It's been over five years since your first foray into the catacombs beneath Neverwinter to discover a cult that worshipped Vecna. You've long since used up your 'gift' from the lich's apparition but have felt, at times, a presence watching you. Usually at key moments. Now, you find yourself back in Neverwinter, personally summoned by Lord Dagult Neverember to his modest villa.

Your group meets at the Silver Dragon Inn, an agreed upon rendezvous prior to meeting with Lord Neverember. You enter singly or in small groups and sit around a single large table in a back room. You no longer have to share space in a crowded common room - you are now well-regarded adventurers! Please (re)introduce yourselves and describe how the years have changed you.

Well as they say, a girl's gotta eat, right? So really needless to say (but we're gonna say it anyway) Zyl's kept herself busy with mundane jobs, contracting herself out for small time gigs, escorting prisoners, a bouncer at a higher end cabaret once (she -does- smell like fresh brownies all the time so that helped a lot there honestly) and similar type bits. She's surely wandered around a bit with her former allies, keeping up to date with what they've been doing, perhaps joined for a few jobs here and there, but she has also spend some time exploring her own path, practicing harnessing more of the giant power. This ironically came in handy when she finally decided to go home again to tell her family what she had accomplished so far, in the hopes that they might accept her calling, only to find out someone had reeeeeeally ticked off some giants from the nearby hills. Using her newfound powers she stood between her home and the few angry men, going toe to toe with them before they finally relented in a fit of laughter at how such a little fairy could be so big and strong. Well all's well that ends well, as they say, and as a thank you for both reconciling the issue (she really thought everyone knew not to take a giant's food) and putting up such a good fight, they gifted her an amulet of health, to ensure her constitution was always as strong as her heart. She picked up a couple other things over the years, but the most recent of which is an airship, which she still has yet to name properly, or even used, but she's quite excited about the possibility of really flying all over the place (you know, despite having wings herself). 

And so the cute long brown haired, hazel eyed fairy made her way to the Silver Dragon taking the summons seriously even after all this time. She mild scent of fresh brownies preceded her as she stowed her axe on her back and opened the inn door, ready to (re)meet her allies and perhaps more, adjusting her simple leather clothing (armor would be too much of a stretch) before toddling in and finding a seat for herself.

(Anyone else feel free to add yourself to any of her adventures or include her in yours!)

Backstory (pre oneshot): 

After stopping the cult of Vecna, Davis remained in the city for awhile. Seemed like there was always a new evil on the rise, and together with Katarina, Vanizi, and a few others, he did his best to put an end to them. After many months, many battles, and many sleepless nights, he knew it was time to leave the city. It was time to return to his little village and face real demons. The demons of sorrow and failure, as he was never able to find who was behind the murder of his love.

So, saying farewell to his friends, he left with not much more than he came with, his trusted longsword and his faith in his Goddess.

Back at home, he tried to keep things simple. He helped a little around the small village, and drank a bit more than he should of, spending many nights at The Stalking Cat, the only tavern in town. It was there that he heard the rumors one night, from travelers passing through. Rumors about another cult, a cult for the God of Murder, Bhaal. The stories they told where of initiates killing innocents to gain membership in the cult. These Innocents where located up and down the Sword Coast. Innocents in small villages, like Hoton, his village.

So, the next day, Davis was back on the road, heading north this time, to Luskan. With his sword and a bit of luck, Tymora willing, he would find the true murderers of his wife, as well as countless others, and put a stop to it. The years that followed were hard. He gained and lost many friends and saw unspeakable evil, but his will never faltered. He would avenge everyone who suffered at the hands of this cult. Tirelessly he pursued, and eventually, he stood before the leader, a powerful cleric of the God of murder, the one truly responsible for all the death. An epic fight followed, magic and blades raining down on each of them. With every ounce of strength spent, the halfling cried out to his Goddess, "Give me the strength for one more strike my Lady! Please!" With that his sword began to glow, the sword he had all his life, now hummed with divine energy. He brought the sword down, and the priest fell, and then Davis collapsed, as things faded to black.

