Mission 1B - The Acolyte's Hideout

The plan

We put together a plan to do some recon.
We filter into the bathhouse one at a time, spread out over some 30-45 minutes.

The Trip

We hear a lot of speculation about the fate of Elturel on our short jaunt to the split up point.

The Recon

The Bathhouse is a large stucco building with a clay-tiled roof with a courtyard.
Iliran Tilorri - Mike goes first. Baktha Tassup - Ryan follows shortly behind.
Thomus - Thomas visits one of the massage rooms, receiving a massage from the therapist Qurmilah, who tells Thomus - Thomas that the faucet draws warm water from some sort of elaborate pipe system under the building. He notices a false wall in the massage room.

There are half a dozen common folk bathing in the shallow pools inside, but no attendant in sight.
Salah Secumber - Hal visitz Jabaz in the other massage chamber.

The Docks

We depart the bath house with a plan to come back after dark. We head to the docks to check out the Uncivil Serpent.

Iliran Tilorri - Mike offers to have his father outfit the ship and sail it under his banners in exchange for donating the ship when we are done with it.

The Infiltration

As the inky cloak of night descended, we returned to the imposing bathhosue, seeking a clandestine entry. Our path led us to a secluded window at the rear of the structure, where the agile Iliran Tilorri - Mike ascended with the aid of a boost and skillfully pried open the window. Alas, just as he cast down the rope, our presence was discovered!

Three figures, garbed in crimson robes as dark as the abyss itself, materialized from the shadows and converged upon Iliran Tilorri - Mike. Their blades flashed, inflicting grievous wounds upon him thrice, but with a clap of his hands and a resounding boom, he unleashed a thunderous wave, hurling one assailant back through the doorway and into the watery bath beyond. The remaining two were dashed against the unforgiving stone walls, collapsing in a crumpled heap.

With haste, I ascended the rope, my heart pounding in my chest. "Are they vanquished?" I inquired of Iliran Tilorri - Mike, before inadvertently striking one of his wounds in my exuberance.

The fallen foe before me stirred, attempting to rise, but my blade descended in a swift arc, cleaving his skull in twain. Two more adversaries surged through the doorway, their weapons aimed at Iliran Tilorri - Mike and myself. A dagger found its mark, burying itself deep in Iliran's breast, while the second assailant's eyes flickered with an eerie green luminescence as he unleashed a beam of stygian energy, narrowly missing me. Later, I would learn that this was a malevolent spell of necromantic power.

But hope was not lost! Thomus - Thomas and Baktha Tassup - Ryan burst into the fray, followed by the valiant Salah Secumber - Hal, who launched himself from the window ledge, tackling one of the attackers to the ground.

Enraged by the necromancer's assault, I charged towards him, intending to hurl him into the awaiting pool. Yet, he stood firm as an ironclad bastion, unyielding to my efforts. Undeterred, I unsheathed my shortsword, its keen edge slicing through his throat, silencing his dark incantations. Thomus - Thomas dispatched the remaining straggler, and we claimed the spoils of victory from the lifeless forms of our enemies.

The Dungeon

Descending into the subterranean depths, we found ourselves wading through frigid waters that lapped at our knees. The air hung heavy with the oppressive weight of dampness and decay. Amidst this somber scene, a hidden passageway beckoned, promising secrets long forgotten.

Venturing forth, we stumbled upon a chamber, its silence broken only by the gentle lapping of water against the stone walls. There, floating amidst the murky depths, lay a bloated corpse, its pallid flesh bearing the grim testament of a demise some two days past. The sight was a stark reminder of the ephemeral nature of life, a chilling memento mori in the heart of the flooded basement.

An eastward passageway led us to a chamber of grim spectacle. A sacrificial altar, slick with blood and viscera, dominated the space, crowned with a human skull contorted in an unnatural grimace of perpetual agony. A palpable sense of dread clung to the air, whispering of dark rituals and unspeakable sacrifices.

Just south, an alcove displayed a large tapestry woven with a chilling scene: four faceless figures engaged in the brutal dismemberment of a fifth. With an ill-fated touch, Salah Secumber - Hal unleashed the tapestry's hidden curse. It erupted in a cloud of noxious yellow spores, inflicting him with a debilitating poison that wracked his body with agonizing pain.

The path, rising from the stagnant water, culminated in an octagonal chamber, three imposing doors set into its walls. Each door bore the image of a deity: Bhaal, the Lord of Murder, leered from the north; Bane, the Black Hand, scowled from the east; and Myrkul, the Lord of Bones, gazed with hollow eyes from the south.

