Storm King’s Thunder: Session 18. The Road to Rassalantar

4^th Alturiak 1458DR

As they surveyed the small village of Rassalantar they saw a seemingly peaceful village with an inn before them “The Sleeping Dragon”, idyllic houses and a walled barracks belonging to a small garrison of Waterdeep guards tasked with ensuring the peace and safety of the Long Road for travellers. The gates to the garrison crashed open and two guards staggered out, seemingly wounded. The older of the two directed the younger to “find the priest in the inn to see to their wounded”. Carlan and the rest of the Gilded Griffons stopped him to ask what had happened and the young guardsman said that a fire giant and some orcs had attacked a caravan nearby before heading to the ruins of Rassalantar’s keep nearby. They seemed to be excavating and searching for something and when the guards tried to drive them off they had been overpowered and forced to fall back. Darius healed him with Lay On Hands, which he was grateful for and he headed into the Sleeping Dragon.

They headed into the Inn and recognised the priest as Silvanus Moonshanks: the priest of Helm that they had met in Triboar. He seemed fitter and more full of life than he had been back in Triboar, which seemed to be rebuilding since the giant attack. They spoke to Yondral Horn, the dwarf innkeeper who served food and they discussed the local area. Rassalantar’s keep was a wild and haunted place 10 miles to the west, occupied only by the dead. Rassalantar had been a famous giant-slayer in ages past, who wielded a magic warhammer and came to a sad end after his pride led him to disaster.

The party resolved to drive away the Fire giant and see if the magic warhammer was still in the ruins, as it would surely be useful in the times to come. They headed to the barracks and spoke to the Guard Sergeant, who agreed to lend them horses to trek to the ruins, securing a promise for their return on Darius’ oath. They then set off to the west. As the miles wore on they noticed the land becoming bleaker: the plantlife became sparser and the land more barren before the sounds of wildlife quietened entirely. The view of the keep came into view and they saw a ruined castle atop a small plateau. A Fire giant towered above the ruined walls and appeared to be directing several orcs in excavating the ground and clearing rocks.

They pondered what to do. Amadeous tried to use his disguise kit to appear like an orc but it proved beyond the abilities of his equipment. Carlan cast Silent Image to create the illusion of a female fire giant approaching. The Fire giant was immediately suspicious and shouted out, demanding an explanation for who she was and after studying it, saw through the illusion. The Gilded Griffons then carefully approached, trying diplomacy and keeping their distance. The giant told them to leave. They offered help and after some discussion they found he was seeking The Warhorn of Valour, an artifact stolen by Rassalantar from the giant’s kin in ages past. The giant refused help and after they didn’t back away they all drew weapons and made battle. Maganose launched a fireball at them while Amadeous and Fenris fired arrows and bolts and Korrak surged forward, hacking down orcs with his battleaxe. After a few bloody moments they lay dead and the party discovered a newly excavated staircase down into the darkness of the ruins.

After a short rest they headed into the depths. The walls were covered with a mural depicting a tall bearded man with a warhorn and warhammer leading an army against a horde of giants. Fenris and Amadeous crept forward, seeing a room littered with bones on which grey forms seemed to sleep. The noise alerted them and the forms appeared to be ghouls and revenants, who surged forward slashing and biting at the Griffons In Progress. After a few brutal moments they returned to death, which left Fenris with the dread feeling that the revenants were not permanently destroyed.

Heading down the corridor they saw a continuation of the murals: the bearded man kneeled, weeping over the bodies of the soldiers of his army and dead friends. They found a room resembling a small chapel, however the altar and statue within had been desecrated, making it impossible to tell who it had been dedicated to. Maganose searched the altar, finding a hidden compartment with a golden amulet in the shape of a hammer. They prepared to head further in.