Zeke's Journal - Hammer, 1492

Hammer, 1492

17 Hammer

Tonight seemed like a fine day for a pint downstairs at the tavern of The Yawning Portal. I met up with my friend Trigvi, whom I've been helping perform some arcane research. He is middle aged, wears a nice robe, and sports a staff on his back. He has mid length brownish hair and a large black beard and mustache. We approached the table of Varock. He is a dwarven gladiator that Trig seems smitten with. Varock is covered in tattoos and wears a loin cloth and nice boots.
As we sat down - drinking and eating - we heard a commotion as a human male punched a large half-orc woman. Varock rushed off to help the woman, Trigvi and I approached but didn't get involved immediately. Yagra (the half-orc) took a swing at Krentz, the man who attacked her, with her mace, landing a solid blow and knocked him out with one hit. Varock rushed in and immediately attacked while I sat back and Viciously Mocked one of the other ruffians, who I recognized as a Xanathar Guild Bandit by the eyes tattooed on their heads. A few more blows were thrown and then Durnan jumped up on the bar and tried to break it up. All of a sudden, alarms started going off and a troll climbed out of the well with a clutch of Stirge attached to it. We helped Durnan fight off the troll and the stirge.
After the commotion, we were approached by Volo. It seems he went to the The Skewered Dragon last night with his friend Floon. Floon is now missing. Volo asked us if we could find him for 10 dragons each, plus 10x that when we return with him. Floon is a 6 foot human with blond hair and 'dreamy eyes'. Last night, he was wearing a very hip outfit, red short jacket and salmon tunic underneath, dark brown trousers. Volo gave us directions to The Skewered Dragon, about a 30 min walk from the Yawning Portal and we took off. As we were walking down the street, we passed 6 corpses and some city watch cleaning them up. We tried to investigate but we were ushered away - rather brusquely - by the City Watch. We continued on our way.
It was around 7:30pm as we continued toward the The Skewered Dragon. A few blocks away, we came upon a purple colored store with a taxidermied beholder hanging over the door and decided to walk in. Inside was a plum-robe colored gnome - Xoblab.
Xoblab introduced himself and told us that he sells curiosities out of his store, The Old Xoblob Shop. The items he was currently displaying included:

• A metal urn that could hold the ashes something - very nice purple
• A flag hanging on the shelf that with a dragon skull and crossbones with bright purple bones
• An old chess piece - a glass king.