He awoke shortly after, though his body ached, his mind was at peace. "Vengeance! Justice!" he whispered from dry, cracked lips. “Thank you, my lady, for smiling upon me this day.”

He returned to his village of Hoton and built a small shrine to Tymora where he gave Inspiring speeches. He was happy, at peace for the first time since his tragic wedding day.

But ever since he helped defeat the cult of Vecna, he can't help but think there is something, someone, watching him. He used to like to think it was Gayle, watching and protecting him from the afterlife, but he knew that wasn't truly the case. Recently he has begun to wonder if that 'presence'  is his real adventure, and all that he has been through so far was just a beginning.

So once more, with is sword, now a true instrument of his Lady, he is heading back to Neverwinter, five years later.

Shortly upon entering the city, he is greeted by a messenger in royal garb. "Sir Davis, a message for you, from Lord Neverember" he says with a low bow, then quickly makes his departure.

"Hmmm, I just got here, how could he... a summons? ...Interesting." he says to himself, then thinks “Perhaps I'll swing by the Silver Dragon Inn first. Catch up on what's been happening in the city. Maybe I'll get lucky and run into some old friends, stranger things have happened!”

Katarina is a lithe, athletic tabaxi with brown fur and black stripes. She comes from a family of spellcasters, the Mystic Paws. Unfortunately, she just did not possess the ability to consciously manipulate the weave of magic with spells the way that the rest of her family could, which in turn caused her siblings (well, mostly her older sister, Vivian) to look down on her. One day, in a fit of rage, Katarina very nearly beat her older sister to death, and in that moment Katarina finally managed to tap into that innate power that the rest of her family used to cast their spells. After that she fled her home to take up adventuring...

Over the past five years, Katarina did reconcile with her family (though she still has a very tense relationship with her sister). She has reclaimed her noble title and is now well-regarded as a valiant heroine. She also got married to a human rogue by the name of Lander after the two of them had a crazy adventure that may-or-may-not have started when he attempted to kidnap her for a ransom... Anyway, Katarina is still a sparkly-eyed girl with an optimistic outlook and some anger issues, though she has gotten quite a bit better at controlling that rage.

She really hasn't thought much about the cult of Vecna since that little incident, probably because she's been busy and there were lots of shiny distractions that took her attention. So it came as a complete surprise to her when she got a summons to return to Neverwinter... but the noble feline is not the type to turn her back on anyone in need. She gives her husband a final goodbye kiss.

"Katarina promises that she will be back soon," she tells Lander. "Take good care of the kingdom while Katarina is gone... and try not to get on Vivian's bad side, the last thing we need is for her to cast another fireball on you..."

As you gather, the owner of the Silver Dragon personally welcomes you to his fine establishment. A middle-aged half-elf with silver hair and an infectious smile, he introduces himself as Rhanloi Ehlyss, a former adventurer who finally settled down when he was able to get this place running successfully. The light snacking foods and beverages are very fine - "Only the best for such esteemed adventurers as yourself!"

The enclosed room is intentionally designed for small dinner parties - around 12 people seated around a long wooden table, with padded but sturdy chairs. There is space around the outside of the room for servers to pass through, and on the back wall is an intricately carved sideboard with a tall display case on top, with various medium-sized trophies and trinkets from across Faerun. 

The Inn is also able to provide private rooms for each of you as Lord Neverember's guests. These are small but comfortable bedrooms, with a tall cabinet for your belongings and a sturdy iron-banded wooden footlocker for any valuables. There is a washstand and basin in each room, with a large pitcher of cool water for quick refreshing.

Taking in the sights of the Inn, Davis immediately spots Katarina and walks over and offers a big hug.

They spend some time catching up and talking over each other excitedly.

“Married” he says, “when we had first met, I would have called you a fool for doing that, but those demons are behind me now” he says with a smile, truly happy for her.

“So, you and your family are talking again, that’s great! I hope they haven’t made you, uh, lose your edge?” he says jokingly, “it kept me on my toes!”

