Session 5

Original Session 5 Notes

Provided by Rick:

Session 5 recap

After turning the tables on your assassins in the sewers and surviving a run-in with Rath Modar and his pet demon, only to have Torj kidnapped out from under you, the rest of you were able to hatchet together a plan to sneak into the warehouse, get some more intel on the meeting, and be ready to set things in motion once the deal was made between Juror Thrane’s, Captain Drask’s and Lord Thann’s mysterious friend. Your attempt to infiltrate the warehouse did not go quite as planned, but as Eravan Ilesere would have it, Torj stumbled upon your group after managing to bamboozle his way past a team of Quasits which Modar had set to watch over him.

Once again taking the role of the carriage driver and manservant for Thann, along with making use of items provided by the Lords of Waterdeep, your team was able to place itself in fortuitous spots to both see and – of course – record the arrival of none other than Rath Modar, the buyer of the Seeing Gem. Blackstaff’s magics proved strong enough to fool Modar’s companion and, taking the bait, Modar’s ally suddenly disappeared while Modar brought in a legion of demons, bugbears and orcs to dispatch the suddenly overwhelmed guards of local criminals. It was fortunate your group had been monitoring the situation, and that Blackstaff had grown concerned at sensing tampering with his Wards that restricted the use of gating, as the Lords of Waterdeep had already assembled a strike force anticipating such a move from Modar. They appeared within moments this time, bringing Celestials and Archons who were able to quickly remove the demons from the field with the reactivation of the Wards, leaving the remaining minions to the foot soldiers, including Piergeiron Paladinson, Lord Byronae Trilluach, Captain Rulathon, and Gar’rick’s cousin, Watchman Dashhir (who was seriously wounded, but received honors for his bravery!).

Modar once again managed to disappear in the chaos. Thann quickly fell under the blades of a demon, and both Captain Drask and Juror Thrane were injured, Thrane attempting to flee almost immediately while Drask managed to hold his own until his crew urged him to escape as well. Your group quickly hatched a scheme to help the two “escape” out the back of the warehouse into Thann’s carriage, only to spring a trap on them with Blacktaff’s assistance. With their leaders gone, the remaining quickly gave up, ran off or fell.

As the dust settled, Lord Trillauch brings your group back to the Castle Waterdeep. Savant Sandrew from the Font of Knowledge joins as well. You have a brief meeting with them where you can ask questions and get some information. Lord Trillauch asks for the Seeing Gem back so it can be restored to the Guardian. They tell you that there has been dark tidings in the Realms, and somehow your group has become embroiled in it, witting or unwittingly. Waterdeep had sent several groups to try to discover the source of some of these problems but, disturbingly, few had returned, some disappeared, and others they know were destroyed. Somehow, your group, against extreme odds, had not only pulled through, you had thrwarted a plot that could have caused massive destruction across Waterdeep. Whatever brought you together, Trillauch and the others feel, is some greater force that they can’t understand. But… whether you want to continue down this path is, of course, completely up to each of you; a decision you must make on your own. Orrin brings up the laws regarding substantial assistance of citizens in helping the government uncover illicit activity, fraud, black-marketing, etc. Trillauch coughs, mumbles something about technicalities, being essentially agents of the Lords of Waterdeep, but concludes that you would all be entitled to some part of the value of the goods once the investigation was complete, accountants had gone through everything, the estate was liquidating, etc. etc. Saltare raises the issue of his sister, and how he would like to go through the records to try to find the trail of his sister’s whereabouts. He agrees to have the investigators pull any related records and have them provided to you by whatever means they can.

At this point, Lord Paladinson, 3 other masked Lords, Blackstaff, Lord Trilluach, Sandrew, the two Commanders (Watch and City Guard), and few other clearly high-ranking city members join you all in a windowless, somber room. The Blackstaff mutters a spell and an ominous weight suddenly fills the room as though you are suddenly hundreds of feet below ground. Everyone stands at attention until Paladinson takes his seat and gestures everyone to sit at their assigned seats. You all are given a row of chairs at the far end of long table.

