Connects to: 03.04 and the City of Shuttered Windows.
Of all the Pirate Thunderheads that rove the ocean, the most dreaded fortress is surely Skullreach, throne of the giant king Udenyr. Wherever it goes, this floating castle is overshadowed by a localized storm, with black clouds boiling above its black walls. Lightning crackles from the clouds to the rods at the top of the keep, powering what is said to be the electric sorcery of Udenyr’s captive wizards.
The fortress takes its name from a strange formation of stone around the castle’s base - jagged rocks which to some eyes resemble teeth. Legend has it that the foundations of the fortress are in fact an enormous dragon skull, with its jaw unhinged and bent back to form a ring of teeth. It is from the crystallized bones of this skull that Skullreach draws its thunderous energies. Certain rumor-mongers go so far as to suggest that this is all that remains of the blue head of Tiamat, torn from her body in that bloody battle with the God of the Shuttered City. On this subject, Udenyr has so far been silent.
While most Thunderhead fortresses reside in the mountains (00.02) when they are not hunting, Skullreach spends almost all of its time in the air. Apparently, the other giants dislike Udenyr’s presence in their halls, and not just due to the incessant rainstorms that he brings with him. For his part, Udenyr often seems careless of the other giants, and on occasion has been sighted travelling further inland than any other Thunderhead in recent history. Four years ago, Skullreach travelled all the way to the edge of the Freeholds region after stealing an entire tower from the dwarven monastery (03.04), prompting a mass panic in the Shuttered City and beyond, but as quickly as he arrived, Udenyr turned around and went back to the coast.
Hooks:
- If Skullreach is really made out of a dragon skull, where did it come from?
- Why don’t the other giants like Udenyr?
- Why can’t the Thunderheads travel inland, and why is Skullreach the exception to this rule?
- Why did Udenyr come to the Freeholds, and why did he leave?
The Mage Slaves of Udenyr
The Thunderhead of Skullreach is rightly feared along the Bitter Coast. People talk in hushed tones of the powerful mages Udenyr keeps enslaved to his will.
In fact, none of Udenyr’s captives are truly wizards.
The first slave is a druid of the Saltwood (01.07). He has refused for thirteen years to cast even a single spell for Udenyr, but it is not for his magic that the Pirate King keeps him here.
When the druid was young, he fell in love with the dryad who tended Broderick’s Grove (02.07). She gave up the heart of her sequoia for him to craft a didgeridoo. When Udenyr captured the druid, the giant threatened to destroy the didgeridoo. The dryad reluctantly came unto Udenyr, who has her perform weather magic for him. So deep is her misery that clouds follow the Thunderhead wherever it goes.
The rest of Udenyr’s collection of ‘mages’ is made up of musicians and bards that Udenyr hoped could use the didgeridoo to summon Old Leviathan. The most recent arrival is a miserable young man who pretended to be the poet Trimueil (30.15.01) to woo a lady and is thoroughly regretting his decision.
Hooks:
- Is Broderick’s Grove coping without its dryad?
- Is anyone searching for the captives?
- How can a dryad give up his or her tree’s heart without dying?
- Why does Udenyr want to summon Old Leviathan?