[center][b]Fire Giant Mission[/b][/center]

After meeting at Runes and Things and being given their magical items of varying type, the group of ten demigods set out for the troubled town. They had been informed by the old woman, with Hugin and Munin providing extra commentary, that young and powerless demigods were being gathered in a Catholic high school in this suburban town and that the involvement of supernatural entities was suspected but not confirmed. Foley packed as many of them as he could in his new armored truck and off they went.

When they arrived, the group quickly learned that there had been a string of arsons in town lately, starting around the time the young demigods began going missing. By the time they made it to the high school, all that was left was a still warm pile of charred ruined. Upon snooping around, Kaya found that there were still a few burning coals left in the mess and that they could hurt her, despite her immunity to mundane fire. Kaya had a chat with Solana and Foley about the fire and they did a bit of research and collectively reached the conclusion that Fire Giants were probably involved with this mess.

A few of the demigods went out to question the locals about the whole situation and easily learned the whereabouts of the bishop who had been working at the school before it burned down. They went straight to the church to talk with the bishop, and Miera’s ability to detect lies triggered almost immediately. When she voiced her concerns to her companions, Kyle, who had formerly been a Catholic priest, started questioning the man on matters of doctrine. After finding enough inconsistencies to warrant the action, Kyle used his power on the bishop to force him to give up what he knew about the fires and the missing kids. They learned that he was a thrall to a Fire Giant and that he had been instructed to gather the young children of gods. The demigods then, rather foolishly, left the bishop alive and went to confer with the rest of the group. Jarrod, a former burglar, decided to stay behind and keep an eye on the bishop, just in case.

About an hour later, Foley received a call from their spying friend with the news that he had seen a bunch of people arriving at the church after the group had left, and that he had determined that the missing children were in the basement of the building. The rest of the demigods got ready to go on a rescue mission, and the more physically inclined people seemed eager for a fight. They piled into the truck and the couple cars they had acquired earlier and made for the church.

The bishop-questioning folks soon realized their horrible mistake in leaving the man alive when they left. There were half a dozen people gathered there, arrayed in front of the church with an assortment of makeshift weaponry, and an unhealthy glow coming from inside the church seemed rather ominous given their knowledge of Fire Giant involvement. The muscle of the group moved in and did their work with gusto. Garrett took out two of the thralls with his stone axe; Johan, a hulking Swedish fellow with a club that looked to be a tree snapped off at the base, took out another two; a diminutive Irish man who called himself Red managed to punch the head of one of the thralls clean off; the last thrall fell to Olivier’s rapier, and the cocky Frenchman posed and preened like a runway model as he landed the killing blow.

Most of the group proceeded into the church itself, though the less combat-inclined waited outside. They found that there was indeed a Fire Giant inside, along with the bishop and a few more thralls. The fighters of the group charged in with reckless abandon while Jarrod led some of the others to the door that led to the basement, which he opened by picking the lock. A thrall noticed this and came for them, and the thief told the others to go get the kids while he held the attacker off. Down in the basement, the gaggle of terrified children and young teens were huddled against one another and flinching at the sounds of fighting above. Miera delivered a rousing motivational speech and renewed their hope, then promptly herded them up the stairs with instructions to run like the wind and make it to the truck waiting outside, which they managed to do without any serious injuries thanks to Red diving in front of a blast of fire from the giant that had been aimed their way, sacrificing his life in the process. Foley drove them away from the madness as soon as they were all in the truck, mostly piled in the back.

By the time the kids made it up and out, all of the thralls were down with only Jarrod having died at their hands. Solana called her hippogriff in to help take on the Fire Giant, which it most certainly did, and without its aid the group would have likely all died. Garrett, Johan, and Olivier fought the Fire Giant on foot and did not go unharmed: Garrett took some minor burns, but the others died in the fray. In the end, Garrett’s axe plunged into the Fire Giant’s head and it finally died. With all the fire flung about by their enemy, the building was starting to burn down (as much as a stone edifice can burn down, at least) by the time the survivors packed into their cars and took off, pleased by the success of their mission but tempered by the knowledge that they were up against serious threats that could easily kill them all if they weren’t cautious. They all experienced a surge in power as they drove away, which came with new powers that they could only hope would keep them alive in the future.