Waterdeep: Dragon Heist - Session XXXV

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Last Session: Session XXXIV Death & the Fugue Plane

Basics & Rundown
Out of Game Date played: 2020-12-06

Session Title:  The Vault of Dragons

In-game Date:   Mirtul 6 1583 DR

Location: Waterdeep

Player Characters: (Alphabetical order)
 * Choo-Cha (Cory)
 * Gooz (Aaron)
 * Järna (Claire)
 * Julian Bellafontaine (Matt)
 * Thola (Julianne)

Entering the Vault (Mirtul 6)
The party is guided down to the vault by Esvele Roznar who hangs back to ensure no one enters the vault after them after opening the main entrance.

They explore the main hall seeing 3 bridges above them around 60 feet up. They find two doors that open into a room to the East.

Enthralling Fresco (Mirtul 6)
Thola and Choo-Cha get enthralled by a fresco depicting Dwarves slaughtering Goblins during the first push into Undermountain (Mount Waterdeep) nearly 3000 years ago during the time of Melair. Jarna looking around the room sees there is manty old skeletonal remains who all look like they died staring at the fresco.

The party first discusses the merits of the art that devolves in a fight, splitting the party between protecting and destroying the fresco fight until Gooz Force damage chaos bolts the wall destroying the Fresco and the grip on the characters.

Bridges & Puzzles? (Mirtul 6)
The party regrouping heads up the stairs ending up in a long hall supported by three (3) pillars running the length of the hall are carved to resemble warhammers, with their square heads pressed against the floor. On the west wall bears a cracked mosaic that depicts a dwarf smith at a forge, crafting dwarves out of black metal and diamonds. A little more than halfway down the hall, a section of the western mural has broken off, forming a heap of shattered tile on the floor.

Three archways in the east wall lead to crumbling bridges that span the entrance hall and end in front of an individual adamantine door per bridge.

When Choo-Cha inspects the collapsed portion of the mural a Black Pudding appears attacking the party. The party coordinates destroying it with ease.

They cross the bridges after some damaging trial and error. The North Bridge reveals a room with a false trapdoor that was trapped to shoot flames from the Eyes of a statue of Gorm Gulthyn, the dwarven god of vigilance also known as Fire Eyes.

The Middle Bridge revealed a room with four (4) suits of rusted plate armor sans helmets, sized for a dwarf, stand in the corners of this 20-foot-high room. Each suit is draped in cobwebs. Dwarvish runes are carved into the far wall. The inscription reads, “A secret never before told will part Dumathoin's lips.”

The party goes to explore the last (south) room. The north, east, and south walls of this 20-foot-high room are adorned with dust-covered frescoes depicting dwarf smiths at work in their forges. An iron anvil sits atop a raised stone block in the middle of the floor. Both fixtures are draped in cobwebs. Julian looks around the room for a hammer to match the Anvil and finds one that can be removed from the Fresco from the south wall. After removing it, it reveals a inscription in dwarven reading. “Let hearts be lifted and battles won.”

The party gathers and Julian tests the anvil with the hammer, giving everyone temporay hitpoints. Julian, impressed, pockets the hammer and the party heads back to the middle room.

Once there they all reveal a secret about themselves, they are as follows: After the last secret is revealed a trapdoor that was seamlessly blend into the floor appears revealing a staircase that descends 120 feet into the earth.
 * Thola:
 * Julian:
 * Jarna:
 * Gooz:
 * Cho-Cha:

Barok Clanghammer & the Hoard (Mirtul 6)
As the party reaches the vault proper they see that it is lit by streams of sunlight that pour down from the ceiling, catching motes of dust in their luminous pools. Ornate columns support a thirty-foot-high vaulted ceiling, which is adorned with carvings of dwarves basking in the presence of their gods. Deep alcoves line the walls, and piled in one of them is a vast golden trove.

Out of the dusty gloom steps an aged dwarf clutching a staff carved and painted to resemble a pair of entwined dragons—one red, one gold. Despite the dwarf's age, his eyes are steady and bright. “I wasn't expecting anyone,” he says plainly. “As you can see, the place is a mess. Perhaps you should come back later, after I've tidied up a bit.” The party introduces themselves and the Dwarf introduces himself as Barok, informing the party that they have already met once before; at the Grand Opening of Spooky's.

As they ponder what to do they ask to take the gold. Barok tells the party he has been tasked with keeping it safe for Dagult Neverember, the former Open Lord of Waterdeep (who was residing in Neverwinter up until a few days ago due to the attack on the city by the Red Hexagon Trading Company. His whereabouts are unknown). Gooz tells Barok that this is the people's gold and that it should go back to the people as Dagult embezzled the gold while he was Open Lord. Barok shapeshifted into his true form, a gold dragon to attempt to frighten the party but failed to do so. Gooz's appeal to the dragon's morality worked and Barok agreed to release the gold back to the city and only to the city.

Afterwards the party starts to get into a tiff about how to split the gold up, Julian being on the side of all the gold should go to Mirt and the city and then asking for a reward, whereas Gooz favoured the opposite. At the end they settled on Julian's plan to ensure there would be no altercation with the Gold Dragon.

The End? (Epilogue)
The party left the vault to the main hall to "deal with Esvele Roznar" to find that she had already been killed by the Cult of Asmodeus. Waiting for them, none other than Willifort Crowelle, the doppleganger in the employ of the Cassalanters. After a hard fought battle of a nearly overwhelming amount of cultists, the party defeated everyone. Except Willifort who managed to slip away during the combat.

Upon leaving the party contacts Mirt immediately who help retrieve the gold hoard and store it safely back in the vaults and coffers of Waterdeep Palace. Mirt perturbed that the Cassalanters have grown more bold, now killing off Esvele a noblewoman, wishes the party to deal with them immediately as well as go to Laeral Silverhand (the current Open Lord of Waterdeep) for a summons.

The party receives a large finders fee from the city of 50,000 GP (or 10K each). Promises were made and loans have to be repaid: The City of Waterdeep converts a large swath of the Mistshore into a shipyard to shore up it's Navy in the looming attack from the North. This displaces many poor residents, who had suffered from a fire the year before, cramming more into the already crowded dock wards. These displaced poor are disproportionately non-human, and mainly Drow, causing an escalation of racial strife in a city that is preparing for war.
 * Thola: 10000 GP
 * Julian: 10000 GP
 * Jarna: 10000 GP
 * Gooz: 2000 GP to keep (3000 GP to pay off remained of Greenwater debt, 5000 GP to Zelifarn, the Gold Dragon at the bottom of the Naval Harbour)
 * Cho-Cha: 7000 GP to keep (3000 GP to pay off remained of Greenwater debt)