Storm King's Thunder [CLOSED]

Aseir walks the grappled mephit over to the starboard rail, spins it around to disorient it, then drops it headfirst onto the ice below, where it shatters in countless shards. The crew members who are still climbing up their ropes on that side laugh and cheer at the exploding imp.

The Snapdragon continues to gain speed, heading away from the giant longship as large stones and a handfull of returned ballista bolts splash into the water just off her port stern. With the confining ice no longer a factor, the distance between the two vessels increases again. The giants don't seem intent on pursuing the Snapdragon and instead continue on a course that will take them straight into the port of Luskan itself. Captain Suljack gives orders to keep heading away until the longship has disappeared into the night, and only faint murmurs of the deep giant rowing song remain.

The crew are scrambling to inspect the ship and get everything back in order, leaving Snikket, Lecuis, Aseir and Raven to their own devices on the deck.

Captain Suljack allows the Snapdragon to drift for some time before she leaves the first mate in charge on deck and heads below. Mister Ludlow, his long white hair flowing in the night breeze, comes over and speaks with the mate for a bit. Members of the crew give you nods and signs of approval as they go about their work on the deck and up in the rigging. Doctor Lurr and the Baronet, who apparently slept through the whole frantic affair with the giant longship, are still snoozing in their intoxicated stupors. The other guests come up above to pace around nervously.

At last, the captain returns and gives orders to make for Luskan. The Snapdragon has been underway for ten or twenty minutes when everyone on board hears a series of distant pops and dull, booming explosions. Lights flash on the horizon and a plume of flame appears at the wharf to which you're returning. The rest of the trip is even more tense.

When the Dragon Beach is finally in sight once more, the smouldering wreckage of the giant longship is immediately evident too. It apparently plowed clear through the docks and up onto shore before something immolated the vessel and its entire frost giant crew. The huge corpses are piled over each other in and around the ship. A number of wharfside buildings are burnt as well, caught up in the fire. Several men and women, each wearing robes of a different dominant color, walk about on the beach, examining the scene.

"Well that clears that up," comments Mister Ludlow. "The Arcane Brotherhood rained fire down on those fool giants. Looks like you missed out on the party, Master Fire Seer. Let us hope Lord Kossuth is not chagrined. But really, what could those giants have been thinking?"

It's about midnight by the time everyone is off of the Snapdragon. Doctor Lurr blinks blearily as he leans on Aseir's shoulder for support. "Tomorrow morning then; off at dawn," he keeps musing while stroking his beard.

Several members of the crew, Shaumar the ballista man and Ruyuk the bugbear topman among them, have rallied and are talking about going out for a bit of revelry. Suggestions are made that Snikket, Raven, Lecuis and Aseir should join in, with drinks bought by the crew as thanks for your role in saving the ship. There's also some conspiratorial talk about giving the four of you dragon skull tattoos to make you honorary members of Ship Suljack.

The guests from the Snapdragon—the Fishbanners, Ursula Eastwood,Cuffonree Grinditch and Mister Ludlow—say farewell and head off to wherever they're staying for the night. Through sly signally, Tambjorg Fishbanner indicates to Lecuis that she still considers their assignation to be on for later this morning.

"Tomorrow morning," Aseir agrees, before shrugging off Doctor Lurr and walking over to Ruyuk and the other crew members. "So you all are going to show us the best and brightest Luskan has to offer tonight?" he asks, a gleam of mischief in his eye. "I haven't had a good party with sailors in quite some time."

Snikket looks uncomfortable at the talk of a night on the town. "Snikket will help the Doctor get back to our quarters. There is much to think on tonight." He looks over to Raven. "Raven can help me if he likes."

Raven nods quickly. "Yes, I will help." He says immediately, sending a nervous glance over at the ones who were talking about going out. "You have fun if you want."

It's an awkward trip back to the Seven Sails Inn, with Doctor Lurr supporting himself between the tall tabaxi on one side and the diminutive kobold on the other. Musing over the evening's events, he seems entirely ignorant of the confrontation with the giant longship, and still preoccupied with his somewhat nebulous plans surrounding Sir Fishbanner. "Well, boys," he slurs, "I think we made some real inroads with the Baronet this evening. Something to follow up on in the Spring. But that Ludlow, fellow with the eyepatch, don't care for that one; up to no good."

