29/09/2020 - Tangled in Tentacles and Fighting Fredericko

## TL;DR

* The party fights a spectator thing and doesn't get eaten
* Azurial climbs stairs
* Many rolls are flubbed, DM rolls really well and Fredericko manages to knock out 4 of the party and escape
* Leo gets seriously injured

## Best Laid Plans

Coming around the other side of the Star Forge, the party find two smaller tunnels leading out of the larger cavern they are in. One is on the ground and one is 10ft in the air.

Cobb, showing some uncharacteristic astuteness, hears a noise coming from the other side, and realises that it's the sound of mining coming through. The party realise that it must be Fredericko mining through and he will soon emerge into the large cavern. They debate for some time over going to confront them or if they should wait and try and face them closer to the dragon. It is pointed out that the party didn't clear all the entrances and exits to the cavern so we wouldn't know which way they'd go.

It is decided that the party will investigate the smaller tunnels, in the assumption that it will link up to the tunnel at the top. Azurial casts Light on Narko's glaive as they enter, and briefly feels like he could do anything. Despite attempts to be stealthy, it is mostly a disaster as they all bump into each other and make a lot of noise.

The narrow tunnel opens out in front into a wider cavern, with an offshoot to the right. Narko investigates the offshoot corridor and sees the hint of a spider leg, before turning and running back around. Ves meanwhile looks into the larger cavern. A swarm of bats fly at her face, but she brushes it off. There are lots of stalactites hanging from the ceiling.

Narko leads the way into the cavern, but is grabbed and wrapped up by something. Azurial tries to hit it with the Sunblade but just misses. The light of the Sunblade shows that the creature is elongated, like a stalactite, with multiple tentacles and a mouth on the bottom.

## Wrapped Up in You

Narko begins the round restrained by the creature, but manages to wiggle his way out, harming the tentacle. Breena gets into position and throws a vial of acid at the creature, but it misses, hitting Narko instead.

The creature lashes out, grabbing Narko again, as well as Rocky and Azurial as Ves ducks out the way. The creature begins to pull Narko towards its mouth. Rocky tries to cast Dissonant Whispers as he is restrained by the tentacle but it unfortunately doesn't work. Ves, assessing the terrain, Wild Shapes into a Giant Lizard and starts climbing the walls to get to the creature.

Azurial Misty Steps away from the tentacle, and feels GREAT. He shouts to Cobb, back in the main chamber, for assistance. Leo gets the first hit on the creature with a well-aimed Guiding Bolt.

Cobb, having heard Azurial's yell, runs in to help out as best he could. Narko escapes his tentacle again but also falls 25ft to the ground. Luckily, he has a wind rune and he just floats down easily. Breena is not one to be deterred so she stands directly beneath the creature and uses her Alchemist's Fire!! Her aim is vaguely not great but she still manages to weaken the tentacle constraining Rocky.

Unfortunately, she is now in position to be grabbed, as is lizard-Ves on the ceiling. The creature pulls Breena towards it. Rocky and Ves start struggling, Ves managing to wiggle her way out with her slippery lizard body while Rocky's strong goliath self is much more grippy and does not. Azurial throws a couple of javelins and manages to hit it well with one. Leo again manages to hit the creature with a Sacred Flame, but in doing so severs the tentacle holding Breena. Breena and the tentacle fall to the ground, and luckily Breena is small enough that she can curl up and the tentacle can soften the fall.

The creature is now only holding Rocky and looks hurt. Cobb gets his club, and whacks it twice, absolutely obliterating it. He sends it flying into the other wall, but Rocky is still wrapped in its tentacle and goes flying as well. It hurts.

## Loops

Satisfied the creature is dead, lizard-Ves crawls around the ceiling to check that there are no more waiting to grab them. She can't see any so she crawls down the other wall to rest near Rocky. Cobb sits by him while the others continue their trip through the cavern. There is a fork ahead - left is a sharp climb, which lizard-Ves is able to scramble up easily. There is blue light coming from the top, and she can see the room with the King Giant below the lava lake. She crawls back down to the others to indicate not to go that way.

