Mara and Talis lay in the bed, snuggling and talking.
"Talis," asked Mara, "is your mother going to be safe at the Well of Dragons, now that the Cult of the Dragon knows you betrayed them?"
"No, she won't. I have been in contact with her through the Sending spell and told her she needs to get out of there. So far, they haven't made a move against her, but she feels as if they've been watching her very closely of late. She hasn't yet been able to flee."
"Even if she does get out of the Well of Dragons, how will she get far enough away from the place to be safe?"
"Ralazrad has agreed to pick her up and bring her back to Waterdeep, if she can get to a spot where she isn't under continual observation."
"Speaking of the white dragons, what is their opinion of all that has happened?'
"Those that were already in favor of Tiamat's return are still in favor. And those who were opposed to it are still opposed. Those who were on the fence are tending to turn against the idea."
"Does your ability to telepathically communicate with them influence their decisions?"
"Yes. The white dragons now see that the Cult of the Dragon will never make me the White Dragon Wyrmspeaker. Many of them are upset enough about this to cut their ties with the cult. However, they're being quiet about it, since they want to preserve the possibility of infiltrating the ritual proceedings by pretending to be supporters."
"Could they be potential allies in the fight to stop the ritual?"
"Perhaps. They are a little worried about being openly seen as enemies of the cult and attracting the wrath of Tiamat."
"Have you attracted the wrath of Tiamat?"
"I don't know. Lately I'm becoming less inclined to worship her, and maybe she can sense that. I'm not sure how this will play out."
The two of them fell silent for a few minutes, then became aware of voices in the next room. The rest of the party had made it back to the Flagon Dragon Inn and were chatting and joking.
"I suppose we should get up and let them know we're back in the mundane real world," laughed Mara.
They put their clothes back on and went next door. When they knocked, Bree opened the door. Seeing the two of them, she smirked and announced to the rest of the party that Mara and Talis were paying them a visit. Frostbite joyously bounded over and nuzzled both Talis and Mara. The rest of the group rose up and came over to give them hugs.
Looking puzzled, Borovik asked, "Why are these City Guards following you around, Talis? I thought you had been released from custody."
"I have," said Talis. "These are my new bodyguards. It seems I have acquired powerful enemies by ratting out the Cult of the Dragon."
"Pleased to meet all of you," said the senior guard, bowing to the group.
"So," said Kellen, "now that we're all reunited, why don't we all go down to the tavern and celebrate our victory?"
Preston cleared his throat and asked timidly, "Would it be okay if Neega and I stayed behind in the room while you all go for drinks? We would like some time alone together."
"Sure!" said Bree.
She and the rest of the party left the room, laughing as they went. Neega and Preston lost no time in beginning their intimate encounter.
The heroes went off to the tavern and the other customers were greatly entertained at their stories of the Sea of Moving Ice and the adult white dragon. Everyone was amazed and delighted to see a young white dragon acting like a companion to a half-elf. When they realized he could speak common, they all had questions for him. He relished the attention.
Over the next few days, the party had a chance to rest and take care of some of their business. Borovik was anxious to scribe some new spells into his spell book, He spent an entire day and 200 gp of inscription materials to inscribe Evards Black Tentacles from the scrolls they looted after the battle with the Red Wizards on the flying castle. The next day he devoted most of the day and 150 more gp to learn the Water Breathing spell, also from the looted scrolls. A day later he inscribed Sickening Radiance, which was less taxing and less expensive because it was of the magic school he specialized in, eating up 4 hours and 100 gp. Finally, he inscribed Identify, which, in addition to requiring 2 hours and 50 gp, also required that he buy a pearl worth 100 gp as a material component for the spell.
Mara sought out an alchemical shop to buy the necessary oils and unguents to perform the Reincarnate spell. They were very expensive, costing 1000 gp for the package of materials, and the materials would be consumed if she had to use the spell. She hoped she would never need to cast it but wanted to be ready if she did.
