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(Following: Skyreach Castle )
After gaining insight into the locations and happenings around the flying castle-upon-iceburg, the party approached the stone giants, who arranged the group to meet with the cloud giant who commands the castle - Blagothkus. Tallon the Tall, being able to speak giant, translated - meeting with this enormous being with Belcoria and Willow at his side. Soon after came the events of the Simril visit by Father Klaustus, a giant/godling who serves Tymora, the Goddess of Luck (and essentially a Santa Claus like being - who visited the young-adult Blagothkus and provided the party with enormous advantage in sorting the matter of the castle.
(See: Twas the Night of Simril)
Our intrepid adventurers first put down the half-dragon Rezmir, Black Wyrmspeaker, initially in mortal form by way of Yeet’s assassin skills, then reborn as a Black Abishai through coordinated tactics and joined by the Ice Devil. During this battle, anticipating potentially losing the Black Dragon Mask, Tallon employed Hew to full use in destroying the door to Rezmir’s room and then the chest holding the mask.
Meanwhile, in the battle against the minions of the Nine Hells, a dramatic sequence of:
- Willow ensnaring the ice devil’s wings
- Mon-Kei pushing the devil to the edge of the causeway
- Belcoria shield-bashing the devil off the causeway - falling to the ground 80 ft below
- Mon-Kei slow-falling to land and deliver further damage
- Yeet Longshade shadow-stepping into a final sneak attack assassination with Ghost Needle
left both the abishai and the ice devil banished, witnessed by an alerted Red Wizard, about to launch a terrible attack on our group, only to be stymied by Willow’s Silence spell.
Belcoria then Misty Stepped to the wizard’s high wall and pursued him into the wizard’s tower, where she destroyed him in a shattering poof of snow. (Rath Modar having left the castle long before and leaving a clone - a Simulacrum - of himself). Before his demise, the Red Wizard of Thay spoke:
“I see that you have infiltrated our little fortress in the sky and killed poor Mistress Rezmir. Unfortunate, but these things have a tendency to happen when you try to take over the world. Dangerous line of work and all. I am willing to overlook that transgression and let you leave unharmed. However, there is something that must remain with me. A certain item now in your possession. An ebony mask of draconic mien. So long as you hand over the dragon mask to me, you are free to go.”
Belcoria then tried to exit the tower at its base, only to learn its only entry/exit was from the causeway, but on the ground floor, and joined by Willow, she found a dark altar and two cages. In one of the cages was a man imprisoned with a [Silence] ward, head in a bag, and hands in manacles. Freeing him, they learned he was sent to infiltrate the Cult of the Dragon by one of Dagult Neverember (of Neverwinter)’s advisors - Rian Nightshade. There was a council of high-ranking people meeting in Waterdeep to address this looming threat of the Cult of the Dragon’s plans to summon Tiamat.
This man was a Warlock named Alorrik Bane, and here with a partner who had taken on the guise of the other Red Wizard of Thay, Azbara Jos. He was relieved to hear Rath Modar’s simulacrum destroyed, along with Rezmir - and noted the real Azbara Jos had been tossed from the walls to fall to his death a day prior. Before leaving the tower, Alorrik urgently searched for “his book” and “his staff” (a quarterstaff of crystalline material) and a few magical tomes left by the red wizards.
Regrouping, the party rejoined Blagothkus in the high tower, along with Hulda the lady stone giant. Wigolf, the male, joined the ogres to prepare for battle from the lower keep. The party’s concerns were focused on what to do with the Black Dragon Mask, as it was now very likely attracting the attention of the main baddies in the Cult of the Dragon because
- Rath Modar would be aware of what befell his simulacrum (and Rath Modar is one of the main architects of this whole plot - very close to Severin Silrajin the Red Wyrmspeaker) and
- Mon-Kei put on the Black Dragon Mask and suddenly could listen in on conversations between the other Wyrmspeakers, who seemed to become aware that he was not Rezmir.
Alorrik found a spell in the Red Wizards’ books that could open a portal to another plane, and believed he might be able to cast this and send the mask into that place. He began the process of learning how to perform that ritual, while hoping his companion (who seemed to be his girlfriend?) was doing OK on her own - somewhere - as the Red Wizard. (There were still two purple robed Cult leaders - the Captain and the priestess Frulam Mondath - plus over 100 cultists and of course - the dragon).
