Beginning Graywall

***Wir, Dravago 11, 993 YK***

After two weeks of travel, the party arrived in Graywall. During the journey, they read through the recent translation of the draconic journal that had been acquired at the base of the Glitterhame mine. It had entries dating back through three generations of dragons. The journal indicated that a line of black dragon guardians watched over a Gatekeeper seal beneath the mine, holding back Dyrrn the Corruptor. Thousands of years ago, the hobgoblin general Aal’drash claimed to be the herald of the Age of Worms. He escaped a possible death at the hands of his lieutenant, Mashaak Raal, and was never seen again. The latest true guardian found a mate and sired a child, but was worried that her mate was not honest and that her child had been affected by the maddening influence of the Daelkyr. Before she was able to investigate, the Kundarak mining on the other side of the mountain caused an accidental cave-in, killing the guardian and leaving an inexperienced and mentally unstable young dragon to take over—the very same one the party killed.

Upon arrival in Graywall, the party decided to stay at the Twilight Palace, a hotel-like facility managed by House Phiarlan and House Ghallanda, in hopes of investigating the possible illicit dealing of the Phiarlans for the Soceitas Liber. They discovered that a rival adventuring party, hired by Midian Mit Davandi, is currently in Graywall also seeking the piece of the Ashen Crown in Droaam. Gin found where they were staying and also noticed a cloaked individual watching the party from the shadows. Siegfried encounters Mallora again and is offered a deal: she will tell him what she learned about his wife if he gets her actionable information on the Orb of Dol Azur. Though cagey, he tentatively agrees, but later informs Josephine of the deal. Having arrived at night, the party returned to sleep, meeting Lady Sailla Elorenthi d’Phiarlan, proprietor of the Twilight Palace and acquiring a magic bell to summon a butler named Belvedere. They are told that the Twilight Palace is hosting an evening gala the following night and the caravan from the Great Crag will be arriving in the morning after. The party sleeps, resolved to make preparations for both in the morning.

***Zor, Dravago 12, 993 YK***

Knowing they would likely be combating aberrations in their search for the Ashen Crown, they made their way to Tooth and Steel, a forge run by an oni named Szalas Jal. They commissioned a number of weapons and a shield, paying Szalas with the corpse of a chimera they killed in the arena. In speaking with him, they learned he was familiar with the legend of Ashurta’s Blade, the piece of the Ashen Crown that had once been located here. It went as follows:

“Graywall once held a Dhakaani outpost and nearby was a fortress with grand armies of one arm of the empire. It was here that the byeshk used to combat the Daelkyr and their ilk was mined. One day, it is said, a single Daelkyr strode into the land. She was known as Skerra of a Thousand Cuts. They say that every soldier poured forth from the fortress and surrounded her. They say that every warrior wielded a byeshk weapon. They say that no one but Skerra left that field in one piece.

Ashurta, one of the six emperors of Dhakaan, learned of the army’s defeat at the hands of this creature. Unwilling to send any others to their deaths, he came to face Skerra alone. He wore no armor, knowing that Skerra’s hands could rend the strongest material in two. With him, he carried but one weapon: a blade forged by Taruuzh as part of the Ashen Crown—a dagger that grew in Ashurta’s grasp. A lone warrior, he walked into Jhegesh Dol, which Skerra had claimed for her own. No one knows precisely what happened afterward. Skerra has not been seen since, but neither was Ashurta. Legend has it that the conflict between Skerra of a Thousand Cuts and Ashurta sundered Jhegesh Dol, its two halves now in different locations."

They left Tooth and Steel, offering Szalas Jal a job at the Arcane Forge back in Sharaat once Irik’s teleportation circle is complete. Siegfried stumbled across a former Karrnathi soldier that fought under him and, despite the soldier’s attempts to spark conversation, he remained cold and told the soldier to forget he ever saw him. Josephine went in search of information on the Orb of Dol Azur and met an itinerant hag named Jabra, who traffics in rare and exotic goods. She heard a rumor that the Orb has the power to see into a man’s soul and snatch it, but is told that if anyone would know more about it… it would be the Daughters of Sora Kell. Rohagar and Gin spent some time tracking down Tolri, a female tiefling and member of the Swords of Liberty, a terrorist organization in Breland. While the rest of the party headed to the gala, Rohagar ended up chasing Tolri through Graywall after discovering she was planning to murder the Brelish delegate with an explosive. Luckily, she was stopped, and Rohagar met Xorchylic, the illithid governor of the city. He asked her to hand the prisoner over to him, instead of House Tharashk, offering to fulfill the contract himself, but Rohagar politely declined and the two parted surprisingly amicably. Rohagar then headed to the gala where the rest of the party was located.