Session B03 — Cult Activity and Bodies

Summary

The session opens in the chaotic aftermath of a House Baenre capture squad assault on Othorion in a Neverwinter town square — two drider corpses, three partially-eaten drow, and Pip carried unconscious to the scene with a poisoned bolt in her back, delivered by a panther none of the party have ever met. A prolonged debrief at the Iron Flagon Inn draws out Othorion's full backstory — a missing night in Luskan, a dead woman, and a connection to both Ship Taerl and House Baenre that explains why a capture squad crossed the surface to find him. Kelvin simultaneously unravels his fey entanglement in full: 32 children attributed to him across fey records, contempt of court with both Summer and Winter Queens, and a letter from Queen Titania that refuses to stay thrown away. Haldak reveals the Warden of Past Moments — a stolen artifact that gave him his powers and may connect to the obsidian obelisks of the Neverwinter Wood. The evening ends with Othorion and Kefkas boarding the Ice Serpent for a private meeting with Captain Gregorovitch, who confirms passage north is secured — but word of the attack has already spread through Neverwinter. The following morning, a messenger from the Flaming Fist delivers a formal summons from Lord Protector Dagult Neverember to the Hall of Justice.

Key Events

Recap — Between Sessions

Kavu's pre-session recap: the party arrived in Neverwinter, handled city business, Othorion "almost died again," Kelvin "found out how unbelievably fucked he is" (specifics: 32 children attributed to him in fey records), Kavu had been researching at the House of Knowledge, and Haldak was sleeping off a hangover from the previous evening.

The Town Square — Drider Aftermath

The session opened with Othorion and Kefkas standing in a Neverwinter town square surveying the aftermath of a fight neither had finished alone. Two drider corpses. Three drow — partially eaten. Whatever had fought alongside them had already left.

Then a large black panther padded into the square, carrying Pip Stonehill on its back. Pip had a drow-poisoned bolt lodged between her shoulder blades.

The Panther — Guenhwyvar: Kelvin approached the panther and used Speak with Animals. The panther communicated in the patient, direct manner of a creature who understood the gravity of what she was conveying:

• She identified herself as "the one who runs from plane to plane." Her master called her "Guinevere" or "Gwen."
• Her master had been "fighting still" when she left him — heading toward the Spine of the World, continuing to drive the remaining drow back.
• She had found Pip during the fight and brought her to the party.

When Kavu remarked that he had expected her to be larger, the panther turned and growled directly at him. Then she turned and ran north through the streets, disappearing into the city. The party understood: her master was Drizzt Do'Urden.

Healing Pip

Kavu cast Healing Word. Roland used Lay on Hands — 20 points of healing plus 5 additional to purge the drow poison from the bolt wound. Pip regained consciousness but was in no condition for conversation. The party carried her back to the Iron Flagon Inn.

Haldak was already at the inn, eating roast boar. He had not been part of the fight.

Pip was put to bed and fell into what the group described as a "chicken coma" — deeply unconscious but no longer dying.

Lorana Delmont, the Iron Flagon's bartender, confirmed the party's suite was available and undisturbed.

Iron Flagon Debrief — Othorion's Backstory

With the suite secured, the party sat down for the debrief that had been building for two sessions.

What happened in Luskan: Othorion killed the daughter of High Captain Throa Taerl of Ship Taerl — one of the five most powerful pirate lords in Luskan. The victim was not only a Taerl: she had also been an agent of Quenthel Baenre, the matron of Othorion's own house in Menzoberranzan. Othorion woke the following morning with the entire night missing from memory. No recall of the killing, the circumstances, or how it ended.

The attackers tonight: The capture squad — three drow plus two driders — were wearing House Baenre insignia on their "puafui" (special drow cloaks of elvenkind, described as resembling spider cloaks). This was a Baenre capture operation, not an assassination: they wanted Othorion alive. The driders were the ones Guenhwyvar ate.

The party processed the implications: Othorion is wanted by Ship Taerl (for the killing), by House Baenre (for reasons that may relate to the victim's role as their agent), and now demonstrably by House Baenre (who sent a surface team). These interests likely overlap, but the Baenre capture order is the most immediate threat.