Neega, Mara, Bree, Kellen and Preston went looking for a weapons shop. Neega needed to replace a handaxe and Mara needed to replace a javelin lost when Arauthator fled with the weapons embedded in his hide. Bree wanted to shop for a magic shortbow, and Bree and Preston wanted magic light crossbows.
Neega and Mara concluded their business quickly, since what they wanted was already in the shop. Bree, Kellen and Preston then approached the counter and made their inquiries about magic ranged weapons.
"They have to be ordered, since we don't have any in the shop right now," said the dwarven woman staffing the counter. "The length of time to make the items magic and the cost will depend on the amount of magic you want in them."
"How much would a +1 shortbow cost, and what is the lead time for its delivery?" asked Bree.
"The cost for the +1 shortbow would be 637gp, 5sp. The time for delivery is 2 tendays."
"And for a +1 light crossbow?" asked Kellen.
"The cost for the +1 crossbow and the delivery time is the same."
"That seems a little steep," said Preston, rubbing his chin.
"They are expensive. There are a number of reasons for that. For one, the process to make a magic item is a long one involving expensive materials. Plus there are only a limited number of people who have the knowledge to do it. The instructions for making a magic item are hard to come across, and the secrets are jealously guarded by those who find the recipes. And, obviously, the greater the magic in an item, the greater the cost and the longer the delivery time."
"We each have non-magic items we could trade in, if that would lower the price a little," said Bree.
"We are willing to buy the non-magic items from you at half the value we charge for them off our shelves. That would be 12gp, 5sp for a short bow and the same for the light crossbow. Our policy is that those wishing to do a trade-in don't have to relinquish their non-magic weapons until delivery of the new weapons."
Bree, Kellen and Preston talked among themselves briefly, then turned to the counter staff.
"We would like to order the magic shortbow and light crossbows," announced Bree. "I would also like to inquire about getting arrows silvered."
"Arrows and bolts can be silvered. You supply the ammunition and the cost of silvering is 100gp per 10 pieces of ammunition. They can be ready in a couple of days."
"Can we pay 50gp each and get 10 bolts and 5 arrows silvered?"
The dwarven woman thought about it for a minute, then nodded her head.
"Okay," said Bree, handing over 5 arrows as Kellen and Preston each handed over 5 bolts.
"The silvered ammunition will be ready within 2 days," said the dwarf. "Check back with us in 2 tendays for the weapons."
The group left the weapons shop and celebrated their purchases by having a drink of ale at the tavern in the Flagon Dragon Inn.
Frostbite continued practicing carrying small humanoids in preparation for becoming Talis's mount. Bree and Kellen delighted in these dragon rides. One day, he begged Talis to let him try to carry her. She agreed and climbed on his back. He rose slowly into the air, a little surprised how much heavier a half-elf was than halflings and gnomes. Keeping low to the ground in case he had to land in a hurry, he carried Talis about 50 ft. before his strength began to give out and he had to land.
"Wow, Frostbite!" exclaimed Talis. "You are getting stronger. It shouldn't be long before you're able to carry me."
Trembling a bit from the exertion, he nuzzled her and asked, "Can we try again tomorrow?"
"Let's see how you feel tomorrow. I don't want you getting strained wing muscles."
Frostbite nodded and fluffed his wings happily. He was finally beginning to feel like a REAL dragon.
A few days later, Talis wanted to check up on the people she knew in the Mistshore. She, Mara and Frostbite walked over there from the Inn. When they approached the docks, people recognized Talis and flocked around her.
"Lady White!" they cried. "You're out of prison!"
"Yes," she said. "Frostbite is with me, and this is my lover, Mara Evenwood. And look, I have 2 of the City Guard assigned as my bodyguards."
"Mara Evenwood? One of the Phandalin Heroes?" they cried. Cheers went up from the crowd.
"Did you all ever locate another magic user who could cast Create Food and Water for you?" asked Talis. "I hope you haven't had to go hungry."
