A Strange Proposal

The group was enjoying some ale after fighting the trolls that had come up from the Underdark to rampage when a well dressed man approached them. He introduced himself as Volothamp Geddarm. He was a famous adventurer in Waterdeep, making his fortune off the monsters he took on. Now he was retired and his book on strange creatures was his form of making a living. It still sold well even after all these years. 

His friend Floon Blagmaar had been “misplaced” for a few days and he was getting worried. Volo offered the party one hundred dragons each for searching and one thousand dragons for actually finding him. The party was taken aback and commented that he must care deeply for his friend. He answered that he was very fond of the boy and wanted to see him safe. He also shared the last time he saw Floon. They were carousing at the Yawning Portal two nights ago. Volo went home for the night but Floor and his friends left to party on. 

He described his friend as tall, handsome, with flaming red hair and dressed in princely attire. He was seen heading and seen outside the Skewered Dragon. It was a house of lady favors with a bar below the rooms. It was located between Nett St. and Fillet Ln. He asked that they find him as soon as possible and, should they not be able to find Volo, they could tell Durnan when they finished the task. He would notify Volo as they were old friends. The party agreed and started discussing various ways to investigate this strange occurrence. 

They slept well that night, in free rooms given to them by Durnan as thanks for minimizing the damage that the trolls had done to his bar. They had slept soundly for the first time since setting off from Novos. The beds were soft and the rooms quiet, thick enough that you couldn’t hear anyone in other rooms. It was bliss. In the morning they went down to get some food and prepare for their day of investigating this missing friend of Volo’s. They walked down the stairs into the main drinking hall and sat down at an empty table. 

Milo had seen an old friend of his outside and went to speak to her. He caught up to a half-orc woman dressed in dark clothing. Calling her by name he put his hand on her shoulder. Yagra turned suddenly and scowled at Milo. She pushed him and asked what he was doing here. Milo explained that he came back to fix things if he could. She scoffed but looked at him sideways, measuring him from the corner of her eyes. She reluctantly nodded back at him and asked what he needed. 

He asked about the illness that was plaguing Kaladrax and the compass the party was looking for. She didn’t know anything about the compass he was looking for but she explained the sick feeling their friend was experiencing. Kaladrax was suffering from the Dragon Ward. It affected all dragons and dragonkin. Since he was a dragonborn and a chromatic one at that, he was just as susceptible to the ward as any other dragon. The only reason he wasn’t compelled to leave immediately was because it was stronger for the true dragons. 

Milo thanked her and she left him with a smirk. He went back inside and relayed the information to his friends. Kaladrax was pale but understood that it could be much worse. He just focused on getting better hoping the sick feeling would fade with time. While he and Aleera got food, Kariss went off to find the bench she had found earlier so she could commune with her god, Bahamut. 

She arrived at the small garden area to find an elderly man feeding some birds in front of the bench. They weren’t just any birds. They were seven golden birds. All of them fluttered around him, taking birdseed from his hand every now and then. He was radiating a faint glow that could have been the sun glinting off his hair and clothing but Kariss knew better. It was Bahamut, visiting in human form. He smiled at her as she approached and she knelt at his feet in deference. He brought her up and told her he didn’t have much time. 

In the next few moments he let her know that Zenriel, their cleric frenemy follower of Tiamat, was being held somewhere dark, that she was in pain and needed help. He also gave her a boon. A small orb of glowing divine energy came out of his chest and he floated it over with his hand to settle in her chest. It absorbed into her skin and faded into her body after infusing her with divine light for a moment. Bahamut gave her one final kind smile and faded as the dawn gave way to the full day.