The four of us had been traveling together for some time. Having recently arrived in Waterdeep, we went to the Yawning Portal. It was known as a place where adventurers could find work.
Not long after we'd arrived, half-orc confronted a human, and it looked like it was about to come to blows. Barreth recognized the half-orc as Yagra Stonefist; they had fought together before. Immediately he came to her side, and, along with the rest of the party, kept the man's four friends from joining in.
Before the fight could go much beyond bluster, a troll sprung out of the Well in the center of the room. This was a path into the Underdark, so it wasn't unexpected, but still quite dangerous. The fight broke up as the crowd reacted to the danger, and the party turned to the new threat.
The troll brought with it several stirges. Durnan sprung out from behind the bar, a greatsword in hand, and told us to focus on the stirges. Together, the troll and stirges were put down quickly, though several of us were knocked unconscious in the process.
Once things had settled down and we'd somewhat recovered, we were approached by none other than Volo. He'd seen us fight and thought we could help him. His friend, Floon, had last been seen at the Skewered Dragon in the Dock Ward two days before. They'd been with a local noble, Renaer Neverember. Volo offered us 10 gold up front, and 100 gold for Floon's safe return.
The party accepted, and asked a few more questions. Though they'd been drinking together, Volo didn't know much about Floon. Floon wasn't noble, and was a great drinking compnaion, but beyond that Volo didn't know about any possible enemies or where Floon might live.
On the way to the skewered dragon, the party ran into a City Watch patrol investigating a skirmish. We didn't hear much, but we overheard Zithrim or Zhentarim.
Asking around at the Skewered Dragon, a dwarf told us he'd seen Floon with Renaer Neverember a couple days ago. Five men followed Volo, Floon, and Renaer out when they left. The five men hadn't been back, but were known to frequent a warehouse on Candle Lane with a snake on the door. We recognized it as a symbol of the Zhentarim.
We arrived at the warehouse not long after. The warehouse had a locked yard and some windows in the front. The only light was from a lamp across the street.
The party checked the perimeter, and looked through the windows. We could see signs of a struggle, and some dead people. Kallista picked the lock on the window and we entered unopposed.
Twelve leather-clad humans had died there, from slashing attacks. When Brilava & Kallista went upstairs to investigate further, they were ambushed by four Kenku. Unfortunately, we quickly fell to their attacks. Not long after we hit the ground, a group of city guard entered and apprehended the kenku.
The guard believed our story. They interrogated the kenku, with limited success. We overheard a few things as the kenku mimicked people they'd been with:
In a deep voice with an orcish accent: "Xanathar sends its regards."
In a thin, nasally voice: "Tie up the pretty boy in the back room!" and "Follow the yellow signs in the sewers."
In a scratchy voice: "No time to loot the place. Just get him to the boss."
Another guardsman found Renear in a nearby storage closet. He told them that he and Floon had been drinking together when they'd been beset. They looked similar enough to each other that both were taken. Though Renear didn't recognize us, he believed us when we said that Volo had sent us.
We agreed to continue the search in the morning, and took rest at the Ship's Prow.
The next day we returned to the hideout and searched it thoroughly. (It remained unoccupied.) We didn't find much, but there was a secret room with a few treasures. We didn't take most of it.
Our investigation, and a few gold, brought us to two different locals who separately told Renear & Kallista that, if anyone were to disappear from the area, they'd be taken down Dragon Alley. We located it, and found a yellow chalk sign near a sewer entrance. Bri cast Light on a pebble for Renear. The rest of us could see in the dark.
The chalk sign was a circle with ten equidistant spokes radiating out from its circumference; the sign of Xanathar. There were no traps on the access hole's cover, so Barreth lifted it out of the way. A simple ladder descended into the darkness.
The sewers were sewers, with putrid water at varying levels and everything else the party might expect, but they were easy enough to maneuver in. At each branch, we found a similar symbol of Xanathar, and followed it for about an hour and a half. Eventually the symbols stopped, and we saw a small floating creature guarding a door. It was about eight inches across and had four tentacles. Bri distracted it with a noise down another tunnel, like a dinner bell. It was enough to distract it and we quickly went through the door.
Within the hideout, we didn't find much, but we ran into the human from the bar who'd nearly fought Yagra. He and a duergar immediately attacked the party; they lost. During the fight we learned the man was named Krentz and the duergar was named Zemk. The pair had been barricading a room that had some sort of ooze in it. We decided to finish blocking the door and continue exploring.
The party eventually found Floon. He was under the boot of an orc, Grum'shar, interrogating him in front of a strange creature with purple skin and a squid-like head. It was cradling a small brain with legs. We found all of this very odd. The creature told the orc to take care of things before floating out of the room, staying just above the floor. Bri put the orc to sleep, and we tied him up. After exploring briefly, we decided it was best to leave before the strange creature returned.
We returned to the entrance to the hideout. The floating creature was still gone, and there was an exit out of the sewers in the same junction. The orc was heavy, so rather than retracing our steps we exited there.
This access hold opened into a tavern's cellar, the Spouting Fish. As we strongly smelled of the sewers, we were immediately asked to leave. Peren took Floon to a local healer, recommended by Raenar, and the rest of us took Grum'shar to the watch. We met back at the Yawning Portal after an hour or so.
Volo greeted us with great relief, and was happy to get his friend back. However, he admitted he had no coin. He had something of greater value to offer; the deed to Trollskull Manor. Volo had been meaning to investigate it as it was believed to be haunted. Volo had heard a deceased tenant, Lif, missed his job as a barkeep and perhaps wanted to keep working. Raenar, generously, offered to pay the transfer fee for saving his friend.
