The End of the Ogre Affair

((The following is a summary of the events of our game session from June 8.))
 
First off there was some great interaction between the characters as they entered the Nevernever, particularly when Sebastian showed up out of nowhere prompting the usual suspicious reaction from Thomas, and when Ilario regained control of body with no memory of what had taken place while Bleddyn was at the helm and had to be filled in by Annabelle and the others.
 
As they tromped through the swamp attempting to reach the ogre’s lair (ogres apparently have layers as well as lairs) they had to navigate around trees dripping with some kind of black, nasty looking substance no one wanted to touch, and pools of sinking muck. Inevitably some of our less athletically inclined characters (the magic users) ended up falling in, and the others trying help led to some awkward moments, such as when Kota nearly fell in herself trying to get Thomas out, but he managed to hold her out of the muck. When Thomas did end up getting out of the muck he fell straight into Reah; which prompted him to offer an embaraced invitation.  but with a little help from friends, including a rod of solidified air summoned by Ilario, everyone managed to get to safety. Ilario, however, was unable to maintain control of his body and Bleddyn returned. They managed to avoid repeating the misadventure by having the vampire Kota, with her inhuman agility, scout the way for them and find solid ground.

Of course the swamp had other hazards as well, such as a flock of deadly Stymphalian crows with projectile razor feathers which temporarily scattered the group. The magical adepts in the group managed to fend off the angry birds with Reah using her vegekinesis to send them into disarray with a shower of sharp twigs and shards of bark torn from the trees while Thomas blinded them with a flash of spirit light from his sword. Bleddyn took advantage of the crow’s disarray to send a searing bolt of lightning from above that burnt many of them to a crisp and scattered the rest.

The group made it safely through the swamp to a black lake in the middle of which stood the ogre’s enormous ruined castle atop a rocky spire rising from the dark waters. Searching for a way across Sebastian was able to locate a set of ogre tracks leading through the muck down into the water, and Bleddyn successfully called on a gust of air to part the waters just enough to reveal a trail of slimy flat stones just below the surface of the waves leading up to the castle. As the group attempted to cross several slipped and disturbed the ominously still depths of the water.

It was not until they got out into the middle of the lake, halfway to the castle, that they heard a strange growling from beneath the waves. It was Sebastian who saw a v-shaped wave making it’s way straight toward Reah, like torpedo. Failing to think things through the daredevil in Sebastian got the best of him and with claws extended in front of him he leapt from his stone and did a flip straight in the water and was immediately caught into a pair of enormous tentacles and dragged under. More tentacles shot out of the water and attempted to go after Reah, reminding some group members of certain Japanese cartoon of ill repute.  But Reah managed to dodge them and dash across the stones towards the castle.

Kyra pulled her nail gun out and tried shooting the tentacled squid beast, but – as fate would have it – ended up hitting Sebastian instead poisoning him with the iron bane. Blood flowed from Sebastian’s wound into the water igniting a blood frenzy in the vampires and compelling Kyra and Kota to leap into the water and try to get at Sebastian. Unfortunately for them, but fortunately for Sebastian, the monstrer was moving away from them, chasing after Reah. It finally caught her and pulled her in. Thomas then freaked and jumped at the beast, stabbing down with his flashing longsword. But the monster was quick and caught the wizard in it’s tentacles as well. Bleddyn summoned his lightening again, blasting the squid creature and sending shocks through everyone in the water. The beast released Sebastian into the Kyra’s hungry arms. Before the berserking Kyra could drain the last of Sebastian’s life-force, however, the cold iron coursing through his veins caused the faerie realm they were currently in to reject him and spew him on the coast of the Black Sea in Romania.
 
With Reah, it’s prize, firmly in it’s grasp the monster began moving away from the others, but Bleddyn wasn’t about to let it get away so easily, he hit it with a blast of air and fire that knocked Thomas from it’s grip. Once free Thomas summoned a flash of light that stunned the beast and allowed Reah to escape as well. Fearing further reprisal the beast made its escape, leaving the would-be ogre hunters to clamber up onto the castle rock.

Fed up with the delays and anxious to get to the ogre’s treasure Bleddyn pushed through the enormous oak doors of the castle and marched into the keep with Thomas and the others following close behind. Thomas’ enchanted fingerbone led everyone into the keep’s great hall where a decrepit tea party was prepared by a hideous mad-hatterish dwarf invited the group to stay for tea and celebrate the return of “The Mistress”. Bleddyn had other ideas, however and lifted the dwarf by it’s collar and asking it where it’s master is, with a few threats thrown in for good measure. The dwarf warned them not to go to the master but directed them up the crumbling grand double staircase. A long corridor and spiral steps led up to the top of the tower where the ogre was waiting.

At the top of the tower the ogre had the corpse of Lady Rhiannon all set up for some type of ritual on an alter in the middle of the room with a gigantic pentacle drawn across the floor. Annabelle warned everyone that if they stepped into the pentacle they’d be trapped there. The ogre explained that he hadn’t harmed Rhiannon actually, it had been a mysterious figure known as the dragon, who was murdering faery women and taking their blood. The ogre had been charged with turning over innocent maids to the dragon but couldn’t turn over Rhiannon. He loved her and she loved him but in the end the Dragon got a hold of her anyone and killed her. Since then the ogre had been looking for a way to bring her back and claimed he could do it with the life force of one of the vampires. He also explained that the tower was rigged with magical explosives and everyone would die if they vampires didn’t surrender. Hearing this the ogre-hunters naturally turned to go but found their way blocked with the steps they used to get into the tower somehow gone or hidden.

Thomas began making a spell to open a path back out of the Nevernever but the ogre picked up a large rock and hurled it at the wizard, breaking his leg and knocking him unconscious. The others quickly decided the ogre had to be taken out, so Reah threw a vine around him, which she had the foresight to bring from outside the castle, and enchanted it to hold the ogre tight. Kyra shot the ogre with an iron nail, neutralizing its faery abilities and immunities. Bleddyn did a quick spell that made the ogre spontaneously burst into flames. And if the ogre wasn’t occupied enough by being tied up, stabbed by a poisonous nail and set on fire, Kota further confused him by singing a hypnotic lullaby. Stunned, confused and in immense pain the ogre was a sitting duck for Peter with his gun, who almost took the ogre out with a single shot.
 

The threat neutralized Ilario (who managed again to wrest control from Bleddyn) tried to reason with the ogre, who begged him to remove the nail. Ilario was kind enough to oblige, and asked the ogre what his beloved would think if she knew he killed so many people to try to bring her back. Just when it seemed the ogre might relent and step the spell he rigged to kill everyone Dwight’s bear form smashed up through the floor and rushed at the ogre. The ogre protested that Dwight had promised not to harm up, to which Dwight responded by revealing that he was actually the Huntsman who had sworn no such oath. The Huntsman proceeded to stab the ogre to death without any further questions, then scooped up the corpse of his cousin and lead the others out of the castle. Thomas of course had to be dragged out, and as far as everyone knew Sebastian was lying at the bottom of the pond, but everyone else was able to walk out on their own feet, though they were a little worse for wear.