Faces, Masks, and Catnip

Leaving the warehouse our little group was looking pretty ragged. We were all looking forward to a bath and a good chunk of time to rest and rejuvenate. It was not meant to be.
 
As we made our way through the streets we were unexpectedly accosted by members of the Cult of the Dragon. A robed figure, wearing a green dragon cult mask, demanded we hand over the black dragon mask of Rezmir. This figure was arrayed differently than anything we had seen from the cultist before, and was accompanied by a contingent of the Dragon Wings and some archers. When we refused his demand they attacked us. Two of the dragon wings went straight for me and in no time at all everything went black-just for a moment. When I came to I could see Virgil beside me unconscious – I immediately poured a potion of healing down his throat. In the following moments everything seemed so very jumbled… Conrad and his fire spirit jumping around, swords swinging, including at me again, Rhumor racing about the street and then vanishing out sight, until I saw Nuri grab her precious earring as she called to all of us to come to her. Just as we all reached out to grab ahold of her *POOF*. Nuri, Conrad, Virgil, and myself all vanished and reappeared in the Blackstar (to a very startled Gimlet!). Shortly thereafter Rhumor joined us, and reported what he’d managed to overhear after our sudden departure. I informed the Blackstar’s proprietor, Asira, that we were being hunted by the cultists so the Inn would not be caught unawares if they tracked us here. She called for City Guard, who appeared outside the Blackstar a short time later. Feeling reasonably safe, we all settled in to try to rest for the night. While many of my companions experienced restless sleep, we were not disturbed further, and the morning came feeling rejuvenated, if a bit sore from the sound thrashing we had all received.
 
We discussed how we wanted to proceed before leaving the Blackstar, now cognizant of the fact that a powerful band of cultists was in the City and actively hunting us down. We knew there was a little more shopping to be done, including a way to counteract the very powerful poison spell that had apparently taken Virgil down and we still needed to make the exchange with Sand. We went to go see Sand first.
 
The exchange went without incident and Sand even offered the possibility of future contract employment with him from time to time, as well as offering up some information he’d heard about the where the cultists that attacked us were staying in Waterdeep. The Tabaxi appears to be very well connected, and very well informed…
 
Leaving Sand’s we accompanied Rhumor to pick up a variety of specialty arrows and then went back to Blackstar for a late lunch, a chance to discuss precisely how to handle the cultists, and to give me time to perform my binding ritual with Flametongue. From there we set out to procure some protection from poisons, and set about the business of spreading the news that we would be leaving the City by boat tonight.
 
The plan worked brilliantly. As the cultists made their rushed entrance to the docks area that we had set up in, we struck fiercely and decisively. Before the cultists even knew what hit them only one archer and one strangely dressed individual remained conscious. Those two both began to run. I leapt onto the roof of the building next to the fleeing stranger and then back down into the alley to cut off her escape, knocking her unconscious with a flurry of heavy blows from the hilt of my blade. We tied and gagged the red headed stranger along with the green-masked cultist and took them to Boggles for interrogation.
 
The cultist was reticent to share any information, but that did not really matter since Virgil was able to read his mind. We extracted what we could from him, and then turned him over to the Harpers. The red headed woman turned out to be a mercenary – more specifically a member of the Bounty Hunters Guild here in Waterdeep. We released her with a stern warning, and with payment of her splendid looking crossbow as a gift to Nuri. She also provided us with token of the Guild as proof that they now owe a debt to the Scalebreakers.
 
With the immediate threat of the cultists in Waterdeep being removed, we rested more soundly that night. The morning brought Leosin message as to where and when to meet him. Leosin himself was not allowed to join this meeting, which had been set with many of the most influential people along this portion of the Sword Coast. Representatives of Waterdeep, Baldur’s Gate, the Emerald Enclave, the Harpers, the Order of the Gauntlet, as well as a few other individuals whose positions were… less clear… were all in attendance. We were asked to provide details of our various experiences and accomplishments. Some of these pleased some members, while irritating others. Clearly politics will be at work within this ad hoc Council. We were also provided with some additional information while there. The Harpers believe they have located where the wearer of purple is who possesses the green dragon mask. There was also mention of a powerful female tiefling mage that has tremendous knowledge about dragons that went missing some time ago in the far north – and it is believed she could provide invaluable knowledge about cult and chromatic dragon activities.
 
We decided our first order of business though would be to aid our companion Nuri in rescuing her grandparents. From there we should be reasonably close to some of the clues that Conrad received about his missing professor and friends from the dig site. This might also provide an opportunity to learn more about the location of, or how to get to, where Virgil’s friend Whistler is. Lastly, it would leave us fairly close to the Serpent Hills, where the green dragon mask is believed to be. With so much on the horizon I expect we will need to stock up on supplies before leaving town. Our time here has been nice, though perhaps a bit short-lived, such is the life of an adventurer I suppose.