Trollskull Manor, the starting point of so many adventures is once more the foundation for the next chapter of our hero's adventures. Sat around their usual table, tankards nearing empty and backpacks restocked, conversation turns to that of the enemy. The primary goal is to return to Phlan and liberate it from the Cult of the Dragon and vanquish the dragon that now dwells there. An air of confusion begins to wash over the group as they try to remember the type of Dragon they may be faced with until they finally realise that it was indeed another of the green variety. Farraine, gazes at his most recent wounds, now dressed and healing nicely, "Oi, magic folk...you lot sure you have everything you need, you know should anyone else be turned to stone with all of the important stuff on them?". A murmur of embarrassed affirmations bubble from bowed heads around the table. With one final check of their backpacks Ozen tosses them some delicious supplies and wishes them well as they leave the tavern and head in the direction of Blackstaff Tower.
After wandering through many of Waterdeep's winding streets and alleyways dark, 3 storey tower looms ahead of them. Surrounding the tower a 20ft wall of blackstone with a central open archway. Passing through and into the courtyard beyond the tower rises ominously into the sky. A door at the base of the structure creeks open and an ethereal hand bids them to enter. With a collective shrug the party follow the floating hand through the doorway and up a winding staircase to the very top of the tower where they are met by The Blackstaff herself, Vajra Safah. She is young for one who holds such a high position of authority. Casually she bids the party welcome and although her mind almost appears to be elsewhere, she says that she is able to assist the party in returning to Phlan. With a complicated flourish of one hand mystical runes begin to glow on the stone floor. Somewhat apprehensively Sigrid commands Oscar to enter the runic circle first, just in case this is some kind of trap.
"All of you please" sighs the young Wizard, clearly aggrieved by this display of mistrust.
The party step forward, into the glowing circle. There is a familiar tug on their stomachs and they find themselves, once more, in the gloom of The Cracked Crown Inn. The unmistakeable sound of swords being drawn from their scabbards along with one or two gasps of shock at the sudden appearance of our heroes punctuate the air. From the gloom a drow half-elf woman steps forward.
"Who are you and why are you here?"
Finn quickly tells her that they are here to help in their fight against the Cult of the Dragon and hopefully liberate the city. She waves her hands and swords are returned to their holsters once more.
"And how exactly do you plan to do that?"
Moving to a vacant table the woman and our heroes discuss the next course of action. The Lord Regent asked to meet at Grimshackle Jail from the relative safety of the stockade the party aim to launch a counter offensive and take down the dragon that dwells nearby and return the city to its people. the mysterious woman tells them that their passage to the jail will be dangerous but there are 2 options, they could travel through the city streets which are patrolled by soldiers of the cult, or instead head via the sewer system. Farraine looks over at Finn, one side of his mouth stretches into a knowing grin.
"The sewers sound safer" the Fighter suggests.
"Alas that is not the case, a number of our kin have recently tried to travel via that route and have not returned, we fear there may be something lurking below that is not to be trifled with"
Finn breathes a sign of relief at this news and the party discuss how best they might navigate the streets whilst avoiding detection. Sigrid will employ the scouting services of Oscar once more who will fly ahead and seek out the wandering patrols, coupled with a Pass without trace spell of hers the party should be relatively safe. With a plan of action formulated our heroes step quietly out into the darkened streets of Phlan. Oscar beats his wings and soars into the air circling above them. Whilst the party haven't had the best of luck with their plans to this date, this plan of theirs actually works flawlessly. Oscar is able to warn our champions of pending patrols and the group soon find themselves at the foot of the City wall. Now all they need to do is get on the other side and follow the river path to Grimshackle Jail. Finn takes out his grappling hook and ties his rope to it, with a skilled throw he manages to hook it onto the top of the wall and immediate starts gracefully ascending. Once his climb is complete he beckons down to his friends below that all is clear. Farraine grasps a hold of the dangling rope and heaves himself upwards until he is side by side with Finn. Lucian hitches up his robes and takes a old of the rope and begins to pull with all his might, which isn't much, but surprisingly on this occasion it does seem to be enough. His fingers appear at the top of the wall and he starts to pull himself upwards with one final effort. But alas it appears the Gods are not on his side as much as it had appeared and the Wizard loses his grip and begins to tumble towards the solid ground below. With a hastened wave of his hand, Lucian manages to cast a spell which slows his decent and he lands softly on his chest. Getting to his feet, an embarrassed look on his face he waves his hands once more disappearing from sight and reappearing at the top of the wall next to Finn and Farraine who are struggling to repress guffaws, their hands clamped firmly over their mouths. Garrick is next to take a hold of the rope and pulls himself up without incident. Finally Sigrid begins her climb, managing to get just over halfway up when suddenly her hand slips and she begins to tumble towards the earth. Quickly her form shifts into that of an Eagle and she swoops inches above the ground before beating her wings and flies effortlessly to her companions on the top of the wall.
