"Who's Anator," Kit asks, her curiosity clearly peaked.

"Am I the only one who didn't manage to make any new friends," she inquires of the others... only slightly joking.

"To be fair, Ariel is hardly a new friend, and you seem to have made a friend in the Lord Pretender, not a bad feat." The young dark-haired man says with a slightly teasing tone to the highborn half-elf. "I find it a bit hard to believe you haven't made some other new acquintances since last we met though." He adds with a slightly concerned smile.

The group continues down the streets of Neverwinter. The evening smells of cooking food, the sounds of people closing up shop, the sight of the sun fading into the horizon line all trigger your senses as you breath in the air of the city. For some, this is a place for opportunity. For others, tragedy. And still others, comfort.

Whichever category you fall into, you cannot help but deny the fuzzy feeling in your chest as the peacefulness of Neverwinter is apparent to all. Here, you find, among old friends and ready for another adventure, that all seems well. For now

As you wind your way through the jumbled maze, you continue your talks, catching up with each other. You tell of your tales of adventure and woe. Of triumph and failure (though mostly triumph). Recounting what you have done with the others, you find that this feeling persists and grows, making you feel bold and ready for anything.

That is, until night falls, and you arrive at the graveyard. The crescent moon is low in the sky, a sharp blade cutting across the astral sea of the night. The wind blows, causing the rusted, creaky gate of the graveyard to rattle as the gusts moan throughout the darkness. Even though the sun has disappeared, others have not, for even at night the city still seems alive, constantly moving, constantly changing.

As you stand before the arches, upon which is inscribed the name of the graveyard: Neverdeath, you feel new emotions creeping into your soul. The name brings a new sense of foreboding, the closeness of the word Neverdeath and the possibility of undead most unsettling.

But, you must persevere on, as the people are counting with you. Those victims are counting on you. You must save them. You must. You examine the gate, and find it locked, in case any restless dead awoke and decided to roam the city, Luckily, Kevori digs around in her pocket, drawing forth a ring of shiny keys, one of which she inserts into the lock.

With a turn of the key and a click, the gate is unlocked. You reach out your hand, and the gate slowly creaks open, revealing the way into the graveyard. Before you is a softly sloped plain dotted with makeshift tombstones and mounds of earth. The paupers section, where those not of mid or high status are buried.

Then, the hill sharply ascends, dotted with the gravestones of the middle class. Finally, it crests, and upon the top of the hill sits multiple masoleums and elaborate graves that make up the burial place of the high class of the city.

"Neverdeath. Filled with death. Bad name choice I think. Kevori do you know which mausoleum we need? Or do we need to search them all for names?" 

Erven feels a shiver up his spine, he feels a slight tremor in his right hand, a tingling sensation like death is calling, a feeling that his foes are here and waiting for him.  He squeezes his hand and feels the reassurance of his bow, the other hand gripping the well worn antler fixed around his waist.  “Smells like death to me.  Hopefully, no one is stirring ..”. He peers through the dark, ready to move forward and scout unseen if bidden to do so.

Khessa smiles at the curious Kit: "I'll have a chance to introduce you to Anator soon, I suppose. And perhaps you won't be too surprised by his appearance, since you didn't know him before. Oh, and by the way..." she puts a hand on her shoulder and smiles "...I am a new friend of you, Kit. Or at least" she winks "new enough".

However, once they reach the gates of Neverdeath, the blonde arcane warrior is much more serious: "Hmmm... You're right, Tabby... bad name choice... unless Erven's nose is right and Kit's suspicion was correct - and the Hallifax were involved with the Cults of Vecna. ​​In which case, the name might have been chosen based on their plans for this place".

"Jack, have you sent Ariel in to scout yet?" The tall adventuress asks the warlock. Her blue eyes soon run to Erven, whose stealth and efficiency she had ample demonstration of during their joint ordeal in the Underdark. He would probably be ready to delve into the tombstones even now... but she, if possible, would prefer to send a creature that, in case of unfortunate events, can simply be summoned again, rather than a friend who, however skilled, would be much more difficult to bring back if he were to die due to unforeseen circumstances...

(I am assuming that Tabby has met Anator, seeing as she is the reason you have them available if it is what I am assuming)

Quote from Painted_Beyond >>

Oh, and by the way..." she puts a hand on her shoulder and smiles "...I am a new friend of you, Kit. Or at least" she winks "new enough".

 Kit returns Khessa's kindness with a nod and a smile, though an astute observer might note that it doesn't quite reach all the way to her eyes.

As the group enters the graveyard Kit affects an unbothered air; leaving her shield slung and her weapons sheathed as she digs out her battered thelarr and warms the reed with her breath.

Tabby and Erven yes, they should have met Anator already during the ordeal in the Underdark. I'll write something for you & DM here in spoiler:

(Ahhh, not what I was expecting. But makes more sense)

Tabby is a little confused still at the talk of "making friends". Having seen everyone else's friends, she still believes she is the only one who actually made her friend, everyone else found theirs. 

Ketangu has a darting gaze in case some of the dearly departed start rising out of the graves. He looks at the mausoleum with suspicion as a tremble ripples through his blobby form. "True that name does need work. Perhaps Heaven's rest or something." He slowly tries to open the mausoleum of the Hallix family once he has located it of course. 

