Lady Rosznar smirks. "I don't have to do anything. I own the property. By rights, you cannot enter it without my permission. All of your work is worthless unless you can get to the vault." Looking self-satisfied, she goes on. "By the same token, you have done all of the work. I do not have whatever inane key Neverember requires to access the vault. I'm told he had a flair for the ridiculous with this sort of thing. So, we need each other. A partnership. You may take half of the gold in that vault. Leave the rest for me. Anything other than that and we both get half of nothing. At least until I eventually find out the key to get in on my own."
Morph:
"Bah," says Golorr. "There are seven of you and 5 of them. Kill the lot and ask the city for forgiveness. I'm sure a couple hundred thousand gold will cause a lot of eyes to look the other way."
"You don't know what the key is, do you?" Mal ponders this for a moment. "Quite the impasse, you see. For, if we do get the treasure, we will have acquired enough money to buy out this fine property outright. On the other hand, it is your property, and ultimately your call as to what is done with it."
Titus scowls and grumbles under his breath, low enough so only his companions can hear.
“I don’t like the idea of working with this dishonorable patrician. We can’t let her ransom off the city’s gold, if she refuses to comply with us, then her greed shall be her downfall.”
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Vercinius Thrax: Lizardfolk Cleric - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
L’Ouverture Zinn: Kobold Sorcerer - Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Titus Vorenus: Dragonborn Paladin - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Nemean Goldenmane: Tabaxi Fighter - Lost Mine of Phandelver (Retired)
"Hmm..." Laniel muses loudly enough for Lady Rosznar to hear. "I doubt she will ever discover the keys needed for the vault. We could wait a long time, I'd wager, and Waterdeep will get its gold back eventually. I say we walk away from this and not give away the city's gold in a moment of heated bargaining. Perhaps we even inform the Open Lord and other city officials to come and negotiate instead of us."
Persuasion: 3
Lady Rosznar almost doubles over laughing. "You are going to return it to the city?" she says through her laughter. "That plan is a sure way to make sure only I and some corrupt city officials get the gold,leaving you with nothing."
Morph, pulls out his medics manual and flips through the newer sections, reminding himself oh his magical options.
Morphpauses on a page, before giving a subtle nod and closing the book.
Standing behind his friends as they have been talking with Lady Rosznar, Morphquietly casts a spell on himself before walking out in front oh his friends to try and negotiate with their political opponent.
Action: Cast Guidance on Morph: +1d4 to a single ability(skill) check within the next minute.
"Lady Rosznar, surly being a member of the group that successfully recovered the lost money for the city, would be enough?"
"You would be able to fairly claim a share of the reward money for helping returning the stolen money, and your standing in the city would be immense."
"Wouldn't that kind of currency be even better then straight money? Your influence and standing among the other nobility and leadership of the city, would be great boon, wouldn't it?"
Lanielhelps Morph bolster his argument. "As you say, the city has a vested interest in this gold. They won't let you keep it, but they will reward you for recovering it."
Advantage roll: 12
Lady Rosznar is silent for a long time, the gears in her head whirring as she contemplates this angle. "You are correct in that Waterdeep will not surrender that much coin lightly. Perhaps I could persuade you to just quietly keep your half? After all, I can hardly rely on just your word that I shall receive anything at all."
She does everything she can to avoid eye contact with Lady Blackstaff. But the master wizard speaks up anyway. "I can assure you that the recovery of Neverember's misdeeds will not go unnoticed. I can also assure you that you will receive your fair cut of any reward. My word is as good as coin."
"Ugh!" the noblewoman says in exasperation, throwing her eyes skyward, as if the solution will appear there somehow. "So, what, your counter offer is a few thousand dragons? Out of what must be close to a million gold that Neverember stashed away?"
"Closer to half that," says Lady Blackstaff.
"Madame, you truly pain me," says Lady Rosznar dramatically. She grunts in frustration again. "No amount of social standing could be worth 250,000 gold!"
Laniel gives her a sad smile. "That is wishful thinking at this point. By tomorrow, everyone in Waterdeep will know that Neverember's vault has been found. It won't be long after that until they know where to go..."
"All right!" says Lady Rosznar with a swift cut of her hand. "I insist on going, though. I must see the treasure for myself."
She storms back towards the decrepit old tower and motions to one of her guards as she says, "Stay near the tower and wait for me to return." She turns to the party and says, "Well, come along. Let's get this over with!"
Lady Rosznar leads the group into the old tower. A stairwell winds up to the floor above and another winds down into the cellar. The vestibule just inside the front door is decorated with rotting tapestries adorning the walls and mud and dirt on the floor.
