Session Preface
Stepping through the threshold of the Pointed Pipe once again into the dark, dreary streets of Skullport, you can't help but feel something is off. Of course, that could be due to the levitating body sliced like thin ribbons levitating in the alley across the way. Or it could be the intense dread which immediately burrowed into the citizen's minds at the very mention of the so-called Rag Mage. Maybe it's the heightened sense of desperation as the fourth day of your journey ticks away and you have not one but now two tasks still to be completed. Maybe it's the off-putting gentile nature of the old woman operating a drug den and something she isn't saying about this missing person situation. Or perhaps it is just this place, draped in foul muck and the stench of rotting refuse where everyone seems ready to snap at a moment's notice. As you begin your ascent of a mostly-intact rope ladder back up to the Central portion of the city in search of Twoedge's shop, a gnawing and vague sense of dissonance settles in the back of your mind.
Making your way through the haphazard rope bridge streets of this part of town, you find yourselves standing before a simple wooden structure which has like the rest of the city, seen better days. Overhead, a round wooden sign hands with the words "Twoedge's Blades" over a pair of swords, but the word Blades has been scratched out and "Dumplings" carved over top. Stepping into the shop, a ruddy-faced dwarf with a diving widow's peak and receding hair line looks up to the three of you.
"Aye, fancy yourself a dumpling or a dozen? We've got six different fillings and boy, are they filling!"
Session Summary
During their introduction to Twoedge, the party learns their missing person Krystaleen did indeed frequent the Pointed Pipe and Twoedge had escorted her as her good friend on their last visit thanks to a recent newcomer to Skullport, a gnome by the name of Zildul, had been paying a bit too close attention to her for either of their liking. After purchasing several dozen dumplings much to Thaust's enjoyment, the party make their way to the Crafty Carafe, the evening drinking spot Zindul recently opened.
Upon meeting the talkative and overly charismatic gnome, the party sit for a round of his homebrewed "Underground Jungle Juice" which they quickly discover brings upon strange shifts in their personality when consumed too quickly. It's not long before Hawk tricks Zindul into implicating himself in more than fancying Krystaleen as he initially insists. With Thaust playing 'bad guard' and threatening to kill Zindul and Fenris blocking the door, Hawk further interrogates the gnome learning that Mia, the maternal manager of the Pointed Pipe requested his help in making sure Krystaleen would be severely incapacitated before Mia dragged her into a hidden room within the stalagmite build into the resting chamber.
The party departs Zindul's once he has been coerced into signing a confession and stating his knowledge of Mia's ill intent, going so far as to wonder if she is monstrous in her true form. Realizing they will likely need assistance to deal with this matter, the party pays a visit to Felrax, a Harper mage coordinating the transport of freed slaves out of Skullport from a hidden base in the long-considered haunted Dalagor's Fortress. Unable to help due to the necessity of keeping their position and numbers hidden, Felrax suggests the party use the labyrinth of sewers to find their way to this hidden room.
Descending into the sewers, it is not long before the party finds themselves lost in a series of dead ends. In the darkness, a telepathic voice, introducing itself as the Skum Lord, inquires about the party's presence in the sewers and their plans. When they explain they mean to hinder Mia as well as eventually the Guild, the telepathic voice invites them to the water's edge, revealing itself to be an aboleth with an army of kuo-toa followers. The two parties come to an agreement that in exchange for leading the party to their destination, the adventurers will deal a fatal blow to the chain of command of Xanathar's for the betterment of the city as a whole.
With the aid of the Skum Lord's guide, the party soon finds themselves pushing forth out of the sewers and into the hidden chamber attached to the Pointed Pipe. Quickly recognizing an unconscious Krystaleen from their original description of her, they grab her and start heading back through the sewers when they are detected by Mia who drops her disguise and attacks the party with the help of a single vampire spawn. Though nearly overwhelmed, the companions hold their own and manage to defeat the ancient vampire they now know to be Eriza Gloomdelve before she transforms into mist and makes her escape.
Soon after, with Krystaleen safely brought to Dalagor's Fortress, the party explains Krystaleen's predicament and her now necessary escape from Skullport, which Felrax is happy to provide. Insistent the delivery not be delayed because of her failures, Krystaleen insists the party deliver the package back to her pawn shop, instructing Hawk to search for a secret compartment with an enchanted invisible false opening behind a bookshelf on the far side of the counter.
Finally within reach of completing their original task, the party sets out across the surface level of Skullport, only to find themselves being followed by a cloaked figure. Revealing himself to be Copper Stormforge, the dwarven cartographer saved by the party from the goblins of the Arcane Chambers, the party expresses their frustration at the fruitlessness of his map. At this, the dwarf cocks his head curiously, saying "What makes you think I'm the cartographer?"
With this, the undead dwarf, discovered to be embodied by the revenant from their earlier adventures, Halleth Garke, stabs Hawk through the chest. A dangerous fight breaks out in the narrow alleyways as skulkers of the city pass by unaffected. With an oath made against the party for abandoning him in his time of need, the revenant strikes with fury and fervor, nearly killing Hawk before Halleth is finally defeated once again.
Now having made enemies of two undead threats and one favor almost complete only for another set to begin, the party continues on their way towards the pawnshop careful not to bring any more trouble to bear against the task at hand.
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