"Well there goes my contribution." Vulcan mutters with a smirk, "I'm better at convincing people it's a bad idea to @#$% with me that sweet talking."
"That and...well....wearing a dragonhide cloak isn't the best icebreaker."
Friar quickly casts from the wand communal resist energy three times: electricity, acid, and fire. Then touch of glory on Bubba. "I don't know if they're willing to listen but if you wish to try...."
Brazzemal the Burning is a notorious red dragon. Hundreds of years ago, his fury brought an age of fire down upon several southern nations, and countless adventurers perished in an attempt to locate the dragon's lair in the inhospitable Hellfurnaces. Eventually, the dragon allied with the giant armies of fire giant King Snurre and played a part in the razing of Sterich. He hasn't been heard from in nearly two decades.
"Bubba or Exousia, ask our giant buddy here if there is another way into the palace other than the front doors. Tell him to think hard unless he wants to get roasted by the six dragons guarding it!"
Tor's brow furrows deeply, "King probably have way out but not tell me. It look like normal way in is all broken and filled with rock." He points to what you assume must have once been a grand entrance. It is now little more than a pile of massive boulders. To Valgrim, it appears that maybe the giants purposefully collapsed the ways into the palace themselves as a defensive measure. It doesn't have the look of dragon damage.
"Bubba, you have the grace of my goddess if you wish to charm the dragons into letting us pass." But just in case, Friar casts Shield of Faith on himself. "I believe Exousia's Earthquake spell could remove the boulders out of the way. Maybe."
Gesturing to the ancient blue dragon and acting as though he had not seen the others, Bublaka says, "My friends, I must take a moment to introduce you to greatness in our midst. This is the great and powerful Vermirox, a living wonder to behold." He knows that dragons have very good hearing, so he tries for a voice loud enough to carry - just enough - to the dragon without making it seem as though he's trying to butter him up.
Raising his voice, he asks the dragon, "Great one, I must ask - what terrible sin have the giants committed to draw the ire of so many dragonkin? Surely you have lived close in peace for centuries - this seems a lot of effort, but for what?"
The serpentine dragon moves with an unsettling grace as it launches itself from the cliff wall and is immediately joined by the two blue dragons that were circling the distant Rift fortress at the other end of the bridge. They fly closer but stop short of entering the cavern itself, due to the extensive chain guylines that make flight problematic. The five other dragons on the palace hold their positions but shift as they take interest in what transpires. With scales the color of the desert sky, Vermirox hovers out in the Rift and addresses you in a booming voice that echoes off the walls, "These giants think to claim MY canyon as their own. I have suffered their presence in my home long enough!" The dragon sinks so that he is at the same level as the cavern floor and you feel the intensity of his scrutiny, "The only reason I have not destroyed you where you stand is you have proven yourselves worthy servants to me by defeating my lesser brethren. Do not seek to speak falsehoods to me as I can taste them on the air. Speak your offer!"
Valgrim grips his falchion in his hands, ready for trouble, though he keeps the blade pointed down.
"Great Vermirox - there is little we can offer that you do not already possess, I'm sure. One as powerful as yourself surely has everything he could hope to attain and soon you will apparently have your privacy. We can offer to assist you with that if you were to allow us entry." With that the bard gestures toward the giant's fortress.
The dragon's gaze follows Bublaka's gesture, "I could grant you entry if you assist me with attaining my...."privacy", as you put it. Ferret out the giants that huddle in their rocky tomb. Either slay them or force them into the light where we may deal with them personally." The dragon snaps his jaws together powerfully as he says this last. Vulcan feels the dragons gaze on him for a moment but the cloak doesn't seem to overly bother the creature.
Looking at his (visible) comrades, Bublaka nods, "It would be an honor, powerful Vermirox."
"Very well." With a powerful beat of his wings he turns and swoops back out into the canyon. As the great blue dragon flies away he chuckles, "Now let's see you burrow your way in..."
"Great job, Bubba. Impressive. Now, how do we get in?"
Valgrim smiles at the bard, impressed he could sweet talk a dragon. The dwarf takes a look at the cave-in to determine anything the dragons may have missed.
The group approaches the palace and can see plainly that the main entrance hall has been completely collapsed under a tremendous amount of stone boulders and rubble. Carefully looking it over Valgrim quickly surmises that it would take, a entire dwarven mining operation, months to remove it. There appears to have once been another smaller entrance some 50' feet away but it has likewise been totally sealed, but this time it appears that the stone literally became molten and fused together when it cooled. No other entrances appear to lead into this structure. It's a little unnerving as predatory dragons just watch from their perches 30 to 100 feet above you amongst the rubble and palace walls.
