Intro
Last session, our intrepid adventurers narrowly survived the battle of WoW C3.S2.08- Danger at the Distillery
The story picked back up as the party and their Zhentarim, Waterdeep Chapter allies took stock of the carnage and tended to the wounded
Pyperfound herself barely clothed after the fiery battle, and exhausted from the surge of energy she had experienced
Metatronia was missing and presumed dead after a mysterious magical darkness had swept her away
Ziraj rode around the corner on his massive black warhorse and took aim with his bow at Bruce and shot a Gazer out of the air that had been spying on the group. He added rather intimidatingly, “Gotta watch your back my friend…”
Urstul Demands the Stone
The Zhent boss Urstul Floxin thanked the party for their help in the battle, but questioned Bruce, having seen him attack Pyper. Bruce said he had been mind controlled by the The Thieves Guild and Fearonuh backed him up, confirming she destroyed the evil amulet
Urstul next asked them to hand over the Unknown, being a bit wary of everything that had gone down
A quick thinking Bartholomew conjured a fake copy of the stone and handed it to Urstul
In that moment, gunshots rang out and Ziraj slumped over in his saddle bleeding. As Urstul turned to look, the Stone of Golorr was snatched from his hand and began flying away from them, seemingly on its own. Before anyone could act, it had slipped into a dark alley
Urstul swore loudly and confirmed that Drow must have been behind this, after confirming bullets with rare drow poison had been used on Ziraj
Urstul opened his Eversmoking Bottle, creating a thick cloud that obscured the group. He suggested that it was best if they left the scene quickly, and used his ring of teleportation to transport everyone to the warehouse where the party had been initiated in the Zhentarim ranks in WoW C2.S1.04: South Ward Saviors, Zhent Initiation
Meeting of the Zhentarim Inner Circle
Back at the warehouse, the Zhentarim helped provide potions of healing to the injured, and revived the unconscious Vonna. She however retained serious scars on her face, having been burned by the magic of the Fire Elemental.
Meanwhile, Urstul told them he’d like the party to stay for an emergency chapter meeting in the morning, and sent word to his trusted officer. The party snoozed on some crates until the meeting.
Urstul introduced his trusted lieutenants Vevette, Agorn, and Kaevja, and the party introduced themselves
Agorn confirmed to Urstul that Grinda Garloth had been found dead, and Urstul congratulated Vonna on following through on her orders to interrogate and kill her
Urstul applauded the party for their performance in the battle and dumped the charred head of the Mind Flayer on the table. He confirmed that they had not come away with the stone, but they had killed over 30 Thieves Guild members, including two top lieutenants.
Urstul suggested they take the next two days to heal and rest, but that they’d strike the Thieves Guild soon. He suggested that everyone attend the party’s benefit concert to be held at Lost and Found Tavern to honor the dead Zhentarim, and to help protect the event from any additional ambush.
Urstul next brought the party up to speed with the so-called “Grand Game”. He confirmed that the Zhentarim had been hired as tax collectors by the former Open Lord Dagult Neverember, and that it came to light that a portion of the collected taxes had been embezzled. However, Urstul said they had nothing to do with that, and needed to clear their name. He said the Unknown was a magic item that was the key to the location of the embezzled gold. He said it had been used to erase the memory of anyone who ever knew the details of the embezzlement scheme and the location of the gold, including Dagult himself. Finally, he said that the stone had been “blinded” by removing its three black eyes. Without all three eyes, the stone had no power. He said that The Overseer had one of the eyes, having stolen it from the Zhentarim. He said he suspected that Dagult had one of them in his possession, and had no leads on the third eye.
Urstul next asked the group if they had any other leads to share on the Overseer:
Bruce confirmed that when he was being mind controlled he had been inside a Thieves Guild base that had a hidden entrance in the basement of a sweets shop call the Orb Confectioners. However, he said that there was a password to get in that he didn’t know.
Vevette said she had been approached a few weeks ago by a woman named Seffia Naelryke who had requested a meeting to discuss a potential partnership with the Zhentarim. She had sat on it, but suggested they look into her.
