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Dunmari Frontier - Session 127

Storm over Thundercrown: in which the party investigates a stone giant stronghold

Featuring: Delwath, Kenzo, Wellby
In Taelgar: Jun 29, 1749 DR to Jul 04, 1749 DR
On Earth: Wednesday Jul 09, 2025
Location: Chataan Mountains

The party reaches a stone giant stronghold in the Chataan Mountains, and gathers intelligence to undermine the chalyte-obsessed Dhrukmir and his chalyte-powered death ray.

Session Info

Summary

  • The party gathers information in Chardon, and prepares to depart on Vindristjarna, with two allies of the Magistros: Tristan Brighteyes and Octavia Antussus
  • After two-and-a-half day journey on Vindristjarna, the party arrives in Alta Tonaro, the Chardonian province on the northern edge of the Chataan Mountains.
  • Armed with information from spells and the resources on Vindristjarna, the party sets out on foot into the Chataan Mountains, towards Thundercrown and the Riftstone Gorge. Wellby’s animal scouting, Seeker’s clairvoyance, and Kenzo’s aura sense reveal a settlement of stone giants under a tower suspended by lightning chains in the air above a pit mine worked by ogre servants.
  • The party approaches stealthily and magically suborns a dim-witted ogre into revealing information and passing along a message to a potential discontented stone giant.
  • After dusk, the party speaks with a wary but sympathetic stone giant, who despises Dhrukmir and offers inside intelligence and a possible alliance.
  • The party withdraws by teleportation to rest and prepare before an assault on the tower.

Timeline

Narrative

Our session begins in Chardon, after the Dunmar Fellowship has agreed to aid the Magistros in securing a new source of chalyte, to break the power of the chalyte oligarchs. The party spent a few days in Chardon, researching the Chattan Mountains and preparing for the journey. They also begin to ask around about the possibility of acquiring magical items to protect from fire, at Seeker’s request, and in preparation for an eventual journey to the Elemental Plane of Fire in search of Seeker’s brother, Frankar. These errands accomplished, the group departed by ship, captained by Tiberius the Windcaller and accompanied by two imperial aides sent by the Magistros to observe and aid the party: the dignified veteran Octavia Antussus and the lively windcaller Tristan Brighteyes.

Arriving at Vindristjarna, Wellby, Kenzo, and Delwath discovered that Seeker and Faldrak had not been idle: shards of floating magical ice littering the waters below hinted at experiments in creating an ice-shield-submersible, though the vessel was intact. With all aboard, they set out for the Chataan Mountains. Over the course of the next few days, the ship flew over the Gulf of Chardon, the rich agricultural lands of eastern Portalia, the lizardfolk swamps of the Yeraad Watershed, before finally ascending into the dry, canyon-laced province of Alta Tonaro in the foothills of the Chataan Mountains. Avoiding the once-booming, now run-down provincial capital of Argento, the party steered for Thundercrown, a high peak in the mountains noted in their research as the location of a substantial chalyte source.

Arriving near Thundercrown, the party used their magic and the extensive archives and knowledge available on Vindristjarna to learn what they could before venturing into the dangers of the stone giant settlement in Riftstone Gorge, where several full legions were wiped out by unimaginably powerful chalyte-powered blasts of magic. They learned that stone giants are generally regarded as the most reclusive of the Giants, long-lived but typically staying isolated in their mountain or underground strongholds, obsessed with stonecraft, even to the point it is said that some ancient stone giants slowly turn to statues themselves. Dhrukmir, a rogue stone giant obsessed with Chalyte, took control over the enclave of Ulgrathar (nestled in the valley below Thundercrown), turning it into his personal domain, and using a massive chalyte-powered death ray to control and enslave the giant population. As Faldrak navigated Vindristjarna to a halt about 30 miles from Thundercrown, Kenzo extended his consciousness, sensing eighteen Giants in the area, some radiating a strange, dark power, all gathered in one place with hundreds of lesser creatures nearby.

The party set out from Vintagerna on foot, moving cautiously to scout the lay of the land. By midday, they reached a point ten miles from the ominous Thundercrown, passing through dry valleys, hearing the persistent sound of thunder constantly booming in the distance. Using animal magic, Welby enlisted a vulture to scout ahead. From the vulture’s eyes, Wellby saw a floating tower, chained by lightning to the mountains, overlooking a sprawling pit mine and a village of giant structures. Ogres, driven by others of their kind bearing chains, hauled ore under the watchful eyes of stone giants—some bearing crowns of purple gemstone. Sneaking closer, Wellby’s sharp eyes noted a divination ward hidden among the rocks, taking the form of a carved purple gemstone; Delwath’s Dispel Magic spell quickly ended the threat of detection.

The party reached the edge of the pit mine without detection, hiding behind a giant warehouse, crouched among jumbled boulders, waiting to try to waylay an isolated ogre and get information. As one stumbled close, Delwath used Tongues and Suggestion to convince the ogre that the magic boulder talking to him would reward him if he obeyed its commands. Swayed by the magic, the ogre obeyed, thrilled to be in the service of his new friend “Rock”. According the ogre the “Amethyst Tyrant” used fear and his devastating lightning weapon to enforce rule. The ogre recounted that “purple-crown” giants were enforcers, while certain black-stone giants had grown despondent after the loss of their prized stones. Sensing potential dissent, the party – speaking as the magic talking rock – manipulated the ogre into passing a secret phrase, “Down with Skybreaker”, to one these disaffected giants, aiming to convince the giant to meet in secret. The ogre, assured that the magic of the stone would protect him, in this life or at least the next, left happily to his mission.

As dusk settled on the mountains, the party lingered in uneasy shelter behind a warehouse. Their efforts to rest proved fruitless amidst the tension. But as night fell, the deep voice of a stone giant broke the silence, reciting ancient legends in song. Delwath ventured an answer in Elvish, and surprised at the Elvish words, but cautious, the giant agreed to speak. Talkling with Kenzo, the giant spoke of the rein of terror of Dhrukmir who had turned his back on the traditional stone giant ways, and vaporized anyone who disagreed with the massive chalyte death ray.

Although not willing to engage in open warfare, the stone giant cautiously agreed to collaborate. He would sabotage the road leaving the mines, trapping the hundreds of ogre servants below and preventing them from rushing to the aid of Dhrukmir should his rule be threatened. He also offered words of caution: the tower that housed the death ray was also guarded by giants loyal to Dhrukmir, corrupted by chalyte into powerful sorcerers, and the empty husks of those poor souls consumed by the death ray and drained of their life force. He suggested disabling the tower’s energy flow to neutralize its weaponry. Finally, he told the party that they would have warning before Dhrukmir appeared. He dwelt in the depths below and rarely emerged, but when he did the earth would tremble and shake and the thunder boom louder than ever for 10 or so minutes before he fully emerged.

Confident in their new understanding and alliances, the party withdrew, teleporting to Vindristjarna for a night’s rest, preparing to strike at the heart of the tower with information, magic, and stealth.