Session 36

=June 6th, 2019 - Storming Skyreach=

Storming Skyreach
The session began as the adventurers took a long rest within the now empty hunting lodge. During this time, they healed their wounds, prepared, and examined the items they recovered from Castle Naerytar. The magical ring turned out to be a ring of evasion, which the group gave to Rufus. Alburt examined Azbara Jos’ spellbook, and copied a few of the spells he wanted into his own book. Finally, Cadmus read through the human flesh-bound tome of necromancy spells that the Naerytar Wearer of Purple was conducting a ritual from.

In addition to multiple necromantic spells like a normal spellbook, this tome detailed rituals that could be used to boost the power of two unlife giving spells in exchange for sacrifices. Once the group had rested it was the middle of the night, and they decided to sleep the remainder of the night to pursue this flying ice castle in the light of dawn. Thus, just before day broke the group gathered at the barn outside the lodge, calmed the wyverns before saddling them, and blowing Talis’ whistle to instruct them. The trained wyverns initially resisted their new riders, but once the whistle was sounded they fell into line, taking off into the sky and headed southeast. It did not take long with the speed of their mounts until the party saw in the distance the flying iceberg among the clouds.

Cadmus used his new spear Dragongleam and had attached the five color cult banner to its end, and was flying it on the lead wyvern as Talis had instructed. The castle had two large ice walled courtyards extending from the main body of the iceberg, a shorter upper courtyard that hung over a longer lower courtyard. There were a number of tall skinny towers and one large round one on the upper courtyard, and two large round towers surrounding the entrance gate on the lower. The party let the wyverns head to where they were trained, which was a large outbuilding attached the ice walls of the lower courtyard. As they flew closer, the party could see ogres manning very large ballistas on each of the large round towers, but no shots came due to their banner.

Once the wyverns landed just outside the large outbuilding with enormous wooden doors, the party acted like they knew what to do, and opened the doors and led the creatures inside. It was indeed a massive stables currently occupied by two other hungry wyverns. When it appeared as if these wyverns would attack to eat them, Cadmus pulled out of the bag of holding the full goat (that he obtained from a giant’s sack) and tossed it to them. They promptly devoured the creature and left the party be. After they closed the doors and were outside in the large courtyard, one of the ogre guards had walked over to them from the nearest tower.

The party said they were here with new orders for the Count, and wished to see him. The dim-witted ogre said that was exactly what his orders were when new cultists arrived. And so, the ogre escorted them across the lower courtyard into the main body of the iceberg were a giant-sized spiral staircase made of ice went up and down. The group didn’t see any other cultists around, but there were other outbuildings along the ice wall. The ogre took them up the staircase to the upper courtyard and to the large tower in the rear of the complex, motioned them within but did not follow.

Inside were four ogres with plumed golden helmets standing guard with large spears, but they did nothing but watch as the party ascended the staircase that hugged the edge of the circular tower. On the top floor was a luxurious bedchamber for a giant, and sitting on the floor was the cloud giant Count Blagothkus - currently getting his long white hair brushed by his two personal ogre servants. At their entrance the giant stood and spoke in common, and the party told their tale. They were not actually cultists, of which Blagothkus said was obvious, but were here to bring news of the cult’s betrayal from the ghost of his son Eigernon. Outraged at the news, the adventurers showed the proof the ghost had said to display, Thia’s magical breastplate and the runed giant dagger that were both once Eigernon’s.

Return of the Sea Sorcerer
Blagothkus’ service to the cult was a tenuous thing, and he was always planning on betraying them at some point once he had secured the safety of his son. He had also hoped that the threat of the dragon’s rise of power would spur his kind to rally against their ancient foe, but he would no longer be their pawn. The party agreed to help and said that was the other reason they were here, to help defeat these cultists and recover the treasure they had been stealing. Thus, the group plotted with the giant. Blagothkus said the cultists had been using his castle to ferry large amounts of treasure to their new secret base of operations, which was nestled in the ancient inactive volcano known as the Well of Dragons at the southern tip of the Sharpteef Mountains. The current treasure load was being kept deep inside the castle’s iceberg core, guarded by an adult white dragon named Glazhael the cult had brought.

The Count then described the other inhabitants of his castle, including two stone giants allied with him and his compliment of ogre guards. The cult had about twenty kobold servants, a dozen or so cultists and a few cult leaders. This included two spellcasters, Rezmir the black Wyrmspeaker herself, and a bald, black robed man he said was called a Night Wizard. All of the cultists were in buildings in the lower courtyard, while the upper was reserved for giants and his ogres. While the party and some of his ogres would go below to purge the castle, Blagothkus and his honor guard would go to the central steering tower on the upper courtyard and ensure no one took control of the castle.

To ensure the ogre guards below didn’t fire ballistas at them the Count said he would inform the ogre guards in the barracks about what was about to occur and to go relieve the guards below. And so, the party waited in the upper courtyard for ogres to return from below as Blagothkus and his honor guard left. Once this guard shift had changed, the adventurers took a few of the ogres down the staircase and had them guard it to block any cultists from leaving the lower courtyard while they began their purge. The party first went to an outbuilding with two entrances, and attacked through both doors at once. This room was a massive kitchen manned by the kobold servants.

The kobolds didn’t even stand a chance, and the party made quick work as quietly as possible. Cadmus was even able to get an entire sheep into his bag of holding to replace his lost goat. Next, they went to the longer outbuilding next to this kitchen, and this time they found the main guest chambers for smallfolk, currently a cultist barracks. This battle was much more even and louder, but they were now far from the other buildings of the lower courtyard, and the ogre guards manning the ballistas ignored the noise. Afterwards, the party crossed to the other side of the courtyard and randomly decided which of the rooms to attack first, knowing they had the leaders to deal with. It would be much more difficult to keep the others from hearing commotion here.

The room the party chose to burst into was a moderately lavish guest quarters for two smallfolk, they saw one human male sitting at a table counting coins and thought they saw another person disappear. Taken by surprise, the man at the table stood and grabbed his weapon, but stopped when he saw the halfling in their group.

“Rufus? What are you doing here?”

The swashbuckler recognized the man he hadn’t seen in years as his hated step-father, Ser Thornton. Not surprised himself that this evil man was working for the cultists, Rufus was about to attack when the disembodied voice of Selwyn the sea-sorcerer taunted them.

Their old party member they had abandoned in the cult raider camp after the attack on Greenest, was now serving the cult. The tension was cut when the thunderous boom of a lightning bolt erupted from the middle of room and struck a number of the party members. The battle erupted as Ser Thornton attacked and the party slew the knight while trying to avoid the magic from the invisible foe. Selwyn thunder-stepped away from the group, causing another massive thunderclap that echoed throughout the castle, all while staying invisible. After Ser Thornton had been slain, Rufus pleaded for reason with his friend.

Rufus apologized for what happened to Selwyn, and said he understood he had done what he needed to survive - and clearly gain more power. Eventually, with the group quite wounded Selwyn agreed to stop, and join sides with his old friend once again. And that is where the session ended, with the party reunited with their sorcerer and the remaining cultist leaders in the castle - Rezmir and the Night Wizard - clearly alerted to the sounds of battle.

It was late morning of the one hundred and forty sixth day since the raid on Greenest.

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