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.

Session 1: The Yawning Portal and the Search for Floon

It starts with five men walking into a bar. They are clearly a group used to working together, but the dark dwarf appears to be their leader. The bar is one of some renown, the Yawning Portal, and they are their to meet a contact. The Duergar, Dagrim, is a necromancer and fence, and though he has some contacts with the Zhentarim, he hopes to build a closer working relationship with them. He heard that local bruiser Yagra Stonefist needed someone to do a job. With him is his crew. There are two half-elves, his adopted nephews, Hank Sword and Chip Sword-Fitzcarraldo. Yinrick is a druid who specializes in fungus. Finally, the pirate Rasool yn Zyad el Dumein rounds out the group, providing some much needed muscle. Sitting at the bar, amid a host of people who don't matter, are two nobles about to fall in with Uncle Dagri's crew: Durai Essex and Cuysen Muccilleigh.

Chip Sword-Fitzcarraldo

The group immediately spots their contact. At 7 feet, Yagra Stonefist dominates any room she is in. At the moment though, she seems preoccupied with the bald-pated man in front of her, his head covered in tattoos shaped like eyes. "“Ya pig! Like killin' me mates, does ya?” he cries out as he swings at her. She slips his punch nimbly, and decks him with her counter-punch, but four of his friends are already on her. Fortunately, Chip and Rasool leap in to help, as do Essex and Cuysen, and after some punches and a rap of the blunt end of Rasool's glaive, the thugs slink back into the shadows. "Not that I need the help, mind," Yagra says, "But thanks." And she invites Dagrim's crew, along with Essex and Cuysen to join her. It turns out, it isn't Yagra, exactly, that needs their help. A friend of hers, who should have been here by now, needs some help. She offers to buy the group a round of drinks [ed -- suggested group name, the Fun Guys], and just as the drinks arrive, a round of cries come from near the well at the center of the tavern. "Dip! Dip! Dip!"

The inspiration for this call appears to be a slender yet muscular young man, in the process of slapping a gold piece on the bar. In reply, the bartender Durnan hands him a wooden cup and a silver bell, and he heads to the well and he quaffs a beer as the bar breaks out in riotous song:

THE DIPPING SONG

Deep and dark down below,

where only fools and braggarts go,

where monster roam and dangers mortal,

few survive the Yawning Portal,

stand your ground or ring the bell,

and hope you make it up the well!

The beer quaffed, he throws the cup down the well, grabs the rope, and holds on as his friends begin to lower him. Bets on how long it will take him to climb out begin to fly around the bar, and Hank Sword, having sized the man up with his keen eye, bets a nearby patron that the man will make it out in under three minutes. After two minutes, the bar is restless as bets are settled, but he makes it back out in just under three minutes, and Hank wins a dragon for his trouble. Things seems settled, but then people notice the troll climbing out of the well, stirges hovering around its head.

Durnan grabs a sword from under the bar, and he and Yagra race at the troll, yelling for the party to take care of the stirges. The fight goes quickly, with Yinrick and Dagrim knocking out the stirges, while Yagra and Durnan are aided by Cuysen and Chip in taking down the troll. As the fight ends, Durnan announces a 'troll special': a round of drinks on the house. As the tables picks up their drinks, a figure with a floppy hat, mustache, and scarf approaches the table. "Volothamp Geddarm, at your service." He is impressed with the party's flair against the troll and stirges, and eager to hire them to help him with his problem. His friend, Floon Blagmaar, has disappeared. He was last seen at the Skewered Dragon, where Volo left him after deciding to make it an early night. The next day, Floon's wife (who's existence was a surprise to Volo!), showed up, asking Volo if he knew where Floon was. Volo offered 10 dragons each upfront, and 100 dragons each when Floon was found.

