String Quartet

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The mandolin, viola, and cello acquired. Page says the last piece is a bass. So, she runs off to talk to all her harp people and the bard college. When she returns, she says we have to go to Baldur’s Gate. Oh, oh no. She needs to find someone there, who might have it. I might still know people, but most of them don’t like me. I don’t want to go, but I can’t let her wander around there without me. She pulls up the genie, and we all head there together. At least it’s a city so Red won’t complain too much.

When we get there, most of them head off to drink and soak, but Nevi, Page and I go to the High Hall to look into collectors in town. She has four names which we narrow down to Francisco Fissel, a giant merchant on the far side of town. We gather up to sleep for the night, no use scouting unknown territory this late at night when we’d have to pass through the gates.

Page gets up early in the morning, and I follow her out. I may not be welcome here, but she can’t go alone. It’s not safe here. We head out through the gate and around to the far side of the mountain. He’s got a big, three-story shop here: Francisco’s Fineries. We check out the building, look for sewers nearby, and Page stares hard at the gargoyle up on top of it. We almost leave, but then head inside.

The first floor is full of shiny things of all varieties. They don’t look terribly fine, but they are really fun. I pick up a few trick coins as Page engages with one of the clerks. He seems happy to show us around, so we head upstairs. There are clothes here from all over the realms, beautiful things. I look around while she talks with him some more. Then we head to the top floor. Here, the room is filled with all manner of weapons and armor and instruments. The one she wants isn’t here, though. There is a door up here, into the mountain, but it is well-locked. So, we head back to the group.

Red is very concerned about breaking in there and not finding the thing we’re after. He’s also worried that if we do anything to confirm it is there, and then steal it, that we’re more likely to get caught. So, surprising everyone, he suggested we go and ask to make a trade for it. We went, but the owner wasn’t around and the clerk said to come back in the evening. So, another spa day for us.

Back that evening, it was a strange meeting. Red, well, tried to be Red. Usually that works, but Francisco was only interested in Page. Makes her admit we have the rest of the instruments. He says the bass is a family heirloom, that his ancestor stood against the hordes attacking a small village. He won’t give it up. The talk about a prophecy then, about bringing all four together to play. He is interested in doing that, so Page invites him to Waterdeep for a performance, and he agrees.

We head home immediately, and set up a concert for the very next day. Page invites the other musicians she wants to play with and we provide security while they practice. That night is the most beautiful music I have ever heard in my short life. It was so amazing. Even Page was a bit dazed afterwards, as we headed home, with only her cello in hand.

Undermountain Diplomacy

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Page says the next thing is down with a dragon below the city, or maybe below outside the city, it’s really hard to know. There’s that big mountain, and the dragon went under it, I guess. She finds a ranger person who knows about the mountain and agrees to take us out to look for a dragon hole. Seems like it would need to be a big hole to fit a dragon. Red thinks we should talk to more people, but it’s been years, and Page just wants to GO! So we do.

We are wandering around inside the mountain for three days before we find a fissure that new friend says show signs of a dragon. Red keeps muttering about the horde being worth it, and everyone else seems real excited about a dragon fight. Only dragon I know is friend.

It gets real hot down this fissure, and by the time we get to the bottom, there’s tons of magma all around. The air is thick and disgusting, too. We have to be careful, there’s got to be lots of fire creatures down here. Like those ones Red and I saw when we scouted out the Flint gang.

Oh, it’s worse. There’s fire giants down here, hammering away and walking around. We have to be really quiet and sneaky. And worse still. A room with fire genies and elementals. They looked like they were praying when we came it, but they saw us quick enough. Red talked with them, and we gave them some rubies. They let us pass, but said all the rubies in the dragon’s horde would belong to them. Its name is apparently Sifit, the Firestarter. They tell us which turns to make, but not what is between us and it.

Almost immediately, we run into more fire giants. Only these three aren’t moving. It’s like a big fire giant bedroom, and one of them is blocking the big exit door. We can’t fight these guys if we also want to fight the dragon. Have to sneak as far as we can and then make a run for it. We slip in and down near the big bulwark of a giant. Red drops some darkness, and we all link up and run between his legs. The Big Guy is… well, too big, and bounces off him. Red has to go back and dimension door him through. Then we run, and run, and run. Until we get to a room full of kobolds. Then we drink our fire resistance potions and jump down a big hole. It’s really deep, but Red and Nevi featherfall us at the very end so we don’t all die.

The bottom is full of magma and treasure, and Sifit. Sifit says he smells thieves and wants a taste of us. Hope we survive!

