Session 1: Oh the creatures you'll meet!

My new commanding officer, Sergeant Rollo gathered us up for our morning briefing. The Radiant Festival is finally starting and we're the ones to keep the peace.

Our inaugural diurnal patrol was to be along one of the thoroughfares featuring a panoply of mobile foodstuff conveyors. Due to an apparent oversight in zoning, we came upon a disturbance of the peace in progress in the form of two vendors in a disagreement over their implied rights with regard to exclusivity brought about by their proximity. When we first arrived, a projectile had just started a conflagration in a precarious proximity to combustibles in the form of some oil barrels. Rather than risk injury and costly delay, I immediately conjured an enormous jet of water into the air above the barrels, dousing the fire as well as any interposing property. 

This calamity averted, Both places of business appeared to be either structural works in progress, partially demolished, or in the prime condition desired by the proprietors, who were possessed of that goblin ingenuity that somehow transcends the principles of sound engineering. 

When we enjoined the parties to come to an accord, the threats of violence and property damage subsided.

We were able to establish a privity between the parties in question in the form of a joint venture proffering "goblin fried pickles." As a show of good faith, my esteemed colleague, an adherent of Abadar, ingested said comestible.

Rarely am I the one to notice such subtleties but I observed his reaction as a matter of prurient interest. His outward mien and disposition appeared to belie his innermost turmoil (as I suspect is true of us all in an existential manner), but he held down his morning snack and we moved on, having unleashed this new culinary novelty on an unsuspecting public. I withhold judgement until such time as we are made aware of any bodily harm suffered as a result.

Not much further along the patrol we heard real sounds of calamity in the form of the cries of a distraught iron-monger whose wares were being despoiled and consumed by a rust monster. Those of us without armor attempted to non-lethally subdue the creature, with the monk seemingly readymade for the occasion. Unfortunately, it did not seem his repeated blows were having quite the soporific effect intended. A new plan was formulated to lure the mindless creature away with such foodstuffs as would entice it back to the menagerie from whence we deduced it had escaped. We commandeered yet more of the poor man's merchandise to assist in the endeavor. 

On the way we encountered a far more lethal problem, a loose cockatrice that had petrified one man and had many others cowering in a wagon. 

We also spotted an escaped owlbears in a grocer's. It seemed contented with the lettuces, so we bolted him inside and moved on.

In a stupendous display of foolhardiness or bravery, our gnomish ally lured the cockatrice into an open caravan and evaded it's touch to slam the doors shut behind it, neutralizing that threat.

I spotted two hyenas loose in a popcorn booth, but we similarly secured them in place.

At the present moment, two concerns fight for paramount importance: how did these animals get loosed from their restraints, and is this public calamity providing an inescapable diversion to cover some even worse skullduggery? Following shortly thereafter are the whereabouts of the menagerie's proprietors who have either fallen victim to foul play, or are about to face some crippling fines for negligence, public endangerment, neglect, affirmative acts of abuse, and whatever else I can come up with once my ticket-writing quill is wet. We're going to hope someone can afford to unpetrify the cockatrice's victim(s) as well.

We whistled for backup a minute ago... I'll have them set up a perimeter and protect the statue, erstwhile bazaar shopper.

Session 0: Four cops walk into a bar

My first night with the Edgewatch was pretty quiet compared to my usual patrols in the Puddles. I don’t know these gents well but they seem like good men. The mage has a pretty exhaustive understanding of Absalom legal codes and statutes but he might be a little idealistic. The Puddles have a way of beating that idealism out of you but maybe the Edgewatch is a better forum for that kind of progressivism. The cleric seems a stalwart companion. He and the mage appear to know each other from way back. I think they went the academy together or something. He’s a pretty good negotiator, a skill that came in handy during the evening.

We were walking our beat when we heard a commotion from a rowdy adventurer’s bar, the Tipsy Tengu. Entering, we saw a decent crowd, with the bartender up to his elbows in patrons. The particular commotion we came upon was of some human yelling about his stolen purse and pointing fingers at a slippery looking halfling behind him. The human claimed the halfling had pickpocketed 80 gold from his purse. Things were getting heated and we wanted to try to keep the peace- no mean feat since adventurers aren’t well known for their patience and diplomacy. I didn’t recognize the halfling as a criminal associate of any of the perps I know in the Puddles but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a no-good thief.

As we started questioning the halfling about his personal effects, a drunken cleric farther down the table leapt to his feet and started bellowing his defense of his halfling friend. The cleric was adamant that he and his halfling companion had just come back in town from some adventure that had yielded the gold that the human accuser swore was his. The halfling, of course, claimed himself a sovereign citizen and refused to consent to an investigation. Things were getting tense but between the cleric and the mage, they were able to talk down the human and halfling from escalating into an all-out brawl (I’d like to think my handy shovel had a bit to do with that too). As things de-escalated, the halfling shrugged, apologized, and handed the human 100 gold. Not sure where the extra 20 came from but the human didn’t question it. Come to think of it, if you were trying to launder some cash, that sounds like a good way to do it. Will have to remember that for our report…

Session 18: Foiled

The Cranes start this weeks session by handing the bound Kaevia to Rasool, who picks her up and follows the party as they head south. After they cross a corridor, they find the pantry. At the east end of the corridor, they dimly view a larger chamber, in which two halflings seem to be boxing. The pantry contains nothing of interest, so the party starts heading back to the entryway to continue their exploration of the Sanctum. To their surprise, Manshoon awaits them in the corridor. He appears gracious, and invites them to follow him on a tour of the sanctum. In the foyer, he walks across the mosaic depicting a flying snake biting a coin. Once he stands on the coin, an alarm sounds, and battle is joined.

The fight initially doesn't go too badly for the Night Cranes. Parsain is able to grapple Manshoon, while Me turns into a giant toad and grabs the wizard with their tongue, preparing to swallow him. Xarca uses magic to turn Manshoon's weird iron hand red hot. However, after hearing the alarm, reinforcements arrive for the head of the Zhentarim. Two martial artists from the east, and a fencer and a songster from the west. The Cranes flee to the teleportation circle on the outer landing, some of them barely hanging on to life. Parsain attempts to bar the door, but the bard's shatter spell leaves it in ruins. Marty managed to teleport them out as Manshoon readied a lightning bolt. Thinking about how the search for the Stone has gone so far, the Cranes decide to sell Trollskull tavern and seek their fortune elsewhere.

Session 17: To Infinity, and Beyond! (Hopefully not beyond)

Tarsahk 3 continues in Kolat Towers. The Night Cranes pause to attune to their shiny new wand of binding and plot their next move. They decide to investigate the room guarded by the spectator. Shan and Mr. Me turn invisible, and carry a sheet into the room. They drape the sheet over the spectator, rendering it blind! The party rushes in to take pot shots at it, and it almost manages to eat the sheet off of itself, but only manages part of it before Jeramiah Stel Eo blasts the orb away with a lucky hit. Just then, flying snakes swoop down from the rafters, and almost make a meal out of Shan. Marty is able to take one out with an arrow, while Parsain grabs the end of the sheet and turns the beholder-kin into a morning star, knocking another snake out of the fight. Shan turns one into a flaming lantern, while Mr. Me kills the last one after finally getting a hit in with his shillelagh. 

Eat it, USC

After the fight, Parsain tries to pick the locks but, despite thinking he was doing really well, isn't able to get them open. However, a mage hand reveals them to be illusory, and they loot the boxes. Marty investigates a magic circle in the center of the room, and determines it to be a teleportation circle. After some experimentation, nothing they have seems to be the key. Meanwhile, Shan goes downstairs to investigate Dulakh's library, and is rewarded for his efforts with an attack by a swarm of books. Marty has his back though, and they are able to quell the book uprising. The Cranes head back down to the room with a mimic to check out the outbuildings and discuss strategy.

