01 - 5/15/21 : Turn the Page

(The following campaign is DM'ed by one of the others in my gaming group. He has played various memorable characters in the past such as Panic and Shai, and is DMing a homebrewed version of Waterdeep: Dragon Heist. This is set in Revelmoore, a new city found on the Akadian Coast)

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You want a story? I’ll tell you one, although I ordinarily charge for the privilege.
It all begins in the beautiful City of Splendors. The Crown of the Buntesveldt. The beautiful Jewel of Akados; our beloved Revelmoore, queen among cities and, in this author’s humble opinion, certainly the most interesting place in the vast expanse that is Lloegyr.
I could write volumes on my home city (and indeed I already have!), but you’re here for the truly engaging parts, I’d imagine. You don’t want to hear about what noble had tea with who; you want to hear about the Grand Game. Ambermantle’s Enigma, the grand story of a million gold dragons hidden beneath Revelmoore, and the movers and shakers who sought it out at any cost.
It would certainly be easier to get to the exciting bits about the heists, the beholder and the mad wizard, and all of that fanciness, but you know as well as I do that these sorts of tales must start from the beginning.
You’ve heard the story before. A few adventurers all meeting in a tavern. Yes, it all sounds trite and unimaginative, but you must remember; this is Revelmoore. Things are never as they seem. Our heroes came to the famous Balladeer’s Eclipse searching for their own flavors of adventure, but little did they know that adventure was much closer than they knew.
After all, we speak of Revelmoore. It is a place where fortunes are made and broken. It is a place where dreams come true. It is a place where dreams go to die.
Let us begin then; a tale of dreams, a tale of secrets and mystery, and a tale of fortune untold. I present to you, my good friends… the tale of the Revelmoore Dragon Heist!

An excerpt from “An Account of Ambermantle’s Enigma”, by Piece of the Puzzle

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Some miles to the north of Bard’s Gate, in the prosperous city of wonders known as Revelmoore, there sits a tavern known as the Balladeer’s Eclipse. The tavern is named after the massive well that lies in its center, a massive, dark hole in the ground that leads over 200 feet down into the Undermountain that lies below.
The Balladeer’s Eclipse is by far the most popular tavern in the city, attracting hundreds of customers in a day with its storied history, its varied staff and clientele, its peculiar selection of ales and wines, and the air of danger and mystery that surrounds the titular Eclipse. It is here that our story begins; one at a time, four travelers make their stops at the Balladeer’s Eclipse, each of them looking for something, or someone.
Reilly, a nervous satyr artificer, crept into the tavern for a meeting with a potential customer for one of her inventions. Embric, a fire genasi smith, sat waiting at a bar table while chatting with his neighbor, the hard-boiled detective Vincent Trench. Reilly’s invention was supposed to refine pieces of smelted ingots and other metals, and did so somewhat successfully until accidentally discharging acid at a nearby customer.
Brooke, a charming genasi bard, strutted confidently into the Eclipse seeking out a particular half-orc. He found his quarry in Yagra Stonefist, a muscular half-orc who delighted in challenging nearby patrons to arm wrestling matches. As she defeated Brooke in an arm wrestling competition, Yagra was approached by a number of armed thugs, one of them sporting a beholder tattoo on his bald head….
Meanwhile, a diminutive kitsune merchant named Megumi snuck into the bar to scope out its patrons. After inspecting a well-dressed agent of the Flaming Anvil, she made her way over to the table where Reilly, Embric, and Vincent Trench sat. Megumi and Vincent made their way to their own table, where Vincent regretfully informed her that he was unable to locate something - or someone? - on her behalf.
Lastly, a Khemitite druid woman named Yilani slinked into the tavern, where she met with the agent Megumi had snuck a look at previously; Jalaster Silvermane, a well-mannered but seemingly troubled man that was already deep in his cups despite it being midday. Yilani inquired extensively about the Flaming Anvil faction and its role in executing the will of the Veldtrada; the united governing body of the Buntesveldt City-States that Revelmoore was counted among; and also inquired about what would be required to join the faction. Jalester informed her that the Flaming Anvil typically only accepted those who proved their loyalty to the Veldtrada, and that she would have to do the same to apply for membership.
Just as the tavern’s activity swelled, the conflict between Yagra and the thugs reached a fever pitch, and as Yagra was taunted over the deaths of some of her comrades, she lost her temper and threw a punch at her opponents. As Brooke rose to play an accompaniment to the all-out brawl, an odd halfling “bard” named Mattrim “Threestrings” Mereg joined in with his three-stringed lute, adding an out-of-key flavor to the fight.
After Yagra soundly defeated three of the five thuggish assailants, the Eclipse’s proprietor; a blue tiefling man named Arathir Starsong; burst through the kitchen door and loudly commanded the combatants to leave. The thugs gathered up their fallen comrades and made their way to the door, while Yagra was allowed to stay. Just as the tavern began to settle down from the brawl, one of the patrons began the age-old tradition of taking a ‘dip’ down the Eclipse while the patrons gathered around and sang the famous ‘Dipping Song’:

Deep and dark down below,
where only fools and braggarts go,
where monster roam and dangers amidst,
few survive the Balladeer’s Eclipse
stand your ground or ring the bell,
and hope you make it up the well!

