Chapter 6: Missing Faith

The Fall of Phandelin

The heroes have returned from assisting the Fairy Queen with her corrupted forest spirit. On the road from the deep places in the Forest, they stumble upon Sister Garaele, who seems confused to meet them here on the open road. She mentions that Vera's note sent her away to Conyberry on urgent business, and the confusion only deepens when Vera points out that she left no such note. Garaele's confusion gives way to fear and Vera in particular is distraught at the prospect of her dreams coming to pass. Upon arrival in Phandelin, you find the small village under assault by a significant force of cultists, supported by not one, but two dragons. Venomfang, it seems, has convinced his brethren to seek vengeance for being driven from Thundertree. Worse, Sildar Hallwinter and Droop are already seriously injured, and the villagers are in a panic trying to escape the conflict, while Reke seems to dissipate in front of his allies. Reke returns shortly, reborn as Reke the Radiant - a Paladin of Redemption in the service of Bahamut, and his reappearance marks the beginning of the battle in earnest. Waves of cultists continue to assail the heroes, and as they struggle to stem the tide and protect the villagers there's a brief moment of hope, when Venomfang falls that this storm could be weathered.

This notion is swiftly disabused by the arrival of even more dragons, each more powerful than the last. And it is only when the elder red dragon known only as "Sun's Wrath" appears is all hope of victory fully lost. The heroes, assisted by Ophin Taldilindar  and an unlikely arrival of a silver dragon ally of their own, manage to evacuate the majority of the village. As the heroes retreat from the village, the mocking laughter and victory cries of the enemy cultists ringing in their ears, Reke suggests a return to Neverwinter to raise a force to retake the village, while hoping to find a safe place for the refugees of the fallen village to stay. That evening as the group travels back to Neverwinter, they make camp and proceeds to lick their wounds from their battles with burning questions in mind: Where did this many cultists come from? Why Phandelin? And how did so many dragons assemble completely unnoticed? The night wears on, and in the early hours of the morning, Vera and Bixiris are on watch when they hear strangle rustling in the brush around them. They awaken their comrades, and Pomli goes rushing off to find the source of the noise. She ends up face to face with Bral, the half-orc who had tried earlier to trade Reidoth's life for Vera's.

A frantic skirmish opens with magical darkness flying everywhere, and despite inflicting lethal wounds, the half-orc seems to be everywhere around the camp. As swiftly as the violence begins however, it ends with a whimper. The multiple copies of Bral take the villagers hostage, and threaten to kill them all unless Vera surrenders. After a brief review of options, the cleric agrees to her terms. Bix is furious and refuses to honor the deal, which forces a Vera to hold her in place magically until the hostage swap is complete. Bral has Vera don an ensorcelled choker, and she finds she can no longer speak - robbing her any attempt to offer a goodbye or reassuring words to her friends. Bix breaks free of her binds in time to swear vengeance - but not before Vera is spirited away. In her fury, Bix and Ophin end up at odds - each blaming the other for Vera's disappearance. Bix only offers a brief explanation of how she knows Bral: as the enforcer from a previous organization who was deep in the trade of slaves, funneling orphans to the auction block, an organization Bix personally ended.

Return to Neverwinter

As the sun rises, the remaining heroes escort the refugees to Neverwinter, greeted by the exhausted looking Sister Garaele. Garaele learns of the fate of Vera and quickly helps the party find a place to crash - an old abandoned inn called The Singing Wolves, and she has arranged for the heroes to meet with Neverwinter's Lord Protector Dagult Neverember. The refugees take it upon themselves to clean and restore the inn to a home for the heroes while Garaele and Sildar show the heroes around the city markets in the Chasm district. As the party goes hat shopping, a disturbance catches their attention. All eyes immediate search for Pomli, and when they realize the gnome druid is still with the party, they notice Ophin... is not. Following the sounds of combat, they stumble upon a wounded, surrounded Ophin who was apparently defending the honor of the half-elven bard, Thae. A brawl erupts, which swiftly comes to an end when Ophin and Ralathor combine their talents to turn Moriki into a giant, hasted avatar of death and destruction. After their victory, the party beats a hasty retreat back to their temporary home, where Thae is introduced as an old friend of both Vera's and Bix's. Upon hearing the circumstances of Vera's abduction, Thae immediately offers her assistance.

