Frigid Fugitives. The Duergar Outpost.
During their escape from Caer Dineval, the party facilitated the release of five captives from the cisterns, despite the scribe Lanthis struggling to believe that Speaker Siever had betrayed them. Avarice, a wizard associated with the Black Swords, revealed her own interests regarding the Netherese magicks in Ythryn and the threat of Auril's perpetual winter. She even proposed an alliance. Later, the party orchestrated a breakout for the prisoners. Despite a noisy fumble and an alarm raised by the Black Swords cultists, all captives except for Elprekt Norbrav, who was fatally wounded, escaped to the blizzard outside. No cultists were killed in an attempt to placate Avarice, whom the party thought may be useful.

The surviving captives headed towards Easthaven, with the party using their sending stone to arrange a rescue halfway. They reached Caer Konig by dawn, where they met the inebriated speaker, Trovus, and prepared for their next move against theduergar by procuring dogs and sleds. Guided by Jarthra through the snow, they arrived at the duergar outpost only to find security tighter than expected. Opting for subterfuge, they disguised Crank and Azgul while Tetro wild-shaped into a horse and sneaked in under the guise of delivering chardalyn. When suspicion arose, Tetro charged into the duergar, leading to a fierce fight that resulted in the death of over a dozen duergar, including Nildar Sunblight. Now, with the outpost's threat neutralized, they were left to uncover the full extent of the duergar threat.

Escaping the Caer

• #BlackSwords Five captives had been held in Caer Dineval's cisterns. These were Speaker Crannoc Siever's former scribe, butler, translator, dog keeper, and servant. Lanthis, the scribe, needed convincing that the speaker sold them out. Incredulous but resolute, they pleaded for the party to assist their escape, even if they lacked a clear destination.
• #BlackSwords Avarice questioned the "do-gooder adventurers." The conjurer couldn't care less about the prisoners, but she did care if blood was about to spill. TheBlack Swords were useful assets, after all. Clutching her staff of frost, Avarice kept her distance as she weighed the next words carefully. She had notified her pet gargoyles atop the keep via a telepathic bond. They would keenly watch the party's next moves.
• #TheForgottenRealm #ADuergarPlot #TheRimeoftheFrostmaiden Avarice was not all about threats, though. The prodigal wizard was keen to note the party's strength. Perhaps they had aligning, if not similar, goals: She too was after the High Netherese magicks buried in the fallen city of Ythryn; the duergar threat to Ten Towns posed a thorn in her expedition; and Auril's worsening winter made a hostile landscape even less navigable to her pursuits.
• #TheForgottenRealm #DarkDuchess #ArcaneBrotherhood As told by Avarice, an apprentice of the Arcane Brotherhood named Nass Lantomir had stolen a valuable bauble from Vellynne when they first left Luskan. Nass fled aboard the Dark Duchess, the very ship whose wreckage has since been reported. Hoping the bitch died, Avarice suggested the party investigate the matter. The bauble knew things, she said. Many thing. Things that may uncover Ythryn. Things that may weaken Auril. Avarice insisted she'd gladly guide the party to the core of Ythryn itself if they were to ally.
• #battle #BlackSwords With the prisoners now in the north west tower, the party now realized their hospitable lodgings were under lock and key. Both doors were barred from the outside, and at least one was guarded. Azgul and Fern combined an unseen servant and mage hand to lift the bar and distract the guard, but the shadow servant fumbled with the wooden barricade, causing it to clatter to the ground. The party held their breath, and the Black Swords guard blew his horn. As the keep came alive well past midnight, the party held back the cultists while rappelling the servants over the castle wall. Fleeing into a blanketing blizzard under a hail of arrows, all but one made it out alive. Elprekt Norbrav, the half-elf butler and husband to Mylbara Norbrav, was pierced through the heart. Oona scooped up Mylbara, who stood in shock, while Tetro shouldered what remained of Elprekt as they fled.
• #BlackSwords It was decided that the free folk may not be safe in Caer Dineval's small village. With some provisions, the party insisted they tough out the march to Easthaven. Using their sending stone, they notified Imdra Arlaggath about the situation at Caer and requested a crew to meet the refugees halfway. They then trudged through the night, making their way to Caer Konig by dawn.

  Caer Konig and the Duergar Outpost

• #ADuergarPlot The ruins at Caer Konig greeted them at entry, along with a drunk silver-scaled dragonborn. This was Trovus, the town speaker. A veteran of war, reduced to a veteran - and ridiculously chatty - teetotaler. At least he was in good spirits. He "guided" the party to The Northern Light inn, The Hook, Line, and Sinker tavern, and Frozenfar Expeditions. They got a room from the Shorard sisters, Allie and Cori; they grabbed a pint from Eglendar; and they purchased six dogs and three sleds from the stout Jarthra and wisened ranger Atenas, for which Crank traded an aquamarine gem.
• #ADuergarPlot With the purchases made from Frozenfar Expeditions, Jarthra, on axebeak, guided the party through the foothills of Kelvin's Cairn without incident. With fresh powder and a light flurry in the skies, the party scouted the outpost that was chiseled into the mountainside. Fern conjured a spider familiar, which crept into a bunker, detecting two duergar sentries before getting squashed. They huddled to hatch a plan, eyeing the main gate. They messaged Captain Arlaggath their rough whereabouts. They were going in.
• #ADuergarPlot Disguising Crank and Azgul as handsome Underdark mercenaries, the party concocted a ruse. Tetro wild-shaped into a war horse hauling a sled full of "chardalyn." Under the wrapping, of course, were Hazel, Fern, and Oona poised to strike. The ruse gained them entry, but pressing the duergar flunky, who insisted Nildar Sunblight was busy in his lab, only arouse suspicious. Tetro charged hoof first into a duergar, sparking a brutal offensive as alarm bells went off. A dozen dead duergar and several splattered spore servants later, the party breathed a collective sigh of relief. Nildar Sunblight was dead. Now to see what he was plotting.

XP

Total XP: 6500

• 100 ~ #BlackSwords Rescued Caer Dineval's captives.
• 100 ~ #ArcaneBrotherhood Parlayed with Avarice.
• 100 ~ #BlackSwords COMPLETE
• 50 ~ Caer Konig EXPLORED
• 100 ~ #ADuergarPlot Infiltrated the Duergar Outpost.
• 200 ~ #ADuergarPlot Defeated Nildar Sunblight.

Loot

• Mind-Poison Dagger ~ off Nildar's corpse Fern

❮ 19 · Chronicles · 21 ❯

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