2nd Level
Volo recommended we see a magistrate in the Virgin's Square. Kylynne Silmerhelve helped us, and after providing the requisite fees, we received a signed, sealed deed. We then travelled to Trollskull Manor.
We had a few minor interruptions from the ghost as we initially toured the property. However, it seemed to calm down as we began tidying the place up. Volo offered to bring around guildsmen the next day to find out what we could do to fix up the place.
The night passed uneventfully. The next day, after an inspection, the guildsmen advised us it would take 500g - 1000g to fix and furnish the place, outfitted as a tavern. It would take around 60g a week to run. So all-in, with some additional options and reconfiguring, we'd be looking at about 1250g. Volo knew some lenders, the guildsmen were happy to come back the next day for a 25% down payment. A detour to the warehouse on Candle Street was in order.
Luckily, the hidden compartment was intact. We retrieved 13 silver bars, in addition to the two we'd previously taken, and all the art. From there, we went to the Dock Ward to sell them. We got a good deal - 800g for the silver bullion, and 200g total for the four pieces of art. We hardley needed a loan.
Volo took us to Mirt, in the Castle Ward. After some discussion, he offered to invest. For each 100g he contributed, we would pay him five percent of our profits for a year. If that was less than the amount borrowed, we'd owe the balance at the end of the year. He would be a primarily silent partner. This was agreeable to all of us, though we upped our original contributions out of our new gains. We planned to contribute 162g, 5s each, and Mirt would invest 600g for a 30% share of our profits. We were all satisfied, and made our way back to the manor.
We took the intervening time to do some local activities. When the renovations were complete, we found them satisfactory. The contractors told us the next step was vendors for food and drink. They helpfully arranged for the local butchers and brewers to meet with us the next morning.
In the meantime, we went to see if there was some adventure available. Nearby, we found that a local woman had found her husband turned into a horse. This was odd enough to attract our attention. The horse could understand us, and took us to a local tavern where he indicated he'd been cursed.
Using one hoof clop for "yes" and two for "no," we deduced that he'd been having an affair. His lover was a server in the tavern he'd taken us to, and her name started with an E.
We went inside and found one of the servers seemed to be at least fae-touched. She introduced herself as Eliwaris. After we talked for a bit, we asked about the horse. She told us the man hadn't told her he was married, and she'd turned him into a horse as a lesson. The horse was apologetic, and she yielded and released the curse.
The man wondered what would happen with his wife. We told him to come have a beer at our bar next time, rather than straying near Eliwaris again. He readily agreed. His wife, once we returned, was very grateful. She gave us several spell scrolls as a reward.
The next morning came around, and we met with a representative of the Vintners', Distillers', & Brewers' Guild. He was an Illuskan, and had a lot of good advice. He recommended we start with three casks of budget conscious ale, two casks of medium quality ale, and a cask of the expensive Dwarven ale. The Dwarven ale was quite special and not often available. We also set up some wine options.
Next were the Guild of Butchers. This representative was an Illuskan woman, and looked like she could handle herself in a fight. She talked through our options, and we started with a basic delivery of meats.
Finally we were joined by a halfling male, representing the Fellowship of Innkeepers. He worked through our agreements with us, and validated that we had put together a solid set of deals. They would help us with some advertising in trade for similar work for them.
It would be a few days before the shipments were ready. We hired the staff we'd need, and had some time on our hands.
We found a local notice board, and decided to investigate the Twilight Tower. It was the wrong time of day however, so we spent some idle time in the neighborhood. Just after lunch, Kallista received a magical Sending from Vajra, the Blackstaff. She invited us to the tower to meet with her as the leader of Force Gray.
As we entered the area, we saw an apparently novice wizard being accosted by three assailants; two in melee, and one we noticed aiming a crossbow at the novice. Barreth hurled a Fire Bolt at the crossbow wielder. The assailants scattered, even though the Fire Bolt missed.
The novice introduced herself as Rollina Metrel, and told us they'd been after her orb. She was a novice of the tower, to be trained by the Blackstaff herself. Bri noticed that the orb seemed more magical than it seemed at first glance.
We entered the tower grounds together. Once we were inside, Rollina let her see the orb more closely. It had an additional enchantment, which would cause it to explode if she perished. She soon left to get to her training.
We were approached by two guardsmen almost immediately. They recognized we were the adventurers Vajra had been expecting, and took us to her. She asked us to tell her our story, about how we met Raenar. She was impressed - we'd made it through several scrapes by working together and using our resources. She asked her to join Force Gray. We agreed.
She asked us to take on a task. There was a monk named Hlam who lived high on the side of Mount Waterdeep. She asked us to find him, and seek his wisdom. She warned us he could be touchy.
We left, and considered our plans. The hike up the mountain would certainly take all day. It was mid-afternoon, so we decided to investigate the Twilight Tower today, and go up the mountain tomorrow.
When we arrived, sunset was nearing and we weren't the only ones. About twenty other adventurers had gathered, mostly in groups of three or four. As the sun dipped below the horizon, the tower appeared, gleaming and black.
Most of the adventurers went in the front door. Many of them stumbled back out almost immediately, and we noticed many thumps and screms coming from inside the tower. We asked, and found that the tower itself was heavily trapped. We checked around the base for a hidden door or alternate entrance, but came up empty.
