As I'm going to run the next session of my Dragon Heist campaign, I wanted to make sure that I kept my avid readers informed of all of the going-ons in my campaign.
Sadly we were missing a couple players this week so for the standard party we only 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.
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.
And then there was King, a High Elven Wizard who worships Oghma the god of knowledge.
Flying Snakes are oftentimes used as messengers by the Black Network AKA - The Zhentarim
As the five opened their tavern, it began to slowly grow in popularity. King served as the manager while several of the other heroes began accepting offers from the separate factions to aid in the security of Waterdeep. To begin, Appotus, who was away working when they first claimed the tavern, suddenly awoke from his drunken slumber by a winged snake. Startled, he rustled it off of him, as the snake hissed, only to release a strange message into the lap of Appotus. He was contacted by an anonymous source to meet in the Yawning Portal Tavern, should he desire some kind of work.
Davil Starsong is an agent of the Zhentarim, and a member of the adventuring party: The Doom Raiders
As he arrived to the Yawning Portal Tavern, he was greeted by Yagra, the half-orc who had participated in the bar fight, a couple days ago. Yagra gave a gruff greeting before leading him to a private booth. Sitting at which was a blonde sun elf, dressed in a dashing raiment, who was drinking fine elvish wine. As Appotus took a seat at the secluded table, the elf introduced himself as Davil Starsong, a member of the Zhentarim. However, at that point, I changed scenes to focus on a different character (I did this a lot over the course of the session, I apologize if this becomes somewhat confusing).
Scarecrows, fearsome constructs imbued with evil!
Banjo had received his first mission in the Emerald Enclave from Jeryth, the strange being who seemed to rule over an entire manor. It seemed as if scarecrows were terrorizing the halflings of the Undercliff. Eager to both prove himself as well as save his fellow halflings, the ghostwise halfling headed out towards the fields below the sprawling metropolis that is Waterdeep. Soon he came upon the Snobeedle Orchard and Meadery, a welcoming little establishment that apparently, while it had heard of the scarecrow attacks, none of the scarecrows had destroyed anything owned by the Snobeedles, and as a result, they didn't care too much about the whole thing. The Snobeedles offered him some nice halfling mead, along with the option to buy a Snobeedle Crest Pin to support the Snobeedles, but Banjo deemed those things a bit too far out of his comfort zone in terms of pricing. Thus he headed off in the direction of one of the largest farms: Amendsfarm.
Potions, extraordinarily useful items, you just have to remember that you have them
Meanwhile, with several of her allies away on faction missions, Tsunami decided to explore Trollskull Alley. It was, after all, the heroes new home, so she might as well find out the goings-on in the small little street. While many of the buildings in the narrow alleyway were the homes for the servants of those who lived in the North Ward, the alley still had several blossoming businesses open for... well, business! Tsunami decided to enter the first one, a greenhouse of sorts, full of flowers in full bloom, even though summer was beginning. Frantically a wood elf greeted Tsunami and began to introduce themselves as Fala, Fala Lefaliir, followed by the quick note of "They/Them/Theirs." Fala was interested and Tsunami, and upon realizing that she was an adventurer, immediately began to note that they brewed herbal concoctions that could prove useful for people of the adventuring type. Deciding to take them up on their offer, Tsunami purchased a potion of sticky barbs, which upon drinking, barbs came out allowing for her to adhere to surfaces nearly as easily as walking. Noting this location as a place to visit later when she had accrued more wealth, Tsunami left, with a kind goodbye to Fala the elf.
Anyone can grant assistance, and The Lively Spirit was most certainly in need of that
Lastly, while all of his allies were away, King set to work with ensuring that the Lively Spirit would be the best tavern it could be. However, he quickly ran into a dilemma. Even with the spirit, Lif, that begun helping them in the tavern, The Lively Spirit was still woefully understaffed. However, luckily for him, a group of wiry halflings, thin-haired folk who were regulars (of a full two days) happened to ask King if he needed any assistance. It seemed that one of their number, Kelso Fiddlewick was his name, had just fallen out of work, and they really enjoyed the tavern. Seizing an opportunity, Kelso applied for a job, and King accepted him on the spot, no resume required! Whooping for joy, Kelso set to work as quick as a light, and all of his friends drank a beer for their new friend's employment.
