Of Giants, Dragons, and a Two-Headed Pig Named Herbert

Back at the Wilderland Inn...
Our intrepid heroes picked up a rumor that the town of Larkspur was suffering from a rash of grave robberies.  Since it was on the way to Frostwyk (Ambiorix the Fighter's home town and supposed scene of a newly-discovered ruin rife with albino apes and strangely-stamped gold bars), they decided to stop in and check it out.

On the Road Again...
Night falls, watches are posted.  The party is camped on a narrow road in the mountains, overlooking a steep gorge.  Cue heavy, thudding footprints.  Everyone is awakened but one of the fighters drops a breastplate while trying to throw on his armor.  The footsteps stop and someone--or thing--huge starts climbing up the cliff wall toward them.  Indis creates an illusory cliff wall for the party to hide behind and they do so.

Up comes a hill giant.  He proceeds to sniff around for the characters but doesn't find them.  So, he lays down in the road and takes a nap.  I don't remember what happened next, but in the end, Ambiorix somehow managed to wake him up and then took a tree limb to the chest.  He was nearly sent off the side of the mountain.  A melee erupts and, with a few bumps and bruises all around, the giant is dispatched.  The party checks his pouches and finds a few coppers, some rotting meat, and a strange object:  a golden statue of a two-headed piglet.  Filibert takes the curio and nicknames it Herbert.  The party rolls the giant off the road and his body thunders down the cliff-side.

Drawn by the commotion, another beast arrives.  The sound of enormous wings is heard.  Everyone scatters and hides in the rocks just before a decent-sized DRAGON swoops out of the sky, descends upon the giant's body, and begins to feast.  The party decides that it wants no part of this encounter (wisely so) and begins to sneak away.  Unfortunately, Fil steps on a dry branch and the noise stops the dragon's feasting.  In a panic, our brave halfling slaps his pony on its flank to send it running and then dives for cover in a fissure.  Everyone else takes shelter as best they can.

In seconds, the dragon is airborne and with a horrific crash, descends upon the pony.  As the beast devours its second (and tastiest) meal of the night, the party gets the hell out of Dodge as quickly and quietly as possible.  They don't stop until well into the next day.

Next time...

• Larkspur: Frontier hunting village or playground of the wealthy and eccentric?
• The Busy Troglodyte Inn:  Who put shrooms in the wine, man?
• Adventures at the Tower of Undead:  Attack!  Retreat!  Attack! Retreat! Ummm... Attack?
• And of course, the promised lessons on bee-hugging, siege weapons, and puddings