SKT Session 23 (7/18/23): Surfacing the Truth

"What has brought you to Maelstrom?"

The giant atop the Wyrmskull Throne spoke to the party. Her pale blue eyes gazed upon each member of the party, looking them over, analyzing.

"We have come to warn you of traitors amongst your court."

Dhrys spoke up, telling the giant, who revealed herself to be Princess Serissa, about the dangers they had been told by the oracle. She seemed to believe them, trusting that there was someone lying within her court, despite her uncle, Uthor, on the throne to the left, and her advisor, Hytiirm, on the throne to her right, urging her not to trust smallfolk. The party filled Princess Serissa in on everything the oracle had told them, from her sister working against her, to a blue dragon having infiltrated the storm giant court. The princess decided to have her sister taken and held in her room for further investigation later, and on her exit, the party persuaded her to tell the truth. Neri confessed to having worked with Hytiirm, saying she was truly responsible for their mother's death and their father's disappearance.

"Foolish girl, quit trying to get me to take the blame for your insolence."

Hytiirm stood her ground. Stoic and stern, she denied any involvement in the plots against Serissa and her family.

Serissa seemed to trust the party. She pulled out a small item and offered it out to the party, asking if they would be willing to help her figure out what happened to her father. The item was a wooden token with a golden goose painted onto it. The party took the token and promised to figure out its relation to the Storm King.

The party poked and prodded at Hytiirm, bringing her temper to a boil. Pushed to her limit, she urged Serissa not to trust the party.

 "Serissa, these smallfolk are not to be trusted. How do we know they were not involved with the killing of your mother or the abduction of your father?"

Serissa froze, slowly looking over to Hytiirm.

"Last I heard, my father had merely disappeared. I have heard nothing of this abduction. How do you know that, Hytiirm?"

Hytiirm looked shocked for a moment, then quickly darted towards the scepter hanging from the necklace around Serissa's neck.

"Well, you've forced my hand."

Hytiirm snatched the scepter off of Serissa. Immediately, a magical barrier formed around the Wyrmskull Throne, and Serissa froze in place, a shocked look upon her face. Hytiirm cursed the party in Draconic, then cast a spell, disappearing from Maelstrom.

With Serissa frozen on the throne, the party felt a sense of urgency to figure out what happened to Serissa's father, King Hekaton. Before leaving, they gathered some more information. From Neri, the party learned that their mother's body was discovered at the Red Rocks, a small collection of islands in the Trackless Sea. Their father went there to investigate, and did not return. Any parties that were sent to investigate did not return.

The party decided their best bet would be to investigate the Red Rocks first. With a plan in mind, they decided to stop into Thornhold, where they were hoping to find a ship to purchase, which they could take out into the Trackless Sea. Unfortunately, after being teleported, they found that Thornhold was abandoned. They spent the night in the empty hold, deciding to head towards Waterdeep in the morning.

That night, Seamus had a dream about Iymrith. He saw her as a bloodied, younger blue dragon, retrieving a scepter, similar to that taken from around Serissa's neck, from a hoard of a red dragon, recently slain. The vision shifted, and he saw her instead in storm giant form, with the appearance of Hytiirm, underneath the sea, retrieving another scepter from a sunken treasure. Another vision with her with a different scepter, in the form of a blue dragonborn, with an assassinated royal family in the background. Another vision, with Iymrith as a blue dragon, looking close to her present age, taking a scepter from an icy ruin. Finally, Seamus saw the scene play out once again, where Hytiirm pulled the scepter off of Serissa's neck, freezing her on the throne. This vision shifted into another, a final picture of Iymrith setting all five scepters down atop the Wyrmskull Throne, breathing lightning through them, and shattering them. The throne itself began to glow and crack, dissolving into an intense blue energy.

Iymrith breathed in the energy, beginning to grow in size. Lightning began to strike around her, forming an outer shell of electricity that glowed blue around her. Seamus felt the intensity of this power, even just through a dream.

The next morning, the party began their trek, deciding to move through the tunnels under the mountains near Waterdeep, hoping to move quicker with Dhrys' guidance. The party was able to avoid the majority of trouble they came across. However, closer to Waterdeep, they came upon an individual, training on their own, striking the rock face of the tunnels. The figure had white, silky wings, a gray face, dark outerwear, and a viscous glaive.

Upon closer inspection, Dhrys realized he recognized this individual. As the party approached, the figure turned around to face them. It was Adonis.