“I thank you all for joining me on such short notice. By now you’ve all heard about the incursion of demons into our city…” A burst of murmurs begins but Paladinson talks over them, “I assure we will address your concerns in short order. However, I asked you all here first to discuss an important development related to the attack. Lord Trillauch, if you would please?”

Lord Trillauch rises from his chair as Lord Paladinson sits and addresses the group. “As you are all aware, for some months I was investigating the piracy off the coast of Waterdeep and the trade taking place here in our city walls. However, it became apparent that it was more than mere piracy of goods. It involved slave trade, black market goods, weaponry, magical items and artifacts of great rarity, and information. As you all know, the rumors circulating in the streets of cities appearing in the sky, dragons ravaging coastlines seeming without cause, vast stretches of darkness swallowing towns, and other tales are true. We’ve hired some of the best, most experienced and seasoned adventurers to investigate some of these mysteries. Some, we know, were set upon, only 1 or 2 of their members returning grievously injured, in one case one had gone completely mad. 2 parties we know for sure were completely wiped out. 3 others we have not heard from in over a month now.” More murmurs begin around the table as some of the attendees begin talking softly to one other. One of the members asks, “I’m not sure these are matters we should be discussing with these… individuals,” motioning to you all,” here with us.”

“These four are critical to what discuss today, just as when we invited adventuring parties to serve us before. There will be time for questions, speculation and planning later. However, a bit of fortune has fallen into our laps. You of course heard about the attack on the Font of Knowledge and the theft of the Scroll of Oghma in the year 1364. Of course, this was not a simple theft. Since that time, we have been trying to discover who was working with the lich Priamon "Frostrune" Rakesk, and how they were able to bypass the Wards to enter the city. As you are also aware, following the attack upon Waterdeep not seven years past, when the Mad Mage Halaster released monsters into the city through portals, then with the phaerimm escaping the Sharn Wall just 3 years later, we bolstered the defenses of the city by placing Guardians in the ethereal plane and additional Wards to block or at least minimize and alert of gating into the city. Not only did we discover that certain individuals within the city were able to find the means to bypass the Wards, someone managed to take a Seeing Eye from one of the Guardians to sell to client on the black market.”

At that announcement, several gasps escaped from the group, a defiant, “Impossible!” and other sounds of dismay. One of the Masked Lords stood, raising his voice above the din, “And why is it you did not see fit to inform us of this grave news?” Everyone became silent, and all eyes turned either to Trillauch or Paladinson. But it was Blackstaff who spoke.

“We didn’t bring the information to you all, because we discovered the only way these individuals could have bypassed the Wards and taken the Seeing Eye is because they had insider knowledge. They had information from inside this room.” With that he sat down, leaving the furtively looking around at one another.

Trillauch continued. “As I was saying, we had a bit of luck, through the misfortune of others. As it turns out, the outcast Red Wizard, Rath Modar, has long been plotting to rise to power. He’s been working behind the scenes to move us around like Dragonches pieces. We now believe he was behind the theft of the Scroll of Oghma.” More angry muttering It appears that the primary pawns in his games are these 4.” He gestures to you. “It seems he believed he could use them to obtain the information and items he required to u

"If he is so interested in these... individuals, then how do we know they can be trusted? Why would you bring them before us when they could very well be agents for Modar?" asked the same Masked Lord who spoke earlier.

"A fair question," Trillauch continued, "especially considering Modar trained one of them and had him under a mind-control spell until recently.." A number of objections suddenly rose from several members, but Paladinson slapped his hand on the table.

"Silence! Do you seriously think I would put any of you at risk if I felt their presence here put us at risk?" His stern look quickly put their objections at bay and they settled back in their chairs. "Lord Trillauch. My apologies for the interruption. You were saying?"

"Yes, a fair question. Most of the stalwart - albeit inexperienced - adventurers you see before you were part of an elaborate plan of Modar open and read the Scroll of Oghma he had stolen from our fair city years ago. A plan that tied these adventurers together, bringing them together within our city in the midst of a plot that ran up through the ranks of our highest officials and tradesmen. For indeed, they helped us uncover negotiations between Modar and a respected nobleman, a renowned captain, and a juror of one of a Wards, two of whom will be standing trial in short order as fell victim to his own plot, solving a mystery that has plagued us for months. And despite the mechanizations of a mage of superior cunning with a horde of demons and the murderous intents of the aforementioned criminals, these unseemly warriors emerged from the chaos with this!", finishing with pulling the Seeing Gem from the folds of clock and tossing it on the table.