Iron Flagon Debrief — Kelvin's Fey Entanglement

How it started: Kelvin sold his name to a fey fox. The fox sold it to every fey entity in the realm. This was not a metaphor: Kelvin's identity in fey records is fully compromised.

The DMV record: Kelvin had visited a fey bureaucratic office and received documentation. Thirty-two children were attributed to him across various fey lineages in the records.

The contempt: He had missed multiple formal balls hosted by both the Summer Court and Winter Court. Missing one is an insult. Missing multiple is contempt of court. Both Queens were informed.

The letter: A green envelope with red vines and gilded pulsing flowers arrived at the suite. It pricked anyone who touched it. It was addressed to "Kelvin Fairlight, Keeper of Wildfire's Grace." Kelvin threw it out the window. The letter flew back in through the window. Haldak cast Identify: the letter contained "foreboding potential for absolute chaos."

The letter's contents — from Queen Titania, Summer Court — were a formal warning. The tone was regal and unambiguous: Kelvin had been ignoring summons, and the consequences for continued absence were being escalated.

Kelvin's alias: He was going by "Melvin" in Neverwinter specifically to avoid fey notice. The letter found him anyway.

Iron Flagon Debrief — Haldak's Warden of Past Moments

Haldak revealed an artifact he had previously withheld from full disclosure: the Warden of Past Moments. He described it as resembling a stopwatch, with stars visible inside the casing.

• Approximately twenty years before his time travel, he helped someone steal the artifact.
• He later returned it.
• Returning it was what gave him his powers.
• The artifact connects, somehow, to the obsidian obelisks — he referenced an employer who had mentioned them in that context.

He asked Sylphrena (the Netherese spirit he carries) whether she knew the artifact. She did not — it belonged to a different enclave.

The party received this the way they had received Kelvin's confession: not with judgment, but with the settled recognition that everyone in the room was carrying something.

Kavu's Pirate Pyro Poom Brooch — Demonstration

Kavu demonstrated the brooch's command-word effect. The result was described as a nuclear explosion of light — a flash that blinded every living thing in the vicinity for several seconds. The party took note.

Short Rest and Decision

After the debrief, the party took a short rest and discussed the evening. Captain Gregorovitch of the Ice Serpent had scheduled a meeting for 9pm (2100). The decision:

• Othorion and Kefkas would go to the Ice Serpent for the Gregorovitch meeting.
• Kavu and Roland would remain at the Iron Flagon with Pip (in her chicken coma) and Drizzle.
• Haldak and Kelvin would wait at the foot of the dock.

Cold Weather Shopping — Tarmeloon Trade House

Before the docks, Othorion and Kefkas (with Haldak and Kelvin along) made a stop at the Tarmeloon Trade House in the dock district.

Purchases for the Icewind Dale expedition:

• 6 complete sets of winter gear (warm boots, heavy cloak, hat, insulated trousers) for the full party
• 6 sets of snow goggles
• 35 additional rations (175 silver pieces)

The shopkeeper at Tarmeloon directed them to River's Heart, a magic supply store near the north gate, for a bag of holding.

Neverwinter landmarks observed during transit:

• The Driftwood Tavern — part museum, part tavern, built around reclaimed ship timber
• The Beached Leviathan — a three-deck inn constructed inside the hull of a decommissioned pirate vessel
• The Moonstone Mask — the most opulent inn in Neverwinter, situated on a floating earth mote above the river

The Docks — Ottoman Steffone

At the foot of the dock, before boarding the Ice Serpent, Othorion and Kefkas encountered a panhandler — an older man, visibly unkempt, holding a cup and sitting against a pillar in the cold.

He introduced himself as Ottoman Steffone (or Ottoman Sifo, as the name came out) and said he was looking for his nephew, Ranfis — full name Ramfessipo — "the golden boy of Neverwinter." Ranfis had been missing for "half a decade," and Ottoman had spent his entire fortune searching: jungle expeditions, coastal cities, the Moonshade Isles. The Moonshade expedition had bankrupted him. Two silver was all he had.

The party noted faded wanted posters on the dock pilings — too old to read clearly.

