Opening

The Sword Coast. 

A land of contrasts, where islands of civilizations exist among untamed wilds. Where ragged cliffs meet stormy seas, trade caravans and bandits alike ply their trade, and the ambitions of long gone kings and mages still cast their long shadow upon the world.

Rogues prowl the dark alleyways of teeming cities, while Clerics in the service of gods wield mace and spell, questing against the terrifying powers that threaten the land. Wizards plunder the ruins of the old elven empires, delving into secrets too dark for the light of day. Dragons, giants, demons, and unimaginable abominations lurk in dungeons, caverns, ruined cities, and the vast wild places of the world.

From the sharp and jagged cliffs of the Spine of the World mountains in the north, to the bustling streets of the enormous city of Waterdeep in the south, the Sword Coast is etched with the actions of legendary adventurers - some still breathing, most long dead - but all have left their mark upon the land.

Nestled among the northern Coast lies the city of Neverwinter. Given its name by the geothermal springs which feed into the nearby river, Neverwinter is also known as the Jewel of the North; The only real bastion of civilized folk in the North before the Spine of the World mountains. 

The city has seen better days. It is still recovering from a magical plague which afflicted huge parts of its population around a year ago. While the actual effects of the plague, named the Wailing Death, have mostly passed, the rebuilding efforts continue. In particular, regaining its taming influence on the surrounding wild frontier has been proving difficult. 

Today, as the late summer sun rises on the bay, bringing its sparkle to the calm waters, all of this history and legend goes mostly unnoticed by the hardworking folk, rising at first light to get to their various workplaces. As market stalls begin to open, dockyards and smiths being crafting their wares and the smell of fresh baked goods wafts through the streets of the City Core - someone, seemingly out of place among all this activity, is walking down the street.

What Happened 

• The party headed south along the High Road, headed towards Phandalin, at the request of Gundren Rockseeker and Sildar Hallwinter, who promised gold if they deliver the cart of goods to Barthen in Phandalin. The 2 then headed down along the road ahead of the party on horses.

• The road and camping for the night was mostly quiet, encountering some local wildlife but not much else.

• The party encountered a goblin ambush, where clearly Sildar and Gundren's horses were killed. After a short interrogation of a goblin, they learned of "Klarg" and "Cragmaw Hideout". 

• They managed to mostly avoid the worse of the traps along the way, and killed the 2 goblin sentries.

• The time was spent getting to know each other a bit better:

  • The old man Farwald loves telling stories.

  • The noble Gilmore seems to mainly give orders, but did heal Erevyn when needed.

  • Nalini the fairy has an unusual talent with animals and plants

  • Hope has anger issues. Don't get on her bad side.

  • Erevyn has an insatiable curiousity but sometimes terrible luck.

Ending

The party now stands at the mouth of a cave in the hillside, apparently called Cragmaw Hideout by the goblins. Who knows what lies within?

Opening

"It's a dangerous business, going out your door - you step out onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet - there's no telling where you might get swept off to."

Standing in front of the mouth of the cave, these words, from some far off tale, enter unbidden into your mind. It was supposed to be a simple job: bring some supplies from the town of Neverwinter at the request of Gundren Rockseeker and Sildar Hallwinter - and most of you had reasons to visit the area anyway.

Heading out from Neverwinter, the day and a half of travel passed uneventfully. That is, until you turned east toward Phandalin. Spotting a possible ambush, Hope and Erevyn charged ahead, encountering a few goblins lying in wait. With Hope's Ferocity, the magic of Nalini and Farwald and some "encouraging" words from Gilmore, the goblins were dispatched quickly. You even managed to interrogate one of them - learning that the Dwarf and Knight were taken to a nearby cave, known as Cragmaw Hideout.

With Nalini serving as a guide through - and above - the brush, Erevyn proved his worth with 2 well placed arrows to the throat of the guards outside.

And now you stand at the entrance to the cave. What lies within? Will you make a plan to enter? Send 1-2 people ahead to scout? Leave the 2 captives to their fate? 

All these plans course through your mind and more. The choice is yours - what do you do?

What Happened 

• Nalini scouted out the cave and reported back to the group about the wolves and gobin sentry.

• Erevyn sniped the goblin lookouts on the bridge while Gilmore and Hope freed the wolves, who ran off.

• The party snuck up towards a camp that seemed to be occupied by a creature known as a Bugbear.

• Farwald attempted to speak with the creature, learning that his name is Klarg and that he had orders from "the Spider" to intercept the Dwarf.

• Farwald attempted to continue to trick Klarg that he was a powerful wizard, but Klarg did not believe him since everyone knows that wizards wear hats and Farwald didn't have one.

• Thus Klarg attacked, along with 3 goblins who were holding Sildar Hallwinter hostage.

• Nalini's Entangle magic, along with Farwald's magic kept the goblins scattered while Gilmore Hope and Erevyn managed to defeat Klarg.

• Sildar thanked the party for rescuing him.

• The party did find a strange carving on the cave's wall, appearing ancient, about "The Pact of Phandelver" - apparently some connected between 3 places: "The Hand of Sehehine", "Axeholm", and "Phandelver".

• They also found some supplies, apparently stolen from the Lionshield Coster, which they loaded up to their cart. They also found a Jade Statuette of a Frog and some money.

• Helping Sildar to his feet, the party head out for Phandalin. Encountering a petrified dwarf, Erevyn found a Ring of Protection.

• Entering into Phandalin, the party met a number of townsfolk, chief among them a kind retired adventurer named Deacon. 

Ending

The party is having lunch in the inn to plan their next move. Erevyn is going to speak with Halia Thorton at the Miner's Guild.

Opening

"Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here, asked Alice. 

That depends a good deal on where you want to get to, answered the Chesire Cat."

Our party set out from Nevrewinter at the behest of Gundren Rockseeker and Sildar Hallwinter, to accompany a wagon of goods for some kind of expedition. Complications soon arosed as you were nearly ambushed by goblins. Seizing the initiative however, you quickly tracked the goblins to their cave, known as Cragmaw Hideout.

There, with clever teamwork and a few tricks, you managed to dispatch the guards and patrols and encountered Klarg - a not too bright Bugbear who had captured Sildar and was the apparent leader of the goblins.

With a modicum of trickery by Farwald, he revealed the dwatfs was abducted by the orders of "The Spider" and taken to Cragmaw castle, somewhere to the north of the cave.

Defeating the bugbear and his goblin henchmen, you rescued Sildar and set back on your way to Phandalin.

Arriving in the small town, you were welcomed by an old man named Deacon. A retired, blind adventurer and the town's doctor, shepard and part-time gambler. Not your usual holy man, but the goddess of Luck and Journeys has her own way of worship.

Deacon spoke on several subjects, among them a group of punks known as the Redbrands who were harrasing the townsfolk. Nalini asked about Aadabra, learning that she is the miller and mid-wife of the town but had not been seen for a number of weeks.

Also about Reidoth the Druid, who apparently lives somewhere in Neverwinter Wood and hasn't been seen if months either.

You met a few others as well:

• Harbin, the townmaster who seems overwhelmed by everything, and his one guard, Reckon.

• Linene Graywind, of the Lionshield Coster, who paid for the goods you recovered and suggested her company would be happy to recieve orders for more unique goods, if needed.

• Toblen, the halfling tavern keeper and his wife, who is quite the gossip, Trilena.

As you enjoy your midday break with some food and drink, you discuss your next move:

• To find Gundren and Cragmaw Castle? But How?

• To seek out Aadabra and Reidoth, as Nalini wishes?

• To understand more about about these Redbrands and their apparent leader, Glasstaff?

• And what of the that mysterious message about the 2 sisters - Agatha and Vyldara?

The more you discuss, the more questions you have. Questions which need answers. But perhaps the most pressing of all: 

Where did Erevyn go?

What Happened 

• The party gathered for lunch at the Stonehill Inn to plan their next move.

• They figured they would learn more about the Redbrands

• They went to Deacon to learn more, who told them about how some Redguards had been seen around Tristan Manor.

• They also spoke with Deacon about the Sisters, who told them that Agatha is still around after 1000 years and will sometimes answer questions, although usually in exchange for nostalgic mementos or some kind of favor.

• Going up to the Manor, they encountered a few creepy zombies in the Dining room of the house, but quickly dispatched them.

• Gilmore felt strongly that they must deal with this issue as the Gilmore’s Stork family is related somehow to the Tristans.

• After that, they went down to the cellar, finding a secret door. 

• They then scouted out the area, where there was one room of bandits playing poker, and another where Glasstaff the wizard was in his lab. 

• Gilmore brazenly joined the Poker game, and somehow managed to drink 3 of the 4 players under the table. 

• While this was happening, the other members of the party rescued the family who owns the house and secured them in the cellar.

• The wizard soon discovered he had actually been locked in his room and started calling for aid.

• Stepping into the hallway, Erewyn managed to shoot the staff out of his hand and together with Hope and Farwald managed to dispatch the wizard, but not before he critically injured several of the group - particularly Erewyn. However, Nalini managed to heal him quickly enough.

• In the meantime Gilmore dealt with the Half-Ogre, and was nearly overwhelmed until Erevan coming to his feet managed to kill him with a well placed arrow.

• The players than scoured the lab for any items - retrieving the Glasstaff, a Bag of Holding, a book called “The Rise and Fall of the Pact of Phandelver” by Elminster Aumar and a note from the “Spider”.

Ending

The party is catching their breath after the intense combat, in the basement of Tristan Manor.

Opening

"The world is indeed full of peril, and it it there are many dark places;

but still there is much that is fair, and though in all lands,

love is now mingled with grief, it grows perhaps the greater."

Silence.

After the chaos of the battle, the lack of sound reaching your ears is a strange feeling. 

Here you stand, in the basement of Tristan Manor. Blood and ash around you, the remnants of Glasstaff and Ogrillon still smoldering, the 2 drunken bandits having collapsed in the corner and an alchemical mage study before you.

You came here to follow the trail of the Redbrand gang, and it seems you've now dealt with their leadership and rescued the 3 survivors of the Tristan family.

As you regain your breath, you notice the ragged appearence of some of your comrades. Most of you are hurt - but alive. As quiet finally surrounds you - what now?

Rest and recuperate? Move on to the other things which still press in the back of your back? Gundren Rockseeker is missing, as are Aadabra Gwynn and Reidoth the Druid. And what of the history of the Phandelver family or pursue more personal goals?

It seems like you've earned a short breather - but time and tide await no one. 

What do you do? 

What Happened 

• The party secured a number of magical items from the cellar headquarters of the Redbrands.

• Gilmore found the Blade of Tristan in the crypt as well. Or rather - it found him.

• Myrna Tristan bequeathed the house to the party - to house and shelter them as protectors of the town.

• The party turned in the 2 arrested bandits.

• In the morning, Deacon came to wake them with news of some kind of attack on the Snowmont Monastery in the Sword Mountains. 

• The news came from a survivor named Clarissa, who came as fast as she could into the town looking for aid.

• The party, with the aid of Clarissa, climbed up into the mountain pass and overcame a dangerously unstable bridge.

• Arriving at Snowmont they found it under attack by Ice Trolls and Ice Mephits.

• The party defeated the Trolls, but at a great cost - the monastery was mostly destroyed, and it appears that neither Clarissa nor Dorian survived the battle. Only 2 monks remained - a halfling man named Jaque, and a human female named Zoe.

• The surviving monks gifted the party with what remained from the Monastery's trove - A Pearl of Power, a Staff of Frost and a Wind Fan.

Ending

As you beat down the mountain, the cold wind picks up once more. It's louder than ever - but it's strange. It's not a howl or a shrill sound, but rather a deep, bass-like thump. As the sound gets louder - suddenly the sun, which until now was cold but bright, vanishes. Immediately, ice begins to coat your face, hair, clothes and the temperature - already freezing, drops even further. It feels as if icicles are piercing your very heart.

As you look up, you don't see clouds. You see a large shape in the skies, whiter than the sky around it, as it casts a large shadow over the mountain. Its body is long and serpentine, its wings stretched wide, each beat sending swirling flurries into the air. Scales like jagged ice plates shimmer in the pale light, and frost trails in its wake. The drum sound you hear you realize are this creatures large wings, beating the wind around it. As it moves quickly southwest, towards the highest peaks of the Sword Mountains, the sun appears again and the sound dies down. 

