Chapter 5: The Beauty and the Beasts

General Summary

Date: 23rd to 27th of Mirtul, 1491 DR

As dusk was setting in the horizon, the adventurers made their way into the ruined town of Conyberry. Once a prominent settlement along the Triboar Trail, the empty and destroyed town now lay ruined as the party looked for the whereabouts of Agatha. Thah Rockslide suffered another premonition or a vision, where the horrors of his past or future haunted him vividly. Rocks were falling from the sky, frightened villagers running for their lives and the same voices he'd heard before in these vivid sights were now ringing in his ears. They discovered fresh corpses of Uthgardt barbarians lying dead with their hands severed and missing. Firbo laid the dead to rest with a somber tune as the specs of rain began falling, eventually growing more aggressive as the night continued. The party took shelter in one of the abandoned houses near the outskirts of town and got some rest. When the first rays of sun pierced the clouds, the party began their way into the Neverwinter Woods, searching for Agatha's Lair. The forest grew darker and still, the air was noticeably colder and eventually they found a dome-like hut made out of twisted and warped branches of trees. The party crawled inside where the manifestation of Agatha appeared before them, angry of their arrival. Bene Lugosi was able to calm her down with the silver comb from Sister Garaele and she offered the party an answer to one question only. The party learned about the Bowgentle's Spellbook and left the lair behind them. With enough daylight before them, the adventurers decided to venture to the ruins of Old Owls Well that stood just a few miles from Conyberry. The smell of decaying flesh hit their noses as they appeared before a courtyard of broken down stone walls, surrounding a large partially ruined tower. Inside the tower, dozens of undead began making their way towards the adventurers. The confrontation was halted as a figure appeared from a colorful tent that stood in the center of the courtyard. Thah immediately recognized him as one of the Red Wizards. The party tried to pry the motivations and reasons of the Wizard known as Hamun Kost but the necromancer would rather deal with proven allies than curious travelers. He offered to sate their questions if the party would get rid of the orcs in Wyvern Tor. The party half-heartedly agreed and continued their path to the prominent crag in the roots of the Sword Mountains. Arriving to the landmark they saw a lone orc keeping watch. The party set up for an ambush, slaying the guard in his place. After a few hours, the second orc suffered the same fate as the previous one and the party was certain they could continue picking the orcs one by one rather than engage them head on. Thah, however, wasn't keen on sneaking and skulking and as the party was ready to retrieve the body of the fallen orc, Thah alerted the entire cave by threatening to slaughter all of them. Many grizzly looking orcs came forward and some recognized Thah. Even though bloodlust was hemorrhaging on both sides, combat did not happen. Before the party appeared a large orc, seemingly the leader of the group. He offered a parley to the adventurers, seeking one who speaks for the group. Brughor Axe-Biter the leader of the orcs sat down with Bene as the negotiations were taking place. The party learned of his motives to stay in Wyvern Tor, for he required a relic from the past. A deal was struck between the adventurers and the orcs. They would have a fortnight to seek the hand of Uruth and deliver it to Brughor, and Brughor would sate his orcs and halt their raid to Phandalin. Brughor also told the location of Cragmaw Castle but wouldn't aid the party in the siege since King Lorgru, the leader of Many Arrows Kingdom has made a peace treaty with the Cragmaw Tribe. The party had now learned the location of the castle and were set to free their missing dwarf patron. As the party was making their way towards the castle, they met a familiar goblin. Gurbak seemingly was trying to seek the party out, in order to warn them of the coming orc attack in Phandalin. Unbeknownst to Gurbak, the party had already resolved the issue, at least for two weeks. When Gurbak learned that the party was heading to meet King Grol, he issued a favor from them. The party would decapitate the head of King Grol and give it to Gurbak, so that Gurbak would rise as the new leader of the Cragmaw Tribe. To this the party agreed, and after a hearty embrace from Thah, the goblin ran into the forest, bidding his time before the "crowning". The adventurers arrived to the edge of the Neverwinter Woods and decided that the attack would be best to execute in the light of the day, as the sun was slowly setting in the horizon. After making camp, the adventurers went to rest. Ranvas and Bene were sitting by the warm fire, taking the first watch. The sounds of the nocturnal forest turned quickly into horror as an owlbear wandered into the camp, hungry for food. The distraction of the hunted rabbits proved fruitless since the beast was set to feast on human (and Triton) flesh tonight. To the amazement of the owlbear as well as the awakened party, Ranvas pulled out a machination of his own and fired towards the beast, almost instantly slaughtering the 500 pound owlbear with his new weapon. The party was able to deal with the owlbear unscathed and as morning slowly crept above the canopy of trees, their journey continued. After a few hours, the party had arrived to a clearing in the forest. In the center stood the Cragmaw Castle. Slowly scouting out the place, they learned of a side entrance in the castle and sneaked their way towards it. With a few setbacks, Dei was able to lockpick their way into the castle where the party decided to ambush a band of goblins that were rummaging in the old banquet hall of the castle. The goblins didn't stand a chance, as they were flying from gunshots of Ranvas, being magically incapacitated by Firbos music and executed by the large axe of Thah. Some, however did manage to escape, alerting the entire castle to the presence of intruders. As the party fortified themselves in the banquet hall, they heard the numerous running footsteps of the incoming threat. With new adversaries, hobgoblins, coming from both sides, the adventurers need to make a stand. However, there is no telling what horrors they have now awoken in the castle...