Previously: Chapter 78: Pulling the Thread
An Unexpected Visitor
After spending most of the day with Berry, Thistlethorn finally completes the ritual in the small hut, managing to awaken the owlbear. He immediately remarks that speaking feels weird when they say hi to each other, but he thinks it shall be a pleasant experience to be able to talk to the rest of Thistlethorn's friends. She repeats her previous instructions about not talking to random people they meet, and that he should stay close to his brothers, Argus and Ira, as they can help him get acclimatized.
They head inside, and Berry gets a proper introduction to the rest of the party, referring to Kal as the angry one, Penny as the pretty one, Relic as the shiny one, and Arin as the stressed out one. He also points out that Relic seems to not have any scent, but Penny smells wonderfully. Argus and Ira both fear that they are being replaced, but Thistlethorn assures them that they are only growing as a family. They seem to accept this, and flies over to Berry in order to clean him.
Afterwards, Penny creates a gem encrusted bow, giving it to Kal, who prepares a proper Heroes’ Feast in order to prepare for their nightly escapades. As everyone has seated to join in on the meal, there is a knock on the door. Penny runs over to answer it, finding Delphine standing on the porch, asking if she can come in. Thistlethorn is ambivalent, but Penny and Kal both tell her to come inside, welcoming her to join in on the feast.
As she sits down, she congratulates the party on managing to defeat Gundraag, the Lord of the Black, saying that her “birdies” told her that they were the ones to do it. By doing it, they have restored trade to that part of the region, which is good for everyone, herself included. Delphine then asks what their plan is when they know the location of the key, offering to bring along some of her allies in order to make the mission easier to complete, unless the party wishes to keep it small. Kal says they will have to discuss that further, and wishes not to make any final decisions about that at this time. Thistlethorn is not trusting of Delphine, but holds her tongue when Kal tells her off.
Delphine then asks what the occasion for the fine meal is, and both Kal and Thistlethorn notice that she seems taken aback when they tell her they are heading to a noble’s mansion in order to rescue a kidnapped daughter of another noble. They tell her the name Anton Galvani, which she seems to recognize, but when asked if she would like to tag along, she says that the party can manage well enough by themselves. She offers to help by lending Kal her boots of elvenkind, asking them to be returned to her when they are done.
After the meal is finished and they feel more powerful, Delphine departs, trying to pet Berry on her way out, but he just snaps his beak at her, remarking to Thistlethorn that Delphine is also scentless. Penny thinks this is weird, but Relic says that she is the Elder Archmage of Illusion after all, so it’s not that unreasonable. Thistlethorn then puts Berry in the pocket ball, and then heads to the city with the rest of the flock after promising Arin that they will return victoriously. On the way there, they put Argus in the harness, and then put the sending stone in it, so that they can communicate, telling them to keep an overwatch over the mansion during their mission.
Through the Sewers
The party decides to take a stealthy approach, with Thistlethorn casting Pass Without Trace, allowing the party to sneak close without drawing too much attention. They find a manhole cover in a back alley, quite near the mansion, and can see several of the guards that were patrolling the mansion grounds also appear to be patrolling the streets looking for potential intruders. Luckily, they don’t look down the alley the party is in, and when the guards have passed, they make their way down to the sewers below.
The stench is unbearable, so much so that Thistlethorn has to stuff her nose in order to not gag. Relic luckily doesn’t have to smell anything if he doesn’t want to, and finally Penny and Kal both endure as well as they can. After walking for a few minutes, Thistlethorn can hear voices coming from up ahead. As Relic prepared a telepathic bond, she lets the others know. Penny sends forth Riff in spider form to get a closer look, and sees that there appears to be two guards standing vigilant next to a door, talking to each other to pass the time.
The party make a quick plan, with Thistlethorn sneaking up to the guards in spider form as well, and then quickly comes out of wild shape, pushing one of the guards into the rushing sewers below. The other one, surprised, doesn’t manage to do much before the rest of the party attacks it, and soon after both guards are dispatched, with the help of a lingering crocodile who paid with its life in the conflict. They search the guards, finding a key, but little else, before dumping the bodies in the sewer canal and cleaning away most of the blood. They then unlock the door, finding a large chamber within.
Thistlethorn immediately can tell that the room is trapped somehow, as the floor is separated from the walls, as well as hearing a faint rushing noise from another stream below them. There is a lever next to the door going further, but it seems too easy. A quick investigation reveals that there seems to be a couple of loose rocks in the wall that have seen some use, and when Relic pushes on them, they give away. He pushes on the two that he can find, and then pushes the lever, opening the door.
On the other side, they find another cleansing stone that they have seen before, but they decide against it, just in case it is trapped. Penny and Relic both do prestidigitation to remove the smell, allowing Thistlethorn to finally remove the moss from her nose. Continuing onwards, they ascend a narrow staircase, and find another stream, this time much shallower and cleaner, seemingly greywater.
