Chapter 24: Paths Divided
General Summary
Date: 1st of Eleasis to 5th of Eleasis, 1491 DR
The chill morning air brushed away the fog as the rest of the heroes watched Ranvas and Virion depart on their mission. When their friends had disappeared into the horizon, a caravan of several wagons entered the compound with Bog Luck yelling orders to unload the goods. Bene, Bardy and Nomime began to plan a way to venture into the swamps. They learned that some of the goods from the caravan were marked and stored inside the locked vault, which aroused their suspicions. Nomime was also met with a halfling Zhent called Jamna who gave her a job to take down Rezmir for a hefty price. They decided to stay in one more night in order to sneak inside the vault room and find more about the marked supplies.Meanwhile Ranvas and Virion made their way through the swamps and hills until eventually they gazed upon the mighty trees of the Kryptgarden Forest. They found that the woods were corrupted by some sort of a sickness. They decided to curve left of the forest line, trying to enter the woods by the foothills of Sword Mountains. As they entered in the Kryptgarden Forest from the west they found tracks of a large beast. Large claw marks decorated the trees as a sign of warning and territory. Soon enough to their horror, a large green giant was on them, hunting them for food. They fought back, but each strike made one of its bulbous boils bursted and spilled acid onto the attackers. Badly wounded, Ranvas watched as Virion succumbed to his wounds and fell, while he himself was on his last legs, facing the venom troll alone.
As night arrived, the three snuck out of their room in order to investigate the locked vault. The compound had patrolling guards, but with the distraction from Bardy, Bene and Nomime managed to sneak past them into the vault which Bene easily lockpicked. They found out that the marked supplies were hauled off through a secret tunnel stretching below Carnath Roadhouse by a pack of lizardfolk. The heroes suspected that the supplies might lead them to Castle Naerytar and they decided to follow loosely behind the lizardmen. Eventually the tunnel led them into the swamps of Mere of the Dead, roughly 500 yards away from Carnath Roadhouse. The adventurers spotted trail markings made by the lizardfolk and so, Bene, Bardy and Nomime ventured through the bog until it was time for them to rest. Bardy summoned an ethereal Tiny Hut that the three took shelter in. Upon waking up however, they discovered a gargantuan beast submerged almost completely in the muddy waters nearby, watching them. The Black Death, the legendary ancient black dragon of the Mere of the Dead had found them.
An arrow flew through the air and struck the side of the venom troll. A ranger with a winter wolf emerged from the foliage, ushering his beast to attack the monster. Ranvas managed to revive Virion and the three of them fought tooth and nail until eventually they managed to bring down the troll. The ranger was Delaan Winterhound, a member of the Emerald Enclave. He was tasked to find the Dusk Circle, a group of druids who ventured into Kryptgarden and never returned. As a fellow member of the Enclave Ranvas agreed to aid the ranger in his plight. They found the trolls lair and rested for the night. As morning arrived the trio made their way east. Each hour took them deeper into the gloom of Kryptgarden until eventually they found a body of a dead hobgoblin in the middle of the trail. Investigating the body they found multiple wounds on it made in quick succession. The hobgoblin sported green dyed armor and wore a necklace of severed fingers. Delaan deduced this to be a member of the Zantruss clan. Screams echoed further down the path and the three made their way stealthily to the sounds of plea. To their horror, they found two hobgoblins battling against an unlikely foe. Blurs of motion dashed around the hobgoblins, carving their feet and tendons into bloody mess while the small red cap wearing "gnomes" burrowed their sickles deep within the flesh of the now anguished goblinoids. When the slaughter was over, the heroes saw the fey more clearly; they were gaunt and sickly, their faces showing green growths and boils. As the fey began to depart, one of them stopped and began sniffing the air. It turned its dull eyes towards the adventurers.