Assuming Oberon reveals what Ariel sees when they scout, I'll type this in front of everyone rather than in a spoiler:

Ariel flies ahead, soaring through the graveyard on gossamer wings. The sky is dark and gloomy, and the eyes of the pixie strain in the shadow, trying to make out details. Ariel swoops close to the ground, and hears something. They turn, and a hand is reaching from a grave. A long, gnarled, decayed hand, with scraps of flesh hanging off the bone. Another hand emerges, and soon, a horrible zombie has crawled its way from the grave. It shambles forward, slow and awkward.

For a moment, you feel a flash of fear. Then you remember zombies are weak and slow, no big deal to adventurers as powerful as you. Your blades and spells can cut through them as easily as a knife through warm butter. Ariel flies off, dodging out of the reach of the slow claw that rakes through the air. She flies onward, flapping up the hill. She pokes around for a few minutes, until she finds an opulent marble building engraved with the words "Entombed within lies the esteemed Hallix family - 'May the cold grip of death repel us back into the warm embrace of the living'" This seems to be place you're looking for.

Khessa smiles at Jack, pleased with how Ariel managed to warn the party of the zombie threat in time, allowing for their prompt elimination: "You've found a precious ally! Given the great work she did... should we send her to scout ahead inside the mausoleum too? Despite the less open space, she should be able to maneuver easily and still go unnoticed..."

[[ OOC: @DM: There are no closed doors to open, to access the mausoleum, right? There's just a monumental marble opening, I think... So Ariel, if Jack is okay with it, should be able to go in and scout ahead of us without any problems, right? ]]

Erven gathers his cloak around his shoulders, virtually disappearing in the dark.  He says to Khessa, “I appreciate your concern for me, dear Khessa, but didn’t we get each other out of many scrapes in the Underdark?  Remember that time that you thought I was pinned down by the Drow, only to escape unseen?  You know that I can do it.  And ever since I uncovered this cloak, I’m even more difficult to find.  I would like to put those zombies back to sleep, so to speak.  Eternal rest.  My bow can probably reach them from here.  What do you say?”  As they wait and talk, Erven casts goodberry and produces 10 berries that he puts into his pouch, in case he works up an appetite.

On the way to the graveyard, Jack would groan something about these sinister cults of undeath having absolutely no sense of style. Here they were again walking into what was most likely yet another quite disgusting hideout of that despicable cult. 

As Ariel reports in, Jack does indeed inform the others of what she has seen. If the gates to the Hallix mausoleum are indeed open she would then curiously peek inside.
"I suppose it is time to suit up so to speak." The dark-haired young man says and the image of him shifts to reveal the same person but now wearing a golden horned helm and wielding a matching golden staff. "I don't expect even I will be able to smooth talk my way down there, and I assume our elven friend will not show any mercy to the mockery of life that is undeath." He says to the others with an amused smile, seeming ready to proceed.

[[ OOC: @Twombley: From what the DM narrated, I got the idea that we've already eliminated the zombies... he assumed that we would automatically defeat them, considering how powerful we are now. But if Erven feels like taking a walk in the Mausoleum, I'm fine with that... ]]

Khessa smiles fondly, placing a hand on the elf undead hunter's shoulder: "I was just trying to save you from a small but unnecessary risk, my friend... but I didn't want to deprive you of the fun. Yes, I know that you could probably hide even in my backpack without me noticing! If you feel like it, take a look around".

"And if you find any undead who seem sleepy to you," the blonde arcane warrior winks "I agree with you about putting them to bed. It would be a kind gesture".

The scarred elf disappears in the dark, all that is heard is the thrumming of his bowstring as he makes his way up the hill, toward the end the sounds of a whip cracking are heard… and then quiet.  In a moment he appears and says “All clear, we can head up.”  as he puts regathered arrows into his quiver.  

Ketangu dread has become real. He takes a moment to let the fear go through him, but he also finds his resolve to dispatch the zombies.  Then he enters the mausoleum with trepidation giving time for Erven to scout ahead. Lucky for him he can see rather well in the dark. 

Kit can't help but give Jack a wry smile, "Impressive. How long have you been waiting for that dramatic reveal?"

She quickly follows her question with a playful wink, just to make it clear that she's jesting with him.

It's a small balm but it at least helps to smooth over the alienation she feels when she sees Erven and Khessa's smooth rapport after adventuring side-by-side in the Underdark.

Unexpectedly, she finds her attention going to Ketangu. It's still difficult for her to imagine a creature so foreign sharing the sentience and emotional range of a humanoid but she can't help but wonder if he is also feeling lonely in a crowd like she is...

Khessa smiles, pleased with the ease with which the first undead were put to rest, and picks a flower from the cemetery. Calling on the magic, over which she has acquired increasing control, the blonde arcane warrior makes the flower shine with a warm orange light, then entrusts it to a whirlwind that carries it inside the gates of the mausoleum, so that the light, delicately carried by the wind to various parts of the environment, allows all to see inside, before the party enters.

What spectacle unfolds before the eyes of the heroes?