The Yawning Portal! Can you name all of the patrons? (sorry about the quality)
Davil spoke to Appotus, he spoke of how he was a member of a thieves' guild called the Zhentarim. However, as they had no doubt seen, the Zhentarim and Xanathar Guild were engaged in a bloody gang war. This, however, was not the doing of Davil and his allies. It seemed as though there were strange happenings afoot, and a rival faction may be brewing in the streets of Waterdeep. Nevertheless, Davil emphasized that such "brigands" were giving the real Black Network a bad name, and they were in dire need of new members to set things right. Therefore, Davil offered Appotus a position in the Zhentarim should he succeed in his first mission. It seemed that someone was targeting elf and half-elven docksmen and women. Assassinating them in the night only for the watch to discover decapitated heads down alleyways the morning after. While the Black Network normally wouldn't care too much, many of the deals that the Zhents had offered the sailors spoke of protection on the city streets, and getting decapitated at night was making some citizens wary of how far this Zhent "protection" really went. Appotus, both fearing for his own safety as a half-elf, and willing to help the Zhentarim (after all, they had promised him favor and riches), accepted Davil's offer, and thus, Davil directed him in the direction of the Dock Ward, where these murders were occurring.
The City Watch patrol the streets of Waterdeep, be careful not to do anything illegal before them!
As Banjo headed up to Amendsfarm, first he noticed a rather large patrol of guards all around the farm. He then noticed the spikes that formed the walls of the farm. He then realized this was not just a farm, but a prison camp. He recalled from Floon's tour that the Amendsfarm essentially served as a way for prisoners to work, while also helping to ensure that all of Waterdeep stays healthy and fed. As he asked around, he learned from the guards that they hadn't noticed anything, but should they desire to learn anything more, Captain Gavin Clearwind was their man. As Banjo approached Amendsfarm Guardpost, the alleged workspace of the Captain, he passed by many prisoners, all of whom were hard at work farming wheat and other grains. Eventually, though, as he entered the Guardpost, the Captain at first dismissed him. However, upon explaining his plight... the Captain still dismissed him. It seemed that the issues at hand in Amendsfarm proved to be rather extreme. Which might explain why the watch hadn't sent out anyone to search the Undercliff to find the true nature of the Scarecrow problem. Eventually, after much pestering on Banjo's end, the Captain eventually relented informing Banjo that, if he promised to leave, he'd tell Banjo what little information he knew of the Scarecrows. Banjo agreed to those terms, and thus Gavin informed him that while he didn't care too much about "them 'crows," he did know that the reports of them were most toward the Southern farms. Banjo graciously thanked the Captain, while also providing a buy-ten-get-one-beer-free coupon for The Lively Spirit and set on his way.
Even if they serve no mechanical purpose, who doesn't love books?
As Tsunami continued her journey around Trollskull alley she game to another store, this one adorned with grimoires, scrolls, and tomes galore entitled "Book Wyrm's Treasure." As she hesitantly entered the store, she was greeted by a rather old and short Dragonborn of golden dragon ancestry. He introduced himself as Rishaal the Page Turner, a scholar, and mage of some appreciable ability. Tsunami actually noticed that he had the pin recognizing him as a member of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors (or WOMP for short). He offered her many tomes of ancient heroes of lore, of songs and epic poetry, of science and the philosophies, and even some spellbooks with powerful magic! Having spent virtually all of her money, Tsunami declined the offer of spells, but nevertheless, she made a mental note. Her wizard friend might want to pick up some of those spells to add his spellbook. Thus, she said goodbye to the Dragonborn and left his bookstore.
Threestrings, for who says that you need four strings?
