Session 2: Candlekeep and Baldur's Gate
General Summary
The party is summoned to Candlekeep Library by Raedon via individual letter:
Dear Adventurer, Your presence is required at the Candlekeep Library on the 17th of Kythorn. We must speak in private about your recent engagement with a certain illicit character. Please note that this meeting is of utmost importance and secrecy; your presence is mandatory and will be well-rewarded. Meet my correspondent at The Quill & Ale Inn, Beregost. From there, you will be escorted through the gates and to my private quarters. Raedon of The Order of CandlekeepThey arrive at the town of Beregost two months after the events in Nearforest, during which time some of them made extra money via shenanigans. When they arrive, they learn that Candlekeep holds the world’s secrets and is protected by followers of Oghma, Lord of Knowledge. They are surprised to find that Raedon is in fact an awakened cat, a plump and aloof white maine coon with a ladder of tan and black stripes down his back. Raedon shows the party that the Clever they brought him is non-magical while a pill collected in Waterdeep recently clearly is, and appears to be a permanent illusion. He hires them to find the source of this new magical version of Clever, offering either two tendays access to the fabled Great Library or 10,000g a piece, and this will be halved if the source is not taken alive. The party is hesitant because their last Candlekeep contact did not pay them, but Readon assures them that Dr. Jenwell has been exiled from the Order of Candlekeep due to his lack of tenacity. The cat gives Bidahlin, one of the Keep's Avowed, five stable tokens which can be used to borrow horses from Beregost's secret stable. Bidahlin guides the party back to Beregost Stable, where he gives the half-orc Stablemaster Kinta the five tokens. She leads them to a door at the very back of the normal-looking stable. Although it looks like the door should open to the outside, it leads to a small, mechanical elevator. The secret stable is 6 floors deep, each floor holding a breathtaking array of horses, some looking innocuous, some looking magical. Kinta tells them each to choose a mount. Yuan-tan chooses Vlatigor, who is actually a giant man who believes he is a horse, and will physically defend it. Rick selects Rue, a seasoned warhorse who the stable master warns appears to be counting down to something. Narcissa Crow takes a jet black horse named Maximum Grace, which can climb walls with the ease of a mountain goat. Eieb chooses Sketzel, a striped horse that turns into a merhorse when submerged in water, and Anteries claims the shaved and tattooed Pendatta, who will store an unused spell slot for her each day. The party travels toward Baldur's Gate, where they hope to find ship's passage to Waterdeep. Along the way, they run into a 130 year old vampire masking as a lost child, who drains Anteries within an inch of her life but is staked by Eieb just in time. They also come across a painter, Yusef Targrinin, who offers to paint a portrait of Anteries: The Daughter of the Sun-- in exchange for a quick flash from Narcissa. The party arrives at The Gate, a massive port city known for its prominent acceptance of the taboo. From the guards, they learn of the Summer Solstice Festival being held in the city. They sign up for Arena of Teeth -- a brutal arena-style tournament featuring creatures of the deep released into The Gate’s bay, and which offers a handsome monetary reward as well as access to the year’s craziest party-- The Solstice Ball. That night they stay at Elfsong Tavern, where Eieb is recognized and courted by a former lover after he performs a play fight with Yuan-tan and Rick. The next morning, they attend the tournament and meet Verinos Valancia and his three bodyguards, the Cholla Sisters (Reya, Peza, and Troy Cholla), who wear gladiator-style garb and wield menacing pikes. Verinos is an extremely charismatic Trade Prince hailing from the city of Marsember. He is an attractive young olive-skinned man, and his charm is undeniable but eternally frustrating. The Gray Harbor has been transformed overnight. Merchant and pedestrian ships have vacated the harbor, whose docks are now lined with temporary wooden seating, and onlookers are already filing into the stands. The ocean-side of the harbor has been closed off with several large pleasure barges, which carry wealthy nobles and other onlookers. In contrast to the wooden stands, these barges look absolutely decadent, with fine plush seating, active kitchens, and many servants. In the water sits several wooden flotillas arranged in a grid, with ample space for open water in between them. They make their way to the south shore and are waved into what looks to be a repurposed stable. Five other teams sit clustered together. Every person appears to be armed to the teeth, except for one man who leans casually against a shoddy wall, surrounded by impossibly muscular women. In place of armor he wears finely tailored clothes of black, green and gold. He stops mid-laugh as they enter, eyeing each of them up and down with a wry grin. "Newcomers," he sneers. "Grand! We'll have something to chum the waters with." A dwarf shouts from the other end of the stable before they can respond and motions for the groups to pay attention. He explains that each team will fight a set of ocean monstrosities within the Arena of Teeth, order picked randomly. The team must successfully kill all creatures to pass the round, but scores points for artful combat. The team with the most points must then defeat the final challenger, the largest shark caught alive in the last year. Tampering with another team's fight results in immediate disqualification. They hear a loud cheer coming from the stands. "Sounds like they're ready for us,” the dwarf says, “Valancia, your crew was drawn first. You know the drill." The well-dressed man nods and sweeps past them all, women in tow. They are instructed to sit in the combatant's tower and watch from above, giving an excellent view of the watery arena. A large, round man stands on a dock jutting out into the temporary arena. His excitable voice is clearly magically enhanced so that the entire harbor can hear it. "Welcome, Solstice