I looked around and also noticed a very nice looking purple journal and a near empty wine bottle. I tried to barter for the chess piece but the gnome couldn't be negotiated with and we decided to leave. On the way out, I asked Xoblob if anything odd had happened near The Skewered Dragon and he said yes, oddly there had. Last night, 2 men were dragged into the alley by 4 or 5 ruffians in black leather. He was clearly ready to leave his shop for the night, but as he pushed us out he pointed towards an alley a few buildings away, explaining that that was where the commotion had occurred.
My fellow adventurers and I looked carefully around the alleyway and noticed clear signs of a struggle. There was some blood smatter on the bricks. This led to blood smears that indicated a body had been dragged down the alley a bit farther on, but then we couldn't tell where it went. While looking, I pulled out my lyre and began playing a soothing diddy to inspire Trig. We noticed a fresh cut on the wall from a dagger, but nothing else promising.
We decided to continue on to The Skewered Dragon. Trig burst in asking for the proprietor - he was anxious to tell them how dangerous it is for an anchor to be lodged in the roof. Varock and I went to get a beer. We asked Feck (the proprietor) about the dragon symbol that was tattooed on one of the thugs and learned it was of the Zhentarim, a local roughian group. It reminded me that I've recently noticed more violent issues between the Zhentarim and the Xanatharian.
In the bar, there were a few gnarly looking sailors - they were just sitting there stewing. All in, there were 10 or so other folks in the wretched tavern. We started tinkering with our instruments as we drank. I spoke with Feck, and he said there were 4 or 5 Zhentarim there around the time Volo was last night. Volo left earlier, but then the ruffians left when Floon did. Somebody else shouted out that the other lord that had visited Floon after Volo left - Renaer Neverember . I recognized the name Neverember, but not Renaer. Brevarr Dunhall - the guy talking to us. He told us where to find the Zhent's hideout - down Candle Lane, look for a snakes face carved on the wall.
We set out and came upon Candle Lane, where there was only one unbroken street lamp. We snuck up on the building Renaer described as quietly as we could. Trigvi summoned his Raven familiar Skald Ör to scout out the building, who shortly came back with the all clear. We snuck into the courtyard of the building and looked through the window but didn't see anything inside. Seeing a door nearby, I used my Mage Hand to unlock the door and we snuck into the warehouse. I saw corpses of a dozen men along the walls and 4 Kenku bandits with short swords standing in the room looking to fight...
...I immediately sang a quick song and cast Faerie Fire on 3 of them. Right after, Trigvi put the same 3 to sleep. Varock leapt forth and killed 2 before I could get him to see reason. The 4th Kenku sprinted off and was lost to the night.
We investigated the room while Varock tied up the remaining Kenku. I knew that Kenku tend to communicate differently than other humanoids. They can only mimic noises they've heard. We woke up the final kenku and he said, "Xanathar sends his regards". Upon further questioning, he also revealed, "Tie up the pretty boy in the back".
Having heard all I needed, I went to search the shelves while the other two continued to interrogate the Kenku. I found plenty of adventuring gear, but nothing out of the ordinary so moved on. We killed the remaining Kenku and moved up stairs to investigate. We found an office and let Varock lead the way. We continued on deeper. we came upon 2 more storage rooms, but nothing really of note. There was, in one room, a pristine piece of paper, which I snagged.
We went to investigate the basement and found a noble hidden away. I asked him who he was and he said his name was Ranear Neveremeber, and asked who we were. We introduced ourselves. I asked if he knew where Floon was and he said, 'Yes, we were abducted together by the Zhentarim and then a surprise battle erupted with the Xanathar Guild. It seems the Xanathar Guild mistook Floon for Raener and left with him. As soon as Ranear mentioned his named, I recognized the name Neverember as the previous Open Lord of Waterdeep.
As we were leaving, the City Watch approached and restrained us, with some of them rushing into the warehouse. As they restrained us, I looked at Ranaer and he stepped forward, speaking to Captain Staget familiarly. He assured him that we were not to blame, but there was carnage inside. I gave the captain a heads up that he should investigate the basement.
The captain came out a few minutes later and Raener explained what happened to him. He thanked us for helping save a noble's life, but warned us from meddling in the city's affairs. As we walked away with Ranear, Varock asked if he could put in a good word for him in the gladiator circles. Ranaer had a glow of recognition and said he would put in a good word. As we parted, I asked if he knew where we might find Floon and he said he assumed they were taking into the sewers.
Ranaer led us to a manhole that leads to the sewer near The Old Xoblob Shop. Varock opened it up and we looked inside, saw a ladder leading down. We followed Varock down into the sewer. As we got to the bottom of the ladder, we saw a symbol in chalk leading one way. We decided to follow it.
We continued to find a series of the symbol and kept following them. After an hour, we came upon a 3-way branch and standing guard was a grapefruit sized creature with 4 eye stalks. I Viciously Mocked it, but didn't seem to have much effect. Quickly, I recited a poem to Varock to inspire him. Emboldened, Varock leapt forth and took a swing at the Gazer. He missed, but Trig was able to Toll the Dead on it. Not to be outdone, I Mocked him Viciously once again and he was incredibly embarrassed at how small he was. As Varock finished it off, I realized this was a Gazer that the Xanathar uses to scout the sewers.
We killed the Gazer and continued on. We came upon a landing. Varock and I continued up to investigate while Trig looked down a small rivlet. I told him to send Skald Ör down the creak and he saw what seemed to be a basement room. He saw some trash and what not, as well as some stairs that led up. He explored deeper and came upon a human sized rat person that promptly grabbed and ate Skald Ör. Trigvi told us it was likely a wererat.
The creature couldn't get to use, so we aren't too worried about it. I checked the door I found and opened it with my Mage Hand. Varock led the way through. We came to another door and Varock didn't even hesitate, he just pushed on through (I quickly took notes on this bold adventuring style). We came upon a goblin, asleep on his job, and we quickly executed him. We continued on and heard an argument behind the next door...
...Varock kicked in the door. We see Krentz and a Dueregar in the next room. They were trying to barricade the northern doorway and spun to see us. The Dwarf is armored with a shield and a war pick. Krentz leapt at Varock and took a swing, but missed. I then proceeded to Viciously Mock him so hard that he started to die. We turned our attention to the dueregar, who cast a spell and made himself HUGE. Through some clever insults laced with my incantations, and support from Trigvi we were able to kill him as well. Just then, an odd Grey Ooze started seeping through the door they had been trying to barricade.
I tried to mock it, but it didn't seem to have any effect. Varock started slashing at it after Trig put it to sleep, and I threw one of my daggers at it. Finally, we were able to 'kill' it and it seemed to melt into liquid. I threw my torch at it, but it seemed impermeable to the flame, so I went to inspect the dueragar (of which I'd only ever read). I checked the room they were coming out of and found it a dead end with a giant pit. It must have been where they kept the ooze.
Varock was exhausted from the fight and immediately fell asleep. We decided to take a short rest (Zeke and Varock leveled - LEVEL 2). After the break, Trig crept down the hallway to explore further and came upon a room. What he say terrified him, a mind flayer and orc were torturing a "male human with wavy red-blond hair". He sprinted back to warn us. When Renaer Neverember heard Floon was alive, he snuck off to try to save him. He came back to ask us for help. Trig and Zeke were ready to sneak off and let Floon die, but Varock fell for Renaer's taunting a got riled up. I quickly cast Heroism on him before he rushed off, and then we rushed in.
Varock rushed in and, taking the orc completely by surprise, was able to kill him in one hit. Trig crept into the room and said something to the mind flayer in Under Common, so I wasn't sure what he said. But he did rise up and float out of the room, leaving his Intellect Devourer, which rushed forward and attacked Varock.
It paralyzed Varock with some sort of arcane trickery, and then leapt at me, landing a devastating scratch attack. I was able to get Renaer Neverember to hop in, and he landed several well placed strikes with his rapier. Trig cast Toll the Dead again, and this time it was enough to make the brain explode.
I rolled the orc and found a magical spell book and a dagger (which I used to replace the one I lost in the ooze). We also found a chest under the throne the mind flayer had been sitting on. On our way out, we saw a person tied up in the corner. Varock went over to investigate and found a half-elf male tied up. Trig and I immediately recognized it as Furanto, who we've met at the Font of Knowledge.
We quickly checked the other small rooms shooting off from the main chamber and didn't find anything. We hustled out of the sewer the same way we entered and made it to the streets without issue. We stumbled back to the The Yawning Portal...
...The party decided to name themselves The Deepwater Protocol. We entered the The Yawning Portal and Volo immediately ran up and hugged Floon. Renaer Neverember offered to buy us all a round and we sat down to celebrate and talk, although Floon went upstairs, exhausted from the ordeal.
Volo was embarrassed he didn't have the gold to pay us, as promised. He did, however, offer us the deed to a 4 story manor in the North Ward - Trollskull Manor. We decided to meet him at the manor tomorrow at midday and went our separate ways. The Manor is at the corner of Saerdoun and Thunderstaff way.

