Farrukh shrugs.
"Just sounds windy to me. Only thing odd about it is the wind isn't blowing."
He pauses.
"Guess that's weird enough, but it's pretty low on the list for strange stuff we've come across."
"Farrukh, you're sneaky. Can you get closer without being spotted?"
Eben pauses in flight and takes a small pause to toss some cosmetic cantriping down on the party: after a minute or two of him pointing and zipping his finger up and down people's figures, everyon's outfit gets a 'bleached' appearance, snowy white in color. "Don't worry if you're really attached to these clothes and you're not a winter: it'll revert to normal in an hour or so..." he says, reassuringly, while (reluctantly) changing his own colors as well. "If we want to get closer, too, I can maybe throw down an actual cloud around us. Or an illusion of one."
"Farrukh, you're sneaky. Can you get closer without being spotted?"
"I can...try?" Farrukh says, faith entirely lost in the ability to sneak around creatures with supernatural perception.
"Wait..." Eben says, as Farrukh tries to hide behind... nothing, really. "There's got to be a better option. Krekie, you're sneaky, right? Would you be willing to take a look? Astraden's spell should make you fast enough to zip right back if things go bad."
"Oh, certainly." Krekie nods eagerly. "But I did want to see the tall man try first."
She gives a short bow, then creeps off through the skies, moving as a ghost.
She is gone for about a minute before returning.
"The titan sits in his keep," she reports. "There are many gargoyles with bows--twelve in total, two on guard. I saw caged beasts as well hanging over his head--enormous many-armed apes. Krathanos still wears the belt."
She flicks her head uneasily. "I also saw a plume of smoke in the distance, towards the beach."
"Any sight of the other team?" Tanith asks after considering the report. "They might be waiting for us to approach before springing their own attack. Hmm... Some kind of distraction might be what we need."
She flicks her head uneasily. "I also saw a plume of smoke in the distance, towards the beach."
"Maybe we should check out the smoke first. I don't want to be in a battle with all that only to have something else hit us from behind..."
"I think Cuetz is right. Some of these fights are bound to be rough enough on their own without risking us being hemmed in on all sides."
"Klunk, can you do us a favor and locate Darl again, see if his direction is directly in line with the smoke?"
Astraden nods. "Could be the smoke is their own distraction. But we're not trying to fight Krathanos, right? Just tricking him into letting us borrow his belt?"
"At a minimum; I was hoping he'd be pissed off enough at these tiny little assassins running around he'd actually work with us, even though your god seems to think that's a coin toss at best."
"If he's not open to giving us the belt maybe we could talk him into a wager. In my dream Kord wrestled with the titan and emerged victorious."
"If he's not open to giving us the belt maybe we could talk him into a wager. In my dream Kord wrestled with the titan and emerged victorious."
"And there's also the fact you wrestled a dragon and pinned her for a three count."
"You think the titan is a big betting man?"
Clunk turns slowly from side to side. His gears click and rattle with an uneasy sigh. "This unit cannot sense the priest, nor the tiefling. There are mundane ways the effect may be blocked, potentially without the enemy even realizing they are doing so, but certain magic may also be in play."
"Hm." Krekie's head tilts. "Funny that they didn't use it sooner."
"Won't know unless we look. Which'll it be, guys?"
"I feel like the smoke is a trap;; like if we go investigate we'll get ambushed. Which we could still make work if we're expecting an ambush and do our own stuff t counter it, but I dunno, if we could manage to get Krathanos on our side even for a while it'd be something they didn't expect either..."
"Let's try that then."
"Let's just get to Krathanos. The longer we spend arguing, the more likely they'll get to the titan first, and none of this will matter."
The group rushes down to the keep. Several of the gargoyles notice them and swoop down to detain the seemingly unexpected visitors, but Spiny's Six is too swift, and arrives at the entrance just as the guards reach them. Krekie has exited her gaseous form up on top of the crumbling wall, though it takes a keen eye to spot her.
The interior of the keep is a ruin. Three titanic four-armed apes shriek and thrash in great iron-wrought cages in the southwestern corner. And leaning against the eastern wall, regarding the party with a glint in his eye, is Krathanos.
