Rime of the Frostmaiden Session 14: Secrets and Surprises

Last session, the heroes had just entered the strange and mysterious keep at Caer-Dineval hoping to find shelter there. However, they would soon find that it was not a place of shelter for them, but instead a shelter for many mysteries and secrets.

Upon being invited into the Caer, they were instructed by Huarwar and Fel, the gatewardens who had on their face continuous smiles, to ascend into the Caer and await the summons of the mistress. Continuing regardless of their strange visage, they did just that. They needed a place to rest, after all. Upon entering they found it even stranger, as a young tiefling boy scuttled off away from their presence when they first entered the room. Furthermore, the whole Caer seemed to be... on edge, tense, perhaps was another word.

Regardless, they were quickly guided to their room. Once there, however, they decided it might be prudent to engage in a quick search of the Caer, after all, nearly the entire party was distrustful of their hosts. Upon entering one of the rooms across from them, they uncovered a rather strange sight: an old shield dwarf merely staring off into the distance blankly.

Hethyl Arkorran, Seer of the Knights of the Black Sword

She did not appear to respond when the players entered her room, only to instead spout off several cryptic phrases. She informed them that: "For all the darkness we wield, we are not the slayers of Icewind Dale, but it's liberators. Look south. Like a tumor, Xardorok's fortress hangs on the Spine of the World. He is the threat you must vanquish, for he forges doom." However, when asked, she would not elaborate further. Instead she continued: "Within his frigid fortress beats a ferocious heart—a forge of fury capable of untold devastation." At this point she commanded the heroes to: "Search Xardorok's fortress to answer the mysteries that yet haunt the dale." Finally, she concluded with a single statement: "The fortress lies far but his agents—the sons of Xardorok, are close at hand." Then she simply stared at the wall, expressionless as before.

It did not take long for the heroes to recognize that she had, in fact, expired. Toh-Toh noticed the amulet around Hethyl's neck and took it, feeling that she didn't need it anymore, and instead offered it up to Malaggar. Meanwhile, Thrax decided to investigate one of the other rooms on the other side of the Caer, finding it to contain a man dressed in elegant finery along with another Knight of the Black Sword with a cheery smile on his face. After asking what was going on, the knight informed them cheerily that "You are not allowed to be here. Please leave!" Thrax tried to say that the mistress wanted the prisoner, but the knight did not believe him one bit, instead challenging him, after all, they he was not a prisoner, asking if they even knew his name (among other things). Foiled, he left and returned to their room. 

After that experience, though, Huarwar and Fel arrived at their room to inform them that the mistress was waiting for them in the northwest tower, all with smiles on their faces. Wanting to figure out who exactly this "mistress" was. When they entered, they found the watchtower occupied by several other Knights of the Black Sword along with an albino tiefling wielding a staff of ice. She introduced herself as Avarice, although Malaggar seemed to know her as Vicarae. A discussion ensued where she informed the heroes that she was here for the betterment of the Ten Towns; the previous speaker of Caer-Dineval (the man Thrax found in the upper level) was someone who despised unity and believed solely in unilateral action. However, her new instruction, under the tutelage of "the master," Avarice proposed a new organization of the Ten Towns, one where everyone worked together. That's what the adventurers were after, no? Even willing to illegally interfere in the democratic process to do so. What was the difference between the two? If anything, Avarice was of a higher moral standing than these adventurers.

Avarice, another member of the Arcane Brotherhood and Leader of the Knights of the Black Sword 

Thrax had had enough, and departed from the Caer, willing, given his goliath resilience to the cold, to await out the night on the floor of the Uphill Climb. Malaggar and Toh-Toh returned to their quarters. Gildas arrived as well, but he seemed to eagerly be looking over several designs that had been given to him by Avarice. Shimo, however, asked Avarice if she could help him, and the two of them descended into the bottom of the Caer.

Time passed and inevitably Shimo returned, only saying that he had been "fixed." However, he missed Thrax, and thus left in order to meet back up with him. Thrax, for his part, had been trying to rouse the townsfolk in order to save the speaker, but it seemed like the majority of people either didn't believe him or (for most of them) just didn't care. The general animosity they felt towards him was quite evident.

Night passed once more, and with dawn the heroes considered their excursion over, departing from Caer-Dineval. Although Avarice did offer lodgings whenever they happened to be near the Caer.

Rime of the Frostmaiden Session 13: Winter Wizardry

After having successfully foiling the plot crafted by Naerth Maxildinarr of Targos to try and sow political discord among the residents of Termalaine, the heroes decided that they'd best be off to their next destination: Easthaven. They had heard reports of fisherman having vanished and thought it prudent to investigate one of the largest of the Ten Towns. However, given the length of the journey to Easthaven, it seemed like it would be a multi-day journey, stopping in Bryn Shander for a night, but the party had recently earned a reasonable amount of gold from their quest in Termalaine, and saw fit to equip themselves with new forms of travel: Axe Beaks.

These avian creatures had webbed feet that expertly navigated the sloping and icy hills that adorn the otherwise barren landscape of the dale faster than any humanoid feet. With these creatures in tow, the heroes set off on their journey once more, now determined to make it; however, the weather was not on their side. Their journey began treacherously, it was snowing heavily, and they made very little progress as they could barely find their way. Once they did though, they were finally on their way, but it was then when they noticed a rather strange sight–an igloo.

An Axe Beak ready for travel across the tundra

Upon noticing this strange structure, they quickly investigated only to find the owner: an old tethyrian woman with an eye patch and white hair. She introduced herself as Vellynne and offered to let the adventurers use her hut, which she explained, was conjured by magic as a way of protecting herself from the cold. The interior of the igloo was incredibly warm, much more so than the outside area, and the adventurers took this opportunity to get warm while they could.

Talking to Vellynne, they learned that she was a wizard and a member of the Arcane Brotherhood – a group of wizards normally based in Luskan – but that she was searching for something to do with lost civilizations. Malaggar queried as to whether this had anything to do with the Ancient Empire of Netheril, and Vellynne nodded, looking surprised as to how Malaggar knew this. Malaggar than discussed how he had met with an albino tiefling – Vicarae – and how she, similarly, was searching for information regarding Netheril. However, Vellynne informed Malaggar that "Vicarae" was, in fact, a fake name, and the tiefling's real identity was that of "Avarice."

Apparently, Avarice, a red wizard named Dzaan and Vellynne had, at one point, been allies in this search, but friction grew between the three members of the Arcane Brotherhood and they inevitably parted ways. The heroes also quickly realized that perhaps Vellynne could help them, as several of them had been suffering terrible dreams that would not let them sleep. Vellynne agreed, as long as the heroes did something for her. She noted that she found it easier to help heroes and request their help in return than to end up on the wrong side of their blade. Vellynne subsequently informed them that an orb of hers, which she called "Professor Skant." Had been stolen by yet another member of the Arcane Brotherhood, Nass Lantomir. Vellynne has been searching the Ten Towns for it, but she has not found anything as of yet.

The heroes accepted Vellynne's request for help and, after she assisted them herself, removing them of the curse that prevented them from resting, set off to continue their journey, while she continued to wait out the storm. However, things only got worse, as a full-on blizzard set in, making them realize that they would practically have to wait things out in Targos. That was not all though, as when the heroes arrived at the Targosian gates, a sled dog bounded up to them. It quickly tackled Shimo and tried to drag him into the city. After dealing with the gate guards it didn't take long for the dog to guide them towards a small Targosian home.

The walled settlement of Targos, the second-largest of the Ten Towns

After arriving at the home, they were greeted by an Illuskan man, who initially seemed overjoyed to see the dog, but his mood considerably darkened when he saw the characters. Regardless, he invited them in and, after introducing himself as Keegan Velryn, explained the situation to them. This dog, Boy, was his husband, Garret's, dog; he raised him since he was a pup, and if Boy was present without Garret... needless to say, Keegan feared the worst. Recently, a group of adventurers had journeyed into Targos - a goliath, a tiefling, and a halfling. They were apparently on some kind of quest to find a creature named Oyamintak or something like that. Garret was from Neverwinter, but he was an excellent wilderness and survivalist. They apparently were planning to head to Kelvin's Cairn through Caer-Konig, meeting with some of Garret's survivalist buddies at Frozenfar Expeditions. He asked if the adventurers would be willing to help him by traveling to Caer-Konig and seeing what happened, they accepted, noting that it was a bit of a detour from Easthaven, but there was someone in danger!

After recovering themselves after the storm they continued their journey, now heading northward on the Eastway instead of Easthaven. However, by the time they arrived in Caer-Dineval (on the road to Caer-Konig), it was time to rest for the night. Alas! Upon investigating at the local tavern, the Uphill Climb, the tavernkeep, Roark, reported that the single inn that was once present in the small town has shut down and is boarded-up. Apparently much of the trade had slowed since the Rime started, especially regarding the Easthaven ferry system. Uncertain regarding the inn, they confirmed it abandoned, finding it... well, abandoned. Although, upon peeking past the boards they did notice some bedrolls – squatters perhaps?

