Session 41 - Return to the Castle

Session 41 - Return to the Castle

Date: 7/27/25

DM: Wes

Summary

General Summary Castle Neratar – Reclaimed, But Not Forgotten The session began with a much-needed recap, as Deez Nuts regrouped in Castle Neratar, where they had successfully driven off Rezmir and her Bullywug loyalists in a prior assault. The castle was quiet—but that wouldn't last long. The party debated how best to secure the site from future Cult activity. After some discussion, they decided to fortify the area with a two-pronged plan:

Train the Lizardfolk to hold the castle until reinforcements arrived. Send word to Bernie and the Cloud Giants, inviting them to claim Castle Neratar as a new cultural hub. Keyleth used a Sending Stone to contact Bernie. Her pitch: a vacant, dragon cult-infested swamp castle just waiting to be repurposed into a Giant Heritage Site. Bernie responded with interest, asking, "How big?"

Yes. Big enough.

While awaiting a response, the party trained the lizardfolk in weapons, tactics, and discipline. Through the power of rage, bardic flair, divine presence, and martial expertise, the training montage unfolded. Nat 20s abounded. The lizardfolk now resemble a semi-competent militia rather than confused swamp folk with pointy sticks.

Bernie promised to arrive in three weeks—with friends.

The Portal in the Basement Gootcha and Shade examined the portal in the castle’s basement, confirming it still connects to Parnast. Unfortunately, the controls for disabling or rerouting the portal remain a mystery. Until Bernie and the giants arrive, the party stations lizardfolk guards—and a newly summoned geomancer—to watch the portal and slay any cultist who dares emerge.

March to Waterdeep The party began their journey to Waterdeep, taking the road south. Travel was relatively smooth, though Alexios's complete inability to stay on the trail nearly resulted in multiple detours. If not for Keyleth and Xanphina’s constant vigilance, he’d have wandered straight into the sea—or possibly Luskan.

On the road, the group discussed funding additional guards, contacting allies, and whether the castle might benefit from being turned into a boarding school for misunderstood lizard teens. (No decisions yet.)

Waterdeep: Black Business and Harper Revelations In Waterdeep, the party completed their task for Halia Thornton by delivering the magical items salvaged from Caldris’s stash. Shade used her Zhentarim credentials and call-and-response code phrase to verify identity with Halia’s contact: “War is good for business.” “You can’t make a deal if you’re dead.” Jacob, the contact, offered the party a reward: a single item from the recovered stash. They chose the Robe of Eyes, and also purchased a second Folding Boat for group mobility.

Gootcha picked up intelligence from the Harper Guild Hall and shared information with Balderek, who now suspects the Drakhorn—a lost artifact capable of sending a call to all chromatic dragons—has been found and activated. This horn’s pulse was felt from Phandalin to Baldur’s Gate. The implications are vast: this may be how the cult has rallied so many dragons.

Also concerning: A growing conspiracy involving Harper simulacra. Balderek suspects that Derek—his own simulacrum in Baldur’s Gate—created Eric in Neverwinter. Copies of copies? What could go wrong?

South to Candlekeep The group portaled to Baldur’s Gate and began their trek to Candlekeep. On the road to Candlekeep, the party was ambushed by hobgoblins. Karma opened with Cone of Cold, freezing half the attackers in place. The rest were dispatched through teamwork and considerable sass. Xanthina was dropped to 0 HP by a Devastator's fireball, but Shade’s Hellish Rebuke incinerated the caster in turn. A cure wounds later, Xan was back on her feet, looting silk handkerchiefs and coins from the dead.

A particularly brutal fireball took Xan down completely, but Shade’s Hellish Rebuke incinerated the caster in return. Karma restored Xan with healing magic, and the party looted the hobgoblins and dead travelers. Total haul included hundreds of gold and some fine silks.

Candlekeep: Book Club Shenanigans At Candlekeep, the party bribed their way into the library using Keyleth’s sketchbook of Vaartox (revealed to have belonged to the Ashen Covenant) and a mysterious "Book" in Karma’s inventory—possibly blank, definitely important.

In the library’s archives, the party uncovered:

Infernal Relics and Mortal Ruin – an ancient text detailing the corruptive power of Zariel’s Bagpipes. Interrogation Notes – showing the bagpipes subtly altered the will of listeners and had been wielded by cult leaders to quietly manipulate entire courts. The librarian informed Shade there were missing volumes, likely taken by a group of junior scholars calling themselves the Masquerade of Whispers—a secret society in the way that loud cosplay at a silent auction is secret.

Masquerade of Whispers – The Secret (and Stupid) Society That evening, under the full moon, Shade and Alexios donned ridiculous robes and infiltrated the society, discovering:

They’re obsessed with obscure books, but completely unable to assess value. One member had exactly what Shade needed: an annotated volume referencing the last known location of the Bagpipes of Zariel’s Lament. Using her charisma (and a forged rare tome), Shade convinced them she was a new member of “refined taste.” In exchange for her "rare find," she acquired the missing volume, which points the party to a vault beneath Waterdeep.

Where We Left Off Shade now holds a key to the infernal Bagpipes. Meanwhile, whispers of the Ashen Covenant, dragon cultists, and dangerous relics continue to swirl in the background. Somewhere in Waterdeep, the Bagpipes of Zariel’s Lament wait. And somewhere beyond that... Eric is probably doing something weird.

XP Awards

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Notable Characters

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Locations

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Factions Involved

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Items Found

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