[The adventurers Griffolk Ethyn the Dragon-Shaman, Sparkledingle the Gnome Wizard, Fangorino the Barbarian are about to be given an entirely new job!]
DAY 5 continued ...
Feeling that they had done enough, and that the Moathouse was now totally cleared of baddies, except for whatever lay beyond the last door, the heroes returned to Hommlet and the Inn of the Welcoming Wench.
They noticed that Mr Pin was with another man, and he gestured for them to come and join him.
He introduced himself as Cavu, who you may remember is an agent for Gertrude the White and her battle against the yuan-ti and the Vanguard of Serterous.
He introduced himself and went on to say;
''
Been hearing great things about you! How do you fancy another job. One that will make you rich beyond your wildest dreams and also do some good?
''
The heroes glanced amongst themselves then nodded for Cavu to go on;
''
Well, I've heard that you've already had a little run in with Baroness Partik. Good show. I need you to get to Waterdeep as quickly as possible, track her down, and follow her. I suspect she is getting on a ship bound for Westgate. If that is the case, then I'd like you fellows to also be on that ship.
''
After some further discussion he also mentioned;
''
If you're interested at all, on a regular ship, the journey will be about 30-40 days, weather permitting. Quicker if they have a druid onboard. You go through the canal that joins the Lake of Steam to the Nagawater.
''
He gave them 100 gold each for expenses and paid for their dinner. Later in the evening Cavu got out his lyre and started singing. He had a very fine voice. Even so, Sparkledingle soon retired to his room to study while the other two looked for ladies to spend their money on.
They didn't have much luck, but they did meet an elven maid called Danui who talked to them for a while.
DAY 6
In the morning they sold all the latest loot from the Moathouse to Cavu, who (unlike the shop) had enough gold to cover it.
On their way west they stopped in to see Oriuphis to give her her share, a whopping 2241 gold and three silver pieces! She was very happy with that, and thanked them profusely before the went on their way.
Danui travelled with them for safety, and they arrived at Goldenfields later that day without incident.
The elven maid said farewell to them as they entered the town, as she was there to visit her grandmother.
The heroes went to the Boar's Skull Inn on the recommendation of one of the gate guards and rented rooms there. As usual Sparkledingle went to his room while the other two spent their money on drink and the pursuit of wenches, and as usual they did not have much luck.
DAY 7
The heroes spent a day looking around Goldenfields and shopping. Griffolk invested in a magical chain shirt and shield. Sparkledingle found somewhere to buy a Wand of Mage Armour.
On their way back to their inn they saw Danui sat on the steps of a temple, looking sad.
They went to talk to her and it boiled down to this;
'It's 200 gold to heal my grandmother! The clerics of Chauntea wont do it for anything less as we are immigrants!'
They went to see the grandmother, who was still young enough looking elf, but she was certainly ill with something. They then went to the Temple and a cleric called Pamella Minister told them;
'She needs to pay the 200 gold like everyone else, the budget is blown already for freebies.'
In the end, each of them paid 66 gold each. Danui and her grandmother were delighted and very grateful and treated them to a fine elven meal that evening.
Sparkledingle stayed up all night talking to the grandmother, and as she was well over a hundred years old he learned a great deal of local Swordcoast history from her.
While that was going on, Griff was in the tavern, and he made friends with a female half-orc called Narch the Mighty. She was a fighter, rough and unwashed, but young Griffolk decided that he could not afford to be so choosy and spent the night with her.
Fangorino met a young lady called Iris, who seemed to be quite adept at making coins disappear. It went nowhere beyond conversation though.
DAY 8
The brave heroes headed out to the city gates to catch the express to Waterdeep, a recently re-introduced service called the 'Goldenfields Flier'. Danui came to meet them and gave them an acorn medallion that appeared to have magical powers, but (she explained) they had to be unlocked by a druid in Waterdeep somehow.
She waved them goodbye as the coach took off to the west. Inside there were six seats and one of the men they were sharing the coach with, but who was sat on the outside, and who looked like a down-at-heel aristocrat, said to them,
'My wife is sat outside and she is rather ill, is there anyone here that would give up their seat for her?'
'I'll give up my seat for 200 gold!' said Fangorino, not understanding at all how coaches worked or how much they cost. Much laughter followed from all present.
In the end, Sparkledingle, ever the gallant, went to sit beside the driver and the gentleman's young wife went to sit inside. She was sick with something though and the other two were treated to her coughing in their faces for the rest of the journey.
Stan the Driver found Sparkledingle a very interesting travelling companion and they talked at length.
In the evening they arrived at Amphail. Rooms at the local inn had already been arranged for all onboard.
DAY 9
In the morning the Flier set off for Govallen. It was half-burnt down and being rebuilt, having been sacked by orcs during the invasion.
From there they carried on to Waterdeep.
Griffolk talked to the aristocrat and his wife. He learned that they were Jelberan Thunderstaff and his wife Lady Hallormin Vallious-Thunderstaff. To Griffolk it sounded like they were headed into the city to try and sponge off their rich cousins that lived there.
