Week Three

Earthcarn, Marktel 15th, Year of the Shield

Four days after the PCs' great scavenger hunt victory, Lord Piergeiron himself came to the Stone Hearth for a visit. He sat with them, drank with them, even played chess with Tynian on a magical chess board contained in a knight's piece (he beat Tynian two games to one). Piergeiron told them how fatiguing it was being the only known Lord of the City, how 'out of touch' he felt with the great city he loves. A quiet night of conversation and chess was a rare luxury he was now indulging.

When asked about the blazing sigil of Ahghairon which had appeared over the city, he confessed that Blackstaff had not summoned it, nor did he know who had. But he was certainly going to find out, if for no other reason than to simply congratulate a fellow sorcerer on a job well done. After a few hours distraction, Piergeiron said his farewells and left the PCs to themselves.

Woodcarn, Marktel 16th, Year of the Shield

The following day, Erik went to Virgin's Square and hired himself out as a teacher of fighting skills to an older mercenary by the name of Hargen (who he beat in mock combat to get the job). The agreed upon fee was 15 silver shards per lesson. Tynian, in preparation for the upcoming archery event, convinced another university student named Rosteval to teach him as much about shooting a bow as he could in two days.

Goldcarn, Marktel 18th, Year of the Shield

The Stone Hearth had become very busy following the party's success in retrieving Lord Piergeiron's glove; the Full Cup tavern just up the road decided to try and steal away some of those customers by arranging an all day street fair, with the party members battling five regulars from the Full Cup in a variety of challenges. Shreesha won the eating contest easily, but Tynian couldn't quite beat his opponent in archery. The three final events were all won by the PCs: Juliet in the mock combat, Kelly for catching the greased pig, and Erik de Jennes for winning the drinking contest (which continued into the night for many hours). Once again, the PCs (and the Stone Hearth) were victorious. Their prize this time was 60 gold dragons (12 each).

Suncarn, Marktel 19th, Year of the Shield

After an evening of much celebration, Kelly walked to the Tower of Luck to thank Tymora for all she had done lately and to leave a small offering. She also spoke briefly with Calishara, a Tymoran priestess whom she knew there. Erik took his winnings and rented out a room at the Blackstar Inn, right next door to the Stone Hearth tavern.

Mooncarn, Marktel 20th, Year of the Shield

On this night, well after midnight, the entire city was awakened by thunderous noises and lights filling the sky. For two hours a thick cloud bank hovered over the city, concealing the origin of the powerful phenomena. Bolts of lightning or fire set many buildings alight, while large boulders dropped from the sky and destroyed others. The city was in chaos- people ran everywhere, in a vain attempt to find shelter; the alarms bells were sounded and the city Guard and Watch did what they could to quell the fires and protect the citizenry.

Finally, after much of the city had been damaged, there was a piercing red flash of light, a monstrous thunderclap...and then silence. The cloud bank dissipated as quickly as it had formed, leaving behind a crystal clear pre-dawn sky and no clues as to what had just occurred. Waterdeep began the long process of restoring order to the streets and providing relief to those affected.

As dawn began breaking, Erik, Kelly, and Juliet (who had witnessed most of the storm from the front of the Stone Hearth) headed for Mount Waterdeep, the possible center of the night's activity. Along the way they provided what aid they could to those they encountered, and then began climbing the mountain.

About halfway up Erik spotted something nearly buried on the mountainside. It was a large scale, like a fish's, the color of a brass pot. He unearthed it and took it with him. The three continued to the top of Mount Waterdeep, but discovered nothing else out of the ordinary. The end of the session found them approaching the old and unused Guard aeries and pegasi stables at the mountain's peak.

Tynian, meanwhile, was having breakfast and discussing with his natural history professor what could have caused last night's troubles. The professor was at a loss, assuming it was merely some freakish natural storm, or perhaps a cryptic message from the gods.