8 Kythorn

• The Tavern’s grand opening was a success, apart from a disruption from members of a revolutionary group called the Clearsight Seekers, and included visits by Volo & Floon, most of your neighbors, and Ranaer Neverember, accompanied by Esvele Rosnar. Shhh-Twhipp talked to the mysterious dark elf, Fel’rekt Lafeen

9 Kythorn

• Tart, Shhh-Thwipp, and Thiel headed to the City of the Dead to begin the process of interring the bodies from the basement, and Thiel checked in with Jalaster.
• Zerrick learned that the House of Gond had decoded the Nimblewright’s message, but when he arrived, he learned that Thiel had already been there with a well-dressed half-orc companion. He was given his own copy of the message. (I don’t remember if he picked up the barking box on this visit or the last one, but he has a barking box).
• Once reunited with the rest of the party, they reviewed the touching last thoughts of the nimblewright, and came to the conclusion that (a) the nimblewright hid something of great value in the Cassalanter Mausoleum and (b) that the “Thiel” who picked up a copy of the message was probably Lady Gralhund in disguise.
• The party raced to the mausoleum, had a brief confrontation with Orioth the necromancer and his army of horrors, then found two dead humans in robes, together with a dying woman dressed similarly.
• They stabilized her, and learned that her name was Vaelle Lurval, and that she had been brought into the Cult of Asmodeus by her boyfriend, Holiver Tornrudder. They had assisted Lady Gralhund in locating some object, but then the Lady and her bodyguard turned on them, killing Holliver and the second cultist, and leaving Vaelle for dead. In return for your help avenging the betrayal, Vaelle offered to guide the party to the safehouse where the group had been instructed to take the treasure – an abandoned mill in the trade district.
• On the way out of the mausoleum, Violet’s see invisible spell located an imp spying on the party, and Tart swiftly dispatched it with a guiding bolt.
• Resources used so far: Tart: 1 turn undead, 1 1st level spell. Violet: 2 1st level spells, 1 2d level spell. Somebody: enough healing to revive Vaelle

Racing to intervene in the Battle of Gralhund Villa, our heroes:

• Fought off three shadows, which reverted to the gardener and two dogs upon death.
• Entered the Villa to find guards locked in pitched battle with Zhentaurim.
• Moving past the height of the battle, the party found Zhentaurim agent Urstul Floxin attempting to break down the door to the guest bedroom. Pretending(?) to be allies, they assisted Floxin in breaking in and found a teleportation circle and Lord Orond Gralhund, who was hiding behind the bed. Determining that he knew little of value, most of the party moved on and watched as Floxin attempted to use Gralhund as leverage to force Lady Gralhund to surrender.
• Left in the guest bedroom, Shhh-Thwip freed three winged snakes, then climbed out the window, finding the Gralhund children in the next room. At that point, her lock picking skills deserted her and she spent the next half-minute attempting to pick the lock of the children’s room and burst out.
• With the party’s help, the Zhents fought their way past the guards, at which point Lady Yalah Gralhund cast a spell, then apparently reasoned with Thiel, convincing him to change sides in return for clemency and reward. The rest of the party, not sure what they were doing there anyway, agreed. Under attack from Thiel, Lady Gralhund, and her bodyguard Hrabbaz, Floxin stabbed Thiel, then successfully disengaged and fled.
• At that point, Tart entered and began questioning the Lady, who informed him that the Gralhunds had been held hostage by the Zhents for ten days, only now attempting to break free. Although she had taken a nimblewright into her service, she now believes it was a spy for the Zhents, particularly since it stole her necklace of fireballs. At that point, Shhh-Thwip successfully burst through the door, holding the children hostage, but Lady Gralhund cast a second spell, then apparently reasoned with Tart, largely ending the encounter.
• The party accepted a reward from the Gralhunds and returned to Trollskull Manor to think about what they had learned.
• The next morning (7 Kythorn), the party had Noodle follow Lady Gralhund as she left the Villa, but she entered a crowded store and apparently escaped.