Muttering, "Ideal would be something that lets us pass through the cracks or the stone itself."
Vug looks at the problem and speaks up. "I believe we faced a similar conundrum previously and you, Friar, stepped to solve it. If you do not have the magic available, I can do it. Just give me a minute."
We then chop our way through softened boulders and rubble to door and onward.
Friar calls Communal Air Walk on the party members who cannot fly and Tor. He then calls upon the might of his goddess and casts Miracle to duplicate Wind Walk spell and casts it on party. Then all of us in gaseous form, including Tor, after 5 rounds, flow through cracks into the giant fortress, unless airtight. We reform somewhere high up and discrete, since we have Air Walk on.
You seep and force your gaseous forms through the mass of stone. Despite having to backtrack a number of times you eventually find yourself coming out of the rockfall about 100' feet into the cliff-face itself. Past the blockage several braziers burn, lighting up the 30' foot high entrance hall. Pillars carved in the images of regal looking giants line either side, but it is the fire giant and half a dozen hill giants that bellow out and alarm as you begin to reform.
In response to being bellowed at by the fire giant, one of the hill giants lumbers off down the great hall. Meanwhile, the rest take up defensive positions behind various pillars and prepare to throw chunks of debris at you. The fire giant hesitates as he notices that the form of Tor is forming amongst you. A couple of over eager hill giants toss a rock or two but stop once the fire giant tells them too.
Interrupting Bublaka just as he is about to speak, Tor yells out that he is Khargakhan and that you have all slain the mighty Charlgar. He holds his axe aloft as proof of his claims. The giants relax a bit at this and the fire giant says, "Come with me. The King must know."
Bublaka opens his mouth to speak, then shuts it again when Tor's claim accomplishes what he had in mind. He looks down at himself. We are a bit grungy to present ourselves to a monarch, but there's little to be done about it now.
Valgrim reluctantly follows, not wanting to ruin the relative peace talks. He does look in disdain at the fire giant and relishes on cutting him down, should it come to that. He tires of killing hill giants only. He looks away to hide the smile on his face.
Friar accompanies Tor and party, touching Bubba's shoulder with a Touch of Glory, just in case, his skills are needed.
The giants lead you through a series of large 30' foot halls built to accommodate the giant's stature. You are brought into a chamber and told to wait as the fire giant strides off to see whether the King will see you. You don't have that long of a wait, when six ornately armored fire giants return and escort you into a grand hall. The six join their brethren to make a total of a dozen fire giants that take positions as royal guard to either side of the king. A burly, even for a hill giant, hill giant with six more hill giant warriors stands off to one side of the hall watching you closely. About two dozen more hill giants follow you into the hall mostly out of curiosity, you think. Simpering bugbear servants scurry to and fro, quickly clearing what must have been a meal the King was in middle of. Seated in a massive throne built from the skulls, teeth, and claws of dragons is a hunched blue-skinned giant that is outfitted in elegant jewelry and white robes. Even from this distance you can easily discern that the years weigh heavily on his decrepit frame and his long wispy hair flutters as if in a breeze. Leaning forward on a spear for support, that crackles along its length with electricity, his milky aged eyes search a moment before coming to rest on you. His aged voice rasps out, and you strain to hear his words, "You have come at an auspicious time. I am told you have put an end to that traitor to the throne...Charlgar." He pauses a moment to gather the strength to continue, "I am King Achaime Silvereye. To what do I owe your visit to my halls? Do you wish to be rid of these dragons as much as I?"
Knowing the value of a good first impression as much as the next guy, Bublaka reaches toward the good Friar while they are led into the king's presence, accepting the goddess' gift, "Thank you, my friend.".
"King Achaime Silvereye! The tongues of bards of a thousand nations carry tales of your greatness! We are Valgrim's Vanguard - the mighty warrior Valgrim, the man of faith Friar Ferez, the powerful and mysterious Vulcan Stormwrath, the always-resourceful Vug Vang, and yours truly, a humble servant and teller of tales, Bublaka. The mighty warrior Exousia fights at our side in the name of all that is Good."
"We do indeed come to you out of concern regarding the dragons. A great secret has been revealed after a thousand years of magical obscuration. We have fought foes past and present, living and undead, magical and mundane to learn this secret. We believe that the dragons have also learned the secret and it is for this secret that they have attacked you so viciously after lo these many centuries. We believe they seek something. If it were no longer, there would be no further reason for their attacks and your people would be able to rebuild this great nation."
