deep into the base of the giant’s ankle and Kysek feels them strike the thick tendon and pushes them both as deeply into his target as he can before breaking off his attack and tumbling back out of the way.

 

As the giant turns to and fro, tracking the multiple foes swarming over him, Drax slips in, unseen by the blue-skinned giant.  His blade slices smoothly through the tough flesh and there is a loud popping sound as the giant’s other ankle is rent asunder.  The hobbled giant’s foot drags loosely behind the Jotun as it moves and the assassin can see that nothing is keeping the giant upright save for adrenaline and sheer stubbornness.

 

Desmond gets in as close as he can and plants his foot on the end of his bow, bracing it as he draws back on the thick string.  Moving with the rapidity that comes with years of practice, the sergeant fires shot after shot, thick, heavy arrows that punch through the thick hide armor the giant wears with ease.  His finger-thick arrows sink up the fletching with almost every strike and one pierces the veins left exposed by Shadow’s attacks but somehow, the giant still doesn’t fall.

 

Niklas’ arrows fly just as true as Desmond’s and his third shot hits the enraged giant directly in the eye, rupturing the orb completely.  The brutish giant continues to thrash about in search of an enemy that will stand still long enough to be crushed but Grotto runs up from behind, takes a deep breath and throws his returning axe with both hands.  The weapon tumbles end over end and slams into the side of the giant’s ankle, shears off a chunk of skin and bone before reversing its course and flying back to the scarred dwarf’s outstretched hand.

 

Grog races across the battlefield toward Cedron as quickly as he can while loading a specially enchanted stone into his sling.  The shaggy man raises the weapon and begins twirling it over his head.  Once the weapon reaches the proper speed and the stone is at an angle Grog likes, he releases the rock and it sails through the air toward the giant’s chest.  The stone expands, growing into a massive boulder before smashing into the Jotun’s chest.  This final blow is too much for the overwhelmed giant and he stumbles backwards and falls, all fifty feet of him crashing to the ground hard with enough force to shake the very earth beneath the party’s feet.

 

Four of Ra’ziir’s conjured elementals close in on the right-most Jotun.  The massive giant crushes one in a single blow of its huge axe but the other three continue their relentless approach on the enemy of Asgard.

 

 

= = = = = =

• All party members plus Elder Elemental, Huge Elemental, and Elemental 1 and 2: Haste (from Ra’ziir, 16 rounds remaining)
• Arthur: 94% health;
• Bubo: 100% health;
• Cedron: 93% health; Major Image (3 rounds remaining), Ironskin Chant (while chanting plus 5 rounds), Lion (from Bag of Tricks, 10 minutes, 0 rounds remaining)
• Desmond: 100% health;
• Drax: 100% health; Greater Invisibility (8 rounds remaining)
• Grog: 100% health; Wall of Ice (10 minutes, 9 rounds remaining)
• Grotto: 60% health;
• Hansuke: 48% health;
• Korbin: 100% health;
• Kysek: 100% health; Stoneskin (66 minutes, 9 rounds remaining); Greater Invisibility (19 rounds remaining)
• Morn: 100% health; Cat’s Grace (8 minutes, 9 rounds remaining)
• Niklas: 100% health;
• Raven: 70% health; Bull’s Strength (from Grog, 10 minutes, 8 rounds remaining); Bane Weapon (1 rounds remaining)
• Ra’ziir: 68% health; Stoneskin (147 minutes, 0 rounds remaining); Elemental Swarm (7 Large Earth Elementals, 1 Huge Earth Elemental, 1 Elder Earth Elemental – by the time the Elder arrives, 128 minutes, 8 rounds remaining)
• Shadow: 100% health; Overland Flight (14 hours, 27 minutes, 8 rounds remaining); Iron Body (DR15/adam, immune to blindness/critical hit/deafness/disease/drowning/electricity/poison/stunning and effects that affect physiology or respiration, Str 21 (+5)/Dex 16 (+3) attack bonus/penalty cancel out, gains +3 damage, ASF 50%, -8ACP, 2 minutes, 0 rounds remaining); Keen Edge (from scabbard: 49 minutes, 8 rounds remaining)
• Spewer: 100% health