Meanwhile, out in the main cavern, Kayalith cannot hear anything.

The right path curves around into a gap, too small for giants. Breena is fairly certain this will loop around, and she is correct, but there is a spiral staircase in the corridor going up. Breena decides to go collect Rocky, Cobb and Kayalith and go the other way to meet the others, as the Giants will fit through the other corridor. Lizard-Ves offers her services as a ride and they head off.

Azurial starts to climb the spiral staircase, deliberately missing the first step.

## The Final Countdown

As Rocky, Breena, Ves and the Giants come back into the main chamber, they can all hear clear mining sounds, very nearby. Cobb estimates that it might be 10 minutes away. Breena suggests opening the gassy door to knock out the soldiers as they come through and this plan is debated. Kayalith's preferred plan is to club the soldiers as they come through.

Breena thinks that everyone is underestimating the penguin, which Cobb scoffs at. Penguins can't do spells! Rocky goes to fetch the others and Ves turns back into herself to actually take part in the conversation.

Meanwhile, Azurial reaches the top of the stairs and finds a bedroom with a chest in it. He can't open the chest so he goes back downstairs.

Cobb and Kayalith are going with their plan and so start making boulders. Breena remains freaked out by the idea of the necromancer penguin, but the party are mostly in agreement that they need to take out Fredericko now, before he has the opportunity to get more powerful if he gets to the artefact before they do. Narko points out that the party have the advantage of knowing the cavern's escape routes, like the way Ves and Rocky went. The gas is a last resort.

As the mining gets closer and closer, the party get in position. Cobb and Kayalith stand either side of the wall, Cobb with the only boulder they were able to make. Ves, Rocky and Narko arrange themselves in a fog cloud to try and be hidden. Breena gets ready to throw a bomb. Azurial and Leo flank Kayalith and Cobb.

With a large thud, 2 figures emerge from the new hole in the wall. They are pirates, but Giant sized. One barrels in to Kayalith, but she stays standing and he falls prone.

Behind them, stand more pirates, shocked to see the party and on top of an undead mammoth, Fredericko.

## Showtime!

Having successfully got the drop on their opponents, Cobb clobbers the giant pirate beside him twice with his club incredibly hard. Kayalith does the same with the one prone on the floor beside her. Azurial throws two javelins at the pirate; one is caught by his shield but the other slams into his shoulder.

Breena throws a bomb into the tunnel entrance but just misses, hitting Kayalith and the guy prone beside her. Leo casts Guiding Bolt at the standing giant and he just dies. Narko fires his longbow at the pirates in the doorway.

As if on cue, a whole squadron of pirates come out of the whole in the wall. Rocky climbs on Narko's back for a lift closer, ready to cast Fear as soon as he is close enough. Kayalith kills the guy prone beneath her and smashes one of the foot soldiers.

Fredericko, on his undead mammoth, shouts, "AH, FUCKERS! It seems I underestimated you! Rest assured, I will not do that again!" He shoots a Lightning Bolt at Kayalith who manages to dodge. Fredericko then grows watery skeletal wings somehow.

Azurial takes another hit and Ves Calls Lightning on to the soldiers. Narko gallops up to Breena but misses hitting them. Rocky triggers Fear but hits Breena and Kayalith as well. Kayalith manages to shake it off but Breena and three soldiers succumb. Cobb moves into the hole and sees even more pirates, two holding up a chained up Jagger. Cobb holds his action to roll his boulder at the most opportune moment.

The undead mammoth storms at Breena, whacking her with a tusk and knocking her unconscious. Leo casts Spiritual Weapon to call his hammer and hit the guy in front, then Tolls the Dead. Strangely a third eye grows on his forehead and Leo can see galaxies.

