Session B04 — Neverwinter Politics

Summary

A city-exploration session centred on Neverwinter's bureaucracy, its magic, and its politics. The morning opens with a plague-changed ambush in a market square — undead and draconic creatures coated in purple ethereal flame that shrugs off fire — and ends at River's Heart magic shop, where an aboleth in stone form reveals that Othorion's missing memory may have been erased by water from the River Styx. In between: the party meets Lord Dagult Neverember in the Hall of Justice and is tasked with finding the lost Crown of Neverwinter before a rebel pretender calling himself the Cloak Descendant can claim it. Kelvin, experimenting with the fey collar that holds his name, loses it for another 172 years and learns the original deal's fine print — his name was only conditionally returned, and the condition is helping Othorion recover his memory. The party ends the session at the River's Heart with a Hat of Disguise purchased for Othorion and a new set of platinum Forge Wardens rings delivered.

Key Events

Morning at the Iron Flagon — Summons and Breakfast

The party woke to the previous session's summons: a letter from Lord Dagult Neverember requiring their attendance at the Hall of Justice. Thaum Drannik, the half-orc morning bartender at the Iron Flagon, served breakfast while the group decided who to bring.

Roland's fey letter — delivered by Titania's messenger — caught fire in his pocket when he told the others that Kelvin was "on the Fey shit list." Kavu extinguished it. Roland was privately proud that he had been the one to read the letter at all, describing it as the first letter he had ever read.

Pip's battered old sword was visibly bent and damaged — she had been making a point of displaying it around the party. Nobody directly asked about it.

Plague-Changed Ambush — Market Square

Walking through the city toward the Hall of Justice, the party passed through a market square when plague-changed creatures burst from an alleyway.

Two types:

• Plague-changed maniacs — undead, fast, aggressive
• Plague-changed guard drakes — draconic, low to the ground

Both types were covered in purple ethereal flame and completely immune to fire damage. Drizzle's Channel Divinity, which produces fire, walked straight through one without effect. Kavu's Turn Undead worked, however — three of the maniacs erupted in geysers of Kossuth's blue flame and were destroyed outright.

Kelvin wildshapped into a crocodile and engaged. Part-way through, the fey pull on Kelvin kicked in and he simply disappeared mid-combat. His response, off in the Feywilds: "I have 36 kids, can I stay gone?"

Othorion rolled a natural 1 and dropped his dagger — it fell inside the arm-bones of one of the drakes and rattled around in the skeletal cavity. He could not retrieve it easily.

Pip nearly crossbow-bolted Othorion in the back, having positioned herself directly behind him in the chaos: "I'm right behind you, master!"

Drizzle used Aura of Alacrity and Lay on Hands (10 HP to Roland). Kefkas delivered a pep talk to Kelvin — described as a "Mickey strength" speech — before Kelvin reappeared.

Combat cleared. Commoners in the market square applauded. A small child approached Othorion, stared up at him:

"Sir, that was amazing! Are you Dritz?"

Pip burst out laughing. Othorion declined to sign an autograph.

A commoner explained that plague-changed creatures were Spellplague leftovers that periodically emerged from the city's sewers — a known and recurring hazard, if an embarrassing one.

At a souvenir vendor near the square, Kavu bought a keychain. It was the closest thing to "Kabu" available at a glance. The keychain read Karen.

Roland and Othorion pulled Kavu and Haldak away before further browsing could occur.

Hall of Justice — Lord Neverember

At the main hallway of the Hall of Justice, the party was met by Sergeant Alara Thorne (graying temples, stern manner) and a young man named Coldwyn (scarred face, earnest expression). They initially laughed at the kobold claiming a letter from Lord Neverember — until shown the letter, at which point they immediately pivoted and escorted the group in.

Lord Dagult Neverember received them in the grand chamber: full plate beneath vibrant blue robes, graying temples, late sixties, commanding the room with absolute ease. The DM's summary: "Tywin Lannister, but less evil."

