Griffon: 12/2/18

Masquerade, Interrupted by Mark Kung
Albertak | Aoife | Drips | Fiego | Tully

Theodore Braynen, successful importer of halfling meade and prosperous member of the Merchant’s Guild was throwing a Masquerade Ball to honor Waukeen, Goddess of Trade, as well as show off his new estate. A meteor shower was predicted that night and a viewing from the newly renovated South Wing was scheduled. Fiego and Tully both received invitations as members of the nobility.   Previously: After his near public unmasking, Tully felt he needed an ally within his family and asked his sister, Larissa, to his room. Absent his usual calm, he fidgeted in his nervousness at what he was about to reveal to her.   Present: Fiego, convinced that Tully needed something to take his mind off of recent events, cajoled his friend into attending the Masquerade. Reluctantly, Tully agreed and the friends acquired a pair of Comedy and Tragedy styled Blue and Red Oni masks. Fiego even bought costumes for Rufus and Regina, who were tiny little Blue and Red Dragons.   Drips was contacted, via rat messenger, by the Svirfneblin, deep gnomes, whose community in the near reaches of the Underdark acted as a buffer between Waterdeep’s Undermountain and the wilder reaches of the subterranean Underdark. When he met with the pale gnomes, they informed him that they had sighted movement from Drow troops in the sewers, all centered on one particular estate in Waterdeep that housed a vital intake of seawater for the city. If that were to be damaged, the flooding could spell disaster for the deep gnome community. The Svirfneblin had discovered that this estate was to be host to a grand Masquerade and had procured a giant rat costume to help Drips infiltrate and stop the Drow. The druid enlisted his friend, the roguish Albertak, to help with the job. The dwarf provided his own costume from his disguise kit: a giant bee.   The City Guard, meanwhile, had their own reports about drow movement in the city and contacted Aoife, orphaned drow ranger, as a trusted ally. She was approached by Watch Captain Raoul de Gryphon, who explained that, as a Drow, she would be able to get close to these troops if need be, and stop them from whatever nefarious plans they were enacting, which had been historically bad for the city. Their reports zeroed in on the new Braynen Estate as the likely target for attacks, and the Captain had commissioned a costume for Aoife and her young griffon companion, Zephyr. They were going to be an overly realistic Owlbear and her cub.   Previously: After some nervous chatter, Tully finally revealed to his sister what he had been hiding from her and the rest of the family. “I am Nighthawk.” Larissa pulled away in shock, not believing him at first, but his animated shadow and lack of a heartbeat convinced her.   Present: Fiego and Tully arrived at the Braynen estate and were ferried to the entrance, right on the ocean. The waves lapped the stone dock as various guests, mostly merchants and all in costume, disembarked and made their way inside. They were greeted by Theodore Braynen, eager to make a good impression with the young nobles.   Also disembarking from the ferry was Aoife and her young griffon companion, Zephyr. Both of them were dressed an owlbears. Aoife in a bulkily realistic costume that hindered her vision and movement, Zephyr as a smaller owlbear cub.   Sneaking in through a servant’s entrance, Drips and Albertak surveyed the staff and guests for any anomalies and discerned that a serving boy seemed to have a suspicious obsession with one particular broom closet. Cornering him and bewitching him, Drips discovered that he was tasked with opening a secret door in the closet to let the drow into the party given a signal. The two decided to approach the captain of the house guards and warn them of the impending attack and set off into the party.   This is when our heroes all noticed each other in quick succession. Fiego and Tully saw Goward Espertine, another noble and member of the Dragon Cult as well as the notorious criminal, The Midnight Glider and had a moment of tense conversation with him, but were approached by a druid and a rogue in a rat and bee costume, respectively. The whispered mention of drow in the party certainly caught the attention of Aoife, who revealed her identity to them, Tully, who was beginning to surmise that the night wasn’t going to be as relaxing as he’d been promised, and Fiego, who ushered everyone to a small courtyard near a fountain for some privacy. Before they were able to divulge much information, Fiego noticed a costumed woman trying to listen in on their conversation.   Previously: Shocked that her brother was the infamous Nighthawk, Larissa was guarded and asked Tully why he became the masked vigilante, and he was forced once again to recall the series of events that led to the creation of his alter ego. Rather than condemning him as he thought she would, she ended up encouraging him to keep his mask, for the good he could do for the people of Waterdeep, though her worry for him did seem to resolve her to some unknown end.   Present: “Larissa?” Fiego recognized the woman as Tully’s sister and the shadowy young noble walked off to confront her while the rest of the group discussed their plans.   The group argued for a moment, Aoife deciding to alert the City Guard while Fiego, Drips, and Albertak decided to continue with the plan to warn the House Guard Captain, Albertak angling for payment in exchange for his information.   Not a moment too soon, as Fiego spotted a drow infiltrator mingling with the party guests. Summoning all the highborn arrogance he could, Fiego bullied his way to the Captain of the House Guards but balked at the last moment, wary of someone dressed in the costume of the Dragon Cult. Instead of the disclosing the truth, he tried to subtly test the Captain and see his reaction to the idea of a hostile disruption to the party. As a last ditch effort he tried, and failed, to convince Braynen to move the party onto one of his ships.   Meanwhile, Albertak extorted 40 gold from the Guard Captain for his knowledge of the coming invasion and a promise of 1500 more if he quietly made the problem go away.   Tully interrogated Larissa about her presence at the party, but she lied very badly and was obviously there to keep an eye on her brother.   Aoife sent Zephyr with a report to the circling Griffon Guard that there were other factors in play, but received word to simply continue with her mission.   Making his move, Drips summoned a magical light source in an effort to blind and confuse the drow infiltrator.   This sudden magical manifestation scared the guests and cause Braynen to accelerate the tour of his estate in order to cover it up. All the guests were ushered by the guards into the south wing. Our heroes all found a way to slip the notice of the guards and separate themselves from the party guests, Aoife removing the bulky costume as she did. Tully assumed the guide of The Nighthawk. Furtive movements drew their attention to the wharf where they spotted figures planting some sort of explosive in the seawater intake pipes. Fiego leaped into the water, but not before the explosive went off, shaking the estate.   Our heroes gave chase, rushing into the subterranean pipes to discover the Midnight Glider and a group of drow planting some sort of arcane devices into the pipes. Hoping they were not too late, Fiego urged his companions to stop them before it was too late. Drips once again summoned bright light to hopefully dazzle the cave dwelling drow, the Midnight Glider shouted for a switch to be thrown which caused water to start rushing down the pipes, creating treacherous rapids. Battle was joined.   Fiego rushed toward the Midnight Glider, pushing drow guards into the water as he went. Drips, crawling on the ceiling with the magic of his Spider Climb Slippers, summoned two Giant Toads to threaten the Midnight Glider and the drow mage. Albertak fired on the drow with his shortbow. Aoife also fired arrows at their foes while coordinating her attacks with Zephyr. Nighthawk hammered at them with blasts of black flame. The drow mage summoned inky black tentacles to bind Albertak and Nighthawk, but was eventually felled. One of the giant toads ate her. The rest of the drow guards finally fled before the might of our heroes, except for one that was captured along with the Midnight Glider.   After Aoife summoned the Guard to collect the Midnight Glider, the landing of the Griffon Cavalry ruined the rest of the party and the House Captain rescinded his offer of reward.   The Midnight Glider would go on trial for his crimes.