Session 21: The Yawning Portal Events
Miscellaneous
2020KC
15/11 14:00
15/11 14:00
2020KC
15/11 23:00
15/11 23:00
Leafall 15, 2020KC
Trolldeth Forest, North of Wide Berth on Kampos
Table Talk on Crafting Items & Arcane Forges
Discussed a few things. Using a stall action in combat and crafting, as well as how Lars is researching the Arcane Forges and how it can help in Crafting Non-Magical Items.
Caireall Donoghuei: "Hello there, You must be the adventurers helping Eldertwig." "we are" says Shadow, "who are you?" Caireall: "My name is Caireall Donoghuei, and I am a wandering Druid. I happen to be old friends of Eldertwig here. I heard he was in need of some Rot Grubs, but it seems it took me too long to get here as it was." Shadow, "well, we're here now." and she hands the Rot Grubs over to Caireall. "What was your name again?" Caireall: "Caireall, but you can call me Carrie. Thank you." and she took the Rot Grubs. She goes to Eldertwig and the base juts out and opens up creating a type of funnel that she pours the grubs into. She placed the jar on the ground and says "I think that is really going to help" "Is that it? That's all he needed?" Shadow "Yes, I can feel it already. And now for the reward" Eldertwig says then brings down a large branch and 5 wooden bottles form from the appendages hanging down. The bottles have a little relief that looks like a carved image of the adventurers. They thank him and take their bottles. "This is my draught. I don't even know what they do and the likely each have their own power. You can taste them, like most potions to garner the knowledge of what they do."
"nothing… just tasted pretty good."Caireall notices the greys have lightned up a bit. Shadow tries to gain insight on her, to no avail. Bastion is about to take a taste, but then swallows it all down -- Barlo steps back a bit. It tastes of vanilla and doesn't seem to really do much -- but then the rest of the party notices he went Invisible.
"Bastion, where'd you go" they ask. Shadow throws a Rock and hears an "ow!" Bastion realizes this could go on for a few hours unless he casts a spell or attacks. He uses Light on Shadow's tail. And realizes he wasted that Potion. Barlo "think about going Invisible again, real hard…" Bastion: "I don't think it works like that." Okay. Caireall: "would you be possibly be returning to Wide Berth soon?" "yes" "Would it be okay for me to go back with you?" Sas: "If Eldertwig trusts you, that should be okay with us." and at that point she remembers that Caireall was Abbot Grok's friend she was supposed to find in Neyer. Shadow pulls Barlo behind as they leave, and whispers -- "you know that box we found on the Dwarf? Do you think you can open it so no one knows?" Barlo: "Sure, I've been practicing" and he carefully opens it so no one else notices. He is sure no one notices. He is able to pick it open and doesn't seem to affect anything with the package. He opens it up and sees a red vial with a cork that is perfectly lined in the box to keep it from damage. He tells Shadow "It's a small red vial, that is it." He then carefully closes the box.They debate about whether they want to Identify it or deliver it immediately. As they come up on the gates and the The Moons of Dierde are starting to rise. Today is the first full moon of the year for the Chaos Moons and it seems the season has rewarded the party with an Inspiration Point. This one doesn't disappear at the end of this session, like many do. Even Arktos got one. DM Error on Moons
Caireall: "When the chaos turns full whilst the others are full the Universe is in a giving mood." Sas: "Cairie where were you before here?" Caireall: "I tend to travel a lot. I was in Neyer at Eushia. I am a part of a group of friends that travels to help nature. I am a part of group, an order if you will -- The Golden Stag. Comprised mostly of druids who travel all over including the beast lands, where we are even given some leeway as we help out all the forests. We are trying to help nature and civilization co-exist so we can go to a lot of places." Shadow internally questions her sincereness. Sas knows she has heard of them, but doesn't recall much at this time about them. Caireall: "We are about destroying those things we find unnatural." Barlo: "Large Cities, big civilizations - those don't tend to go well with nature.." Caireall: "Not exactly. We don't pay them that much mind, but we try to find the balance for them as we believe that there is a place for them in nature."Shadow tries to trip Bastion as a revenge for the tail Light trick -- and fails miserably as she loses her balance and falls instead.