Penny sends forth Riff once again, and sees a light up ahead. Before she can tell the others it’s clear, she hears voices, and sees a man coming down a staircase that ascends over the stream, who goes on to relieve himself while talking to another man out of view. After doing his business, he ascends the stairs again, and Penny can hear a large door opening and closing, as the voices disappear in the distance.
Breaking and Entering
The party quietly makes their way down the canal, and carefully up the stairs, making sure that there is nobody around before stepping into the light. They see two sets of double doors, one leading to the western part of the mansion, while the other leads to the eastern. Relic recalls that the daughter appeared to be on the eastern side, so they go to that one. Before touching the door, Relic decides to make sure, and uses detect magic, finding a strong abjuration aura on it, and figures it is probably alarmed. Penny dispels it, and then tries the key they found on the guard, but it doesn’t appear to fit. She takes out her thieves tools, and manages to unlock the door with ease. They carefully push it open, finding a hallway within. Thistlethorn immediately sees the obvious trapdoor on the floor, and figures that there must be a way to lock it. She sees that there are faint scratch marks on the torches, so they try to turn it, which appears to also turn the torch on the other side of the hallway. They try to step on the trapdoor, but nothing happens, so it seems safe. They make their way across, but Relic senses that there is still an abjuration spell present, figuring it must be a private sanctum spell. It appears to be permanent, so they will have to leave the area in order to teleport out.
Penny easily unlocks the next door as well, and when they are sure that nobody can be heard on the other side, they pull it open. Within, they find a large chamber with 20 feet tall wine racks filled with expensive wine, big caskets of what appears to be hard liquor line the walls, and several crates and barrels are scattered about. Dominating the northern wall is a large tapestry, and in front of that a massive golden statue of what Penny immediately recognizes to be Vuthul. The party shudders, and gives him a scowl, before starting to search the room, not wanting to linger for too long.
They figure there must be an entrance nearby, and start looking at the walls, pulling the curtains to the side, finding a hidden door in the northeast corner of the room. Relic quickly finds the button to open it. Within, another hallway leads further down underground. The party quickly makes their way down, but stops when they hear laughter beyond the door at the end of the hallway.
Riff stealthily makes his way through, seeing two guards who appear to be playing some cards. There are two locked doors here, one with 6 locks and a big steel beam for good measure, and the other one appears to be a solid steel door leading north. Next to the wooden door leading to the hallway, a rope with a handle hangs from the ceiling, probably some kind of mechanism to alert for danger. The party comes up with an idea that would disable it, and prepares to rush in by the door. While Riff is observing, he overhears them speaking of a poor servant girl that was swept away to the ocean because she didn’t know about the trap, and also of someone called Bex who gives them the heebie-jeebies.
Riff climbs up near the hole where the rope is coming out of, positioning himself. Penny casts inflict wounds through Riff, targeting the rope, which shrivels and is destroyed, the handle falling to the floor. This alerts the guards, but there is not much they can do about that. They immediately spot Riff, squashing him. The party then opens the door, and attacks the guards.
Knowing that the guards are Weavekillers, they have some tactics that are detrimental to the party, but Kal comes up with the clever idea of casting fog cloud, obscuring the entire room, but allows the party to see fine since they now have blindsight. The guards make a valiant effort to repel the intruders, but in the end are disposed of. When the fight is done, Kal disperses the fog cloud as the party begins to examine the doors. Searching the guards yields no keys, so they will have to break the daughter out some other way. Penny starts working on the door to the north, curious about what's inside, while Kal takes the silver and copper that the guards were playing with.
Relic decides that it is too much of a hassle to try to pick the locks, using a spell to create a portal in the wall instead. The stone separates, and a light shines into the prison cell within. A scared, beaten and exhausted Eliara Darrowmere is sitting on the bed in a defensive position, her feet chained to the floor, with only an old bucket for relieving herself. The stench is pungent, and Relic quickly assures her that they are here to rescue her. He and Thistlethorn both go to work on the chains, using primal savagery to break them apart. They then lead her shambling outside, away from her cell.
Meanwhile, Penny has managed to pick open the other door, albeit not without difficulties. When she opens it, she sees four more doors, probably to smaller cells within. She asks if anyone is trapped, and a hoarse voice in the third cell asks if it is a trick. Penny assures whoever is within that there is no deception here, they are here to help them. The voice introduces herself as Little Scratch, and that she was captured when breaking into the mansion. Penny picks the lock, releasing her, finding a Tabaxi woman within. She is led outside, with Kal and Thistlethorn both spotting a tattoo on her arm, the symbol of the Shadowhands.
