With the Dragon battered and bleeding after the onslaught of blows suffered at the blade of Farraine it retreats to the other side of the gorge. In a surprising display of fear it creates a wall of ice in front of it whist Talis climbs on its back. "Now you fools!" she shouts. there is an audible reply from deep down in the gorge below. Sounds of scrambling echoes from the depths, slowly getting louder and louder, closer and closer. The party take the opportunity to quickly chug some potions, strength returns to their aching muscles, blood stops dripping from their wounds and they are ready to take the fight to the winged beast and return victorious once more. The party look from the wall of ice to the blackened gorge and ponder how they are going to overcome this surprising turn of events. The sound of scrambling creatures is getting louder. Garrick takes to the skies again as Sigrid transforms into a Giant Eagle and follows suit. She swoops over towards Farraine and grasps him in her claws and slowly rises higher and higher. Just as they begin to close in on the dragon, it rises above the ice wall and continues upwards towards the ceiling. The party watch on in confusion, surely it's going to hit it's head on the rocky dome above, as it does so the ceiling ripples and the dragon and Talis continue rising through the apparent illusory roof. Finn and Lucian stand prepared, eyes locked on the foreboding gorge ahead of them, awaiting any sight of an enemy emerging from the pit.
As the Dragon and Talis disappear through the ceiling and out of sight, a look of disappointment spreads across Finn's face as he sees the chance of slaying another dragon slipping from his grasp. Sigrid and Farraine give chase and vanish through the roof of the cavern in pursuit of their foe. They emerge in a long passageway and see off in the distance the dragon fleeing at top speed. Sigrid tries to keep up but the battered beast is too quick for her and she reluctantly returns to the cavern and the rest of the party. Landing on the other side of the gorge she drops off Farraine and then proceeds to carry both Finn and Lucian over the gorge. The sounds of the approaching enemy has dwindled, it appears that without the dragon on their side they didn't fancy their chances battling our heroes. Finn heads over to the cage where a female Tiefling sits. She asks to be set free and the young Halfling is more than happy to help a woman in need. He takes out his thieves tools and in a split second the lock clicks and the cage door swings open. She thanks Finn for saving her and proceeds to introduce herself as Maccath the Crimson. She starts to walk over towards the pile of treasure and Farraine tries to restrain her but she simply turns to mist in his powerful arms and reappears next to the mountain of loot. She rummages around the treasure for some time before she finally pulls out an old Spell Book of hers and holds it aloft in triumph.
The party get together to discuss their next move. Finn is eager to chase down the dragon and thinks that the party should give chase immediately, but it appears his enthusiasm is not matched by his peers. Sigrid even flies off to check the areas of the cavern the party have not yet investigated. She returns a few minutes later grasping a couple of bottles of wine and some crystal goblets and a lot of her feathers are badly charred. Finn is still trying to convince the others that the dragon is badly wounded and this is the best chance they have to end it's terror once and for all. His pleas fall on deaf ears however and the subject of conversation quickly turns to that of the Dragon's hoard. Lucian opens his box of magical crayons and begins to draw a circle of teleportation around the pile of loot whilst Finn secretly hopes that the disturbance of the treasure hoard has cause the Dragon to rethink it's escape plan and return to defend its bounty. Alas this is not the case and as the party gather on top of the pile of coins along with the recently released Tiefling the Dragon fails to return. Lucian mutters words of power and the group are transported back to the basement of Trollskull Manor.
Ozen hears the familiar pop come from the basement and a smile spreads across his face as he reaches for the party's special tankards and starts drawing ale into each of them. Footsteps follow, and the party emerge into a bustling Trollskull manor, pulling up some seats around a spare table the party begin to discuss the distribution of the captured dragon's hoard. Ozen walks over and hands them their ales with a smile and Sigrid's water with a noticeable grimace. During their extensive discussions Lucian is approached by Remallia Haventree who requests an audience with the party in her villa. The party agree to the meeting and agree to meet later that day.
After a number of celebratory drinks and with the hoard treasure fairly distributed the party head for Remalia's Villa. As they approach the Guard standing by the ornate gates, he greets them warmly, it appears the party's reputation has preceded them, the famous Mysterious Dragon Slayers of Waterdeep. He guides them into the villa and they meet up with Remalia. Over a delightful meal with fine wine...and water. Remalia tells them that the council has been approached by the Red Wizards of Thay who have declared a possible union in defeating the Cult of the Dragon. The council have decided that the party should represent Waterdeep in the negotiations and are to return here the following day to be escorted to Nethwatch Keep. The party accept the task laid before them and thank Remalia for her wonderful hospitality before returning to Trollskull manor to enjoy a well earned rest. On their way back they stop in a number of shops to replenish their supplies.
