The Shard Runners Disbanded

The adventurers have just discovered a staircase descending from the hidden room in the warehouse they have broken into, looking for Draak, the half-dragon somehow involved with the necromancer tabaxi. One by one they descend the narrow staircase. At the bottom after a turn, they are confronted by a slightly rusted steel door. Gavin easily picks the lock and turns to the group to make sure they are ready. Behind him is Messick and Fritz, followed by a massive eagle, Angel, who takes up the entire stairwell's width. Gavin opens the door.

Into The Sewers

The rusted hinges loudly groan as the door is opened and the group is hit with the putrid smell of sewer. They carefully walk along the small edge of the sewer tunnel, fetid liquid running beside them in a deep and slow flowing river, inches below their feet. They walk until they see dim fire light and talking from a small side tunnel.

Gavin carefully approaches. Just past the small corridor is a room with a small fire in the middle. Three small figures sit with their backs to Gavin, silhouetted by the fire. Beside them standing to the side is a man, scrawny and oily, barking orders at someone off to the other side of the fire. On the other side of the fire, is a small figure, writhing on the floor, grunting and moaning, either with effort or in pain.

Gavin, returns to the others and relays what he has seen. Gavin then returns to the small room, at the head of a small parade. Gavin and Fritz each playing their violin. Oddly they are playing different songs; both poorly. Behind them, Fritz's fire mephits dance to the odd rhythm of the two competing songs. Distracted, the figure on the floor stops writhing, and stands. It is a large rat creature. Gavin and Fritz, now further into the room, see that it is filled with at least a half dozen wererats. The man standing beside the fire begins to transform, rat features transforming onto his face.

The Shard Runners

Messick, spell at the ready, fires off at the figure that was on the ground writhing. It is then that they are stopped by three familiar figures. The three figures silhouetted by the fire turn to look at the adventurers, their features turning from wererat into that of the three street urchins that have been frequenting the Trollskull Manor. Nat, Jenks and Squiddly. They shout for the group to hold their fire and hold their hands out to stop further attacks.

The three urchins look embarrassed and horrified that the Messick, Fritz and Gavin has discovered them in their sewer home. They ask Messick if he is disappointed in them.

After more than a bit of explanation, it is found that this is where the three urchins live, along with their other friends and this adult, Ralf. Together they are a gang, a family; The Shard Runners. They scrounge the streets for money and food and bring it back here to Ralf in order to feed him and the other street kids. Yes. They are all wererats. Ralf has explained to them that they are unwelcome in the world above the sewers and this is the best they can do. As long as they look after him and contribute, the gang will survive.

The three urchins beckon the adventures to stay and share in their meal. The three are exceptionally proud as they have purchased street vendor kabobs with the money they have earned from the Trollskull Manor work.

Messick, asks Ralf, what he himself contributes. Ralf, looking affronted, tells Messick that he looks after the best interests of the children. He makes sure they have enough to eat and a place to sleep. The warmth of the sewers keeps them from freezing during the winters of Waterdeep. He alone has taken in these unwanted, unloved children.

Doubtful Good Intentions

Ralf, seeing the discussion begin to turn towards, what exactly he brings to the gang, begins to admonish the children, telling them that without him they would be long dead; they are ungrateful. He begins to back away up a rickety set of stairs leading up and out of the room. Deciding that Ralf is up to no good, the adventurers all simultaneously strike the escaping Ralf. But all three united strikes are enough to kill Ralf. The children shriek in horror.

Messick immediately tries to calm them. He casts gentle repose over the body of Ralf, telling the children that he can easily bring Ralf back to life.....if that is what they truly wish. As long as they do not remove the coins off his eyes, he can restore life back to Ralf. They should take time to discuss among themselves if Ralf was really looking after them or was he instead just taking advantage of them and that in fact, it was them that was keeping Ralf alive with all their work.

The children begin discussing and debating among themselves. In the commotion, some of the group notice that Nat, the lanky Illuskan girl and the oldest of the group, is not participating in the discussion. They look around to find her standing over the dead body of Ralf, lying peacefully on the floor, his eyes covered with a coin over each. Nat, makes no noise but tears stream down over her face, which is contorted in anger. She then slaps the coins off of Ralf's eyes, preventing him from being brought back to life. She runs out of the room, sobs escaping her usually silent mouth.

The rest of the children stand in shock as do the adventurers.

Nat's Pain

A few more gently put questions find that Ralf often favored Nat, in fact they would often go out alone on scavenging missions. They asked if Nat had always been a mute, of if she had ever talked. No one remembered. They had all been very young when brought into the Shard Runners. And it was Ralf who gave them the gift of being a wererat, in order that they could survive here in the sewers.

The adventurers discuss quietly among themselves then tell the children that they are all welcome to come stay at Trollskull Manor. They are a little worried about Nat but she is the most skilled of all of them. She'll be okay.

Kobold Ambush

The group tells the kids that they have to carry on. The kids warn them off the troublesome kobolds up ahead in the sewers. The kobolds often take potshots at them if they stray too far into the kobolds area.

Moving further down the sewer tunnels, they find the area the children warned them off. Finding a side corridor Fritz sneaks along scouting ahead. Ahead, out of a slit in one of the corridors walls, a small fiery sphere is launched towards him, and explodes. Fritz, singed, returns to the others and tells them what happened. Gavin says he can try, thinking himself fairly dexterous. Fritz tells him that it's probably possible to grab the sphere, which he thinks is a delayed fireball, and throw it before it explodes.

Gavin darts into the corridor, seeing the sphere floating in the middle of the corridor, flames roiling around it. He jumps and grabs it, thinking to throw it before it explodes. The full force of the sphere explodes around Gavin as he tries to grab it. It turns out it wasn't a delayed fireball but a flaming sphere which the kobold in the room behind the arrow slit is controlling.

Messick decides he has a cure for this. Messick gets as close as he can to the arrow slit so he can see the room behind it. Other kobolds are in the room that he can see, and he casts cloud kill. The poisonous cloud expands but the kobolds quickly emerge from the room, not bothered by the poisonous cloud. Two of the kobolds are the tribes alchemists and they have been able to grant the other kobolds resistance to the poison.

Dead Duergar and Doomed Duergar

Fighting among the ever expanding green cloud they are able to finally kill the kobolds. Realizing the expanding cloud may expand towards the Shard Runner kids, the group retreats to find the children and tell them to get to higher ground. Soon enough the cloud begins to dissipate. Returning to the kobold area and pressing on further they find the cloud has killed a few duergar.

Further into the room they find a locked door. There is some commotion on the other side of the door. Gavin easily picks the lock on the door. Peering into the other room he sees two duergar, in their enlarged forms, pushing up against a door at the far end of the room.

Gavin closes the door and tells the others of the duergar. They decide to press on through the room. They unlock and open the door, trying to move quickly and quietly through the room. The duergar see them and instead of attacking they begin gesturing to the group and to the door which they are holding back. They yell but the language they shout is lost upon the group. The duergar farthest away from the door is able to muster the common word for "door", which he shouts in various ways from demanding, scared to pleading.

Fritz approaches the door and sees some sort of clear ooze seeping around the edges of the door. One single drop hits the duergar's hand and melts a hole all the way through in an instant. The duergar howling in pain but not letting up on his hold on the door. Fritz backs carefully away.

The group talks briefly before deciding, this isn't their problem, especially since Gavin has found another door out of this room which leads to a long corridor. They leave but not before locking both doors exiting the room. Just to be safe.

