The Banshee's Bargain at Conyberry
From the Lost Mines of Phandelver
Recently, Sister Garaele's superiors asked her to undertake a delicate mission. They wanted her to persuade a banshee named Agatha to answer a question about a spellbook. Garaele sought out Agatha in her lair, but the creature did not appear for her.
Garaele desires an intermediary to bring Agatha a suitable gift, a jeweled silver comb, and persuade the creature to tell what she knows about the location of a spellbook belonging to a legendary mage named Bowgentle. Sister Garaele believes that a character who flatters Agatha's vanity might be able to trade the comb for an answer. She offers the quest to the characters and offers them three potions of healing as payment for their efforts. If the party pursues this quest, see "Conyberry and Agatha's Lair".
JOINING THE HARPERS
If the party helps Garaele learn the fate of Bowgentle's spellbook, the elf privately approaches certain members of the group to urge them to join The Harpers. She speaks with those who exemplify the virtues of the network and possess a desire to enact positive change through information and secrecy. If a character agrees, Sister Garaele awards the individual the title of Watcher.
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From the Spider's Web (part 3)
'Conyberry and Agatha's Lair'
The town of Conyberry was sacked by barbarians years ago and now lies in ruins. The Triboar Trail runs right through the abandoned town, providing an easy landmark for locating the lair of the banshee Agatha.
From the ruins of Conyberry, an old trail leads northwest into Neverwinter Wood. Agatha's lair is a few miles outside town.
The forest grows dark and still as the trail winds deeper into the trees. Heavy vines and thick layers of moss drape the branches, and the air is noticeably colder than it was in the ruined village. Rounding a bend in the trail, you see a screen made from the warped branches of trees standing close together, woven into a domelike shelter in the shadows. A low doorway leads inside.
If the characters exercise caution and remember what they've come for, they will be able to speak with the banshee. When the characters enter the shelter, read the following:
A home of sorts is sheltered within the dome of woven branches. It is sparsely furnished with chests, shelves, a table, and a reclined couch, all of it old and of elven craft.
Agatha senses the characters' intrusion and manifests shortly after they enter her home.
The air grows cold, and a powerful feeling of dread grips you. A cold, pale light flickers in the air, rapidly taking on the form of a female elf, her hair and robes waving in a spectral wind. She might have been beautiful once, but a hateful expression twists her features now.
"Foolish mortals," she snarls. "What do you want here? Do you not know it is death to seek me out?"
If the characters are rude, disrespectful, or threatening, Agatha scowls and disappears. She does not attack them, nor does she return if the characters call out to her.
Dealing With Agatha
If the characters are respectful and polite, Agatha can be persuaded to help them with a successful DC 15 Charisma (Persuasion) check. The player whose character takes the lead in speaking with the banshee makes the check. If that player roleplays the encounter well, allow him or her to make the check with advantage. If any character has Sister Garaele's silver comb and presents it to Agatha as a gift, the check is automatically successful.
The ghostly figure smiles with cold amusement. "Very well," she says. "I know that you seek many things. Ask me one question, and I will give you an answer."
If the characters ask about Bowgentle's spellbook, Agatha tells them that she traded the book to a necromancer named Tsermoth from the city of Iriaebor more than a hundred years ago. She does not know what became of the book afterward. Her answer is truthful, and it is all the information Sister Garaele needs for the Harpers to resume their search.
The characters might instead choose to ask Agatha about something else-for example, the location of Cragmaw Castle, the location of Wave Echo Cave, the identity of The Black Spider, or Hamun Kost's question about Old Owl Well (see that section).
Agatha is well informed and a capable diviner, so she can answer almost any single question pertaining to the adventure that the characters think to ask. However, the banshee answers only one question, so the characters should choose it carefully.
Awarding Experience Points
The characters gain experience for successfully persuading Agatha to answer a question. If they do, divide 200 XP equally among the characters. _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Homebrewed ... See map of the lair
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