Session B02 — Neverwinter Arrival

Summary

The session opens on the aftermath of the Black Knight ambush: the noble carriage sitting unopened in the road, its occupants waiting out the chaos. Inside are Lord Therin Veilance, his sister Lady Thessaly Veilance, and a hitchhiker — Kefkas Artoriel, an arena bard from the Waterdeep circuit who promised to sing for his supper and delivers mostly stand-up comedy. Kefkas immediately becomes a full party member for the session.

After mourning Jerry the horse (the only cart casualty of the Black Knight road ambush), the party departs for Helm's Hold at 8:30pm, arriving just past midnight. They transfer Nezznar into the custody of Jarvan Tarmacos of the Order of the Gilded Eye — an offshoot of the Order of the Gauntlet — for 150gp per twelve hours, paid in platinum. The night at Venture's Rest descends into chaos when Pip tries to procure alcohol for herself and Drizzle, Kavu's drink spontaneously catches fire, and innkeeper Amara is forced to intervene.

Morning brings a full Helm's Hold shopping circuit: the Vigilant Eye Armory, the Mystic Quill, and the Silver Serpent Apothecary, where the party encounters Mira — an elegant elven woman with a hovering twenty-sided stone. Kefkas successfully attunes to the Frostbrand Scimitar Emberwake after correctly naming it aloud. Lady Thessaly meets the party outside Venture's Rest to personally deliver their escort payment and thanks.

Nezznar is returned to party custody — blindfolded, gagged, and bound, with new bruises indicating he did not behave quietly in holding — and the party departs Helm's Hold at noon, seven hours from Neverwinter.

Key Events

Opening — The Wagon Door

The morning after the Black Knight's road ambush, the party stood before the noble carriage. The guards of the wagon gave the all-clear signal:

"My lord, my lady, it's safe to come out."

The door opened. Inside: Lord Therin Veilance and his sister Lady Thessaly Veilance, a young noble woman who had ridden out the entire combat in silence. With them was a third passenger — a hitchhiker named Kefkas Artoriel.

Kefkas presented himself: tanned half-elf, leather jacket over chain mail, the bearing of someone accustomed to being looked at. The party's DM description was "Commander Shepherd approves." He had been hired as entertainment by the Veilances — promised to sing for his passage but admitted to doing "more stand-up." He was heading to Helm's Hold.

Pip's immediate assessment, delivered with full confidence: "Oh, it's the arena bard." She studied him for a moment and asked if he was "Othorion and Roland's love child." The party took a moment.

Lord Therin Veilance, for his part, asked for the password before anyone exited the wagon — the party had established "Two Drows and a Baby" as the code phrase when the Veilances hired them as a road escort the previous session. It was confirmed. The door was opened.

Party Names — Forge Wardens

The question of what the party is called came up for Kefkas's benefit. Two names were in contention:

• Forge Wardens — the official party name
• Phandalin Five — a nickname in use despite having more or fewer than five members at various points

No formal resolution was reached. Kefkas absorbed this.

Kefkas Artoriel — Background

Kefkas introduced himself as Kefkas the Stinging Bard, from the arena circuit in Waterdeep. His performance style leaned toward combat banter and crowd work rather than traditional bardic music. He had been riding with the Veilances as a hitchhiker, providing entertainment in exchange for passage toward Helm's Hold.

His fee for the escort was negotiated at 50gp total for the party — 10gp per person. He had rolled near a natural twenty on his persuasion check when smoothing over Lord Veilance's resistance to the proposed terms, and the deal was sealed.

Jerry the Horse — A Funeral

One of the four horses drawing the Veilance carriage had died in the Black Knight ambush — a horse named Jerry. Three horses remained: Gerald, Raquel, and Richard.

Kelvin advocated for a proper mourning period. Lord Veilance was resistant to the delay. Kefkas stepped in and smoothed the situation with a near-twenty persuasion roll. A four-hour mourning rest was held. The party took a short rest during it.

"Three drows, a kobold, a wood elf, and a baby took a four-hour break on the Triboar Trail to mourn a horse. As one does."

Departure resumed at 8:30pm with Helm's Hold approximately four hours distant.

