The party continues their search for the second Eye of the Stone of Golorr on the drow ship, the ‘Eyecatcher’.
The party finds themselves standing above a hatch in the bowels of the Eyecatcher. The assumption is that it leads to the underwater vessel attached to the bottom of the ship. Mantis dispels the arcane lock, as the rest of the party tries to question the drow prisoner. The drow seems cowed, but they gain no new information from him. They leave the prisoner with Tang investigate the hatch. Tang follows shortly after, claiming that the prisoner “is no longer a problem”.
The group stealthily enters the Scarlett Marpenoth through the hatch in the drow ship. They cautiously move through the underwater vessel, and find the ‘bridge’. Gnomes work in a two level room filled with wheels, levers, and dials. Portholes and windows filter dim light into the cabin through the seawater around the ship. As the group prepares an ambush, Shazuu explores the lower level, and accidentally makes enough noise to alert one of the gnomes to his presence.
He blasts the gnome with eldritch energy and the rest of the party spring their ambush. As the battle for the control room is joined, drow guards race to the bridge to assist the engineers. One of them casts a spell of darkness, which is dispelled by Shining Brow’s driftglobe. Tygorr launches a series of magical chaos bolts, and the group begins to grab the upper hand. Outnumbered, the last drow attempts to levitate away, but is cut down by the group. The submarine grows quiet, and the party begins to search the ship.
Shining Brow, Tygorr and Mantis find some gold, and minor trasures… a set of fancy dice, a copper music box, a potion of healing in a spider shaped flask. On the upper level, Mantis finds a small stateroom that is fanicer than the rest, and in it is large chest. When he tries to open it, the sides fall away, and tiny mechanical spiders swarm out and cover the bard. Shining Brow throws water on the swarm and Tygorr uses shocking grasp to deactivate the spiders. Inside the chest, the party finds a crystal ball, a pouch filled with crystal shards, and the second Eye of the Stone of Golorr. Shazuu examines the crystal ball, and learns he can use it to see through the eyes of any of the Nimblewrights that have been placed around Waterdeep, and that the ball can also see through the shards. In addition to the current surroundings, the crystal ball can see past events that the Nimblewrights have witnessed. Having achieved their goal, the group slips out of both vessels, swim to shore, and return to Trollskull Manor.
At the Manor, Shazuu spends some time “getting to know” the crystal ball. Mantis and Shining Brow head to the extradimensional space and insert the second Eye into the stone. Mantis focuses on the artifact, and asks it to show him the location of the third eye. The Stone of Golorr leads his mind on a path that takes him to the Cassalanter Estate. He sees the last Eye in a drawer with a false bottom in Lord Cassalanter’s office. Realizing that with the Cassalanters at the ball tonight is the best chance to get in, the group quickly heads out to the Estate.
Shazuu waits nearby the estate, and Tygorr facilitates magical communications. Mantis and Shining Brow sneak over the wall, dodge the guards, and enter the office. They quickly obtain the Eye, and leave another marker of the Xanathar in the eye’s hiding spot. The two abscond with the Eye, and the group returns to Trollshull Manor without incident.
In the extra-dimensional space, Mantis returns the final Eye to the Stone, and begins to communicate with the artifact. As he does, the Stone randomly reveals the location of a cache of mithril trade bars hidden in the city of Murann. Mantis begins to write down the secrets the Stone reveals to him. Which include the Stone’s origins… the stone is not just a sentiante item, given agency by magic. The stone contains the consciousness and memories of an aboleth!
With the threat of three hostile groups hanging over the group, Shazuu heads out to get help. He returns to the Grey Hands, and explains to the Blackstaff of the party’s goals. She agrees to place Trollskull Manor under the protection of the Grey Hands while the group works to recover the hoard for the city of Waterdeep, and gives Shazuu a magical hole to stash the coin when they recover it.
Mantis finally asks the Stone where they can find Neverember’s hoard, and he receives the low down about in two simultaneous streams of information:
A tangled barrage of imagery: Twisted underground tunnels lit by strange lights. An endless field of corpses. Halls of stone. A golden dragon, aging so rapidly that scales shed from its skin. The sound of a silver hammer striking stone. A beam of sunlight in a darkened room. A chisel carving Dethek (dwarven) characters which transform themselves into two words: BRANDATH CRYPTS.
A cryptic riddle intoned in a deep, alien voice: Where laid his wife to rest ‘midst bones of son’s blood sealed, there where Anri laid himself to rest lies that which Open Lord concealed.
Things to consider for next time:
- Research the clues from the Stone
- Deal with the Xanathar Smokepowder delivery on the 1st, which is tomorrow
- Recover the Hoard
Reminders:
- Rongquan Mystere is somehow involved with the Drow
- Smokepowder is being delivered to Xanathar via the ‘Staircase of Eyes’ on the 1st at 11pm. The sewer tunnels will mark the way to Xanathar’s lair
- Next Arena fight in the Xanathar’s lair is on the 6th. The players have the pass-phrae and the address if they wish to participate.