Day Three of the Odinsleep (The Plains of Vígríðr - A Perilous Defense Part 7)

Day Three of the Odinsleep – 9:50 am

Raven, forgetting that he’s invisible, points at the elemental to the party’s right and yells, “GET THAT ONE!”  He takes off running across the field, propelled by the speed-enhancing enchantment cast by Ra’ziir.  The bladesinger’s voice speaks inside his mind through the mental link they share, “None of the others can see you.  You have to be more specific.”  Raven snarls and yells, “TO YOUR RIGHT!” as he races toward the towering Jotun.  The elf slips past the gathered elementals and, gripping Nightwatcher in both hands, calls upon the power of his boots to leap high and puts all of his weight, speed, and strength into one single blow.  The spell of concealment flickers momentarily, revealing his position.  Raven’s jump carries him nearly 20’ into the air and his black adamantite blade cuts a deep gash just below the Jotun’s left hip.  The giant turns, trying to track the elf as he lands but the spell of invisibility has reasserted itself before the swordsman reaches the ground.

Ra’ziir follows in Raven’s wake, his feet gliding across the ground in skips and leaps of his own.  His motions, however are timed to match the cadence of the spell he is casting and with a shouted “LABES”, the half-elemental elf’s form becomes hazy and indistinct.  The Jotun spots him while searching for Raven and brings its axe around to intercept the bladesinger.  The edge of the axe’s head clips Ra’ziir’s shoulder but even the glancing blow is nearly enough to dislocate the joint.  Ra’ziir drops into a slide and brings Deathblossom around, trailing fire and lands a heavy slash across the front of the giant’s shin.

Cedron pulls the hood of the Witching Cloak up over his head and disappears from view while reciting a prayer to Malazzarr asking for his favor during this battle.  Once the prayer has been completed, Cedron feels the magic flow through him and that his luck during this battle will be good indeed.  He snaps his fingers and a light crossbow appears in hand, called from the extra-dimensional storage space inside the glove worn on that hand.

Cedron’s conjured lion sprints across the uneven ground.  When it is close enough, it jumps toward the embattled Jotun.  Its claws drag harmlessly down the side of the giant’s leg and its teeth fail to pierce the titan’s tough skin.

Hansuke dashes across the field.  The monk’s feet move so fast that he barely touches the ground.  As he draws near to the Jotun he shouts out “Tatsumaki Senpukyaku!” and leaps into the air.  He delivers a powerful flying kick to the wounded shin of the giant, eliciting a howl of anguish from the massive Jotun.

The closest Jotun to the party’s left kicks aside remnants of the ice wall and raises his axe.  He brings the heavy weapon crashing down on the mammoth Elder Elemental.  Stone and dirt explode away from the point of the impact and the rampaging giant continues to hack away huge swaths of the Elder’s body.  Turf rains down following every blow and the elemental is staggered by the merciless onslaught.  An onslaught the other Jotun is more than happy to continue.  Two more blows from the giant’s immense axe are enough to shatter the Elder Elemental’s conjured body and the creature collapses, its spirit retreating back to the Plane of Earth from which it was summoned.

With so many foes surrounding it, the Jotun fighting Raven and Ra’ziir drops its axe head to the ground, much like the lead Jotun did before it was overwhelmed by the massed attacks of the adventurers.  It drags the blade along the ground, striking all three of the elementals and the lion surrounding it.  While none of the elementals are destroyed in the attack, the lion is wiped out instantly from the force of the blow.

Korbin shakes his head, “Grass?  That’s different.”  The black-feathered bird beats his wings rapidly, climbing high into the sky and croaks out the command word to his magical rod once again.  This time a stream of butterflies pour forth from the end of the magical stick, surrounding the Jotun’s head in a cloud of colorful beating wings.  The crow folds his wings in close to his body and drops toward the ground, spreading them just in time to keep from slamming into the ground.  The Jotun begins swatting at the tiny insects, trying to clear the cloud of flying vermin away from his face and eyes to little effect and that’s when Arthur strikes.

The First Paladin of Malazzarr flies in, carried aloft by the magic of his shield and slashes the blinded Jotun across the small of the back with his holy blade.  There is a bright flash of light and the smell of sizzling meat when the silvered sword meets the giant’s flesh.