And then you hear the roar - sounding almost like the glacier beneath you is cracking.

You all hold your breath for a moment, as unbidden, the name creeps into your mind from tales of old, when such creatures once attempted to rule the North 3 centuries ago - but none of you have ever seen such a creature as this. 

A White Dragon.

Opening

"What's in a name? That which we call a rose would by any other name smell as sweet."

The Sword Coast — a land etched by blade and spell, where legends linger in the ruins of empires and every shadow might yet hold a whisper of something forgotten. From the gleaming spires of Neverwinter to the snow-blasted peaks of the Sword Mountains, the realm is one of old power and new ambition.

In the wake of plague and political unrest, five souls answered the call to adventure — some for gold, some for answers, and some… to outrun their pasts. Bound together by a simple caravan job, they set out for the frontier town of Phandalin. But the road quickly revealed its dangers.

A goblin ambush led to the discovery of Cragmaw Hideout, where their employer, Gundren Rockseeker, had been taken on the orders of a mysterious figure known only as The Spider. Braving traps and beasts, the group rescued Sildar Hallwinter and uncovered an ancient carving — a remnant of the long-forgotten Pact of Phandelver, tying the names of three ancient sites: The Hand of Sehanine, Axeholm, and Highthorn.

Arriving in Phandalin, the party found the town both wary and weary — beset by Redbrand ruffians and haunted by unanswered questions. While some sought allies in the form of Deacon, a blind cleric of the Goddess of Luck, Chance and patron saint of Travelers and Gamblers, others turned their thoughts to personal threads — the missing Aadabra, the reclusive druid Reidoth, and rumors of ancient sisters named Agatha and Vyldara.

A daring infiltration of the ruined Tristan Manor revealed the lair of the Redbrand leader Glasstaff. Combat was fierce. Allies fell and rose again. And at its climax, they discovered not only a trove of magical relics — including the Blade of Tristan and a long-lost tome — but also a message from The Spider himself.

With the manor secured and the townsfolk freed, respite came briefly.

Drawn to the Snowmont Monastery by a survivor’s plea, the party fought through blizzard and bridge, only to find the monastery under siege by Ice Trolls and Mephits. Though they emerged victorious, the cost was steep — lives were lost, the sanctuary lay in ruin, and in the aftermath, the skies grew dark.

A shape, vast and serpentine, carved from living frost, passed overhead. Its wingbeats beat like war drums. Its roar cracked the very air.

A white dragon—long silent in the histories of the North—has returned.

The warmer air of Phandalin Valley does little to warm your chilled bones.

While the sun is welcoming, it is difficult to shake the feeling of loss and despair that you experienced today.

The unexpected mission to Snowmont was not as successful as hoped. Only the halfling man Jackson and elf woman Caitlyn survived the attack and they are silently following your troop into Phandalin.

......

Any conversations or things people want to do? I imagine you wish to continue and make your way back to town?

Farwald has his first flashback, realizing he knows the name of this Dragon - Cryovain, the Everfrost

......

As you take the fork in the road into the town a familiar hummingbird greets you and a few minutes later, you see Deacon and Townmaster Harbin waiting in the town Square, with the dusk twilight ensconcing the town and it's Laters. 

"Oh shit it is worse than I thought. Come, we have much to discuss."

Sitting in the Townmaster's office you encounter two other figures in there sitting. Sildar Hallwinter, mostly recovered from his wounds, once again wearing his armor and Tabard of Neverwinter, as well as a new person you do not recognize: a short, stout woman with strong arms, a chubby wrinkled face and a kind smile who introduces herself as Aadbra Gwynn. You vaguely listen into a mild debate regarding what the town should do about the various threats that now besiege it. A dragon has not been spotted in this area since the time of the Chroma Conclave, 300 years ago. You catch some words such as "The city will not aid us. They can barely feed themselves." "The spell forge could be of help." "You gonna go off on some damn fool adventure like Gundren did?" "What of Reidoth? Would he help?" "He's crazy, no way would that work" "The gnomes might have devices" And so forth. "Honestly we should continue this discussion in a few days look at them they nearly dead on their feet" as you awake from your reverie and noticed the group looking towards you.

The makeshift council breaks up, deciding that it reconvene in a few days time.

Before you leave, Harbin Wester asks the party to stay for a moment he takes out the magical deed of ownership of Tristan Manor.

"Deacon and Myrna informed us that Tristan Manor is being left to the town to be used as it sees fit. She specifically wanted your group to have it. I don't know how much you know about magical contracts, but I need some kind of name for your adventuring party. You know, names have a power of their own.

So umm yeah - what shall you be called?"

What Happened 

• The party, known now as The Magnificent Five, inherited Tristan Manor, and set off on various personal or party errands.

• They met Aadbra Gwynn, the town's miller and midwife, and follower of the Wildmother. She spoke of the druid Reidoth, who is apparently harassing the logging camps along Neverwinter River.

• Erëvyn took a bit more time and said he would return soon, but that he was never very far away if he was needed.

• Hope found a makeshift fighting ring in the basement of the Sleeping Giant Inn, and made a bit of money.

• Nalini crafted some potions and identified all the magical items the group had found. She worked a bit on fixing up the garden. (Zombies can make for decent fertilizer with the right mix of mushrooms).

• Gilmore took the Oath of the Crown and told Farwald about Lady Alagondar and her connection to some Green Dragon (learning later that the Dragon was named Virethas). 

• Farwald had multiple flashbacks, realizing he had huge blank spaces in his memory, which soon rushed back - speaking knowledgebly about Chromatic Dragons, and the names Cryovain the Everfrost and Virethas the Jade Queen, in particular.

• Farwald sold off half the gear in the basement and bought some scrolls from Deacon.

• Gilmore and Farwald also bought some healing potions and gear from Aadbra Gwynn and Linene Graywind.

• The party decided to learn more about things from Agatha and headed back on the road, renting 2 horses - a dappled white and brown mare named Trixie and a black stallion named Glory.

• They freed Gotrek, the ancient Dwarf from being petrified. While a bit confused after being stone for 1000 years, he told where Axeholm was, and how it was to live under the pact. He expressed his thanks by reluctantly gifting his Beserker Axe to Hope. He then headed off to Phandalin, and was invited to stay at Tristan Manor if he needed.

• In Conyberry, they spoke with the Banshee Agatha, of whom they asked how they might help her. After singing a sad elvish song, she told them that the Elves of the Hand were cursed somehow, and that her sister Vyldara needs redemption - and her father forgiveness. She agreed to aid them further if they go to Axeholm where her sister was last known to be seen.

• In Conyberry, at an abandoned temple to Ioun, the Knowing Mistress, they met a sorcerer with a many headed dragon tattoo. He bargained with them for information about Virethas in exchange for 2500 gold.

• Using the Altar to Ioun, they learnt:

  • Where Cragmaw Castle is

  • What Cryovain wants most: To create winter everywhere, and that he has allies to aid him in this. 

  • Why Farwald feels exhausted when trying to recall information - he is under the influence of a powerful Modify Memory spell, cast by a legendary wizard named Elminster Aumar, the Sage of Waterdeep.

  • That Ioun is ok with them taking the bell from the temple. 

• They then asked the sorcerer about The Spider, who lied to them saying he doesnt know him, and quickly following that, vanished and flew away. 

Ending

The session ended with the party deciding to camp the night in the ruins of the Temple to Ioun in Conyberry.

Opening

“No mortal can complete his life unharmed and unpunished throughout. Some troubles are here now, some will come later.” 

The firelight is comforting, as it casts its animate shadows upon the walls, with its reflections dancing upon the huge golden bell and your own eyes. Here you sit, within the ruins of the temple to Ioun, the Knowing Mistress. An apt place to end a day which was filled with knowledge and answers.

The encounter with Cryovain clearly triggered memories locked away in Farwald's mind. The old man always opines on matters of history, tall tales and strange creatures. But it appears that even he does not understand how he knows what he knows about Dragons. A connection there was made with Gilmore, who also learnt of family history: The burial ground of an ancestor, who slayed the Green Dragon Virethas, and the possibility of reviving the body and soul of the dead, which might permit his sister to live once more. 

Moreover, the encounters with Aldabra Gwynn, Gotrek and Agatha have shed even more light on the past and present of the realm. Reidoth the Druid is in the north, harassing logging camps with a desire to have nature reclaim what is hers. Gotrek and Agatha filled your map with all manner of ancient locations from the days of the Pact of Phandelver: Gnomengarde, the settlement of Gnomes who craft all manner of magical items and clever contraptions. Axeholm, once the seat of Queen Kim's and the Dwarves, and now the location of the cursed sister of Agatha, Vyldara. Highthorn, the ancient summer seat of the human King of the Pact, which today is known as Cragmaw Castle. The Hand of Sehahine, tower of the Elves and seat of Larellion the High Mage.

And Finally: You now know location of Wave Echo Cave, which houses the Spell Forge of Legend which Gundren Rockseeker claimed to have found. 

The day did not end there - an encounter with a strange sorcerer with a many headed dragon tattoo ended strangely. Each party was true to their word, trading your knowledge of Virethas in exchange for 2500 gold - albeit in the form of a humongous bell, which now lies besides Your 2 horses, Trixie and Glory, who quietly munch on a discarded bag of hay and grasses. Upon further questioning of the strange man with regards to The Spider, he immediately bid you farewell and quickly absconded with the help of magic you can barely understand.

The options of what to do next are almost overwhelming. At least you've earned yourselves a bit of rest.

As the firelight glitters and the party settles in for the night:

What do you wish to do?

What Happened

• The party discussed their next move. It appears there was consensus around heading north.

• Gilmore felt that they needed to equip themselves better - be it skills, items or knowledge - before taking on a dragon.

• Over the fire, they shared what they knew about Elminster Aumar, the wizard that apparently had some contact with Farwald. Nalini knew that he is considered perhaps the most powerful wizard in the land. While he is known as a force for good, he is often busy with handling various problems across the realm. He is also known as the Sage of Waterdeep, the largest city in the Sword Coast where he resides when not traveling (which is frequent). 

• While on an evening walk, Gilmore found a wayward merchant named Mikael. Clearly mugged or in distress, the party and Mikael came to a deal wherein they will accompany him back to Phandalin in exchange for a commisioned painting for their new manor.

• There were also negotiations around Mikael helping the party to fence the golden bell.

• With quite a bit of magical finesse, Farwald and Nalini melted down the bell into smaller pieces that could fit in the bag of holding.

• The party then returned to sleep for the night, with Gilmore taking watch.

• During the watch, Gilmore encountered a small cute Chameleon, which he gave treats to.

• The cute lizard turned out to be a Green Dragon Wyrmling, clearly in service of 3 Dragonborn (2 Green, 1 White) who immediately attacked the party.

• The attackers attempted to subdue Gilmore and showed great interest in him and his pendant. They used Holding magics and brawn to try and take the pendant from him. 

• Farwald and Nalini did their best to hold the attackers at bay, both using their staves for the first time. Nalini shot off an Ice Knife and Farwald used the spell stored in the Glasstaff to call for backup in the form of various small objects around the temple courtyard.

• Mikael shouted encouragement and tried his best at flanking and firing off some crossbow shots.

• Hope whipped herself into a frenzy and kept the Dragon from flying away.

• The party eventually defeated the attackers, but not before falling unconcious and being but an inch from death.

Ending

The party is catching its breath mere seconds after the fight, except for Hope which is going around smashing the shit out of the small objects Farwald summoned.

Opening

No one is an island,
Entire of itself.
Each is a piece of the continent,
A part of the main.

Therefore, send not to know
For whom the bell tolls,
It tolls for thee.

It's been a long night, after an even longer day.

