Session Preface:
Four days since departing from Durindale, a sense of comfort radiates through you, Thaust, at home in these Neverwinter Woods. They are not the trees of Ardeep nor the creatures who make their homes just beyond your village, but the familiarity is peaceful nonetheless. The soft, damp soil beneath your feet, the shade of kind branches stretching out above you to shade you as you journey, the caress of hanging moss tickling against your face, the call and response of birds fluttering through the leafless canopy and the darting paths of the occasional rabbit or squirrel braving the cold of the last days of winter scurrying around you. All of these bring comfort on this strange journey which only grows stranger by the day.
As you walk behind your firbolg companion, you can't help but consider the circumstances which have brought you here, Hawk. Last year, a quiet day in an unremarkable tavern in an even less remarkable town led you to the defense of Durindale alongside the blue tiefling who now walks next to you once more, the beads in his beard a syncopated tempo to your stride. On the very same journey prior, you perchance saved a dwarf, who now must clearly have been of Gauntlgrym, from a roving band of orcs. Those orcs, of course, now obviously must have been working for fire giants in the area as well. This thought reminds you then of the wood elf Arella who you briefly encountered while searching for Taylor who was investigating the giant activity in these woods. So many strange weavings of moments grasping at the larger truth, this still unraveling answer to the purpose behind the shattered ordning and those responsible and all the ways which it has cascaded down into the lives of those around you.
Walking behind your two companions and the ever increasingly peculiar Ser Vantes, you walk with a sense of fulfillment knowing Lorelei, precious Gwynestri and Gerard are safe and settling into a new home and life for themselves. While this sense of peace is inviting, you are careful not to let it dull your senses or put your mind at ease, for you know the journey forward leads further into the realm of giants and their schemes and it will likely take all of your wit and ingenuity to ensure you return to see your family at the end of all this. You are wary also of the signature still scratched into your palm, for you know it is not like Xorone to leave favors unrequested for long.
At evening's fall, you collectively set up camp in the familiar routine of gathering wood, pitching tents, and cooking the evening's hunt. Soon after, the soft plucking notes of Hawk's lute ring out gracefully over the crackling fire. The grease dripping from Thaust's third helping of rabbit wafts through the air, mixed with the earthy musk of the forest still damp timber. Sparks fly from Emmyth's hands as he mutters to himself, deep in study of his spell book in preparation for what the next day might entail.
"Well, alright lads. I promised you the whole of it about the Kraken Society and them storm giants. I'll only be telling it once, so you best listen close and not interrupt. Any questions or anything you need to do before we get settled in to it?"
Things started out pretty standard, as far as the Society is concerned. Drylund receives a message that his best crew is supposed to head out to Red Rocks because a Storm Giant has been assaulting the coast and we're gonna go out there and put an end to it. Something about legitimizing the cause or whatever. So anyway, we get a crew together, take one of the barges down river, and sail up to Red Rocks. Sure enough, a Storm Giant - taller than a temple, ocean blue skin, beautiful and fearsome as any creature I'd ever set these two eyes on. But she ain't there attacking. She's propped up on her elbows, waves lapping against her side, just talking to some of the folk who carve out a living on them damned islands. She was laughing with them, for gods' sakes.
That was when I knew something was off, but none of them other men saw anything other than a monster. "It's a trick of the eyes" they said. "Like a siren or the merefolk, trying to deceive us." So, they set about the task at hand. The giant didn't put up a fight. The look she gave as those idiots drew their weapons, crushed my lungs in on my chest, it did. Surprise, shock, dismay, all painted across this radiant larger-than-life face. You could feel her sense of betrayal and broken-heartedness.
I couldn't do it. I couldn't kill something - someone - so peaceful, so beautiful, and so obviously not a threat. But of course, I couldn't let anyone know about it. So I did the only thing I could think of. I hid those thoughts away and grabbed my swords and I chased after the locals like a madman intent on killing everything in sight. Of course, I just put on a show of it all, but it got those poor folks away from the bloodlust of the others. And at least for the time being, Drylund and the others were none the wiser. And the kraken seemed distracted with other things, so he didn't make my brain explode for not following orders.
But that wasn't the last giant we encountered.
Drylund received another message, this time from a higher-up in the organization who goes by the name Tholtz Daggerdark - as self-inflating as he sounds, trust me - saying to stay there and ambush any other giants who came our way. Except this time, we were supposed to try and capture them instead of just chopping them to bits like the others had done with the poor queen.
