The Butler, The Baker, The Block and Tackle Maker

## Synopsis

### Part 1

Following the failed attempt to prevent the resurrection of Sir Roderick Shore at a sex party a week ago, the Agency's detectives listen to the speech of Shore on The Lord's Square. They are the only ones aware that the open lord is in fact a puppet reanimated body controlled by Eliza Delgado and her death cult. It's an awkward reunion for both the Agency's detectives and the players themselves.

They quickly return home to Quicklime House because Dipshit feels overwhelmed by the open space. Here they find a bugbear called Dolf Chadwicksmith waiting on the porch - he once had something with Trenessa, but eventually married someone else. That wife in question is missing and Dolf hopes the Agency can find her. Dolf's appearance, motivations and behavior are rather fishy and 'non-specific' to especially Vinegar and Dipshit, the former curious how a random bugbear could find a secret place like the Beggar's Court. Trenessa explains there's something called a 'twin flame' by which you can find others. The skeptisism remains, even after pies are bought, and it only grows when Dolf tries to further share what he knows about his perfectly innocent wife.

Dolf leads them to his block and tackle shop. After expressing critique on his wife's broidery, Dolf shows the detectives a trashed private room in the back. On the bed in that room they find a scuffed bowler hat which Dolf immediately denies as being his (*this evolves into a discussion on whether or not Dolf's wife cheated so heavily on him that they destroyed the room in pure bliss*). Charlie smells the hat and believes it comes from an area called The Hate. After expressing his suspicions of Dolf in front of everyone - Dolf included - Dipshit decides to leave the shop after meeting Trenessa's glare.

### Part 2

With Dipshit gone, the party and the notably silent Dolf make their way to the decayed neighborhood known as The Hate, hoping to find the owner of the bowler hat. At the gates to enter The Hate, the party is stopped by two guards wearing bowler hats. They learn these two guards are part of The Gents, also known as the Gentles or Gentlemen or Gentlewomen, who effectively control The Hate. Trenessa manages to charm one of the guards, Gareth Davies, into letting them inside The Hate. He grants them instructions to The Gents' headquarters, yet he warns them to get out of The Hate in time as there's a curfew in place to guard its inhabitants against monsters.

They come across the Temple of Helm which has been largely closed up. Dolf is constantly switching between sobbing over his wife and chuckling at memes on his fantasy phone. Continuing their way towards The Gents' headquarters, they enter an alleyway next to the Temple and are ambushed by three hostile members of the Gents. The detectives fight and win. Post combat, the degrading relationship between Vinegar and Trenessa is briefly mended because of good teamwork. Then, the voice of the sky mentions this part of the town is called 'Slaughterdeep' and that Dolf is suddenly missing.

### Part 3

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## Key events

* The resurrected Roderick Shore gives a speech. The Agency attends it and leaves shortly after.
* Upon returning in the Beggars Court, they find a bugbear called Dolf Chadwicksmith who requests their help for finding his missing wife.
* When investigating his house, they find a bowler hat which isn't Dolf's.
* They visit The Hate and learn a group called The Gents are known for wearing these hats.
* On the way to the headquarters of The Gents, the detectives fight some of their hostile members. Dolf disappears during this battle.
* The Agency don't know where he is and continue on, visiting The Gents' headquarters to talk with their leader, Bill the Butler.
* The City Watch, under the command of Captain Garlous Green, shows up and demands The Gents' surrender. They refuse.
* In the ensuing assault, The Detective agency escapes. They decide to head back to Dolf's shop.
* They find Dolf and eventually chase him into the cellar's of his building. Here he reveals the wife was a ruse in order to get rid of he Agency when they visited The Hate (*that plan failed*).
* Lipton Rumsfeld, the new leader of The Shipwrights'Guild, is his patron. He seeks to overthrow the Beggars Court and demands to know where either Gribbits or Janos Meer are.
* The Agency fights their way out, killing Dolf in the process. Lipton escapes.
* Vinegar takes the group to the Agency in order to reveal more information about the Agency's patron, Gribbits.

## People

### Gribbits Detective Agency

* Vinegar Pimms
* Charlie Goodboy
* Trenessa
* Dipshit

### Non-Player Characters (NPC's)

* Roderick Shore, resurrected Lord of Waterdeep
* Dolf Chadwicksmith, bugbear and Trenessa's former twin flame
* Gareth Davies, one of the Gents guarding the gate
* Bill the Butler, former butler gone crime-lord leading The Gents
* Captain Garolus Green of the City Watch
* Lipton Rumsfeld, dwarf and The Shipwrights' Guild new leader

## Places

### Waterdeep

* The Lord's Square
* Quicklime House
* Chadwicksmith's Lock and Tackle Shop (on the border of Charcoal Flats and the Shipwright)
* Temple of Helm

## Trivia

* Dolf didn't think of a name for the missing wife. At the height of the adventure, he gets bullied for it by the Agency. In actual fact, Dolf did drop the name 'Josephina' in part 2 but no one remembered or heard it.

## Quotes

* "Spot the moment where Edan got bored of writing a Spiel." (Dave, part 1)
* "I'm giving you a fucking tour of the city, deal with it! You'll come back to these things! It's so valuable, YOU JUST DON'T EVEN KNOW IT!" (Edan, part 1)
* Dolf: "What's with that face Dipshit?" - Dipshit: "You said she's just an innocent wife that I had, so I'm wondering if you have more wives at your house... you're the most suspicious man I've ever met!" - Dolf: "That's really hurtful..." - Dipshit: "HE DOESN'T EVEN SAY IT'S NOT TRUE!" (part 1)
* "The block and tackle shop! Where you find the Gribbits Detective Agency **on the case**... of *The Missing Wife*!" (part 2)
* "Charlie Goodboy, if you don't start behaving, I'm going to send you to sensitivity training". - "I like sensitivity training." (part 2)
* (singing) "*We're doing the combat! Combat for D&D! D&D combat! Combat!*" - "Are you going to keep that theme song for all three episodes of this story arc?" - "*D&D Combat! Combat initiative. Combat! Combat.*" (part 2)
* "Look, I'd like to start with kind of a mysterious jumble of words and then the clarity will emerge into your minds." (Edan, part 3)

## Table Talk

* Edan and Dave are repeatedly bullied during the adventure. Edan for being the DM, Dave now that he's not the DM.
* Dave describes what 'The Hate' stands for (Helm's 8th Tenement Edict). At the beginning of part 3, Edan tries to recite the acronym but has forgotten it and instead says "Dave will dub in the words what it means here (post-episode)". Naomi and Tom refuse to let Edan get away with it because, unlike the audience, they need to know what it means at that time.
* Edan is repeatedly distracted by a variety of things happening around him, including a plane outside of his window.