The day began with traveling out of Phandalin, re-equipped and rested after a few days in town. The first stop was the rescuing of Gotrek, the petrified dwarf, who returned the favor by gifting his Beserker's Axe to Hope, as well as the knowledge he had about the peoples, cultures and locations of the Pact of Phandelver, the ancient era from which he came from. Following that, the party visited the ruins of Conyberry, where they still remain. There they encountered Agatha, the ancient Banshee, of whom they asked "What can we do to help you?". Singing a sad dirge of the fall of the Hand of Sehahine, her old home, the song spoke of the Children of the Moon and how their friends betrayed them and Grace forsaken them. She spoke of how her family's souls are sundered and cursed, and that her sister is still in Axeholm, unable to leave it until receiving "redemption".

Following that, they ventured to the abandoned temple to Ioun, the Knowing Mistress, where they met a sorcerer with a many headed dragon tattoo. He bargained with them for information about Virethas, the Green Dragon of yore, in exchange for 2500 gold.

Using the alter at the temple, Ioun graced them all with various visions - where Cragmaw Castle is, what Cryovain wants, what happened to Farwald's memory, and her permission to take her bell from the temple.

They decided to spend the night at the temple, melting down the bell into smaller pieces which could fit inside their bag of holding. There while on an evening walk, Gilmore found a wayward merchant named Mikael. Clearly mugged or in distress, the party and Mikael came to a deal wherein they will accompany him back to Phandalin in exchange for a commisioned painting for their new manor, and assistance from the experienced negioater to fence the golden bits from the bell.

Keeping watch during the night, Gilmore was ambushed by a Green Dragon Wyrmling and 3 Dragonborn. The attackers attempted to subdue Gilmore and showed great interest in him and his pendant. They used Holding magics and brawn to try and take the pendant from him. 

Luckily, working together, the party managed to prevent the attackers from running off with Gilmore or his Pendant. Farwald and Nalini did their best to hold the attackers at bay, both using their magical staves for the first time. Nalini shot off Ice spells to slow the attackers down and Farwald used the spell stored in the Glasstaff to call for backup in the form of various small objects around the temple courtyard. Mikael shouted encouragement and tried his best at flanking and firing off some crossbow shots, while Hope whipped herself into a frenzy and kept the Dragon from flying away.

Thus, the attackers were killed, but not before Gilmore fell unconscious and being but an inch from death. Nalini quickly healed him, and thus the party is now still in the ruins of the temple, catching their breath, while Hope is still enraged, apparently taking out her frustrations on the small objects which Farwald summoned.

And what now? Head to Axeholm? Phandalin? The Forge of Spells? Rest here again? Even more questions, but perhaps in the slain corpses of their enemies lie clues towards what to do next.

What Happened

• Found the Hat of Disguise, 1 Speak with Dead, 1 Zone of Truth

• 2 Dragon Teeth, 8 Dragon Scales, 6 vials of Acid

• They realized Hope’s axe was cursed but managed to convince her to give it up after much negotiation and some bloodshed (Farwald got nicked for 11 pts).

• They broke camp at first light and headed to Phandalin.

• Upon the road, they met a strange gnome academic named Dusty.

• They went home to Tristan Manor, now ship shape!

• Over dinner, they helped the famished Gnome as he told his tale:

  • That the Spider is a Drider, a type of fallen Drow who is half Spider, half Dark Elf.

  • While the Bugbears and Goblins continued the excavation of the main hall, the Spider defiled the ancient altar of Moradin, the All Hammer, turning it instead to an Altar to Lloth. There he tortured Dusty for information and what he knew about the Spell Forge and the Pact of Phandelver. 

  • Dusty resisted as best he could, feigning ignorance, but gave up some information:

    • That the Spell Forge can only be activated by first activating Gond’s Smelter.

  • Dusty’s luck improved when the goblins broke through a side cavern, trying to find another route to the Forge. The cavern was full of the undead, including spellcasters, and the Spider and his Phase Spiders went to go aid in the defense.

  • Managing to slip through your binds, Dusty ran and ran out the cave.

• Gond’s smelter is often quoted in the sources Dusty has spent his life reading. To activate it, it requires:

  • The Mettle of the Dwarves

  • The Grace of the Elves

  • The Ingenuity of the Humans

• While captive, Dusty did manage to catch glimpses of the Smelter. The Spider keeps trying to figure out how it works, and was torturing Dusty there sometimes to reveal what he knows. There he saw carvings in Elvish and Dwarvish, speaking of “The Heart of the Stone” and “Elvish Tears”.

• While camping in the cave, he scrounged for wood for the fire, and found a hard dark wood. When it burned, it burned hot and blue. Strange.

• Gotrek said that activating the Smelter requires blue burning wood, ore from the caves, and some kind of elvish spell.

• Nalini figured out that Elvish Tears is a mis-tranlation, and that Grace of the Elves is Selune, the moon and that Elvish Tears refers to the Moonbeam spell.

• While held captive, Dusty did manage to glean some information from the Spider, listening in to conversations and seeing shipments with bugbears and goblins come and go: 

  • He would write several orders and letters, and these were carried by one of his Phase Spiders to the outside world.

  • Phase Spiders can turn invisible and perhaps even teleport.

  • Many such letters were addressed to “Wyrmspeaker”.

  • The Spider was becoming increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress. Some of his orders were going unanswered, particularly those to “Klarg”, and “Glasstaff”.

  • A human wearing a red cloak joined the Spider a few days afterwards. Apparently bringing bad news, The Spider became enraged and the human was sacrificed to Lloth, with the Spider asking for “Vengeance upon the Five for killing your loyal servants”.

  • He would often pray to Lloth, and mention how his service would soon lead to her gaining a leg up on Asmodeus, who is unaware of having “a great treasure taken from him”, and how the bargain would lead to “our partners, the Dragon ones, can have the surface, but we will control the Underdark”.

  • Gilmore remarked that the Drow and Lloth followers normally hate Dragons. Strange that they are working together.

  • One day, a Myconid surfaced from one of the caverns, by the kitchens, and was quickly killed and a stew was made of them. The entrance by the kitchens was then boarded up.

  • The Spider told Dusty that Gundren is dead, killed by Blarg the Bugbear leader of Cragmaw Castle and his map was taken. That’s how the Spider  found the cave

• Thinking on all this, the party took a rest at home and decided to set out for Wave Echo Cave the next day.

• Hope chopped wood and worked out, Gilmore spoke with Deacon and sold off the gold bits (2600 gp), and put Mikael on a wagon. Nalini meditated in the garden. Farwald and Dusty dispelled the curse from Hope’s axe and returned it to her.

• They then set out for Wave Echo Cave.

• Nalini shifted into a spider and scouted the area. 

• Almost getting caught under the influence of Lloth, she managed to crawl past the makeshift goblin kitchen who was cooking over a blue flame and found a passageway to a colony of Myconid’s and bioluminescent mushrooms.

• There, she shared vision and senses with the colony, learning that they will only help defend the colony - however, part of their network was recently severed away and still lives in Wave Echo Cave, and could help in an ambush. 

• In addition to that, they said that maybe the Gnomes, beyond the waterfall, which they live in symbiosis with, might be willing to help. 

• Letting the rest of the party know to wait for her in Gnomengarde, they joined her after 1-2 hours.

Ending

The party is standing in front of the sign to the entrance: No visitors! On order of King Karbaz.

With them are the 2 monks Jaque and Zoe, Gotrek and Dusty.

Opening

There was no real opening to this session.

What Happened

• The party traveled to Gnomengarde to seek magical inventions that might aid against the dragon threat.

• They were greeted by a cheerful female gnome who offered hospitality and wine, but only let in 3 members of the party - Nalini, Gilmore and Farwald.

• The others (Hope, Dusty, the 2 monks Jaque and Zoe, Gotrek) camped outside.

• Some party members became intoxicated during the visit.

• They also quickly realized that the magical Weave in Gnomengarde leads to side effects for any spells cast.

• The party met the two gnomish inventors, Dimblestib and Dabbledob, who mentioned strange happenings in the caves.

• They went to aid King Korboz and found him paranoid and terrified, even having tied up his beloved King Gnerki.

• The gnome woman was revealed to be a disguised doppelganger, with a second doppelganger hidden nearby.

• The confrontation occurred in King Korboz’s throne room.

• Nalini was seriously injured during the fight, nearly falling unconscious from the doppelganger’s attack.

• Farwald fell under the control of a suggestion spell cast by the remaining doppelganger, briefly turning on the party.

• The party killed one doppelganger in the battle.

• The second doppelganger escaped deeper into the caves or beyond.

• King Korboz, who had been paralyzed by fear, was found and freed.

• He expressed deep gratitude to the party for exposing the impostors and restoring safety to Gnomengarde.

Ending

The party is out of breath and tired, following the fight with the doppelgangers.

Opening

Breathing heavily, you all look around the throne room of King Korbuz. One Doppelganger lies dead, the other escaped. A handful of Gnome Guard and Inventors rush in, scanning for any other intruders. You all collapse against various walls and statues, as a young gnomish girl named Linxie heals your various wounds and dispels the evil magics still remaining upon you.

This detour was more than you expected, but the Gnomish Kings thank you for your intervention. They cannot offer much in the way of thanks, as the stoppage of trade has made their coffers low, but they throw a small party for you - complete with the famous Gnomish fireworks. They do manage to offer a discount on their remaining artifacts, inventions and gizmos. You have the evening to rest, recuperate and plan.

For tomorrow, the time has finally come to take on the Spider. He must not be allowed to break into the Forge of Spells, for with it - he would be unstoppable. And thus, while the party breaks up around you and your comrades enter late at night to sleeping bags among the gnomish tavern of The Uppanddown: What is your plan?

What Happened

• Purchased some items and fireworks.

• Tried to make a plan. 

• Got a message from Erevyn that he is undercover working for The Spider.

• Found that the previous Goblin kitched had been "remodeled".

• Ambushed the Spider!

• Hope rushed in and kicked ass.

• Nalini summoned a ball of flame and set the webs and spider eggs of the Alter of Lloth on fire.

• 2 Phase Spiders appeared among the back line, wreaking havoc on Farwald and Nalini, who both fell.

• Gilmore, using his connection to the Matron of Ravens, gave Nalini and Farwald the strength to keep going.

• Finally, after much turmoil and bloodshed, the Spider was killed.

• The remaining goblins and bugbear fled only to be consumed by a mushroom patch.

Ending

The Spider lies dead, the killing blow being shot through the eyes by Erevyn.

Opening

The walls of Wave Echo Cave have witnessed much over their time. The once shining beacon of the Pact of Phandelver, where Elves, Humans and Dwarves collaborated together to push against the darkness of the world. These caverns have been dark for centuries, ever since the unknown cataclysm fell all around them, bringing an end to the Age of Arcanum in this part of the world. More recently, these ruins have been defiled even more, as the Spider brought his motley crew to pillage its last remaining power.

And within an instant - it is light again. Not by Dwarven braziers, but by the heroism of a group of people who but a few weeks ago did not know each other. There we see a small fairly, herself decked in greens and yellows, but her face is alight with reds and oranges, sweat beading on her face, as she concentrates fiercy to burn away this arachnid influence. Besider her, an old farmer finds some long forgotten strength within him, as his thunderous shouts echo across the cave wall, bringing a bluish and white lighting storm upon the head of the spider. Suddently - they both fall as enormous spiders appear behind the ranks, scattering the party. A noble looking half-elf, witnessing this, steps forward to take the brunt of the front line, and falling to one knee - mutters words to his Matron, controller of fates, pleading with her to protect his friends. A large woman, with curved horns, holds the monstrous half-man, half-spider at bay. Her rage and anger making her purplish skin turn almost red, as she refuses to cave, using her anger and will to give the comrades in arms one last chance at victory. 

And then suddenly - it is over as quickly as it behan. As an arrow flies out from the darkness, and strikes the monster between the eyes. An inhuman growl, from somewehere deep beneath the earth is heard, as the Drider once known as Nezznar the Spider collapses, his large and multiple limbs curling away, and thousands of small spiders emerge from his eyes and mouth, scurrying away back into the deep darkness, past immobile skeletons and vengeful fungi.

A strange silence takes over the place. The only sounds one hears now is the soft echo of waves, lapping against some unseen shore, the soft burning of embers of spider eggs and webs, cleaning away filth and revealing the stone carved face of a stern looking dwarf, with only one arm. And the soft twisting of a rope, as the body of Halia Thorton, Spymistress of Phandalin, still hands lifelessly in the entry way.

