Glitter and Blood

**"Glitter and Blood"** is the fifth episode of *Song of Stone and Secrets*, airing on September 22nd, 2023.

The session was DMed by TanisJr93 and hosted on his channel on Twitch.

## Summary

*...continued from session three*
Having recovered the chest and the magical weapon Talon, Volrik discovers a half-eaten body that he recognizes as matching the description of Thell Dendrar; he carefully removes the remains from the crevasse, storing them in one of the stone crypts in the adjacent room while the party considers which way to proceed. Sam thinks out into the darkness toward the nothic to ask the whereabouts of the "angry wizard-guy," learning that the man's can be found in the northern rooms; he conveys the information to the rest of the group, and Anaslyn proceeds across the northern bridge and into a hallway where she finds a set of stone steps that she realizes are trapped.

She deftly disarms the trap, recovering an explosive charge that she successfully attaches to a crossbow bolt as the party approaches a door through which they can hear a group of Redbrands arguing over a card game. Róisín retreats to the cavern where she wildshapes into the form of the brown bear that attacked the Sleeping Giant Tap House, and Pilot remains with the Druid as Anaslyn picks the lock on a door across the hall from the Redbrands, slipping inside to find a workshop where she bookshelves lined with strange-looking tomes; a rat scurry under a large worktable set up with alembics, retorts, distillation coils, and other alchemical devices.

Volrik then proceeds to kick the door open and warns the six Redbrands of a man-eating bear in the cavern, at which point Róisín roars and the Fighter notices one of the ruffians panic before realizing that he is the man that fled from the confrontation at the Sleeping Giant Tap House. Two of the Redbrands dart through a door on the opposite side of the room, and Volrik closes and locks the door behind them; the panicking man suddenly recognizes Volrik, and the Fighter throws his greatsword at him as Sam casts *Blade Ward* on himself; Oswald attempts to cast *Lightning Lure* on one of the ruffians and misses, after which Anaslyn rushes into the room and kills another of the Redbrands with a pair of shortsword attacks.

A third ruffian pulls Volrik's sword free and strikes the Fighter with it as a fourth ruffian strikes Anaslyn. Sam approaches the man who recognized them and tells him: "You know what we can do. I expect you to be the smart one." He then stabs the ruffian that attacked Volrik, as the Fighter attempts to kick the man but misses before backfisting him in the throat and grappling him; Oswald casts *Lightning Lure* on the Redbrand that stabbed Anaslyn, and the Rogue offers to buy the man who recognized them a drink if he helps the party. She then stabs the man that Oswald struck with his *Lightning Lure* as the ruffian grappled by Volrik swings the greatsword and misses the Fighter, killing the man who Anaslyn had just stabbed.

In the cavern, one of the ruffians rushes at Róisín, who slashes him viciously across the chest, causing him to collapse to the floor as the second man calls into another room for backup before rushing up the steps and shooting Pilot with a crossbow bolt. Róisín bites the man she slashed and hurls his body into the second man as Pilot tears the crossbow bolt from his shoulder, loads it, and fires it back, just barely missing as the man fires back, missing as well; moments later, a Bugbear rushes into the cavern, and Róisín bites his arm to before Pilot strikes the creature with his shortsword. It responds by striking Róisín with a greatclub, after which the Druid hurls the creature into the 20-foot-deep crevasse, killing it.

In the common room, the man who recognized the group kills the ruffian grappled by Volrik, and confirms that Glass-staff is hiding in a room off the workshop as the door that Volrik locked is then jostled by a second Bugbear attempting and failing to open it. The Fighter, the Rogue, and the Wizard flank the door, which Volrik opens before striking the Bugbear with his greatsword, after which Anaslyn misses with a crossbow bolt, and Oswald kills the creature with *Shocking Grasp*. Sam and Volrik hurry through the door toward the sound of combat in the cavern as Róisín hurls the other Bugbear into the crevasse, killing it; the remaining Redbrand strikes Pilot with a crossbow bolt, after which the Fairy leaps from Róisín's back and strikes the ruffian with his battleaxe, killing him as well.