18 Hammer

I woke up the next morning, after our harrowing foray into the sewers. I met up with the recently coined Deepwater Protocol for a breakfast beer. We shot the shit and then set out to the Trollskull Manor. We arrived and began exploring. The first floor was a taproom that, while absolutely trashed and dust-covered, was a very nice tavern.
As I was tidying up the tavern, I noticed a large phantasmal creature staring at me. As soon as I noticed it, it seemed startled and sped away, dissapearing. I thought it might have been Trigvi, but when he came down I asked and it wasn't him. We spoke with Volo and learned that the he had actually purchased the manor because he had heard it was haunted. Trig was pretty irate, and stormed off upstairs. Varock chased after him while Furanto and I stayed with Volo. Furanto and I decided it was a great deal and we accepted. I was personally sold immediately after hearing there was a library space where I could begin my own library. Volo set off to find the Magistrate and we went upstairs to explore.
While we were waiting for Volo and the Magistrate, Trig was 'attacked' by an unseen force and, upon investigation, we discovered a hidden room in the cellar. Trig cast a Detect Magic again, and sense a necrotic energy. Seemingly as soon as he detected the spirit, it darted away. We continued to pry away the bricks and found 22 Silver ingots (worth 50 gp each). We tried to figure out what to do with it, and decided to just leave it there, with Varock watching it. We signed the deed over to the Deepwater Protocol in front of the Magistrate, and also asked him to register our adventuring group as with City Watch. Trig nearly broke down and admitted to the silver, but made it through okay and we were the new owners of the Trollskull Manor.
We picked bedrooms - I took the bedroom on the north end of the 3rd floor. I spent a few hours in the library that night and then went sleep in my new room.

19 Hammer

We woke the next day and met up in the den. Trigvi and I decided to go to The Book Wyrm's Treasure - I wanted to start getting some books in those beautiful shelves. As we were walking, we noticed an orange and black sign featuring a cat's eye. It seemed to be some sort of Private Investigator. We got to the store and immediately got a whiff of that wonderful smell only a room full of books can create. See a golden dragonborn sitting there and he rose to greet us. I asked after any books on the history of Waterdeep and a its wards and he directed me to a back corner section on Waterdeep - by the way, this building has clearly been magically expanded on the inside.
I found 2 books that were particularly interesting - "Lords and Guilds" (8gp) and "An Ancient History of Waterdeep" (6 gp). They are beautiful, leather-bound tomes and will display beautifully in the library. I purchased both for 12 gp and we left. As we continued to explore the new neighborhood we came upon a woodworking shop and popped in. Tally runs The Bent Nail. I made an appointment with him to come by the Manor that afternoon and help me design and build a display for my new book.
Next, we passed a blacksmith run by a fire and water genasi. I was tempted to introduce ourselves and invite them to patron our tavern when it was open, but Trigvi reminded me we were due back at Trollskull Manor and we decided to introduce ourselves later. We decided to head home and also came across an apothecary, it's located just across the alley from us.
I went back to the blacksmith with Varock and we introduced ourselves to the owners of Steam and Steel. Varock bought a new axe (10 gp). Embric and Avi are the owners. As we were at the manor, the Blackstaff Vajra Safahr spoke into Varock's mind and she told him to bring his friends to Blackstaff Tower.
RetCon: I also went by the armorer and bought a set of studded armor for 45gp. It's a beautiful set I've been eyeing for a while. I even had a subtle icon of a book punched into each shoulder.
As we were hanging out relaxing that afternoon, Trigvi all of a sudden shot off. He eventually came back down and, when I asked where he'd rushed off to, told me he said he was trying to investigate the spirits but hadn't found anything interesting. We decided to lock up downstairs and head to Blackstaff Tower. It was in the Castle Ward, so took us a little bit to walk there. As we approached, the doors magically opened up and we entered, only to be greeted by Vajra Safahr herself - the current Blackstaff of Waterdeep.
She said that she wanted to personally thank us for helping her good friend Renaer Neverember. She then offered to let us join the Gray Hands - the elite branch of Force Grey. As we discussed it, she offered us a trial job. It is to seek out the monk Halm and ask him of what threats he's foreseen against Waterdeep. He can be found on the side of Mount Waterdeep. We agreed to head out in the morning and we'd let her know by tomorrow evening.
We returned to the Manor for the afternoon. Trigvi ran off to run some errands and, as he was walking out of the tavern, I saw Tally. I took him upstairs and showed him the library. We made plans to build a new set of bookcases to hide a secret 5x10' room with a safe. Also, there will be a secret entrance into my room.