Finally back at the inn, with the Doctor tucked in and snoring, Snikket and Raven are able to collapse into their own beds. Angelica, Von Anvil and Kulanukate apparently turned in early after packing for tomorrow morning's departure. Everything but the essentials has been removed to the circus wagon parked by the stables.

Lecuis makes his own way back to the Seven Sails. A few hours later, Tambjorg Fishbanner taps on his window for the agreed-upon music lesson, which turns out to be a quite diverting use of the rest of the night.

"Well, that was most informative," says the noblewoman as she fixes her hair in the mirror by the first morning light. "Maybe the next time you're in Neverwinter you'll stop by Fishbanner Manor to see how my practicing has been coming along." She picks up one of Lecuis' plectrums from the nightstand and slips it into her pocket with a wink. Then she kisses the tiefling between his horns, fastens her heavy cloak around herself, and, looking both ways, departs into the streets of Luskan.

The crew of the Snapdragon booed in mock-derision when Snikket, Raven and Lecuis declined their invitation. However, this stinging rejection seems to enhance their contrasting approval of Aseir as he goes off with them into the night. They fete him as the only true sailor among the bunch, further embellishing his contributions to the close call with the giants with each retelling. They are even further impressed when the genasi uses his inborn breath retention to drink a prodigious quantity of ale from a bucket without once coming up for air.

At one point, much later, the half-orc gunner who goes by "Mister Murdershadow" throws a heavy arm around Aseir's shoulder and, with drunken sincerity, assures him that Ship Suljack of Luskan owes him one, and he shouldn't be shy on collecting the favor. "And I'm not just talking about sailing you lot around the coast on a pleasure cruise neither. You need someplace to hide, something to disappear, got somebody needing the stabby stabby, we've got your back, mate."

In the wee hours, as Aseir stumbles back to the inn exhausted, his shoulder aches a bit from the fresh dragon-skull tattoo he got at some point in the long night.

It is an unreasonably early hour when Doctor Lurr begins knocking on your doors, cheerily proclaiming, "What a glorious day Lathander hath made! Let us rejoice in it and be glad!" As has often been the case, the previous night's indulgence seems to have had no lasting effect on him. "Time to get moving. We'll eat breakfast on the road. Still want to look into that opportunity we talked about, Aseir." He holds a crumpled paper in one hand.

It's a crisp, sunny morning outside. Angelica and Von Anvil are waiting in the ox-drawn circus wagon, reigns in hand while the Goliath Kulanukate loads the last few things into the back.

The side door of the Seven Sails opens and one of the porters peeks out, a young human woman with her hair in tight braids. "Hey," she says, "you've all got to settle up still, don't you?"

"Not to fear, my dear," says Doctor Lurr with a smile, "let me just write the Sails out a promissory note here and then we'll send payment from Mirabar." He fishes in his pockets.

The porter grumbles. "Don't go anywhere," she says, and darts back inside, leaving the door ajar.

"Well," says Doctor Lurr, "it might be time to hit the road."

Snikket nods. Uncomfortably, he turns to the doctor. "Doctor, you know Snikket is loyal to you..." He pauses for a moment. "But Kossuth has warned us of a great danger. We must not ignore this warning, or Snikket is afraid the world will be in grave danger."

Doctor Lurr has found a scrap of paper in his coat pocket, as well as a nub of charcoal. Using one of the wagon's steps as a desk, he begins writing out a promissory note to the management of the Seven Sails. With his attention focused on this task, he answers Snikket without looking down. "Oh yes, of course, Snikkers. Mustn't anger Lord Kossuth. What is it you propose we do about that then?"

Snikket ponders this for a moment. "The doctor makes a good point... We must be on alert for the next sign from the Lord of Flames." At this Snikket scrambles up onto the wagon, and starts looking around, eyes squinting in the bright morning light.

The inn's porter hasn't been gone more than a few minutes before a human man you all recognize as the day manager of the Seven Sails, Boris Rummel, steps out. He's not a tidy person; some porridge from his breakfast hangs at the end of his beard. "Come on, Mister Lurr, best we settle this back at the main desk."

