The tired and disheartened party returned to their ship in the harbor at Mistshore. This was supposed to be a day of fun and relaxation. Instead, they had received another reminder of the gravity of the situation for Faerûn and the danger that they themselves faced.
Borovik distracted himself by transcribing the spell Chromatic Orb from one of the spellbooks he had looted into his own spellbook. He reflected how it was a very versatile spell, allowing him to throw any one of a number of elemental effects at a low level, thus using little magical energy. However, if needed, more magical energy could be used to cast it at a higher level, doing more damage in a single cast.
Mara and Talis went with Frostbite into the cargo hold and placed some of their loot into a pile for his hoard. They put in 2 gold trade bars, 1 hematite, 2 obsidians, 1 rhodochrosite and a silver trade bar. In addition to the coins already committed by the group, Neega offered 20pp and Preston offered 300cp and 5 pp.
"There you go. That's a good start on your hoard," said Mara. "We can give you a share of the loot we get from here on out to make your hoard grow."
Frostbite was delighted and he lay down next to the pile, rumbling happily. He closed his eyes and fantasized about his hoard filling the entire cargo hold.
Talis went up to the deck and was preparing a message to send to her mother, Naomi. Before she had finished composing it, she received a telepathic message from Bakirer, one of the white dragons who had helped Naomi escape the prisoner pens in the Well of Dragons.
"We have completed the plans to get your mother to Ralazrad's lair," said Bakirer. "We'll leave the cave tonight and meet up with Ralazrad a few hundred miles from the Well of Dragons. We will give you progress updates as we proceed."
"Oh, thank you!" cried Talis, as tears formed in her eyes. "Tell Mama I love her, and I have many stories to tell her when we meet again."
"Mara! Tonight, Mama leaves the cave she is hiding in and starts her journey to Ralazrad's lair!" Talis said aloud.
"Oh, Sweetie!" Mara cried hugging Talis and laughing in relief. "That is great news!"
Preston spent his time comforting Neega, who felt humiliated and horrified that she had taken enough damage to fall unconscious.
"I can't believe I fell I battle! I let the whole party down!" she whined.
"Baby," Preston exclaimed. "You absorbed 3 acid blasts, a bite and 2 claw attacks from that dragon! Surviving that amount of injury is stunning! If you hadn't been our brave meat shield, at least one of the rest of us would have been a goner!"
Neega laid her head on his shoulder and let the warmth of his embrace soothe her jangled nerves. As distressed as she was, she nevertheless reflected on how proud she was that his magic spell had laid the dragon low. Her man was a dragon slayer!
Kellen spent time repairing his harp. The frame of the harp was undamaged by the acid blasts, but some of the strings had been broken. As he tuned the new strings, he hummed a melody and composed lyrics of a new ballad he was writing. A ballad of the fight to prevent the return of Tiamat.
Bree lay on the deck and envisioned large piles of treasure. If they could only find the location of the hoard for that black dragon they killed! Unfortunately, thinking about the black dragon reminded her that more dragon battles were surely coming. She shivered at the thought.
After they prepared and ate an evening meal the sun sank below the horizon and night fell. Most of the group went down to their quarters, Mara stayed on the deck. She looked up at the moon and prayed, "Mother Moon, we have such a big job ahead of us. I don't know if we're capable of doing it. We had a tough fight today, and they will only get harder. How can we defeat a deity?"
"My child," Mother Moon replied, "You have deities helping you. You don't have to fight with just your own strengths. Lean into the power of your deities, and know that as you grow, you own powers will become greater.
"Even over the past few days your power has grown. You have an increase in the amount of magical energy you have to spend, and you now can channel more powerful spells. Your overall health has increased, making it harder for an enemy to render you unconscious. Your companions have likewise become more powerful."
Mara felt comforted and went down to the quarters she shared with Talis, snuggling up to her in bed.
Mid-morning the next day, the party saw a city watch member rowing Laeral Silverhand out to their ship. Coming up alongside, she asked permission to board. They gave their permission, and she gathered the entire group on the deck.
"I heard you were attacked again by the Cult of the Dragon," she soberly said. "I also heard it was a pitched battle. Are you all okay?"
"Yes," said Mara. "We had powerful enough magic to heal ourselves, and to revive 2 members of the city watch who were killed. We still have to raise the dead citizen."
"Don't worry about the dead citizen. We will have magic workers from the city raise them. You've done enough for the moment."
The party nodded to Laeral in gratitude.
She then continued, "We're planning another session of the Council of Waterdeep. We want you to come to the palace after the morning meal in 2 tendays. We need your report on your activities, and we have to make further plans to prepare for the assault on the Well of Dragons."
"Yes, Ma'am," said the party, in unison.
