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PROGRAMMING ERROR: We never switched off our break screen after the break, so there’s no video for the last hour of the session. It’s basically all cutscenes at that point but still, oops! The DM has been issued 100 demerits.
Previously on “Storm King’s Thunder”
We severed the final chain, its glowing runes dimming as color returned to the Storm Giant King. The ship was rocking heavily now, and made worse by the now conscious Giant who began to rise to his full height, smashing through the deck above and screaming about a betrayal by the Lord’s Alliance.
He swung his broken chains, still attached to his arms, knocking TIM and Halfred backward.
I screamed out using the Giant tongue. “King Hekaton! We were sent by Princess Serissa, your daughter. We’re here to rescue you!”
At the mention of his daughter his bearded face softened with recognition, and his rage subsided.
I opened my mouth to speak again when I felt a pain stab right through my mind. A massive font of psychic energy, the likes of which I’d never felt before, sent me reeling to the floor clutching my head.
The ship rocked again, tilting dangerously to one side.
We heard Felgolos scream from above. “Tentacles! We got tentacles up here!”
We delved into the belly of the Morkoth, searching for the Storm Giant King. To reach him we had to deal with the second-half stragglers of the Morkoth crew, including the Kraken cult wizard Tholtz.
After a brief look through the pockets of the numerous slain pirates on the deck, we told Felgolos to land and take a breather while we prepared to go below deck. Remembering that the half-orc pirate and been calling for reinforcements, we didn’t want to waste any time.
Kazin used the Mask of Many Faces to look like one of the dead pirates and ran down the stairs. I was greeted by half a dozen pirates armed with throwing knives ready to ambush anyone coming down. I used Awakened Mind to warn everyone else, then heard Korinn’s reply via Sending – “Duck.”
Kazin ran around the pirates as a Fireball, courtesy of Bryseis, flew down the stairs. It engulfed them, though most actually made the DEX save and survived. Roll for Initiative!
We were a bit battered and bruised from the top-side fight but pirates are little match for level 11 PCs. One by one the rest of us charged downstairs to engage in battle. Chaos Bolts, Chromatic Orbs, Halfred’s Bladebow, and TIM wielding Dawnstrike.
One of the cultists in the back approached Kazin and spent a round investigating my disguise. He failed, and I responded by casting Fear. Sadly I only caught one of the three targets, and he would die before getting another round anyway. Just stick to stabbin’ Kazin.
While we were mopping up pirates and cultists, a pale, tattooed wizard sporting red robes approached from a back office. He had a thick accent and wouldn’t shut up about their god-like kraken.
Tholtz Daggerdark was a damn 9th level spellcaster. He began by using Time Stop, then stacking a Cold Shield and a Globe of Invulnerability. He fired a Cone of Cold at half the party, followed by the other half in the following round.
We (mostly) made the saves, but it was painful as hell. Thankfully he had to concentrate on his Globe. We were able to break that with some good old fashioned arrows. A whirlwind of attacks and [Psychic] Smite from Kazin followed by a Lightning Bolt from Korinn obliterated the haughty mage.
We searched his backroom to find one incredibly important piece of information – the name of the ancient blue dragon who was behind everything: Iymrith. That was also the name of one of the top Storm giant advisers to Princess Serissa!
We had our foe in our sights at the Malestrom, and didn’t even know it.
The ship began to rock as a storm rage outside. We went to the lowest deck to find King Hekaton. He was frozen in time, bound by large steel chains inscribed with runes. With acid, blade, and pike we struck the chains, sundering them apart and awakening the Storm Giant King.
He was not happy, and not exactly in his right mind, still reeling from an apparent betrayal from the Lord’s Alliance that lead him to his capture. He began swinging the chains in retaliation and splintering the ship as he stood, while the storm began tearing the ship apart from the outside.
No, not the storm. Something else. Felgolos screamed as tentacles began emerging from all around. It was the kraken, Slarkrethel. It didn’t take long to realize he intended to sink the ship, with us on board.
Halfred produced the Conch of Teleporation and I yelled out in Giant to calm the King, invoking his daughter’s name. A 20+ Persuasion roll managed to calm the giant down before he did any more damage. I quickly explained that we had been sent by his daughter to rescue him. He saw the Conch and demanded we return to her at once.
Halfred was battered by a tentacle attack. Felgolos finally tore through the netting above to get within line of sight, and Halfred blew the shell, sending all of us back to the Maelstrom as the ship was crushed by the kraken.
We didn’t waste any time. Hekaton charged through the Storm Giant liar, showing us places we pretty much skipped on our own clandestine path.
Giants lie dead along the way. A massacre. We reached the throne room to find Serissa sitting upon it, comatose and paralyzed, as Iymrith floated nearby, scepter in hand.
She taunted us, her plans clearly having unfolded, though our arrival hastened her retreat. She teleported away, but now that we knew who she was, Hekaton and the remaining giants were able to locate her lair – a half-buried amphitheater in the desert.
TIM and Kazin tried to heal Serissa but it was no use. The Storm Giants needed their scepter returned to cure her, and to properly reestablish the Ordning.
After a much-need long rest we received potions of Giant-Size from the Storm Giant King, who asked us to accompany him for the final showdown against the dragon. The Maelstrom could teleport us right to her doorstep. We’re more than happy to finally bring the fight to her.
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