Trapped
Having found what they were seeking, the party decides to make a swift escape. Thistlethorn uses another Pass without Trace, and the party makes sure that both Eliara and Little Scratch get some healing so that they can make the journey. They sneak as well as they can up the stairs to the wine cellar, but are suddenly face to face with a huge golem, two more Weavekillers and a translucent illusion of Anton Galvani himself.
The illusion looks straight at the party, saying that they have taken what is his, and wants them to return his “property” to him. Kal and Thistlethorn replies that slavery is outlawed, and so he doesn't really own anyone, but Galvani just scoffs at this, saying that slavery isn’t outlawed everywhere. He turns to the Weavekillers, ordering them to take them alive as his master wants a word with them, before turning to the party one final time.
“Next time you break into someone’s home, make sure to check all entrances for spells”
The illusion disappears, and the golem and Weavekillers move towards the party to take them. They see that the golem has some sort of collar in his hands, and is emanating an anti magic field from his head. Luckily, as their Artifacts of Harmony are more powerful than most other magical items, they are unaffected by the field, and can still be used.
The party scrambles away from the field when they find that it can cause whoever is caught in it to endure a lot of psychic damage, which both Thistlethorn and Penny are vulnerable to. Thistlethorn tries to use a storm javelin at the golem, but it just straight up absorbs it. The Weavekillers also manage to avoid the damage completely, while using their grenades to strike back at them.
Relic summons two giant spiders to help them out, with Thistlethorn using the bag of tricks to summon help. Master Elk suddenly appears in their midsts, ready to attack the golem, but its armor is tough, and Lord Elk can only do so much. They do however discover that the golem cannot absorb all magic, and slowly but surely they manage to chip away a lot of its lifeforce. Thistlethorn summons a bear totem giving everyone a healthy dose of temporary hit points, but Kal still is knocked out by one of the Weavekillers after the golem tried to put a collar on her.
The golem begins to show cracks in its armor, and one of the Weavekillers mutters to himself that it will soon blow, and tries to escape down the hallway to the cells where Relic has taken a tactical retreat. Penny hears this, and decides to do a measure of last resort, using a banishing smite, and then shooting the golem with Harmony. Just as the golem explodes, it is banished away, saving everyone in the room from the explosion.
The remaining Weavekillers are soon disposed of, and Thistlethorn heals Kal, bringing her back to them. Penny starts working on the door to their escape after finding it locked, and manages to unlock it. She opens it to look out, coming face to face with Malice who is expecting them, her arms crossed, looking quite angry. Penny quickly shuts the door, telling the others through the telepathic bond that Malice is here, but Relic finds that hard to believe. She assures him it’s true, and they have to make their escape as soon as possible, to avoid her wrath.
They think quickly, figuring that they can either go through the door and escape through the trapdoor, or make another portal through the wall, and then use word of recall to safety. They decide to go for the second option, making a hole that leads to the sewers, and helping both Eliara and Little Scratch through. Six more Weavekillers spot them, yelling to Malice that the party is escaping. Malice opens the door to the wine cellar, trying to hold Thistlethorn back, easily dispelling Pennys attempt at stopping her, but thanks to the heroes’ feast, she manages to resist.
With the Weavekillers coming straight for them, and Malice approaching from the rear, the party gathers around Kal, who uses word of recall to bring them to the shrine of Udall in Ravenforge. Thinking they are safe, they take a moment to breathe, with Kal casting a sending to Arin, telling her to get away, as Malice is in town, and she’s pissed, while Penny casts a sending to Thervan, letting him know that they are coming to the castle. Before he gets a chance to respond, Malice appears, having teleported after them. Relic quickly tries to teleport them out, but Malice counterspells him. Relic uses his own counterspell on her, and just barely manages to overcome her magic. The party vanishes, appearing in the safety of Thervan’s study.
Revelations
The party along with Eliara and Little Scratch make their way down the stairs, and are met with the dim blue light of the glowing sphere that usually warms and lights up the office. Thervan soon appears in the doorway wearing his nightclothes, being flanked by a couple of Royal Incinerators. He asks if the party is okay, and wonders who their new friends are, before recognizing Eliara. The party tells Thervan everything they discovered, from the coverup by Darius Hargrove of the city guard, to Gavriel Darrowmere who ordered it, but only because Malice had kidnapped his daughter so that he would do her bidding.
Little Scratch assures Thervan that she is nobody important when he asks who she is, but thanks the party for helping her, and that it will not be forgotten, as Gimble will make sure that they are rewarded handsomely. She then scurries out the window from Thervan’s tower, disappearing into the night.
