Session 24 - The Handbell Loophole

 As soon as the Party enters the tenth floor of the Wizard’s Tower they hear a beautiful symphony playing and see an orchestra’s worth of instruments flying around the room as if on their own accord. The party thought maybe the handbells would be in this room. As Sqwaky approached the pedestal in the middle of the room to see if there was any hidden passages, a Cloud Giant Ghost appeared and yelled out for nobody to touch their symphony before again disappearing.

The Party looked down and saw on the ground the notes for the symphony. The Cloud Giant Ghost appeared again warning them not touch his symphony and the Party clocked the handbells hanging for him belt. When asked about it the Ghost let the Party know that the Mage Who Never Dies told him he was not allowed to give it to anyone or he would be cursed. The Party didn’t want him to be cursed and told him that if they took it by force then he wouldn’t be giving it to them. The ensuing battle was one of the hardest the Party ever faced with the Cloud Giant Ghost being extremely formidable but in the end they were victorious and Diz snatched the handbells off the Ghosts belt and everyone fled up the stairs to the eleventh floor of the tower; a Library.

Session 23 - A Recipe for Disaster

Upon entering the seventh floor of the Wizard’s Tower they are met with a bit of a mess. There are papers and coins strewn all over the eastern end of the room. In the middle of the room is an electrical apparatus. There are three separate beams of lights crackling from panels in the middle out to the edges of the room. Heading north they see a red beam, to the east a green beam, and to the south a blue beam.

After some investigating the Party discovers three buttons along the floor by the staircase to the west. They have their companions stand on the buttons and the beams dissipate. Diz immediately runs forward to grab the coins and is surprised to find that the piles of coins are actually Mimics! The Party quickly dispatches the four Mimic’s and upon finding that there are no real coins to be had, they head up the stairs.

The eight floor of the tower seems very eerie. It is quiet, almost too quiet. It is almost completely bare save for a circular stone table in the middle of the room inset into the floor. Traveling down the stairs they discover that the table is covered in blood in varying states of drying, leading them to believe that multiple sacrifices have been made here. At a table they find a recipe to call a Fiend:

Casting time: 4 hour. Must maintain concentration the whole time. If the summoning fails all sacrifices and components are lost.

Environmental conditions: Must take place after the sun has set and be completed before the sun rises.

Focuses: A fiendish mask made of animal bones and gems worn by the ritual leader (worth 4000 gp), a brazier made of a pure gold washed in the blood of fiends (worth 4000 gp), a set of unholy handbells forge from cold iron and rubies (worth 1000 gp), an unholy dagger carved from the bone of a fiend (worth 1000 gp), and the written unholy incantation for this ritual (worth 5000 gp)

Sacrifices: 13 candles made from wax mixed with fiend blood (worth 100 gp each), 13 sticks of incense made from an awakened venus fly trap (worth 200 gp each), a cask of celestial blood (worth 1000 gp), and a goat, pig or similar animal

Recipe

    1.    The ritual leader begins chanting the incantation and name of the fiend being called forth. If the ritual leader does not know the fiend’s name, instead the name of a specific type of fiend (e.g. yochlol) is chanted. This fiend must have a challenge rating 10 or lower.

    2.    Light and begin burning all the unholy candles in a 30-foot-radius circle. These must burn during the entire ritual or it fails.

    3.    Light the incense in the unholy brazier. The incense must burn during the entire ritual or it fails.

    4.    In the circle of candles, draw the unholy symbol indicated in the incantation using the celestial  blood. The creature who does this must succeed on a DC 15 Intelligence (Arcana) check. If the creature fails this check the fiend summoned as normal in step 7, but can escape the circle and is not under the ritual leader’s control. The fiend is hostile toward the ritual leader and its allies.

    5.    Ring the unholy handbells in the exact sequence indicated by the incantation. The creature  ringing the bells must succeed on a DC 10 Charisma (Performance) check. If the creature fails this check, it can try again one more time. A second failure means the ritual fails.

    6.    Inside the circle, kill the animal using the unholy dagger. Leave its body there and the ritual leader should continue to chant.

    7.    After three hours of chanting, if the other steps were completed correctly, the fiend should appear in the circle. If the circle of celestial blood was made properly, the fiend cannot leave the circle of candles. The ritual leader must continue to chant the incantation for one more hour. something disrupts the caster’s concentration, the circle of celestial blood, the candles, or the incense during this final hour, the fiend is able to leave the circle and is not under the ritual leader’s control. The fiend is hostile toward the ritual leader and its allies.

