Week Sixteen

Aircarn, Manayar 2nd,Year of the Shield, Morning

The party was split up this morning, spread out through the city accomplishing their own tasks.

Kelly arrived at the Tower of Luck, finding it much the same way it had been- filled with people in need, trying to escape the violence of the city. She helped out where she could, fetching water and comforting people, but Kelly was having troubles of her own. When Calishara finally had a spare moment, Kelly asked her about the troubles of the city, about how Tymora and the other gods could allow all this suffering to take place. Calishara, nearly at her own wit's end, tried to answer and provide Kelly with some hope, but didn't have much success. Exasperated by her own doubts, Calishara could only fall back on platitudes and empty words. "To dare is to live", she said. "We must trust in Lady Luck until we meet her face-to-face, and all will be explained." But without the fire of conviction, these truths sounded hollow; Kelly stayed to help for a while longer, then wandered back into the city.

Not wanting to return to the Hearth just yet, Kelly paid a young boy named Thron to run a message back to her friends, telling them she would be a few hours later than planned. She then hiked up the side of Mount Waterdeep, following the map Juliet had given her, to a deep crack in a boulder. The crevice contained a heavy locked box, and the box contained more than 4,000 pieces of silver! After the initial shock, Kelly took 40 shards, placed the relocked box back in its hiding place, and made her way back to the Stone Hearth.

During this time Tristan and Erik had gone to the Solemn Order of Cryptkeepers and arranged to have the bodies of Juliet and Einor collected from the Hearth. They inquired about having Einor buried in the same crypt as his parents, but were told that crypt (Fellowship Hall) was privately owned by a man named Mirt "the Moneylender", and that they would need to speak with him.

From the Cryptkeepers Guild they went to Kernan's Wondrous Bookshop- Tristan wished to purchase some more books for research. The shop was closed, locked and boarded up, but Kernan opened up for them after he heard Erik trying to break in. All the books had been packed up, and Kernan said he was "leaving the city. If the Shieldbreakers want me to leave that bad, I'm leaving." Tristan spent the rest of his silver on four books: The Jewel of the North: A History of Waterdeep; A Waterdhavian Atlas; The Basic Grammar and Syntax of the Moon Elf Language; and An Analysis of Preventive Magicks. He and Erik then bade farewell to Kernan and returned to the Hearth.

A few minutes after arriving Tristan, Erik, and Gregory (who was already at the Hearth) received Kelly's message from Thron. A few minutes after that they received visitors through the cellar entrance- it was Lord Piergeiron, Sivantri, and a female elf with a white dove on her shoulder. Sivantri introduced the elf as Willow Malachite, a sorceress who had just narrowly escaped death at the hands of the Shieldbreakers that morning. Sivantri and Piergeiron asked the party if Willow could stay with them, as they wanted her someplace safe. The party naturally agreed. Before he left Gregory mentioned to Piergeiron that a festival might be a good idea, to boost the city's morale. Piergeiron promised to give it some thought.

Sivantri then asked where Einor was. He and Piergeiron were hit hard by the news of Einor's death. The decline of Waterdeep had already taken a great toll on Piergeiron, and he was looking more haggard by the day. After a few moments of silence Lord Piergeiron penned and gave to the party a sealed scroll for the Cryptkeepers Guild, to ensure Einor would be buried with Olaf and Minya. He then thanked the party for their service to the city and he and Sivantri left. Erik quickly ran the scroll to the Cryptkeepers Guild and returned.

Gregory, who was already quite taken with Willow, showed her to her new room (Gregory's old one) after some more welcomes and chatting. Kelly returned while they were upstairs, leaving Talyth as the only party member unaccounted for.

Kelly and Erik went into the kitchen- Erik had retrieved Einor's keys, and Kelly wanted to check the contents of the Hearth's lockbox. They were both amazed to discover that the heavy iron box was completely filled with gold and silver coins! (1,300 gold dragons and 500 silver shards). They quickly relocked the box, hid it under the bar, and went upstairs so Kelly could meet Willow.