He will continue talking about his tales and hers, and introduces himself to those he does not know at the Inn, though surely, he has heard some of their accomplishments.

Katarina happily returns Davis' hug.

"It would take more than that to take the wildcat out of Katarina!" the feline giggles. "She can just think of her sister and the fury will all come right back!"

She happily swaps stories with Davis and anyone else who's interested. The story of her engagement and eventually marriage is... pure Katarina. It's chaotic, full of reckless decisions, and somehow strangely adorable.

Vesta Trevelyan has spent the past five years gaining experience and doing increasingly dangerous and complex work for the Harpers. She is now a seasoned Harper and many younger initiates come to her for guidance. She is still based out of the city of Neverwinter, where her mother and father still live. Sometimes she teamed up with Zyl on some of the fairy's adventures; she was even able to chip in some money for the airship. Even more often she and Celeste took to the wilds to find adventure and defeat the bad guys.

One such adventure had Vesta investigating an ancient tomb that Harper intelligence revealed had recently been taken over by a necromancer and his followers. This necromantic cult had been kidnapping people for horrific experiments and it was Vesta's duty to put a stop to it. She was able to pick off the followers one by one and then engage the necromancer in an epic battle of magic and might. Vesta was triumphant in the end, and she took the necromancer's Staff of Power as her trophy.

Now she is in the Silver Dragon, excited to meet up with Zyl and Celeste and perhaps meet some new companions as well. Ever since they put a stop to the Vecna cult in the sewers, the sorcerer had felt a creeping feeling that it was not over yet, that someone, some unseen presence, had been watching her and following her. As she steps into the room, she notices a man and a tabaxi woman embracing. She doesn't recognize them, but they must also work for Lord Dagult Neverember.

"Greetings," she says. "Have you been summoned by the Lord as well? My name is Vesta Trevelyan, a pleasure to meet you."

Vesta is a slim, tall woman wearing form-fitting robes of green trimmed with gold. There is an intricate, golden staff slung across her back. The staff is tipped with a golden eagle head. Vesta has long, wavy red hair, sparkling green eyes, and golden scales that snake up her neck and down her shoulders.

After the confrontation with the cult, Vanizi remained as part of the militia that helped patrol the rebuilding Neverwinter.  Immediately after she continued to work alongside Katarina and Davis.  But before long the other pair left to pursue their own agendas.  This left the half-orc working alongside a rotating group of people that came and went from the rather informal militia group doing tasks for the Taskmaster.  Having proven herself in dealing with the cult, she was often asked to join in other more important assignments or investigations.  While far from the most intelligent at picking up on clues, she did have a knack for dealing with potential witnesses or source of information.

Given her time in the city, she started to try to delve into learning more about this celestial being that she now served.  She began by visiting many of the religious services held by adherents of different faiths within the city.  She kept hoping for greater guidance on her path, or to find some clue that would suggest what specific being this might be.  She certainly tried innumerable times at night to speak to this being and get a response.  But any responses were always fleeting, leaving her uncertain if she'd even heard anything.  But she did always get a distinct feeling in her mind when she was doing what her celestial patron desired.  She just knew.  And what was wanted was healing.  Amongst the militia, she became known as the person to go to for removing a curse or helping with an ailment.  

Time passed, and Vanizi found that she had remained with the militia for almost two years.  The group was rather informal but had there been much in the way of ranks, it was clear that she was a leader now.  She would lead newer members in learning the ropes.  Though most of her assignments focused on specific investigations, it was still possible to find her on patrols now and then, usually working with a group new to the job.  It was a touch of her former mercenary life, without the strict military rules that she always chafed at. 

During one particular assignment, she found herself headed out into the Neverwinter Wood.  It was fairly routine, tracking down bandits that had been taking advantage of the work in the city and trying to make money plundering the supplies that were always flowing in.  The group she was with had found the hideout of the group and had just managed to take down their leader to bring them back to Neverwinter for trial.  She had actually been able to heal a number of the young bandits that they had run across in the hideout.  She was awakened in the middle of the night, almost as though she had heard a noise.  But there was no sign of anyone else noticing.  She left her tent and followed some faint signs that she could hear.  Alone in the forest, she eventually glimpsed a luminous being, her patron.  It said little to her, but she understood she had done well in her service. The creature touched the rod she had always carried, causing it to glow for a moment.  And although externally it had not changed a bit, she could tell that it had grown in strength.  