Effect: Once the ritual is complete, the fiend is friendly to the ritual leader and its companions. Roll for initiative for the fiend, is has its own turns. It obeys any verbal commands the ritual leader issues to it (no action required by the lead caster) as long as they don’t violate its alignment. If the ritual leader issues no commands to the fiend, it defends itself from hostile creatures, but otherwise takes no action.

As an action the ritual leader can release the fiend from its control and return the fiend to the place from which it was summoned.

Every 24 hours the fiend is under the ritual leader’s control, the ritual leader must make a Constitution check (DC 10 + the number of days since the ritual was completed). Failing this Constitution check means the ritual leader suffers one level of exhaustion, which cannot be restored in any way until the fiend is no longer under its control.

If the ritual leader dies before dismissing the fiend, the fiend does not return to the place from where it was summoned and becomes hostile toward the ritual leader’s allies (and the ritual leader if returned to life).

In a chest by the stairs they are able to find 13 candles, and two casks of blood. As the Party rests Kali calls to her new Patron to see if he can tell her if the blood in the casks belongs to Celestials or Fiends. He agrees to tell her but requests that she place an ominous box somewhere in the tower that the Mage won’t find it. She agrees and he lets her know that one cask is the blood of a Celestial and the other is the blood of a Fiend. Diz also takes this opportunity to ruin back down and grab some of the Venus fly trap remains to use for incense.

After resting the Party heads up to the ninth floor which appears to be as dungeon. In a room with two torture devices, they are able to find a brazier of pure gold and in one of the cells they find a fiendish mask made of animal bones but the gems are missing from it. Near the stairs they come across a door that they cannot open. After attempting to use her thieves’ tools to no avail, Diz realizes that this door is locked by magical, not mechanical means and they decide that should they need to, they will come back to it and head up to the tenth floor.
 

Session 22 - Entering the Mage's Tower

After grappling for some time Kali finally decides to put on her mask. As she does she falls to her knees in pain as the mask seers itself to her skin. She feels her soul reach out to an entity she doesn’t know and as it does her now Patron’s life begins to flash before her eyes.

She sees a knight hitting a killing blow against an ogre and turning to an elven priestess laying on the ground. Extending his hand he offers his name, Lord Soth, and taking his hand she returns with her name, Isolde. Smoke surrounds Kali’s vision and flashes to Soth and Isolde in a passionate embrace and then a flash to Soth passing a satchel of gold to a mercenary and saying “When you kill my wife it needs to look like an accident.” Another flash and the City Guard is breaking down the door to his home to arrest him while he and Isolde escape through a secret tunnel beneath the floor. The scene fades into Soth and a pregnant Isolde having a conversation in their Keep. Isolde saying “I prayed to Mishikal and she revealed to me that you will stop the Catachlysm. You must go to Istar and stop the Kingpriest from calling down the wrath of the gods. It will absolve you of all your ill deeds thus far.” Smoke again blocks her vision and as it dissipates Soth is on the road with a contingent of knights speaking to three elf maidens who tell him “Isolde has been unfaithful to you. This quest is but a distraction so that she can be with her lover and true father to the child she carries.” Antoher flash and Soth is back at his keep, having abandoned his quest, in the midst of a fight with Isolde who is holding their newborn child. As they yell, the Catachlysm that Soth could have averted hits the Keep and causes a chandelier to fall onto Isolde and the baby. As a fire burns around them Isolde calls out for Soth to save their child. He turns his back, refusing, and as she dies Isolde calls out “you shall live the lifetime of every soul that you have caused death today.” As she takes her last breath the entire Keep is engulfed in flames. A final flash and before Kali are the ashes of the Keep and from them rises Soth now as a Death Knight. His followers rise as skeleton warriors and flying overhead are the three elf maidens, now banshees crying out the sins of Soth to haunt him for all eternity.

As everything in front of Kali vanishes into smoke, she is suddenly within a Keep made of smoke and shadow. She feels like she is standing on a cloud of fog, not a floor of stone. Before her Soth towers at 6’5 in plate armor, charred black, leaving only a single black rose on his breastplate. He wears a long purple cloak draped behind him almost to his knees. A tassel of long black hair tops his helm, from which only two flaming red dots stare out peering out. His voice seems to echo from a bottomless cavern commanding an aura of freezing unearthly cold and terror.