Two guards at the gates are securing the gates for the night. One says: "Hey if you're coming in, ya best hurry up…" Calliope skips, Shadow says "we're coming", and they pick up the pace. Barlo: "Don't worry too much guys, I know other ways in and out of the city…" Table talk: Arcane Order, The Golden Stag are two known factions. Guard: "You comin' in? You already registered with the registry?" Sas: "uh.. I don't know if we…" Barlo: "oh, yeah we did that." Bastion: "I don't think we did." Barlo: "don't tell the guard that." Guard: "well, How long you going to be in the city?" Bastion: "I mean we did just take care of your Troll problem." Guard: "You took care of our Troll problem? We have hundreds of Trolls out there, so I'm sure you didn't take care of the Troll problem. But I take it you took out some of them?" Bastion: "We took care of the one casting magic." Guard: "Huh, I wasn't aware of one casting magic.." to the other guard: "Hey can Trolls cast magic?" Other guard: "I don't think so" Guard: "He says he doesn't think so." Shadow: "This one did." Bastion: "This one was" Shadow pulls the head out of Sas's Bag of Holding, "This one!" and large head of Vedergrime the Troll King is pulled out of the bag. Guard: "Yup, that sure likes like a Troll. If it was casting magic, we will have to be sure to report that one. Tell you what, there are rewards for those heads. Take them to the Magistrate and they'll square you away with those." Shadow: "Are they open?"The guard directs the party to the Halls of Justice just west of The Wide Berth Market. Tall brown & white building.
Guard: "Let me just get down you name here. Do you have a group name, or should I just put down your individual names?" Shadow: "people keep asking us this." Guard: "Well some adventuring groups tend to create a moniker to use when they travel." Caireall steps forward, "my name is Caireall Donoghuei, and I'm well known in this city." He writes down some notes. Barlo: "Oh, we'll just register with the office in the morning." Guard: "Okay, no worries. I'll just write down 'Menagerie of Animalfolk' came in" Shadow: "hey.." Guard ignores that: "okay, so, … if you're going in…"They enter the city, via the and notice that most of the lights which are permanent Light spells help Light the way and there are other less permanent lanterns being turned on. The second gates let them pass with only a glance.
As they enter, Caireall says: "Thank you for helping me get past that past bit of the forest safely. I'm off to The Yawning Portal for a drink and so hopefully I'll see you all again soon." As the party acknowledges this, Sas says: "How long do you plan to be in town?" Caireall: "Probably not too long. A couple of days. There was an incident in the Skola Vale that I need to find out more about." Shadow: "In the what?" Caireall: "Skola Vale." Calliope: "Oh, that's where I'm from." Caireall: "Oh so you're from the vale…" Calliope: "What incident?" Caireall: "I heard the Vale returned from the Feywild." Shadow: "Isn't that what we were waiting on Reggie for? Investigate something about the Feywild" Barlo: "yeah." Sas: "Isn't that what Calliope came to get us for?" Calliope: "To figure out who attacked my school, yeah." Shadow: "Calliope, your town -- where you grew up -- is it on this plane or in the Feywild?" Calliope: "it's both. It can go to either place. I don't think it has been exclusively Feywild for a very long time." And so the party realizes that the Vale exists somehow on the Material Plane and in the Feywild, but is now in the Feywild exclusively. Caireall: "It seems there was an attack about a month ago. The magics of the Vale allows it to reside here and there, for druids like our Order it is part of our charge since it is technically on the Unnatural side of things." Calliope: "What are you calling unnatural?" Caireall: "Unnatural for this plane. Not meant to be an offense." Calliope: "Okay, just to be clear" and she smiles. Caireall: "Parts of the Feywild are on the natural side and It can spread out. It is deep in The Dark Rain Forest and has helped protect the forest. I fear if it is gone too long it can unnaturally affect the Forest, which is what we fear." Calliope realizes this is probably the same attack she was a victim of. Barlo: "What was it that attacked you? Marauders?" Calliope: "Honestly, I don't know. I just remember the fires but couldn't really see them." Caireall: "According to our intel, there was a large tribe of Humanoids like Orcs and Bugbears that hire themselves out that was responsible. It's why I was talking to Eldertwig. They were possibly paid to march down there and attack." Sas: "anything else?" Caireall: "At this point all I know is they were possibly paid to attack it and when they began to burn it the