Session 21 Recap

General Summary

The party's adventure commences on the 6th of Eleint. Lottie docks the ship, her arrival delayed by the town's conflict. The Captain, needing time to grapple with his emotions, asks Lottie to take temporary command. While the townspeople are preoccupied with repairs, Daxiris and Valtish emerge. Zephyros has whisked them there, proclaiming their arrival as "Plot relevance!" The sudden appearance of the Thri-Kreen sends the townsfolk into a panic. The Lord Protector hastens to confront the supposed menace, only to realize it's the Peggers causing the stir. She cautions that Valtish, though not a danger, must remain unseen by the townspeople for their peace of mind. The crew, heeding her advice, opts to journey to Everlund by carriage, a trip of 18 days, courtesy of Narth.
On the trail, our Peggers had little to occupy them for the first few days. This changed abruptly when a Fire Giant, leading five Magmin, burst through the treeline onto the path. The Giant wielded a detection device akin to that used in Triboar's raid. Before it could detect the group, Valtish initiated an attack. Poised with one leg on the cart's back and the other on the rest, he leaned forward to declare a joust. Just before this, unbeknownst to the crew, Spixi had checked in with the Captain, casting a sending spell. His reply was: "Mission on pause, destroying Talosian scum first. The rest of the crew is elsewhere, I'm not sure of their location. I need time to reflect." This news unsettled Spixi, causing her concern for the group. Kaiber suggested using Scrying, which revealed Valtish charging a Giant atop a carriage, seemingly abandoned by the others. Spixi insisted on returning, despite Kaiber's ill-timed admission of his leave from work and his replacement by an unliked individual named Mercer. After a brief farewell to Kaiber, Spixi teleported to rejoin the group for battle. Valtish led the charge, cleverly using a Psychic-Lance to down the Fire Giant, then a quickened Lightning Bolt to eliminate all Magmins instantly. Daxiris takes on the form of a white tiger, which Spixi is very interested in, and pounces on the Giant's back. The skirmish concluded swiftly, with the Giant managing only to strike Rai with a single boulder.
Reunited with the crew, Spixi seizes the chance to inquire about the Nightstone's fate. Learning of the Ordning's shattering and the Cloud Giants' theft, she understands the gravity of their quest. As they proceed, Spixi uncovers Valtish's map-reading error, which has led them astray by a full day. Suddenly, a barrage of stones rains down, hurled by three Stone Giants. Valtish, with his exceptional swordsmanship, casts three consecutive fireballs, slaying one Giant instantly and severely injuring the others. Rai dispatches another with a precise bullet to the head, while Spixi conjures a spell invisible to the others to vanquish the last. Amidst the Giants' spoils, Valtish discovers a live sheep and promptly adopts it as his companion. Later, they meet a group of humans desperate for food, offering to buy the sheep to survive their journey to Yartar. The Peggers, realizing their lack of provisions, debate the sheep's fate. Valtish, insistent on keeping it, trades his rations for three kegs of Dwarven Ale, which he gifts to Rai, due to him being a non-drinker. In a gesture of goodwill, Rai offers the travelers 100 gold pieces, declining additional ale.
As the journey progresses, the crew engages in casual conversation while Spixi observes that Helion has been unusually quiet lately. After days of silence, Helion admits to feeling depleted when asked. Despite Spixi's attempts to support him, his demeanor shows little change. Amidst their talk, Helion spots a shadow overhead and alerts the group. Rai gazes upward, discerning a dragon against the sun's glare, its species indiscernible. Spixi calls upon her elf-owl familiar, Frigg, to ascend for a closer inspection. After a brief ascent, Frigg identifies the creature as a juvenile Copper Dragon, which, noticing the owl, swoops in its direction. Spixi recalls Frigg just as the dragon closes in. The Copper Dragon, introducing himself as Vexilanthus, lands before the travelers, proposing a bargain. Claiming the region as his domain, Vexilanthus seeks assistance with a Hill Giant problem. He directs them to a nearby tower, overrun by the giants, and offers transport to Everlund in exchange for their eviction. The group consents and approaches the decrepit tower, its entrance obstructed and sounds of weeping emanating from within. Recalling their linguistic limitation in Giant speach, Valkyrie enters through the damaged roof to parley. Moog, a Hill Giantess, laments her husband's abduction by Chief Guh, who enslaves male giants for an impending war among the clans. Bereft of her spouse, Hruk, Moog is left without a target for her mistreatment. The Peggers begin to strategize.
