The others had already run off, leaving Thora looking about at the fully-armoured corpses lying in the office. The lights were still flickering a little and the smell of the recent explosion hung in the air like a burned batch of eaglach. Limping forward a little, trying to slowly work out the pain, the dwarf bent over, examining the device that the terrorists had been carrying. It was convoluted and not at all something that Thora had ever been trained in using, but if there existed a weapon that could shoot ice AND fire, the soldier was definitely going to grab it!

Thora hoisted the pack up, struggling with the device, trying to figure out how it was supposed to hang. The soldier hurried down the hall, still awkwardly positioning the device, trying to catch up with the others who had returned to the stasis room. The door to the chamber was still wide open and the sounds of conversation were carrying all the way to the dwarf’s ears, though they sounded distant. Thora stepped into the room, surprised once again by the size of the water elemental in its shielded cage right near the entrance, and found the crew working on communicating with the large elemental of earth in the southern corner.

Why were they doing that? Thora felt like something important had been decided.

Suddenly, immediately next to the dwarf, a massive portal yawned open in front of some sort of powering device for the chamber. Thora leaped aside, worried about being sucked into the arcane gateway, nearly falling over in the process. The portal shifted and swirled, revealing a vision of some other place that felt remarkably like home. What was going on?

The sound of drumming filled the air as Alandal began to play a calm beat and walked toward the portal. Spinning around, Thora found themselves face-to-face with the enormous creature of stone and earth that they had seen earlier. It moved purposefully, but slowly, its body shifting and softening, then hardening again, as it crossed the room. The dwarf carefully stepped out of the way as the eerily calm elemental stomped towards the portal. As its large form reached the edge of the gateway, it paused, reaching a limb into the portal as if to test it. It turned to the other elementals and made a sound that was not unlike a rock slide colliding with a stone wall. Was it speaking? It was only a short statement and then the creature moved into the portal and disappeared.

“Quickly, you must go to the warehouse!” shouted the professor, frantically operating some sort of console as he tried to rebalance the energies in the room. “Tell them we need a strong earth power!”

Seriously. What was happening?

Don’t break the cage

Falling in line with the others, Thora got a quick update from Zearach on what was going on. The professor and team had built their system with a very unstable power matrix that required all four elements to be in balance in order to continue functioning. With the earth elemental gone, the system was out of balance and would fail imminently. The professor thought he might be able to buy them an hour or so, but they needed to get something to restore the equilibrium of the elements.

Rushing across the street to the storage warehouse, they started to split up and began searching the rooms for anyone who might know what they needed. Thora burst into an office, startling the worker there.

“Who are you?!?” blurted out the man in overalls. “What are you doing here? How did you get in?”

“We need the strongest earth elemental you have” Thora explained, trying to remember what the professor had requested. “There’s been an attack at the lab across the street. The professor said we need the strongest elementals available to balance it or there will be a lot of folks getting hurt.”

“DON’T FORGET TO ASK FOR THE OTHER ELEMENTALS TOO!” shouted Duanne from a nearby room, before Alandal closed the door on him. The greedy tortle was angling for more power and if they let him it could get them in a heap of trouble.

“Who was that?” questioned the warehouse attendant, trying to look around Thora and Zearach towards the break room down the hall.

“Oh, that? That’s my associate. He wants to make sure we get everything the professor needs.”

“This is highly irregular. You don’t even have the proper requisition forms!”

“I’m sorry, but this is an emergency and very time-sensitive” replied Thora, becoming increasingly irritated.

The warehouse worker heaved a big sigh and started leading them towards the storage area in the back. The warehouse was massive, with piles upon piles of artifacts and creatures stored on shelves and in piles on the floor. If there was a sorting criteria, it was beyond Thora’s understanding.

“Look, the professor needs to read his memos. I’ve been telling him we’ve been short on Earth for weeks!” complained the warehouse manager. “HEY BOB! BRING O’ER THE MEPHITS! As I was saying, we’re short on Earth right now. Best I can do is some mephits, but that professor is gonna to have to cinch his breeches until we can get another shipment!”

From the back of the warehouse a rotund dwarf pushed forward a large glass crate. Shifting sand or dust seemed to float about inside the crate, but occasionally Thora could make out an eye or a flash of fanged teeth. The creatures seemed to be throwing themselves against the walls of the glass box as it was moved, trying to get out. A chittering noise came from them, unintelligible to Thora but the meaning was clear. They were NOT happy about being in that box and were pretty much ready to kill everybody around them.

“Oh, right… remember not to break that glass! That’s important” explained the manager, who by now was only half paying attention to Thora and Alandal as he noticed Duanne rooting around through some of the shelves.

“Hey! PUT THAT DOWN!”

Alandal was already out the door with the glass crate, but Thora followed quickly on his heels, hoping to catch up and help make sure the dragonborn didn’t knock the case over. With any luck, Duanne wouldn’t be caught and arrested. Or worse.

A loud zap reached their ears, coming from the direction of the storage room. The smell of fried tortle skin filled the air.

Too late!