That evening is spent nursing injuries and drinking, when a triumphant shout cuts through the din of the packed inn. Ophin had been spotted throughout the day fiddling with some copper wire, and his efforts had finally borne fruit: he had made contact via his magics with Vera. After a brief conversation, they learn that she is alive, albeit restrained and blindfolded. Based on the information given however, it seems that she is being held somewhere near the sea, which Sildar deduces means the Docks district. Bix immediately makes preparations to set out before being talked out of her single minded mission by pointing out that the majority of their party needs rest after the day's activities. While Bix assents, she later slips out unnoticed to do some investigations of her own.

Bix falls into her old stomping grounds with surprising ease, and discovers that the men they fought earlier were no mere drunks, but members of a new criminal faction on the rise: the Wolf Pack. A gang of former brigands, pirates, and general criminals who have been causing no end of trouble in the city, striking with a speed and coordination that belies their disorganized appearances and fading away before the city watch can catch them. Bix takes the information and leaves to rejoin her friends when she is confronted by another figure from her past: the tiefling Woe, the former matriarch who was taking part in the slave trade. Woe taunts Bix, withholding the information she has on Vera over her head, before making several references of plans that only the heroes should have known. After a few exchanges of threats, Woe disappears, and Bix returns unscathed to the inn.

Meeting the Lord Protector

The next morning is spent in preparation for their meeting, and after a quick glow up courtesy of Thae, the party proceeds to meet the Lord Protector of Neverwinter. Dagult Neverember listens intently to their story, and has privately already confirmed the story of Phandelin and their successes to date. The Lord Protector rewards the party handsomely, but is less willing to immediately commit to the recovery of the lost village. After some negotiations, Neverember's hand is revealed: he would like Neverwinter to receive preferential treatment from the newly discovered mines in Wave Echo Cave. Reke counters, pointing out that it's not theirs to bargain with, and the Lord Protector assents, and says he will pursue negotiations with the Rockseeker brothers.

The topic of conversation turns to the abducted Vera. The Lord Protector points out that he would be willing to help search for the missing priestess, but that he would want a favor from the party at an unspecified point in the future. Once the party agrees to the terms, he introduces his contact with the criminal underworld of Neverwinter: Woe. The discussion that follows turns heated swiftly: Bix is outraged at his alliance with a woman who sold children into slavery, while Neverember for his part points out that he is making do with the cards he's been dealt, and that if Bix truly wished for Vera's safe recovery she would set aside her animosity. Woe watches the exchange with amusement before naming her price, and it's a steep one well outside the reach of the party's funds. Neverember agrees to the price, and Woe directs the party to the last known location of the Wolf Pack, a system of caves underneath the Docks district.

Inside the caves, the party triggers an ambush and find themselves swarmed, but their might combined with Ophin and Thae's support magics are more than enough to put the attackers to the sword. After several bloody deaths, the pack surrenders. In exchange for peaceful passage, they answer Bix's questions - pointing out that they had only recently reclaimed the cave after being driven out by Bral and Woe, when they split the Wolf Pack into two factions. The survivors make mention that a pointy-eared woman had been brought in, but could not confirm her appearance. They toss the party the keys to the room the prisoner is being held in, and depart. Bix charges into the cell, only to find two prisoners - neither one being Vera. They discover the halfling Moro Elvellon and the githyanki Vi Kosai, bound and unconscious. After untying and reviving the pair, the party discovers a scrap of Vera's clothing, left behind in their haste to relocate their prisoner. Both prisoners are far from home, and the heroes offer to assist them with their return when the opportunity presents itself.

The Search for Vera

Upon leaving the Wolves' Den, Ophin reveals that the garment could be used to help a scrying spell hone in on her location, but also notes that such a spell would require no small amount of magical power. The group, with Vi and Moro in tow, proceed to the Shard of the Moon, the temple to the goddess Selune in Neverwinter. There they meet Lady Jasmine, the head priestess of the temple, who attempts to make contact on the behalf of the heroes. Unfortunately, the cleric is not sufficiently familiar with Vera and is unable to get the spell to function. Ralathor then suggests the wizards at Cloak Tower, where it seems his reputation has preceded him. The members of the tower seem unwilling to entertain an audience with the wizard. The party splits for a short period, with Ralathor trying to petition for a method to reach the Astral Plane in hopes of a cure for his madness, and Bix taking Ophin and Reke to the orphanage she funds. A few hours pass before the party reunites at the Singing Wolves.