"I was one of the richest nobles who never went to Waterdeep," Ottoman said, with an odd mixture of pride and self-pity, before insulting Haldak when Haldak suggested his charity was better spent elsewhere. "You're not even worth pewter. You're Electrum. Nobody likes Electrum."

Kelvin gave Ottoman one of his rations. The party moved on.

Back at the inn later, Othorion asked the group whether any of them recognized the Seafoam name — apparently referenced by Captain Gregorovitch in their private meeting. No one recognized it clearly. One player noted "I think they used to be important." Haldak's history check put the name "right on the tip of his tongue" — familiar enough to note, not solid enough to recall. Research at the House of Knowledge would be needed.

Boarding the Ice Serpent

The Ice Serpent sat at the dock — a vessel that players assessed was more than it appeared: built like a merchant ship but armed internally like a warship. A "Q ship" — its name likely changed between ports to avoid recognition. The guard at the gangway was a dark-skinned, scarred elf or fae with a heavy crossbow.

Othorion and Kefkas were escorted to the captain's quarters. The captain's own company — a distinct group, the "bizarro-party" — filed out as they entered, making room for the meeting.

Captain Gregorovitch requested a private meeting with "Mr. Bonara" — using Othorion's surface-alias surname. Kefkas was sent to tour the ship and check on the prisoner and cargo.

Kefkas's Ship Tour — The Navigation Wizard

Kefkas made his way to the poop deck, where a young woman was working at a chart table, scribing nautical charts. She was in her early twenties, blonde, and looked up from her work with the delayed double-take of someone who had not expected company.

"What brings you to my poop deck?" she asked.

They talked briefly. Kefkas asked about the prisoner (Nezznar, held below). "Quiet," she said.

When he moved to leave, she cast a cantrip — prestidigitation, verbal components and all — and Kefkas felt a distinct magical pinch on his rear.

"Until next time. Oh, Caffy Poo," she called down from the deck.

Kefkas moved to disembark at speed.

"Don't shit where you eat, Kefkas," Othorion told him as they reconvened on deck.

"My entire lineage is crazy, Kefkas. That's a normal day for me," Othorion added, somewhat philosophically.

The navigator's name was not given this session. She is the Ice Serpent's deck wizard and navigator. She will be aboard for the voyage north.

What the Captain Said

Back at the inn, Othorion relayed the meeting's substance without volunteering every detail.

"Passage has been granted. It should be relatively smooth. Barring any complications, Captain Gregorovitch was just concerned. Apparently what had happened to me in the courtyard is moderately well known. Words have already spread — he's already caught wind of it, which means a lot of other people have caught wind of it as well."

The attack in the town square — a House Baenre capture squad with driders, killed by a famous drow ranger's panther — had circulated through Neverwinter's docks and information networks within hours. The captain wanted Othorion to know this before they were three days out to sea.

Roland and the Drizzt Romance Novel

While the others were at the docks, Roland spent the evening at the Iron Flagon's common area reading from a book Pip had pressed on him: a romance novel reimagining the Drizzt Do'Urden saga as a Twilight-style serial. Protagonist name: "Dritzno Erden."

Sample passage, read aloud by the DM:

"That smile, Dritz murmured, sinking to his knees as though the weight of his despair had become too much to bear. That fleeting, ethereal smile. It haunts my every waking moment. It is the smile that both sustains and destroys me... Oh, cruel fate. How I wish I could simply tell her of my love. But no, I am a rogue of the shadows, destined to hide in the darkness while she basks in the light."

The chapter ended: "Yes, I shall continue to watch over her from the shadows, guarding her from all harm, and maybe, just maybe, she will one day realize that I, Dritzno Erden, am not just a rogue of the Underdark, but a rogue in love."

Roland, not quite under his breath: "Man, I hate these romance sections."

Pip, when asked: "That's the trashy version. Once you're done with that and all 30 of its sequels, we'll have you read the real one."

Roland: "Why is there a 30-volume trashy version?!"

Long Rest and Downtime

Before sleeping, Kefkas proposed training Othorion in blind fighting — inspired directly by having just met (via proxy) the most famous blind-fighting practitioner in the Realms.

