The guards open the gates, per Eoni's command. Once the adventurers have filed through, they quickly close the gates and return to their stations.

The low hills the ogres have takenup position on is about 500 feet distant. A cobblestone road leads in that general direction, the remainder of the surrounding countryside occupied by now abandoned cottages, orchards, and farmland.

At this distance, only keen-eyed party members can even see the rough silhouettes of what they presume to be hill giants atop the low hill. Despite the fact there is moonlight, it is still much too far to get a good view of their numbers and position atop the hill.

Eager to engage the enemy, Vaxfar whispers to Eoni “I can scout ahead invisibly and get a better picture of what we are facing.”

"We need to get out there fast," Eoni replied to the elf.  "Spread out and try not to get hit."  She spurred her horse down the cobblestone at a gallop.  Once clear of the houses, she hoped to cut across fields and close in without giving them a good shot at her.

"Agreed" Vaxfar replied as he fanned out to the left. [Private to DM Pawn: I cast the invisibility spell.  I then ride until I am about 250' away and use an abandoned house or orchard as cover and a place to dismount and tie up my horse. What do I see?]

In reply to Vaxfar (msg # 15):

Anyone watching closely sees Vaxfar disappear off his horse as he gallops off.

Sarah coaxes her horse to accelerate, and tries to get it to mimic the movements she would employ if she were running from a foe trying to aim for her.  That is, changing directions at irregular times.

OOC: As in, not like Rickon Stark.

Valthur urges his horse forward and hangs on with what little dignity he still has, hoping not to fall off. In rare moments when he isn't more than half way out of the saddle, he scans for possible cover that would block him from being seen by the giants once he gets closer.

But mostly he just tries to stay on his horse.

The adventurers ride toward the distant hill, all the while, the hill giants continue to bombard the city walls with huge boulders. Vaxfar scouts a little ahead of the adventurers, eventually drawing to within 250 feet of the hill. Even though it is night, the light of the moon and the stars allows the elf to observe four hill giants atop the low rise. They are scattered across the hill and not clustered in any one location. Beside each, a large pile of stones stands at the ready, from which they continue their barrage. The giants laugh and cackle as each stone smashes into the distant wall.

OOC: The giants are each about 20 feet from the next, located along a line atop the summit.

Vaxfar relays the information to the group.  “Wait here” he whispers.  “I will sneak close enough to cast a web spell on at least one pile of rocks.” [Private to DM Pawn: I will sneak close enough while invisible to cast the web spell.  I should stay invisible as long as I am casting spells on inanimate objects.  It doesn’t say how big the web is.  If I can I would cast it from one rock pile to another.  If I can’t do that, I will cover one rock pile before a giant reaches for a rock.]. “Once the web is cast, I will come back here and then cast a fireball that can hit some giants and set the web on fire, so stand back until then.” [Private to DM Pawn: If successful with the web, I will sneak back to within 200 yards and cast a fireball that should be between giants but within 10’ of the giant closest to the web.  Before casting the fireball, I will wait to see if the web causes any confusion and causes the giants to come closer together.  My intent is to cast the fireball to hit as many giiants and especially one who might be caught in the web]

"We don't have time for that!" Eoni whispered harshly back at the elf.  "Every stone could be killing defenders on the wall.

"Just get in there and take them out one by one."

Eoni spurred her horse forward to sweep around on the closest as they hadn't seemed to be spotted yet.

"Taerix," she whispered over her shoulder, "I'll drop you off and try to distract it."

Valthur follows Eoni's lead, charging his horse toward the giants, but making a special point of staying at least one boulder's width away from Eoni and Tearix.

OOC: If he can manage it (not sure of the lay of the land), Valthur will try to approach the giants from the side as opposed to straight in front of them.

Taerix drops from the horse, staying low to the ground as he nears the closest giant.

Heedless of Eoni's admonishment, Vaxfar urges his horse forward at a steady gallop toward the distant hill. The rest of the party follows shortly behind, spreading out as they converge on the low hills southeast of the city.

The hill giants continue their barrage of the city, either unconcerned or unaware of the adventurers approach. The city walls take a pummeling as large sections of wall are pummeled by large stones.

Once he gets closer, Vaxfar can see he will only be able to catch at most, one giant with his web spell and at best, two hill giants with a fireball. The giants are spread out atop the hill and not located close enough to one another to catch any great number of them in either spell's area of effect. Furthermore, the elf can only see the giant's upper torsos at the moment, as they are atop the hill and the rest of the party is not on top of the hill yet.

OOC: Assume Vaxfar is now 100 feet distant from the giants and the rest of the party is 150 feet distant from the giants.

Eoni continued to sweep around, hoping to avoid being noticed until she's on top of the one on the end.

Sarah follows Eoni's general direction and intent, but does not stay so close that they represent a single target for the giant's stony missiles.

Valthur's main objective is to not fall off his horse (a legitimate challenge for him), but he does what he can to identify a path to the giants that might afford him an attack by surprise.

