Banewarrens d20 (Angelsboi's party)

[diaglo]

"Brandobaris be praised," Fiddle said as he rose.

The Hand of Misadventure smiled and nodded. He then exited the building. Tristan winked and vanished too.

Fiddle returned to the Windlord's Rest. Calrom looked very much uneasy with this city life. Darian was at the Rose Altar. He would be for 7 more days crafting some items for Alya and himself. Vlad, well, Vlad had been busy with the ladies. Brandobaris only knew when or where he would return. Alya sat to the side with a mischevious smile on her face. And Sully...

Sully had a new friend. An elf straight out of the woods with a snow leopard at his side. Arendel was his name. A follower of Silvanus, a druid. He had come to Tilverton to see for himself if the rumors were true. The humans of Mistledale were logging in Cormanthor. And instead of just taking what was necessary to survive, they were turning a profit by selling the wood to Cormyr and beyond. Arendel was not happy to be in Tilverton.

"Ho, Calrom and Alya," Fiddle called out. "What news?"

They relayed their tale of the past few days. And everyone introduced themselves to Arendel.

"We need the Hand of Danar," Alya said. "It is in House Vladaam. And Nicolon Regelis will help us find it. But we will wait for Darian to finish his work first."

"So let me understand," Fiddle smirked. "You told Nicolon about the Hand. And you told him he has at least 7 days before we need him. You realize he is a thief."

"Filani will vouch for him," Alya rebuked. "She suggested him to us. He works for some organization for good."

 

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Magic item machine

Alya borrowed nearly all the party's funds. And close to 90% of Fiddle's mithril fund with a promise to repay it. She went to find Darian.

Time passed (7 days). Alya returned from the Rose Altar with a new cloak and headband. Darian stopped by the Windlord's Rest too.

"So what do we do now?" Darian asked.

"We are going to try to purchase the Hand from the Vladaam estate," Alya answered.

"And if that fails we have a backup plan," Fiddle winked.

"I'm not listening...hhhhhhmmklhaklsndfklhshh" Darian tried to drowned out the conversation about illegal activities.

"This is Arendel," Sully interrupted and quickly changed the subject.

Introductions went around and Darian excused himself again. He would be at the Rose Altar when the party needed him. He had some more crafting to complete.

 

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What must we do to get a little Hand job done right

Alya and Sully went off to try and persuade Navanna Vladaam to sell them the Hand of Danar. Alya also left inquiries for Nicolon Regelis. Nicolon would meet her later in the alleyway behind the Flagon Held High at midnight. According to street talk a notorious place for an ambush. And to top the day off right, Alya asked Fiddle to accompany her to Grimwold's Revenge. She had knowledge of the local thieves guild that she thought Fiddle might find interesting.

In the meantime Fiddle, Calrom, and Arendel talked of the forest.

"You know what I miss," Calrom started. "Sleeping under the stars without all this rack and smell. Gods does this place stink."

"Well," Fiddle agreed. "You did enter the rectum of the beast."

Arendel rolled his eyes. "Do you have to be so graphic? I mean really it is bad enough these humans rape the forest. But to picture their home as an living breathing animal is enough to make me retch. They don't deserve to be compared to something so wholesome."

"An elves do?" Calrom added. His hatred for the elves beginning to show.

"I heard that half-elf," Alya quipped as she returned.

"Half-elf?" Fiddle questioned. He could see the similarities now. "It makes sense now."

"Coming Fiddle?" Alya exchanged a few items and headed back out.

"See you around," Fiddle got up and sprinted to catch up.

Grimwold's Revenge was a short walk.

"You don't have any money so how are you going to buy the Hand of Danar?" Fiddle finally asked. "You spent all the money."

"Well now that you mention it," Alya smiled. "You are right. That's why we are falling back on plan 2. I'm going to ask the Thieves Guild if it is okay. I don't want to get into more trouble. Plus I want to see what they might know about the Vladaam Estate."

"Great tell more people about the value of the item," Fiddle kept that thought to himself. "What do we know about Nicolon? I don't trust him and I don't know him."

"Filani knows someone who knows him," Alya said. "He works for some organization..."

"You told me that already," Fiddle threw his hands up. "I don't like this."

"We're here," Alya turned away.