They pause and listen for a moment. On the other side of the door, back in the room, they can hear duerger arguing loudly in their harsh and incomprehensible tongue. Then there is the sound of breaking wood and shouts of pain and panic. The sounds do not last long and soon there is a deathly silence. Using his thief's mirror, Gavin peeks under the door. Turning the mirror multiple ways he doesn't see anything other than half dissolved duergar laying upon the floor. But when he turns the mirror to the ceiling, he says a massive ooze clinging to the ceiling. Pseudopods of ooze dangle from the ceiling.

Lieutenant Draak

Deciding not to reenter the room with the deadly ooze, they press on through the corridor.

Gavin scouts ahead and carefully crawling up a small set of stairs he sees Draak, the half-dragon they have been pursuing, pummeling and torturing a barely recognizable Meloon, arms chained above him to the ceiling. Meloon was the drunkard who had first approached them in the Yawning Portal Tavern, with the proposal of the heist during Liar's Night at Waterdeep Palace.

Further into the long room, standing in the shadows of the room is an illithid and a small creature at it's feet. Standing beside him is a woman with a vacant stare.

Gavin returns to the others and they discuss. They are potentially outmatched if they attack, but retreat through the ooze infested room is also a dicey option. They decide to attack. Hopefully, surprise will give them the advantage they so desperately need.

They charge in. Draak is taken by surprise. Messick and Fritz attacking the half-dragon, while Gavin charges in and attacks the mind-flayer. The illithid though finds his way into the mind of Gavin and Gavin stops attacking and calmly walks towards the illithid. The illithid holds the mousefolk, and begins to crack Gavin's skull to allow his pet, the intellect devourer, to take over Gavin.

Fritz summons his pack of wolves which attack and delay the illithid's plans for poor Gavin. Messick then uses his Talisman of Pure Good, gifted to him by the River King, and a crevice opens up beneath and devours the illithid. With the mind-flayer gone they focus on Draak, and soon, outnumbered the half-dragon begins to falter. Cutting a hole through the wall that is made of wolves, Draak rushes through the wolves and escapes out a side door.

Before the group can pursue, a creature descends from the ceiling. Looking like a deformed beholder, it's skin red and rubbery. It's eye stalks thin and its main eye cloudy. It speaks with telepathically to the group and tells them that it is impressed with them for besting it's lieutenant, Draak. They are welcome to have an audience with it whenever they desire working for it.

But even after it praises the group for it's prowess, it attacks Fritz and Fritz falls to the floor. Meessick now stands alone and must try to revive the others. He is able to reach Fritz but Gavin is out of reach. After killing the mind-witness, Gavin is gentle reposed.

But for now, their prey, Draak, has escaped.

Trollskull Champions Guild

The loss of Azula is remembered by group but there can be no time for mourning as the flyers distributed around the city by the thee urchins which frequent the manor, Nat, Jenks, and Squiddly. The kids have obviously done their job because the manor is soon visited by many a prospective adventurer.

Not only adventurers come their manor, but some have shown up after hearing the fact they are hiring other staff. Bernard and his kobold friend, Rux, have come on as the manor's chef and sous chef. Gavin Tenderpaw, a grey mousefolk has signed on as adventurer. All new prospects are given a contract which they must agree to and sign. As well as Fritz, a human warlock, with his eagle.

The Trollskull Champions Guild is on its way.

Builing A Guild

As many adventurer comes and go, most leaving not being able to qualify, a brawny dwarf, well equipped with weapons and armor, sits in the corner and watches the activity through most of the morning. Finally, when a lull occurs, the dwarf stands and approaches the group. He introduces himself as Takgal, a member of the Dungeon Sweepers Guild. What he has seen here today worries him. It would seem that this new Trollskull Champions Guild might be incurring on the already established Dungeon Sweepers Guild.

Many arguments are passed back and forth until it is tentatively agreed upon the the Trollskull Champions Guild will not accept contracts for work that occurs below ground, the territory of the Dungeon Sweepers Guild. With that, Takgal, leaves but seems wary of this new guild.

Later that day, a member of the City Watch enters the manor. The group is a little worried about what permit they will be told they need now but the man takes of his tall helmet and introduces himself. He is Hauk, a captain in the City Watch responsible for the City Of The Dead. He is newly promoted and doesn't wish to have his superiors hear of the deaths that have occurred in the cemetery grounds in the last two nights.

Something Kills In The Night

He wishes to hire the guild to investigate and take care of the problem.

He explains that for the past few nights some sort of creature stalks about the cemetery and leaves massive footprints but they are never able to find it during the day. He has halted any searches at night, since he has lost 3 men over the past two nights.

With that the group agrees to look into it, with in at least a few days. They have a lot going on.

In the meantime, Gunter is really wanting to have a gem he acquired some time ago appraised. Waterdeep is the perfect place to get this done. They travel to the South Ward and find a small but elegant establishment named Hlethvagi's Coins and Gems. Inside is a finely dressed halfling welcomes them. Gunter is excited to appraise his gem which he has been carrying around since visiting Triel. The halfling charges for the appraisal but it is worth it as the gem is of considerable value. Gunter decides to hold on to it a bit longer. The store wasn't willing to pay what he wanted.

A Coins Value

This reminds Messick of a coin he has been carrying around since his time before Triel. He brings it out and asks the halfling what he can tell him about it. The halfling looks surprised when shown the coin. He tries unsuccessfully to hide his excitement. He pulls out a jeweler's eyepiece and inspects the markings on the ancient coin.

He tells Messick, while the coin's monetary value is not much, it is a very ancient coin. It would seem that it hails from the legendary city of Daoine Gloine. It's existence has been debated whether or not it really existed. It is said to have resided past the Barrier Peaks.

There is a cartographer, Anaxi Zephries, who lives here in Waterdeep. His passion is the city of Daoine Gloine and the Barrier Peaks. In fact he had funded an expedition to the Barrier Peaks in search of the ancient city but to Anaxi's shame, no one ever returned.

As the group leaves the store, they see a large figure crossing the street and entering a storefront across the wide street. It is the same hulking half-dragon that they had seen through the portal which the evil mangy tabaxi escape back in the kobold warrens. His voice is also recognized as the one the captured kenku was mimicking.

They duck back into the coin and gem store.

An Old Adversary Is Seen

They ask the halfling if he knows of a large half-dragon who might have entered the store across the street.

The halfling nods. He knows of the half-dragon. Draak. He owns the Medusa's Glare. A statue store. He frowns and says that Draak has never struck him as the artistic type but one shouldn't speak ill of another business owner. Bad for business you know.

Returning to their manor they make preparations for going out after dark to the City Of The Dead. They arrive later at the gates of the graveyard and find the gates closed. The guards there are told to let members of the Trollskull Champions Guild into the grounds though. They open the gates and let them in.

A Tombstone Golem

Walking cautiously through the massive cemetery, they keep their eyes peeled and ears open. They start near where the captain said they found the body the previous night. Soon enough they hear rumbling and the grinding of stone on stone. Following the sound, they find themselves staring at a portion of the graveyard which is collecting up upon itself. Earth, stone and gravestones are gathering themselves together in a jumbled mess which begins to resemble a humanoid creature. When it is completed it stands a good 15-16 feet tall. Gunter and Gavin rush to meet it, but they're strikes to minimal to no damage whatsoever. It doubles over and begins to roll, crushing everyone in its wake.

The attack quickly turns into a fast retreat.

Rushing back to the gates to the city, the group reassembles and passes the guards on the way out. They tell them that yup they're still on the case. They're in the process of assessing the enemy.

The next evening, they make preparations to return to the City Of The Dead again. This time they share out their various magical weapons and prepare their strategy.