The fight continues, with the Fearful pirates running away and Kayalith picking off others as they run by. Cobb rolls his boulder as they all clump and wipes out a bunch, knocking them prone, as well as the mammoth which knocks Fredericko off as well. Rocky successfully hits some pirates with Rosie and casts Healing Word on Breena, bringing her back around. Kayalith and Cobb continue to play whack-a-pirate.

Fredericko, seeing his pirates getting stomped, climbs on top of his mammoth and casts Ice Storm centred on the party, hitting everyone except Ves, still hidden in the fog, and the Giants. Breena and Leo are immediately knocked unconscious and everyone else is seriously injured. Fredericko tries to slow down Cobb with a Quickened Ray of Frost but can't quite get him.

Azurial, furious at seeing two friends down, grows wings himself and swings at Fredericko, but the blow is caught by his skeletal wing. His second blow is absorbed by the other wing.

Ves runs out of her shelter to Leo, the only one of her friends she can reach, and pours a healing potion down his neck.

Narko is the first to draw blood against Fredericko but a sneaky Shield stops him hitting more than once. Cobb tries to fling Rico but can't. The mammoth tries to hit Narko and misses.

Leo, now conscious, finds that he is unable to move. He casts Sacred Flame on the mammoth from the floor but misses. His Spiritual Weapon is similarly aimless because he can't see. Rocky casts Dissonant Whispers at Fredericko but it does a lot less damage than it should. He once again brings Breena back to consciousness.

Kayalith is inspired by Cobb and also tries to fling Fredericko, Narko even assisting to give him disadvantage, but he still manages to evade her. Fredericko is now taunting the party. He Misty Steps away and casts Lightning Bolt through Narko, Rocky, Kayalith and Cobb.

## My Milkshake Brings all the Gods to the Yard

Suddenly, Azurial hears a voice in his head. *"Now might be a good time to drink the milkshake".* Azurial loves listening to voices in his head and does so. He suddenly grows 10ft to be 16ft tall, and feels immensely powerful. The milkshake was a Potion of Giant Size, with all the benefits that entails. He brings down the force of his Divine Smite on Fredericko.

Ves gives Fredericko a taste of his own medicine and fries him a little with some Lightning. He retaliates by trying to Slow her but she shrugs it off. Narko tries to hit the penguin as well but he somehow manages to doge. Cobb throws a rock but Fredericko catches it mid-air and throws it back. Luckily it also misses Cobb.

Leo again tries to stand up but still cannot, and smashes a soldier with his Spiritual Hammer. He again casts Sacred Flame on the mammoth. It's super effective! Fredericko is looking more animalistic than ever. He throws a pouch on the floor which starts insulting the party in Ye Olde Shakespearean (a Bag of Scolding?). Then, because he's a dick, casts Dimension Door and fucks off. Leo sees him reappear at the Star Forge.

Despite Fredericko having left, there are still a bunch of soldiers, an undead mammoth and a giant pirate to kill. The party continue the fight. Narko and Rocky are both knocked out briefly, but quickly brought back around. Ves does a Medicine check on Leo to learn that he has a broken spine! Ouch.

Azurial, still a Giant for the next hour, cleaves in twain the mammoth with one mighty swing of the Sunblade, dealing 47 points of radiant damage (which is then doubled). Everyone manages to despatch all the soldiers. Breena runs after Fredericko.

## Boy in a Box

Soundly terrified of Azurial, the remaining pirates run away. Azurial does a sweep of the lava lake but is unable to see anything. Ves tries to delicately tell Narko and Rocky what is wrong with Leo but he informs her it "fucking hurts" so it's clearly bad. She asks someone to carry Leo, then worries about Breena and runs off after her.

Rocky gathers everyone together to cast Mass Cure Wounds with his Staff of Healing, which luckily does not break. Azurial runs back upstairs to get the chest and the bedding. He is able to open the chest with his Giant strength and after emptying it out, finding some gold coins and a dragon skull coated in bronze, places the bedding and Leo gently inside.

Ves and Breena hide behind a pillar by the Star Forge, and see a flash of light inside the Forge...