It is difficult to describe Krathanos. He fills space, and not only because he stands taller than most buildings. There is a radiant aura about him of fate, of destiny, of vast, horrible importance. A titan is something close to a god, but at the same time the complete antithesis of one. Krathanos stands nearly 25 feet tall, his towering frame sculpted to perfection, with bulging cords of muscle lining every foot of his gigantic torso. He wears an enormous belt of solid gold encrusted with fist-sized emeralds. An immense spiked warhammer hangs from that belt.
"Ah!" One of the gargoyles lands atop the wall by the entrance, panting for breath. "S-Sorry, master, they--" Krathanos looks at the gargoyle sharply, arching an eyebrow. The gargoyle stops and clears its throat. "Presenting...
"... Presenting Make yourselves known to the Conqueror, intruders, or be hastily dispatched!"
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Eben gulps to himself a bit as the bold move to just rush on in to a Titan's palace succeeds. His misty form bows low before the seated divine giant. "Greetings and compliments to you, O Krathanos..." he says, as formally as he can. "We are a group of adventurers, known in our world as 'Spiny's Six'. My name is Eben MacTeague, and, with their permission, I would speak on behalf of my friends and myself." Eben being Eben, he doesn't exactly wait for permission. Because oh god Astraden might speak up if he paused. "We have come to this...shadow realm of Tilagos on a quest, part of which would be to request a boon of you. But in our travels we have become aware of another group led by Vecna's favored servant, seeking the same boon through less genteel methods. To wit, one of the goals required in this quest is the belt you wear. While we would seek to negotiate for it, their methods are more extreme. Already the Roc King in the northern mountains has been killed by them, all so they could pluck a single feather. Negotiations can wait, sir, because they are at your doorstep. We would help you against those that seek to murder you, and then, should we prevail and our actions prove the sincerity of our cause, then we can make our plea for your aid in good faith."
Damn. How he so caked up?
Cuetzpalli stars in slack-jawed amazement at this insane being. He breathes open-mouthed, eyes tracing the Conqueror's muscles and gear.
Krathanos folds his arms and stares balefully down at Eben, listening intently. He seems to consider Eben's proposal for a moment, rubbing his chin in thought. His eyes slowly narrow...
His face contorts, and he bursts out laughing. "Oh, damn, I cannot hold that expression that long! So that clueless cart of clowns took out the bird, did they? Tsk, tsk. They just don't make roc kings like they used to, I suppose.
"Your proposal makes sense to me, though I'm not in any particular hurry." He smirks. "But where are my manners? You are honored guests of the Conqueror!" He claps his hands. The sound is like a thunderclap. "Gargoyles, we must assemble a feast for these... these..."
His eyes flash. "Who in Saturn's name are you, anyways? Come, come, Eben MacTeague, explain your cast of characters to me! Start with the two who wear my old chum's symbols so brazenly."
Farrukh sighs quietly as Krathanos starts talking.
Great, just what we needed. Another Tanith. But even bigger and louder.
Does he mean me?
"Hi! I'm Cuetzpalli. Thanks for having us, Mr. Conqueror. It's my honor to meet you."
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"Ah, an honor to meet you, Cuetzpalli." The titan dips his head respectfully. "You wield a shard of Kelmarchen, don't you? Taken willingly, I trust?" He laughs.
Farrukh sighs quietly as Krathanos starts talking.
Great, just what we needed. Another Tanith. But even bigger and louder.
Carina finds herself struck speechless by the presence of Krathanos.
She feels a blush rushing to her cheeks, but doesn't quite understand why.
Having met the titan, Tanith finds himself flexing subconsciously as if the giant's very presence was a challenge.
Once the initial hostilities are settled, the big man steps forward to join in the introductions. "Tanith Creed. Kordson back where we come from. The Brawler sent me a vision of you Conqueror, a few days back. Did you two have dealings in the past?"
"Ah, yes. Good old Kord." Krathanos rears his head back with a booming laugh. "I beat him every time in wrestling, you know. Funny little fellow." His head snaps back. He peers down at Tanith. "Hm... You two have some resemblance. Aside from you being tiny. That's funny."
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Eben notes Carina's expression turning more magenta-ish. Well, somebody has a type...