Of Satyrs and Shadows

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The stone fort felt wrong from the moment we went inside. The darkness was wrong, a twilight that was not real. Our shadows disappeared, and they felt weak in the corners. Or my connection was weak, it was hard to tell. There was no life in here. A verdant forest outside, but not a weed among these stones.

Inside the main building, Red hears tapping upstairs, and in short order, we go. It is more wrong inside, even before we find the satyr on a throne of bones. Red starts throwing questions at him, and he turns to us slowly, like we aren’t really there. He does have the viola we’re after, though it has a blackness to it, too. Page starts playing music to counter the chord he struck, but Red gets bored and jumps him.

It’s a bit rough going, but when we take him down, he melts away, like those devils we fought just the other day. Nevi grabs the viola, but Page makes him put it in her bag. She seems afraid of its blackness, as we head back outside and around to the moonwell.

It’s a natural pool in this manmade fort, though surrounded with stacked stones. The water is dark, but with pinpricks of lightness, almost like sequins. Orange wants to drink it, and it takes all of us to stop him. Red takes him away to go patrol the area. I stay behind and patrol the pool edge to keep Orange from making a break for it. The rest of them study the pool of tainted magic. For a long time.

I tune them out for a while. Tempers are running high when I check back in. Page is playing angry music. Nevi is on about a unicorn again. The Big Guy is reading through a book and every time he suggests a spell that sounds helpful to me, Page just gets angrier. We give him a bunch of gems and magic things, but he just keeps reading for a while. Then Red comes back, confused why we haven’t started, yet, and the brothers add in some magic of their own. The Big Guy finally starts a cleansing ceremony, and we all try to give him what energy or focus we have.

Two hours in, the satyr comes back. Sitting on top of the fort, laughing at us. Those not involved in the casting go after him. It devolves into a game of tag on the roof, but we put him back down again, and get the viola back for Page, again. After another two hours, the Big Guy collapses, the moon shines down, and a geyser of water shoots up from the pool. When everything settles down again, it is purified and clear. The ground begins sprouting new life, and the viola is cleaned of the darkness. We finally let Orange drink, and it knocks him on his butt. He doesn’t seem to mind though. I pull some dinner out of my book and we camp there for the night, just to be sure.

In the morning, we windwalk down to the big lake to go fishing. Orange goes for a swim and Page starts shooting missiles into the water. Orange gets really annoyed, so she walks to another section of the beach. Altogether, they bring in five big rainbow fish. Then we windwalk the rest of the way back down to the Cat Lord. He is very happy with the fish and sent us back home.

Meetings and Meanderings

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Secrets, more secrets. But Fixer is here. Time to visit later. Too dangerous.

Blackstaff dreams up Mort for us. Information on Force X. A blood shouter, that sounds awful. A boom sorcerer, scary -from that place with the guns. A tiny rogue, no, two tiny rogues. One close up and one from far away. And a couple dwarves. One with a shield, and one just nasty. Brikka, too. Of course him. Shoulda taken care of him weeks ago. Not the brain eater, wish we could take him out. Have to be careful.

We have to get ready. Not an easy task. Page says she knows of something that might help, some special instrument like her harp. It’s part of a set. The Big Guy prays to his Queen. She tells him where to go. Out to the Moonshea Islands and a corrupted moonwell. How do we get there? It’s not safe on the ocean! Research first.

Page says we need something pure and beautiful to fix the moonwell. She looks up unicorns, but I don’t think this group is going to get one of those. They like nice people. Red suggests sunlight because Page found it’s called Citadel Umbra, but it’s a Moon Well, I’m not so sure. Maybe a bunch of druids on the island could help.

Nevi gets Zrax outside of town to send us to the right Island. There’s a grove of Kitties there!!! So many babies, I love them all! Then a big Cat Lord shows up. We give him a big basket of fish and he says we’re okay to be there. Page asks how we can serve him so he’ll send us home when we’re done. He says there’s some big rainbow fix up where we’re going that he would like. Suggests we talk to the folk in the Sacred Grove of the Earth Mother. Red’s impatient, though, so we just go up near where we think the Citadel is.

I’m not fond of the countryside, but I don’t hate it as much as Red. It’s actually kind of pretty up on this mountain. In the morning, we start making circles to search the forest below. It’s hours and hours of trees and no citadels. Then we get a message that the other group found it, and head over there before the mist spell runs out. It’s all overgrown with blackened vines, the well itself is black and sickly, too. It looks like people used to live here, but they’re all gone now.