Session 03: The Hand of Nessus

### Non-player characters

Alma, Beal, Dinmavra, Durnan, Emmarina, Fel'rekt, Giora, Jorbin, Lau, Loreloth, Mirt, Renaer, Zoleth

### Location(s)

**Waterdeep**: Castle Ward, Sea Ward
**Castle Ward**: The God Catcher, The God Catcher Inn, The Yawning Portal

**Sea Ward**: The Silken Sylph

Our adventurers sniff out a den of folks in red robes. The mysterious group has taken to hiding near a popular tourist attraction. The party must find out why these robed villains have targeted Renaer...

## Summary

### Trouble at The Yawning Portal

Kados, Suthra, Thrask and Viego returned to the Yawning Portal to retrieve the celestite unicorn statue they found in Blue Alley. After finding out the statue could communicate with the group and wanted to be freed from its celestite form, the adventurers left the statue in the care of Durnan, the owner of The Yawning Portal. Deckard ran into the group on his way to the inn.

As the adventurers entered the inn, Viego veered away from the group to find Renaer as well as to avoid speaking to Durnan about his debts. In a drunken state, Renaer petitioned for Viego to return the unicorn statue to Mirt in exchange for information regarding the red-robed assailants.

Before the party could leave with the statue, a horrific creature emerged from Undermountain and began terrorizing the patrons of The Yawning Portal. Along with the creature a few adventurers crawled out from Undermountain in fear, one of these adventurers was Sorin. Deckard, Kados and Viego joined the combat but it became quickly apparent that this beast would be nearly impossible to defeat as it released wicked magic and crushing blows to the dozens of adventurers attacking it.

Durnan urged a young human man at the bar to stop drinking and help. After much apathy, the young man helped in exchange for free drinks from Durnan. The man was able to launch a flurry of magical arrows at the beast until it finally died. Durnan announced that the young man, Beal, had yet again claimed the glory of killing the beast to which many of the patrons who engaged the creature combat replied with loud, exasperated groans.

### Mirt's Intel

After surviving the onslaught at The Yawning Portal, the party went to the Silken Sylph in the Sea Ward to deliver the unicorn statue to Mirt.

After a failed negotiation for more coin, Mirt allowed himself to forgive the adventurers and told them he had tracked the red robes' activities to The God Catcher, one of Waterdeep's many Walking Statues.

### Around the God Catcher

With Mirt's information, the adventurers made their way to The God Catcher. The God Catcher was sunk into the streets of Waterdeep centuries ago and became a major landmark and tourist attraction. Dozens of tiny shops and market stalls brought people of all walks of life to the once-sleepy, upscale neighborhood.

#### The Sackbut and Shawm

Deckard approached a pair of minstrels performing at the base of the walking statue. The performing duo consisted of Lau, an arokocra shawm player and Jorbin, a tabaxi sackbut player.

Deckard inquired about the presence of people in red robes but neither performer knew anything about such individuals.

#### Flying Fish Sisters

A crowd of people gathered around what looked like fishing flying through the air in front of them. The adventurers made their way towards the attraction to see a pair of female air genasi juggling fish through the air as they sold them to onlookers. After finishing their routine, the younger performer introduced herself as Alma Kharazoff and her sister, a slightly older air genasi in a wheelchair, as Dinmavra.

The party was able to learn that people in red robes often buy over twenty pounds of fish from them every evening and a suspicious person in black robes often descends from the The God Catcher Inn — an inn located atop The God Catcher itself —and heads north towards the Sea Ward.

### The God Catcher Inn

With the information gathered from the Kharazoff sisters, the adventurers made their way up the stairs built into into The God Catcher, towards the inn. After meeting the bartender, Emmarina, and a serving boy, Giora, Thrask and Viego were able to identify two suspicious individuals who left the taproom towards a seemingly benign pantryask was able to identify a trapdoor set into the floor of the pantry.

### The Hand of Nessus

After gathering the rest of the party, with Suthra and Deckard parading as health inspectors, the adventurers used the trapdoor to find a tunnel system carved into arm of The God Catcher.

#### Ancient Doors

The adventurers dropped down from the pantry's trapdoor and found themselves in a room with three ancient-looking stone doors. Each door had a symbol that Kados identified as that of the Blackstaff, a position given to Waterdeep's archmage.

#### The Mage's Statue

Sorin placed his hand on one of the ancient doors, triggering a trap that sapped the vitality from the man. Beyond the door was the statue of a mage whose regalia carried symbols of Waterdeep and the Blackstaff. Resting in statue's hands was a wand set with purple gemstones. Sorin took the staff as he left the room.

#### Carpal Tunnel

The adventurers found a long tunnel heading upwards, along the way Thrask uncovered a supply of red robes and masks. Thrask, Kados and Deckard donned the disguises before the party continued through the tunnel.

#### Wrist of the Damned

The tunnel ended at a heavy stone door emblazoned with the symbol of a hand with outstretched fingers and the numeral "9" contained in its palm. Kados used his personal knowledge of infernal tieflings to determine that it was the symbol of Asmodeus, the King of the Nine Hells.

Beyond the door, the adventurers encountered a group of drow in red robes praying to a statue of Asmodeus. A battle ensued and the adventurers were able to quickly incapacitate the drow. One drow was eager to give the party information in exchange for his life.