There, Ophin again attempts to make contact with Vera, and has learned she has been relocated somewhere within the labyrinthine depths of Neverwinter's sewers. Desperate for a lead, he then tries to petition his mother for assistance, a petition that is roundly turned down. Later that evening Ophin slips out, and steals a spell scroll of Scrying from the Red Wizards Enclave in town. With Ralathor to guide him, the pair of mages successfully complete the ritual, and locate Vera's prison. Bix is again set on rushing out, but is successfully talked into permitting the mages to rest and refresh themselves, that they might bring their full might against Bral and his allies. Later that evening, Ophin meets with Bix to confirm they are aligned on the primary goal: escaping with Vera at all costs. To that end, Ophin reveals a little something's he's been brewing - a pair of linked rings. While wearing them, the bearers can communicate mentally, and one can teleport to the other's location in a blink, in exchange for consuming the magics contained therein. Ophin also keys a runestone to teleport out. With these, the plan comes into focus: upon reaching Vera, Ophin will retrieve the priestess and use the runestone to warp out. In the event the fighting goes poorly, he can return to the fray as needed.

Fall of the Beast

The next morning the party prepares for battle. After a brief breakfast, they strike out to Bral's hideout - the ruins of a cultist enclave to a forgotten deity hidden deep in the Neverwinter Sewers. Proceeding carefully, the party manages to clear the sewers of any further Wolf Pack members who seek to bar their path, and breach the inner sanctum. Inside they discover the secret behind Bral's multiple appearances... he is being magically cloned. The heroes storm the remainder of the sanctum, before reaching the holding cells, where the Prime Bral lies in wait. As combat breaks out, Ophin manages to slip past during the chaos and locate Vera. As he finishes freeing her from her bonds, Reke strikes the mortal blow on the half-orc bandit lord. However, all is not settled, and in a final act of defiance Bral shatters a vial upon himself, and begins to grow, larger than the walls can safely contain him.

During the chaos Ophin successfully exfiltrates from the sewers with Vera in tow, and makes a less than graceful landing at the inn. Vera, recognizing both that her friends were in danger and that Ophin had pulled her from the fray, makes a wild lash out at him in frustration. After the assistance of several of the villagers, her wrath is calmed long enough for Ophin to reach out and communicate with Bix, where he learns... all is not well. Using the magic of the rings, he returns to Bix's side and beholds the gruesome visage of a mutated Bral, now a hulking four-armed behemoth towering over the nearby houses. He also notes Ralathor was unable to fully escape the rubble, unlike the rest of the heroes, and is in critical condition. As the maddened Bral approached, additional Bral clones also crawled out of the ruins to join the fray, forcing the party to split their focus. Bral proves to be a fierce adversary, sweeping Thae and sending her flying while simultaneously beating Reke into unconsciousness. During the melee, a new hero emerges - Kurik Everly, drawn by the destruction, stumbles into the battle and notices his "Pickle", Moriki, engaged in mortal combat with the slavering beast. Kurik promptly puts his skiss to work and assists the party from afar. Ophin finds himself hard-pressed to maintain the tempo, but is able to resuscitate the dragonborn paladin, while providing covering fire and supporting magics of his own. After a few tense minutes of combat, Reke somehow manages to strike the killing blow, shattering Bral's knees in the process and dispatching the beast.