Looking around you, you see your allies looking as shocked as you must look, but as the realization kicks in - you share knowing looks and even soft smiles. The Spider has met his end.

But this is not the end of your travails. Somewhere up ahead, lies the Smelter of Gond and beyond it - The Forge of Spells. 

Some of you started this journey for riches. Some, from sheer curiosity and adventure, and some for duty to their cause or family. The Five, now reunited, with the legendary Spell Forge but a stone throws away.

What Happened

• Found some gold, supplies and the Spider's Journal among his belongings.

• Encountered Gond's Smelter.

• With a combination of brains, brawn and talent, you managed to activate the Smelter.

• Gilmore chose not to follow through with his task of encasing his sister's soul-stone as directed by his parents and the ancient rites of his family.

Ending

As the molten metal creeps forward through the groove in the floor, the door to the Spell Forge lies open.

Opening

They say that history is the greatest of all teachers

 and the tales of past deeds define who we are in the present, 

and what we shall be in the future. 

It is said that such tales shall, 

with each telling, 

illuminate us all with the light of truth.

Opening

As the door to the spell forge opens you feel a slight rush of air enter the chamber you are in. It tastes like both the freshest air you’ve ever breathed in, but also somehow ancient, and almost canned, with a metallic tinge to it.

As you breathe it in, you realize you are the first to breathe air from another era which carries upon it a memory. A memory of the Age of Arcanum - and the Calamity which followed it. An era so long ago, it has entered the collective culture as nearly a myth - but one that all of you have heard. Nalini, from the stories of her grandmother around the magical pyres of the Arbor Land. Gilmore, from the droning on of the tutor’s in his youth. Hope, from old drunks and various bards in the alleys of Beggar’s Nest in the Neverwinter Slums. Erevyn, from tales of faraway visitors arriving on the docks. And Farwald, who is so old, he can’t even remember how he knows this shit.

As the story goes, eons before recorded history, a group of formless gods arrived at a world churning in chaos. But within this disorder, they saw boundless potential and a chance to learn about

their place in the universe through the act of creation. So they began to tame the primordial chaos of this world and created life to live upon it. First were the elves, then the dwarves, then humans, and other races swiftly following as the young gods created their children. But these children of the gods lived short, violent lives. To help them withstand the chaos of this tumultuous land, the gods gave their children small slivers of their essence, resulting in the birth of magic.

For centuries, the mortal races prospered during this time, now called the Age of Arcanum. They perfected their magics, spawning unimaginable feats of arcane innovation. 

But this progress also led to unchecked arrogance. Some began using their magics for the ruthless pursuit of power, immortality, and even attempted to touch godhood for themselves. 

No one knows how the war began. Some say it was because some arrogant mortals desired to take upon divinity for themselves, something the gods could not allow. Others say the desires of the mortal races led to wars between themselves, which escalated into the involvement of their very deities taking to the field of battle. 

Whatever the reason, the result was a magical arms race with all sides, god and mortal alike, working diligently to create new arcane engines of war, a war that would become known as The Calamity.  A war where heroes fought against monsters, angels against devils, and great wizards against legendary warriors. 

As the war dragged on, and the destruction of the world grew, a schism began amongst the gods - Those that wished to completely destroy or enslave the mortal races, feeling that they could not be trusted with the power of magic or even of free will, known as the Betrayer Gods. Against them, stood those that defended their creations, believing that their children have the ability to find their way, known today as the Prime Deities. 

Not much is known about the battles that ensued during The Calamity, but the scars they left upon the world are visible to this day. 

The grand magical cities of the Age of Arcanum were completely destroyed by the war. Its civilizations were left in ruins, and much of the natural world was left scorched, destroyed and barren. 

The Prime Deities, finally seeing what they had inflicted upon their own world, decided to create a Divine Gate - a barrier to protect their creations from the ruinous presence of unchecked divinity, sealing themselves behind it. Thus, the gods sacrificed their ability to physically return to the Material Plane, but at least the world would be protected from the Betrayer gods.

 It was a sorrowful day for the Prime Deities - realizing that the only way they could protect their children from the Betrayers was to bid farewell to their beloved world, and only able to look upon it from afar. From now on - The gods' power could only be channeled by their most devout worshipers. And thus the war ended, and began the current Age.

But now, something is about to happen, that has not happened for a millennia. A group of mortals stand upon the cusp of ancient technology from the Age of Arcanum. For here, in the North of the Sword Coast, no culture better exemplified the power and magic of that legendary Age than the peoples of the Pact of Phandelver. Their greatest creation, The Forge of Spells, awaits.

Is there anything you would like to prepare or do before entering?

<Proficient in Insight: make an insight check.>

——-

As you step into the chamber - you hear a large intake of breath and shock from some of the members of your group.

It feels for a moment like you’ve stepped outside. You are surrounded by darkness, and as the molten metal slowly fills the grooves in the floor, it appears to activate beacons and magical anchors. As these light up - the ceiling alights with more and more stars - and a slight breeze picks up. Could it be that you are actually outside?

<Nature, Survival, History, Religion, etc>

The stars are the same - but wait. No, they are different. The Long line of stars which stretch across the middle of the horizon, which some believe to symbolize the Divine Gate and the Era of Divergence - the sky which you have seen every night throughout your lifetime - does not appear. As a shudder goes through you, you realize what this zodiac is. 

It is the night sky as it appeared 1000 years ago. Selune, the Moon, along with her tears, does not appear in the sky - because this is from a time when she herself walked the earth. This sky is that of the Age of Arcanum.

Just as you realize this, some stars appear to fade while others rearrange themselves into 3 constellations - 

That of a hand, with long, delicate fingers.

That of a great castle, with turrets and crenellations along its walls.

And a large hammer, appearing almost bedecked in jewels across its handle and head.

These shift again, and shafts of starlight streak across the room, as if summoned back into the beacons and anchors across the floor. They then shoot out again, but this time appear to collide on the large dais in the center of the room. You see now the shape of a humanoid face made of light. A booming voice comes out.

<reveal the map> 

<Picard>

“The Pact is done. Together we made miracles. But that time is over. If you are watching this it means you have breached the final seal. I am Gond, and the Spell Forge is my Creation.

As the Calamity has finally reached the north, the Pact has been undone from within and from without. May the Archheart - who gifted magic to the mortal races  - forgive us. We could not see. 

Perhaps you will fare better. 

As I fully expect to die in the next few hours from these orcish, undead and other armies led by the Betrayers, I have left this message, and placed the protection of this place in the hands of The Blacksmith, my finest creation. He will test your mettle, your courage and see if your hearts are true.

If you get past him, I shall assume you are worthy enough for the final treasures and knowledge of our Pact to be placed in your hands. And if not - then he will send you to your makers.”

You watch as the projected human face suddenly brightens, as every beacon - save one - glows even brighter and the rays in the center become almost real. You see them pushing and shaping the molten metal which has now reached every corner and groove in the intricate design on the floor. 

The light grows brighter, and you have to shield your eyes. You can hear the groaning of metal, and then almost a sharp snap - like a giant metal beam being shorn in two. As the light dims, you hear a strange voice.

“Initializing systems. Booting up. Error. Error. Malfunction, 7 out of 8 beacons functional. Power at 78%. Proceeding with the Defensive Program.” 

You now see a human shape - but larger than any human you have ever seen. You’ve heard tales of giants, but this is even larger. An enormous metal creation which stands before you, with 2 glimmering stones for eyes - one red, and one green. 

<place the mini>

The red eye appears to scan all of you as you hear:

“Intruders Detected. Termination is required.”

I need everybody to roll initiative.

What Happened

• Through the clever use of disrupting the pylons, the party defeats the Guardian and gets loot.

Act I Epilogue

A few days later.

Phandalin is aglow. Banners hang all over the main square, tied to various posts, with paper lanterns hanging from them. Fireflies scoot and hover over a dozen picnic tables while a group of children run around them, while their exhausted parents have another sip of strawberry wine. The tables are still well laden with all manner of food and drink -  cherry pies, green bean cassaroles,  fresh baked bread, cheese and spinach pastries, spiced mead and all manner of treats as the sun gets lower in the sky. Everything seems to benefit from its golden hue, befitting the event, for it is Highharvesttide -  the last day of summer.  A celebration, which even the slight chill wind coming from the southern mountains, cannot dampen. 

Besides the feasting, the festival offers many distractions. To name a few: A long table, bedecked only with pies, is setup for the annual pie eating contest. Beside it, 2 teams are arranging a large thick rope with a knot in the middle of it, ostensibly for a tug of war competition. Deacon is sitting in his small semi circle of stones behind a table, creatively decorated today, with a sign that reads - “Fortune Telling.” and is smaller writing below it: “Donations appreciated.”

People bow and touch their caps to you as you each enter the square, and among the whispers you can hear the reaction of the town to those known as the Fantastic Five. So, friends - What would you like to do? Any conversations you would like to have? Traditions to participate in? Or perhaps new ones of your own to commence?

The party mingles among the celebration, participating in some of the games

Nalini

A few children are playing tag around the tables, as one of them, a small girl in brown braids, comes up to you:

“Are you really a fairy?”

A slightly older boy comes up as well, with a look of exasperation on this face.

“She can’t be a fairy Milly! Everyone knows the fairies live in the forest and never leave, they don’t live here!”

“She is! She is! My mother told me! She is one of the heroes! Right? You’re one of the heroes?”.

A gruff old dwarf, with a rather alarming bandage on his arm and throat, but a glint in his eye, joins the conversation. “She is a real fairy. And a real hero at that. One of the finders of the Forge of Spells!”

The kids, alarmed at this strange and somewhat bruised individual, run off.

Looking over, you recognize the dwarf. Gundren Rockseeker. At least - most of him. He sees the look of shock and concern in your eyes. “Don’t you worry about me, Sildar managed to finally find me and come and get me. The goblins have mostly moved off, without their masters around they didn’t really have much interest in me. Been tied up in Cragmaw Castle for a bit, but not that much worse of wear”

“Good on you lassie. Sildar told me everything you all have been through. I’m sorry I couldn’t help you, or be there to see it myself. The Forge of Spells! Must have been quite a sight!”. Gundren moves off as he sees Aadbra Gwynn waving at him. 

The boy and girl are still close, whispering. You just manage to pick up the boy saying: “So that’s what a hero looks like!”

Strange. You wanted to leave home so bad, for so long. And in the few short weeks since you’ve seen so much. Met some good people, but also some very bad ones. Strange to think you barely even had seen a dead body until recently, and now have seen so many. As you catch a reflection of yourself in your wine glass, you notice you look just a tiny bit older. And you are left wondering: is this what a hero looks like?

Hope

You watch Nalini have a quick interaction with some of the children, and your thoughts turn to your sister. Joy would have loved this festival. She’s still out there, somewhere. And she’s counting on you to set things right. Brrr.. it’s getting chilly. As you rub your arms to warm up a bit, an old poem enters your mind. Weird. You hate poetry, but you hear yourself recite it quietly to yourself nonetheless:

All that is gold does not glitter

Not all those who wander are lost

And after it, a silent prayer as you stare at the dwindling candlelight: Have courage, Joy. I’ll be there soon.

Erevyn

You’re not much for celebrations. You slink away from the gathering, your mind going over the events of the past few days. Your mind and legs wander, as you find yourself at the entrance of the small graveyard outside of town. There it is. The freshest grave, grass not yet grown over it, with a temporary wooden head stone. 

Halia Thorton.

Citizen of Phandalin.

“She died so that we could live”.

You see some flowers someone had placed. And an amulet which hangs from the headstone. 

—---

Leaning down to the inspect it - you realize it has the shape of a dragon, wing bent inward, with a small moon in its mouth.

As you go to touch it, the dragons wings unfurl, and the voice of Halia enters your mind:

Erevyn,

We are about to set off towards Wave Echo Cave. If you are hearing this, it means I didn’t make it. In that case, the schism within our organization has clearly come to a head. I thought I could stay out of it, play both sides off each other, but clearly fate forced my hand. 

We rarely do this in our organization, but times are dire. Pay close attention to what comes next, because this message will only be said once.