magic defenses sent it back to the Feywild and the Humanoids found themselves in a barren valley. They did not go with the vale." Barlo: "Calliope does that mean your family went back with it?" Calliope: "I was there alone." Caireall: "So you're from the Vale and you were there when this happened?" Calliope: "I was in the school in the Vale." Shadow: "So you didn't see it disappear?" Calliope: "oh no, I was already gone." Caireall: "It sounds like it probably happened right after you escaped. If you had stayed there you would have gone back to the Feywild with the Vale." Barlo: "Is that what you want? To return?" Calliope: "I left to learn and so I don't have a reason to return except to make sure everyone is okay. Otherwise I will have to return to my schooling to become a Bard. I need to discover the stories that are the history of my people. And I will need to go outside of the school to get that… eventually." Caireall: "So is your plan to go there?" Shadow: "Yes, we are awaiting for some people who should be here in a few days to give us more information. They sought us, and we don't know much. But we are sure we might have to." Caireall: "Okay. Well, I'll be at The Yawning Portal. If you guys head that way I will gladly join your convoy. There is strength in numbers." Shadow: "Calliope, I heard there are supposed to be a bunch of bards at The Yawning Portal, maybe you can find some stories." Barlo and Shadow were discussing how they were waiting and why the The Silken Line, and Shadow says that is where Reggie is supposed to find us. Sas: "Carrie, I had one more question. You said you were part of The Golden Stag. What rank?" Caireall: "Autumnreaver, I've been a part of it for a long time. You are a Tortle, are you from Oth'Mar?" Sas: "Yes. I am, are you Familiar with it?" Caireall: "Most definitely. It's been a while since I've been there, but I'm good friends with Abbot Grok." Sas: "You know the Abbot?" Caireall: "Yes, I know the Abbot. We've known each other a long time." Sas "I thought you seemed Familiar. When was the last time?" Caireall "It's been a long time. I've been around the globe many times over. It's what I do. When I hear of a problem I travel there to investigate." Shadow: "Should we try to catch the magistrate now, or wait for morning?" It is early evening with the Sun finished its setting. Sas: "Maybe best now?" Shadow and Sas: "let's get rid of the heads." Sas: "Let's head there now. I would like to clean out some of these body parts…"The party realizes the bag is stock full with magic items, a statue, so many Books and body parts. Bastion starts discussing the need for the Teleportation Circle and Shadow responds about the awaiting reward which Barlo also applauds. And they go to the Magistrate. Caireall says her final good bye at the hall of Justice and she continues South.
Shadow starts thinking of how she would like to convince them that they have 2x the Trolls using hearts and heads…There are tall pillars and carved statues of heroic individuals. There is a front magistrate who says: "can I help you?" Sas: "Yes, I believe there is a reward for Troll heads?" Magistrate: "Yes, I believe it is currently 200 gp for evidence of each Troll. Be sure you are not trying to use separate parts of the same Troll to gain multiple rewards. To do this, I just need to know who is the most honest person in the group?" Barlo steps back. Bastion: "Probably Sas" and the others agree.
Magistrate: "step forward Tortle. Now, first question -- are you and your party members the ones responsible for the deaths of the -- how many trolls was it?" Sas: "3" And she presents the three heads. Magistrate: "Did you burn the bodies?" Sas: "Yes." "How long were you witness to the remains?" Sas: "We didn't wait until they were total ash, but long enough to be consumed." Shadow presents the hearts "we got these" Magistrate: "have any of your members killed, murdered, kidnapped or hurt any townsfolk in city limits?" Sas: "no. " Magistrate: "Are you associated with Xanathar, Xanathar's Thieves' Guild, or the Zhentarim or any offshoots such as the The Black Road?" Sas: "not that I'm aware of" Magistrate: "are you aware of the laws of the city? If not, we have pamphlets." Sas: "a pamphlet would be great." They are given another one similar to the ones in their room. Magistrate: "Finally, are you registered as citizens within Wide Berth? If not, how long have you been in our city limits?" Sas: "We are not yet registered. We came to the limits yesterday." Magistrate: "Okay. That's it. I have enough trust for verification. Take the heads over there and they will pay you your reward."They are thanked for the service, Sas grabs two heads and Shadow grabs the other one. The register takes the heads and pays the party 600 gp.