The door from the mimic room leads into a shabbily decorated reading room, where a half-orc is reading Volo's Guide to Monsters. He seems friendly, so the party engages him in conversation. His name is Yorn, and he's been working for the Zhentarim for quite some time. He doesn't mind the change in leadership, as long as he gets paid, and Manshoon has been keeping him quite busy. He's annoyed, too, because he has to climb the tower to get to the teleportation circle every time Manshoon wants to see him, and he finds the empty tower creepy. Parsain says that the party has a meeting with Manshoon, but got lost. Yorn says that the lieutenants have a ring that lets them access Manshoon's extra-dimensional fortress. One is upstairs sleeping, and the other two are downstairs.

Believing that stealing from a sleeping man is the easiest course of action, the party heads into the next room. The apprentices look like the same ones as were summoning the demon. Marty notices that they are wearing rings that look like the teleportation rings Yorn described. Parsain ethers one and takes the ring. They leave the empty bottle of ether next to another apprentice. After taking a short rest to rearrange magical items, they teleport to Manshoon's Extradimensional Sanctum. 

The Cranes appear on a balcony surrounded by swirling purple mists. There is a figure watching them from a window through the mists, and once she sees they have noticed her, announces that they should wait for their host before vanishing. The party decides not to wait for whatever Manshoon has planned, and Parsain picks the lock to the door. They enter a large room with masks on the walls, a Zhent sigil dominating the floor. Jeremiah, Shan, and Groot try on the masks and are rewarded with shocks, but undeterred, they proceed into the room where they saw the woman. Parsain grapples her and Marty ties her up, and the rest of the party enters the room, hoping to avoid what they fear is a chilly reception.

Session 16: The Two Towers

Later on Tarsahk 2, Parsain hooks up with House Jhansczil, the horse breeders, pretending to have a letter of introduction. He uses their library to research the demon they saw. It's a Barlgura, a lesser ape-like demon that can turn invisible. Barlguars tend to not be very good for horse breeding, as they aren't very bright, and the invisibility can cause problems at the finish line.

On Tarsahk 3 the Cranes go to the guild of masons and try to convince the agent that they are visiting architects looking for Kolat Tower plans. They don't buy it and ask for a bribe. Marty offers 5 and the clerk looks insulted, so Marty offers 6, then 7. The clerk says they should leave before she calls the cops.

Groot goes to investigate the Towers from outside. There are two towers: the main tower is six stories, second tower is four. There are also some attached buildings that are 3 stories. People walking casually in and out, do not appear to be challenged. The Cranes go in, acting like they belong and consider their approach. The first room appears to be storage. They hear voices in the next room, so they decide to leave and go to Yellowspire to use the teleportation circle there. They continue their exploration of the empty towers. Marty wonders why, for someone's house, it seems to be so abandoned. The demon summoning room is empty. The next room up is blocked by a closed door, but the door is not locked. The room appears to have a detachable floor. Shan tried to explore the room, and the scraps of iron form themselves into a suit of animated armor. Then Shan, Marty, and Rasool move in, careful to stay to the edges for when the floor collapses. Parsain pulls the levers, and the floor flies upwards, crushing half the party against the ceiling. Mr. Me entangles the construct, almost catching Marty. A moonbeam from Xarca finally connects. Eventually, a crossbow bolt from Marty and a glaive strike from Rasool do it in.

On the next floor the party finds a flesh golem. They test it with an illusion, and it swipes at it and growls "not dulahk". Parsain uses the hat of disguise to make himself look like Dulahk Kolat and get them through. The next corridor has a rune at the end. Marty finds a secret door. Parsain figures out the mechanism for the secret door, but no one can figure out what the rune does. The door leads to a bedroom. Flameskull! Rasool charges, Marty restrains it, it shoots fire rays out of its eyes at Parsain. Rasool bonks it, and Parsain gets it in the eye. Parsain finds a secret compartment with a wand of binding. 

Session 15: Flumph Mating Rituals

The Cranes continued their exploration of Kolat Towers. Past the bridge, they entered the second tower to find a room that was largely lacking a floor. Parsain jumped across, but the gap was too large for most of the party, so after some discussion, they decide to climb down into the room below. This turns out to be a library, and once the party starts examining the shelves, they find out that the library has guardians -- two gargoyles. Their stony hide is largely impervious to conventional weapons, and they get some good hits on Rasool. Eventually, mainly due to Groot's thorn whips, they are whelmed into submission. While Rasool bandages his wounds, Parsain completes the exploration of the tower and finds a spellbook concealed inside a book of Flumph dating rituals. Why Parsain wanted to look at a book on Flumph mating rituals is a mystery we are content not to explore. Contained in the spellbook are arcane lock, burning hands, comprehend languages, counterspell, darkvision, dimension door, find familiar, levitate, sending, and unseen servant. The party dumps the gargoyle corpses in the bottom of the first tower. Parsain buries the bodies under trash. 

Back on the story with the open floor, Parsain notices an opening in the ceiling. Groot goes to investigate and manages to find an invisible staircase. The staircase leads to ransacked laboratory -- the floor is covered in broken glass and there is an overturned table. Groot, in gecko form, finds more invisible stairs up and sees wizards summoning a Barlgura. Back down, the party searches a third platform in the room with an open floor plan, a platform with treasure chests. Parsain tickles one of the chests with his mage hand, revealing it to be a mimic. He then jumps, and tries rummaging in the other chest. In this one are various arcane foci, and he grabs a crystal for Shan. Eschewing the chance to disrupt the demon summoning, they decide discretion is the better part of valor, and leave the towers to return to Trollskull manor.

On the way back home, they see members of the Fishmonger's Guild brawling with Guild of Trusted Pewerers and Casters. Riff from the Fishmongers Guild is dating the sister of Tony from the Pewterers, and Tony thought he wasn't good enough, so a fight broke out. Rasool buys some hand rolls. 

Session 15: Oh, the Towers You'll Climb!

It is Tarsahk 2. Given the new membership, the party decides to rename themselves the Cranes, and the tavern the Night Crane. Sailors have been carousing in the Night Crane all week, and that plus the excitement of a robot has led to a small but respectable profit. The Cranes recognize that someone is going to be coming after the eye, so have a lengthy discussion about how best to hide it. Some suggestions include baking into a loaf of bread, hiding it in the basement, or parachuting it. They decide to buy a lead statue, and hide it inside. Marty is able to find one at a nearby antique shop. While Marty is shopping, Azazel uses his knowledge of the mystic arts to investigate the eye. It appears to have no special properties while it is apart from the Stone of Golorr, but it definitely has an abolethic feel to it.

Having hidden the eye in the statue, the party decides to fully investigate the tower of Yellowspire. Mr. Me turns into a cat to scout it out, and it appears to have been abandoned, though whoever abandoned it left the body of a middle-aged Shou behind. Azazel looks into the cellar, and finds a locked door which Parsain unlocks. Behind it is a teleportation circle. Shan notes that the circle needs a 'key' to be useful. Marty examines the body, and finds out it's been dead most of a tenday. There is ink on his fingers, from which he deduces that he must have been a newspaper man. The body is covered in stab wounds, the probable cause of death. In the fireplace, Shan finds a charred wand of magic missiles and singed note that reads:

Seccent—I have nothing but contempt for what you have done. I don’t know what foul rites you hope to perform, but the more traditional rites of Brindul Alley would have surely wrung any information this broadsheet publisher might have had. Nonetheless, Manshoon’s word is my command, and so I present to you Shan Chien. May you choke on him. – Avareen

From this, the Cranes conclude they might be able to use Avareen's antagonism to their advantage -- at the very least, they should check out the house in Brindul Alley.

The Cranes venture back out into the rain and head to the Tradesward. There, in an unmarked building down a dark alley, they find the Zhentarim safehouse, and break in. They con their way in by asking for help finding their friend "Shan". As the discussion proceeds, they claim that Seccent is trying to frame Avareen for Shan's death. This doesn't get them anywhere, so Mr. Me leaves against the advice of the rest of the party, who want to murder. They then try to decide how to get back inside. Azazel tries to ask to use the bathroom, but Avareen tells him to go in the alley, so he does. Eventually, the Cranes figure out the the door is still unlocked, so they walk in and attack. Avareen suddenly finds everything very funny, and her bodyguard Zorbog is Held. The party demands to know how to get to Manshoon, and Avareen hands them a small crystal she had carried around her neck that would allow them to use the teleportation circles. Parsain then cuts her throat.