20 Hammer

The next morning we left bright and early for Mount Waterdeep. I was a little overzealous at the start of the day, and got quite tired on the climb up. As we were climbing, I saw a figure in the distance but they were a fair bit ahead. We came to a spot where the rocks looked a bit unsettled. As we were crossing that stretch, I saw the figure do something and then the rocks exploded out toward us. All of us except Varock were able to leap ahead and avoid the rocks, but Varock took some damage. I told the group about the person - apparently they hadn't noticed him - but he took off.
As we were walking, we saw a pile of scat. Trig took a look at it and immediately knew it was Manticore scat. Based on the fact that there was old and new scat, Trig deduced the Manticore most likely will return often. As we looked to the sky at that news, we saw a Manticore soaring down on us.
As the Manticore began flying toward us, I tried to outline him in Faerie Fire, but the creature was able to shake it off. I inspired Furanto as he passed me by the bridge. I slung a stream of insults at him and caused some slight damage by insulting his face. In response, he launched his quills at Furanto and pierced his face brutally, knocking him unconscious. I healed Furanto with my abilities as Varock landed another hit that sent the Manticore flying off. We followed him to his cave 100 feet up, following Varock's enraged lead and found him hiding in the back. He attacked us and we responded in kind. Trigvi summoned an arcane bell that rang the creature so aggressively that it killed him. Looking around the cave, I saw a dead City Guard and small bag on the creatures nest. I picked it up and and saw it contained 10 green agates (20 gp each).
We took a nice rest in the cave and I played the boys a lilt as they recovered (LEVEL 3!). I remembered reading somewhere that the barbs of a manticore can be processed into a poison. With Furanto help, I was able to harvest 8 of these barbs, which should be enough to produce a vial. Discussing with Furanto, we realized how nicely the wings of the manticore would decorate our tavern. We were able to carve them off at the shoulders. They were incredibly light - no more than 3 pounds each. Trigvi cast Feather Fall on all of us and, with a bit of a leap of faith, if you will, we leapt off the cliff and safely floated down. We brought the body of the Watchman as well, feeling we should drop him off with the other Watch.
As we continued up the mountain, Trigvi was made aware of an outpost coming up by his familiar Skald Ör. As we approached, I saw it was the City Guard. I called out and was greeted by Captain Terrick. I explained we were there on the Blackstaff's behalf, and he called down to help him open the gate. As I walked up, I noticed (too late) that there was something odd with the tarp in front of the gate. I tried to avoid it, but fell down into a pit about 10 feet down. The rest of the Deepwater Protocol quickly came to my aid. I turned myself invisible and jumped out of the pit and ran along the wall to a point I could climb up and surprise those bastards on the other side.
I was able to vault the wall and, still invisible, snuck into a spot that I'd be able to cast Faerie Fire on all of them. Surprised as they were, 2 were able avoid my spell but the other 2 began glowing. One came at me with his spear, but with some of my cutting words, I was able to distract him enough that he missed his attack. The DP and I were able to quickly dispatch of them...
I cast Suggestion on the one remaining bandit Mirka (who turned out to be a newly minted Zhentarim - 'I just got my snake from Urtsal for doing this job') and he began telling us everything. They had been up there for about a week, posing as City Guard making sure nobody visited the monk. I asked him what he would do if we let him live and he told us he would pursue honest work. We put it up to a vote, and decided to let him go, but on the condition that he turn himself into the authorities.
I began searching the bodies and found a pouch of 10gp, which I handed off to each of my compatriots. On Terrick's body, I found a very nice amethyst (50gp) and an arcane looking set of goggles. We continued on to find the monk. He was sitting upon a raised dais in a temple. I interrupted his meditations as smoothly as possibly and asked for his message.

Evil's Twin hides is face for now, Expect that it change by winter's end. - the Monk's message

We headed back toward town with no issues along the way, until we were over three quarters of the way down the mountain. We came upon the body of the dead City Guardsman who Mirka was supposed to carry back as he turned himself in. Came in through the Field Ward but didn't see any City Watch so we continued on to the Dock Ward. I set off for the nearest City Watch Station to report Mirka and explain to them what had happened.
We came up to the gate into the city and explained to the City Guard on duty what had happened (the slain Guard's name was Pete). They took our statement and we entered through the North Gate. We set off straight for Blackstaff Tower to report the words of the monk. As we approached, the doors opened for us and we entered into a new crescent shaped room (last time when we entered it was a different room - very curious). I presented the message to the Blackstaff and she had a strong reaction. I asked her Evil's Twin refers to, and she said that she thought it was Monshoon - a wizard 700 years ago who founded the Zhentarim. He was eventually overthrown by his people, but before that, he created a set of clones [Natural 20! History]. We explained that the Zhents and Manticore had been involved and she was very surprised. She took some additional notes and we made our exit.
When we got back to Trollskull Manor, Trig caught up with Skald Ör to find out where Mirka went. He tried to lose Skald Or in the Dock Ward but wasn't on able to. He was tracked to Spiderweb Alley and went into the sewers at The Splintered Stair. We decided we'd both report him to the Watch, and investigate ourselves for a little vigilante justice. We went to bed and took a long long rest after a harrowing day.