"Oh, no. We haven't gone hungry," answered one of the women in the crowd. "A cleric of Eilistraee and a Druid who initially trained in the desert are taking turns casting the spell for us. The desert Druid has even begun living in Mistshore. She is fascinated by the sea, since it's so different from what she grew up with. And both of them are delighted to help cure us from wounds and diseases."
Talis gave a sigh of relief to know that the people were being taken care of. "I hope to be able to live among you again. However, at present there are people who are seeking to kill me. My presence here could easily put the rest of you in danger."
"Oh, like those Cult of the Dragon people who came by here a couple of tendays ago?" asked a bedraggled human man.
"Yes. Did they hurt anyone?
"No. They asked where you were and threatened us, but left us alone when they realized that all we knew was that you were in prison."
"Okay. If they begin to harass you again, I will ask the white dragons to help protect you."
"The white dragons are willing to do things for you?" asked a half-orc woman.
"Yes. I have had a telepathic connection with the white dragons for my entire adult life. I do favors for them and they do favors for me."
The assembled crowd was astounded that Talis had connections with the white dragons, and talked among themselves excitedly. They clearly thought this was a thing to be celebrated, rather than feared.
A short time later, Remallia Haventree, the Harper delegate to the Council of Waterdeep, approached the party and informed them that Harper agents had found out that the Cult or the Dragon had put a pause on their preparation as they contemplated the effect that the capture of Varram and the defection of Talis would have on their operation. She didn't know how long the pause would last, but it did give a little extra time for planning to stop the ritual. She also said that the Phandalin Heroes had been identified as the people responsible for Varram's capture. She warned them that they might be the targets of cult assassination attempts. The party decided from that time on to always don their armor and weapons before leaving their rooms.
About a tenday later, the party was having lunch in the Flagon Dragon. Except for a couple of hard core drinkers, they had the tavern to themselves. They occupied a long, rectangular table near the east wall of the tavern, just in front of one of fireplaces. Borovik, Mara, Talis and Frostbite sat along the eastern side, looking back into the center of the room. Kellen, Bree, Preston and Neega sat and the other side, facing the wall. They ordered a hearty repast, and the Innkeeper smiled, thinking of the pile of coins the Lords' Alliance would pay for this meal. They were content and the meal was a happy affair.
Bree, ever on the lookout, noticed a group of 4 strangers come into the tavern. They were all medium humanoids, probably humans or elves. Something about the group made Bree nervous. They seemed a little tense, and they stared a little too long at the party. One of them seemed to be in charge, since she motioned for the group to sit at a round table for 4 near the center of the room, with a smaller rectangular table separating the party from them. Their clothes were fairly non-distinct, but Bree could see that under her cloak the leader had a sword on her belt. She whispered to Kellen and Preston her worries, and the message was passed around the table.
About 10 minutes later, a second group came into the tavern and sat down at another round table for 4, just to the south of the one the first group occupied. This group raised Bree's hackles even more, because it included a blue-half dragon, in addition to 3 medium humanoids. The groups at the 2 tables briefly shared glances with each other and them ordered food and ale. The supposed leader at the northern round table looked around, as if searching for someone, and a frown appeared on her face.
The party quietly prepared for an attack. Bree pulled out her Dagger of Venom and prepared to give it the order to coat itself with poison. The casters decided what spells to use in case of an attack. Weapon users put one hand on their weapons and waited for a sign that the attack was beginning.
A few minutes later Bree noticed that the leaders eyes narrowed, and her body tensed as she prepared to rise from the table. Bree hastily gave the word to the Dagger of Venom to become poisonous. The leader jumped up from the table and ran to the party, hoping for a surprise attack. The party was waiting for them.
Frostbite immediately flew into the air and got within 30 ft of the southern round table. He let loose a cold dragon breath blast, which encompassed all occupants of the southern table and 1 from the southern edge of the northern table. A wave of freezing air blew past them all, and 4 of the 5 targets lay dead or unconscious. Only the half-blue dragon was tough enough to survive the cold blast.