Exploring the two-room house, the party finds a torture chamber in the back, undoubtedly home to the "traditional rites" the earlier note referenced. There is also an arcane circle and a note. The note is signed by Manshoon, and exhorts Zorbog to "gather the usual gang" and kidnap a man named "Fenerus Stormcastle" who lives in Quill Alley, and is "a known associate of these new meddlers in the Grand Game." Zorbog is to squeeze Fenerus until he reveals everything he knows. The Cranes set up a fake torture scene, remove the lower jaws of Avareen and Zorbog, and leave a note implicating Zardoz Zord. Then they teleport to the Kolat towers.

Upon arriving at the towers, a magic mouth intones a warning. Mr. Me turns into a cat again to explore the tower. It is largely empty, with the exception of a Spectator beholder kin guarding a teleportation circle and several treasure chests on the top floor. The Cranes decide to leave them alone, and instead cross the bridge on the floor they arrived to the second tower.

Session 14: Enter the Arena

With but a few days remaining before the big fight club event, the gang has to hatch a plan to crash the party and hopefully they will be able to snatch the Eye of Golorr while everyone is distracted by the feats of strength and daring-do.  First Marty did some research on the Stone and in his digging was able to uncover cryptic writing about how this Abolethic orb has three eyes and definitely holds secrets, but may also cause forgetfulness.

Meanwhile, Parsain cases the town for clues as to who will cater to this big event and discovers Orb Confectioners down in the Southern Ward. Could this be the entree for the Trollskull Gang? On the other hand, sitting around the tavern, someone suggested impatiently beating up the goblins found in the sewer. In the end, the crew decides to go with the less half-baked plan of offering to help with the catering.

Upon arriving at Orb Confectioners, which was quite close to the entrance where they had delivered the musical instruments in their prior encounter. the lovable firbolg druid quickly recognizes this location as another point of access to the cellar complex. Azazel tried to talk remuneration but was too transparent for the goblin, who replied, "If you are good at setting things on fire, you should be able to bake" In the end, Marty offers to help out with the catering, an option which would both get them closer to the Stone and would also give an ability for the Trollskull pastry chef to introduce a new delicacy that they'd been developing: Cake Pops. By hook or by crook, the lowly epicurean goblin agreed to hire the gang and told them to return on Thursday, two days hence.

Speaking of Cake Pops... What are these magical treats on a stick? How could they be made by mere mortal hands? Maybe the gods favored our favorite adventurers? Maybe it was a complete accident, but they were certainly well-received at the bouts. Did this even assuage the rowdy attendees when they found out that the much-hyped Rasool was a no-show? While this may be the case, our gang left early, unaware of the events upstairs, as you will read below.

With two days remaining, more investigation takes place. The team learned that Grinda Garloth would be supplying the armor and weapons. Beyond that, they were easily able to learn the identities of the entrants: Minsc is good, Rasool might enter, and the Goblin champ is Knifethroat. The odds-on favorite, though was Erik the Red, the combatant from Icewind Dale who has been sponsored by Cassalanters.



Cake pop/catering training montage



When Thursday finally rolls around, the new caterers proceed to serve cake pops to the attending crowd, as the sparring gladiators jabs and parrys proceed before them. When the adventurers arrive on the scene, 100 gnome-sized horses vs. 1 horse sized gnome are engaging in heated battle. Although the poor gnome appears to be outnumbered, he also turns out to be unmatched and wins the bout handily. Recalling his ability to assume the shape of various animals, our intrepid firbolg finds a quiet spot to change into a rat and starts exploring. Finding a beholder zombie guarding a passage to the north, the druid who his friends also call Tom Bombadil for some reason (he failed the arcana check), calmly scampered off in the other direction.

Almost out of clear options, our sneaky rat explores another hallway that they had overlooked upon their arrival. Surprised and nearly trampled by an acrobat doing handsprings and cartwheels down the hall. One look into his haunted eyes and a kind word was all it took and the stuntgnome, Flutterfoot Zipswiggle, pleaded for us to take him with us. Heading in yet another direction, with the funambulist more- or less-quietly following, they arrived at a room with a giant fishtank and a dwarf named Ott feeding the giant goldfish swimming therein. With this fellow clearly terrified and threatening to raise an alarm, Parsain's owl flew up and snatches Otts' hat and the party surrounds him.

Someone thought to look more closely at the fish tank and discovered a chest inauspiciously sitting amidst the ruins of a scale model of an old sunken ship. Upon retrieving this loot, an Eye of Golorr was discovered within! Having recovered the Eye, the adventurers proceeded to sneak out, masked by the chants for Rasool coming from the fight club main arena. On arriving back at Trollskull Manor, the Cranes debriefed Flutterfoot. Flutterfoot had befriended a Zhent prisoner in the dungeons, and learned that Manshoon is based in Kolat Tower. He's not sure exactly how to get there, but he knows there's a way through Yellowspire.

Session 13: A New Hope

By Daniel Jolivet - https://www.flickr.com/photos/sybarite48/7973333500/, CC BY 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=65399174

Ches 28 dawned gray, with a light rain reflecting the mood of our heroes. Little did they know a new group was coming in to replenish their numbers. Marty and Rasool, the survivors of the Marpenoth Massacre, were unavailable. They were still mourning their friends in their own way, so the green members explored town, looking for Renaer and enjoying the sights. Their first stop was the Yawning Portal, where Durnan suggested they check out the wandering statues. Shortly after leaving the Yawning Portal, the party was attacked by a group of thugs, but Shan talked the thugs out of it. They went to look at the Honorable Knight and then turned north. As they walked north, they were passed by a well-appointed carriage. From the carriage, a lord in a mask peered at them from inside.

After passing the Swordmaiden, they decide to see if Renaer is at Trollskull Manor. There, a surly dwarf tells them that he isn't there, but he might be at the House of Inspired Hands. Seeing the looks on the party's faces, he adds that it's a temple of Gond. On the way to the temple, there is a congested intersection and a city watchwoman directing traffic. Me and Xarca almost walk in the way of a carriage drawn by two okapi, but Parsain is able to keep him from being run over. Parsain cleans them off. Me thinks Parsain is flirting with them, and Xarca is somehow immediately filthy again.


The party arrives at the House of Inspired Hands, and wander the grand hall looking at the exhibitions mounted on marble pedestals. Several stand out:

A 4-foot-tall working model of a clock tower rings at the top of every hour. It is made of wood, iron, bronze, and glass, with brass bells and delicate hands formed from solid gold.
A wooden flying machine has wings that flap when it becomes airborne.
A miniature model of a mechanical dragon turtle has a brass plate affixed to its pedestal that reads, “Big Belchy. Sank in Deepwater Harbor on the Day of Wonders in 1363 DR.”
A functional “waking helmet” equipped with small, articulated metal arms and hands that gently slap the wearer if he or she falls asleep.
A miniature model of a red submarine shaped like a manta ray has a brass plate affixed to its pedestal that reads, “The Scarlet Marpenoth. Lantanese submersible. Launched in 1489 DR.”

The model of the Scarlet Marpenoth looks accurate. Xarca teleports into the flying constraption, but he climbs out sadly when he is admonished by the priests. They try to lecture him, but he gets distracted as they are lecturing and wanders off. Renaer is still nowhere to be seen, so they decide to head back to Trollskull Manor.

On the way back to the manor, they see a carriage careening down the street. It hits some sort of bump and crashes, sending brass instruments scattering across the pavement. A little green woman jumped off the carriage at the last minute, and as she flees the scene of the accident, Xarca puts her to sleep. The goblin is transporting instruments for Xanathar. She tells the party that there are going to be gladitorial games in a few days, and Xanathar wants to make sure they are held with the appropriate amount of pomp and circumstance. The party offers to take the instruments down to the Xanathar guild and she accepts with relief, saying that she hasn't been able to spend time with her husband and children in some time. The party picks up the instruments and imitates a brass band poorly as they head into the sewers.