Caer-Dineval, the small town overshadowed by the imposing Caer

Regardless, seeing as that was fruitless, they returned to the Uphill Climb, who recommended the caer, the Speaker's residence. Apparently he was quite sick, rarely coming out except to make important declarations, not that Roark or any of the few tavern patrons cared. It seems the speaker was not well-regarded in Caer-Dineval. This recommendation was followed subsequently by Thrax, who decided to attempt to raid the Caer, believing it to be the source of evil! This did not prove fruitful, as the Caer was... quite well-defended, having high and thick walls; however, when the rest of the party joined with Thrax, the guardkeeps, having rather... unsettling smiles on their faces, decided to let them in for some strange reason, so long as Thrax ended his attempts at destroying their Caer.

Rime of the Frostmaiden, Session 12: Machinations and Monsters

(I am not intending to profit off of any of the photos I use, they're all the property of Wizards of the Coast)

Greetings and welcome back to my blog! For this post I'll be discussing my most recent session regarding my Rime of the Frostmaiden campaign. If you want to check on what has happened here's a link to some of my group notes. Meanwhile, if you're interested in looking at the characters, I believe I discuss them here. Regardless, let's begin.

The heroes had been delving into a mine to understand what, exactly, was going on between the Kobolds that were inside of it. However, after defeating a monstrous aberration from the Underdark, the heroes found themselves in front of a small group of kobolds, led by an exceedingly articulate "winged kobold," Trex.

Trex, the leader of the Termalaine Gem Mine Kobolds

Trex informed the heroes that he was attempting to pressure the humans to come to them with a diplomatic offer, only to be asked why exactly he would act antagonistically. The "winged kobold" responded that it worked, didn't it? Adventurers arrived to investigate. Therefore his plan was not a failure. Bickering inevitably ensued as the heroes probed further into Trex's story, until inevitably, after a heated exchange, with the mention of "Janth" Trex underwent a very strange experience as a man dived out of Trex's body and attempted to charge into Toh-Toh's!

Luckily, Toh-Toh was able to hold on to his inner strength, and fight off the possessing spirit, whose form could finally be seen, that of a rather bookish-looking human who seemed aggravated at his discovery. Luckily, while the group's rolls were quite excellent, mine were not, and the restless spirit was handily disposed of without it being able to possess or severely hamper anyone (as Malaggar surely proclaimed he was not terrified, despite much evidence to the contrary).

Inevitably, the spirit was defeated, and the group recovered themselves, discussing what had just occurred with the kobolds as well as venturing beyond to fully explore the mine. Interestingly, Malaggar had managed to maintain a spell that allowed for the detection of the presence of magic during the skirmish between the spirit, and was able to divine that some sort of magic could be sensed from deeper within the mine. It appeared to be emanating from a strange skull affixed into the wall. The skull had four holes where the mouth normally was, only for it, upon being removed from the wall, to dissolve into dust, leaving behind a faintly glowing crystal, obviously the source of the magic, in its place.

The Pis Crystal, an intriguing magical item that facilitates telepathic communication

Upon investigating the crystal, its magic seemed to focus on those who had a mastery over their mental faculties, as Captain Tommy took it for his own, seeking to investigate it further with more downtime. Meanwhile, after Toh-Toh had discussed the other kobolds, the group eventually came to the conclusion that they should seek employment for food and shelter with Oarus Masthew, the speaker of the town. Thus, the group, with both the kobolds and the heroes in tow, returned to the windswept but beautiful Termalaine late into the night.

Upon their return, Gildas traveled ahead in order to brief Oarus of the situation, as Oarus gathered the mercantile leaders within the town, who were none too pleased to be awoken at such a bitter cold hour. Regardless, after some time putting on furs and other winter clothing, a meeting was set at the Speaker's Hall. As the group returned altogether, they brought the kobolds along with them to the meeting; however, before Oarus could congratulate the heroes and thank them for their valorous deeds, the mercantile leaders began to question whether or not the heroes (and Oarus) had truly done the right thing, and when asked whether or not they'd support the presence of kobolds assisting the miners of Termalaine with their work in the minds (so as to help in the struggle to keep the Ten Towns afloat during the everlasting Rime).

This discussion eventually devolved into an almost interrogation, where it was eventually learned that the merchant leaders had, in fact, made alliances with the Targosian speaker Naerth Maxildinarr. The other candidate for speaker, Borus, at this point, was brought in by Shimo, and through a combination of the threatening presence of Thrax, as well as Oarus' own understanding of the Termalaine legal system, the merchant leaders were ousted and exiled from Termalaine. Then, realizing that much of the discord was wrought by the wealthy elite of Termalaine, Oarus and Borus worked together, acting as speaker and vice-speaker respectively. The kobolds were signed to work with the miners, and with a hefty reward in their pockets for all of their hard work, the heroes settled down for the night, ready to begin yet another day of adventure.

An Update

Hey everybody, long time no writing! Anyway, I'm back, and, at the request of my patrons (this was one of my goals), I think I'll be writing again! This'll mostly be session reports for my current major campaign: Rime of the Frostmaiden. For a bit of reference, you can find some small writeups about the characters here:

First, we have Thrax, a Goliath Rune Knight
Then there's Captain Tommy Buckets, a Kobold Conjurer
We also have the second half of Captain Tommy, Toh-Toh Frostclaw, a Kobold Fighter/"Frostdancer" (a Bladedancer)
There's also Gildas of Lantan, a Nimblewright Pact of the Chain Warlock (for reference, a Nimblewright is a construct similar to a Warforged albeit less organic and based in the Forgotten Realms instead of Eberron)
In addition to having two kobolds, we also have two elves: Shimo, an Eladrin Bard/Sorcerer and Malaggar, a dark elven College of Eloquence Bard.

Currently the party is third level and in Termalaine, having traveled to many of the different Ten Towns and completed several quests. I hope that all of you enjoy reading this, but, as always happy gaming and I wish you all the best!

Dragon Heist - Episode 6: The Gralhund Villa Bloodbath

See here for episode 1, here for episode 2, here for episode 3, here for episode 4, and here for episode 5.

Well, the newest session has rolled around, and the players are about the enter the crisis that is Chapter 3 of this adventure. I hope that you all enjoy.

Everyone managed to attend, so it seemed like the group might have some interesting revelations this time. Once again, here is the cast of characters:
Banjo, a Ghostwise Halfling Druid who was raised by Stout Halfling Folk and is always concerned about his appearance given his strange ghostwise nature. 
Frizzt Fo'Yrden from house House Faen Tlabbar. Called Frizzt because a little farm boy that befriended him along with the family as he surfaced called him that. They heard of stories of Drizzt and the boy kept referring to him as Frizzt so it stuck - also threw off the scent of others Drow who might be looking for him as his real name, "Alakagh Torval Faen Tlabbar of house Faen Tlabber."
Tsunami, a Water Genasi Bard eager to be as famous as she could possibly be. 
Appotus, a Half-Elven Monk who lives outside of the law. 
Goose, a Lightfoot Halfling Bard who is illiterate and abysmal at lying. 
And then there was King, a High Elven Wizard who worships Oghma the god of knowledge.

The dock ward is almost always bustling, full of sailors and traders seeking their newly imported wares.

As the sun dawned over the dock ward, the heroes' nimblewright detector started to whiz and spin. Soon it became clear that the nimblewright was close... eventually they managed to triangulate its position around a ship: The Heartbreaker. Quickly the heroes scampered aboard the docked ship, spotting many workers unloading many different cages holding a myriad of strange creatures. As they boarded they couldn't help but feel a strange tingle upon their flesh, like water trickling down their skin. Nevertheless, as they emerged onto the deck they happened to notice that on the level above them, the nimblewright walked out of sight. They swiftly ran up onto the upper deck and accosted the automaton only to be questioned by the first mate, a human who introduced himself as "Solon." Solon informed the heroes that this nimblewright was just a simple servant and "attractions, nothing more." Nevertheless, the heroes were interested about this whole scenario and Solon informed them that he was first mate of the Heartbreaker, a ship in Zardoz Zord's Sea Maiden's Faire. Intrigued about the mysterious Zardoz Zord, they inquired further, only to be informed that Solon might be able to arrange a meeting for them. All the while, Solon seemed to be rather concerned with the sun, which was rising above the horizon at this time, and kept staring into Appotus, for some reason. And, as the heroes departed, Banjo managed to hear under his breath the human mutter "filthy elves." It seemed that racism proliferated the Docks Ward. It's a good thing that they were situated in the North Ward!