A few gasps, hurrahs, and even claps are solicited from the group, with people looking at you all approvingly now.

"Excuse me?" a voice breaks through. You all look at the elf who spoke, and realize it is the same elf who helped you at the shop. "That is all well and good. But... it seems we are still missing a piece of the puzzle. You mentioned Modar and these villains were able to get access to information on the Wards and access to the Gem through someone in this room. Yet now it appears we are still in the same predicament. Unless you're saying you know something more?"

"I cannot say that I know something more," Trillauch says, "But rather, I can say the 'eye' knows something more than I." At that moment, Blackstaff speaks a quick incantation, and the Seeing Gem, also known as the Eye of the Guardian, suddenly spins and looks directly at the Lord who spoke earlier. He seems to suddenly leap from his chair, his hood blasted back and a growl came from the mask covering his face. All of you feel a sort of mental scream and you instinctively want to grab your heads, though Gar’rick manages to shrug it off, but you see a couple of the people around the table collapse and a couple of others physically stagger. But a moment later, the chair he was sitting in seemed to come to life, reaching out and enveloping the Lord. The Lord tried to speak, apparently trying to say an enchantment, but the chair also wrapped around his mouth as Trillauch and Paladinson lept across the table, restraining the struggling Lord. Paladinson removed the mask. Other attendees began attending to the others who had collapsed. Luckily, it appeared no one was permanently injured.

“Nindil Jalbuck… he was a dear friend. I’d really like to know what became of him.” He nodded at the Blackstaff, and the piece of the chair around the imposter’s mouth loosened.

“What are you talking about? I am Nin…”

“Cease your lies. You may as well drop the charade. Why not show everyone your true self? Are you ashamed? Or did you just come to accept us as your superiors at this point?”

With a sneer, the imposter Nindle suddenly began to shudder and his form bulged, flowed and bubbled until everyone stared in shock as they looked upon a slender and frail humanoid creature with gangly limbs and half-formed features. The flesh was pale and hairless. Its large, bulging eyes are yellow with slitted pupils. “Ashamed?? While you pathetic creatures ran around like witless ants never knowing what is going on around you??” The creature barked out a laugh. “I should have guessed something as afoot when your thoughts seemed more closed off than usual, Trillauch! But this little setback is nothing… you can’t stop what’s coming. None of you can! Certainly not your new pet toys!” He laughs, looking at you all with contempt. With that, the Blackstaff flicks his finger and the chair tightens around the doppelgangers mouth.

“We will have to question him further under better circumstances. Let us wrap up our meeting and set plans in motion.” The imposter was taken by one of the commanders from the room. The rest of the meeting consisted of describing the plot of Drask, Thrane and Thann to sell the Seeing Gem, Rath Modar’s apparent operations in the City without going into detail about his apparent plans at Godhood. They introduced the group, commending you for your efforts to protect the city, but being careful not to give too much information about your background. When any of the attendees tried to ask for details, Paladinson carefully said that for your own safety, considering what happened to the other heroes they had sent out, it was best not to discuss it further, letting them know you each had a difficult decision to make and a tough road ahead, whatever they choose.

At the end of the meeting, each of the attendees walked past and gave their personal thanks wishing you luck. Paladinson and the Blackstaff then offer to answer any immediate questions before they go back to their duties, letting you know that they can offer some immediate assistance in your journey, but that it seems fate works best when you are left largely to your own devices. They do let you know that Gar’rick will need to be taken back into “custody”, but not shackled and will be given a regular, locked room, decent bedding, food, etc. until a formal trial to clear him of his charges with all of the new evidence, and to appear as a witness against Judge Thane and Captain Drask. They understand his mother is in hiding due to Juror Thranes goons, who may still be a threat, so they are putting her into secure lodgings, and – with his approval – will make her a court seamstress. Once his business is concluded, they will ensure he is able to rejoin the group. To that end, they offer to let you keep the sending stones. That way, you can communicate with one another and, over long distances, have 3 charges a week that give you 1 minute of communication each charge.