With a new employee, King was feeling better already, and Kelso was an eager worker. He set off dusting, sweeping, and generally cleaning the entire establishment. However, just like last morning with the onslaught of guild members, King began receiving several more offers of employment. One of which came from a bard who went by the name of Threestrings. King recalled his performance at the Yawning Portal, and upon explanation, it seemed that Threestrings was looking for more taverns where he could display his bardic expertise. Noting that their resident bard was away, King decided to take the bard up on his offer, and immediately brightened the room with his rendition of "Baldric the Bold." Needless to say, the patrons were very pleased. However, after the performance, Threestrings noted that he might have another worker willing to work in the tavern.
Waterdeep is full of a myriad of taverns, Muleskull Tavern is just one of many!
Appotus departed the Yawning Portal Tavern, and at the behest of Davil Starsong, headed south towards the dock wards. Along the way, however, he stopped by and met with Dirt, his buddy back in the criminal underworld. Apparently, someone was indeed murdering people late at night, and all of the victims had been of elvish descent. However, there was something else going on as well. Several of Dirt's friends had been vanishing. He didn't know exactly why, but homeless people were strait-up disappearing, and in general, many of the shelters in Waterdeep were being replaced with Suncash, a new tea and coffee shop popular with young scholars as a place to study their tomes. With that information at hand, Appotus thanked Dirt, but without any more information, decided to hold off on investigating for now and focused on his current mission. As he entered Muleskull Tavern, it was surprisingly... immaculate. The floors were completely swept, and overall it just seemed a bit too beautiful to be smack-dab on the docks. However, in contrast with its picturesque state, relatively few patrons inhabited the tavern. A couple members of the dungsweeper's guild, which Appotus recognized from their standard overalls and caps, sat at a far-off table, but other than that the only people there were the bartender and a rather drunken half-elven sailor by the name of Heldar. Clearly inebriated, Heldar set off on talking incessantly to Appotus...
Alcohol can often serve as the lifeblood for many an adventurer, or maybe the beginnings of a campaign...
Banjo made his way through the Undercliffs to the Southern farms and finally found himself at the Stoutfellow Farm. It looked quaint, but upon entering he discovered it was abuzz with life. Also upon entering a halfling unceremoniously dropped a pot into his lap, for he mistook Banjo for another one of the workers. A massive mixup ensued but eventually, Banjo managed to finally speak with one of the heads of Stoutfellow Farm: A Sout Halfling named Jack Stoutfellow. A weary fella', Jack immediately informed Banjo that whatever job he had. He was fired from, he was working at least thirty seconds behind schedule, and the Stoutfellow Farm sadly "Can't be having none of that." (Banjo, of course, declined to inform Jack of his improper use of the double negative) However, Banjo relayed to the exhausted owner that he was not an employee, no, no. He was actually an adventurer sent to stop scarecrow attacks! At this news, Jack was thrilled. Apparently, ever since a flamboyant captain named Zardoz Zord visited, the farms had enjoyed a massive boost in popularity, and in order to meet that demand, they've had to buy new farms. However, no sooner did they purchase said farms when suddenly a scarecrow started raiding their land, tearing their grape-vines to shreds, for the Stoutfellow Farms was a winery. Nevertheless, with this information in hand, Banjo selflessly agreed to take up a post as a watcher for the farm, poised to take out the horrid construct.
Vincent Trench, private eye... he can get whatever information you want... for a price.
As Tsunami ventured into the next business on the block she uncovered a rather unremarkable establishment. A single orange-and-black sign featuring cat's eyes hung over the door, other than that there was nothing but a bell to ring. As Tsunami indeed rung the bell, it seemed to reverberate throughout the building, but the door then suddenly opened. Immediately smoke began to cloud the air and the lights turned dim, muting all the colors into shades of gray. Accompanying the strange scenic shift, Tsunami heard a light voice through the smoke "It was a dark and stormy night. I was countin' my chips from the last game, Antonio had beat me good when suddenly the dame walked in." Confused as to what was going on, Tsunami ventured further inside as she saw an elegantly dressed man smoking on his pipe, chair facing away from her. The stranger continued "She had a question, in those days, they all did. And when the time was right, they came to call on Vincent Trench." Masterfully uncovering that this man's name was apparently Vincent Trench, Tsunami quickly hurried out, and while she was most certainly intrigued, it did not mean that this "Vincent Trench" wasn't strange. However, as she left he uttered parting words to her. "As the dame turned her back, the question still hanging in the air, Vincent Trench knew that she would find him soon." And just as suddenly she felt something in her pocket: A business card for "Tiger's Eye, Vincent Trench, P.I."