By now, the leader of the attackers had pulled out her shortsword and was nearly upon Bree. Talis recognized a Cult of the Dragon symbol on her cloak brooch, and knew that shortswords were the preferred weapon of cultists with the dragonfang rank.
"She's a cultist, a dragonfang," yelled Talis. "They are hard to charm!"
Bree was waiting and as soon as the dragonfang got within range she jabbed her in the abdomen with the dagger. Caught by surprise, the dragonfang let out a cry as Bree got piercing and poison damage, as well as sneak attack, since allies of hers were within 5 ft of the dragonfang. On top of that, the dragonfang suffered longer term effects of the poison, and her movements lost all their former grace.
Borovik threw 3 fiery bolts with the Scorching Ray spell, and the dragonfang sustained serious burns. Despite being clumsy and in pain, the dragonfang completed her intended attack on Bree. Of her two attacks, only one hit, and Bree's uncanny ability to dodge meant she only took a small amount of damage from the blow.
Neega jumped out of her chair and took 2 swings at the dragonfang with Hazirawn. One connected and left the dragonfang teetering on the edge of unconsciousness. Mara then turned into a polar bear and ran up to the cultist on the east side of the northern table. By now it had pulled out its weapon, and Mara recognized the uniquely styled scimitar wielded by lower ranking cultist officers. She gave it a nasty bite and a swipe with her claws. The groaning cultist was close to collapse.
In response to Mara's attack, another cultist at the table, seated on the western side of the table, rose and attacked Mara. Its chances of hitting were increased because Mara was paying attention to the cultist she had already hurt. It hit with both attacks, dealing slashing and acid damage. Mara let loose a might roar of fury and pain. Given that the cultist had 2 attacks per turn, Mara surmised is must be a dragonwing. The wounded cultist, despite having grave injuries, attacked Mara and hit, dealing slashing and lightning damage. It also had 2 attacks, so it was probably also a dragonwing.
Now the half-blue dragon rose from its chair at the southern round table. It decided to target Frostbite, who had just tried to freeze it to death. It breathed out a line of lightning and Frostbite took the full blast. However, this was not nearly enough damage to put him in any danger. He roared in defiance.
Kellen moved closer to the northern round table to get a good line of sight on the dragonwings attacking Mara. He shot a bolt with his new +1 crossbow and the heavily injured dragonwing shuddered as it fell to the floor. Preston pulled out his Wand of Magic Missile and used it to hurl 3 darts of force at the wounded dragonfang. She fell, and as she lapsed into unconsciousness, she wheezed, "You...can't...stop...Tiamat...from...rising..."
Talis targeted the half-blue dragon, angry that it had hurt Frostbite. She cast Spiritual Weapon, using extra magical energy to make it hit harder. She positioned it next to the half-blue dragon and hit. The half-blue dragon shrieked and staggered as its wounds mounted. She then ran around the southern end of the long rectangular table to get a better line of sight on the enemy for further magic attacks.
Frostbite's breath weapon didn't recharge, so he went with melee attacks. He flew over and landed next to the half-blue dragon. He hit with both claw attacks, then gave the enemy his fiercest snarl.
Bree got up next to Mara and targeted the final remaining dragonwing. She got a sneak attack because it was distracted by Mara. It cursed in Draconic as Bree's arrow pierced its shoulder. Borovik went to the southern end of the table to get lines of sight at both the remaining dragonwing and the half-blue dragon. He cast Scorching Ray at the final dragonwing and 3 fiery rays dropped the dragonwing to the floor.
The only enemy now left was the half-blue dragon. Neega ran around the tables to get next to the enemy. The half-blue dragon attempted to parry to prevent Neega from hitting, but it wasn't enough. She got in a mighty blow and the half-blue dragon was close to death. One more blow from Hazirawn put it under.
