"You filthy dwarven pervert!"
Sigurd and Venmir are alive, and summoned to Waterdeep by Leosin Erlanthar. They have control of Skyreach Castle, via its pilot Esclarella, wife of Blagothkus.
Starring, in order they sit around the table:
Sigurd , (played by Iain) a travelling swordsman, with a pocketful of money.
Venmir, (played by Brett) an elven clergyman, with a pocketful of money.
Nyvan, (played by Jason) a elven knight, deceased (absent this evening).
Rodin Halfbeard, (played by Lorne) the dwarven axeman, deceased.
Nandrin the Naughty, (played by Hilton), the elven mage, deceased.
and The DM, (played by Alex), who loves to comment in blue. And writes this blog. He's also a bit of a git and likes to make life difficult for his players.
The first in the Rise of Tiamat adventures, it starts with most of the party dead and the remainder on a flying castle heading for Waterdeep. Tonight, plus many other nights to come in Rise of Tiamat, is role-play heavy. In the interests of maintaining both my sanity and my desire to write this blog, some of the heavier parts will be paraphrased.
They took the flying castle to a town fifty miles south of Waterdeep, on the road to Daggerford. It hovered, several miles above the earth, far from the sight of anyone on the land. They activated the teleport scroll that a raven had delivered nearly a week ago.
After a brief stab of bright light, they found themselves stood in a large chamber, in a church..no, the presence of many men in habits meant it was a monastery. Several nearby monks froze for a moment, before carrying on with their business. One approached them, then ran off to find Leosin Erlanthar.
Within minutes, the wiry half-elven monk ran into the room, greeting them warmly, and offering commiserations for the dead among them. At Venmir's request, he sent for a priest of Torm who was known to offer healing and a return to life in exchange for copious amounts of gold. After paying an exorbitant amount in gold, they left the monastery to search the local area and pawn some of the jewellery they had found in the dragon's hoard. Leosin warned them that a Council of Waterdeep meeting had been planned for later - and they were to be there.
Just as they got to the local market, a strange disquieting calm fell across the entire place, it was as if a cold wicked wind passed through the air, leaving everyone touched, even if they didn't know what it was from. After a few moments, the feeling passed, and the whole place returned to normal. Waterdeep was not a place to remain creeped out for long.
As they couldn't find a suitable vendor, they headed for a more affluent part of town, and found a merchant who sold the kind of jewellery that they had in their bag of holding. Much to the delight of the merchant, it sold for measly 1k gp, but the heroes were happy, and they went back to the monastery.
There they found their friends, alive, and arguing over events - as usual (there was quite a bit of poetic licence involved here, but to be fair, I wanted the group together for this - and death is but a trivial obstacle to a group of this power and wealth!).
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They left the monastery in good time to arrive early for the Council gathering, and they took their seats, in the centre of a massive underground chamber in Waterdeep Palace. Above them was a long, semi-circular table - this is where the Council Lords would sit. Leosin briefly told them about the lords who would be present and what they were like.
They met the lords:
For the Harpers, Remallia Haventree
For the Order of the Gauntlet, Ontharr Frume
For the Emerald enclave, Delaan Winterhound
For the Lords Alliance:
Lady Laeral Silverhand, of Waterdeep
Lord Lagult Neverember, of Neverwinter
Ambassador Connerad Brawnanvil, of the Dwarves
Marshall Ulder Ravengard, of Baldur's Gate
King Melandrach, of the Elves
Taern "Thunderspells" Hornblade, of Silverymoon
Sir Isteval, of Cormyr
Each of them powerful in their own way, the final seven were lords and masters of the most powerful factions of the Sword Coast, with thousands of soldiers, mercenaries and mages under their command.
"Show respect..." begged Leosin as he left the room.
Lord Neverember took command of the Council, as usual. First, he welcomed the heroes and invited them to tell their story, which Sigurd did with input from the others. He also thanked them for bringing Skyreach Castle to their side - it was to be a powerful tool in the battle against the Dragon Cult.
The party soon found themselves embroiled in a series of bitter arguments, between the Council members and the party, as well as each other. Some members of the Council were unhappy at the crushing of the eggs in the hatchery long ago near Greenest, while others felt it was completely necessary. They were given kudos for the killing of Rezmir the Black, although most were unhappy that Rath Modar, the Red Wizard of Thay, had escaped.
It soon became apparent that the heroes had taken a firm hand in addressing the cult's actions the entire chamber stood to applaud them.
They were then deputised by Council and given emergency investigative powers. They were each given a writ, giving the Council's backing. They were warned not to abuse the power provided them, or risk it taken away.
They talked of what lay ahead. Of potential allies, and their enemies.
Then Leosin was invited back into the room, to give new updates on the cult's activities. They had located Varram the White, near Boareskyr Bridge. A local noble, named Dala Silmerhelve, spoke of a magical artifact, called the Draakhorn - which had caused the uneasy feelings, and was a summoning tool for the dragons. She offered to speak with the party in private, after Nandin accidentally suggested a meeting after the Council.
