Session Preface
There's nothing quite like the City of Splendors in Summer. The refreshing oceanic breeze rolls in from the Sea of Swords meandering its way through and over the crowded thoroughfares, welcoming you home with a gentle caress. All around you the crowd of citizens and guests snake their way through the streets. Voices swirl together into the familiar undercurrent of city life noise. Nearby a flower vendor arranges his freshest bouquets, the soft pastel petals of hydrangeas catching in the wind and drifting through the air. Across the way, a trio of children yell and scream frivolously, giving chase back and forth in a dizzying game of guards and goblins.
Having spent the better part of the morning at the gates in line for processing and documenting your arcane possessions brought into the city, you observe the summer sun has already risen nearly to midday. The picturesque azure sky is blanketed in just enough cloud coverage to keep the worst of the balmy afternoon heat away for a few hours yet. As you observe the city and the beautiful visage of the city stretching beyond your reach towards the sea, you instinctively itch your palm where the scar of your own signature aches with a dull burning sensation, a feeling which has grown all too familiar over the last tenday of travel.
Recalling your point of contact, Xorone the Arcane Watchlord, takes his meals at the Elfstone Tavern in the Castle Ward, you decide it best to see to business first and deal with whatever favor this mage has in store for you to complete. Making your way through the North Ward along the High Road, you pass rows of familiar homes, the Talmost Villa, the Massalan Villa, and then the corner of the High Road and Tower March, the street of Hawk's childhood home. Further past, you see the green signage of the gambling house where your Avenger ally in the City Guard frequents in the evenings, The Gentle Mermaid. Turning the corner onto Trader's Way and crossing into the Castle Ward, you glance into the windows of Sulmest's Splendid Shoes & Boots, remembering fondly a moment of rare fraternity when you and Enes bought your first real pair of boots together here on your sixteenth first morn. Those were some damn good boots, too.
Crossing through the Market with only a single quick stop for a few of the pastry cart's still warm seafood hand pie, you quickly make your way down the Street of the Sword towards the tavern. As you pass, the shine and glimmer of the luxurious decor goods from Velatha's Delights is blinding as they seem to glow in the midday light. Known more to be a place of social peacocking more than anything else, already two dozen or more locals roam the store gossiping and putting on airs of effortless elegance.
Finally, reaching the Elfstone Tavern, its doorway shadowed by the impressively large oak tree which grows through and over the central hall, its branches stretching across the roof and down, like massive arms welcoming those seeking a respite in nature from the city's chaotic streets. Stepping into the low, magically lit tavern, several dozen patrons, mostly of elven descent to some degree, sit spread throughout the tables, drinking and speaking amongst themselves, some reading, others taking long, patient drags of smoke from long pipes emitting an earthy, sweet scent.
Towards the back of the tavern, the Arcane Watchlord sees you and makes a nearly imperceptible nod for you to join him. "I must admit, I had begun to wonder if you would show up at all. But you are indeed men of your word, I see. Sit, we will be quick of this and you can be on your way to work at hand."
Session Summary
Xorlone reveals the pair's task at hand - delivering a bag of holding to Krystaleen, a rock gnome who operates the the Thimblewin'e Pawnshop in Skullport. Of course, the inevitable complication arises when the Watchlord notifies Hawk and Thaust that the only way to get the bag into Skullport will be through the Undermountain via the access in the Yawning Portal, where Sharfire, an associate of his, will provide them further details. To ensure they achieve their task, Xorone introduces his bodyguard, a massive, older goliath he introduces as Fenris the Furious.
As soon as the party is on their way to the tavern, Fenris drops his furious demeanor and explains how Xorone expects him to continue playing his role and how he generally finds it demeaning and racist. The party continue to introduce themselves as they make their way to the Yawning Portal. Upon their arrival, they quickly find Sharfire, who challenges Fenris to an arm wrestling challenge, which he quickly turns down. In his place, Thaust bets a round of drinks on a bout, losing handedly in the first few moments of the competition. After paying for the entire bar's next refill, the companions sit for drinks in preparation for the inevitable descent.
During their stay in the tavern, Hawk runs into Threestrings, aka Mattrim Mereg, an incredibly talented musician who performs as a comical and ironically underwhelming entertainer. During their time in the Yawning Portal, Mattrim updates Hawk and Thaust on the fate of the Golden Harp, which Corvan has transformed into a high end courtesan parlor. Hawk shares the incredible tales of their recent adventures in restoring the giant's Ordning, which Mattrim starts composing a song for even as the story is unfolding. Mattrim also hands Hawk a small pouch, requesting he deliver the payment to Cal'al, a half-drow who can be found at the Flagon and the Dragon tavern in Skullport.