In the next few years, Vanizi remained connected to the Neverwinter militia.  Although, she did have opportunities a few times to travel a bit beyond the city.  Now and then joining others to explore some of the ruins in the area.  It was returning from one of these personally journeys that she stumbled upon her former mercenary company camped just outside the Neverwinter Forest.  They had been recently in a battle and had suffered a great deal of injuries and losses in the fight.  Vanizi offered to stay with them for a few days, tending to the wounded.  There were a few there that remembered her, from her childhood growing up with them.  They were a bit surprised to see her doing so well and being so successful.  Most had assumed she had wandered off and had been killed by some beast that she couldn't defend herself against.  At first, she was a bit resentful especially at a couple of the women that she had grown up with and had treated her rather poorly.  But now they looked at her with respect, and she started to soften in her regard for them.  

What was going to be a few days just to assist the camp's healers became an extended stay of a couple weeks.  Far more confident, and bolstered by her eldritch powers, she even spent time sparring with them.  Long forgotten skills with various arms - ones she'd never really mastered before - started to come together.  Perhaps it was just she had grown in strength as well, but she found that she was somewhat decent using a number of weapons.  It still remained a problem that she was not very agile.  And she was not able to really learn to properly use the heavy armor either.  One night, as the time was coming near to where she really had to return to Neverwinter, a gnome woman whom she had grown up with and had always gotten along well with, came to her.  She told Vanizi of an old woman she'd run across in the wood nearby.  The gnome had something the woman wanted, though she wouldn't say what.  She believed that the in return the old woman could help out the half-orc.  And then the gnome wanted Vanizi to take her back to Neverwinter with her.  

All was agreed and the Vanizi took the directions from the gnome, along with a small wooden box which was tightly sealed, to find this old woman.  It took most of the day to do so, and when she handed over the box, the woman took it and peered inside.  Saying little, she said that she could help protect the half-orc, but it would take a while for her to do her work.  Preparing various arcane inks, she made an elaborate tattoo covering much of Vanizi's back.  By the time she was done, morning had come.  Mysteriously, the image turned out to be of a vague androgynous celestial being.  Despite being just black-and-white, had was amazingly detailed in most respects.  But somehow the features of the being were indistinct, as though obscured by radiance.  Vanizi believed it must be of her patron, though how the woman would have known she could not fathom. 

When the time came, Vanizi helped bring the gnome to Neverwinter.  Her friend has even joined up with the militia to earn some coins as she settled in.   Shortly after that was when she received the summons from Lord Dagult Neverember himself.  Before heading there, she made for the Silver Dragon Inn to see who else might have arrived. 

Vanizi is a green-skinned half-orc who stands out due to the orange-colored ends of some her hair and the thin bright pink streaks on top.  For those that have known her, the hair is exactly the same as it has always been.  She is dressed in rather nice clothing, a light dressy shirt of dark brown, black pants, and black boots.  She carries a number of swords, though a component pouch and magic rod seem to mark her as a spell-caster of some sort.  

Walking in she scans the crowd and soon one of the waitresses spots her.  She directs her back to the private room where she immediately spots Davis and Katarina in conversation.  She quickly waves at them.  "Hey there! I've not seen you two for some time! It is really great that you are here." Her eye's shift over to the hazel-eyed fairy and woman in form-fitting robes that is also present. "I presume you are to join our little group too? My name is Vanizi. It's nice to meet you too." 

She had not caught the original parts of the conversation, so unfortunately has to get them to retell parts to catch up.  She probably has the most surprising story of all of them - she's basically remained in Neverwinter all this time.  She does tell them of the couple of adventures she had going out of town.  But it's clear she's still as much a part of the makeshift militia in Neverwinter as she was five years ago.  

