Episode 114

This is **Episode 114** of *Dice, Camera, Action*.

(ProJared) Diath - Human Rogue

(Nathan) Paultin - Human Bard

(VividVivka) Esvele Rosznar - Human

#### Diath's Secret Trip

Diath had said he would speak with Lady Rosznar. He also had talked to the dwarves who were linked to those that Diath accidentally killed when he unleashed Maegara in Ironslag. House Roznar was banned in Waterdeep for smuggling and slavery, but now they are back and trying to overcome their poor reputation. They now focus on wine-making and sea-trading.

Diath rings the doorbell at the home of Lady Rosznar. He is met at the door by a butler or servant, who informs him that the Lady is out in the city. As he leaves, Diath gets the sense that the house itself is glaring at him. When he looks back at it, he sees someone in an upper window - a woman in black with a veil over her face. She recedes into the darkness of the room.

Diath creeps into the building through a window. He runs into a woman who asks Diath if he is a friend of her daughter's. A suitor?

The rogue hears a sound from upstairs, a rustling of thousands of wings in the ceiling. Bats. "They've taken over," says the woman. She says that if her husband was alive, he'd take care of it, but he's dead. Diath decides to help her. He heads upstairs and finds lots of guano and a coffin on the floor. The coffin has no lid.

Diath steps back out of the room, and he notes that the woman he had been talking to is gone. He explores a bit and sees a chambermaid. Using a fake voice, he asks her for help. She shrieks and flees. He goes back to the guano room and looks at the coffin. In it is some earth and the stuffing-less skin of a Strahd doll. He grabs the remnants of the doll and leaves the house.

#### Lady Rosznar

Diath kept the secret of what he found in the house for weeks. He's sitting in the Waffle Haus thinking about it while sitting in a chair.

It is late spring in Waterdeep. The weather vacillates between thick fog, heavy rains, and pleasant skies.

Diath shows Paultin the skin of the Strahd Doll. Strix heads downstairs and sees a stranger in the bakery looking over her wares. It is Esvele Rosznar. She's wearing a large, dark cloak on. She asks for Diath. The group comes down and meets with her. Strix is accompanied by Albie, the albino mini-beholder.

When she sees Handrew, Esvele is shocked and grabs Diath's arm. She looks around the room and is alarmed. She gathers herself, and bravely eats one of Strix's cricket-muffins. Paultin asks her what her intentions are with Diath. Esvele points out that he came to visit her weeks ago.

She says that the untimely death of Captain Ortimay was very sad, and he has a chance to make it right. She's currently in hiding. There are people who wish to do her and her family harm. She's holding Diath's hand. Strix *misty steps* right behind her. Esvele can smell Strix's rather pungent odor. She says there are two things that she needs... suddenly, the room goes dead silent. The entire room is apparently in a silence spells. Strix starts running around in circles.

Esvele continues to talk at Diath, not entirely aware she's been silenced.

#### The Gunslingers

Diath decides to check the basement. As soon as he opens the hatch to the basement, he flies backward as if hit by some terrible force. He takes 20 points of damage, some of which is poison. He uses uncanny dodge, and takes 10 points. The assailant is a drow holding a smoking pistol. He spots a second drow in the corner with a loaded pistol. He goes down the stairs and engages one of the drow. A third drow is nearby.

Strix transforms her staff into a cauldron and tries to drop it on one drow. Paultin drops Strahd von Chairovich down there too. It hits the drow and does 10 points of damage to the drow. Esvele comes down and hacks into them. The drow exchange hand signs - thieves' cant. The drow indicate that they should focus on Esvele. "She must have the stone."

Diath moonsaults over the chair and lands behind one of the drow. He stabs him through the chest, twists, and pulls it out. The drow dies. Diath cleans off his blade and turns toward the other.

Strix is not liking what she is seeing down there between Diath and Esvele. She heads down there and grabs her cauldron. She provokes an attack from one of the drow, who does 21 points of damage to Strix. She turns the cauldron into a frying pan and tries to hit the drow as hard as she can. Holly rolls a 2.

Paultin draws the sunsword. Strahd von Chairovich, animated, is pummeling one of the drow. Esvele stabs the other, scoring a critical hit.

One drow goes invisible. Paultin slices into them with the sunsword and bloodies them. The invisible assailant heads up the stairs. Esvele follows the trail of blood and hacks into them. Diath follows and kills it. All three drow are dead.

About 9 minutes later, the silence ends. Esvele immediately points out that while Diath killed the drow, she softened them up greatly. Strix heals Diath's wounds.

Esvele admits that these drow are hunting her and her family. She asks if the group to give her one of their hands. Strix pulls out scissors and gets to work. She mistakenly calls Handrew "Handthony". Paultin takes one of the pistols.

There is one other thing that she needs - an eyestalk from a beholder. Strix has one that she took off the corpse of the Xanathar.

Strix wants to know what she needs these things for. Esvele doesn't want to say. Strix tears the eyestalk in half and throws it on the ground. As they argue, Paultin tries out the pistol. He is able to figure out how it works with hurting himself. He shoots it into the ceiling.

Esvele explains that the hand and the eyestalk are both magical "keys" that will open up the vault of the dragons, the secret place that holds the 500,000 gp that the dwarves expect Diath to find for them.

End of Session