The heroes thought themselves safe, until Voaraghamanthar spoke to them. Amused and curious by the new ensemble that boldly traveled into his domain the dragon questioned them. The Black Death learned the goals of the heroes, to seek out Castle Naerytar and stop the Cults plans. It was then that he tasked them to retrieve a ring from Borngray, a de facto leader within the castle, and bring it to him. He told them of the lizardfolk and the possibility of alliance between the two. When the party agreed to this, he emerged from the swamp and departed into the skies. Glad to survive the encounter, the heroes continued their way through the path marked by the lizardfolk. Eventually they found the end of the path by a small campsite and three canoes by the edge of the water. After a brief rest, they heard noises coming from the swamp and decided to call out to them. To their dismay, they attracted the attention of a group of lizardfolk who swam from their canoes and slowly began to encircle the campsite. Drawing out their weapons, the lizard-like humanoids eyed the three intruders, ready to cut them down. The heroes weren't looking for a fight and told them of their encounter with the Black Death. One of the lizardmen jumped and attacked Bardy with ferocity. During the battle however, the attacker Snapjaw revealed to be on their side as he whispered Bardy to attack him. This was a show of strength to the other lizardfolk, who respect power above all. Even with Snapjaw being beaten down only a few were convinced to take the side of the adventurers, the rest returning back to their camps.
Fortunately, the redcap wasn't able to spot the three hiding in the bushes. The fey left and after waiting for a while, Ranvas, Virion and Delaan continued their way. Delaan had told the two about the alliances of the Zantruss hobgoblin clan and Claugiyliamatar, the ancient green dragon. The hobgoblins acted as her emissaries and were tasked to force the Fey King into servitude with the dragon. Thus, Delaan was leading them towards the realm of the Fey. With the plan to convince the Fey King to not submit to the demands of the dragon, the trio ventured through the valleys downwards until they found a crossroad with a sign post. One of the signs was blank, while other lead to "Princess Ishaldra". The adventurers took that route and the path lead them into a small tree-lined clearing. A brook with sickly water bordered on the other side, trickling the corruption onto the surrounding trees. A mighty oak stood in the center of the clearing, its canopy filled with thorny vines that glowed faintly green. A sickly-looking fey princess was bound to the oak tree by vines, half of her face covered in green boils and growth. Ranvas, Virion and Delaan deduced that they might be able to stop the corruption by releasing the dam by the brook. The fey began raving as she noticed the adventurers circling to the other side. When the three began to meddle with the brook, loud crunching came from the mighty oak as it ripped its roots below ground and began to attack the heroes.
Snapjaw told the others about the current factions inside the castle. The Cult of the Dragon, lead by Rezmir, was the leading faction that had bullywugs and lizardfolk by their side. The bullywugs however were free to harass the lizardfolk without the cultist interfering and that made life miserable inside the castle. Snapjaw promised to lead them into the castle, but even though the lizardfolk hated the bullywugs, the heroes would have to convince them to take up arms. Venturing through the swamp with the canoes, the heroes eventually ended up to the other side. Hiking a small distance they saw the looming castle ahead and took a short breather to come up with a plan. They decided that they would disguise themselves as new recruits of the cult and with the help of subterfuge take down the operation of the Cult of the Dragon in Castle Naerytar.
The heroes battled against the oak and corrupted blight that animated from the sickened trees. They eventually were able to save the princess by releasing her from the bondage and broke the dam to let the corrupted water flow elsewhere. The princess thanked them and offered her amulet to them as a reward. She led them back to the crossroads and by writing the destination to the blank sign, she opened a rift into another realm. The heroes stepped inside the tunnel that led them to the Feywild. They were brought in Shady Glade to have an audience with the Fey King Witchthorn. The tall, beautiful fey thanked them on saving the princess and rewarded them with a vision of the future. The heroes also gained knowledge of the stronghold of hobgoblins and the cults motive to seek out a powerful artifact and forge an alliance with the dragon. In return they would perform necromantic rituals to rise the power of the dragon and expand her domain, thus corrupting the forest even more. The heroes gained a refuge for the night and come morn, they would gain an access to a portal that led them inside the stronghold. King Witchthorn would also not ally himself with the dragon, if the adventurers succeed on their endeavor. In return for his assistance, the heroes pledged an oath to be bound to assist the king if he would call upon them. Escorted out to the resting glade by a mushroom humanoid, the heroes were able to rest below the twilight sky of Feywild.