On entering Trollskull manor they remember that the weapons they had left with Gundren should be ready for collection. A quick teleport to Phandalin, the party are now in possession of their improved weaponry. They thank Gundren for his assistance and return to the basement of Trollskull and head off to their soft beds.
As dawn breaks the party head down to Remalia's villa, approaching the gates the guard lets them enter. There is a tension in the air and a number of red robed figures are gathered in the courtyard, the party approach Remalia who introduces them to their guide for the journey. It appears that our group will be taking the quick route to Nethwatch Keep and the Red Wizard casts a teleportation circle on the ground. Remalia bids them farewell and they step into the circle.
The party reappear in the grounds of Nethwatch Keep, columns of undead soldiers line the path towards the foreboding doors of the castle and the party are marched forwards. Entering the keep they are are taken to a large audience chamber where Eseldra Yeth the Tharchion of Nethwatch Keep sits on an ornate throne surrounded by a number of intimidating Red Wizards. She introduces herself and bids our heroes welcome before asking the party to introduce themselves. Each of the party step forward and with varying levels of success introduce themselves to Eseldra. The party are introduced to Thoss Tarek the Grand Inquisitor and Zoran Gul, a vampire and Castellion of Nethwatch Keep. Introductions complete the party are led to a large dining hall where undead waiters bring out a bounty of food and drink to the diners. There is one human servant, a small girl who is tasked with serving the party.
During the meal, Garrick asks Elseldra what it is that they hope to achieve through the potential union with the Lord's Alliance. She tells of her need to destroy the splinter cell of the Red Wizards and that a union between the two factions is the best way in which to achieve this goal. When the feast is complete the party are led to their rooms by the servant child Cressa. Before getting into his bed Finn scatters a number of ball bearings around the his door and beneath his window should anyone decide to try and disturb his night time slumber. Lucian and Garrick barricade themselves in their rooms and Sigrid morphs into a rat and snuggles beneath the blankets of her bed. It seems the party do not feel entirely safe in their new surroundings, well that is apart from Farraine who has collapsed on his bed and simply left his door wide open.
The party sleep a restless sleep that night but none more so than Farraine who has a very disturbing nightmare (if that is indeed what it is). He finds himself strapped in a cauldron surrounded by Red Wizards who proceed to ask him a series of questions. What the Wizards have in knowledge of the arcane is inversely proportional to the knowledge and understanding Farraine has of the Lord's Alliance and indeed the plan to destroy the Cult of the Dragon. With each incorrect or unsatisfactory response Farraine grimaces in pain and there were a lot of them.
Farraine awakes with a start, sweat drenches his sheets and his head is pounding in agony, if only Beef were still alive, he would have fared much better in that situation. From outside his rom he hears a commotion and pokes his head out. It seems the rest of the party have also been awoken by the noises permeating the keep. Garrick asks what is going on and is told that Eseldra has been murdered, the Keep is locked down, no one leaves. It appears that the party are prime suspects at this time so Finn approaches Thoss Tarek to plead their innocence. He states that since they have arrived they have only seen the audience chamber, the dining hall and their own rooms and would have no idea where Eseldra would even be, let alone wander the keep aimlessly through the night completely unseen in order to find her. This seems to make sense to the Grand Inquisitor and Finn offers to help with any investigation.
Thoss leads the party through the keep and takes them to the sleeping quarters of the former Thachion of Nethwatch Keep. Inside the room are gathered Khandur Ulmarik (Senior Red Wizard), Nyh Ilmichh (Envoy to Waterdeep), Zoran Gul (Lord of Nethwatch Keep) and Varrax (the undead bodyguard of Eseldra Yeth). A pile of ash lies on the carpeted floor of the room presumably the remains of Tharchion Yeth. Finn begins to search the room for any possible clues whist Farraine takes on the role of Columbo and begins to ask questions of the gathered group.
It turns out that during the night Varrax had seen Thoss Tarek deliver the interrogation report to his charge and when he left she was still alive. Zoran Gul is convinced that the party themselves are the perpetrators of this heinous crime and will take a lot of convincing to think otherwise. The Senior Red Wizard tells Farraine that he is concerned as there were a number of magical wardings protecting Eseldra and all of them appear to have been removed. Normally such protections can only be removed by the person who cast them, in this case that would be himself. Farraine asks if all of his protections have been removed or just those placed on this room. A look of concern crosses his face and he leaves the room to investigate further.
Finn's own investigations have taken him to the casket that sits in the centre of the room and he asks for permission to examine it more closely. Thoss Tarek nods his head and the young halfling climbs inside and begins to look closely for any potential clues. Unfortunately his search proves useless and he jumps down with a forlorn expression. If the party are ever to leave this place and agree the union of the Red Wizards with the Lord's Alliance they will need to uncover the culprit and do so quickly before they themselves are held accountable for this tragedy.
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