[i]The remaining giants surrender and pledge that they will follow the queen.
Queen Quivixia bows slightly to you.
"My thanks for your help in overthrowing that brute. Too long have my people been under the thrall of him and the Storm Tyrant. As we promised we will leave the humans in peace and return to our homeland. Feel free to take anything in the throne room. I have not been to the Storm Lord's flying castle so can not tell you much, however if you follow this lave tube (pointing to a passage behind the throne) it will take you to where the flying castle is currently moored."
Loot: +2 lucerne hammer
2 potions of cure serious wounds
500gp in gold and gems
hammer of thunderbolts
3 potions of cure serious wounds
+1 adamantine full plate
+1 adamantine human bane halberd
brooch of shielding (89 points remaining)
cloak of resistance +3
crown of conquest
dusty rose prism ioun stone
prisoner's dungeon ring
ring of minor cold resistance.
"Thanks Queen Quivixia. I will not easily forget your help" Leira makes a reverence on the loyal queen, and starts to look through the stuff looted "I guess you will take the ioun stone Zavier. I already have a cold resistance ring"
"Good, it seems we have a direction forward" Leira looks to the lava tube.
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"It seems we are nearing the end of our journey. Our final goal is in sight. Though, I believe that there are still some significant challenges before us it has been an honour travelling with you all. I will do everything I can to ensure we make it out alive and victorious. But, should I die I would be remiss to have not said this has been the best work I have ever done and none of it would have been possible with you."
Heading down the lava tube you come out into a caldera. The caldera at the top of the mountain forms a natural arena, surrounded by barren cliffs and jagged ridges. Roughly circular, the crater has a dusty floor covered with pumice gravel and strewn with loose boulders, interspersed with numerous tiny cracks and fissures that spew warm, acrid vapours. Overhead, an enormous, bluish-grey castle floats atop a roughly spherical cloud just a few hundred feet above the caldera floor, casting a shadow across the mountaintop. The cloud almost touches the rocks beneath it, dripping a thin rain on the gravel below.
Five immense chains emerge from the depths of the cloud, connecting to great winches beside an equal number of colossal siege cannons arranged atop a ridge in a semicircle around the floating keep. Three of the chains appear to have been loosened or severed, dangling vertically out of the cloud. Two chains are still taut, seemingly anchoring the castle to the ground. A round tower stands on the caldera's slope to the north. Two tunnel entrances delve into the mountain to the east and southeast.
"I second this Sid. My feelings are same" Leira gives a huge hug to the ratfolk before heading down the lava tube.
Observing the layout of the caldera, the young girl looks up for the fortress "It seems we will need some serious flying up there. Do you think we should leave this chains anchored here or we should break them before going up?"
”Im not sure. Part of me would like to still be anchored, but maybe this strange flying city gains powder from the chains somehow...”
You come out into the caldera via the fire giant tunnels.
Can't we just... magic ourselves up and down? Zavier says hopefully looking at Sid.
"Perhaps we should make sure the defenders in the towers cannot bring us down while we fly up?" asks Leira.
"Shall we explore the tower first?" the young girl points to the tower at E.
"That sounds good. Do we want to teleport to the top? Or go in invisibly?"
As you stand there for a moment one of the giants in the tower sets off a whistle - a loud noise of escaping steam echoes around the caldera. At the same moment some strange crystal like creatures start to very slowly emerge from the north.
"Oh! What's that?" Leira looks worried "It seems we have been discovered, so probably teleport will be more on place"
Seeing they are made of crystal, Leira casts shatter on one of the creatures if it is close enough.
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Sid you recognise the creatures as carnivorous crystals. They have damage reduction against everything. They are vulnerable to sonic damage. Bludgeoning attacks can deal critical damage to them. Their attacks can also entrap their victims in crystal if they hit, and can petrify in crystal if the victim fails their save. They also have an aura that can stun.
"Cool, that makes my spell even more juicy against them, but we will need to close up first" Leira says pointing to the crystal beings, then to the top of the tower "Shall we go engage them, or just teleport to the top of the tower and finish the guards that raised the alarm?"
Zavier scratches his head. I think they are not danger to anyone. Who else but us is coming here? Hah. Maybe they will leave once we kill big bad guy!
Sid teleports the team to the top of the tower. What fresh hells await us?
