The party followed the blood trail of the white-haired enforcer from Critters, Creepers & Crawlers to a warehouse near a private dock in the Harbor Ward, where a smuggling operation was at work. Vogal scaled the building to scout it, and the rest of the party convinced a suspicious dock guard that he was fatally ill and that only they could cure him. He led them to the second floor, where he imploded and a serpent creature erupted from his remains. The party defeated the creature and the warehouse’s defenders and held the second floor.
Recap
The trail to the docks
It is midday on the twenty-fourth of Flamerule, 1492 DR. The party is at Critters, Creepers & Crawlers, the shop of Alice, which was ransacked by enforcers using Yuan-ti poison. The party has stabilized the animals and is ready to hunt down the perpetrators. Its clues are a key with a smiling skull, the symbol of Ifan Talro’a, and a trail of blood leading to the docks.
The party tracks the blood trail left by the white-haired enforcer down into the seedy underbelly of the Harbor Ward. The trail ends at a nondescript warehouse near a private dock.
Observation reveals a bustling smuggling operation. Workers are loading and unloading heavy crates and barrels between a ship and the warehouse.
The scout and the ruse
Vogal separates from the group, scales the building and peeks through the upper windows. He gains minor intelligence on the layout and on the presence of armed guards inside.
While Vogal is climbing, a rough-looking dock guard approaches the rest of the party, suspicious of their loitering. The party attempts to cast magic to distract him, but the spell fizzles.
Thinking quickly, they pivot to a verbal assault. They convince the guard that he is suffering from a terrible, fatal malady, one that only they, as “healers,” can cure. The guard, terrified for his health, escorts them into the second floor of the warehouse for “treatment,” which bypasses the security at the front gate.
The implosion
The party reaches the second floor. Before they can “cure” the guard, or interrogate him, he is overcome by a sudden, violent hysteria. He implodes in a shower of poisonous gore. From his remains a serpent creature erupts, a Yuan-ti abomination, and immediately attacks the party.
The sounds of combat alert the rest of the warehouse, and defenders swarm the area. It is a chaotic brawl. The warehouse workers and the serpent creature put up a stiff resistance. The party is notably hurt but puts down the immediate threats on the second floor.
The bodies of the cultists and the snake creature litter the floor. The party holds the second floor of the warehouse, and its interior contents wait to be explored.
Aftermath
- The dock guard was dead. He had transformed into a snake monster and was killed.
- The white-haired enforcer’s whereabouts were unknown. He was likely somewhere inside the warehouse.
- The party held the second floor of the warehouse, and the rest of it was unexplored.
Appendix
Present
Taenae · Vogal · Takhesis Calva · Vonara · Glade · Inete.
References
People: Alice · Ifan Talro’a
Places: Critters, Creepers & Crawlers · Harbor Ward · Yuan-ti Warehouse
Other: Yuan-ti