We went in through the front door. Traps that had been triggered were still spent. We worked our way carefully up. At the top, we found a strange elf guarding a portal. He wasn't much interested in speaking, and simply warned us he'd kill us if we didn't leave. We believed him, and retraced our steps back out. We could try again, but perhaps we could recruit one or more of the other parties to help.
The rest of the evening passed uneventfully. We were up early enough the next day to get started up the mountain. We took the established path, even though it was longer; the mountain was large, and accidents could happen. We reached Hlam's cave without any mishaps.
The way to get through to Hlam was simple enough - he would provide his wisdom to whomever struck him in a sparring match. Peren proved up to the challenge. Hlam told us, "Nobody is who they seem, yet they will reveal themselves by the end of autumn." He then resumed a meditative posture and went still.
We returned to the tower and relayed our experience. Vajra thanked us, and let us know that we could call on her if the watch detained us. She'd intervene on our behalf, once.
She also gave us another task. There was a young bronze dragon in the bay, and she wanted us to take care of it. She promised a little help; when we returned to the inn, Lif was guarding a box delivered for us. Inside were four Potions of Water Breathing.
3rd Level
Library research; Tower, Shadowfell, Dragons. We found a local library that could help us get a little more information about our recent encounters. With the help of a research assistant, we found out a few things. The evening tower was likely connected to the Feywild, and likely a portion of it called the Shadowfell. Though we had not ventured into the Underdark, there were rumours that the Shadowfell touched its deepest recesses.
We also found out that metallic dragons were generally good, and if approached carefully, could at least be talked to. We weren't sure if it would be willing to relocate, but we hoped for a chat at least.
Our next stop was the docks, to see if we could find someone that had seen the dragon. At a local tavern, Bri's friendly nature, and gold, got us a name from the barkeep. He told us a sailor named Lashurien had been in the other night. While drinking, he'd told anyone who'd talk to him about a dragon he'd talked to. The dragon kept talking about the Sea Maiden's Faire, and seemed interested in it. The barkeep knew which ship he was on, and sent us that direction.
At the ship, there were quite a few crewmembers working on deck. Bri called out that she was looking for Lashurien, and he appeared at the railing immediately. She mentioned she wanted to talk about the other night, and he offered to have a drink with her after his workday was done. She agreed.
Time passed, until it was time to meet up with Lashurien again. He seemed disappointed that the rest of the party was with Bri. He told us that he'd seen the dragon near the naval docks and told us exactly where. He didn't seem interested in continuing to talk when it was clear he wasn't getting a date out of it.
We proceeded to the naval docks. It was quiet, except for one building that had a lot of noise coming from it. When we peeked in, we saw a woman working on a large apparatus. We didn't surprise her, and she introduced herself as Grinda. We asked about the apparatus. It was meant to explore, and she offered us its use, as long as we gave her half of what we found. It seemed like a great way to look for the dragon to us, so we took her up on it.
Swimming in the harbor, we were approached by a flash of bronze in the water. We identified ourselves as friendly, and made no threatening gestures. The dragon introduced himself, seeing that we were peaceful, as Zelifarn. We explained that we'd heard some concerns from the locals, and if he could stay to the less inhabited areas, we'd make sure to come back and visit.
We then checked the area for any additional salvage we could find. We found about 90g in total, and decided that was enough for the evening.
As we began our return to the docks, we ran into a massive shark. We attempted to fight it, but it was far too powerful. However we were able to evade it with the apparatus. We returned it to its owner, none the worse for wear. After dividing our gains, she invited us back any time we wanted to use it again.
Just before we ended the evening, there was an explosion outside the tavern, and many people were hurt.
All of us rushed outside to investigate the aftereffects of the blast. Though we were all ready to assist, we found no survivors. Barreth went for the watch, but they were already en route. The leader introduced himself as Barnibus Blastwind, along with his partner, Saeth Cromley. They explained that they didn't see anything particularly out of the ordinary, but we'd need to keep the tavern closed until the investigation was over. It probably wouldn't take more than a month.
That was a lot of lost revenue. We had to stay in the area for the time being, but there wasn't much to do. Kallista noticed a child nearby, seemingly hiding something. When asked, the boy gave up a necklace he'd found on the ground after the explosion. It was a necklace with a broken clasp and two beads on it.
We took it to Book Wyrm's Treasure down the street. The shopkeep made some small talk before looking at the necklace. When he took it to inspect if more closely he noted that it was a Necklace of Fireballs and we should definitely take it to the watch. It was almost certainly involved in the incident.
We returned to where the watch was still talking to folks. As we approached, Barreth heard a witness talking to Barnibus say:
"I tell you, it was not a man. More like a puppet shaped like a man. A puppet without strings. It was on the rooftop. It hurled something into the crowd below that caused the explosion. I saw those halflings burned alive! I saw them!"
Once Barnibus was done, we took the necklace to him and told him what we'd found. He thanked us, and told us it was almost certainly connected. He was concerned there were only two beads left on it.
Barreth and Kallista returned to the tavern, and told the others what they'd found. We recognized the description as an automaton, similar to those we'd seen on the Day of Wonders. Barreth knew the automata were from the House of Inspired Hands, a temple to Gond in the Sea Ward. We decided it was worth asking them about it.
Along the way, we encountered a person on a soapbox selling cure-alls for twenty gold. Bri took a moment to break his audience's attention with a Minor Illusion.