Eventually their peaceful rest came to an end as Ranvas, Virion and Delaan woke up underneath the everlasting twilight sky. With a newly found strength and an audience of fey creatures watching them around the glade, the three were met by Cirro, who ushered the trio to continue their journey. The heroes needed to stock up on supplies and since they were in Feywild, they asked their guide for an unique opportunity to browse the markets of the Fey. One of these markets rested along the way, so Cirro obliged. The colorful pebble road led them through the hills and forests until eventually it opened into an open square underneath a colossal ashen grey tree. The roots of the tree waved around the marketplace and shops had been set up inside the roots alcoves. Eager to trade with the locals, Ranvas first bought potions from a Satyr. These potions all had strange names, such as Idiot Juice or Big Daddy Bumpy's Glug Glug Jug, but the seller assured that they had healing properties. Delaan had more difficulties trading with the fey, but managed to trade himself some mushrooms. Ranvas visited a shop of a merchant who sold exquisite magical items. Ranvas traded his athletic knowledge to a rare cloak made of displacer beasts, but wasn't happy to buy anything else. The Leprechaun had also managed to cheat the name of Ranvas with the help of a play on words. After businesses were concluded, the three left with Cirro towards the portal of the Fey King, ready to infiltrate the hobgoblin fortress.
Roughly the same time, Bene, Bardy and Nomime had managed to disguise themselves as fresh cultists recruits and gain access to the castle. The outer bailey of Castle Naerytar was filled with shrewd huts made by the bullywugs and lizardfolk that lived in the area. As they entered the castle's courtyard, they were quickly gathered and questioned by one of the cultists. The cultist Rayne questioned the trio and they were able to convince him out of his suspicions. Rayne took the three under his command and showed them their quarters. After dressing into the robes provided by Rayne and unpacking their stuff, the trio were led by him to the castle's library, where they were tasked to sort out books in genres and neatly pile them on the bookshelves. While performing their first task, the heroes tried to come up with a plan to ally themselves with the bullywugs and siege the castle with their help. After working for hours, the heroes were summoned to have dinner in the great hall. After finishing up they retreated to their quarters and stayed there until night arrived. Around midnight, Bene sneaked from his room to the great hall that was filled with crates and boxes as well as two sleeping guard drakes. Bene barely managed to avoid the two drakes and the one who patrolled the castle courtyard. He visited the kitchen and got himself a cleaning broom and after successfully sneaking past the guards again, Bene returned back to their quarters and the heroes rested through the rest of the night.
When Ranvas, Virion and Delaan had climbed up a small hill into a white gazebo, they found a pool of silvery liquid in it. Cirro explained this to be the portal and as the adventurers bid their farewells, they dived in and found themselves inside a tall ruined tower. The portal closed behind them and heroes climbed up the moss covered stairs until arriving to the battlements. A massive warcamp built on top of ancient ruins stretched out in the horizon. Guards patrolled the streets and lookouts gazed from their towers and the heroes were in the middle of it. They began planning a way to sneak past the guards through the warcamp in order to find the captured druids and rescue them. With the help of a spell casted by Delaan and the wits of Ranvas and Virion, they managed to sneak past most of the compound without issues. Delaan had encounters with the hobgoblins that suspected him, but after a healthy doze of Big Daddy Bumpy's Glug Glug Jug, Delaan managed to incapacitate his captors. Climbing up a flight of stairs into a vine-covered courtyard the trio felt the pulses of necromantic energy washing over them. Rushing towards it they found a circle of pillars that surrounded a red-robed woman. She stood in concentration, draining the energy of the helpless druids that were chained in the pillars. The trio had to act fast!