 

[diaglo]

Fiddle pimps his Story Ho

Alya threw open the door and strode up to the bar. Fiddle ducked in behind her.

"What'll ya have?" the angry barman growled.

Alya flashed a smile and tossed her hair side to side. "We are here to discuss some business," she whispered.

"Huh?" the barman missed the hint. "Go find your own table."

"I'll have an ale," Fiddle laughed. He turned around and scanned the clientele. Three half-orcs played cards in the corner. They drank heavily and shouted even louder than the barman. Fiddle thought to distract Alya. No need for her to know he already knew the Halfling Mafia.

"The lady elf here is offering some business." Fiddle bellowed.

One of the half-orcs turned. "What'd you say?"

"Not now Fiddle," Alya stamped the ground.

"I said she is looking for some business" Fiddle yelled again.

"ThoKK like," the half-orc stood up. "Come sit with us."

Alya glared at Fiddle and strode over to the table. Fiddle quickly passed the barman a note as he picked up his ale. Tristan, we need to talk Fiddle . By now the Alya had worn the half-orcs down. She needed a rescue. Fiddle approached. "Barkeep a round of drinks for my new friends."

Soon Fiddle needed a rescue. He ended up drinking with the orcs. They easily outdrank the hin. (Tristan came and went but Fiddle missed it. And Alya didn't know him.)

Fiddle woke with a herd of Oliphants running behind his eyeballs. Something had also sucked the moisture from his mouth and throat.

 

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Nicolon's plan was simple. He would lead the party into the Vladaam Estate. He knew when the guards would change shifts and a general layout of the Mansion. He cautioned against staying too long or taking extra valuables. And he begged to accompany the party. Everyone covered themselves in black face. Darian was left out of the whole caper.

Arendel also offered to help. Sully, Fiddle, Alya, and Calrom checked their gear and left Tilverton before dark. They assaulted the Estate at midnight. Only Fiddle had a light source. The wall around the grounds was solid and over 12 ft tall. Arendel assumed wolverine form. Sully became a pixie and Alya a trog. Calrom tossed a grapnel over the wall.

Sully picked Fiddle up and they flew to the top of the wall. They looked around. A large dog headed their way. Sully and Fiddle went back down.

"Dog," Sully whispered to Arendel.

The druid-wolverine climbed up the wooden wall. Fiddle scurried up the rope to watch. He checked his saps. Sully hovered nearby. Calrom and Alya also made for the wall.

Arendel climbed into the compound. He made eye contact with the dog, wolf really. It sat. Sully deposited Fiddle next to the beast. Whap, whap, whap Fiddle attempted to subdue the canine before it could alert the guards.

Thump, thump. Two arrows sprouted from the wolves neck. It was dead. Calrom shrugged. The party quickly crossed the open ground. They made for the building. So far so good. Nicolon indicated a window.

Alya silenced the area around her with her magic. She punched a hole in the window. The glass scattered into the room. A library. Everyone climbed inside. Nicolon headed for a corner. He rolled the rug back and started to pull up a hatch. Sully cast a spell to detect magical auras. Fiddle scanned the room. Some very valuable stuff. He didn't have time for a thorough search, so he tossed one golden candelabra into his haversack as everyone descended into the dark. Sully cast light on his hat.

"How is Nicolon seeing?" Fiddle thought to himself. He trusted this guy less and less.

 

[diaglo]

Finders, keepers

"How are..." FIddle whispered as he descended the stairs.

"Shhh," Nicolon replied. He pointed down a long hallway.

The others were crowded around in a door. No one moved. Fiddle crept forward. He checked the door. It was locked, but not trapped.

"Not that way," Nicolon said. "That leads to the prison. The vault is down there."

Fiddle moved ahead. A dart flew out from across the way. Fiddle tumbled forward. Another fired past. Fiddle stood and looked back at Nicolon. He couldn't see the man's face, but Fiddle swore he was smiling.

Fiddle noticed several more possible traps. But no way to disarm them. He tumbled forward again. Two more late darts missed him. He reached the vault door. He waved for the others. Fiddle moved away from the door. Another dart sailed over his head.

Alya chanted. "There are 4 more darts," she said. "Best we follow Fiddle's exact footsteps."

