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Haaki the Feather Witch

Haaki obliges, turning into a hawk and flying ahead. She leaves Syoksya behind with the party.

When she locates the giants, she finds a perch at the top of a tall tree and watches them, attempting to discern their numbers, defenses, and patterns of behavior.

Her plan is to return to her comrades and report, well before they would need her information.

Fourthmonth, Nineteenthday
Hex 237.118
Haaki

The two owls wing off through the air, flying just above the treetops. The day is clear, with just a hint of warmth in the air that signals the end of winter and the coming of spring. It doesn't take long for her to find the campsite; it is right on the road, and by this point the forest has thinned, allowing them to easily follow its windings through the trees. A thin tendril of smoke winds its way into the air, and circling down the pair of owls espies four enormous, brutish humanoids sprawled around a dying fire, fast asleep. Bones litter the ground -- whether from man or animal the two cannot tell -- and Haaki notes that a large supply of plentiful rocks are at hand, as are several large clubs, shaped from what look to be uprooted branches. One of the giants has, tucked into its belt, a two-handed sword, looking positively dagger-like up against its bulk.
Fourthmonth, Nineteenthday
The rest of the party

As Haaki wings off to the north the others break camp and set off along the road. It is a pleasant day. After crossing the stream, now largely free of pollution, the forest thickens again.

Telemachus

The mage orders one platoon of the mounted mercs to patrol about a quarter mile ahead of the main group. They have strict orders not to engage any enemies, unless it's one or two scouts easily dispatched without any pursuit. Otherwise, they're to report back upon discovering any evidence of foes ahead.

"We don't want to stumble into any giant camps before Haaki reports back."

Fourthmonth, Nineteenthday
Hex 237.120

It is late morning before Haaki and her familiar burst through the tree cover in front of the adventurers. She regains her human form and explains to the adventurers what she saw; four hill giants sleeping around a dying campfire. The party will likely reach them towards the end of the day at their current pace.

Feargus

"I don't know that I've ever killed a giant before. This ought to be challenging. I can't see any way to talk our way through this one. What do you guys think?"

Gardo

"I'm all for ambushing them when they are sleeping myself. Otherwise, set up a trap and lure them towards us. Put the archers on opposite sides of the trail and let loose the arrows. My father always said try and use your head when fighting things bigger than you. That always gave me a headache when I tried to headbutt my bigger brothers though...."

Telemachus

"If we can get there before they wake up, we should hit them while they're sleeping. I can drop two Fireballs on them before they even get to their feet. If not, we need to figure out how far they roam at night and make sure we don't camp there. Haaki, did you see any trails leading away from their camp?"

Newton nods "Surprise is key here, I don't fancy running towards them over long distances while they lob rocks at us. Perhaps a small group, including Telemachus, try to get close enough to throw fireballs, while the others lay in wait. If it goes wrong we leg it back to the others, hopefully drawing the giants into a trap. If it goes right, we need a way of signalling the others to rush forward and join us"

sulldawga wrote:Telemachus

"If we can get there before they wake up, we should hit them while they're sleeping. I can drop two Fireballs on them before they even get to their feet. If not, we need to figure out how far they roam at night and make sure we don't camp there. Haaki, did you see any trails leading away from their camp?"

Haaki

Haaki makes two observations: one, that on her previous journey north, when she flew all the way to Kimrid, the giants had been awake at roughly the same time. Second, the landscape around the camp is somewhat devastated by their presence; trees knocked down, bones, offal, and animal skins strewn about, and so forth. There were no clear trails that spoke to regular travel.

sulldawga wrote:How far away are we now from the giant camp? How much time will it take to get there and how much daylight is left?

Thirdmonth, Nineteenthday
Hex 237.118
2:00 pm

The adventurers press on, crossing a narrow band of thicker forest before re-entering the less dense woods that should, according to the map, be predominate for the rest of the journey. The trees are further apart, the canopy open in places, so that clear sunshine mixes with light filtered a light green by new spring growth. When the party is about six miles away from where Haaki thinks the giant camp to be they notice signs of their presence. Trees uprooted or knocked over; trunks scarred as if from heavy blows, groundcover disturbed by massive feet. It's not ever-present, but noticable, at least to Newton.

Feargus

Keeping his voice low, Feargus says, "Ok, looks like we are close. We can either draw them into an ambush or ambush their campsite. Any suggestions?"

Telemachus

"I think we should back up a mile or two and cold camp. Wake up early and hit them at their camp at dawn, or even a little earlier. I'd rather we ambush them while they're sleeping, rather than when they're on the move."

Newton

"I was going to suggest we do more scouting to see if they are awake. If they are, waiting is a good idea, although we run the risk of them finding us. We'll just have to post sentries. I doubt they'd creep up on us"

shaidar wrote:Newton

"I was going to suggest we do more scouting to see if they are awake. If they are, waiting is a good idea, although we run the risk of them finding us. We'll just have to post sentries. I doubt they'd creep up on us"

Newton will go if Haaki doesn't want to. He points out that it'll take him a couple of hours to get there on foot.

Telemachus is willing to cast Invisibility on Newton or any other scout.

Notai

Stepping forward, the cerves speaks. "As swift as the wind I can be. I shall go to see the foe."


Gardo

Brow knitting up, the warrior steps forward and open his mouth. A surprised "Hey" escapes. Turning, he sees Mariusz behind him. "Why did you do that? I was just... Why are you giving me that look? I mean... Oh, right. Best to not say anything right now, huh? Okay, you always seem to get things right." Turning back, he nods to Notai.

Fourthmonth, Nineteenthday
Notai

Telemachus utters the arcane words that turn one invisible and the cerves disappears from sight. Her long strides devour the trail as she heads north. It takes perhaps forty-five minutes for her, loping along at an easy pace, before she comes across the campsite of the hill giants. A low fire smolders smokily, the giants having been feeding it, it appears, freshly felled saplings. Two of the brutes lounge about, one idly picking its teeth with a sharpened branch, the other rolling a . . . human skull, it looks like . . . as one would a die.

The other two hill giants are not visible, and those present do not, as of yet, notice Notai. However, the air is smoky and foul, and she feels if she lingers for much longer, or advances any further, the tickling in her throat might turn into a sneeze.