The House was a cross between a workshop and a temple. We saw many wonderful things, including a figure on the roof releasing a mechanical sparrow that few directly to us. It passed closely by Barreth, and broke against the wall behind him. Barreth carefully scopped up the components, and the group proceeded into the temple.
In the entryway, amongst many models and demonstrations, a bronze Dragonkin, Valetta, sat deep in study. We asked about the mechanical bird. She told us it was likely Nim, a nimblewright bound to the temple. We relayed the information we had about the automaton spotted near our tavern, and Valetta assured us it wasn't Nim; the enchantment binding it to the temple was quite strong. She further offered to interpret for us, as Nim only spoke in sign.
At the door to Nim's quarters, Valatta was surprised to find a new lock built into the door. She had no way to open it. Bri was unable to pick it. Barreth knocked. When we heard movement behind the door, Barreth said he wanted to talk, and return the broken bird.
Nim opened the door, warily. Barreth set the broken bird down carefully, explaining that he wanted Nim to have it back. Nim apologized, saying the bird shouldn't have flown. We talked to him about what he did here, and asked if he'd built anything else. Reluctantly, he admitted he'd created another nimblewright to ease his loneliness. However, the other had escaped about a month ago.
Valetta ordered acolytes to remove tools, this was forbidden. While she continued to chastise Nim, we tried to work out a solution. Nim reluctantly gave us a device he'd been building to locate others like him. It had a 500' range, but was most effective within 30'. Valetta offered us 500g to destroy the creation and return with proof. There would be no reward for returning it still animate.
The day was growing late, but we had just enough time to get to the tower. WE located a seasoned paladin, who agreed to help for a share of the loot; Aglaea. We made it to the top of the tower quickly. The fey clearly understood our intentions, and refused our offer to go peacefully as long as the tower would not return.
The fight was difficult. In the end Aglaea struck the final blow, splitting its skull in two.
We exited swiftly. The tower faded out from the top down, even as it began to crumble.
After returning to the inn, we took a long rest. The next day, we used the nimblewright detector at our inn. There was nothing. We next tried by the Zhentarim warehouse, and found nothing there, either. Searching all of the docks, we triangulated on the three ships of the Sea Maiden's Faire; they were in dock.
Bri took the lead, seeing if she could inquire about employment opportunities. They rebuffed her suggestions, vaguely promising there would be another parade in 2-3 weeks.
We stopped in at the nearest tavern and watched for a few hours. We saw some automatons come and go, but no nimblewrights. When asked, the barkeep told us the crews tended to come in later in the evening.
With some time to kill, we decided to see about a sewer inspection job. On the way, we ran into a distraught family. Their son, Benji, had run across something a few days before, and now was randomly loosing magic when he became agitated. We found a bottle that seemed to be the source.
We offered to take the child to Force Gray, as the parents couldn't afford the spells they'd been told would be needed. A mage confirmed for us that the child was possessed, and he would be lost to the spirit if it wasn't resolved. Force Gray had arrangements with local temples however, and we could get a discount if we mentioned we were from Force Gray.
We offered to take on the cost, of course. The temple we found gave us an excellent discount; only 100g to cleanse the child. We happily paid it, and the child was returned to normal. His parents were overjoyed, and assured we could count on them if we needed anything in the future.
It was evening by this time, so we returned to the docks. We found the tavern full of sailors, enjoying some evening entertainment. We were the only customers that weren't. Many ideas for conversation or information gathering weren't going to work here. However, they were playing a version of chess, and Kallista thought she might try her hand.
Kallista lost, badly, but the crew didn't gloat. We were invited aboard the Eyecatcher anyway. We met the captain, Zardoz. We each introduced ourselves in turn, and Zardoz led us to his table, where we were invited to participate in a magnificent feast.
Standing behind it all with wine glass in hand is a well-built, scantily clad man, his scarlet apparel designed to accentuate his trim figure and bountiful chest hair. A flashy rapier hangs from his stylish belt.
Zardoz told us all about their amazing variety of automatons. Zardoz told us they had four nimblewrights to service all of their automatons. Since they had four, they were able to maintain themselves, as well as the other mechanicals. They came from the isle of Lantan, which was a relatively far-flung port at this time. Zardoz mentioned he could take us there if needed.
The nimblewrights were, to Zardoz's mind, simply better automatons. They were excellent helpers, and, while perhaps they could be configured to accomplish nefarious ends. He assured us none of his nimblewrights could do such a thing.
Thinking of Zelifarn, we asked Zardoz if we could bring another friend by some time. He agreed, and bid us good evening when we took our leave.
Returning to the inn, we found Raenar waiting for us. He told us that one of his father's trusted lieutenants, a gnome named Dalakhar, had been searching for us after he caught up with Raenar. Raenar believed Dalakhar intended to hire us to recover the Stone of Golorr, which might secure the power of his family, the Neverembers, to rule in Waterdeep again. Raenar's father was the previous Open Lord, and had fled to Neverwinter some years before.
Raenar wasn't asking for anything, but it seemed like looking for this stone might be in our interests. We knew both the Xanathar and Zhentarim were looking for it. Dalakhar was killed in the blast outside our tavern.
The nimblewright detector went off again at Gralhund Villa. Lady Yalah Gralhund and her husband Orond ran the estate. The family traded in weapons and mercenaries, and their motto was "We see both sides"
Our research turned up records of payments to the Zhentarim. This wasn't illegal, but it was suggestive.
We found a tavern nearby, where it seemed the estate guards spent some time. Everyone in the tavern was talking about Urstul Floxin, and how tired they were of guarding the Gralhunds. They mentioned that, if they had what they wanted, why did they still need so much muscle? The manor was very tense.