21 Hammer

I woke the next morning and met up with the group downstairs. On a side note, I must say how positively wonderful it was to have our own secure place to call home and really relax. We took care of errands that morning - I went to The Book Wyrm's Treasure to grab some new books. We met up that afternoon and went to The Dredge to watch Varock's gladiator battle.
Trig and I placed 100gp bet on Varock to win the headliner fight. He was projected to beat the challenger, some Warlock, so we only got 1:2 odds. Then we went backstage to check in on Varock. On the way, I gifted Trig an Autograph Book so he could start collecting Gladiatore signatures while we had a backstage pass. We checked in on him and he pranked us, pretending to be poisoned and sick. He played it very well too! We walked out with him, Furanto gave him an incredible walk out speech that got the crowd fired up. Then, a large orc came out - his opponent - Murzol. He was introduced as Murzol the Infernal...and the battle was afoot!
Varock launched forward in a maddened rage, his tattoo growing and beginning to cover a huge portion of his body. After a series of savage blows from both combatants, Varock landed a savage bite and it proved enough to knock Murzol unconscious. We immediately began celebrating, and the party continued long into the night. To add to the festivities, I learned Trig had actually bet 200gp, so we collected 100gp in winnings.
We finally left the Dredge and began walking home. On the way home, though still in the dock ward, we were suddenly accosted with a magical darkness. Trigvi and I sprinted out of the darkness and prepared for battle - he cast Blur on himself and I cast Invisibility on myself. We waited there for a few moments and nothing happened. Then the City Watch were running up, the darkness faded, and Furanto was dead on the ground with this throat slit wide open. Trig and I went hysterical, trying to get the Watch to take our friend to a healer. The Watch captain knew it was futile however, and tried to calm us.

22 & 23 Hammer

Gradually, we started to heal. A few days passed and a messenger came over. It was a letter for me, and said the following:

Renaer Neverember tells us you are a good bet. He bought you tickets to the opera tonight at the Lightsinger Theater in the Sea Ward. If you are interested, meet Mirt at intermission. Private Box C. Formal attire is required for admittance.

We decided we should go, though Trig would need a new outfit. I recognized Mirt's name, he was an adventurer who made it out of the Underdeep and survived. He's known as Mirt the Moneylender, and is good friends with Durnan. We went off to get Trig and me a new set of dress clothes (15gp each) and returned home.
I spent the day reading in the library, and then we set off for the theater. We got there a bit early, but had no issue. We went up to the Box and met Mirt. He said he'd heard of what we'd done for Renaer and then the Blackstaff. He asked if we were familiar with the Harpers and asked if we'd like to support them. He actually offered us 3 pins in the shape of a harp. They are based all across the Sword Coast. I confirmed with him there isn't an issue if we were to support Force Grey on occasion as well.
We asked for some time to discuss and agreed it would be a good thing to look into. We watched the first half of the show and, at intermission, told him we were very interesting. He told us the only tasked he could use help on was gathering information -

One of the drays working in the city is pulled by a talking mare named Maxeene. Locate her, find out if she's learned the identity of any Zhent operatives, and if so, determine their whereabouts.

We accepted and he gave us each a Harpers pin. We gave him some info on the Zhent escaping into Spiderweb Alley and he told us we could look for Maxeene as a mare with a painted coat.
On our way home we decided to swing by and pick up Furanto's body. When we got there, there was a young man on duty. He was incredibly unhelpful and flustered. He looked up Furanto's body - Case #1714, Krynt checked Furanto's body in. Normally there is an outgoing entry for the body, but there is nothing for Furanto...and no body!

24 Hammer

In the middle of the night, Trigvi woke me up. He was picking something up off the floor of my room. Apparently it was a note he'd left for me in case he went missing.
In the morning, I asked him what that had been about. He had received a message from the Zhentarim and gone off to meet up with a Zhent agent to learn more. They offered him a job to investigate the half elves and elves that are being murdered in the Dock Ward. During our discussion, Trig dropped this little nugget:

