Sigrid and Lucian sit in the bar of Trollskull Manor, a subdued atmosphere engulfs the patrons and a low murmur of conversation ripples through the air. Suddenly the door burst opens and framed in the doorway are Finn and Farraine. They immediately hasten towards Sigrid and Lucian, eager to find out if the ritual to save Beef was a success. A look at the expressions on their compatriot's faces tells them that the news is not good. The party move to a quiet corner of the room where they sit around a table, Sigrid explains what happened with the ritual and how, despite their best efforts, they were unable to bring an unwilling soul back into the body of the Bard and that he now lies in Temple of Lythander. Ozen, the part-time barman, part-time jailer comes over, flagons in one hand and a jug of the finest ale in the other. Without a word he sets them down on the table infront of each of the forlorn heroes and pours the golden liquid to the brim of each flagon before setting the jug in the centre of the table and walking slowly back to the bar, wiping a tear from his eye as he does so. Raising their drinks the party toast to their fallen friend. "To Beef" echoes around the rafters followed by the chugging of ale and the wiping of beards and chins, punctuated as the flagons bang down on the table, empty. Finn and Farraine get up from their seats and head off to the temple to pay their respects to Beef as he lays in state. They approach the altar where the body of the Bard lies still and with tears in their eyes they kneel, offering up silent prayers for their departed friend.
Turning to his buddy, Finn says to Farraine "And he was just getting used to casting that Eldritch Blast thing too" Farraine smiles and wipes away a salty bead as it crawls down his cheek. They get to their feet and slowly begin to make their way out of the temple and back to Trollskull Manor. With the Halfling perched on his shoulder like some kind of man-parrot, Farraine walks the streets of Waterdeep and enters the tavern once more, taking a seat at the table where Lucian and Sigrid continue to drink to the memory of Beef. They tell of a council meeting scheduled for the morning where the party hope to hear some news on the progress of the battles against the Cult of the Dragon. Ozen once again makes his way over to the table and taps Finn on the shoulder. He points over to a darkened corner of the room where a female Halfling (Belle Goodfellow) is sat, he whispers in his ear that she came to the tavern a few days ago looking for Finn and has been coming in regularly ever since. Finn excuses himself from the table and heads over to speak to the beautiful woman. They sit for a moment speaking in hushed tones. Suddenly the lady leans over and speaks softly in Finn's ear, the halfling's face turns crimson and he quickly rises from his seat and begins to head out of the bar and up the stairs, doing so with a forced casual stride which is betrayed as he takes the final 5 steps at a sprint, thunderous footsteps echo from above followed by the opening and slamming of his bedroom door.
The female Halfling gets to her feet and follows Finn up the stairs pausing briefly to tell the party members not to wait up. Now it is at this point that it is important to highlight a key difference between Halflings and Humans when it comes to time. Everyone knows that Halflings are by and large not large at all and as their name may suggest are often half the size of their human counterparts. This has many benefits when it comes to things like hiding or moving unseen, not so much when it comes to mounting horses or being seen over shop counters or tavern bars. It also means that they have a slightly different relationship with time. What seems like 10 minutes in human terms is hours to a Halfling...honest. And so it was that 10 minutes after his not so subtle exit from the bar, Finn glides down the stairs on rather unsteady legs and returns to his friend's table as nonchalantly as he can muster before plonking himself down on his chair, crucially misjudging the descent and ending up in a heap on the floor. He blushes as he gets back to his feet and steadies himself before attempting the manoeuvre once more, successfully this time. With such an important meeting with the high council scheduled for the morning the party make the wise decision that tonight shall be a night to remember and celebrate their fallen comrade. Finn already has somewhat of a glow about him as the ales begin to flow. Toasts are made, stories told, jokes shared, and songs sung, all heavily lubricated with the finest of Icewind Dale Ale. The drinking continues long into the early hours of the morning and only ceases when each of the party members slip into a drunken unconsciousness at their table.
All too soon Ozen returns to the tavern and rouses our heroes from their stupor, each of them nursing dragon-sized headaches. With a series of groans they wipe the crusted drool from the corner of their mouths and tuck into the breakfast served by their wonderful chef/barman/jailer. Bellies full and heads pounding the party head off towards the Palace to meet with the council (Lord's Alliance). The lavish hall with high vaulted ceilings and ornate decorations is filled with hushed conversations amongst the Council leaders, a heavy silence descends as our heroes enter through the open doorway. Laeral (Laeral Silverhand) gestures to the party to take their seats in front of the council table and the meeting begins. Laeral first offers her condolences to the group on the passing of their friend, Thalias and proclaims that he be buried in the Hall of Heroes here in Waterdeep. She continues to praise the exploits of the fallen Bard and confirms that she has been able to seek out a new volunteer to join the group to assist them in their quest to rid the realm of the Cult of the Dragon. The doors open once more and a face, familiar already to Lucian and Sigrid, walks into the room. A 6ft tall man, clad in silver mail with an ornate Morning Star hanging from his hip, after his failed attempts to resurrect Beef, Brother Garrick "Ham" Hamilton wishes to play an active part in the fight against the Cult and would like to take up the vacant position left by poor Thalias. The party huddle together, a soft murmuring of conversation flows before Sigrid lifts her head and asks the Cleric "So where do you see yourself in 5 years?"