We decided to go in through the stables, find the stone, and, if needed, kill the Nimblewright. We'd need to observe the area first; Peren offered to take the lead. However, he alerted the guards while gaining the roof. We barely escaped without being stopped by the watch.
After catching our breath back at Trollskull Manor, we decided to go back. This time we approached the stables directly, and were able to defeat its lock. The stables were well appointed, with beautiful horses. One horse was saddled as if ready to ride.
We entered the house from the stables, into the kitchen. We found several bodies of servants as we searched. The stairway up from the kitchen led to servants quarters, where we escorted several hiding servants back out. The servants told us the house guards had turned on the household. We went into the barracks, but it was empty.
When we moved to the courtyard, we were attacked by two shadows, soon followed by a third. We defeated them, though Peren and Barreth were down a bit of strength. We healed quickly and went to the last door in the house. We encountered two assailants with maces. They didn't ask us; they just attacked us. We dispatched them and continued on.
On the second floor, there was a pitched battle between Zhentarim and house guards. We ended the battle against the Zhantarim. The house guards thanked us for our help and retreated to protect one of the rooms. We found a well-dressed, but badly wounded, Zhentarim in the other room.
The man was pounding on another door, yelling at Orund to let him in. He was not willing to speak with us, and tried to leave when he noticed all the other Zhentarim had been handled. We subdued and detained him. We noticed he was burned, like he'd been in an explosion.
Orond, the gentleman of the house, was in the room beyond, and allowed us to enter and speak with him. Once we closed the door so his wife couldn't hear, he told us everything he knew. The Stone of Golorr was an artifact of some sort, that was actually a captured creature. It could open the way to a cache of gold, something like half a million gold pieces. To this end, the House of Gralhund had been paying the Zhentarim to handle investigation around the city. This included the plot to kidnap Renaer, and the plot to steal the stone from Dalakhar.
Further, he told us his wife, Yalah, had been unsatisfied with the progress made by the Zhentarim, and sent her mechanical servant out with a necklace to retrieve the stone. Its carelessness had injured the Urstul Floxin, the man we'd detained.
With this information, we asked the guards to let us pass and speak to Yalah, the lady of the house. She had a large half-orc with her, and seemed dressed for battle. Brii used the nimblewright detector while Barreth talked to the Lady; nothing was detected. Barreth pushed his luck asking about the stone, and the half-orc stepped in when Brii went to check another room. The half-orc and Barreth exchanged a brief set of blows, which injured Barreth significantly. We withdrew, and took the Zhentarim with us.
We returned to Trollskull Manor, without further incident. We secured Urstul in a room without a window and took a long rest.
The night passed quietly. Urstul was not cooperative in the morning, either. He told us he couldn't talk if he wanted to. Brii confirmed he was under an enchantment, and didn't seem to be lying.
We got him to tell us that, within the Zhentarim, there was a separation. There was the Black Network, which Yalah had been funding, and not the Black Network. Speaking of anything approaching the specifics of the Black Network stopped Urstul from talking.
While we decided what to do with Urstul, Brii and Kallista stepped out to see about books on enchantments. They found one for 25 gold. Barreth sold Urstul's short sword and light crossbow at Steam and Steal for 25 gold, plus a crowbar he'd been meaning to pick up.
Level 4
We tried several more approaches, but none of them yielded results. We ended up dropping Urstol off in an alley in the Docks.
With no other leads, we decided to take the city up on its need for sewer inspections. It would give us a reason to search for the nimblewright again, from the cover of the sewers.
We encountered some kobolds, who seemed to be digging a new tunnel. They'd broken through into a chamber where there were two Spectators. We dispatched the monsters. The kobolds assured us they had dug here in error, and would close the tunnel up. They gave us a few handfuls of jewelry that they'd recovered in the sewers. The kobolds had also heard of a nimblewright - they believed it was on its way to the sea ward, since it had passed through the castle ward.
Our inspection tour completed, we picked up our pay and returned to the inn.
The next morning, a winged snake flew into our common room. It bore a note. We were invited by Istrid Horn, a Zhentarim, to meet at the Ward of the Dead at Noon the following day to discuss the events at Gralhund Villa. We decided we'd take them up on the offer, though that was a problem for tomorrow.
In the meantime, we followed up on the lead from the kobolds. Searching the Sea Ward led us to an alley, where we noticed a pile of rags in one corner. We were attacked by a nimblewright when we approached. The battle was hard fought, but the nimblewright seemed determined to end us. We won, just before the watch showed up, and secured it for transport to the House of Inspired Hands.
While picking up the remains, we took a necklace, matching Orond's description, and Peren found a map. By an X in the Trade Ward was the name Fenerus Stormcastle.
Valetta happily confirmed the construct was the one sought, and paid us the 500g. In addition, she offered us an item from a small selection. Brii took a Box of Barking, which could be used as an alarm. A few cranks would set it to work for 8 hours or so.
We had lots of time before the meeting. On our way back from the House of Inspired Hands, we stopped at a few shops.
In the market, we took some time for a short rest. Bri sang us a song and netted a few coppers while we ate some lunch. We found another notice board, and decided to pursue the theft of Gond's monocle. Back at the House of Inspired Hands, we found High Seeker Armitten and he explained the situation.