Road to Helm's Hold — Stories for Kefka

In the wagon on the road to Helm's Hold, the party debriefed Kefkas on who they were and where they'd been. Stories exchanged included:

• Kavu's Dwayne the Rock Omelette: A cooking incident involving hot rocks and too much optimism
• Roland's Aunt Carlec: A family story Roland is deeply protective of
• Boulders for Muscles: The bard currently serenading Linene Graywind from the Lionshield Coster window back in Phandalin
• The rain dance: Kavu and Kelvin's ceremonial practice, and Othorion's theologically awkward participation
• Calypso as spectator: An audience member for the rain dance who may or may not have counted
• Wave Echo Cave bonk: Self-explanatory
• Nezznar's staff: Which the party now has custody of

Pip, mid-story, casually mentioned that she was "knighted in the house of Baenre." The room paused. Othorion's eye twitched visibly. Baenre is the alias under which Othorion is operating — his own house name from the surface identity he is building. The ten-year-old daughter of an innkeeper has been formally inducted into it.

Helm's Hold — Arrival

The party arrived at Helm's Hold just after midnight in light snow — not rain, as the road had been. The city gate guards required the Veilances' presence and vouching to smooth the party's entry with a prisoner in tow. This worked.

The Order of the Gilded Eye's symbol — an eye dripping a single tear of gold — was visible at the cathedral and affiliated buildings throughout the Hold. Jarvan Tarmacos led this order from its seat at the cathedral.

"The history here: within the past century, the Order of the Gauntlet post at Helm's Hold had been infiltrated by devils. Tarmacos is the one who identified and ousted them and restored the Order's integrity. The Gilded Eye is his reformed offshoot."

Nezznar Transfer — Order of the Gilded Eye

The party transferred custody of The Black Spider to Jarvan Tarmacos in an official ceremony at the cathedral. The terms:

• 150gp per 12 hours of custody
• Roland paid in 15 platinum pieces (1 platinum = 10gp)
• The transfer was backed by orders signed by the Black Staff — the signature of Vajra Safahr, the Blackstaff of Waterdeep, indicating the Neverwinter authority chain had sanctioned this arrangement

Nezznar was taken below. He would be returned to the party's custody when they were ready to continue north.

Venture's Rest — Chaos Scene

The party retired to Venture's Rest, the inn attached to or near the Order of the Gilded Eye's headquarters. Innkeeper Amara ran the establishment. Their room and board were included as part of the official business fee.

The night did not go smoothly.

The alcohol dispute: Pip attempted to procure drinks for herself and Drizzle. An argument broke out about age, authority, and whether a ten-year-old who is technically knighted constitutes a valid patron. Kelvin, Roland, and Drizzle were all involved. The argument escalated to the point where Amara had to intervene.

Kavu's spontaneous combustion: Kavu ordered a drink that did not exist on the menu. He received the closest approximation. The drink caught fire on its own. The table watched this happen.

Amara settled everything by re-confirming the house rules: rooms and board are included, children do not receive alcohol, and the innkeeper's word is final.

Pip lodged with Othorion that night — "he knighted her" was the reasoning offered, and no one successfully argued against it.

Kefkas's Starting Gold

With the party taking stock at Venture's Rest, Kefkas established his resources: 725 gold pieces, rolled as 1d10×25 + 500. He had a starting wealth not yet spent down.

Morning at Venture's Rest — Helm's Hold Shops

Over a morning breakfast, innkeeper Amara briefed the party on Helm's Hold's available merchants:

• Vigilant Eye Armory — run by Haldor Stonefist; weapons and armor
• Mystic Quill — run by Brother Ferris; scrolls and arcane goods
• Silver Serpent Apothecary — "ask for Mira"; herbs, potions, and alchemical supplies

The party also had access to the wagon, which contained the 7,000 gold pieces in liquid wealth recovered from the mithril vein discovery — a 4% chance roll that had come up 95–99.

Emberwake — Attunement

Before the shopping circuit, the question of the Frostbrand Scimitar recovered from Wave Echo Cave was addressed. The sword had remained unattuned since recovery.

Kefkas's first attempt: Kefkas reached for the sword. He was immediately launched approximately twenty feet from the cart. The sword rejected him.