After finishing their morning breakfast, Bene, Bardy and Nomime were tasked by Rayne to clean out the courtyard. When they arrived there, they saw an elf talking with well-dressed human. To Nomime's surprise, she recognized the woman to be her mother, who seemingly was treated as a guest at the castle. The heroes avoided to arouse any suspicion and began their daily task. This gave Bene an opportunity to sneak inside the chapel that lead upstairs to the library they were in yesterday. Quietly sneaking up the stairs to the top level he found a regal-looking office awaiting him. As he went to investigate the wardrobe, he activated an acid trap that corroded the entire wardrobe as well as its contents inside. He went to the desk and found many letters that were signed by different individuals talking of their plans. That is when he heard someone climbing up the stairs. Quickly eating an invisiberry, Bene tried to hide from the large black dragonborn that came to the office. When she noticed the acid-melted wardrobe, she drew her sword and began to call out for the intruder. Bene tried to sneak past her, but alerted her to his presence. The dragonborn began to swing wildly as Bene dodged the blade of the massive greatsword. He found an opening and stabbed the dragonborn on her side, but in doing so, his invisibility ended and he was face to face with the angry, 7 ft. tall Wyrmspeaker.
Ranvas, Virion and Delaan sneaked closer and began to assault the surrounding cultists one after the other. Virion had no trouble beating them down, but the heroes faced an obstacle as they found the necromancer protected by a magical barrier. She didn't stop her ritual and the three watched as the first druid died from her life drain. They finished off the rest of the cultist and rushed to aid the druids. The first one was brought back as a wight, that attacked the heroes. Gritting their teeth, they broke of the bonds from the druids and destroyed the barrier of the necromancer. Now faced with undead as well as the necromancer the heroes began the battle against the red wizard. Virion managed to dodge the attacks and punched the necromancer into her abdomen, stunning her in the process. They knocked her unconscious and checked on the druids. The Dusk Circle was ready to leave, but the heroes couldn't leave the red wizard lying unconsciously on the ground. The elder druid tried to persuade them to spare the evil necromancers life, but Ranvas and Virion did what they thought they had to. They dragged the body of the necromancer into the woods, where they made sure she would never hurt anyone else. They led the druids to the stairs only to find a squad of hobgoblins down below blocking their path. They would have to go past them with the wounded druids to get everyone out safely. This was more easier said than done.
Bardy and Nomime who were in the courtyard, heard the roar of Rezmir as she called guards to her chambers. Bene tried to make his daring escape by jumping out of the window, but to his unfortune the window didn't break. Trapped and surrounded by the Cult of the Dragon, Bene was knocked unconscious and fell to the ground. Meanwhile Bardy tried to persuade the lizardfolk to start their revolt, but with just the two of them none of the lizardfolk were convinced. All except one. Snapjaw grabbed his sword and ran wildly towards the bullywugs and started to attack them. Bardy tried to help him, but they were quickly outnumbered by half a dozen of bullywugs that slaughtered Snapjaw in his place. Nomime and Bardy began their escape from the cultist and the bullywugs. They ran through the blacksmith into the lizardfolk quarters, where they rushed up the stairs and found themselves in a dead end. Nomime tried to intimidate their pursuers, but failed and the duo agreed to climb up into the attic. Chased by cultists, bullywugs and lizardfolk the two opened the trap door and climbed up, trying to block the entrance after them. That's when Nomime heard skittering coming above from the rafts and the two realized that they were not alone.
Bardy and Nomime were surrounded. The cultists ordered the two to surrender while giant spiders descended from the rafters above and attacked the Nomime and Bardy. In order to survive they came up with a plan to let Nomime turn invisible and sneak past the cultists while Bardy would fake to be knocked unconscious. She ate the invisiberry and dashed past the enemies that grabbed Bardy and were dragging his body to the courtyard. Rezmir demanded to know who was responsible for accepting the three into the castle and Rayne paid the ultimate price by telling they were under his command. Rezmir grabbed Rayne by the throat and breathed acid into his mouth, killing the cultist in an excruciating way. She called the rest of the cultists to prepare for departure and demanded Borngray, the elven swordsman to lock Bene and Bardy into the north-west tower to be interrogated. Bene and Bardy had their gear stripped and brought to the tower, where they were both locked in place by shackles embedded into the walls. Nomime watched all of this unfold and sneaked past towards the middle tower in the courtyard. She barely managed to dodge the patrol of guards and dove straight inside the door. There, she came face to face with her mother.