Returning back to the same spot in the cemetery, they soon find the creature once again. This time the fight is hardly a battle at all. Gavin, the mousefolk, climbs atop the creature while the others wail upon the creature. Finally, Messick is able to banish the golem and quiet returns to the cemetery.

Satisfied, they return to their manor. A well deserved rest in order.

The Medusa's Glare

The next day they decide to pay a visit to the Medusa's Glare. Perhaps there is something they can learn of there which will help put together some of the odd puzzle pieces linking the demon incursion, the tabaxi necromancer and this half-dragon.

Under cover of Fritz's eagle, they are able to break into the store. Inside is a large warehouse which sits quiet and mostly empty. Not much of a store.

They move through the empty floor of the warehouse until a hail of arrows pierce more than a few of the group.

Kenku. They are on the open second floor firing down upon the group. The group takes damage until they are able to get up to where the kenku are. Fritz is able to summon several fire mephits. Soon enough the kenku are dispatched and the group moves through the warehouse looking for clues.

Soon enough someone finds a hidden door.

Inside a staircase leading down.

City Of The Dead

The group retires back to their manor after the debacle that was the ball at the Palace Of Waterdeep. They cautiously return to their home, keeping a watch for the spirit of Lif. But it would seem that Lif has given them a bit of a reprieve, waiting for them to retrieve his remains from the crypt within the City Of The Dead.

The next day is cold and grey. The group reassembles downstairs in the main room. They decide on what to do with the stone that was stolen by the kenku, at the Palace. Azula has been holding on to the stone. As her and the stone bond their magical weave together, Azula feels her memories mixing with the memories of the stone.

The Stone Of Golorr

She remembers Neverember's vault being built by dozens of dwarves deep beneath the city. Beneath even the city of Skullport which resides deep under Waterdeep. He remembers a mage, Kwalish, wiping the memories of the dwarves as well as locking the vault with a series of three keys.

• the telekinesis eye stalk of a beholder
• a strange glowing tube of blue energy
• a beautiful and intricate key of adamatine

Azula now knows where the vault is and perhaps how to get there but the memories are vague and sometimes hard to discern what they mean. As well, she feels the stone pull her own memories from her. But she is able to concentrate and be able to refocus and hold on to her own memories.

She shares most of this with the rest of the group.

Azula's Failed Army

There is suddenly a rush of air and the distinct sound of magical weave gathering and a portal opens and a drow steps through. Azula tells everyone to hold as it is her brother. Her brother has come to tell her that Azula's plan to move part of the drow army to Daggerford, in order to build trade and defend the small city from the invading demon hoards, has failed. The entire army has been wiped out by two dragons and a massive demon attack. The two drow talk and Azula tells him that they will deal with this later.

The group decides it is best to go into the City Of The Dead, now during the daylight hours, to see if they can retrieve the remains of Lif together.

Travelling down the streets until they arrive at the gate that leads to the City of The Dead, they are stopped by the guards. They are greeted with the usual, "Sorry for your loss." and the group is asked where they are headed to. The guards tell them they have to be careful of who is in the City Of The Dead lately. There have been more and more disturbances, grave robbings and stolen objects. Grave robbers are nothing new but they have stopped a few wanna-be necromancers, trying to collect components for their evil ways. 

Finally, entering the quiet grounds, feet crunching on the gravel paths, they find themselves standing in front of the elven crypt, where the remains of Lif reside. They enter the crypt, going down the stairs into the stone rooms below.

The Elven Crypt

After retrieving Lif's remains, within a stone box, Messick shows the others the hidden symbols carved into the far wall, using his lantern of revealing. They see a series of numbers carved in a circle around the words, "We two together shall make a third."

After a bit of discussion, Eda and Gunter hit upon the solution and the stone wall parts with a grinding sound, revealing a large open room beyond. The room is ancient and looks to have been unoccupied for centuries. The floor is dusty and it's tiles broken.

Zombies, Why Did It Have To Be Zombies

On the far side Gunter can see, sitting on a pedestal, something which glows magically. Gunter strides across the room. Unfortunately, the rooms floor crumbles beneath Gunter's weight and collapses in a thunderous crash and a storm of dust. The others, still back at the rooms threshold, look down into a pit as the dust settles. When the air clears they can see Gunter lying in a pit, some 30 feet below, surrounded by several bulky zombies. They feel that they can easily dispatch these enemies but it would seem that these zombies left here were intended to guard the area and are not so easily taken care of.

But eventually they overcome the zombies and the group assembles into the center of the pit. Some begin to look for other hidden traps or doors while Gunter still focuses upon the pedestal up above which he now sees has stairs leading up to it.

A Ghostly Adventurer

As he climbs the stairs, a ghostly image of a young girl appears beside him. She wears ancient leather armor. On her belt she carries a sword, coiled rope and various other dungeon delving gear. She holds up a sputtering ghostly torch. She turns to Gunter and says with a wink, "Come on! Only the brave get rich". She climbs the stairs, approaches the pedestal and grabs the necklace with the large amulet sitting atop it. She smiles back at Gunter, then explodes in a magical energy surge.

Gunter, wide eyed, now thinks twice about grabbing for the necklace. He continues up the stairs, more cautiously now. But again, the ghostly image of the same young adventurer appears below him on the stairs. She climbs the stairs towards the pedestal. "Come on. Only the brave get rich." Again she explodes.

Gunter waits, and sure enough she reappears but this time he intervenes. He tells her to stop, as she probably doesn't want to explode. He talks to her and find the she and her sister have come here looking for treasure. But she has lost her sister in here somewhere. She heads off but soon disappears beyond a wall.

Messick says that he'll grab the amulet. Messick doesn't explode. He dons the necklace.

A Threat Trapped Within

Someone shouts that they have discovered a poorly concealed door in a far wall. The door looks like it was supposed to be hidden at one time but has been jammed shut oddly making opening it difficult. But eventually, the door yields and they move inside. Inside is a large corridor and room at the end of the corridor. The walls, floor and ceiling are all polished smooth. No dust or debris litter the floor.

As they move through the wide and high ceilinged corridor, Messick feels a drop of something splash on his shoulder. He looks up and sees something shimmering on the ceiling. That's when the gelatinous cube drops down off the ceiling and envelopes Messick.

But as Messick is completely within the gelatinous cube the gel around the amulet begins to boil and bubble. Messick holds his breath until the entire gelatinous cube begins to bubble and sizzle.

Soon the gelatinous cube shivers, shudders then explodes in a mess of gel everywhere.

They continue on through the crypt.

MetaGame Spoiler

DM's Note: This Room Should Have Been Discovered Before Grabbing The Amulet!!!! Dammit

The River King

banishment spell and the creature pops out of existence on this plane.

As they move past the pedestal, there comes a grinding stone sound. They see most of the stones making up part of the crypt ahead are moving, rearranging and coming together to form a creature which forbids their passage. The massive stone creature pummels the group but Messick is able to perform a

Dusting their hands they move on. The passageways become more humid as they walk on. Greenery begins to grow in the cracks between stones. Life is struggling to take hold here. They continue until they find themselves on a stone platform about 30 feet above a gently rolling pool of blue glowing water. The water begins to splash and build up on itself until it forms a column nearly 30 feet tall. Then the water falls revealing a large elven creature. Long blue hair flows down until it joins the flowing water below. Upon its head he wears a crown. He asks what the group intends with the remains of one of his people. The explain that Lif wants his remains back at the Trollskull Manor which he owned when he was alive.

The River King accepts their answer and allows them to leave with the remains but he asks that they leave the amulet where they found it, as it helps protect the crypt. Messick, disappointed, agrees to this. As the group passes the pedestal on their way out, Messick replaces the amulet.

