Push-ta quickly scaled the side of the building. He stood on the peaked roof covered in snow. He could see his quarry sixty feet away. She was partially obscured by the darkness of the rooftops and the falling snow, underlit by street lanterns and the occasional window. She moved quickly, darting around roofs and behind chimneys, leaping across alleys and landing upon the roof on the far side.
Push-ta gave chase. He moved faster than she but there was no way he could make some of those jumps. He took the long way around or stopped to find a shorter gap to cross, then picked up the trail through the snow on the far side.
He lost sight of her. She was getting away. But her trail through the snow was clear, even in the darkness. She could run, but she couldn't hide.
- Winterfrost of House Silverspear - Neutral Good Moon Elf Noble and Fighter. The daughter of elven diplomats, raised among dwarves.
- Etlenda, aka "Exile" - Neutral Good Eladrin Outlander and Paladin. Exiled from the Feywild and raised by wolves. While exploring the Feydark he crossed over into the Underdark and emerged into the Mortal World.
- Tempus Vegvisir - Lawful Good Human Trade Sheriff and Cleric of Helm. Husband and Father.
- Push-ta Tok - Neutral Half-Orc Former Smuggler and Rogue.
- Kem Hearthfire - Chaotic Good Half-Orc Former Gladiator Priestess of Gond.
Earlier That Day...
The Tiger's Eye
"Where the hell is Cuttle's Meat Pies?" asked Etlenda.
"I have no idea. We could spend all day searching the city for it." answered Push-ta.
"We could find out through the Butcher's Guild. Maybe Emmek Frewn knows someone in the Guild?" suggested Tempus.
"We're not talking to Emmek Frewn," growled Winterfrost, "I have a better idea."
A short while later they were knocking on the door of the Tiger's Eye. Vincent Trench, independent investigator and researcher, greeted them warmly, offering tea and biscuits.
Pleasantries were exchanged. Vincent was keen to know what had happened after the recent fireball across the street from his shop. Winterfrost told him much of what she knew, leaving out key details such as the Stone of Golorr. She did mention that the investigation led them to Thrakkus the butcher, who was selling human meat to local shops.
Vincent showed a keen interest in this development and seemed disappointed that Thrakkus had been killed and the situation had been resolved.
When asked about the location of Cuttle's Meat Pies, Trench smiled and said he would provide that information for free. Winterfrost protested and offered to pay for his services but Trench declined, saying that he had already obtained much information from Winterfrost by way of equal exchange. He gave directions to the pie shop in the Trade Ward.
Cuttle's Meat Pies
The snow was falling harder in the darkening sky as the Mystics of Trollskull Manor made their way to Cuttle's Meat Pies. They found the small shop in an alley in the Trade Ward. A sign hung in the window indicating that the shop was closed. They could see a woman in an apron through the front window sweeping the floor and cleaning up for the evening.
Winterfrost entered the small foyer and knocked on the door, apologizing for the interruption and asking the woman about a meat delivery she received a week previous.
The woman replied that they were closed and instructed them to come back tomorrow.
A gruff voice shouted from across the alley, "They must know the password! Get'em!"
Mistaken Identity
Five gruff and smelly bugbears poured out of a narrow passage across the alley brandishing morningstars. They charged the Mystics of Trollskull Manor.
DM- Etlenda's player asked "Are bugbears coming out of the sewer - like - a commonplace thing in Waterdeep? Should we be surprised by this?"
I replied, "It's not a common occurrence, no. But not completely unprecedented, I guess."
Push-ta stepped forward and said "There must be some mis-" but was cut off as the lead bugbrear brought its morningstar down upon him. Push-ta cursed and spun away, darting for the side of the alley away from the melee.
Etlenda and Tempus advanced to engage the bugbears. Winterfrost saw the woman inside the shop nervously closing her curtains but covertly watching the action like a nosy neighbor. Winterfrost left the foyer and likewise engaged the bugbears.
Three of the bugbears were killed or knocked unconscious. Winterfrost sent a stream of caustic acid towards the remaining two, badly damaging the face of the second.
The pair of bugbears made their escape, retreating towards the side passage. Winterfrost threw a bolt of lightning around the other bugbear like a lasso and reeled him back. The others grabbed the bugbear and restrained him for questioning. The bugbear with the face burned by acid escaped down a wastewater drainage grate at the end of the passage.