#### Zoleth's Information

The drow explained that the people in red robes are members of the Cult of Asmodeus. The drow in this sect were once members of the Bregan D'aerthe but left under the leadership of another former Bregan D'aerthe named Loreloth.

The drow confirmed that the cult was targeting Renaer in an attempt to uncover a hoard of gold coins left by Dagult Neverember. He also informed the adventurers of the fact that other organizations including the Zhentarim, The Xanathar Guild, and the Bregan D'aerthe were after the hoard as well.

The adventurers let the drow leave with his life, and the dark elf introduced himself as Zoleth before he fled through the tunnels of The God Catcher.

#### Palm of Domination

After gathering information from Zoleth the adventurers continued through the hideout, defeating other cultists and their infernal pets as they made their way forward.

Viego happened upon a room containing a black onyx crystal. Upon touching the object, a sonorous voice echoed in the kensei's mind offering him power in exchange for servitude.

#### Thumb of Conquest

Making their way towards the top of the hideout the adventurers saw opened a door revealing that they were nearing the fingers of The God Catcher's outstretched hand. Looking down the party saw that there was at least a 100-foot drop below them and across the way was the thumb of The God Catcher with what appeared to be a small opening in its side.

Despite the danger, Deckard fastened a rope around his waist and vaulted over the gap and landed inside the thumb of the God Catcher. As the nobleman landed he heard the familiar screeching sound of one of the black-splined flying creatures the party encountered outside of Renaer's apartment. Although separated from Deckard, the other adventurers were able to assist him in defeating the wicked creature.

Inside the thumb, Deckard found a ruby-studded golden symbol of Asmodeus.

#### Meeting Loreloth

After pulling Deckard back over the party continued searching for the leader of the cult. With little more to find in the hand of The God Catcher, the adventurers were able to find and surround Loreloth in her quarters.

The drow attempted to maintain her composure as she attempted to persuade the adventurers to join the cult in exchange for power and endless riches, although the party remained unconvinced of the drow's recruitment attempt. While the party attempted to get information out of Loreloth they heard a muffled shouting and banging coming from a door adjacent to the drow. The adventurers opened the door to see a familiar male dark elf standing in the doorway with one hand over his mouth and the other hand outstretched, wielding an unfamiliar device.

Without saying a word, the male dark elf squeezed the trigger of his weapon and a loud explosion rang in the adventurers' ears as they saw a portion of Loreloth's head explode, leaving the cult leader dead.

#### Meeting Fel'rekt

The male drow coyly thanked the adventurers as he grabbed a shortsword from Loreloth's desk and fastened it to his belt, remarking that Loreloth mistook his weapon for a broken crossbow.

The dark elf showed gratitude for the party's "assistance" in his assassination of Loreloth and introduced himself as Fel'rekt Lafeen. He was the drow that the party encountered outside of Renaer's home before the Cult of Asmodeus attempted to kidnap the noble.

While Fel'rekt maintained that he had the situation under control, he was nevertheless appreciative of the adventurers and offered to give them more insight on what had been transpiring around Renaer.

## Player Characters

* **Deckard** the human fighter
* **Kados** the tiefling sorcerer
* **Sorin** the aasimar fighter/warlock
* **Suthra** the dragonborn bard
* **Thrask** the lizardfolk ranger
* **Viego** the human kensei

## Non-Player Characters

* **Alma Kharazoff**, a female air genasi fishmonger and younger of the Kharazoff sisters.
* **Beal**, a teenage male half-elf who earned a year of free drinks at The Yawning Portal after killing a creature that emerged from Undermountain. His armor was adorned with the symbol of a harp.
* **Dinmavra Kharazoff**, a female air genasi fishmonger and older of the Kharazoff sisters.
* **Durnan**, the male human owner and bartender of The Yawning Portal.
* **Emmarina**, female elf bartender of The God Catcher Inn.
* **Fel'rekt Lafeen**, a male drow gunslinger who the party encountered during the attack on Renaer Neverember's apartment.
* **Giora**, a young male human serving boy at The God Catcher Inn.
* **Jorbin**, a male tabaxi sackbut performer. Jorbin plays music at the base of The God Catcher with his musical partner, Lau.
* **Lau**, a female aarakocra shawm performer. Lau plays music at the base of The God Catcher with her musical partner, Jorbin.
* **Loreloth**, the female drow leader of The Hand of Nessus, a sect of the Cult of Asmodeus.
* **Mirt**, a male human noble of Waterdeep who provided the adventurers with information about the red cloaked individuals after they retrieved a statue of a unicorn for him.
* **Renaer Neverember**, a male human noble of Waterdeep and son of the former Open Lord of Waterdeep, Dagult Neverember.
* **Zoleth**, a male drow member of the cult of Asmodeus, his life was spared by the adventurers in exchange for his information.

## Allies, Enemies & Organizations

### Enemies

#### Cult of Asmodeus

The people in red robes that the party had encountered over the past few months were in fact members of a Cult of Asmodeus.

### Organizations

#### Bregan D'aerthe

The party heard of the Bregan D'aerthe from Zoleth, they are an underworld organization of drow, apparently led by a dark elf named Jarlaxle.

## Deaths

### Non-Player Characters

* **Loreloth:** Shot in the head by Fel'rekt using his Lantanese pistol.