Day 2: Part 1: Round Two with Snure

As the team is sleeping, they are abruptly awoken by a slithering sound. Peeking through the magical illusion of a rock pile, they spot a red creature slithering past and climbing onto the dais. To their alarm, they soon see several more fiery salamanders joining positions around the bridge.

Oscorn hands Silvius Waythe and the two discuss the joys of killing giants. Silvius reaches out to Kazik telepathically and receives a message that he is on his way back to the team.

As the hut drops, the team springs into action, attacking the nearest salamander as Silvius mocks it. Kalinar follows with a powerful blast, and Oscorn casts Toll the Dead. ADC casts an Ice Storm on the far side of the bridge, hitting two salamanders guarding the start and covering a section of the bridge in ice.

The salamander jumps down and Czolg stabs it with Panzerfaust. However, the salamander fights back with its own inferior spear. In response, Oscorn yells “Spread out!” to ensure everyone stays safe.

As ADC casts the ice storm again, the two salamanders on the far side of the bridge are hurt and slowed by the icy onslaught. Kalinar quickly finishes off the first salamander with powerful magical blasts. Oscorn tolls the dead on the other salamander on the team’s side of the bridge, while Fennuris hits it with arrows.

Silvius, never one to shy away from a fight, mocks the remaining salamander and calls Kazik for backup. ADC asks “What’s the plan? Can I have a bow?” Silvius, momentarily taken aback, hands ADC his longbow and arrows and says “Sure, have mine.” Silvius then proceeds to mock a salamander to death.

The other salamanders, realizing they are outmatched, jump into the river of lava and attempt to flee. ADC takes aim with the longbow and shoots a fleeing salamander, and Kalinar blasts it with his magic. ADC offers to return the longbow to Silvius, but Silvius says he can keep it, still in shock from ADC’s impressive hit.

With the danger now passed, the team approaches the front door and opens it, only to be met with a barrage of ballista bolts and rocks flying out at them.

As Silvius runs into the door of the guard chamber, he steps on a pressure plate and triggers a burst of flames that shoots through the guard door and reaches the far side of the hall. Silvius, caught in the fire, quickly backs up to the corner of the guard room, badly burned. Despite Czolg’s attempts, he cannot pass through the flame.

Just as the flame stops, Silvius sees lava oozing out of a crack where the flame was billowing. Suddenly, the team spots gnolls operating a ballista behind a barricade blocking the hall. Kalinar quickly eliminates one with magic blasts, and Oscorn tolls the dead on the other. The remaining gnoll tries to flee, but Silvius mocks him, causing him to pause for a moment.

Silvius jumps over the pressure plates, sees his friends, and warns them not to enter the room. Czolg runs up to the barricade and Kalinar attacks the gnoll with his tentacle, killing it. Silvius then jumps onto Kazik and rides it up to the ballista, where he, Czolg, and Kalinar load and prepare it to fire.

Just as they are ready, the second hydra from the day before appears down the hall. Fennuris shoots arrows at it while Oscorn enters, asking “What’s all the fuss?” Silvius exclaims “We’re fighting hydras again” as he fires a ballista bolt and misses. Czolg and Kalinar quickly reload the ballista, and on their second try, they hit the hydra.

Czolg charges forward and pierces the first fire giant with his trusty weapon, Panzerfaust. Meanwhile, Silvius pulls out Waythe and strikes the same giant with a powerful blow that slices open the giant’s leg and brings him to the ground. Silvius and Waythe share a moment of excitement as they revel in the success of their first strike.

Kalinar runs up to meet the hydra head on and stabs it with his dagger. Despite being momentarily stuck, he pulls the dagger back out and continues the fight. However, the fire giant rises once again and Silvius and Kazik both miss their attacks. The giant retaliates by smashing Silvius with his sword.

In response, the hydra attacks Kalinar and bites him with several of its heads. Czolg counters by delivering a severe blow to the fire giant with Panzerfaust. Meanwhile, Oscorn heals Kalinar with a beacon of hope from his deity. Despite the fire giant beating Kazik to death with his sword, ADC shoots a fire bolt at the hydra and causes it to burn in pain. Kalinar stabs the hydra again and runs away, while the tentacle continues to attack.

Oscorn calls upon his deity once more, asking for a beacon of hope to empower his healing abilities. The hydra tries to pull his hammer out of his hand, but Oscorn holds on with all his might. Finally, Czolg delivers the finishing blow to the fire giant, killing it.

As Czolg fights the hell hounds, he lands two successful strikes but falters on the third and falls to the ground. The team spots the Keeper, a particularly nasty looking giant with a massive axe, behind the hydra, and Fennuris takes aim, shooting both the hydra and the keeper with a barrage of arrows. ADC calls out, “Remember to burn them!” and shoots a bolt of fire at the hydra, while Fennuris follows with flaming arrows. ADC then summons a fire elemental that swiftly dispatches the hydra.

The battle splits into two fronts, with Czolg and Silvius battling fire giants to the north and the rest of the team facing off against the keeper and others to the east. ADC casts a cone of cold on the fire giants and the keeper, causing the latter to flee. Suddenly, a ballista bolt flies past Silvius and Czolg from a group of gnolls to the north west.

As Silvius calls upon the power of Ilmater for protection, he charges towards the two gnolls operating the ballista, killing them both. With fire giants to the north, two more gnolls to the southwest, and a group of eight gnolls that are the most concerning, OTW face a daunting battle.

“Come try it!” Silvius cries out, challenging the gnolls to his south west. The gnolls surround Silvius, but stopped just short of getting into the protective spirits of Ilmater. Fearing for his life as eight spears come flying at him, Silvius faces a moment of fear. Despite being hit by three spears, he manages to concentrate on his prayer, and the spirits of Ilmater vaporize all the gnolls who threw the spears.

Meanwhile, Fennuris and Kalinar struggle to see in the darkness, with Fennuris yelling “I can’t see! It’s too dark in here!” Kalinar concurs, saying “I can’t see too well either.” Silvius offers to help, saying “I can fix it. I’ll come touch you both.”

However, Silvius is immediately alerted to the danger as the fire giant and ballista take aim at Kalinar from the north. In a split second, Silvius prays for Kalinar’s safety, but Kalinar defiantly declares, “I don’t need it.” Silvius retorts, “That’s a funny way to say thank you,” as ballista bolts and rocks fly over the wounded half-orc.

With Czolg, Oscorn, and Kalinar climbing over the barricade, Silvius runs up to Czolg and uses dimension door to teleport both of them to the ballista and to where the fire giant was hiding around the corner between boulder throws.

Will the team survive this continued battle? Will they again find the Snure? Where is Oscorn’s lost relic and the Wyrm that guards it?