Importantly, the party did not share that they knew Grinda had been due to deliver weapons to a location called the Terasse House of Healing to be used in some kind of “gladiatorial combat” coming up
Ustul closed the meeting by awarding the party 100gp each for killing the Mind Flayer and said he would send word on the next plan of action after the benefit concert
Metatronia’s Resurrection
Meanwhile, someone had rescued Metatronia's unconscious body from the battle at the distillery and her to the Dancer’s Grove. This was a grove of trees that had been planted within the ruins of a large villa, and was a shrine maintained by the (primarily female) drow clerics of the goddess Eilistraee.
The Dark Maiden Eilistraee is the chaotic good aligned daughter of the evil drow goddess Lolth, and the two are locked in eternal conflict. Eilistraee seeks to reach out to those drow still trapped in Lolth's web, aiding them, and guiding them to a new life and future on the surface. Eilistraee’s godly portfolio include beauty, dance, freedom, hunting, moonlight, song, and swordwork. The Dark Maiden strives to offer kindness, help, and protection to all races in need, and nurtures beauty and art.
Under the dim light of the new crescent moon Metatronia regained consciousness only enough to sense that she was laying by a fire and someone was trying to heal her. She heard a female voice say “Its too late… she’s slipping away” before blacking out again.
Metatronia found herself in a dark misty realm, standing in an empty muddy channel, almost like the Erie Canal in winter
She saw a light in the distance and she felt herself drawn to it, a trancelike state began to take hold of her
Then a moth fluttered by her face and hovered for a second, as if to beacon to her, before flitting up the side of the embankment
She was able to break free of the trance and followed the moth, clamoring up onto higher ground and found herself enveloped by thick fog as she heard an eerie female chorus singing in the distance. She was able to follow it through the mist and climbed up a small hill to find a faintly glowing pool of water at the top where the mist was clearer. It was perfectly round and she saw a glowing ghostlike reflection of herself in the surface.
She then saw images of herself from her past:
She saw herself being waited on hand and foot as a noble of House Melarn back in her home city of Menzoberranzan deep in the Underdark. Endless suitors lining up to bid for her affections
She saw the drow fanatically worshiping the spider goddess Lolth, and the zealous devotion of her mother Zhindia. She relived her mother stabbing her infant brother to death in ritual sacrifice. She saw her grow to secretly undermine her mother, stoking her rage and pushing her to self-destruct. She saw her mother leading the extermination of those who would dare disobey the will of Lolth.
She saw the great the uprising her mother led against House Baenre, the ruling family. She saw the final battle in which her mother had been filled with powerful dark energy, but was ultimately killed and the Melarn noble house destroyed. But in that moment the hypocrisy of Lolth had also been exposed for all to see. For the Demon Queen had turned her back on Zhindia, her most devoted follower in her time of greatest need.
She saw the Drow exodus, thousands venturing out of the great cavern, some making their way to the surface.
But she also saw the Demon Queen biding her time, regaining strength
Next she saw her own reflection again in the pool, except it is an otherworldly version of her with skin as black as the night sky and hair made of long flowing silver flames. It was so beautiful, just the sight brought tears to her eyes.
She saw her reflection begin to sing a wistful song: BRING ME TO LIFE
And as the song came to a crescendo, she and the reflection reached out to each other and they joined hands. Metatronia was pulled down through the pool of water. She and the figure whirled in a mystical dance, singing an impassioned duet. She felt a massive jolt and she opened her eyes back in the material world.
But she was hovering 30 feet in the air, illuminated by a moonbeam. Below her she saw a circle of drow women around a fire in a wooded clearing who were singing but now looking up in astonishment. She gently floated down to the ground. She saw that this small forest was inside of a collapsed villa in Waterdeep.
The woman who appeared to be the leader says: “It cannot be… the mark of the Dark Maiden. Her forbidden Aria has not been heard in over 100 years…”
Metatronia saw then that her hair is now made of a glowing silver fire. And she found that she was holding a longbow made of an unknown material that shimmered in the moonlight. It had several recesses along its length where it looks like small objects or ammunition could be stored.
The woman said: “My love, I am Trelessara and you were dead, far beyond saving by our magic. We had sung the song of death, and all but buried you. Eilistraee has brought you back, for what greater purpose, I don’t know.”
Return to Trollskull Alley
The party returned home after the Zhentarim meeting, walking home exhausted in the morning light
They arrived to find that Slumbeare had been drugged and was still unconscious
The Street Urchins kids were traumatized, and said men had come looking for Grinda. Lif tried to defend the tavern and was throwing chairs. There was evidence of a struggle.