The next room in, wherein the stairwells rise and descend, contains a fireplace blackened with soot set into the west wall. A burned heap that used to be a padded leather chair lies near the fireplace.
The noblewoman heads down into the cellar without looking back, Lady Blackstaff and the two bugbears right behind her. The cellar contains a small, circular wooden table surrounded by four stools made from empty barrels with a marked deck of playing cards scattered atop it and a few stray cards lying on the floor. There is also three crates stacked against the south wall. Set into the north wall is a sturdy oak door with iron fittings and a built-in lock. Esvele Rosznar pulls out a set of picks and deftly unlocks the door, swinging it open as she must have done many times before, and strides into the next room. It is a small room with a teleportation circle permanently inscribed on the ground.
The noblewoman presses on a small rock in the north wall and a secret door opens. Beyond it lies a dusty staircase that descends 90 feet to a 20-foot-high, 20-foot-wide stone corridor. The hall extends another 90 feet to adamantine double door bearing Dwarvish runes. The doors have neither handles nor hinges.To one side of the vault doors, a natural fissure in the wall once served as a grick’s lair, but its corpse laying on the floor reveals it is no longer a threat.
Lady Rosznar circles her hand with a flourish. "Your turn," she says, annoyance still lacing her voice.
Titus snorts and scoffs at the noblewoman’s condescending remarks. He remains on guard and keeps his eyes on the armed guards and on lady Rosznar herself, ready to spring into action if things turn violent.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Vercinius Thrax: Lizardfolk Cleric - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
L’Ouverture Zinn: Kobold Sorcerer - Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Titus Vorenus: Dragonborn Paladin - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Nemean Goldenmane: Tabaxi Fighter - Lost Mine of Phandelver (Retired)
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Morph looks at Lady Rosznar, before deciding not to speak plainly, instead, using his arcane focus, he casts Message to silently relay the details to his friends and Lady Blackstaff.
Casting Message enough times, Morph lets those he feels are safe, know that:
"We needed the entrance from the tower above us, done and dusted."
"We need some way to get past the golden dragon, perhaps Lady Blackstaff could help, if not, get ready to be has persuasive as we can."
"And lastly we needed 3 things to get into the vault."
"1, an invisible creature. Mal, I believe you now possess this power?"
"2, we need a picture of a dwarf, which we have with us."
"3, a pair of bugbear ears, of which we have 2, so we have some redundancy there."
After laying out the details for Rethan, Mal, Titus and Lady Blackstaff, Morph steps forward, casting Detect Magic, and examines what lies before the group.
The door is clearly magically warded. It appears to be warded in at least twenty different ways, all meant to keep the doors closed. In magical script that glows under the gaze of Morph's spell, the words THE THREE KEYS. BRING THEM FORTH. are written across the door. There is no evidence of traps or secrets here. Just a large, warded, forbidding door.
Laniel produces the painting from his pack. "You are making us sound like a 2 copper organization, guys," he says. He places the painting alongside the bugbears and where Mal presumably stands. Nothing seems to happen.
Lady Rosznar turns on the group. "2 copper organization indeed," she says with a sneer. "I guess I will have to see to..."
The doors slide gently and quietly back into the walls revealing the inside of Neverember's hidden vault.
(Stay tuned for that description when I am not on my phone.)
The foyer beyond the massive doors contains three age-worn columns support crumbling stone bridges 60 feet overhead, with the ceiling rising another 20 feet beyond that. Set into alcoves are twelve sets of double doors made of iron. Each door is 10 feet wide, 10 feet high, and embossed with images of dwarf warriors in plate armor.
Each square is 10 feet:
Characters are on the south side of the map in the center. Iron doors are to either side of them and decorate the walls to the east, west, and north as well.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Rethan steps up to the door, looking into the room beyond, but not crossing the threshold yet. Looking around for any sign of danger (Investigation? 4. perception would be 1 lower than that), he thinks for a moment, then shrugs slightly and tosses his glaive into the room (unless I spot something from looking), about halfway between the doors and the first column ahead, waiting to see if any traps trigger when it lands.
Lady Rosznar smirks. "I don't have to do anything. I own the property. By rights, you cannot enter it without my permission. All of your work is worthless unless you can get to the vault." Looking self-satisfied, she goes on. "By the same token, you have done all of the work. I do not have whatever inane key Neverember requires to access the vault. I'm told he had a flair for the ridiculous with this sort of thing. So, we need each other. A partnership. You may take half of the gold in that vault. Leave the rest for me. Anything other than that and we both get half of nothing. At least until I eventually find out the key to get in on my own."
