We return to the Happy Childhood Bunch after an extended break.
The group was considering the offer from Luku to have only Trowa enter the Frost Giant camp to negotiate the surrender of Artus Cimber. They convince the giant to give them 8 hours to get their affairs in order with a payment of 100g. They put together contingencies in the event the negotiations don’t go well. Trowa prepares Invisibility and Dimension Door to escape the camp. Alphonse follows in the air (nearly getting caught in the process) with an improvised alchemist flashbang thanks to Bohdan. Bohdan and Aroboe setup in a nearby snowbank with the axebeaks to prepare a desperate escape.
In the camp, Trowa finds a former priestess of Auril advising the Jarl. While her presence complicates matters, it is Trowa’s own burgeoning attitude that nearly causes the danger. He challenges the power and authority of the Jarl but is able to successfully convince them the ring is no longer in the Ten Towns. While the Jarl threatens he can still attack, the urgency of the priestess and the logical arguments from Trowa convince him otherwise. Thanks to Trowa’s quick thinking, the Frost Giant army is moving south, convinced the ring was sent to the hideout of the Hill Giants. In exchange for this information, they are granted one of the magic Conches of the Storm King.
Allowed to leave, Trowa joins with the rest of the party and they ride back to Bryn Shander. They inform the town that the Giant Army has been diverted and the town is safe for now. And with that, the party debates where to get another Conch. As they were told that one Conch can transport a single giant lord, they are hoping two would be enough to get the entire party to the Storm King’s court.
After some back and forth, they decide to try their luck with the Stone Giants. They give Faint Drop an update, and in return receive word that the dragon that attacked them in the Giants temple was lost by Faint Drop’s agents. They aren’t sure where it might be aside from somewhere in the Anauroch Desert to the east. Using the teleportation circle, they head to Loudwater.
Arriving in Loudwater, they are greeted in a hidden basement of a tavern by a Harper named Revil Slombarr. He’s a little slow on the uptake, but claims to be a mage in training.
He leads the group up through a hidden door to the tavern proper, which is being run very well by another Harper agent named Gharwin Umbryl. From Gharwin, they get some lodging, but the influx of refugees has flooded even a far off town like Loudwater. Transport might be difficult to come by.
They head into town and decide to stock up on some supplies. In addition to their own set of sending stones, they find some alchemy supplies for Bohdan’s potions. However, one of the stalls they visit has overpriced ingredients and Bohdan unintentionally calls out the seller. Around this time, Trowa remembers from some Harpers that the High Lord of Loudwater is supposedly connected to the Zhentarim. With that they leave the alchemy stall and consider how they’re going to do business while they’re here.
