[the battle continues] Thoradin casts hold person, freezing the bugbear running with the Weevil corpse in mid stride. Thoradin jumps on his ram, MacGloyan and charges through the centre. One of the bugbears jumps out of the way.
Londer runs straight towards the leader and dives, almost defying gravity. He makes contact and has a hold around its head, taking it to the ground. He mounts him, gets his hooks in and goes for the guillotine. The leader is held, he tries to escape unsuccessfully.
Miss Moss comes around the corner with her longbow and fires at another bugbear, hitting once. She fires again, hitting with great damage.
Gunther runs over and reaches into his bag, pulling out a rope, fashioning it into a lasso. He whips it around while doing a river dance. He swings it, slings it in one graceful motion, hurls it over the frozen bug bear. He breaks into the “Winds of Change” and everyone nearby breaks into song in the snow.
Leshanna fires at the leader, calling out “Look out Londer” and the bosses hair catches fire, he lets out a scream and Londer is left holding a burning, cindering, very dead boss.
Two bugbears dash, Londer calls, “Let them be! Get the guy with the corpse!”
Leshanna calls, “They may be getting reinforcements!”
Miss Moss jumps on her horse and takes off after them.
Thoradin jumps on MagLoyan and whistles to the others.
Londer searches the leader, finds 43 gold pieces and little else. He notices that the cloaks are the same colour as the roofs – they seem tailor-made to match the buildings. These seem more finely dressed than normal bugbears, like a strike team.
Leshanna addresses the Bugbear, “What are you doing with the dwarf.”
The Bugbear tells them Caltivar the giant attacking the town who hired them to seize the dwarf dead or alive. The Giant offered 20,000 gold. It’s the only reason he’s here.
Just then, they heard the sound of cracking stone and human screams.
Meanwhile, Miss Moss chases the bug bears, swoops down and grabs one of them. She slings him up over her lap like a sack of potatoes. She rides back to the others.
Thoradin heals Leshanna and Miss Moss, they hear the sounds of the battle rising. Londer wants to join – Thoradin and Leshanna are more cautious, running short of spells for more battle. They realise that the dwarf must be very valuable and maybe a bargaining chip.
Miss Moss flips one of the bugbears and says “What’s your fucking story, if you don’t tell me, I”ll slit your throat right now.”
“What do you want with me?” I’m a mercenary, I work on jobs just like you. I’ve failed at this time.”
Miss Moss hoists him up and asks what it would take for him to join their side.
He spits on her.
She slits his throat.
Londer goes over to the fallen leader and decapitates him, holding his head up victoriously. Together they head towards the sound of battle. Londer, Gunther and Miss Moss take the lead and Thoradin and Leshanna hang back with the dead dwarf.
At the battlement, one part of the wall has been breached. It hasn’t yet completely broken but there is rubble around. The crossbows on the battlements are firing. Nardek the leader is calling out “Fire!”
Goblins are flying down with spikes, piles of them and the spikes all around. It is chaos. Townsfolk are running out, others are calling “No, go back!” It’s a grim scene. There are lots of dead militia, there are still a lot manning it. Casualties are high. Londer’s instinct is to run to help. They turn back to update Thoradin and Leshanna.
Leshanna and Gunther stay back with the Weevil. Londer, Thoradin and Miss Moss climb the parapet. They see Ogres, with goblins strapped to them, sending them over the wall. In the middle of it is a giant, bearded creature. He is reaching down, picking up boulders and hurling them at the wall. They see someone with a familiar cloak ducking and rolling and sprinting across. It’s the bugbear that escaped.
Thoradin sends ominous whispers to the giant, saying, “Stop, we have your man. You don’t need to do anything”.
The giant reacts strongly, shaking his head and looking shocked – he’s clearly heard. He shouts out in giant, “What witchcraft is this? Show yourself.”
Leshanna, the only one who speaks giant, rushes up and lets the others know what he said.
Behind him, Gunther hears a great battle cry and turns to see it came from the innkeeper Azsastra, running with an axe over her head towards the battle.
Gunther calls out “Azastra, my love”
She sees him, “To arms, my beloved!”
Thoradin climbs up on the top of the battlement, holds up the head of the leader and screams out “I’ve got the head, stop this madness!” but it’s not in giant.
Furious, the giant thrashes around and hurls another wall, breaking the wall. He and all of the ogres start rushing through the hole.
Leshanna sends a message, secretly, to the giant in his own language – “We have the dwarf you want. You need to stop”
The giant calls out, “Who are you? Who said that?” the battle is continuing, suddenly cries ring out from the people of the town, “More are coming! There is another giant!”
Leshanna sends another message, ”Stop the battle, call off your troops and head up the road to Mirrabar. We will meet you there, near the crags – alone. If you do, we will give you the dwarf, if you don’t don’t do this you get nothing.”
The bugbear that had escaped and the giant have a team meeting, then the giant calls off all the ogres.
A Frost giant with the skull of a dragon suddenly appears on the other side, swatting away the ogres. As he moves, it’s clear he’s not joining the giant’s side – he’s defeating them.
“It’s Harshnag.” says Thoradin.
The frost giant calls out in common, “You’re going down, you’ve made a big mistake.”
The tide of the battle quickly changes, the ogres are being badly damaged. The cross bow bolts still rain down. Narbek, unaware of any of it is still firing at both of them.
Thoradin rushes over, grabs Narbek by the cloak, pulls him down and screams “Stop you fucking idiot, the second one is helping us.”
Londer, Gunther, Thoradin and Miss Moss are in the action. As Narbek slowly starts to understand, he calls out for them to stop firing.
Harshnag slaughters the other giant.
As he does, Leshanna sends him a secret message. “Harshnag, thank you for joining us, we’ve been waiting to meet you a long time. We have the dwarf this giant wanted.”
Harshnag, covered in the blood of the giant throws back his head and laughs, “Oh you must be the little folk I’ve heard so much about. It’s a pleasure to meet you. Well, you can come on out here, it’s quite safe now”
The townsfolk are in total confusion as the heroes greet the giant. They walk towards him with the leader’s head, the dead dwarf and the people part way to let them through. Gunther signals to Azastra to bring a barrel of beer to celebrate the victory.
Around them, most of the townsfolk look on but a couple keep shooting arrows and are reprimanded by the others who have caught up with what’s going on.
“It’s Harshnag!”