Morph:
"Bah," says Golorr. "There are seven of you and 5 of them. Kill the lot and ask the city for forgiveness. I'm sure a couple hundred thousand gold will cause a lot of eyes to look the other way."
"You don't know what the key is, do you?" Mal ponders this for a moment. "Quite the impasse, you see. For, if we do get the treasure, we will have acquired enough money to buy out this fine property outright. On the other hand, it is your property, and ultimately your call as to what is done with it."
Titus scowls and grumbles under his breath, low enough so only his companions can hear.
“I don’t like the idea of working with this dishonorable patrician. We can’t let her ransom off the city’s gold, if she refuses to comply with us, then her greed shall be her downfall.”
Vercinius Thrax: Lizardfolk Cleric - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
L’Ouverture Zinn: Kobold Sorcerer - Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Titus Vorenus: Dragonborn Paladin - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Nemean Goldenmane: Tabaxi Fighter - Lost Mine of Phandelver (Retired)
"Hmm..." Laniel muses loudly enough for Lady Rosznar to hear. "I doubt she will ever discover the keys needed for the vault. We could wait a long time, I'd wager, and Waterdeep will get its gold back eventually. I say we walk away from this and not give away the city's gold in a moment of heated bargaining. Perhaps we even inform the Open Lord and other city officials to come and negotiate instead of us."
Persuasion: 3
Lady Rosznar almost doubles over laughing. "You are going to return it to the city?" she says through her laughter. "That plan is a sure way to make sure only I and some corrupt city officials get the gold,leaving you with nothing."
Morph, pulls out his medics manual and flips through the newer sections, reminding himself oh his magical options.
Morph pauses on a page, before giving a subtle nod and closing the book.
Standing behind his friends as they have been talking with Lady Rosznar, Morph quietly casts a spell on himself before walking out in front oh his friends to try and negotiate with their political opponent.
Action: Cast Guidance on Morph: +1d4 to a single ability(skill) check within the next minute.
"Lady Rosznar, surly being a member of the group that successfully recovered the lost money for the city, would be enough?"
"You would be able to fairly claim a share of the reward money for helping returning the stolen money, and your standing in the city would be immense."
"Wouldn't that kind of currency be even better then straight money? Your influence and standing among the other nobility and leadership of the city, would be great boon, wouldn't it?"
Persuasion check: 16
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss
Laniel helps Morph bolster his argument. "As you say, the city has a vested interest in this gold. They won't let you keep it, but they will reward you for recovering it."
Advantage roll: 12
Lady Rosznar is silent for a long time, the gears in her head whirring as she contemplates this angle. "You are correct in that Waterdeep will not surrender that much coin lightly. Perhaps I could persuade you to just quietly keep your half? After all, I can hardly rely on just your word that I shall receive anything at all."
She does everything she can to avoid eye contact with Lady Blackstaff. But the master wizard speaks up anyway. "I can assure you that the recovery of Neverember's misdeeds will not go unnoticed. I can also assure you that you will receive your fair cut of any reward. My word is as good as coin."
"Ugh!" the noblewoman says in exasperation, throwing her eyes skyward, as if the solution will appear there somehow. "So, what, your counter offer is a few thousand dragons? Out of what must be close to a million gold that Neverember stashed away?"
"Closer to half that," says Lady Blackstaff.
"Madame, you truly pain me," says Lady Rosznar dramatically. She grunts in frustration again. "No amount of social standing could be worth 250,000 gold!"
Laniel gives her a sad smile. "That is wishful thinking at this point. By tomorrow, everyone in Waterdeep will know that Neverember's vault has been found. It won't be long after that until they know where to go..."
"All right!" says Lady Rosznar with a swift cut of her hand. "I insist on going, though. I must see the treasure for myself."
She storms back towards the decrepit old tower and motions to one of her guards as she says, "Stay near the tower and wait for me to return." She turns to the party and says, "Well, come along. Let's get this over with!"
Lady Rosznar leads the group into the old tower. A stairwell winds up to the floor above and another winds down into the cellar. The vestibule just inside the front door is decorated with rotting tapestries adorning the walls and mud and dirt on the floor.
The next room in, wherein the stairwells rise and descend, contains a fireplace blackened with soot set into the west wall. A burned heap that used to be a padded leather chair lies near the fireplace.
The noblewoman heads down into the cellar without looking back, Lady Blackstaff and the two bugbears right behind her. The cellar contains a small, circular wooden table surrounded by four stools made from empty barrels with a marked deck of playing cards scattered atop it and a few stray cards lying on the floor. There is also three crates stacked against the south wall. Set into the north wall is a sturdy oak door with iron fittings and a built-in lock. Esvele Rosznar pulls out a set of picks and deftly unlocks the door, swinging it open as she must have done many times before, and strides into the next room. It is a small room with a teleportation circle permanently inscribed on the ground.