With a boldness that bordered on recklessness, Baktha Tassup - Ryan threw open the north door, revealing a passage that looped back to the entrance. Ira Ferox - Josh, drawn by the dark allure of Bane, opened the eastern door. Beyond lay a long hallway, punctuated by short flights of stairs, that snaked its way to a small, waterlogged chamber before curving southward. Meanwhile, Thomus - Thomas, ever the curious one, unsealed the southern door.

Within, three robed figures lay in a triangular formation, a single torch flickering between them. As Thomus - Thomas intruded upon their slumber, one of the figures stirred, fixing him with a malevolent glare. With characteristic impulsiveness, Salah Secumber - Hal charged into the fray, his weapon crushing the skull of one of the figures before it could even rise. Iliran Tilorri - Mike unleashed a fiery bolt, rousing the remaining two figures who sprang to their feet, lashing out at Salah Secumber - Hal. But Salah, with the agility of a seasoned warrior, evaded their clumsy attacks, turning their aggression against them. He swiftly dispatched another, while Iliran Tilorri - Mike weakened the last with scorching magic. Baktha Tassup - Ryan, eager to join the fight, accidentally singed his own eyebrows in his haste to contribute. Finally, Thomus - Thomas finished the last cultist with a well-aimed firebolt.

Beyond the chamber of slumbering cultists, we discovered a looted sarcophagus, its contents scattered. Within lay three leather-bound spellbooks: a crimson tome containing spells of fire and illusion; a brown book, marked with a personal rune, filled with enchantments and arcane utility; and a third, bound in black scales, brimming with spells of darkness and shadow.

Returning to the eastern path, we arrived at a flooded chamber. Ascending a short flight of stairs, we were met with a gruesome sight: a battered elf, bound in chains, was being tormented by two sinister figures. A woman clad in chainmail, wielding a wooden shield, and a hulking brute in a plate helm and chain shirt stood over him, their faces contorted in cruel delight.

The battle that ensued was a whirlwind of steel and magic. Salah Secumber - Hal launched a guiding bolt at the brute, but his aim was off. Iliran Tilorri - Mike scored a glancing blow with a firebolt. The woman, who we later learned was called The Fist of Bane, spun around and swung wildly at Baktha Tassup - Ryan, missing her mark. Ira Ferox - Josh landed a glancing blow with his shortsword, but his second swing went wide. The brute, known as The Iron Consult, roared with monstrous fury, provoking The Fist of Bane to attack again.

We traded blows with the torturers, a chaotic dance of death in the confined space. Finally, Baktha Tassup - Ryan struck a fatal blow, ending the reign of The Fist of Bane. After a fierce exchange, Salah Secumber - Hal landed the killing blow on The Iron Consult, freeing the tormented elf from his suffering.

Our attention was drawn to a suit of armor in the chamber, its gauntlets etched with arcane inscriptions. A burlap sack lay hidden behind its legs. Upon closer inspection, the gauntlets pulsed with magical energy, an enchantment of animation clinging to them. With a touch, Iliran Tilorri - Mike unwittingly activated the gauntlets, which detached from the armor and launched a furious assault.

The animated gauntlets proved to be formidable foes, delivering a sound thrashing before we finally managed to destroy them. We licked our wounds, nursing our bruises and battered pride. Unfortunately, the animated gauntlets had managed to knock Iliran Tilorri - Mike unconscious before their demise.

We sought respite in the chamber concealed behind Myrkul's forbidding visage, the silence of the tomb offering a brief reprieve from the perils we had faced. Yet, as our weary bodies sought solace, the tranquility was shattered by the ominous echo of approaching footsteps and hushed voices. A sense of foreboding gripped us, and we hastily prepared an ambush, steeling ourselves for the inevitable confrontation.

The heavy door creaked open, revealing a trio of crimson-clad acolytes, their skeletal flails gripped tightly in their bony hands. Their eyes widened in surprise at the sight of us, their plans clearly disrupted.

With the fury of cornered wolves, we fell upon them. Two of the acolytes were swiftly dispatched, their lifeless forms crumpling to the cold stone floor. But the third, fueled by fear and desperation, fled back into the labyrinthine depths, seeking reinforcements.

Driven by a thirst for vengeance, we gave chase, our pursuit leading us to a hidden chamber where a necromancer was engaged in a dark ritual. Her incantations filled the air with an unholy energy as a swarm of rats surged around her, their beady eyes gleaming with malevolence.

We launched a furious assault, our weapons flashing in the dim light. But the necromancer, with a malevolent cackle, unleashed a devastating fireball, engulfing most of ==Umbra Contundens== in a searing inferno. Despite our wounds, we pressed on, finally vanquishing the necromancer and scattering her rodent minions.

