TWC Dungeons and Dragons

[Gyrosmeister]

Varis is saved. But at what cost?

[Akar]

Video of Session 47

[Akar]

Recap of Session 41

BOOK 3

THE RISE OF NIGHTSTONE

CHAPTER 9: The Assassination Part II

Open with the Party having regrouped in the Knight’s Rest

19th of Eleasis, afternoon

Start of Session 42

Party:

Harminil of House Finderwel, True Neutral Battle Master Fighter 7, High Elf, 121 years of age (played by gyrosmeister): Noble and former soldier WHO HAD residence in Waterdeep. Painter and wild card with deep-rooted sense of High Elven Supremacy and an insatiable desire for high elven women. Seeks to hone his skills in combat so that one day he may reclaim the Jeweled Crown of his ancestors that was stolen by a demonic entity and restore his house’s as well as his personal sense of superiority. Prior experience serving with the mercenary Varragh il Sunayn during his military service. Was glad to travel to Daggerford following the party’s Waterdhavian exploits in hopes of finding his brothers and continuing their personal quest. Interested in ousting the Lord Protector primarily because of the possibility of finding a cleric to restore Vahayon’s crippled body as well as the wealth to continue with the demon quest.

Alias: “Harm and ‘Ammer”, “The Hater”, “Speak up”

Varragh il Sunayn, Chaotic Neutral Mastermind Rogue 7, Fey Elf, 186 years of age (played by Kilo11): Descendant of a house of hunters turned traffickers who straddled the border between Toril and the Feywild. Rogue, Hunter and survivor with an imperative to retake and restore her family’s power, even if guilted by the means that acquired that power. Will keep the party on track and has a no-nonsense attitude when dealing with the commoners, or even potential enemies, who get in her way. Prior experience serving with the soldier Harminil through her time as a mercenary. Was mostly ambivalent towards the flight to Daggerford, primarily concerned with surviving and making gold doing so. Has begun to assert her authority over her new keep of Nightstone and is primarily concerned with ensuring its long-term defense and stability during the quest to eliminate Waterdeep’s Lord Protector.

Alias: “The woman who literally snapped a dude’s neck like Black Widow” “I fear no man, but that thing…. It scares me” “Feanor’s lost granddaughter”

Alaric Eversteel, Neutral Good Gloomstalker Ranger 5/Twilight Cleric 2, Human, 52 years of age (played by geg): Former Tethyrian ranger with a history of devotion to the god Ilmater. Spent some time retired from a career of adventure, hunting and defending the weak when he took up residence as a farmer a short distance from Nightstone. Lost his wife and children in the chaos of Goblin incursions following the fall of Nightstone to Giants. Convinced that the party has some importance to play in upholding the will of his gods and is preachy as about it. Learned of the death of his mentor, Tesrik, at the hands of the Lord Protector and is seeking justice as well as the protection of his adopted home of Nightstone.

Alias: “Jehovah’s Witness”, “Servant of ‘Ilmater, Devourer of Worlds!!!!’”, “Ol’ Creaky Knees”

Varis Aloro, Chaotic Good Oathbreaker (formerly Vengeance) Paladin 5/Fiend Warlock 3, Half-Elf, 28 years of age (played by geg): Escaped slave and former Calimport Gladiator. Paladin with an oath of Vengeance on slavers and a desire to do good by the less fortunate, but whose pursuit of these goals are often harmed by bouts of depression and drunkenness over his past. Recent arrival to Waterdeep in search of his lost love, who he lost contact with when sold from Luskan to Calimport 12 years ago. Now sworn into servitude to Harminil, Varragh and the devil know as Mister Twardowski (The Thin Man) for their role in fulfilling his quest to save his lady following their flight to Daggerford. Killed by bugbears in the retaking of Nightstone, and now resurrected by the Thin Man as a zombified revenant to further his goals. Seeking vengeance on the Lord Protector by any means.

Alias: “Drunken Dip ” “12 Years a Slave” “Literally a corpse”

NPCS:

Tyavos and Vahayon: Harminil’s younger twin brothers. Scarred as and only 1/10th as stupid/lacking in basic social graces as Harmy. On a quest to eradicate demons and restore the crown, even if its costs their own morals in the process. Vahayon has been left even further scarred and deformed following the Demonomicon’s attempt on his life. Have seemingly begun to remember their respect for their elder brother due to his combat prowess and dogged pursuit of restoring their family.

“The Thin Man”, Mister Twardovski: Still has an eating disorder. The only thing he’s willing to eat are souls and they’re way too low in calories. Mostly in the background now to torment Varragh, give Harminil a boon, and laugh at the fact he resurrected Varis into a smelly corpse. Looming in the shadows, and watching the party’s every move.

The Knights of Aloro: Group of Paladins in service to the party. Formed following the party’s initial flight from Waterdeep, in which Varis returned to the Endshift Tavern to give their ally Kukassy an absurd amount of gold as well as his scimitar, and had Andala and Aseir swear oaths to follow in his paladin footsteps, but this time in an oath of protection rather than being consumed by vengeance, which imbued them with the magical ability to smite evil. The Knights have attempted to maintain order and protect the people of the Field (now Free) Ward of Waterdeep following the coup that installed the villainous Lord Protector. Key members of the Knights of Aloro are as follows:

Pierre “Bucket Man” Kukassy: Drunken, friendly bar owner just wanting to make some coin turned leaders of the freedom fighters. Former establishment Endshift Tavern has closed due to the chaos in Waterdeep, but now concerned with housing and funding his allies, The Knights of Aloro, in their guerrilla war with the Lord Protector’s fascist regime.

Andala el Aloro (formerly yn Basha): 26 years old. One of the original Calishite slaves freed by the party at the Waterdeep docks in their first skirmish with Prodovac “Keanu Reeves” Devola. One of only two of “Varragh’s Jihadis” to survive the original plans to raid the Southern Ward Barracks, on account of having been sent with the party itself alongside Aseir. Proved himself in that initial combat and against tremendous odds quickly became incredibly competent with the blade. Now in a romantic relationship with Varis’ former lover, Lia. Has taken the family name Aloro in honor of his savior and ally Varis.

Aseir el Aloro (formerly yn Pashad): 17 years old. One of the original Calishite slaves freed by the party at the Waterdeep docks in their first skirmish with Prodovac “Keanu Reeves” Devola. One of only two of “Varragh’s Jihadis” to survive the original plans to raid the Southern Ward Barracks, on account of having been sent with the party itself alongside Andala. Unlike Andala, was grievously injured and healed in the original raid, and fled under Varis’ orders. Not as competent with the blade as Andala but utterly loyal to the cause. Has taken the family name Aloro in honor of his savior and ally Varis.

Lia: Varis’ former lover from their time as teenage slaves in Luskan, and the original reason he came to Waterdeep. Saved during the Southern Barracks raid and healed of her injuries by Varis’ pact with the Devil. Immediately helped form and aid the Knights with her skills as a rogue following the party’s flight to Daggerford.

Feyn Alstead: One of the only survivors of the original Southern Barrack raid and battle with the Rat King to claim the Sword in the . A loyal and senior member of the Knights who was illegally imprisoned in the Southern Ward, potentially to be sold into slavery.

Ulder Cole: Former Valabar in service to Waterdeep who was suspicious of and investigating the activities of the Southern Ward barracks despite being sent to arrest the party. Was in pursuit of Varis when he was informed of the accusations in the “Rorschach letter” and soon came to believe them following the Lord Protector’s coup and rise to power. Defected to the Knights of Aloro and has devoted himself to the cause of removing the Lord Protector, on the one condition that Varragh, whose thirst for power unnerves him, not be given any power in the new and free Waterdeep. Joined the Knights alongside a small group of loyal and good-aligned former Valabars who have also sworn the oath and serve under him in protecting the Free Ward from the Lord Protector’s tyranny.