6 Kythorn. The unnamed proprietors of Trollskull Manor:

• Asked Tally to have his contractors begin all remaining repairs, upon which they were surprised by . . .
• An explosion just down the street. Brushing off minor damage, Thiel and Tart managed to save Tally’s wife and one of four halfling children who had been perfoming on the street corner that morning. Shhh-Thwip followed a suspicious child while Thiel and Tart checked out the scene for clues, quickly realizing that one of the victims, a male gnome, was clutching a dagger and had a purse full of gems, which they seized as “evidence” while pretending to offer medical care. Two human victims were wearing black leather and had snake tattoos.
• Upon futher questioning, the suspicious child turned out to be Uhok, the tortle boy who the party had met the other day when he accidentally blew up his room. Uhok revealed that he had been hiding when someone dropped a piece of jewelry from the roof. Satsfied that the two explosions were apparently a coincidence, the party seized the necklace of fireballs as “evidence” and questioned the other witnesses, who revealed that (1) a mechanical puppet creature was seen on the roof just before the explosion, and (2) a third leather clad man was seen fleeing the alley.
• Tart’s frankly astonishing urban tracking skills allowed them to follow the trail of the man until he apparently hopped a coach. With that lead closed, the party headed to the Temple of Gond to see if the artificers there had more information on the construct. Nim, a nimblewright at the Temple, informed them that he had created a unit who had fled. Valetta, the High Priestess, ordered Nim to provide the party with a nimblewright detector, and offered to reward the party if they could find and destroy the nimblewright.
• After detecting a few nimblewrights in the Dock Ward and being satisfied those were not the unit in question, the party continued to search late into the night, getting a hit at Gralhund Villa in the North Ward. Alerted by Noodle that there was a battle in progress inside the Villa, the party entered, only to be set upon by three animated shadows . . .

6 Kythorn. After two days downtime, the party wakes up on the morning of 6 Kythorn. Updates:

• Violet turns in a copy of Urixma’s book to Vajra, who rewards her with gems worth 75 gp and a new assignment – 5 potions of water breathing and a request that you investigate reports of a bronze dragon living under the harbor. Are they true, and if so, what are its intentions?
• The Order congratulates Thiel on capturing Manafret and Mookie. Unfortunately, Manafret was able to escape, and Mookie isn’t talking. The Order, the Guard, and the Blackstaff are all concerned and on guard, but not sure if it’s actually Manshoon or not. We’ll play out the report on the Cassalanters next session.
• Starsong considers your debt paid. He and all of your factions offer to reward you for any additional information.
• Since the Manor is still not open for business, you experience 1/2 normal living expenses – 5 gold dragons.
• The evening disturbances are much less severe. One night, you notice that the basement has been cleaned – swept, wiped, dusted. The next, each of you has a dream that you are working in the tavern. On the third, someone has written a series of notes of possible brewing recipes and steps on the chalkboard and on the walls of the kitchen.
• Status: Zerrick does not have do any good deeds until 9 Kythorn. Days remaining on active Manor repairs: Roof, windows, plumbing, hearth, chimney, sign – complete. Water damage, brickwork – 1 day. Remaining repairs – not started.

3 Kythorn. Our heroes:

• Ordered additional repairs on the Manor, and gave a needy citizen 25 GP to satisfy Noodle’s challenge for the day.
• Tarteth and Zerrick visited the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, met Zerrick’s director, Gondicari Monfort, and were given a mission to track down an unlicensed enchanter. Following the clues, they tracked the mystery to “Bell and Whistle’s Assorted Oddities and Sundries,” a Dock Ward shop.
• Thiel was given a mission by the Order – to investigate rumors published in the Waterdeep Wazoo that the Black Viper, a famous thief, was actually a noble. Together with Shhh-Thwip and Violet, he visited its publisher, Gaxley Rudderbust, and learned that Gaxley believed the Black Viper was the secret and mutilated twin of Ammalia Cassalanter, one of the city’s leading nobles. Also, Shhh-Thwipp snuck into Gaxley’s office and stole his stuff.
• Team Viper visited the Cassalanters. Lady Cassalenter received them in her butterfly garden and denied the rumor, saying that her sister died when very young and that the rumors were hurtful. The team attempted to learn more about the disappearance of her oldest son, Osvaldo, and/or to befriend her majo domo, Willifort, without much success. Also, Shhh-Thwip snuck into the playroom of Terenzio and Elzarina, the Cassalanter children, and stole a bunch of their toys.
• The team met with Vajra Safahr, the Blackstaff, to report on the Riddle Murders. Vajra offered them membership in the Grey Hands, and Zerrick and Violet accepted.
• The team visited Bell and Whistle’s, and while questioning the enchanter, Monuenta Fiddlegold, they were interrupted by a group of thugs, let by two halflings, Manafret and Mookie. A lucky hold person spell took Manafret out of most of the conflict, allowing the party to turn the tables, and a heroic success at intimidation and insight forced Manafret to reveal that they are agents of a wizard claiming to be the legendary founder of the Black Network itself, Manshoon, at that at Manshoon’s orders, they have been infiltrating and disruption the existing Zhentarim organization with the intent of seizing control for Manshoon. The team sent Noodle to follow the thugs who excaped and turned Mookie and Manafret over to the Gryphon Cavalry. Under the stress of the day, Monuenta reluctantly agreed to join the short-sighted small minded bureaucrats at WOMP.

