Session 315

# November 2nd, 2023 - Behold, Xanathar!

## Bargaining with the Brotherhood

The session began as the party left the basement of Silverhand Estate, having killed all the invading guards that awaited them outside the High Lady’s magic vault. As they made their way through the ground level they found no other soldiers, and the front doors opened. Two of the guards had fled in *fear* of Watch during their battle, so reinforcements were surely on their way. The group once again adopted *minor illusions* to make themselves look like invading dragonborn soldiers, for those who weren’t dragonborn. Before they could escape the estate fully, approaching the front gate they were confronted with a large group of soldiers hurriedly approaching. The two guards who fled led the group back to the mansion, and the party convinced the enemy leader they were the surviving soldiers from the battle.

This guard captain sent soldiers around the mansion and inside to secure the area, but then he started to become suspicious as to why the party had ‘abandoned’ their post. They said they were moving to guard the front gate, but it was looking like they would not be able to easily flee. Fax then turned his back to the guards while he cast a *fog cloud* that blanketed the area at the estate gate. The party yelled “we’re under attack!” as they fled out the front gates and south as fast as they could. They ducked into side streets and changed their appearance after getting out of sight.

The group then made their way south to the Trade Ward and found a moderate inn and tavern to stay the night - the “Come On Inn”. There were not many patrons in the place, and in fact the streets were not nearly as filled with people as Joakim remembered there usually were - clearly due to the invaders and the large number of patrols roaming the streets. Watch gave the proprietor of the inn more than the large amount he asked for them to stay, ingratiating themselves with the people in the inn. As they settled down for the night, many in the party went back down to the tavern portion on the bottom floor of the inn while Orsais performed. During this time, Watch broke into the proprietors room and burgled it, easily slipping out of the window back into his room without issue.

The next morning just before dawn the party made their way to the Docks Ward to the location of their Black Brotherhood contact, asking a few locals they easily found the small rundown tavern known as the “Cracked Goblet”. Inside, after asking the bartender, they were directed downstairs to a small basement where they met their contact, a large man who went by the name of Ced. After they gave the code phrase, Ced opened up and they began to negotiate on the price to “take the party where they needed to go”. After Ced and one of his Brotherhood compatriots showed the group a syndicate wanted poster for none other than Orsais, for ten thousand gold, the group acquiesced to a sum of one thousand gold for Ced to lead them and tell others in the Brotherhood that Orsais had been killed by the invaders.

After taking the money, Ced instructed some other Brotherhood members to lead the party through the city sewers to a meeting location with the largest gang in the city - X’s gang. It turned out they were not part of the Brotherhood, but had a rumored way into the Iron Citadel from the sewers and Ced had set up the meet. A few hours later after trudging through the maze of sewer tunnels beneath the city, the party was led into a small stone chamber where they met an X gang lieutenant by the name of Vic. They convinced this lieutenant by their weapons and armor that they meant business, and he and his fellow gang members escorted the party further through the sewer tunnels until reaching the gang’s lair.

## Behold, Xanathar!

The area was heavily defended by X-gang members, with each prominently displaying the gang tattoo on their arms, neck, or even forehead. The party could tell the rank of the gang member by design of the tattoo, with the standard members having a single circle with the X through it. The lieutenant had two circles, and they found the captains had three circles. The party was searched and stripped of all their weapons, backpacks, and other items other than clothing and armor before being allowed into the lair proper. The group allowed their things to be taken and put into large trunks, even if they initially wanted a few party members to stay outside the lair, they were not given a choice.

The entire group was ushered into the lair that could be best described as a dark underground opium den. Even though it was in a dry part of the sewer, the dark area of rooms and tunnels was lit with candles, draped with gang banners, and filled with various furniture, crates, and other storage. The party was ushered up a set of stairs set into the brick wall at the far end of the main large chamber and they were brought to the leader’s large room, where they met with X itself. For X was not a man, but a large floating beholder. It introduced itself by the name of Xanathar, and the party quickly showed their obedience with the knowledge and legends of how powerful such a creature was - it could easily *disintegrate* them at a whim. They realized some of the statues around the base were *petrified* soldiers, another of the beholder’s powers.

Xanathar discussed with the party how his gang could indeed get them into the Iron Citadel from the sewers, via a secret tunnel they worked hard to secure. However, before Xanathar would risk exposing that asset for the party, they would first have to perform a perilous task for the gang to prove themselves worthy. The party immediately showed they were willing to do anything the creature wanted. Xanathar went on to describe the massive Undermountain mega-dungeon beneath the city, going into a brief history lesson for those who had never been to Ironbay, about the massive labyrinthian structure and how it came to be. He then described the underground criminal town of Skullport, on the second level of the massive mega-dungeon, that is filled with criminals released into the depths from the Iron Citadel itself. For Xanathar was not content ruling crime in the city and controlling the sewers, it had intentions to rule this undertown of crime as well.

The task it set the party upon was relatively simple, and if they intended on breaking into the Iron Citadel they would surely be able to get into Skullport and kill an ex X-gang member named “Traitor Joe” who was captured by the previous authorities, released into the Undermountain, and who never returned to the gang. Xanathar not only wanted this traitor questioned for what he revealed to the authorities and the gangs of Skullport - collectively known as the “Skulls” - but it wanted his head returned. In addition, since the beholder’s informants had revealed that Traitor Joe had made himself an ally of the Skulls three leaders - Larry, Curley, and Mo-Money - that the party would likely run into them in searching for Joe, and it wanted them to eliminate the three as well. His gang members were easily identifiable, and instead of X itself strolling through the town’s streets killing everyone, he wanted just the leaders taken out. Such that Xanathar and his gang could move in and assert their control over the underground town.

Even though it was not the task the party thought they would be undertaking next, they quickly agreed for fear of their lives. Xanathar ordered their weapons and equipment returned to the party, with the exception of their means of escape. It kept their teleportation scroll and rune-map that would allow them to return to Black Landing. The beholder revealed to them they would not be able to use the teleportation scroll to escape the Iron Citadel anyway, for it had magic blocking all types of teleportation in and out, and would likely have to return to his lair after their job anyway. At that time, once Xanathar was satisfied they completed all their tasks, it would return their means of escape.

And that is where the session ended, it was the twentieth day since the party first left Black Landing. The party also reached **level seven** upon completion of their meeting with the Beholder and being set upon their next task.

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