600 gp
Tabletalk:
To craft magic items you need a recipe and the ingredients. There may be other necessary rituals or something. To craft you will need to invest money and time. If someone knows how to craft the requested item they can pay for that. Lars might have some recipes. The party doesn't know anyone else at this time.
A stone building with a slate roof, The Yawning Portal offered guest rooms on the three upper floors. Well-worn boards covered the floor, but the main impression was of comfort. Rich blue tapestries decorated the wood-paneled walls of the common room, which consisted of a bar and tables of stout Wood. A signboard that simply read "The Yawning Portal," hanging on chains from a black Iron pole above the front door, announced the entry to the inn.
Entry to Undermountain
The inn had a total of two wells that both could serve as entry points to Undermountain. The first measured 40 feet in diameter (12 meters), descended 140 feet (43 meters), and was located between the bar and dining tables. This dry well was the main and only publicly known passage to Undermountain. A waist-high stone ring was built around the well to prevent customers and objects from falling into the dungeon. Around the 50 feet point (15 meters), the well grew completely dark and on reaching the floor, one entered a sandy floor with stone walls decorated with shields. These shields were rusty to the point of uselessness but for one purpose: people who wanted to be drawn up hit these shields and the noise made that way was considered a sign that people below wanted to be pulled up from the dungeon.
Atmosphere
The clientele consisted mostly of adventurers eager to enter the depths of Undermountain.
The center has a large ring that is of an older foundation it goes into the first layers of The Underdark. They charge a Gold piece for those who want down or up.
They talk to Durnan about the hole and the "kill rate" he claims they don't tally those numbers, but there are more that go in than come out.
The current Bard is a Halfling Bard playing melody of a fan favorite. Shadow asks about the music and he tells them everyone is getting for the upcoming holiday, The Last Sheaf aka "The Small Feast".
Leafall 20: Last Sheaf
Sometimes called "The Small Feast," this day of residential feasting is held in celebration of the year's bounty. Small gifts (traditionally hand kegs of ale, jars of preserves, or smoked fish and meats) are exchanged among neighbors, and "last letters" are gathered for carriage by ship captains and caravan merchants-so called because they are the last to leave the city before travel becomes difficult. Of Wide Berth's many celebrations, this one is perhaps the most relaxed and relaxing. Plan to spend a little extra on good food and enjoy a meal with those nearest you, be they dearest hearts or the folk across the hall in the inn.
Vikar asks if they had met with Reggie's people -- but not yet. He talks about how the ship, The Lady's Avarice, is getting repaired and the crew is blowing off steam. Shadow: "What's your next stop?" Vikar: "not sure. We'll probably hang here about 5 more days and then get all The Last Sheaf letters. Probably Neyer after that." Shadow: "what do you do, exactly?" Vikar: "we hire out our ship. For cargo or other purposes." Shadow: " any suggestions we could do?" Vikar: "you can go in the hole, or go look for trolls…" Sas: "GO in the hole?" Vikar: "oh yeah. The hole there goes to The Underdark and people go down to find their fortune or death. Word is the owner found his fortune there and bought this bar." Shadow: "How long do people stay down there?" Vikar: "not sure. I am not in this city too long usually. I've seen some go in and come right out though." Vikar talks about how Reggie should recoup his costs. He also talks about the dangers of a mutinous crew and brings up that he has found himself in the brig once.The party had a drink and discussed the possibility of going spelunking or waiting for Reggie's men.
t Encounter Experience: 250 Each | Total: 9550 (Next Goal: 14,000) t
**Left in The Yawning Portal waiting for Reggie's men**
Related Location
The Yawning Portal
The Yawning Portal
Related Species
Rot Grub
Related timelines & articles
Rot Grub
Master DM Timeline (article)
The Wild Cards of Dierde (article)
I really do try to make most of this original, but since Forgotten Realms is an integral part of the world I can't help if anything is used without formal permission, but is still "fair use" as I am just using this for my private games.