Additional Members of the Knights are the following individuals:

Bassa, Zashieda, Zahpa, Melil, Khadir, Jassid (all Calishite and freed at the docks, having taken the name “el Aloro”) as well as Ulder Cole’s crew of former Waterdhavian Guards: Eddie Pret, Leslie Staph, Simon Koray and Aster Poutine.

Knights who have fallen in Battle: Geidel al Aloro

Scouting The Sewers

The party continues through the sewers and Varis leads them to the access tunnels he traveled through previously, which led him to the second floor pool. Varragh begins to argue with the disembodied voice that directs their every move regarding how much time the (living) members of the group can hold their breathe in the event the sewers get flooded. The entirety of the actively militant members of the Knights of Aloro bar Kukassy, Lia and Andala (with the party adding up to 19 individuals) must now wait in the tunnel for the signal to continue onwards.

Varis begins to describe the path he previously climbed up the sewers to reach the second-floor pool, and Varragh suggests that with their extra time waiting for Kukassy to begin his diversionary armory raid in the North Ward, he should scout ahead and see if further upwards he can find an entrance to the higher floors. Thinking logically, the closer the party and their horde of terrorists can be to the Lord Protector when they break out of the sewers, the much higher their chances of success will be. A fifth floor sewer entrance will absolve the group of having to deal with three heavily guarded floors in the most militarized location in the entire metropolis.

Luckily, Varis can no longer smell and thus not be thwarted by the massive amount of toxic he is climbing through during his exploration. Climibing higher and higher, Varis is met by a rush of warm water that he thankfully cannot taste until he meets a fork in the sewer. Despite his penchant for dumbassery, he decides to check the path that isn’t full of rushing water and eventually finds what looks like a pool within a cave-like structure, likely on the top floor where the Lord Protector resides. Scampering back like “an undead sewer rat”, Varis is satisfied with Varragh’s decision to scout ahead.

Harminil probably spends this entire period whispering to his brothers how disgusting these primitive human sewer systems are compared to the superior engineering found in Evermeet. This thought is fleeting though, and he feels a tinge of sadness at how he has ended up in yet another filthy human sewer. However, these thoughts also strengthen his resolve to complete the mission and continue onward with his demon-slaying quest, as well as defeat and embarrass the Thayan mercenary Lovac in single combat.

Alaric meanwhile is kneeling in prayer and getting his leather armor increasingly drenched in brown water as Varragh looks at him somewhat perplexed by how she can only get total lunatics for loyal followers.

Breaking Into the Palace

The group waits a few hours in the sewers, until 5:30pm when Harminil uses his recently acquired Ring of Messaging to ask Kukassy the status of his diversionary armory raid that was scheduled to start 30 minutes prior. Kukassy responds telepathically “Few casualties, all goes well, can buy you 15 more minutes.” Upon being told this Varragh informs Harminil that she thinks they should wait a few more minutes before bursting forth into the pool, led by Varis.

The party discovers they are in a heated pool room designed to look like a cavern system, located on the top floor. Alaric is conscripted to use as always “his elvish ears” to Harminil’s chagrin. Harminil tries to match Alaric’s hearing skills and cannot hear anyone on the other side of the doors while Alaric detects a few guards in the western room. The party decides to (somehow despite being 20 loud people in full armor) avoid being detected and take the doors on the other end of the room. The party desperately searches this room for anything to aid them while Varragh helps the rest of the knights pull themselves out of the pool. She laughs to herself how despite being 5x as many people this time, they’ve made their way onto the top floor and remained undetected.

The party finds the silver masks of the Masked Lords of Waterdeep, with Varragh giving them to Ulder and ordering him to make good use of them in the post-Lord Protector political landscape of Waterdeep. Varragh realizes that there are two gunmen-occupied archery towers connected to the room they are in after checking her map of the palace, and realizes they are currently in the royal chambers. Knowing that anything to stall their enemies in the event they are detected will help their escape, she cleverly uses her rope to tie the door handles to both towers together, creating a wedge that will make it impossible to open the doors from the inside without breaking the rope. She also gives Eddie Pret directions to scout the rooms ahead while continuously referring to him as “Chet Manly” which she has been doing since the prison break, much to his confusion (and even more mysteriously, arousal).

Varragh also checks the northern balcony and to her surprise immediately is spotted by the long guard on the balcony who replies with “WUHHH”. In a panic, Varragh tries to push the guard over the balcony he is leaning on and sadly fails due to her relative daintiness vs. a well-armored military man. After multiple failed attempts to push the guard over with the benefit of surprise, Brave Sir Varragh bravely tucks tail and runs away. She runs back into the attached room and whisper-yells at Varis and Ulder that the guard has to “learn how to fly, now!”, prompting Tyavos to quickly charge in and throw the guard, still off-balance from wrestling with Varragh’s attempts to push him, over the railing as he screams in terror and falls to his doom on the cliffs below the palace.

Afraid that the men in the western rooms will detect them, Varragh opens the door and the party helps her drag the lone guardsman into the pool room and then the pool itself. Alaric, empowered by his gloomstalker powers as well as his new holy sword, stands above the restrained and drowning manman and repeatedly swings his sword down at him while likely feeling incredibly self-righteous in his actions. Varragh, Eddie and Ulder swarm and restrain the man before Varragh stabs the man through the eyeslit on his helmet, as his corpse falls through the pool down into the open hatch at the bottom.

Meanwhile, the Finderwels and Varis simultaneously break into another previously unexplored room and do their best sneaky Seal Team 6 impression, gaining surprise on the lone guard in that room as well. Varis breaks down the door and knocks the man prone before swinging the Sword in the upon his foe, who is quickly bloodied from the critical blows. Harminil quickly follows to also wound the man with a few precise blows of his elvish lhang, as Tyavos finishes their quarry off with a stab to the gut. Killing the man before he can even make a sound or raise an alarm is vital, as the group peers through the keyhole and sees that dining in the next room are three individuals: Calimshite diplomat Nar’ysr el Akkkhani yi Calimport Murabir al Claim Syl-Rafayam el Waterdeep (he of too many names), Zulkir Balorak, the undead Thayan diplomat, and the Lord Protector himself, Draven Rylstrea. The moment to strike, to finally kill he who has been behind the conspiracy that started it all, is now.

The Assassination

The trio quickly sneak back to Varragh and Alaric’s group by the pool and inform them of their findings. The group decides that the Lord Protector’s dining room, which they have flanked on both the north and east doors, will be broken into from both ends simultaneously, so that they can ensure the Lord Protector does not escape their grasp once more.

Before doing so, Varragh informs the party that when most of her group breaks into the Lord Protector’s room, Eddie “Chett Manly” Pret will go to this room’s north balcony and push the other, so far unaware guard there off the balcony so that they don’t have to worry about being flanked or him warning his fellow guards, which he successfully does. Thus, Varragh/Alaric/Ulder’s detachment break into the Lord Protector’s room from the north while the Calimshite/Varis/Finderwel detachment do so from the east, with Varis tasked with teleporting into the room to block its westernmost door and prevent an escape from Draven. Tonight, there will be no “Baked Neverwinter” escapes from the vile, slaving, tyrannical Lord Protector.