2 Kythorn. Our heroes:

• Continued to attempt to appease their ghost over the nights of 1 and 2 Kythorn. Based on clues from the ghost, they recovered and mounted the troll skull that had formerly been on the sign. Shhh-Thwip bought some painting tools to create different paintings to try to figure out what the ghost wanted. (It crumpled the painting of a decrepit manor).
• Shhh-Thwip met Fel’rekt Lafeen, a beautifully handsome drow with business at Corellon’s Crown. They agreed to meet at an unspecified time.
• The group caught up with Meloon Wardragon, who challenged them to solve the Riddle Murders as a condition of entering Force Grey. Visiting the scene of the most recent murder, they met Barnubus Blastwind, Guard Investigator, and his two assistants. Violet quickly solved the murderer’s riddle, and after questioning a witness, Tarteth led the group through the sewers, following the trail to a shuttered church in the City of the Dead.
• After a run-in with a trap, the gang found the murderer in his laboratory, dead at the hand of the monster he had been trying to create. The party narrowly managed to defeat the creature, only to discover that they had been cornerned in the library by the murderer’s familiar and his army of zombies.
• Ultimately, they were able to negotiate a truce under which Zerrick agreed to a contract with the familiar, the mysterious creature known only as “Noodle.” Under that contract, Noodle must challenge Zerrick to a good deed of her choosing, and if unsuccessful or unwilling, Zerrick must commit an evil deed of his choosing.
• The party looted the lab for what treasure they could find, hired a group of urchins to report the day’s activities to Wardragon and to the Order of the Gauntlet, and made quite a bit of coin selling the murderer’s equipment.
• That night, the ghost rusted Thiel’s equipment, causing Thiel to attack Zerrick. (Thiel’s tiefling rage was no match for sun elven grace, and Thiel fell over a chair, calming him down.)
• Current status: Morning of 3 Kythorn (unless you want some more downtime). Repair time remaining: Roof – 1 day; Water Damage – 4 days.

1 Kythorn (Trolltide) – Between sessions, our heroes continued investigating what is going on.

• On waking, Violet reveals that a mug of moldy tea somehow appeared in her room while she was on watch. She, Zerrick, and Thiel investigated, without much result.
• The City is gripped with Trolltide fever, with children running from house to house begging for sweets, street entertainers and vendors out in force, and a general atmosphere of merriment.
• You hire Brynn Hilltopple to watch the Manor and hand out treats.
• Tart visits Sailor’s Last Request, and the rest of you visit the Rosnar estate, meet the heirs Prywain and Esvele, and talk your way into seeing Arrol Mahmi, their Major Domo.
• Mahmi recalls the Manor – the four owners were initially quite successful, building on the building’s famous history (it was an orphanage where a group of heroic children exposed a hag), but then the bartender, an elf, disappeared under mysterious circumstances. The Watch suspected his partners, but were never able to prove anything. Ultimately, under pressure and suspicion, the tavern closed, and the property was seized for failure to maintain the building or pay taxes.

29 -30 Myrtul – Our heroes continued to put down roots in Waterdeep, with a variety of adventures and encounters, including:

• Collecting poop for Chuk-Chuk’s magical research.
• Breaking up a gang fight, and convincing (hopefully) the Zhents to cool down.
• Following a rival gang into the sewers, which turn out to be a twisty maze of passages, many alike, but presumably leading somewhere of interest to the Xanathar guild.
  
