Session 41: Null and Void

General Summary

A Bittersweet Win

The party stood victorious in the aftermath of the attack on Brevindon Margaster's pirates at the Port of Menzoborranzan. His ships were set aflame, and his men were lost, but the party's victory was not without a loss of their own. Eldwin had fallen in the ensuing chaos, and after a harrowing attempt to revive him, he was brought back to life by Thalia. In death, he saw the faces of his lost squadmates, and awoke with his Shadowfell Brand burning.

After some much-needed rest, the party joined their new unlikely ally, Captain Mordai Blackdagger, and their even unlikelier ally, Amity, and took to the dark and dangerous Glimmersea in search of Brevindon.

The Oathbreaker and the Pirate Lord

Aboard the Emerald Cutter, Amity revealed that she knew the full story between Brevindon and Cristabel. Brevindon's father, Lord Margaster, once had a contract with Asmodeus and simultaneously worked for the Cult of the Dragon. A paladin of Tyr found out, but was caught before he could escape. Lord Margaster had him flayed alive and cut his body into pieces, which were sent back to his fiancee: Cristabel Starcrest.

In her grief, Cristabel tracked down the Margasters to their second home in Silverymoon. She hacked the Lord and Lady Margaster into just as many pieces, but in the process killed several innocent souls and broke her own oaths as a paladin. The original heir to the family, Inkeri Margaster, found the bodies, and Amity theorized that if she wasn't already insane at the time due to her experiments, she surely went insane from that. She wasn't seen at public events after that night, and Brevindon replaced her as heir.

Amity explained that Brevindon covered up the entire event, and instead told the other lords that the Lord and Lady died in an accident. He then had Cristabel executed on the side, and upon her death, used his family's connections with the Nine Hells to force her into an infernal contract in death to become one of their hunters, likely as revenge. Amity said she didn't feel particularly bad for the Margasters, as Brevindon was already a slaver at the time, and Inkeri was banned from almost every academy in Faerun for her horrific experiments.

Breach of Contract

Once they found Brevindon's ship, the Emerald Cutter, there was a tense moment where they faltered between negotiation and fighting. Ultimately, they decided to attack, beginning a naval onslaught between the two ships. As they closed the distance to Brevindon, Galan used Cristabel's holy symbol to summon her, and Amity teleported the party aboard the Emerald Cutter.

Brevindon recognized Amity and her status within the cult immediately, and attempted to negotiate with her. Unfortunately for him, she cared little for his plight, and said she was going to revel in the drama of Cristabel being the hunter who would claim his soul for the Nine Hells. In desperation, Brevindon offered the party gold, treasure, and fame in exchange for sparing him. The party had no sympathy for him, and he was now surrounded on all sides by those he had once wronged.

Cristabel emerged, and thanks to the party's careful planning, she was able to confirm he was in breach of his infernal contract and banished him to the Nine Hells. In the moment after, the party made two pivotal decisions. First, they spoke to Cristabel about her own contract, and after several tense persuasions, convinced her that she was worth more than her obsession with hunting the wicked, and that she was capable of redemption. This culminated in her setting her own contract aflame.

Secondly, the party finally told Amity that her father, Corvax, had been posing as Castien, the elven leader of the Order of Bahamut, for over a century. Amity was immediately torn between anger and denial, and when pressed about it, she abandoned the party.

After a difficult journey, it was at least clear that a man who had harmed many was gone, and that the world would certainly be a better place without him. Luckily, Brevindon also kept the party's bounty aboard the ship, leaving them with quite a hefty treasure to take back. Still out on the Glimmersea, there was still much to do in the Underdark before returning to the surface.

Rewards Granted

Brevindon's Treasure Chest

• 100,000 gp (the party's bounty)

Character(s) interacted with

• Adaine Elaran: Adaine assisted in the assault against Brevindon Margaster.
• Amity/Kiara: Amity joined the party in the Glimmersea, where she had already secretly voided Brevindon's contract before teleporting them aboard his ship. He begged her to save him, but she allowed the party and Cristabel to instead damn his soul to the Nine Hells. Afterwards, she was stunned and in denial after learning of her father's true identity, and returned to Menzoberranzan alone.
• Anwyn: Anwyn assisted with the assault against Brevindon Margaster. After his death, she found his treasure chest containing the party's bounty.
• Brevindon Margaster: Brevindon fought the party out on the Glimmersea. Once they had him surrounded, he was taken aback by their plan to use his infernal contract against him, and begged Amity to save him. When she refused, he attempted to bribe the party, but was instead brought to justice by Cristabel Starcrest, who damned his soul to the Nine Hells.
• Cristabel Starcrest: The party learned of Cristabel's true ties to the Margasters, and how Brevindon's family had mutilated her fiance and used their ties with Asmodeus to trap her in a contract. Once the party had Brevindon cornered and ensured his contract had been broken, they called upon her, and she was able to send his soul to the Nine Hells. Afterwards, she attempted to leave, but the party told her about the true nature of her contract, and convinced her to fulfill it, breaking her bonds with the devils, and leaving her free to make new oaths and save the innocent on her own terms.
• Eliza LaCrowe: Eliza was horrified to learn that her plan to take out Brevindon's pirates had killed Eldwin, but was relieved that he was revived. She joined the party and assisted with the assault against Brevindon.
• Sunasha Rumblestrike: Sunasha assisted with the assault against Brevindon Margaster.

Report Date

17 May 2022