"Indeed, I think we need to understand the order in which the events happened - namely, when did your mother pass, when did your father disappear, and when did Iymrith arrive at court?" Umbriel asks.
Serissa looks surprised and then nods in understanding. "Oh yes, good thinking. Sorry, I'm so close to the issues I forget...let's see."
After gathering her thoughts for a minute she continues:
"After the Ordning was sundered about 6 months ago, my father, King Hekaton, was doing his best to hold the court together. My mother, Queen Neri, would assist and encouraged the King to form alliances with the small folk. He wanted none of that, but he did respect my mother's wishes and would occasionally visit with them."
"My mother also continued to journey to the surface, visiting with the small folk, until several months ago, she never returned. Uthor went in search of her and found her body on a small island where she usually met with human folk. It was clear she had been killed by small folk. The King wept for days and then threatened to unleash his vengeance on the unsuspecting coastal territories. I urged him to uncover the truth before lashing out. To his credit, he listened, and set out find my mother's killers about 3 months ago. He hasn't been seen since."
"Iymrith was already here by then. She was actually claiming it was member's of the Lord's Alliance that killed my mother. I suppose we can do away with those claims now...and interesting enough, it was actually Iymrith, and my sisters, Mirran and Nym who urged my father to hunt down the small folk on the coasts and kill them."
She turns to Uthor: "Uthor, we should investigate Mirran and Nym's involvement further."
And back to you. "So that about covers the timeline: Ordning, Iymrith arrives, Mother found dead, then Father disappears."
"Yes, there are plenty of my Father's things that you can use to aid with your spell. I should think the scrying first. If that is successful, it crosses off a few questions that we won't have to ask my mother."
Baeshra nods, and casts scrying on the king using the best source possible, hopefully a bit of hair or nail, but whatever is available. If the spell connects, he carefully describes whatever he sees to the group aloud.
Lyngheid frowned, if the other two royal children were involved in the plot they could be badly outnumbered here depending on which way the household guards fell.
" Not saying they are Princess, but if your sisters are involved....how much sway do they have over your staff and guards? Could you be in danger from them?"
Lyngheid frowned, if the other two royal children were involved in the plot they could be badly outnumbered here depending on which way the household guards fell.
" Not saying they are Princess, but if your sisters are involved....how much sway do they have over your staff and guards? Could you be in danger from them?"
Uthor responds to this question: "The guards are loyal to Princess Serissa. The rest of the giant lords are loyal to the throne...there won't be any immediate danger."
Baeshra nods, and casts scrying on the king using the best source possible, hopefully a bit of hair or nail, but whatever is available. If the spell connects, he carefully describes whatever he sees to the group aloud.
You are provided with both a bit of hair and fingernail trimmings for casting this powerful spell. You close your eyes for a moment to gather your concentration and then utter the words and make the gestures of this unfamiliar bit of arcana.
Spoiler for Baeshra:
You see and hear nothing, it's a blank coming from the spell where you would expect to sense something. It's not like the target made their Save against your spell, it's as if the target is not on this plane of existence or if he is, he is blocked from being Scry'd upon.
Baeshra shakes his head confusedly, "It seems he's either blocked or taken off of this plane. Is there an entrance to one of the elemental planes nearby? Either that or he's imprisoned in a place protected somehow. I guess its time to ask your mother for help."
Serissa looks sad at this news: "No entrance to the elemental planes that I know of. Very well. Umbriel, here are the revised questions." and she hands Umbriel a new slip of paper.
Spoiler for Umbriel:
- Did you find out where Father is? - Did you know Iymrith was a dragon? - Who killed you? - Are your killers the ones who kidnapped father? - Who can I trust?
Then she and Uthor stand up and lead you to the pool in the center of the throne room. Princess Serissa says "This pool leads to the center of Maelstrom, and from there to the Temple of Stronmaus, and the Royal Tomb is off of the temple. Unfortunately it is all underwater. I can cast water breathing on you all if you like? And then I'll take you to the Temple and Uthor will lead from there."