Volo recommend the group start searching at the tavern, but they decided to go to talk to the wife first. She evinced concern for her husband, but the party was unable to learn anything useful from her, so they headed to the Skewered Dragon. On the way to the bar, they passed some guardsmen in the process of arresting some Zhentartim thugs with the tell-tale flying black snake tattoos. They pass a weird purple shop, and continue to the bar, nestled among the tenements. At the Skewered Dragon, they learn that Floon met up with a friend, an uppity noble type, and when they left, they were followed by several men, one of whom had a tattoo of a black flying snake. Asking around the neighborhood, our heroes find out that Floon and his friend were attacked outside of the purple store, known as the Xoblob Shop. Walking through the crime scene, they enter the shop and question the proprietor, Xoblob. The deep gnome tells them that he saw the attack, but not what happened afterwards.

Stuck for a lead, the crew decide to talk to the Zhentarim. Cuysen uses his influence to convince the City Watch to let them take the thugs in, and Dagrim knows of a nearby safehouse, a warehouse on Candle Lane. Something appeared to be amiss when they arrived -- there was a dead winged snake in the yard. The doors were locked, but after a few tries, the party was able to enter the storage facility. Nothing seemed to be immediately wrong, but once most of them were inside, arrows flew at them from behind a stack of boxes! Four kenku were in the warehouse, and the party was under attack. Chip was hit hard, but a well placed sleep spell incapacitated three of the kenku, and Rasool downed the fourth with his glaive. Clearly, something had transpired to make this house less than safe.

Session 0: Of the City of Waterdeep, and its Environs, circa DR 1492

Waterdeep is the largest city in Faerun, its fortunes built on its economic might. This in turn is based on both its deep natural harbor and the famed tolerance of its residents. Known as the City of Splendors, Waterdeep is a place where anything might be bought. The city is ruled by a council of masked lords, their identity masked even from each other. Ruling publicly is the Open Lord, currently Laeral Silverhand. She ousted the previous open lord, Dagult Neverember, in 1489. He was not well liked. He was widely viewed as corrupt and favoring the interests of Neverwinter over Waterdeep. The rumor is that he embezzled half a million gold pieces (called 'dragons') from the Waterdhavian treasury.

Key to the day to day operations of the city are the guilds and the nobles. It is said that no business gets done without the involvement of at least one guild, and often several. It's illegal for the guilds to interfere with someone who wants to do the work themselves, but it's not unheard of for untoward things to happen to someone who, say, wants to roof their own inn. There are 76 noble families in Waterdeep, from famed families like the Amcathras (whose scion became Lord of Shadowdale); the Cassalanters, wealthy moneylenders; and the Wands, a family of powerful and noble wizards; to lesser known families like the Gralhunds and the Muccilleighs.

The date is the first of Ches, 1492. Dagri and his crew: Yinrick, Chip, and Hank are heading to the Yawning Portal to meet up with a new contact, Yagra Stonefist, who had said they knew someone who had some work. Lord Cuysen Muccilleigh and Essex are enjoying the hospitality of the Yawning Portal. In just three weeks, the twin festivals are set to start; first, Fleetswake on Ches 21, and then Waukeentide on Tarsahk 1. The streets are full of rumors. A sea captain named Zardoz Zord just arrived in town with a trio of carnival ships. His troupe, the Sea Maidens Faire, are here to entertain the city curing this festival season. Meanwhile, the tensions between the Zhentarim and the Xanathar Guild have been heating up, with some worriers talking about a gang war. Responsible people don't think it'll come to that.

This is my Boomstick

Some times, the patrol forces in the large cities of Zolarion need more firepower than crossbows provide, but don't have time to return to barracks to get a mage. Wands of fireball are expensive, and dangerous in the hands of the sometimes unreliable hands of Eastern Solaria's peacekeepers. Enter the boomstick! Depending on anticipated needs, a patrol may carry one or two of these portable artillery items -- enough to make a difference in a quick siege, but not so much firepower to alter the balance of power between the criminal syndicates and the law.

A 'Boomstick' is a single use wand. When pointed at a square and the command word ('Boom') is uttered, a fireball will erupt in that square, dealing 3d6 damage in a 10' radius. The wand will the disintegrate into dust, its magic spent.