The Apparatus of Kwalish is most certainly an intriguing invention 

As the heroes headed back to their tavern, Frizzt received an urgent missive from Vajra Blackstaff, leader of Force Gray. It seemed that there was a Dragon in the bay of Waterdeep terrorizing the sailors there and he was to investigate immediately. After all, a Dragon is no small matter. Rushing back towards the Dock Ward, Frizzt arrived at the Mistshore, a sort of ship graveyard that allowed easy access to the harbor, he investigated the going-ons at Mistshore in order to figure out what happened, he eventually came upon an elven sailor delivering a great tale of woe unto a gathered crowd of other sailors. "It leapt right out'a tha' blue. Scales glimmering, it was a beauty, but I wasn't going to let it get me, no siree. When it shot out'a tha' water it was sayin' somethin' ta' me. I can only assume how tasty I'd be in its stomach, I was frightened out'a me wits! I got there as fast as Umberlee'd carry me." Intrigued Frizzt waited until the elf, whose name was Lashurien, had finished his story and quickly questioned him further. From what he gathered, the "terr-able" beast had been saying something about how the dragon wanted to "see how maidens fare" or similar. Lashurien admitted that he might have had a bit too much to drink that day. Frizzt thanked Lashurien for his information and tried to find a way to get underwater. It was at that point when he saw a strange device, a massive metallic crab positioned on a raised platform. Asking around about what the contraption was, it was apparently the pet project of a Grinda Garloth, whose house was adjacent to the platform. Frizzt inquired at her house and an old woman dressed rather haphazardly opened the door. He questioned what the invention next to her house was and Grinda responded that it was a submersible apparatus capable of braving the depths of the harbor. Realizing he could use the device to try and find the dragon, Frizzt requested use of it. Grinda responded that she would lend it to him as long as she received half of any treasure he found when searching the depths, believing he would be using it to search for buried treasure. Frizzt eagerly accepted and thus got into the apparatus, which was chalk-full of gears, levers, and buttons. No sooner had he gotten strapped in however, when Grinda sent the apparatus into the harbor with the push of a button. Pulling levers and pressing buttons, eventually managed to somehow make the crab-like machine swim down into the harbor, when suddenly he saw a strange shape in the water...

Waterdeep has many different fashion styles, being a major metro

Meanwhile, the rest of the group helped to work at the tavern. However, strangely they started finding holes all around the walls of the tavern in addition to even more crumbs like they had found previously. It was all rather odd, as Kelso and Lif always swept up the tavern at the end of the day and they had just opened, but quickly Goose had Threestrings begin working on boarding up the holes. Suddenly, however, they were surprised to hear a symphony of trumpets right outside their door. Heading out they were greeted by a symphony of trumpets and an elaborately dressed man stepped onto their door. The immaculate gentleman wore several finely-crafted pieces a clothing, a jacket with coattails (in the summertime!), silken pants, and several hats stacked on top of each other. The man introduced himself as J.B. Nevercott, clothier extraordinaire. In an effort to not be outdone, Goose weaved an illusion so that he also had more hats than Nevercott, but no sooner had he done so, when Nevercott was wearing two more hats! Goose grumbled in defeat while Nevercott informed the heroes that they had been invited to enjoy a fine meal aboard The Eyecatcher, the headship of "the illustrious captain of The Sea Maiden's Faire, Zardoz Zord himself!" Nevercott also recommended that the heroes check out his shop should they ever need any... improvements, but that he suffered from short-term memory loss so they might not remember them. Suddenly the symphony of trumpets started up again, only this time behind the heroes. And just as they whirled around to find the origin of the fanfare, J.B. had vanished.

Bronze Dragons are metallic dragons, seeking peace and coexistence with humanoids. They are known for their beautiful undersea caverns which they call home.

A massive dragon, slightly larger than Frizzt's crab machine shot through the water and unfurled itself, fangs and all before the metallic intruder. In a terrifying growl it threatened: "WHO ARE YOU? WHY HAVE YOU INTRUDED ON MY DOMAIN?" Frizzt quickly let out a response in the form of a frightened shriek: 
"I'm Frizzt, I'm - I'm just trying to figure out why you're here, o' great dragon." At which point the fearsome beast's wings retracted and it seemed to shrink somewhat. 
"Oh, I see, my bad dude, I just thought you were like, a weird metal thing if you catch my drift." Utterly confused by what just happened, Frizzt realized that based on the creature's size the dragon was likely no more than eighty years or so -- a young dragon by most metrics. Apparently, the dragon, whose name was Zelifarn, had come to the Harbor to observe The Sea Maiden's Faire, he had heard that it was a most wonderful spectacle, and although he couldn't enter the city because of the force field, he still wanted to observe it from the sea. Frizzt was still rather confused, but the dragon seemed relatively harmless, and metallic dragons are known to be much less hostile than their chromatic counterparts. Therefore Frizzt found his reasoning well... reasonable. Nevertheless, he still questioned what the dragon was doing terrorizing sailors. At that Zelifarn shook his head rapidly, he hadn't meant to hurt any sailors. He simply was lonely. He had played nearly a couple hundred games of Dragonchess by himself, and cards for solitaire don't work too well underwater. He had started exploring the harbor, but the dragon turtle and the manta ray didn't seem to want to talk to him, not even the old people inside of the manta ray. Frizzt was rather confused about the last point but decided not to push farther. Thus, he decided to ask about the force field. Apparently, Waterdeep was protected by a magical force field that hedged out dragons but Zelifarn knew not the cause of this protective shell, just that many dragons had tried to enter and none had succeeded. Satisfied with his investigation, Frizzt decided to report to Vajra with the results of his investigation and return the metal apparatus back to Grinda. He sadly informed her that he was unable to collect any gold, which she was rather upset about, rebutting him by saying that she would not let him use it ever again!

The Sea Maidens Fair has just come to Waterdeep, and already thousands of people are flocking to its tents!

The heroes then accepted the offer of a feast (although King decided to maintain the tavern) from Zardoz Zord, captain of the Sea Maiden's Faire. Frizzt joined back up with them just in time to board a small skiff that set out across the Great Harbor and eventually they arrived at Deepwater Harbor and subsequently, The Eyecatcher. The great galley stood magnificently as the only ship in the harbor. Massive tents stood all around the ship and many sailors were traveling about the ship, hoisting packages and other objects of import as was their job. Eventually, the skiff reached the harbor and their captain, a young half-elven boy around fifteen years of age, bid them adieu. As they stepped upon the gangplank, trumpets sounded from all around and a magnificent carpet of red silk was rolled out before them. Once more, the heroes felt a tingling upon their flesh, but unlike before when it seemed to recede, Frizzt felt it almost persist, like a feather constantly tickling at his skin. As the group hesitantly boarded The Eyecatcher they found the great Dining Hall, at which there was a great feast laid out before them and seven chairs drawn, except one was taken, by Zardoz Zord himself.

The captain of the Sea Maiden's Faire, dressed rather... strappingly.

Also I apologize for the quality, it's hard to find a good picture of this.

The heroes were rather... taken aback by the captain before him, but he flashed a brilliant smile in their direction and bid them sit. He introduced himself as, of course, Zardoz Zord, the maestro and captain of the greatest seafaring carnival on all the Sword Coast. As they began to eat the heroes found the food expertly made, meat that would melt in one's mouth, fruits and vegetables that felt like an explosion of flavor, and some of the finest wine they ever had. Soon they got to conversation and Zardoz told his story, he was a young lad brought up in the greatest city in all of Faerun: Luskan. He worked hard, training as an apprentice under many a master until he eventually joined the sailing business. He soon got enough money to purchase his own ship and began sailing up and down until he ran into a carnival, from there he figured that while overland carnivals bring joy, nothing can match the speed of a swift galley with the wind at her back. Thus, he produced his own carnival and The Sea Maiden's Faire was born. All the while, however, he seemed to be ignoring Frizzt. He then asked the names of all the other heroes and for them to tell their own story. Banjo spoke of how he was the last of his ghostwise halfling family, which Zardoz noted was a honor to bear. Goose was not entirely sure where he was from, and as a result, tried to mimic Zardoz's mannerisms and tell a similar story. Zardoz, although undoubtably confused still took an immediate shining towards Goose, enjoying his tale as it reminded of something that he just couldn't quite place his finger on. Appotus spoke of how he grew up on the streets of Waterdeep, which Zardoz was very glad to hear. After all, Waterdhavians are full of grit, and Appotus seemed to be the embodiment of that! He was rather appreciative of a fellow entertainer in the form of Tsunami, but when it tame for Frizzt to introduce himself, Zardoz recalled a hero of some kind with a similar name: "Drip." Frizzt, of course, quickly corrected the sea captain, noting that the legendary drow hero's name was, in fact, "Drizzt." However, Zardoz asserted that he knew better than Frizzt, and quickly launched into a story of how "Drip" wasn't all he was cracked up to be.

Legendary Hero Drizzt Do'Urden is famous throughout the realms as an example of how not all Drow are evil, and that there is good in all of us.