Atop the city wall the party gaze outwards into the night as Finn retrieves the rope, anchors the grappling hook once more and begins to descend towards the shadowed river bank. Sigrid swoops down to join him and Lucian, who appears to have no problem working with gravity rather than against it, gracefully lowers himself down the side of the stone wall, stepping lightly on the ground beside the Halfling. Farraine and Garrick make their way down and with the party back together they look on at the flowing river and puzzle over their next move. Following the river bank at the base of the city walls will mean the party will pass a number of guard towers on their way, increasing the likelihood of being seen, the far side of the bank will provide better cover but will mean they have to cross the treacherous waters. Despite this danger, the group decide that the far bank is the better of the two options.
"If only you had a canoe Finn" mocks Lucian, the Halfling recalls his recent, damp-filled experiences with his most prized purchase and is secretly glad it remains safely in his bedroom back at Trollskull Manor.
Whilst swimming across is an option Farraine casts a look at Lucian and comes to the realisation that some assistance may well be required to ease their passage across the water. Rummaging in his backpack he pulls out his length of rope and begins tying it to Finns rope. Soon the party have enough rope to stretch across the banks of the river. Garrick concentrates on a spell and he begins to float across the to the other side taking one end of the rope with him and anchoring it on the far side. One by one Lucian, Finn and Farraine make their way through the black waters. Gathering their things once more the group head along the river bank in search of Grimshackle Jail.
Dawn begins to break as our heroes approach the stronghold and walk up to the large, robust door. A small window opens and voice from beyond bellows.
"Who goes there?"
"Finnegan Hilltopple, we are here to meet the Lord Regent whom we rescued earlier, he told us to meet him here."
The window snaps shut and from the other side of the thick wooden doors comes the sounds of metal scraping against metal as bolts are withdrawn. The door slowly opens and a guard leads them through the jail to meet up with Glevith. They find the Lord Regent stood over a large table, maps spread out on its surface. He looks up as the party approach a bids them welcome before engaging exposition mode.
Glevith tells our heroes that The Dragon is seeking to take over not just the city of Phaln but the entire region of the Moonsea and has sought the assistance of the Red Wizards to help achieve this goal. The Lord Regent's spies have also discovered that tomorrow morning a patrol is heading out in search of an unknown artefact, whilst their destination is unknown, they will be passing a mile west of the jail when the sun is at its peak. Glevith needs us to find out what it is that they are searching for and what are their intensions should they manage to locate it. Armed with this knowledge the group head over to a quiet corner to plan their strategy. Finn heads out to scope out the area to the west of the jail whilst Sigrid and Oscar head back along the trail towards the city to assess the route for possible points of ambush. Upon their return to the jail, Farraine proceeds to gather all of their freshly gained intelligence to formulate the mother of all plans, which, as the sun begins to set, and after hours of discussion and deliberation boils down to "Sigrid, you and Oscar follow the patrol from the city, we wait at the rendezvous point where, based upon your observations, we either ambush them or follow them to their destination."
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