After about an hour in the Silver Dragon's private dining room, the innkeeper comes back with a smile and a rolled parchment bearing the wax seal of Lord Neverember. "It seems your invitation to see the Lord has come." He hands the invitation over, bows, and leaves you to your business.

It takes only a few minutes to walk from the Inn to Lord Neverember's modest villa. Several local guards are present, as are three priests of Oghma—a god of inspiration, invention, and knowledge—from Neverwinter’s House of Knowledge. You present the invitation and are ushered into an audience chamber, where Lord Neverember is busy discussing politics with his advisers. He breaks off the discussion, gives you all a smile of recognition, and comes over to you, saying, “Greetings, my heroic friends! I’m so glad you came. I daresay, terrible events are afoot. Specifically, four prominent citizens have been kidnapped in the past several days. May I count on your help in rescuing them?”

Knowing you will accept the call, he barely pauses for your response before rushing ahead and describing the kidnap victims. 

• Eldon Keyward is a highly knowledgeable scholar who specializes in the Outer Planes.
• Indrina Lamsensettle is a human actor who moves in Neverwinter’s highest social circles.
• Sarcelle Malinosh is a human wild-magic sorcerer who plumbs the mysteries of the Outer Planes.
• Umberto Noblin is a gnome historian who has written books on various deities.

Lord Neverember confirms that each victim was kidnapped at night. He does not think that the victims know each other, and there are no connections between them. He also explains that he funded divinations from the House of Knowledge, hoping to find the victims. The priests reported that the mystical trail of the victims ends at a specific place: Hallix Mausoleum in Neverdeath Graveyard. However, the priests worry that their inability to see inside this mausoleum means that an unknown opponent is blocking their divinations. Finally, Lord Neverember promises each of you a fine house in Neverwinter if you can recover the four missing townspeople and bring the kidnappers to justice.

"Do you have any questions? Are you ready to start?" 

Map of Neverwinter:

Zyl had been quite content to listen to everyone's story and conversation, dangling her feet off her chair as she waited, remarkably patiently. She thought the stories of people meeting their loves was just super romantic and found herself daydreaming a bit during some of the talk. When the final summons came though she snapped out of her dreamy reverie, hopped down and followed the others, half toddling half flying along to meet the Neverember. She frowned a bit at the news, despite the offer of a reward, but nevertheless soon found herself daydreaming again, this time of her new home and wondering if she should work on controlling her growth so she could grow just a little bit to reach the higher shelves rather than fly up or use steps, or even if the house would be made to her size or not...maybe a wizard could adjust everything in one go...

She suddenly realized Lord Nevermeber was waiting for an answer to something. "What? Oh, um, sure, I guess...?"

The halfling listens to the Lord's speech and sits back in his chair, his armor, silver with tints of sky blue, does not make a sound.

He pulls out a silver coin, twirls it in his fingers a few times, then tosses it in the air. The coin spins and then lands on the table with barely a sound, revolves around an unseen axis, and then lays to a rest. Davis' hand quickly covers the coin before any can see it's result, including himself.

"With respect my Lord, I will let my Lady decide my path at this juncture."

He removes his hand, revealing the coin...

"Heads. It appears the Lady wills it. I am at your service. I will not stop until they have all been found, on that I give you my word" he says, his eyes locked with Lord Neverember.

"It's been many years since I've been in your fine city. Has there been any recent signs or activity in the graveyard that may shine some light on what we might fine there?"

When the summons comes, Vanizi is eager to head out to meet with Lord Neverember at once. She listens attentively and rapidly jumps in with with a "Yes" when he asks if he can count on their help.  She says no more as he rapidly continues.  When Davis pulls out his coin, she watches with curiosity.  'He is going to leave a decision of this magnitude to chance?' she wonders, seeming a bit surprised by his action.  'Or is it his Lady that will direct the coin toss?' she wonders. Her experience with her celestial patron has been quite something less than what Davis must have with his goddess.  She clearly finds the situation intriguing but says nothing about it now.  