Wandering through the sewers, they are jumped by a pair of desperate wererats. Xarka casts moonlight, damaging one, while Parsain shoots an arrow through the gut of another one. Parsain's owl superbly swoops through the moonlight, distracting the first wererat, and Parsain shoots him in the fact as Mr. Me finished the second off with his shillelagh. They continue towards into a cellar complex, where Parsain oils a rusty door to enable the group to sneak in. They tell the goblins they find there that they are here to deliver the instruments. The goblins take delivery, and sound excited about the games. Apparently everyone is going to be there, paying very close attention to the games and nothing else. They pay the party 200gp for their trouble, and the party heads slightly further into the sewers, where they find the old hideout where Floon had been tortured almost a month ago. Groot-me and Shan are able to use their sense of direction to figure out where on the surface corresponds with this subterranean locale, and they head back to Trollskull Manor, hopefully to meet with Rasool and Marty and compare notes.

Session 12: Davy Jones' Locker

Upon opening the door and confronting the 3/4 nude pirate deep in the bowels of the ship, Rasool steps into the room and closes the door, but not before Hank can establish a telepathic link with him to let him know when the escape is ready.

Dagrim dismantled the magic trap that they had detected on the port side doors. The rest of the party quietly searched the rest of the hold, finding some papers and a chest. Within the room, there was a conspicuous negative space compared to the hold outside the room. Dagrim searched the back wall and found a secret door that led to a hatch in the floor. Around this time, Graycen started to walk towards the fore of the ship to a steamy section of the hold, but was stopped by reminding her what happened the last time she tried to go off solo and thought the better of it.

Beneath the hatch, there was a steel tube with a ladder leading down to another hatch, which meant they had finally found the submarine. Convinced the sub contains the orb the dragon asked them to retrieve, the party started towards the control room that they spotted while waterbreathing the day before. Hank tells Rasool they are in the sub and the party was closing the sub hatch and barring it. If he needs to escape, go up to the Harpers. Proceeding forward on the catwalk, the remainder of the party manages to be just stealthy enough to reach the area above the control room, with two ladders leading down. Taking advantage of the opportunity to ambush the two drow and the rock gnomes working below. Hoping the gnomes are working under duress, Dagrim casts sleep and knocks them out.

The fight turns bad as soon as the drow can react. Graycen climbs down to attack from melee and is quickly stabbed multiple times by one of the drow, and killed outright. From above, the party continues to focus fire on one of the drow captors, but within the confines of the submarine, their arcane tolling of the dead seems less effective than usual. Hank sees the fight going badly, and decides to intuit the controls that are now ungnomed, and attempts to tear the submarine from the ship, hoping to start the ship flooding through the open hatch. Two attempts to incomprehensibly flip switches and turn dials with his mage hand result in nothing of the kind. The wounded drow climbs up the ladder and kills Hank outright before Chip's eyes. Chip is still firmly in the denial stage of the Kübler-Ross model when his grief is cut short by his own similar demise. Dagrim angrily attempts a killing blow to the drow to cover Marty's escape, but he likewise quickly falls before the drow who has clearly outmatched the party.

Marty manages to flee up the ladder to the hold and block the hatch, briefly securing his escape.
Meanwhile, Rasool decides to abandon the intimidation tack that was not working, and starts asking probing personal questions of Jarlaxle. Jarlaxle indicates that he was already made aware of the party and their dealings in Trollskull manor from some unknown source. After vicariously telepathically witnessing the demise of Graycen and Hank, Rasool enters the bargaining phase quite rapidly. Jarlaxle offers him his life if Rasool will return with one Eye of Golorr.

Rasool and Marty are somewhat depressed as they head topside to gather the Harpers and limp back home in the rowboat. By the time they pull ashore, they have accepted their losses and are determined to gather some new allies by auditioning prospective adventurers in the tavern that evening.

Session 11: Zounds! Zardoz Zord Zaps!

The beginning of Ches 27 dawns grey and cold, with a light snow, and the Batmen are going to the Seven Masks Theater. There, they are greeted by the ghost of Malkolm Brizzenbright. In the stage manager's office, they find a letter to "J" reading “There have been strange eyes fixed upon the house of Fenerus Stormcastle and flights of black snakes have been seen flocking the skies of the Trades Ward. Greater care should be taken when messengers approach the house, and we may want to find an alternative asset. I leave it to your judgment whether or not Fenerus himself should be warned. -K”
After this they decide to talk to the Harpers to get some extra manpower . They also want to try and get Davil out of jail. Mirt agrees, since Davil is an important counterbalance to Manshoon in trying to keep the city stable.

After meeting with Mirt, the Batmen and the Harpers go to the docks to try and infiltrate the Eyecatcher while the sunlight makes the drow less observant. But their plan goes awry when Chip and Hank sneeze loudly, and Dagrim curses at them in response. The Drow sailors point at the longboat and start firing crossbows. They exchange fire with the party until the boat gets adjacent to the ship and the Harpers storm the decks ending the fight. The Harpers go to secure the main deck while the Batmen explore the Captain's chamber more thoroughly. They find the captain's spell book, and head down to the main deck, which the marines have secured.

The Batmen explore the ship, and it is largely uneventful. Below decks, they find experimental floats from the Sea Maiden's Faire, including garishly colored giant spiders. The spiders turn out to be alive, just standing very still, and they attack. Rasool smashes one of them while Chip and Dagran sling spells at them. Gracyen is a whirling dervish of death, killing two and grievously injuring the third. Marty hit it with a clean shot from her crossbow, and Rasool is able to use his glaive to end its life.

Below decks, the party finds two doors. The one on the left is guarded by illusion magic. They can hear people behind the other door, so rather than explore the unoccupied room, they go to confront the occupants of the chamber. Behind the door, they find Zardoz Zord with two friends. Rasool attempts to threaten Zardoz into submission, but Zardoz is not intimidated.

Session 10: You Can't Not Be on a Boat

Following the dragon's announcement that his mother's crystal ball is on the submarine, the Batmen proceed to investigate it. Sneaking up to the fore windows, they see a control room where three rock gnome engineers keep the sub running under the watchful eye of their drow guards. Dagrim looks around the ship for air bubbles, but doesn't find any. The party tries to chip away at the docking mechanism, but the wood is too hard and it is difficult to get leverage underwater. Hank swims up to the surface and sees that the colors of the ship the submarine is docked to match the colors of the Hellraiser and Heartbreaker attached to the Sea Maiden's Faire pier.

The party swims aft, and Graycie and Essex climb nimbly to the the aft castle where they silently murder the two sailors. Upon their death, the illusion fades, revealing their true identity -- drow! The Batmen rain missile fire down on the two sailors on the aft deck, again killing them swiftly and silently. But their success may have made them overconfident. Essex picks the lock to the captain's chamers, and Rasool attempts to open it quietly. Unfortunately, Rasool was not quiet, and the occupants of the room, the ship's captain and a nimblewright are not taken by surprise. The captain blasts Rasool, Hank, and Chip with a lightning bolt, striking them all down. Dagrim is able to heal Chip, who takes over healing duties from there. Once revived, Rasool is a machine with his glaive, while Marty with his acrobatics and crossbow puts in a number of well-aimed shots. Graycen taunts the nimblewright to lure it from the door, but she is a little bit too successful, and takes a grievous blow to her side. The captain blasts Rasool again with a lightning bolt even as Hank is able to send the nimblewright into the Arms of Hadar. The captain lets loose with a flurry of magic missiles, but Marty Crane lands an arrow through his throat, ending his threat.

