Chapter 22: Forgive Me Father

General Summary

Date: 16th of Flamerule, 1491 DR

The Goodfellas arrived to the Harper Villa located in the city of Yartar. Passing through the illusionary garden they made their way through the streets towards Sword Coast Trader's Bank where they withdrew all of their belongings and exchanged them into gold and platinum. Before setting off to Waterdeep they had a meeting with a halfling in one of the inns of the city, the Pearl-Handled Pipe.
Just a few buildings to the west from the bank, they found the exquisite and lively establishment where the meeting would take place. Inside they found Felgolos enjoying a hearty feast by himself and the heroes joined him. Felgolos asked about the events that had occurred within the past few days and the adventurers recapped how they rescued Tharra and liberated Shadowtop Cathedral from the spiders, but weren't able to find Aerglas. Despite this, Felgolos felt they should be compensated for their heroic actions and gifted them a pouch filled with harbor moons.
The halfling also provided some valuable information to the heroes. They learned that the Mere of the Dead and the Kryptgarden Forest were both homes to terrible evil dragons. Felgolos couldn't be able to give insight on the Dragon Masks nor the purpose of the rune that Virion carried, but could name it and thus Virion was one step further in unlocking their potential. They also learned that a cloud giant called Zephyros was circling around the Phandelver Region, searching for the Butcherers of Phandalin. The halfling had made friends with Harshnag as well, but didn't know where he currently was. The heroes then spent time planning among themselves on whether they should split the party and visit both locations or stick together and focus on one task at a time. When the conversation concluded they said farewells to the halfling and continued onwards.
Utilizing the teleportation network in Everlund, the adventurers arrived to a dimly lit crypt, beneath the City of the Dead. The young mage Thestryl got startled from the sudden appearance of the heroes, but eventually relaxed. She laid down her book Orc-ane Romance and commanded the stone guardian above the crypt to lift the sarcophagi lid. Navigating through the vast mounds of the graveyard, Nomime and Virion were in for a surprise as they stepped through the gates and ventured into the main street.
The large metropolis filled with life was something they hadn't witnessed before. Flying carpets and patrolling griffon riders dashed through the air above, the High Road was filled with odd transportation vehicles and multicultural groups. The City of Splendors was truly a marvelous cosmopolitan city of great culture, but unfortunately they didn't have enough time to take in the city as Bene lead them to one of the public transportation vehicle called the dray. Still, the rest of the heroes enjoyed the quick sightseeing tour with Bene giving insight on the city and it's establishments. They eventually reached to the end of the street where Field Ward was enclosed behind large walls. 
The Field Ward was a different world on its own. The muddy, unpaved streets were filled with beggars, deformed outcasts and unsavory individuals. The stink of slaughter houses and waste lingered in the air as Bene led them through the off roads towards Twelvedog Court. The party was quickly ambushed by a local gang called the Brassnuts, but Bene was able to bribe them for protection. They eventually arrived to the small square in front of an old abandoned church.
The empty chapel was in disrepair, though the rooms revived precious childhood memories for Bene. He found no traces of his family there and so they decided to investigate further for information about Bene's family. The party hired street urchins to gather information about Bene's missing father and then made their way to the Endshift Tavern. The guards there had no useful info about the priest but luckily someone had overheard their conversation. 
The Goodfellas were approached by a hooded figure who promised to arrange a meeting with Bene's father if given a few hours. During this time they were able to hire another batch of abandoned children who brought Nomime candy. They set a meeting with a Zhentarim agent who offered to procure them smokespowder for 500 gold pieces in about three days and the party set up a meeting in the Golden Harp Inn after the goods would be obtained. It was then time for a family reunion to take place.
They headed back to Twelvedog Court, where inside the chapel they found a lone priest waiting for them. Chains the Grey seemed uninterested about his adopted sons death nor about the giants, but wanted to know all the information the party had about the Cult of the Dragon. The conversation slowly formed into an interrogation where Chains learned about the informants the party have had, such as Tharra and the Harpers in Everlund. The party grew suspicious of the old priest as he warned them not to interfere with the Cult, but the suspicion quickly turned into chaos once the illusion of Chains the Gray vanished and was replaced by a hanging corpse of Bene's father. 
The party did not have time to react as shouts came from outside the church. The guards demanded the heroes to surrender and thoughts of escaping ran through their heads, but eventually they complied. Bene was surprised to see an unusual amount of guards on the arrest, when no crime was yet committed but suffering from shock he beckoned his party to surrender. Some of the guards ran inside and confirmed that the body was killed mere moments ago and the Goodfellas were handcuffed and escorted to the Trolltower, a City Watch building.
More chaos ensued as a giant cloud castle emerged from the clouds causing a wide-spread panic among the Waterdhavians. The heroes beckoned the guard to set them free, but weren't able to do so. No attack came from the castle above the clouds and guards were dispatched to calm the people. And so the heroes sat in their cells, being framed of a murder they did not commit, sharing information to a person that wasn't Chains the Grey and a Cloud Giant castle floating above the city was just a cherry on top. Who are the people framing the Goodfellas? How did they learn of the Goodfellas arrival so quickly? Will the heroes be able to clear their name or will the tale of the Goodfellas end with them being hanged for a false crime?

Rewards Granted

• 5 Harbor Moons & a gambling token

Missions/Quests Completed

• Reported back to Felgolos

Character(s) interacted with

• Kolbaz, the caretaker of the Yartar teleportation circle
• Felgolos 
• Thestryl Mellardin, the caretaker of the Waterdeep teleportation circle
• Brassnuts
• Hulbek Stouthart, the Zhentarim contact
• Unknown individual manifesting the illusion of Chains the Grey
• Sebastian, the racist guard

Campaign

Storm King's Thunder

Protagonists

Nomime Shandri

Bene Lugosi

Chaotic Neutral Human (Charlatan)
Rogue 1

10 / 10 HP

STR

DEX

CON

INT

WIS

CHA

Ranvas Pahrunath

Neutral Good Triton (Outlander, Pilgrim)
Fighter, Gunslinger 1

14 / 14 HP

STR
16

DEX
17

CON
18

INT
12

WIS
17

CHA
11

Report Date

26 Feb 2022

Primary Location

Waterdeep

Secondary Location

Yartar

Related Characters

• Bene Lugosi
• Nomime Shandri
• Ranvas Pahrunath
• Virion Mosstrap