After the introductions and some time conversing, two guildsmen arrived to collect Juliet and Einor. Kelly paid their fees in gold coin, then split up the remainder of the money into many smaller caches. The party members all discussed what their next move should be, and Gregory reiterated his idea of sponsoring a city-wide festival, perhaps in honor of Llira, goddess of joy and dancing. Gregory proposed that, whatever was behind the city's desperation, it perhaps fed on the misery it created. A festival to honor the goddess of joy might provoke some reaction, or cause the evil to show itself. Everyone eventually agreed, though some needed more convincing than others (Tristan in particular objected to dedicating the festival to Llira).

A bit later Talyth returned, and explained that he had been spreading news of Einor's death to those who would wish to know. Soon after that Gino arrived, as Gregory had invited, with a few of his friends: Lead Fingers, a clumsy 8-year old; Laurence, a nervous 7-year old; and Herris, a very quiet 6- year old. For the first time in a long time the Stone Hearth was again filled with laughter- nearly everyone took a turn telling a story, much to the childrens' delight. The feast continued on, well into the night.

Watercarn, Manayar 3rd,Year of the Shield, Sunset

At sunset most everyone gathered at Fellowship Hall for Einor's burial: Kelly, Erik, Tristan, Talyth, Lord Piergeiron, Sivantri, Mirt, Kitten, Icithri, and Gino. Only Gregory and Willow were absent. Though Calishara was present, she allowed an acolyte to speak over Einor- Martaugh, the Shieldbreaker who had been spared from the battle at Olaf's and Minya's funerals. He spoke of how Tymora had saved him, and how Einor and Juliet, thought not followers, both embodied the Lady's Way of fortune favors the bold. He only wished he could follow their example...and that he could be forgiven for succumbing to the city's wickedness. Kelly, Erik, Talyth, and Piergeiron then came forward, shed their blood into the bowl on Einor's coffin (as was the Uthgardt custom), and carried him in to be laid beside his parents.

At the Hall of Heroes Calishara spoke over Juliet's coffin, again praising the courage with which she fought against evil, and holding her up as an example of to dare is to live. A priest of Tempus then came, as bid by Gregory, and lit a powerful flame in a ceremonial brazier to honor Juliet's warrior spirit. Kelly, Erik, Talyth, and Lord Piergeiron then carried Juliet to her final rest. The party slowly returned to the Hearth for a night of reminiscing and drinking.

Firecarn, Manayar 4th through Suncarn, Manayar 9th

Over the next six days the party members went about their own agendas.

Tristan, after finishing his four books, traded them in at a different bookshop for three more: Blood on the Stones: The Worship of Bane; A Dragon Bestiary (very old); and The Societal Implications of Dragon Folklore.

Kelly started arranging for repairs to the Stone Hearth, went shopping to restock everything, and trained with Willow each day. She also had a long talk with Talyth about Olaf, and why he had such a huge amount of money, and friends like Lord Piergeiron and Blackstaff. Without actually saying it explicitly, Kelly felt that Talyth confirmed her suspicion- that Olaf Bjornson had been one of the Lords of Waterdeep.

Gregory continued establishing contacts throughout the city. One important contact he made was with Ygraine, a Lliran priestess and leader of a band attempting to establish a temple in Waterdeep. They already had a site picked out, Piergeiron's approval, and some of the funds, but they were still a long way from reaching their goal.

Erik helped Kelly with the repairs on the tavern, made sure to spend time talking with Willow, and "stocked up" on various poisons, lethal and otherwise.

Willow spent time each day instructing Kelly in the rudiments of magic, but also spent a lot of her time just getting to know her new companions.

Suncarn, Manayar 9th, Year of the Shield, Night

After spending so much time together filled with fellowship, stories, and merriment, it was almost possible to forget briefly all the troubles beyond the four walls of the Hearth. This night, like many others, the party was gathered together in the tavern sharing drinks. As the episode ended Erik made a bet with Kelly. He bet that he could outdrink her, three drinks to her every one. The stakes were decided upon: Kelly's anklet bells against Erik's chainmail choker. With that the contest began...