Davron experiences another prophetic dream, in which he stands in a tomb in a cold chapel and he hears a woman crying in the distance. A calm voice utters, “They have taken her children of hostages; that is not the way war is to be waged.” He remembers his dream upon waking.
Embra, meanwhile, dreams of sitting at a table across from an elegantly-dressed Tiefling. Embra recognizes that her garb identifies her as a high-ranking member of the Zhentarim. “Will you join me in a drink?” she asks, and Embra recognizes her voice from her previous communication with the Leosin and Tharasun One-Eye. Embra quaffs the stein of ale and the Tiefling introduces herself as Rian Nightshade. Rian warns Embra that the Council of Waterdeep will not allow Tamariel to carry the Dark Sermons of Strongor Bonebinder back to Phandalin, and will likely waylay him. She asks permission to broker a deal between Embra and Waterdeep: the Dark Sermons for custody of three of the dragon eggs. She also adds that if Embra is successful in her aim, she will negotiate for a tract of land including Phandalin, a title, and substantial portion of the area she is already protector of, and a position on the Lord’s Council. “As long as our paths remain in accord, this will benefit the both of us,” Embra agrees.
It is clear to everyone that Talis and Karendil hooked up the evening prior. Talis informs the group that the castle they are to infiltrate is the property of a giant named Blagothkus, whose alliance with the cultists in highly unusual given the ancient enmity between giants and dragons.
Skyreach Castle
The group gather at the stables as the wyverns are led out. They mount two to a beast and take to the sky with Talis in the lead. Davron, Steve and Jory steer the beasts over the mountainside and they travel for most of the day until they spy their destination: a shimmering edifice of ice gliding hundreds of feet in the sky—Skyreach Castle. They spy Chromatic Cultists who seem to be Dragonsouls like they have fought twice before on the watch towers but they arrive unmolested, since they are wearing Dragon Cultist clothes and armor and they fly banners provided to them by Talis. There are a couple of dozen cultists drilling in the courtyard and one of the guards directs the fleet to land in the upper courtyard.
Upon landing a low-level cultist and several kobolds receive their mounts and lead them away to the stables. He salutes them and says, “Rezmir is in her chambers is not to be disturbed right now. I’m sure she will send word for you soon enough.” Talis heads towards the barracks and gestures to the group to follow her. They enter the barracks and, seeing it is empty, make their plans. Talis informs the group that there are at least 3-6 Dragonsouls, a few intermediate-level cultists, some kobolds, at least the two-dozen lower-level cultists they saw drilling in the courtyard, some Thayans, and assorted staff. They agree that caution should be employed instead of their typical manner of surprise.
As they move out, Davron spies a particular tower and finds himself drawn to it—he realizes it is the location from his dream the night before. He informs the group and leads them up to the front door, where Shiv deftly picks the lock and they enter. They climb a staircase into a large giant’s tomb inscribed “Escarlotta” in Dwarven characters. Embra notes the place is consecrated and emanates no evil. Davron feels a presence and he kneels and prays. He hears in his mind the voice from his dream, saying “seek me in the Steering Tower”; he gains a sense of where he must go next. The group leaves the tower and restores the lock and makes their way to the next tower.
The next tower is magically locked, and Karendil uses the magical chime from the banshee Agatha’s horde. The chime sounds, door unlocks, and the group enters into a room full of controls. The walls of the tower disappear and they see the entire castle complex around them. “You came looking for me—why do you seek me, priest?” A voice sounds out from all around them.
Davron: I had a vision of you.
Voice: A vision of me? What am I to you?
Davron: Um…
Voice: You don’t seem to be cultists.
Davron: Who are you?
Voice: You are not cultists—have you come to help us?
Davron: Tell us what has happened.
Voice: The cultists stormed our castle and took our children hostage. Blagothkus—I don’t know where he is. He hasn’t been here to speak to me in days, and that is unlike him. And these strange orders…places to go…I’m carrying treasure.
