01 - 12/19/22 : Three is Company

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  In the autumn months of the year 3521, the underground port of Ramrider's Retreat bustled with activity following the conclusion of the famous Dragon Heist, a Grand Game among Grand Games already settling into Revelmoore's litany of legends and beloved tales. Within the deepest sanctum of the rogue's city, a young tiefling artist named Contrast approached the throne of the Xanathar; Raeziel Ramrider herself. To her he reported that his commissioned piece, a painting made in honor of her fallen elder sister Genziel, was complete.   Raeziel responded warmly to this news and gave Contrast a bit of a run-down on the dos-and-don'ts of the Undermountain, since he seemed a little out of his element. She assured him that the place was safe as long as he did not provoke the ire of three particular forces; the mad mage Halaster, the roaming flameskulls of the Undermountain, and herself. She advised him to speak with the traveling merchant Obaya Uday if he was seeking additional employment within the scope of the area.   Meanwhile, in the marketplace just outside of Raeziel's palace known as the Rock Bottom, an independent smuggler named Makoto spoke with Obaya Uday about the possibility of procuring and selling magical items found in the Undermountain. Obaya promised to pay handsomely for such items, to which Makoto responded positively. As they spoke, Contrast made his way to the table, fearful of the quickly converging flameskulls, which were seen as an oddity; no more than two were usually seen at a time.   As Contrast introduced himself, more peculiar happenings occurred; a small eye opened in the nearby stonework, which Makoto made a rude gesture at. At this motion, Obaya began to speak oddly, and time began to freeze for all but the three at the table. In the midst of time's cessation, Obaya revealed herself to be the mad mage, Halaster Blackcloak himself, in disguise.   Halaster greeted the Makoto and Contrast warmly yet erratically, and dubbed the latter 'Connie' as an affectionate nickname. He revealed that, since the Undermountain was seeing increased traffic in light of the Dragon Heist, he was in the process of 'resetting' many of the grand dungeon's floors for future visitors. He further elaborated that unwelcome 'invaders' had popped up on one of the many floors, and decided that Connie and Makoto were interesting enough to be deployed on the job of flushing them out while Halaster saw to his other projects. Not given the option to say no, the two were teleported to a series of dark hallways in the Undermountain, where time had resumed.   Connie and Makoto ventured into the hallways, the former doing so with great trepidation and reservations. Makoto led the way confidently while the two were continuously accompanied by Halaster's disembodied voice. The pair eventually discovered Halaster's invaders; dark elves, who attacked the party upon being discovered. The two fought through a few squads of drow before hearing the sound of an injured person.   Within the next room, they came across a drow woman with skin as pale as snow, a large greatsword at her side and three dead drow decorating the floor nearby. She held them at blade's length as they explained the situation. Meanwhile, Connie recognized her as a Szarkai; an albino drow whose birth was often heralded in drow society as a blessing from Lolth herself. Makoto gave the woman a healing potion, and the drow introduced herself as Vesper.   Vesper explained that she was a renegade drow who had been living in the Undermountain for some time, and that the Lolth-worshipping drow were a recent occurrence. She asked for Connie and Makoto to temporarily accompany her and help her find the new key to the portal that led to her living quarters; a key that had since been changed by Halaster.   Connie deduced that nearby fountains in the room were rusted over with old blood, and that new blood might be the key. Vesper brought two of the drow bodies to the fountains, and their blood indeed opened the portal a distance away. The three fought through remaining drow warriors and entered the portal to Vesper's home; an abandoned temple of Desna, the goddess of freedom, luck, and the stars.   Vesper told the two that they could stay for the night, after which they could go their separate ways; she preferred her solitary life. Within the temple was a glowing mushroom grove where Vesper got most of her sustenance; Makoto tried and failed to cook some of them, while Connie took some to be ground up for paint pigment, and also took the time to sketch the temple's inner depiction of Desna as a dark elf.   In Vesper's living quarterrs, both Makoto and Contrast expressed a belief that she should find a new place in life, with Makoto valuing her skill and seeing more she could be doing, and Contrast believing her survivalist lifestyle to barely be living. Vesper responded coldly, not needing the advice of surfacers who knew nothing of her situation. They let the conversation lie and retired for the evening soon after.   Connie and Makoto were awoken from their slumber that night by the sounds of a mortal struggle; Vesper had fought off and slew a drow assassin that had slipped in, and agreed to leave with them after all. She took a scrap of cloth bearing a symbol of a drow house from her assailant, deciding to find out its owner later.   The trio made their way through the myriad halls of the Undermountain, eventually discovering the well of the Balladeer's Eclipse. An adventurer within the tavern lowered a bucket, within which Connie placed three gold pieces to pay for their ascent. Once above, the three were applauded by the patrons, including a fairly prolific adventuring party known as the Fairhill Four, and were greeted by the proprietor; a blue tiefling man named Arathir Starsong. Arathir provided the three with meals on the house and gave them some friendly advice before returning to the bar.   Over a meal, Connie and Makoto were able to prod Vesper into revealing that she was, until recently, a member of the Scions of Black Hearts, a subfaction of the now defunct Black Network that served Veszaltyrr Oussndar. This meant that she was a wanted woman, and would have to be careful during their traversals on the surface. The trio decided to go to a nearby library to investigate the drow family sigil and possibly learn more about Vesper's attackers.