Nyx makes sure she is of the highest standard of presentation, purchasing some new wears (she will spend 5g if she can find the right outfit) so she is not in adventure stained clothing before a King and Queen. She has a long soak, telling the inn keeping that satyr's only bath in fresh milk (Persuasion 22 ) before a hot soak in steaming water and makes sure she uses her makeup (from her Disguise Kit).

She does her best to support Lyngheid and Umbriel in what they say, adding few little side comments here and there.

At the tail end of the offer, Nyx looks shocked but elated, "That is an unbelievably generous offer King and Queen." She glances at the others, "A tower.... I will need to grow a long plate of hair!"

OCC: Insight for Lyngheid 15

She also makes sure she finds/purchase's fresh flowers to decorate her hair.

Baeshra looks around at the group, "What about that crown? Will losing it affect him, and will he come after it? Also, do we want to work on ending the war first, then come back for Zalto when we know he'll be weaker, or hit him first and then go stop the war?"

"Also, what of those drow we sneaked past in Zalto's lair? I would not think that war mongers like fire giants and fickle Lloth worshipers would normally get along. Could they be allies, they definitely where not skulking in"

Nyx:

• You do know why Lyngheid was a little down and disappointed.
• With that persuasion and 4 gold, you are indeed able to bath in fresh milk, if you wish!  Otherwise you have 30 gallons of milk delivered to your room.
• You are able to find a beautiful outfit, and get it tailored for only 6 gold total.
• And flowers, plenty for decorating your hair for only 1 gold!

The Queen looks up at the mention of the crown.  "Oh, right, that large crown you mentioned.  Since it wasn't magical, I don't think he will be concerned with it, more likely concerned with getting revenge for The Duchess."

And the King at the mention of the Drow: "Drow you say?  Sneaking in.  Hmm.  Were they escorting anyone? Or anything, perhaps?"

Everyone make an [Tooltip Not Found] check to see if you can remember whether you saw them carrying anything or escorting anyone.

Perception? It's saying Tooltip not found for me. If it is my roll is 10

Lyngheid definitely notices Nyxs outfit and flowers.....there may have been a ' wow' under her breath...

Perception for Drow- 7

Baeshra flat roll: 14  +8 if it was perception, 1 if it was intelligence.

Umbriel's flat roll: 7

+4 if it's Perception, no bonus if it's an Intelligence roll.

Oh, whoops.  Yes, Intelligence check.  So far, no one can recall anything unusual that the Drow were carrying or escorting.

When you relay this to the King and Queen, they say: "Hmm, curious, although I'm not sure what they could be doing with Zalto.  Regardless, yes, the Duke and his activities restarting the Forge of Ironslag need to be stopped.  It can wait a bit though, if you've got other business to attend to.  We will redouble our watches, to ensure that he doesn't capture any more people to use as slaves."

King Morinn and Queen Tithmel look at you questioningly.

"Your Majesties," Umbriel begins, "we ran afoul of Duke Zalto because of the sundering of the Ordning and the disappearance of King Hekaton. I believe that the relative peace, or at least the absence of all-out war, in recent memory was due to King Hekaton's control over the other Giant lords. With him gone, despots like Zalto grow bold and seek to eliminate all threats, no matter the cost to those around them. We have another piece in the puzzle of Hekaton's disappearance, and I think if we solve that first, we may be more equipped to deal with Zalto and his predations upon your people. We need to attend to the matter at hand, but rest assured, Zalto will be dealt with before long."

Queen Tithmel nods: "Indeed, we have heard rumors of this split being the cause behind all the recent uptick in Fire Giant activity.  We agree with you, King Hekaton's disappearance is the bigger issue at hand.  What help do you need from us?  How are you planning to find King Hekaton?"

King Morinn adds:   "Have you had any dealings with Storm Giants in the past?"

" I have not, Your Majestys.  Any advice you can give would be most welcome, most of my experience has been with Fire, Frost and Hill Giants and the larger proportion of those interactions were not friendly."

" I believe we have aquired a magical means of finding them......at least I think we have...", she looks to the more arcane inclined members.

Oh, looking back through the posts, I realize that I never wrote it down.  I'm sure Nyx has identified the Conch in the time you've been in town.  It is a Conch of Teleportation.

King Morinn replies: "Well Storm Giants, generally speaking, are pretty rare to see.  They usually reside high up in the mountains, or under the ocean.  They can breathe both air and water you know.  Most spend their time seeking signs, symbols and omens of Annam's favor."

Queen Tithmel continues: "We've never met King Hekaton or his court, but we know his palace is called Maelstrom, and it is under the Trackless Sea.  Deep, thousands of feet beneath the surface.  Sometimes a whirlpool appears on the ocean surface above Maelstrom and pulls ships down to the bottom of the sea."

King Morinn adds: "Oh, one more thing.  King Hekaton is said to sit on Wyrmskull Throne." The King looks at Lyngheid, "Lass, you may remember that Wyrmskull Throne was built by our dworven gods and entrusted to the rulers of the ancient dwarven empire of Shanatar.  It now sits in the throne room of Maelstrom, used by King Hekaton."

" Not sure if I'll have the chance, Your Majestys.  But I will enquire if he is looking to return it any time soon."

The King chuckles: "Oh, you misunderstand me.  We don't want the Throne back, I was just relaying a fun fact."

Quote from KestrellKestrell >>

The King chuckles: "Oh, you misunderstand me.  We don't want the Throne back, I was just relaying a fun fact."

" Nothing ventured....as they say.", Lyngheid smiled, quite forgetting to add ' Your majestys'.

" I will cede the floor to any of my companions to ask further questions or make statements."

She stepped back beside Nyx and breathed out, her pulse was racing being this close to royalty.

"If I may be so bold your majesty's, do you know anything else about King Hekaton? What of his family for I am sure they should" Nyx pauses for a second, "if there are not involved that is, be looking for him as well. But as Lyngheid has said, while we have encountered many different giants in our recent travels, we have not seen one Storm Giant. I find that a little odd for a class, if I can call them that, that once ruled all of giantkin and presumably now do not. Unless they are all prisoners I would have thought they would be activity looking for there King. The Duke had many prisoners but none where giants of any kind. Is there a Queen? Children? Even siblings of the King?"

"Yes, King Hekaton's wife is Queen..." The King pauses and thinks for a minute before replying "Neri.  Queen Neri is her name.  And they do have children, but I don't know how many."

"The Storm Giants are reclusive, so it's not surprising that you haven't encountered any.  And I would think that King Hekaton's family and court would be looking for him, but, we aren't too familiar with the Storm Giants and the way they rule."

Baeshra shrugs, “I imagine they would be looking where they would find giants, we’ve only found one place with giants.”