Restlessness filled the warcamp, as war horns began to bellow. The hobgoblins began to group and form as the gates were closed and barricaded. Ranvas, Virion and Delaan deduced that the warcamp might be attack by a third party and that they could use this as a distraction to sneak inside the keep. They led the druids back into the ritual area and tried to find the body of the necromancer. To their dismay, they found only specs of blood in the place of a corpse. Ranvas and Virion began tracking the blood, only to find it disappearing seemingly into thin air. The other side of the warcamp was surrounded by hundreds of feet of mountain wall, and the other was now heavily fortified by hobgoblins. The two deduced that the necromancer either flew away or used a secret entrance, the latter being true as Virion managed to find a tunnel that led inside the keep. The heroes learned that the keep had more prisoners, but they couldn't take the druids with them on the rescue mission. This is when Delaan summoned a mountain goat that took each druid safely above hundreds of feet of mountain wall to the top where they could escape. They rested a while inside the secret tunnel, before venturing inside the keep of the hobgoblins.
Iris Shandri, the mother of Nomime was both surprised and glad to see her daughter for the first time in months. Nomime tried to gain answers from her as to why she was in the castle with the cult and what she was doing in there. Her mother was vague, but promised to explain everything to her daughter once they would be home. When Nomime told about her fathers kidnapping, Iris didn't seem to have any notion or knowledge of this. She beckoned Nomime to wait while she confirmed about her husbands disappearance and she promised to reunite them all once more. Meanwhile Bene and Bardy were interrogated by Dralmorrer Borngray. The elf beckoned answers on why the two were here and what they knew about the cults plans. After Bene and Bardy gave Borngray half-truths, the elf seemed satisfied. He ordered his men to execute the two heroes and dump their bodies into the swamp. Nomime grabbed some documents left by her mother and dashed away from the tower. She took a misty step and escaped the castle into the swamp outside. The two cultists came into the tower where Bene and Bardy were kept, knives drawn and ready. Bardy let out a gurgled scream as both of their throats were slit.
Ranvas, Virion and Delaan followed the tunnel that led them straight in the middle of the keep. After doing some reconnaissance, they managed to take down the hobgoblin guards and locate the prisoners. The prison cells were locked and the trio was unable to lockpick them open. One of the prisoners told that the warden would have the keys to the cell doors. At this point they saw a massive siege weapon erected on top of one of the turrets that launched hundreds of arrows down below towards the siege. They decided to deal with it first before gathering the keys from the warden. The trio scaled up and took down the unprepared hobgoblins with ease. They scaled up and faced the siege operators, taking them down easily. Ranvas managed to find barrels of smokespowder that was utilized with the machination. They sneaked inside the main keep, where they were able to spot a pack of hobgoblins feasting. They used this information to execute another ambush, that resulted the hobgoblins being defeated without any resistance. This battle however attracted the attention of the next door main hall where the hobgoblins took their positions, ready to defend themselves. The three looted a key from the warden and decided to free the captives before killing the rest of the hobgoblins in the keep.
By the help of Bardy's wit and quick thinking, he managed to mask a healing spell into his final scream. The perfect execution meant that the two cultist didn't notice the spell being cast and so they dragged Bardy and Bene to the ledge and dumped them down into the water. The two swam away from the castle and reunited with Nomime. Nomime contacted her mother in order to trade her stolen documents for the gear of Nomime's friends that was apprehended by the cultists during their capture. Nomime's mother was not pleased and pleaded Nomime to return by herself. The heroes hauled themselves inside a Tiny Hut and rested the day until night time arrived. They decided to sneak back in the castle in order to retrieve their gear. The three adventurers had scaled back into the courtyard and were approaching the bullywug hut, where their equipment was stashed. Bene sneaked inside to retrieve the gear only to find the entire room occupied by bullywugs. Battle was on them, but this time they managed to rally up the lizardfolk by their side. A large scale battle was fought in the courtyard, where both bullywugs and lizardfolk fell. More cultists joined the fray. Borngray as well as the bullywug leader Splattergoo began their assault on the heroes. Bardy fell. Nomime tried desperately to fight back, but the cultists managed to knock her unconscious. Borngray ordered them to drag her away and to execute the two. Bene, being badly hurt, watched two of his friends fall during battle. Barely managing to stand upright, Bene was surrounded by enemies that he was to face by himself. This would be certain death. However, it wasn't the first time Bene faced such odds.
