Session 04: The Map With No Name

### Non-player characters

Adeyo, Bellweather, Fel'rekt, Duric, Gath, J.B., Marmaduke, Pavel, Shani, Vonda, Zel

### Location(s)

**Waterdeep**: Castle Ward, Dock Ward, North Ward, Sea Ward. Southern Ward**Castle Ward**:  The Hawk Man, The Yawning Portal

**Dock Ward**: Green's Rest, Three Daggers Alley

**North Ward**: Trollskull Alley, Trollskull Manor

**Southern Ward**: The Crimson Brush

Grateful for the adventurers actions at the God Catcher Inn, an accomplice of Fel'rekt Lafeen awards the party with a treasure map that will surely lead to a great bounty.

## Summary

### Breakfast at Green's Rest

Fel'rekt led Kados, Thrask and Viego toward the Yawning Portal where the group ran into their acquaintance, Chomp. With Chomp added to the group, Fel'rekt took the group to an inn called Green's Rest in Dock Ward.

#### Meeting J.B.

At Green's Rest the adventurers met two dwarves, Duric and Zel, before a human man wearing an ostentatious feathered hat entered. He introduced himself as J.B. Nevercott, an associate of Fel'rekt's. J.B. was grateful for the group helping Fel'rekt dispose of the cult and conferred to them a strange map he found at Green's Rest.

The map was marked with five locations, the first three containing hints leading to their marks:

1. The image of a three-story building with the drawing of a troll's skull next to it.
2. "In the first floor of the big birdman statue."
3. "Look underneath." and"Watch out for magically flying daggers."

There was a faint glyph at the top of the map, Kados was able to discern that magical light would cause the glyph to glow.

#### Fel'rekt's Information

Fel'rekt gave the characters the scoop on what was happening around Renaer. Four factions — the Bregan D'aerthe, Xanathar Guild, Zhentarim and Cult of Asmodeus — were targeting the young Neverember to extract information from him that would lead to a hoard of gold hidden somewhere in Waterdeep.

### Trollskull Alley

At first glance, Viego thought the first location on the map would lead to the Troll Gate near Sea Ward, but the party was eventually pointed in the direction of Trollskull Alley in the North Ward.

#### Meeting Pavel

At Trollskull Alley, the party found a building matching the illustration on the map. It was a dilapidated old business that read "Trollskull Tavern".

Inside the tavern, the party found a young boy named Pavel. Afraid of what would happen to him for letting the characters into the tavern, Pavel ran off.

#### The Basement

The characters found a group of squatters in the tavern's basement that scurried out of the building before they could be questioned.

Using magical light, the characters were able to find a glowing glyph set into the floor of the basement. The glyph matched the one on the map. A hidden cache was set into the floor of the basement, containing a wand with a piece of parchment reading "For extracurricular activities or passing the next exam."

In addition to the wand, there was a jumble of letters written in paint that read:

> "CNSRRBONIRUWMUTASSHROHED"
>
>

#### Hiring Bellweather

Leaving Trollskull Alley, the characters enlisted a human carriage driver named Bellweather to take them to the other locations.

### Soaring Delights

Next on the party's route was one of Waterdeep's Walking Statues in the Castle Ward known as the Hawk Man, the inside of which had been turned into an apartment complex known as Sparaunt Tower. Viego had attended a dinner party at the Tower before, a restaurant called Soaring Delights had recently opened to the public on the first floor of the tower.

#### Working the Kitchen

Upon entry, the restaurant staff was obviously unable to keep up with the crowds of diners. The hostess, Shani could not accommodate the characters search for treasure and the chefs Adeyo and Vonda had apparently been working through infections.

The characters enlisted their services to the restaurant. Kados used his magic to wash dishes, Thrask used his brawn to chop meat and Viego found his way to a spice cabinet where he found the map glyph on the surface of a loose tile.

Underneath the tile was a piece of cloth wrapped around two silver daggers and a piece of paper that read:

> “FOUR AT A TIME. READ TOP TO BOTTOM.”
>
>

Viego was able to decipher a message out of the jumble of letters from Trollskull Tavern that read:

> "CRIMSONBRUSHSOUTHERNWARD"
>
>

### The Crimson Brush

The party made their way to the Southern Ward, after Bellweather asked some of the locals about "Crimson Brush", the characters found themselves outside of an art store named Crimson Brush that carried pieces of art with motifs of blood.