Better to keep a fox under the house than in the forest - old Sommersdal proverb

We decided to head off and investigate Maxeene the horse in the mid morning - after a hearty breakfast, of course. As we approached, I bought a couple apples for a cp as a gift for her. I spotted her in the stables, and we walked up. As we entered the stall, I offered her an apple and asked her if she was Maxeene. She pretended she didn't understand me, but when I mentioned Mirt's name and flashed my Harpers pin, she spoke openly (Varock was dumbfounded). She told us she had indeed discovered the identities of the Zhent operatives - a Sun Elf named Davil Starsong and Yagra. Trigvi, of course, was obliged to tell her that he had spoken with those very two individuals the other night. She seemed rather off put at that, as if worried she had divulged her secrets to the wrong people. We assured her we would deliver the message to Mirt immediately and she was relieved. Varock asked her to keep an eye out for Mirka. I gave her the other apple, a good neck rub, and we set off.
We thought Mirt might be at The Yawning Portal so we headed there. We worked out a plan for Trig to message Mirt in case Davil is also in there. As we entered, we saw both Mirt and Davil inside. Trig messaged Mirt and he nodded, very discreetly, that he would meet us outside.
After a few minutes, Mirt walked out - followed by a platinum haired elf. Mirt introduced him as Yor, a fellow Harper. Trigvi recognized him, as he'd been tailing us all day. Mirt confirmed he had been following us, at Mirt's command. We filled them in on what we'd learned about Yagra and Davil, but he said he already knew. He did seem a bit surprised, however, when I mentioned that they had tried to recruit Trig. He considered that information for a while, and then said that, if we were okay with it, he'd like us to take their mission. Reasoning that finding and subduing serial killer would help the people of the city. Mirt then offered for Yor to help us, and vouched for him personally.
Trigvi asked Yor what he was capable of, why we should accept his help. He told us he was able to hold his own, could case a spell or two. Then he lifted one of his two rapiers and it began glowing and left a faint afterglow trail. Even more intriguing, it seemed to create a faint, yet complicated, melody - it was absolutely beautiful. I asked if we could grab a drink and talk about this ability, but he said he would more interested in solving the mission at hand.
We swung by the Scriveners', Scribes', and Clerks' Guild so Trig could draft an acceptance letter to Davil and mail it off to him. After that was taken care of in the Trades Ward, we set off to investigate the murders in the Dock Ward.
On our way down to the Dock Ward, Trig explained some context to us. "8 days ago, an elf was found dead. Then another 4 days ago, and yet a third 2 days again" He knew where they had occurred, so we set off for the central area.
We first went to The Thirsty Sailor, where somebody was killed 2 days ago. Trig had a theory that they were all murdered at bars that sell sweet wine, a go-to drink for elves. When we got there, Yor confirmed they carried sweet wine. I spoke with the proprietor and he hushed me when I asked about the murder. He said that he didn't notice any clear Zhent agents or mercenaries that night. Yor walked around the side of the building where the murder had occurred. We went out to investigate and found the evidence of the elf being beheaded, but didn't find anything beyond that.
We set off for The Angry Coxswain but found that they don't offer sweet wine, and aren't open late enough for trouble to happen. We set off to The Bloody Fist and looked for any signs of the murder. In the alley behind the tavern, we found faint traces of blood. This alley too seemed an ideal location to ambush somebody. We went inside and noticed an underground pit fighting set up. Yor and I went up to order some drinks. The bartender said he had stopped serving sweet wine due to the murders.
Next, we set off for The Sleeping Wench. I noticed this third murder spot is on a larger intersection, but has a small inconspicuous alleyway. I went to check it out. Down the alleyway, there is another location that is hidden from either end of the alley. As we were walking around the Dock Ward looking for inspiration. I noticed that The Soaring Pegasus would fit the bill of the other alleyways where murders had occurred. We went inside and scouted it out. It seemed like a good spot to set up an ambush, Yor volunteered to be the bait. Trigvi had noticed that all of the taverns where there were murders stayed open til past midnight. We decided to come back later and set up an ambush.
We spent the afternoon at our place and I noticed people working in the tavern. I went down to investigate and was greeted by Joby - our new employee who will be running Furanto's Rest. He's been getting the place ready to open. He also let me sample his culinary specialty - Spaghetti and Meatballs with Garlic Bread. That night, we went back to the Soaring Pegasus. Trig and I went in first, ordered a pint, and sat down at the table with a good view of the area. I tried to order Trig a Svorgnenberkenstag, but they didn't seem to carry that. We ordered stouts and set up. After midnight, Trig and I left to turn invisible and set up camp.
I found a great ambush spot, to ambush the ambusher. Trig and I set up and waited for Yor to head on out. As we waited, we saw a drow drop down from a roof into an ambush point. The mysterious Drow prepared to drop down from his perch at Yor. Since I was invisible, I was able to sneak down the gutter on the building and moved to the other end of the alley to cut off his potential escape. Varock stumbled out of the building pretending to be drunk, so I went up to whisper to him that the assassin was up a floor across the alleyway. It freaked him out, but he was able to play it off as being drunk.
Yor baited him by stumbling towards him, and he dropped down to strike. Before he knew what was happening, Trig launched a spell at him and I Viciously Mocked him. Varock immediately went into a rage and manifested a long tail glowing a radiant red, just like his tattoos. He sprung forward to attack the drow. To aid him, I cast Faerie Fire and caused him to glow a bright green.
Yor demonstrated his battle prowess, launching a firebolt at the assassin while swinging at him with his blade. Varock, flashing back to Furanto's recent murder, charged at him as well. His tail seemed to grow larger and larger, suddenly representing a manticore tail and he attacked. I tried out one of my new spells, dissonant whispers. While he was able to shake off the brunt of the psychic damage, he still was shaken.
During the fighting, he suddenly cast darkness in the alleyway. I stumbled out of the alley, but didn't see him anywhere so I readied another dissonant whispers and inspired Trigvi with a quick rhyme:

Trigvi, in the dark of night, this time, he's ready to fight, you'll take your aim, steady now, unleash your spell, and kill this drow.

