Wine Cellars: The Never Ending Winter part 3

 The Never Ending Winter part 3: Cloud Castle Showdown!

Our party for the third and final leg of the adventure were as follows:

Selina K. - Tobuscus "Ole' Tobi" Barrackbomb the Linguist, Axe-master

James W. - SKROG the Skald, Axe-master

John L. - Vicar Fredrick the IV

Joe P. - Icirus, Owl man Magician

Bryan W. - Brulan the Elf Conjuror-Swordmaster

Character updates:

At the end of Part 1, Skrog had a broken leg and was unable to participate in the second mission. Fredrick the IV has healed the dwarf of this issue and he can now join the party for the third and final chapter.

Ole' Toby lost his beard to a Pixie curse in part 1. At the end of part 2 the dwarf came into possession of multiple kegs of Dwarf Beer. A few turned out to be magical and the elder drank one. He regained his beard through the magical properties and it was now long and thin and colored a bright mauve! It was also able to cook upon command!!!!

The intro:

The party has assembled in Marqest village square where the flying longboat has been loaded with supplies, a ballista, and a couple of kegs of beer to be gifted to the giant who resides in the cloud castle. This is to be a diplomatic mission first and a combat mission last. The group hopes to sway the giants to their side as opposed to the secret machinations of Lord Never-be-borrowed.

 It is a clear but cold morning as they lift into the sky using the magical compass to guide them towards their destination hidden somewhere in the clouds above.

Heraldry of Fredrick IV

Fredrick blesses the party and the mission in the name of Tardome. Skrog is intrigued and strikes up a conversation with the Cleric on his beliefs. It is quickly discovered that the pair share an interest in birds of prey and the realm of Air.

To pass the time Icirus recounts the time he met a wild Wood-Gnome who was desperately looking for something he called the "White Canoe" and was launching himself into the sky in hopes of finding it. The Magician wonders if there may be a connection or perhaps the inhabitants of Cloud Castle may have knowledge of what the crazed gnome was seeking.

As the sun reached its zenith, Fredrick spotted something approaching the flying boat. Brulan changed course to see if it was something after them or just some creatures flying by. Sure enough the course change was followed and soon the group could see they were being homed in on by a group of large winged creatures. At this Skrog and Tobi prepped the ballista, Icirus readied spells, Fredrick dropped to the deck from the crow's nest not wanting to chance being knocked from that perch while hundreds of feet above the ground. Once Skrog was ready Tobi swapped places with Brulan at the rudder and the elf quickly readied a large cast-net he brought along.

Battle was engaged with a grouping of terrible monsters, later discovered to be called Peryton!! These awful conglomerations of Stag and Hawk with a penchant for blood were fierce foes. It was also determined that the beasts were under some sort of command spell as the attempted to abduct Icirus during the battle. 

Peryton

Through smart use of spells, melee, and ballista bolts the party were able to defeat the creatures. However the ballista was damaged beyond repair when one of the beasts caught its antlers in the weapon in a failed attempt to gore Skrog. The beast was hit with flaming whiskey and summarily dispatched.

After the battle the group bandaged their wounds while Tobi aquired a new bearing on their destination. Both Brulan & Icirus took this tome to harvest many interesting spell components from the Peryton corpses before tossing the remains overboard.

A few hours later an amazing sight greeted the party. The Castle in the sky was unlike anything any of them had seen. They were awestruck by its sheer size and the seemingly impossible way it sat atop a puffy white cloud! Ole' Tobi remarked that this place made the tower of the Frost Giants seem small by comparison. The giants that dwelt here must be very large indeed!!

The Cloud Castle

The party was able to approach the castle unhindered and soon tied up at the docks near the large stable house. A high pitched screech was heard emanating from within the giant wooden structure and the group took a moment to peek inside. Much to the amazement of Fredrick the party saw a flock of griffins inside the stable. All were beautiful beyond comment and seemed well cared for too. It was then a sound like rumbling thunder caught the groups attention and they spun about hands on weapons.

Before them stood a small Gnome with bowed legs, a shock of wiry salt-&-pepper hair topped with a pointed red felt hat. He was dressed in the fashion of a valet.

"Alright then, identify yourselves or suffer the wrath of his Stormship Nimbus! Master of Cloud Castle!!" The wild-eyed gnome pointed a crooked finger at the group while his hips gyrated and the thunder-like sound rumbled again from his stomach.

The group attempted no espionage, and came clean with the gnome. They admitted they were here to stop an evil Fey Lord from locking the land in a Never-Ending-Winter and hoped that they could get Lord Nimbus to aid them in this. Also, Icirus asked the gnome if his name was Meboyoh and had they met before some months ago in the Moldenwood?

At this the Gnome tumbled in glee, for indeed he was Meboyoh and he now recognized the Owl Man for one those who had helped him achieve his goal. The Gnome ushered the party to a secret room within the Guest area of the castle and related the terrible circumstances to them.

Lord Never-be-Borrowed was here along with a bodyguard. He had some how enchanted Nimbus and was using the castle as his base of operations. Meboyoh had been told to expect a group of Frost & Hill giants that were supposed to be coming to meeting. However it seems the Adventurers had replaced the giants and arrived instead. 

With Meboyoh's help the party made use of secret passages to get into the chamber of Nibus the Storm Giant Lord and with the combined use of Arcane & Divine magic they broke the Fairy spell that held Nimbus in the sway of the Fey Lord.

Knowing they had only moments at best to take their enemy by surprise, Nimbus bade the party to follow him to the great hall where they would take the Fey Lord unaware. This they did and and a battle of Blades, Spells, and Titanic might was waged!

Lord Never-be-Borrowed

  Never-be-Borrowed and his single body guard were quite powerful in their own right, and there was a moment when the group feared they may not be able to defeat the Fey Lord!

 In the end Nimbus called upon his storm magic and opened a portal back to Frigia, the land where Never-be-Borrowed hailed from and he was banished back to his home with his plan in ruin.

Grateful for their aid in freeing him from the enchantment placed upon him by the Fey, Lord Nimbus invited the group to a celebration feast in his hall and he rewarded each member of the party individually with something special. Ole' Tobi also presented the kegs of beer he brought along to Nimbus and the Storm Giant was very pleased with his gift!

By the time the group returned to the village early the following morning you could tell that the signs of the enchanted winter were fading quickly and that Spring was rushing in!  

The group quickly related the tale of their adventure to any who would listen and MUCH carousing was had!! 

Everyone was impressed greatly with the fabulous creature Fredrick had been granted as his reward. Her name was "Stormfeather" a Griffon and now mount for the Cleric!

Stormfeather

Both Icirus & Skrog were gifted silver rings, each with a secret magical power that of which they would not tell. But they assured everyone they were quite awesome indeed!

As for for Ole' Tobi, well he never did say just what the Storm Giant had gifted him, but many surmised it must have been a new lease on life. You see the old Dwarf surprised everyone in town with the announcement of his intent to wed Master Blaster's Widow, the dwarf Maid Ava. It seems that in these past weeks of carousing between adventures the pair had fallen deeply in love and decided to start a new life together now that Tobi had returned from the Cloud Castle!!!

Things seemed to be looking up for the people of Marqest, perhaps the power of the Duke was not as deeply rooted as once thought. Smiles and songs of merriment and hope sounded throughout the day and night.

THE END

for now....