Using the ring of keys they found on the captain, the party searches the room. There is a bookshelf and a locked trunk. Opening the trunk, they find gold, pearls, and a bottle of wine with the label "One-Eyed Jax". Essex throws the body of the nimblewright overboard, hoping the remaining crew will assume it went crazy, killed the captain and the sailors, and fled. The party reports back to the dragon, and offer to share the wine, an offer which the dragon declines. They return to land to lick their wounds after dismantling the ship's rudder. Dagrim suggests getting Zhent help to raid the ship, and they walk over to the Yawning Portal. They don't recognize anyone there, so they decide to spend some time looking for nimblewrights before returning to the Manor. There are no 'wrights in the Dock Ward other than those on the ships, but they find one in the Southern Ward. Back at Trollskull Manor, Istrid Horn, Master of Trade for the non-Manshoonian Zhentarim, those associated with the Doom Raiders. She says the guards are running down known Zhents, and Davil was arrested. Hank offers his room to the dwarf, but she says it's creepy until Hank clarified that he'll sleep with Chip.

The next day, the Batmen go to the Seven Masks Theater. It is Ches 27. There, they are greeted by the ghost of Malkolm Brizzenbright. In the stage manager's office, they find a letter to "J" reading “There have been strange eyes fixed upon the house of Fenerus Stormcastle and flights of black snakes have been seen flocking the skies of the Trades Ward. Greater care should be taken when messengers approach the house, and we may want to find an alternative asset. I leave it to your judgment whether or not Fenerus himself should be warned. -K”

Session 9: How's it Hanging

The next day was Ches 25, and the Batmen decided to investigate Yellowspire. The lead was somewhat thin, but they didn't have any others. (They did, however, talk about the need to look into the Xanathar's operations. Yellowspire is a two-story run-down tower covered in scaffolding. The scaffolding would be easy to climb, but loud. They knock on the door many times, and a woman named Amanth answers and tells them to go away. But before they leave, Essex notices that the walls behind her are covered in black hands, which Dagrim recognizes as the symbol of Bane. Bane's priests were allied to Manshoon before the Manshoon Wars.

After this, the party goes to the Yawning Portal and meet with Davil and one of his associates, Istrid Horn. Dagrim wants to know about the Gralhunds' commercial contracts, to extract revenge through economics. Hank asks who was selling nimblewrights, and Istrid says she'll look into it. They ask about Manshoon and the Baneites. Davil doesn't know about Manshoon, but says it makes sense that Urstul was working for someone. As far as religion, "Tying oneself to a specific religious cult tends to have consequences that are less than helpful."

Next, Essex and Graycie go to the Harpers. There, Graycie asks about her father, and Mirt tells her he died on a mission for the Emerald Enclave. Mirt also tells them three further things. First, there are drow spies in town, and they should check out the Seven Masks Theater. Second, the entertainer Zardoz Zord has been selling nimblewrights all over town at a loss. Finally, there's a wererat/doppelganger gang in town.

The party reconvenes, and decides to save the theater for tomorrow, and investigate the docks that night. The festival normally marking the Sea Maiden's Faire's pier is subdued, most of the attractions being carted uptown for the Shipwright's Ball. They check out the Heartbreaker first and ask for a nimblewright. The ship's mate says he doesn't know anything. But they have better luck on the Hellraiser. There "Montague Fauntelroy III" discusses buying a nimblewright from Fergus Crabwater. They cost 25,000 dragons each, but he also finds out that the Gralhunds bought one. After some defamatory remarks about that family, he leaves. Meanwhile, Graycie snoops around, and notices that a lot of the crew speaks with elven accents and seem to talk with their hands a lot. On the way back, they have to duck down an alley to avoid getting caught up in a mob of 10 people protesting in favor of single-decked carriages.

On the next day, Ches 26, a representative of the Emerald Enclave comes to Trollskull Manor looking for Yinrick. Apparently, there's a bronze dragon in the harbor, and it's making people nervous. The druid wants them to talk to the dragon and ask what its intentions are. He gives them potions of water breathing, and wishes them luck. The dragon, Zelifarn, has been seeking a crystal ball that belonged to his deceased mother. The ball is in a submarine attached to the bottom of a boat in the middle of the harbor. Dagrim asks how the mom was killed, and Zelifarn says that it was a group of drow adventurers. Zelifarn promises to richly reward the party if the crystal ball is returned to him.

Session 8: Where is the Stone?

The day that would later go down in infamy among the Batmen began ordinarily enough. Ches 24 began with gray skies and a steady wind blowing across the city. Lord Essex, having been away negotiating with the Carpenter's Guild for a set of new stools, wanted to reinvestigate the Gralhund manor, in the hopes that they could find more clues. When they arrived, the villa was closed up tight, with no activity inside, not even a groundskeeper patrolling the grounds. Going around to the back, they found two doors. One led to the stables, so they used the other one, and entered into the pantry. The richly-appointed bottom floor was empty, though blood stains soaking the carpet of the great hall hinted at some sort of recent violence. Next to the library, the party found a locked door. Essex was able to pick the lock, and inside they found Lord Gralhund's study, and his notes on the Grand Game.* In the library, they found a sheet of paper discussing the second Eye, held by Manshoon's Zhentarim. They explored the servant's suite, and finding nothing there, went up to the master suite.

In the master suite, they were met by four guardsmen wearing Gralhund livery. The guards simply tell the Batmen to leave, and they pause to decide what they want to do. They tell some transparent lies, and while Marty attempts to persuade them to let them in, he is unpersuasive, and so the party decides to attack. They open with a huge blow from Rasool, and Chip uses his divine blessing to cast an aspersion upon the guards. But the guards move towards the gang in response, baiting Rasool to attack too early, and cutting at Hank and Rasool. Rasool responds with a glaive drop kick to get his revenge, and several members of the party call upon dark powers to toll the dead.

Meanwhile, Graycie was sneaking around to come at their adversaries from behind. But as she enters the master bedroom, a large half-orc bludgeons her with a series of powerful blows from his morningstar. Rasool, suspecting something is wrong, charges at the barred door blocking his access to the bedroom. He bounces off the door, splintering it somewhat but unable to blow it open. Graycie, sensing that she is not a match for Hrabbaz, tries to flee, but his weapon rends the life from her body. Rasool rushes downstairs, but in the meantime, Chip blows the door to the bedroom off its hinges with a well-placed firebolt, and a sleep spell from Hank gives Lady Gralhund a small nap.

After the door was blown open, Dagrim runs in at Orond Gralhund, and the lord of the house lets out a yeep, drops his rapier, and wets his pants. Dagrim ties him up. Meanwhile, Hrabbaz reenters the bedroom and attacks Essex, knocking him unconscious. At the same time, Dagrim calls upon the ancient power of his ancestors and grows to the size of an ogre! He grabs the Gralhunds and threatens to kill them if Hrabbaz refuses to drop his weapons. Hrabbaz considers his options, but will not surrender, not trusting the party to spare his life. Dagrim moves towards the staircase, and Hrabbaz follows. Seeing his pursuer near, Dagrim attempts another sleep spell, but it fails, and the morningstar of Hrabbaz ends his life. Hrabbaz yells at the party and tells them to leave, and the Batmen scatter, grabbing the corpses of their compatriots as Hank briefly distracts the half-orc. Upon returning to the Trollskull Inn, they are met by Davil, who offers to raise their fallen companions for free, as long as the Batmen are willing to owe him a favor...

*I posted a copy of the Gralhund Report on the Grand Game on the game's Discord and sent it to the party's emails, but here are the most important bits:

– Until recently, Xanathar held the Stone of Golorr — the key to solving Neverember’s Enigma! But it was stolen by one his trusted lieutenants, a gnome named Dalakhar who the Gralhunds identified as an agent of Lord Neverember

– Xanathar has the First Eye, having murdered the Zhentarim delegation who came to negotiate with him and stealing it from them.

– The Zhentarim are suffering from an internal schism, with someone claiming Manshoon dividing their loyalty. The Manshoonian Zhentarim stole the Second Eye, but (according to this report) the Gralhunds aren’t certain where it’s being held.

– They do not know where the Third Eye is.

– They know that Xanathar’s Lair in Skullport can be more easily accessed from teleportal sites in the subterranean hideouts he keeps hidden throughout the city. They also know that each teleportal has a unique key which someone must carry in order to use the teleportal.