The plan was pretty simple. Apparently the Storm Giant King thought he was coming up to the surface to meet the Lord's Alliance, who had information about the missing queen. Instead, he was going to find us, pretending to be the Alliance, and we were supposed to use these massive magical chains to lock him up and they'd put him in a trance or something. I don't know. But since I was the only one with any sense of showmanship, I got dragged into playing the role of parlaying with the king.
So the king arrives and we get to talking. I'm pretending to be Default Neverember of Waterdeep, or Neverwinter now I guess, anyways, I'm acting my ass off as this noble ambassador to the giants and the king isn't having it. He was already suspicious, but he could tell something wasn't straight. I was supposed to say this special phrase when it was the perfect time to wrap the chains around him, but I just, I couldn't bring myself to do it. Sure, this guy was a giant and could probably call down a thunderstorm to fry me into a million little pieces of tiefling, but he was just a husband trying to find his wife. The same wife my companions had murdered for now godsdamned reason besides some monster told them to.
I felt a sharp burning pain in my skull and I realized I was dangerously close to probably getting my brain broiled just for thinking about such things, so I did the only thing I could think of. I said the phrase the rest of the Society were waiting for and they started moving into position. While I continued distracting the giant, they made their way up the beach and managed to get just within range. Big guy noticed just in time to react. He put up a big fight. Took a handful of those assholes with him and left a nice hole in Drylund's boat, but there were too many of them and the chains took him down as soon as they got em around his feet. He was out like a snuffed candle. The poor bastard fell face first into the boat and they were sailing away as soon as the anchor lifted.
Daggerdark and his folk sailed off for the Trackless Sea in the Morkoth, probably somewhere off of Purple Rocks, so Slarkrethel can keep him close. Slarkrethel is working for some other monster, I heard one of them say, but didn't catch any other details or nothing.
But Drylund and the rest of my crew were none too happy with me. Said I didn't hold up my end of the scheme and came too close to ruining the plans. So they left me out there on those tiny rocks.
You know the worst part of it? I could constantly see the ships coming and going from Waterdeep, but none of them dared come close enough to try and pick me up. But my new crew, the one's we'll meet tomorrow? Gods bless them, they were dumb enough to try.
So yeah, that's pretty much what happened. After that I made my way to Waterdeep, bought me this nice hat to protect me from the kraken trying to find me or figure out what I've been up to, and then I made my way to Yartar to try and get some semblance of justice against Drylund for him leading the murder party and leaving me behind. And here we are. Quite the sailor's story, ain't it? Wouldn't believe it myself if I hadn't been the star of it and all. Anyways, that's the tale and all.
Tomorrow you'll meet the crew, you'll love em, and we'll take you out to the Trackless Sea so you can find the giant. All I ask in exchange is this - help me kill Daggerdark so I can take the Morkoth for myself. It's this magical ship, you see? What this hat does for me, the ship can do for everyone on board. It'd be the perfect thing for making sure Slarkrethel and the rest of his Society leave me and the rest of my crew in peace. What'd'ya say?"
Session Summary:
The party travels hastily through Neverwinter Woods to Neverwinter where they stock up on supplies before traveling south to find Ser Vantes' ship. In barely seaworthy condition, the aptly named "The Captain's Bitch", a moniker chosen by the entirely monstrous crew, departs from the small hidden cove after trepidation on the parts of Hawk and Thaust, especially after learning their destination is over two tenday away and they still don't know exactly where the Morkoth is hiding.
The first tenday of travel pass without major incident and the weather is favorable to their travels. The relative calm of the journey is interrupted when the shade of dragon's wings fall upon the ship without warning. Bracing for the destruction of the dilapidated ship upon the open seas, the party is equal parts relieved and astonished to see the dragon shape-shift into the familiar half-elf Zira. After initial reintroductions, Zira pulls Emmyth aside, sharing with him a new request from Davil Strongsong, reporting that Scimo, a chemist employed by the Zhentarim, may also be supplying the Xanathar’s thieves guild with tonics and wants an outside perspective on the situation.
To speed up Emmyth's current obligations, Zira agrees to fly the party to find the Morkoth so they can then take command of the ship for Ser Vantes and escape with King Hekaton. With Zira's aid, the party finds the ship within another two days of flight. The agreed-upon plan is a rare, seamless success with Zira's fearful presence and weakening breath weapons providing the party a wide berth and time to break the magical chains holding King Hekaton in an unconscious state. During this time, Ser Vantes sneaks into the captain's quarters, securing and giving Emmyth the spell-book promised as compensation for their help in securing the ship intact. Hekaton is soon released, bursting into a confused fury before Hawk manages to gather the party around him and teleport them and the king back to Maelstrom.
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