Rapid Recap
- Following the events of WoW S.14 Assault on Kolat Towers, Manshoon trapped the Orthon Yurgir in a crystal with the party's help, then demanded the party submit to loyalty spell or die.
- Pyper shattered the crystal triggering a Wild Magic surge, transforming her into Fjera Cindari — a towering fiery form — as Manshoon unleashed a golem, gargoyles, and black tentacles against the party
- Fjera pursued Manshoon upstairs and killed him with a wall of fire. She then stole the Unknown the party had to fight her to stop her from escaping with it.
- Kaevja Cynavern surrendered, offered to back their bid to lead the Zhentarim, and helped deactivate the tower's defenses
- The party found Manshoon's notes on Jarlaxle, a devil worshipping cult, and his nimblewright experiments including N8
Full Recap
Following the events of WoW S.14 Assault on Kolat Towers, the party found themselves on the 4th floor of a tower in a room with a magic circle inscribed on the floor.
Manshoon pressed his prosthetic arm to his ribs, steadying himself against the lingering poison from the Orthon’s dagger. He straightened, eyes sharp behind his silver mask despite the pain.
The fiend had finally been subdued, knocked out cold by Bruce, but alive. The party dragged its massive bulk across the chamber floor. Its clawed feet scraping the rune-etched stone.
The moment it rested fully inside the inscribed pentagram, Manshoon spoke.
“Containment.”
Runes ignited beneath the Orthon, flaring into blazing sigils. Bands of force surged upward, locking its limbs in perfect, helpless symmetry.
Manshoon then summoned a glowing blue hand which brought forth a small framed canvas of animal hide, a quill, and a large amethyst crystal. Manshoon inspected the Orthon carefully as the hand began sketching it in intricate detail.
Manshoon chided the unconscious devil. “Ah, my friend, it is unwise to challenge a wizard in his own study. I can't wait to find out who sent you on this suicide mission.”
Meanwhile Kaevja Cynavern passed out the remaining potions of healing while the onlookers spoke in a hushed tone. Fearonuh tended to Vonna who was still a bit woozy after being knocked out twice.
The sharp eyed Bartholomew noticed that Manshoon’s grizzly stab wound didn't heal when he drank the potion. Odd…
Once the sketch was complete, Mashoon placed it and the crystal on an ornate stand at the edge of the circle-
“With my injuries, I will need help from four spellcasters to trap him in the crystal. Thankfully this is a place of power, the weave is easily accessed here.”
Pyper, Kaevja, Ziraj and Bart stepped forward. Manshoon gave the order- “To your positions. Watch my sigils closely, follow my lead.”
The spellcasters did as instructed, mirroring his intricate gestures as streams of arcane energy flowed into the crystal. It thrummed in harmony with the tower’s hidden leylines, drawing from the very foundations into the ritual. The crystal seemed to glow and pulse with life, the walls and air vibrating in tune with the surging power. When the crystal reached the peak of its brilliance, Manshoon shouted an arcane phrase. The Orthon’s body turned to mist, and was funneled into the crystal.
Once the process was complete he inspected the crystal in his hand proudly as the resonance settled into his control.
He addressed the party-
"I sincerely appreciate your assistance. I see great promise in your team — you may be raw, unfocused, but I know potential when I see it. I take a special interest in people like you. With the right guidance, a little push — you could change the course of history."
“Fearonuh, I will entrust you to keep the Stone of Golorr for now. But be warned, it is no mere rock. It will speak to you, attempt to influence your decisions. Thankfully, it has the same goals as we do, to locate its remaining eyes, and it can help you to that end.”
"Help me acquire the eyes and I will reward you handsomely. Not just in gold, but in power, knowledge. I can help you each unlock the secrets that you carry.”
“Unfortunately, today your friends confirmed that your loyalties lie elsewhere. I know you released Jarlaxle's scout at Yellowspire.”
He turned his gem slowly in his hand.
“It seems you have been playing both sides… you are fools to think this wouldn't eventually catch up to you...”
A brief pause. Then, reassuring:
“Well don't fret, if I were going to kill you, you would already be dead. No… why eliminate such promising assets? You are still Zhents after all. Your treason can be overlooked. My trust can be earned back.”
“But until it is, I'll need to take precautions. You must each consent to a spell that will ensure your loyalty.”
He lifted the gem slightly, its glow crawling across his face.
“You can walk out of this tower as my allies, or not at all. The choice is yours.”
Vonna asked: "What kind of spell exactly?"
Manshoon responded: "The kind where disobedience has immediate, painful consequences. The details need not concern you."
Metatronia stepped forward: "What if we offered you something else instead. TMM05 — our warforged. On a temporary basis. He's an exceptional asset, worth more than—"
Manshoon cut her off: "I appreciate the creativity. But I'd rather borrow all of you. It's all or nothing, I'm afraid. Those are the only terms I have any interest in discussing."