Revelers, to The Arena of Teeth! Today we revel in the glory of Aethon Sol and his brother Bahamut, God of War. Each year we celebrate these Gods' power and the protection they so graciously bestow upon us by engaging in noble war with those whom the light does not touch! This year we have six dedicated champion groups willing to fight for the glory of The Gods (and for the debaucherous revelry sure to follow our victors!) First into The Teeth comes a name you all know, Champions for three years running! Please welcome to the waters--- Verinos and the Cholla Sisters, Valancia's Pride!" The well-dressed man from the stables swaggers onto the jutting dock, unarmed, arms raised in self praise. The three women follow stoically, wielding sharp pikes and shields. The crowd goes absolutely wild and near hundreds of golden roses fly through the air and land delicately on the placid water. One of the combatants sitting beside the party huffs. "Ten gold says he does the rose thing." "You're on," says the dwarf sitting next to him. "No way he uses that old trick again." Almost as if cued, the well-dressed man named Verinos flicks his wrist and levitates one of the more pristine roses, moving it gently into the hands of a beautiful red-headed woman, who faints instantly. The man bows to another eruption of applause. "Fuck," says the dwarf, handing over his money. The members of Valancia's Pride skillfully leap onto the flotillas, each taking a separate platform. They're clearly practiced. "Release the beasts!" Yells the fat man. "May Bahamut grant you a swift victory!" They hear a loud clang as some machinery works on the far side of the harbor. A heavy metal grate lifts slowly out of the water and they can barely see the ripples of water that dart out from it. “Valancia’s Pride is up against a tough set,” says the announcer, “A giant octopus, a hammerhead shark, and a swarm of quippers on top it all off!” The arena is quiet for a moment, then a long, muscular green arm slams out of the water and wraps itself around the leg of the largest Cholla Sister. She catches herself from falling in and slices the arm off, leaving it wiggling and still gripping her armored leg. Nearby, the hammerhead's fin slices through the water, heading straight for Verinos' flotilla. It rams the raft at full speed, but instead of falling into the water, the well-dressed man leaps an impossible distance into the air, jumping 60 feet up and landing gracefully on the adjacent raft holding the smallest Cholla sister. The crowd cheers for his artistry as the shark whips around.. “I bet you another 10 gold the bastard doesn’t even get scratched,” says the combatant beside them to the dwarf. “Deal. That shark'll fuck him up for sure." He responds. He dips a toe in the water and shakes it, hollering at the shark circling nearby. It whips around and charges again, savagely jumping out of the water at Verinos. He touches it in mid air, smiling, fearless, and it drops onto the raft motionless, belly up. "Awe, did we fall asleep now?" Verinos says to the shark, then turns to the audience, "Now, that just won't do!" He motions to the muscular woman next to him, who obediently jams her pike into the shark's head. It flounders helplessly for a few moments before entering permanent stillness. At the far side, they see a swarm of piranha-like fish bubble out of the water. The swarm splits in two and traps the middle sister on her flotilla, and one of the fish leaps out of the water and catches her in the arm. Nearby, the giant octopus hauls itself out of the water, one limb missing, and attacks the larger sister once more. It grapples her to the raft and she struggles wildly for a few moments, then goes still. The crowd holds its breath. Suddenly, a wide knife bursts through the body of the octopus, along with the arm grasping it. The monster goes limp as the large woman rolls it off of her, screaming triumphantly. The announcer shouts excitedly, "Two down in a record-breaking time!" By this time, the quippers swarming after the middle sister have moved to Verinos' raft, frenzied over the shark's blood spilling into the water. Verinos now sits calmly at the edge of the raft, sitting cross legged and casually inspecting his nails. Quippers leap savagely in the water near him, and he yawns theatrically, then places two fingers in the water and points two to the sky. Just when it seems the quippers will take his hand, he whistles into the air and releases as ear-splitting crack as lightning coalesces at his fingertips, runs through his body, and darts into the water below. The whole arena lights in a flash. The frenzy goes silent. The crowd goes silent. The announcer goes silent. After a moment, they begin to see small, jagged-toothed fish appear on the surface of the now placid water, fried. The crowd bursts into a deafening roar. Verinos bows theatrically while the sisters stand stoically beside him. "What a grand fight!" shouts the announcer. "Our judges scores are in… 30 points! Wow, a tough score to beat." Verinos' gang performs spectacularly and is clearly a crowd favorite. However, our party wins the challenge portion of the tournament because of their dramatic and violent fight. Eieb is mauled by a blood-crazed orca, who swallows his other arm just past the elbow. While Eieb is unconscious underwater, Rick ties a rope around Yuan-tan and throws him into the pool of blood; Yuan-tan is able to grab Eieb and drag him out of the water. Eventually, the orca is worn out by the party until Yuan-tan mocks him to death. A quipper swarm attacks Rick, and Armless Eieb rescues him by punting the fish across the arena and into the soup bowl of one of the viewing nobles, who claps vigorously for their show. The party wins 2500gp and is set to fight the main event-- this year's most monstrous catch.
"Verinos now sits calmly at the edge of the raft, sitting cross legged and casually inspecting his nails. Quippers leap savagely in the water near him, and he yawns theatrically, then places two fingers in the water and points two to the sky. Just when it seems the quippers will take his hand, he whistles into the air and releases as ear-splitting crack as lightning coalesces at his fingertips, runs through his body, and darts into the water below."
