One or both of the following encounters occur while the characters are traveling with Zephyros(Tower Of Zephyros. If the characters are making the journey on their own, without the Cloud Giant's assistance, skip this section and use the Random Wilderness Encounters table in chapter 3 to generate overland encounters.
Day 03 Event: The Howling Hatred
On the third day of the party's journey, representatives of an evil elemental cult called the Howling Hatred arrive at Zephyros's tower, hoping to find a powerful Cloud Giant ally whose goals coincide with those of Yan-C-Bin, the Prince of Evil Air.
The Cultists use giant vultures as flying mounts. When they spot the Cloud Giant's tower, they investigate. The cultists land outside the tower's entrance on the first floor. Zephyros is sleeping on the second floor when they arrive and only becomes aware of visitors if the characters wake him or if combat erupts.
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The visitors include two cult fanatics (NE male Illuskan humans) and seven cultists (NE male and female humans of various ethnicities). The cultists try to enter the tower while their nine giant vultures) remain outside. The vultures allow only members of the cult to ride them, and they attack anyone else who approaches within 5 feet of them. A character who dons a Cultist's costume can, with a successful DC 12 Charisma (Animal Handling) check, fool a giant vulture into allowing him or her to ride it. The giant vulture attacks the character if the check fails.
Encounter Blocks ([CT: Combat Tracker])
The cult fanatics are named Amarath and N'von. They speak for the rest of the group and claim to speak on behalf of Yan-C-Bin as well. Amarath and Nvon wish to make contact with a Cloud Giant and have no interest in dealing with anyone else. If the characters get in the way, the cultists ignore them and call out for master of the tower. If the characters get pushy or turn violent, the cultists attack them.
Amarath carries a magic bag (see "Treasure") with an invisible stalker inside it. On his first turn in combat, Amarath releases the invisible stalker and commands it to attack the cult's enemies.
TREASURE & REWARDS.
DEVELOPMENT.
Day 10 Event: Operation "Orb Strike"
This encounter occurs on day 10 of the party's journey and takes place only if the characters are traveling to Bryn Shander or Triboar. The preponderance of giant activity in the North has members of the [Lords Alliance] on edge, and their operatives are gathering information while taking steps to curtail the giants' advances.
Any character standing guard outside Zephyros's tower or watching the sky from the tower's aerie spots danger approaching if his or her passive Wisdom (Perception) score is 15 or higher.
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A male adult silver dragon named Clarion owes a favor to Queen Dagnabbet of Mithral Hall and is transporting a Lords' Alliance strike team to Zephyros's tower at her behest. The dragon clutches three shield dwarves in each foreclaw. The dwarves have orders to disable Cloud Giant strongholds, and they plan to locate and destroy the tower's navigation orb. Neither they nor the dragon know that Zephyros] poses no threat to the settlements of the North, nor do they care. They have orders from their queen and a mission to complete, and by Moradin's beard, they intend to succeed!
CLARIONS TACTICS.
Characters who spot the silver dragon have 1 minute to prepare for its arrival. Otherwise, all of the tower's inhabitants are startled by the sound of the dragon's flapping wings as he lands on the cloud outside the tower. After dropping off the dwarves, Clarion takes to the air, frightens away the griffons in the tower's aerie, and waits there while the dwarves complete their work.
If Zephyros gets involved, the dragon watches the battle from the aerie and tries to neutralize the Cloud Giant wizard with its paralyzing breath.
SHIELD DWARD TACTICS.
The shield dwarves are named Daina Ungart, Ildehar Ironfist, Hewen Horn, Voldrik Firehammer, Griswelda Torunn, and Naalt Splintershield. They have the statistics of veterans, with the following changes:
The dwarves quaff their potions of Gaseous Form upon landing and make their way into the tower, searching for the navigation orb. Realizing that the orb isn't on the first floor, they Fly up to the second floor. Once the orb is in sight, the dwarves revert to their true forms and attack it. Zephyros does his best to protect the orb without harming any of the dwarves, using spells such as Campaign Resources/Magic/Spells/Charm Person, Otilukes Resilient Sphere, and Mass Suggestion to trap or divert them.
The dragon and the dwarves avoid armed conflict with the characters. If the characters kill one or more of the dwarves or deal damage to the dragon, they are accused of conspiring with giants to bring about the downfall of dwarven civilization in the North. The strike team turns on the party, attempting to knock the characters unconscious instead of killing them.
DEVELOPMENT.
A character can try to persuade the dragon and the dwarves to end their assault by convincing them that Zephyros means no harm. If the player role plays well and makes a convincing argument, allow the character to use an action to make a DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check, with advantage if the character is a member of the Lord's Alliance, and with disadvantage if one or more members of the strike team are dead. If the check fails, the dwarves say they "can't take any chances" and press forward with their plan, though the character can try again. If the check succeeds, the dragon and the dwarves call off the attack.
If the dwarves destroy the navigation orb, the tower is stranded until Zephyros crafts a replacement (which could take months). Rather than strand the characters in his tower, he helps them return to the surface, points them in the right direction, and bids them farewell before returning to his tower to ponder his options.
If the strike team is thwarted or calls off the mission, the dwarves ask Clarion to fly them back to Mithral Hall. If the dwarves are killed, the dragon returns to Mithral Hall alone. Once the Lords' Alliance strike team is gone, Zephyros thanks characters who helped defend the tower, mutters something about dragons under his breath, and carries on as though nothing happened.
Encounter - The Howling Hatred:
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2x Cult Fanatics (Amarath and N'von )
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7x Cultists
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9x Giant Vultures