<Reusing a picture, ignore Imyrith in it, she is no longer there. The pool is the one in the center of the room.>
Baeshra nodded, "I can cast it as well if you'd like. We can also string a rope or something and I can drag along those who can't swim as well as I can. Do we all want to go down?"
Umbriel reviews the questions, and nods. "Highness, I will ask these in such a manner as to show your mother as much respect as I can muster. With any luck, we may have some answers to these mysteries. Even one good answer will give us all a starting point to work from. I bend to the group's will as far as travel underwater goes."
Baeshra, Princess Serissa gladly lets you cast Water Breathing on those who want it. She nods gratefully at Umbriel. "Thank you, Umbriel."
After Baeshra casts the spell, Serissa leads you into the pool, with Uthor taking up the rear. Once you overcome the initial urge to hold your breath, the disconcerting feeling of filling your lungs with water takes a little while to get used to. And you are surprised to find that it is possible to speak with the spell. It takes more effort and the sound doesn't travel as far, but it is possible.
Serissa leads you down the pool about 50 feet, where a tunnel runs west. Following the tunnel, you find a giant chamber that extends at least a hundred feet above your heads. The bottom is strewn with debris, the remains of wrecked ships, hulking crabs, coral and luminescent fish and algae. Serissa leads you across this chamber to a portcullis going into another tunnel, and raises the portcullis for you, then into the Temple of Stronmaus.
This submerged chamber has a 50-foot-high pyramidal ceiling, with walls that taper inward beginning at a height of 30 feet. Harmless bioluminescent jellyfish dimly illuminate a 40-foot-tall statue standing in the middle of the room. Uthor explains that this is Stronmaus, the god of storm giants. Stronmaus looks like an imperious, bare-chested storm giant with a foamy beard, a sharp trident, and a lower body transformed into a great wave — all carved from stone. The walls of this temple are etched with images of storm giants riding whales, battling dragon turtles, and blowing conch shells to summon giant crabs, giant octopi, manta rays, and schools of fish. Harmless starfish and sea urchins cling to the walls and congregate around the base of the statue. A living giant clam rests in the southwest corner of the room.
Uthor then plants his feet on the floor and with Serissa, push the statue aside to reveal a tunnel. Prince Serissa explains: "This leads to the Royal Tomb. I'll remain here. Oh, one more thing. Don't wander outside of Maelstrom. At these depths, without the protective magic of Maelstrom, the water pressure will crush you."
Uthor leads you through the tunnel into another chamber. Bioluminescent fish swim about this flooded chamber, dimly illuminating an ornate sarcophagus inlaid with blue coral, its lid beautifully carved in the likeness of King Hekaton’s late wife, Neri. Arrayed along the walls are ten upright stone sarcophagi, their barnacle-covered lids sculpted to look like regal storm giants.
Uthor pushes the sarcophagus lid aside, and you see the body of Queen Neri, wrapped head to toe in black kelp.
"Uthor," Umbriel asks, "We will need to remove the wrapping from around Her Majesty's head, so that she can speak to us. Can you help us with that?"
He looks around at the submerged tomb. "Also, for the spell to work, I need to burn some incense. This will require some clever thinking. Can any of you create a small pocket of air around the Queen and me for a few minutes?"
'It may," Umbriel muses. "The incense burning forms a pathway to guide the animating spirit back to the deceased's body, so normally, for natural deaths, you'd want it burning for as long as you can, because the spirits have moved over to the Raven Queen's realm. In this case, because Her Highness met an untimely end, I'm hoping her spirit is close enough that the burned incense can reach her. Either way, the smell will carry upon the current, so it should work."
"I think that might work," Umbriel nods. "Let's give it a try."
Umbriel pulls a small cone of incense out of a pouch, and sets it on the edge of the sarcophagus nearest the Queen's head. He then moves his arms in an arcane pattern, drawing shadows from the corners of the space, and muttering words of power into the seawater. At the right moment, he dips his head toward Lyngheid, so that she can burn the incense.
Baeshra, who'd been enjoying the swim and somewhat lost track of what was happening, turned back to the others, "Oh, I can also hold a handful of fire if that'd help, might be able to burn it up that way."