At this time, recalling the bracelet Tallon retrieved from the burial tomb back in Neverwinter Wood was actually a giant’s ring, Tallon offered this to Blagothkus, who put it on and suddenly could speak Common with ease, and noted several other powers came to him, further bolstering his confidence. Also at this time, Willow sent an animal messenger (rat) to seek out Talis the White (Kasterel) and see how she was doing getting the dragon to abandon the castle. Along with the inquiry, the party reported success in taking down Rezmir and the Red Wizards.
This, apparently, was a mistake - as Talis no longer had to be concerned about her rival Rezmir, and thus also knew the Black Dragon Mask would be in their possession, and with the progress she’d made with Glazhael, she would be unquestioningly the leader here (perhaps no challenge from Frulam Mondath?) Soon, there was a priestess of Tiamat (Talis the White) atop an Adult White Dragon (Glazhael the Stormchaser) atop the high tower, demanding the Black Dragon Mask be surrendered to her. Punctuating her commanding voice, the dragon’s roars awakened the forces in the courtyards, and the small army began to assemble to lay siege to the high tower.
A plan was hatched, with Tallon assisting in building a bunker from the giants’ furniture - as cover for Yeet and Willow, aided by Belcoria and Hulda. Blagothkus put on his armor and weaponry and readied his magics to confront the dragon. Ujio, Mon-Kei and Tallon readied to rappel down the walls and take on the siege weapons. The battle that followed was truly fierce! Glazhael and Talis unleashed large area damage, fear, and death to the high tower and the group in the lower keep, swooping at great speed. Damage to the dragon was countered by the healing magics of the priestess. The stone giantess threw heavy chairs at the forces below, shots were fired, ice and fists and thunderwaves rocked the opposing forces. The cloud giant shot lightning bolts, flew into the sky and wielded a terrifying hammer.
The forces below broke open the great door mid-tower and surged up the stairs to be met by Alorrik and Belcoria - some twenty high-ranking cultists including Frulam Mondath and the (false) Red Wizard Azbara Jos (the disguised partner/girlfriend Alorrik mentioned - sent with him by the Waterdeep Council). As Frulam began a spell to invoke the power of Tiamat, the Red Wizard suddenly and ferociously stabbed her in the neck, Frulam dropping to the ground instantly.
In the pattern of circling the castle to wreak death and havoc, Talis the White, atop Glazhael the Cloudchaser, were bearing down on the tower landing and witnessing Frulam’s demise - Talis (later learned to be her cousin) screamed in rage - directing Glazhael to swoop in on this attacker. The dragon then bit down and swallowed the wizard whole as he passed over the keep.
Now Alorrik responded with his own bellowing, “Vyerith! Nooooooooo!” and snarling to Belcoria, “See you in…” (pause, reconsidering, looking at all her shiny brilliance, even in black armor) “Hope to NOT see you in Hell!” and uttering a spell [Dimension Door] he appeared next to Talis on the dragon’s back and cracked his glass staff in half, releasing the enchantment energies with the weapon’s destruction. A shockwave rolls across the battlements and courtyard below, a boom followed by an eerie silence as the dragon and rider - blown to bits - glance off the outer wall and fall down and down and down - destroyed.
Somehow, a miraculous warding magic on Alorrik somehow kept his body whole, but charred and now falling, his own demise seemed certain, but the flying cloud giant Blgothkus, swooped, casting [Levitation] to halt and catch the warlock, bringing him to safety. The only remaining purple robe, Captain Othelstan, calls for surrender - to which the non-winged troops comply (many of the dragonwing troops dive away, gliding to the ground - escaping).
Several of the Ogres had been killed, along with Wigolf, in the lower keep of the castle. The following day, Alorrik is able to bring Wigolf back, though now missing one arm from the elbow down. The party quietly noted Alorrik’s outburst of “Vyerith” likely meant his disguised partner, who he had said had the ability to shapechange, was the same as the Vyerith met in Cragmaw Castle - the Drow woman working with Nezznar Baenre/"The Black Spider". As Belcoria had recalled Alorrik looking familiar, this now brought the memories together, Vyerith being the sister of Vhalek - the doppelganger killed in the Wave Echo Caves by Mormesk the wraith. So Vyerith - a shape-changing doppelganger - and partnered with Iarno Albrek (the wizard “Glasstaff” - who left the Lords Alliance and Sildar Hallwinter) was seen communicating with Nezznar the Black Spider through that magical mirror, just before attacking and capturing him.
The party trains and gains the abilities of 9th level. Ujio now wears the magical scale mail from Frulam Mondath - made of adamantium! He also wears a sword from the treasure hoard, one he had seen back in Phandalin as a key part of the defeat of Cryovain by the Dragonslayers. Perhaps keeping this will keep them out of causing more trouble!
(Next: Skyreach Aftermath )