Thervan, looking tired, offers to bring Eliara to her home, casting a sending to Gavriel, asking if he has misplaced any daughters recently. The reply comes quickly, and Thervan tells him to meet them in the dining room. He then wanders over to a cupboard, looking for something. Bertram then appears in the doorway in his nightclothes, lookin dead tired, asking why Thervan deployed the garrison and the Incinerators, but Thervan assures him that he has it under control, telling Bertram to go back to sleep. He says he will, but expects a proper explanation in the morning.
Thervan then emerges with a candlestick, an associated object from the Darrowmere estate. He asks if the party would be so kind as to accompany her to her home, just to make sure that nothing dangerous is amiss, saying that he has sent over a couple of Incinerators to keep guard. They reluctantly agree, and stand close to Thervan, who sends them on their way.
They appear in a big fancy dining room with a long, beautiful ornate table, surrounded by many different cupboards and display cases, filled with expensive artwork and artifacts. The doors burst open, with Gavriel running inside, and embraces his long lost daughter. He looks up at the party casually, but his demeanor suddenly changes, and he puts himself between his daughter and the party, demanding to know why they have come.
The party is confused at first, saying that they saved his daughter, but he asks why they would do that when they are in cahoots with the woman who did this to him. They assure him that they’re not, but he rebukes them, saying they looked mighty friendly when they spoke with her during the coronation. They think back, wondering who he speaks of, asking to describe her. He says it was a blonde elven woman. Penny and Thistlethorn share a look, with them turning into both Malice and Delphine by using disguise self. He looks at the image of Delphine, saying that it was her, but that she told him her name was Malice. The party suddenly realizes the deception they have been a victim of.
Wanting to make sure, Kal casts a commune, hoping that Delphine has forgotten to use her protective magic for the day. She asks if Delphine is in league with Malice, but gets a negative reply. She asks if the Delphine that spoke with Gavriel was the real Delphine, which is true. She then finally asks if Delphine and Malice is the same person, which appears to be true.
They ask if he has a way of contacting Thervan, and so he bids them to follow him, as he has a sending stone to him. They follow, but Kal stops, realizing that it is not safe enough, instead using her last spell to cast a sending herself, telling Thervan that Malice is Delphine, and that they don’t feel safe going through the streets. Thervan sounds bewildered and has a hard time believing what he is hearing, but soon appears in the Darrowmere residence.
They discuss what they should do going forward, thinking that they should not let Malice know that they know her true identity now, but Thervan says that will be difficult, wondering if the party can keep up that deception. They all look to Thistlethorn, and realize that they probably can’t, but begs Thervan to hinder her in their research somehow. He says that it will be hard, as she is the one who has been the most knowledgeable, and coming up with many helpful solutions to the puzzle, which in hindsight was a quite obvious tell. In either case, the party isn’t safe in their own home, and asks if they can sleep in the castle. Thervan agrees, offering to bring them back.
Gavriel, having sent his daughter up for a bath and a meal, says that he will leave town in the morning with his family, but promises that he is still loyal to the crown, and agrees to return to face his just punishment for his betrayal when this is all over. The party asks what else Malice asked him to do for her, and he lists a few people he was told to make sure were hired to be guards at the castle, among them Armitage and some of his soldiers. There also were a few shipments to an address in the city, which Thervan recognizes as Delphine’s residence. Gavriel wondered why she needed so much snow…
Thervan tells him to not worry about any punishment for the moment, just get to safety. Relic says that they should look into some amulets of nondetection, with Thervan saying he will bring some to him the next morning. Gavriel thanks the party one final time, offering a reward by handing Relic a note, telling them to seek out an Fizban who might be able to help them, before Thervan brings them back to the castle.
Tired and exhausted, with much on their minds, they agreed to journey to the Feywild the next day to seek a cure for Gleamshroud. Their next destination would be the Crags of Despair, where they hope to find the blade needed to finally vanquish the Forgotten One once and for all. Penny makes sure to cast a sending to Karga, asking her to meet them there. She replies that she will see them soon.
Kal, wanting more answers, does another commune, asking if Delphine and Malice have always been the same person, which apparently they have. She then asks if Fie knew, but the reply is more vague. It appears they had their suspicions, but never had confirmation. In either case, they weren’t on Malice’s side.
They take out the Holy Avenger from the bag of holding, asking Thervan to give it to Raven if he can be sure that she isn’t in league with Malice or her plans. He promises to do so, and tell her who gave it to her.
Thistlethorn released Berry from the pocket ball, and Berry immediately remarked that the house looked different from how it had a few minutes ago. Thistlethorn explained that they were now in a new place, the castle, and assured him that they were safe. Thervan offers to have the smithy modify some horse armor for Berry, so that he can be protected in the coming fights.
The owls, summoned to the castle, eventually arrived. Everyone found their respective bedding and fell into a deep sleep. When they awoke the next day, they felt more powerful, strengthened by the experiences of the night before.
Next: Chapter 80: Fey Crossing