Inside, the characters met Gath, the store's owner. They discovered that the pieces in Gath's store not only depicted blood but that they were also painted in blood, some of which was even Gath's.

#### The Portrait

One of the artist's pieces behind the counter held the map's glyph, it depicted an image of a cloaked figure pointing at a mausoleum. The statue was identified as Piergeiron the Paladinson, one of Waterdeep's most notable Open Lords, the mausoleum looked similar to that of many that could be found in the City of the Dead, Waterdeep's grand cemetery.

Gath began to lose patience with the characters and asked that they leave so that he could close the shop, he flipped the painting of the mausoleum over as he locked up the art store.

### Three Daggers Alley

Before moving towards the City of the Dead, the party moved towards Dock Ward as both Chomp and Thrask knew of an street that corresponded to "watching out for magically flying daggers." The party was led to Three Daggers Alley, a street that was rumored to have had an unbreakable enchantment placed on it which would produce three daggers that attacked anyone who walked down its path.

Going against the warnings of many who knew of the alley's reputation, the party proceeded and were attacked by daggers that appeared out of thin air. The daggers were disposed of after an encounter that managed to slice a few of the characters up.

#### Underneath the Alley

At the center of the alley was a sewer grate that led to a defunct sewer runoff. At the end of the runoff was a door that contained a crossbow trap that activated as Kados cast thaumaturgy on it to swing the doorway open. Thrask was able to identify another glyph on the sides of the walls, uncovering a secret door set into the tunnel.

The secret door led to a dwelling underneath the streets of Dock Ward. Inside the underground abode, Chomp was able to find a stone coffer in the most furnished room of the complex.

#### A Fight Breaks Out

As the adventurers left the underground hideout, they saw a group of rough-looking folks heading into Three Daggers Alley. The group of rough-looking folks spilled out of Three Daggers Alley shortly after and confronted the adventurers. Their leader, a woman named Dalia, threatened the party with her connection to the fabled Baron of Blood.

Tensions rose before a fight broke out between both sides. During the skirmish Dalia morphed into a rat-like creature, knocking Chomp unconscious with her powerful attacks. The adventurers were able to defeat the ruffians and escape from alerted Watch patrols before leaping back into Bellweather's carriage.

### The Last Clue

Inside Bellweather's carriage, the party continued to examine the stone coffer they found inside the underground hideout. Thrask grabbed the container and pulled at it, revealing a false bottom containing two potions and a piece of parchment reading:

> "ARRANGE IN SIX ROWS"
>
>

The party realized that they had already solved the puzzle which led to the Crimson Brush in Southern Ward. With no other locations to visit on their map, the adventurers instructed Bellweather to make one last stop at the City of the Dead.

## Player Characters

* **Chomp** the shifter druid
* **Kados** the tiefling sorcerer
* **Thrask** the lizardfolk ranger
* **Viego** the human kensei

## Non-Player Characters

* **Adeyo**, the male elf chef at Soaring Delights in Sparaunt Tower.
* **Bellweather**, a male human carriage driver of Waterdeep.
* **Fel'rekt**, a male drow member of the Bregan D'aerthe.
* **Dalia**, a female rat-pox infected human and leader of a group of criminals with ties to the Baron of Blood.
* **Duric**, one of the male dwarf co-owner of Green's Rest Inn in Dock Ward.
* **Gath**, the male human proprietor of the Crimson Brush in Southern Ward.
* **J.B. Nevercott**, the male human liaison of the Bregan D'aerthe in Waterdeep.
* **Marmaduke**, the female tabby cat companion of Chomp.
* **Pavel**, a male human boy who worked for a group of squatters in Trollskull Alley.
* **Shani**, the female elf hostess at Soaring Delights in Sparaunt Tower.
* **Vonda**, the female elf chef at Soaring Delights in Sparaunt Tower.
* **Zel**, one of the male dwarf co-owner of Green's Rest Inn in Dock Ward.

## Allies, Enemies & Organizations

* **Bregan D'aerthe**: The characters met with two operatives of the Bregan D'aerthe — J.B. and Fel'rekt — at Green's Rest