"Indeed, I think we need to understand the order in which the events happened - namely, when did your mother pass, when did your father disappear, and when did Iymrith arrive at court?" Umbriel asks.
Serissa looks surprised and then nods in understanding. "Oh yes, good thinking. Sorry, I'm so close to the issues I forget...let's see."
After gathering her thoughts for a minute she continues:
"After the Ordning was sundered about 6 months ago, my father, King Hekaton, was doing his best to hold the court together. My mother, Queen Neri, would assist and encouraged the King to form alliances with the small folk. He wanted none of that, but he did respect my mother's wishes and would occasionally visit with them."
"My mother also continued to journey to the surface, visiting with the small folk, until several months ago, she never returned. Uthor went in search of her and found her body on a small island where she usually met with human folk. It was clear she had been killed by small folk. The King wept for days and then threatened to unleash his vengeance on the unsuspecting coastal territories. I urged him to uncover the truth before lashing out. To his credit, he listened, and set out find my mother's killers about 3 months ago. He hasn't been seen since."
"Iymrith was already here by then. She was actually claiming it was member's of the Lord's Alliance that killed my mother. I suppose we can do away with those claims now...and interesting enough, it was actually Iymrith, and my sisters, Mirran and Nym who urged my father to hunt down the small folk on the coasts and kill them."
She turns to Uthor: "Uthor, we should investigate Mirran and Nym's involvement further."
And back to you. "So that about covers the timeline: Ordning, Iymrith arrives, Mother found dead, then Father disappears."
"Yes, there are plenty of my Father's things that you can use to aid with your spell. I should think the scrying first. If that is successful, it crosses off a few questions that we won't have to ask my mother."
Baeshra nods, and casts scrying on the king using the best source possible, hopefully a bit of hair or nail, but whatever is available. If the spell connects, he carefully describes whatever he sees to the group aloud.
Lyngheid frowned, if the other two royal children were involved in the plot they could be badly outnumbered here depending on which way the household guards fell.
" Not saying they are Princess, but if your sisters are involved....how much sway do they have over your staff and guards? Could you be in danger from them?"
Uthor responds to this question: "The guards are loyal to Princess Serissa. The rest of the giant lords are loyal to the throne...there won't be any immediate danger."
You are provided with both a bit of hair and fingernail trimmings for casting this powerful spell. You close your eyes for a moment to gather your concentration and then utter the words and make the gestures of this unfamiliar bit of arcana.
Spoiler for Baeshra:
You see and hear nothing, it's a blank coming from the spell where you would expect to sense something. It's not like the target made their Save against your spell, it's as if the target is not on this plane of existence or if he is, he is blocked from being Scry'd upon.
Baeshra shakes his head confusedly, "It seems he's either blocked or taken off of this plane. Is there an entrance to one of the elemental planes nearby? Either that or he's imprisoned in a place protected somehow. I guess its time to ask your mother for help."
Serissa looks sad at this news: "No entrance to the elemental planes that I know of. Very well. Umbriel, here are the revised questions." and she hands Umbriel a new slip of paper.
Spoiler for Umbriel:
- Did you find out where Father is?
- Did you know Iymrith was a dragon?
- Who killed you?
- Are your killers the ones who kidnapped father?
- Who can I trust?
Then she and Uthor stand up and lead you to the pool in the center of the throne room. Princess Serissa says "This pool leads to the center of Maelstrom, and from there to the Temple of Stronmaus, and the Royal Tomb is off of the temple. Unfortunately it is all underwater. I can cast water breathing on you all if you like? And then I'll take you to the Temple and Uthor will lead from there."
<Reusing a picture, ignore Imyrith in it, she is no longer there. The pool is the one in the center of the room.>
Baeshra nodded, "I can cast it as well if you'd like. We can also string a rope or something and I can drag along those who can't swim as well as I can. Do we all want to go down?"
Umbriel reviews the questions, and nods. "Highness, I will ask these in such a manner as to show your mother as much respect as I can muster. With any luck, we may have some answers to these mysteries. Even one good answer will give us all a starting point to work from. I bend to the group's will as far as travel underwater goes."
" I should like to try it....may as well get some use out of my ring."