Grudd Haug, known as the Den of the Hill Giants, is a mere few hours' journey from the site of the ancient tower. The sight of Grudd Haug is truly magnificent, with its colossal homestead perched atop a dam. The Peggers have spotted a formidable array of forces: Goblins, Hobgoblins, Orcs, Ogres, and Hill Giants all roam the Den. The group concocted a plan to conceal themselves inside Moog's oversized sack while Helion and Valtish remain invisible just outside. Valkyrie, meanwhile, masquerades as a parrot perched on Moog's shoulder. Their ruse carries them into the feast hall, where numerous male Hill Giants trudge about, their spirits low and defeated. At the hall's western end reclines Chief Guh, sprawled on a four-wheeled, flatbed wagon that groans under her immense weight. The wagon's axles are splintered and bent, its wheels tilting precariously. Surrounding the wagon are heaps of bones and remnants of Guh's recent feasts, alongside her hoarded treasures. Guh's mass exceeds 20,000 pounds. A heated exchange ensues between Moog and Chief Guh, during which Valkyrie neglects to interpret for the crew. Eventually, she reveals that Moog has warned Chief Guh: release Hruk or face a band of adventurers poised to end her reign. Valtish begins devising a strategy; if he can accurately execute his Vortex Warp and transport Guh to the ceiling's apex, her subsequent fall could shatter the floor and demolish the dam, unleashing a catastrophic flood. The Peggers unanimously endorse the plan. In an instant, a Giant weighing 20,000 pounds materializes 65 feet above, showering debris as a Goblin tumbles from Guh's folds. Seizing the moment, Chief Guh activates her Conch of Teleportation, reappearing above the group. Her descent crushes them before she plummets through the floor, snapping several support beams as she crashes to the dam's base. All but Daxiris, Helion's Ghost, and Valkyrie are caught in the chaos. Daxiris heals Helion's body so he can return to it and help her bring up the others. Rai however has perished, she sees a vision in her moments departed of gunfire akin to a rifle squad going off and the scent of gun powder filling her nose. A voice calls out to her and says "You're not done yet Little Soldier, your war is not yet over." before she is revived by Helion. They loot the body of Guh before retreating out of the Den and watching the building collapse and wash away.
At the top of the hill, our Peggers note the group of humans they aided a few days prior heavily breathing and thankful they've not become Guh's next treat. Moog notices her husband Hruk running away with the other Hill Giants and she calls out to him. He notices her and starts running even faster with more fear on his face. She chases him off into the distance. The ground begins rumbling as the Peggers look over the river taking back the land, a Frost Giant is walking towards the group wielding a great axe. He stands above the group and questions them on what happened to Grudd Haug. He informs the group that he also is searching for answers on the Ordning and what happened to King Hekaton, the biggest and most powerful Storm Giant in all of Faerun. He tells the Peggers that he is looking for a group of adventurers to travel with to the Eye of the All-Father, a shrine at the top of a mountain peak on the Spine of the World. A long journey from here but it should provide them with answers on the Nightstone as well. The Peggers agree very quickly to travel with the Frost Giant known as Harshnag. Harshnag in tow, the party returns to Vexilanthus to inform him of their achievements. He seems quite upset at the sight of Harshnag, the group is worried of a conflict but Harshnag informs them that he sees no reason to attack the young dragon and that the young dragon knowns he had no chance against Harshnag. Vexilanthus expresses his gratitude for their assistance and leads them to Everlund, which with Vexilanthus and Harshnag the trip goes by very peacefully.   
The next session begins on the 25th of Eleint, the Peggars have just arrived to the city limits of Everlund to complete Darathra's request.

Notes

"Imma step out from behind the boulder-" *points at DM* "-So I have partial coverage" - Hannah
"It's tight?!? Oh no!" - Rai
"Fuck you guys, I'm God." - Chase
"Hell yeah, navigator, let's go bitches" - Spixi
"You know what I would like to try? Keeping my sheep." - Valtish
"We're uh.. doing a quest?" - Rai "This ain't jobba the hut.. it's jobba the house." - Helion
"The boulder giveth and the boulder taketh away." - Hannah
"Honestly, no, this big bitch fell." - Helion

Report Date

13 Apr 2024