The Frostskimmr pulls into anchorage at the docks along the Dragon’s Breath under a flag of protection by the Ship Baram. They are met at the dock by two mages, dressed in robes similarly cut to those of Zelenn the White but less refined and one colored brown and the other green and a pair of carriages. The drivers of the carriages look like common townsfolk, but they bear black arm bands with a white stitching pattern. Their path through Luskan takes them through the slums to the center of the South Bank, past the homes of High Captains Suljack and Taeri, to the Dark Arch. Crossing the Dark Arch onto Closeguard they pass the home of First High Captain Kurth. During the quick traverse across Closeguard the party members noticed that the denizens on this small island of Luskan all bear the same arm bands as their drivers or wear colors in the same pattern. Their mage escorts point out that those are the markings of the Ship Kurth and that only members of that Ship, their hires, or the Arcane Brotherhood are allowed unhindered passage onto and through the island of Closeguard.
Coming to the far side of Closeguard the carriages cross another bridge, the Sword Bridge, and arrive on Cutlass Island. The Hosttower of the Arcane Brotherhood, their destination, is on the north peak of this central Luskan island. During the journey Sariel questions the mage in her carriage on whether or not he knows of a mage by the name of Arkalis. The mage regretfully says that he does not know of any mage by that name and admits that he only knows of Maccath from the reports of their mission. He joined the Brotherhood after the departure of Maccath on her expedition. Maccath remains silent, noting that this is the second time Sariel has mentioned this former mage of the Brotherhood, as their carriage pulls up to the Hosttower and the members of Tobin’s Revenge are shown to their rooms.
Their accommodations at the Hosttower offer the members of Tobin’s Revenge their first opportunity in a long time to clean up properly, enjoy clean clothes, and feel the weight of travel melt from their shoulders. During this downtime Faris continues to struggle with his newly donned armor. Now knowing it to be cursed, Faris begs his companions for assistance in removing the curse and potentially the armor itself. Unfortunately, none of the party that can wield magic is knowledgeable in the right spells to assist. Requests to the Brotherhood are futile as none are willing or practiced in such spells. They recommend seeking out help from divine sources, not ones based in academic study of magic.
Eventually Tobin’s Revenge is led to the private audience chamber of the Cashaan, the Archmage Arcane. Within they find a long dining table with all sorts of meats, fresh fruit and vegetables, breads, mead, wine, and more. At one end of the table sits an older human male dressed in red robes similar to Zelenn and Maccath but of the highest details and flourish yet to be observed during their time with the Brotherhood. Seated at either side are Maccath and Zelenn, deep in conversation. At the other end of the table, in the seat of honor, is Captain Barri Baram who provided the Frostskimmr access to the port. Next to him is a female human dressed in well refined dress that also seems to be practical in service aboard a ship. Introductions are made as the party meet the Archmage Arcane, Cashaan the Red, and Third High Captain Dagmaer Suljack.
As all begin to feast, conversation drifts among topics. At the conclusion of their tale of the fight with Arauthator, Captain Baram loudly proclaims his disdain for such an ending of the story as the party admits that the white dragon escaped with his life. Captain Suljack makes a lackluster attempt to quiet her fellow Captain but also seems to relish the opportunity to witness him make a fool of himself. Eventually the talk moves to Maccath’s time on the iceberg with the dragon. She explains that she spent most of her time translating texts, examining items, and generally cataloging Arauthor’s magical collection for the dragon. She brings up one text that she was able to translate but never could fully understand, though Arauthator seemed to understand and was keenly interested in figuring out the meaning of the poem. Relating the poem to Cashaan, Zelenn, and the rest of the dinner guests, the Archmage requests to see the physical text if Maccath would be so kind as to retrieve it.
With much haste Maccath excuses herself and returns from her chambers with the scroll in hand. Cashaan and Zelenn confer over the piece of parchment and point out the symbol at the bottom. They begin to explain the story of the legendary overlord wizard Keraptis. The story goes that over a millennium ago, the wizard Keraptis rose to power in the valleys of the north through threats and extreme examples against the warlords of the northern mountains. His heavy taxes and tithes were fulfilled without much resistance, especially with stories of the disappearance and replacement of those nobles attempting to avoid their share. After some time there was an influx of outside raiders and monsters. In response, Keraptis levied higher and higher taxes until he finally demanded one third of all newborn children to be turned over to the him.
This was the last straw, and the peasants, under the leadership of powerful cleric and his ranger acolytes, drove Keraptis not only from power but out of the northern lands all together. Keraptis spent many of the following years trying to seek out shelter in the south and the east. But, wherever he was, the reputation of his name and his heavy hand preceded him. He could find no safe place to settle. Returning to the north in desperation, he heard stories of the haunted White Plume Mountain. Investigating further he seemingly finally found refuge in the maze of lava tunnels under the mountain, and the human race never heard of the evil wizard again.