Session 7: Walking in the Dark

Ches 23 dawned gray and rainy. The Batmen had a few leads that they wanted to follow up on. The Cassalanters, a powerful noble house, had asked for some help in dealing with a threat to their children. They had asked Davil Starsong about Urstul Floxin, and Davil told them he'd help them out if they completed a mission for him -- deliver some potions of mind reading to a woman in a purple cloak. And they still had a nimbleright to find with the nimblewright detector.

The group decided to take care of the mission for Davil first. Graycen went to Weirdbottle's Provisions to meet with Davil's colleague, Skeemo Weirdbottle. The decrepit gnome was creepy, but gave her the potions. Using her stealth, she avoided an ambush set by the Xanathar, and delivered the potions to a woman in a purple hood, who thanked Graycie and handed her a velvet bag with fifteen platinum coins. The woman banged on the roof of the stagecoach she was sitting on, which took her away. Returning to the Yawning Portal, Davil filled them in on the intrigue currently plaguing the Zhentarim. Recently, another group of Zhents led by Urstul Floxin came to Waterdeep. Where Davil wants to play things slow, keep it under the radar, and mostly use the trade in weapons and mercenaries to build influence, Floxin has bigger dreams, wanting to use violence and fear to control the city more directly. He's interested in the money because there's a group of Zhentarim trying to rebuild Zhentil Keep, and with a large donation to the effort, they could get a seat on the Zhentarim Council. The party asked if there's anything they could do, and Davil said he was keeping an eye on it, but he'd let them know. He also said they should talk to Dalakhar, and sent a priest with them to cast speak with dead.

The priest was quite taciturn, but his name was Flint, and he seemed to have an in with the people at the morgue, as they let the group in without the usual formalities. There they learned that Lord Neverember had ordered him to infiltrate the Xanathar's gang to steal back the Stone of Golorr. He intended to give it to Renaer, since he was a servant of Renaer's father. But unfortunately, he was ambushed by the nimbewright and killed.

After meeting Davil, the Batmen head to the Sea Ward to meet with the Cassanlanters. Along the way, they notice a villa that Dagrim recalls belongs to the Dezlentyrs. Hank talks his way in, but without a plan to get Lord Corin Dezlentyr to talk about the nimblewrights, it goes nowhere. However, Chip sneaks a look in the backyard and sees young Hermione sparring with a nimblewright. Unfortunately, the nimblewright doesn't match the description of the one that killed Dalakhar, and they continue to the Cassalanters.

The Cassalanter villa might just be the most spectacular in Waterdeep; it is certainly the most spectacular the party has ever seen. The majordomo leads them to the entrance hall. It has a magnificent harpsichord to the side of a plush crimson carpet. Light from a crystal chandelier refelcts of more than three dozen holy symbols of Siamorphe, creating an almost divine glow. Ammalia Cassalanter stands waiting in the center of the hall. She greets them warmly, but before she can continue, two eight years old run into the hall. She chides them gently, and tells them to play in the butterfly garden, but when she turns back to the group, her face looks sad. "I hope you can help us save our children."

Lady Cassalanter leads the party through their library, which in addition to an enormous collection of books includes the sizeable head of a black dragon. Against a wall stands a portrait of the Cassalanters with their three children. They proceed into the reading room, where Lord Victoro Casslanter meets them. The room features a lovely view of the gardens, where the Cassalanter children are chasing butterflies. Lord Cassalanter thanks the Batmen in his deep voice, and pleads for their help. The children were cursed by Asmodeus at birth. Fortunately, like everything with Asmodeus, there is an out. The Cassalanters discovered a ritual where, if they sacrifice one million dragons to him on 11 Tarsahk, their children will be saved. As rich as they are, they haven't been able to raise that kind of cash -- however, Neverember's enigma would enable them to save their children. The Stone of Golorr is key to solving Neverember's Enigma. They understand that the party doesn't work for free, but they don't need all the money, and could pay the group 10 percent, 50,000 dragons. Chip thinks that isn't quite enough, and they also add that they'd certainly owe the party a favor. The Batmen agree to help the Cassalanters. Lord Cassantler thanks them, and says they should get in touch once they have acquired the Stone of Golorr.

The party decides to spend some more of the afternoon looking in the Sea Ward for nimblewrights, and a block north of the Cassalanters, their rod vibrates again. There is apparently a mechanical man inside of the Temple of Mystera. Dagrim goes inside the House of Wonder, and gives the priestess there a story about how he's here to study and would she show him to the library? Unfortunately, she doesn't buy his story, and he's seen out. After this failure, the Batmen give up on searching the Sea Ward, and return to Trollskull alley. Back at their tavern, they decide to spend some more time in the evening looking for nimblewrights. This time, they head east, the same direction the guilty nimblewright went after killing Dalakhar. In just a few blocks, the rod goes off, right in front of Gralhund Villa.

The first thing the Batmen do is send Rasool up to the wrought iron gate to see if he can get them inside. Feeling safe behind the thick iron bars, the surly groundskeeper is not intimidated by the man with the glowing red eyes, growls at them, and walks away. Rasool considers bounding over the front wall on a busy street in broad daylight, but the rest of the party convinces him that they don't need to deal with the Watch in addition to everything else. Dagrim digs up what he can recall about the Gralhunds -- they are a minor noble family who had hoped to ascend to the upper nobility on the strength of their service some years ago, but were disappointed. The team decided to wait until night, and then see if they could infiltrate the villa.

Once night had fully fallen, the party went around to the east side of the complex, and Graycen climbed the wall and lowered a rope to help everyone else up. Marty pointed out the groundskeeper and his two mastiffs below, and Dagrim hurled a charm of sleep at them. To his surprise and horror, nothing happened. He decides he wants to burn the large complex of stone buildings to the ground. After dissuading him from this idea, Hand and Chip circle north. There are a couple copses of trees they think could be used to sneak up to the main building, and avoid the preternaturally strong groundskeeper. But they decide it's too much, and they'll come back later. As they regroup before heading back to the manor, they see the nimblewright they were chasing climb up to the roof of the villa, and run away too the west. Hank casts longstrider, while Graycie uses her knowledge of the back ways and alleys to keep up for a while. They see the nimblewright turn south, but the mechanical man does not tire, and they lose him in the night.

Session 6: Fireball

Ches 19 was opening day for the tavern in Trollskull Manor. Despite some dragon cultists throwing all pall over the festivities until Rasool had a talk with them, it was a success, and the Batmen are eagerly discussing ways that they can enhance their reputation. During this time, Dagrim got a message from Davil Starsong. "You are to obtain a silk handkerchief from Maester Roderick Bartlethorpe during the Twin Parades. He will be in the shadow of the Great Drunkard. Afterwards, go to the intersection of Dock and Net streets, and give it to the Tiefling girl who lives in a crate there." The party falls into planning mode, and decide that their newest member, Graycen Macullie, will perform the theft and deliver the object.

The twin parades are part of the celebration of Selûne Sashelas, which itself kicks off the festival of Fleetswake. From where the party awaits the appears of Maester Roderick, it is spectacular. It opens with the City Guard in formation, followed by the sea captain Zardoz Zord on the back of a rainbow-feathered diatryma. His procession of exotic animals, including leucrotta doing tricks, would be the talk of the town for months, as would his finishing act: shooting a dwarf from a cannon. There was a float of actors, and a mechanical beholder with glowing eyestalks, followed by the House of Inspired Hands float (done in conjunction with the House of Wonder). Gond's temple had ribbons of water filled with mechanical fish, but the highlight was a mechanical man, his clockwork visible, who commanded the fish to do tricks. This last crew seemed distracting enough for Graycie to do her work. She snuck across the street, and filched a handkerchief out of Maester Roderick's pocket. From there, it was easy to follow the parade route to the docks, seeing Gond's mechanical man several times along the way. The tiefling girl is very happy to get the handkerchief, and the Batmen return to the tavern in Trollskull Manor.