The young man was lowered into the Eclipse by way of a suspended bridge operated by a chain winch, while the patrons gathered around took bets on how long the young man would last, or if he would return at all. After three full minutes, the sound of a bell rang, signalling the man’s desire to return to the surface. He triumphantly held aloft a mug he had thrown down the well previously and revelled in his daring escapade, oblivious to the helmeted troll that had followed him up from the depths of the Undermountain!
As Arathir sprung over the bar with a rapier in hand to distract and engage the troll, Reilly, Brooke, Megumi, and Yilani sprung into action to defeat the swarm of sturges that sprung from the troll’s back. Yilani was nearly drained of blood by a wayward stirge, but the swarm was soundly defeated in time for the group to aid Arathir and Yagra in subduing the troll. Thanks to Reilly splashing the beast with acid, the troll was not able to tap into its natural regeneration. Finally, Yagra grabbed hold of the troll, lifted it up with her immense strength, and tossed it down the Eclipse, sending it plummeting two-hundred feet to its death.
Arathir thanked the adventurers for their assistance in keeping the tavern and its patrons safe from the troll and the stirges, and offered them free drinks and a room to stay for up to three days free of charge. After Arathir stepped away to help his daughter Anitari in cleaning up the debris of the troll’s rampage, a suave tabaxi approached the group and introduced himself as Piece of the Puzzle, world-famous explorer and author.
Puzzle complimented the adventures on their derring-do, but his confident facade immediately crumbled as he began to cry and lament the plight of his missing friend Floon. After spending the night drinking at the seedy tavern known as the Skewered Dragon in Revelmoore’s dock ward, Puzzle called it an early night and left Floon to his own device. Puzzle only learned that Floon was missing when Floon’s husband found Puzzle and informed him of such. With their only clues being Floon’s general location and his tendency to wear a gaudy holy symbol of Desna, the party departed for the Dock Ward, electing to walk instead of taking a gondola through some of the city’s labyrinthian canals.
As the newly formed party approached Fillet Lane, the street where the Skewered Dragon was located, they came across a peculiar shop painted entirely in purple with a stuffed beholder hanging in in the window. Yilani discovered Floon’s bas relief holy symbol of Desna in the nearby gutters, and the party decided to enter the Old Xoblob Shop to inquire further.
Xoblob, a peculiar deep gnome merchant obsessed with the color purple, attempted to sell the party a variety of violet trinkets and lavender doo-dads accrued from the Undermountain. Reilly purchased a salt lick that had been painted purple and marketed as a ‘magical crystal’, while Brooke purchased a cat with unnaturally purple fur. Meanwhile, Yilani pestered Xoblob for information on Floon’s disappearance, to which Xoblob eventually relented.
From the view afforded by his front window, Xoblob was able to watch as a group of thugs accosted and carried off not one, but two handsome red-haired men matching Floon’s description towards the nearby warehouses. The party decided to skip over the Skewered Dragon and head straight for the warehouses, and eventually came across one with a dead winged serpent lying in the yard.
GIven that the winged serpent was a notable symbol of the Black Network, the party snuck into the warehouse and discovered that it was full of fresh corpses belonging to both the Xanathar Guild and what appeared to be a splinter faction of the Black Network. Furthermore, the warehouse was occupied by a gang of five kenku wearing the symbols of the Xanathar Guild, each of them picking at the bloody scene.
Megumi was able to carefully liberate a shortsword from one of the kenku while Yilani transformed into a giant snake, preparing to engage the surprised kenku in combat.

Portraits

Reilly Springs - A young, anxious satyr artificer and inventor, who attempts to sell her inventions to interested buyers. She nervously defended herself from the troll rampaging through the tavern, and this feat caught the attention of Piece of the Puzzle. Although she was nervous about the possibility of more fighting, Puzzle’s promise of money in exchange for finding his friend Floon caught her attention.

Brooke Acropora - A charming water genasi and a skilled performer who is ‘technically’ from Revelmoore, who entered the Balladeer’s Eclipse on the fateful day of the troll attack to investigate a half-orc bruiser named Yagra Stonefist. Although he wasn’t able to get much out of Yagra, Brooke gladly signed on to help locate Puzzle’s missing friend, Floon Blagmaar.

