Session Preface
You stand once more in the ginormous central chamber of the Eye of the All-Father. Statues of Annam's children, each a perfect example of what each giant type strives to be, circle around you with the faceless Annam himself looming over your small form as you look onward to the stone archway before you.
Your frost giant companion, the friendly, gruff, and somehow endearing Harshnag lifts up the impressive stone battle axe, the missing offering from the outstretched hands of Thrym. "Reckon this is the key to opening up the archway, then?" he says, looking down to the trio of you.
Harshnag lumbers towards the archway, holding out the massive weapon. He touches the long-dulled stone blade to the 'ise' rune and it flashes a white light. The archway, previously dull grey clouds swirling slowly, activates with a radiant white and inviting glow. The stone wall visible through the mist disappears and there is nothing but the silver glow of mist and a radiant energy extending beyond the archway itself.
Session Summary
Using the activated archway, the party teleports to the Oracle's chamber deep within the mountain itself. Here the adventurers and Harshnag meet the ghost of a cloud giant, Eigeron, who visited the Oracle with his father Blagothkus. Upon learning of the soon shattering ordning, Blagothkus learned he would never be considered worthy of Annam's attention while Eigeron was encouraged to step out from his father's shadow. In a fit of rage and envy, Blagothkus killed his son, leaving the body in the Oracle's chamber.
Eigeron instructs the party on how to speak to the Oracle using the massive 'kong' rune carved into the floor. After clearing away the ice and speaking to Eigeron to learn a bit more about the ordning and giant society, Emmyth steps forward into the rune and asks the first of the six questions available to the party.
Through the revelations provided by the Oracle, the party learned if Annam breaking the Ordning to wake giants from their complacency following the murder of the storm giant Queen Neeri. Further, the heroes discovered some combination of the queen's daughters arranged her downfall which was completed by small folk in the small island region of Red Rocks and that someone within the Storm King's court is "not what they appear".
With this information, the party leaves the Oracle's chambers planning to regain their strength and use the conch shell retrieved from Guh's wagon-throne and make their way to Maelstrom, the stronghold of Strong Giants beneath the Trackless Sea.
Harshnag's Fate
As you return through the white radiant light of the archway, you are immediately cast into shadow once more. But it is not the still and silent shadow of the faceless Annam which greets you. Silhouetted before you are a set of massive claws, a whipping tail, and a pair of wings, each covered in massive blue scales. Before you can respond, Harshnag shouts, his guttural voice bellowing in this ancient halls.
"You damned beast! You dare disturb this holy temple?! I will tear off your wings and shove them down your throat!" Drawing his battle axe, Harshnag looks down to you once more. "You heard the Oracle! Your fate lies elsewhere! Use the shell, now! I will hold off this damned dragon while you escape! Now!"
In one graceful motion belying his size, Harshnag swings his chipped and well-worn battle axe towards the dragon, the edge sliding and catching underneath its wing, blood splashing against the stone cloak of Annam. The dragon hisses and screams, its claws extending towards Harshnag's face and his dragon skull helm. The frost giant ducks, swiping the claws away with the shaft of his axe. As he does, the dragon whips its massive tail, crashing against the central statue. As a small chip breaks off, the entire room shudders and constricts.
"YOU. MUST. GO. NOW" Harshnag shouts just before a razor-sharp claw catches his shoulder, throwing him to the ground. The massive blue dragon moves atop Harshag as a bladed-tooth grin breaks across its face. It's tail whips once more, this time breaking one of Annam's arms off. The stone crashes to the floor with a resounding and thunderous boom. The room is still for a moment before the entire temple begins crumbling and shattering apart.
Harshnag grabs the leg of the dragon with blood coursing down his light blue skin and twists it down, pulling the dragon's weight as a large boulder of the ceiling above crushes the dragon's tail. The creature lets out another hissing scream, its wings flapping furiously, kicking up dust and stone and snow across the room. Through the chaos, you see Harshnag return to his feet, axe in hand, ensuring the mutual destruction of himself and the dragon who dared defy his people's holy temple. Harshnag looks back to you once more through the collapsing chamber and smiles "TWAS A GOOD JOURNEY, FRIENDS. NOW GO!"
Arriving in Maelstrom
As the resonate bellowing tone of the conch shell fades, you find yourself once more in an unfamiliar place built for giants 4 times your size. Even compared to the giant temple in the Spine of the World, it is dimly lit and cold in this new chamber. Beneath your feet, yet another strange rune glows and eventually fades. The sound of water gently lapping against stone reaches your ears from across the room. Glowing lichen, a myriad of snails and starfish and coral cascade along the moist walls around you. The air itself is dense and humid against your skin. Your nostrils fill with the scent of seaweed and salt. In the distance, you hear a powerful, melodious voice drifting down from the stairs across the chamber, accompanied by deep, haunting tones eerie, but reminiscent of a pipe organ from the cathedrals of Waterdeep.
Upon arriving in Maelstrom, the party explores the coordoors they find themselves in before quietly moving upstairs to observe where the musical performance is coming from. At the top of the giant-sized spiral staircase, the party discovers two storm giants performing for guests including a giant of each type except for hill. The cloud giant and fire giant sit close to one another, whispering about the "princesses losing control" and discussing whether action must be taken as a result. When the performance is interrupted by the arrival of "small folk," the two storm giants descend from their stage with guards in tow, questioning the party.
When the party explains they've visited the Oracle and asks to speak to King Hekaton, his daughters are taken aback momentarily before revealing their father is missing and there are currently no leads as to his location, but that his youngest daughter, Princess Serissa, sits on the throne in his place. When the party expresses an interest in speaking to her, the giants explain she is far too busy with her other guests and ambassadors, but will fetch for them upon their availability.
The party spends several moments planning and plotting and getting their story straight before being abruptly summoned to the throne room to address the princess.
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