They believed the thief to be Gilt, a high-profile local cat burglar. Or at least his sign had been left. No doors or windows were used. The theft had occurred two tendays ago. We investigated thoroughly, between our individual skills and knowledge. There were no physical signs of intrusion or weakness. Further the wards seemed to be well intact. However, the High Seeker did tell us he routinely went into and out of the vault twice a day to exchange exhibits. The High Seeker also wasn't particularly well versed in magic; he was sure the wards protected against Teleport, but wasn't sure about much else. The key also Teleported back to him when it was more than a few feet away.
We came to the conclusion that this could have been an incursion from the Elemental Plane of Fire, and it was possible the monocle was on the way to the City of Brass. The High Seeker told us the monocle would give its user a great insight into any mechanism examined, and unparalleled smithing abilites. The monocle itself was larger than expected, rimmed in ornate brass. We weren't likely to be able to go after it soon, but we'd recognize it if we found it.
We went to Blackstaff Tower and asked Vajra Safahr about our findings. She referred us to the Tower of the Order, where the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors might be able to tell us more about Plane Shift.
The Order couldn't answer our questions directly, but they were happy to send us to their associate Daniel Dravot, who could. Also, one of their members, Willard, asked Kallista about joining. She could expect steep discounts on guild services as well as access to their library and skills.
We went to the bar were the magists said Daniel was. He was several flagons when we arrived, and Bri took him a few more to keep him talking. It turned out he had recently been with another party, and had been forced to leave when the party was ambushed.
He told us as well that it would cost around 7,000g, though that was the non-Guild price. He told us that he could travel with us to ensure our return. He could do some business while he was there, so there wouldn't be any additional charge.
We returned to the tower, where Kallisata signed up with the guild. We weren't reay to go to the City of Brass yet, but we could perhaps find out more in the Guild's library.
We stopped by the City of the Dead to get an idea as to what to expect for our meeting the next day. It was a lovely park really, and we were pleased to see there were a lot of people around. The place where we'd escaped the tunnels had been well closed. Our meeting wasn't likely to have much, if any, excitement.
We returned to our tavern. The watch had cleared the investigation, and our staff was preparing to re-open. We helped to clean up the next morning.
As Noon approached, we made our way to the City of the Dead. A dwarf waited us, clad in full plate. We exchanged pleasantries, confirmed she was Istrid, and she paid us 10 platinum each for taking the meeting. She told us she was from a different faction of the Zhentarim than the group that had been at Gralhund Villa, and asked us to tell us about what had happened. We did, and she told us she was concerned her faction would be blamed, and asked to stay at our inn for a tenday while things blew over. She promised excellent pay. We agreed after a brief conversation. We would know her as a male dwarf named Jorn for the duration of her stay. She paid us the promised 20 platinum up front, and promised the same payment at the end of the tenday. We parted ways; Istrid would arrive in disguise at the time of her choosing. We returned to the tavern to let our staff know to keep a room reserved for a tenday.
We then turned our attention to the map we'd obtained from the nimblewright. When we arrived in the marked alley, we looked around a bit. We weren't there long before we were surprised by three children in an out-of-control cart. Squiddly, a 9-year-old tiefling, was at the front, and sported an eyepatch with his tow bow and arrows. Jenks was a portly 10-year-old with a stuffed owlbear familiar. Nat was a lanky 10-year-old, with a toy sword. She communicated with the others in a sign language we didn't recognize. They explained they'd been playing a prank on a shop owner, and it had gotten out of hand. We helped them push the cart back up.
The cart belonged to a lock-and-key shop, which also provided locksmith services. When we asked the shopkeeper, he told us that Fenerus lived around the corner, and gave us directions. We went, but found the alley quiet and the door locked. Since it was still mid-day, we decided to wait for dusk and check again. As Fenerus was a lamplighter, we figured we'd have a better chance to find him then.
When we returned, we found the lamps already lit, and the door to his home ajar. The small rooms had been ransacked, and there was some blood on the ground. On the wall in the kitchen, the sign of Xanathar was painted in blood; a circle with ten equidistant lines radiating out. We found nothing else of interest.
Exiting the home, we encountered Laeral Silverhand. She was the Open Lord of Waterdeep, and we were a little surprised to see her in an alley. She told us she was pursuing the Stone of Golorr, which she believed Fenerus had held. Since it belonged to Waterdeep, she asked for our help retrieving it. She pointed us in the direction of a nearby underground hideout, which she believed was our best lead. We could meet her at the theater of Seven Masts if we found the stone.
Underneath the streets again, we found the place easily enough, though it required wading through more sewage than anyone liked. We were ambushed by goblins when we entered.
The fighting continued, and we dispatched several duergar and kobolds, in addition to the goblins. There was a half-ogre as well, but he seemed more concerned with his hangover than us. Peren found a small smooth stone on one of the bodies; it was the most interesting thing on them. We found another secret door that led out into the sewers, and an additional secret door across the the tunnel. It led into a stone cellar, where we were attacked by something new.
The stinky, stinky something new were Troglodytes. They quickly surrounded Barreth. Though everyone took a few hits, they went down quickly enough. A little farther back we encountered a Gibbering Mouther. Thanks to a little luck that fell quickly as well. We found some coin in an old chest where the aberration had been, along with a gold necklace. It had a beholder on it, with jewels for the eyes. Brii used Detect Magic and found both the necklace and the stone Peren had retrieved earlier were not magical.
The area was unpleasant, but we decided it was safe enough to take a long rest. In the morning we went back to the other side. The half-ogre was in the process of cleaning up, and seemed a little confused, though fully back on his feet. He wasn't much interested in talking, but also let us leave. Brii tricked him out of the room long enough to check where we'd seen him before; there was nothing of interest in his room.