Haldak's Identify: Haldak Tencloak cast Identify on the blade — addressing it, per his casting quirk, in the manner of Dobby: "Master has given Dobby a sock!" The Identify revealed:

• The sword's name: Emberwake
• Classification: Frostbrand Scimitar +1
• Lineage: sister sword to Icingdeath — the famed blade carried by Drizzt Do'Urden
• The blade bore two sets of inscriptions: Sylvan runes and Common runes
• The Common inscription read: "Death Cloak Lank"

Kefkas's second attempt: Kefkas approached the sword again and spoke its name aloud: "Emberwake."

Time stopped. The rain froze mid-fall. The Sylvan runes glowed along the blade, followed by the Common runes. The sword waited. Kefkas held it. Attunement completed. The rain resumed.

The sword's Sylvan inscription and the Common phrase "Death Cloak Lank" remained an open puzzle — what they meant in combination with each other and with the name Emberwake was not resolved in this session.

The DM confirmed: the Sylvan runes, as best as could be made out, spell something like "Enderleg" — but the exact reading depends on who is interpreting and with what linguistic knowledge.

Vigilant Eye Armory

Haldor Stonefist — a dwarf covered in soot, suggesting active forge work even this early — ran the Vigilant Eye Armory. The party browsed. No purchases were made.

Mystic Quill

Brother Ferris — a wizened, aged man with spectacles, absorbed in a large book as the party entered and apparently not noticing them for several moments — ran the Mystic Quill scroll shop.

Haldak's inquiry: Haldak asked if Brother Ferris had ever heard of the "Code of Steel of the White." Ferris had not. He offered to make inquiries on Haldak's behalf, payable upon delivery — 10gp, owed only if he finds something.

"What is your name, young man?" — "Haldak. Haldak Tencloak." — "I've never heard of Tencloak. That's a name I've never come across before."

Sylvan rune consultation: Kefkas asked if Ferris read Sylvan. He did not, but noted that the apothecary owner almost certainly did — "it is a prerequisite for those arts."

Kefkas attempted to sketch the sword's runes from memory for Ferris's examination. His History check produced what Ferris described as looking "like it was written by a child learning Sylvan" — remarkably good for someone without the language, but not reliable. Ferris's reading: "Enderleg". Whether that was accurate or an artifact of the imperfect sketch remained unclear.

Purchases at the Mystic Quill:

Kavu noted that a Fireball scroll would have been of interest but was beyond his available funds. He consoled himself by explaining to Kefkas that Fireball is, in fact, "my favorite spell" and that every time he casts it he wants to hum to himself. Brother Ferris watched this from behind his spectacles and said nothing.

Silver Serpent Apothecary

The Silver Serpent smelled "like autumn in the south" — earthy, herbal, with the warm weight of dried plants and bottled preparations. A long white-haired elven woman in a high-collared intricately designed robe stood behind the counter. She was not attending to the shop. She was attending to a twenty-sided stone — carved with precise geometric faces, hovering and spinning just above her open palm, slowly rotating as she watched it.

This was Mira.

When Kavu — attention not entirely focused — startled her with his entrance, the stone lost its hover and skittered under the counter. She recovered it composedly.

"You startled me is all. What might I do for you?"

Sylvan runes: Kefkas asked if Mira could read Sylvan. She confirmed she could. He explained he wanted the runes on a blade translated — "don't be alarmed" — and drew the sword. Mira noted, drily, that this was not the first time someone had said those exact words before drawing a blade in her shop. She examined what Kefkas had — the original inscriptions had faded after attunement, but he had attempted to write them down from memory. Her reading matched Ferris's: "Enderleg." The runes, as Kefkas had sketched them, were imprecise.

The twenty-sided stone: Several party members expressed interest in purchasing Mira's hovering stone. She declined to sell until she had identified it herself.

"It almost felt as if it had the power of fate behind it. But surely that is just nonsense."

When Haldak offered to cast Identify on it for her, she demurred — that would "take the fun out of it."

Her parting wink, when the party asked why the shop was called the Silver Serpent, was met with: "That is also a mystery you'll have to dig up the truth of." Kavu attempted to wink back. He used both eyes. The party watched him blink extremely hard at an elven woman and said nothing.

