In the immediate aftermath of the explosion, we rushed into action. Some tried to assist the casualties, while others investigated the scene for clues. The watch arrived shortly after the blast and started their own investigation. They brought with them a mage by the name of Barnibus Blastwind. Our efforts, and our later conversation with Barnibus revealed several findings:
- 11 people died in the blast.
- A puppet-like creature was seen tossing something down to the street immediately before the blast from atop the roof of the Tiger’s Eye building.
- This construct was similar to those operated in parades and used by followers of Gond.
- A youth at the scene recovered a necklace of fireballs that likely was the source of the explosion.
- Shava traded with the boy for the necklace.
- 2 of the fireball beads were missing.
- The likely target of the explosion was a gnome.
- He was being chased by 3 Zhentarum, 1 of which lived and seemingly escaped.
- The gnome was seen to be concealing something while being chased.
- He had dried waste on his boots, suggesting possible recent sewer activity.
- He had on his person a dagger and pouch, neither of which were likely to be what he was concealing.
After the excitement of the explosion began to wind down, we were approached by a man named Vincent Trench. He told us that he works as an investigator for those that need to track down information. He mentioned that he owns the Tiger’s Eye building, and he generally charges a flat fee of 50 gold. We decided to talk over his offer and possibly seek him out in the future.
Shortly after, we agreed to follow up on a task previously given to us by Mirt. We made our way to Felzoun’s Folly to find Uza, and assist her with the monster trapped in her bookstore. Once we made contact, she readily agreed to escort us to her shop. She described the monster trapped in the cellar as a floating head with many eyes. This description left us a bit nervous. We are not equipped to handle a beholder. We then realized that this woman had trapped it in a cellar, and our fears were somewhat alleviated. Somewhat. Uza also asked that we save her cat, which was likely still in the shop. As we entered, we found the cellar door open, and heard cat noises from upstairs. Jumanji immediately went for the cellar, and I followed. Shava, Boaz and Tobby went upstairs to investigate the cat sounds. Shortly after getting to the bottom of the stairs, Jumanji found Uza’s cat and we heard a shriek of terror from upstairs. We rushed back up to find a scene that I found hard to believe. Shava was clawing at the front door desperately trying to flee from something unseen. I turned and saw Tobby casually walking down the stairs. He said, “Goodbye” to us as he calmly strode to the exit as well. It was at that point that I noticed Boaz seated in a chair, idly flipping through the pages of a book. All three shortly shook off their enchantment and explained what was upstairs. Many of us made attempts to kill the thing, but it was ultimately Tobby who eliminated the gazer with his arrows and daggers. We exited the building to let Uza know that the monster was dead, and that her shop had only suffered minor damage from an errant fireblot. She thanked us profusely. I must say, this kind of work is rewarding – which is beneficial because as I understand it, there will be no other reward!
We returned to Mirt to tell the tale of the bookstore monster. He was pleased and offered us another task if we were interested. A man named Mattrim Mereg, that can be found at the Yawning Portal, wishes to invite a gang of doppelgangers into the Harpers. Mirt would like us to investigate the worthiness of this gang. Before we left, we asked Mirt about exchanging our silver bars for actual coin. He agreed to pay us 40 gold for each bar. We accepted, and exchanged the three bars we had with us.
I
feel a new sense of affiliation with the Harpers, and I must say, I
don’t like the idea of doppelgangers as members. I’ll try to keep an
open mind, but I have a bad feeling about this…