Pyper scoffed, scowling at Manshoon. The room grew tense as Manshoon turned and approached Pyper, studying her like a specimen.
He had an unnerving, effortless grace that demanded her full attention. She found herself locked onto his silver mask, its polished surface catching the light with an otherworldly, captivating shimmer. His eyes held her in a steady, silent gaze that felt impossibly heavy. The world around her blurred into insignificance, leaving her dazed and frozen, held fast by the sheer, magnetic weight of his stare.
“Ah Pyper, you can't be angry with anyone but yourself. It is your own poor decisions, your own weakness that got you here. Your power could be magnificent if you could manage to control it. Do they know how much danger they have been in — by simply standing beside you? Let me help you.”
“Why don't you tell them the truth of why you left home.”
Manshoon stared into her soul.
Pyper sputtered: “Its true, I haven't told you the whole story. When I first gained my magic, I caused an explosion that destroyed my home. I was exiled because of it.”
Manshoon: “And she is still holding back. She is noble born, her family ruled a small city. The explosion killed her father. A painful reminder of the dangers of uncontrolled magic.”
His gaze hardened.
Manshoon began casting a complex and lengthy spell
“Now listen closely and heed my commands!”
The air thrummed. Limbs stiffened. Minds dulled, as if submerged beneath deep water. Manshoon’s presence was captivating, his dark eyes peering back from behind his silver mask, shimmering in the dim light.
“You will…”
Pyper’s muscles screamed to move. Nothing obeyed.
Then—beneath the paralysis—something shifted.
A heat like molten metal ran down her spine.
A familiar voice coiled up through her ribs, low and taut with impatience:
The voice (whispering):
“The fool thinks you can be tamed… but fire serves no master.
Fate has drawn us here, Pyper, a tower just like the one where our story began. It is time to face the truth you've always feared. Give into your fury, reveal the inferno inside."
Pyper remembered that fateful night, the explosion that destroyed her home, killed her father. She fears for her friends if something similar happens here, but it seems to be the only option unless they are willing to be Manshoon’s slaves.
Pyper gritted her teeth and her hand began to quiver.
Then suddenly her own floating crystal flew at Manshoon, smashing him him the face. As he reeled, Pyper lunged for the one in Manshoon’s hand. Her mind screamed with pain and she was yanked from her body.
The moment she grabbed it the crystal shattered in Pypers hand, releasing a violent Wild Magic surge. Energy coursed through her as the explosion knocked everyone else in the chamber from their feet.
Meanwhile, Pyper’s body hovered in mid air absorbing more power from the weave, spine bending into a brutal arc.
A guttural scream tore from her throat, raw and ragged, before being swallowed by the roar of power.
Her muscles swelled, fibers stretching beneath her skin as if something massive was trying to push out from underneath.
Her arms jerked, fingers splaying, joints cracking like snapping branches.
Her veins glowed— bright orange, then molten-white — pulsing harder and harder until the glow broke through her skin in blazing seams.
Her shoulders broadened with a wrenching pop. Horns punched through her brow in sudden, violent bursts of ember and smoke.
The figure crashed to the ground like a meteor and when the smoke parted, there stood a hulking female form. Molten light pulsed beneath skin of living flame. She rose to her feet, a figure of fire and wrath, as terrifying as she was beautiful.
Manshoon lay twisted amongst rubble after the explosion. He stretched out his hand and teleported to the top of the stairs leading up to the next floor. He blasted Ziraj with lightning before disappearing from view. A large metal golem tumbled down the stairs shortly thereafter and began attacking the party. Manshoon summoned a field of black tentacles to block the stairs. Kaeva blasted the party with a Cone of Cold, inflicting serious damage.
The figure that had emerged from within Pyper took off from the ground with another deafening boom which damaged everyone nearby. Bartholomew was knocked unconscious and was pushed off of a ledge. He would have fallen at least 40 feet down to the lower tower levels, but the quick acting Metatronia loosed an arrow that pinned his cloak into a crack in the stonework. Bartholomew was left dangling precariously until Vonna came to his rescue, pulling him back up onto the ledge and using her healing powers to get him back into the fight.
Pyper’s new form blasted the golem with rays of fire from its fingertips before flying up to the next level to follow Manshoon. Ziraj attacked the golem with his glaive.
Next, three gargoyles flew up from the lower tower levels. One successfully snatched up Metatronia and attempted to drop her 40 feet to the stone floor below. Mid-air, Metatronia successfully grabbed onto the gargoyle’s wing and pulled herself onto its back. She was able to control its flight enough to jump off safely to a nearby ledge. Fearnonuh tore apart another gargoyle with her newfound claws. Vonna finished off a third gargoyle after aiding Bart.
