Session 2: The Dead of the Warrens

Okay, this part is actually carried over from session one.

"After resting, the Gnome proprietress of Smokeless told the party that a local merchant was looking for help. The party met a mysterious old lady, the unofficial mortician of the Warrens. Yanliella told them that she was interested in the investigation of some missing body parts from bodies she was holding for he “resurrection” side hustle.

The party headed out to the cavern where she held the bodies; they found a set of elven carvings and a fountain in the room, dedicated to a long-forgotten Elven God. In addition, the party found clawed tracks from both a bipedal creature and a quadropedal creature.  (And here, the session ended.)"

And this is the summary for Session 2

"This session opened with the party in the fountain cavern surrounded by corpses awaiting the resurrection deal that Yanliela peddled. Examining these corpses, the party discovered that the bodies were missing very specific parts, thighs and upper arms, and that parts were removed with precision rather than being torn or bitten off. The party decided against a scavenger attack and theorized that the collection may have been for a flesh golem.

They were discovered by a lizardfolk of the Mere of Dead Men who had come to collect meat from the abandoned bodies in the cavern. The party negotiated an agreement, meat for the lizardfolk and bones for Yanliela. Yanliela agreed, but was adamant in refusing to return to the cavern at night.

A couple of days later, while shopping, the party discovered an elf woman, Valley, screaming that her satchel was stolen. Chasing the thief through the pitch-black twisting tunnels, the party eventually arrived at an apartment with an occupant happy to harvest more bodies for his necromantic exploits. A hard fight followed with the Necromancer, joined by an Imp and a pair of Zombies. The party slew the Necromancer and recovered the satchel and other valuables. The party traded Yanliela's Speak with Dead spell to ask the Necromancer about the books for the bodies. They found out that he was working for a Thayan wizard, Karthou, who told him to focus on Valley and her archaeological finds.

Later, the party meets Ogden, a cobbler, denied entry to Neverwinter due to disability. Ogden said his wife, Vindy, was missing. She had been smuggled into the city by some people so she could work, but had been missing for three days. The party tracks the group and is accosted by a Shadow Thief, who says the dockworkers had stolen the smuggling tunnels. The Shadow Thieves had threatened the dockworkers, who were barricaded in a nearby cave. The party found the dockworkers and smuggled workers, but the dockworkers were charging “protection” and refused to release Vindy unless the party paid protection for all of the workers/hostages. Frustrated with the negotiations, the dockworkers, who were known Zhentarim, attacked. Defeated, the dockworkers tried a last-ditch effort to injure or kill the hostages before the encounter ended.

Finally, the party was approached by a young woman, Anya, and Yanliela. Anya’s father could not be raised from the dead because his soul was missing or occupied. The party found work payments and scale care products from Five Heads are Better than One, a local offshoot of the Dragon Cult preaching, “Tiamat wants you to grow your hoard, like a Dragon, not Dracoliches or Escape”. They offered the party access to their multilevel marketing scheme to “grow their hoard,” but one of the party members noticed that the credit contract required a soul as collateral. The cultists protested that Horace was fully paid up and would not have lost their soul. The party headed to the Leilon headquarters of the “church”. But the Abishai who ran the church offered a different culprit, a Rakshasa named Gunther."

I think the kids are having a good time, and although they were suspicious that I had thrown another, "either decision is the right one," choice at them, they did not complain. They also seem to be enjoying resolving situations without combat - not a single multilevel marketer Dragon Cultist has been slain so far.

Session 2: The Dead of the Warrens is unofficial Fan Content permitted under the Fan Content Policy. Not approved/endorsed by Wizards. Portions of the materials used are property of Wizards of the Coast. ©Wizards of the Coast LLC.