As the echoes of battle faded, we discovered a pad lock and a key tangled in her hair, intertwined with arcane symbols. With a turn of the key, the lock unfurled, releasing a plume of smoke that coalesced into a spectral skull. It hovered above us, its hollow sockets fixed upon each member of our party, its silent laughter echoing through the chamber. All except for Ira Ferox - Josh, who, with prudent foresight, had remained guarding the passageway, were subjected to the skull's chilling scrutiny.

The hallway snakes onward, leading us to an altar of macabre design, a wicked testament of sacrifice, adorned with skulls and bones -- the skeletal remains of countless victims. Skulls leer from the mound, a chilling testament to the countless sacrifices performed upon this unholy site. Iliran Tilorri - Mike hesitates, then reaches out and ignites a brazier perched upon the altar. In an instant, a chain reaction ignites, each brazier along the altar flickering to life with an eerie glow, casting dancing shadows that reveal an inscription upon the wall: "Rise and be counted." The ignition leaves behind an acrid, emerald smoke, its tendrils clinging to the air, a noxious, lingering fog that stings our throats.

Salah Secumber - Hal, with a voice that resonates with the weight of the words, reads the inscription aloud. Before his final syllable fades, the bone piles scattered upon the altar stir and coalesce, assembling themselves into three animated skeletons. These skeletal constructs seem bound to his will, thralls awaiting his every command, their bony fingers twitching with anticipation.

Rounding the next bend, we encounter another flooded chamber, this one reeking with the pungent fumes of methane and sulfur. The air crackled with an unseen energy, a palpable tension hanging heavy in the oppressive atmosphere. With a reckless abandon that would soon prove costly, Thomus - Thomas launches a firebolt into the room. The chamber erupts in a blinding flash of fire, the volatile gases igniting with explosive force. Thomus - Thomas and Iliran Tilorri - Mike are knocked unconscious, their bodies flung back by the blast, while Baktha Tassup - Ryan sustains grievous injuries.

After a brief respite, we press onward, shaken by the explosion. A long hallway stretches before us, punctuated by a series of smaller corridors branching off on either side. Some are choked with rubble, while others remained open, their secrets veiled by closed doors. Baktha Tassup - Ryan, already moving, ventures into the second uncollapsed hallway on the right. Within, he discovers a stone vault, a solitary skeleton resting upon its raised base. His keen eyes detect a false bottom, and with a powerful blow, he shatters the illusion, revealing a hidden compartment. Inside, submerged in a briny red liquid, lies a mummy with moonstones gleaming in its empty sockets, and a bag of beans stuffed down its gullet.

The next two doors we investigate are in varying states of decay, their interiors yielding nothing of note. Salah Secumber - Hal commands one of his skeletons to unbar another door, revealing six ravenous zombies that lunge forth in a frenzied attack. Salah Secumber - Hal stumbles back, fleeing through the far door into a scene of unspeakable horror. Blood smears every surface, both dried and glistening. Two bodies, riddled with gashes, hang shackled to the wall. A cat-o'-nine-tails and a bucket of salt lay discarded upon the floor, both implements of torture and silent witnesses to the brutality.

Ira Ferox - Josh steps forward, cleaving one of the zombies in two with a mighty blow. We quickly reform our ranks in the hallway establishing a killbox just beyond the zombie-infested doorway. They pour through, one by one, meeting their demise in a gruesome ballet of bludgeoning blows, sickening slices, swift shafts, and searing sorcery.

The room (and now the hallway) reeks of death. An open stone sarcophagus rests against the far wall, its lid shattered and strewn about the floor. Cannibalistic imagery decorates the chamber.

Back in the torture chamber, Salah Secumber - Hal discovers a Tiefling captive (Vendetta Cress, teetering on the precipice of death. With a touch of healing magic, he restores them to a semblance of vitality, granting them 8 precious hit points.

We discovered Vendetta Cress, a distributor of fine wines and spirits for establishments under the patronage of the esteemed Oathoon Family. She had been subjected to the horrors of this dungeon, her mind reeling from the trauma of torture. Sadly, her ordeal had left her with little of value to impart.

Seeking to recover our strength, we retreated to a previously cleared chamber and invoked the restorative power of a long rest. With renewed vigor, we escorted the shaken Vendetta Cress back to the streets, before venturing once more into the depths of the dungeon.

Beyond the grim torture chamber, a set of stairs descended further into the earth. We followed their path, arriving at a fork in the road, where a single door lay to the south, and two more beckoned to the east.