The bugbear refused to give up any secrets but revealed enough that the Mystics realized that he and the other bugbears were working for "the Guild" - which they understood to be Xanathar's Guild - and that the bugbears thought the Mystics were members of the Zhentarim Syndicate. The bugbears were trying to rescue a hostage being held by the Zhentarim in one of the houses in this alley - a house with no windows that only allowed entry to those with the right password. Unfortunately, the bugbears mistook the entrance to Cuttle's Meat Pies as the entrance to the Zhentarim house and assumed the Mystics knew the password.
Satisfied with the bugbear's answers, the Mystics of Trollskull Manor let him go. The bugbear escaped down the wastewater grate to join his companion.
Winterfrost returned to the entrance of Cuttle's Meat Pies. The curtains were drawn but she could see the the baker hiding within. Winterfrost tried to get her to come out. The woman inside replied in a heavily accented Luskan dialect, "No way! I don't want no trouble!"
DM - I described Sora Cuttle as looking like Lizzie from the recent season of British Baking Show, saying she was "a Wallace and Grommit character come to life!"
Winterfrost assured the woman that it was safe and that they simply wanted to ask her some questions.The woman cautiously exited the shop. She said her name was Sora Cuttle. When asked about the meat deliveries, she said she received the last delivery a ten-day ago and that meat deliveries were uncommon in the winter. When asked if there was anything strange about the delivery, she said that it stopped at the house next door first - the one with the bricked up windows and no obvious entrance - before bringing the rest of the meat to her.
Etlenda told her that there would be no more meat deliveries from that supplier and that she needed to dispose of all the meat she obtained from there - it was dangerous! She agreed.
The Safe House
It was now dark and the snow was falling harder than ever.
The Mystics examined the house next door. Its windows were bricked up. They carefully made their way around the narrow gap separating the house from its farther neighbor. As Winterfrost squeezed past into narrow side-alley behond, she saw a plain door made of thick wood reinforced with iron bands. The door was slightly open. A wiry man with a scruffy chin watched a woman climbing the three-story walls towards the roof of Cuttle's Meat Pies. The man turned and spoke to someone inside the house, "There she goes. Right on time." He noticed Winterfrost in the side-alley and his eyes grew wide, "Shit! The Guild bastards are back! Get ready!"
He tried to close the door but Winterfrost rushed in, kicking the door wide. Inside was a sparse room with two chairs and a small plain table, a closed door led to an adjacent room and a fireplace kept this area warm. The wiry man at the door drew his rapier. The larger man inside picked up a heavy mace.
Winterfrost engaged them in battle. Etlenda grabbed Tempus and teleported, appearing in a puff of silvery mist inside the room behind the larger man with the mace.
Push-ta left the others and gave chase to the woman on the rooftop.
The big man was quickly knocked unconscious. The wiry man kicked Winterfrost in the chest, knocking her back against the open door, and darted past her into the side alley. Winterfrost gave chase and knocked him unconscious with her magical hammer. Winterfrost dragged him back into the house and both the wiry man and the heavy set man were tied to their chairs. Both men were tattooed with the flying snake - symbol of their affiliation with the Zhentarim.
Ott Steeltoes
The room beyond the door was likewise spartan with only a single chair, in which was tied an elderly Shield Dwarf. The dwarf was blindfolded. He wore thick steel-toed boots and on his head was a strange skull cap from which dangled multiple tassels like a jester's hat. Bells dangled from the tip of each tassel.
The dwarf stared around blindly, "Oh! There's been an altercation? Have my brothers in the Guild come to rescue me?"
The dwarf's blindfold was removed. Etlenda and Tempus conducted a quick interview. They determined that the dwarf's name was Ott Steeltoes. When Ott realized that the Mystics of Trollskull Alley were not affiliated with "the Guild", he refused to answer any additional questions. One thing that was obvious - the old dwarf was insane.
Given the contextual clues, the Mystics deduced that Ott worked for the Xanathar's Guild and that he was being held hostage by the Zhentarim. Ott had no knowledge of the Stone of Golorr.
They could hear more bugbears crawling out of the grate in the alley so they decided not to wait for the Zhentarim thugs to regain consciousness. They exited the safe house and climbed the building to follow Push-ta on the roof. Push-ta and the woman he was chasing now had at least two or three minutes head-start.