Davron: Where all have you take treasure?
Voice: A place near the Spine of the World. The cult is gathering treasure. I fear they have done something to my husband. He would not go days or weeks without coming to speak to me. I know he’s here.
Shiv: We’ll get him back, but is there a message to give him so that he won’t attack us?
Voice: You can try my name but I fear he may not be himself.
Embra: You are the control?
Voice: This castle is an heirloom of my family. When the heir dies their spirit passes into the castle and animates it, and the previous inhabitant passes on to an eternal rest. This room is the only place I may speak.
Embra: Can you control the locks to all the doors of the castle?
Voice: If the cult has added security to any of the doors, it is nothing I have control over.
[title size=”3″ content_align=”left” style_type=”underline” sep_color=”” class=”” id=””]Meeting Rezmir[/fusion_title]
Rezmir
The group tells Escarlotta that they will try to rescue her husband and they return to the barracks and wait for Rezmir to summon them. Eventually they are sent for and they walk into her conference room, where she is seated and waiting for them. They notice that three Chromatic Cultists but of a lesser staion than those they have fought before stand guard inside the room and the group take their seats at the table.
She turns and looks directly at Embra and says, “I suppose you’re the leader of this little expedition. I know my men; your armor does not match who you should be. You’re tenacious—I suppose I should give you credit for that.” Embra stares at her momentarily, says, “Yeah, let’s get this over with.” and teleports behind her and swings the battle-axe at her. Jory draws his blade, rises, and jumps upon the table.
Rezmir concentrates briefly and the black dragon mask appears on her face. She breathes a swath of acid at the group that wounds them all but inflicts the most damage on Embra. She shouts to her men and gestures at Talis: “Kill the traitor!” The group attacks Rezmir as one, leaving her minions to deal with Talis, and in moments Rezmir is dead. They turn their attention to the cultists and make quick work of two of them and Davron casts Hold Person on the third. As they are collecting themselves Shiv opens a door to see a guard down the hall looking quizzically at her. He signals to the guard to approach him, but the guard hesitates until Embra appears and commands him to approach. The group kills this unfortunate guard and, when the third Dragonsoul cultist refuses to divulge any information, they kill him too.
The group rests briefly, and Karendil attempts to identify the enchantments on Rezmir’s sword. The sword proves to be sentient and informs Karendil that he is too good and noble for the sword to be willing to attune to him. Embra secures Rezmir’s mask and Davron takes her sword. After looting any other items of worth from the cultists, they move on to the door to the north which proves to be unoccupied guest quarters. The far wall of the room has an intricate design and, upon further examination, Shiv discovers that it dissolves away into a window to reveal an open balcony.
As they approach the northeast door they hear a voice from the other side: “Oh, don’t bother skulking around out there; come inside and talk with us.” The group enters the room stone-faced and silent, where they see two Thayans sitting at a table—one of whom they recognize as Rezmir’s associate Azbara Jos from Castle Naerytar. The other Thayan is dressed more ornately and it is he who speaks to them. They are flanked by three guards in Thayan livery. Embra walks to the chair across the Thayan, places Rezmir’s head on the table before them, and sits. Shiv and Davron flank her and the others take positions in the room.
“She’s never looked better,” the Thayan smiles at Rezmir’s head. He continues:
Thayan: So, what brings you here other than cutting Rezmir’s head off? I am intrigued by you—you seem quite determined.
Embra: We are here to collect what was taken from the Sword Coast and return it.
Thayan: How heroic!
Embra: We don’t want the cultists on the Sword Coast or anywhere near it. About the giant…
Thayan: Yes, Severin has him charmed.
Embra: What is your role in all of this, if you don’t mind my asking?
Thayan: Severin has the ritual he needs to summon the dragon queen into the world, but he does not have the magical expertise it would take. So he has entered into an alliance with our Thayan expatriates. I figure with the backing of the dragon queen we can take our country back.
Embra: That seems excessive—do you think she will care?