Yor came running out of the alley and swore when he saw it was just me. I sent in my mage hand, thought I felt something, and told Yor, who went back into the alleyway darkness. As I waited, the assassin emerged from the darkness and slowly walked towards me, pulling his gun on me. Staring him down, I talked some shit and again was able to force him to miss from point blank. I'm really in this guys head. I countered with another dissonant whisper and he took off in a fit of pure terror. He immediately dropped darkness, allowing Varock to see him and Trigvi to unleash another spell. Yor and Varock chased him down, so he cast levitate on himself. I talked, yet again, more shit, and then went over to help out Trigvi (he had tried to jump across the alley way from one rooftop to another and fell down!).
He sat up there levitating, reloading his pistol and taking shots at us while we tried to finish him off. A few more hits were enough to break his concentration and bring him down to us, where we all struck. He landed one clean shot through Trig's shoulder. Seeing that, Varock exploded in rage, grabbed his mystical manticore tail, and thrust it into the man's chest, killing him. We heard the City Guard approaching so had to act quickly. I searched his body and saw he had a very nice pair of boots. I snagged his boots, the gun kit (with 15 pieces of ammo), and 10 gp.
As soon as we saw the Guard, I shouted out for them to come quickly. We gave our statement to Lavont Fletcher and they gave Trig a Healing Potion for his poisoned wound (which they later said they would invoice us for). They asked us to stick around town and let us go. As we were leaving, he asked where the drow's shoes were. After a brief awkward moment, Trig faked a coughing fit and we used that to ignore the question.
We decided to set off for The Yawning Portal to tell Davil Starsong the mission was done.
On the way to the Yawning Portal, we just chatted. We asked Trig his favorite drink and he said it was a red ale from his homeland, they nickname it "The Kilt Lifter". We entered and say Davil Starsong and Yagra, as well as 20ish other folks. Durnan was working the bar, so Varock and I set off to order some drinks from him. We chit chat for a bit, took our drinks (they were on the house since we took care of that assassin!), and went over to the table with Trig and Yor.
As I was enjoying my Northlander whiskey, the rest of the guys went over to speak to Davil and update them on mission. They payed each of us 50gp and offered another mission - deliver some potions of mind reading to Skeemo Weirdbottle. Trig told him we'd get back to him tomorrow and we went over to see Mirt.
Mirt asked what had happened and we updated him on the 'success' of our mission. We filled him in on the assassin, and I showed him the drow's gun. He wasn't familiar with it, but thought it might be a relic from the church of Gond. We finished our drink and headed home. On the way, I briefed the DP on Joby and his soon-to-be-famous Spaghetti and Garlic Bread. When I got up to my room, I spent some time assessing the boots I'd lifted from the drow assassin. After some intense focus, and several references in the library, I was able to ascertain that they were Boots of Elvenkind - a magical pair of beautiful black leather boots that adapted their fit to my feet perfectly. In addition, I will never make a sound while wearing them. Incredibly content with my discovery, and still quite drunk from the whiskey, I was beginning to float off to sleep when Yor knocked on my door. I answered, a little thrown off, showed him my new boots, and saw he looked a little off. I followed him upstairs to his room on the 3rd floor after we got Varock, and we saw the scene - a dead, bloodied hawk with a a carved logo of an upside down tree on a stick.
It looked familiar, but I couldn't place it until Varock pointed out that it was Furanto's old tattoo. I looked out off the balcony, but didn't see anything odd. Trigvi sent Skald Ör up to investigate, but he didn't see anything on the roof either. We searched the house, didn't see anything odd, locked up, and retired.

25 Hammer

As we were preparing in the morning, we decided to take the delivery job for Davil Starsong. Trig sent off his bird to notify Davil, and he told us to meet Skeemo at Weirdbottle Concoctions off of Scroll St and the Highroad, just off the House of Light. I headed downstairs and met up with Yor who, it turns out, is a fan of coffee as well. I introduced him to my Amnish Press, and we enjoyed a cup. I spent the morning reading in the library, and then around lunch time we set off for our delivery.
We arrived and were greeted by a crude, messy gnome - Skeemo. We told him we were the Deepwater Protocol and were there to make his delivery. He gave us a very nice silver case with four bottles - as well as some serious sass. He told us to take the case to a lady with a purple cloak, at the The God Catcher, in the Castle Ward. I began looking around the shelves and he quickly sent us out - but I saw several potions I recognized, Water Breathing, Spider Climb. I also noticed several clearly fake potions - a Love Potion, a Potion of Wealth. We decided we could shop later and set off.
On our way, we pulled into an alleyway to see what it was we were carrying. I looked the case over and felt quite sure it was safe to open. But, before I could open the case, Trigvi warned us that a little girl was watching us several us from several houses down. Trig discretely turned invisible and set off, and the rest of us continued down the street. As we turned the corner, the girl was directly in front of us, pulled down her hood, and revealed she was a kobold. Suddenly, a bugbear popped out of the nearby sewer grate and two more came charging down the street from behind the kobold. They rushed us with clear intent to kill, and battle was afoot.
Yor immediately entered his unusual trance with his glowing blades and the slight musical lilt that seems to accompany them, and rushed the bugbear who had appeared from the grate near us. Varock was not to be outdone - a glowing red aura appeared around his hands in the form of a pair of massive claws. With these claws, he leapt at the bugbear and massacred it. Unsure what exactly was going on with him, I gave him some room, skirted around to look at the bugbear, and talked some shit to the nearest living bugbear. The kobold ran at us and tried to command me to GIVE him the case, but I easily shook it off.
Meanwhile, a second kobold climbed out of the sewer and cast some sort of spell that stunned both Yor and me. We were able to shake it off after ~6 seconds though. The bugbears charged us and Varock continued his onslaught, nearly killing another. I barely noticed it, but down the street I noticed Trig had grappled the girl kobold and, for some reason, started floating up into the air.
Sick of these bugbears, I cast Dissonant Whispers at the strongest looking one that was engaged with our front-liners and scared the Hells out of him. He took off running - although unfortunately neither Yor nor Varock were able to hit him as he booked it. Yor let off a few fire bolts at the now both levitating kobolds, but wasn't able to do much. However, it distracted the second kobold enough that it fell to the ground and died. Varock finished off the bugbear he was facing off with, and we set off to help Trigvi - who was now floating 40 feet in the air - still holding onto the kobold.
I yelled up and asked Trig if he needed any help, but he yelled down that he was fine. He then put the kobold to Sleep and floated down with Feather Fall. He offered to keep her safe while we finished the delivery. I took a look at the potions. Remembering that Davil Starsong had told us they would be Potions of Mind Reading, I felt like they looked rather shoddily made. Perhaps they are as valuable as he claimed, but they didn't appear to be. We decided to stick to the High Road and continued on. As we were leaving the area, we noticed several City Watch rushing toward that area.
We made our way to The God Catcher with no more issues, and saw our lady in purple in a hired coach. Yor went ahead to make sure our payment was safe, and the lady held out a nice bag and waited. At Yor's signal, I approached - disguised as a plain looking human - and made the hand off. I noticed it was cart #24. As we headed back to Trollskull Manor, we looked into the bag and saw our payment - 20 platinum pieces (5 pp each).
We got back to the manor a bit richer, but as we rolled up I noticed a Norseman, flayed on the tomb of Furanto's Rest - it was the fighter that was in Murzol's crew the night of Furanto's murder.
Yor and I took off to alert the City Watch while Varock went up to give Trigvi a heads up. Meanwhile, Trig and Varock interrogated the kobold in his Arcanium. They learned that she was hired by Urtsal Floxin to steal the potions from us. He didn't even want the potions, he just wanted to make sure that Esvele Rosznar didn't get them - she was the lady in purple. During the questioning, the kobold used some sort of ability that forced an INT save. Trig was able to shake it off, but it stunned Varock for a minute. The second time she tried to stun them, Varock got frustrated and punched her.
Yor and I returned with Inspector Dodd and we looked at the body. I told him how I recognized him from the night Furanto was murdered, and he began taking notes with the help of some of the other Guard. I confirmed that they would take care of the body, invited them to join us at Furanto's Rest for a drink on the house, and went inside.