Harminil, equally bold and skilled as always, rushes in first and swings furiously at the surprised and Thayan sorcerer Balorak who he knocks prone with his strikes. Despite the ferocity of Harminil’s blows upon his people’s mortal enemy from the evil lands of Thay, the sorcerer quickly gains his bearings and commands the Lord Protector to flee. Balorak summons a bright ball of lighting that bounces from Harminil, who takes the brunt of the damage, to Tyavos, Vahayon, and Melil. The Thayan, clearly LARPing as Emperor Palpatine with that move, rushes to the western door. He takes yet another powerful blow during his attempt to back away from the resilient Harminil, angered by the harm done to his younger brothers.

Tyavos, despite his wounds, sprints into the room and attacks the vile Calimshite Nar’ysr who is bloodied by the flurry of attacks and quite clearly the lesser threat of the trio. Harminil is however, shocked by the willingness to put himself at risk and immediately yells at the disembodies voice in the sky that has followed them their entire adventure that he should, as the elder brother, have a tighter leash on his brothers’ actions. The disembodies voice responds with “Fine, I’ll give you the option if it’ll make you happy” and suddenly for the first time in their recent adventures, the twins remember their allegiance and respect of their brother and begin to follow his orders in combat exactly to the letter, as Harminil gestures in a very animated manner and commands them in elvish exactly where to go. Vahayon, now probably looking to their enemy like a literal mummy with his scarred face so heavily wrapped, follows up on Harminil’s commands with a swarm of magic missiles at the Thayan who yet still lives despite being pelted with magical damage.

Seeing the Thayan’s defenses opening from the onslaught and following the orders of his noble lady Varragh, Alaric charges in from the north and is empowered with Tyr’s holy fury against his abominable foe. The Greatsword of Tyr radiates with holy light as he cuts down the Thayan with a series of horizontal blows that slice him into thirds, a head, a torso, and legs that fall in three separate directions. Standing over his victim, he blocks the door and points his sword at Draven, exclaiming “Justice for Tesrik!” to which Harminil cries “AND WHERE IS EVANDER!!!???!!!”

Varragh dashes in behind her loyal elderly pageboy, happy that the biggest threat to her has been eliminated, and cries “Nar’ysr el Akkani….!!!!” Before realizing she does not remember the rest of his name for her intimidating speech, but it matters not because her crossbow bolt will penetrate his skull all the same. She lifts her crossbow to his head and executes the sneering man before jumping onto the table and crying at Draven that for all his claims of being a “Lord Protector” there “is no one to protect him now”.

Draven screams in terror, the first time he has shown any emotion outside of self-confidence and pompous arrogance. His voice cracking, he exclaims “Guards! Assassins! To me! To me!” but it is all for naught as the undead, hateful Varis is the next to enter and surround Draven. The Sword in the is plunged directly into Draven’s chest as Varis slowly walks the sword deeper into Draven’s body and comes face to face with his enemy. “The Ghost of Nightstone shall be the last face you ever see.” Are the last words Draven ever hears as he falls dead back into his seat. Varis drops the slave whip he has held his entire free life on Draven’s corpse. His regime is over.

Escape from the Palace

The party however, now has a new issue to contend with as dozens of hostile elite guards begin filing in from the western end of the palace. The party is about to be heavily outnumbered once more, and although they have accomplished their goal, if they fall now it may all be for nothing as a new evil arises to fill the power vacuum

As the rest of the group begins to Harminil cuts off Draven’s head as proof of the Lord Protector’s fall to intimidate their enemies, while Alaric tries to bargain with them by proclaiming that the Lord Protector’s regime has fallen and they mustn’t soil themselves by continuing to work for an evil regime that will be persecuted in the coming days. Alaric, however, despite his efforts is not at all intimidating and the enemy is only emboldened by knowing their lord has fallen.

Ulder Cole, a former Valabar himself, is invoked by Varragh as proof of the validity of the Lord Protector’s crimes and assassination of the prior-ruling Masked Lords, but this last effort at negotiating is unsuccessful due to Ulder’s total lack of charisma. Thus, Varragh resolves that escape is really their only option. Thus, being the actually deceptive outside-the-box thinker of the group, she changes tactics and begins to stall the enemy by suggesting they plan to negotiate a surrender and terms while ordering the Knights to begin barring the doors with their pitons sneakily as well as sneaking back to the pool to escape. She isn’t willing to take the chance that they will actually be given a fair trial if they do in fact surrender, as even in death Draven may still control the courts of Waterdeep,

The guards, unfortunately, see through this ruse and begin making efforts to break down the door. As the rest of the Knights begin to escape alongside Varragh and Alaric, Harminil begins attempting to break into chests he has found for evidence that will aid them but is unsuccessful and forced to also flee. As the guards successfully break into the rooms they previously occupied, only Varis remains due to unsuccessful attempts to bar the doors while the rest of the group escaped into the sewers. Knowing that if he flees as his allies have, it will lead the enemy who can now see him directly to the sewers, Varis instead resolves to jump from the northern balcony, not knowing if he will survive the fall. Well, at least survive in a way an already-undead soulless revenant can.

Varis decides that he will have to aim for the bushes as he leaps to his certain doom with dozens of guards chasing right behind him, and jumps. As he falls to the cliff face to almost certain doom, he somehow as if guided by magic catches a ledge with which he successfully manages to catch his fall and avoid further damage. The rest of the party quickly moves through the sewer to safety undetected as Varis runs north back towards the troll gate.

The assassination was a success. Waterdeep is free once more. Or is it?

Points to Consider for next time:

HOW WILL THE PARTY HANDLE REBUILDING NIGHTSTONE?

WILL THE FINDERWEL BROTHERS RECLAIM THEIR CROWN?

WILL NICHOLAS REMAY ASSIST IN THE DEMON QUEST?

WILL THE PARTY SAVE WATERDEEP?

WILL THE THIN MAN ACT ON HIS THREATS?

WILL VARRAGH’S KEEP IN NIGHTSTONE BE DESTROYED?

WILL KUKASSY’S ASSAULT ON THE ARMORY SUCCEED?

WILL THE PARTY FINALLY KILL THE LORD PROTECTOR????

FIND OUT NEXT TIME

[Akar]

Video of Session 48



Video of Session 49



Video of Session 50





50 Sessions - ing incredible.

[Narf]

It's a great achievement. Akar is also tinkering with a Cyber series in the background. Will have to see what happens.
Flinn should still review this in Helios.

[Flinn]

It's a great achievement. Akar is also tinkering with a Cyber series in the background. Will have to see what happens.
Flinn should still review this in Helios.

I've retired from Content since long, Narf

[Dismounted Feudal Knight]

It's a great achievement. Akar is also tinkering with a Cyber series in the background. Will have to see what happens.
Flinn should still review this in Helios.

Why not thou?

[Akar]

Why not both?!

[ggggtotalwarrior]

hey it geg

[Narf]

Yes it is

[Akar]

Video of Session 51


Video of Session 52


Video of Session 53


Video of Session 54

[Akar]

Recap of Session 42

BOOK 4

THE CHAOS IN WATERDEEP
CHAPTER 1: Escape from the Palace

Open with the Party split, Varis having thrown himself off a cliff, the others in the Waterdeep Sewers
19th of Eleasis, late evening

Start of Session 43
Party:


Harminil of House Finderwel, True Neutral Battle Master Fighter 7, High Elf, 121 years of age (played by gyrosmeister): Noble and former soldier WHO HAD residence in Waterdeep. Painter and wild card with deep-rooted sense of High Elven Supremacy and an insatiable desire for high elven women. Seeks to hone his skills in combat so that one day he may reclaim the Jeweled Crown of his ancestors that was stolen by a demonic entity and restore his house’s as well as his personal sense of superiority. Prior experience serving with the mercenary Varragh il Sunayn during his military service. Was glad to travel to Daggerford following the party’s Waterdhavian exploits in hopes of finding his brothers and continuing their personal quest. Interested in ousting the Lord Protector primarily because of the possibility of finding a cleric to restore Vahayon’s crippled body as well as the wealth to continue with the demon quest.