The party proceeded downstairs and found Grinda lying in a pool of blood in the basement. But just as they were about to mourn her, she began to sir. She had used the spell of False Death to appear dead and ensure Vonna’s promise to Urtsul to kill her was fulfilled. Grinda said with morbid humor: “Well I am dying… of cancer, just not quite yet. ”
Pyper asked Grinda about her floating magic crystal. Grinda told her that she simply used it to help summon elementals, that it made breaking the barrier through the ethereal plane easier. She confirmed that it didn’t have any sentience or innate power she was aware of, and that it must be something to do with Pyper.
The party asked Grinda to tell them more about the weapons deal she had been due to complete the next day. She told them that the Terasse House of Healing was an Orc house of healing, but a known spot for competitors and spectators to gather for the Overseer’s gladiatorial games. She said she was concerned for her safety delivering the weapons knowing that the Thieves Guild burned down her workshop.
Grinda also said she could get N8’s memory core running with some spare parts from the Sea Maiden’s Faire. It might have useful information.
Finally, Grinda said was working on perfecting shrinking magic, and had started building a tiny home for herself inside the wall of the basement. She said it was dangerous for normal humanoids but ok for constructs like TMM05. She began to teach Bartholomew the technology involved- spell resonators.
Interlude Montage
Grinda and Bartholomew repaired and upgraded TMM05, adding a new force field. She also added a new shrink button that allows it to shrink to the size of a 6 inch cube
News: Orc refugees have been arriving from the north, something is driving them down out of the Spine of the World mountains. They are camping in the Field Ward and outside the city gates. Shamans have foretold that the next great orc warchief will arise in Waterdeep.
The Lost and Found Benefit Concert
Thanks to Bartholomew’s quick thinking when being interviewed by Volo after the explosion, they got a ton of free advertising in the Whispers of Waterdeep paper for the benefit concert. The place was packed and heavily guarded by both city guard and Zhentarim.
They had been approached by a band called ZZ Tops who offered to pay for free
Much to their surprise, the band turned out to be part of the Sea Maiden’s Faire carnival, and was shamelessly promoting themselves. The lead singer was none other than Captain Zardoz Zord, the ringmaster
Zardoz launched into an epic ballad, a new hit song that was sweeping through Waterdeep- “Sweet Drow of Mine”
During the performance, Metatronia returned from her mysterious visit to the Dancer’s Grove and walked through the concert crowd. Zardoz spotted her and sang the rest of the song making sustained eye contact and gesturing towards her.
After the song ended he said: “Thank you, thank you! I am Captain Zardoz Zord, and we are ZZ Tops. You can catch us playing every other night at the Sea Maiden’s Faire. We are honored to sponsor tonight's benefit concert with our friends at Lost and Found. Our hearts go out to the families and friends of the victims of this week's tragic explosion. A portion of tonights sales will support the survivors, so you are drinking for a good cause! And guess what? This round is on me! Please enjoy the rest of the show, while I treat a very special fan to a surprise VIP experience!”
The Date of Metatronia and Zardoz
Zardoz escorted Metatronia toward the tavern and threw a hefty bag of gold to Fearonuh. It was packed inside, so instead he conjured an ornate pink gazebo floating 10 feet above the street crowd, with steps leading up to it from the tavern porch. Inside was a table set with white linen tablecloth and fine dishes. From up there it was a great viewing of the band. Metatronia somewhat reluctantly agreed to go sit with him there as the other party members looked on. As she sat, two well dressed servants appeared from thin air and begin waiting on them, pouring them wine.
Zardoz proceeded to ask Metatronia about her experiences growing up as a drow woman in Menzoberranzan, saying that he had always been interested in drow culture. As their conversation progressed, Metatronia grew increasingly wary of how much he seemed to know about the drow and that he had served her a rare drow wine. Finally, he asked her if she was a worshiper of Lolth. Metatronia was a bit evasive with her response. Zardoz said: “Let us celebrate your freedom from that dreadful cult!” and offered her a deep fried spider. Metatronia waited for him to make the first move and take a bite, and then she followed suit.
