Gralhund Villa
After fleeing Trollskull Alley with the Stone ofGolorr in
his clutches, the Zhent assassin Urstul Floxin returned
to Gralhund Villa to confront Yalah Gralhund about
sending the oimblewright to meddle in his mission.
Lady Gralhund decides she no longer likes Urstul and,
laking advantage of his injuries, wrests the Stone of
Golorr from him at swordpoint and orders her guards to
lock him up until she decides what to do with him.
Your choice of main villain determines Lady Gral-
hund's motivation, which is a secret held by her and
Hrabbaz, her loyal half-ore bodyguard:- ff Xanathar is the main villain, Yalah Gralhund has se-
cretly cut a deal with the beholder crime lord, offering
to return the Stone ofGolorr to it if the beholder helps
her create a vacancy on the council of Masked Lords. - ff the Cassalanters are the main villains, Yalah is a
fawning member of their Asmodeus-worshiping cult
and intends to deliver the Stone ofGolorr to t hem as a
demonstration of her fealty and friendship.
ff Jarlaxle is the main villain, he and Yalah are secret
lovers. He has promised to facilitate her rise in power
after he uses Lord Neverember's lost hoard to buy
Luskan's way into the Lords' Alliance. - IfManshoon is the main villain, he promised not to
destroy Yalah's family if she allowed her villa to be
used as a staging area for his secret plots. Believing
that Urstul Floxin is after the gold for himself, Yalah
plans to cut Urstul out of the deal and deliver the
Stone ofGolorr to Manshoon herself.
Having gravely misjudged and underestimated Lady
Grall1und once, Urstul isn't about to do so again. Ral-
lying despite his injuries, he manages to kill the two
inattentive Gralhund guards who were watching over
him and alert the other Zhents on the estate. who begin
dispatching the other guards and servants. Urstul's goal
is to capture Lord or Lady Gralhund, force the surren-
der of the Stone ofGolorr, and deliver it to his master
Manshoon in Kolat Towers (described in chapter 8).
Urstul's plans- unbeknownst to him-are dashed
when Lady Gralhund orders her nimblewright to take
the Stone of Golorr elsewhere. Amid the chaos, the nim-
blewright flees the estate.
SHOULD THEY O R SHOULDN'T THEY?
The characters must proceed carefully, since they have
no evidence that directly implicates the Gralhunds in
the attack in Trollskull Alley. Their two basic choices
arc to share what they know with the City Watch or to
visit Gralhund Villa themselves.
LET THE WATCH HANDLE IT
The characters can go to any City Watch station in the
North Ward and report what they have learned to the
constables there. Shortly thereafter, the characters
receive a visit from Barnibus Blastwind and Saeth
Cromley (see appendix B), who have no reason to sus-
pect the characters are lying. Their own investigation
corroborates much of what the characters said. Barni-
bus concludes the meeting by saying, rather brusquely,
CHAPTrR 3 I FIREBALL
"Thank you for the information." Cromley adds, "Rest
assured, we'll have this case resolved in no time."
A magistrate provides the City Watch with a warrant
to search Gralhund Villa. Sometime afterward, Cromley
visits the characters by himself and, as a courtesy, tells
them what happened:- Officers arrived to find Lord Gralhund unconscious,
Lady Gralhund in shock, and their half-ore bodyguard
bloodied but unbowed. - Apparently, the Gralhunds had been held hostage for
more than a tenday by agents of the Black Network.
Most of the Zhents were killed during a bloody revolt
led by Lord Gralhund himself.
The Zhent leader, Urstul Floxin, was among those
who got away. He·s still at large. The Watch plans to
step up its search for him.
Of the nimblewright, there was no sign. According
to the Gralhunds, the construct was delivered to
Gralhund Villa weeks earlier. The family took it in,
not realizing it was a Zhentarim spy. Lady Gralhund
reported that it stole her necklace of fireballs.
Cromley's summary of events is based on information
given to the City Watch by the Gralhunds and is riddled
with falsehoods. The hostage situation. Lord Gralhund's
heroism. and the theft of Lady Gralhund's necklace of
fireballs never happened. The nimblewright's affiliation
with the Zhentarim is also a lie. The Gralhunds' account
further doesn't explain why the nimblewright would use
the necklace of fireballs to inflict harm on the Zhents if
it was working with them. If characters raise that ques-
tion, Cromley thinks for a moment and then ventures
the guess that the nimblewright underestimated the
necklace's explosive power.
INVESTIGATE THE VILLA
The characters can insert themselves into Gralhund
Villa and accost its residents with impunity if they're
careful to pin the violence on the Zhents or if they're
able lo enter and leave unseen before the City Watch
shows up to arrest everyone.
Sneaking in or out of the villa without being seen or
heard by neighbors and passersby requires each char-
acter to succeed on a DC 15 Dexterity (Stealth) check.
A character who has proficiency in the Stealth skill can
take disadvantage on the check to grant advantage on
another party member's check (essentially compensat-
ing for a less stealthy companion).
If the characters side with the Gralhunds in the con-
flict, Lady Gralhund is inclined to overlook their tres-
pass. Her demeanor sours, however, if they start asking
too many questions. She vigorously denies accusations
that her family is involved with the Black Network and
claims the Zhents were holding her family hostage (a
false claim also parroted by her husband, her body-
guard, her children, and her staff). If the characters as-
sault any member of the household or brandish weapons
in an attempt to intimidate, the Gralhunds inform the
City Watch of the party's crimes.
During the characters' invasion of Gralhund ViJla. the
nimblewright flees the estate with the Stone ofGo/orr
(see chapter 4 for more information on its destination). If