Mazfroth's Mighty Digressions - PCs
Introduction
The party enjoys some downtime shenanigans, including a pretty solid 2 out of 3 performance by "The Western Cobra" in the grimy fighting pit at The Jovial Juggler. However, it's not long before the party is summoned back to Candlekeep, where they have been asked to deal with some misbehaving books. After the animated swarms and chained library of Fistandia's Magnificent Mansion, they can't believe they're going back in for more of that nonsense. Dutifully, they load up the party wagon and make their way to Candlekeep.
After being greeted by Teles and Fembris, they get the lowdown. Apparently, two books in the last couple of weeks have morphed from mild-mannered historical tomes into one-metre diameter luminescent spheres, then proceeded to attacker the seekers that had been reading them. Ill-mannered, indeed! The party is asked to supervise the adjutants that are now reviewing all recently arrived books more thoroughly prior to putting them into general circulation, such as it is in Candlekeep. The party reviews the facts, inquires about the origin of the two transformed books, and discovers that one of the seekers that provided a transformed book is still at Candlekeep. They agree to split the party, with Cornelius and Clint volunteering to help with the adjutants, and Bunk, Aubrey, Vanyel, and Creed off to speak with Valor, an honourable tiefling bounty hunter.
Investigation
The interrogation team arrives at The Hearth, where they find Valor perched on the roof. She is young, physically imposing, and determined to work off the debt she feels that she incurred upon discovering that the book she brought to Candlekeep seeking entry was a monstrous counterfeit. The party learned the following: 1) Valor brought a book called The Dark Hunger, a bizarre collection of notes about Hadar, to Candlekeep thirteen days ago; 2) She obtained said tome at a market stall in The Wide, part of the Upper City in Baldur's Gate; and 3) Valor was informed three days ago about the transformation of and attack by the book, at which point she elected to assist with chores until her debt was considered repaid. She was distressed in particular that the attack had resulted in the death of a homunculus. Prior to the book's destruction by the wizard, it transformed into a spider and attempted to scurry away, but it seemingly evaporated upon its demise. When pressed further, she could only recall part of the stall's name, "dune", and professed that she had found the area distasteful and departed as soon as the transaction was completed.
Meanwhile, back in the Pillars, Clint had an uneventful time with his adjutant. Cornelius, however, found himself in a spot of bother as the adjutant to which he was assigned cracked open an oddly constructed volume entitled Mazfroth's Mighty Digressions. The collection of eclectic essays covered a variety of subjects, including the Weave, Malar's relationship to lycanthropy, and the creativity of the demon lords of the Abyss. During their exploration of the mismatched pages, the book undergoes the transformation described to them previously. The glowing, ectoplasmic sphere attacks with some sort of life-draining attack, which is perceived as a cold dread washing over them. The adjutant quickly passes out, while Cornelius is badly wounded. Clint rushes to their aid from the adjacent room and the two are mentally assailed by the monster with repetitive pleas of "feed me". The combined efforts of our two heroes, along with a powerful Avowed mage, are sufficient to destroy the creature before any permanent damage is done.
A Chat with a High Ass
The individual responsible for bringing Mazfroth's Mighty Digressions is identified as Yalerion Highscroll. The party are brought to his study room in the Pillars, where they confront him. He is visiting from Waterdeep, a scholar and follower of Oghma, and seems to enjoy bloviating about his love for the god of knowledge and himself. However, the party is able to extract from this character that he also obtained the book from a stall in the Wide. From the description, it seems to be the same one visited by Valor. Similarly, both Valor and Yalerion seem to have mentioned Candlekeep in explaining their reason for purchasing their respective rare books. Some theories are proposed by the group about the function of the books and intentions of these mysterious booksellers.
After consulting further with Teles regarding their findings, it is agreed that the books that are believed to have arrived via Baldur's Gate will be further quarantined and only reviewed by more experienced mages. The party will head to the city to find the booksellers and determine what exactly is going on.
On the Road
After a few uneventful nights, the party is ambushed early in the night by a trio of hungry giant rats. While fending them off without much difficulty, Bunk and Vanyel are able to spot the group's ringleader. A wererat in hybrid form attemps to flee, but a precise aerial strike from Vanyel's bow seems to fell this more dangerous foe. The party quickly catches up to him and binds him. He reveals that his name is Mushika, most recently of Baldur's Gate, but he expresses a profound fear at being returned there to face justice. Apparently, he has crossed both the city guard and the Thieves' Guild and will likely face death if he is found in the city again. He gives up what useful information he has regarding the booksellers, who he identifies as Amberdune Books. He also reveals that he has heard rumours of the purveyors being a pack of jackalweres, led by a lamia. Finally, he reminds the party of the perils of facing lycanthropes without silvered or magical weapons by shaking out Vanyel's arrow, illustrating its futility. In exchange for this information, he pleads for his freedom, which the party is kind enough to grant. They implore him to head to Beregost and straighten up his act.