Searching the bodies of the Redbrand, the group recovers a gold earring set encrusted with tiny rubies that Pilot and Róisín share, as well as 20 gold, 55 silver, 75 copper; they also find a potion of healing, which Pilot uses. Róisín transforms back into her elven form as Oswald searches the workshop, finding several spell components as well as bottles of mercury, dragon bile, and powdered nightshade; using some of the ingredients, he successfully creates another potion of healing while Anaslyn also discovers basic texts on alchemy, several notes on brewing potions of invisibility, as well as an old book written in Dwarvish.

Listening at a door along the eastern wall, Sam hears a pained sound in an adjacent room, and Anaslyn begins picking the lock before the door opens and Syldar appears, holding a bloody sword. He allows the party into the room, where they find a dead body on the floor, and both Volrik and Oswald recognize the man as Arnim Albrecht, a member of the Lords' Alliance and Oswald's personal instructor at the Academy Arcanum. Syldar explains that he knew about the Redbrand presence in Phandalin and suspected that Albrecht was leading the gang, and reveals a secret entrance into the room; sensing something off, Volrik looks at the dead body on the floor, noticing out of the corner of his eye the faintest hint of a smirk on Syldar's mouth.

Volrik suggests that the group speak with the surviving Redbrand, and Syldar agrees immediately before stabbing Volrik with a poisoned dagger and revealing himself to *be* Arnim Albrecht under the illusion of a *Disguise Self* spell; he returns to his natural appearance as the body on the floor vanishes, and taunts Oswald as he picks up the glass staff leaning against a small writing desk. He quickly casts *Shield* to deflect a *Thorn Whip* attack from Róisín, who is subsequently stabbed by the remaining Redbrand as the man tells her: "For the Black Spider." Pilot attempts to stab the Redbrand that attacked Róisín as the Druid wildshapes back into a bear before biting the ruffian and snapping his neck, killing him.

Sam casts *Healing Word* on Volrik and attempts to cast *Vicious Mockery* on Albrecht, who is unaffected as Oswald demands an explanation for his mentor's betrayal; Albrecht claims that his new employer pays better, at which point Oswald digs a handful of copper pieces from his pocket and shoves them into Albrecht's chest, casting a devastating *Shocking Grasp* that breaks through his mentor's *Shield* spell. Anaslyn fires her explosive crossbow bolt, hitting the desk and showering Albrecht, Oswald, and Volrik with fiery splinters; Albrecht reacts by casting *Magic Missiles* at Sam, Anaslyn, and Volrik, knocking the Fighter unconscious before the Bard steps through the smoke and the flame of the burning desk and casts *Dissonant Whispers* to kill Albrecht.

Anaslyn collapses onto the bed as Oswald retrieves the glass-staff from Albrecht and Róisín transforms back into her elven form before casting *Healing Word* on Volrik. Sam helps Oswald search the room, and the two discover a wooden chest containing 180 silver, 130 copper, and a silk pounch with five carnelians, two periots, and a pearl inside; they also find a spell scroll of *Charm Person* and a spell scroll of *Fireball*, and Oswald realizes that the scrolls were created by him during his study under Albrecht. The party rests shortly to recuperate before removing the remains of Thell and Arnim from the cellar, after which they empty the armory and create a makeshift sledge to transport the bodies and weapons back to town.

Róisín wildshapes into a warhorse, and the group returns to the Stonehill Inn by dawn, finding Murna and informing her of her husband's fate; they escort her and her children back to the Dendrar Farm, where Pilot single-handedly digs a grave and Róisín druidcrafts flowers over the body. Volrik offers to kill the nothic in retribution, but Mirna responds that: "There's been enough death." Syldar arrives shortly after, and the learns of the events of the preceding evening as he mourns over Albrecht's body; Oswald invites Syldar to join the group for an early-morning drink before leaving to return Albrecht to Neverwinter, and the man agrees.