We returned to the tavern, took much needed baths, and cleaned the sewers off of our gear. We had no indication that the stone Peren had found was the Stone of Golorr; we debated whether to take it directly to Laeral Silverhand, or find Raenar and see if he could tell us more about the stone's appearance.
We sent a message to Raenar to see if he could give us more information about the stone. After some time, he joined us at our tavern. He didn't have any information about its appearance or uses. He had a generally favorable view of Laeral Silverhand, and wasn't particularly invested in the stone, other than knowing his father wanted it. If it were up to him he didn't want the stone going to his father if it was any kind of object of power. Were it useless, it didn't impact him one way or the other.
Raenar came upstairs with us and we showed him the stone we had. He said he wasn't sure what it looked like, but he didn't think this was it. He took out his dagger and struck the stone. Nothing happened, except the surface scratched.
We decided to go to the theater where Laeral Silverhand had asked us to bring any information we had. When we arrived, it was clear this theater catered to pirates and their captains. It wasn't in poor condition, it just wasn't a place we'd expect to see nobility.
An usher admitted us, reluctantly. We promised not to interact with the actors. In the auditorium, we understood why; Westra Moltimmur was rehearsing a bawdy play on-stage. She was one of Waterdeep's greatest actors. In the front row, we met with the stage manager, Rongquan Mystere. He told us that Laeral had enlisted him as an intermediary.
It turned out that the city was holding Fenris, due to his association with the Blood Hawk Posse, and he would be tried soon. With a bit of gold, we had a chance of intervening. We got to the courthouse as quickly as we could, and found our way to a waiting area. It took a bit of gold to get an appointment. A friendly clerk (well, friendlier after some gold changed hands) got us to the magistrate, who heard us out. She let us meet with Fenris, on the condition that she conducted the interview.
We found out that the stone was atop an old tower, surrounded by powerful wards that suppressed all magic. We entered cautiously, and were ambushed by Drow on the third floor.
One Drow stopped as a distraction; Barreth slew him without delay. (Double critical, double smite.) Everyone charged out the window and pursued the remaining two Drow over the rooftops. We came close, but we were not able to stop them. We lost them in the crowd when they dropped off the roofs, and into the streets.
We made our way back to the Tavern. Along the way, the longswords we'd salvaged sprang to life and attacked us. We defeated them.
Back at the tavern, we asked Jorn if she knew anything about local Drow activity. She told us the Mistshore would be where anyone like that might be hiding out. We took a long rest, and went down by the naval docks again the next morning.
Grinda was right where she'd been when we borrowed her apparatus. She hadn't heard anything in particular, but advised there was a hut nearby where, if someone were to hide out, they might. Perrin passed along 5g for her trouble. She confirmed the apparatus was also for rent, for half of anything we salvaged.
We investigated the hut, and were ambushed. While we fought two Drow inside, a Dragon Turtle apparatus surfaced. Also the Drow threw a stone into the water.
Despite a few tricks and a brief encounter with the Dragon Turtle, we killed the Drow. The Dragon Turtle left the area; Brii had succesfully retrieved the stone but also left while we were fighting. We returned to the tavern concerned we'd lost her and the stone. When we returned, we found her safe and dry in the common room.
The stone was glossy, greenish gray, and fit in the palm of our hand. It looked like it had three eyes on it. We decided to take the stone to Renaer. We knew everyone wanted this stone, but Renaer seemed the most trustworthy, at least to us.
The other option was to give the stone to Force Gray. The Blackstaff seemed to be the best choice.
In the midst of our discussion, Brii decided to get rid of the stone. However, when she tried to put the stone away, she found herself unable to release it. Further, she then left under the stone's influence. We were not able to catch up.
She returned an hour later, and reported that the stone had decided she should attune to it, and hadn't left her much choice in the matter. It was eager to tell us about the three keys that would unlock its vault. We'd have all the money we wanted to do things like purchase a Staff of Healing for Brii, or new armor for Barreth. It was tempting.
While discussing the details, Barreth slipped out and ordered a lead container from one of the other merchants in the alley.
Upon returning, he asked to speak to Peren in the cellar. Barreth's plan was to go along with Brii for the day while the container was fabricated. Kallista could go with Peren to Force Gray and see how they wanted to proceed.
Brii left during this exchange. Barreth went after her.
They retrieved the drow hand without a problem. On the way back, Brii mentioned that she needed an invisible animal and a unicorn. She suggested a toy store, where she purchased a stuffed unicorn. Barreth felt like that was a big stretch but went with it for the moment.
Then they went to the library, and found some information on unicorns and invisible creatures. While there was plenty of information on unicorns, they didn't find anything on invisible creatures, other than there might be some in the dungeon through The Yawning Portal. They couldn't find more information on the dungeon. They left well after sunset, and realized they hadn't found out where an enchanted forest might be.
Still, it had been a long day. Brii let Barreth keep the stone overnight. The next morning, everyone had slept, but felt terrible and picked up a level of exhaustion. Barreth suggested he get some adventuring supplies as a cover to pick up his commissioned lead box. Brii decided to go along and seemed to know that was the plan. However, she agreed to put the stone in the box. It didn't seem to change anything.
Barreth, Peren, and Brii then went to a temple. The clerics there told them there was nothing magical; they just had sewer plague. They recommended bed rest until it passed, and avoiding swimming in the sewer if possible.