The chapter leaders of the Xhent as I know them are:

Lucian Nightshade - Neverwinter 

Nezznar the Spider - The Underdark

Jamra Gleamsilver - Waterdeep 

Alistair and Catherine Blackwell - Luskan

The Pereghost - The Moonshaes Isles

Remember our words: Knowledge is Power. I’m trusting you to make sure it doesn’t fall into the wrong hands.

Do not make the mistake I did. Choose a side.

Gilmore

Sitting at one of the tables, drinking with Gundren and Farwald. 

It’s a good day. Even Gundren made it in the end! For the first time since you left home, you feel freer. You made the choice and look - the world didn’t come to an end. Just the opposite. You’re not sure how you’ll bring your sister back, but at least it was your choice to make. 

Oaths and gods can weigh heavily on a person. Now what? What are you even doing here? Where will you go from here?  

Well at least one thing was gained: Whatever step you next take - at least it will be yours to choose. 

Farwald

Farwald pulled 2 cards from the deck of Many Things.

You feel old. Older than even your 70ish years suggest. The merriment of a harvest festival is not new to you, and in any case these events are better spent on the young. Stretching your legs on the picnic table, you lift a pipe from a snoozing drunkard next to you and light it. The smell of the burning leaf wafts through the air.

Silly, really, to be afraid of memories you had forgotten you had. Why should you be afraid? Were you afraid to set out on the road at a whim? You suppose sooner or later, you’ll have to figure out what’s going on. But not tonight.

Moments like these - you miss your kids, when they were young. They are older now, with children of their own. And no one wants old Farwald getting in the way. Most of all, you miss your wife. What has it been now? 20 winters at least since Gloria passed. What would she say, seeing you now, being a foolish adventurer, going off on a dare. Laugh probably. And in that memory, of her laugh lined smile and suntanned face, you find solace. A good memory. Even if, at this moment, you feel 400 years old.

And as the sun sets on the now peaceful town of Phandalin, our heroes who set out on this journey each to their own, find themselves together at a table. Drinking, laughing, (snoring a bit in Farwald’s case), regaling the townsfolk and friends in the tales of the past few weeks. Pulling away we see the glowing lights of the town among the shadow of the southern mountains, the moonlight shining on the woods to the north, and the stars reflecting upon the sea. For tonight at least, the wilds and dangers of the Sword Coast appear dormant. As always, its landscape and peoples beckon those chosen - adventures to be had, treasures to find, challenges to meet. For amongst its secrets, one can always find a few more undiscovered Dungeons & Dragons.

The End... for now.

Opening

“I wish it need not have happened in my time," said Frodo.

"So do I," said Gandalf, "and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. 

All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.” 

J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

We return to our story in the weeks after our intrepid heroes successfully came back from the Forge of Spells to their home in the town of Phandalin. With autumn now in full swing, the leaves changing their colors and falling from the trees, and the harvests all done, the town of Phandalin is at peace. 

But our heroes story is just beginning. From the windswept glaciers of Icewind Dale, to the sun-bleached shores of Serpentwind Coast, adventure awaits the daring. But what challenge will they take upon themselves? Each of them have their own stories and desires to pursue, ones that they will be hardpressed to achieve without the others help. 

Returning to the history and mystique of the era of Calamity, and the 2 remaining locations of the Pact lie within the morose tale of Agatha, seeking redemption and forgiveness for her sister and father. Who will aid these lost spirits to find peace in the afterlife? The next step there would probably be to travel to Axeholm, the ancient Dwarven fortress of the pact, where Gotrek the Dwarf Beserker is originally from. Perhaps among the silent stones the way forward could be found. 

The icy dragon Cryovain still haunts the Sword Mountains, but knowledge and perhaps allies must be gathered before taking on that challenge. And these dragon sightings cannot be accidental. Somehow, the Spider was involved with them, and maybe even others as well. How widespread does it go?

To the north, in Neverwinter wood, the missing Druid, Reidoth, might have knowledge about the unnatural cold and how nature might be aided to overcome it. The Druid has not been seen for some time, and reports of a lack of logging shipments to rebuild Neverwinter have even reached Phandalin.

The Jewel of the North, the City of Neverwinter, awaits as well. For your efforts in Phanadlin, Sildar Hallwinter has given you a letter, marked with his seal as a Griffin Knight of the City, which may gain you entry to Lord Nashar Alagondar’s small council, or other favors from those loyal to the Lord’s Alliance. It is Erevyn’s hometown, and as a member of a secret society, he knows the hidden passages of the city, as well as some contacts of his own there.

On the road to Neverwinter, the Temple of Helm’s Hold, where priests may provide services in exchange for coin or favors. The last resting place of Lady Nashar Alagondar, Dragon Barrow, is rumored to reside along that road as well - famously alongside her sword which slew Virethas, The Jade Queen, an ancient green dragon 300 years ago. The name Virethas is known to Farwald, although he can barely say how he knows it - alongside the names of 4 other great wyrms. Perhaps the key to defeating the dragons lies within his mind as well.

Beyond this - the Sword Coast is full of great mages, libraries and those that might aid you in whatever you wish to pursue or know. Against a great terror such as that you are facing, there is no shame in wanting to learn more or ask for help. There is also much you have already gathered - journals, notes, scrolls. Perhaps another look at them may provide new insight?

These are but a few loose ends, riddles, leads and mysteries that one might pursue - and across the Sword Coast answers can be found, but not without overcoming challenges, both internal and external. 

The choice is yours. So my dear adventurers, what are you going to do next? For now at least, there is an immediate goal. You agreed to reconvene at Tristan Manor 2 weeks ago, some of you going on various errands and small chores - and today, the day has finally come. As for what tomorrow might bring? Who knows - all you have to decide is what to do, with the time that is given to you.

Erevyn - Moonlight shines upon on you as you keep watch during the end of the night. In the clear night sky, you can make out the tears of Selune - the small lights that surround the moon. They appear to be twinkling even brighter than normal, so that they really do look like tears. You are enjoying the silence, when a song enters your ears. Have you heard this song before? Are you even hearing it now or imagining things?

A vision comes to you, of your friends - Gilmore and Nalini and Farwald sitting in wicker chairs in an old hut in the forest, while an ancient looking skeleton appears to be singing a song.

And as the song ends - Dawn breaks.

Nalini, you are in the garden, puttering around your morning routine. The colder than normal autumn is strange, but has allowed you to plant some of the more wintery mushrooms and berries which are flourishing. Despite the morning chill, you sink your feet into the ground. You can feel the soft earth beneath you, as well as a number of small roots and mycelium wrapping around your toes. Right now, and here in your garden, everything seems ok. you attune to the songs of the mushroom colonies running all across the mycelium. The colony in the Spell Forge also seems to be flourishing, feeding off the renaming spider and orc corpses, and apparently even managing to remove the remaining undead in that area. They report that the cold is indeed coming from the south, from the Sword Mountains, but its spread appears to have slowed - at least for now. And then it hits you - not from the South, but from the North. A mournful dirge, a lament. You’ve never heard anything like it. It’s so very very sad. You cannot place an image of it in your mind, you just are overcome with intense sadness. No, not just sadness. Grief. From the north, Nature is… mourning. You reach out to concentrate more on it but suddenly feel a new emotion - quick and sharp. Anger. Red hot anger. And with that you are pushed away, feeling an end to your connection. The anger of whatever is happening up north is so great, the natural elements and weave do not want to communicate with you for the moment - and you can feel no more for now.

Farwald, you are snoozing at the dining room table. You’re either very late or very early when you made plans with the others to have a meal together and discuss your next plans.  The monks left south a few days ago to seek a new monastery, but they left provisions and such in the house. You slightly jolt from your sleep when you hear someone enter the room. It’s Gilmore, looking at a note left on the table. It reads, in scrawled handwriting:

”Took my share. Suck at goodbyes. H.”

What Happened

• The party discussed the number of options ahead of them

• Gilmore shared the story of his sister and his desire to resurrect her

• Nalini spoke about leaving home for adventure and now wanting to understand more about the cold weather and Druid to the north

• Farwald spoke about going out into the world on a bet, and how "the old men in the village often were sent to hunt wolves, mostly not to return", and now he wonders if his strange spotty memories are leading him to also fight the dragon.

• Farwald had a flashback of Lady Tanager Alagondar slaying Virethas, The Jade Serpent, while the dragon's claw bursts through her chest, the two of them dying together.

• Erevyn spoke about the Zhentarim and how there is currently a fight within the organization between 2 factions. The one he represents and that which the Spider does. 

• The party pieced together that there are a might be ties between the cult and the more violent faction organization, namely the Spider, the Blackwells of Luskan and perhaps the missing Pereghost. 

• The party also pieced together than the Elminster that Farwald spoke of, is a great wizard, also known as the Sage of Waterdeep.

• Erevyn also admitted that his curiosity regarding the quest which Agatha gave the party while he was away intrigues him, having visions of Selune and the sisters, and the connections to his own blood-line.

• Gilmore also felt that Redemption in this case would be a fit for his paladin duties, as the Matron believes that souls should be shepherded, and any undead interrupt the cycle between life and death.

• The party finally decided to head to Axeholm, with the help of Gotrek, who was originally from there.

• Along the road they met a strange talking goat, who gave her name as Aja, a fey sorceress whose powerful magic had backfired and somehow ended up on the material plane - as a goat. She beseeched the party for aid, which they accepted in return for her helping in recovering Axeholm from the undead.

• Upon arriving to Axeholm, Aja wasted no time in blasing the door open with her lightning magic.

• The party was quickly met with strange shadows, who immediately attacked, but were quickly dispatched thanks to some magic by Farwald, Nalini and Aja.

• Gilmore then shouted to Vyldara, telling her that Agatha had sent them.

• This cause Vyldara to be thrown into a rage, with her Banshee's wail quickly ripping through the party's ears, knocking unconsciousness nearly everyone except Erevyn and Gotrek.

• Erevyn initially, and then Gilmore and Farwald and the others, talked with Vyldara, buying time for the others to heal and prepare.

• Eventually they realized that they could not make her see sense, and with the danger of her possessing multiple party members, the party attacked, with Gilmore finally severing the connection and allowing her soul to pass on.

Ending

• As Erevyn picked up Vyldara's Heartstone, a dullish orange gem, almost clay like,  he received a vision of the Hand's location, near the ruined village of Leilon.

• The party also received a parting monologue from Vyldara, who described how Agatha was always her father's favorite, and that she tried to take over Axeholm to earn his favor, by poisoning Queen Kima of the Dwarves. However, she was killed in the attempt and became a Banshee, eventually routing or killing many of the dwarves, and setting in motion the destruction of the Pact of Phandelver.

• The party now is catching their breath among the ruins of Axeholm.

Restoring the hand and putting its former residences at ease.

Fight against Larellion. Farwald dies.

Farwald is revived, Astrolabe stuff

Farwald gets healed, pirates attack

Aftermath of the Pirate Ambush 

The session begins on the road north to Neverwinter, following the party's battle against a band of pirates at a ruined lighthouse. The mind-mage Griselda had just unlocked Farwald's mind, revealing his true form as a towering Firbolg. The party interrogates their lone pirate prisoner, who reveals that his captain was working for Luskan—the "City of Sails"—and had orders to seize the lighthouse. Convinced the pirate poses no further threat, Gilmore cuts his bonds and kicks him out, letting him go free.

Healing Farwald at Helm's Hold 

Though Farwald is back in his true body, his mind remains foggy and confused. Seeking a cleric to fully restore his memories, the party stops at Helm's Hold, a fortified monastery dedicated to Erathis, the god of justice and order. Because the fortress is warded against otherworldly creatures, Nalini the fairy is blocked by an invisible barrier and forced to wait outside. Inside, Erevyn and Farwald negotiate with a halfling cleric named Sandra. In exchange for gold and diamond dust, Sandra casts Lesser Restoration on Farwald, lifting the fog from his mind. The visit is cut short, however, when Erevyn scratches a code into a wall (ACAB) using his thieves' tools, prompting the strict paladin guards to physically escort the party out and ban them from returning.

