Runke uses his connections to help supply the party. Early next morning, they leave on their mission. Runke takes them on a very muddy tour of the boglands. For nearly three days they trek toward the eastern edge of the Freeman’s Lands. Runke keeps to himself though appears concerned on occasion. He is, in fact a little lost though he knows he is headed in the right general direction. On the third day, Runke spots a structure he has never seen before (mostly just sheer coincidence that they run by it since Runke is off the normal trail). Partly obscured in a group of trees are the remains of an ancient looking tower.

The group approaches the tower cautiously. Cian is the first to note that the structure appears quite large-the scale of the visible doorway is enormous. Only about a third of the structure still stands. The eastern and southern walls are almost completely demolished. It appears obvious as to why as well. The entire structure is leaning in a very awkward manner, apparently partly sunk into the bog. Through the large gap, there is a high ledge just above the doorway. It is the only hint of a second (or higher) floor which may have existed centuries ago. Getting a closer look, Cian is pretty convinced that this was once the home of giants.

The group enters the remains of the tower. Runke makes several failed attempts to scale the wall up to the small remaining section of the second floor. Cian, Dierdre, Cinn Oir and Liam all scour the area finding nothing of note. There is little in the way of tracks that can be found and the party decides to camp here for the night. According to Runke, they are close to where the counter-raid patrols have been spotted (within a few hours at least) so this may work for a base camp.

Liam begins to clear away some of the rubble to make a campsite. Within a few minutes he has discovered something very intriguing. As the stones are carried away, a trap door reveals itself. The door is composed of solid stone and still set mostly flush with the damaged stone floor. Liam calls for help and he, Runke and Cian manage to lift the enormous door with relatively little trouble. A deep, dark pit now lies before them.

Liam, grabbing a stone, casts "Light" on it and throws it down into the darkness. It strikes the floor not more than 20 feet below them. A matted pile of grasses takes up the center of the room and there is what looks to be a bucket on the edge of the light radius. One side of the pit rests seamlessly with the wall and on closer inspection, crudely carved handholds are found along this wall. Dierdre notes that the handholds appear carved for someone of human size….odd given the enormous construction of everything else.

With Liam in the lead, the party descends, but not before securing a rope to the wall outside to help them descend into the pit. Once in the dank chamber, they see that it is a simple square room, roughly 20 feet on all sides. On the far north wall there is a passage, choked with debris. Liam pokes through the dry grasses, not finding anything of note while Cian moves to examine the passageway. It is also of large construction; 15 feet wide and near 20 feet in height. It quickly fades into darkness as a set of rough carved giant stairs descends further into the ground. Curious, the group decides to explore, leaving Cinn Oir outside with Liam’s horse and the camp.

The winding stairwell takes them to a very large wooden door. Trying the handle, Cian determines it is locked. Dierdre steps forward and can easily see that the lock is simply ruined by age and rust. Liam, taking another approach, gives the door a sturdy push. He nearly falls on his face as the ancient wood flakes away with a whisper and the door screeches open. Before them is another small chamber, its floor littered with mostly stone and wood debris. On the opposite side of the room is another wooden door. This large door has the appearance of a cell door with a small barred window in the upper quarter of the door. Unable to see well through the high window, the party opens this door permanently as well.

There is a hallway which extends beyond their torchlight. Immediately to their left is a large boulder set into the wall. Another one is set into the wall further down on the right hand side. With great effort, Liam, Runke and Cian move the boulder aside are hit by a waft of dank, stagnant air. The boulder was essentially providing the door for a single room. Looking down at the ground, right around the opening, they see it is littered with bones. Human(oid) bones to be exact. Dierdre speculates it was a cell of sorts used by the giants.

Proceeding down the hallway the party finds three more "plugs" which alternate the length of the 50 foot hallway. This brings the total to two on each side of the hall. The hall itself ends in another large doorway; this one constructed of stone. Ignoring the remaining plugs, they investigate the stone door. It has a handle which is about eye level and a lock. The unlocked door opens easily, its massive stone weight turning with just a stout push from Liam.

Inside is a small room; at least small by a giant’s standards. It is empty save a dais at the far end which supports a once magnificent sculpture. It is the symbol of the Manterlaug: seven bent arms arranged in a circle. It is composed of cast iron, giant-sized arms and extends nearly to the ceiling of the 20 foot room. The party makes a quick search of the room and sees no other exits. The sculpture itself is badly damaged, having rusted over the years. Seeing nothing else of interest, the party decides to head up to the surface to

set up camp and continue on with their original mission in the morning. Several of the party members discuss the viability of using the ruins as a base camp beyond just this mission.

Their night is anything but peaceful. During the first watch, Dierdre hears a scream coming from beneath the trap door. Startled, she wakes up the others. Cries for help are emanating from the tower cellar below them. With Cinn Oir waiting up top to keep an eye on the camp again, the party, including Runke, descends into the ruined tower’s basement. They follow the screams down each hallway and finally into the altar room where they seem to be coming from behind the altar itself. Intrigued, they gather for a closer inspection of the altar. Liam notices through the several years of rust, that the hands on the altar are hinged. He pulls one of them (and as he does Dierdre steps out into the hall…) A green ray fires out from the statue, narrowly missing Liam before striking a wall. Cian gets a very good look and determines it was a Ray of Enfeeblement.