*continued in session six...*
## Notes

* The events of the session occurred on 6-7 Flamerule 1491 DR.
* Alternate titles for the episode include, but are not limited to:
	+ "Think Into the Ether"

## Quotes

* "I think I know where this sword's from, but I'm not tellin'." – Volrik
* "I think you could use it pretty well; you look pretty talented." – Samael Santara
* "There's no tellin' where it'll take us." – Oswald Fireshield
* "I feel like we all would have to be pretty talented to be able to use it." – Pilot Truelewen
* "It's alright, though: him and Pilot saw eye-to-eye." – Samael Santara
* "Did somebody bring a body-bag of holding?" – Samael Santara
* "Hey: we were told there was, uh, an angry wizard-guy down here. Uh, don't know if you know anything about where we might find him?" – Samael Santara
"I find your little group... intriguing. You wish to find... Glass-staff." – Zthks
"Glass-staff. Yes." – Samael Santara
"If the coward has not yet escaped, he is in the northern rooms." – Zthks
"If the coward *hasn't* escaped yet... would you like desert?" – Samael Santara
"Indeed..." – Zthks
"I'll keep that in mind." – Samael Santara
* "That stair there: is it just me, or was it dancing? I thought it was a Fred Astaire." – Volrik
* "I'll tell you what: we get back to Phandalin, I'll buy you a 64-pack of crayons instead of an 8-pack." – Samael Santara
"That's so generous. Aw." – Róisín Meadowlark
* "That is a beary good idea." – Róisín Meadowlark
"It's almost unbearable how good it is." – Pilot Truelewen
"I think this mission will bear fruits." – Oswald Fireshield
"Are you guys ready to bear arms?" – TanisJr93
* "I kick the door down, and there it is! A bandit... playing soccer. It's Bandit Like Beckham." – Erik Wahlberg
* "I am bear." – Heyitsceceeeee
* "This is Bear Squad, baby; I'm staying on." – TinyT14
* "🎶Advantage: the San Francisco treat🎶" – Capwithoutacountry
* "If you need to roll a check or an attack or a save, just remember you're fearless, and incredibly brave." – Samael Santara (giving Bardic inspiration)
* "Taste my lightning, fucker!" – Oswald Fireshield (after striking a Redbrand)
* "I'm the only one that gets to kick the door down!" – Volrik
* "The rage has turned into stress." – TanisJr93
* "What do you call a bugbear with no ear? A bugb!" – Volrik
* "Taste my lightning, fucker!" – Oswald Fireshield (after killing a Bugbear)
* "Hey, Oswald: is the glasstaff full, or is the glasstaff empty?" – Samael Santara
* "I knew you weren't Syldar! You're Shen! Shen Anigan!" – Volrik
* "What will you do now, poor Oswald? You're going to try and fight *me* without your sword and shield? With your pathetic excuse for magic?" – Arnim Albrecht
"Son of a bitch." – Oswald Fireshield
"Pathetic as always." – Arnim Albrecht
* "You know: you are at least the *second*-most-powerful wizard in this room." – Samael Santara (casting *Vicious Mockery*)
"You dare compare me to this pathetic excuse for a wizard?" – Arnim Albrecht
* "Why? Why all of this?" – Oswald Fireshield
"My new employer pays much better." – Arnim Albrecht
"Capitalist lackey." – Samael Santara
"Yeah." – Oswald Fireshield
"Bootlicker." – Róisín Meadowlark
"Well if coin is all you care about..." – Oswald Fireshield
* "I *told* you... you were the *second*-most-powerful wizard in this room." – Samael Santara (casting *Dissonant Whispers*)
* "Oswald, I believe that man is holding your staff." – Samael Santara
* "I hate dying. It's the last thing I'll do!" – Volrik
* "You know why an Eloquence Bard is good at picking locks?" – Volrik
"Why?" – Róisín Meadowlark
"His communication is key." – Volrik
* "I see. The rumors were true, then." – Syldar Hallwinter
"Unfortunately, they are." – Oswald Fireshield
"Thank you. The both of you. All of you. I am sorry for any pain that my... friend's action has caused. There is... more to do here. Still need to find Gundrun. I will entrust this to all of you. I need to take him home." – Syldar Hallwinter
"If you like, I can help you prepare him for travel. Before you leave, I would invite you to join for a... early-morning drink to help you along the way." – Oswald Fireshield
"Sounds nice. Thank you." – Syldar Hallwinter
* "I was more physically hurt than emotionally hurt." – Erik Whalberg