After casting his spell Achaime grunts, "You speak well...and I hear the truth in what you say." His aged twenty foot frame shakes from a fit of ragged coughs, "You speak of secrets. Yes, this place holds many. It takes a tremendous will to forge so many dragons...which would like so much to tear each other to pieces and steal each others hoards. It must be something very great for Dragotha to throw so much of his might against our defenses...and yet he does not come himself. Does this not strike you as curious?" You suspect that despite the cataract plagued eyes, this giant sees far better than most.
"Yes, Dragotha appears to be at the center of all this, does he not? We seek to destroy the dracolich. As I'm sure one of your great wisdom and experience is aware, the destruction of such a being is not as straightforward as the naive might expect. The Order of the Storm," he gestures to the banners that some of the party wear, "has led us to believe that for these many centuries, the undead dragon's most precious possession has been hidden in your halls. We believe the dragons are here to steal it from you. We are here to use it to destroy him once and for all."
The King pauses in deep thought for a moment, "A worthier quest I cannot think of...or a more foolhardy one." You sense that many of the giants gathered here want desperately to strike out at the dragons and shift uneasily at your suggestion that maybe you can do what they cannot. Achaime studies you carefully, "You are not the first to come seeking the secrets of this place and we have guarded it for many generations. You invoke the name of the Order of the Storm. How came you by this knowledge? It is not a name that has been spoken in these halls since Obsidian Rockweaver's time. Also, what drives you to seek the destruction of the dracolich?"
"The Order of the Storm knew that the best-protected secret will eventually become known, the walls surrounding it eventually wearing away from persistent investigation. A millennium ago, they hid Dragotha's precious with your forebears and worked a mighty magic that removed all knowledge of many dangerous secrets, including this one, from the world. Even so, they knew the secret would eventually return to the light - they did everything they could to assure that those that discovered the truth fought on the side of good. They gifted us with test banners to show that we passed their tests. Unfortunately, once the magic was unmade, it was unmade the world throughout - and there are dragons that have fought and died here over the last week that were alive when the hiding took place. I believe when their memories came back, they realized what they sought was hidden here and they laid siege to your city. I suspect Dragotha dares not be present when it is found lest he be destroyed utterly."
"We seek the dracolich's destruction because he is not the greatest of our worries. He is but the lieutenant of that one."
The King nods deep in thought, "Hmmmmm, what you say holds weight and your current company of an angel helps me trust that, at the very least, you believe what you are saying." He pauses for a long moment before sighing as he comes to a difficult decision, "Yes, I suspect I know where the thing you seek lies. Do I know for sure? No. However, I can think of no other place that makes more sense. I will send one of my guard with you to this place so that the giants there will know that you are not enemies. In return for my protection and our secrets, I will require one of your number to stay here as my "guest". They will not be harmed unless you should prove false or needlessly attack my kin." His cloudy gaze sweeps over your group carefully assessing each one of you before raising his crackling spear and pointing it at Vug Vang, "She is the one I chose to stay with us."
"W-w-w-ell, then. If th-that's what I need t-to do, OK. D-d-do you have any f-f-f-fascinating things I can study? I c-can show you what I've collected!"
Bublaka looks at Vug, then at the rest of the party for their agreement before accepting.
Friar smiles at the Bard. "The word of a King is good enough for us. I am sure Vug will be in safe hands and we will have the King's passage." He clasps Bublaka's shoulder to congratulate him on his amazing discussion.
"Very well. I believe the phylactery is contained within the Chamber of the Heartkeeper, in the depths of the Citadel of the Weeping Dragons. It is home to the Tiamikal Nul-Shada. It takes two keys to open the vault. Both are in possession of members of the Tiamikal Nul-Shada. I can grant you safe passage, at least from loyal giants, to Heartkeeper Kagro Thundersmiter but you must convince him of the worth of your cause. He holds one of the keys. The other is in the possession of Vercinabex Tor, Kagro's chief advisor." He sighs and the weight of the years hunch the giant even further, "Think of the Tiamikal Nul-Shada as...a holy order. They equally serve me and their code. My word will grant you audience and safe passage but you must be as persuasive with them as you have been here." He feebly waves one of the fire giants over to him, "This is Hurgwrath Fangbearer. He shall accompany you and act in my name." The fire giant that steps forward wears ornate armor painted black and adorned with numerous fangs, dragon and otherwise, that give the giant a intimidating presence.
"I also agree, that the King's word is good enough. What about Tor? Is he staying?"