His opening: "Punctuality is the politeness of kings. Though I am not one."

He had already heard of the plague-changed fight.

The task: retrieve the Crown of Neverwinter from a vault beneath the ruins of Castle Never, or confirm it does not exist, before the Cloak Descendant — a former noble pretender using the crown's legend to build a rebel support base — finds it first. The Cloak Descendant's suspected hideouts are in the Black Lake District.

Key details on the crown from Neverember and from Othorion's history check:

• Last worn by a member of the House of Alagandar, the ruling family
• Not seen for half a millennium
• Considered the city's holy grail — a thing that may or may not have ever existed
• No image exists; no one alive has seen it
• Neverember himself half-believes in it: "I only half believe in it myself. If you come to me and tell me it does not exist and you have proof, that would be sufficient."
• Authenticity method: Kavu passed a written note through Sergeant Thorne asking how to verify the real crown from a fake. Neverember's reply, delivered back through Thorne without the note: "Identify." The crown is magical.

Context on Castle Never: Destroyed five years ago when terrorists — "those damn pirates" — blew it up. The Festival of Resilience is the city's annual celebration of survival and reconstruction in the face of that event. The ruins are accessible public land; reconstruction is ongoing but the vault area is not being worked on.

Neverember on a tree: Kelvin asked if any old trees or untouched natural areas remained in the city. Neverember described a wizened old tree that had stood in Castle Never's courtyard — rarely bloomed, never gave up, held on through everything. He believed it had almost certainly been destroyed in the explosion. "If there were such a plant that would meet your requirements, that would be it. I do not know if you'll find it. I apologize."

Neverember on Othorion's murder charge: Kavu asked about Throa Taerl's daughter's killing. Neverember said the perpetrator was "one of Jarlaxle's nephews or kin — Oreo, or Olulio, or something along those lines." The party did not react to the description.

Reward offered:

• Phandalin recognised as either a duchy/barony within Neverwinter territory, or a vassal arrangement with a 7% annual tithe on mined resources and magical items
• Neverember knows Sildar Hallwinter serves as mayor
• DMV fast-track access offered as a sweetener

The party's private reaction to the vassal offer was not enthusiastic. "Your reward is you become my slave." / "We're gonna be like — exactly the opposite of what this fucking town wants."

Neverember's fallback offer: If the party has difficulty, he will put them in touch with Undercity contacts — people who, though "low, have not outlived their usefulness." Sergeant Thorne can relay any message.

The meeting ended with Neverember's farewell: "Enjoy the City of Splendors, the Jewel of the North, gentlemen."

House of Knowledge — Multiple Threads

The party proceeded to the House of Knowledge. The visit split into two concurrent scenes.

Kavu and Brother Marklin — Compass of Embers and Forge Wardens Rings

Kavu returned to the compass (Keterion/navigational magic) wing and found Brother Marklin working there.

Brother Marklin had been busy on Kavu's behalf:

Forge Wardens sigil rings: Six platinum rings (2 platinum each = 12 platinum total = 120 gold) had been commissioned at the House of Knowledge's expense in exchange for keeping an extra set in the library's records. Brother Marklin had a detailed sketch of the ring already made, drawn from memory of the last time Kavu showed him. Kavu paid 120 gold.

The six rings are not magical — they serve as material components and symbols of office.

Compass of Embers: The House of Knowledge has no record of any such item in their entire repository. Brother Marklin's assessment: "You are the first to record it. You have gone from a consumer of knowledge to a creator of knowledge." Both Kavu and Kelvin were granted free access to the entire library's collection in exchange for providing real-time information as they discover new things about their respective mysteries. Brother Marklin would cross-reference anything they provide and send back relevant information.

The name Compass of Embers was likely obtained from a partial Identify spell that then catastrophically failed — the spell gave the item's name before the item resisted further inquiry. Brother Marklin found this deeply amusing. Othorion was also present and found it deeply amusing.

