Intermezzo

## Overview

The first transition between arcs in the Mortal Fools campaign. Preceded by The Lost Mine of Phandelver. Followed by The Shadow of Artemis.

## Characters

### PCs

* Tormine
* Quill
* Bahlron
* Ashiok
	+ Baelor

### NPCs

* Aethershred
* Captain Grey Duck
* Erwin
	+ Erwin's Cat
* Nezznar (The Black Spider)
* Halia Thornton
* Anto
* Gundren Rockseeker
* Townmaster Harbin Wester
* Linene Graywind
* Nundro Rockseeker
* Christiana

## Locations

* Phandalin
* Neverwinter
* The *Queequeg*
* Navi

## Story

### 1: The Shrieking Mirror

The group of adventurers lied asleep in the Stonehill Inn, when they were suddenly awoken by cries for help emanating from the shard of glass Tormine was been carrying. The mirror was suddenly pulled from Tormine's grip, and flew through the air, colliding with the southern wall of their room. The mirror fell silent and dropped to the floor. Tormine explained to the rest of the group how he had found the mirror, and showed them the page it was wrapped in. Several of the party members recognized Castle Romaja, and knew that it was located in the city of Arojam, located on the Termean Peninsula, far to the south.

Outside, the group noticed a commotion was brewing in the streets of Phandalin. The left to investigate, and found a great number of city guards running to and from the Townmaster’s Hall. Once there, they were greeted by Townmaster Wester, and they saw the cell where the Black Spider had been imprisoned the evening before. The guards who had been watching the cell had been stabbed to death. Now, the cell was empty, save for a brochure for the Zhentarim with a note written on the back:

> *If you find Christiana, tell her I’m sorry.*
>
>

> -Nezznar
>
>

The gang accompanied the Townmaster and severeal guards to the home of Halia Thornton, at the Phandalin Miner’s Exchange. However, Halia Thornton had already fled, leaving behind nothing useful besides a room full of Zhentarim paraphanalia.

Without much to go on, the group decided to travel to Neverwinter to see if they could find any leads to the Black Spider’s escape. However, Beshek informed the group that he would not be accompanying them; according to him, he had a brother that was in need of urgent assistance. The group was suspiscious of his real intentions, but did not try to stop him. In the morning, the remains of the party stopped by the Lionshield Coster to stock up on supplies, and soon departed.

However, each night as the group traveled, they were awoken by the same screams emenating from the mirror Tormine carried. And each night, the mirror attempted to pull itself from Tormine’s grasp, always seeking to go south. It was becoming an annoyance to the entire group.

On the road to Neverwinter, the group encountered a travelling salesman named Erwin. He dealt in strange and magic (or sometimes mundane) items and equipment. He also carried a strange crate which he occasionally dropped slices of meat into. When pressed on the matter, he explained that it was for his cat, which Ashiok had a pleasant conversation with before the parties went their separate ways.

### 2: Demons, Pirates, and Prophecies

As the group neared Neverwinter, they noticed the weather worsening. Traveling along the coast, they watched the sky to the west darken, and felt the wind rising. A large storm was brewing on the horizon. By the time they reached Neverwinter, a full-force hurricane was expected, and most of the shops and homes were closed down and boarded up.

Tormine posed to the group that they should make for Arojam, seeing how the Mirror of Aescheles sounded quite valuable and might hold answers to the shard of mirror that nightly awoke their slumber.

Once in Neverwinter, the four adventurers sought out a bar near the harbor, the only area that was still active as ships and crews prepared to weather the storm. Tormine recognized one of the ships anchored at the docks: the *Queequeg*. It was a ship that he had manned when he was younger, back when he sailed beneath a pirate’s flag. Entering the Beached Leviathan, Tormine reunited with an old comrade: Captain Grey Duck, now the captain of the *Queequeg*. He offered Tormine, along with Quill, Ashiok, and Bahlron a ride to the Termean Peninsula, as he was delivering goods to the coastal city of Navi. The group accepted, but had to shop for supplies first.

Ashiok visited a fortune-teller at the nearby Driftwood Tavern. He wanted to check if some rings he had found in Wave Echo Cave were enchanted, and also asked to have his fortune told. The old crone whispered to him:

> *I see you, standing in the sand, surrounded by applause, engulfed in flames. You are dying. I also see a little girl, running in a dark cavern, crying for help.*
>
>

Quill and Bahlron found a large equipment shop that was about to close up for the storm. Bahlron purchased a new warhammer, and Quill asked if they stocked any enchanted bows. A ragged bugbear wearing an apron appeared and motioned him into a back room. There, he offered to sell Quill a chest containing a black bow with flame decorations. The bugbear did not offer any information about the bow’s powers, only stating that the previous owner had died. Quill purchased the bow. As soon as he touched it, he heard the sound of a little boy’s voice in his mind. The voice sounded pleased that Quill had aquired the bow, and introduced itself as Aethershred.

With business attended to, the party reunited in the Beached Leviathan, and then boarded the *Queequeg*, eager to get underway before the hurricane hit. The ship launched, and the group was on their way to Arojam. They were battered by the hurricane for the first day of travel, but soon the weather cleared as they continued south along the coast.

In all, the trip took 16 days to reach Navi. During that time, Quill remained mostly hidden from the crew, thanks to a cloak he purchased from Erwin that made him hard to notice. Ashiok befriended the first mate, Anto, and proved himself a hard worker. After the weeks had passed, the ship arrived in Navi, and the adventurers departed.

Two days later, after traveling the Guilded Highway among the ruins of old settlements and crumbling monuments, they arrived at the gates of Arojam.

## Organizations

* The Black Spider's Web
* Zhentarim