Alias: “Harm and ‘Ammer”, “The Hater”, “Speak up”


Varragh il Sunayn, Chaotic Neutral Mastermind Rogue 7, Fey Elf, 186 years of age (played by Kilo11): Descendant of a house of hunters turned traffickers who straddled the border between Toril and the Feywild. Rogue, Hunter and survivor with an imperative to retake and restore her family’s power, even if guilted by the means that acquired that power. Will keep the party on track and has a no-nonsense attitude when dealing with the commoners, or even potential enemies, who get in her way. Prior experience serving with the soldier Harminil through her time as a mercenary. Was mostly ambivalent towards the flight to Daggerford, primarily concerned with surviving and making gold doing so. Has begun to assert her authority over her new keep of Nightstone and is primarily concerned with ensuring its long-term defense and stability during the quest to eliminate Waterdeep’s Lord Protector.


Alias: “The woman who literally snapped a dude’s neck like Black Widow” “I fear no man, but that thing…. It scares me” “Feanor’s lost granddaughter”
Alaric Eversteel, Neutral Good Gloomstalker Ranger 5/Twilight Cleric 2, Human, 52 years of age (played by geg): Former Tethyrian ranger with a history of devotion to the god Ilmater. Spent some time retired from a career of adventure, hunting and defending the weak when he took up residence as a farmer a short distance from Nightstone. Lost his wife and children in the chaos of Goblin incursions following the fall of Nightstone to Giants. Convinced that the party has some importance to play in upholding the will of his gods and is preachy as about it. Learned of the death of his mentor, Tesrik, at the hands of the Lord Protector and is seeking justice as well as the protection of his adopted home of Nightstone.


Alias: “Jehovah’s Witness”, “Servant of ‘Ilmater, Devourer of Worlds!!!!’”, “Ol’ Creaky Knees”


Varis Aloro, Chaotic Good Oathbreaker (formerly Vengeance) Paladin 5/Fiend Warlock 3, Half-Elf, 28 years of age (played by geg): Escaped slave and former Calimport Gladiator. Paladin with an oath of Vengeance on slavers and a desire to do good by the less fortunate, but whose pursuit of these goals are often harmed by bouts of depression and drunkenness over his past. Recent arrival to Waterdeep in search of his lost love, who he lost contact with when sold from Luskan to Calimport 12 years ago. Now sworn into servitude to Harminil, Varragh and the devil know as Mister Twardowski (The Thin Man) for their role in fulfilling his quest to save his lady following their flight to Daggerford. Killed by bugbears in the retaking of Nightstone, and now resurrected by the Thin Man as a zombified revenant to further his goals. Seeking vengeance on the Lord Protector by any means.


Alias: “Drunken Dip ” “12 Years a Slave” “Literally a corpse”


NPCS:


Tyavos and Vahayon: Harminil’s younger twin brothers. Scarred as and only 1/10th as stupid/lacking in basic social graces as Harmy. On a quest to eradicate demons and restore the crown, even if its costs their own morals in the process. Vahayon has been left even further scarred and deformed following the Demonomicon’s attempt on his life. Have seemingly begun to remember their respect for their elder brother due to his combat prowess and dogged pursuit of restoring their family.
“The Thin Man”, Mister Twardovski: Still has an eating disorder. The only thing he’s willing to eat are souls and they’re way too low in calories. Mostly in the background now to torment Varragh, give Harminil a boon, and laugh at the fact he resurrected Varis into a smelly corpse. Looming in the shadows, and watching the party’s every move.

The Knights of Aloro: Group of Paladins in service to the party. Formed following the party’s initial flight from Waterdeep, in which Varis returned to the Endshift Tavern to give their ally Kukassy an absurd amount of gold as well as his scimitar, and had Andala and Aseir swear oaths to follow in his paladin footsteps, but this time in an oath of protection rather than being consumed by vengeance, which imbued them with the magical ability to smite evil. The Knights have attempted to maintain order and protect the people of the Field (now Free) Ward of Waterdeep following the coup that installed the villainous Lord Protector. Key members of the Knights of Aloro are as follows:

Pierre “Bucket Man” Kukassy: Drunken, friendly bar owner just wanting to make some coin turned leaders of the freedom fighters. Former establishment Endshift Tavern has closed due to the chaos in Waterdeep, but now concerned with housing and funding his allies, The Knights of Aloro, in their guerrilla war with the Lord Protector’s fascist regime.


Andala el Aloro (formerly yn Basha): 26 years old. One of the original Calishite slaves freed by the party at the Waterdeep docks in their first skirmish with Prodovac “Keanu Reeves” Devola. One of only two of “Varragh’s Jihadis” to survive the original plans to raid the Southern Ward Barracks, on account of having been sent with the party itself alongside Aseir. Proved himself in that initial combat and against tremendous odds quickly became incredibly competent with the blade. Now in a romantic relationship with Varis’ former lover, Lia. Has taken the family name Aloro in honor of his savior and ally Varis.


Aseir el Aloro (formerly yn Pashad): 17 years old. One of the original Calishite slaves freed by the party at the Waterdeep docks in their first skirmish with Prodovac “Keanu Reeves” Devola. One of only two of “Varragh’s Jihadis” to survive the original plans to raid the Southern Ward Barracks, on account of having been sent with the party itself alongside Andala. Unlike Andala, was grievously injured and healed in the original raid, and fled under Varis’ orders. Not as competent with the blade as Andala but utterly loyal to the cause. Has taken the family name Aloro in honor of his savior and ally Varis.


Lia: Varis’ former lover from their time as teenage slaves in Luskan, and the original reason he came to Waterdeep. Saved during the Southern Barracks raid and healed of her injuries by Varis’ pact with the Devil. Immediately helped form and aid the Knights with her skills as a rogue following the party’s flight to Daggerford.


Feyn Alstead: One of the only survivors of the original Southern Barrack raid and battle with the Rat King to claim the Sword in the . A loyal and senior member of the Knights who was illegally imprisoned in the Southern Ward, potentially to be sold into slavery.


Ulder Cole: Former Valabar in service to Waterdeep who was suspicious of and investigating the activities of the Southern Ward barracks despite being sent to arrest the party. Was in pursuit of Varis when he was informed of the accusations in the “Rorschach letter” and soon came to believe them following the Lord Protector’s coup and rise to power. Defected to the Knights of Aloro and has devoted himself to the cause of removing the Lord Protector, on the one condition that Varragh, whose thirst for power unnerves him, not be given any power in the new and free Waterdeep. Joined the Knights alongside a small group of loyal and good-aligned former Valabars who have also sworn the oath and serve under him in protecting the Free Ward from the Lord Protector’s tyranny.


Additional Members of the Knights are the following individuals:


Bassa, Zashieda, Zahpa, Melil, Khadir, Jassid (all Calishite and freed at the docks, having taken the name “el Aloro”) as well as Ulder Cole’s crew of former Waterdhavian
Guards: Eddie Pret, Leslie Staph, Simon Koray and Aster Poutine.