The party chuckle heartily, as the slightly flummoxed Cleric is waved to join them. Laeral informs the party that the fight against the Cult continues and that the troubles are escalating. Remallia Haventree, from the Harpers, asks the party about Varran the White. Sigrid advises of their adventures in the depths of the Serpent Hills and that the White Dragon Mask has been stolen by the Zhentarim and is likely to be delivered to Talis. Varran himself has been delivered to Waterdeep and is currently a guest of the local jail. Connerad Brawnanvil the dwarf, asks that the treacherous dwarf be tried in a Dwarven court for his crimes and a series of nods ripple through the room. Conversation then turns to the matter of the Green Wrymspeaker and once more Sigrid advises of the battle with Neronvain and the Green Dragon and how the group emerged victorious. As the tale unfolds, King Melandrach becomes visibly shaken by the news of his son and the path he chose to tread, upon hearing of his eventual fate he excuses himself from the council and heads out of the room. Finn quickly gets up and follows the Eleven lord through the large oak doors. The king bends down as Finn quietly tells of the actions of the Warden Galin and that he had promised that he would seek out a subtle transition of authority. The King thanks the Halfling for his discretion on the matter and says that he will see it done.
Walking back into the room, the diminutive rogue offers an apology for his exit as he takes his seat and the council resumes once more. Attention now turns to the possible alliance with the Draconic Council who are considering joining in with the campaign to rid the realm of the Cult of the Dragon, however they remain undecided at this time. Laeral walks over to the party and hands them a note from Iskander. It appears that they have regrets of joining the Cult of the Dragon and wish to aid in the recovery of the Blue Dragon Mask. The note tells of the location of the mask in the Tower of Xonthal where it is being studied by a small group of wizards. The party consider this new development and the council adjourns, the lords and ladies file out of the room leaving the party to ponder the developments laid out before them. Rising from their seats our heroes head back to the sanctity of Trollskull manor to discuss their next move and to get to know their new companion. Upon arrival they are reminded by Byron that they are still in need of a secure vault to store their treasures, it seems that the new role for the monk has not yet rid him of his fascination with all things shiny and valuable.
Discussing their next course of action the party decide that it is important for them to return to the slopes of Greypeak Mountains and seek out the lost Dragon mask. This time though they pledge to be more prepared for the weather and head off to a local store where they may purchase some more suitable attire. They make their way through the bustling streets of Waterdeep and enter Meraedos Fine Furs. There they meet the towering Meraedos, owner and proprietor of the store, the smell of fur and leather fills the air as our party wander through the shop gazing at the wonderous garments before them. With the aid of Meraedos they purchase a number of cloaks and vestments to shield them from the harsh cold of the crash site and after some ineffective haggling from the Druid, head back to the tavern to prepare for the journey ahead. Once again in Trollskull, Finn heads up to his room. A deathly scream erupts from the Halfling's room and the party rush to see what has happened. As they enter the room they see the halfling knelt on the floor, cradling the lifeless body of his female conquest (Belle Goodfellow), dried bloodstains track from her eyes and nose. Binky the Imp sits among the rafters chuckling heartlessly as Finn weeps uncontrollably. "What happened? What did you see?" the forlorn Finn asks the Imp. "She read the Large Book, she screamed and bled, it was funny" "You bastard! How dare you!"
Farraine tries to throw a handaxe at the impudent Imp but he merely blinks out of sight as the axe embeds itself in the beam where he once stood. Sigrid tries to help bring Finn's love back to life but once again her spell proves ineffective. Seeing the limp body of Halfing in Finn's arms they implore the him to discard the strange tome, it is obvious that its contents are deadly and not to be trifled with. Finn is torn, he knows the perils, after all, the evidence of such lies bleeding in his arms, but casting it away without knowing it's true nature would mean that she would have died for nothing. He prizes the book from her cold fingers and tosses it toward the Cleric, hoping that he may offer some wisdom. Sensing the strange energy of the tome the Cleric dodges to one side and the book lands on the Halfling's bed, arsehole up. Farraine and Garrick both plead with Finn once more but the rogue is so overcome with grief and conflict that he shows a level of anger not witnessed by the party before. With tears streaming down his cheeks he shouts at them to leave him alone. As they slowly back out of the room they hear the pained cries of their friend resume once more. Some time later as the party sit at a table in the tavern the saddened figure of Finn descends the stairs and hands Ozen a small scribbled note before joining them. Without a word the party gather their things and head out of Trollskull and to their waiting Wyverns. Climbing on their backs, they take to the skies and soar off in the direction of the crash site of Skyreach Castle and the scene of Beef's final stand. For 6 days and nights our heroes travel to Greypeak Mountains the length of the journey doing little to improve the Halfling's mood, the occasional tear still escaping from his eyes when he thinks no one is looking.
The clouds thicken and the temperature plummets as the band of heroes approach the snow covered mountainside. Gliding to the ground they dismount their winged transport and protect themselves from the cold wind with their newly purchased clothing and magical items. They pledge to stay together this time and to use better means to locate the treasure they seek. Sigird cast a locate magic spell to aid in their search and seeks the whereabouts of the Red Dragon Mask. The party wait anxiously but nothing appears to happen, was this journey in vain, did Beef die for a lost cause or have they simply forgotten that it was indeed the Black Dragon Mask that potentially lies in the rubble of the formerly floating fortress? Garrick attempts the same spell, this time seeking the location of the Black Dragon Mask and is immediately pointed in the direction of its resting place. Together the party head off through the snow storm, stopping periodically to search the drifts for signs of the mask. They find a number of treasures dotted here and there as they trudge through the snow until the Cleric suddenly proclaims to have found something significant. Falling to their knees the group dig away feverishly until they see the top of an ornate, wooden chest. Hauling it out from the hole they notice that it is intricately carved and laden with jewels, Finn inspects it closely and notices a trap mechanism near the locked catch. He takes out his thieves tools and expertly disarms the trap and pops open the lid of the chest revealing a number of gold coins and valuable gemstones and there at the bottom, wrapped in cloth, the Black Dragon Mask. Closing the lid they pick up the chest and take it back to the waiting wyverns, taking flight once more, happy in the knowledge that their friend Beef did not die in vain.
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