Zardoz informed "Frip" that he had heard of "Drip," and honestly, "Drip's" story of how heroic he was, was... exaggerated. "Drip" was just a lazy drow who came to the surface and took heroic endeavors from others. And honestly, he didn't work the system that he came from, he just fled from it. Not only that, but he had actually met "Drip" in the past and he was just this self-righteous idiot, always getting manipulated by... people. He seemed to pause on that last line, if just for a moment. At any rate, Zardoz continued his story of "Drip" and it only made "Frip" more upset, however he held it in. Eventually, Zardoz finished his critique the drow hero and left Frizzt practically being held back by his companions. Nevertheless, Zardoz then transitioned to asking the heroes why they were searching his ship and the adventurers informed him of their Nimblewright issue. Zardoz then told the heroes how every year he visits the distant island of Lantan, technologically advanced worshippers of Gond. This year previous he had noticed the nimblewright as a recent invention, and as a result, bought the entire stock of them, as well as some other of their newest creations. Nevertheless, he asserted that they were perfectly harmless just as one refilled Goose's drink. He keeps one aboard his two other vessels and two on this one. Curious on his thoughts about Waterdeep, Zardoz noted that he was originally from Luskan and travelled up and down the sword coast, so "Every city has its problems, I suppose. My job is to make people forget about politics for a while, however." They then engaged in further conversation, with Zardoz paying close attention to Goose, Appotus, Banjo, and Tsunami when they talked. Eventually, Zardoz decided to give the group a great showcase of The Sea Maiden's Faire's spectacles. Frizzt decided not to go, though, but requested a quick favor from Goose: That, when out of the view of the captain, Goose would cloak Frizzt in a shimmering illusion that would reflect all light, rendering him virtually invisible as long as he did not make too much movement, but ending when he made an attack or cast a spell of some kind. Thusly cloaked, Frizzt decided to stick behind in the dining hall and wait for their eventual return, whereupon he might be able to deliver some sweet justice...

Most male drow choose to become Wizards, but some make their way from under the thumb of the matriarchy entering the mercenary company Bregan D'aerthe as assassins for hire.

The heroes travelled with Zardoz to the big tent, but along the way Banjo, trying to decipher if Zardoz was racist against dark elves baited him. "Oh man, I hate how drow are stealing our jobs, don't you?" However, Zardoz seemed to do a practical one-hundred and eighty degree turnaround.
"Banjo? What do you mean? And here I thought you would be someone who might understand the plight of the drow..." Confused by his newfound attitude the group talked amongst themselves, but when they arrived at the tent Zardoz brought them to, they were astounded. The tent seemed to almost be bigger on the inside (or is it smaller on the outside?) as within its interior, a massive array of ropes and trapezes were set up. Swinging upon which several human male acrobats with seemingly superhuman agility and grace, even for acrobats. "Truly a wonder to behold, eh?" The maestro asked, but the heroes could barely respond. Stupefied by the presentation. Then Zardoz leapt atop a podium and soon male human dancers filed around him. A symphony of erupted into illustrious music and Zardoz put on what, by some could be seen as, the greatest show. Eventually, when all the performers had finished their showcase, the group headed back to the dining hall, however when they all returned to the "empty" room Zardoz began querying where their drow had run off to and assumed that "he must be like that 'hero' Drip, always ignoring his friends." This was the pin that shattered the camel's back, as while he was still invisible Frizzt snuck up behind the captain and was about to strangle him, when suddenly Zardoz grabbed his invisible assailant and flipped him over onto the deck, drew his rapier and thrust it until it sat like a delicately balanced pin on Frizzt's neck. "Well done." The captain said, and suddenly a triumphant symphony of trumpets started playing behind them, but as they whirled around Zardoz had vanished. As they departed back to the mainland, having a feeling that the feast was over, the skipper of the small skiff happened to make mention to Frizzt of how "You must've been worshipped, Zardoz loves drow!" Utterly confused with the procession of events, the heroes returned to their tavern for the night.

The streets of Waterdeep are crowded with houses, people, and businesses

With the next day dawning the group awoke to find relatively fewer people than past days. King even noticed that several of his standard patrons were passing by the tavern whispering about the "rat place." Kelso was helping out, Threestrings played his medleys, Bonnie served customers, even Lif was working as efficiently as ever, but nonetheless the Lively Spirit was feeling less... lively. Realizing that they had to do something about this rat issue, Banjo decided to follow the holes to their source. Transforming himself into a rat he snuck down through the rat holes, only to find himself... in the sewers. It would take days to sort out even a minor chunk of twisting and turning passageways under the city of Waterdeep, but the heroes thought that these rats must originate from close by, and thus set off through the grimy sewers. However, right as they did so, they heard a whirring - the nimblewright detector had gone off.

The gates of Waterdeep stand resolute, and although they protect the city from land invaders... what good would walls do against winged dragons?

Quickly the group rushed through the sewers, and as they emerged from its gunk-filled depths they found themselves outside of a Gralhund Villa. By now the detector was whizzing around rapidly. Appotus suddenly realized that the Zhentarim agents who had perished in the fireball were staying at the Gralhund Villa, although why the nimblewright would be at the same location as the Zhentarim agents who it had killed, the group had no idea. Quickly they began to case the villa. Realizing that they might not have too much time until the nimblewright must split, but wanting to remain stealthy, they snuck inside of the stables, luckily no neighbors spotted them, but it soon became apparent that nobody from inside spotted them either, as the stables seemed abandoned. Several horses whinnied, from inside their stalls, but other than that they were alone. Thus, they continued their stealthy entrance into the Gralhund Villa. Just as they were about to break out into the open, however, they heard ravenous barking. Pressing themselves up against the walls, the heavy footfalls of several mastiffs could be heard, but not a single hero moved. Eventually the barks receded, and the heroes made a mad dash into the villa. At first, they were confused, as the kitchen which they entered again seemed abandoned, and what self-respecting noble villa's kitchen would be empty? They pressed further and what they saw, shocked them.

Lady and Lord Gralhund, heads of the house's mercantile business.

Littering the floor of the great hall were bodies, strewn haphazardly all around the room. Blood splattered the magnificent painting of house Gralhund (Lord and Lady Gralhund, their children, and a dog) and several tapestries on the wood paneled walls, and served as a tablecloth to the massive crimson larchwood dining table. Standing atop the chaos were two men dressed in black leather armor weilding dual maces. Both wheeled around to face the heroes who had just stumbled into this bloodbath and, wearing the image of a winged snake on their left shoulder, charged the adventurers. Luckily, these thugs were no match for the outnumbering heroes and they quickly fell to their combined might. However, just as soon as the fighting finished, the sound of steel on steel could be heard from above. Eager to save as many lives as possible, the heroes hastily crossed over the bodies of nearly eight dead Gralhund-trained mercenaries and several other Zhentarim thug corpses and rushed up the stairs. As the sound of fighting grew louder and louder, the adventurers eventually managed to find its source. A battle between House Gralhund's mercenaries and Zhentarim thugs was underway, but it seemed to be just a distraction. The mercenaries seemed to be fighting to keep the Thugs out of the master bedroom, while the Zhentarim were trying to keep the mercenaries away from the rather loud sound of someone slamming a heavy boot into another door. Not knowing who exactly to trust, the heroes tried to make their way through the melee, taking a couple blows in the chaos and find out the source of the bashing. However, as they passed they just barely managed to make out Lady Gralhund herself wielding a elegantly gold-lined rapier, imperiously shouted that "The City Watch is on the way!" while a stern-faced half-orc hefting a morningstar stood at her side should the Zhentarim break through the mercenaries' defense. Nevertheless, the adventurers made it through the twisting and turning chaos of dead mercenaries and rooms until they eventually found him.

A badly burnt Urstul Floxin is not someone who you want to deal with.