Knights who have fallen in Battle: Geidel al Aloro


Escape from the Sewers


The party continues through the sewers, with Alaric healing Melil, the most grievously injured of the Knights. He is again tasked with leading the crew because much like how Daredevil lost his eyesight and gained improved senses elsewhere, Alaric’s knees went out and he gained improved senses to a superhuman level. He casually mentions how his eyes are even better than Harminil’s elvish eyes, to which Harminil replies “ you”. Varragh asks Ulder if this means their task is done and Ulder can just declare a new group of Masked Lords with the masks they took; Ulder dejectedly replies that they didn’t manage to acquire all the Masked Lords’ vestments, so any attempt to install a new group would be seen as illegitimate. It appears that the coup, which Varragh corrects as “not a coup but a ‘Glorious Restoration’” is not yet complete and instead has created a power vacuum that the party must now fill. Ulder says that anyone he attempts to install will just be opposed by Draven’s allies and there is no guarantee that without the Lords’ amulets and robes they will be able to easily take power. As they continue this conversation, Alaric briskly leads them to the docks, hoping that the elite guard from the palace have not followed them down into the sewers.


Varragh questions Ulder, having thought this was the end of the line, and how he stupidly allowed them to leave without the remaining vestments. Ulder insists once again that “THIS WASN’T MY PLAN, AGAIN IT WAS YOUR PLAN”. Varragh seems to have forgotten that as a Paladin, Ulder’s dump stat was intelligence, and he wasn’t aware that she was working with incomplete information. As they argue, Harminil brings up his idea, to finally find his elvish kinsman Evander who was kidnapped 30+ sessions and 9 months of real life ago.


Harminil states that he has a “Ring of Sending” he acquired from the recent prison break, and his main objective is to now free Evander, assuming the elf is still alive, as he may have information that will prove vital to their ongoing mission of restoring Waterdeep to normalcy. Ulder’s reply, as expected, is “I thought he moved to Neverwinter?”. Nonetheless, the group decides this is a rare stroke of brilliance on Harminil’s part and decides this is a good lead to pursue as they reach the end of the sewer tunnel that spits out into Deepwater Harbor.


Bargaining for Boats


The group of assassins, surprisingly all capable of swimming even in their heavy armor and weapons, hop out of the sewer and onto the docks, well aware of how suspicious they look. Attempting to be stealthy, several of the Knights and Vahayon steal a small, unused sailboat and row off to the north. All that remains of the group are Ulder Cole’s squad, the party, and Tyavos.


The entirety of the remaining party climb to the docks with ease, while the feeble Alaric attempts to do so sneakily and instead falls deep into the water, creating quite the scene. Alaric thrice attempts to pull himself up before failing each and every time, to the point the rest of the group has to abandon their stealth attempt and instead pull the scrawny er up with rope. Surely, with the city on high alert due to a skirmish at the North Ward gates and a palace assignation, a group of people (all resembling wanted fugitives) climbing out of a sewer and thrashing about at the docks won’t have negative repercussion. This alone takes about 20 minutes as the party spots Griffons circling overhead through the city, searching for the party.


Alaric is the eyes and ears of the party, but also the literal deadweight being lifted by the knights. The people of the docks can tell something bad is happening due to the presence of the Griffon guard, but the party continues towards the ships to find transportation.


Alaric casually approaches a ship and is greeted by a captain who calls him a “salty sea dog” due to how wet and full of he is at this moment in a near indecipherable accent. Alaric immediately tries to proselytize to the captain who is not at all swayed by his worship of Tyr and Ilmater but instead by his “shinies” including his holy sword of Tyr, as the captain worships the evil, greedy sea god Umberlee instead. Alaric decides the deceptive route is needed and convinces the captain they will bring him to other similar loot if the party is allowed on his boat.


The Tragedy of Deep Sea Jack


The group joins the captain and his crew on the medium-sized boat, learning that he goes by the name “Deep Sea Jack”. As they get on board, Alaric’s “not-elvish” ears hear Deep Sea Jack tell his crew they will claim 75% share of the non-existent loot that Alaric has promised them. Alaric informs Varragh of the situation, and she subtly nudges Ulder to get a private talk with him and fill him in. Alaric distracts Deep Sea Jack by leading him to the treasure, and under Varragh’s lead directs the boat south.


Varragh tries to purposely appear sneaky while telling Ulder that they are going to Baldur’s Gate, to throw off any suspicion of their involvement with the Free Ward, which is completely ignored by the crew. Harminil meanwhile is busy sitting in a corner gazing intensely at Jack, his new inferior human prey, so that he may learn the potential threat level of this illiterate, probably inbred sailor. Harminil of course, would never judge an elf for keeping the bloodline pure, but judges a human extra for doubling down on the inferior genes. Meanwhile, Varragh fills in the rest of the Knights on the “totally not terrorist” plan to hijack this vessel from the up-to-now friendly and helpful sailors.
Varragh leads the Knights in trying to simultaneously push all these non-hostile sailors into the probably shark-infested water miles off the coast as they are busy doing their sailor tasks. The party, however, is not nearly as in sync or stealthy as intended and only Ulder and Tyavos working in tandem succeed in throwing one of the sailors from the boat. Deep Sea Jack is very unhappy and taken aback by this development, as his men who are thrown into the water begin to attempt to climb back aboard, much to Varragh’s annoyance and bargaining with the DM regarding boat speed.


Alaric, knowing he cannot possibly succeed in pushing someone overboard due to his brittle bones, instead starts swinging his Greatsword willy-nilly at Deep Sea Jack’s face while the sailor screams what are probably obscenities back at Alaric. Seeing Alaric’s struggles, Harminil hurries to aid the old ranger. Varragh starts running up to each repeatedly dunked and returning sailor and unleashing her pole of collapsing on them to again throw them back into the water.


Essentially, Jack’s crew is thrown from the boat repeatedly while the Knights ready themselves to throw them back in the water over and over, hoping the men will eventually not be able to keep up. Varragh eventually sees a row boat below deck and tells Jack that he must give up arms and allow them to give his crew the row boat or they will drown, to which Jack responds with “ you Landlubber traitors!” and “They’d rather accept Umberlee’s embrace than embrace treason”, to which Varragh angrily orders the knights to kill them all. Finally, Tyavos manages to throw Jack overboard and the party begins to turn the ship around and sail north. Reluctantly and at the Knights’ insistence, Varragh releases Jack’s rowboat for them and once again shouts that she is sorry but they will be able to find their boat in Baldur’s Gate in the near future, trying far too hard to cover her tracks for where she is actually going.


As they begin to travel back to shore, Alaric asks for a private audience with his lady, to which Varragh agrees. Alaric as usual flatters Varragh and kneels before her, his knees cracking, and thanks her for her holy actions of defeating the Lord Protector, bringing justice for Tesrik and for re-establishing his home of Nightstone. Saying that his part to play is over, he requests leave so that he may be her sword and carry out her bidding in rebuilding/protecting Nightstone while she finishes up in Waterdeep and begins the Demon Quest anew. He also tries to hand her the Greatsword of Tyr only to remember that he is not physically capable of doing so, annoying Varragh slightly. His request is however accepted and early the next morning the party anchors the ship exactly where they landed post-prison break. Alaric has a beautiful farewell with his lady as well as Lord Harminil, who takes the incredibly unexpected choice of inviting the human to his home of Evermeet when he finishes his Demon Quest and reclaims his throne. The rest of the party goes ashore, as Alaric takes the ship and sails for Nightstone along the Ardeep.

