The Clown

After I spent some time in Waterdeep pursuing my arcane ambitions Ignatius and Altan returned with Dustyn in tow just as promised. However, they also brought three others along with them. Two of them clerics and one paladin; all Lathanderites. The paladin, Sir Matthias Dawnheart, seems to be the heroic type and reminds me quite a bit of Tristan back in Neverwinter. He seems like a rather noble noble that cvan be trusted to do what is just and good but with, well, everything about me I doubt we'll be friends any time soon. The two clerics, Melchior Dawnguard and Alareck Everlight, seem to hate each other due to philosophical, theological, or personal reasons but seeing as I don't know them and have no plans to get to know them I am not going to get involved. Dustyn seems a bit headstrong and stubborn, unlike his more reasonable and compassionate brother.
 
We decided that, with all of our combined power, a shortcut through the Mere of Dead Men was possible to get to Neverwinter. As we ,made our way through the marsh we battled the occasional undead or monster that wanderted our way but we had no issues until we were ambushed on the second day. A thick fog was summoned upon our cart and we were quickly surrounded by zombies on all sides. Realizing we were definitely dealing with a necromancer, I called out to our clerics and paladins to take the frontline. Though Ignatius, Dustyn, and Matthias were successful as they were already at the front and back of the carriage. Melchior and Alareck however had more trouble as the zombies began smashing through the walls of the carriage and attacking us. With all of us working together we were able to destroy our undead attackers and go out to back up our frontliners.
 
As we fought off some bandits, we were all surprised when a clown in tattered pajamas wielding a scimitar burst out of the fog and began helping us fight off what was revealed to be some cultists led by a wizard. Apparently this clown, Bartholomew James Butterworth III, was a captive of these cultists for the past week and was able to free himself when his captors were busy ambushing us. While this clown seems rather... unconventional in combat, any allies are welcome. After defeating the cultists Melchior, Altan, and I gave pursuit to the necromancer and with great effort took him down. Now, with the fog finally dispersing, we were able to identify them as a Red Wizard of Thay. Though what was odd about this encounter was that Altan and Dustyn identified the cultists as members of the Cult of the Dragon, a fanatical group that believes in an interpretation of an obscure prophecy that dracoliches are meant to rule the world. While them being with a necromancer made sense, it was incredibly strange that it was a Red Wizard. Before they died, Bart heard one mention a "Favric" leading another group of cultists to speak with a dragon named Venomfang at the ruins of Thundertree, just at the edge of Neverwinter Wood near Neverwinter. Dustyn and Altan plan to confront these cultists after we arrive in Neverwinter.
 
The clown has decided to travel with us to Neverwinter and join our quest to Phandalin as he was returning to Neverwinter to perform his comedy routine and hopefully reconnect with an old friend: a ranger named Ilvarus that was originally from the Phandalin area before moving to Neverwinter. I am hoping that this Ilvarus can give more information about the Phandalin region with their insight as a ranger to help me find some Netherese ruins there.