Meanwhile, Bruce leapt at the fearsome construct, delivering a savage stike with his Shau Lung Dao. He attempted to knock it backwards into the field of tentacles, but it held its ground. TMM05 also slammed into it with its drills, but it hit back hard.
The flying fiery figure reached Manshoon and summoned a wall of fire. Manshoon screamed in agony as he was burned alive, slumping to the ground. The fiery figure poked its head back down the hole to the floor below and announced that the wizard was dead.
The party refocused on the mighty golem and finally finished it off. As it crumpled to the ground Kaevja quickly yelled: “Stop, I surrender! Don't kill me. I will help you get out of here safely and I promise to back your bid to lead the Zhentarim.” The party determined she was being honest and agreed to keep her alive.
Kaevja told them that she had read there was a control panel on the towers top level that would turn off the tower's magical defense systems. Unfortunately the stairs to that level had collapsed long ago. They agreed to have Bartholomew accompany her and they both misty stepped up to the top level. They carefully explored a dark passageway filled with traps and Kaevja eventually located the arcane rune at the far end. While Kaevja interacted with the rune, Bart noticed a secret door and carefully opened it. Inside was a musty bedroom choked with cobwebs. Floating the center of the room was a skull wreathed in flames. It yelled “Get out of my house!” before blasting Bart with rays of fire from its eyes. Bart quickly slammed the door and he and Kaevja hastily retreated back down to the lower tower.
The party picked through the tower looking for further clues and information. They inspected Manshoon's remains and found a charred cloak and his prosthetic arm sitting in an puddle of liquid. They acquired a teleportation ring and an amulet that allowed them to pass through the tower's forcefield. They also found the following key notes written by Manshoon:
1. On Captain Zord
Jarlaxle Baenre is in Waterdeep… how did I not learn of this sooner. I thought he was busy being the pirate lord of Luskan. He is using the guise of Captain Zord. Three ships in the harbor, a carnival for a cover.
I still can't ascertain what his motives are. He didn't come to Waterdeep because of the Grand Game. He only learned of it late, through his mass surveillance scheme, but has moved faster than anyone since.The gold in itself would not have been enough of a draw for him. There must be something more to it.
His heist for Xanathar's eye could not have gone better. The Lost and Found were fools to trust him, its clear he intended them to be merely a short lived distraction. Thankfully they proved themselves formidable, as I knew they would. He has since taken over Xanathar's smuggling routes and contacts, including the trafficking of slaves it seems. Always an opportunist.
He is charming. He is shrewd. He is incredibly dangerous.
2. On the Cult
This began with a woman named Seffia Naelryke. She had approached one of Urstul's people seeking an alliance with us, no details. We began pulling the thread. She had named a meeting location, an old windmill on Coachlamp lane.
We attempted scrying twice. Both times — nothing. Not blocked. Not redirected. Simply nothing, as though that hour did not occur. This is not arcane protection. We knew then to proceed with caution.
Another location of interest: a nondescript residence on Aveen Street, North Ward. Unremarkable from the outside. Our watchers report irregular foot traffic at odd hours. Naelryke has been observed entering and leaving.
We caught a glimpse of a gold mask one day hidden under the cloak of a visitor. This is not a philosopher's circle. This is some type of devil worshiping cult.
No name. No hierarchy we can identify.
The participants we’ve been able to identify hold positions of influence — merchant houses, at least one noble family, possibly the judiciary. They are not desperate people. They do not take risks like this without something significant to gain.
There have been three City Guard investigations into rumors of such a cult that were closed early in the past two years. Each time the order came from above.
Continue observation. Do not engage directly.
3. On the Nimblewrights
We acquired one of the constructs being sold at the carnival and disassembled it in the workshop here.
It is not merely a servant. The craftsmanship is exceptional — deliberately so, enough to distract from what is built into it. Concealed within the chest cavity: a small recording apparatus of unusual design. It captures sound and image within its immediate surroundings. We have not yet determined how the information is retrieved, but the implication is clear.
Every household in this city that has purchased one of his constructs is compromised. Fortunate that I discovered the device as quickly as I did.
We acquired nine more and set to work. The underlying construction is remarkable — whatever else he is, Zord's artificers are exceptional. I drafted plans for a stealth infiltrator prototype. Versions one through seven were instructive. Version eight — N8 — exceeded expectations considerably. The modifications hold. I am quite pleased with it. Next I plan to develop a heavier combat unit based on the classic shield guardian design.
[Below the text, a precise mechanical diagram depicts a forearm assembly. Annotations in Manshoon's hand indicate a spring-loaded launcher mechanism integrated into the wrist, with a coiled cable and grappling hook. A note in the margin reads: "range approx. 60ft — sufficient"]