Chapter 56: Castle in the Clouds

General Summary

Date: 21st of Uktar, 1491 DR

  After riding for several days the Good Fellas finally arrived to the village of Parnast, where they were met with an unfriendly welcome by the villagers. They found out that the village has been infiltrated by the cult and the villagers were remained withdrawn to not incur the cult's wrath. They searched for Gundalin the Wheelwright, but after not spotting him in the center of the village, they broke into his house.   In the wheelwright shop the heroes found a hidden compartment containing letters between Gundalin and Leosin. Fearing that the man was killed, the heroes burned off these letters and headed out to the Golden Tankard, a local inn. Surprisingly the wheelwright was found there enjoying a tankard by himself.   The heroes agreed to meet Gundalin back in his shop away from prying eyes where the old man told them information about Parnast and the passphrase to get through the gates of the flying Cloud Giant castle that nestled in the footskirts of the village. But there was a problem. The heroes couldn't just barge inside the castle since the cultist know of their faces, so they would have to find another way inside.   They decided to hijack one of the wagons while it would make its way inside the castle. Bene summoned darkness to cover up the wagon and assassinated the driver, while the rest of the Good Fellas hid inside the barrels and chests that the wagon was transporting. Once inside the castle the party was separated as the barrels were hauled into the kitchen while the chests where Nomime was were going below the castle.   Once out of prying eyes Bene assassinated the cultists dragging the chest with him, but before he and Nomime could escape, they heard a beckoning roar. A massive white dragon named Glazhael began questioning the newcomers, but with quick thinking Bene and Nomime managed to trick the dragon and get rid of the body (by feeding it to the dragon).   The two made their way into the kitchen where they found a chaotic group of kobolds in the midst of preparing supper. The adventurers managed to bide some more time, just enough to get the cult attire from the cultists barracks. Once all members were disguised, they decided to plan ahead.   Spending hours doing the cultist tasks, they learned about the factions living inside the castle such as the Red Wizards and Stone Giants. They also found out that two important prisoners were kept in the dungeons. Hatching out plan to rescue the prisoners and delve underneath the castle to search for Hekaton, the adventurers waited until nightfall.   Once night gathered, the heroes tried to sneak off but were caught by one of the cultists. Playing it cool, the accepted him to tag along while the group would get some fresh air. They managed to persuade the cultist to follow them to the prisoners, where they assassinated him. Once the area was clear, the Good Fellas made a shocking discovery.   Sildar Hallwinter, a long lost friend of theirs was in one of the cells, donning dirty rags. In the other was Eric Shandri, the lost father of Nomime. Despite the heartwarming reunion, the heroes decided to act fast and by the help of the Storm Giant conches, Eric and Sildar were transported into the Maelstrom while the heroes rushed underneath the castle.   Traveling to the icy cavern they found no sign of the dragon that resided there. Upon further investigation however they found a massive Storm Giant encased in a wall of ice. They had managed to find King Hekaton. With some quarreling on how to release him, the party began to make their way up. Unfortunately, they were met with a host of cultist and Rezmir, the Black Wyrmspeaker. In front of them all was a man responsible for wiping Nomime's memory and possibly the kidnapping of Eric Shandri as well as murder of the Lord's Alliance envoy as well as many other dastardly deeds. In front of them was none other than Law Lugosi, the young adoptive brother of Bene Lugosi.   What was Law doing in the castle and is he part of the Cult of the Dragon? With so many questions arising from the encounter, can the heroes figure out the answers or will they too become tombed inside the cold ice of Skyreach Castle?

Missions/Quests Completed

• Rescue Eric Shandri
• Rescue Sildar Hallwinter