#40 Plus 9 Intelligence

Location: Gauntlgrym

Party begins to make their way back to the Vault of Kings when they find a dog alone at the minecarts

a newfoundland is whining and pacing, clearly stressed
- Mylz and Zaz are able to get close enough to spot a nametag: Bear
- Mylz soothes Bear, who climbs on her affectionately, but still displays distress
Zaz creates a psychic link with Dibrael, who turns into a great pyrenees
- Bear immediately communicates with Dibrael, saying that his owner is trapped and he needs help digging her out

Bear leads Party back through the Iron Tabernacle, running past Sir Lanniver Strayl, and down into the catacombs

they arrive at a collapsed wall and hear a woman calling for help on the other side
- Bear starts digging, uselessly kicking dirt around
Skjorn suggests explosives but the woman immediately protests, unwilling to let the nearby graves be damaged
Zaz uses Gust to push the small debris out of the way
Party pulls out any relevant tools from deep in their inventories and they begin digging
- Dibrael is attached to his shield via rope so he can use it as a sleigh to carry rocks away; pretty creative, Mylz!
- not having enough strength on their own, they must recruit the drow; Zaz persuades Shoor with the promise of helping him pants Skjorn

Morista offers her support and pledges 1 new NPC and giant riding lizards for everyone
- but there's one condition: Party must look for her missing scout, Sladis Vadir
Party heads back to the Vault of Kings to clean themselves up

Party seeks out the next representative, Lady Eravian Haund of the Lords' Alliance, at her suite

her guards allow them inside, and Mylz immediately scruffs Skjorn and Zaz before they can wander
Lady Eravian points to Dibrael, still in dog form, and demands that he leave because she is allergic
- Dibrael transforms back and she is only mildly surprised
- Skjorn is rude to her about not wanting a dog in the room, giving the party a bad start to negotiations

at first, Lady Eravian is unimpressed and unconvinced by the stories of Demon Lords running loose underground

she's heard relatively little besides rumors of cult activity, which is nothing new
- it takes both Dibrael and Mylz using their formal persuasion training to convince her of the very real threat
Lady Eravian promises her support and 1 new NPC
- she also asks Party to find any information on Khalessa Draga, a deep-cover spy who's gone silent, without compromising her position

Skjorn is allowed a snack on the way out, and Dibrael regrets not asking for any himself

in the hallway, Shoor deliberately seeks eye contact with Dibrael before pulling out and eating a stolen snack
- Dibrael believes Shoor is being friendly, so he smiles and waves back
- Shoor responds negatively, so Dibrael quietly asks if he's okay (while eating one of the snacks that Zaz just stole from Shoor)
Shoor calls him an idiot in Undercommon, which is purposefully mistranslated to "I love you" by Zaz
- this makes Dibrael happy; he will now die for Shoor

Party visits Lord Zelraun Roaringhorn of the Harpers, a dragonborn archmage

Lord Zelraun invites Party to dine with him while they attempt to persuade him
- he is already concerned about the Demon Lords and has mages researching a way to defeat them, but he knows they need the knowledge of Gravenhollow to succeed
however, he wants to test Party to reassure himself that they are up to the task

if any of them can defeat him in a chess match, he will pledge his support

Skjorn, Mylz, and Jorlan lose horribly
Zaz proves a worthy opponent but also loses
Dibrael does surprisingly well in the beginning, but loses anyway
as their last chance, Sarith manages enough luck to win against a man with +9 Intelligence
- Dibrael excitedly hugs Sarith with all the energy of a golden retriever; the drow tenses up and pushes him away

Lord Zelraun declares that he trusts them with their mission and promises 1 new NPC

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