Behind the second eastern door, four armored figures lay slumbering. With the stealth of a phantom, Ira Ferox - Josh slipped into the room, his blade finding its mark in the throat of one sleeping guard. As he moved to silence the next, the clang of armor roused the remaining three. A brutal clash ensued, Ira Ferox - Josh quickly eviscerating a second foe, and after a fierce struggle, we vanquished the remaining two.

In the final room, a sarcophagus overflowed with blood, a macabre tableau. As Salah Secumber - Hal stepped within, a frail old woman materialized from behind the morbid container.

"Thank goodness, you're here! My heroes!" she exclaimed.

Salah Secumber - Hal , ever cautious, announced his intent to detect evil, assuring her no offense was meant. In response, the woman's guise dissolved, revealing a malicious entity. She launched a swift attack, soaring over the sarcophagus and inflicting grievous wounds upon Salah Secumber - Hal before vanishing into invisibility.

I stepped forward, my senses straining to locate the unseen foe. A flurry of attacks found their mark, but she retaliated with an enchantment, compelling me to become her protector. My loyalty twisted, I turned my blade against Baktha Tassup - Ryan. Iliran Tilorri - Mike unleashed a thunderous wave, shattering the enchantment and slaying the sorceress, though both Baktha Tassup - Ryan and I suffered further injuries. We retreated to lick our wounds and find a place of safety to rest.

During Baktha Tassup - Ryan's watch, a thunderous commotion echoed through the hallway. A large, ogre-like creature, dragging a massive bat, thundered past, its passage shaking the very foundations of the dungeon. Risen by the disturbance, we followed shortly behind to see where he was headed.

Behind a hidden door, a flooded hallway stretched into the darkness. A distant commotion hinted at activity further within. The door to the east appeared empty, but as Baktha Tassup - Ryan stepped inside to investigate, four skeletons arose from the water, their bones bleached white, as if cleansed by acid. They surrounded him, delivering a vicious blow. I rushed to his aid, smashing one of the skeletal warriors, while Iliran Tilorri - Mike unleashed another thunderwave, shattering three more. Thomus - Thomas dispatched the last.

We continued towards the source of the commotion, passing doused torches that floated eerily in the water. At the hallway's end, we witnessed a brutal struggle atop a mound of corpses. A hulking figure, scarred and wielding a massive club, clashed with a shirtless warrior, his head a skull, his weapons twin scimitars.

The club-wielding giant was revealed to be Mortlock Vanthampur. The skull-headed warrior fled into the darkness.

Mortlock Vanthampur revealed the dark truth: his family was paying the Dead Three cultists to murder citizens, seeking to undermine the The Flaming Fist and pave the way for Thalamra Vanthampur to seize control of the The Council of Four before Baldur's Gate succumbed to infernal forces. He claimed his brothers had hired the cultists to assassinate him.

He also provided further information. Amrik Vanthampur, proprietor of The Low Lantern, made regular payments to the cultists. Thurstwell Vanthampur employed imps as spies throughout the city, surveilling the bathhouse and likely aware of our presence, though his sickly nature kept him confined to Thalamra Vanthampur's estate.

Pursuing the fleeing cultist leader, we entered a chamber dominated by colossal wooden statues of the Dead Three. A fierce melee erupted, the cultist leader proving a formidable foe.

He felled Baktha Tassup - Ryan, but we pressed our attack, Salah Secumber - Hal striking with a guiding bolt. After a brutal exchange, we emerged victorious.

We meticulously scoured the compound, searching for hidden treasures. Our efforts yielded a modest haul of gold, gems, and jewelry.

As we exited the bathhouse, we were confronted by cultists of Tiamat. Their leader, Ultus, declared our doom, and they launched a vicious assault.

We swiftly dispatched the cultists, our blades and spells cutting through their ranks with ease. We then made our way back to the sanctuary of The Uncivil Serpent.

With the grim tidings imparted by Mortlock Vanthampur, we set our sights on The Low Lantern, knowing that the treacherous Amrik Vanthampur lurked within. But first, we took the opportunity to convert some of our hard-won spoils into coin, visiting various merchants and traders to barter for a fair price.

Our duties to the city not yet fulfilled, we sought out Darmin Zodge (Captain) to report the successful completion of our mission within the depths of the bathhouse dungeon. The captain, grim-faced but satisfied, acknowledged our service and laid out our next task: the elimination of Amrik Vanthampur. The web of corruption woven by the Vanthampur family ran deep, and we were tasked with severing another thread.

Mission 2 - Eliminate Amrik Vanthampur