Sessions #62 & 63: Steading of the Hill Giants, Finale

Two session recaps this week, since there was a short window between Sessions 62 & 63. Sal missed half of the second session.

In the first session, the party successfully negotiated an end to the war with the hill giants, convincing the Earth Titan to end the war and prioritize the Clawed Gauntlet. Nosnra, the Hill Giant Chief, offered to give the characters a peace offering, and led them down to his treasury - where he proceeded to ambush them with the help of his pet purple worm. They defeated him and his worm, collecting the treasure in the process (along with a map which pointed to 3 locations: the hill giant steading, a location marked with a blue X labeled as "The Great Rift", and an unlabeled location marked with a red X which seemed to be around the area of Kinsfort), and learned that Nosnra was both working at the behest of the Fire Giant King, Snurre Iron-Belly, against Falconia, and working for the Clawed Gauntlet to allow one of the death knights to kill the Earth Titan in exchange for becoming the Earth Titan himself. Boulderfist, the Earth Titan, punished Nosnra by turning him to stone, then set off to speak with the other titans, as he knew the fire & frost giants meant to start their own war soon.

The first session ended with the primary events of the second session - the introduction of the Red Rider of Wrath, Sir Eoric Cairnstone, and the party's fight with him and his hell knights. They managed to defeat them after a battle which took up the entirety of the session's time, and learned from Cairnstone in a vision that Orcus, the Demon Prince of the Undead and a very powerful demon lord, had been killed by the Clawed Gauntlet and their true leader, Doresain, the King of Ghouls, someone previously thought to be one of Orcus' loyal servants. After being given this vision, Amnon set off quickly for the Tower of Heiserrah, ostensibly to speak with the archmages there, though he traveled with an unusual sense of anger the Red Rider of Wrath had bestowed upon him. Shivra set off for Vulkannen to pay off her debt and get her collar removed; the rest of the party went to return to Falconia so that they could report on these new developments to the Wolfswifts (as well as escort the recovered prisoners back).