"Ummm, half-dragon blood," crooned Hazirawn. "I had almost forgotten what that tasted like."
The party believed they had felled all the assailants. But, unbeknownst to them, the assailants were supposed to have been joined by a young blue dragon for the attack. The young blue dragon had briefly peered through the window just before the fight, noticing that the party consisted of 8, not just 6, members. On top of that, 1 of the 8 was Talis the White, and another was a young white dragon. The young blue dragon chickened out and flew back to report what it had seen. Cult spies soon reported to leadership that the assassination attempt had failed, and the cult realized they had seriously underestimated the party.
The party looted the coin purses of the cultists and recovered 16pp, 111gp, 214sp, 17cp. Mara returned to half-elf form and her wounds in the polar bear shape instantly healed. She cast healing on Bree and on Frostbite, who were the only other ones sustaining damage. They then decided to go to the Waterdeep Palace and report the assassination attempt to Lord Neverember. They walked over to the palace and at the door told the guards that they needed to report to Lord Neverember that the Cult of the Dragons had sent a team to kill them.
"You'll have to report it to Lady Laeral Silverhand," said the ranking member of the door guard. "Lord Neverember is no longer the Open Lord of Waterdeep."
"Lady Laeral Silverhand?" Borovik asked in shock. "One of the Chosen of Mystra?"
"Yes, indeed."
"What happened? Why has she replaced Lord Neverember as Open Lord?"
"You'll have to speak to Lady Silverhand about that," said the guard. "I'm not authorized to discuss it. Let me go see if she is available to meet with you."
The guard left and a few minutes later came back, accompanied by one of Lady Silverhand's assistants. The assistant escorted them back to the Open Lord's office and let them in.
"Please sit down," Lady Silverhand motioned to chairs in the room. "I hear grave news that the Cult of the Dragon tried to kill you all."
"That is correct," said Borovik. "Just now, at the Flagon Dragon Inn. We defeated them and, as far as we know, there were no survivors left."
Lady Silverhand sighed. "Based on Harper Intelligence, we had been expecting this. I am quite sure that it won't be the last attempt. This puts some urgency on us to plan the next session of the Council of Waterdeep. I will contact you when that is to happen."
"Lady Silverhand," asked Borovik. "Why has Lord Neverember been removed as Open Lord of Waterdeep?"
"For a number of reasons," she sighed again. "First, he nearly incited the entire city to riot when he arrested Mara Evenwood, especially since she and the rest of you had just captured a very important prisoner. Then, people were outraged that his mistreatment of Talis Kasterel caused a large cadre of white dragons to threaten the city. But the final straw was when we found that he had been embezzling from the city treasury."
"What" Why would he do that?" cried Mara.
"We believe it was to further his attempts at rebuilding infrastructure in Neverwinter that was damaged during the eruption of Mt. Hotenow. He would like to eventually become the ruler of Neverwinter and is currying favor with the locals.
"Because he has returned the full amount of embezzled funds, we are not going to send him to prison, but it's no longer appropriate to have him as the Open Lord. He will still participate in the Council of Waterdeep.
"No, if you will excuse me, I have a meeting shortly with members of the Emerald Enclave about concerning events in the Misty Forest."
"Very well," said Borovik. "We will await your summons to the next session." The party left the Open Lord's office, shaking their heads.
A tenday and a half later they were contacted by Laeral Silverhand and told to come to the council meeting chamber for a second session of the Council of Waterdeep. They showed up at the appointed time and were escorted into the chamber by Sildar Hallwinter, the Phandalin Townmaster. Laeral now sat at the head of the Council table. Dagult sat to her right, along with an elven woman that the party didn't recognize. The rest of the attendees were people they knew.