Ranvas, Virion and Delaan rescued the prisoners and led them to the secret tunnel that would bring the prisoners away from the keep. After that, they decided to face the leader of the hobgoblins. The heroes bashed inside the main keep only to find the bodies of the hobgoblins missing and the feast tables turned. As they approached, a swarm of hobgoblins ducked out from their cover and showered Ranvas with arrows. Before the three had time to react, the hobgoblins soldiers retreated back. Longing for the taste of vengeance, Ranvas bolted towards the double doors to pursue the hobgoblins. To his dismay, the hall was filled with more cultists and hobgoblins and thus battle ensued. The battle was joined by a mysterious Purple robed wizard, that blasted the heroes with fireballs. The battle took turn for the worse as Delaan was knocked unconscious and Virion was paralyzed by a spell. Ranvas took barrage of hits, jammed both of his firearms but managed to pull a shot with his crossbow. The bolt killed the cultist that had Virion in a hold, and thus Virion was free from the spell. Delaan's dire wolf joined the fray and managed to slaughter the hobgoblins and cultists that were trying to harm the unconscious ranger. After delivering a flurry of blows, Virion was finally able to bring down the hulking hobgoblin captain. He dashed towards the purple robed cultist, but the cultist was able to escape, dropping a scroll of parchment in the process. The three healed up and joined with the prisoners. The siege of the hobgoblin fortress was over and the heroes led the prisoners towards the attackers. They found out that two noble houses from Waterdeep had formed an alliance to take down the hobgoblins, Claugiyliamatar and the cult in one quick strike. Even though the main cultist escaped and Claugiyliamatar survived, thanks to the heroes, they had dealt a blow to the cult. They gained the gratitude of the houses and bid farewells to the rescued prisoners. It was then time for Delaan to lead them to Phandalin. After two days of traveling through the secret path across Sword Mountains, Delaan eventually bid the two farewell and thanked them for their aid in helping him save at least some of the druids and thwarting the cults plans. The two watched as the ranger eventually disappeared behind the foothills of the Sword Mountains Continuing their way along Miners' Trail, they were met by a familiar castle in the clouds. Zephyros told the two that he had been looking for them; the visions prophesized of the heroes stopping the giant menace and bringing peace across the realm once more. Ranvas told about how half of their group was elsewhere and the Cloud Giant promised to aid them in retrieving their friends. As Zephyros began scrying for the others, Ranvas and Virion saw their friends dying. They needed to rush and save their friends but the tower would take a day or two to get to the Mere of Death. That's when Zephyros pulled out a mirror from his pockets and called his friend for a favor. A familiar, ginger haired halfling jumped through the mirror, pleased to see familiar faces awaiting him on the other end. He transformed himself into a massive bronze dragon and beckoned the two to hop on. The dragon zapped through the clouds like a thunder, heading towards the Mere of the Dead. Ranvas and Virion held tightly and hoped that they wouldn't be too late to save their friends.
Rewards Granted
- Amulet from the Fey Princess
- Ring of Protection
- +1 Emerald Enclave Renown
Character(s) interacted with
- Jamna Gleamsilver
- Bog Luck
- Voaraghamanthar, the Black Death
- Snapjaw
- Delaan Winterhound
- Princess Ishaldra
- King Witchthorn
- Cirro
- Rayne
- Rezmir
- Dralmorrer Borngray
- Iris Shandri
- Galdur, the Hobgoblin captain
- Valero Brokengulf
- Dala Silmerhelve