She then excused herself, citing a myriad of preparations for the next session of the Council, as well as the more mundane duties related to running a city.
The party remained close to the Mistshore community while they waited for the next council session. They collected their thoughts for their report to the Council and tended to personal matters.
A couple of days after Laeral's visit, the scroll of Detect Magic that Borovik had ordered was delivered to their ship. Borovik happily inscribed it into his spellbook.
Talis received messages from the white dragons that her mother had been successfully transferred to Ralazrad's lair. Frostbite continued to practice carrying Talis on his back and strengthened his wings. He could now carry her about a mile and felt very proud of himself.
When the day of the Council session arrived, the entire group went over to the palace and entered the council meeting room. As they entered, they saw Otaaryliakkarnos, in the guise of Elia, sitting off to the side. There was also a new attendee, a tiefling woman, whom they didn't recognize. They noticed Connerad Brawnanvil scowling, with his arms crossed his chest. King Melandrach looked tired and sad. Anger briefly flashed in his eyes as the heroes entered.
The session opened and the new woman was introduced as Rian Nightshade, a special advisor to Dagult Neverember. No one said what her role in the session would be and a number of the Council members looked distinctly unhappy when she was introduced.
Laeral then asked the heroes to recount their efforts at the metallic dragons' council to convince them to join the alliance. As the group spokesman, Borovik told how they negotiated with the metallic dragons and managed to get them to join the alliance if certain concessions were made by members of the Counci of Waterdeep. Connerad Brawnanvil turned an angry look at Elia.
"You got your niece's hide back and your damned apology," he growled. "I hope you're happy now! I just wish the dragons would apologize for all the dwarves they've killed!"
"I thank you for keeping the bargain negotiated with us," responded Elia, "When it was explained to me how odious the concession was to your people, I talked to the metallic dragon council and asked if we might take some actions to alleviate some of the anger. The copper dragons offered to patrol the land of the northern dwarves, so that no cultists can approach the entrances to your underground cities."
"Humph, I suppose that is something. But they better not try to enter our cities! And if they kill any dwarves while they're in our land we will not hesitate to retaliate!"
"I assure you that they will not enter your cities. I doubt that most dragons would even fit through the tunnels leading into the cities. And the metallic dragon council has given them strict orders not to harm any dwarves. If they do, immediately report them to Tazmikella, the leader of the copper dragons. She will be certain to punish the transgressors, up to death for those who kill dwarves."
King Melandrach spoke up. "The Misty Forest elves are very aggrieved about the apology we had to make for an evil spell that was cast before any living elf was even born. Do you really believe that we are just as guilty as our long-gone ancestors? We didn't cast the spell and we certainly didn't know how to break the spell. Some things are better left in the past. You can't go back and punish the perpetrators when they're long dead. Why torture the innocents in the present?"
Again, Elia responded, "You have a valid point, and I petitioned the metallic dragon council to soften the sting by offering protection for your homeland. I'm aware of the misery and devastation that the cultists have visited upon your people, and the bronze dragons will participate in patrols to ensure that the cultists never again get near the Misty Forest."
Melandrach looked resigned and nodded his head.
Next, Dagult Neverember stood to voice his complaint, "I know I speak for many of the delegates here when I say that we were mightily disappointed when the heroes told us that you had required a share in Tiamat's treasure hoard. That treasure was stolen from the people represented here at this table, and we had been hoping to use it to rebuild our ruined towns. Are you mercenaries? Do you have to ask us to pay for your assistance in stopping Tiamat's return?"
"I understand your anger," said Elia. "That is why I and the silver dragons are helping to protect Waterdeep from the cultists."
"But, what about Elturel?" cried Ontharr Frume, "We're closer to the Well of Dragons than Waterdeep, and are in more danger of cultist attack!"
"Baldur's Gate could use some dragon protection, too!" bellowed Ulder Ravengard.
"Okay," sighed Elia. "I will approach the metallic dragon council again and ask for more resources to keep the Cult of the Dragon from causing any more destruction. Are there any other of you who have areas you want protected?"
Delaan Winterhound said the Emerald Enclave wanted protection for the Grandfather Tree, an ancient treant in the High Forest. Remalia Haventree of the Harpers asked that some dragons be allocated to them for help in gathering information. Taern Hornblade requested dragons to help protect the area around Silverymoon. Sir Isteval asked it some dragons could be spared to help the Purple Dragon Knights battle cultists currently carrying out raids in Cormyr. Elia took notes on all of this and vowed to bring it up with the metallic dragon council.
After this discussion, the heroes were able to continue their report, and explained how they had chased away the green dragon and killed the Green Dragon Wyrmspeaker. Most of the room cheered to hear this, but King Melandrach bowed his head and cried.