Laeral introduced Talis and Frostbite as the newest members of the heroes and asked the party to brief the Council on their activities to find Varram and to secure the alliance with the Arcane Brotherhood. Most of the Council approved of the decision to capture, rather than kill, Varram. However, the Emerald Enclave was troubled, because they feared that the Cult of the Dragon would try to mount a rescue attempt. The entire Council was glad to hear of Arauthator being driven from his lair and the rescue of Maccath the Crimson, with Connerad Brawnanvil, the dwarf from Mithral Hall, being especially delighted. Connerad was more neutral at obtaining the alliance of the Arcane Brotherhood, and Ontharr Frume of the Order of the Gauntlet was downright opposed to an alliance with the Arcane Brotherhood. He objected that they freely accept evil arcane magic users into their ranks, and they don't police the kind of magic their members practice. However, he wasn't willing to leave the alliance over it.
Delegates reported on cult activities within their purview. Sir Isteval sadly reported that the kidnappings in Cormyr had increased since the last Council session. Ramallia Haventree of the Harpers reported that their agents had detected a slight pause in the preparations, possibly to assess how the current successes of the Phandalin Heroes was going to affect their ritual. However, she did not believe the pause would last long, as the Draakhorn was still calling dragons to the Well of Dragons. The Lords' Alliance reported that the raids in the Sword Coast had tailed off, but delegates from other areas reported that raids in their areas had increased. Delaan Winterhound reported on investigations the Emerald Enclave was doing in response to reports of dragon attacks in the Misty Forest. King Melandrach of the Misty Forest brushed away the concerns, claiming that the elves had increased their patrols and the attacks had largely stopped. However, many on the Council thought it might be useful for the heroes to look into it. Laeral reported that the Cult of the Dragon had just tried to assassinate the heroes, and she feared this was not the last attempt.
Finally, after the representatives had made their reports, Laeral introduced the woman who had not been at the first session.
"She is called Elia in her elven form. But she is actually an ancient silver dragon who has shape changed into an elf. Her true name is Otaaryliakkarnos. She comes to us with an invitation."
Laural handed the floor over to Elia, whose hair hung in long, silvery locks and the irises of whose eyes looked like drops of mercury. She began, "The metallic dragons have been aware of the activities to summon Tiamat, just as you have. We are holding a council of metallic dragons in the Nether Mountains to decide what we should do about this. We would like a delegation from the Council of Waterdeep to attend the metallic dragon council."
"Is there the possibility of an alliance between the metallic dragon and the Council of Waterdeep to stop the ritual?" asked Laeral.
"There is that possibility," responded Elia. "It must be negotiated between your delegates and our council members. You would need to convince us that your cause is just and it's in our best interest to ally with you. Regardless of whether we ally with you, rest assured that we will also try to stop the ritual."
A spirited discussion followed about who should be on the delegation. Eventually, they decided that the Phandalin Heroes were the best choice, since they were not affiliated to any of the factions on the Council, and were more likely to evenly represent the entire Council.
"I agree with your decision to send the heroes," said Elia. "especially since the metallic dragon council has specifically expressed an interest in speaking to the White Dragon Wyrmspeaker known as Talis Kasterel."
"Why would the council want to talk to me?" asked Talis, uneasily.
"Your affinity with and telepathic communication with the white dragons opens the possibility of collaborations with white dragons who do not support the efforts to summon Tiamat."
Elia continued, "Now, I know the trip to the Nether Mountains would take you more than 2 tendays, but I can carry the crew to the Nether Mountains if you are willing to leave immediately after the council meeting. Frostbite, I will have to ask you to fly alongside me, since the extra weight of carrying you might be too much. By myself I can go in about 2 days, but the extra weight of the 7 humanoids and their gear will be a big load for me. It will probably slow me down to 3 or 4 days. Will you accept a ride with me?"
"Will we have a chance to pick up gear from the Flagon Dragon Inn?" asked Borovik.
"Yes. But you won't have time for any other business."
After a short discussion, the entire party agreed to take the ride on the silver dragon's back.
"Good," said Elia. "I will meet you outside the Flagon Dragon Inn in 2 hours, in my dragon form. Be ready to leave at that time."