Chuckling to himself, Zardoz said: “One can never be too careful” and went on to reveal that he was a well known male drow in disguise. His true identity was Jarlaxle Baenre, the leader of the Bregan D'aerthe mercenary company. He was the most powerful and well known drow figure living outside of the cult of Lolth. Bregan D’aerthe was rumored to secretly control the city of Luskan to the north.
Zardoz confirmed that he had been keeping tabs on Metatronia after she was spotted with the party at the Sea Maiden’s Faire. He said that he was the one who had rescued her from the battle at the distillery, and who had stolen the fake stone from Urstul, knowing it was fake.
He told Metatronia that he was also interested in the Stone of Golorr because he wanted to help return the embezzled gold to the city and its people. He said he was trying to make a good impression with the Open Lord Laeral Silverhand to boost his chances of getting Luskan inducted into the Lords Alliance.
After a bit of flattery, Jarlaxle offered to officially ally with Metatronia and her team. He said she didn’t need to confirm then and there, and gave her a small magical necklace with which she could call him. He made a dramatic bow kissing her hand, and disappeared in a puff of pink smoke.
Planning for the Terasse House of Healing
The next day was the day that Grinda had been due to deliver a bundle of weapons to the Terasse House of Healing for the secret gladiatorial games. The party considered their previous offer from Meloon Wardragon of Unknown to aid them in approaching the location. They also considered working with their Zhentarim allies. Instead, they decided to call upon Captain Zardoz Zord, aka Jarlaxle Baenre, their newest potential ally.
Fearonuh was a bit anxious about going to the orc house of healing. She had been avoiding it since she came to Waterdeep, wanting to distance herself from other orcs due to her troubled past.
Metatronia called Jarlaxle using the necklace he had given her and he met the party at the tavern to make plans. He confirmed that he and his team had been targeting the gladiatorial games as an infiltration opportunity as well. He said that the Overseer hosted the games two or three times each year in the summer and it involved 6 on 6 battles, or battles against a ferocious beast.
He warned them that the Overseer’s guards would be screening guests for weapons and that they would likely have magic that can see through disguises as well as see anything invisible. Entering as gladiatorial combatants would be one way to get in with weapons. He provided the party with magical masks of disguise (Hat of Disguise) to conceal their identity. The party was hoping to at least get through the initial entry point via the Terasse House with these disguises.
Jarlaxle said he and his team would be infiltrating the gladiatorial games from another entry point that was much more dangerous. Having two groups was best strategically.
Infiltrating the Terasse House of Healing
The party did a stakeout of the Terasse House from the window of a building across the street. They watched as a few different groups came to the door, and appeared to give a password before being granted entry.
Bart used his magic to see and hear through Ruffles, and sent his cat familiar slinking over near the door to spy on the activity. He was able to confirm the password: “I hear the bawdy star burns bright tonight”
Using their masks of disguise, the party approached the door having each taken the appearance of the opposite gender of their true identity, but the same race. The orc guard asked for the password and it was provided correctly. They paid 100 gold to enter as combatants and were permitted to keep their gear.
Once inside, the party was confronted by Lutra Terasse, the old orc shaman woman who was the matriarch of the establishment. She immediately keyed in on Fearonuh who was disguised as a male orc. She said she hadn’t seen him before and asked him where he hailed from. Fearonuh said from the Spine of the World Mountains, and Lutra said that there had been a lot of orcs migrating south recently, something was pushing them down out of the mountains. Lutra asked him (Fearonuh) to come sit with her and she held his hands and offered to do a reading for him.
Lutra pulled out a pouch of small bones and shook them up, casting them onto the table. She said that she saw in the bones that Fearonuh was destined to participate in this gladiatorial battle, and that she would have an important role to play in leading and guiding the orcs. She said cryptically that she knew who Fearonuh truly was.
Lutra wished the party well in the battle and she brought them to a store room in the back of the building where she revealed a secret hatch with stone stairs leading down in the ground. The party seemed to trust Lutra and they all began to traverse down the stairs.
However, as soon as they were all down the hatch, Lutra said “Good luck!” and pulled a hidden lever. The stairs magically transformed into a slippery stone ramp, and the party slid at high speeds through a series of twisting sewage filled tunnels down into the depths below Waterdeep. They were eventually deposited into a cell with iron bars, captives of the Overseer once again…
TO BE CONTINUED