She suppresses a laugh at Zyl's response. Though she seems to recognize her, she doesn't know her and would not want to offend her right off the bat.  She simply lets the comment pass as she answers as well. "Lord Neverwinter, I am ready to set off at once to investigate. Davis has asked a fine question about the graveyard.  And I do wonder, is there someone we should speak with that might have more information from the preliminary investigation if we need to track down some witnesses?  But for the moment, we clearly should see what is happening at this Hallix Mausoleum."

Vesta is intrigued by her new companions. There is a halfling, a tabaxi, and now a half-orc as well. Including Zyl the fairy and Celeste who was usually in her wildshape form, they made quite the eclectic bunch. The sorcerer smiles at Zyl's response. They are all assembled in front of Lord Neverember now, and he has laid out the facts of the case. Vesta has heard whisperings of some disappearances lately but hasn't followed up on it yet. It seems that now she will get her chance.

"Nice to meet you Vanizi," Vesta introduces herself to the half-orc. She does the same with Katarina and Davis. Turning back to Lord Neverember, she gives a slight bow. "I would be honored to take on this mission, my lord."

Davis' way of deciding to take on the mission or not perplexes Vesta a bit, as she has never been one to be overly religious, and if she had to choose a god to devote herself to it would most likely be Bahamut due to her draconic heritage. Still, it would be a good thing to have the Lady of Luck on their side.

Vesta is content to let the others ask questions of Lord Neverember. She waits for him to answer and tries to think if she can recall anything specific about the Hallix Mausoleum.

History - 14

Vanizi is able to provide an overview of Neverdeath Graveyard, which contains two sprawling, connected cemeteries: the Main Graveyard and the Pauper’s Graveyard. A thick stone wall separates the crypts of the wealthy from the graves of the poor. She knows the Main Graveyard holds several mausoleums, and some, like the one you explored all those years ago, have expansive underground chambers. The Pauper’s Graveyard features numerous simple headstones, but apparently there are also communal catacombs beneath, constructed when the graveyard was first built. She is also aware of the occasional wandering skeleton or zombie, but the militia hasn't had any reports of them in several weeks. 

The priests give you the exact location of the mausoleum in question - near the south-western portion of the Main Graveyard and close to the wall separating the two areas. Their divinations have not revealed any specifics about why these individuals were brought to the Hallix grave, and the only sign they have discovered about who is responsible are vague visions of a glowing eye, staring back at them.

It is currently early afternoon on a pleasant fall day. You have about 5 hours before sunset. Do you need to gather any items or make any plans, or are you ready to head to the cemetery?

Zyl (while totally not singing a Disney princess song in her head) is quite on board with head to the graveyard, despite her reservation about getting zombie guts on her boots again. "Oh good, more staring eyes. At least there ARE eyes this time, right? Not like that one head that had no eyes. Eww. I don't know about the rest of you but I've had enough bad feelings of something or someone watching me. I mean when I'm getting changed and EVERYTHING! Creepy!" Zyl sighs and reties her hair into a tighter ponytail. "Alright, if it's into creepy dungeons and stuff again, let's get it over with. But I am going to have a whole me MONTH when this is all over." She giggled and blew Lord Neverember and the priests and Vanizi  a kiss goodbye and fluttered out the door, humming to herself (quite off key too).

"I have no where else I need to be, I'm ready to get started" the halfling says.

Katarina's fur stands up at the description of the graveyard where the prominent people have been taken... she's encountered undead before, and they give her the creeps like no other creatures she can think of...

"Yes! Katarina will help in any way she can!" the tabaxi assures Lord Neverember. "No one deserves to be left to the mercy of the undead!"

Vanizi watches Zyl head out the door as the others agree to take on this task. "I have nothing I need. Let's proceed directly to the Graveyard and Mausoleum. Umm, I guess Zyl is leading the way?"  She starts to head with a bit more urgency to the door.  "She is waiting for us, isn't she?"  Hoping the others are on the move as well, she heads out the door too.