The symbol at the bottom of the poem is the mark of Keraptis, and Zelenn thinks that the feathered mound refers to the White Plume Mountain from Keraptis’ legend. Cashaan then begins to explain that about a century again three magic weapons were reportedly stolen from vaults in Waterdeep and Baldur’s Gate. They were known as Wave, Whelm, and Blackrazor and match the wording of the poem. Cashaan surmises that Keraptis must have orchestrated the theft of those items after centuries in hiding and this parchment was his devious way of luring people to his liar. Amongst the group some legends of Keraptis are known and align with this telling. Seebo’s experience with the lore of artifacts allows him to match the names of the weapons with that of a trident, warhammer, and greatsword of legend. The details on these artifacts is limited and much dismissed to rumor or fable other than their high worth.
Cashaan and Zelenn both agree in the end that this is a solid lead and would be willing to supply the party with the location of the White Plume Mountain should they wish to investigate further. They feel if the members could retrieve any of these weapons, they would be of great use in their pursuit against the cult. Cashaan also pledges the help of the Arcane Brotherhood to causes against the cult and will assist when the time is right. Further, if the party retrieves the items from the poem and decides they are not useful, the Brotherhood would pay handsomely for said items if returned to Luskan for study.
As excitement over the potential of this adventure turns to numerous side conversations around the table, Sariel speaks up and boldly asks about a mage of the Brotherhood called Arkalis. At the sound of the name Cashaan’s already stoic visage hardens and his eyes focus on Sariel. Maccath and Zelenn, color slightly drained from their faces, exchange looks with each other. After an awkward moment of silence Zelenn finally responds to the question. She explains that Arkalis the Cordovan was a talented member of the Brotherhood, proficient in transmutation and enchantment with an interest in Wild Magic. He was well liked and respected within the Brotherhood but later in his studies he chose to seek solitude in a house to the southwest of Luskan. Unfortunately, about 10 years ago the world lost Arkalis in an arcane accident that destroyed him, his work, and that home.
Sariel pushes further stating she may be acquainted with someone that knows more about what happened in that accident. It is with that declaration that Cashaan breaks his silence and in a quiet fierce voice demands an explanation of how she knows the name of the Cordovan and whom she speaks of as being part of his history. Staying resolute, Sariel does not answer his questions but pushes back that there is more to their story about Arkalis that they are not sharing. At first Cashaan does not break his visual lock with Sariel but after a moment or two resigns that it has been long enough. To the surprise of both Maccath and Zelenn, he adds to the story.
He weaves a picture that Arkalis was also an extremely talented artificer with no desire for leadership within the Brotherhood. The focus of his research was in finding a way to utilize Wild Magic to create new magical items more powerful than the world has ever seen. His theories were extreme, but Cashaan was very interested in the potential if Arkalis was successful. He explained that the early research by Arkalis discovered two flaws, maybe just hurdles, in the theory. First was that attempting to contain the weave of a wild magic surge was unstable at best. The potential of the cascading effect of unfocused release of contained weave from wild magic into the surrounding weave could result in never before seen surge results, both benign and dangerous. It was for this that Cashaan forced Arkalis to move his research to the second home outside the city limits. He did not think that the protective magic the Brotherhood normally utilized to contain dangerous magic research would be strong enough against Arkalis’ experiments.
The second flaw in the theory was the part that Cashaan just turned a blind eye to. Arkalis required a consistent supply of wild magic surge for his research. The problem is that as wielders of wild magic learn to control the weave the frequency and power of their surges diminish. Secondly, to protect the world and populace, almost all wielders of wild magic are given training as soon as their gift is discovered in order to control the devastating potential of their surges. Arkalis would require a young, untrained wielders of wild magic in order to progress his research to completion. Cashaan never asked how Arkalis was able to study his theory as that is not a concern of the Brotherhood in the pursuit of knowledge.
He confirms that ten years ago there was an accident at the home and workshop of Arkalis. He adds that it was an immense arcane explosion that unfortunately destroyed the workshop, records, potential items, and Arkalis himself. On being pushed on the assumption of Arkalis’ death versus fleeing, he affirms that joining the Brotherhood is for life and members are extremely loyal. Arkalis continued to work and meet here in the Hosttower regularly while performing his research at the house. If he had survived the accident, he would have returned and reported to Cashaan. Cashaan has no reason to believe that Arkalis is in hiding after the accident, especially for a length of ten years. He admits that some partial records recovered from the site indicate that Arkalis had come much further in his research than Cashaan had originally believed. There were notations that he had created a device that could siphon and store the weave from a wild magic surge. It seems that Arkalis had moved on to applying that stored weave to the creation of magical items. It is the belief of Cashaan that the accident was caused by either the unravelling of the magical item Arkalis was attempting to create or the unexpected release of stored weave that resulted in an uncontrolled wild magic surge of catastrophic proportions. It is here that Cashaan stops his story, refuses to answer any other questions, and dismisses the dinner guests to be alone.
