Formorians 3

"I'm still not convinced that I shouldn't slaughter you where you stand," says the old giant in perfect undercommon, speaking in a gravelly voice. He eyes the prodigious magical armor and items that the Defenders are sporting with a revolted sneer. "I'd be doing you a favor. That magic is poison. It weakens the soul, makes you vulnerable, makes you weak." Galthia and Stone Bear have to agree to a certain extent, but the holy sword Karthos vibrates angrily in Malachite's grasp. "I haven't made that mistake."

"I'll take that chance," says Tao with gritted teeth. She stares at the giant's face, as if memorizing it. The huge formorian giant stares back at her, amused, and runs one thick finger along the edge of his scythe. He takes in her magical armor and weapons, and his face starts to become mottled.

"We'll be going, I think, as soon as our companions are up here." Mara changes the subject and gracefully intercedes, stepping between the chieftan and Tao. Grgl, the giant who had first spoken to her and Nolin, stares at her with an unreadable expression but says nothing. The wait is extremely uncomfortable. Mara and Malachite are keenly aware that these creatures are probably evil, but as Nolin says, 'It's a keep-to-yourself kind of evil.' They do try to keep some sort of order down here, Mara rationalizes to herself as she looks around worriedly. Her ability to actually detect evil is still being stymied by Imbindarla's death, but she doesn't like their looks. And they aren't attacking us with surprise – yet. Just as well; our tactical position would be horrible.

Finally, the entire group of dwarves and adventurers have been raised to the top of the wall. The group is slowly lowered down the far side of the precipice, piece by piece. They keep expecting an attack, but none comes. The waiting is irritating. "I know they wanted our items," Stone Bear says, his raven sitting on his shoulder backwards so as to watch behind him. "I don't trust them. I've seen people like that chieftan before. We call his type forsakers, because they get more powerful by destroying magic instead of using it."

"Maybe we convinced them we'd be more trouble than we're worth," reasons Velendo. "In any case, let's march. The farther we're from here, the better."

The next day is uneventful other than a meeting with a half-orc who tried to hide from the group. Named Shaw, the man turns out to be quite the explorer. "Why'd you hide from us?" asks Tao as they chat, magical divinations and standard suspicion-testing completed. Shaw looks at her, amused.

"Wouldn't YOU hide from you?" His dark eyes twinkle, and he snorts. "I get through the underdark by being careful, polite and sneaky. Avoiding large groups of people is usually the best tactic."

"But you got past the giants?" asks Stone Bear.

"Paid 'em off," answers Shaw, "just like everyone does. And I've snuck past three groups of ghouls. This is nowhere as bad as the Abyss is."

Nolin and Agar perk up. "You've been to the Abyss?"

"Sure," the half-orc gestures with both hands. "I've traveled the planes. You ever been to Sigil?"

"You bet!" exclaims Agar, and the rest of the Defenders gather round as well.

"I love it there, but it's a little crowded. I don't know if you know about it, but right now the modrons are marching. I actually got to follow them for a few months! Best decision I ever made. I had some amazing adventures, met some fascinating people, and got some treasure I couldn't be happier with." He smiles contentedly.

"Do you know why they're marching?" asks Nolin, his voice sour.

"Got some theories," considers Shaw, "but I promised someone I wouldn't talk about them. Where you headed now?"

"The kuo-toa city somewhere ahead," answers Velendo, as Nolin swears quietly behind him.

"Oh, Glubyal! Me too. There's a small village outside it named Glig. That's where I'll probably stay tonight." They talk while walking, discussing sights that they've seen and things that they've done, as well as the current state of underdark politics. Shaw has an insightful mind, and offers some opinions on what the ghouls dying or withdrawing might mean to the other civilizations nearby. "I've heard rumors that there's a rebellion in Glubal right now, the rightful King and his ghoul allies against some rebel who thinks that ghouls are an insult to the Sea Mother. Ought to make for an exciting visit."

Shaw and Tao even chase each other around for a bit, Shaw demonstrating a trick he picked up on Limbo of dimension dooring by bending space around him. All in all, the hike is more interesting than most, and by the time they reach Glig they're sorry to see him go.

"Is there much farther to... ugh!" Velendo wrinkles his nose. "What's that smell? It stinks like month-old fish."

Shaw gestures down the wide cave tunnel, smiling and showing his small tusks. "You see those gates up ahead?" Velendo squints, peers into the darkness, and eventually nods. "The smell is always the first clue that you're nearing kuo-toa. My friends, welcome to the town of Glig."