 

Session 5 Overview — Warehouse Sting, Lords’ Hearing, and Aftermath

Scene Summary

- The party staged a covert observation of a warehouse sale where Juror Thrane, Captain Drask, and Lord Thann planned to sell the Seeing Gem to Rath Modar.
- Torji, having escaped Modar’s Quasit guards, rejoined the group and helped bait the meeting.
- Rath Modar arrived, attempted to use a decoy ally, then summoned demons, orcs, and bugbears to seize the Gem.
- Waterdeep strike forces, alerted by Khelben Blackstaff’s wards and prearranged support, intervened with Celestials, Archons, and city forces, clearing summoned fiends; several criminal leaders were wounded and fled.
- The party assisted in staging the “escape” of Drask and Thrane to capture them with Blackstaff’s help; their crews scattered or surrendered.

Key NPC Actions and Outcomes

- **Rath Modar** — Present as buyer; again escaped during the chaos.
- **Blackstaff** — Provided glamours, wards, and strike coordination; personally aided the sting and used the Seeing Gem later to unmask an impostor.
- **Piergeiron Paladinson; Lord Byronae Trilluach; Captain Rulathon** — Led the city’s response; Trilluach was nearly killed in earlier fights but remains an active ally.
- **Watchman Dashhir** — Gar’rick’s cousin; wounded in battle and honored for bravery.
- **Captain Drask; Juror Thrane; Lord Thann** — Exposed as conspirators; two were injured and later subjected to the Lords’ legal process.
- **Torji** — Rescued from Modar’s custody and instrumental in the sting.

Lords’ Hearing Summary

- A high-level council convened with masked Lords, Paladinson, Blackstaff, Trilluach, Savant Sandrew, and military commanders.
- Trilluach reported a broad criminal network: piracy, slave trading, artifact smuggling, and insider access to city Wards.
- The Seeing Gem (Eye of the Guardian) recovered at the sting was placed on the table; Blackstaff activated it to test attendees.
- The Gem identified an impostor among the Lords; the mask was removed and the figure revealed to be a doppelganger/shapechanger, who mocked the council before being restrained and taken for interrogation.
- Trillauch publicly tied Rath Modar to the wider conspiracy, including prior artifact thefts and Ward compromises, while Paladinson emphasized caution and compartmentalization of sensitive details.

Consequences and Rewards

- **Political**: The conspiracy’s local proxies (Drask/Thrane/Thann) were exposed and will face prosecution; insider betrayal at high levels confirmed.
- **Strategic**: Rath Modar remains at large but is now a clearly identified primary antagonist; the city has stronger grounds and resources to pursue him.
- **Logistics**: The Font of Knowledge and Blackstaff agreed to continue cooperating; Savant Sandrew will assist with archival searches.
- **Personal**: Gar’rick will be taken into respectful custody pending trial and will serve as a witness; his mother placed in secure lodgings under an assumed role.
- **Tooling**: The Lords gifted the party a set of sending stones (3 charges per week total; each charge grants 1 minute of long‑distance communication).

Artifacts and Evidence Collected

- **Seeing Gem / Eye of the Guardian** — Recovered; used to unmask a doppelganger and prove Ward compromise.
- **Prisoners and impostor** — Assassins, conspirators, and a captured doppelganger now available for interrogation about Ward‑bypass methods and Rath’s contacts.
- **Warded box / Stone of Golorr** — Remains secured at the Font; still high priority for Rath.
- **Arranis’s bow** — Attracted demonic interest during earlier encounters; flagged for investigation.

Player Choices and Immediate Priorities

- Interrogate captured assassins and the doppelganger for methods to bypass Wards and identify Rath’s local network.
- Use Savant Sandrew and Font records to trace artifact movements and locate Saltare’s sister.
- Decide whether to remain as city‑sanctioned agents (leveraging resources, aiding prosecutions) or pursue Rath Modar beyond Waterdeep immediately (risk vs. speed).
- Investigate Arranis’s bow for magical links to the artifacts and demonic reactions.
- Prepare for Torji‑centric leads and possible rescue followups if new intel suggests secondary captivity.