The party asks Zelenn and Maccath if they could visit the site of Arkalis’ home. They don’t see why that would be an issue, and Maccath indicates that she is also intrigued. She would take them in the morning. A couple of hours hiking to the southwest of Luskan, Tobin’s Revenge finds themselves in the long abandoned ruins of Arkalis’ home and workshop. Ruins would be a gracious term. There is nothing left, and after ten years, one that did not know that a home once stood at this location would see nothing but remnants of foliage litter and rocky terrain. There are no signs that a basement ever existed. Belgwyn utilizes her experience with mining to estimate the center of an explosion and the radius of its reach. Dennis and Sariel stare in amazement as the extent of the blast is two to three times the size of a meteor strike, one of the most powerful spells they are aware of in their experience. Both realize, as well as Maccath, that this could not have been caused by a single incident of wild magic surge and feel that it confirms Cashaan’s conclusion that Arkalis lost control of a powerful source of weave. Dennis, utilizing a reveal magic spell, attempts to see if there are any remnant magical items in the debris.
Though he finds no magic beyond the background weave at the site, he does focus in on a magical item carried by Sariel that he had never noticed before. Using his mage hand, Dennis grabs the needle Sariel has recently begun to wear as an ear piercing. After mulling it over, he asks what it is as he hands it back to Sariel. She explains that Tethren gave it to her in case they were ever in bad shape with no hope of escape or survival. She places her hand on her upper chest and when removed the needle has disappeared, but a tattoo with the name Devis inside a heart now appears on her skin. Through Dennis’ disgust at the appearance, he notes the tattoo still glows with a magical essence. Sariel explains that Tethren had indicated that when the tattoo was applied particular individuals could focus travel spells on the tattoo without needing any knowledge or link to the location in which the wearer is located. For fun Sariel changes the tattoo to say Dennis instead of Devis before it finally disappears and the needle reappears in her hand. Attempts to identify the item by Seebo partially fail. Not only can he not recognize the enchantment on the needle, he does not understand nor can he truly feel the essence of the weave used to create it. He can only surmise that it was made with a magic beyond the known planes of this realm.
Taking in all that has transpired, Maccath is finally acknowledged once again by the party. Sariel explains in vague language that they have a friend and previous adventuring companion that she believes was the source that Arkalis was using in his research at the time of the accident. She is intrigued by the insight but only enough to satisfy her curiosity of this particular story. She says that unless this has anything to do with dragons it doesn’t really interest her to know more. Sariel subtly indicates to the rest of the party that she will explain later. They return to Luskan for one more night before heading out on the road decided on the White Plume Mountain as their destination.
Once far enough on the road from Luskan, Sariel finally breaks her silence on the topic of Tethren and begins to explain. She lets the party know that she had already been to the site of Arkalis’ house with Tethren some time ago. It was there that he confided in her that he blames himself for the accident that killed the mage who found him somewhere in the Spine and gave him a home on the outskirt Luskan. It was that incident that has always haunted Tethren, and his potential to hurt others unwillingly was why he has always been alone. It’s the reason why he left his companions, because he the need to control his magic is more important than being able to connect ever again. Further, Tethren never went into Luskan nor knew any other members of the Brotherhood. Arkalis’ membership was known, but Tethren never hinted at any knowledge regarding Arkalis beyond being his caretaker and teacher. Sariel believes that Arkalis was using Tethren as the source of wild magic surge to collect weave without Tethren ever knowing it. She also believes that the Brotherhood doesn’t know about Tethren, maybe not even care to know about Tethren. She also doesn’t trust Cashaan and what he would do if he knew about Tethren. There is still much to understand, both for Tethren and his friends.
****
It is about a week before the party finally reaches the base of the White Plume Mountain. Before them a 800 foot tall peak with a geyser of water spouting another 300 or so feet into the air. The prevailing winds push the geyser water to the east where it falls, collects, and eventually becomes an unnamed tributary to the Neverwinter River that flows through the Neverwinter Forest and to the sea at Neverwinter itself. To the west the party can see the taller peak of ancient volcano Mount Hotenow. On the south slope of the mountain, the party finds the cave known as the Wizard’s Mouth as described by Zelenn to them prior to their departure from Luskan. Inside the cave they find nothing by muck and a steady pulse of air into and the return of hot humid steam out of a crevice located at the back. Prodding around in the muck, Belgwyn discovers what seems to be a hatch buried under the mud.
