SC.3.1 Masquerade of Liars

Session Preface

After a tenday of preparations, you've reached Liar's Night. On a picturesque autumn evening, with clear skies of purple-red and leaves the color of embers drifting through the street on a crisp breeze, the festivities are afoot across Waterdeep. On each stoop or porch, gourds and pumpkins carved as faces, symbols of faith, crests of noble families, or even renditions of the homes themselves, flicker with candlelight. The light within them representing the true souls of Waterdeep's citizenry, allowing them to be anyone or anything on this Liar's Night.
Folks of all backgrounds and ages mingle in the streets of Trollskull Alley, many wearing obvious coinpurses at their waist, filled to the brim with candies or other trinkets for pickpockets to trade with them. Many wear simple, homemade masks of grey cloth covering their face with cutouts for the eyes, the holy symbol of Mask himself, god of shadows and thievery. Others don the silver shimmery mirror masks of Liera the goddess of illusions and deceptions.
At the most prominent street corner, a pair of illusionists weave incredible images in vibrant iridescent hues of smoke and lights and magic, telling tales to gathering children of heroic feats and far away kingdoms. Illusions of ships cresting massive waves in a stormy sea that crashes down over the crowd with a roaring splash. Prismatic dragons soaring through the air, the flap of their gargantun wings blowing across the children's faces. Two wizards locked in a duel, their spells bouncing around, whipping through the crowd, leaving multi-colored trails behind them, creating a dizzying knot of beautiful colors.
You move through the crowd, seeing several familiar faces. You take the brief moment to exchange pleasantries while you wait for the sun to sink fully behind the horizon, for then the Masquerade of Liars will begin, and with it, your mission.

Session Summary

Trollskull Alley

Enjoying the festivities, Hawk and Thaust aid Mya in passing out her dad's signature caramel apples to their new neighbors, while Thaust sneaks bites of them as often as he can. Endriel offers Hawk a smoke so they can discuss plans, sneaking out of Mya's view in the courtyard behind Trollskull Manor. They meet Vincent Trench, the local private eye, already smoking his pipe. The detective seems on edge, expressing concern about the recent disappearances and how Liar's Night provides an excellent cover for nefarious activity. He agrees to watch over the neighborhood, saying that "if we can't keep everyone safe, at least we can protect our community." Hawk asks him to in particular keep an eye on their friends staying behind at the manor, to which he agrees, leaving the two to their preparations.
Hawk confides in Endriel his uncertainty about picking the adventurer life up once again, thinking he'd been more content in Durindale, settling down, writing music, and being with Mya and his friends. Instead, he's back home embroiled in all of its complexities, winding up in other dimensions, and about the face down devils and demons. Endriel comforts him, drawing on centuries of additional experience, and bolstering Hawk's resolve. When he asks Hawk why it was so important to return, he shares that he felt like he still owed Tristain and wanted to help see this matter resolved while he sought his own purpose in Chult.
Meanwhile, Thaust enjoys the Liar's Night traditions, letting a trio of kids pick the candy from his pocket before noticing and "scaring" them away. In exchange for the candy, he finds a smooth river stone, a glass marble, and a piece of bark with the word 'butts' carved into it and tucks these treasures away.
The companions make their final preparations, putting their weapons into the bag of holding, keeping only a pair of compact shortbows, crafted by their neighbors, Enric and Avi, on their persons, hidden away. Hawk takes Mya aside, explaining both the seriousness of their endeavor, but his own confidence in their success as well, and then they cross the city to the masquerade.

Cassalanter Villa

Going through the typical security procedure, Hawk is flagged when the guard finds his compact bow. Hawk manages to convince the guard he is on site as an undercover security measure and needs the bow in case of an incident. After an exchange of gold and agreement about anonymity, Hawk is allowed through unscathed. Inside, the trio make a direct line for the smell of food, finding a variety of seafood finger food being passed around. In each room, they find crowds of Waterdeep nobles, a majority dressed in typical gala regalia with the addition of ornate masks to match, while others are in exquisitely crafted costumes similar to theirs, depicting various monsters and creatures of Faerun.
Around the family dining table, now covered in felt and set up for playing cards, Hawk sees Ellian seated and playing, notably not wearing a mask. The two exchange a look of mutual recognition, but no other interaction. As Hawk and Thaust loiter in the area, they observe Ellian downplaying his own attention paid to the kitchen staff as they come and go. Watching the staff more closely, the pair realized that three of the wait staff are far less experienced than the others, noting that while they all use a set of hand signals to communicate for work, the three newcomers do not seem as comfortable with the signs and are working to keep up appearances. Hawk and Thaust move to the smoking den, adjacent to the card table, to continue observing.
In the seating area, Hawk and Thaust find a series of portraits from throughout the Cassalanter's life — Victoro as a child with a proud father, Victoro and Ammalia on their wedding day, a portrait of their late, teenage son, holding a ceremonial rapier, and finally one of Ammalia with their two twins, lost tragically in the necrotic siege of Waterdeep, as babies in her lap while Victoro reads them a fairy tale. The final painting, still on an easel, is of Victoro and Ammalia with their adopted daughter, who was orphaned during the same siege. Thaust recognizes the daughter as Elya, the assistant at The Prestiege in the Trade Ward.
While Hawk and Thaust investigate Ellian and the wait staff, Endriel deploys a bit of theatrics to sneak his way into the basement. He discovers a thrice-locked vault door requiring three keys, and a secret door hidden behind a symbol of Siamorphe hidden within the wine cellar. Making use of a distraction caused by a pair of dueling guests, Endriel then makes his way up to the third floor, to investigate the rumors he learned of "screaming" coming from the roof. After sneaking past a hungry guard, he finds himself in the private quarters of the family. He discovers a cleaned, but messy play room and a similarly untouched, but free of dust bedroom for the twins, maintained as if it were a museum. He does not come across access to the next level, but does in fact hear the screaming. Instead of the shrill shriek he might have expected, it is instead a low, droning wail of torment he hears.
The three reconvene to discuss their findings and plot their way forward, determining to investigate the upstairs screaming first in case it is somehow in danger and held against their will. While discussing the vault, they are interrupted by Ellian. They exchange barbed pleasantries and talk in circles before Thaust presses Ellian to explain what he's actually doing there and why he is upset with them. To the second point, he calls the both of them cowards for leaving Waterdeep just because it was difficult at times, instead of staying and putting their shoulder to the wheel to make it better "by any means necessary", like he has, despite his own complicated history with the city. To the former point of his purpose at the masquerade, he catches them up on the Avengers recent influx of wealth and decries his obligation to come to these events and play cards and brush shoulders because like or not, the nobles see him as their equal now, even if they are mistaken. He bids them farewell, making a point to say he hopes they enjoy the toast the hosts will give at the end of the evening, a tradition known as "the last lie."
With that, the companions head upstairs to try and access the fourth floor and uncover the source of the strange, gutteral screams.

Session Overview

Date Played:
April 7, 2025
Party:

• Endriel
• Hawk
• Thaust

Time Passed:
Marpenoth 30, 1493 - Marpenoth 30, 1493
NPCs:

• Vincent Trench
• Mya
• Ellian Hood
• Victoro & Ammalia Cassalanter

Loot

• 2 compact shortbows (100g each)