Azula's Death

At some point, Azula remembers that she left her brother back at the Trollskull Manor....with the ghost. She rushes back to the manor only to find her brother possessed. The ghost fights back and soon Azula and her brother are dead.

Trollskull Manor & Liars Night

After having to kill their one time travelling companion, Lady Mara. The group returns to the city of Waterdeep.

Visiting Trollskull Manor, In The Daylight

They decide to visit their newly acquired property, Trollskull Manor, in the light of day. The building is covered in a light dusting of snow and the doors and windows boarded up. But the bones of the building look healthy enough. The roof is intact and there are no signs of intruders or squatters. Perhaps in this bustling city which teems with the poor and homeless, this might be an odd sign.

The group first peers through gaps in the boards over the windows. Inside is dark and dusty. Empty save for the tables and chairs in the main room of a long forgotten eating area. They pries off the boards covering the door and enter. The manor is cold and dry. A long bar with a mirror behind it stands at the far end of a spacious room.

Moving through the manor they finally progress to the upper floors they find rooms with old furniture and slowly deteriorating mattresses. Each claiming their rooms they return to the main floor to discuss what to do with this new acquisition.

A Cuious Visitor

Returning to the main floor they notice a thin man with greasy hair peering in through the windows. Confronting him they pull him inside. He introduces himself as Emmek Frewn, a business owner just down the street. He had seen activity in the manor and came to investigate. It has been a long time since anyone has been in this building.

He asks many questions as to their intentions of the building. Will they run it as a business? What kind of business? Will they go through the guild channles? The guilds will bleed you dry. If you wish to save more than a bit of money, he suggests bypassing the guilds all together. How will they know?

The group is not very interested in what Emmek has to say and don't entirely trust him. They send him away. But they notice that he had lingered a little on the porch, perhaps in the hopes of overhearing their plans or simply just to know more about his new neighbors.

The Previous Owner Refuses To Leave

While retiring for the night each of the group finds their respective rooms. Moving past Eda's room, Gunter finds her standing in a corner facing the wall. She is not moving but muttering to herself in an odd guttural voice. "Who is in my manor? They can't stay here. Must make them leave. This is my place."

Gunter, quietly closes Eda's door and goes to find the others. He explains what he saw and together the group goes to find Eda. They open the door and find Eda facing them, waiting for them. She wears and angry and malevolent look on her face which is not usual. She tells them to get out of her house. This is her business and no one shall take it from her. They fight until a visible energy leaves the body of Eda, leaving her standing empty an unmoving, and this energy moves about the manor attacking the group.

Finally the group is able to pause the battle long enough to ask the spirit what it wants and why it is attacking. It explains that it is the owner and proprietor of the Trollskull Manor. It makes no difference if he has died. It is still his. The group promises to let it stay and even continue working here but they are the new owners now. The spirit, Lif, agrees to the arrangement, as long as they return his remains to the manor, where he can then remain for as long as he wishes. With that the spirit of Lif, vanishes through the floor.

The Three Urchins

The next day, the group awakens to small faces peering into the manor from the windows. Believing it is Emmek again they are pulled inside. But it turns out it is three urchins, Nat, Jenks and Squiddly. They were curious about the new comers to the manor and ask if there's anything they can do for money. The group decides to give them a job, gather firewood and they hand Nat, a lanky 10 year old Illuskan girl, a gold piece. Excited the trio set off.

Messick decides to investigate the previous owner, Lif while Princess Elora will make arrangements to have repairs and renovations done to the manor.

Messick discovers that the previous owner of Trollskull Manor was an elf, named Lif. His remains have been moved to the elf crypt within the City Of The Dead, a massive walled cemetery just outside and attached to the walls of Waterdeep.

City Of The Dead

Messick goes to the City Of The Dead and is directed to the proper crypt, after some paperwork. He enters the quiet, dry and dusty crypt. Rows upon rows of boxed remains are housed on deep shelves carved into the walls. He finds the one he wants. His lantern of revelaing which he has been using shows a glimmer on the wall at the end of the room he is in. Approaching it with the lantern he can see that it is a hidden carving in the wall. Deciding not to carry on to far without the others he grabs the stone box containing the remains of Lif and heads out. Unfortunately, at the edge of the stone floor of the crypt, just before the earthen ground outside the crypt, the box refuses to pass the crypt. It simply keeps reappearing inside the crypt no matter the strategy Messick uses. Returning the stone box to its place, Messick returns to the manor.

Back at Trollskull Manor, Princess Elora has found the complicated bureaucracy that is the guild system in Waterdeep. Each guild refuses to do work that another guild might frown upon. Each guild demanding more than a bit of gold for their work. As well, some of the guild workers inform Princess Elora the process she must go through in order to run a business within Waterdeep. More permits and registrations than anyone had previously given thought to.

Procuring Invitations To The Ball

Their plans for the manor will have to wait though, at least for the moment. They must prepare for the ball at the Palace Of Waterdeep. Liars night is tonight and Princess Elora, is determined to obtain an invitation, due to her royal lineage. They leave their manor and hail the nearest carriage.

Travelling through the snowy streets of Waterdeep they arrive at the palace and, entering, they find the palace a flurry of activity, preparing for tonight's festivities. A small human woman, looking a little harried, holding a clipboard, directs various workers decorating the palace and moving furniture.

Princess Elora, approaches the woman and introduces herself. Recognizing Princess Elora as a noble within the city, the woman is easily persuaded to give Princess Elora and her entourage invitations for tonight's Liars Night Ball. Thanking her, Princess Elora uses her druid powers to help decorate, as flowers and colorful vines weave themselves around banisters and chandeliers.

Azula, the drow, now approaches the woman and demands the same invitation as a noble. But the woman is more afraid and appalled at the drow and her aggressive ways and refuses to provide an invitation without the proper Waterdeep paperwork, certifying Azula as a noble.

Azula, storms off and spends the rest of the day standing in lines, filling out paperwork and after hours of frustrating dealings with Waterdeeps finest civil workers, finally obtains the paperwork designating her as a noble.

Azula returns to the Waterdeep Palace and demands her invitation, showing proudly her paperwork. The woman quietly and unenthusiastically procurs Azula her invitation.

Returning to the Manor, Azula proudly shows everyone her invitation. Everyone else simply shows their own....which they obtained hours ago.

But now to find attire better suited to a costume ball.

<Insert Shopping and Clothes Fitting Montage>

Liars Night

Later that evening, as the sun sets, the city streets become filled with children of all races, rushing about in costumes from door to door asking for treats, under threat of harmless tricks. Gourds are carved and set out in front of homes and stores on the street. Small candles are strung out on lines hanging across the streets.

The group heads off and hails a nice carriage as they file in headed for the Palace. Before they can head off they are held up by a gang of costumed children. One of them holds a crossbow aimed at the head of Azula. They demand treats. Azula, hands moving in a blur, grabs the child's arm and twists it until the toy crossbow clatters to the ground. The sound of bone cracking and the child's screams of pain and horror.

The drow lets go and looks puzzled at the others. What? They had a crossbow....sort of.

The other kids run off and find the closest City Watch guard and a trio of City Watch approach the group. After a bit of explaining and Princess Elora healing the child's broken arm, the City Watch let them off with a warning.

They get back into the carriage and head off towards the Palace. Travelling through the city they see children and youngsters running merrily through the streets. The night is pleasant if a little cool. Soon the sounds of laughs and screams of delight change slightly as the group hears sounds of screams of fright and commotion from a little further on. The carriage soon slows, then stops, as a mass of people are running from something further up the street.

