waterdeep dragon heist

WHERE'S THE STONE?

Thrakkus hid the Stone ofGolorr in a recent meat de-

livery to an alley in the Trades Ward. Thrakkus doesn't

keep records of his illegal transactions, so the charac-

ters must interrogate him or one of the commoners that

dwell in his residence.

Thrakkus is belligerent and not eager to give up his

Zbent friends. A charm person spell or similar magic

is needed to compel him to talk. His squatters are an-

other matter; they roll over on Thrakkus quickly to save

their own skins once the dragonborn butcher no longer

becomes a factor in their well-being. Either approach

yields the following information:

Thrakkus's last shipment of meat was taken to a shop

in the Trades Ward called Cuttle's Meat Pies. lt's lo-

cated in an alley.

The meat was delivered by a member of the Guild of

Butchers namedjustyo Rassk. Thrakkus paid extra

coin to see it delivered "quickly and quietly."

• Rassk has a blood-spattered horse-drawn cart that be
  uses to make deliveries outside the Field Ward.
  The characters might know Justyn Rassk from their
  own dealings with the Gui Id of Butchers (see "Sample
  Guild Representatives," page 41).

NEXT ENCOUNTER

[f the characters folJow the trail of the meat delivery,

proceed with encounter 1, "Alley."

Vault Keys

At the end of an encounter chain, a character who is

attuned to the Stone of Golorr can learn the location of

the Vault of Dragons and what three keys are needed

to open its doors. The artifact also reveals that an adult

gold dragon named Aurinax guards the vault.

The three keys needed to open the vault a re chosen by

you or determined randomly by rolling on the Vault Keys

table. Illusory versions of keys don't open the door.

Every key can be found or procured in Waterdeep. If

the characters don't already know the location of a key,

they can gather information about it. To do this, a char-

acter must spend 1 day and 5 gp researching the loca-

tion of a key. At the end of this day, the character makes

a DC 15 Intelligence (Investigation) check, learning the

location of the key on a success. If the check fails by 5

or more, the main villain learns of the search and sends

lackeys to attack the characters and. if possible, wrest

the Stone of Golorr from them:

Xanathar sends either five goblins dressed up as

children wearing Trolltide masks and a bugbear (70

percent chance). or four wererats in human form (30

percent chance).

• The Cassalanters send two imps in raven form, three
  human cultists, and either a human cult fanatic
  (70 percent chance), or four spined devils (30 per-
  cent chance).


• jarlaxle Baenre sends Fel'rekt Lafeen and Krebbyg
  Masq'il'yr, or two other Bregan D'aerthe drow gun-
  slingers (see appendix B), and six drow.


• Manshoon sends four Zhent martial arts adepts (see
  appendix B). There's a 50 percent chance that these
  Zhents are led by one of Manshoon's lieutenants, ei-
  ther Yevette Blackwater or Agoro Fuoco, if they're still
  alive (see chapter 8, area £8).

KEY DESCRIPTIONS

The keys listed in the Vault Keys table are further de-

scribed below, in alphabetical order.

ADAMANTINE BAR

The characters can purchase a 10-pound adamantine

bar for 1,000 gp. The genasi smiths Embric and Avi (see

chapter 2, area T3) can acquire one if the characters

think to ask them.

ANIMATED CONSTRUCT

Any creature of the construct type works as this key,

provided the creature hasn't been destroyed or rendered

inoperable. If the characters have befriended Valetta,

the dragon born priest of Gond (see chapter 3), she hap-

pily releases Nim the nimblewright into their custody

until they no longer have need of it.

An object animated by the animate objects spell also

qualifies as this key.

B EARDLESS DWARF

Most female dwarves are beardless and thus meet the

condition. A male dwarfNPC can be persuaded to shave

his beard, either as a consequence of losing a bet or

upon receiving some sort of recompense. The charac-

ters can a lso shave a male dwarf they have captured or

against whom they have some sort of leverage.

BEHOLDER EYESTALK

The eyestalk need not come from a true, living beholder.

fl can be plucked from a stuffed beholder (see "Old Xob-

lob Shop," page 23) or obtained from a lesser form of

beholderkin, such as a gazer or a spectator. The eyestalk

also need not be detached.

VAULT KEYS {ROLL THREE TIMES, ONCE FOR EACH KEY)

d6 First Key Second Key

l 2 3 4 5 6

Adamantine bar

Beholder eyestalk

Drunken elf

Invisible creature

Performance of"Your Beardy Face"

Silvered warhammer

CHAPTER 4-I DRAGON SEASON

Animated cons truct

Bronze dragon scale

Gems worth at least l , 000 gp

Painting of a dwarf miner

Severed drow hand

Sunlight

Third Key

Beardless dwarf

Cask of dwarven ale

Gift from a queen

Pair of bugbear ears

Shapechanger

Unicorn