It was a nice summer evening by the time the rolled through the southern gates of Waterdeep. Some guards asked them to come into the guard tower, where they were given cups of tea and pies. Later, when it was dark, they were taken somewhere else by covered wagon.
The wagon then rattled into an enclosed courtyard and they were ushered into a fine, but sparsely furnished house. A young man that looked like a high rank watchman was there to meet them.
'So you are the three that have been sent by Cavu?' he asked.
'Who wants to know?' countered Sparkledingle.
The man did not answer, but went on;
'You are to get on a ship called The Dementor. It sails in four days. All you need to do is stay in this house, eat the food, drink the wine, and stay out of trouble.'
'Oh!' cried Sparkledingle. 'But I want to have a look around!'
'Don't' said the man gruffly. 'I'm leaving now. The housekeeper will look after you.'
Sparkledingle contented himself with looking around the house. It was large, but most of the rooms were empty. The kitchen was well stocked though and the living room had some new looking furniture in it. The beds upstairs were freshly made.
The lads were bored stiff after a few hours though and decided to write a letter to give to the housekeeper to take to their host.
''
We have an amulet that we need to take to a druid. Can you do this for us? Cavu says it must be done! We trust your judgement and knowledge of the local area.
''
They gave the letter to the little old lady that was the housekeeper. She tucked it into her sleeve and wandered off muttering.
It was late though, and the two humans were used to drinking themselves to sleep, so they found their way down to the cellar and found that it was very well stocked with wine and cheese. Soon they were as drunk as lords.
Fangorino decided that he wanted to hit the town, but Griff was set against it.
He wrote a note to give to the housekeeper to bring some women to the house, but he only pretended to give it to her - reasoning sensibly - that a women in her eighties might not be the best person to go out and procure them some prostitutes at three in the morning.
Fangorino was frustrated though, and would broach no further delay. He left by the front door, singing loudly as he went. Griffolk went to bed.
There were watchmen outside though, evidently keeping an eye on the house, and they grabbed the barbarian and threw him into a cell in the local guardhouse.
DAY 10 (1 for boat)
Fangorino was dumped back at the house in the morning. The wine cellar was now under lock and key.
Bored once more, Griffolk penned another letter to their host. It asked again about getting their amulet to a druid.
Fangorino had Griffolk add a post-script;
'Send some wenches.'
At lunchtime the housekeeper cooked them some food. In the evening she allowed them three bottles of their choice and they went for wine, brandy and whisky.
As the others got sozzled once again, Sparkledingle retired to his room to study.
DAY 11 (2 for boat)
Bored, angry and frustrated Griff penned yet another letter in the morning. It
read;
'If we do not hear from you by this afternoon we are all leaving this house!'
The old lady left to do some shopping and returned to cook their lunch. She brought with her no reply.
(I am sure my astute readers have realised that their host was my brother Corum.
He tells me that the housekeeper was not giving him any of these letters, most likely she was just feeding them into the stove fire. He would have done nothing with them anyway.)
Griff decided to disguise himself and leave the house. Fangorino decided to join him and letting his hair down he pulled on a large blue dress he had found in one of the wardrobes upstairs. I am told he looked surprisingly lady-like given his size. Sparkledingle was put into a pram - his disguise was to be that of their baby son.
As they left through the front door, Sparkledingle cast an Illusion spell at the end of the street - a 20ft tall demon monster that drew the watchmen away.
With people screaming and running around them, they made their escape from the house. Shadows passed over them as they went. Looking up they saw a squadron of griffon cavalry flying towards the commotion. As they left the area though, the monster disappeared and after a while the city returned to normal.
They knew they needed to get to a place called the Shrines of Nature, but were not entirely sure how to get there. Sparkledingle leaned out of the pram to ask for directions, much to the surprise of passers-by.
In the end, they got there though and talked to an elven druid called Neldrelle who was rather alarmed to be addressed by a baby in a pram.
Once the situation was explained to him though, he took the amulet and placed it on a secluded altar. This, somehow, recharged the amulet.
'It's a powerful Acorn Amulet,' he explained. 'It casts Lesser Restoration. The good thing about it, is that when it runs out, you only need to bring it back here again.'
As they were thinking of leaving, they saw a group of ten or so watchmen heading towards the shrine. Sparkledingle hid under the covers and another Illusion - of a sleeping baby.
Griff walked out, then started running. He aimed to get back to the house, but had neglected to remember the name of the street it was on and got lost. In the end he handed himself over to the watch.
Fangorino, lifting up his skirts, ran off in the other direction. A female figure as large as him was easy to spot in a crowd though, and he too was soon apprehended.
As for Sparkledingle. he felt the pram moving, along some streets and eventually to a large building that smelt faintly of dung. The covers were pulled back and he sat up. He was in some kind of office overlooking a wagon-yard.
'A pram! Genius!' laughed the watchman (Corum my brother). 'I should be mad at you, but this will be a merry jest to retell one day.'
Corum had his friend Nestoone take Sparkledingle to the Temple of Ogmha were he hoped that the library would keep him occupied.
As for Griff and Fangorino, he introduced him to the genies Enlessa and Meshnosha who resided in the dungeon below the OJB.
The only problem now would be getting them out of there when it was time for them to go!