Very quickly the party comes to the conclusion that pulling the hands is not a great idea. Assuming that they open a secret passage of some sort, Liam and Cian take a look at the wall just to the side of the altar. There is evidence of movement along the wall as though perhaps the altar and the dais itself could slide to one side and reveal a passage beyond. Cian also notes that there is a fair amount of water damage on the walls of the room, from floor to up close to the ceiling, and the statue above that point is slightly less corroded as well. Liam calls for Cian’s assistance and Runke produces an iron crowbar from his pack to help. With great effort, the three of them try to push the altar aside but they have no luck. Dierdre, still unsure about messing with the altar, prefers to wait in the hall.

Cian assumes the only way to open it must be to turn the hands-either all of them or perhaps in a sequence. The group agrees but aren’t sure about playing the odds. Runke, still quite interested, steps forward and climbs the statue to the very top. From there, he hopes to be able to stay out of the firing arc of the altar and still test combinations. Cian joins Dierdre in the hall. Liam stays in the room as well, also helping with the testing of combinations. It is mostly a trial of frustration. Some of the hands seem to do nothing while others fire rays, or as Liam discovers, that the altar blasts fire as well. Cian is growing increasingly nervous. He is convinced that one "feature" of the altar is to flood the altar room (the watermarks on the wall being evidence of this) and that it could happen any second.

Dierdre, getting tired of standing around, calls a halt to the gambling taking place in the room and steps forward to examine the altar. Having some affinity for puzzling through locks, traps, and of course magic devices (DM’s Note: Use Magic Device skill has some points on her character sheet!) she decides to give it a whirl. After carefully studying it, she is unable to determine what could possibly be the right combination. Cian takes the time to examine the hallway leading into the altar room as well. It turns out, it too has the same water marks along the walls. This perhaps explains the skeletons cluster around the door in the first "cell" and maybe even suggests that the whole basement simply flooded at one time.

Exasperated, the group is just about to call it quits. (DM’s note: I felt bad as they tried for an hour or so to figure the altar out. So, to avoid having dice thrown at me, I started giving a few very vague hints. This led too…..) Cian then has an interesting idea. He steps forward and casts Detect Magic on the altar. Stepping forward to examine it, he notices several things. It is of course magical, having been belching out rays and flame for the past hour, that was a given. However, on closer inspection he finds each hand is marked with something similar to an arcane mark, but much more generic. Giant intelligence generic as a matter of fact. On each hand is a number. (DM’s Note: Devious yet, not quite so bright. A Giant spellcaster makesa secret door behind an altar to keep out curious giants. The vast majority of stupid giants won’t have Detect Magic or any spell casting ability for that matter…) Following the numbers, the altar slides to the side with a horrible rumble.

Before them lies what looks more like a natural cave than any of the other rooms they have seen. It is a long passageway and the Light from atop Liam’s staff immediately catches several shiny things littering the floor. Dropping down for a closer look, Dierdre sees coins-giant sized coins. Copper, silver and gold litter the floor. Runke drops to his knees as well, admiring one of the giant silver coins in his hand. Dierdre meanwhile is already getting to work filling her pouches. Liam and Cian move ahead to explore the hall. Mildly annoyed at the disappearance of the light, Diedre casts her own Light spell -on her shoes- and keeps working. Runke pockets the coin he was staring at and runs to catch up with Liam and Cian.

About halfway up the tunnel it branches off to the left. Pressing forward, Cian, Liam and Runke bypass this branch. At the end of the rough tunnel lies a mostly circular antechamber. There are three exits to this chamber (apart from the tunnel they are standing in), each on different sides of the room. Each exit is blocked by a decaying wooden door. Or what is left of one. Taking the opening to their immediate right, the three adventurers encounter another short tunnel which opens into a larger chamber. The centerpiece of this chamber is a stone slab. Being at slightly above eye level, it is difficult to make out what lies on it. Runke, clambers atop it to check. Bolted into the slab are manacles which are designed to adjust to accommodate the arms and legs of small or large humanoids. A bronze bell is suspended directly above the table on a chain. Runke’s "Shall I ring it?" is met by a resounding "NO!".

This room has two more exits despite the one they entered. The first is a hallway along the same wall which they entered the room on. It seems to lead back toward the altar room and may connect with the branch they passed up from the initial treasure littered hall. The second is a large open doorway. A sturdy stone door stands open with an equally sturdy stone bar propped against it. Curious, the party moves forward. Liam and Cian are the first in. What lies before them is a disturbing sight. A long, winding bridge stretches out to a circular island surrounded by water. To the sides of this island and all around this large chamber are several cages suspended from the ceiling by chains. Within many are humanoid remains. Most are of medium size while some are clearly from a giant. On the island is some sort of apparatus. Cian and Liam move forward to investigate as Runke enters the room.

The apparatus is a bank of rusted levers. Liam looks on with disgust and Cian speaks what he is thinking, noting that the levers probably control the cages in some manner—drowning victims in the water perhaps. Runke very cautiously wanders forward, staring uncomfortably at the cages. As they look about in grim fascination, they hear a noise behind them. An unnerving grind as the stone door begins to close. Runke, closest to the door, rolls backward with his crowbar in hand. He is inches away as the door slams shut and is unsuccessful in jamming the door. Then, there is the sound of grinding stone outside the door then a vicious laugh.

Liam and Cian both look at each other, each knowing precisely what the other is thinking. Walking to the edge of the small stone island, they look down into the water. It has begun to stir very unsettlingly. There is movement below it’s surface. Runke beats on the door calling for Dierdre. Dierdre is already on the move having heard the stone door slam shut and the unfamiliar laughter. As she rounds the corner into the room she is faced with a shadowy figure standing before the barred and tightly closed stone door…..