"We are honored to accept your hospitality, Conqueror. Aside from the two who bear Kord's blessing by means of blood or metal, let me introduce the rest of our group.This blushing lady is Carina Viera, the twice-born. Astrade Limharre is a loyal- well, as loyal as a servant of that one can get, I suppose- devotee of Olidammara, Farrukh Al-Khatel, the breaker of time, and... Clunk. The, er, Falling Inevitable."
Eben bringing attention to her blushing causes Carina's eyes to widen and her cheeks to blush even harder.
"Ah, an honor to meet you, Cuetzpalli." The titan dips his head respectfully. "You wield a shard of Kelmarchen, don't you? Taken willingly, I trust?" He laughs.
Farrukh sighs quietly as Krathanos starts talking.
Great, just what we needed. Another Tanith. But even bigger and louder.
"Yes, Sir. Tanith here introduced me to the ways of the Brawler, and then I died. He sent me back with a shard to help finish our work on this plane."
"Ah, how lovely to make your meetings, my little ones." Krathanos laughs.
"GARGOYLES!" he suddenly barks. "Will we not have a feast for our very polite guests?"
"Yes, master," yelps the gargoyle who apparently directs the rest, bowing profusely. "I'll send out two hunters at once!"
"Send four. And be quick about it! Meat and fruits. And we must have a bonfire, of course." His lips curl in a smile. "But hunt nothing two-legged that isn't a bird. These fine folk wouldn't like ape meat, I expect. Nor the meat of my would-be assassins."
"One of them is wearing the Hand of Vecna." Eben adds, helpfully. "It would probably taste kind of off."
"Oh, so that's what that was! I knew it stank of divinity. Good old Kas. What a clown."
"...Kas?"
"Oh, yes. Vampire. Crazy hairstyles. He's the fellow who cut off Vecna's hand all those years ago. I'm guessing he still hasn't found his way back." Krathanos laughs. "Good riddance. I never did like his table manners."
The party stands by and waits as the four gargoyles fly out on the hunt. The rest make themselves busy on patrol, or assembling a 'table' out of rock and rubble. It's a tiny thing compared to Krathanos himself, of course.
Krathanos is a cheerful and affable conversationalist, but occasionally he gets distracted, staring off into space or bringing up totally unrelated topics. When the gargoyles return an hour later with a great boar peppered with so many arrows it looks more like a hedgehog than anything, he seems almost disinterested in it.
The bonfire climbs high in the center of the keep, roaring-hot and constantly spitting against the constant drizzle from above. As the gargoyles turn the boar on its spot, Krathanos bids the party sit before a table laden with fresh-picked fruits and vegetables. "Eat! Eat! Come now, you are my guests! No guest of the Conqueror goes hungry at his table, nor at mine!"
Eben brushes his cape off his shoulder and takes a seat, his hand hovering over a golden pear and a red-mottled apple indecisively, before selecting the pear. "Thank you, Conqueror. Your generosity humbles us all, I am sure." He takes a bite of the juicy fruit. "Quite nice. I do have to say, you are very calm about the fact that a fairly powerful group of individuals is camped at your doorstep with menace on their minds."
"FMTHancks!" Cuetzpalli says around a mouthful of food, as he happily digs into the feast. Time for Eben to work his magic. This is way better than the Roc thing was.
Farrukh frowns at Eben's statement, and chews on his food as much as his thoughts.
"Why wouldn't he be? If he can go toe-to-toe with a god, what CAN they actually do to him? Are we missing something?"
Eben brushes his cape off his shoulder and takes a seat, his hand hovering over a golden pear and a red-mottled apple indecisively, before selecting the pear. "Thank you, Conqueror. Your generosity humbles us all, I am sure." He takes a bite of the juicy fruit. "Quite nice. I do have to say, you are very calm about the fact that a fairly powerful group of individuals is camped at your doorstep with menace on their minds."
"Ha! Your time-breaking friend is right, Eben MacTeague. They already made their assault on my keep, and I, of course, easily crushed them. The priest wields divine magic, but you should know that I am a being that defies divinity. The gods do not bother me, and their servants break all-too-easily."
Carina sits next to Tanith and starts eating, not wanting to refuse hospitality.