A Bittersweet Victory

The party manages to withdraw from the field of battle and slip past the oncoming city guard without notice. Upon making their successful return to the Singing Wolves, multiple joyous reunions are had. Bix, Pomli, and Ophin are delighted to see the cleric returned, while somewhat weakened from days of starvation and sedation, is otherwise unharmed. Vera for her part is equal parts relieved and wracked with guilt - she has seen the injuries suffered by the party in the battle, and blames herself - for if she hadn't involved them in her affairs, they never would have sustained the injuries they had. Ophin is able to successfully break the curse on Vera's choker, and destroys it - restoring the cleric's ability to speak, and more importantly to cast magics. Vera promptly works on the severely injured Ralathor and Reke, before being dragged to her bed by Mirna to rest. Moriki has found her long lost "Kuku", and there is much feasting and drinking in celebration.
In the midst of this partying, Ophin tries to take a moment to set out into the city on his own. Bix and Vera, having caught sight, follow after. The pair tail the sorcerer to a facility, and when he does not immediately emerge, Vera's anxieties get the better of her. Bix volunteers to go inside, and learns that it's nothing more than a high end bathhouse. Unfortunately, the pair are picked up by a member of the local guard, a tiefling named Charm Mirthshadow. Charm for his part mistakes the pair for the average adolescent troublemakers that such a place attracts, and accuses them of peeking in on the patrons of the bathhouse. The confusion only deepens, much to Vera's embarassment, when Ophin emerges. Charm reveals that he and Ophin are actually good friends, and escorts the trio back to the Singing Wolves, teasing the women and generally making Ophin as red as his hair over what he believes he's caught the pair up to.
A few days of rest and relaxation pass, before the Lord Protector pays the group a visit, with Charm in tow. After a tense moment, he reveals he is aware of their involvement with the devastation caused by the battle with Bral, but is unwilling to punish the heroes for destroying the den where the Wolf Pack had been plaguing the city from. As the conversation evolves, he apologizes to Bix for brushing off her concerns, and notes that Woe is no longer welcome in the city proper. Last reports indicate she has fled by sea to the city of Waterdeep. He further comes, with a job offer for the heroes: the time to retake Phandelin draws near, and he has placed a centurion of veteran soldiers at the command of Sildar, with the intent to retake and hold the town proper. He believes that while his soldiers will be well suited to the task of dealing with the cultist rank and file, their own champions may prove too much. To that end, the heroes will confront these champions of the Cult, while the professional soldiers mop up the cultists. The militia makes ready to leave in two days' time.
After this conversation, Charm remains long enough to request a transfer to Phandelin, under Sildar. Sildar assents, and as Charm makes ready to leave, another set of unbidden guests has arrived: Daredrid Taldilinar, along with a retinue of Red Wizards. She demands to speak to Ophin, and Vera ends up holding he ground, indicating she will ask him if he wants to speak to her. Daredrid, unaccustomed to being told "No", especially by a woman who appears to be a third her age, leaves an ultimatum: Ophin is to speak to her by sundown, or she will have the inn burnt to the ground, refugees and all. Upon hearing the threat, Ophin gathers his courage, and confronts his adopted mother. The appearance was to give Ophin a chance to answer for his crime of stealing the Scrying scroll from the Daredrid, who operates the local Red Wizard's enclave in Neverwinter. Ophin admits his guilt, specifying that he had no regrets, and would do it again if the situation prompted it. Daredrid and the Wizards leave promptly, with an ominous message that his sentence would be passed shortly.
Upon hearing the threat, Kurik begins marshalling defenses. The party discovers that Ralathor and Vi have left to the Astral Plane, Ralathor looking to piece together his fractured mind while Vi seeks to return to her home. With Pomli's assistance, Moriki is able to deliver a message to Charm. After filling the tiefling on the events of the day, Charm moves to inform the Lord Protector of the impending fight. In the meanwhile Moriki chases down the children, Mirna's Nilsa and Nars, as well as Carp, from the market and brings them back to the safety of the inn. Shortly after, a brawl between the boys breaks out over whose artifact is most powerful. Kurik breaks up the fight, and the two demand Ophin determine which of the two is more powerful. As Ophin begins to make a show of inspecting the two, the stone thrums to life and captures him inside a hemisphere of pure force magic. Vera quickly teleports to his side, just in time for two Red Wizards to appear. One of them swiftly takes Vera out of the equation, stunning her with a potent spell, while the other begins a magical ritual. Laying his hands on Ophin's neck, he burns a sigil directly on the elf's skin, while he screams in agony. The party is unable to intervene, while Vera gets a front row seat to the sight, sound, and smell of Ophin's torture. With the ritual complete, both wizards teleport out, and the hemisphere dispells on its own.
Ophin is unconscious, but breathing, and just as the party gathers its wits, the cavalry arrives. The Lord Protector, Charm, and a full retinue of soldiers crash into the inn, too late to render assistance. Neverember orders Ophin to be transported to the Shard of the Moon for his own safety, and departs, leaving a shell shocked party to cope in the wake of the day's events...

Plot type

Chapter

Related Characters

• Bixiris "Bix", Toxicologist Extraordinaire
• Charm Mirthshadow, Noble Scoundrel
• Kurik Everly, Battle Master
• Moriki, Barbarian of the Totems
• Norixius Reke, Paladin of Bahamut
• Ophin Taldilindar, Arcane Prodigy
• Pomli Sassafras, Circle of the Shepherd
• Ralathor the Mad, Evocation Savant
• Ravera "Vera" Moonglade, Twilight Cleric of Selune