Megumi - A diminutive kitsune rogue and a traveling merchant, who seems to be looking for something or someone during her quest for wealth in the City of Splendors. Kind-hearted but quite avaricious, she uses her small size to her advantage as she sizes up individuals for valuables and wealth. Her sneakiness and deft hands have been a major boon to the newfound adventuring party.

Yilani Deniz - A severe, perceptive human druid from the deserts of Khemit. She has traveled to Revelmoore seeking a new life after being displaced by the war in Khemit, and has shown great interest in investigating the myriad factions of the city as she searches for belonging in her strange new home. She has a distaste for cats and a fascination with snakes.

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Piece of the Puzzle - A “world famous” tabaxi “author” and “wizard” who has traveled the world and miraculously survived to pen many tales and guides to all sorts of subjects. He is a bit low on money at the moment given his infrequency of his royalty payments, but he has assured the party that he will compensate them generously if they are able to locate his missing drinking buddy, Floon Blagmaar.

Arathir Starsong - The owner and proprietor of the famous Balladeer’s Eclipse inn and tavern. A retired adventurer, Arathir delights in serving his customers and ensuring their happiness, and leaps to their defense with glee if they are threatened by an errant monster from the Undermountain. Arathir distracted the ferocious troll with his deft bladework and powerful magics while the new adventurers handled the swarm of stirges.

Jalester Silvermane - An agent of the Flaming Anvil, a mobile task force that operates on the behalf of the governments of the Buntesveldt. Yilani met with him to discuss the possibility of joining the Flaming Anvil, but Jalester was deep in his cups and wasn’t able to provide much information other than asking for her to prove her loyalty to the Buntesveldt first.

Embric - A large, muscular fire genasi smith that owns a store with his husband, Avi. He met with Reilly as an interested buyer of one of her inventions, but the device was too unstable for him to purchase it on the spot.

Vincent Trench - A hard-boiled human detective with unnerving, glowing yellow eyes. He met with Megumi after bidding his neighbor Embric farewell, and informed the strange kitsune that he was unable to locate something - or someone - within the walls of Revelmoore.

Yagra Stonefist - A powerfully built half-orc bruiser with some ties to the Black Network. She met Brooke at the Balladeer’s Eclipse and defeated him in an arm wrestling match, and later defeated five Xanathar Guild thugs in a brawl before helping to kill the troll that threatened the tavern.

Old Xoblob - A strange svirfneblin shopkeeper obsessed with the color purple. He operates a shop on Fillet Lane in Revelmoore’s dock ward, where he sells all sorts of trinkets that have been painted purple or otherwise enchanted to be a shade of purple. After a bit of convincing and spending, he told the party about how he saw Floon - and another man that resembled him - attacked outside of his shop.

Violet - A strange purple cat that was purchased by Brooke at the Old Xoblob Shop. For all intents and purposes, she seems to be a completely normal cat; save for the fact that her fur is a deep shade of violet. She enjoys licking Brooke’s face and chewing on his fins, but she seems to be frightened by Yilani.

Anitari Starsong - Arathir Starsong’s daughter. She is the head barmaid of the Balladeer’s Eclipse, and helps her father in running the establishment. She appears to handle the stressful running of the packed tavern with grace and competence. She dutifully helped to evacuate and protect patrons of the tavern while the troll rampaged through it.

Mattrim “Threestrings” Mereg - A peculiar halfling minstrel that performs on a “unique” (damaged) lute that only possesses three strings. He seems oblivious to the dissonant tones of his beloved instrument, and believes that making music in spite of such setbacks is a great triumph of art.

Krentz - A bald thug that works for the Xanathar Guild. He approached Yagra in the Balladeer’s Eclipse and taunted her over the ongoing gang war with the Black Network, inciting her to attack and beat both him and his cronies. He has a prominent tattoo of a beholder on his head.

Shana Desirri - A low-energy bartender that works at the Balladeer’s Eclipse. She speaks in a monotone and isn’t much for small talk. She knows Brooke from his prior visits to the tavern.

Elton Highhammer - An energetic human man who works as a barman and waiter for the Balladeer’s Eclipse. He loudly and happily greets guests, and happily accepts patrons when his coworkers can’t handle them.

Neni Strongarm - An unnaturally strong, particularly diminutive halfling waitress of the Balladeer’s Eclipse with a notable blank stare. She performs her job adequately, but it doesn’t look like she has much ‘going on upstairs’.

Patani - A goblin waitress that works at the Balladeer’s Eclipse. She enjoys even problematic customers like “Threestrings” Mereg, as long as their money is good.