SKT: Session 5

The session began with the party having just seen a group of six dwarves turn to gas and fly up to the second floor of Zephyros' tower. There was much talk on what to do, before Paavu tried talking to the dragon, Clarion, that dropped them off. He learnt that Clarion hated giants, and that was enough for him.

At this point Jumbo Toad decided he was out, jumped off the edge of the cloud and used his toadstool head to glide down like a Parachute.

There was a lot of talk about how to get to the second floor, and Paavu suggested they use the Pixie dust as it helped them fly before! He takes a sprinkle of it and smatters it on himself, but it only made him confused, lashing out at Cei, but missing... Kayder pointed out that this was a really embarrassing miss and Paavu agreed, thinking maybe he should step down as a fighter.

The group decided to climb up to the second floor using all of their rope, except for Abathia who went out to see what was up with the Dragon. She also learnt that Clarion hated giants, but wasn't really fussed what happened here as she owed a favour to Queen Dagnabbet of Mirabar. Clarion offered to give Abathia and the rest of the party a lift to Bryn Shander if they helped the dwarves stop the cloud by destroying the Orb.

Abathia joined the others upstairs as they were mid-fight, Kayder having used his telepathy to ask Zephyros "Hey fam, need some help?", who begged for them to help protect the Orb. A fight ensued, Zephyros attempting to charm the Dwarves while the rest thought and tried to plea with them. The dwarves thought the party were conspiring with the Giants to lead to the downfall of dwarven civilisation and were hesitant to take any chances, until Cei and Paavu managed to convince them otherwise.

Shortly after all this dwarf business, the group arrived at Bryn Shander, and Zephyros bid them farewell, but not before his mind snapped back

"Wait, adventurers before you go... finding you has broken my mind and I must tell you this quick before it becomes clouded once more... King Hekaton... the lord of all Giants and king of the storm giants has gone missing... the power struggle that ensued broke the ordning and now the giants are in chaos... you mus- Oh... hello, my name is Zephyros... are you off?"

Before it quickly clouded once more

The party descended to the ground, finding themselves about a mile away from Bryn Shander, they set off! Arriving not much later at the gates, they bumped into a cheery Dwarf known as Augrek Brighthelm

"Well met, travelers! Keep yer fingers and extremities under wraps, lest Auril bite them off! Mind yer tempers, and you’ll be most welcome here! Brought goods to sell? The market lies straight ahead. Craving a warm drink? May I recommend a drop of Firebeard’s Firebrandy, sold only at Kelvin’s Comfort, located on yer right as you enter the market square!"

Augrek also noted that the party was cold and suggested they visit Blackiron blades to buy themselves some furs. The group, except Paavu who decided to get a table and some firebrandy at Kelvin's comfort, decided to head to Blackiron's.

When they got there they bought some amazing looking Yeti-skin coats, having a few free weapons thrown in by Elza. When she called over her brother however, things turned a bit sour... with a massive temper Garn refused point-blank to serve Sev and was very angry with both the customers and his own sister, it seemed he was not a fan of the fact her furs were more popular and more regarded than his own blades. After he left, Sev suggested Elza kill his brother... or hire them to do it for 90gp. Kayder actually attempted to sell the proposition for a pair of gloves!

After leaving Kayder and Abathia attempted to sell their jewelry, Kayder threatening the Jeweler and managing to extract extortionate sale prices from him.

They reconvened at the tavern with Paavu, and ended up meeting Sir Baric  Nylef... who is after "The Weevil", a leader of a criminal syndicate who disappeared. He's hoping to find him through his insatiable craving for Firebrandy.

The group also decided on a name for themselves... they are known as The "Hey You Warriors", the great heroes from the east that fought in the third great war... if you've never heard of them then you're obviously not from far east enough, and if you are from the east, then you're obviously too far east! What of the first two great wars? We don't talk about those!

It was getting late, so the "Hey You Warriors" decided to leave to an Inn for the night, but not before Kayder left behind a message for a thief to ask about the whereabouts of The Weevil. Sev decided to stay at the bar to keep watch incase The Weevil showed up.

The group made it to the Inn and after complaining about the noise, went to sleep. The next morning they met up with Sev who hadn't seen anyone.

The mood of the town changes abruptly. Something is amiss. Pedestrians are vacating the square with great haste, disappearing into their hovels. As spear-toting guards with grim faces move with purpose toward the southwest gate, you hear a booming voice from that direction as it calls out, “Surrender Artus Cimber or die!”

The group look down the street towards the sound of the shout, and to their horror see a Frost Giant... no... twelve Frost Giants, surrounding the town.

===

Meanwhile, Jumbo Toad discovered that his toadstool wasn't as floaty as he would have liked, as he plummeted to the ground. Close to death, the Loxodon looked up to see a strange shape, red and white... as it came into focus it was obvious... Toadstool the great, but not just painted red and white this time, he also had a toadstool of his very own sticking out of his head.

The horse, whose close proximity to Jumbo Toad had caused a symbiotic spore to lodge within him, a one in a million effect having occurred in which the horse was linked to the spores within Jumbo Toad himself. Toadstool used this connection to bring Jumbo back from the brink of death.

After spending the night recovering, they rode as fast as they could towards Bryn Shander... only to notice as they got close to the south gate that it was surrounded by Frost Giants...