A metal shingled parapet fortifies the flat roof of the tower, which is fitted with a smoking copper chimney. Inside the parapet, a ballista and catapult are mounted on a rotating platform on circular rails, allowing clear fields of fire in all directions. As you arrive you see 5 very surprised giants, you have not met their type before.
Leira raises an eyebrow not understanding what is this "Hi. Might you be pleasing enough to explain us what this chains to the Storm Tyrant fortress are and how they do work?"
The young girl raises high her falchion, ready for battle.
Know. Nature
Troll Dolgrym scratches his head as he attempts to figure out what he knows.
Dolgrym you recognise these creatures as ash giants. They are immune to disease and poison. Their slam attacks deal disease which does Con damage and Charisma drain.
The girl casts a radiant smile that reflects charmingly in her well polished falchion "Have I mentioned we are Queen Quivixia's allies?"
"Your allies of the Queen, well of course the chains are anchors to hold the flying fortress in place. However the Storm Tyrant wants to take control and fly the structure himself so we've been ordered to release the chains and watch out for any intruders."
"Well, we are envoys and need to have a serious talk with the Storm Tyrant" Leira keeps smiling at the giants "It would be great if you could hold the chains for a while more. At least until we could see with the Tyrant and come back"
"Is it possible?"
Sid watches amazed at the nimble skill with which Leira wields her words.
"We will not stop you, however the giants to the west (B4) have already been ordered to destroy the chains and they are somewhat single-minded, they will not accept orders to stop except from the Storm Tyrant himself."
Leira nods to the giants "Understood. We value your help"
Then turning to the group "Then I guess we should hurry up"
”Lets go convince those giants to stop cutting away at those chains then!”
"Great! Let's go convince them!" with that Leira raises her falchion up and air walks to the western area to have a "talk" with this rather loyal giants.
Arriving at the anchor chains you can see that 4 of them have been freed already. A group of four ash giants riding in a howdah on a colossal black scorpion are currently walking around the area, using the scorpions jaws to release the other chains.
"Do we negotiate, lie or cast a mass mind control spell?"
”Giants are pretty dumb. Let’s try mind control!”
"Yeah, let's make these ones work for us. And if not..." Leira raises her falchion and smiles "...I think we will negotiate with the blade as this ones are Storm Tyrant giants"
Zavier sighs and nods. At this rate they'll only wrestle one giant in the whole flying castle place. At least that one will be a very big one!
Sid casts mass charm person on the giants. DC 25 Will each.
One of the giants manage to shake off the effects of the spell, the other three await your commands.
"We are going to make a small voting here" Leira let's Sid lead the interaction with the giants, but she speaks in their language to reinforce whatever he wants to tell them to do "Sure you will let those two remaining chains be and let us climb up the fortress, isn't it?"
Looking with a smile to the giants she concludes "Votes in favor, votes against?"
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Sid says in giant, "Yep friends we are here to help and those chains need to stay so we can. Would you be so kind as to keep them in place until we can meet with the Storm Tyrant? Once we are I'm sure he will send updated orders."
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The giants are perplexed, they know something is wrong but they don't know quite what. They say the following to Leira
[b]"Certainly my lady, as you wish."
With that they leave the area and head back towards the tower.
Seeing the giants go Leira smiles "Good trick Sid!"
"So... should we now go climb up the fortress while it is still anchored? Or do you want us to approach the crystal creatures and discover what were they about?"
"Let's make our way up. I'm inclined to conserve as much as we can I don't want to try and rest up there."
You arrive at the top of the chain, the only open areas on this level seem to be some kind of defence platform (F2 sections on the map. In each a spacious platform extends from the base of the castle, overlooking the vertiginous heights below. An archway carved into the rock opens into a large tunnel with an ascending staircase that leads deeper into the immense structure. On each platform are 3 giants and several creatures that appear to be a mix of a bear and an ape.
Know. Nature
Having no idea what the creatures are, Leira just points to the northernmost platform "Let's land there and deal with the giants"
She charges in with her falchion high to open up space with her weapon.
Sid you recognise the strange creatures as Yaoguai. They have damage reduction against everything, they are immune to being nauseated or sickened and have spell resistance, they are susceptible to polymorph. They have reach and constrict.
In addition you and Dolgrym know that the giants are cloud giants. They have the rock catching ability and can levitate and cast obscuring mist at will, they have 15 foot reach