With his injuries still present, Urstul Floxin wheeled around to face the heroes. A third of his face had been burnt so that all that remained of it was crisp red char. He grasped his sword and the heroes heard a silent curse under his breath "Out of poison..." as he then stared into their eyes, a rage and malice burning like a bonfire bore into their souls. "Lord Gralhund isn't accepting any visitors right now, but my sword still needs to be sated, I guess you'll do... for now." He lept into the fray, sword in hand, kicking the heroes over and stabbing them through the chests. It was chaos, as soon as they thought they had dealt some form of damage, Urstul would smack them to the floor. They only managed to just barely survive without any deaths from the healing words of Tsunami, Banjo, and Goose. Eventually, drained of nearly all stamina and spells, Urstul wiped the blood from Frizzt's most recent scimitar slash onto his sleeve and leapt through the second-story window. "Well played, but rest assured, we'll meet again." Were his final words as with a tumble he dissapeared out of sight. Too weary and injured to follow the heroes instead inquired at the door. It was soon revealed that cowering behind this door was Lord Orond Gralhund, who would dare not let anyone in, at least, until Banjo turned into a massive bear and slammed through the makeshift barricade the nobleman had created. With a shriek the pitiful Lord fell to his knees and divulged all that he knew. Apparently, the Zhentarim, under Urstul Floxin had been willing to work with the Gralhunds, exchanging resources and information for the Gralhunds bankrolling all of their plots, including kidnapping Renaer Neverember and stealing the Stone of Golorr from Dagult's gnomish spy: Dalakhar. It seemed as if this Stone of Golorr was an ancient creature transformed into an artifact, and it knows the location of a hidden vault in Waterdeep containing half a million dragons. Yalah had made a deal with Urstul that should she help him recover this Stone, they would split the treasure. However, due to the Zhents lack of progress over the past couple of tenday (and the fact that Renaer slipped from their fingers), Yalah became frustrated and made a deal with someone else. "I don't really know who, my wife does all of the networking." Thus she sent the nimblewright along with her Necklace of Fireballs to retrieve the stone, and while it slew Dalakhar it caught Urstul and his cronies in the crossfire as well. Urstul stole the stone, and when he returned here to demand vengeance, Orond ordered his men on Urstul. But Urstul must have slew them and escaped. Last he recalled his wife handed the Stone of Golorr to her automaton agent and it vanished. Only then did Orond hear those slimy snakes coming and boarded himself up in the guest bedroom. He had no idea whom his wife had made the deal with, and he didn't care, that was her job in the business. It was at that point when the group heard the sounds of the watch, and they realized that should they be caught, they'd be found guilty of trespassing and murder. Quickly they fled from the estate, hoping to lie low for a while, and when they checked their nimblewright detector it seemed as if Orond was telling the truth, the device was no longer whirring and whizzing. The nimblewright had escaped, along with the Stone of Golorr.

Waterdeep sports numerous different publications, each of which have a wide audience.

As the heroes woke up the next day rather sore from their most recent escapade in the Gralhund Villa they discovered a stack of newspapers on their (and all of their neighbors') doorstep(s). Apparently the Wazoo, the Sentinel, the Watchman, and the Dock Ward Dispatch all had the blazing new headline of "The Gralhund Villa Bloodbath" according to the expose, the Gralhunds had been held hostage for more than a tenday by agents of the Black Network. Most of the Zhentarim were killed during a bloody revolt led courageously by Lord Gralhund himself. The Zhent leader, a man named Urstul Floxin remains at large. The Watchman noted that the city Watch currently has its top detectives concerned with finding him, while the Wazoo noted that its possible that Urstul is actually hiding out inside Gralhund Villa, and the Gralhunds have him in their employment, creating a carefully choreographed scene with actors to portray the Villa being under attack, if there even is an Urstul at all. However, the Sentinel also informed its readers that robes and holy symbols of Asmodeus were discovered in the Gralhund's bedroom. Although the worship of the archdevil himself is not illegal, it is most certainly frowned upon and it seemed that already the Gralhunds were losing mercenary contacts from this new insight. One final note that all of the newspapers seemed to agree on (even the Wazoo) was that the guard and the watch were increasing their forces tenfold against the Zhentarim, cracking down on anyone who was even remotely related to their dealings... this last note gave Appotus pause.

Sometimes, looks can be deceiving...

Interrupting their discussions on this new information, a blast of trumpets erupted from outside and suddenly they saw J.B. Nevercott on their doorstep once more. The flamboyant clothier greeted the heroes and informed them that he had a little favor to ask of them. There was apparently a man who came to J.B.'s store named Laertes Hansberg. All J.B. needed from the heroes was for them to get Laertes's handkerchief into the hands of a young tiefling orphan girl in the Docks Ward. It seemed simple enough, so the heroes consented, and once more, with a triumphant explosion of trumpets, J.B. disappeared as quickly as he came. The heroes, leaving the bar in the "capable" hands of Kelso, Bonnie, and Threestrings, departed towards the Sea Ward, and subsequently J.B.'s store -- Nevercott's Haberdashery. Inquiring within they discovered J.B. Nevercott, and yet, he did not seem to remember speaking to them. Nevertheless, Tsunami recalled that J.B. had informed them that he had short-term memory loss, so it would make sense that he would forget them. However, he did know of Laertes, a rather... rotune man who came by at least once a day to try on the latest in fashion. Deciding to wait until he came by, the heroes staked-out the clothing store until eventually, dressed in a flashy white suit, a severely overweight man passes by people clearing the way for him, and strides into the Haberdashery. Before he can do so however, Banjo shoved Frizzt, pretending to be in some kind of argument with him, only for Frizzt to fall into Laertes. In the ensuing chaos Appotus with his quick-fingered grasped the noble's handkerchief and the group quickly made their exit. With handkerchief in hand, they headed southwards towards the Dock Ward and after some time spent for a tiefling orphan girl, they eventually found Yra holed up in a small cardboard box in one of Waterdeep's many alleyways. Consoling Yra they offered her food and water, which she hesitantly took, seeming to wonder if it was at first a trick. Obviously it was not, and the tiefling girl smiled at them, but when they handed her the handkerchief, the smile turned into a smirk. As shadows began to flit about her face she let out a distorted cackle as she snatched the handkerchief and exploded in a burst of fire, leaving nothing but the crisp monogram of L.H. in her wake.

Thank you so much for reading this, and if you'd like to read more, feel free to support me on Patreon
Also, I used this scaling guide (mine) and this faction guide (not mine) for this portion of the adventure, and the newspaper clipping comes from this amazing document, which I would highly recommend you purchase, as it's only one dollar!

Dragon Heist - Episode 5: FIREBALL!

See here for episode 1, here for episode 2, here for episode 3, and here for episode 4.

Well, the newest session has rolled around, and the players are about the enter the crisis that is Chapter 3 of this adventure. I hope that you all enjoy.

Once more, we were missing a couple people, it seems that my game is much more a rotating cast of characters heh. Nevertheless, Frritz and Tsunami were off completing Force Gray and Harper missions respectively, but that meant that the group still had:
Banjo, a Ghostwise Halfling Druid who was raised by Stout Halfling Folk and is always concerned about his appearance given his strange ghostwise nature.
Goose, a bardic traveler from far away who had gotten lost due to the fact that he is illiterate.
Appotus, a Half-Elven Monk who lives outside of the law.

The Harpers are a group of spies and spellcasters concerned with the destruction of tyranny.

As the next day dawned upon the brave heroes, Goose awoke to a Paper Bird at his windowsill. It seemed that his efforts had drawn the attention of the Harpers and thus they wanted him to join them as an agent in addition to Tsunami. Luckily for him, the Bird was also enchanted so that it spoke to him, ensuring that those who couldn't read and/or were blind could understand the message. It informed him that, should he wish to join the Harpers, he should meet with someone named Uza, who apparently was being terrorized by some foul creature. The watch wasn't doing anything, as she did have a tendency to exaggerate her problems, but the Harpers owed her, therefore this was to be considered a favor. Although he didn't really want to help out some random woman, he figured that at least he was being helpful, thus he set off towards her apparent location: Felzoun's Folly.

Skeemo Weirdbottle... ally (?) of the Zhentarim

Meanwhile, Appotus, already proving his worth to the Zhentarim was asked by Davil Starsong to pick up a shipment of Potions of Mind Reading which were apparently being brewed by an associate of Davil's: Skeemo Weirdbottle. He was tasked with meeting the mad alchemist of a gnome and transport the goods to a woman waiting underneath the God Catcher, a statue near the Waterdeep Market. However, upon meeting with this Skeemo, it turns out that things were not going to be as easy as described. Skeemo needed reagents, specifically either the brain of a Half-Orc, or the confetti of a unicorn. Confused about the latter, Appotus, used to rather unsavory tasks, set off in the direction of the Dock Ward to find a half-orc...

Mielikki is the patron goddess of nature, unicorns, druids, and other nature-y beings!

Lastly, Banjo figured that he should also try his hand in aiding his faction, however, when he arrived at Phaulkonmere, he found it empty. Therefore, he instead just handled the bar, hanging with Kelso, Threestrings, and Bonnie. However, as he was managing, he happened to notice that there were a lot of crumbs all around the tavern. And yet, neither Kelso, Threestrings, nor Bonnie could find where they were coming from. It just seemed that every time that Kelso cleaned, he would find more crumbs in every nook and cranny. Lif was also silent on what was going on. Banjo was incredibly confused...

Where are all of these Gazers coming from?

