The Lady & The Wyrm Session 3

A fast escape. A trudge through a long-forgotten dungeon. A meeting with royalty. All this lie ahead for our adventurers when their celebrations were cut short...

The young Timo Tunahzee made the mistake of making eye contact with The Bounty Hunter. His eyes went as wide as the dinner plates of the Taphouse when he did. It was a ferocious looking creature standing there at the Taphouse's entrance. And it was here for him, he just knew it. He felt it. Thankfully there was distance between him and it. And the thick crowd of party-goers was proving to be made for a great distraction. And that is just what Timo needed as he grabbed Winky and pulled him aside, whispering to him just out of earshot of the party at their grand table. Within moments, the Rabbit-man grabbed Timo's hand and yanked him over to the table. With eyes nearly as wide, he told the party, "You guys need to follow me, quick, quick!" Just then there was a loud ruckus growing at the Taphouse entrance. Mostly raised voices. A little pushing and shoving. The signal that the party should get themselves, and Timo, out of the Taphouse after the young man's sudden plea to get him to the castle. And it seemed like Winky was the one to follow. He stealthily led the group away from their table and through to the back of the house. The kitchen and cleaning staff frozen in place, watching as this gaggle of companions made their way through. Through a door in the back of the kitchen storage area, they were all led down into the Taphouse's cellar. Dirt halls and rooms, some lined with stone, passed them by as they made their way through. Ending up in the Taphouse's ale and wine storage room(or, rickhouse to some), Winky began by barricading the door with a giant wine barrel, then frantically began searching through all the barrels lined in this large room. Racks four high and stretching into the dark corners of the room surrounded everyone. "Look for the three barrels of the orchid!" exclaimed Winky. With that the party and Timo began travelling the rows of racks full of barrels containing all the brew & wine one could ever need. Searching for the barrels emblazoned with the white flower.

The Taphouse assuredly won't be going dry anytime soon, ey?

After what felt like forever, they were located head high up on a rack. Three barrels with a drawing of the beautiful white flower. Winky told them all in a dour tone how this was the favorite flower of Tethyr's recently(two years ago) deceased Queen Nura. With the party's help, the barrels are moved to reveal behind them in the wall itself, a four foot by four foot cutout. A door of sorts it seemed. "Boy, Id bet it would take a real show of strength to get that open!" claimed Winky. That's all the party needed to hear before their efforts pushed the cutout away, revealing darkness and whistling air. With their darkvision(and a torch) they saw the top of a staircase not too far ahead leading down into darkness. Winky explained to the group that he isn't exactly sure how, but this passage should lead them into the Royal District. With that, they all piled through the opening, and the last thing they saw was Winky putting the barrels back in place. The party & Timo stood now in the dark at the top of a staircase. A staircase that if they traversed, would take them down, down, down into the long lost Darromar Dungeon! So down they went.

With no map to guide them, but one being made as they went along by Alystn, the party decided majority rules on all decisions of direction, and no splitting up, would be their key to making it out of this place. They had to get Timo to the castle, & the only way now was to find the exit to this place, no matter what it took. So they began their journey, down the stairs and into the first main room where they saw in the four corners, stacks of statue heads of various unknown types. Not exactly the worst case scenario they thought as they continued on. Then the next room changed their opinion entirely. In this room they were face to face with a giant coiled snake with red eyes! Once the moment of "ohhhh no we're going to die" passed, it turned out this giant snake with red eyes was a statue as well. Very craftily sculpted & painted stone to appear life-like, with shiny sparkly red(and big) rubies for eyes! Rubies that immediately caught the attention of Pip. After some careful planning, the rubies of unknown value were plucked from the snake and put into safekeeping with Pip.

Luckily this snake was a statue because those rubies were found to be irresistible

Clearing room by room, the party moved forward through random doors and halls. All the while, they were enthralled with the local rumors coming from Timo's nervous voice. The first tale that he fully believed as many others did, as well as many other didn't, that the Princess of Tethyr, the young Meylara Eurestel, was missing. She had not been seen in public for the months before and time since, the attack. Not even at her most recent birthday party, which is a city-wide celebration thrown every year for the Royal Children. Whenever asked, the Royal response was always that she had been sent away on official assignment and was fine. Again, this was all just a rumor. The other tidbit Timo was passionately telling, was that he truly believed that The Bounty Hunter was sent after him by the current Public Works District Wardmaster. Seeing as how he was in real threat of losing his position(and all the fringe benefits it came with) with the city due to the rising popularity of the young Tunahzee man, it made enough sense to believe in the rumors. What really shocked the party to hear, was that Timo also believed that The Bounty Hunter, again according to rumor, was actually a secret contractor of the Royals themselves. Another Wardmaster privilege. Tall tales for such a young man. Yet, they saw the passion in his eyes and heard it in his voice when he told them. He had not done anything to make them believe he was misleading them in any way. Especially the fear they heard in his voice, and saw in his eyes, when The Bounty Hunter arrived to the Taphouse party.