Baeshra, Princess Serissa gladly lets you cast Water Breathing on those who want it. She nods gratefully at Umbriel. "Thank you, Umbriel."
After Baeshra casts the spell, Serissa leads you into the pool, with Uthor taking up the rear. Once you overcome the initial urge to hold your breath, the disconcerting feeling of filling your lungs with water takes a little while to get used to. And you are surprised to find that it is possible to speak with the spell. It takes more effort and the sound doesn't travel as far, but it is possible.
Serissa leads you down the pool about 50 feet, where a tunnel runs west. Following the tunnel, you find a giant chamber that extends at least a hundred feet above your heads. The bottom is strewn with debris, the remains of wrecked ships, hulking crabs, coral and luminescent fish and algae. Serissa leads you across this chamber to a portcullis going into another tunnel, and raises the portcullis for you, then into the Temple of Stronmaus.
This submerged chamber has a 50-foot-high pyramidal ceiling, with walls that taper inward beginning at a height of 30 feet. Harmless bioluminescent jellyfish dimly illuminate a 40-foot-tall statue standing in the middle of the room. Uthor explains that this is Stronmaus, the god of storm giants. Stronmaus looks like an imperious, bare-chested storm giant with a foamy beard, a sharp trident, and a lower body transformed into a great wave — all carved from stone. The walls of this temple are etched with images of storm giants riding whales, battling dragon turtles, and blowing conch shells to summon giant crabs, giant octopi, manta rays, and schools of fish. Harmless starfish and sea urchins cling to the walls and congregate around the base of the statue. A living giant clam rests in the southwest corner of the room.
Uthor then plants his feet on the floor and with Serissa, push the statue aside to reveal a tunnel. Prince Serissa explains: "This leads to the Royal Tomb. I'll remain here. Oh, one more thing. Don't wander outside of Maelstrom. At these depths, without the protective magic of Maelstrom, the water pressure will crush you."
Uthor leads you through the tunnel into another chamber. Bioluminescent fish swim about this flooded chamber, dimly illuminating an ornate sarcophagus inlaid with blue coral, its lid beautifully carved in the likeness of King Hekaton’s late wife, Neri. Arrayed along the walls are ten upright stone sarcophagi, their barnacle-covered lids sculpted to look like regal storm giants.
Uthor pushes the sarcophagus lid aside, and you see the body of Queen Neri, wrapped head to toe in black kelp.
He pushes aside the sarcophagus lid,
"Uthor," Umbriel asks, "We will need to remove the wrapping from around Her Majesty's head, so that she can speak to us. Can you help us with that?"
He looks around at the submerged tomb. "Also, for the spell to work, I need to burn some incense. This will require some clever thinking. Can any of you create a small pocket of air around the Queen and me for a few minutes?"
Uthor carefully removes the wrapping around her face. "Burning the incense might be tricky."
Uthor asks "What about some sort of fire spell that targeted the incense? If a spell was able to burn it up, would that count towards what you need?"
'It may," Umbriel muses. "The incense burning forms a pathway to guide the animating spirit back to the deceased's body, so normally, for natural deaths, you'd want it burning for as long as you can, because the spirits have moved over to the Raven Queen's realm. In this case, because Her Highness met an untimely end, I'm hoping her spirit is close enough that the burned incense can reach her. Either way, the smell will carry upon the current, so it should work."
Uthor nods. "Makes sense. So...can anyone launch a fire bolt or some such thing at this pile of incense?"
" I can make Lightbringer white-hot, that should do the trick.", Lyngheid offers.
"I think that might work," Umbriel nods. "Let's give it a try."
Umbriel pulls a small cone of incense out of a pouch, and sets it on the edge of the sarcophagus nearest the Queen's head. He then moves his arms in an arcane pattern, drawing shadows from the corners of the space, and muttering words of power into the seawater. At the right moment, he dips his head toward Lyngheid, so that she can burn the incense.
Lyngheid uses Searing Smite on the incense.
Baeshra, who'd been enjoying the swim and somewhat lost track of what was happening, turned back to the others, "Oh, I can also hold a handful of fire if that'd help, might be able to burn it up that way."
Produce Flame