As Goose headed into Felzoun's Folly, he discovered Uza... well, the more accurate statement is that he heard and then discovered her. She was bawling her eyes out to a glass of Neverwinter Nectar. Meanwhile, all of the other patrons were giving her more than a wide berth. As he consoled her, asking what's wrong she informed him that apparently a monster had been harassing her, and chasing her cat! Begrudgingly, Goose consented to search Uza's home/bookstore, apparently called Curiosity & Satisfaction. Ecstatic, Uza immediately cheered up, offering to show the way to C&S. Goose and the bookseller eventually arrived at the rickety tower which was C&S, and as Goose entered (for Uza was much too frightened to enter her home) he found... books. Towers of bookshelves were stacked upon each other to a great height, such that Goose actually had to climb up several ladders to fully investigate. However, just as he thought he was getting a sense of what was going on, he felt a sudden force shove him off the ladder! A Gazer, hidden by the mounds of books, had shot a Telekinetic eye ray towards Goose and he was unable to dodge! Forced off of the ladder, Goose shrieked and landed upon a pile of books, as he became engaged in a fight with the tiny aberration!

The Mistshore is part of the Dock Ward of Waterdeep where dilapidated ships are left to rot

Realizing that his other friends were probably going on missions of their own, Banjo decided to leave the management of the tavern in the capable hands of his staff and set out to find Appotus, who had said that he was going to the Yawning Portal Tavern. Then, just as Appotus was heading towards the Dock Ward, he happened to actually bump into Banjo (what a coincidence)! After informing him that they needed the brain of a Half-Orc, Banjo was at first a bit... concerned, but eventually, decided that Appotus was probably doing this for the right reasons and that they would find someone unsavory. Which is exactly what they did. After first running into a Half-Orc member of the guard and realizing he probably wasn't the best target, they eventually found a gritty Half-Orc with darting eyes looking around the strangely empty streets of the Dock Ward. Taking him into a side alley they ambushed him, with Banjo assisting by casting Fog Cloud so that the Half-Orc might not be able to find his way out and the overall chaos would hopefully slow down any possible watch members who were strolling around. It was bloody, but also quick, and thus, Appotus returned, head in hand, being careful to trash the body where nobody would find it, at least not for several days.

The Dungeons & Dragons world has a wide variety of cats, even some called Tressyms with wings!

Goose soon ran around, trying to dodge the eye rays of the Gazer while also trying to verbally spar with it. However, he soon found that a rather strange game, as the Gazer threw every insult back at him! It was able to perfectly mimic his voice. They seemed to be engaged in a sort of stale-mate, until suddenly, emerging in fright from a stack of books that had scattered from the Gazer's telekinetic ray, Goose realized the two were not the only ones in this bookstore! A puff of fur started running around, and immediately Goose understood that this was the cat that Uza was talking about. Striving to protect it, he climbed up one of the ladders and stabbed at the creature with his rapier, as he pierced it centrally in its eye, saving the cat and earning the thanks of the Harpers and Uza.

Who is "The Black Viper", and what could she want with these potions?

With the head intact, the "heroes" returned to Skeemo, who was overjoyed with their success and handed over the potions to them, noting that he was rather certain this was not the last that Skeemo would see of them. Slightly creeped out, they left his alchemy shop and headed towards the God Catcher in the Marketplace, where they found a hooded woman standing under the magnificent statue. She asked if they had the item, which, in the standard manner of "no-questions-asked" they indeed agreed and performed the transaction: The potions for a bit more wealth in the Zhentarim's coffers. No sooner than that, the woman vanished into the night just as quickly as she had come. With their mission completed, they returned to the Lively Spirit for a good night's sleep.

The Day of Wonders... Truly a Wonder to behold!

The heroes awoke to huge shouts and trumpets. Quickly they rushed out to discover that there was a parade going on right on their street! Automatons strolled through the streets, floats magically drifted down pathways. It was magnificent! Meanwhile, as the heroes were wandering through the streets they also happened to notice a huge float in the shape of a Diatryma. And it was manned by a strange sea captain, half-naked with a massive hat he gestured with his arms and suddenly several Diatryma "flew" (more like fell with style) from his hands, resulting in the great crying and cheering of the crowd. He even had a unicorn that... shot rainbow confetti from its butt (Appotus suddenly grew very upset with this fact)! As the floats passed they also saw several strange automatons, each made out of a different material, some were steel, others were small cloth beings, there was even a wooden one carved to look practically like a life-size puppet duelist! However, just as the parade had passed out of sight the heroes heard an explosion from behind them!

At low levels, fireballs can be insanely deadly! Even the minimum damage is enough to kill a commoner outright.

As the impact of a fireball ricocheted through the street the group found the entire front-half of their tavern destroyed! Chaos soon enveloped the ally, screams pierced their eardrums, and with every passing moment everything seemed but a blur. As the heroes struggled to regain their senses, an abominable scene lay before them. Charred bodies, frozen in dust and smoke, stood. Their actions still being played like a scene out of time. Quickly, the heroes rose to their feet and struggled to find the source of this fireball and exactly what the state of their business was. Heading inside they discovered that Bonnie, Threestrings, and Kelso remained uninjured, but still everyone around was traumatized. Seizing on the inaction and utter shock that permeated every crevice of the alleyway, Banjo immediately offered free rounds for all, hoping that maybe he could bring some solace to the troubled citizens, albeit he did give them out for free, understanding that what little of the bar that was left should be used for benefiting those who needed it the most. Just as the heroes were recovering from the chaos, shrill whistles pierced the peace, the city guard had arrived.

The City Guard of Waterdeep are not to be trifled with, each possessing years of experience

With a shout, the guard quickly cordoned off the area, and just like that the situation seemed to be getting ten times better. Quickly sergeants began retrieving blankets for some, field medics healed wounds and treated concussions, guard members began investigating the scene, checking materials burned, victims, survivors, and witnesses. Noting this, the heroes, intrigued by the scene also decided to do some investigating for himself. Eventually, he deciphered the victims of the crime: An elderly human woman, two male humans clad in the crisp remains of charred black leather armor, cloaked, wielding two longswords, two female humans and one male half-elf in what were probably once commoner clothes, a male gnome with a scorched cloak, still clutching a white-hot dagger, two halflings who were once playing the remains of a burnt flute and fiddle, along with two male halfling dancers, slain mid-pose. However, as they were looking, Appotus noticed that one of the cloaked humans has a winged snake tattooed in black ink right on his right forearm, as he realized that this is the symbol of the Zhentarim, so the slain humans must have been Zhent agents! Meanwhile, Banjo happened to see that the somewhat-intact remains of the Gnome's cloak and boots were covered in muck and dirt, similar to what the heroes found in the sewers. However, that was when the guard began their formal investigation.

Saeth Cromley, sergeant in the watch

The first officer on the scene was Sergeant Saeth Cromley who began directing a sizable force of constables to begin knocking on doors, questioning witnesses, and overall analyzing the scene of the crime. The heroes were also questioned, however, being inquisitive individuals themselves, they decided to take up the investigation as well. After Sergeant Cromley posed his questions, the heroes then queried them soon after. However, Appotus was rather taken aback by the presence of the Zhentarim, so escaping unseen through the sewers, he traveled seeking answers... Nevertheless, the rest of the group went from door to door trying to figure out what happened. Firstly they asked a raving noblewoman, who apparently entered Vincent Trench's shop seeking answers for a certain husband who was spending a bit too much time at his philanthropic endeavors. She was raving about seeing some kind of wooden puppet-man with no strings. It hurled something into the crowd, and suddenly everything was fire, with several small halfling performers being incinerated before her eyes. Goose happened to notice a young halfling boy shivering, clearly scarred by the events. Bringing him some milk he walked over and knelt beside him, soothing him he eventually coaxed out of him that the boy's name was Martem Trec, and he was playing in the street, when suddenly... fire. The whole world became fire. He dived into a water barrel when suddenly a necklace fell onto his head. However, he wanted nothing to do with the foul thing as all it did was remind him of "Alden, Phoebe, Jeremy, and Wendy..." as Goose picked it up, Banjo happened to realize its true nature. This was a necklace of fireballs, each of the necklace's (normally up to nine) beads could create a fireball when thrown, and there were two beads remaining...

Who is this mysterious Ziraj, and what is his connection to Fala?

Lastly, they spoke to Fala Lefaliir, the owner of the greenhouse across the street who would have a clear shot of the blast. However, when they entered, they were greeted by a massive half-orc with a oversized longbow slung across his back. The man growled fiercely: "Who are you?" Only to be brought aside by Fala themself.
"Ziraj, what are you doing?" The much smaller elf demanded.
"These beings could be threats, with the fireball that just went off you should be more careful!" The intimidating tone melted away as the half-orc came under the glare of Fala.
"For the last time, I do not need protection. I am fully capable of protecting myself!" Fala imperiously bored into Ziraj with her stare.
"Yes, I know, it's just... ah... Well, if these, creatures, attack, just call. They will be slain instantly." Ziraj subsequently trudged up the stairs onto the top floor of the greenhouse.
"So... what is it you wanted?" Fala asked pleasantly. The heroes then explained their parallel investigation with the watch. Fala, willing to help shared what she had seen. Through the smoke, she just barely made out a man snatch something from the body of a dead gnome, then make his way behind the Bent Nail, badly burned and casting glances over his shoulder like he was afraid of being watched... or followed.