"Copacetic," declares the doctor. He examines the two slips of paper in his hands, the fresh promissory note and the crumpled "opportunity" sheet. He hands the latter to Angelica the snake charmer and follows Boris Rummel back towards the inn's door, the note hanging limply from his fingertips. "Back in just a second, folks," he says as he goes.

Aseir winces at every very loud and overly cheerful word the Doctor says. He shoots Lecius a sullen glare as the tiefling pulls out his lute, then walks over and dunks his head in a rain barrel. After drinking his fill Aseir walks back over to the circus and shakes the water out of his hair like a dog drying himself.

Doctor Lurr disappears back into the inn with Boris Rummel, the day manager. The streets are not yet crowded at this hour. The Luskanites going about their business seem to be mostly headed to the docks to work on fishing ships, or still out from last night. From where Snikket sits, it's unclear what out here, other than the blinding sun, might be a sign from Kossuth.

Ten minutes pass, then twenty, without Doctor Lurr returning from the Seven Sails inn. Angelica the snake charmer indifferently studies the crumpled paper the Doctor passed off to her. "What's taking the old toad?" she wonders out loud. She and Von Anvil, the troupe's cook and quartermaster, debate going inside to get him or just heading for the city gates and letting Lurr catch up. The Goliath strongman Kulanukate closes his eyes and leans back, apparently in favor of staying put and waiting.

Snikket starts to fidget the longer the Doctor doesn't come back, finally at Angelica's comment, Snikket speaks up. "We should check on the doctor, been gone long time." He hops down off the wagon and starts toward the inn. "Anyone joining Snikket?"

Aseir leans back against the wagon and closes his eyes. "You go on ahead, I'm going to chill here with Kula. Have ourselves a nice relaxing morning."

"Sure, sure, I'll go along," says Von Anvil as he swings down from the wagon. "The Doctor, he's no doubt talking them up a good story. Always to talk. You grab him by the feet, I'll take the arms and we drag him out together. Good? Tiger Boy and Song Boy, you coming also?"

Snikket smiles at his friend. "Snikket is not the strongest, perhaps you grab him by his middle." The kobold snickers to himself as he looks expectantly at the rear of his group.

Raven and Lecuis tacitly decline to join Snikket and Von Anvil, opting to linger by the wagon instead. Angelica has come down and is passing the time brushing the oxen, whistling a Luskan sea chanty as she does.

The rear door of the inn opens into a narrow hallway that Snikket remembers leads to the downstairs common room. Before it gets there, another corridor branches off to the right. When the kobold and dwarf reach the junction, they hear the distinctive cadence of Doctor Lurr's voice, but muffled by an intervening wall or door, coming from the side hall. His words are unclear, but the tone is recognizable as one the Doctor uses when he's really off on a self-righteous tear about something. Another voice answers back from time to time, though it lacks Lurr's volume and enthusiasm.

"Do you think we should have followed them?" Lecuis asks as he pulls his lute from his pack to practice. "I got a feeling the Doc might have gotten in trouble again."

"Something not going the doctor's way." Snikket muses to Von Anvil, being very familiar with this particular tone from the doctor. "Shall we?" He asks, motioning toward the right corridor.

"Nah, chasing Doc down doesn't mesh well with the whole 'relax here with Kunta' vibe I've got going on this morning." Aseir replies, not bothering to even open his eyes. "Feel free to follow them if you want though."

Lecuis snaps his fingers and jumps up from the cart, "I have an idea, I'll message him and make sure all is well!"

Lecuis opens the back door and points, hopefully, in the general correct direction with his lute and strums ever so gently. "Hey Snikket, how's the doc doing? Need any help?"

Snikket holds up his hand for Von Anvil to halt, and whispers under his breath back to Lecuis. "Talk about prison, probably best we help him out of this again."

"Very well, we are on our way." Lecuis send to Snikket and turns to Aseir and sighs, "Sorry Aseir, looks like doc might need us. Throw on your big boy pants it's time to be impressive again." with a flourish Lecuis begins playing an upbeat song on the lute an checking that his weapons are strapped just right.

Aseir just sighs, his eyes flicking open. He nods in defeat.