Journey to the City of Clouds
With their business in Drasilgard concluded, the party set their sights on Aureterna, the capital of the Cloud Giants. At the city gates, they were met by the Kafla Brothers — eight powerful stone giant siblings sent by Jarl Sigurd Ironfoot to aid them on their journey.
The brothers proved useful immediately. Travel across the lands of the stone giants required proper mounts, and rather than settling for anything ordinary, they sought out the largest mammoth they could find. The result was an enormous bull they proudly named Manfred.
With their new companion, the group made their way to a nearby river, where they once again released their ship from its bottle with the now-familiar words, “Bibbidi-Babbidi-Boo.” Together, they set sail toward Aureterna.
The journey lasted two days, during which the party witnessed something deeply unsettling: in the far distance, entire landmasses were rising into the sky. Using a Sending Stone, FEND contacted his mentor Thereon Aelnor in Oribos to ask what was happening. The answer was grim — the world itself was breaking apart, piece by piece. Entire regions were being torn from the ground and lifted into the heavens. Most recently, half of Stahlheim had vanished.
A Clever Disguise
As they neared the domain of the Cloud Giants, the group faced a problem: the presence of stone giants would not go unnoticed. They needed a way to blend in.
FEND, thinking back to what he had seen, realized that Cloud Giants and Stone Giants were remarkably similar in appearance — with one key difference: Cloud Giants bore hair made of clouds. Remembering that their ship could sail upon the clouds thanks to a coating of Yggdrasil resin, he devised an unusual plan.
Using the resin, FEND coated the bald heads of the Kafla brothers, who then dipped them into the surrounding cloud layer. The result was as absurd as it was effective — each of them now sported a head of genuine cloud-hair, perfectly mimicking the appearance of Cloud Giants.
With their disguise in place, the group passed the outer defenses without suspicion and entered Aureterna. At the harbor, they were warmly welcomed by the Cloud Giants, greeted with gifts, and invited to take part in the city’s grand summer festival.
While exploring the city, they encountered a familiar face: Rudolph van Richten, who had established a small alchemy shop in Aureterna and appeared to be on excellent terms with the Cloud Giants.
The King’s Deception
That evening, the party attended the grand feast held in great temple battlemap omitted — the central event of the festival and their opportunity to meet King Othyrian.
However, the celebration quickly took a dark turn. It became clear that Othyrian had secretly poisoned his own subordinates, eliminating them during the feast. Worse still, he revealed himself to be the one responsible for holding Uthliz captive.
A battle broke out within the temple. The party fought fiercely and managed to defeat Othyrian — or so it seemed. Instead of falling, his body dissolved into a swirling cloud and ascended into the sky, merging with a massive storm-like nucleus surrounded by a colossal formation of clouds.
With little time to waste, the group freed Uthliz and made their escape, retreating back to their ship.
Now, they sail once more — leaving Aureterna behind and heading back toward Drasilgard, carrying with them new answers… and even greater questions about the fate of the world.