The search for the missing drow proves fruitless, even with the aid of an arcane eye or two. There are too many doors and too many passages to be sure of anything. There is a fair bit of head-scratching about how this is all supposed to fit together. Giants (Hill, Cloud, Stone) are in league with Coburn to destabilize Cormyr’s western flank, but the party found a teleportation device that brought them somewhere hot and volcano-y. Unsurprisingly, it is a home for fire giants (and apparently seafaring stone giants, and maybe visiting frost giants?). OK – the giant trail continues.Following the trail of the giants introduces wererats and drow into the story. Initially, the drow are pinned as the masterminds, and the party goes underground on the trail of the fleeing fire giants, expecting to find drow at the meeting place.
Well, they do and maybe they don’t. After searching the immediate area, the decision is made to speak with one of the dead dark elves. The conversation raises as many questions as it answers. The drow in question is apparently not a drow? Huh? Either it believes it is not a drow or it really isn’t a drow, but it surely looks like a drow. What to do now? Is it giants or drow? Both? Where do the fishfolk come in?
Malchor takes a moment to disintegrate the statue of the lobster woman atop the ziggurat and is promptly marked with a lobster claw-shaped scar across his forehead. Well, that probably isn’t a good thing. The confirmation follows when the magics at his disposal fail to remove it from his body.
OK. Time to set about investigating for real now.
They cast some spells and methodically open every door to every room and give it the magical once over. Their investigations seem to indicate that the place really is a landmark…perhaps even an important shrine. There are multiple hostel-style rooms fitted with minimalist furniture, devoid of ornamentation. There are mess halls, with driftwood tables and long benches for seating. It is clear that there are times when there are many occupants as these areas do not seem to be in disrepair nor unattended. Behind the scenes – below the scenes to be more precise – there is a large and organized military force, though they seem more geared towards crowd control than confronting any serious threat. There are also well concealed observation points that allow a good view of the central square and main thoroughfares. There is a temple / palace structure through which the group has already rampaged. Further investigating brings them into contact with either a) holdouts from the blitzkrieg or b) scouts for reinforcements – but they need to die in either case. Once again, Ivan’s terrifying stick is brandished and the well formed lines disintegrate into chaos. Chaos is what the boys do best and so they mop up the contact force. Up the rope.
Further investigating brings the group throughout the remainder of the complex. They observe from vantage points as a group of pilgrims bears witness to the party’s murderous rampage – so they are killed as well. There are breeding pools and hatcheries, a library and armory, which are all plundered of whatever valuables they contain. Looks like this is a popular destination for the faithful. It probably means that they shouldn’t tarry long, given the desecration and destruction they have wrought. There might have been other pilgrims that have already fled the area after seeing the carnage.
As they explore, they come across a jail and torture chamber. Imprisoned within is a drow woman. Wait what? This one seems more drowlike than the others, which is just strange. Anyway, they chat with the prisoner while Goldpiece waves his magic staff around. She was captured along with several others, whom she has not seen or heard from since.Information is shared that suggests the drow are not to blame, but that the seafaring stone giants are somehow involved? This just gets stranger and stranger. She tells no lies and after a lengthy debriefing, she is released to fend for herself in the underworld. Time to go!
With windwalking speed they retrace their steps through the underground passages and twisting caverns (hooray for Find the Path) until they return to the fire giant’s throne room. From there, a teleport to Kormier’s fortress – which seems to have undergone a bit of a remodel. The town of Immersea certainly has changed over the past decade or so. No longer a sleepy backwater on the midpoint between Arabel and Suzail, the town has grown into its own. Kormier is now a busier man and has contributed the Knights of Torm to the efforts to curb banditry and lawlessness.It has meant the imprisonment of one of the smaller noble houses and the liquidation of their ill-gotten gains. This is not without some controversy among the remaining noble houses who feel they should be above such trifling matters as the law. Kormier has powerful enemies, but they are few in number. He has a multitude of supporters, though they are weak the balance seems to be tipped in his favor.
Still, when old friends come calling, other matters can be put aside. They dump information on Kormier, who promises to do what he can to delve into these mysteries. The Spymaster of Suzail says much the same, and the group sets its wizards to extract whatever bits of arcana they can dredge from the aether.