Trick Or Threat

Some of the group get out of the carriage to investigate, while Messick remains in the comfort of the carriage and Princess Elora refuses to fight in her new, and considerably pricey dress, so she begins to change.

They find small creatures posing as costumed children rushing from house to house demanding candy. When horrified residents flee, scream or otherwise not give them candy, they begin to destroy the house and attack the resident. When the adventurers begin to intervene they are attacked by arrows coming from some creatures standing upon rooftops.

Princess Elora, finally changed, summons her giant owls and together with the others, including Messick lobbing spells from the comfort of the carriage, make short work of most of, what they now see are, the goblins in costumed masks. City Watch guards begin arriving and take over the battle, with many of the guards riding griffons which are able to easily track the escaping goblins.

The group decides that, seeing Princess Elora has already summoned her giants owls, why not ride them to the Palace. Mounting their feathered companions, they take to the sky. But it is not long before griffon mounted City Watch surround the flying group and force them to land.

It would seem that flight in the city is prohibited, except for authorized personnel. Princess Elora is able to persuade a mounted City Watch guard that it is Liar's Night and it is their first ball in the Palace. It would be so amazing to make an entrance flying in on giant owls. The guard understands and agrees.

Remounting their giant owls the group flies over the walls surrounding the Palace Of Waterdeep, landing on the manicured grounds surrounding the castle. The nobles wandering the grounds, wine in hands stop and watch in awe and admiration of the new arrivals.

The Palace Of Waterdeep Ball

Each of the adventurers find a place within the ball. Eda is elated to find that the nobles find her hairless cat, Harry, elegant and refined. The tastes of nobles is definitely different than that of commoners. Eda is also tasked along with Gunter with keeping Azula, the drow, out of trouble.

Messick has caught the eyes of 3 daughters of a noble. They are intrigued by Messick's rough ways, being bored by the other young noble men fawning around them, talking of their family fortunes. Messick tells them that they are going to drink and drink hard. Soon Messick and one of the young woman retire to a quiet room in one of the upper levels of the castle.

Unfortunately for Messick, they are interrupted by sounds coming from an adjoining room. The girl hides behind a naked Messick as several robed figures wearing plague masks rush out of the room. One of them holding a large rounded stone. They did not expect to see anyone in the room. Messick blocks their way out they were planning on. So instead the creatures dart outside the room via the main door, entering the ball itself.

Messick calls for the others, using his sending stone. The others join in and try to prevent the creatures from escaping. Princess Elora conjures a pack of wolves which attack, drawing screams from the nobles in the main ball room. Messick uses calm emotions to quiet the nobles while the battle continues.

Finally, when the City Watch enters the castle, the creatures are all killed except for one which they have confined with Messick's magical shackes. Removing the creatures plague mask they reveal a beaked and black feathered creature. A kenku. They try interrogating the kenku but all they get back is a mimicking of a deep and rough voice saying "If you are caught that is your own problem." and "Return the stone to me here."

The Stone Of Golorr

Pulling from the kenku's grip they pull a smooth stone two hands high which fits standing in Messick's large palm. It has what looks like three eyes on its surface. Is this what that drunkard Meloon wanted them to steal? Messick places the stone in his pack before the guards approach.

Messick should probably put some clothes on now.

The Battle Of Mara

The adventurer's have hired a carriage from Waterdeep to take them out on the road towards the town of Amphail. Once outside the walls of the city, the cold early winter air strikes them hard within the open carriage. So Princess Elora, grows a carriage cover made of twisted vines and green leaves. They ride in comfort for sometime until it becomes close to sundown.

Into The Wildlands

The carriage driver, shouts back to them whether or not he should be turning around. He is definitely not comfortable remaining outside the protection of the city walls, in the wilds over night. He stops the carriage and the group discusses their strategy. It is perhaps too far to the nearest town of Amphail, which they deduce that Lady Mara will probably target in her quest for a child sacrifice, to her demon benefactor. Perhaps she has already got there and chosen her victim. Rushing there might not be helpful. Better to cut their losses and lay in ambush, for Lady Mara on her return to Waterdeep, where they are sure she will want to watch her conquest over Messick and Azula.

The carriage driver has already turned his carriage around and is heading back, at speed, for the safety of the walled city. Only fools and protected caravans remain in the wilds for too long. The group decides to lay in ambush.  They find among the rolling hills of the surrounding landscape a nice spot and Messick orders his dog, Justice, to start digging. In no time, the dog has excavated a comfortable cave with a small mouth looking across a small valley in between the rolling hills.

On the other side of the small valley, they have Justice once again, excavate a small alcove, making it appear to be another cave. To complete the illusion, Azula stone shapes a statue of Messick, posed, as if in prayer and contemplation before a fire, which they set. They retire back to the other side of the valley and keep watch from their darkened cave.

A Decoy Messick

The night passes until eventually, the Messick and Azula are aware of several shapes crawling through the tall grass towards the decoy cave. It is too dark and the creatures too obscured by the grass to determine exactly what they are but they are definitely closing in from multiple angles towards the statue of Messick. From the safety of their cave, Azula summons several small gnaw demons to attack the creatures. The demons glow a bright blue, illuminating the grassy area, making them extremely noticeable.

The fight is quick, with spears thrown and the demons, dying with small crackling sounds and flash of blue light. During the fight a lone stalker approaches the decoy and throws a spear. It hits the statue with a metallic clang, and the spear drops to the ground. Now that the illusion is found out, the lead creature makes a noise and calls to the others and they quickly retreat away, stalking through the grass the way they had come. Done with the ruse, Azula dismisses her demons, telling them that they are free to do as they wish. The demons skitter off in an excited ecstasy. That is until the spell wears off and they are drawn back into the abyss. Azula, smirks at her cleverness.

The next morning, the group decides that whatever they do, Lady Mara will definitely be sending her envoys of demons to enact her revenge. After some debate, they decide they much rather face Lady Mara and her patron demon, on their own terms.

Demanding A Duel

They find a large hill with very little surrounding it, affording it a good long line of sight. They stand upon it's peak and, through the sending stones, call out to Lady Mara. They tell her that they will no longer run. They will no longer hide. They will stand here until they are met by her and her demons. Here they will take their stand and whatever happens they will accept their fate.

They stand there, each taking a portion of the horizon to scan. They wait until it seems perhaps that Lady Mara will not take their challenge.

That is until, there begins the lightest of rumblings below the hill upon which they stand. Gunter is the first to feel it. The rumbling grows into a shaking. Gunter decides perhaps being on top of the hill is a bad idea. He runs down the hill just as two massive creatures come up out of the ground at the top of the hill. The elemental demons are part earth and stone and part elemental energy. They immediately grab for the group, capturing Azula.

Azula is smashed repeatedly into the ground, as the drow falls unconscious.

Gunter, who had run off of the hill, smiles slightly at his own wisdom of not staying on a rumbling hilltop. But his moment is short lived as several small demons rush along the ground towards him. They spark with electricity as they begin to surround him. Gunter is able to hit them and eventually kill them, but with each hit they spark electricity back to him and soon he is felled by the demons.

Princess Elora is able to summon faeries and the faeries are then able to polymorph the group into a herd of tyrannosaur rexes. Now, as massive creatures they begin holding their own in the battle while Princess Elora also plants a totem and begins her healing power for the group and at the same time summons her giant wolves to aid in battle.

Death Comes For The Group....Several Times

Each of the group has a moment where they are close to death, some several times.