Before entering the Undermountain, Hawk takes the stage, under his own name for the first time, and performs a pair of songs. The first is a traditional ballad of heroes departing for adventure, while the second is the popular tavern tune, "Owlbear and the Squire Knight Fair." Following his pair of riveting performances and a pair of shots, the new trio of adventurers one by one descend into the forty-foot diameter well into the first level of the dungeon. As the party descends, a myriad of bets are placed on their fate and who will return alive and when. Fenris goes so far to bet on himself 5 gold at 5:1 odds that he returns with both of his companions alive.
As the party enters, they hear the booming voice of Halaster, the mad mage himself, announcing "Esteemed guests and viewers from the multi-verse, our new contestants enter the Undermountain. Will they survive the first encounter? Will they survive the floor? Will they complete their simple delivery? Let us watch and discover their fate!"
After finding their initial bearings and discovering a myriad of items among the left behind supplies of past adventurers, Hawk quickly discovers a secret cavern hidden behind a demonic statue, leading to a flooded chamber with a defaced, broken statue with a strange purple glow. Fenric initially charges forth into the grey, murky water before being assaulted by a psychic presence within the water. Instead, the goliath empowers Hawk with a magical leaping ability, allowing him to launch himself to the statue. Fixing the head of the statue, Hawk discovers a candle-filled chamber within the statue creating a jack-o-latern effect. From his position, Hawk also discovers the missing arm of the statue and leaps to it, before a force beneath the water drags him down. After defeating the grey ooze attempting to drown Hawk, the party reassembles the statue, whena chamber in its chest pops open, revealing their reward, a note reading, "Good job, But others have thought of that before you!"
The party then discovers a second hidden chamber which includes a magical sword, but given the skeletal hand and bloody scene surrounding the sword, the party opts to leave the magical weapon where it be without further investigation. After further exploration and successfully navigating away from perceived combat, the party finds themselves walking in on five vampires who welcome them in as guests, much to Hawk and Thausts displeasure and disturbance after their run in with Nalaskur in Bargewright Inn. Fenris, however, sees through the vampire's charade and reveals them to be burn out actors who dwell in this dungeon in hopes of fooling and extorting other more oblivious adventurers.
The would-be vampires reveal themselves to be a part of the Undertakers and warn the party not to believe the other group who claim the same name who follow a lying, treacherous leader named Darria who controls a flesh golem and is planning to kill their leader, Urkal. Urkal also offers the party 400g to remove the goblin and bugbear presence of Xanathar's Thieves Guild. Hawk offers nothing more than a "hard maybe," and quickly leaves the actors to their game of cards.
The party then wanders into the ancient lair of a true vampire, finding murals of villages terrorized by a giant bat and a bottle of holy water left in the coffin which had obviously seen previous use. Leaving its lair behind promptly, the party then find themselves in a massive chamber with a throne made of bones with snake armrests. When Fenris takes a moment to rest in the throne, the bone snakes animate and pierce his wrists. When he stands, he discovers the velvet cushion seat to be a hinged door and opens the throne to discover the treasure within. After enduring another piercing strike from the throne's arms, he finds no treasure, but instead another note, reading, "Good thinking! Hope you brought an antivenom!" Attached to the throne room, the party discovers another faction of the Undertakers who claim to be guides, but when it is clear the party sees through their disguises, one bandit tells the other, Charles, to drop the act as he is embarrassing the rest of the group.
After healing his new companion, Thaust and the rest of the party then venture into a long hallway filled with long lost heroes who statues are covered in webbing in a corridor containing several dead spiders whose bodies are riddled with crossbow bolts. Exploring the branching hallways, the party also discovers a closet filled with the ghostly apparitions of previous adventurers who pass in and out of the walls, seemingly searching for something. Quickly retreating from this vision, the party explores further north, discovering a monstrous statue holding a stone box beneath an acid-filled arched ceiling. When Hawk successfully picks the lock of the stone box, he discovers a petrified heart and immediately the acid falls from the ceiling, flooding the room and burning the flesh of all three adventurers. Escaping the acid, the party takes a moment to rest in relative safety. During the downtime, a massive shield guardian believing itself to be an apprentice wizard, casts spells towards the party to no affect before eventually wandering down a hallway on its own.
Following their rest, the party bursts into a massive chamber which serves as nesting grounds for a trio of manticores, which quickly swarmed the party defending their territory and mocking the adventurers before ultimately falling to Hawk's well placed arrows, Thaust's radiant spells, and Fenris' massive maul. With the danger and absurdity of this mad mage's dungeon already present in the opening hours of their exploration, the party pushes forward into the mysterious mage's Undermountain.
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