Thayan: I haven’t found a better plan; we’ll see how this one goes. It’s something to pass the time.
Embra: Why don’t you hire a group of hardy adventurers to do it for you? Everyone seems to be doing that nowadays.
Thayan: I hear that, yes. If you want something done right my dear, you have to do it yourself.
Embra: Or resurrect a dragon to do it for you.
Thayan: She’s just in the Nine Hells—you can’t kill Tiamat. Well not permanently anyway?
Embra: Are we at an impasse here, or must we carve through you too?
Thayan: You do whatever you feel you need to. *he casually rises and walks to the nearby wall.* You won’t be troubling me, because I’m not here. *disappears*
As the Thayan fades out, a Barbed Devil appears alongside Jos and rushes at Talis. Jos is startled by his mentor’s disppearance for a moment then turns invisible, and the opposing groups draw their weapons and attack. As the fight rages the nearby wall opens and closes, and they assume Jos has fled the room. After a heated skirmish the group slays the Thayan guards and Barbed Devil and they collect their bodies and throw them out of the sky door. Karendil cleans the room with Prestidigitation and the others search it. They find letters between Severin and Rath Modar the higher ranking Thayan that explain their alliance and a book of ritual magic describing what is involved in summoning Tiamat (but not the actual spells). The next room is a cold locker and the final room they see is Rezmir’s personal room, but they sense the rug is trapped and elect not to search it just yet.
They make plans to head back to the barracks to blend in with the guard and attempt to get a full rest.
Meta
MIA: Jeffrey, Oona
Body Count
- 3 Dragonfang Cultists
- 1 Dragonwing Guard
- Rezmir
- 3 Thayan Guards
- 1 Barbed Devil
Acquisitions
- 1 Black Dragon Mask
- 1 Sword of Rezmir
- Dragonfang armor
- various goodies from the dead Dragonsouls and Thayans
Experience Points
- 1850XP (24,850XP Total)
Highlights
- 2 Hot 4 U.
DM: It’s obvious to everyone that Karendil and Talis have spent the night with each other.
Embra: Ohhh…fifty-fifty chance he Fireballed her.
DM: “I didn’t mean to Burning Hands at the moment of orgasm!”
Jory: To the face!
Davron: “Magic Missile—uhn! uhn! uhn!”
Everyone: *cackles* - Priorities.
DM: You’ve landed here, and this big room is where the Dragonsouls’ barracks are.
Davron: Maybe there’s a cafeteria, Jory.
Embra: Yeah—you wanna stop for a sub or something? - Situation Sort-Of-Awareness.
Jory: *midway into the adventure* This iceberg castle is mobile?
Embra: Yeah, because it’s floating up in the sky.
Jory: Oh…because we flew up there.
Embra: Hey guys…Jory’s catching on.
DM: “All the pieces fit into place!” - The Plan All Along.
DM: You hear a voice from the other side [of the door]: “Oh, don’t bother skulking around out there; come inside and talk with us.”
Embra: I guess we enter.
Jory: I just follow you in and wait for you to tell me to start murdering people. - Okay.
Davron: Jory, what’s your last name?
Embra: “of Thundertree”.
Davron: Your new nickname is Jory “The Belly” of Thundertree.
Embra: Jory “The Gourmet” Thundertree.
Davron: Jory “Golden Corral” Thundertree.
Embra: Jory “Foot Long Club” Thundertree.
Jory: Did you see John Oliver’s thing on our anti-ISIS spending in Syria? - Jory’s Nu-Metal Album Title
Jory: I’m gonna step to the devil. *rolls 10, 11, 9*
DM: None of those hit.
Jory: I’m just showing him my moves.
Davron: Jory, you’re fired.
Embra: *sings* Step to tha deviiiiiiiil! - Need To Know
Jory: I find some traps in this room that I don’t tell you guys about. - I Bring Tribute!
Jerry’s awesome brownies and packages of red snapper.