Finally, when the group seems to be running low on their collective health, the tide of battle seems to turn as one of the massive earth demons is felled. Seeing this though, Messick sees in the distance, Lady Mara demanding something of her demon patron. She points to the group in anger. The demon takes flight and with one swoop into the battle decimates the giant wolves.

It would seem the battle is not won yet.

Seeing Lady Mara in the distance, the group decides that their dying acts should be the death of Lady Mara. Each begin to make their way to the, now undefended, Lady Mara. But none of them get their before Princess Elora's massive parliament of giant owls.

The owls approach a clearly panicked Lady Mara. She holds an amulet around her neck towards the fast approaching owls. The ground opens up underneath them and tendrils of dark energy flow up and grab 6 of the owls out of the air and they are pulled down into the dark earth below. The ground closes back up, sealing the dead owls inside...but they are summoned creatures, so don't feel too bad for them.

The Death Of Lady Mara

The remaining giant owls descend upon the screaming Lady Mara. The group pauses as they can only see a flurry of feathers, claws and blood. The screaming abruptly stops and the owls separate and fly back into the sky, leaving only scraps of material which used to be Lady Mara.

With that they turn their attention to the late Lady Mara's pact demon. Gunter throws a hex at the demon but the demon easily avoids the spell.

They are in trouble.

But the demon simply stops, smiles at the group and slow claps. "Thank you. This has been very entertaining. This has worked out much better than I could have hoped for." The demon vanishes.

With all the demons vanquished and Lady Mara killed, the Messick calls for the giant owl with Lady Mara's head. The badly mauled head is given to Messick and he casts speak with the dead. He chastises Lady Mara.

Messick stuffs her head in a sack. He will have more to say to her yet.

Tracking Down Lady Mara

The group stands among the toppled chairs and tables of the Yawning Portal Tavern. They have finished off the last of the stirges and pushed the troll back down the hole that plummets down into the depths of Undermountain. They are quick to grab the promised reward of 25 dragons each for protecting the Yawning Portal from further damage from the escaping troll.

A Good Deed Rewarded

The young man who was hurriedly climbing the rope up out of the deep hole, pursued by the troll, thanks the group profusely. He is Floom. He had only meant to "ride the rope" to the bottom and back up again. The ride is famous and he didn't think there was much danger to it. How wrong he was.

A short stout gentleman in fine clothes approaches them. His voice is loud and bombastic and he thanks the group for saving his companion, Floon. He is Volothamp Geddarm. The one and only. He offers the group a drink and they all settle in at a large table. He is in debt to the group and his "pappy always said" never be in debt to someone.

Volo offers them a deed to a property in Waterdeep. It is a old tavern, the Trollskull Manor. It has not been lived in for some time but it has good bones. It just needs a bit of care and attention and it will provide not only a home but a possible business. No more moving from city to city, inn to inn. They can set down roots and have a place to call home.

The group is wary. It is rare to be given such a gift, without strings or complications attached. But Volo seems honestly to feel indebted to the group for saving Floom. He offers a carriage ride to estate. They drive through the cool early winter air passing from the more affluent parts of the city to the more middle-class area. The houses are smaller and less impressive. The people no longer dressed in finery but in more practical clothes.

Trollskull Manor

They finally arrive at a corner house which stands out among the shorter smaller houses. It stands three stories tall and is a prominent feature of the street. The windows are broken and the doors boarded up but the roof seems intact and the foundation sturdy and even. Messick asks about the history of the building. Who was the previous owner? Why is it for sale? Why is it still unoccupied?

Volo tells them that the previous owner, Lif, a half-elf, loved the tavern. He prided himself own running the most welcoming tavern in the ward. It was a safe and warm place. People felt a part of the family. He had not been the best business man and his profits dwindled until could barely make ends meet. Many times people had offered to buy the tavern from him and many times he had rebuked the offer. This was his place and he would run it until the day he died.

Well, he got his wish. One morning, the found him dead, his table rag still clutched in his hand. He didn't have family so his place went up for auction by the city. Volo was the successful bidder.

The group looks at it in the fading light of the setting sun and decide, perhaps returning to Trollskull Manor during the day.

Back at the Yawning Portal, as the group files in, a barrel-chested gentleman wearing a breastplate approaches them. Clearly he has been partaking in the revelry of Durnan's birthday as his speech is slurred and his manner is exaggerated. But never the less, the group hears him out. He has seen them in action and he believes they are just group he has been waiting for.

A Criminal Offer

The city's criminal factions, as well as some reputable ones, have been tearing up Waterdeep searching for some sort of treasure buried underneath Waterdeep. There has been violence and blood shed but no one has found anything. Nothing worth a guild war over anyway. But Meloon Wardragon has a plan. Search smarter. He believes that the treasure everyone is seeking is Neverember's treasure. Rumored to be buried under Waterdeep and only able to be found with a special map. He know where the map is. He just needs fresh faces to Waterdeep to be able to get it.

It resides in the Palace Of Waterdeep and the perfect night to get it comes in three nights. On Liar's Night, the palace will be holding an invitation only ball. If the group is up to the task he is willing to let them in on the caper.

But as the group discusses the matter, a couple of City Guard approach the group. Admonishing the newcomers to the city for hanging out with such a person of ill-repute is quite unwise. He advises them to steer clear of such filth. The group decides to let this lie for a while, since Liar's Night does not occur for another 3 nights.

A Visitor To The Room

Eventually, they each find rooms for the night, Messick being offered a free room by the now fairly inebriated waitress, Bonnie. Bonnie soon finds her way to Messick's room and is greeted by the sight of the half-orc in the rooms brass bath basin. She intends to join him but is soon pulled out by Mattrim, the local bard and finally Durnin, the proprietor himself. Messick decides a bit of privacy might be safer and pushes a dresser in front of the room's door.

Finally alone, Messick relaxes in his hot bath. The steam filling the room. His relaxation is cut short when something hidden hits him hard. Messick bolts from the tub grabbing for his sword as he makes his way to the door. Putting his back against the wall, he looks through the steam filled room using his magical lantern of revealing. He finds his attacker.

The creature is made up tendrils of condensed air, to make a crude humanoid form. It slashes and crushes with the tendrils of solidified air. It utters an odd language as it attacks. Using his sending stone, Messick calls to the others for help. Eda and Princess Elora bolt from their shared room to Messick's room on the other side of the tavern. Shirley and Azula are out exploring the docks looking for Azula's drow contact, Jarlaxle Baenre.

Jarlaxle's Ship

Shirley and Azula move through the dark and dreary dock ward. Most of it's street lights are broken leaving only pockets of light revealing broken down warehouses and shops. One shop that is noticeable is a shop with, what looks to be a stuffed beholder in its window, lit by purple light. They enter and find a gnome with silver hair. He welcomes them to Xoblob's Curiosity Shop. He welcomes them to find any curiosity and he will tell them it's story.

Eventually, they move on to the docks where they find a rowboat waiting for them. They are taken to a large sailing vessel. Aboard they meet a flamboyant drow, dressed in dark robes and large hat with a large feather sticking out of the side of the hat. Azula tells him he is to return to the drow house and help in transporting the army and supplies to Daggerford. He is hesitant. It has been many years of which he is not under the thumb of the drow matriarchy. He enjoys his life of travel and entertainment. Azula, though reminds him of his place and the consequences. Jarlaxle reluctantly agrees to disembark as soon as possible.