Rooftop Chase
Push-ta quickly scaled the side of the building. He stood on the peaked roof covered in snow. He could see his quarry sixty feet away. She was partially obscured by the darkness of the rooftops and the falling snow, underlit by street lanterns and the occasional window. She moved quickly, darting around roofs and behind chimneys, leaping across alleys and landing upon the roof on the far side.
Push-ta gave chase. He moved faster than she but there was no way he could make some of those jumps. He took the long way around or stopped to find a shorter gap to cross, then picked up the trail through the snow on the far side.
He lost sight of her. She was getting away. But her trail through the snow was clear, even in the darkness. She could run, but she couldn't hide.
The Blood Wedding
Push-ta followed the tracks in the snow to a ladder. He saw the woman across the street below, entering a theater through the front door with a handfull of other attendees. The marquee was titled "The Blood Wedding". The show would be starting soon.
Push-ta climbed off the building and crossed the street. He quietly slipped in one of the front doors. The lobby was nearly empty as the last attendees were entering the theater to take their seats. The ghost of a well-dressed man hovered in the lobby, greeting other attendees. Well that was - odd.
The woman was nowhere to be seen. She must have entered the theater.
Push-ta moved quickly and silently, slipping past the ghost and the ticket booth unnoticed. He stood at the rear of the theater, scanning the room.
The theater audience sat in terraced bench seats that descended towards the stage. A quartet played music on the stage but the curtain was otherwise down. He saw the woman, her winter cloak folded at her side, sitting in a middle row towards the far end of the theater.
Push-ta waved his hand over his face, casting an illusion to make himself resemble Floon, the professional escort they had rescued a few weeks ago. He approached the woman and sat down next to her.
She turned and smiled, "Floon? I wasn't expecting to see you here. How are you?" She was fooled.
Push-ta answered her question but he realized too late that only his appearance was changed - his voice was still that of a gruff half-orc smuggler.
The woman saw through the ruse and cursed. She grabbed her cloak and made her escape towards the exit at the right of the theater. Push-ta gave chase.
Oh No You Don't!
Push-ta caught up to her in the exit hallway. He grabbed her arm.
The woman glared at him. She twisted and ducked under his arm, causing it to twist. Push-ta lost his grip and she escaped.
She moved towards the lobby. Push-ta grabbed her again. Once more she turned and twisted and escaped his grasp.
This continued for nearly a minute as Push-ta would grab her and pull her back away from the lobby only to have her escape and move towards the lobby. With each grab, the woman's expression turned from annoyance to playful competition. She smiled wryly and her eyes began to twinkle. So too did Push-ta. He couldn't help but be impressed by her acrobatic dexterity!
She eventually made it into the lobby on her way towards the front door. The ghost in the lobby turned and noticed her hurried escape just as Push-ta caught her. The woman appealed to the ghost for help!
The ghost said, "Now see here! This will not do!"
Push-ta grimaced and dragged the woman outside through the front door and into the snowy night air of the street.
Caught!
Push-ta dragged the woman out into street just in time for his companions to arrive and help. They each rushed up and tried to grab the woman and hold her down but she was simply too flexible!
Etlenda became frustrated and drew his sword, striking her with the flat of his blade. She rubbed her arm in pain but smiled. She fled back into the lobby.
The others gave chase and eventually managed to hold her down and tie her legs and wrists. Still she struggled but she could not wriggle free.
Push-ta used an invisible magic hand spell to quickly root through her pockets. They came up empty.
"Shit! She doesn't have the stone!"
Once again the ghost intervened, "Now look here! This is a theater! I will not allow street violence to interfere with the performance!"
Tempus showed his road warden's badge, "I am a road warden charged with eliminating smuggling. I believe this woman is responsible for smuggling something into your theater and subsequently transferring it to someone within your theater! May we search and potentially interview the members of your audience?"
DM - Tempus rolled pretty good on his Persuasion check.
"No you may not! Nothing will interrupt the performance!"
Tempus thought about this, "There's a way I can find what I'm looking for discretely without interrupting the performance. May I and my associate here enter? No one will even notice?"
"Very well!"
Etelanda and Push-ta escorted the woman out of the lobby and onto the street for interrogation.
