Session 22 Summary

General Summary

We began again at Trollskull Manor as the party continued their plans to apprehend the Black Viper. After deciding on a strategy, they waited until the small hours of the morning before heading back to the townhouse on Thunderstaff Way. 

The infiltration began with Horus entering the main floor kitchen where he found no crumbs of evidence; just croissants. After failing to pick the lock on the second floor walk-up door, Hawthorne proceeded to bash it open so smoothly the noise was partially muffled by concurrent dog barking. Meanwhile the clanky Lunchmoney took station at the back of the building to intercept any possible escape.

Not finding any interior stairs to the next floor, and hearing Hawthorne’s ruckus above him, Horus decided the time for stealth was over; exited the way he’d come to meet Lunchmoney out back; and ascended a ladder straight to the third floor. 

Perhaps overzealous from too much standing around, Lunchmoney proceeded to kick down several doors in his path until he discovered what appeared to be the master bedroom. Opening this door triggered a trap that struck Lunchmoney with several poisoned darts before he entered to find a woman seated at a desk across the room. 

The two began a curious debate about the relative impropriety of setting traps vs. home invasion, and then about the ownership of the building itself; both of which proved to be just delay tactics to allow Hawthorne to close the distance with this magical wand of spooge. When Lunch finally revealed their true purpose: to apprehend the Black Viper on behalf of Savra Belebranta, and Hawthorne drew out his wand, the time for talk was over and combat ensued.

Discharging his sticky wand appeared effective at first, until it was revealed that the Viper’s image was in fact an illusion. When the real Viper emerged from hiding, she proved to be a dangerous adversary, wreaking havoc with her sneak attacks and multiple rapier strikes, almost dropping Hawthorne.

As the party members began to consider retreat, at the last minute Horus was able to land a successful Hold Person spell; paralysing the Viper long enough for Lunch to disarm her and tie her up.

Items collected from the Viper’s townhouse included a notebook, a leather pouch, a fine-looking rapier, a ring, a magic scroll, a cloth bag of fancy women’s underclothes, a lewd painting, 645 gold pieces, a dragonskull talisman and a Letter to Yalah.

Wrapping the restrained Viper in bedsheets and dumping her in a wagon, the party took off across the city to the Halls of Justice just as the sun began to rise over Waterdeep.

Report Date

14 Feb 2025