The Call of Atropus: Disappearance in the Dalelands

The party ventured far to the East, along with the driver that had been sent for them, Varus. A storm began to brew overhead, and Aysel noticed that it had a sickly purple color to it, as if it was arcane in nature. A bolt of lightning struck the right wheel on the side of the cart. Sade, Jade, and Berke headed into the woods to get replacement wood. Scaredy attempted to rebind the wheel with his Hat of Wizardry, but it failed, summoning creatures from another realm instead, with many tentacles. They soon disappeared, frightened. The party made it out of the storm, heading further East. They travelled for 14 days, and passed alongside the Anauroch desert, avoiding its swallowing depths. They saw high mountains to the North, and the driver warned them about the evils that lurked within them. The party noticed ancient ruins high within the depths of the mountains, which they learned are the Desertsmouth mountains. They travelled past the Spiderhaunt Forest, and by nightfall, they arrived in Dagger Falls, in the heart of Daggerdale in the Dalelands. They passed by the guards with little incident, and they noticed that the driver seemed to know the guards. They travelled into the town on foot. They noticed a sadness, a dimness to the town. The residents averted their eyes and quickly moved away from them. They noticed guards on the street corners, though they were dressed more like members of a Thieves’ Guild than the guards of Hawthorne or Waterdeep. Some of the guards wore patches with a white dragon chasing a golden disc, though they could not recall the origin of such a symbol. Sade approached a woman and her child, after overhearing the child say something about “things coming from the mines.” He tried to ask them about it, but threatened the mother, who summoned guards over. Aysel was able to defuse the situation with some cunning persuasion. The party headed further into town, seeking the person who sent for them, a councilman of the town, known as Maren. They found him at the Red Rock Inn and Tavern. The bartender was an older woman with a grey cloak. She looked apprehensively at the party, and told them that kobolds are not commonly welcome here. Scaredy made himself innocuous. They found Maren, and he explained to them that the Mines of Tethyamar had long ago fallen into ruin, and horrid things crawled now in its depths. He explained that over the last two months, 7 people had disappeared from Dagger Falls, and no trace of them was found. He and several other council members had hired a private investigator, who had found tracks leading North, but they did not have success pursuing them. Berke spoke with a gruff man at the bar, with an unkept beard and masonry tools on his belt. The party left the tavern, and headed to the house of the most recently disappeared person. An older woman opened the door, and after hearing them out, let them in. She explained that her son, Trevor, was last seen 3 days ago, and was taken somehow in the middle of the night. After examining the space, they determined that some creature of wind or air must have taken him. They learned he was 30 years of age and a fisherman. He had come home to rest and was never seen again. The party learned from her that the Zhentarim once held control of Daggerdale, but Randal Morn of the Morn family had reclaimed his throne long ago, freeing the lands. When he died of pneumonia over a hundred years ago, the town slowly crept under their control again. The land of Daggerdale was destroyed over a decade ago, and they have been rebuilding ever since. The Zhentarim have been strengthening their grasp ever since the rebuilding efforts have started. Ava sent her familiar to spy on the man from the tavern, and seemed to learn that he had a chest in his house that contained a greatsword and helm with gems on them, a portrait of a regal looking man with a blade at his side, and a badge that said “Freedom Riders.” The party headed to an inn to stay in for the night, and found the Broken Dagger inn, which was filled with Zhentarim. They stayed the night for a cheap price, and thought they heard something in the middle of the night. They did not notice anything. They tried to spy on the guard barracks, and discovered that the mansion, which contains several council members, had a barrier preventing magic from entering. Scaredy and his mount tried to fly up and examine the place, but were nearly shot out of the sky by the guards. The party made their way to the North gate, and headed along the dirt trail to the North. After some time, they regrouped with Scaredy and Sade found tracks that led North. The tracks seemed to show a person being dragged through the dirt, but no footprints for the person or thing that was taking them. They found a cabin in a small plain that they stumbled upon. It looked abandoned, but muddy footprints were found on the porch. They unlocked the door, but a trap went off, causing great alarm and shock. They headed inside, and found that someone was clearly living there. After investigating, they found a secret lever inside the bookshelf on the North wall, which opened a staircase that headed steeply down into the darkness. The party ventured down, finding that they had stumbled into some sort of alchemical laboratory, filled with vials, tubs, and barrels. They also found cages of birds. After examining the space for some time, they heard noise upstairs, and hid. Aysel stayed visible, and spoke to the person who came down, who explained that his name was Lasten, and that he wished to know why they were breaking and entering. While Aysel and Lasten talked, Scaredy accidentally shifted in the pile of items he was on, and knocked over a barrel of arcane sludge, which began mixing with potions and magic items. Lasten looked in horror and screamed that Scaredy had just created some horrid thing. Aysel tried to knock Lasten out, but he stood back up and summoned fire to his hands. The party began to fight him, and he summoned two fireballs down upon them. As the party blasted and sliced at him, trying to knock him down, the sludge took form, looking far above the party. They tried to blast it with magic, but it seemed to heal from the arcane power. Scaredy was knocked down, and Berke healed him, but when he was knocked down again, Sade conjured a healing spirit to bring him up a second time. They knocked Lasten out, and then dealt with the creature. With his weakened state and on his last leg, Scaredy fired an arrow that fell the ooze, as it dissipated into the floor. Under a zone of truth and blindfolded, Lasten turned the birds back into humans (and one halfling) and then activated his loyalty ring, which killed him instantly. The party recovered the individuals and guided them back to town, and then headed home.