"I am not usually pledged the souls of those who align with the good in this world. I can kill with a single word. I can hurl a ball of fire in the midst of my enemies. I rule a squadron of skeleton warriors, who can destroy with touch alone. I can raise a wall of ice to protect those I serve. The invisible is discernable to my eyes. Ordinary magic spells crumble in my presence. What can you offer me in exchange for the backing of my power?"

Kali tells him that she needs his power to rescue her dragon and she is willing to sell her soul for it.

“I do like you despite your inclinations towards good. I am aware that you come to my presence from the powers encased in a mask. If you so choose I can offer you more power if you fully submit to my power.”

Kali agrees and feels as the power of Soth flows through her, granting her additional magic. When she comes to she head to the Black Tower to meet everyone and see what Khelbaen has been able to come up with for them. When the Party meets up, they are surprised to see that the magic user with the ability to teleport them to the Flooded Forest is none other than Bo Burnam. Khelbaen also lets them know that he will be sending two of his own mages as well as Don Jon with them to help aid in the rescue of the dragons.

As they all take each other’s hands the ground around them glows a mystical and blinding blue. Wind whips around your bodies and something pulls them through what feels like another world and they find themselves standing in the middle of a teleportation circle. They look around and see that they are mostly surrounded by walls of stone save for two openings to the side leading into a sitting area with two red cushioned chairs. On the table they see a handwritten letter. To one side they see a bookshelf with many books next to which there is an end table with a half played game of chess. On the other side is a coat rack with a wizards hat and a blue cloak next to a closed door.

Burr heads to the letter which reads”

“Welcome adventurers to my Tower of Wonders. Beware as you explore the many floors ahead. There are bountiful treasures ahead but also a multitude of terrors. Only the bravest will find their out.

-          The Mage Who Never Dies”

Brother Sqwaky head to the hat and cloak and takes them for the journey. Diz investigates the chess set but as he does Kali rushes determinedly past all of them heading straight for the stairs to the next floor declaring they don’t have to waste on investigating their surroundings. They need to save their dragons. Everyone rushes after her in agreement.

 

As they head to the second floor. Diz can’t help but investigate some of the rooms in the dormitory they enter. Her curiosity however, leads to the release of two ghosts! After defeating them, everyone looks around a little more and Diz is able to find a hidden room that has a telecope looking out into the encampment of Lionis. It is filled with all manners of creatures and looks like a fortress they do not yet have the power to overcome. Notably though, their dragons are not there.

They head to the third floor where they find a giant Ouija Board carved into the ground with a giant Planchette laying off to the side. As six of the adventurers raise up the Planchette they hear a voice in their heads, “Three questions you will be able to ask anyone who has passed on from this world.”

The Party first tries to call out to the three fallen dragon riders from Team Metallic, but each time the voice rings in their heads “The soul you are trying to reach out to you has not passed on from this world.

They finally decide to reach out the fallen dragon of Lionis, Askook. They are able to reach their soul and begin to ask their questions:

“What is Lionis weakness?” – “His love for me.”

“Where are our dragons?” – “To the south.”

“Are they in a specific place?”  – “Pirate Hideout”

They head to the fourth floor and are met with a freezing cold room in the center of which is a Giant Ice Crystal in the center surrounded by smaller ice crystals. They can see something locked away in the ice. Kali covers herself in a magical shield and goes forward to try and melt the ice, taking slight damage as she stands to close. As the ice begins to melt away a Frost Giant is beginning to be released and the Party decides that whatever is being housed in the crystal isn’t worth the fight it would take. They continue on up the tower.

The fifth floor presents what looks to be a prison. There is a glass floor in the center surrounded by a stone floor they are able to use to go completely around. In the center is a floating crystal. They are able to see someone being held prisoner inside and feel an evil force emanating from them. They decide to go around and avoid stepping on the glass.

As they enter the sixth floor the walls and doors appear to be covered by thick vines. As Diz attempts to open a door she releases a Vine Blight. After defeating it the Party makes into a second room with another door that turns into a Vine Blight when opened. Diz peaks into the next room and sees an Awakened Fly Trap with another door on the opposite wall. Diz decides she will run to open the door so everyone can then run through. Unfortunately, like the other doors, this door was also a Vine Blight. They are able to fight and defeat the Awakened Fly Trap but are a little worse for wear as they head up to the seventh floor of the tower.

Session 21 - Brother Sqwaky Joins the Team

The Party heads back to the Singing Sword and sees their Dragons flying back toward the stable with a new Amythest Dragon among them. As they enter the Singing Sword they notice Bo on stage as well as Don Jon Raskin sitting at a table off to the side. Sitting with Don Jon is a Kenku named Brother Sqwaky. They spend a little time catching up with Don Jon and getting to know Brother Sqwaky, who turns out to be the rider of Yukan, the Amythest Dragon.