Session 71: Showdown with the Wolf Spider

After returning to Darkshelf, six pieces of the rod in tow, the party met up with Qadeej to plan their next step. He told them that the last piece was being held in the Citadel of Chaos, where Miska was imprisoned in the abyss. The Abolitionists prepared a series of spells, readying for the battle that surely awaited them. The magic users protected the party from poison, and gave them the ability to fly before Qadeej took them to the 87th layer of the Abyss.

The 87th layer is dark, with themes of black and red. Most of the plane consists of interconnected spider webs the size of tree trunks, where spyder-fiends run and hunt whatever creature is unlucky enough to find themself on this layer. A howling wind dominates the layer aurally, and it is said that at times it is loud enough to drive men mad. The citadel of chaos is a massive fortress guarding the plane, roughly a 1/2 mile on a side and dominated by a keep complex whose towers run 700 to 900 feet high. A shimmering white barrier encloses the castle, the cocoon of law that keeps Miska imprisoned.

The journey to Miska's home was harrowing, Qadeej's planar chariot pummeled by the chaos of the Abyss. Qadeej circled the castle, and he noted a gap in the southeast corner. "That must be where the spyder-demons took the last piece through the curtain." He let them down on the western wall, and told them he'd wait to bring them back. Volodemir took out the rod, and it pointed to the central portion of the keep, southeast and somewhat above them.


The castle was strangely quiet, and free of dust and webs. There was a gate made of a strange silvery metal, trapped with hidden blades, that turned out not to be locked, and then some stairs took them up to Miska's apartments. The suite was silent, the floors black marble, and the walls had a mosaic of white, black, and red tiles. The rod pointed to the center, so the party went straight there. Upon entering the central room, Gahl'akr spotted the seventh piece of the rod sitting on a knee-high altar of white marble. Volodemir moved up towards the rod, and three spyder-demons, a raklupsis and two phisarazus, burst in. Unfortunately for the fiends, the abolitionists had grown strong, and they posed no threat. Volodemir took the last piece of the rod, and in no time at all he had the entire rod assembled. Miska then teleported into the room.

Miska is an enormous, armored spider, 15' long. He has three heads. The central head is human and stunningly handsome; two sleek and terrible wolf heads flank the human one. He has four massive human arms covered with long, stiff hairs. The fur on the wolf heads in rust red, as are the hairs on Miska's arms. His human head has long, flowing hair as black as a moonless night. His spider body is blue-black, like a knife blade discolored by a flame, and marked with bands of gray, silver, and blue. His arms are as white as bleached ivory. He roared, and with a single punch caused Volodemir to drop the rod and flee from the room. The battle was joined!

MacGuyver found his weapons useless against the demon lord, but Gahl'akr hewed mightily with his greatsword, taking massive hits from Miska in return. Flint grabbed the Rod dropped by Volodemir, and beseeched Adreham's aid against the foe. Lynnya peppered him with arrows, and Varis unleashed a plague of insects in his face, but nought availed until MacGuvyer pulled the Iron Bands of Bilarro from his pack. One perfect toss and the fiend was caught, unable to burst his bonds. In response, he exploded in a flurry of webbing, and Varis, Goblin, and Flint were trapped in acidic cocoons. The fight continued bitterly, with Gahl'akr shaking off anything the demon spider could deal out. Varis used bursts of eldritch power to blow the cocoon open, magic streaming to injure the trapped wolf-fiend. Goblin teamed up with his spiritual weapon to burst his silken coffin, and dealt Miska a blow that left him unconscious. Flint was freed from his enclosure, and he took the Rod and stabbed Miska through the heart. The erstwhile king of demons was dead, but the rod shattered, and its pieces scattered as if flung by a giant hand.

After Miska's death, the castle began to fall apart, and spider webbing the size of a purple worm began to plunge through the keep. The party fled to the rampart where Qadeej was to meet them, but he was gone! With few options left, Goblin prayed for divine intervention, and the party was astounded to see Vassa herself appear, clad in her leather armor, bearing her trademark whip and eyepatch. "I would not normally come myself," she stated, "But it appears you have done us a great service. Here, let me take you home." With a crack of her whip and a crack of thunder, a lightning bolt came down around the party, and they reappeared at Arquestan's manor, safe and sound.