TGAT: Session 11

The Great Ziggurat of Boccob

## **Chapter 4: Dragon Season**

### Scene 1: North Ward

Back at Trollskull Manor, Richard Dickens debriefs the party on their recent legal issues and insists they should not have killed the guards who likely could have helped them. He also said they should have made more effort to run away at the first sign of trouble, just waiting for the city watch to arrive was shortsighted because they did not predict Lady Gralhund labelling them as part of the Zhentarim assault force. They decide to be more tactful in the future search for the Stone of Golorr.

   Dave D'angle visited a courier office to ask for the address of all of House Gralhund's properties and nonchalantly offered the clerk a gold piece to make it happen. The clerk rejected the coin and reminded him his gold would be best spent avoiding exile, a subtle hint towards the code legals sentencing for attempting to bribe an official.

Cubone and Levi attempted to gain the same information from the Surveyors', Map-, and Chart-makers' Guild located in the Castle Ward, the same building they frequented when acquiring their tavern. Upon arrival they bump into Kylynne Silmerhelve who officiated their deed and she offered to help them find the information they wanted. The search revealed that the Gralhund base of operations was solely in the villa in the city's North Ward on Saerdoun Street.

Meanwhile Richard Dickens, Gorog Un-Fallas and Lia Saevia elected on a sweep of city using the Niblewright Detector to find the missing Niblewright. Starting in the North Ward, working their way West to East, North to South.

### Scene 2: The Religious District

Richard Dickens, Gorog Un-Fallas and Lia Saevia eventually reach the Religious District and the umbrella like device began to tick around sporadically as they passed by a giant black pyramid. Richard Dickens stopped the wagon and asked a priest from a nearby shrine to Corellon Larethian what the structure was. The priest replied:

> *"That is The Great Ziggurat of Boccob, the absent and uncaring god of magic... Nobody worships there anymore. You should avoid it too..."*
>
>

Gorog Un-Fallas waited at the bottom while Richard Dickens and Lia Saevia proceeded on foot up the ten thousand step slope up to the top of the Ziggurat. At its peak they spot the dark red door of the temple entrance which is adorned with arcane scripture and was chained tightly shut using padlocks which themselves are embellished with brightly glowing runes that only get brighter when approached.

Richard Dickens and Lia Saevia walk around the temple and find little more than a good view of the Religious District. As they return to the steps back down Richard Dickens takes one more closer look at the door... its runes glow brighter and brighter before sending bright cyan, blue sparks towards Richard Dickens's head as he succumbs to the effects of the feeblemind spell.

Lia Saevia returned Richard Dickens to the base of the Ziggurat and left him in the care of the priests within the shrine to Corellon Larethian, in exchange for a generous donation from Richard Dickens's inventory.

### Scene 3: North Ward

Lia Saevia returned on the wagon to the Trollskull Manor and told the party what happened to Richard Dickens at the Ziggurat. They returned to the shrine to Corellon Larethian to recover him.

### Scene 4: The Religious District

Before picking Richard Dickens up they made a stop at the House of Inspired Hands and asked Valetta if the other Nimblewright had returned, she informed them that it had not and with a puzzled look asked if they needed to have the detector repaired. Returning to the shrine to Corellon Larethian the party retrieve Richard Dickens and continue the sweep of the city into the eastern Trade Ward.

### Scene 5: Trade Ward

Passing near Levi's forge the Nimblewright Detector begins to whirl maniacally. Searching the streets nearby they find the Nimblewright inoperable on its back in an alleyway covered in trash. Dave D'angle strikes the Nimblewrights hand attempting to sever its grip of its rapier but the hit only causes minimal damage. The Nimblewrights eyes dimly illuminate and it elegantly stands up into an offensive pose.

A frantic battle ensues with the quick Nimblewright striking with three attacks each round. Dave D'angle makes repeated efforts to disarm the swashbuckling creation and eventually sunders off its main hand weapon causing it to continue its attacks using the dagger in its offhand.

With a final blow coming from Levi's crossbow to the chest of the Nimblewright it dropped non-nonfunctional to the floor. The noise of this encounter attracted six members of the City Watch as the fight ends. The Watch couldn't care less about the Nimblewright. The officers are near the end of their shift and eager to move on; they urge the characters to go home and cause no further mischief.

Levi finds a map with *"**Thrakkus**"* written by an X on the map in the Field Ward in the Nimblewrights offhand. As Levi drags the Nimblewright into his workshop to begin dismantle it into component parts the weather takes a turn as a thick fog consumes the streets shortly followed by heavy rainfall. The party elect to remain in the workshop for the rest of the night and continue tomorrow morning.
The following day the party notice that the rain and fog had turned again during the night into heavy snowfall. Until the encounter chain is complete, the following weather effects are in play:

 **Extreme Cold** | A character exposed to the cold must succeed on a DC 10 Constitution saving throw at the end of each encounter in the chain or gain one level of exhaustion. Characters who have resistance or immunity to cold automatically succeed on the saving throw, as do those wearing cold weather gear (thick coats, gloves, hats, and the like).

The party purchased multiple items of cold weather gear before heading towards the Field Ward.

### Scene 6: Field Ward

The party arrive at the point where the X was on the map they acquired from the Nimblewrights possession. At this position was a windmill that had been converted into a butcher's shop.

A red wooden sign carved to look like a butcher's cleaver hangs above the door of Thrakkus's Butchery, which occupies the westernmost room of the west wing.

The butchery is ice cold in the winter and reeks of meat and blood. A bloodstained chopping block dominates the room, and shelves of cut meat wrapped in bloody parchment line the walls. The floor is streaked with blood and covered with bits of gore.

### Scene 7: Thrakkus's Butchery

Inside the party meet Thrakkus the Butcher a Zhentarim butcher, and member of the Guild of Butchers. Looking around they spot several commoners who are helping Thrakkus run his business and they are able to identify the Zhentarim tattoos on a couple them.

Dave D'angle greets Thrakkus who scoffs at the party for leaving the door open for too long allowing even more cold air inside. Dave D'angle asks if he could acquire some meat for an event they are organising and Thrakkus shows off some of his wares, showing particular interest in his range of special blend sausages; hinting that the secret ingredient is pieces of cured displacer beast.

Levi searching a back room while the rest of the party initiate first contact with Thrakkus finds a room containing six half-frozen humanoid carcasses stacked under a 10-foot-square canvas tarpaulin near the western wall. Levi secrets this information with the rest of the party and Dave D'angle throws a large half pig at Thrakkus who blasts the party with a cone of fiery breath before engaging the party with his giant butcher cleaver.

Thrakkus is able to hold his own against the party up until Gorog Un-Fallas scores a critical hit against him slicing his throat as his blade caught Thrakkus skilfully between his neck scales. Thrakkus immediately withdrew from combat seeking to tend to his wounds and he uses a staple gun like tool to brutally seal his neck closed.

The party take this time to force Thrakkus into revealing the location of the last known location of the Stone of Golorr. Thrakkus discloses that the last shipment of meat was taken to a shop in an alleyway in the Trades Ward called Cuttle's Meat Pies.

The meat was to be delivered by a member of the Guild of Butchers named Justyn Rassk. Thrakkus paid extra coin to see it delivered *"quickly and quietly"*. Rassk has a blood-spattered horse-drawn cart that he uses to make deliveries outside the Field Ward.