The owner of the Singing Sword, Brom Commonbrook, approaches the table to confront Burr. He is upset that that Burr left his residency at the Singing Sword without a word of warning. After Burr explains that it was because he was chosen to be a Dragonrider, Brom agrees to let him perform after Bo, but with the stipulation that anything people throw on stage belongs to the house.

After Bo finishes his set, Burr takes the stage and his performance is fire:

Swan Song Set at the Singing Sword

 

We pause tonight's  'quote' revelry

To deliver a message of hope

You'll now behold true comedy

Instead of the dross from this dope.

 

If only you were there before

When the high and mighty Bo fell.

And who, you ask gave him what-for?

Twas I who rang his death knell.

 

His punch lines fell flat, His references dated.

He truly inspired no mirth.

Then Burr took the stage, and earned his fair wage

And showed all who saw his true worth!

 

His set met with chirps, not cheers or guffaws.

Embarrassing, to say the least.

Where his material stank of famine,

Burr Boneham's laughter was a feast!

 

Therein lies the rub, this giant's a nub

His skill with comedy flounders.

For all of his height, comedy escape his sight.

For I was this inn's laughter founder.

 

I could go on, from dusk until dawn.

But tonight, celebration's the ticket.

Raise a glass to the newlywed bride and groom, Cheers!

And bid farewell to Bo's crickets 

As patrons begin throwing gold on stage, Kali sends a gust of wind catching most of it and lobbing it toward Diz. After he leaves the stage, Bo jump over one of the tables screaming that Burr steals everything from him. Bo’s friends drag him from the Tavern ending the altercation.

As Bo laves, a townsperson enters the Tavern announcing that the newlyweds will be heading down to the docks to leave for their honeymoon. They Party explains to the Brother Sqwaky what they did the boats and they all head down to see the Bride go postal. After having a good laugh at the Bridezillas expense the Party heads back to the Inn. While on their way a loud scream reverberates in their minds, knocking Diz and Kali unconscious.

After bringing Diz and Kali back to their senses they run as fast they can back to the stables, knowing that the cries came from their Dragons. As they enter the stables they find the stable hand, Twelve Quick Minds, lying dead on the floor. All of their dragons are nowhere to be seen. Sqwaky casts a spell allowing them to speak with the recently deceased stable hand and learn that their dragons have been kidnapped and teleported to what they decide is the Flooded Forest.

Diz copies down the runes on the floor of the stable and The Party heads to The Blackstaff Tower to request the help of Khelbaen. He lets them know that it will take him some hours to locate a spellcaster with the ability to teleport them that has been to the area they are looking to go. As they are talking, Kelara lands with Andyss. She quickly lets them know that Andyss heard the call from their dragons and that she will send out word to the Dragon Council and head down to the Flooded Forest as soon as possible. She quickly flies off again to set plans in motion.

The Party decides to use the evening to prepare in their own ways:

Brother Sqwaky spends some time speaking with Burr to get caught up on what The Party has faced thus far in their journey and preps his weapons. He utilizes his evening to get a full rest so that he is well prepared for any battles ahead.

Burr does not sleep and instead spends some his time informing Brother Sqwaky what they have faced thus far in their journey. He then reads through Kali’s book about Lionis and reaches out to his Waterdeep contacts to gather information about what they could be up against.

Diz also does not sleep and instead spends the evening stocking up on equipment and looking through documents at the Library regarding the Flooded Forest.

Kali chooses to fully rest so that she is prepared for any battles ahead, but when she wakes up she spends her waking hours on an internal battle deciding if she should put on her Patron’s Overwhelming Favour Mask.

 

Session 20 - Shopping and Shenanigans

 

When the Party wakes up they have a quick breakfast and are given the following letter from Ilyana:

Thank you for the warning.  Remind me to teach Kali the sending spell when next we meet so you aren’t subject to finding a sending bowl to communicate with me in times of urgency. Although I should prove to be enough to defend the town against 3 small dragons and their novice riders, Kelara is on her way back, having secured an alliance with giants.

They then head out to the stables where they meet the stable hand. Twelve Quick Minds is 23 year old human stable hand with blue eyes and dark hair. He is about 5’11 with and athletic build that is more than likely due to his work with the dragons that frequent the establishment. After having a small discussion with him and making sure their dragons will be in good hands, they head out.

