Episode 9 - Chivalry and Sorcery

In which our heroes observe the children of Corellon and Annan.

A week later the band was on their way to Deva. Having established a pub at Mamucium, Navio and Aquae Arnemetiae they felt Deva was the next step. Besides they found Antonius scary and didn't want to be around while Caius and Galbotorix negotiated. While on the road to Deva they heard the report of a horn. Perrin immediately recognised it as an Elven war horn. Some elves were out a hunting. Not wishing to become the hunted the band sought cover and hid.

Soon an elven hunting party cam into view. First came the gnomish beaters, armed with spear and shield. Behind them came four more of the large owl beasts hooting and chirping. Then came three elves on horseback. They were dressed gaily, as if for a festival. That is if you discounted the wicked looking weapons they carried. Beside them prowled two strange creatures, great cats with black-purple fur and two tentacles from their backs. Most disturbing was the way these creatures shimmered and flickered as if not wholly of this world. They never appeared to be in the same place twice and when you blinked they would be somewhere else entirely. The party passed, one of the elves sounding the horn occasionally. Intrigued, the band followed.

Soon there was an answering horn. The elven party formed up and began moving towards it. As it was moving past a cliff face, part of the cliff detached itself and smote one of the gnomes dead with a massive club. A giant! It was then the five other giants charged out of the rocks and trees and attacked.

The first giant had the appearance of being animate white chalk. The others were deformed and hideous. Boils, warts and blemishes covered their bodies which were misshapen and not at all symmetrical. One had three arms while another two heads. The giants tore into the gnomes and owl beasts while the elves hung back and provided covering fire. The feline monsters darted here and there flickering and shimmering as they raked the giants with their claws and lashed out with their tentacles. Gnomes screamed and died as the monsters fought. The deformed giants bodies were soon covered in many small wounds and bled a number of foul colours.

With a flash and a crack one of the elves let loose a bolt of lightning which struck one of the giants, killing it. In reply the chalk giant picked up a boulder and threw it at the offending elf, felling him. The other elves picked up their companion and fled, their creatures breaking as well. The deformed giants howled in victory and chased after them. The chalk giant gave a tectonic shrug and strode off on business of it's own. The band, having watched all this decided now was the time to loot the bodies.

The dead giant was even fouler in death, releasing strange, noxious gases. Persevering, Myrdynus looted the giants bag, in which were six large runestones. He also emasculated the creature and took the parts as a trophy. Cheet and Sendin tried to calm and tame the wounded beasts but had little success. Scawl and Perrin tried tracking the giants to see where they had come from.

They discovered a fissure in the ground that looked as if it recently had been torn open by massive claws. Going inside they discovered that instead of a cave there was a large tunnel of dressed and worked stone. While foul and noxious the workmanship was excellent. They lit a torch and ventured inside. They soon found a side passage, but before they could get to it a voice cried out in passable Dwarven greeting them. It asked if they had anything to eat. Scawl asked if it liked fresh gnome and the voice said yes, it did. There was a pause as Scawl and Perrin went and procured some gnome and brought it back. They threw the bodies into the intersection and a long leathery tentacle snaked out, gathered them up and dragged them away. There was then a hideous sound of crunching and feasting. The thing then inquired if they had any elf. It had not eaten elf in a long time. It offered them a book of magic should they bring it one. Perrin fled, not wishing to become a meal while Scawl tried to negotiate down to owl beast. The thing stuck to its demands, elf or nothing. The negotiations also roused another creature who called out, it was a disgusting yet female voice which the first voice informed Scawl was 'She who breeds monsters'. Scawl ran.

Up in the open the band gathered up and wondered what to do. The first voice seemed to be friendly and so they decided to go down and talk with it again. They dragged along the body of an owl beast as an offering. The voice was disappointed that there was no elf but appeared mollified. It came out to gather the much larger meal. It was a massive monstrous form, much larger than a bear with three stumpy legs and  three large, horned tentacles. One of the tentacles sported eyes and the body was bisected by a massive, toothy maw. Most of the band were frightened but stood there ground, greed overcoming fear until 'She who breeds monsters' called out again informing everyone that if no-one brought her elf she would gobble them back up. At this, the band fled.

The band then set to tracking the giants although track is probably too strong a word for following the trail of destruction their passage left. Eventually they heard the giants coming back the other way. Each of the monsters was covered in arrows and bleeding but still active. Scawl approached them and informed them of She who breeds monsters demands. The giants set to arguing among themselves about what to do. Despite Scawl's promptings they found the elves painful and did not want to go back. Eventually they decided to set out on their own. They asked where they could find some halflings and Scawl told them. The giants then dug the halflings out of their holes and then devoured them. In return they told Scawl where the chalk giant lived. White Peak. The band quickly set off, not wanting to become the next meal.

The trip to White Peak took two days and another half a day to the summit to speak with the giant. It maintained a lonely vigil over the surrounding countryside and smushed intruders. It was worried about the Watchers and suggested that Wall, a giant that had cooperated with the dwarves to form the Wall keeping the Orcs at bay may know more. It also suggested conferring with the remaining giant priests. They lived far to the south at the White Mountains, the resting place of Annan.