• Hiring Tally to oversee repairs and ordering a set of mail from Steam and Steel.
• After a first night in the Manor, during which the party chased but didn’t catch a mysterious intruder, the party also went on some small group missions, including:
  • Zerrick visited the hall of records for more information about the Manor, and learned that it was most recently operated by four tavern keepers. Of those, the elf Lif Erwaren seems to have disappeared, the Teabrook syblings have left town, and the remaining member, Cynog Pumphrey, is working somewhere in the dock district.
  • Tart and Thiel visited the Hall of Justice and restored Tart’s intellect, then visited Sailor’s Last Request, where Tart spoke to the followers of Valkur and agreed to perform a marriage for a young sailor, Jeremiah, and his fiance, Alisane, before Jeremiah sails out in 5 days.
  • Shhh-Thwipp and Violet visited the neighboring shops, introduced themselves and looked for more info about the Manor.
• For reference, the neighboring business owners are:
  
  • Talisovar “Tally” Fellbranch, a woodworker and proprietor of The Bent Nail.
  • Embrick and Avi, smiths at Steam and Steel.
  • Fela Lefallir, an herbalist and potionmaker at Corellon’s Crown.
  • Vincent Trench, an investigator and the proprietor of Tiger’s Eye
  • Rishall the Page-Turner, the arcane owner of Book Wyrm’s Treasure.
  • Emmek Frewn, the jovial owner of Frewn’s Brews.
  • Fatima al-Umari, birdkeeper and message sender from Zephr Post.
    
• Repair time remaining: Roof – 3 days, Water damage – 6 days.

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In this short session, the party met Chuk-Chuk, a trainee bard, and tracked down Volo with some effort, including visits to Ranaer and Floon. Volo confessed he lacked the funds to pay them, but was able to offer our heroes the deed to TrollSkull Manor, a run down but once quite notable tavern. The group befriended two of the current residents (Marmalade the cat and an as-yet unnamed pygmy mimic), and hired local woodworker Talisovar to oversee repairs, starting with repairs to the roof, pipes, and water damage at 325 gold.

Each of our heroes also gained in power, thanks to weeks of study at WOMP for Violet and Zerrick, a ceremony at the Halls of Justice for Thiel, monk self-study for Shhh-Thwip, and some work bringing joy to a congregation for Tart. (Tart felt drawn to Sailor’s Last Request, a run-down chapel to Valkur, and began ministering to the flock notwithstanding his intelligence falling somewhere in the middle mammal range.)

Eager for more cash to restore the Manor, the group looked into joining the Grey Hands, and were told to track down Meloon Wardragon, a powerful warrior and alleged confidant of the Blackstaff herself. In the meantime, they took what work was available – a mission for Chuk-Chuk to collect some particular horse dung for use in his magical experiments, and a mission for the Order to track down and discourage street violence in the Trade Ward. Lastly, as they looked at the transfer records on their deeds, they began to have a few questions…

(Spoilers for Anyone Who Hasn’t Played Dragon Heist through Chapter One)

Confident they were on the right track after the gazer fight, our heroes continued down the sewers, ultimately finding a chokepoint guarded by two (sleeping) goblins, and a secret door leading to one of the guard rooms. Somehow, ShhhThwip and Thiel managed to sneak past the chokepoint in total darkness, but were unable to stop the guard before he raised an alarm. (Zerick used his dread powers to kill the other guard, much more successfully.)

Finally dispatching their goblin, ShhhThwip and Thiel found themselves confronted by a number of human thugs with the distinctive eye tattoos that our heros had been seeing on some of the town thugs, together with a walking brain-creature eerie, otherworldly robed monstrosity with a mouthful of tentacles. Zerick recognized them as an intellect devourer a mind flayer, warned the rest of the party, and began to run as fast as his elven feet would take him.

The rest of the party fought bravely, although they were unable to stop the mind flayer from opening a portal and departing. (At which point Zerick returned!) Nor were our heroes able to squish the brain before it had devoured all of  ShhhThwip’s intelligence and most of Tarteth’s. Still, they refused to let brainlessness be an obstacle, and as they worked through the dungeon, they also found: (a) a half-orc arcanist, (b) those two kenku they released in the warehouse in session one, (c) a durgar mercenary, (d) Krentz the thug from the bar fight in episode one, (e) a grey ooze, and least but not actually last, (f) Floon Blagmar.

Everyone but Krentz and Floon went down fighting. (Thiel rejected the kenku’s offer to surrender a second time). Floon, desperate for rescue, gladly revealed that the thugs had been torturing him to learn the location of a famed treasure, about which Floon claimed to know nothing.  In possession of the orc’s spellbook and some treasure, our heros headed up to civilization.

Since then, they have spent several days attempting to locate Volo for their reward, and engaged in pursuits of their own, some of which may be revealed in montage.

The next chapter of our story opens, as so many do, at the Yawning Portal Tavern, where our heroes have gathered for a hearty breakfast and another day of attempting to locate Volo…