An Envoy Of Lady Mara

Meanwhile, back at the Yawning Portal, Messick is trying to fend of the attacks of the creature while Eda and Princess Elora are trying to get through the blockaded door. Messick is pummeled again and again until only his orcish half saves him from unconsciousness. Princess Elora is able to rip a hole in the door large enough to allow her to fly through and she quickly summons a pack of wolves to begin shredding the air-like creature. Eda meanwhile blasts at the door until it shatters and shortly the creature is vanquished but not before Princess Elora hears its unearthly cries and understands it as "You shall pay for your betrayal".

They know the creature is from Lady Mara.

The next morning they head out to the Trade Ward in search of magic items and weapons. They take in the sights and smells of the city. It is a bustling and vast sprawling city. In several wards they can see towering over the buildings, off in the distance, colossal statues of humanoids wielding weapons. Frozen in various fighting poses, they stand in among the buildings of Waterdeep. Finding many of the stores affordable they finally decide to revisit the Mage's order back in the Castle Ward. There they may be able to use Eda's new membership into the guild to their advantage.

They find the short elderly man, again at his desk. They ask if they can purchase the scrying spell. They are asked to fill out various forms and finally ushered into a small room. Soon a young wizard enters the room. He asks, looking very bored, if they have the proper forms. The group produces the forms. The wizard glances through the paperwork making sure of its completeness. Finally he produces a crystal globe and begins the spell ritual.

They begin their scrying on Lady Mara.

Looking For Lady Mara

The image shows a young woman in the woods tending to a fire in a small camp site. She is talking to someone the crystal ball does not show. The group tries to get a sense of where Lady Mara is. It is difficult but they do narrow down that is must be a bit east of Waterdeep. They begin addressing Lady Mara through her sending stone. At first she is reluctant to respond, lest she let out too much information but soon she is goaded into talking.

They use the fact that she doesn't realize they can see her and try to trick her into thinking that Messick's patron, Lady Sirius, is more powerful and omniscient. Finally, Lady Mara begins to get frustrated with her demon patron. She starts demanding that it do something to the group. They must be punished. The demon tells her that she will need to perform another sacrifice. An infant might suffice. Lady Mara asks angrily where she might find in infant in the middle of the woods. The demon tells her a town is but a days travel south.

That narrows down the search for the group.

They plan to have Princess Elora summon her giant owls and they can find Lady Mara and put a stop to this dangerous girl.

Into Waterdeep

It is the next morning after the battle with the alkilith infestation in Delfen's Tower. The group awakens in the relative comfort of the Ducal Castle. The servants bustling about making preparations for the morning meal, making sure to set aside ample water. The shortage of water in Daggerford due to the damaged cisterns has not impacted yet upon the Ducal family.

The Drow Proposal

As the adventurers gather in the main hall in the castle, Azula presents the Duke with her proposal. The drow would provide a battalion to provide protection to the city, as well as food and water to sustain the city in the coming winter. In return, the city would provide trade to and from the Underdark, and thus profiting the drow house. The Duke's councilors argue and debate but the Duke realizes the position his city is in; Agree to the agreement and the city survives;  Decline and it might not. He shakes hands with Azula and promises that if the drow betray and injure anyone in the city he will make them pay.

(Trade Agreement)

Meanwhile, the others move about the city, checking in on various people. Junia, at the Happy Cow Tavern, is dealing with refugees that have moved in to her establishment. Many have made makeshift partitions from their meager belongings, providing a little sense of personal space. Junia is busy making more stew from the potatoes that Princess Elora has grown for them. Princess Elora agrees to find a small plot of land nearby and plant some carrots for the hafling.

An Uneasy Feeling At The Tower

Finally, the group finds themselves reassembled back in the Delfen's tower. Messick wakes the young man responsible for the tours of the tower; it's owner, the wizard Delfen still missing. The group moves up the stairs into the library where they see a bleary eyed Eda, still desperately trying to transcribe as many spells as she can before the group moves on. Eda is hesitant to leave such a treasure trove of arcanic knowledge but she agrees with the group that they must move on.

Princess Elora feels a shudder of revulsion, similar to the one the day before, when they had encountered the vine-like demon creature. It's twisting of nature abhorrent to her. It is faint and passes but she tells the group that something is still here. She uses Messick's lantern of revealing, moving it's light steadily around the room, but can find no invisible source of her disturbance. It is then that Princess Elora turns the lantern and finds an old woman staring up at her. Princess Elora gives the lantern back to Messick, the old woman clearly not the source of the disturbance, but she is odd in her own right.

A New Addition To The Group

The old woman introduces herself as Shirley Bane. She has watched the group now for the past few days and is intrigued. She proposes that she can help the group with their quest, whatever that might be. She might be old but she still can prove worthwhile. The group looks at her unsure but Messick is quickly won over when the old woman provides a handful of lint covered candies from her pockets and gives them to the half-orc.

They decide that they should move on to Waterdeep. It is the most likely place to start looking for Delfen and where the demons seem to be searching for the orbs of dragonkind, to what end is not quite clear to them yet. But first they must try and speak to Lady Mara. Their last words were not pleasant ones, and this has to be remedied.

The return to the Ducal Castle, now a familiar sight to the young guards. As they enter the castle proper, they ask one of the senior guards the whereabouts of Lady Mara. The guard reassures them that Lady Mara is safe and secure within her quarters. He will not allow them access. Messick, though, convinces him that he believes that she is in grave danger. There are demons about and he is worried that Lady Mara will do something rash.

Lady Mara In Peril

Convinced of the threat, the guard moves quickly up the stairs, the group following close behind, and down the open hallway until they find themselves in front of an ornate set of double doors. The guard knocks loudly and calls through the door that if Lady Mara does not answer the door by the time he counts to ten, he will let himself in. He begins counting loudly, but by the time he is halfway through, his fears get the better of him and he flings the doors open.

Inside the room, are the furnishings of a young noble woman. A large four poster bed sits in the middle of the room, unslept in, it's curtains still tied back to the posts. Fine dressers and tables line the room and a dressing/makeup table catches the eye of the old woman, Shirley. The guard and the others find on the far side the bed, an area of the floor cleared and a large circle of poured salt lying upon the cleared floor. Shirley, uses this distraction to pilfer much of the valuables off of the dressing table quickly, hoping no one witnesses the theft.

The guard exclaims that Lady Mara was clearly taken by a demon and calls for the guards to ring the alarm bells and begin searching for Lady Mara and her attackers. Messick is not so easily convinced. When the Duke arrives, running in a near panic hearing his daughter is missing, Messick turns on the Duke. He chastises the Duke for not keeping a close eye on his daughter, like he warned him. This is his fault. She was clearly disturbed and looking for an easy path to power.

Lady Mara and a Dark Pact

Princess Elora searches the room and finds small bits of what look to be vines near the window. As she scours the rest of the room she comes across a large potted plant. She then begins her ritual to speak to the plant. Asking the plants aura to tell her of what happened in this room recently she gets flashes of images and emotions.

She sees Lady Mara, weeping inconsolably, not allowing anyone in her room, refusing meals and company. Finally, one night as she holds her puppy that Messick had gifted her, she calls out to someone...or something. She begins praying and begging. She then takes the dagger that she had in her hand and draws it slowly, deliberately and deeply across they puppy's neck, killing it almost instantly.

It is not long after that dark green vines begin creeping their way in through the window. It continues faster and faster as the vines bunch up and pile upon each other rising higher and higher until if forms a rough humanoid shape. It speaks with Lady Mara and Lady Mara nods her assent. The creature touches her forehead and begins to creep back out through the window, pulling with it the body of the dead pup. When the room is empty and dark, Lady Mara pulls her hand across her head, passing over her face. As she does so her visage and clothes change into that of one of the servants and she turns and calmly leaves the room and presumably the castle.