The magistrates of Waterdeep can act as judge, jury, and executioner, enacting swift justice upon ne'er-do-wells.

As Appotus hastily ran through the sewers, seeking The Yawning Portal and thus, Davil Starsong, he eventually reached his destination. Emerging, albeit smelling rather poorly, from the sewer grate he practically flew into the Yawning Portal seeking answers about the chaos that had ensued at his tavern. Upon meeting with Davil, he quickly informed him and Yagra of everything going on. However, it seemed that Davil had never actually ordered a hit on any of the dead described by Appotus, nor had he wanted to harm the heroes' tavern. Therefore, this was further evidence that the splinter force among the Zhentarim was growing stronger. Nevertheless, Davil noted that he would investigate this further, as any information he could gather on this splinter faction. Thus, he advised Appotus to return to his duties and collect more knowledge on what exactly is going on.

Barnibus Blastwind, co-head of the investigation and representative of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors

Meanwhile, Sergeant Cromley reported back to the heroes, gathering rather similar information. Some kind of puppet had hurled a magical device of some sort that exploded, killing civilians and members of some sort of chase headed for the heroes' establishment. However, it seemed that one of the victims escaped having stolen an item belonging to one of the other victims. However, even though there seemed to be more at stake, Cromley informed the tavern-owners that the investigation would be "confidential" and "that was all that he could tell them at the moment." In addition, Cromley's associate, Barnibus Blastwind of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors would be taking over the investigation as this was classified as a magical infraction. Just as he was returning to his duties though, the heroes noticed something strange... the dead bodies of the two Zhentarim agents had up and vanished... It was then when Banjo received a missive. Apparently Jeryth Phaulkon was building strength when Banjo had visited her mansion, and as a result, could only speak to him now. She informed him that strange troubles were going on at the City of the Dead, Waterdeep's graveyard and the Emerald Enclave was requested to investigate. Even though Banjo was rather... preoccupied, he still accepted the mission. Banjo did request assistance concerning his current activities however, as surely the Emerald Enclave would know something. However, while Jeryth didn't actually have any idea who could be behind such an attack, she figured that an ally of hers, Renaer Neverember, might know what's going on. Meanwhile, Barnibus called Goose over for a private conversation. As they found a more secluded area, Barnibus showed Goose a Harper pin. Realizing that they were part of the same group, recognition fell into Goose's eyes. Now that he'd shown him that, Barnibus had a favor to ask. He was trying to cast a ritual that would allow for him to speak to the departed, but it did not seem to be working on the Gnome or the strangely cloaked men... who had oddly enough just up and vanished (although he assumed they were taken in for other matters). Nevertheless, since the gnome seemed to be running in the direction of The Lively Spirit, Barnibus figured that he might speak to Goose. Putting his confidence in him as a Harper agent to report back all that occurred, he cast the spell and allowed for Goose to ask the questions.

A single dragon is roughly the daily earnings of a skilled craftsman!

As the interrogation went on, Goose discovered that the gnome went by the name of Dalakhar who was a spy for Lord Neverember, the rightful Open Lord of Waterdeep. Dalakhar had recovered a magical item, the Stone of Golorr, which is apparently the key to finding the money embezzled by Lord Neverember. However, he had stolen the item back from the grimy hands of the Xanathar Guild. What he only realized later, however, was that the Guild was actually dealing with the Zhentarim. Thus, when he stole the artifact, it happened that he now had multiple guilds on his tail. He was hoping to drop of the artifact with the heroes, who he had heard had rescued Lord Neverember's son from the vile clutches of the Zhentarim. Therefore, the heroes would be the people he could trust the most to house the artifact while he laid low for a while. He was right about to drop it off when the fireball went off. As Goose's five questions had then ended, he figured he had gathered all of the information needed, so he reported back to Barnibus and returned to his companions. The heroes then realized they had a couple of options: checking in with Renaer Neverember or investigating the City of the Dead. They figured that they might as well see what Renaer knew about the whole situation, as if this gnome was an agent of his fathers, he might know more.

Does Renaer know anything of his fathers dealings, and if so... what?

The heroes traveled into the illustrious Sea Ward to find Renaer, eventually they found themselves standing in front of the stunning Neverember House, four stories tall and beautifully festooned. Knocking on the door, a shifty-eyed Renaer emerged from the mansion. However, he quickly brought the characters out of earshot of his dwelling, at which point he breathed an audible sigh of relief. "Too many spies around." He muttered under his breath. "Anyway, what'd you like to tell me?" They quickly informed him of how their tavern came under attack. After taking in everything that happened, he paused for a moment and then responded with his own information on the subject. It seemed that Dalakhar was originally tasked with spying on Renaer, but several tendays ago, his watchful gaze vanished. Renaer assumed that it must have been due to a vacation or something, but in reality it seemed that his father had tasked his faithful gnomish servant with retrieving the Stone of Golorr. The gnome stole it, but had the Xanathar Guild and the Zhentarim on his tail, and they were also close to catching him! He hadn't heard much after that, but he thought it likely that Dalakhar had wanted more information about them, the adventurers who had rescued him. He might have even been planning to pay the heroes for bringing the Stone of Golorr to his, as Renaer shuddered to mention, father. However, he would look into the whole event much more carefully, and he was especially intrigued to hear of the strange creature who hurled the beads from the Necklace of Fireballs. With that, he bid farewell to the heroes, glad to hear that they're being helpful in the city of Waterdeep. Meanwhile, they decided to head to the City of the Dead.

The City of the Dead is no drab place for the undead to rest, and can actually be the locale of many a picnic or other joyous outing.

The heroes made their way into the massive graveyard of Waterdeep, known as the City of the Dead. As they entered a man in glimmering plate armor made their way up to them and introduced himself as Ambrose Everdawn, knight of Kelemvor. He quickly brought them to the scene of the crime: The grave of one Gregor Grimmsby. A plain coffin most likely once laid here, but it has been torn apart and now lies empty with dirt piled up around this. "I just found it here last night. I believe somebody is animating the dead that are interred here and that cannot stand. While I keep patrol the city, can you perchance investigate the disturbances? It would be most kind of you to do so and I'm sure that Kelemvor would smile upon such a devout act." Understanding the necromancers raising the dead is probably a bad thing, the heroes agreed and began to investigate the scene as a whole. Appotus managed to notice that tattered clothes and rotting scraps of flesh had been left behind, making it likely that whatever creature this is, it most likely has no meat on its bones. In addition, there were also scratch marks inside the coffin, meaning that its possible Mr. Grimmsby was animated before he was dug out. Banjo began getting low to the ground, investigating the dirt around the site, and discovered that there were two sets of footprints. He also realized that based on the length and stride of the creature, one of the sets was most likely similar in stature to him -- a halfling. However, the steps only seemed to travel for a couple paces before vanishing... Meanwhile, Goose, realizing that this was most likely made via some necromantic ritual, began to look around for signs. He noticed several splotches of blood still on the dirt which lead credence to the idea that this skeleton was made with the Animate Dead spell. With all of that in mind, it seemed clear that a halfling or gnomish necromancer was animating the dead, bringing them somewhere, and somehow able to make their tracks vanish. With all of that in mind, the group decided to perform a stakeout. While Ambrose patrolled the City, they would remain on watch, keeping a lookout for anyone suspicious... Thus, the first night passed.

House Cassalanter, the banking and investment house, and one of (if not) the richest families in Waterdeep

Keeping watch, the heroes struggled to stay awake, but somehow managed to keep their heavy eyelids open. However, the night strangely passed peacefully. There was no sign at all of any possible grave robbers.Thus, the heroes decided to spend at least part of the next day resting before investigating the strange matter of the fireball further. However, when they returned to their manor they discovered that the damage from the fireball was fixed, and the tavern practically seemed in better condition than it ever had been. When questioned on what was going on, Kelso commented that "Apparently, boss, some rich couple, Cassa-whatever came by with their kids n' noticed that the tavern had been blown, so the wife, A-Male? I think that's it, boss, whispered to her man, Vic-Taro or something, said that he didn't want his 'vestments goin' to waste, so he wrote down on a paper, threw it out the window, and then left! I didn't know what was up, boss, but a couple hours later, you've got the entire fellowship of innkeepers and carpenters', roofers', and plasterers' guild showin' up right at our door. They just started fixin' the place right up boss. I don't know what happened, I really don't!" Goose, being the owner of the bar, was certainly confused, but still pleasantly surprised by the extent of the Cassalanters' generosity. However, even with the refurbishing the tavern seemed strangely empty... Kelso, Threestrings, and Bonnie were there, but there were only a couple other patrons. A sure decline from the raucous going-ons of last tenday. Nevertheless, the heroes were rather weary, so they quickly set to rest, with the exception of Appotus.

The Castle Ward houses much of Waterdeep's legal system... including its jail.