Arrival in Baldur's Gate
The party safely makes their way to Baldur's Gate, passing through the Basilisk Gate into the northeast portion of the Lower City. Despite Creed and Karras' suggestions to maintain a low profile and look like they belong, Vanyel loses his composure amongst the throngs of folks filling the streets and elects to rise above it. With his aerial transit of the city, Vanyel attracts the attention of many people, including a collection of youthful street urchins. While Vanyel is able to zip up to a minor belltower and conceal himself, Karras outwits the leader of the kids in a game of dice and recruits them to do some scouting for the party. (NB: most of the children had the names of known doping cyclists, including Lance Armstrong, Tyler Hamilton, and Floyd Landis. Andy Schleck was the quiet, straight-laced kid in the group. One wonders how poor Andy ended up with the group of ne'er-do-wells! You'd have thought his brother Frank would have kept him out of trouble.) They dutifully assist in finding a clear path to the Heap Gate, which the party is able to pass through into the Upper City after Vanyel rejoins them, now thoroughly cloaked. After skirting The Wide for now, the party runs some errands to gather supplies and information. They agree to regroup at the fabled Harbreeze Bakery in the Upper City in about an hour. After some quick discussions of the local haunts, Creed and Karras provide expert directions to each of the locations in which their friends are interested.
Bunk and Vanyel venture off into the Upper City toward the Helm and Cloak, which was once a tavern, but apparently now houses a renowned weaponsmith. The pair meet Thurgin Stormhold, a dwarf keen on maintaining his reputation and ego. With some shrewd negotiations by Bunk and the barter of the lesser of their magical book flails by Vanyel, they manage to obtain a silvered rapier for Bunk and 10 silvered arrowheads for Vanyel. All delivered in an hour, what incredible service! The pair are sure to sing the praises of Thurgin and the Helm and Cloak far and wide. In the meantime, Clint drops by the Baldur's Mouth, where he hears a debate on some highly speculative material printed in the Baldur's Bugle before catching some more relevant gossip regarding Amberdune. Aubrey takes her detour over to Jopalin's, where she has a delightful discussion on the fashionable subject of tea, then proceeds to make a purchase of a high quality blend. Karras stops by one of the "finest inns in all of Faerûn", the Three Old Kegs, where he ran into an old acquaintance from his troublemaking days. Stebbins, the banker, seemed to not be as enthusiastic about this reunion as Karras, but, after a minor kerfuffle, he bought him a drink all the same. Creed had an even less desireable reunion during his stroll through the Lower City. Somewhere between The Splurging Sturgeon and the Elfsong Tavern, he managed to find himself face to face with a member of the Flaming Fist that definitely remembered Creed's face from a previous encounter. Creed tried to talk his way out of trouble, but ultimately resorted to some fancy tumbling to escape from the pair and dash back to the safety of the Harbreeze Bakery, reuniting with the rest of the party. There, he was able to purchase three dozen (or 63?) delicious cookies. Aubrey bought some scones to go with her tea, while Clint obtained a delicious apple turnover. Oh, did I say the rest of the party? Forgive me, I shouldn't forget about Cornelius, who wandered off to an antique shop in The Wide, Coppers to Crowns, where he set about the very artificer-y task of repairing the various broken trinkets being sold there. At any rate, Creed and Karras caught up a bit with their old friend, Ellyn Harbreeze, who related some more gossip regarding their quarry, until the party was alerted to the approach of members of The Watch. Ellyn hustled them out the back door, just like in the good old days, and they began to plan their confrontation at Amberdune Books.
Into The Wide
The party formulates a plan such that Creed and Karras will approach Amberdune Books to do some negotiations, while the rest of the party will hang back and observe. Bunk and Aubrey head to Coppers and Crowns, where Cornelius is working. Aubrey is slightly distracted by the random assortment of trinkets, and ends up purchasing a dead scarab beetle the size of her hand and a silver teardrop earring made from a real teardrop (whatever that means). Clint and Vanyel will reconnoiter the rear of the stall, while Bunk plans to use the Horn of Silent Alarm to alert them in case anything goes down. As expected, Karras and Creed are able to coax Gaston and Avani to produce a few of the potentially tainted books at the mention of an interest in Candlekeep. Two fine choices, Pyramid Schemers: Elder Brains and their Mind Flaying Network and Economic Impacts of Unregulated Transmutation and it's Effect on the Gold Standard of Currency are shown as options and intense negotiations begin. Both sides are reticent on the price, but Karras decides on some risky business and tries to pull the old switcheroo. Avani is onto his shenanigans when Korvala arrives. She is dismayed to hear that the two are interested in taking the books to Candlekeep. Some cagey discussions occur and Korvala asks to bring Creed and Karras to the residence of the Amberdune pack. The all join arms and head off through the Black Dragon Gate and into Blackgate.