It takes several attempts before the party is finally able to break the suction of the mud on the hatch before it opens and reveals a spiral staircase descending down a 20 foot wide shaft. Sending his familiar owl down the shaft, Dennis is able to discern that the staircase looks rusty but sturdy, and that it ends in standing water about 100 feet down. The party, not sure of the dangers, decides to lower Fionne on the end of a rope to see what the conditions and depth of the water are at the base of the stairs. While they discover in the end that the water only is a few inches deep, it is only because they lowered Fionne straight into it with a distracted familiar and slow reacting Dennis keeping watch.
Once the rest of the party meets the now soaked Fionne at the base of the stairs they proceed with caution down the sole passageway. Seebo leads the way, using his ten foot long pole to test the path ahead. Turning the first corner Seebo is immediately clocked by a gynosphinx sitting at the divergence in the tunnels ahead. Slowly approaching as a party, Seebo comically runs into an invincible barrier as his attention is too focused on dangers of floor. The creature offers them a riddle that is almost immediately solved by the cunning Fionne, still miserably wet in the hot humid environment of the tunnels. The gynosphinx disappears and the barrier is dropped. Using Dennis’ familiar owl and Seebo’s homunculus Monkie they scout their three options. To the left and right are long corridors that continue beyond the range of the scouts. To the middle they discover an alcove to the right in the middle of the passageway with seemingly deeper water and a chamber at the far end flooded by the waters.
Turning their attention to the middle tunnel they first investigate the alcove. With several attempts they finally are able to turn a metal wheel they discovered at the bottom of the ten foot deep hole and notice that the standing water is slowly draining down into the pit. Continuing on, the party is able to make their way around or through the deep pool in the chamber at the end. Each member is challenged and resists the urge to go for a swim without holding their breath. The source of the influence is never found though, even with Seebo and Sariel’s, now wildshaped into an octopus, investigation of the submerged chambers revealed when Dennis used a control water spell to move more water down the previous hallway to the pit. On the far side of the submerged chamber the party is presented with a choice between a door to the right and another straight ahead.
Picking the door to the right and carefully opening it, reveals a 30 foot long hallway with alternating white and black tiles on all surfaces. Just as Belgwyn is to step into the hallway the sides move into a cylindrical shape and begin to spin, the shiny metal surfaces creating a dizzying kaleidoscope of black and white. The party also notices an oil slick on the surface of the metallic looking tiles. Unsure of the change, Belgwyn changes her focus to the other door while Dennis and Seebo use their ‘assistants’ to investigate this rotating challenge. Dennis uses the remainder of his control water spell in an attempt to wash out the oil sheen from the surfaces before sending his familiar down the hallway. Dennis’ owl is able to discern a door on the left at the end of the hallway and a shuttered slit in the middle of the far end. Seebo’s homunculus fails to retain its footing and immediately slides to the far end of the hallway, becoming stuck against the far wall. Dennis is able to use his mage hand to retrieve Monkie.
Simultaneously, Belgwyn and Sariel take action. Belgwyn discovers that the other door is hinged in the middle and will only open one way. Without force the door naturally closes once again. Sariel, still in octopus form, is able to adhere to the rotating surface and begins to crawl down the hallway. At the halfway mark the slit at the end of the hallway opens, there is the quick sound of a projectile being loosed, and the slit immediately closes as the entire hallway catches fire, the oil on its surfaces ignited. Dennis once again uses his mage hand to pull Sariel’s octopus form out of the hallway but not before she is minorly hurt by the flames. Moments later the flames die down as the oil is burnt off.
With the threat of the rotating hallway now seemingly dealt with, the party, including Belgwyn who has abandoned her investigation of the other door, is led by Groz and Seebo to the door at the end. When they reach the door, the hallway ceases to spin. Slowly opening the door they are met with an empty common room with a single door on the far side. Inside they don’t find much other than a candlestick and a spellbook. They also discover the covered arrow slit in the wall shared with the end of the spinning hallway. Dennis unfortunately takes damage from an explosive warding glyph protecting the spellbook when he tries to open it but is only hurt as he pockets the book for future use. Once again, with Groz in the lead, they slowly open the door on the far side.
This room, not empty, is vastly different from the common room they stand in. A lavishly covered bed, ornate curtains and tapestries, a table of sweetmeats and cakes to the side, and brass-bound oak chest in the corner. But more importantly is the armored figure with an aimed crossbow and a mage-liked robed female standing behind on the bed. Before anyone can react the trigger is squeezed on the crossbow while energy emanates from the other.
Session Date – 23 January 2026
Roster
- Fionne ‘The Ankle Biter’
- Lucius
- Sariel
- Belgwyn
- Faris
- Dennis
- EKIM
- Seebo
- Groz