"That was Neronvain, my son!" he wailed.
"We didn't know that when we encountered him in battle. Otherwise, we would have tried to capture, rather than kill him," Borovik explained.
"Oh, Neronvain, why did you betray your own people? If only I hadn't sent you into exile, you might still be alive today!" Melandrach cried.
He asked to be excused from the proceedings and left the room to regain his composure.
"We have a couple of new orders of business to discuss," announced Laeral. "A courier delivered to the Palace a handwritten note from a someone named Iskander who claims to be a senior member of the Cult of the Dragon. This person wishes to defect because he is horrified by the cult's plan to summon Tiamat to the material plane, and because he believes that one of his rivals in the cult wishes to assassinate him. He has asked for our help in escaping and is offering to give us one of the dragon masks, the blue one, in return. He claims to be at Xonthal's Tower with the mask. He says he and those with him are studying it to determine if it truly has the power it is claimed to possess. Our wizards have used divination magic and determined that he and the mask are indeed at the tower. Do we want to pursue this?"
"This could be a trap. Maybe the cult will kill whoever is sent," said Ulder Ravengard. "Or maybe they'll capture them and torture them to get information about our attempts to stop the ritual."
"Borovik," asked Neega, "Do you know anything about Xonthal's Tower? Is it a dangerous place?"
"Well, aside from the fact that the Cult of the Dragon now inhabits it,' answered Borovik. "It was built by an ancient wizard, and he surrounded it by a hedge maze that is nearly impossible to navigate. No one really seems to know exactly what's inside the tower. Xonthal himself hasn't been seen or heard from in a century. A village was established around the tower while Xonthal was alive, and it remains to this day."
"It sounds like a risky mission," said Ontharr Frume. "Who would want to undertake something like this?"
Laeral Silverhand looked over at the party. "You have proven yourselves on several high-risk missions. Are you willing to go investigate this matter?"
Borovik turmed to the party. "What does everyone think?" he asked.
Hazirawn gleefully replied, "It will probably mean more battles and more blood for me!"
"I think I've recovered from our last battle and I'm ready for some more adventure," said Neega. "Are you game, Preston?"
Preston nodded yes.
Mara, Talis and Frostbite conversed among themselves briefly, then Mara said, "The 3 of us are willing."
Bree thought of potential treasure and said, "There might be gold. I'm in."
Kellen hesitated a little then said, "If everyone else wants to go, I will, too."
Borovik tuned back to Laeral and said, "We'll do it."
Laeral once again took the floor, "We have another potential mission. Nyh Ilmichh, a member of the Red Wizards of Thay, approached me a few days ago. These are the Red Wizards still in Thay, not the exiles. They have made a request that an envoy be sent to Thay to negotiate with the Thayans about possible collaboration in the efforts to stop Tiamat's summoning. They have specifically requested that the Phandalin Heroes be the envoy. He said that the envoy would be teleported to Thay for few days, then returned unharmed. Do we want to support this?"
Borovik turned pale at this. "The Red Wizards are some of the most powerful workers of Arcane Magic in all of Faerûn! And they are evil with a capital E! They scare me half to death!"
Taern Hornblade looked exceptionally worried. "All their leaders are undead. I hope that the heroes don't return to us as undead! I certainly don't trust the Red Wizards any more than I trust the Cult of the Dragon."
"If they're sincere, they would be powerful allies in the fight against the cultists," mused Connerad Brawnanvil. "I say that, if the heroes are willing, we send them to Thay."
"Are you willing to go to Thay?" Laeral asked the group.
They all looked at one another, not knowing what to say.
Talis finally spoke up, "If we don't stop the ritual, we'll face a danger even greater than the Red Wizards. I am willing to go."
"If Talis will go, then I will, too," said Mara.
"So will I," said Frostbite.
Neega and Preston exchanged a wordless look at each other, then both nodded to Laeral.
"Bree? Kellen?" asked Borovik.
Both of them nodded, without saying a word.
Borovik announced, "We will go."
"Alright," Laeral summed up the decisions. "The heroes will go to Xonthal's tower to attempt to retrieve the Blue Dragon Mask, and they will go to Thay to negotiate with the Red Wizards. I recommend we send them to Xonthal's Tower first."
The rest of the Council nodded solemnly. Laeral Silverhand asked the party to be ready to depart for Xonthal's Tower in about a tenday. It had been a stressful meeting, so the Council adjourned shortly thereafter.
A couple of days after the Council session, Otaaryliakkarnos appeared next to their ship in the harbor, accompanied by a gold dragon. The both of them landed on the water and floated next to the ship.
"This is one of the gold dragons who make up Bahamut's court. He has come here with a message to you from Bahamut," she said.