The very next day, the tranquility of the Batmen is interrupted by a massive explosion outside of their manor.  They rush outside to see what happened, and quickly figure out that someone set off a fireball. There are ten dead, including two Zhentarim agents and a gnome. Chip managed to palm a bag of gemstones off of the gnome. They interviewed witnesses, and find out that it was a mechanical man who used a necklace of fireballs. He wore a red robe and foppish red hat with a feather. He also had a long, stylized Van Dyke beard. (This is unique to the Gralhunds’ nimblewright and may help identify it to Captain Zord later.) He took something off the body of the gnome, and fled. There was also a heavyset man in his forties who was injured by the fireball, but limped off of the scene towards the Bent Nail. Chip attempted to follow him, but was only able to catch a glimpse as he faded into the street crowd. The watch arrived soon afterwards to cordon off the crime scene, led by Sergeant Saeth Cromley and his assistant, Barnibus Blastwind, and the party retired to Trollwind Manor's Inn to compare notes.

Shortly thereafter, Renaer showed up. He said he was supposed to meet Dalakhar here, but given the commotion outside, fears the worst. Dalakhar was a gnomish agent of his father's, and had something to hand off to Renaer, so Renaer had suggested meeting at the tavern. He didn't know what it was, just that it was something valuable. The party didn't have much to go on yet, but Marty recalled that the Temple of Gond had a mechanical man in the parade the day before, and so the party went to the House of Inspired Hands.

As they approach the temple, they see a mechanical man atop a balcony. He throws something at the party, narrowly missing Hank. It turns out to be a mechanical sparrow, though unfortunately destroyed. The interior is truly a wonder to behold, with several ingenious contraptions on display, including a miniature submarine called the Scarlet Marpenoth. The Batmen are met by Valetta, a bronze dragonborn. When they tell her of the incident with the sparrow, she shakes her head and tells the party to follow her. In the attic is the mechanical man they saw earlier on the roof, a construct of bronze and clockwork parts. Its hair consists of multicolored overlapping feathers. Valetta chastises the creature she calls a nimblewright, and names it Nim. She says she is going to have to take away his toys, and some acolytes move to empty the attic. As they empty the attic, Dagrim notices a mysterious rod, and inquires. It turns out to be a nimblewright detector. Sensing an opportunity, Hank asks if they can rent Nim for their tavern. They agree to pay 50gp up front and 5 gp per day, for four days every tenday. They then leave and, the hour being late, head back to Trollskull Manor for some rest and to plan their next steps.

Session 5: Big Trouble in Little Marekh

We'd tracked our prey to the finest neighborhood in all of Waterdeep: Little Marekh. Our goal was to settle the score with a local crime boss whose thugs had shown the audacity to assault my companions. It was good to be back in Little Marekh; although there is more evidence of the inferior, barbaric cultures there than would ever be allowed in one of the great cities of Calimshan, the neighborhood nonetheless contains more sophistication and refinement in a single block than exists in the rest of that entire, stinking metropolis. Here, at least, the subtle aromas of haute cuisine and Calishite pipeweed mingle with the usual miasma of feces, urine, and unwashed bodies. That our foe was also Calishite bespoke the vitality and boldness with which Calimshan has gifted her people.

We had learned the boss' name, Zalam, as well as one of his usual haunts: a tavern called Abu Shakram. Since I, Rasool yn Zyad el Dumein, am naturally fluent in the beautiful Alzhedo tongue and, furthermore, knew the place quite well, my companions requested that I enter and see what I could discover about Zalam's whereabouts. I did so, accompanied by one of my companions, and, almost immediately, an agent of the Ghazi motioned me over. He assured me that his organization had not been involved in the assault upon our persons. The Ghazi then told me that Zalam was known to frequent a Temple of the goddess Sharess named Antarang, and that he had a consort there named Savaresh. He also told me to check for Zalam at a laundry called Shivaji Ghat, which fronted a den of iniquity below.

We decided to investigate the laundry first. Myself and my companions had little luck interrogating the laundress about the supposed basement gambling house, but eventually we did find our way inside. It is worth noting that the elusive Mungo Corpulent Johnny made an appearance at this juncture. I find this Mungo quite to my liking, although his claims to be a fellow buccaneer seem rather overblown. (I've certainly never heard of him or his exploits at sea.) It is also worth noting that several of my companions showed their true colors by attempting to enter the gambling den in disguise. Because they are cowards.

Over the course of the evening at Shivaji Ghat, we learned that Zalam and his gang were headquartered at a local warehouse. We made our way to the warehouse only to find it infested with orcs. These orcs had apparently run off the previous human inhabitants, and so we left them to their squalor. The warehouse had proved a dead end.

Our last lead was the Temple Antarang and the priestess Savaresh. We entered the temple, which was exceedingly tasteful and welcoming, and almost immediately made the acquaintance of Savaresh. She explained that Zalam had been having a run of bad luck (and, hence, quite likely could no longer pay for her ministrations) and freely gave up the address at which he resided. The entire experience was quite charming and I will surely pay the priestesses another call in the future.

Our new companion, the streetwise Graycen, guided us to the slum were Zalam dwelt. I was called upon to kick down several doors in the tenement complex before we found one of his bandit "bodyguards" asleep in a chair. We quickly captured this bandit and discovered Zalam himself in a room beyond. He was accompanied by some sort of sentient ooze that he appeared to be keeping as a pet or guard animal. My companion Hank Sword (or was it Chip?) then fired an arrow at Zalam in a fit of zeal. Perhaps he had been shaken by the ooze's presence, which had attached itself to another of our compatriots in most discomfiting way. Regardless, keenly aware of the consequences should we kill a rival boss, I swooped in and grabbed up Zalam in a vice-like embrace from which he had no hope of escape. Zalam quickly took stock of his situation and capitulated. He promised not to pursue any further action against our group and, moreover, offered what I can only assume was his last remaining wealth as compensation for our troubles.

All in all a fitting conclusion in which justice was served and our demands for satisfaction satisfied. We returned to our work renovating Trollskull Manor in preparation for the festivities of Fleetswake.

Session 4: Fetch Missions

Lord Cuysen Muccilleigh is dead, I say again, Lord Cuysen Muccilleigh is dead. Though we knew him only for a short time, no pun intended, he seems a gentle soul. Always quick with a good word and dispatch those with wicked intentions. This is how our day ended, though it feels as if all the events of the day were leading to this.

We've learned of many things in our new home and in this city. the factions jockeying for power and those strictly here to disrupt the comings and goings of the average citizen. We informed both the Zhentarim and the Harpers of the Drow hiding in the theater. Both groups said they they will keep this information and possibly make preparations for future endeavors. In our search for both work and funds to refurbish our new home, we set out to meet the Blackstaff, Vajra Safahr. Yet another faction in the city, this faction is interested in the magical angle to the goings on in the city. Our contact sent us on a mission to find a hermit in a nearby mountain with information that was needed by the Blackstaff. We did find out way to the hermits hideout but at the cost of exhausting two of our group. Not a good experience for young adventurer's. The Monk, Hlam, gave us "the message" said in finger quotes as none of us understood what he said, nor meant. He said "Evil’s twin hides its face for now. Expect that to change before spring's end." Our message passed on we were paid for our efforts and made a friend that may call upon us again should they need help.

On our way back to our home Lord Cuysen spied two men about to duel. Stepping in in his customary fashion, his aim was to separate the men from doing something they might regret. No sooner were his intentions made clear than we were assaulted by thugs. We came to discover that this is a common ploy use by "ruffians", to quote Lord Cuysen, to rob or kill them. We were not able to dispatch nor capture these criminals before the city watch came to our aide. We were unhappy to have left it so but no harm was done to our comrades in the long run and we have become aware of yet another danger in this city.

Our druid, Yinrick, mentioned to us that the Emerald Enclave, yet another faction asked of us to look into a mater outside the city. We've discovered that some of the local farms have been beset by malignant scarecrows, attacking the farmers and their families. This was the point in which our friend's situation went from bad to worse. The last living member of the Muccilleigh family is no longer with us to continue the family name. These scarecrows or whatever they were, were no mere beast brought to life. They were something, and yes I say were as we did put an end to their terror but not before one of them did in Lord Cuysen and almost took out Yinrick. We mourn our friend and comrade and return to our home slightly lessened by the experience.

