03 - 01/17/23 : At the Doorstep

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  Connie, Makoto, and a disguised Vesper met with Elemmírë, the high priestess of Desna at Revelmoore's local open-air temple of Desna; a traditional construction allowing for the viewing of the stars by the faithful. Elemmírë greeted the trio warmly, and Connie took the lead in explaining the party's situation.   Elemmírë was immediately captivated by Connie's depiction of the mural of Desna portrayed as a dark elf, but insisted that she see the image herself in order to properly decipher its religious meaning. Connie bemoaned the idea of returning to the Undermountain, while Makoto was eager for another delve into Halaster's domain.   The two also discussed their theory that Vesper was looked upon with favor by Desna. This predictably annoyed Vesper, but confused Elemmírë, who stated that Desna was not a goddess to bestow powers or blessings to 'chosen' individuals. Vesper took the opportunity to mock the deity's supposed conflicting domains of freedom and luck, claiming that to hope for luck was to surrender one's freedom to act and choose. Elemmírë, likely having heard the argument before, gently rebuked the drow's words and shared her view that freedom and luck were two ideals to strive for in tandem, not in competition with each other, and that one could lead to the other.   The group agreed to take Elemmírë to the Balladeer's Eclipse the following day, but not before Elemmírë offered to read their fortunes for a gold coin apiece. Her divination revealed the following, cryptic portents:  

• Contrast: "The treasure you seek is in the fruit."
• Makoto: "That which you hold most dear will turn against you and lead you to ruin."
• Vesper: "There be dragons in your head. Make sure to feed them."

  The trio departed the temple for the night and sought lodgings at the Eclipse before returning the following day, bringing Elemmírë to the tavern around noon. As they approached, they noticed light emanating from the Eclipse's windows, as well as raucous music. They entered to find a magical light show, illuminating several revelers standing atop the Eclipse's chain bridge as they belted out joyous song. Arathir, his daughter Anitari, and a famous halfling bard named Hamlin Hearthchaser cheerily recited the drinking song Hear Ye All You Rascals, a jaunty tune about a particularly sly halfling adventurer:     Meanwhile, Connie seemed to recognize the tiefling wizard creating the light show and reacted with great nervousness. To avoid her eye, he used silent image to keep his true face hidden. As the song concluded and Hamlin began leading the tavern's clientele in further merriment, Arathir and Anitari saw the adventurers and Elemmírë and approached happily. Anitari greeted Elemmírë as "mother" to the surprise of Connie and Makoto.   After a brief explanation of their purpose, the party was allowed entrance into the Undermountain after paying one gold piece per head. As they were lowered via the chained bridge, Hamlin Hearthchaser led the tavern in the traditional "dipping song":     Within the Undermountain, Makoto felt a strange sense of familiarity and odd comfort; this was soon accompanied with Halaster's loud voice greeting the party and inviting them into his legendary maze.   The party noted that the pathways leading back to Vesper's former home had since changed according to Halaster's whims. They decided to forge a new pathway, treading lightly in anticipation of traps. They managed to come across several statues of tanar'ri - the chaotic fiends of the Abyss - and discovered that one of the statues concealed a hidden passageway. The passageway led to a murky pool that seemed to feed into the city's sewer lines, and hid a glowing statue of a sahuagin with its head reversed.   Using her innate high drow magic, Vesper made Makoto capable of levitation, which the rogue used to approach the statue. She discovered that the head was fitted onto screw seams, and she carefully unscrewed the head to find a cavity hiding a golden hoop earring and a note. The earring proved to be a magical earring of stolen luck, while the note contained a short message:     Makoto smirked and attuned to the earring before returning to the party. They ventured further in and encountered a pair of poorly concealed, strangely moving bugbears sporting armor of the Xanathar Syndicate, who readily attacked them. After exchanging vicious blows, the party discovered that the bugbears were in fact corpses being 'piloted' by horrific intellect devourers. The party narrowly avoided their psyches being obliterated and their brains devoured, slaying the creatures and earning a brief respite.   Deeper within, the party discovered a glowing longsword resting in the center of a room. However, Halaster soon intervened, announcing his dissatisfaction with the room as-is as it didn't "match proficiencies" with the party. The sword was quickly replaced with an innocuous looking metal quill, which Connie picked up. He discovered it to be a magic item known as a courier's quillblade, a dagger capable of serving as a spellcasting focus, as well as copying text from objects and transferring it to other surfaces.   The party's next encounter was a friendlier one; a four-person adventuring party known as the Fairhill Four, whom they had encountered in the Balladeer's Eclipse previously, had barricaded themselves in a two-door room in order to rest in between fights. Edea, a chipper half-elf gunslinger, reacted to the party knocking on their door with a quick but luckily askew five-round burst from her revolver before realizing the visitors were not enemies. She welcomed the party in and introduced her companions Ozwik, Yukina, and Wyncaryn.   Ozwik, a stoic half-orc with the bearing of a soldier, warned his fellow adventurers that his own party had been stalked during their time in the Undermountain by a 'skittering thing' they had yet to lay eyes on. He advised caution before proceeding further in. Wyncaryn merely relaxed and mixed various pungent herbs, while Yukina cheerily chatted while sitting atop a pile of gold and loot.   Their brief respite concluded, the party of Connie, Makoto, Vesper, and Elemmírë decided to carry on. Edea admired Makoto's sawed-off shotgun as they departed, and advised the rogue to meet with her at a place known as the Spring of Creation if she wanted to have the piece looked at with a machinist's eye.   It didn't take the party long to finally find the Temple of Desna once more, and the sight of the temple's central artistic dedication predictably captivated Elemmírë. She immediately began notating the curiosities of the site; the fact that it was underground and away from the open view of the stars was chief among her observations, given that this was a break from established ritual.   She also pointed out a previously unseen socket where Desna's eye would be; in this socket a specially blessed gemstone was supposed to be placed, which would subsequently reveal the shrine's favored religious verses and its reason for being dedicated. However, the requisite gemstone was missing, and Elemmírë was unsure of where it could have been placed, though she supposed that it might have something to do with the supposed drow origin of the particular temple.   Elemmírë advised further research as the party began to depart for the surface; however, before they could leave the temple, a skittering sound was heard, and particularly feral-looking mind flayer dropped into view and hissed, baring its tentacles lined with sharp teeth. The group prepared for combat with this dangerous foe, hoping it would fall just as the intellect devourers before it...