A deathly silence envelopes the castle courtyard, bodies lie strewn on the blood-soaked cobblestones, the only sound is the rhythmic heavy breaths of our victorious heroes. Surveying the aftermath of the battle, Farraine, Lucian, Finn and Sigrid gather around their calcified Cleric friend and gather their thoughts. Realising that having an immobile, 2 tonne companion adds an extra dimension of difficulty to whatever they decide to do next they decide that at the very least they should look to rescue the Lord Regent and the other imprisoned townsfolk. Sigrid calls for Oscar the Eagle and commands him to scout ahead to see if any enemies remain beyond the large foreboding gates. After a short while the winged creature returns and settles on the Druid's shoulder. "All clear" she says, the party decide that the Garrick situation will have to wait for a moment and they head through the gates towards the large group of prisoners bound together on the other side. Unseen by the others Finn hangs back and quickly grabs a banana from a nearby cart and places it carefully, yet suggestively on the poor Cleric's petrified form. Catching up with the party Finn begins to untie the frightened prisoners and eventually comes face to face with the Lord Regent Ector Brahms who thanks the Halfling for coming to their rescue. He asks about Aleyd Burrel, Lucian advises him that she had led an attack to the west and helped to distract the enemy such that we might prevail in our attempts to rescue him and his people. Lucian, almost as an afterthought, then asks if the Lord Regent may know of anyone who may be able to assist them with their statue problem. "Alas no my friend, that kind of magic is beyond anyone I know who remains here." The Wizard's head drops slightly in defeat at these words. Ector tells the party of his going to lead his people through the complex tunnel system to Grimshackle Jail where he hopes they will remain safe. As the Lord Regent and the former prisoners scuttle across the bloodied courtyard our heroes return to the frozen Cleric and ponder their next move.
The party gazed into the un-moving face of their friend, lips parted in an unfinished "Ow." their brows furrowed, deep in thought. How the hell are they going to get out of this one? They can't leave him here, the City is being overrun, yet moving a 2 tonne chunk of Cleric poses a great many difficulties. What certainly didn't help with their pondering was the increasing volume of the sounds fighting coming from west. Their time was running out, the distraction had worked but whatever was left of the enemy was on its way back. Finn spies a small cart carrying various fruits and vegetables and suggests they tip Garrick onto it and try to wheel him away from danger. In the absence of a better plan the group agrees to this course of action and move the cart closer to the hardened Ham. Farraine begins to rock the statue back and forth gently until gravity takes control and with a mushy thud, the stoned Garrick lands on the cart. Now if they only had a way of pushing or pulling the cart.
Finn grabs a hold of the struts of the cart and tries to lower the cart back to a horizontal position so they might be able to pull Garrick to relative safety. The poor Halfling merely dangles helplessly, legs kicking frantically. Turning towards Sigrid Farraine asks if she can just turn into a horse or something so they might expedite their retreat more efficiently. Unfortunately though, it appears the battle has exhausted the druid and she is unable to take animal form. Another plan foiled it is Lucian who manages to come up with a way forward. The Wizard utters words of power and with puff of smoke morphs graciously into the form of a horse. Trotting up the the cart he backs between the struts and Sigrid, Farraine and Finn heave on the long wooden shafts, lowering them into place before attaching the harness around Lucians equine neck.
Cargo and transport secured the party quickly make their way out of the courtyard and head east toward one of the few exits leaving the city. As they pass through the streets it becomes increasingly obvious that their escape will not be easy. People are running left and right, grasping their belongings in white knuckled hands. The sounds of swords clashing punctuated by screams and shouts grow louder and louder. The city is well and truly under occupation, up ahead, Farraine can see that the gate being blocked by enemy soldiers. Escape is not going to be easy. From amongst the throng of fleeing townsfolk a Cleric who was with Aleyd earlier waves the party over, they are clearly badly wounded. The Cleric tells the party that all exits are under heavy guard and that the best course of action is to hide in the relative safety of The Cracked Crown Inn and plan their next move from there. Our band of heroes agree and follow the Cleric through the winding streets until they are once more infront of the tavern. Above their heads they hear the ominous beating of large, leathery wings. Glevith stands on the doorstep of the tavern and quickly ushers the party inside, Lucian resumes human form and with assistance from a number of soldiers slowly drag the frozen form of Garrick into the alehouse.
As they are brought 3 ales and a tankard of water the party sit, exhausted around one of the many tables. Sigrid whispers to Oscar once more who then flies through one of the open windows and takes up a sentry position on the chimney of the building. Returning a few moments later he conveys his findings to the Druid. An army is advancing on the city to reinforce the existing troops, the dragon has returned, the city has fallen.