We are becoming a known group in the area now. We've met some of the local children that knew of our efforts and endeavors in the city. We hope this local notoriety doesn't attract the unwanted kind of attention.

Session 3: Trollskull Manor

Excerpt from Hank's celebrity autobiography, working title "How I Became the World's Richest Twins (and You Can't Two)"

...Volo contacted us to go to the city hall and sign over the deed to Trollskull Manor.
We decided to take a look at the manor that was deeded to us. It turned out to be a ramshackle dump. The others saw some potential, and a halfling named Broxley Fairkettle from the Fellowship of Innkeepers told us he could more or less set us up with all the guild contacts to refurbish the place and set us up with a license. This seemed a little too much like a slow way to get marginally better off and I'd probably only get 2/8 of a share. I'll leave the decisions to people who care about those type of things and lend a hand here and there.

We talked it over and decided to go back to the Yawning Portal and talk to Yulie* about some more instant gratification. She didn't have much but introduced us to Dan* another contact who let us know someone was disrupting our common interests in the Docks district by decapitating elves and, more importantly, half-elves. The lordlings split off to meet some gelded fancy pants who invited them to the Opera. They got two tickets to the opera to meet someone else. We got back together and decided to split up and pursue both leads. They went to the opera. Meanwhile the rest of us devised a plan to meet down where the disappearances have been happening. We split up until nighttime. Chip agreed to find our friend from the docks and knowing Mungo Corpulent Johnny, I'm guessing they got to day-drinking and passed out before the planned meetup.

I broke out my disguise kit to become Andy Oakley, fallen druid, and covertly observe the goings on at a few bars, but it must have been too early because I didn't see any other elves. The bell rang eleven and we met up at the corner. I told them what I'd been doing, but it wasn't working, so we decided I would be used as bait. I stashed my costume and pretended to stagger down an alley while the rest did their best to hide.

Well, the bait worked a little too well and some drow took a shot at me from a rooftop with a pistol. I flattened myself to the wall and he shot at me again. Dagri tried to put him to sleep, Cuysen challenged him by calling him a scoundrel, Yinrick turned into a bug and scurried up in the drow's face and started blowing spores at him. I missed most of what happened next because there was a sphere of darkness, and I couldn't scale the wall, but I heard a couple of blasts of thunder. Just as I was getting frustrated, it turned out that my intuition was correct and the drow had made a big mistake waking up a drunken pirate. Mungo Corpulent Johnny had been inside the shop and he quickly scaled the wall and took a second to take in the situation. It seems that my colleagues had talked the drow into surrendering and he said he was Soluun Xibrindas a member of a drow organization called Bregan D'Aerth. He also said that they operate at the Lightsinger Theater, which is where the opera was as well.

But apparently that wasn't enough for Mungo Corpulent Johnny. I guess he likes Chip and I more than I knew, but he blew a fuse and tried to throw the drow from the roof. His gambit failed, but Dagrim helped him out of the situation. I'm guessing he was embarrassed and wanted to avoid answering questions, so he disappeared into the darkness just as I finally pulled myself up on the roof. Dagrim pointed at him, and the drow grabbed his ears as he fell to the ground and died.
I thanked him for putting an end to the creep who tried to blow my head off twice. When the drow died, the darkness disappeared, and Mungo Corpulent Johnny was gone.

* Names changed to protect the living from prosecution

Session 2: Into the Sewers

The kenku were dead or asleep, and so the lower floor of the warehouse was secured. Chip Sword-Fitzcarraldo slapped one of the bird-people awake, and yelled at it to answer their questions. His attempt at intimidation was apparently successful, and he asked what they were doing there. The bird squawked out in a thick, half-orcish voice "Xanathar sends its regards" Squawk "Guard the warehouse". Dagrim noted, in response to this oddity, that Kenku are mimics, and can only repeat what they heard. His curiosity satisfied, Chip joined the search of the room. It was full of crate with old or abused equipment, uniforms, and supplies, none of it of any value. There were twelve bodies against the wall. Five are Zhentarim sellswords with the familiar black winged snake tattoo. The seven appear to be Xanathar thugs, with a tattoo of a circle with ten spokes radiating out of it somewhere on their bodies. Chip begins to go upstairs, but Rasool convinces him they should check out the closet first.




Inside the closet, hiding under a tarpaulin, they find a well-dressed young man who introduces himself as Renaer Nevember, son of the former Open Lord. He tells them he was attacked by Zhentarim when he was trying to get his friend Floon home. The Zhentarim questioned him about the half million dragons his father had embezzled, but Renaer didn't know anything. He and his father aren't close. They took his mourning locket. Their curiosity apparently satisfied, the party went upstairs, keeping a close eye on Renaer. The upper floor was largely empty except for a middle-aged man with the bearing of the city watch, they tensed up, but the man introduced himself as Martin Crane, and suggested they work together. Dagrim sent his bat to a nearby safehouse, asking for instructions. The crates upstairs were likewise filled with worthless items, and there was a suite of offices to the north. In the suite, they found among the rats an unused paper bird and a broken locket. Strangely, they didn't connect the locket with the locket Renaer said the Zhents had taken from him. Examining the locket, they saw that there had been something hidden in a secret compartment.  They start to leave to take Renaer away until their contact tells them what to do, but he pleads that they need to find Floon. They reply that they don't know where to look for Floon, but Renaer says he heard the Xanathars taking him somewhere, and maybe the kenku knew something. In a thin, nasally voice they say "Take him to the sewers. Follow the yellow sign." Martin is able to follow the track of the Xanathar thugs to a nearby sewer grate, and they drop in to the fetid tunnel.

Following the yellow sign (a circle with ten spokes), they spend an hour trekking through the sewer when they come across a three-way intersection, guarded by a small, 8-inch diameter orb, with four eyestalks sprouting out of its body. The party surprised the gazer, but had a difficult time hitting its tiny frame. In response, the creature shot out rays of frost and telekenetic force. The ray of frost didn't connect, but the force ray slammed into first Chip and then Rasool, sending them flying across the room. But after having been weakened by a ray of frost from Chip, Dagrim was able to end the fight with Toll the Dead. Not ten minutes later, they came across the Xanatharian lair. The lair entrance was covered by two guardposts, each containing a sleeping goblin. Chip attempted to sneak by, but he tripped on his own cape, and his loud curse woke the goblin. The team was fortunately able to kill the goblin after he only rang the alarm bell once, and they continued to explore the complex.

Further in, they snuck up on a Duergar, Zemk, and his colleague Krentz, who they recognized as the thug who attacked Yagra in the Yawning Portal. Zemk and Krentz are in the process of barricading the door. Rasool is able to strike Krentz with his glaive, but the pair recover quickly, and Zemk grows to twice his usual size. Nevertheless, he is inept with his war pick, and Krentz is even more incapable, and they go down quickly. Behind the door, the party finds a puddle of gray muck oozing about, and make the wise decision to close and re-barricade the door. Further into the base, they find a larger room, where a man is being tortured by a half-orc, while a mind flayer watches from a stone chair, stroking his pet intellect devourer. They are seen, and the half-orc readies an attack while the mind flayer, Nihiloor, strides out of the room.

The fight goes against the party at first, with Marty falling to the Devourer's claws (though fortunately he avoids falling prey to its psychic attempt to take over his body). But Hank was able to do serious damage to the intellect devourer with his rapier, while a fire bolt from the half-orc went wide. Lord Cuysen was finally able to down the mage with his blade. Wounded and with Floon rescued, the party returned to the Yawning Portal. At this late hour, the tavern was nearly empty, but Volo was still there, together with Renaer keeping him company. At the sight of Floon, Renaer visibly brightened, while Volo stood up and embraced him. “I confess that I have but few coins to spare. But never let it be said that Volo reneges on a promise. Allow me to present something much more valuable.” He holds out a scroll tube. “The deed to a remarkable property here in Waterdeep! We'll need a magistrate to witness the transfer of ownership. I'll arrange a meeting with one after you've inspected the estate and deemed it satisfactory.” The deed indicated ownership of Trollskull Manor, a historic building in the North Ward. "I'll even pay the title transfer fee," Volo added generously.