When Princess Elora finishes telling the group of what she had seen through the plant, Messick becomes enraged and turns on Gunter. He yells at Gunter that he is responsible for putting those thoughts of demon pacts into her head. If not for him, she would still be here and they might have still been able to show her the way into the adventuring life, she so desired.

Then, with his rage spent, Messick turns his judgment onto himself, taking part of the blame for the fall of poor Lady Mara. He tried to do the right thing. If only...

They decide to leave Daggerford.

Still Infested Tower

Returning to Delfen's castle, they go straight to the 3rd floor, where the teleportation circles were. Once there, Princess Elora feels the shiver of revulsion once again. But the vines are dead; desiccated and brown. But still the feeling persists. Shirley hobbles, staff in hand tapping away on the floor stones, over to the workbench where the mass of dead vines is most accumulated. Moving some of the vines, she sees new growth underneath. She tells the others who move closer to see. Moving the vines has exposed the new growth and the odd pattern it has made on the wall and ceiling where it apparently is coming in from. The growth seems to be entering the tower through small gaps in the stones, which form the shape of a door.

Messick and Azula push hard on each side of the door trying to open it, but it does not budge. Their strength equally matched but not able to move the stone door. The old woman then walks up to it and pushes it gently on one side, and the stone rotates exposing a stairwell on the far side.

A Pod Demon

They move slowly and quietly up the spiraling stone staircase until they come to the top. At the top the stairwell reveals the top of the wizard's tower. A cold grey sky above with drifting occasional small soft snow. Standing in the middle of the tower's roof is a large green creature. Vines grow and emanate from the creatures body and snake across the tower's roof searching for ways into the tower itself. Luckily for the group the creature seems to be standing with it's back to them, staring up into the empty sky.

Each of the group prepares, and with a nod, begin to unleash their combined powers. Within seconds, the creature is being ripped apart by giants owls, clouds of daggers, toll the dead and being hexed until it cannot even move. But the demon  is not to be defeated so easily.

Pieces of the demon drop off of its body. The pieces shudder and vibrate and then explode in a green acidic spray covering Azula and Shirley. Their bodies drop and their skin hisses and melts with the massive amount of acidic ooze covering them. Princess Elora is ready though and begins her healing totems and soon everyone is back up on their feet attacking the vile demon.

Under the powerful adventurer's combined might the demon quickly is defeated. But the last bit of green bile, the creature drops, forms a mouth and, in its last dying gasps, it laughs at the group and tells them, "she is still ours. You have not saved her." The vines connected to it begin to wither and die; the death spreading rapidly down the vines.

Moving back down the stairs the adventurers gather around the teleportation circle, which Gunter has determined goes to Waterdeep. They stand and look at each other, but growing impatient, Shirley steps in first.

One by one, they all step through.

Into Waterdeep

They all find themselves in a large circular stone room. Large discs of stone stand on edge arranged around the walls of the room. Each has different arcanic markings, teleporations circles to other locations. The one they stepped through still glows with the magic that transported them here.

Leaving that room they find themselves at a large semicircular desk with an elderly gentleman seated on the other side. He greets them formally and welcomes them to Waterdeep. He then tells them that they owe dragons for both the use of the teleportation circle, the entrance tax and the monthly Waterdeep tax. He asks that each of them write their names upon the large leather bound ledger that lays between them on the desk. If they are illiterate then they can thumb press a bit of blood instead. One by one they do, Princess Elora's name and title, Princess Elora Moonlily, bloom of the twilight
flower, heir of the the fairy kingdom, daughter of king Saffron the Just, takes up several lines of the ledge.

When it comes time for Shirley to sign the ledger, she bends down, talking to some creature only she sees, and quickly rises back up, presses her bloody thumb to the ledger, leaving a massive thumb print. Much bigger than her thumb would seem reasonable should leave.

Then Eda is told that she is required to register with the Mage's Guild, in case the city needs to conscript her into action, in times of need. There is no choice in the matter, but she may choose if she wishes to join the Mage's Guild, at a cost, but it would then provide her with all of the resources the guild can offer.

Delfen Was Here

The group asks if a young woman, by the name of Mara, has come through the teleportation circles lately. The man, for a fee, will let them look through the ledger. The find no entry of the name Mara but do notice that about two tenday ago, the entry of Delfen of Daggerford, is entered in the ledger.

Yes, Delfen, a regular, has come into Waterdeep but has not made his way back to the Mage's Guild that he is aware of.

Messick's mind though is excited at the prospect of a massive city. He whispers to the clerk asking where he might find female "entertainment". He is directed to the Dock Ward. They

Finally, bidding them a "Happy Durnan's Birthday" he sends them out of the Mage's Guild building and into the bustling streets of Waterdeep.

Asking about they find a group of youngsters that are willing to show them the way to The Yawning Portal, where they might get a free drink on "Durnan's Birthday". The kids scamper ahead, always within sight showing them the way. Shirley finds that some of the jewelry she had stolen has in turn been stolen by some of these street urchins. Kids will be kids.

The Yawning Portal

Finally arriving at the Yawning Portal, the crowd ever thickening as they draw closer, they enter the tavern. Inside is a massive three building, with all floors open and overlooking the middle of the tavern, where resides a massive hole. The hole is lined with a short wall of stones and a winch system has been erected over top of the hole allowing a people to be lowered down into the Yawning Portal. Currently a rope descends into darkness as the group peeks down the deep dark hole. Even with some of their superior dark vision, they cannot see the bottom.

The group moves about seeing the sights of the odd tavern. A collection of odd paraphernalia line the walls; A lute with it's strings missing;  a large clawed hand that seems to still move; a glue glowing crystal shard; a bloodstained map; a sword, pitted and cracked.

Azula moves up to the top floor and in a shadowy corner finds three drow, dressed in sailors garb. She asks them, using drow hand signals, if they know the whereabouts of a certain drow, Jarlaxle Baenre. They laugh. That is their captain. His ship is currently docked here in the city.

Meanwhile, on the main floor, a barrel-chested man sits at a table near the yawning portal, his feet up on the table and a time piece in his hand. He pronounces that it has been ten minutes. The poor lad is certainly done for.

Something Emerges

It is then that they see the rope trash and move. Shouts of excitement go up and several men start to haul on the winch bringing up the rope from below. People move closer and several, along with the adventurers, approach the edge of the hole and look down. At first they see nothing but rope being hauled up and then they begin to make out a figure on the platform that rises up towards them. After that, they notice above the platform, a small figure climbing frantically up the rope. The scale of the image thus changed, they realize that upon the rising platform is a massive creature with the young man scrambling up the rope trying to escape it.

The young man, bloodied and scratched climbs up and out of the hole, and seconds later, as the men on the winch let go the rope, a large hand reaches out and grabs the wall on the edge of the hole. The massive hand of the troll pulls the rest of the body up and over the edge and into the tavern. Followed closely behind it is a swarm of small red bird-like creatures with long needle-like beaks. Some of them are already attached to the back of the troll.

Durnan, from behind the bar, yells, "10 dragons to anyone who helps remove this troll from my tavern!". A shout of drunken cheers rises up throughout the tavern as people begin to attack the troll. Most are flung quickly and roughly through the air by the troll.

The group looks at each other and decide to join in. Besides the bird-like stirges begin attacking them. But all it takes is an attack with Princess Elora's thornwhip which pulls the troll back over the edge and plummeting back down the yawning portal, a summoned demon still attacking it all the way down.

The young man who climbed out of the hole, holds on to Eda's cloak and thanks her profusely.

Eda shrugs and tells him to make himself useful and kill these stirges, as she hands him an hand axe.