They returned to the tavern and tried to wait out the sickness.
While most of us had little trouble recovering from the sickness, Peren got the worst of it. He stayed in the cellar a for about a tenday. Brii and Barreth tended to him as best they could. Eventually, he was feeling better and we decided to look into the vault further.
Brii spoke with Galor and determined the entrance to the vault was in a windmill to the south. Barreth was familiar with it, as a native Waterdhavian. They agreed to go there.
Inside the windmill, we found a door in the cellar. Together, we presented the three keys (the unicorn stuffed animal, the drow hand, and a rat quickly caught and turned invisible) to the door. The door opened, and we found a vault with more doors. We found very little that responded to us. Brii asked Galor if he knew anything about the vault. It recommmended finding the dragon. (Galor was quite helpful.)
One of the doors did open for us. Peren found a painting, which was enchanted; the more he stared at it the less he wanted to leave, and couldn't be convinced to leave. Kallista charmed him and led him out, but when the spell ended he immediately went back to the painting. We tried to get him grappled and out of the room again.
We had to subdue Peren with force to get him out of the room. We brought him back to the inn. It took a few days before Peren was free of the effects. We talked to Force Grey, who had someone that could provide additional resources if needed.
We made it past the painting, and found several doors. They were locked magically; we tried several ways of opening them. While thinking about our next moves, Peren was attacked.
Peren was under attack from a Black Pudding. We defeated it, but its acid was a problem for Peren's darts and Brii's rapier.
We continued our investigation. Taking a direct approach, Barreth found the doors could be opened with the proper application of a crowbar. We found one room with a statue and a trapdoor; we determined it was the dwarven god known as "Fireeyes", and could detect a trap involving a scorching ray. Another room had an inscription; speaking a secret would please Dumathoin.
We could not disable the trap, so Peren went into the other alone, and spoke a secret. A trapdoor opened, revealing a spiral staircase.
Following the staircase down, we found a new set of rooms. We were greeted by a golden dwarf, who we came to learn was called Barok. We were not particularly welcome, but he allowed we could come back with Lord Neverember.
On the way out we encountered more Drow. The leader identified himself as Jarlaxle. He would let us leave if we did so with empty hands. There wasn't much we could do to stop the group, so they passed through. Once we believed they'd passed into the lower chambers, we followed.
We arrived back in Barok's rooms in time to hear him giving Jarlaxle permission to take the treasure. Jarlaxle had convinced him somehow. We got Barok to agree that we could all go together; but Jarlaxle took that as a challenge and threw a dagger at Peren. However, the dagger disappeared when Peren attempted to catch it.
We fought, though briefly, and relatively uneventfully. Barok attempted to control the situation, but after a few moments, revealed himself to be a gold dragon. Jarlaxle and his lackeys were driven off.
We returned topside and returned to the Blackstaff. We were taken to Laeral Silverhand, who we immediately realized was a different person than we'd seen in the alley before. Eventually we learned the dragon's name was Aurinax, and his fee for guarding the gold (about 500,000 dragons) was a hoard of gems. He also had a staff, which allowed any dragon who touched it to bypass the city's wards.
We were rewarded with 10% of the gold, split between us. The city was very pleased with us.
We had some time to look into some additional items. Barreth located Mithral plate armor, and a Sun Sword, as a greatsword, after three weeks of searching. Though he didn't have quite enough gold, Peren was kind enough to loan him the additional 3000g he needed. Peren found an Eldritch Claw Tattoo. Kallista located a Rod of the Pact Keeper +2.
A new person in the bar, Sahar, told us Durnan was asking for more adventures into the Underdark beneath the Yawning Portal. We accepted, Sahar was kind enough to pay the fee, and we prepared to descend.
We were approached by Obaya Uday, who offered to buy quite a few different items for us if we returned. Common items would go for 10p; uncommon 50p; Rare 500p, and 5000p for very rare. Additionally, she was interested in spellbooks.
Volo also offered to buy us a drink, and celebrate our new adventure. He also told us a story of Illefarn. Waterdeep was built on the foundations of Aelinthaldaar, and if we could find its missing alabaster throne, we would be handsomely rewarded.
Three Strings beckoned to Briilava, wanting her attention before we went down into the portal. He asked her to take a payment to Skull Harbor on his behalf, and relayed the details. We also heard rumours to watch for tunnel madness and poison. Both Briilava and Barreth could cast Lesser Restoration, so we kept that in mind.
A scoreboard held a tally of groups and how far down they'd gone. We told Durnan we were the Trollskull Travelers, and his assistant put us on the board.
We descended. We landed in a room surrounded with dented, rusty shields. Written on the wall was a message in Elvish:
Beyond the pillars the Mad Mage awaitspeering from behind those black gatesEver searching for one of worthand burying all else in the tepid earth
And, in another hand:
WELCOME TO THE SHOW.
We continued on. The next room had bas reliefs of various demons. There was a skeleton pointing at one of them, which Brii recognized as a Nalfeshnee.
Continuing to explore additional rooms, we found a longsword on an aged armor rack, with the remains of a severed hand attached to it. Sahar picked it up after we attempted to identify it, and found she could not put it down. Also, the sword shed light for at least fifteen feet. Barreth ignited his Sun Blade in solidarity. This came in handy when we needed to dispatch a Gray Ooze.
Throughout several rooms, we found there seemed to be some vents and occasionally heard some voices through them. Eventually we found the source - at least eight bandits, who seemed to have been waiting for us.