Kelvin and Roland — The Name Collar Experiment

In the same visit, Kelvin decided to experiment with the fey collar — the dog collar with his name on it, given by Roland the Fox, which allows others to know and remember his name.

He took it off. Nothing happened while he held it. He then set it on a table and lifted his fingers.

The collar vanished the moment it lost contact with him.

Nobody in the room could remember his name.

The Titania letter: Kelvin checked his pocket for the letter from Titania's messenger that had been carried since B03. He could still feel it, but when he pulled it out and tried to read it, he could not — it had been addressed to "Kelvin," and he was no longer Kelvin. When Brother Marklin took the letter to read it on his behalf, the letter flash-paper immolated in his hands the moment he began to comprehend it.

Both the collar and the letter were gone.

Kelvin and Roland — Fae Section: Spriggle Spindlefizz

Roland navigated them to the Fae section (sixth hallway, letter F, subsection F-E for Fae). The section had no visible attendant — just a flickering light inside the bookshelves.

A tiny head poked around a book spine. Spriggle Spindlefizz — a frizzle-haired fairy, Cantega of the Fae Faction in the House of Knowledge — announced herself and inquired about their names. Her section, she explained, is organised not alphabetically but "by vibe."

"The way you figure out where things are is the same way you figure out how to deal with one of these fae objects. Follow your heart, Dingus."

She was holding a package that had been delivered to the library 172 years ago, addressed to someone named Kelvin from Roland the Fox. Kelvin took it.

Inside: a new collar with Kelvin on it, and a parchment note. The note read:

"Thank you for another 172 years. Roland the Fox."

The DM then read the original letter from Roland the Fox (from a prior arc session), which the table had largely forgotten:

"Calvin, thank you for the use of your name. The decades I've had with it were wonderful. I have spread it far and wide and it has had much to do and many now speak of it upon their lips in hushed tones of wonder, anger, jealousy, and vengeance. The name has truly had a wonderful and full life. I have returned it after such a short time at the behest of my Queen Mother Titania. In return, she commands you to assist your friend Dothorian in restoring his memory so that he can fulfill his destiny and become all that he is meant to be. Signed, Roland, Summer Prince of the Court."

The fine print: the name was only conditionally returned. By releasing the collar without having fulfilled the condition — helping Othorion recover his memory — Kelvin gave Roland the Fox another 172 years.

Kelvin put the new collar on. His name returned.

Spriggle provided a free book on Cooking with Toadstools, offered as a guide to understanding fae contracts: "They're both enigmatic... and scrupulous... and impossible to adhere to and understand." She held out her hand for payment despite having said it was free. She wanted honey.

Kelvin did not have honey. Spriggle told him to come back when he did, and to bring pizza.

"Bye, Dingus."

On the walk back to find the rest of the group, Roland said: "I was this close to abjuring that little fae." Kelvin's quiet takeaway: "Now at least I know — to have my name properly back, I have to help Othorion get his memory back."

DMV — Kelvin and Kefkas Wait

Kelvin had unresolved questions about his 32 fey children (the list now longer after the additional 172 years). He took a number at the Neverwinter DMV: currently serving 74, his ticket read 327. The queue was backed up due to Festival of Resilience preparation.

Kefkas joined him to wait.

The rest of the party continued to the River's Heart without them.

River's Heart Magic Shop — The Stone of Kalor

The River's Heart magic shop, located in the Blackwater District, looked like the wand shop from Harry Potter: clean, organised, rows and rows of boxes behind an unmanned counter.

On the counter sat a green oval stone with three eyes carved into it.

"Kettle. Black."

The voice reverberated directly in everyone's minds.