Farwald's True Past and the Dragon Masks 

With his mind fully restored, Farwald uses his Marvelous Pigments to paint his old Firbolg clothes, a breastplate, and his original giant greatsword into reality. He drops a massive revelation on the party: he is over 300 years old and fought in the original war against the chromatic dragons. During that ancient conflict, he personally helped banish the white dragon, Cryovain, to the north. Farwald explains that he was magically hidden away—stripped of his memories and turned into the human "Farwald"—to protect a dangerous secret: the existence and locations of the Dragon Masks, powerful magical artifacts that can be used to control the dragons. Realizing the dragon cult is actively hunting for these masks, Farwald sends magical messages to his ancient allies, warning them that "the sleeper under the ice is waking" and the cult is on the move.

Arrival in Neverwinter

The party arrives at the southern gates of Neverwinter at sundown. Farwald casts Disguise Self to look like his old human persona to avoid drawing unwanted attention. The guards let them in, mentioning rumors that Luskan caused the recent plague and that Lord Alagondar is marshaling military forces to the north for a brewing war. Walking through the city, the party witnesses heavy wartime preparations, with ships unloading massive amounts of lumber and supplies at the docks.

A Night in the City 

The party heads to the Docks district to visit Erevyn's sister, Ophelia, and her roommate, Yeva. Yeva welcomes them into her modest home and confirms the rumors of an impending war with Luskan, noting that food and lumber prices have skyrocketed.

Needing a place to sleep, the party splits up for the evening:

• Gilmore heads to the luxurious Moonstone Mask in the Market District to attend an "end of the world" party.

• Erevyn sneaks into his parents' house. Finding his father asleep, he leaves a heartwarming note on the table to let them know he is safe without waking them.

• Nalini and Farwald head to the Emerald Grove in the Temple District. They find the druid Nimiriel overwhelmed, using the Grove's magic to feed and shelter dozens of starving children affected by the city's food shortages. Nalini and Farwald assist by using their magic to heal the sick children and grow food.

The session ends at the Emerald Grove, with Erevyn rejoining Nalini and Farwald just as Nimiriel approaches the trio.

The party chat with Nimiriel, learning about Esfaloth, meet Okra and decide to head to Dragon's Barrow.

What could go wrong?

The party enters what they believed to be a dungeon or burial mound — a cavern of bone-white stalagmites and acid pools, deep beneath Dragon Barrow. At the head of the chamber, Gilmore draws the Dragon Slayer Sword of Lady Tanagar Alagondar from its resting place. As the blade leaves its ancient home, a magical trap is triggered — a blinding flash of energy forces everyone to make a Wisdom saving throw. Nalini is paralyzed.

Shadows move against the walls. Half a dozen figures step forward from the darkness, all wearing dragon masks — black, blue, red — and some with actual draconic faces. At their head stands Sidorna, the Green Wyrmspeaker, adorned in golden robes.

## What Happened

•⁠  ⁠As Gilmore drew Dragon Slayer, a paralysis trap was triggered. Nalini failed her save and was frozen in place. The rest of the party fought through the paralysis with adrenaline.

•⁠  ⁠Sidorna, the Green Wyrmspeaker and leader of the cult forces, stepped forward. The Soul Stone around Gilmore's neck strained toward her, and she clasped it in her hand.

•⁠  ⁠Gilmore was pulled into a vision. He saw his sister, Elira, no longer behind the veil of his dreams. She revealed herself as a member of the Cult of the Dragon, wearing a Green Dragon Mask. She taunted him — calling him "the second son, the one not expected to matter" — and urged him to join the cult, saying Tiamat's return and the resurrection of Villathas and the other chromatic dragons was inevitable. She told him there is no good or evil, only power. Her face transformed into that of a dragon, and the Soul Stone was ripped from Gilmore's chest.

•⁠  ⁠Sidorna ordered her cultists to keep the party busy and flew toward the inner chamber to begin a resurrection ritual, declaring: "We have the final component — a true heir of Alagondar, and the blood that was shed shall be the blood that awakens."

•⁠  ⁠Gilmore, with a natural 20 on Insight, realized two critical things: (1) Dragon Slayer was enchanted solely to slay dragons and had been powering a ward preventing the resurrection of Villathas, the Jade Queen — pulling the sword broke the ward, and (2) the ritual's purpose was to bring back Villathas.

•⁠  ⁠Combat began against the cultists — a mix of Dragon Cult fanatics and a powerful monk. Initiative was rolled, and a masVillathas, the Jade Queen — pulling the sword broke the ward, and (2) the ritual's purpose was to bring back Villathasntage on Wisdom saves, then turned invisible using his Cloak of Displacement ability.

•⁠  ⁠Hrothgar & Nalini joined forces to bring down an Ice and Sleet Storm, covering a huge area with ice, forcing cultists to make Dexterity saves or fall prone, and disrupting concentration on spells — critically slowing the cultists from reaching the ritual site.

•⁠  ⁠Erevyn scored a natural 20 on an arrow shot, killing one cultist outright, then repositioned with his bonus action.

•⁠  ⁠Gilmore cast Shield of Faith on Nalini (+2 AC), then engaged multiple cultists with the Dragon Slayer and the Blade of Tristan.

•⁠  ⁠The monk proved extremely dangerous, using Stunning Strike to stun Gilmore (incapacitating him for a full round) and dealing heavy damage to Nalini's bear form with multiple attacks.

•⁠  ⁠Nalini wild-shaped into a bear to absorb damage, and later cast Ice Storm (via the Staff of Frost) at 300 feet range, dealing 17 points of damage to multiple cultists deeper in the cavern and killing one.

•⁠  ⁠Farwald used Thunderstep to teleport himself and Erevyn 90 feet closer to the ritual chamber, dealing 30 maximized thunder damage to surrounding cultists — destroying the weaker ones and cracking open Lady Alagondar's tomb in the process.

•⁠  ⁠The DM revealed the ritual operated on a point system: every round the cultists remained alive and chanting, they gained points toward 100 (full resurrection). Killing cultists and disrupting concentration cost them points. At the end of Round 1, they were at ~25%.

•⁠  ⁠A shocking revelation: the party realized they were not in a dungeon — they were inside the skeletal remains of Villathas herself. The stalagmites were bones, the acid pools were poison, and the entire cavern was the body of the ancient green dragon. Poisonous gas began seeping from the walls, requiring Constitution saves.

•⁠  ⁠Gilmore prayed to the Matron of Ravens, confessing that he had been wrong to try to outsmart fate and resurrect his sister, and asking for aid in preventing the resurrection of the dragon — a great transgression against her creed. The Matron responded cryptically: "Gods granted you free will, and this is what you chose to do with it."

•⁠  ⁠Gilmore used Lay on Hands to heal Nalini for 25 hit points and drank an antitoxin to cure his poisoned condition.

•⁠  ⁠Erevyn reached the ritual chamber and could see Sidorna and the remaining cultists chanting in a circle, surrounded by rising poison gas. He identified the Staff of Frost's Counterspell capability as potentially useful.

•⁠  ⁠Okra was repeatedly stunned by the monk throughout the fight but eventually broke free and used her dimensional magic to teleport Nalini to safety near Gilmore.

•⁠  ⁠Gilmore charged down the dragon's neck toward the ritual, attacking and killing a cultist with three strikes (Dragon Slayer + Blade of Tristan + Divine Smite for 33 total damage).

•⁠  ⁠Nalini's summoned a Giant Frog swallowed Sidorna's head, blinding her and preventing her from chanting — a critical disruption to the ritual.

•⁠  Nalini cast Entangle on the remaining cultists and used his Spore Druid abilities, while also casting Shatter which destroyed a mural of himself and his allies from the ancient dragon war, sending debris into two cultists.

•⁠  ⁠Erevyn scored another natural 20, this time against Sidorna, using all four charges of his Cloak of Lightning for an additional 6d6 damage. Total: 50 damage. Sidorna had 46 HP remaining.

•⁠  ⁠Sidorna, at death's door, tore the Green Dragon Mask from her own face and tossed it to the last surviving cultist, who donned it — becoming the new bearer. Sidorna whispered: "You must wake"

•⁠  ⁠The last cultist stepped willingly into the ritual circle and was torn limb from limb — the final human sacrifice completing the ritual. Elire spoke: "It is time. Goodbye, brother."

•⁠  ⁠A massive blast of necrotic energy erupted — Sidorna's final spell — killing the two remaining cultists as sacrifices and dealing 30 points of necrotic damage to those who failed their saves (knocking Nalini unconscious again). Gilmore survived thanks to his healing. 

•⁠  ⁠The ritual completed at 66 out of 100 points. Villathas returned, but as a weakened shadow of her former self — an adult dragon rather than an ancient one, held together by dark magic rather than true life.

•⁠  ⁠The party realized the "cave" was now moving. The skeletal dragon began breaking free, extending its remaining wings and limbs.

•⁠  ⁠Gilmore, Farwald, and the others scrambled for a plan: Gilmore ran up the dragon's neck with Dragon Slayer, heading for the head. Okra fed Nalini a healing potion. Farwald used his Marvelous Pigments to paint a massive wound/hole in the dragon's side, effectively casting Passwall and punching a hole to the outside — sunlight poured through.

•⁠  ⁠The DM revealed the resurrected dragon's voice combined Villathas with Eliras’s soul and the power of the Green Dragon Mask — the controller of the Dragon was now the dragon itself.

## Ending

The ground lurches. Gravity flickers. The skeletal dragon — Villathas reborn, fused with the soul of Gilmore's sister and the Green Dragon Mask — is breaking free from Dragon Barrow. The party is still inside, with moments to act before the creature takes flight. Farwald has punched a hole to the outside with his Marvelous Pigments. Gilmore is running up the neck with Dragon Slayer in hand. The ritual was not fully complete — the dragon is weakened, a shadow of what it could have been. But it is alive, and it is rising.

The dust settles slowly over what was once Dragon Barrow.

Bruised, bloodied, and exhausted, the party lies on their backs in the smoldering crater that was the burial mound of Lady Tanagar Alagondar — what shall henceforth be known as Gilmore’s Folly. Above them, the skeletal form of Villathas the Jade Queen — reborn, fused with the soul of Elira and the power of the Green Dragon Mask — has vanished into the autumn sky. The ritual was not complete. The dragon is weakened. But she is alive, and she is loose upon the world.

Gilmore holds the Dragon Slayer in his hands — the very blade that slew Villathas three centuries ago, now drawn from her tomb by the great-great-grandson of the woman who wielded it. The cost of unsheathing that sword is plain. The ward is broken. The dragon is awake. And somewhere, others watch from afar.

What now, my dear adventurers?

What Happened

• The party took a short rest in the smoldering crater. The mood was foul. Hothgar was particularly raw, kicking stones and muttering about how comprehensively the plan (which was never really a plan) had failed.

• Gilmore attuned to the Dragon Slayer. As he closed his eyes, a vision swept over him: armies arrayed across the cradle where he now sat, a wizard, a druid, a dwarf — the same figures he had seen in the murals inside the dragon mere minutes before. Hothgar stood among other Firbolgs in the background. And then Lady Tanagar Alagondar stepping forward, driving the sword into the dragon’s open jaws. The blade is a +1 greatsword. Against dragons, it deals an additional 3d6 damage.

• Erevyn searched the wreckage where Villathas had erupted from the earth. Among the debris of crates and dragon-headed ornamentation he found something that made the hair on the back of his neck rise: a cracked blue sending stone, surface unnaturally smooth save for the fracture down its middle. Nearby, the shattered shards of a second sending stone in black. Two cult members had been communicating across continents — and someone had cut the link from the other end. He pocketed the blue stone and kept the find to himself for the moment.

• Nalini and Gilmore stepped aside for a private conversation. Nalini admitted her suspicions plainly: a royal house in want of power would find a dragon-sister rather useful, and Gilmore’s headlong sprint to the sword had looked, in retrospect, suspiciously convenient. Gilmore insisted he had not seen the trap. Insight came back clean. Nalini accepted the answer for now, while quietly noting that a Zone of Truth would likely settle it for good once they were in Neverwinter.

• Gilmore spotted figures circling in the distance, far off near where Villathas had disappeared. Three of them broke formation and turned toward the party. Nalini identified them — Griffin Riders, an elite arm of Neverwinter’s military, the same order Sildar Hallwinter once belonged to.