Varis Wanders


Varis, meanwhile, has successfully thrown himself off a cliff in an attempt to prevent the rest of the party’s escape route in the palace’s pools from being discovered, as he was the last to escape with the enemy rushing towards him. He also evaded further confrontation and made his way to another sewer entrance, having become quite acquainted with the sewers by now. He makes his way for the west coast of Waterdeep and breaks down a grate blocking his way to freedom. Heading north along the coast, the lone, sneaky Varis manages to make his way towards the west gate.


However, Varis runs into a major issue when he sees that the gate is heavily guarded. Varis, remembering how Davey Jones’ undead pirate crew emerged from the ocean in Pirates of The Caribbean, recalls that he too does not need to breathe. He slowly makes his way out to the water and sinks below the ocean surface and walks north towards the Free Ward unseen by the heavily alert guards of the west gate.


The Party Returns to Waterdeep


The party, aside from Varis, returns to the North Gate to see that there is smoke rising above the city and the Field (Free) Ward is nearly empty. The Trollyard is empty bar a few dozen corpses of innocent civilians who have been punished by the Lord Protector’s forces. As they get further into the Free Ward on their path to their base at the Knight’s Rest, they realize the smoke is rising from the Armory where Kukassy carried out his false flag attack.
Arriving at the Knight’s Rest, Pierre “Bucket Man” Kukassy is noticeable absent from the first floor. The party learns there were mixed results to their ally’s terrorist attack; five of Kukassy’s hired goon friends perished, Lia was knocked unconscious but escaped serious harm, Andala lost his left eye and was seriously disfigured, and Kukassy lost his leg below the knee. Kukassy is resting in the basement and still heavily feverish due to his injuries. Coming upon this scene, the party is saddened by the plight of their friends, but can do little but take a rest at the bar as chaos reigns outside.


Harminil also finally contacts Evander, using the Ring of Sending, and learns Evander is held under the Southern Barracks in an area the party themselves passed long ago. Feeling like complete dumbasses for having never investigated the hoodlums in the sewers months ago, the party at Harminil’s insistence resolves that freeing Evander will be their next path.


Ulder Cole reminds the party that the city is now on the brink of Civil War, with the magisters, nobility and Draven’s Inquisitors all likely to be vying for power in the wake of his assassination. Varis, who has just returned, suggests Ulder contact those he trusts within the Magister ranks to form an alliance and restore the Masked Lords. Harminil points out that having the masks provides them with bargaining power, and Varragh reluctantly agrees to carry out this path while also being completely burnt out on this cluster of a situation. She, primarily out of concern for her new holding in Nightstone, agrees and shakes his hand, although she also vocalizes that she thinks freeing Evander seems like a pointless sidequest.


Lastly, as Varis goes down to visit Kukassy and does what he can with his good touch to heal his fever and make the worst of his illness pass. Varragh tells Ulder to “Go kiss some asses and shake some hands and make them know we don’t want to take over their city” and that she will aid in saving Evander primarily because Harminil’s obsession with saving a kinsman is driving her nuts and because otherwise they’re just sitting around with their dicks in their hands. The party decides to journey to where Evander says he is being held and investigate the mercenaries in the sewers and do what they can to prevent a civil war. Recovering from their wounds, Andala, Lia and Kukassy stay behind while the party, the brothers Finderwel, and the majority of the Knights of Aloro embark to the sewers. Once again, the brown sea shall be parted on the path to FREEDOM!


Points to Consider for next time:


HOW WILL THE PARTY HANDLE REBUILDING NIGHTSTONE?
WILL THE FINDERWEL BROTHERS RECLAIM THEIR CROWN?

WILL NICHOLAS REMAY ASSIST IN THE DEMON QUEST?
WILL THE PARTY SAVE WATERDEEP?
WILL THE THIN MAN ACT ON HIS THREATS?
WILL VARRAGH’S KEEP IN NIGHTSTONE BE DESTROYED?
WILL KUKASSY’S ASSAULT ON THE ARMORY SUCCEED?
WILL THE PARTY FINALLY KILL THE LORD PROTECTOR????
FIND OUT NEXT TIME

Recap of Session 43

BOOK 4
THE CHAOS IN WATERDEEP
CHAPTER 2: Rescuing Evander (The Commander) Part I
Open with the Party approaching the Southern Barracks Sewers
20th of Eleasis, late evening
Start of Session 44

Party:

Harminil of House Finderwel, True Neutral Battle Master Fighter 7, High Elf, 121 years of age (played by gyrosmeister): Noble and former soldier WHO HAD residence in Waterdeep. Painter and wild card with deep-rooted sense of High Elven Supremacy and an insatiable desire for high elven women. Seeks to hone his skills in combat so that one day he may reclaim the Jeweled Crown of his ancestors that was stolen by a demonic entity and restore his house’s as well as his personal sense of superiority. Prior experience serving with the mercenary Varragh il Sunayn during his military service. Was glad to travel to Daggerford following the party’s Waterdhavian exploits in hopes of finding his brothers and continuing their personal quest. Interested in ousting the Lord Protector primarily because of the possibility of finding a cleric to restore Vahayon’s crippled body as well as the wealth to continue with the demon quest.

Alias: “Harm and ‘Ammer”, “The Hater”, “Speak up”

Varragh il Sunayn, Chaotic Neutral Mastermind Rogue 7, Fey Elf, 186 years of age (played by Kilo11): Descendant of a house of hunters turned traffickers who straddled the border between Toril and the Feywild. Rogue, Hunter and survivor with an imperative to retake and restore her family’s power, even if guilted by the means that acquired that power. Will keep the party on track and has a no-nonsense attitude when dealing with the commoners, or even potential enemies, who get in her way. Prior experience serving with the soldier Harminil through her time as a mercenary. Was mostly ambivalent towards the flight to Daggerford, primarily concerned with surviving and making gold doing so. Has begun to assert her authority over her new keep of Nightstone and is primarily concerned with ensuring its long-term defense and stability during the quest to eliminate Waterdeep’s Lord Protector.
Alias: “The woman who literally snapped a dude’s neck like Black Widow” “I fear no man, but that thing…. It scares me” “Feanor’s lost granddaughter”
Varis Aloro, Chaotic Good Oathbreaker (formerly Vengeance) Paladin 5/Fiend Warlock 3, Half-Elf, 28 years of age (played by geg): Escaped slave and former Calimport Gladiator. Paladin with an oath of Vengeance on slavers and a desire to do good by the less fortunate, but whose pursuit of these goals are often harmed by bouts of depression and drunkenness over his past. Recent arrival to Waterdeep in search of his lost love, who he lost contact with when sold from Luskan to Calimport 12 years ago. Now sworn into servitude to Harminil, Varragh and the devil know as Mister Twardowski (The Thin Man) for their role in fulfilling his quest to save his lady following their flight to Daggerford. Killed by bugbears in the retaking of Nightstone, and now resurrected by the Thin Man as a zombified revenant to further his goals. Seeking vengeance on the Lord Protector by any means.
Alias: “Drunken Dip ” “12 Years a Slave” “Literally a corpse”
NPCS:
Tyavos and Vahayon: Harminil’s younger twin brothers. Scarred as and only 1/10th as stupid/lacking in basic social graces as Harmy. On a quest to eradicate demons and restore the crown, even if its costs their own morals in the process. Vahayon has been left even further scarred and deformed following the Demonomicon’s attempt on his life. Have seemingly begun to remember their respect for their elder brother due to his combat prowess and dogged pursuit of restoring their family.