Fiddle examined the door. No traps. But it was locked. Sully pulled out a wand. "CLick," the gnome whispered in draconic. The door was unlocked.

Fiddle turned the knob and BOOOOOmMMMMm.

Arendel called on the healing might of nature. Fiddle felt better. Still he pulled and drank a potion of his own.

An empty room. Another set of heavy iron doors guarded the true vault. Fiddle checked out the room first and then the door. No traps or secret ways out. The door was locked.

"CLick," Sully said again. The door was unlocked. "Maybe on the way out we can free some of the prisoners as a distraction."

Fiddle nodded. He moved into the vault. He quickly slammed and locked the door behind himself.

 

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Locomotion...next stop railroad station Alpha

Bundled pieces of artwork, an iron chest, and...the door behind Fiddle CLicked and in came Alya armed.

"The door closed and locked behind you, Fiddle," Sully said. "We thought it was another trap."

"Thank you for rescuing me," Fiddle gasped. He tried to hide the mess of his unwrapping. "I didn't find the key in this mess."

"What are you looking for?" Nicolon asked from the doorway. "That's not what you came for." He looked hard at Calrom.

"We have to make it look like a burglary," Calrom said as he carried a large portrait from the room. Arendel waited out in the Hallway.

"Got it," Alya replied. She had recovered a small bronze box. She departed, too.

Sully followed. Fiddle dropped his haversack over the iron chest and ran to catch up. Fiddle opened the door to the prison. An empty room. Across the way was another door.

Wahhhh wahhhh wahhhh Intruder Alert. Intruder Alert.

"CLick," Sully shouted at the far door.

A guard burst into the room, "Stop thieves."

THUmp, thump. Calrom hit him with two arrows. Everyone else ran for the stairs. It was a mad, mad scramble. Fiddle ran for all he was worth, which hopefully with the chest was a lot more.

Sometime between reaching the wall and climbing, Arendel, Sully, and Alya had used several spells. Several more guards were immobilized. None were slain. There were no tracks. Calrom had used some magic of his own to cover that potential problem.

The party scattered. Fiddle ran and ran. After a while he slowed to a walk. He found a nice hiding space and emptied the haversack. It was a complicated lock, but Fiddle opened it. Gold. Over a thousand gold lions. He scooped them into the haversack and left it hidden in the brush. He circled back to the rendezvous spot.

"How do we get back inside without looking suspicious?" Calrom asked.

"Can I see it?" Nicolon pleaded. "I did just risk my life for this thing."

Alya hemmed and hawed.

Fiddle pulled out the candelabra, "Here it is. How did you see without a light? You are human, right?"

Nicolon tapped his head. "With these." He wore some lenses.

"I want some of those," Fiddle muttered.

Eventually Alya gave in. She pulled out the bronze box. "It is here." She tucked it back...

Poooofff. The starlight vanished. Fiddle attacked the Darkness.

"He's casting," Sully yelled out. Sully used another wand. The darkness was gone and so was Nicolon. "Dimension Door."

 

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into the bowels of the beast

The party searched, but had no luck finding the double-crosser.

"Now what?" Sully asked. "Do we camp out or go back inside?"

"I'm for camping out," Calrom and Arendel said in unison. Fiddle nodded too.

"But we need to let Darian know," Alya dissented. "And we need to get our horses."

"I guess I agree some of us were seen," Fiddle said. "And Nicolon will be ahead of us and possibly will enter the Banewarrens. Who even knows what group if any he was working for. I mean we have the Zhents, the Moandites, the Church of Lathander, the Harpers, the Drow, and possibly like Filani said about Nicolon yet another organization not to mention Himool and Us. So how do we get in?"

"We know a way," Alya started to say.

"NOT Again," Calrom complained. "I'm still not sure I got the stink off of my boots."

The party entered a gully which passed under the wall and into the sewers. The grate was ruined enough to allow access. Calrom led the way. They came to a juncture. Climbing out was not an option here.

"Which way now," Sully asked.

"I don't know," Calrom admitted. "I left my map back at the Inn. North?"

The party went North. Three attempts later. They came across an Urban Legend. A Giant Crocodile.

"Crrickey," Arendel said. "Now that's a croc."

Everyone looked at him.

"What?" he replied. "I suppose you want me to handle this."