Other items had been found in the party's travels in the dungeon. In this next dusty but empty room, sat a pile of freshly buried ground. After investigating it deeper, the party finds an urn with ashes inside. Except this urn holds a LOT of ashes. Too many for what could be believed an ordinary urn would hold it was discovered after Pip "tripped" and dumped them out. It was then decided unanimously that the urn should immediately be refilled & reburied where it was found. Notions of bad luck and all that. A further room revealed to the party various keys. Keys strung up to the ceiling from differently colored strings on each. An odd sight for sure. But not odd enough that they decided they should take all the keys. Dozens and dozens of them were collected. Some ended up in Sendak's pack, some ended up strung around Pip's neck. Just another snazzy accessory to his newly adorned party outfit. And then they got rich! They came upon a room with a puzzle involving very ancient Dark Elf tribal history. Alystn with his book smarts discovered the statues in this room were homages to Dark Elven tribal leaders from thousands of years ago, The Three Watchers of Miyeritar! Also seen in the room were crowns made of twigs and leaves, that after some thinking out loud, were placed upon the heads of the statues in the room. The final crown(one more than there were statues) was placed upon the head of the only living Dark Elf in the room, Pip, which revealed the statues to be filled with gold coins as each statue turned to face him and unlocked, spilling their ancient loot onto the floor. Closer examination of the coins revealed them to be clearly NOT from this era. This excited the party and they agreed to look into that further. Sendak the strongman was decided to haul all four hundred coins with him. The last piece of treasure they came upon was from a room full of dozens of skeletal remains. One of which wore a golden amulet around its neck. This could be identified at another time the party thought as they pocketed it as well.

Just when the party thought, "hey this dungeon business isn't too bad after all!" they came upon the eventuality of combat. For this next room they entered, they disturbed giant rats feeding on one of the dungeon's more recent unfortunate travelers. And of course, as any rat will tell you, fresh meat is always better than desiccated! So the rats, which yes were unnervingly larger than usual rats, met their fate at the spells and weapons of the party instead of feasting on them as planned. After more walking, the party came upon an underground river. They crossed it to investigate the other side, when up out of the ground came their toughest opponent yet. A nightmarishly large insect monster!

They don't know what it was when they met it, but they know what it is now. Dead.

Now this was a battle. It seemed like whatever the party hit it with, it just bounced off of it's armored carapace. That's when they strategized their attacks & brought out the big guns, slinging spells at it to weaken the monster for any weapon attacks. Yet, the monster also had some harsh attacks of it's own. The piercing of its claws. The crushing attempts of it's mandibles. And its ability to spray poison onto any or all of the party loomed large. Eventually it came down to a mighty kick from Sendak the Monk's new boots that took the monster down(and in half!) Collecting some loot from the beast, they decided, "ya know, this thing could make a good raft to get down the river and maybe out of this hellish place!" So they went to work dissecting and field dressing the "bug thing" and ended up with a hollowed out section of its body to use as a raft. They climbed aboard, dislodged one of the monster's mandibles to steer it with, and made their way down the river. Coming to the last piece of land before exiting, they saw their way out. A ladder at the far end of this room. It extended a good eighty feet up. Grasped on it's bottom rung, was a skeletal hand. Which was attached to the last poor soul who tried to get out of this place. The one that succumbed to the poison of the bug monster shortly before the party made it's way through. After a moment of contemplation, the party just stepped over the poor soul and ascended the ladder until they reached what seemed like just the ceiling. With a mighty effort, the hatch hidden above was lifted, bathing the party in both sunlight...and dirt. They all climbed out, weary but relieved to be safely above ground again.

Surrounded by large swaths of beautiful arrangements of flowers, flowering trees, and shrubs of all sizes and designs, the party discovered they ended up exiting into the Royal District's public space known as the Royal Gardens. Figuring safety over pride, they found a way to re-bury the exit of the dungeon, hoping no others would fall upon its horrors(or riches). Then they discovered they were being surrounded by the elite unit of the Darromar Guard, the Royal Guard. "Halt! In the name of the law!" bellowed out the leader of the pack. A larger than normal man in full armor, weapon pointed outwards towards them. And about a dozen of his men equally armored and weapons steadied surrounded the party. After an honest conversation and showing their Darromar Guard badges, this man, Lt. Dexlo, agreed to escort them to the castle where they could queue to request an audience with the Royals and handle their business. With the Darromar Dungeon exit reburied behind them, along with the adventures they had within, the party made their way to the Castle of Tethyr.