New downtime activity for Othorion: "Learning How to Fight With My Eyes Closed — Dritz can do it, right? How hard can it get... shit, that hurts." Icon: a small figure being struck by a blade. Rules: DC 15 Perception checks, 25 successes required, Kefkas must give up his own downtime to teach.

The party improvised the training: Othorion blindfolded twice over; everyone in the suite grabbing candlesticks to throw. "Canonically, we're just all in a circle throwing candles at Arthur."

Kefkas gave up his downtime for the night to serve as instructor. Othorion rolled 26 and 21 on his perception checks (two successes, no starting HP damage taken — the DM rolled 2 and 1 for the candlestick impact dice).

Kelvin began working toward a Persuasion proficiency — giving up his downtime for Roland's help (Roland provided advantage on the eventual roll).

Morning — Fist Jonathan and Neverember's Summons

Shortly after dawn, a knock at the suite door. Roland answered — he had been awake for two hours, fully armored, and ready. (DM awarded him Inspiration for next session for this choice.)

"It is Fist Jonathan for the Forge Wardens, from the Flaming Fist."

He produced a sealed letter and handed it to Kavu, who opened it.

The letter, read in full:

"To the esteemed Forge Wardens — In these times of great change and opportunity, the city of Neverwinter stands poised on the brink of a new era of prosperity and strength. Yet to see this vision realized, I seek to bolster the ranks of our city's defenders with those who possess both skill and resolve, qualities that the Forge Wardens seem to exemplify. It is with this purpose that I extend to you an invitation to the Hall of Justice. I wish to present to you an opportunity to serve the city in a capacity that shall honor your craft, sharpen your talents, and elevate your name. You will be offered the chance to take on a temporary position of considerable influence and responsibility, one that will see your skills not only protect but also shape the future of this grand city... Attend the Hall of Justice at your earliest convenience, where we shall discuss the details of this offer. May the fires of your forges burn ever bright, and may your hammers ring true. Yours in strength and unity, Lord Protector Dagult Neverember."

Kavu, semi-awake, looked back at Kefkas: "It appears it's a call to arms of sorts. We are being summoned to the Hall of Justice."

Roland, fully armored: "Are we in trouble?"

Fist Jonathan, on being offered silver as a tip: slapped the coins from Kavu's hand and walked away.

The session closed on the party holding Neverember's letter, three days until departure on the Ice Serpent, and a formal summons from the Lord Protector waiting for them across the city.

NPCs Encountered

Loot / Discoveries

Threads Opened / Advanced

• House Baenre Capture Order: A surface team — 3 drow and 2 driders — came to Neverwinter specifically to capture Othorion. The squad was eliminated (by Guenhwyvar), but the order still stands. Word has spread through the city.
• Othorion's Missing Night: He killed the daughter of High Captain Throa Taerl with no memory of doing so. The victim was also a Quenthel Baenre agent. The why remains unknown.
• Seafoam Name: Mentioned by Gregorovitch in the private meeting. Haldak recognized it as something he should know. Ottoman Steffone's nephew connection may or may not be related.
• Ottoman Steffone / Ranfis: A ruined noble on the docks searching for his "golden nephew" who has been missing five years. Faded wanted posters. Haldak's history check: familiar but unresolvable without research.
• Kelvin's Summer Court Contempt: Titania's letter arrived despite Kelvin's alias. Both courts have officially escalated. The fey know he is in Neverwinter.
• Warden of Past Moments: Haldak's backstory artifact, connected to the obsidian obelisks of the Neverwinter Wood. Origin and current location unresolved.
• Ice Serpent — Passage Confirmed: Party departs for Luskan in three days. Nezznar (the Black Spider) is aboard, blindfolded and bound. Navigator is the blonde deck wizard who has marked Kefkas.
• Neverember Summons: Hall of Justice, earliest convenience. Purpose: "temporary position of considerable influence and responsibility." Party has not yet gone.
• Othorion's Blind Fighting Downtime: In progress; 2 of 25 successes completed after night one (Kefkas as trainer).
• Kelvin's Persuasion Proficiency: Downtime begun; working with Roland (advantage on roll).
• Roland and the Drizzt Romance Novels: Currently on volume one of thirty. Pip is monitoring his progress.