Vaxfar proceeds 50 yards closer and dismounts.  All that can be seen is a horse stopping  as he is stil invisible. [Private to DM Pawn: If there is a place to tie up the horse, I will do that and then proceed on foot quietly until I am about 20 yards away.  I would then cast the web spell on a pile of rocks in front of the nearest giant.  I would take care to cast the spell before he reaches the rock so as to maintain my invisibility. ]

The party draws nearer while the hill giants continue to pummel the city walls with boulder after boulder. Eventually, Vaxfar sneaks up close enough to chant the magic words of his web spell, the rest of the party right on his heels as they ascend the low hill.

The invisible elf sends a mass of sticky webs at the nearest hill giant, specifically, the pile of rocks so as to catch the giant in its area of effect without directly targeting the hill giant in his spell. This tactic, of course, to prolong his invisibility spell. The ploy seems to work, the hill giant is momentarily trapped in the web. The giant fights against the bonds and alerts the others to his predicament.

The three other giants begin scanning the area for interlopers. For the moment, the rest of the party is positioned behind nearby cover, but the hill giants are quite alert, looking this way and that for something to smash into a pulp with the large boulderes presently in their hand.

OOC: Let's assume the party is now 50 feet from the hill giants. The giants are spaced about 20 feet apart from eachother, atop the hill.

Hill Giants:
AC: 4
HP: 40/40 (webbed, round 1), 40/40, 40/40, 40/40


PC         AC   HP    9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0 -1 -2 -3
Eoni       8  28/28   8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Sarah      4  21/21   8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Taerix     1  24/24   6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Valthur    4  26/26   6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Vaxfar     2  33/33   7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
[Private to GM:

  HD       9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1   0   -1  -2  -3
Up to 1    10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20  20
1+ to 2    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20
2+ to 3    8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20
3+ to 4    7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19
4+ to 5    6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18
5+ to 6    5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17
6+ to 7    4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16
7+ to 9    3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15
9+ to 11   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14


PCs are UP!]

"Concentrate on one at a time and leave the one that's stuck for last," Eoni said to the others.  "I'll try to create a distraction so they don't see you coming.

"May Avandra bless us all."

Saying that, she ran away from the giants toward the nearest building.  As she ran, she pulled the blazing tiara from her jacket.  She hoped the moving light would distract them enough for the others to engage them one at a time while the rest hurled their deadly boulders at her.

Valthur dismounts behind one of the giants, draws his axe, and charges in as silently as he can.

OOC: Don't think I can make it 50' in this round and still attack, so will withhold from rolling until I get the green light from the DM.

Sarah hasn't decided whether she's going to contribute with missile fire or melee weapons, so she takes advantage of her invisibility and her own skills to try to move closer and behind the giants.

Seeing the others moving, Taerix lined up a bow shot and scored a direct hit. Unfortunately it was probably little more than a mosquito bite to the giant, but at least it might serve as a distraction.


15:28, Today: Kane Taerix rolled 1 using 1d6 with rolls of 1.  damage.

15:27, Today: Kane Taerix rolled 19 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 15.  Bow shot.

Vaxfar casts another spell.  He is about 20' away from the webbed giant.  For those looking in his direction, they can see a glowing, pea-sized bead streaking from his index finger of his right hand  (being invisible, it appears out of thin air).  A flame blossoms from that point and streaks to a point between the two closest non-webbed giants  and 10' behind them, chest high.

17:09, Today: Vaxfar rolled 15 using 5d6 with rolls of 2,5,1,3,4.  Fireball Spell.

A burst of fire erupts atop the hill, catching two hill giants at ground zero of Vaxfar's spell. The giants emerge from the inferno scorched and dazed, but still alive and quite dangerous.

The giants begin cursing in their native tongue as three of the brutes wheel around trying to determine the source of the attack. One eventually spots Vaxfar, a short distance away, and reaches for a large stone to hurl at the elf.

Meanwhile, the giant within the web struggles to break free while ripping itself from its sticky bonds.

OOC: Let's assume Vaxfar and Valthur are close enough to engage the hill giants in melee, if they wish. The rest of the party is within range to use missile weapons and the like. The giants are spaced about 20 feet apart from eachother, atop the hill.

Hill Giants:
AC: 4
HP: 40/40 (webbed, round 2), 25/40, 25/40, 40/40


PC         AC   HP    9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  0 -1 -2 -3
Eoni       8  28/28   8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Sarah      4  21/21   8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20
Taerix     1  24/24   6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Valthur    4  26/26   6  7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18
Vaxfar     2  33/33   7  8  9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19
[Private to GM:

  HD       9   8   7   6   5   4   3   2   1   0   -1  -2  -3
Up to 1    10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20  20
1+ to 2    9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20  20
2+ to 3    8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19  20
3+ to 4    7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18  19
4+ to 5    6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17  18
5+ to 6    5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16  17
6+ to 7    4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15  16
7+ to 9    3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14  15
9+ to 11   2   3   4   5   6   7   8   9   10  11  12  13  14


PCs are UP!]

Vaxfar reads a scroll and 2 more images of him appear.

Today: Vaxfar rolled 2 using 1d4 with rolls of 2.  Mirror image .