“Spewer!  Are you alright?”  The lizard sends an affirmative response through the telepathic bond he shares with his drow master so the dark elf tells him to stay put before banking sharply to fly toward the wounded Jotun.  The dark elf readies both of his weapons to strike.  The distance is so great that Shadow manages only one quick thrust with Swiftwind.  The slender rapier splits open the Jotun’s left shoulder and the drow dives, staying out of the butterfly cloud surrounding the giant’s head.

Morn utters a single word, “Dronikr” and wills his magic into effect. He begins to appear and reappear with little popping noises as he makes dozens of short teleporting hops across the field, racing to join Raven and Ra’ziir as they battle their titanic foe.  As he runs, he unhooks the Truesilver Whip from his belt and gives it a quick shake to free the lash from its coil.  The silvered leather responds as if alive, snaking its way back and forth across the plain in search of a foe.

Knowing that it is too far to run, even with his speed enhanced by Ra’ziir, Kysek slips the shortsword White Faerie into its scabbard and points at the giant with his right hand.  The elf speaks the words  “Луч ослабления” and a coruscating beam of energy lances out from his outstretched fingertip to hit the mobbed giant in the chest where it dissipates into glowing motes of energy that rain down on the party with no visible effect.

Drax slides across the broken ground like a shadow spreading over the land at sunset.  He slips in between the all of the flailing combatants and slides his shortsword into the Jotun’s calf.  A sharp twist tears the lower calf muscle and the giant’s leg buckles slightly as the assassin rolls away to avoid any counterstrikes.

Desmond and Niklas both raises their bows, targeting the giant’s chest.  Feathered shafts appear all over the Jotun as both archers pepper him with half a dozen shots.

Grotto pulls his cloak up over his head, vanishing from sight and begins stomping his way across the battlefield toward the group’s next foe.  As he closes in on the massive giant, he brings his axe up over his head and hurls it with all of his might at the Jotun.  The blade tumbles end over end and crashes into the Jotun’s knee, adding to the growing pile of injuries the giant’s leg has sustained in the last few seconds.  The dwarf raises his hand and the axe spins, flying back through the air and into his grasp.

With the battle raging around him, Grog spins and steps and shimmies, calling upon his magic to harden his flesh and protect him from harm.  His skin takes on a grayish cast before reverting to its normal color but a few taps of his fingers reveal that his flesh is as hard as a rock.

The elementals follow their last order given and start shuffling towards the embattled Jotun, leaving Niklas, Desmond, and Kysek all out in the open and exposed to the remaining two giants.  Those elementals already fighting, raise their stony fists and pound on the blue-skinned enemy of Asgard but seem to be having little effect.

= = = = = =

• All party members plus Elder Elemental, Huge Elemental, and Elemental 1 and 2: Haste (from Ra’ziir, 15 rounds remaining)

• Arthur: 94% health;
• Bubo: 100% health;
• Cedron: 93% health; Major Image (2 rounds remaining), Ironskin Chant (DR5/- -, 5 rounds), Divine Favor (+3 hit/dmg; 10 rounds remaining)
• Desmond: 100% health;
• Drax: 100% health; Greater Invisibility (7 rounds remaining)
• Grog: 100% health; Wall of Ice (10 minutes, 8 rounds remaining); Stoneskin (110 of 110, 110 minutes, 0 rounds remaining)
• Grotto: 60% health;
• Hansuke: 48% health;
• Korbin: 100% health; Butterflies (from Rod, 2 rounds remaining)
• Kysek: 100% health; Stoneskin (66 minutes, 8 rounds remaining); Greater Invisibility (18 rounds remaining)
• Morn: 100% health; Cat’s Grace (8 minutes, 8 rounds remaining); Blink (10 rounds remaining)
• Niklas: 100% health;
• Raven: 70% health; Bull’s Strength (from Grog, 10 minutes, 7 rounds remaining); Greater Invisibility (from Ra’ziir, 16 rounds remaining)
• Ra’ziir: 68% health; Stoneskin (86%; 146 minutes, 9 rounds remaining); Elemental Swarm (7 Large Earth Elementals (#7 23%%, #6 34%, #5 26%), 1 Huge Earth Elemental – by the time the Elder arrived, 128 minutes, 7 rounds remaining); Blur (17 minutes, 0 rounds remaining)
• Shadow: 100% health; Overland Flight (14 hours, 27 minutes, 7 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, 1 minutes, 9 rounds remaining); Keen Edge (from scabbard: 49 minutes, 7 rounds remaining)
• Spewer: 100% health