Kelvin's purchases: Kelvin bought a flower, "old suba leaves" for tea-making, and a tea set — paid in silver. He had been boiling pine branches in acorn broth and presenting it as soup-tea; this represented an upgrade.

Party fund purchase: Roland withdrew 600gp from the party's collective funds to purchase six Greater Healing Potions at 100gp each. Five were placed in the party's loot wagon. One was kept accessible.

Thessaly's Farewell

Outside Venture's Rest, as the party returned to retrieve their carriage, Lady Thessaly Veilance was waiting under the awning in the cold, her breath visible in the air, rubbing her hands together.

Her brother, she acknowledged, had not expressed sufficient gratitude on the road. She had come to correct this personally.

"I just wanted to thank all of you for helping us before. I know that my brother did not do a sufficient job at relaying how we felt about the situation."

She presented the payment: 40 gold pieces. The agreed sum had been 50gp, but the Veilances had attempted to pay the party's entry fees into Helm's Hold as part of the arrangement. Standard admission was 1gp per individual, with children entering free — but for Haldak, the gatekeepers had levied a fine rather than a standard fee. The deduction of 10gp from the escort payment reflected this.

"I'm not sure why, so I have 50 minus 10, because it was 5 for him to enter the city... children are free... so, except for you."

Thessaly asked if the party knew anything about the attackers on the road. They could not say. She thanked them again and departed.

The table noted that Thessaly had referred to Roland as the party's "inquisitive child," because Pip was standing with him and asking questions. Roland's age was 25. Pip was 10. The math was examined. No one emerged from it looking entirely dignified.

Nezznar Returned to Custody

The party received Nezznar back from the Order of the Gilded Eye in a formal reverse-custody ceremony — mirroring the transfer ceremony in which they had handed him over.

His condition: "in the same state that you got him, plus a few additional bruises and scratches." He had not behaved quietly in holding.

Nezznar was returned blindfolded, gagged, and bound. These were not cosmetic precautions:

• He remembers the spells he had prepared when captured
• Those spells include: Misty Step, Fireball, Conjure Spiders, Invisibility
• Any verbal or somatic components restored to him would constitute a significant security lapse

The carriage was readied. The road to Neverwinter stretched northward — approximately seven hours of travel.

Inspiration — End of Session

Before departing, the DM acknowledged the session's roleplay quality:

"You've all done a phenomenal job with your roleplay. I need to reward all of it together. And I knew there probably wouldn't be combat in this session, so I didn't want to give it out at the beginning — I wanted to give it to you at the end so you could have it going into next session."

Every party member began the following session with Inspiration. Each could choose whether to keep it or pass it to the group.

NPCs Encountered

Loot / Discoveries

Threads Opened / Advanced

• Emberwake — Inscription Puzzle: Sylvan runes read as "Enderleg" (per both Ferris and Mira's attempts on Kefkas's rough sketch). Common reads "Death Cloak Lank." Sword name is Emberwake; sister to Icingdeath. What the two inscriptions mean together is unresolved.
• Mira's Twenty-Sided Stone: Hovering geometric stone with possible connection to fate or divination. Mira will not sell until she identifies it; she declined Haldak's Identify offer. She will entertain purchase at a later date.
• Code of Steel of the White: Haldak's inquiry. Brother Ferris will research for 10gp, payable on delivery. No timeline given.
• Nezznar in Transit: Returned to party custody; en route to Neverwinter. Blindfolded/gagged/bound; new bruises. Destination and handover authority not yet established in-session.
• Silver Serpent name mystery: Mira's winking non-answer to why the shop is named for a silver serpent. Deliberate.
• Pip — "Knighted in the House of Baenre": Pip casually revealed this on the road. Othorion's reaction was visible. The implications (a ten-year-old is formally inducted into Othorion's surface alias house) remain unaddressed.
• Kefkas and the Forge Wardens: New party member for Arc B. His arc, if any, is undeclared. He has Emberwake, 725gp, and a comedy-forward disposition.
• Neverwinter — Approaching: Seven hours out at session close. Described as "still a smoking wreck five years after the Saltmarsh game." The Forge Wardens campaign is canonically set five years after the events of the Saltmarsh campaign in the same world.