If at first you don’t succeed

Professor Mandrake was quite disappointed with the delivery of the mephits but did his best to make do with the low-powered beings. He seemed to have little concern for the warehouse’s trouble with keeping stock and immediately went into problem-solving mode. After several adjustments of knobs and dials and wires and doodads beyond Thora’s comprehension there seemed to be a slight stabilization of the power distribution in the room.

“This won’t hold for very long” explained Mandrake, pointing at some numbers on his apparatus that meant nothing to the dwarf. “This entire system was designed around balanced forces, and the others are far more powerful than these minor imps. We need something bigger.”

Following the professor to his office, they watched as he went through the piles of paper on his desk, looking for something in particular.

“Aha! Here it is!” he shouted, pulling out a yellow file folder which held several sheets of parchment. “A report from Jenerra of a stone giant attacking the town. You lot seem to handle yourselves well so I’m sure they would be grateful for the help and we could get ourselves a nice balancing stone for our earth quadrant!”

Jenerra was close enough to the Sakhar mountains that Thora had heard of the place, though the dwarf had never had the chance to visit. The soldier remembered Ka’az describing it as a small farming village with some mining capabilities. Not really a large competitor to the Sakhar mining industry, but big enough that they had agreements in place to make trade in the region fair for all. Some of Thora’s friends had even traded with the Jenerra settlement but had always reported back saying that there wasn’t enough good ale there.

The report went on to detail a series of attacks by some sort of giant, described as dark black in colour and covered in jagged shapes. The descriptions implied that the creature was stronger than most giants in the region and hurled sharp black rocks that caused devastating damage. Thora was wondering if a thicker suit of armour would be required, looking longingly at the sturdy full suits of armour worn by the deceased shock troopers still lying on the floor of the professor’s office. Trying on the helmet, Thora was surprised by the weight of it. The dwarf had almost forgotten what it was like to wear a full suit of plate, the soldier hadn’t needed to since basic training, and was torn as to whether it would be worth it. It would slow Thora down, make a lot of noise, but it would absorb a lot of damage that might be caused by large sharp rocks thrown by a giant.

In the end, Thora sighed and put the helmet back down on a nearby desk, deciding to rely on stealth rather than brute force for this coming venture. The professor was still rattling on about teleportation and some sort of transportation wizarding group. The soldier had tuned out for most of this part, but the others mentioned later that departure time was set for the morning and they would meet with a transportation official named Feelstar who could get them to their destination.

With time to kill until morning, the group restocked their supplies, grabbed some equipment from the shops, and prepared for the road trip ahead. Thora had never travelled by teleportation before and wasn’t entirely sure about it. It wasn’t so much that the soldier had any issue with the arcane, there had been evidence enough, even at home under the mountain, that there was a benefit to the mystics. It was more that Thora didn’t quite know exactly how one disappeared from the one location and then reappeared in the other. Was it the same you that showed up at the other side? What happened to the you that was at the start? Was it like a door that you walked through? Or was it more like you were being torn apart, sent through the weave, and then put back together? Thora had a lot of questions.

In the morning, the answers they all got did not make anyone feel better about this mode of transportation.

The moody wizard Feelstar showed up on time at the Snake and Serpent, with an attitude and air of importance. He seemed uninterested in helping with anything beyond the transport. In addition, even though the wizard had never been to Jenerra or the region, he seemed overly confident about the ability to get them there. Despite an uneasy feeling, Thora quickly finished up breakfast, and joined Feelstar and the others in a corner of the tavern.

“Stay still” commanded the hawk-nosed man, staring at them with a look of disdain. “If you feel the need to empty your stomachs, please aim away from me.”

Closing his eyes, the wizard raised a hand and spoke some words in a language Thora didn’t understand that sounded like gibberish. There was a feeling like a vibration, which expanded out and the whole world around them seemed to vibrate heavily. Thora’s eyes went wide as suddenly they lurched through the fabric of the universe and then were suddenly standing in the street, right outside the Snake & Serpent where they had just had their meal.

“Are we travelling one small jump at a time?” the dwarf asked, sarcastically, much to the annoyance of the wizard.

“A miscalculation, that is all” replied Feelstar, still wearing that arrogant look. “As I mentioned, I haven’t been to this Jenerra village before.”

“I haven’t either, wizard, but would it help to know more about the place?” offered Thora, trying to prevent another lurching experience further down the street. The soldier repeated everything he could remember about the area, hoping that any of the details provided could get them closer to the village. With any luck, it would work this time.

It did not.

When they woke, they were lying on metal tables back in Professor Mandrake’s lab. Thora had a blinding headache and a foggy memory of violent vibrations pulling everyone in all directions before the world went dark. The professor was very effusive with his apologies and informed them all that Feelstar was refusing to work with them anymore, meaning they would need to find another wizard for the trip. In Thora’s books, that was a win.

