Session 5 – Shadows Over the City of the Dead

[Verse 1]
Through the Dock Ward smoke we ride,
Firelight dancing on the tide,
A dozen swords fell to the flame,
But no one dares to speak the name.

[Hook]
Shadows fall, secrets bled,
Stone is lost in the City of the Dead.
Harpers whisper, Zhents still scheme,
The Guild hunts closer in the dark unseen.

[Verse 2]
Keys of silver, locks unknown,
Guarded secrets, stolen stone.
Duergar rose with blades of dread,
Their bodies buried with the dead.

[Bridge]
Nim returns with stilts and song,
Zhents pay gold to right their wrong.
Harper signs in lantern’s glow,
To the South Ward mill we go.

[Hook]
Shadows fall, secrets bled,
Stone is lost in the City of the Dead.
Harpers whisper, Zhents still scheme,
The Guild hunts closer in the dark unseen.

🪐 Campaign Arc

• Campaign: Waterdeep – Dragon Heist (custom blend)
• Session: 5
• Dungeon Master: Rewrok (Reuben)
• Setting: Dock Ward, City of the Dead, Trollskull Manor, Yawning Portal, South Ward

🧭 Overview

The party began with Slim Jim’s release from prison, fines cleared, and a visit from a merchant who offered potions, scrolls, and trinkets. Eyeless and Captain John each secured a Greater Healing Potion and a standing 20% discount.

At Grinda Garloth’s boathouse in the Dock Ward, the group discovered Zhentarim agents forcing her door while a dozen sellswords stood outside. Silas incinerated the mercenaries with a Fireball, then joined the others to finish off the Zhentarim inside. Grinda revealed she had given the Stone of Golorr to her rat familiar, who carried it to a mausoleum in the City of the Dead. She entrusted the adventurers with a key and directions.

At the mausoleum, the group found the familiar dead and the Stone missing. They recovered a second mysterious key, but were ambushed by 4 invisible duergar demanding the artifact. After a brutal fight, they killed the duergar, stashed their bodies inside, and learned from guards that three suspicious figures (a human and two halflings) had passed through earlier.

Back at Trollskull, the party returned the rogue Nimblewright to Nim, receiving curious inventions (a barking box and stilts) and persuading Nim and the Nimblewright to sneak away later to work at the tavern. A Zhentarim agent finished her stay at Trollskull, paid the rest of her 50 platinum, and offered future aid.

Following the key’s trail, the group consulted a locksmith who turned out to be a Harper. He directed them to Silvermane at the Yawning Portal. Silvermane offered three Harper tasks (a tailor, a blacksmith, and Renaer Neverember’s disappearance) and, after persuasion by Eyeless, confirmed their key belonged to a mill in the South Ward. The party set off toward it, with the Harper alliance freshly forged.

🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Party Members

📍 Key Locations

• Trollskull Manor – Base; Zhentarim guest departed, Nim invited to join staff.
• Dock Ward – Grinda’s Boathouse – Zhentarim siege and sellsword immolation.
• City of the Dead – Mausoleum – Rat familiar’s corpse, Stone gone, unknown key found.
• Locksmith’s Shop (South Ward) – Harper-aligned craftsman revealed.
• Yawning Portal – Harper contact Silvermane provided tasks and guidance.
• South Ward Mill – Key’s lock location; next destination.

⚔️ Session Highlights

• Slim Jim freed from prison; fines settled in platinum.
• Merchant deal: 20% discount; Eyeless & Captain John bought Greater Healing Potions.
• Silas use Fireball scroll, killing 8 sellswords in Dock Ward.
• Party slew Zhentarim agents at Grinda’s door; she admitted stashing the Stone with her familiar.
• Mausoleum investigation: familiar dead, Stone missing; unknown key recovered.
• Ambushed by 4 duergar (Invisible + Enlarge); Slim Jim stabbed, party victorious.
• Guards reported 1 human and 2 halflings passed through earlier.
• Returned Nimblewright to Nim → received barking box & stilts; suggested future work at Trollskull.
• Zhentarim guest paid final 40 platinum; offered future help.
• Locksmith identified as Harper; pointed party to Silvermane.
• Silvermane provided 3 Harper tasks; revealed lock tied to South Ward mill.

🎭 Key Scenes

1. Inferno on the Docks
   A single Fireball from Silas annihilated a dozen sellswords outside Grinda’s boathouse, leaving only charred remains and whispered questions about who killed them.
2. Zhentarim at the Door
   Inside, steel clashed as the party cut down Zhentarim mid-break-in. Grinda, pale and shaken, confessed she had hidden the Stone of Golorr with her familiar.
3. The Mausoleum Mystery
   By the light of Eirlys’s shield, the party found the rat familiar’s lifeless body and a strange steel key. The Stone was gone—taken before they arrived.
4. Ambush in the Graveyard
   Four duergar emerged from invisibility, stabbing Slim Jim before enlarging to monstrous size. The party killed them in a desperate fight and hid the bodies in the crypt.
5. The Harper’s Table
   At the Yawning Portal, Silvermane leaned close, offering three delicate missions. His revelation tied the party’s key to a South Ward mill—possibly connected to Renaer’s disappearance.

🧵 Ongoing Threads & Plot Hooks

• Stone of Golorr missing, stolen before the party reached the mausoleum.
• Unknown steel key points to South Ward mill.
• Three suspects (1 human, 2 halflings) seen at the mausoleum.
• Duergar agents confirmed Xanathar Guild pursuit.
• Nim & Valetta agreed to join Trollskull’s staff if they can sneak free.
• Zhentarim ally (paid 50 platinum) offered support if the party needs it.
• Harper missions: help a tailor, aid a blacksmith, investigate Renaer’s disappearance.

💰 Loot & Discoveries

🔚 Cliffhanger

• Party heads to the South Ward mill with the mausoleum key.
• Renaer Neverember’s disappearance tied directly to their quest.
• Harpers, Zhentarim, and Xanathar Guild all circling closer.