Arendel hummed a soft tune. The croc rolled over. The party skirted around the beast. A few minutes later they found a way up to the surface. The grate overhead was rusty. Fiddle tried to open it. No luck.

Alya and Sully went to work cleaning and unlocking the latch with magic. Fiddle still couldn't budge it. He looked down at Alya.

"Allow me," she smiled. She easily tossed the grate aside. "Dainty I tell you."

Fiddle tumbled into the street. Lucky for him it was still very late, well very early really. A horse and cart rolled past. Fiddle hid alongside. The others came out of the sewers. Only a drunk noted their passing.

 

[diaglo]

Something ain't right...I was framed.

"Oooooo, what a stench," the innkeeper complained. "I'll assume it was Purple Dragon business that took you down there again." He sent his staff to fetch some water.

"We will need to leave early," Alya told him. They settled their bill before getting cleaned up.

After a good soak the party bedded down. Fiddle tossed and turned. When he woke he set off for the Rose Altar.

"Darian, have you finished your work?" Fiddle asked. "We need to leave in a hurry. We were double-crossed by Nicolon when we stole..."

"I'm not listening," Darian hummed to himself.

The party left for the Barrow Mounds in Mistledale. Arendel and Calrom were more than happy to leave Tilverton. They rode hard and after a couple days put Cormyr and the Thunder Peaks behind them. On the evening of the third day they saw smoke rising from the trail ahead. An hour later found them staring at 4 burning husks. Wagons. and an ambush scene. A human skull with a broken sword embedded marked the area. The flesh had been peeled off . Blood was everywhere. And so were arrows. Both human and elven made, but no bodies. The wagons had once carried logs. They were obviously destined for Cormyr. The druid found the tracks of the victors.

"Damn, dirty elves," Calrom spat. "I say we follow them."

"They mean nothing to me," Arendel added. "They probably deserved what they got."

"I don't know," Fiddle supplied a little more information. "We found a hole to the Underdark around here. We fought off a swarm of gibberlings. Could be the Drow did this. Still I think we have our work cut out for us already."

The party chased the tracks back to the familiar hole.

"Maybe they have some prisoners," Sully hinted. "We should at least try and save them."

"A vote then," Darian spoke up. "All those for tracking the elves into the Underdark." "Against"

Darian, Alya, Arendel, and Fiddle voted Against. Sully and Calrom for.

"To Peldan's Helm then," Alya concluded. "We can resupply and then hit the Barrow Mounds the next day. I want to see if Eliar is interested in the Orc's spellbook."

The party made camp back at the burning wagons.

 

[diaglo]

Back to basics

"Hello in the Keep," Fiddle yelled up.

"Hello on the road," the guard called back. "Who goes there?"

"The Stormslayers," Alya answered.

The guard opened up and let them in. The picture on the wanted poster had faded, but the charges against the gnome were still there.

The party made for the Man with Fire in His Hands Inn. Wulf greeted them with a smile.

A tale was already in progress and the common room was packed. Himool and the Company of the Burning Brand had returned from the Dwarven Hold in the Thunder Peaks. Dorik Stonebeard and Carl sat with the elven lass. She was horribly scarred. Her face looked like it had melted. The priestess of Sune was nowhere in sight. Fiddle went to listen.

Alya and Darian made small talk with Carl. A black dragon


"DRagon did you say," Fiddle interrupted.

Alya left to visit Eliar and came back some time later. The party stayed up late into the evening.

In the morning Fiddle visited Mouse.

"Thanks for the letter of introduction," he said. "I've got something for you. But don't show anyone from Cormyr. They might want it back."

Fiddle handed him the candelabra. He went back to the Inn.

"We ready to hit the Barrows," Fiddle asked.

"Nope," Alya replied. "I need to visit the old ruins."



"BUt, we hurried up to get here so we could make it before Nicolon," Calrom said. "I don't understand."

"YOu can go without me," Alya answered. "This shouldn't take me long."

:smack forehead:

"I'll show you where I killed the Dragon," Fiddle remarked to Arendel and Calrom.

"What about the God Nail you left behind?" Calrom seemed very interested.

The party set off Northwest instead of Southwest. They reached the ruined Moathouse just before dusk. The sound of military drills and sparring coming to their ears.

"Don't move a muscle," an elven voice called out from cover.