The Party decides that their first stop should be Black Staff Tower to warn Khelbaen Arunsun about the vision seen by Renalia. As they enter they are led to a garden in the back where he is maintaining some of the flowers. He doesn’t put much stock into someone having the power to catch the drop on him and stab him from behind, but he thanks Kali for the warning. He also agrees to send word to Mirt the Moneylender as well as Carreigh Macumail of the visions they were both in. Diz attempts to climb the Black Staff Tower with little success but does seem to earn the favor of Khelbaen in the process. Khelbaen agrees to put in a good word to the Elf Queen for them to see if she will allow their passage to Evermeet. The Party also learns that Khelbaen doesn’t seem to want to be involved at all in the politics and squabbles amongst the Dragonriders, preferring to keep to himself and his studies.

The Party then heads to The Market. Kali overhears some gossip in regards to a wedding that is being set up at the Cynosure. She learns that the marriage is between Tehss Maerklos and Edwind Helmfast, and that Tess has been quite the Bridezilla. Burr recalls that the Maerklos family were one of the local brewers in Waterdeep providing some of the finest beer in the city. He points out their coat of arms on the side of the building which is separated into 2 sections. Upper: feminine eyes and lips on a pink field. Lower: Five black bendlets on a deep green field. He motions to the other coat of arms which shows a purple background with a white moon and sea foam, black and purple waves, and crimson ship hull and orange sails, deducing that the Helmfast family must have something to do with shipping.

They stop at Burr’s favorite food stall, Eilean's Maztican Delights, which serves an assortment of maize tortillas and breads with various toppings as well as sells some of the best foods to be found in the far off island of Maztica. Burr helps the others order and after filling up they head out to do some shopping.

The first shop they visit is Foolscap and Quills to see if there is anything of note. It is an excellent resource for all manner of fine paper and parchments, quills, and inks. The proprietor, Master Dunaer's, specialty is bound books, and he carries an excellent selection of tomes already bound with empty pages. They also see a poster for the Stationers’ Guild and take it to send back to Navin in case he would want to join the Guild with his shop being so up and coming.

As the leave the store they see a small boy selling papers calling things like:

-          “Body theft in City of the Dead, necromancy suspected”

-          “Sewer workers caught in gang skirmish”

-          "Noble lord kidnapped into slavery years ago; impostor wears his boots!"

-          “Festhall lady revealed as doppleganger! Make sure your husband is truly your own!”

They purchase one and see two main stories on the front page. The First was about a possible Nereid sighting down by the Sea. The second was about a fire at the Angry Coxswain in the Dock Ward. The description of the suspects rings familiar to the party as Team Anghst and they make a note to check it out once they complete their shopping.

They spend some time in Velstrode the Venturer’s where they pick up a Vest of Slow Descent for Diz, a Cloudspun Robe for Kali, and a pair of Shoes of Tippy Tappy for Burr. Their final stop before heading down to the docks is Nureene’s Marvelous Masks. Here they get to pick masks at random for 100 GP each. Burr obtains a Rebreather Mask and Kali chooses what turns out to be a Patron’s Overwhelming Favor Mask. Diz has a bit of a harder time, first choosing a Deathmask of the Whiteface. Against her better judgement Nureene allows him a repick for an additional 100 GP and he obtains a Blood Knight Mask.

They then head to the Dock Ward in search of the Angry Coxswain, seeing their dragons flying out above the Griffon statue getting some exercise. When they get to the Coxswain, it is burnt almost to the ground but being rebuilt. Burr, being a Waterdeep native, decides to see if he can poke around for some information. The proprietor, Ramas Shehepset, offers him a special drink in the back triggering the rumors Burr now remembers of many people going missing after nights at the Coxswain and ending up being sold in the slave trade. He quickly retreats to the dock where Kali and Diz are waiting.

They find three ships currently docked. One seems to be the honeymoon vessel for Tehss Maerklos and Edwind Helmfast with a large Just Married sign strung across it. The second is a small dingy of not much beauty. The final ship turns out to be that of Carreigh Macumail. His sailors are heading into the city for some time off as Khelbaen has sent word of the horrible vision of the crew being laid waste. The Party has a fun idea of switching the Just Married sign to the dingy to see the Bridezilla lose her mind when they come to the dock to depart. With a distraction by Diz, Burr and Kali are able to sneak onto the ship and swap the banner. Noticing that it is beginning to get closer to dusk, the Party heads back up north to the Singing Sword.