Rise of The Runelords Chapter 17: The March of The Giants

While Turtleback Ferry is safe, for the time being at least, a greater danger is thundering down from the north like an avalanche. Sandpoint sits squarely in its path, and the giants are coming. It's a race against time, and the Companions don't have a moment to lose.

If you need to catch up on the story so far, take a moment to do some reading:

- Chapter 1: Blood and Butterflies
- Chapter 2: Murder and Glass
- Chapter 3: The Sin Pit
- Chapter 4: Tussles in The Tangle
- Chapter 5: The Assault on Thistletop
- Chapter 6: Secrets Behind The Curtain
- Chapter 7: Murders At The Mill
- Chapter 8: Halflings and Ghouls
- Chapter 9: Fox in The Hen House
- Chapter 10: Something Rotten in Magnimar
- Chapter 11: The Crumbling Tower
- Chapter 12: Demonbane
- Chapter 13: Trouble at Turtleback Ferry
- Chapter 14: The Taking of Fort Rannick
- Chapter 15: Water Over The Dam
- Chapter 16: Mad Lovers, And Lost Captains
- Chapter 17: The March of The Giants
- Chapter 18: The Taking of Jorgenfist
- Chapter 19: The Secrets Beneath Sandpoint
- Chapter 20: At The Gates of The Runeforge
- Chapter 21: Storming The Halls of Evocation
- Chapter 22: The Bowels of Necromancy's Tomb

- Chapter 23: The End of Runeforge

- Chapter 24: Preparation For The Final Journey 

- Chapter 25: The Hunger in The Mountains 

- Chapter 26: The Gateway to Xin-Shalast

- Chapter 27: The Path of Temptation

- Chapter 28: The Three-Fold Challenge of Xin-Shalast

- Chapter 29: Crossing The Barrier of Greed

- Chapter 30: The Fall of Karzoug

Up to speed? Perfect! Now, as we rejoin our heroes...

Shields of Sandpoint

Their final errand complete, the Companions returned to Sandpoint as fast as they could. Down raging rivers, and through nighted forests, they hoped to reach the town before the hammer of the giants fell upon them. And a good thing they did, as they arrived just ahead of the worried whispers of strange figures in the night, and black smoke rising on the horizon.

It still stands! We're not too late!

The folk of Sandpoint were startled by the sudden reappearance of their heroes, haggard and dusty from the road. The news that angry giants lurked just over the horizon, sweeping toward them, was almost enough to set off a panic. Zordlan did what he could to calm the townsfolks' nerves, while Zhakar asked for volunteers willing to stand and help. Even if all they had were a pair of sharp eyes and a loud voice, their warning might be the difference between victory, and defeat. Thok assigned people positions, explaining to them what he needed, setting up watchers, ambushers, placing archers, and talking to those who had some skill. Chikara, who'd been sitting for months waiting for something to happen in the town, gleefully took a whetstone to her greatax. Mirelinda and Zordlan began the process of evacuating the older residents, along with the children, intending for them to be escorted to Thistletop. The fortress wasn't fully rebuilt, but it was sound, and would keep them safe from the thick of the fighting.

They worked into the night, catching some rest in the wee hours once the watches were set, and the traps laid. It was as dawn was coming over the horizon that word was passed from the town's gate; giants approached, and they were girded for war.

Battle is Joined

A trio of stone giants approached the town, their war clubs ready, granite faces set. They made no effort to respond to Thok's shouts to talk, and they refused to stop when told. That was when arrows were nocked, and the first volley loosed.

Hitting them isn't the hard part, boys... it's hurting them.

Arrows punched into the giants' stony skins, but they showed no signs of stopping. Chikara, fed up with waiting for the creatures to come to her, leaped from the wall and charged across the open ground. Roaring with pure bloodlust, she sank her blade into the lead giant, slowing their advance. Thok and Zhakar feathered the other giants with shafts, and Mirelinda drew a pair of wands from her belt, letting fly with the spells contained within. It would be a fight of attrition, and there was no telling what the giants had brought to the fight.

When they heard a thunderous roar, and saw black smoke from inside the town, though, the Companions realized exactly what was happening. The giants had breached the bridge, and struck Sandpoint in the flank. Worse, they'd brought a red dragon to aid them!