• The party returned to the Spider’s journal. Reading it again with what they now knew, the pieces fit: “The Blackwells see as I do, but Lloth does not wish me to cooperate with them.” “The Pereghost is missing.” “I shall parley with the scarlet-scaled ones. The Jade Wyrmspeaker. He wishes my aid in finding the Forge of Spells.” Most chilling: “The cult’s plan is to weaken Asmodeus.” A Religion check confirmed Asmodeus as the Lord of the Nine Hells — not a dragon. The Spider’s Underdark scheme and the Cult of the Dragon’s resurrection plot were two prongs of the same operation, with the Spider himself as the bridge.

• Erevyn fed an invisibility potion to Trixie the horse — to her considerable distress — and snuck behind a low hill to take overwatch with his bow before the Griffin Riders landed. The animal handling required to keep an invisible horse from bolting was, charitably, a learning experience.

• The lead rider landed and revealed herself: Lady Arabeth de Tylmarande, right hand of Lord Nasher Alagondar — chief of staff of Neverwinter. Her armor gleamed silver, and her sword bore the eye and scales of Tyr, god of justice. Her two companions were paladins of Helm’s Hold.

• Hothgar gave her his true name. With a natural 20 on history, Lady Arabeth’s jaw nearly came unhinged — she recognized him from chronicles three centuries old. She did not recognize anyone else, and demanded an explanation for the smoking hole in the ground that had until very recently been a dragon’s grave.

• The exchange that followed was tense and politically pointed. Lady Aribeth would believe in a resurrected dragon — the gaping crater made denial difficult — but the existence of a cult was a conspiracy requiring evidence. She accused the party of grave-robbing. They countered that the dragon was already loose and time spent on bureaucratic procedure was time wasted. Hothgar, patience exhausted: “Not all of us have the luxury of sleeping for 300 years to come back and do the same job again.”

• Sildar Hallwinter’s sealed letter of recommendation softened her stance. Lady Arabeth offered an audience with the Small Council of Neverwinter in three days — Hothgar pushed for two; she held the line at three. Without evidence of a cult, Prisoners’ Isle “could always use a few more occupants.” She also confirmed something significant: Elminster has not been seen anywhere near Neverwinter for over a decade.

• After she departed, the party debated next steps. 

• The party made camp 500 meters away in a small copse. Nalini and Gilmore took first watch.

• Mid-watch, Nalini noticed something deeply wrong. The trees were moving — slow, almost imperceptible, drawing inward to form a defensive line around the wood. A Nature check told her the forest was bracing itself, not against them, but against something far more powerful that had clawed up out of the earth that afternoon. Underneath the movement she felt the same grief and abandonment she had sensed from her garden a week earlier.

• Hrothgar walked to the tree line to speak. The trees did not answer aloud, but a voice entered her mind — Esfaloth the Druid, and he was furious. He accused the party of having “helped that idiot child” wake the dragon. He had chosen to lock the Neverwinter Wood away from the world entirely rather than continue defending it alone. When Nalini invoked their old friendship and the times she had saved him, he addressed Hothgar through her — “Son of Cuilahar, your heart has gone cold” — and refused further conversation. As she turned away a root caught her foot and dropped her flat. She came back to the fire shaken and quietly furious.

• Hothgar and Erevyn took second watch. Hothgar tried to pray and found something deeply unsettling: his god feels distant in a way it never did three centuries ago. Sleepy. Withdrawn. As he meditated, he was struck by the sense that the world had atomized in his absence — every nation, every city, every god looking inward — and the harder realization that the Magnificent Five themselves might not be exempt from that drift.

• Hothgar burned 25 gold of incense and cast Augury, asking whether convincing Nalini to pursue the White Dragon Mask would lead to a good outcome. The campfire smoke shaped itself into a white dragonbone mask hovering above an empty tomb — his own. Weal.

Ending

First light breaks over the Sword Mountains. The trees behind the camp have settled into their new defensive line, sealing the Neverwinter Wood away from a world it no longer trusts. The dragon is loose. A skeptical Small Council waits in three days, in a city already preparing for one war and unwilling to hear of another.

The road north to Neverwinter awaits.

The session opens with the party catching their breath after the ambush at the Dragon Barrow. The Dragon Cult has made off with Vyldara’s soul stone, the war between Neverwinter and Luskan has been formally declared, and Lady Aribeth De Tylmerande (Lord Alagondar’s right hand) has summoned the party to the Neverwinter council in three days’ time to account for themselves and provide evidence of the cult’s role in recent events. The party debates priorities: pursue the soul stone, hunt the White Dragon Mask in the north, or play the political game in Neverwinter. They settle on Neverwinter — they need allies, evidence for the council, and time to compare notes.

Farwald burns a 3rd-level spell slot to cast Sending to Kiara, now ruling Keoland — an old comrade from the dragon wars three years prior. He warns her of the cult hunting the masks, the return of the white and green dragons, and the situation in Neverwinter, and asks if she can help track the red mask. She replies that she may know where the red one is and will look into a quiet check on it through a contact.

Gilmore casts Find Steed for the first time, summoning what he hopes will be a majestic white stallion. Instead he gets a small, old pony with wise eyes that speaks Celestial. Gilmore is the only party member who can speak with it directly, though within a mile he can also send it on errands telepathically. The party rides north on the High Road, which is eerily empty — two days ago refugees were flooding south, and now nothing moves.

The party arrives at Neverwinter’s southern gate to find conscriptions in full swing and the streets unusually quiet. A new “town guard” named Sheila intercepts them at the gate and insists on personally chaperoning them through the city. She is tall, handsome, well-dressed for a guard, and obviously not what she claims — Gilmore’s insight check reads her as lying convincingly, but her cover is solid enough that the actual guards defer to her. (Sheila is Monica’s new character; the DM confirms — for now — that she is not the doppelganger.)

With three days until the council meeting, the party splits up:

- **Erevyn and Nalini** head to the Black Lake District to meet Lucian, Erevyn’s mentor.

- **Gilmore and Farwald (chaperoned by Sheila)** head toward the castle.

The Black Lake District is locked down and Erevyn and Nalini can’t use the usual wall-climbing route in daylight, so they descend into the sewers. Nalini uses Minor Illusion to lure a half-asleep guard away from a grate, and they slip in. The water is much higher than it should be — knee-deep on Erevyn — with a distant rushing sound somewhere upstream that Nalini notes but can’t place. The Black Lake grate empties into the lake itself, and the two have to push up against an inflow of water to escape, with Nalini clinging to Erevyn’s back. They emerge soaking wet in the fancy district at midday. Nalini cleans them up with Druidcraft.

Lucian receives them warmly at Nightshade Manor — now in his fifties, salt-and-pepper, looking more drawn than Erevyn remembers. Over blueberry muffins and banana cake, he confirms a great deal:

- Lucian is an unofficial member of the Neverwinter council as Lady Aribeth’s spymaster.

- He strongly suspects a spy on the council itself. Too many intelligence failures stack up to coincidence: the Phandalin situation, the plague a year ago, the Dragon Cult emerging undetected, and now Luskan landing forces behind Neverwinter’s lines. The Blackwells of the Zhentarim have gone quiet and likely turned to Luskan; the Paragost (Zhentarim leader) is unreachable; Jamrash in Waterdeep insists “all is well” but hasn’t actually been in contact with their man there in months.

- The Council of Neverwinter:

  - Lady Aribeth De Tylmerande — chief, Lord Alagondar’s right hand

  - Archmage Vael — rarely attends in person; usually sends a proxy

  - Treasurer Count Geldon Allfield — the bean counter; no missing money on the books

  - Captain Aldus Trueshot — Captain of the Armies

  - Lord Admiral Finster Lionheart — Admiral of the Navy

  - Lucian has vetted them all and they all check out — which is exactly what worries him.

- On Halia: Erevyn confesses everything — the impossible choice in the spider’s web, that Halia winked at him to signal it was alright, and that he wants to keep working against the fascist faction of the Zhentarim. Lucian absolves him: “You survived, my boy. That’s all any of us can do. We carry the burden of knowledge.”

- On fighting dragons: Dragons are clever and will see ambushes coming. They fly roughly twice as fast as Nalini. To fight one you need either matching aerial speed or some way to keep it grounded — possibly Cryovain’s mask itself.

- He recommends one further contact: Anthony “the Gentleman” of Beggar’s Nest. Knows things Lucian doesn’t. Trust him exactly as far as you can throw him. Do not call him “Tony Halftooth” to his face.

Lucian turns a small statue on a side table and a bookshelf swings open onto a hidden cache. Nalini receives a pair of **Bracers of Barkskin** — wooden-looking braces that grant permanent Barkskin, raising her AC to 16. On the way out, Erevyn pockets a **smoke bomb** with a Sleight of Hand check of 19. Lucian notices but says nothing as he sees them out — “be careful, those tend to go off at the worst time.”

The party reconvenes at the Moonstone Mask for lunch — Sheila still trailing along. Three (then four) shots of fire whiskey from Ofala. A drunk importer-exporter at the next table confirms:

- Luskan took Port Damali two days ago.

- The plague rumors are now officially being blamed on Luskan, with some kind of “evidence” being held by the council.

- Admiral Finster is the council member best regarded among working folk — some of the few ships getting through are his doing.

- Lady Aribeth is keeping the city running competently.

Asking after Sildar Hallwinter: he has been recalled to the **Griffon Knights** (Neverwinter’s elite special forces) and is unreachable for now.

Gilmore pays a courier 50 gold to send a letter to Stork’s Nest, guaranteed within ten days. The letter tells his parents that Elira’s soul is not at rest, that Vyldara walks again and Elira is her, that he is the hand that drew the sword, and to *“take stock of who has had your ear in the past months, and who has gone quiet, and who should not have. Bar the gates, trust no envoy.”*

### The Cha-Ching

Sheila, increasingly impatient, finally drops the pretense and steers the party past blocked main roads into Beggar’s Nest — a slum dense with shacks on shacks, narrow alleys serving as bathroom, laundry and social club. She brings them to a casino called the Cha-Ching, fronted by a mural of a scantily clad woman with coins falling into her hands.

Outside, Hope is waiting for them — returned at last, working for the boss. She ushers them in.

The Cha-Ching is a casino (not the strip club the mural advertises). Three town guards and two judges are at the tables in broad daylight. At the back, on something close to a throne, sits Anthony “the Gentleman” — a tall half-orc with a broken tusk, slicked-back receding hair, dressed in some kind of eel-skin or stranger fabric, attended by Hope and a halfling lieutenant.

### The Gentleman’s Offer

The Gentleman doesn’t want gold and won’t share what he knows for free — but he is willing to trade. His crew has, for years, moved through the sewers via a quiet arrangement with **Patricius**, the city’s Head of Sewers and Waterways, who has a gambling problem he pays off in access. A few years ago Patricius found a wizard and acquired a **Ring**, which he has been using to power the city’s waterways for free instead of paying laborers.

A few days ago, Patricius vanished — with the ring. The sewer water levels have been unstable ever since, and a something is presumably loose in the system. (This is the rushing sound Nalini heard earlier.) The Gentleman would normally handle this himself, but half his crew has been conscripted into the war effort and he is short-handed.

The terms: find Patricius, bring him back alive, recover the ring. In return, the Gentleman shares what he knows about who on the council is compromised, plus some gold. Two days. An Insight check confirms he is being honest — and that he has other options if the party declines.

Ending

The session ends mid-deliberation, just after the Gentleman has laid out his terms. The party has roughly two days before they must appear before the council. They need to decide whether to take the job and where to start — the sewers, presumably, where the destabilizing water elemental is now loose.

Sheila remains attached to the party, her motives still unclear. Hope is back, working for the Gentleman. 

They go into the sewers

They sneak past guards, pools and a grate

They fight

They win

(Sorry I lost the notes for this one...)

Opening

The party is in the Neverwinter sewers, having just defeated a water elemental. The task came from Anthony Calloway, known as "the Gentleman" of the Cha-Ching Club: recover a magical ring stolen by Patricius, Neverwinter's city comptroller, in exchange for information on the Cult of the Dragon.