As night draws in the party discuss their next steps, the previous battle has taken much from our heroes, Farraine dresses a frightening number of wounds whilst Finn simply takes out a small cloth and wipes the bloodstains of his slain enemies off his armour. It is clear to the party that their first priority is to restore Garrick to his human form as quickly as possible. Sigrid advises them that she may well be able to find a spell that could help but she will need time to prepare it. Farraine, Finn and Lucian agree to this course of action and they settle down for the night in the repurposed tavern.
Morning breaks and the party awake, refreshed.
"So did you manage to find a spell that can help", Farraine asks the Druid.
"Yes, yes I did. Garrick should be back to his normal self with this one."
Smiles of hope spread across the faces of our heroes.
"There is one slight problem though"
The smiles sink, ominously.
"What is it?" asks Finn
"Well, I need some diamond dust"
"Oh, is that all? I'm sure we have some diamonds somewhere don't we?" replies the Halfling.
"Yes we do...Garrick has them"
"Oh for fuck's sake...now what do we do?"
The party discuss possible solutions to their latest dilemma, venturing out into the city would be fraught with danger and the fleeing populace would have likely taken any valuables with them. Finn mentions the possibility of Lucian returning to Trollskull Manor via his teleportation circle and seeking the spell components in Waterdeep. However getting back to The Cracked Crown might not be a foregone conclusion. If this were the case then the party's chances of taking on the Dragon would be severely hampered with only 3 of them. The first priority remains the restoration of Garrick and so, after much deliberation, it is decided that all off them shall return to Trollskull and seek aid for their stoned companion. Lucian gets his magical chalk and draws a circle and a series of complex runes on the tavern floor. Sigrid transforms into a bear to assist in the transportation of the Garrick statue. With difficulty the entire party shuffle into the magic circle. There is a slight puff of smoke and they are gone, Glevith stands on one side of the tavern and shakes his head, "Not even a goodbye? Or a thank you?".
From the basement of Trollskull Manor there is a familiar pop followed by a stony thud as the party appear in the well used teleportation circle. Above, the sounds of a busy bar are punctuated with the booming voice of Ozen barking orders at once semi-heroic Byron. Lucian climbs the stairs and finds the trapdoor locked. After a couple of knocks Byron's voice answers from the other side.
"Who is it?"
It's me, Lucian"
"Who?"
"Look just open up will you"
The trapdoor creeks open and the party emerge into the tavern. Lucian immediately heads out into the streets of Waterdeep to purchase the much needed spell components while Ozen bids the party welcome and sits them at a nearby table. After telling the barman of their troubles Ozen brings them up to speed with events here in Trollskull. Bryon's assistant, Otto has been helping out with the cleaning duties and after tidying upstairs one afternoon came down looking white as a sheet, Ozen sat him infront of the fire and he just sat there in shocked silence. Farraine glances over at Finn who looks down at his feet in feigned innocence. As Ozen continues to regale Farraine and Sigrid with stories, the halfling slips upstairs to his room, unnoticed. Before long Lucian returns to the tavern after being unable to get a discount on his purchase and hands over the small bag of diamond dust to Sigrid. Consulting her spell book the party head back down to the basement where the statuesque Cleric remains motionless. Sigrid cast the greater restoration spell, scattering the diamond dust on the granite form of Garrick, the stone begins to fade and slowly Garrick beings to move once more. A confused look spreads across the revived Cleric's face as he takes in his surroundings. The group bring Garrick up to speed on recent events and discuss their next course of action. Eventually they decide that they need to get to the rendezvous point with the Lord Regent at Grimshackle Jail as soon as possible and the quickest way to get there would be to employ the services of Laeral Silverhand once more. With that in mind the party gather their things and head off to the castle in search of the Wizard. Upon their arrival, however they are advised by a clerk that she is no longer in Waterdeep. Yet another plan foiled before it even started, Lucian asks if there may be others who can assist, perhaps Sister Garaele. The clerk tells them that they will send word and the group are to wait at Trollskull manor.
Dejected the party trudge through the streets of Waterdeep back to their homestead and await further instructions. Later that day Sister Garaele arrives at Trollskull manor and is brought up to speed with recent events and the party's desire to return to Phlan. Unfortunately Garaele herself is unable to help them on their way but is confident she may be able to find someone who is. Leaving the group to their drinks she heads out of the tavern. Night draws in and the party head up to their rooms, wondering if they will ever be able to get back to the Lord Regent and even if they do, will it be too late?
Dawn breaks and Ozen brings word that they are to head to Blackstaff Tower that very afternoon.
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