A Complete Lack of Intellect

Morning dawned on the Hand of Destiny as they lay in their suite at the Yawning Portal. Aleera woke up to find a blonde woman in the bed where Renard was supposed to be sleeping. Renard himself was gone and there was no sign of the hat of disguise that Milo had lent him. While they all collectively berated themselves for letting him out of their sight Milo tried to sense his hat with a special ability his dagger carried. It allowed him to detect objects and money of great value. 

When he was done he was surprised to find that the entire area around the Yawning Portal lit up. With the many adventurers that came and went from the place there was no way to pin-point his hat in the myriad of objects and money that passed through there. The party got their things together with furtive, efficient movements and made their way down to the main bar area. There among the drinkers and adventurers they found Renard. 

He was wearing the hat of disguise but he had only managed to muster up enough imagination to add a simple mustache to his “disguise”. He was very much noticeable as himself. Hepolita grabbed his arm and, despite his protests, she dragged him into a private booth. They pushed him towards the back into the shadows of the seating area and began trying to form a plan. They knew they needed to get Renard somewhere safe while they found Floon. It was then that there was a commotion when guards walked into the bar and began questioning patrons. 

They were making their way through the bar and its inhabitants, getting closer to the group with every step. In a desperate act the party used Kaladrax’s teleport spell to take them out of the city. Once out of the walls they use various abilities to change their appearance. Aleera changed hair and clothes to look more like a native Waternavian. She then used her disguise kit to help the others change their appearance. She put a bushy beard on Renard and gave him a tattered hat to hide his true looks. Milo used the hat of disguise after he got it back from Renard and donned his dwarven look to blend in.

After they were sufficiently disguised they headed back into the city and made their way to the Skewered Dragon. It was one of the last places where they had gotten clues and needed a bar that Renard could hunker down in without being identified. Safe in his disguise they set him up with a tab at the bar and a room to pass out in once the booze took him down. They paid in advance and went out into the afternoon sun to find Floon. They had a thought that maybe the Xanathar’s Guild had taken Floon from the Zhentarim and were probably moving him under the city, through the sewers, to their main boss the Beholder, Xanathar. 

They headed to the back of the Skewered Dragon where Milo knew there was an entrance to the sewers. They recoiled at the smell but went in following their rogue’s lead. Travelling through the sewers they came across some gross rats and roaches thriving in the waste of the city. Milo led the way, reading the thieves’ cant on the walls of the moldering waste lines. They came across a few symbols of the Xanathar’s Guild and knew they were heading the right way. 

After what seemed like hours of wandering down those messy, smelly corridors they found a rough chamber carved out of the rock. Inside were a few ragged looking humans. They were arguing about something and generally freaking out when they noticed that the party was there. When they saw them they freaked out even more and one of them ran out of a back entrance to either warn someone or bring reinforcements. Before the party could react, they were attacked by the waiting bandits. 

A battle ensued but before they could get many hits in, the bandits escaped through an opening and an Alhoon stepped through the back entrance the other thief had gone to. It only did one thing. With a wave of its hands the entrance they had come through sealed itself and another one opened to the side. The Alhoon then left through its entrance and lef them to this new entrance. They were deciding what to do when the darkness shifted inside the new opening. It then pooled out of the opening and began to plop into the room. 

It was a Black Pudding. They didn’t really know what to do with it. They didn’t want to fight it but they had to get rid of it somehow. It was then that Milo stepped forward, placed his hands on the ground below and since it was rough ground he was able to use Terra’s power to create a slab of rock and push the Black Pudding back into the hole it came out of. Once that was taken care of they went through the only exit they had left. It was where the Alhoon had gone through. 

They entered a larger cavern with various obelisks and stone work. The Alhoon was at the far end of the room and left through another opening next to him. That left the group trapped in these rooms. There were still some of the thieves left in here. It seemed that the Alhoon had trapped the others in here with no regard for them. It was almost too easy to dispatch the remaining thugs. However, one of them did manage to get a good hit on Hepolita before he died and rendered her unconscious. The party had no idea where she was or that she was injured. 

They were checking the cavern for an exit when Aleera heard a skittering to her left. Then another to her right. There was something in here with them. She was about to say something when her mind went completely blank. The party found her wandering around with no idea of who she was. They were searching for when they came across Hepolita’s prone body and a creature inching towards her head. It looked like a brain and Milo gasped that it was an intellect devourer. The remaining members of the party that still had their brains intact fought off the two intellect devourers they had found. 

Once Hepolita was safe and healed they focused on Aleera’s intellect issues. She was still doddering and drooling when Kariss laid her hands on her head and cast Greater Restoration. They didn’t know if it would work but they tried anyway. It didn’t seem like it would until Aleera blinked and looked at everyone in confusion and asked about what had happened. They found Floon trapped in the next room but no sign of the Alhoon or anyone else. Relieved and alive, they made their way up to the surface. To the light of the world above.