Bonnie the Barmaid, kind, cheerful, and always ready to serve you a nice pint of ale
Back in The Lively Spirit, King was enjoying himself. He'd gotten several days of work in. The inn was doing well, and everything seemed to be looking up. However, it seemed like his luck would only get better from here as the worker that Threestrings noted showed up. 'Twas Bonnie the Barmaid! It seemed that Durnan figured that he could hire more barpeople, but then only needed to hire some of them part-time. Her job at the Yawning Portal still paid well enough, but she liked work, especially tavern work, so she figured why not take Threestrings up on his offer for a new job. King decided that it would indeed be in the best interests of the heroes to expand their tavern, and thus, Bonnie was employed part-time!
The mysterious drow assassin, where did he come from? What does he want?
Eventually, after spending the evening talking to the drunken half-elf Heldar, Appotus decided to take his leave of the establishment and establish a stakeout. He struggled to stay awake into the late hours of the night, pouring his focus solely on the tavern. Every now and then he dozed off for a moment, but suddenly he heard the slamming of the door and snapped to attention. Heldar was heading home, quite loudly at that, delivering some strange sea shanty as he walked. Appotus quietly emerged from his hiding spot and trailed the half-elf, when suddenly a dark flurry leaped from the rooftops and shoved Heldar into an alleyway. As Appotus, realizing what was going on, rushed after the body of Heldar he found a strangely cloaked being hovering over the barely-conscious body of Heldar. With a glint, the figure raised dual scimitars. However, Appotus, realizing what was going on, barreled forward into the figure, who with a flourish wheeled around. As Appotus saw his true nature: A gray-skinned elf, with red eyes full of malice, the figure laughed. "So we have a hero, now do we?" As they began to fight, it became clear that although the figure was extraordinarily skilled, they had been most likely injured in some earlier combat. "Curse these blasted things, but I could kill you with one hand behind my back... scum." Eventually, the onslaught of curved swords was too much, and the drow felled Appotus. Just as he was going to deliver, the killing blow, Heldar dropped a Potion of Healing down the monk's throat. The drow screamed in rage, and with a single pinpoint slash dropped Heldar, but he soon realized that with his newfound health, the fighting monk could prove to be a dangerous endeavor. Not only that, but his previous injuries weighed heavily on him. Therefore, with a simple Darkness spell. The dark elf vanished into the night, leaving Appotus struggling to revive the dying Heldar with nothing more than injuries and mocking jeers.
The scarecrow's construction gives it durability against most weapons, making it challenging to defeat
Appotus was not the only one on a stakeout, however. Banjo also was checking the grape-vines of the Stoutfellow Farm, searching for the rumored scarecrow. As evening turned to dusk, and dusk turned to night, Banjo felt his eyes grow heavy. Stakeouts were not the halfling's forte. Suddenly, he was awoken, but the sickly "gaze" of a creature with a sackcloth head. As its malevolent visage ate into him, he focussed his inner-self and with the courage that only a halfling could muster, fought off fear like his body fighting off an infection. He quickly morphed into a massive wolf and while the razor-sharp claws of the construct cut nasty slashes, his wolf-form was able to remain. As the battle between tooth and claw continued, Banjo eventually emerged on top, able to defeat the horrid creation. As he returned to the Stoutfellow Farm to report the good news, Jack was overjoyed and thanked Banjo tremendously. However, his mission was not over... For Jack discovered that his farm had still been raided! Demanding Banjo's help once more, the ghostwise halfling decided to stake out the farm yet again. Only this time, he discovered that two scarecrows were attacking! One with a pumpkin head, and the other with but a threadbare blanket. However, this time he tried something different. Discovering that fire worked exceptionally well, he burned the straw-beings, only transforming into his wolf-form when he was incredibly injured. Eventually, the battle was over, and Banjo was standing over piles of burnt straw. Confident that this was the end of the Scarecrows, he returned to Jack, who, once again, thanked him for his deeds.