The architectural gem of Darromar, Castle Tethyr

The grand residence called Castle Tethyr stood tall and magnificent above the landscape as the party approached. Yet it had it's scars, both outside and within, from the attack. There were work crews and contractors all around working in various areas to repair the damage. Some areas were left open to show progress, others were concealed behind temporary walls and large sheeting. The party also caught glimpses of various locals making their way through the castle conducting their business. Some greeted them respectfully, others gave em the ole stink eye. Lt. Dexlo brought the party into the public Gathering Hall. Essentially a waiting room for those anticipating an audience with the King & Queen. There was plenty of food and refreshment left out, along with tabling for at least two hundred others, although there were maybe only two to three dozen others waiting. This must be the royal queue Dexlo mentioned. And from the looks of it, it could be a while. So the party took a breather and sat to wait their turn. If they would even get one as Lt. Dexlo walked off and through to the following rooms to report their arrival. Yet not long after, Odyeus, the Royal Right-Hand, and very powerful wizard, made his way into the room from the royal chambers. This was the man who was the real hero of the city. The one who had magic powerful enough to cause the attack to end and cause the monstrous Wyrm to flee. The elderly wizard made his way over to the table to greet Timo & the party. He gave the party the rundown of how to behave, how to pay respects(kneeling for the men, bowing for the women)to the Royal Pair, and how to speak once spoken to. After clearing this all up, Odyeus led them all into the Royal Chambers where upon their dais sat in their majestic thrones, The Royal Pair, The King and Queen of Tethyr!

The Royal Pair, King and Queen Eurestel of Tethyr

King Brevar Eurestel, aged sixty-six, who has ruled the nation of Tethyr for nearly 40 years now sits proudly upon his throne. And next to him, one of the most exotically beautiful women to ever grace the nation, Queen Tanisa Eurestel(nee Farsfoot). She, named by the public the 'Step-Queen', fell into the arms of royal marriage barely two years ago after the King's beloved Queen Nura Eurestel fell ill and died, leaving the King and their two children behind. Queen Tanisa is of the Impilturian lands, they rumored to be filled with the striking beauty of the world, to which the King rushed to prove. And here now they rule, proudly and willingly of their people and nation. And they now look upon the recently branded heroes of the Tunahzee family. The King addresses the party, showering them with gratitude and recognition of their recent actions. And for bringing the young Tunahzee man to the castle. From Lt. Dexlo's brief chatter with the Royal Pair beforehand, the King now knows the young Tunahzee man has a lot to tell the King, and urgently from the sounds of it. The Queen remains quiet, but observant. And after an Insight check by one of the party members, she may or may not be entirely thrilled to be where she is at the moment. It's hard to tell among all this pomp and circumstance. Regardless, the party returned their attention to the King as he made his final statement to them. He openly apologized for the attack and its resulting effects. He described how in the past month or so since, the city has been doing all it can to help bring life back to normal, and restore the grandeur of the city to it's people. And this is where he thought the party could really assist in this action. Even naming it a personal favor to the King himself.

You see, this castle was built ages ago using the finest Dwarven craftsmanship of it's time. And has stood gracefully since, until sadly the attack proved that nothing is perfect. And to help bring back Tethyrian pride to Darromar, this castle can be fixed the King claimed. Yet he strongly believes it would specifically take the keen eye and precise handiwork of the only Dwarf he could think of. His old and dear friend, Fissok Sherstryk, the legendary Dwarven stonemason of old. And all the King requested was that the party, again as a personal favor to the King himself, help locate his old pal, and bring him here to the castle. "Oh it would be glorious to have the ole' hammer wielder back on the castle's hallowed grounds, working to repair this ancient structure. And the only one I actually trust to do the job!" the King claimed with a big grin. Of course though, these are The Forgotten Realms and not all is as easy as it is made to be. That grin, well it came with a caveat. To which the King admitted openly to. Years ago, the King and his old buddy, they had a bit of a falling out. Which led to the stubborn Dwarf storming his way out of the castle, cursing the family as he went, swearing to never return. Of course that was many years ago now, and assuredly the King expects his old friend is well-over the old days and willing to come back to the good graces of the Royals. "So there you have it my friends," as King Brevar stood and walked down the steps of the dais to within arms reach of the party. He leaned in closer, lowering his voice to a level he felt comfortable wouldn't make it to further ears. "I need to speak to Timo alone. There are pressing matters abound being reported to me, and helping relieve Timo of his, will give me the time I need..." he looked back around the room and to his wife who he shot a quick smile to, "...to really get other Royal matters straightened out." He ended this last sentence with a sly wink, then returned to his throne. "Go forth now, rest yourselves, and return to us when you haver found my old friend." With that, Odyeus motioned for the party to pay their respects to the King and Queen, and then he escorted them back out to the Waiting Hall. The last thing they saw was Timo Tunahzee looking back at them exiting, a worried look upon his face as the Royal Chambers door closed behind them.

The party, weary from their recent adventure, but still needing more info, pressed the old wizard for any info they could about this Dwarven ally they were royally tasked with finding for the King. The old man revealed to them that there were scattered reports over the years that if he still lives, he may be holed up in The Spires Of Mir, a former section of The Forest Of Mir, that after The Spellplague, was warped and shaped into a landscape of large stone spires that purportedly held no life of worth. They were located to the south of the capital, just north of the Marching Mountains. Beyond that, there was no news of the Dwarf. It seemed that Odyeus wasn't entirely confident that this task could be carried out judging by the tone and carry of his words. Luckily for the King though, these five adventurers have lately found their ways of succeeding. So really, how hard could it be to convince a proud old Dwarf to come back home...

FIN