Storm King's Thunder

"Soooo, trap?"

"Regardless, we should probably go up before they start throwing something. I mean they're inviting us in. Who knows maybe they want to bring the Nightstone back and apologize for the destruction here?"

"Nahhh no trap. You only trap things if you need to use subterfuge to kill them. Pretty sure we barely register. Something larger is going on here."

"Huh and I already felt small. Let's not keep them waiting, don't want to be rude now do we?"

"Ah'd rather they drop boulders than climb that thing..." Flint says as he tests his footing on the first stair.

Quote from DarthAvarice >>

"Ah'd rather they drop boulders than climb that thing..." Flint says as he tests his footing on the first stair.

//poking in quickly//

Ink takes a look, "It seems a rather peculiar cloud giant is inviting us up... never have I heard of a cloud giant shape her or his castle in the form of a "wizard's hat..." which, I find a bit offensive - I don't carry a hat like that.  In any case, they tend to be more traditional - but he seems just as obsessed with the arcane as his kin are."  Stepping up the stairs of clouds, with a look of genuine curiosity on his face, Ink starts making his way up, then turns and says, "Cloud giants are just as likely to throw spells as they are boulders - so let's be careful.  Perhaps it's best if just the few of us go up for now." Then turning skyward, "Quill, go up and take a look, we'll be up there, too, soon enough - be careful."

Stealth Ink: 23

Perception Quill: 17

"I'm not missing the chance to meet a giant!" Rip jogs up the steps then goes ninja mode

stealth17

Marav looks at the giant wizard's hat. "Got to admit though you'd look good with a hat like that."

"Solace you should probably stay here. Ink I hope you have some way to prevent falling. I could probably only carry Rip if I have to fly."

Angel begins climbing up. Only stealthing because everyone else is.

Stealth: 18

"He would, but isn't that a little cliche?"

Quill quickly takes the skies and soon vanishes out of sight and out of Ink's presence of mind as it climbs towards the distant cloud. 

Marav sighs, looks at his friends trying to sneak up a cloud colored staircase. "Guys they know we are coming."

“Yeah but it’s more fun to pretend they can’t”

Angel says as he’s climbing up and whispering theme music to himself. 

The stairs spiral up into the sky, and the climb is made much easier by the fact that there is a handrail. Within a minute you are looking down at the temple's steeple and windmill, and a minute after that down at the roof of the partially collapsed keep on the motte. But the cloud tower seems still very far away. 

Time passes and the day is getting on, it's been about an hour and the ground is a distant memory. Perhaps halfway to the tower and several hundred steps up, you can see the northern end of the Ardeep Forest stretching towards the horizon, and the Sword Mountains jutting skyward beyond that. 

As we kept climbing up Angel stopped stealthing at one point and was staring out at the mountains wishing he brought some art supplies with him on this journey. This would have been a wonderful picture. 

//Do not cast your grease spell.... it is far funnier in your head than on this climb... just saying.//

"Keep yer  mind  on the task lads, one step follows  the next, only way ta  climb."

After a few hours of climbing, you finally reach the end of the staircase. You can see the sun reflecting off the tops of nearby clouds, which is a fairly unsettling experience, albeit a beautiful one.  

You stand in front of the tower’s entrance, on a cloud that feels as firm and safe as solid ground. The tower itself reaches even higher into the sky, easily another 300 feet past where you stand. Atop the tower, you can only see the underside of the gargantuan yellow-and-blue wizard's hat, which makes up for perhaps a third of the tower's total height. 

Before you stands a massive 40-foot-tall doorway. Due to the sun's glare, you can't make out much of the interior, but you don't see anyone inside or outside here. Quill flies down to Ink and perches on his shoulder, exuding a general feeling of being unconcerned. The tower doors are open and inviting.

Shield up and hammer at the ready, Flint walks toward the doorway