26-30 Hammer

I finally had some downtime. I spent my days mostly reading in the library. I also spent some time with Rishaal the Page-Turner over at the The Book Wyrm's Treasure helping him sort some new books and tomes. I got to know him pretty well and was surprised to discover he knows a great deal about a wide variety of topics - he could even give a few classes at the Font of Knowledge. In return for my help, along with a budding friendship, I received my choice of the books I had helped sort. I selected a beautiful botany guide.
Aside from my time spent with books, I helped Joby prepare everything for our soft opening on Midwinter at Furanto's Rest.
With no other tasks needed and the tavern having a lot of last minute rush jobs to get ready for Midwinter, I decided to head to The Yawning Portal and see if any new bards are performing and just to touch base with Durnan, who I haven't seen in a while other than a few moments here and there. When I arrived, I saw Mirt, who waved me over at one point and told me he has a job for Deepwater Protocol, that we might be the best person for the job.

One of our members, Mattrim Mereg, has allied himself with a gang of doppelgangers and believes the Harpers should recruit them. We need an unbiased opinion. If you're willing, I'd like you to speak with each of the doppelgangers and gauge their trustworthiness. Bonnie, the barmaid here at the Yawning Portal is a good place to start, it might be good to invite her to your Midwinter evening. Unfortunately I won't be able to make it, but please give Yor my best.

I told Mirt that we would love to help.

Midwinter

The morning of Midwinter, we woke up and were all hanging out in our dining room. I filled in the guys on Mirt's request and they were good with that. Varock then came in and we quickly noticed he wore a new item - a Claw of Malar - that was clasping his beard. He told us he had been training at the arena recently, and a man just came up and gave it to him. He said he couldn't really take it off his beard, but he didn't care because it made him 'even stronger'. We were a little concerned, but decided to just keep an eye on it.
We stopped by the tavern and were going to grab a drink inside when Joby stopped us and said he was hoping to surprise us with a grand reveal at the opening tonight. We went for a stroll around the North Ward.
Around 3 that afternoon, we got dressed up and went down to the newly remodeled tavern - it looked magnificent. To top it all of, Joby had procured 2 wands that had apparently been dropped off by Inspector Dodd as Furanto's affects. One wand created a nice festive music, and the other created the appearance of snow through a magical light show. We grabbed our drinks and a plate of food from the delicious looking spread and mingled with the other guests who were starting to arrive.
The guests included Bonnie, who entered with a half elf female and a human male. We mingled for a while, and then went over to speak with Bonnie and her friends - who I assume are other Dopplegangers. They were introduced as Amara and Jaq. We asked them why it was they wished to join the Harpers and I noticed that Jaq flinched, ever so slightly. Bonnie said that she felt like there was more to life than being a tavern wench and she wanted to be part of something bigger. I asked Jaq what he thought, and he gave a non-committal answer that he follows what Bonnie says. He seemed to realize he had said more than he wanted to, and seemed to try to back track.
We learned there were 2 other dopplegangers in their party, and we said we'd like to meet them. The DP stepped out to get a fresh round of drinks and discuss. We decided that we need to speak to all 5 and there were no hard feelings. We made a date to meet at The Yawning Portal. We spent the rest of night celebrating and having a good time with everybody and finally people started to head out.
On the way up to our place, the three casters all made ourselves look like Varock
Next: Zeke's Journal - Alturiak, 1492

Type

Journal, Personal