It took the professor until the next morning to schedule another teleportation, but this time their cheerful guide was a man named Darius. Unlike the rough experience with the previous wizard, Darius seemed to be a more practical fellow with a bubbly spirit. Like his colleague, Darius refused to be engaged in whatever their group was involved in, but at the very least was willing to make some changes in order to make the transportation a lot smoother. While it did mean a bit of a hike, this time the trip went without incident and by mid-afternoon they could see the village of Jenerra ahead of them on the path. All of them were in good spirits until they got close enough to see the state of the outer walls.

Entire segments of stone wall had collapsed under a barrage of large black stone. Fences were crushed, trees stood at odd angles, and even some of the roofs had large, patched-over, holes in their thatch. While no guards seemed to stand atop the gatehouse wall at the moment, it seemed like the village had needed to rapidly fortify and had been under attack for quite some time.

Was this the work of that giant?

Noises in the dark

They approached cautiously, not seeing any signs of life along the gatehouse or in the fields as of yet. Alandal carefully pushed aside the massive gate at the entrance while the others stood at the ready. Quiet. Nothing jumped out at them, just silence within the small town. As they stepped into the streets, they saw the occasional face peering out of a window, or peeking from behind a mostly-closed door. The villagers were scared.

Alandal began a soft rhythm upon his drum to announce their arrival, a gentle sound meant to soothe some of the worries of those hiding behind locked doors. They all walked through the streets, peering down the lanes and looking for anyone willing to come out and help them with some information. Towards the center of town, further from the walls, an older man waved to them as he aired out a carpet on his front porch.

“Good to see some new faces!” called out the old man, a wary smile upon his face. “What brings you to town?”

“We’re here to help” offered Alandal, trying to set the right tone. “Do you have somebody in charge that we could speak with?”

“Finally, some help! Head on over to the Flibberty Gibbet, just down the street by the old mine entrance, third building on the left. Can’t miss it! The mayor should be there.”

The man was right, there was no way to miss the tavern. It was enormous, with a massive aqueduct system running alongside the building from the mountains. While they searched about the building, trying to learn more about it, Thora stepped up to the double doors and shoved them open, looking to make an entrance.

“WE’RE HERE TO TAKE DOWN THE GIANT! WHO’S IN CHARGE?” shouted Thora, looking about the room at the bewildered faces of the patrons. The place was not overly busy, and Thora’s elevated voice was hardly necessary, causing the dwarf to regret the brash entrance.

A woman who carried herself with dignity and strength, despite her town’s predicament, approached the group and welcomed them to a table. Full of questions, she seemed to want to know everything about them and what they were here to do. Through the inquisition, Alandal was able to extract some meaningful information on the creature. Though it had been described to them by the professor as a report of a stone giant, the townsfolk here weren’t absolutely sure that’s what the beast was. It was enormous, at least as tall as two men, coming out only at night. People and animals had been skewered by the sharp rocks it threw as it lay a path of destruction. Sometimes, it would take things. Other times, it would bash on the walls of the town. Occasionally, it would throw trees over the wall. There seemed to be no reasoning with the creature, much as they had tried.

The townsfolk had also noticed that their stream had started to contain small black rocks, like the ones being thrown by the beast. They had sent out search parties to follow tracks and locate the source of these rocks, but there was no sign of the creature during the day. Only at night.

By now the other patrons of the Flibberty Gibbet had gathered around to add in their tall tales of the sightings of the giant beast, black as night, covered in obsidian shards of death. One farmer claimed that his flock of sheep had been slaughtered just the other night, while another complained about the tree that was sticking out of his storage shed. Everyone seemed quite invested in making sure the newly arrived heroes would make their problems go away. Thanking them all for the information, Thora and the others exited the tavern into the chill afternoon air. It would take hours to comb the hillsides and mountains, looking for a source, but perhaps Zearach could make their time a little better spent.

Moving silently across the stones and fields, the elf tracked their prey. Thora and the others stayed back, allowing the ranger to do his work as he examined blades of grass, impressions in the dirt, broken twigs and other signs of passage that would normally be overlooked by another passerby. Within the hour, Zearach had found several different tracks that all led back to a singular point further up the mountain.

“It’s starting to get dark” pointed out Alandal, as the shadows on the ground became long and the dragonborn began to have trouble seeing. “Perhaps we should return to the town and…”

The bard was cut off in his suggestion by Zearach, who held up a finger to his lips. His head was cocked, his long elven ear listening to something far off that the rest of them could not hear.

“Screams, animal, I believe” whispered the elf, immediately pulling out his bow. “It’s happening, now!”

The elf broke into a run, heading west from the trail and into the farming fields nearby. The others struggled to keep up as they stumbled forward in the low light of the evening. Thora drew both swords as they ran, physically and mentally preparing for the fight ahead while on the run. The dwarf imagined an enormous obsidian monster, sharp on all sides, standing 3 or 4 times the soldier’s height, throwing large boulders through the air like pebbles.

No problem, surely. Just outrun the giant monster, never stop moving, and capture it. Piece of cake.

The dwarf kept running, chasing the elf in the dark.

This was going to hurt, wasn’t it?

Credits

• Cover image: “Jenerra”, generated by Jason St-Cyr using NightCafe.