A recent event saw Gilmore's sister's soul tied to a monstrous, multi-headed dragon-worm in his dreams, with Tiamat claiming her. The Dream came true, with the ressurection of Virtehas/Elire. Neverwinter's council demands proof of the Cult of the Dragon's involvement before their next meeting.

The Ring

Nalini identifies the ring as a Ring of Control Water Elementals—a pale, opal-blue band that grants command over water elementals, the ability to walk on liquid, breathe underwater, and swim at full speed, along with casting water/ice spells (currently only control water). The party decides to keep the powerful ring rather than return it to Anthony Calloway, concealing it in a bag of holding.

The Scene

Patricius is found dead. Gilmore uses Lay on Hands to aid Erevyn. Investigation reveals that the water elemental's influence ceased with Patricius's death, and one escapee was kicked into a deep pit. The party finds 170 gold and a Luskan signaling lantern, used for communicating with ships, confirming significant Luskan infiltration in Neverwinter.

New Allies — Luvat and Rocky

Waiting at the grate are two new allies: Luvat, a powerful warrior-druid in plate armor wielding a blue crystal greatsword, and Rocky, a sentient earth elemental. Both were dispatched by a Princess Glida of the Seelie Court to protect Nalini across time and planes, as their future foresees dragons triumphing. Gilmore and Luvat note that their armor shares a common origin.

Escaping the City

With the cistern exits guarded, Gilmore creates a diversion by calling his horse and shouting about Luskanites breaching the walls. This mobilizes the Griffin Knights and Captain Beauregard. Gilmore, fabricating a story about being a noble who encountered Luskanites in the sewers, is sent off with a note to Lady Aribeth. Meanwhile, Farwald uses his magic paints to create an escape route through a slum courtyard, allowing the others to slip out.

The Deal with Tony

The party delivers Patricius's body to Anthony Calloway at the Cha-Ching Club, claiming Luskanites had killed him and stolen the ring. Anthony Calloway accepts their deception, offering half the reward and the name of an ex-Cult of the Dragon member, Talis the White, imprisoned in the high-security Peninsula Prison. The catch is that Anthony Calloway also wants his associate, Polly, freed. He demands an unbreakable oath as collateral for this new mission.

At the Grove — Meeting Nimiriel

At the glade, they meet Nimiriel Nightbreeze, a ranger and guardian of the Emerald Grove, who is the sister of the elf druid Esfaloth. Luvat recognizes her, saying, "We meet again for the first time." Nalini attunes the ring.

The Beholder Dream (the centerpiece)

Nalini's dreams turn to nightmare, showing her Feywild home consumed by darkness. A voice accuses her of abandonment. The vision shifts to a future Neverwinter in flames, Castle Never a mound of gold with a red dragon atop it, refugees fleeing, and the Feywild turned to ash. The voice, now a beholder from the Shadowfell, declares its intent to ensure this future and prevent the restoration of balance. Nalini's friends join her in this dream-fight.

Beholder abilities (for reference)

Power

Effect

Central eye (antimagic cone)

No magic works where the eye is focused — Gilmore’s helm and breastplate fade, the ring goes inert.

Slowing ray

Target slowed — one action or bonus action, no reactions.

Death ray (necrotic)

Black wave, ~55 damage. Nearly killed Luvat.

Sleep ray

Knocks a target unconscious (HP unaffected). Put Nalini to sleep.

Flight

Can hover, but slow (20 ft). Soft-bodied — stabbing works.

How they took it down

Character

Contribution

Gilmore

Compelled Duel to lock the eye onto him, then drove the Dragon Slayer and Tristan blade into the central eye and tentacles with Divine Smite — Tristan blade ended up embedded in a tentacle.

Erevyn (rogue)

Repeated hide → Blazing Bowstring + Cloak sneak attacks straight into the central eye.

Luvat

Charged in with unnatural speed, great-weapon strikes, and Commander’s Strike / Help to feed Erevyn extra shots and advantage.

Rocky

Burrowed up ~60 ft and body-slammed the beholder from above, pinning it and shielding Nalini.

Farwald

Cure Wounds on Gilmore (+27), Sanctuary on Nalini, Bane on the beholder, then went invisible.

Nalini

Conjure Animals → myconid mushroom-folk whose spores stunned it, then a staff ice spike for the killing blow through the central eye.

Aftermath

Waking in the glade, Luvat and Rocky prepare to return home. Luvat speaks with Nalini advising her to "Follow her brother," referring to the elf druid, Esfaloth. Rocky praises Nalini before they vanish, leaving Luvat's helmet behind as a parting gift.

Lore & Revelations

• A being from the Shadowfell has specifically targeted Nalini.

• Luskan has agents operating within Neverwinter, using signaling lanterns to communicate with offshore ships.

• The Cult of the Dragon informant, Talis the White, held in Peninsula Prison, is the only solid lead for the council's requested proof.

Loot & Changes

Item

Notes

Ring → bracelet of Control Water Elementals

Attuned to Nalini, upsized to a bracelet, powers boosted. Keep it away from Anthony Calloway.

Luskan signaling lantern

Thieves’-cant ship-signaling device — evidence of Luskan infiltration.

170 gold

Into the pot.

Luvat’s helmet

Matches Gilmore’s armor; physically left behind (handed over at the start of next session).

Cold open

The party wakes in the Glade of Neverwinter Wood after the shared dream-fight with the beholder. Its words still hang in the air — the balance cannot be restored, the land will burn by dragon fire and demon flame. Despite that, the morning looks calm.

Nalini wakes to find her wings lying on the ground beside her — dried, shed, fallen clean off. No blood, no wound. She is now flightless, which, given that a fairy's wings are delicate and even small scratches impair her ability to fly, is visibly distressing for her. A council meeting is set for tomorrow morning. The party has one day to chase leads.

Investigation — Nalini’s wings

• Medicine and detect magic: nothing is “wrong” with her. The wings came off like a molt, not a cut. Her magical essence, deeply connected to nature, reads only slightly weaker than normal.

• History (nat 23 area): two relevant tales. Fey who neglect their bond with the natural world slowly lose that connection — and their wings — as it frays. Others have recovered by restoring balance to nature and reconnecting. This is framed as a transformation, not a loss — she may regrow into something stronger. This aligns with the profound connection fairies and dryads share with plant life.

• Working theory: Nalini drifted from her path, and the broken balance in this region is accelerating it.

The plan debate

Three competing leads on the table:

• The prison informant — Tony’s half-lead points to a prisoner, Tallis the White, held in the high-security wing of Peninsula Prison in Neverwinter.

• The Feywild — travel home so Nalini can ask her grandmother about the wings. Risk: time runs strangely between planes, so they could return days late and miss the council meeting. Many powerful druids, like Esfaloth, have spent time in the Feywild. 

• The forest — go into Neverwinter Wood to reconnect with nature directly. 

Two complications shaped the choice:

• A suspected traitor on the council makes the meeting dangerous. 

• Farwald is carrying a secret about the white dragon, Cryovain, so a Zone of Truth at the council could expose him. 

Party split

• Erevyn considered peeling off to work the prison lead — teleport/astrolabe in, attempt contact with the informant, then ride back through the night to reach the council in time. 

• Gilmore, Nalini and the rest headed for Neverwinter Wood to address the balance directly. 

On the road to the woods

• Survival check (24): the Neverwinter River is flowing much slower than it once did — a clear sign the land is sick. The river's health is vital to Neverwinter and the surrounding region. 

• A bloated human corpse is found face-down in the river. Gilmore hooks and lands it. Investigation: a working-class peasant, dead a while, no dragon tattoo (one faint, unreadable tattoo — not a cult mark).

• Rather than leaving it, Gilmore drags the body out and performs funeral rites to the Matron of Ravens. His compassion for the dead is well-regarded by the Matron. DM inspiration awarded. 

Into the woods — the vision

The treeline has changed since the party last passed — dense, thorned, near-impassable except along the river. The trees themselves moan a single word on the wind: “Why.” This echoes the mournful dirge and red-hot anger Nalini has previously sensed from nature in the North, and the aggressive actions of Reidoth/Esfaloth in the Deadwood area of Neverwinter Wood. 

Nalini sinks her hands into the soil and reaches the mushrooms and spores for the forest’s memory. The vision pulls her somewhere else in the wood — and into a graveyard of trees: stumps to the horizon, a silenced logging camp, the river choked. No birdsong, no animals. This devastating scene is similar to Esfaloth's description of his ancestral home, Silverwood, after its destruction by humans. 

There she meets Esfaloth, also known as Reidoth. 

Esfaloth’s story (key NPC reveal)

• A pale elf, black hair, green eyes. Over 500 years old, he is known as "The Fey Touched." 

• Last of the Naila (“the secluded ones”), a tribe of lore-keepers and nature-druids from the ancient Silverwood.

• A human warlord, Count Richter, arrived with a paper “claim” to the land, murdered Esfaloth’s father when he protested, and razed the forest — fire and axes, ~100 men against two dozen Naila. As the trees fell, the local magic waned (exactly as Nalini’s is now). 

• His sister Nimiriel led the survivors and younglings to safety — they now live as refugees in a Neverwinter city park, “a golden cage.” 

• Esfaloth stayed, waged a lonely guerrilla war for years, and killed the councilman. He spent lost years in the Feywild, then returned for a “second chance” — only to watch civilization repeat the same destruction in Neverwinter Wood. 

• His thesis: civilization is the greatest evil — greater than demons, devils, or dragons. 

Lore & revelations

• Cosmology: the Material Plane sits between the Feywild (joy, nature, twilight, timeless) and the Shadowfell (death, undead — the “upside down” from the dream). Most things exist in all three as reflections. Portals to the Feywild often form at natural mirror-points like waterfalls; powerful druids like Esfaloth can planeswalk directly. 

• The white dragon Cryovain has gone south to the Sword Mountains and does drive the cold and the weather shifts — but Esfaloth insists the dragon is not the root evil. Esfaloth has fought dragons before and is aware of Cryovain's movements, prioritizing the wood's protection as long as the dragon doesn't disrupt the natural balance too severely.

• Gilmore’s family lore: his home forest was always protected, with strange illnesses and creatures falling on any humans who tried to log it. The lore tied this to druid magic and a shrine.

Negotiation (unresolved)

• Party position: balance through coexistence — city and forest growing side by side, taking only what’s needed.

• Esfaloth’s position: humans out, full stop, and let the forest reclaim everything.

• Nalini’s pitch: help regrow the woods faster via spores, and bring in Nimiriel to rally Neverwinter’s druids. Nimiriel is an Emerald Enclave ranger in Neverwinter, who has previously aided the city with her magic. Nimiriel, Emerald Enclave

• Esfaloth distrusts the rest of the party but trusts Nalini. He is aware of Nalini's family and was sought out by Nalini at Nimiriel's request. No deal yet — he snapped her back out to her friends mid-conversation. 

Where it stands at session end

Nalini focused her magic with the water-control ring  — diverting water to speed regrowth — plus an 8-hour casting to enrich the land (roughly half a mile).

Esfaloth was amazed at her ability to do so, to sacrifice such a powerful item and her natural ability with mushroom growth. He then showed her how to wild shape into Flying creatures and they are flying over the regrown Wood.

They still have not pitched Esfaloth on a protected, regrowing forest backed by a pact or illness guarentee. 

Loot & changes

Wicker shield

Light, craftable. Nalini's AC now 18.

Leveling

Gilmore

HP bump, proficiency increase, +shield (AC 18). No domain feature at 7 — took +2 STR.

Nalini

Wild Shape into any non-flying animal (no flight while wings are gone), Evasion. Lowest HP in the party — negative CON. 

Erevyn

Took Sharpshooter — ignores cover, can take −5 to hit for +10 damage.

Farwald

Rune caster feat. May cast Glyph of Warding free once a day. Limitations: Charm only lasts 1 day. Only 1 active at a time. Maximum level 3 spell which he chose on the day/morning of creation.

Open threads

• Land the deal with Esfaloth — coexistence vs. eviction. 

• Erevyn's prison run — did he reach Tallis the White, and can he ride back in time?

• The council meeting tomorrow — and the traitor .