Session 76

Dain brings Evaryan in from where he was hiding, invisible, and introduces him to Calantha, telling her that they were hired to look for the ruins so the Antiquarians' Guild could mount an expedition. He told her about their previous findings at the Catacombs of Blackfrost, and showed her the Wayfinders' Sphere they used to guide them to the city. Calantha commented that many wealthy merchants liked to use them to navigate the seas, but that real sailors would joke about them behind their backs about not being able to navigate without one, but admits it was a convenient way for them to locate the city. They briefly discuss what to do next, and Calantha mentions that of the options available, looking for Kira's home first is likely the best place to start, and after that, she mentioned a Dwarven woman who had a residence somewhere in the market district. She mentions an Elven friend of Valdor's who she never met who she hasn't the faintest idea of where he lived. Then, she says Tryn's home should be last. Dain asks Calantha if she plans to come with them, and she is hesitant, saying that she wouldn't be of much use in a fight, and due to a sting from a paralytic fish recently, she is having difficulty walking, and would only slow them down. However, Dain uses Lesser Restoration to clear the toxin, allowing her to move about normally again, so she agrees to come, but mentions that she still won't be of much use in a fight. The party decides to get some rest and retires for the night, sleeping longer than normal due to exhaustion from the fight with the beast that attacked the Windrunner.

In the morning, they awake to Calantha preparing fish over a fire, saying that it has been centuries since she has eaten anything and she is concerned that it won't be very good, but Dain uses Prestidigitation to flavor his fish, saying it's not an issue. After breakfast, the party heads out of the cave, and follows Calantha's lead to the city walls, where she leads them to one of the gates, which is collapsed. They move past the walls and follow Calantha through the streets until they reach what she had told them would be the aristocratic district. As they are swimming through the streets, Merrick notices a shadowy form duck behind a building, and stops, eyeing it suspiciously. Then he sees another. On guard, he waits and then sees a form quickly dart out from behind the building and charge the group. It is a group of Sahuagin, surrounding them. They begin fighting the creatures, managing to skewer a couple relatively easily, before two sharks appear, one being huge, who tear into Merrick. Then, a female Sahuagin with a rod appears, followed by a four-armed Sahuagin with a trident and a big hulking Sahuagin covered in plate armor. The party is quickly overwhelmed, with Dain nearly being beaten within an inch of his life by the four-armed Sahuagin, and Merrick and Summer also taking some damage. The Sahuagin also begin to swarm Evaryan and Calantha, who initially are helpless, until Calantha begins to fight back, using several spells that Dain recognizes as clearly Enchantment magic. However, just when it looks like the tides are turning as Dorin manages to disable a group of heavy hitters with Confusion, four Merrow appear and close in on the party. Calantha makes use of her enchanted trident to override the priestess' control over the giant shark and dominating it herself, using it to kill the Sahuagin Blademaster and one of the Merrow, before using a powerful spell known as Steel Wind Strike to teleport around the battlefield, dealing swift, vicious strikes to each of the remaining combatants, nearly felling them all, before the party manages to finish them off.

Exhausted, the party quickly moves on down the street, looking for somewhere to take shelter. They come across a large aristocrat's house, and Dain notices a sign with most of the lettering weathered from time spent underwater, but with enough recognizable to see that this is the home of Kira Evenwood, one of the sorcerers that Calantha told them to look for. They head inside, closing the door behind them, and take stock of the interior, which is in very poor condition, but holding together, deciding that they should rest after such an exhausting battle.