“The Thin Man”, Mister Twardovski: Still has an eating disorder. The only thing he’s willing to eat are souls and they’re way too low in calories. Mostly in the background now to torment Varragh, giveHarminil a boon, and laugh at the fact he resurrected Varis into a smelly corpse. Looming in the shadows, and watching the party’s every move.

The Knights of Aloro: Group of Paladins in service to the party. Formed following the party’s initial flight from Waterdeep, in which Varis returned to the Endshift Tavern to give their ally Kukassy an absurd amount of gold as well as his scimitar, and had Andala and Aseir swear oaths to follow in his paladin footsteps, but this time in an oath of protection rather than being consumed by vengeance, which imbued them with the magical ability to smite evil. The Knights have attempted to maintain order and protect the people of the Field (now Free) Ward of Waterdeep following the coup that installed the villainous Lord Protector. Key members of the Knights of Aloro are as follows:

Pierre “Bucket Man” Kukassy: Drunken, friendly bar owner just wanting to make some coin turned leaders of the freedom fighters. Former establishment Endshift Tavern has closed due to the chaos in Waterdeep, but now concerned with housing and funding his allies, The Knights of Aloro, in their guerrilla war with the Lord Protector’s fascist regime. Lost a leg in the raid on the North Ward armory.

Andala el Aloro (formerly yn Basha): 26 years old. One of the original Calishite slaves freed by the party at the Waterdeep docks in their first skirmish with Prodovac “Keanu Reeves” Devola. One of only two of “Varragh’s Jihadis” to survive the original plans to raid the Southern Ward Barracks, on account of having been sent with the party itself alongside Aseir. Proved himself in that initial combat and against tremendous odds quickly became incredibly competent with the blade. Now in a romantic relationship with Varis’ former lover, Lia. Has taken the family name Aloro in honor of his savior and ally Varis. Scarred and deformed following the raid on the North Ward armory with Kukassy.

Aseir el Aloro (formerly yn Pashad): 17 years old. One of the original Calishite slaves freed by the party at the Waterdeep docks in their first skirmish with Prodovac “Keanu Reeves” Devola. One of only two of “Varragh’s Jihadis” to survive the original plans to raid the Southern Ward Barracks, on account of having been sent with the party itself alongside Andala. Unlike Andala, was grievously injured and healed in the original raid, and fled under Varis’ orders. Not as competent with the blade as Andala but utterly loyal to the cause. Has taken the family name Aloro in honor of his savior and ally Varis.
Lia: Varis’ former lover from their time as teenage slaves in Luskan, and the original reason he came to Waterdeep. Saved during the Southern Barracks raid and healed of her injuries by Varis’ pact with the Devil. Immediately helped form and aid the Knights with her skills as a rogue following the party’s flight to Daggerford.
Feyn Alstead: One of the only survivors of the original Southern Barrack raid and battle with the Rat King to claim the Sword in the . A loyal and senior member of the Knights who was illegally imprisoned in the Southern Ward, potentially to be sold into slavery.

Ulder Cole: Former Valabar in service to Waterdeep who was suspicious of and investigating the activities of the Southern Ward barracks despite being sent to arrest the party. Was in pursuit of Varis when he was informed of the accusations in the “Rorschach letter” and soon came to believe them following the Lord Protector’s coup and rise to power. Defected to the Knights of Aloro and has devoted himself to the cause of removing the Lord Protector, on the one condition that Varragh, whose thirst for power unnerves him, not be given any power in the new and free Waterdeep. Joined the Knights alongside a small group of loyal and good-aligned former Valabars who have also sworn the oath and serve under him in protecting the Free Ward from the Lord Protector’s tyranny.

Additional Members of the Knights are the following individuals:

Bassa, Zashieda, Zahpa, Melil, Khadir, Jassid (all Calishite and freed at the docks, having taken the name “el Aloro”) as well as Ulder Cole’s crew of former Waterdhavian Guards: Eddie Pret, Leslie Staph, Simon Koray and Aster Poutine.

Knights who have fallen in Battle: Geidel al Aloro


Return to the Sewers (Again…)

The party continues through the sewers, with Harminil leading the charge forward to find his kinsman (or who he calls kinsman because he’s race-obsessed and sees all elves and only elves as family). As they enter deeper in the sewers and smell the overwhelming feces, Feyn casually asks Harminil if the stench is Harminil, a joke at his expense that Harminil surprisingly ignores, showing unexpected character growth. In between bites of chips that she somehow conjured out of nothingness (much to the DM’s annoyance), Varragh gives orders to the knights to continue onwards, deeper in theto the portion of the sewers the left unexplored.

Harminil detects a wall of rubble, which Varragh suggests having some of the knights attempt to quietly dismantle, as she thinks the wall may exist entirely to hide something. Varis attempts to do so as he is a strong boy, but fails to do so quietly as his undead fingers are quite clumsy. Varis and Harminil then set off an avalanche of rocks as they tear down a section of the rock wall. Clearly, subtlety is not the strong suit of the party, as usual.

A door just past the wall flies open and out walks a couple of surprised elite guards from the Lord Protector’s regime, who shout “Intruders!” and are not at all swayed by Varragh’s deceptive claims that she was sent by Ulder Cole to contact them. In fact one of them thinks to himself: “Ulder Cole… wasn’t he in Neverwinter?”. The guards are however, taken very much by surprise and slow to draw their swords. With the knights behind them, the party forms a line of 5: Harminil, then Varragh, Tyavos, Varis and lastly Vahayon charging through the hole in the rubble wall. Varragh still insists on trying to deceive them and a few more guards as well as a squeaky Goblin come out of their rooms demanding answers. Varis tries to play into Varragh’s strategy and claim they are on official Waterdhavian business, but this too fails to convince the enemies entirely.

The sueaky goblin replies “YOU LIE! YOU ARE SUBTERFUGE! YOU ARE SENT TO SABOTAGE!” and sprints away while insulting the party as “PERFIDIOUS TOPSIDERS!”, with the rest of his guards flooding out of their rooms to the sewer hall. Varragh, as always the fastest to react, somersaults to the other end of the hall and tries to flank the wall of guards approaching. However, she leaves herself in quite an exposed position as the rest of the party. Harminil is the next to charge down the sewer hall, trying to draw enemy attention away from Varragh as Varis fires his eldritch blasts as one of the guards surrounding Lady il Sunayn. Tyavos follows up on cutting at Varragh’s assailant, with Vahayon keeping his distance to take advantage of his Demonomicon-derived magical powers.

Before the knights can file through the hole in the wall, a swarm of underground criminals, some of the same the party originally met while fleeing the southern barracks during the original escape, arrive from the room the goblin fled to. Vahayon fires his scorching rays at the first of these ruffians to get out the door, and as usual misses all three rays, because he has been cursed to never succeed with the spell.
While this new threat of the criminals looms large, the party does finish off the original wall of guards, with the Finderwels using their superior swordsman ship to trip their lowly, uncoordinated human combatants into the middle section between the two paths, and then cut them down. Harminil laughs to himself that their final moments were so fittingly spend being covered in . Meanwhile, the V Team dominated their own section of the melee and cut down the guards in between them by forcing them to fight on two fronts. Varragh and Varis now take up the north of the two paths while the Finderwels and the knights, who can finally fit through the hole in the wall, take up the southern end. Tyavos, however, is taking up the path in the middle and getting his boots absolutely covered in .
As more and more of these stinky sewer men pour into the combat, the party is resigned to their usual motto: “Oh boy, here I go killing again!”. Seeing how there’s an absolutely ton of enemies in his path, Varis unleashes his dreadful aspect on the dozen or so that are in his path and makes his face look dumb scary. This frightens the majority of these bastards and makes them far less likely to succeed in their attacks on the Knights of Aloro. While Varis is contributing primarily by showing everyone his ugly face, Varragh begins to actually do something and shoot down the enemies from a distance, shooting down the guy who looks like Doctor Robotnik first with a bolt to the skull. Harminil continues to use his superiority in combat to evade their blows and then trip his foes into tasting sewer water. He cuts down one of the red-haired criminal women because if there is anything where Harminil treats non-elf women ass equal to men, its when it comes to murdering them. He also notices one of the criminal men is an elf and as such leaves murdering that guy to Varis.

