The Lodestone

“If we can locate what’s luring the giants northwest, we might be able to stop them before they reach their destination.” Aderan spread the rune samples across his desk. “Although I was able to decipher many of the runes on the samples you brought me, the ones I don’t know concern me the most.”

He pressed a fragment into my hands.

“When I visited Giants’ Run, I noticed a large broken tablet jutting from the ground where the northeastern part of the area met the snow at the foot of Frostblade Peak. Take this sample, compare the runes with the tablet, and see what you can learn.”

I found the tablet where the rocky ground surrendered to the snowline. Ancient stone, cracked but still legible, mostly swallowed by the mountain. The runes on its surface were older than the iron dwarves’ work, but clearly related. A predecessor. A template?

When I held Aderan’s sample against the weathered surface, the symbols flared and the tablet’s meaning unfolded like a map in my mind.

Megalith.

A destination. Something the iron dwarves had built or discovered, something powerful enough to call stone giants across hundreds of miles. The runes were calling the giants to it.

Aderan’s face went pale.

“Of course! This Megalith must be the key to the Iron Dwarves’ plans.” His voice hardened with resolve. “We must destroy it before their plan comes to fruition!”

Aderan wanted him down before he could lead the others northwest toward whatever waits in the Storm Peaks, which makes Demolishing Megalith the only thing standing between the fort and that march.