KWN.2.7 Thwarting the Thief

Session Preface

The stench of fresh-spilled blood from the basement above blends with the noxious sewage stink as you climb through the excavated hole in the floor into the tunnels beneath the warehouse. Beyond your limited vision, rats scurry into the darkness, the skittering clicks of their claws echoing off the stone walls. Hot air sticks to your skin, heavy with moisture. The corridor extends forward before you, the walls draped with a clinging mess of lichen tracing the grout between the uneven stones. Ahead, the sewers open into an intersection, the gurgling flow belching as ripples of refuse lap against the narrow walkway on either side.

Session Summary

Descending into the sewer tunnels, the party navigates their way towards the source of the tremors, only to discover Thanduil, the individual responsible for the design and construction of the devices responsible for the damage, bound and gagged.

Crossing into the next chamber, you begin to feel a near constant rumbling beneath your feet. You are drawing closer to your target. The sound of metal scraping against stone roars in a droning buzz from beyond the doorway ahead of you. You can just make out a muffled voice alongside the machinery's noise.
Peering inside, you see a complex machine - a wooden frame of different materials affixed to one another. Suspended from this structure, a central rod, held by a set of cords and cables, freely spinning while simultaneously swinging back and forth like a battering ram, slamming against the wall with a sharpened edge drilling into the stone bit by bit. Holding the device, his hands bound to the frame of the machine and his mouth gagged, a tall, sweat-drenched half-elf looks towards you with wide eyes, screaming indiscernible cries. Freeing Thanduil and stopping the mechanism, the party learns that Arkmenos had hired Thanduil to build a pair of these artillery-based devices so that he could bypass the magical defenses around a vault beneath Arkhen's Invocatorium, supposedly home to dozens of relics and magical items of relatively common power. Thanduil explains that this heist is the thief's last job in the city before departing, and offers to lead them as far as he knows before returning to warn Captain Grapeshot. Following Thanduil's lead, the party discover a false door in a dead end and eventually make their way into the basement of an abandoned warehouse where they overhear Arkemenos and his minions.
Eventually, the sewer walls give way to a differently hewn stone, the floors transition suddenly from the mushroom-laden and cracked, sewage-riddled walkway to wooden floorboards. It occurs to you an exterior wall must have once occupied this space, and as you examine the area, a thick layer of dust and gravel lies scattered across. You find yourself stepping quietly into the empty basement of another warehouse, perhaps one down the central street from the Lionshield Coster. Large, non-descript stone columns support the ceiling, each with stacked boxes piled haphazardly around them. The wall opposite you draws your attention as you notice the excavated wall in which a shoulders-length entry has been hastily carved, fist-sized bits of stone and debris tossed aside to clear a path. From the dark chamber beyond, cascading footsteps and grunts of effort reverberate against the stone walls and reach your ears in syncopated waves. Carried atop the frenzy of activity, a harsh command "Quick, load the last of it up! We need to be on our way before those damn Knights interfere further!"
Sneaking into the vault, the party quickly subdue one of the Cyricists posted on alert, but find themselves outnumbered by the cultists, constructs, and Arkmenos, who is further protected by a behemoth Shield Guardian. Wielding the Truesilver Crown, Arkmenos slips in and out of the battle, blinding and distracting the Knights with arcane affects while appearing only to strike them in a moment of surprise. With their backs against the wall and outnumbered, the party endures just long enough for reinforcements to arrive in the form of Grapeshot and five of his lieutenants. With the odds more in their favor, the Knights are able to eventually turn the tide, subduing Arkmenos and defeating the remaining cultists while avoiding the senseless destruction caused by the Shield Guardian gone beserk after Aethuriel shattered the amulet binding it to Arkmenos. While Pax distracts the construct, Tristain and Aethuriel manage to bind and drag Arkmenos to safety, ensuring they will be able to interrogate him regarding recent events and further threats to the region.
The party turns Arkmenos over to Captain Grapeshot, but not before tucking the Truesilver Crown, Arkmenos' dagger, and a piece of parchment found on his person away to hold onto themselves. Grapeshot thanks the Knights for their service and requests to meet with them the next day to speak with Arkmenos and to resolve the rest of the matters affecting Silverymoon.

Session Overview

Date Played:
February 12, 2021
Party:

• Aethuriel
• Pax
• Tristain

Time Passed:
Elesias 24, 1493 (AM) - Elesias 24, 1493 (PM)
NPCs:

• Thanduil
• Captain Grapeshot
• Arkmenos

Loot:

• Truesilver Crown
• Decorative Dagger
• Folio's Letter