The Call of Atropus: An Unfinished Lens

The party received word from a halfling rider, who said she was representing the Order of the Gauntlet. They were told they needed to recover lost plans for a shielded telescope, one that would allow the user to gaze upon unknown cosmic objects without suffering the effects of madness, or at least temper said effects. They travelled to the Mere of Dead Men, venturing to the last known location of the mage Efaris, the one who is believed to have stolen the plans from his former master, turning to focus on the dark arts on his own. His ruined house sat beneath the whispering waters. Dark, phantom shapes wailed in the distance, and strange, pulsing lights flickered. The party ventured down to the ruins, and after some investigation, found a small tour book, with an audio recording of Efaris. They found a secret passage underground, into the deep, dark caves beneath the Mere. They navigated what seemed to be a Museum to Efaris, designed and managed by Efaris. They found they were being hunted by Efaris’ boneclaw and Shadow Mastiffs, which had been tracking them for some time. They escaped his traps, and disabled the incinerator at the end just before Lank was to be vaporized. They recovered some of the merchandise from the gift shop, and headed into the side tunnel that they found, which led to Efaris’ personal quarters. They asked him to give the scroll over, which he pretended to do, but encased them in a cube of force instead, banishing them and the design plans to the Shadowfell. He then went to continue showering. They fought through a horde of deathly beings, barely recovered from the previous encounter. They recovered the plans and found a portal to the material plane, where they surfaced outside Waterdeep. Efaris still lives, or so it seems, yet what he is working on, or where he is now, are both mysteries left to be discovered. The telescope plans seem to require several items from the upper planes, including the Feywild, in order to create the shielding mechanism.