No Time For Subtlety

Realizing they had a decision to make, the Companions elected to end the fight at the gates quickly. Mirelinda's fingers etched a burning symbol on the air, and as she crushed the glyph a great pit opened beneath the feet of two of the giants. Caught unawares, they fell into the hungry hole, their screams echoing up through the chewing tunnel. Their third companion managed to evade the hole, but not the blade of Chikara's ax, his body tumbling like a colossal tree felled in some strange, awful forest.

Right, great, celebrate later, there's a godsdamned dragon to take care of!

The body had barely finished coming to rest before the Companions were off, leaving the shaken townsfolk to guard the gate. They'd barely gone two blocks before they found a pair of ogres smashing through the fronts of buildings, stuffing terrified townsfolk into a sack, a stone giant watching for resistance.

Before any of them even knew what was happening, Thok had put two arrows into one of the ogres, surprising him into dropping the sack. Zorlan joined the fray, his longbow thrumming in the air as the giant kin drew their clubs and howled their defiance. Zhakar raised his black right hand, and his eye flashed with fire as he called down a pillar of infernal flame. The ogre and the stone giant roared, surprise and pain mingling as the black tongues burned into them. Disappointed that she'd only felled one foe at the gates, Chikara leaped back into the fray, her ax swinging. Zordlan ducked past the dueling figures, cutting the sides of the massive bags and getting the townsfolk out of the fray. Just as the ogre fell, choking on its own blood, and the stone giant crumbled with three of Thok's arrows in his heart, there was a roar from above. The dragon had found them, and set its sights on the Companions.

The first blast of fire seared the Companions, and the beast remained hovering over the street, out of the reach of the bellowing Chikara. Zhakar blasted it with a beam of blinding light, but the dragon's natural protections diverted the sunfire. It wasn't ready for Mirelinda's magic, though, and her spell punched through the creature's resistances, stealing its wits away in a moment. The cunning, ruthless red dragon became nothing more than a beast, lost to its impulses and instincts. It roared, launching itself at Zhakar in full ferocity.

Though the beast was still a young dragon, the full force of its raw might was nothing to be taken lightly. It smashed Zhakar's shield, raked along his ribs, and would have taken his head if he hadn't turned aside its teeth with a desperate smash of his gauntleted fist. Leaping over the lashing tail, Chikara buried her ax in the thing's side, howling an orcish war cry for it to face her. Mirelinda sent bolts of magic flying at the creature, but they broke against its scales like droplets of water. Zhakar drove his blade into the thing's throat, drawing spurting, burning blood. It was Thok's final shot, though, that splintered the dragon's skull. It lumbered to one side, fire bursting from its torn throat, before falling in a heap.

The First of The Fist

More than a dozen giants and their kin assaulted Sandpoint, and they were all laid low thanks to the warning the Companions managed to give. Though many buildings were smashed, and fires raged, relatively few members of the town's defenders lost their lives.

They even managed to take a prisoner.

Bound with a dozen ropes, held down by a two dozen older children who had snuck back to help (many of them holding the steel daggers Thok had given them after the goblin attack), a stone giant drew long, calm breaths. He was ready to parley, if the Companions wished. It not, then he was ready to die. Once the promise of his life was given, as well as the understanding that his footsteps would turn to the south upon release, he told the Companions that a great gathering of the giantkin was happening far to the north at the lost fortress of Jorgunfist. Thousands of giants strong, they would roll over the southern lands, and crush the world of men beneath their feet. Their leader was a potent wizard, and it was said that he had discovered an ancient horde of knowledge. They built their strength still, but a strike force had been sent to take Sandpoint. He did't know why, but they would expect their warriors to return soon.

The Companions, true to their word, allowed the giant to flee. As his steps receded, they made travel arrangements of their own. The threat from the north yet loomed, and they could not stand against so many giants. But if they cut off the head, then surely the snake would writhe, and die.

Or so they hoped.

What is around the next corner? Find out on the next installment of Table Talk!

For more of my work, check out my Vocal and Gamers archives, as well as the YouTube channel Dungeon Keeper Radio where I help out from time to time. Or, to check out books like my sword and sorcery novel Crier's Knife, head over to My Amazon Author Page!

To stay on top of all my latest releases, follow me on Facebook, Tumblr, and Twitter, as well as on Pinterest where I'm building all sorts of boards dedicated to my books, RPG supplements, and greatest hits. Lastly, to help support me and my work, consider Buying Me A Ko-Fi, or heading over to The Literary Mercenary's Patreon page to become a regular, monthly patron! Even a little donation can have a big impact.