"Greetings, Talis Kasterel." he bowed slightly to her. "Bahamut has noticed your honorable behavior since he allowed you to use more of your spells and is pleased. He is especially impressed that you used your magical energy to raise the 2 city watch members whom the black dragon killed."
"Tell Bahamut I am honored to serve him," Talis responded.
The gold dragon continued, "Bahamut has also noticed that the Cult of the Dragon has been targeting you and your comrades. Tiamat herself is demanding that the cult kill you. Therefore, he has decided to speed up the rate at which you will be granted additional spells.
"As of now you will be allowed to channel his power to cast all non-combat spells. This will add the spells Thaumaturgy, Create or Destroy Water, Detect Evil and Good, Detect Magic, Detect Poison and Disease, Purify Food and Drink, Augury, Calm Emotions, Continual Flame, Find Traps, Locate Object, Silence, Zone of Truth, Animate Dead, Clairvoyance. Create Food and Water, Daylight, Speak with Dead, Tongues, Water Walk, Divination, Locate Creature, Stone Shape, Commune, Hallow, Legend Lore, Scrying, Find the Path, True Seeing and Word of Recall. Be wise and honorable in your application of these new spells."
With that, the gold dragon flew away. Ottaryliakkarnos remained to visit Talis and give advice. After about a half an hour of talking, Talis suddenly stood up.
"There is something I need to do that I should have already done," she said.
She ran down to the cabin she shared with Mara, grabbed the holy symbol of Tiamat that she had thrown into a drawer and carried it back up onto the deck. Standing at the railing, she threw it as far she could out into the bay.
As it sank under the waves, she called out, "I renounce you, Tiamat! I will never again serve you!"
Otaaryliakkarnos nodded her approval.
The party spent a good deal of the tenday studying maps to figure out how long it would take to get to Xonthal's Tower.
Borovik said, "Xonthal's Tower is on the slopes of Mt. Hlim, which is at the southern end of the Greypeak range. It looks like we have to go south again to Boaerskyr Bridge. Then we need to head to the Serpent Hills. After that, we can either cross the Serpent Hills, or skirt around it by going through the Backlands. We could edge along the Serpent's Tail Stream for some distance. Then we can turn north until we come to the Marsh of Chelimber. Following the edge of the marsh will take us to the foothills of the Greypeak range. Turning east, we can then finally reach Mt. Hlim and the village surrounding the tower."
"We know what awaits us in the Serpent Hills," said Kellen. "Hill giants, lizardfolk and Yuan-ti. Plus, its rugged territory. What can we expect in the Backlands?"
"Woods and grasslands. There are probably beasts and monsters, but I expect they're not as scary as Yuan-ti. We may encounter lizardfolk and bullywugs as we skirt the marsh."
"It looks like it's a longer journey to divert through the Backlands, but we will probably be in less danger and are less likely to have difficult terrain," said Neega.
"I say we should skirt the edge of the Serpent Hills," Bree piped in.
The rest of the party nodded in agreement.
Borovik continued, "The previous trip we took from Waterdeep to Boareskyr Bridge took us 22 days. We rested a full day there and then spent 4 days to get to the edge of Serpent Hills. Of course, we were pushing the horses because we were chasing Varram. If we went at a more normal pace, it would probably take us 5 days, and we would have to do a full day rest after that."
Borovik did some more calculations and said, " We could follow the Serpent's Tail Stream for about 72.5m, then turn north for about 72.5 m to get to the edge of Marsh of Chelimber. We could follow the edge of the marsh for about 130.5 m until we reach foothills at the southern end of the Greypeak range. We could then turn east and go another 58 m to get to the village surrounding Xonthal's Tower on the slopes of Mt. Hlim. That's around 333.5 miles and would take us close to 14 days. We would probably want to add in a couple of extra days for full day rests, which brings us to 16 days.
"Altogether, it looks like the trip will take 44 days. We can restock provisions in Daggerford, at the Way Inn and at Boareskyr Bridge. However, I don't think there is any place between Boareskyr Bridge and the village of Xonthal's Tower to restock."
"Hmm." mused Mara. "How will 22 days' worth of rations weigh? Will we be able to carry it without encumbering the horses?"
Talis spoke up, "We can buy as much as the horses can carry and I can prepare the Create Food and Water Spell every day. That way, if we run short, I can create enough food for the whole party for the day."
"That sounds like a plan," said Neega.
The Lord's Alliance paid to have their horses examined and verified to be healthy. They repaired any damaged gear and bought sufficient provision to get to Daggerford. All supplies of missiles were replenished. The evening before they were to leave, the residents of Mistshore held another celebration to cheer them on for their next mission.