The Criminal Compound

Killing the enemies before them, those who aren’t terrified of Varis’ ugly ass and actually approached/fought back against the party and their “freedom fighters”, there are three who remain alive and are backed against the wall as Varragh marches herself into the office on the south end of the hall and tries to threaten the terrified man sitting behind the desk into surrendering to her along with those who are still alive. With Varis’ frightening abilities making it impossible for them to go forward or attack, the remaining three criminals surrender to Varis who is doing his best Batman impression and beg for their lives. He has the knights tie the prisoners together while making Bilbo’s Rivendell face at them semi-occasionally.

Meanwhile, Tyavos and Harminil start to explore the remaining rooms in this little sewer compound. Harminil finds a room of three female elvish prisoners, and briefly questions if he just walked into a porno made specifically for him titled “Macho Elvish Battlemaster Frees Three Voluptuous Elvish Maidens”. However, there is the issue that since once again he considers all high elves kin, thus making any relations with these women technically incestuous. However, Harminil does remember more pressing matters and continues to explore the rooms for a means to free the ladies.

Varragh meanwhile chases the weaselly fat man from behind the desk into another room, picking the lock behind him. He had fled to his bedroom, whereupon the naked woman he was keeping there takes the opportunity to jump on him and murder him. Varragh simply raises an eyebrow at the woman as she stands before her. The woman responds by telling Varragh that she is named Kalaim; she is with the Zhentarim and was not truly a prisoner. She locks the door behind her as Varragh leaves the room.

With the remaining criminals tied up in the main path and a portion of the knights overlooking them, the fat man dead before Varragh, and Harminil exploring the southern end of the compound and flirting with elvish prisoner Lilac Raindew, Tyavos leads the charge to the northern room and forces the remaining men in the bar, where the goblin fled to, to surrender.

Now, with the battle won, the party has the entirety of the enemies tied up and forced into the same cells they were holding the women in. Lilac informs Harminil, shamelessly flirting with her, that Evander was held here, and is being held in the mines (THE LOST MINE OF EVANDER) that are beneath the bar. Varragh, being easily the most perceptive of the group now that Alaric has gone, handles looting the fat man’s office and finds the following useful items:
+1 Rapier
+1 Dagger
6 bottles fine wine
Cheetah skin rug
2 bags of sand
2 pieces of paper (with encoded letters)
3 fine fur blankets



The goblin, hiding in the cupboard, is the last of the enemies to be found by Tyavos and Varis, Tyavos bashing in the door as the goblin, his little suit now covered in dirt and grime, cries for mercy. Varis decides the goblin is “full of ” and remembers he was killed by goblins. Perhaps this factor is combined with some of Harminil’s ideology rubbing off on him, as he tacitly approves at Tyavos cutting the goblin in half. If anything, his only regret is that the goblin was finished off too quickly. With the goblin dead, the duo finds the entrance to the mine.

Descent into the Mines
Varragh leaves the knights with some orders as they plan their descent. Melil is to guard the room where Kalaim “the crazy ” is, while some of the knights are also left to guard the prisoners as well as protect the women who have been freed. Varis briefly lays his hands on Varragh for the healing factor, to which she responds “it’s been far too long since you laid hands on me.” With the group as healed up as they can be, they descend down into the mine with half of the knights and the brothers Finderwel.

As they descend down the dark path, they eventually reach a lighter area, populated by a group of even more criminals, who try to intimidate them into surrendering. The trio of criminal scum quickly try to get their bearings and reach a rope at the north end of the room, but their plans are undone by Harminil who uses his superior marksman skills to knock two of them to the ground before they can reach the rope. The last of their enemies manages to make it to the rope, rappelling down in desperation to reach their allies. As the melee ensues, the surrounding enslaved miners begin to coalesce on the scene and cheer at the deaths of their captors.

Harminil and Varragh rappel down the rope after the fleeing slaver and easily slay their foe, while Varis theatrically screams “Death to the slaver!” at the pair trapped up top and surrounded by the knights. Having slain the criminals and sent the slaves back up top, the party splits in two: the Finderwels going down the right path and the V Team/Knights going towards the rail paths on the left.

Battling Mr. Bones

The Finderwels, however, run into some issues as they somehow with their presence (in classic Finderwel fashion) awake a massive skeleton kaiju in a room of bones. Upon seeing this creature re-animate, the Finderwel brothers casually say “ that” and begin fleeing back to the rest of the party. As Boney McBoneface angrily pursues, Harminil peppers it with a steady stream of arrows only for it to pass directly through him in pursuit of Vahayon. Hearing the commotion, the rest of the party figures that unfortunately they can’t just sit back and allow a bone monster to kill the Finderwels, as much as they would like to.

Varragh sprints (somehow quietly) deeper into the rails portion of the mine, as Varis leads the knights back to Harminil’s aid, firing a plethora of eldritch blasts that all miss their target. Harminil decides that the time for running is at an end and charges back at the monster, although he is forced to take a second wind due to the massive damage it has dealt him. He would rather tank the monster’s damage than allow it to assault the twins any further.

As Harminil’s epic, hero-moment last stand occurs… Varragh keeps creeping through the mines looking for clues, probably because she is still pissed about the Erlig Sando situation even if she won’t admit it, before finally finding a path back towards the party and deciding maybe she should help kill this thing. Meanwhile, with the monster having turned a corner in its 1v1 with Harminil, Varis has lost line-of-sight and is desperately sprinting so that he can contribute literally anything to this battle.

Varragh finally pulls up and shoots one bolt at the monster, so desperate to steal the kill, yet still the monster lives. Finally, just as the rest of the knights and Varis arrive, Harminil gives one last charge at the creature, now hiding in a corner, and cuts at it. Whatever magic animated the bones flees, and the bones crumble to dust on the mine’s floor. The monster is defeated, but surely more dangers, both from the slavers and threats more magical, lurk in this cave. Much to Harminil’s annoyance, Evander is still yet to be found.



Points to Consider for next time:
HOW WILL THE PARTY HANDLE REBUILDING NIGHTSTONE?
WILL THE FINDERWEL BROTHERS RECLAIM THEIR CROWN?
WILL NICHOLAS REMAY ASSIST IN THE DEMON QUEST?
WILL THE PARTY SAVE WATERDEEP?
WILL THE THIN MAN ACT ON HIS THREATS?
WILL VARRAGH’S KEEP IN NIGHTSTONE BE DESTROYED?
WILL WE ING FINALLY FIND EVANDER?????
FIND OUT NEXT TIME

[Narf]

Good recaps, There's some missing?

[Akar]

Yeah greg is basically 13 sessions behind on the recaps now.

[Akar]

Video of Session 55

[Flinn]

Yeah greg is basically 13 sessions behind on the recaps now.

lash him

[Akar]

Video of Session 56

[Akar]

[Akar]

Video of Session 63

[Flinn]

You must spread some Reputation around before giving it to Akar again.