The stone identified itself as the Stone of Kalor — described as the shop's attendant. It was, it explained, an aboleth that had been turned into a stone. It had been passed from adventuring group to adventuring group for an indeterminate time. The last group had dropped it into a deep chasm to be rid of it. It was found again. It now ran the River's Heart in the absence of its gnome owner, Cheldar Brinwinkle (described as a Trandaffan gnome adventurer, who realised they would "never have to work a day in their life" with the Stone doing business).

The Stone immediately read Othorion's mind:

"Thorin Baenre, you are in significant trouble. Why is most of it missing?"

On being asked if it could surmise the cause:

"Have you attempted to get this magically resolved? Head to the nearest temple. Ask them to attempt to reverse the effects of a modified memory. If this fails, the significance is far more dire than you could even imagine. For the only thing that I can think of that would cause such memory loss to be permanent in the face of those spells would be water from the River Styx — on the first layer of Hell, Avernus."

Othorion processed this in silence.

The Stone also traded insults with Kavu on the subject of their respective appearances:

Kavu: "At least I have two eyes."
Stone: "I have three. That is not an appropriate statement to precede with 'at least.'"
Stone (later): "You look like a turd with scales."
Kavu: "You look like a turd with no scales!"
Stone: "Yes, I am a smooth, shiny turd and you are a bumpy, rough one. Which would you like to pass?"

Purchases:

The Stone beamed the shop's full catalogue directly into the party's minds ("probably not" would their heads explode, it noted). Items of note:

The vote on the Hat of Disguise was taken directly:

"He's a wanted murderer in the part we're going to." (Kavu's case for yes)
"Alleged." (Othorion)

The hat passed. Party consensus: without it, Othorion stays on the ship when they return to Luskan. He has a public bounty, a murder charge against a High Captain's daughter, and House Baenre interest — all converging in a city where Pirate Skyhold maintains a Luskan presence.

The DM also mentioned — during a session break — that Boss Loot Pack 18 contained a magic item for Kavu, which was to be added to his sheet.

NPCs Encountered

Loot / Discoveries

Threads Opened / Advanced

• Crown of Neverwinter: Neverember's task. Retrieve or disprove before the Cloak Descendant. Castle Never ruins; vault location unknown; no map. Crown is magical (authenticated via Identify). Last worn by House of Alagandar. Not seen for five centuries. Cloak Descendant holdouts in Black Lake District.
• Cloak Descendant: Unknown rebel pretender using the crown legend to rally support. Suspected presence in Black Lake District. Neverember won't use Flaming Fist due to loyalty concerns.
• Phandalin Sovereignty: Neverember's reward offer puts Phandalin in play as either a duchy within Neverwinter's orbit or a tithe-paying vassal. The party's reaction was not enthusiastic. This will need to be answered.
• Othorion's Memory — Styx Water: The Stone of Kalor's assessment — River Styx water from Avernus is the most likely cause of permanent memory loss that resists magical restoration. Recommend trying Modify Memory reversal at a temple first; if that fails, Avernus is the culprit. The implications are significant.
• Kelvin's Name — Second Loss: Kelvin released the collar and gave Roland the Fox another 172 years. Conditional restoration clause: name is only permanently his after he helps Othorion restore his memory. Spriggle now holds his file. Next visit: bring honey.
• Forge Wardens Rings: Six platinum sigil rings received. Non-magical material components and symbols. Distribution to party not resolved in session.
• Othorion's Disguise — Luskan: Hat of Disguise purchased. Return to Luskan without it was assessed as impossible given the public bounty and noble murder charge.
• DMV — Kelvin's Fey Children: Kelvin and Kefkas are in the queue (ticket 327, current number 74) to register and name the fey children. Questions accumulated from the earlier DMV visit remain open.
• Shining Knight Arms and Armor: The party planned to visit this shop but did not do so this session. Still an open stop in Neverwinter.
• Stone of Kalor: An aboleth shopkeeper in a magic shop in Blackwater District. It knows things. It has been through many parties. It insulted Kavu. It may resurface.