The Hideout in Blackgate
The rest of the party successfully and stealthily tracks Korvala, Creed, and Karras to the Amberdune Hideout in Blackgate. Korvala ushers the pair back into her office, where she divulges some of the reasoning behind her reluctance to sell books if they're destined for Candlekeep, but clearly not the whole story. Negotiations continue over price as they struggle to extract more information from Korvala and the collective tension in the room rises. Eventually, Karras decides has had enough and sends the adventure down a slippery slope with the first of a series of Grease spells. While attempting to scamper off, Creed and Karras are intercepted by two more of the pack, Marliza and Theryn, and the elder statesman of the pack, Zan, joins the fray. Unfortunately for them, the ensuing battle does not go their way, as the rest of the party joins their friends against the jackalweres. More grease, some brute force, Aubrey's divine beneficence, and Bunk's "now you see me, now you don't" moves put the jackalweres on the back foot. Even after Creed is rolled up by a dusty old rug, by the time Korvala and Inbar are able to make their way to the common room where the fracas is occurring, things are basically settled. Korvala fumbles her attempted shove of Clint to make her way into the room, she was so distraught. Unfortunately, it quickly got worse for her as Clint was able to convert her fumble into a takedown and grapple. Sensing the desperation of the situation and unwilling to give up the dream of resurrecting their lost leader, Nidalia, she agrees to he escorted to Candlekeep to return the counterfeit books and plead the case for the Avowed adding a purportedly benevolent and scholarly lamia to their ranks. It takes some lengthy discussions, but the party finally decides to take Korvala, Nidalia's heart, the gingwatzim and real rare books, and half of the accumulated funds for the resurrection with them to Candlekeep, with orders from Korvala for the rest of the pack to cease selling the rare books.
Return to Candlekeep
Before departing, Clint suggests that the party make a quick stop at Garmult's House of Mastery. Darbrand Garmult himself gives Clint an overview of the opportunities offered by the club, including potential work with the Bannerless Legion. Clint gets signed up for the newsletter, with the hope that he could in the future improve his unarmed fighting skills and maybe pick up some extra coin.
After returning to Candlekeep, the party presents Korvala and the books to Teles, who summons her fellow Great Reader, V’ziir-Ag, a githzerai master sage with expertise in all things unnatural, including aberrations such as the gingwatzim. Despite his initial appearance, nearly ethereal and quite mysterious, he turns out to be an eccentric fellow with a ridiculous Australo-Cockney accent. He is rather excited by the books and the prospect of having a resurrected lamia join the ranks of the Avowed. Teles is less certain, but she agrees that they will ply their network of contacts to assess the veracity of Korvala's claims regarding Nidalia. As a reward for their excellent work, the party is gifted a Helm of Comprehending Languages.
Epilogue: A Random Encounter!
Following their return to Beregost, the party was exhausted, but excited by their newfound abilities. After drifting off to sleep, Celeste, Creed, Vanyel, and Clint, found themselves in a shared dreamscape. A wintry scene in a high mountain pass quickly proved treacherous as the group was assaulted by a bheur hag. Joined by a mysterious half-elf archer named Aliara, the party utilized some of their upgrades to deal out a hefty amount of damage in the initial round of combat. The hag countered with a dangerous ice storm, which nearly wiped them out, but the brave crew was able to rally to smite the wicked fey. Villainous creatures beware, the Agents of Candlekeep are truly a force to be reckoned with!
An adventure for 2nd-Level characters. Written by Alison Huang.
2022-02-27
References
- AideDD - Baldur's Gate Interactive Map
Treasure
Outstanding Questions
- Will Teles and V'ziir agree to assist with the resurrection of Nidalia?
- If so, what will become of the Amberdune pack? Will they enter the employ of Candlekeep?
- Whither Mushika? It was recommended that he head to Beregost and seek counsel from Moxie on how to integrate there and get his life turned around. Perhaps he will show up sometime in the future.
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