Tempus cast a spell to detect magic and he and Winterfrost quietly entered the theater. Winterfrost quietly moved to the far side of the theater by the exit. Tempus moved down the aisle to the front then crossed over. The only magic he detected was from the instrumentalists on the side of the stage.
A woman stood up from the back row and grabbed Winterfrost's shoulder, firmly but not violently, "Winterfrost, dear, you think you are being discrete but your intrusion is disrupting the performance. Allow me to escort you back to the lobby."
The woman was a sun-elf dressed in fine evening wear. Winterfrost recognized her immediately - Remallia Haventree. She had never met the Lady of Ulbrinter Villa but knew her by reputation. She was the leader of the group known as the Harpers.
Lady Haventree
As Winterfrost was a daughter of elven trade diplomats, Lady Haventree recognized Winterfrost as well. She asked Winterfrost and Tempus what they were doing. Winterfrost replied that they were searching for members of the audience to whom a woman may have handed a stone.
Lady Haventree said she saw a woman named Vevette Blackwater sit next to a man, pass him something, then leave being chased by that idiot Floon for some reason. She only noticed because the man with whom the woman spoke was under her surveillance.
That man was named Agorn Fuoco and she suspected him of being a high level agent of the Zhentarim Syndicate - specifically working for a faction led by a renegade named Manshoon. She was hoping to learn the identity of his upper level contacts. Vevette was a known member of Manshoon's faction but was lower ranking than Agorn, so she was ignored.
Soon after the handoff, Agorn got up with his companion, a priestess unaffiliated with the Zhentarim as far as she knew, and left the play. Agorn was visibly moved by the performance, wiping away tears.
She watched Agorn and his companion leave out a small side exit. She peeked out the door and saw them board a coach and leave.
She told Winterfrost that Agorn Fuoco was an aspiring bard who was rejected from the Harpers for his questionable morals. He lived and played music in the neighborhood known as Mistshore.
She confirmed that the woman in custody was Vevette Blackwater the woman who delivered the small package to Agorn. Vevette worked for the Zhentarim, specifically for a renegade faction under the leadership of someone calling himself Manshoon trying to take control of the syndicate from the Doom Riders.
Winterfrost thanked Lady Haventree for the information. Lady Haventree insisted that Winterfrost attend one of her balls sometime soon. Winterfrost agreed.
Vevette Blackwater
Outside in the cold night, Push-ta and Etlenda were interrogating the woman they had captured.
"What did you do with the stone?" demanded Push-ta.
"Oh, its long gone by now," she smiled, "and you'll never find it."
"Who are you working for?" he asked.
The woman smiled, "Why Push-ta, you and I work for the same team!" she grinned.
Push-ta looked at Etlenda aghast, "Uh, I- I don't know what you're talking about."
"Oh, I see that your little friends here don't know so don't worry, mum's the word. Yes, I know who you are. Your recent work has gotten you noticed by the higher ups. There's a lot of talk about you. I'll just say that while we work for the same team, you and I work for different masters. The old leaders are washed up. Pretty soon they won't mean anything and the new guy - the boss I answer to - will be in charge."
"Why would you work for him?"
"Why else? The money! The power! Pretty soon we'll have the treasure we'll be the most powerful faction in Waterdeep! You're working for the wrong side, Push-ta. You should come work for us. You and I would make a great team. I think it would be a lot of fun!" She winked.
Tempus and Winterfrost returned. Tempus said, "We know who has the stone. Some guy named Agorn Fuoco. He lives in Mistshore. We also know her name - it's Vevette Blackwater. She works for the Zhentarim."
Vevette grimaced as her aura of mystery was undercut by cold hard facts.
"What should we do with her?" asked Push-ta, nervously. He had actually come to like Vevette and didn't want to see her get hurt.
Winterfrost suggested, maliciously, "I can take care of her."
Tempus glared at the elf, "Winterfrost! No!"
Winterfrost helf up her hands, "Just kidding! I wouldn't do that! I just wanted to scare her."
"We'll set you free," said Etlenda, "but I want you to remember what we did for you."
They cut her loose. Vevette backed away, slowly, while rubbing her newly unbound wrists. She looked at Push-ta, "Bye bye, lover boy." She smiled before turning and running, disappearing into the night.
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