The noblewoman presses on a small rock in the north wall and a secret door opens. Beyond it lies a dusty staircase that descends 90 feet to a 20-foot-high, 20-foot-wide stone corridor. The hall extends another 90 feet to adamantine double door bearing Dwarvish runes. The doors have neither handles nor hinges.To one side of the vault doors, a natural fissure in the wall once served as a grick’s lair, but its corpse laying on the floor reveals it is no longer a threat.
Lady Rosznar circles her hand with a flourish. "Your turn," she says, annoyance still lacing her voice.
"Alright boys - what was the first part again? Something about the picture? Someone's nose?"
"Morph?" Rethan says. "What was it you were told again?"
Titus snorts and scoffs at the noblewoman’s condescending remarks. He remains on guard and keeps his eyes on the armed guards and on lady Rosznar herself, ready to spring into action if things turn violent.
Vercinius Thrax: Lizardfolk Cleric - Hoard of the Dragon Queen
L’Ouverture Zinn: Kobold Sorcerer - Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage
Titus Vorenus: Dragonborn Paladin - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist
Nemean Goldenmane: Tabaxi Fighter - Lost Mine of Phandelver (Retired)
Mal walks up to the wall. he puts his hand up to it. "Do our goblinoid friends hear anything unusual?"
Morph looks at Lady Rosznar, before deciding not to speak plainly, instead, using his arcane focus, he casts Message to silently relay the details to his friends and Lady Blackstaff.
Casting Message enough times, Morph lets those he feels are safe, know that:
"We needed the entrance from the tower above us, done and dusted."
"We need some way to get past the golden dragon, perhaps Lady Blackstaff could help, if not, get ready to be has persuasive as we can."
"And lastly we needed 3 things to get into the vault."
"1, an invisible creature. Mal, I believe you now possess this power?"
"2, we need a picture of a dwarf, which we have with us."
"3, a pair of bugbear ears, of which we have 2, so we have some redundancy there."
After laying out the details for Rethan, Mal, Titus and Lady Blackstaff, Morph steps forward, casting Detect Magic, and examines what lies before the group.
Perception check to examine everything: 21
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss
The door is clearly magically warded. It appears to be warded in at least twenty different ways, all meant to keep the doors closed. In magical script that glows under the gaze of Morph's spell, the words THE THREE KEYS. BRING THEM FORTH. are written across the door. There is no evidence of traps or secrets here. Just a large, warded, forbidding door.
Morph waves the bugbears over,
"We are going to need you to stand here in front of the door."
Morph also waves at Mal,
"You will have to do your part from here as well, but wait until we have the last item, I think we need to all three here at once to open the door."
Morph turns to the others,
"Who brought the picture?"
David Gearlock | Human | Artificer | Revenge Heist
Knox | Warforged | Cleric | Shadowthorn's Out of the Abyss
"Uhh..." Rethan says, looking around at the others. "Not me."
"Didn't you and Morph go and find a suitable one?" Mal asks Rethan.
As he asks this, he lightly strums his dulcimer, and fades from normal sight.
Laniel produces the painting from his pack. "You are making us sound like a 2 copper organization, guys," he says. He places the painting alongside the bugbears and where Mal presumably stands. Nothing seems to happen.
Lady Rosznar turns on the group. "2 copper organization indeed," she says with a sneer. "I guess I will have to see to..."
The doors slide gently and quietly back into the walls revealing the inside of Neverember's hidden vault.
(Stay tuned for that description when I am not on my phone.)
The foyer beyond the massive doors contains three age-worn columns support crumbling stone bridges 60 feet overhead, with the ceiling rising another 20 feet beyond that. Set into alcoves are twelve sets of double doors made of iron. Each door is 10 feet wide, 10 feet high, and embossed with images of dwarf warriors in plate armor.
Each square is 10 feet:
Characters are on the south side of the map in the center. Iron doors are to either side of them and decorate the walls to the east, west, and north as well.
Rethan steps up to the door, looking into the room beyond, but not crossing the threshold yet. Looking around for any sign of danger (Investigation? 4. perception would be 1 lower than that), he thinks for a moment, then shrugs slightly and tosses his glaive into the room (unless I spot something from looking), about halfway between the doors and the first column ahead, waiting to see if any traps trigger when it lands.
Rethan's glaive clatters noisily to the ground. No creatures or traps are triggered by the weapon.