Rodin asked the Council what they thought of a potential alliance with the Red Wizards of Thay who opposed the actions of Rath Modar - which was met with disapproval from some, most vehemently from Ontharr Frume, who gave Rodin a jolly good telling off. Not everyone agreed with his assessment, but none dared argue.
Then came the final flashpoint of the meeting. Nandrin, who had mostly kept his tongue, addressed the Council table.
"Sirs, thank you for your time. The only thing I would ask is if you have any ways of assisting us with our tasks. You know, like if any of you have any magic lying around, or items we might find useful?"
Sigurd shook his head vigorously, begging Nandrin to stop.
"Are you asking us to equip you?" asked Thunderspells, one of the mightiest mages in the known world.
"No!" replied Nandrin, "I just think if you're all so powerful, you could spare a few bits to help us out?"
"I think we have done enough!" stated Thunderspells.
"No, you can do more!" replied Nandrin.
"Enough!" demanded the mage, unused to having his authority questioned by anyone. He stood up, and pressed his fists into the table. Leaning forward. The entire chamber, apart from Nandrin, pulled back a little. Thunderspells was known throughout the Sword Coast as a mild-mannered man, but rumours existed of his power - unrivalled since Elminster and Khelben Blackstaff.
Nandrin surged to his feet, pressing his fists into the table in front of him. "No!" he exclaimed, ready to continue the argument, when a loud voice rang through the chamber, punctuated by his mailed fist slamming into the table, hard enough for everyone to feel the vibration.
"You will show respect, or you will be removed. And you would not enjoy being removed. Am I clear?" declared Neverember. He spoke softly, but the menace was undeniable.
Nandrin sank back into his seat and stayed quiet. The rest of the party sighed in relief.
"This Council is done for now. We will meet again when it is appropriate. Dismissed."
The room emptied.
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Rodin and Sigurd had private meetings with Council members (which will remain private!) and the others met with Dala Silmerhelve, who told them of the Draakhorn, and how it was last seen in the Sea of Moving Ice, far to the north, and protected by a massive white dragon.
The party decided to go find Varram the White first. The dragon and the Draakhorn could wait.
They set out for Boareskyr Bridge.
One night, not long from their destination, they found themselves waylaid in the night. Suddenly, with little warning, two huge humanoids rushed their camp. Giants! Battle was joined.
Nandrin immediately powered his new staff, causing several giant wasps to appear (which the DM accidentally called "wops" :(). As the others charged into combat, he sent them into the fray as well, where they buzzed about the giants threateningly. As the combat started and blows were swapped, Nandrin immediately flung a fireball into the clearing, destroying most of his wops...I mean wasps, but severely damaging the giants.
As the melee types dished out more damage, the giants lay about them with their massive clubs, striking the heroes repeatedly. Nandrin, however, was not done, and flung another fireball into the mix. Before long, the giants were nothing but smouldering remains - it seems as if Nandrin needed to let a little steam loose after his encounter with Thunderspells!
They all slept well...well, Nandrin slept well, the others all waited for him to go crazy again.
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They soon arrived at Boareskyr Bridge. It was a makeshift camp around a river crossing, guarded by a fairly new keep, inhabited by paladins of Torm. The party went straight to an inn in the centre of the town, a tent tavern called Bolo's Tentside Inn.
They got some drinks, and decided to ask the halfling waitress about Varram. As she was about to leave the table, Rodin grabbed her by the arm to stop her leaving.
"Let go of my you filthy dwarven pervert!" cried the halfling girl.
"I was just trying to get your attention, girl." replied to dwarf.
"By grabbing her, like a pervert! You weirdo!" the girl weaved her way through the crowd expertly, leaving Rodin stood, bemused.
The dwarf spied some dwarves nearby and sauntered over.
"Ahoy chums!" he ventured.
"Oh look," said one, "it's a pretty city dwarf. Come to teach us some manners. And how to wash our hair."
"I am no city dwarf. I am as common as you are." exclaimed Rodin.
"Oh la-de-da, 'I'm no city dwarf', he said in a Baldur's accent, clean as a daisy!" mocked one of them.
"I'm the queen of dwarves!" said another.
They all burst out laughing, and Rodin's temper got the better of him. He slammed his drink on the table - but before he could lay into one of the dwarves, he was stopped by the proprietor, Bolo, a female halfling.
"Enough of that!" she stated, and the place died down straight away.
The party took the chance to question her, and soon found out that Varram was something of a hero, having slaughtered a Yuan-ti which had infiltrated the tent city.
"He ran off into the Serpent Hills straight away, with a bunch of soldiers, and hooded men - but make no mistake, he's a good one, that Varram." she smiled, and returned to her work.
Venmir suggested they speak with the local paladins, and off they went. After being rebuffed by the guard at the gate, showing their writ allowed them audience with the local captain.
He had them each show their writs, much to Venmir's annoyance. Yet he told them a story much the same as Bolo. Varram and his escorts had killed a snakeman in the town, then left in a massive hurry for the Serpent Hills some time ago. If he was to be found, he would be found up there.
The party paused to consider their options.....
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