Appotus, recalling that Davil had told him to keep in touch concerning the whole procession of events with the Fireball, decided to have a quick chat at the Yawning Portal with him. However, upon entering the entrance to the Undermountain, he discovered something sinister. Yagra quickly ran up to him upon his entrance with a look of fear. "Davil. Imprisoned. Reached too far. He have this. For you. I go. I cannot stay. Too dangerous." She hastily spilled all of that information to him, and handing an elegantly sealed letter, dashed out of the inn. Bewildered by what was going on, Appotus also left the tavern, but not before looking into exactly what Davil had for him. It read:
"Dearest Appotus,
I must inform you that this information we gathered is important and for the sake of posterity I am writing it down should I fall into the hands of the enemy, either on the side of the law or not. Now, we took in the 'Zhentarim' agents that you mentioned and by Mask did we discover something. The names of these two agents were Bashekk Ortallis and Wern Malkrave. They were apparently under the employ of Urstol Floxin and resided in Gralhund Villa. I'm unsure if there is any significane of Gralhund Villa other than the fact it actually is located rather near to your own business, but Urstol Floxin is another matter. He is ruthless, and to be avoided at all costs. He brews his own poisons, having a sheath full of the stuff at almost all times. Not only that, but he was one of us. I thought he had gone dark, but apparently he's re-emerged... Although clearly not on our side. Anyway, Urstol promised them that should they chase after a gnome named Dalakhar and retrieve an artifact he was carrying, if would make them as rich as kings. Now, understand that I did advise you to avoid Urstol. However, if you are reading this letter it means I am indisposed, which means that I cannot advise you in other matters. Therefore, I'm afriad you will have to go it alone, Fang, and that could place you in the path of Urstol. Maybe you'll be lucky, maybe he's been severely injured from the blast, but in all other scenarios, to face him could result in you meeting the same fate as the men I interrogated.
Sincerely, Davil Starsong, Doom Raider"
With that information in hand, Appotus hurried back to the Tavern to rest up for their next stakeout.

The Nimblewright is a mechanical human-sized automaton made by Gondites to function as servants and guards.

As the heroes awoke, Banjo discovered a paper bird awaiting him. It seemed that the man described by Fala matches a known description of the assassin Urstol Floxin, who is also a suspected member of the Black Network. Urstol, however, is known not to work alone, generally working best as a lackey, a very effective lackey, but a lackey nonetheless. Which means that there are most likely more players than just Urstol in the game. In addition, the description of the puppet-like nature of the fireball-hurling assailant made Renaer think of Gond, and, as it turns out, Gondites had just begun distribution of the Nimblewright V. 2.78.1, a mechanical servant that seemed to match the description of the assassin. Realizing the church of Gond could provide more answers, the heroes quickly hurried to the House of Inspired Hands, the temple of Gond. However, right as they were about the enter the magnificent temple, a humanoid shape perched on the roof of the temple suddenly hurled a tiny metal sparrow, which did several loops in the air, until it eventually spiraled straight towards Goose at a frightening speed! Luckily the quick reflexes of Banjo shot it out of the air with a blast of flame, but as they turned back to find the mystery hurler, they had vanished. Deciding to instead enter the temple they quickly began to notice several inventions put on display throughout the massive entry hall. These included (but were not limited to): A 4-foot tall working model of a clock tower, a wooden flying machine with movable wings, a miniature model of a mechanical dragon turtle with a brass plate affixed to its pedestal which reads: "Big Belchy. Sank in Deepwater Harbor on the Day of Wonders in 1363 DR," a helmet affixed with small metal arms that seemed to be angled so that they could slap the wearer, and a model of a red submarine shaped like a manta ray with a brass plate affixed to its pedestal which reads: "The Scarlet Marpenoth. Lantanese submersible. Launched in 1489 DR." After the heroes had looked through all of the technological marvels, a bronze dragonborn entered the hall. "Sorry for making you wait," she apologized "is there anything that the church of Gond can do for you?" After explaining their predicament, the dragonborn shook her head. "Come, I think this could shed some light on your plight. By the way, my name is Valetta." The heroes subsequently followed Valetta to an attic trapdoor. "Hello? Nim? I'm going to open this ok? We have some people who want to talk with you." She said soothingly to the attic door. However, as she tried to key to the door... it strangely didn't work. Luckily for her, Appotus produced his trusty (and solely for legitimate purposes of course) thieves tools, picking the lock (only after making sure it was alright with Valetta of course), and as the heroes opened the door, they discovered a... workshop?

The nimblewright detector spins and whirs if a nimblewright is nearby!

As the heroes looked around the attic they saw that it resembled a tinkerer's workshop, albeit in a sorry state. Tools had been thrown haphazardly around and wood carvings littered the floor. Bits of metal were placed on tables, and somehow some glue had found its way to the roof. Behind all of the clutter, a trembling wooden man was hiding behind a barrel. Soothingly, Valetta tried to coax it out of hiding, "Nim, you don't have to worry. These people are here and they just want to talk to you, is that ok?" Slowly, the creature left its "hidden" position and revealed itself. Quivering it made several hand gestures towards Valetta as she reported back that "Nim," for that was the creature's name, was sorry that the bird flew at the heroes. It had not intended to harm anyone. As the heroes began asking it questions with Valetta translating, they eventually discovered that Nim was lonely, and thus in order to ease that feeling, built another Nimblewright. However, it fled confused nearly a month ago and Nim hadn't seen it since. At this revelation, Valetta quickly grew angry, scolding Nim and informing the heroes that all Gond-made Nimblewrights are infused with a command code, but since Nim had made one independently, it would be able to act of its own volition. Then, Valetta turned back to Nim, and, as a punishment, boxed up each of its tools & materials, forcing it to watch while she did so. Meanwhile, Banjo happened to notice that thrown uncaringly to the floor, there was a strange one-foot long copper contraption with an umbrella-like metallic protrusion from the end. As the heroes then asked Valetta what this was, she queried (and translated) Nim. Apparently, this device was used by Nym to track the rogue Nimblewright, but it was to no avail. Valetta then realized that these heroes in front of her might be able to retrieve the rogue automaton with this device, and asked if they would be willing to track down and destroy the wayward Nimblewright, Valetta said it was important because of something called Skynet, but who knows...

The skeleton is but a simple animated dead body, yet it can be a surprisingly effective combatant.

The adventurers then realized that they had a stakeout to get to. As they ventured back into the City of the Dead they spent their night in wakefulness. Hours passed, but this time it was not for naught. While he was on watch, Appotus happened to notice a broom that floated in mid-air, sweeping the ground as it floated. As he quickly roused his companions they peered onwards towards the strange sight the broom seemed to drift elsewhere only to vanish and be replaced with a shovel. The shovel began to dig into the earth seemingly of its own accord when suddenly a squat halfling appeared out of nowhere. Dressed in mage robes, he produced several candles from his backpack and subsequently started to place them in a rather... specific order. Even from this sight, it became clear to Goose that this necromancer was recreating the ritual that he had uncovered earlier. All the while, the shovel continued to dig into the earth. The heroes halted, realizing that a necromancer could prove incredibly dangerous. Then, after the mage finished his ritual, a bony hand suddenly broke through the earth, as the crunch of the coffin was heard by all, a skeleton arose from the grave. Then the mage took back the shovel, tapped the skeleton lightly, took several steps forward with the skeleton and suddenly leaped into the sky... vanishing from sight. Quickly the adventurers rushed after the duo, and eventually the reached the end of the City of the Dead, but who could know where the mage had fled from there? It was at that point when Banjo happened to notice the foot trail start up again, but this time it was aimed at a lone corner-store. As the light of day began to break over the skyline, the heroes quickly hurried to the store, titled Dandymop's. However, realizing once more that confronting a powerful mage head-on was not that great of idea. Thus, they decided to scout out the joint instead. As daylight hit the small building in the Trades Ward they noticed that the owner was a halfling with strangely large amount of dirt on his boots. Realizing that some inner reconnaissance might be helpful, Banjo changed his form into that of a tiny mouse. Quickly he ducked into the shop and noticed a cellar door. Quickly the mouse-Banjo sped into the cellar, and what he saw shocked him. A group of young children dressed in mage-like raiment were hurling blasts of fire, ice, and lightning towards the same skeleton they had seen the necromancer/shopkeeper unearth! Realizing what was going on, he figured that the best thing to do would be to just check in with Jeryth. It turned out that this mage was not using undead for some evil purpose, and as necromancy is not an inherently evil action, his only real crime was disturbing the bodies of the dead, which, while severe, is nothing compared to what Jeryth had most certainly thought. With that in mind, the heroes headed back, but when they ventured into the Sea Ward, the Nimblewright Detector went off...

Thank you so much for reading this, and if you'd like to read more, feel free to support me on Patreon
Also, I used this faction guide (not mine) for this portion of the adventure.