Forges serve as the main shopping point for many an adventurer, helping them in a multitude of ways.
Tsunami arrived at the last building on her tour of Trollskull Alley. As she walked into the building, she noticed that smoke and steam seemed to billow and cloud the windows and emerge from a smokestack. It seemed that this was a forge! As Tsunami fought to be heard over the clanging of metal, a fire genasi emerged from the fumes just as the clanging stopped. Burly and fiery, he clasped Tsunami's hand in a firm shake and introduced himself as Embric, master weaponsmith. He then called down his husband, a quiet-voiced water genasi named Avi. It seemed that while Embric forged the weapons, Avi made the armors. Avi greeted Tsunami pleasantly and she noticed that he had the symbol of Eldath (goddess of peace) - a spring waterfall - on a necklace. Commenting that they had just opened the tavern next door Tsunami bid the lovely couple adieu and began her treck back to the tavern. Just as she found her way back, however, a paper bird flew into her face.
Sometimes one must gather information straight from the horse's mouth...
The paper bird informed Tsunami that one of the drays working in the city is pulled by a talking mare named Maxeene. Tsunami's job was to find the horse, and discover if she knows anything about the going-ons of the city. Especially if she knows anything concerning the Zhentarim. Apparently, Maxeene was identifiable by a violet flower behind her left ear. Thus, Tsunami departed scouring the city in search of this violet-eared horse. After many hours of travel, she eventually arrived in the hustle and bustle of the Waterdeep market and discovered Maxeene. However, as she began to talk to her, Maxeene ruffled her mane and seemed to ignore her. As the owner of the dray cried for Tsunami to get out of the way she decided to comply and start up a conversation with him. The master of the dray was a man named Morgan Wolfwood, and his brother: Marcus was the fare-taker. Seizing upon this opportunity, Tsunami requested a ride from the brothers, and for the minor fee of 4 copper pieces, she was given one. From there, she directed the horse and her masters to The Lively Spirit, offering them both a chance to catch a drink. The brothers, having been working in the summer heat for quite a while, easily acquiesced to Tsunami's offer. Soon, having distracted the brothers, Tsunami introduced herself to the horse as a Harper agent and soon got to talking with Maxeene. It seemed that Maxeene had given a ride to a sun elf and his half-orc bodyguard several days ago, and they had been talking about planting agents in "The Guild," which Maxeene believes to be The Xanathar Guild. At that point, she dropped them off at the Yawning Portal and hasn't seen them since. With that in mind, Tsunami headed to the Yawning Portal to confront the agents.
Yagra Stonefist, half-orc mercenary, brawler, and... apparent Zhentarim agent?
Heading into the Yawning Portal, she noticed Yagra Stonefist talking to a blonde sun-elf in the back of the room, two people who matched Maxeene's description perfectly. As she headed over to them, she tried to trick them into thinking that she was seeking dirt on "The Guild" as a P.I. of some kind. However, being a silver-tongued man himself, Davil Starsong, as he introduced himself to Tsunami, informed Tsunami that as she was clearly a Harper agent (she forgot to put away her Harper pin) she was most likely here concerning the fact that she had heard word that agents of the Zhentarim were in the Yawning Portal. Davil actually confirmed those rumors but noted that he represents a different sect of Zhentarim than those who have been killing Xanathar Guild members in the streets. However, he also commented that its completely possible he was lying, and it was up to Tsunami whether or not to believe him. In the end, she decided to and sent word back to Mirt that several agents of the Zhentarim were in Waterdeep, but they apparently represented a separate group than the one already in power.
As the adventurers finally regrouped, several questions remained unanswered: What was a renegade drow doing murdering sailors? Are the Zhentarim truly split, and if so, why? And most importantly, will Goose be able to read the deed that he himself signed???
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 these scaling edits and this faction guide (not mine) for this portion of the adventure.
Actually, Heldar wasn't decapitated. He was injured, but Appotus was able to stabilize his wounds.
ReplyDeleteAh, yes, thank you!
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