SKT Session 22 (7/11/23): Escape to Maelstrom

Awestruck, the party watched as another of the Walking Statues of Waterdeep (the Griffon) was blasted apart by the dragons lightning breath. Reluctantly, the party, bringing along the red dragonborn they saw putting out the flames, named Cal, decided to face the dragon and moved towards the courtyard she was destroying.

In the courtyard, the blue dragon and her gargoyles were torching and killing Waterdhavian civilians. Upon the arrival of the party, she stopped, and turned her focus to them.

"Why are you here, Iymrith?"

Nadhrys demanded to know the motivations of the dragon right away.

"You know why I am here. Hand over the conches and I won't destroy the city."

Analyzing the situation around him, Dhrys eyed the rest of the party and pulled out the conches. For a moment, it seemed as if he were going to hand them over to Iymrith.

With a swift motion, Dhrys brought the conches to his lips and blew. Iymrith leapt towards the rogue, attempting to silence the conches' calls, but was too late. A whirlpool of ocean water opened up in the ground beneath the party and pulled them all into the ground.

"What just happened?"

The red dragonborn Cal found his bearings as the rest of the party gazed around at their new surroundings. They found themselves in an underwater palace, walls and floors of coral encased small interconnected pools. Beneath them, a golden sigil glowed on the floor. They had teleported to Maelstrom, the Hold of the Storm Giants.

On the far end of the room was a spiral staircase leading upwards. Hearing singing, the party decided to ascend the stairs to investigate. At the top of the staircase, the party saw where the singing was coming from. There was a storm giant with long white hair and silky, white garments singing atop a stage while playing a huge, hulking crab with coral pipes protruding from its head. The audience of this performance included storm giant guards, a cloud giant, a fire giant, a frost giant, and a stone giant. Everyone was enthralled.

The party hesitated to make themselves known. Suddenly, Thestryl's face screwed up and she started to grunt in pain.

"My face! It's burning!"

Once the pain subsided and Thestryl pulled her hand away from her face, the party saw that white scales ran up from her neck to her eye. Seamus polished his shield and held it up for her to look into.

"Oh! I'm hideous! A monster!"

Cal comforted Thestryl, insisting scales were not all that bad. The performance ended. As one of the storm giant guards moved to escort the audience out, he noticed the party hiding in the giant-sized stairwell. Calling out to the performer, the party was exposed.

The storm giant singing spoke to the party, explaining that she was Princess Neri, sister to Serissa. Upon the party's request for an audience with Serissa, Neri turned them away.

"My sister is much too busy with important affairs to meddle in the business of smallfolk!"

Offering to check with Serissa, Neri had the party move to guest quarters. Surprisingly, the guest quarters were humanoid-sized! The party went back and forth on what to do, but eventually had the decision made for them, when Neri returned to the guest chambers with a storm giant guard, and told the party they were to be granted an audience with her sister.

The party followed her out, back into the room they first arrived in when they came to Maelstrom, only to be met by the cloud, fire, frost, and stone giant they saw in the audience earlier. Neri continued back up the stairs, and the four giants attacked.

While the giants and the party exchanged blows, each giant was eventually won over by the smallfolk, curious of their claims about the oracle, the dragon Iymrith lurking among the storm giant court, and the whereabouts of the storm king. The four giants agreed to escort the party to Serissa's chambers.

Upon reaching the chambers, the party was met with three giants sitting atop three separate thrones in an theater-like chamber. The two thrones off to each side were identical, but the one in the middle had an air about it. It was made from obsidian, glowing with runes and decorated with a dragon skull on each one of its feet. An older storm giant with a mohawk and long goatee sat in the throne to left, a storm giant with horns and crackling blue eyes sat in an identical throne to the right, and an elegant, steely-eyed storm giant with long, dark blue hair sat in the throne in the middle. The party had entered the Hall of the Wyrmskull Throne.