The Friendly Arm Inn Incident

[Maecius]

The Friendly Arm Inn stands empty, the newly-opened building gathering dust inside its locked rooms. Flaming Fist soldiers patrol the castle grounds, protecting it from intruders, while only minor business transactions continue in the courtyard outside of the inn, more slowly and solemnly than before.

Rumors say that all sorts of villains were gathering at the inn over the past few tenday (http://bgtscc.net/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=13373), including Red Wizards, which attracted the ire of the heroes who won the fortress from the worshipers of Bhaal in the great siege of last year.

When some of these heroes grew suspicious enough to investigate matters, they discovered that the gnome that was supposed to be Bentley was actually a doppelganger in disguise!

The doppelganger was chased off, and the other suspicious figures dispersed into the wilderness, leaving the inn empty and mostly abandoned.

The question on everyone's mind ...

Where is Bentley Mirrorshade?

[rokranon]

A Missing Friend

When Sir Jonas Rokranon returned to Baldur's Gate from his extensive journey to other major cities of the Lords' Alliance in the North, he was bombarded with the usual tidings that are wont to occur in a land so eternally locked in the struggles of good versus evil. But one tale in particular troubled the paladin exceedingly. He learned from Saint Merielle Silene, Siomir Danneren, Rith'alaria, Tomar Goodmannen, and Taric TKol that Bentley Mirrorshade had, less than a tenday before, not only allowed Red Wizards into his new inn along the Trade Way but also defended them to the some of the seasoned heroes of the Bhaalist siege. The Red Wizards were run off, but not before many negative feelings had erupted. This alarmed Jonas so because Bentley knew Jonas and Meri well, and thus also knew of their history with the Thayans, and besides that was a resident of Baldur's Gate and was present when the Reds laid siege to the city a few years before. Though the gnome had been eager to launch his inn, he was not one to show such disrespect for the past, and Jonas resolved to confront him.

Meri and Jonas traveled to the Friendly Arm Inn to investigate, with Tomar and Charraj also assisting and a man by the name of Ash present, though he seemed more interested in getting a drink than the behavior of the gnome innkeep. Jonas cut to the chase, asking direct questions, which seemed to throw Bentley off balance slightly. After casting True Seeing Meri saw Bentley for what he really was. She quickly cast the spell on Jonas as well, and a doppelganger was revealed. Jonas drew his blade, which was mirrored by Tomar, but before any of them could stop him, the doppelganger Bentley had a strange stone in his hand and disappeared. The search began.

Charraj and Ash proved very useful in helping search the inn for any clues. Ultimately it was discovered that Bentley had been missing for at least two tenday, judging from the layer of dust in his room. Meri collected some personal items - a brush, comb, and pillowcase - for scrying purposes. But no sign of where Bentley might be. Jonas sent word to allies, asking for help with scrying the gnome's location. Vauk, the Guide of Candlekeep answered the call, but before he was ready to proceed, the lay of the situation changed.

At this point, Valerius Rokranon, adopted brother of Jonas and the former Candlekeep Guide, returned to the Sword Coast after several tenday. He called upon Jonas and Auriel Elenviel, priestess of Sehanine Moonbow, to meet him at the now abandoned Friendly Arm. Others joined the gathering, namely Meri, Siomir, and Rith'alaria. On the roof of the inn, Valerius told the tale of a goddess of evil dragons, Tiamat, falling to Marduk the Justice Bringer, an aspect of the good dragon god Bahamat, some millennia prior in far off Unther. He warned that he had discovered the machinations of a cult to Tiamat to resurrect the fallen deity, and surmised that Bentley's disappearance could well be linked to a plot involving the Sword Coast by the cultists. The gathering broke up with plans to scry for Bentley the following evening in Candlekeep.

[rokranon]

The Rescue Mission, Part 1

Many gathered at Candlekeep the following day. In addition to Jonas, Meri, Siomir, and Valerius, Jonas also brought his soon-to-be wife (again) Alistaria, and Candlekeep had brought together Guide Vauk, Valqis, Lucavern, and Cassia of Doron Amar. It was agreed that the scrying attempt would take place in the Great Library, and they should prepare themselves as well as possible, for many things could go wrong. Once in a meditation room inside the ancient keep, Meri handed over the possession of Bentley she had obtained, and Vauk produced a small silver mirror. Many wards were cast by those present, and finally all were ready.

Valerius assisted Vauk with the casting of Greater Scrying, with Cassia standing by to jump in should the need arise. Most people in the room were tense as the casting began. A scene emerged on the mirror with the completion of the spell, a scene of a tortured Bentley and three people who appeared to be Red Wizards speaking. Two of the Thayans, Erabrion and Sirena, argued over whether it was time to kill the gnome or not, until the third and silent person interrupted them and intoned that they were being watched magically. A counter assault began, and Cassia jumped in to help Vauk and Valerius. The scrying ended, and Vauk was struck blind and deaf, but Meri was able to cure him. A discussion ensued about whether to set out immediately or wait and plan, with the general consensus being go immediately. Bentley could not hold out much longer.

The assembled group left the Great Library and proceeded outside of Candlekeep to where the wards would not prevent certain magics. The tiefling wizard then teleported the entire group to Bentley's location. They ended up in a dark and dank tunnel. Valerius quickly surmised the attempt had been deflected, but he believed they might still be close to Bentley's location. Siomir, Jonas, and Lucavern started to lead the way through the tunnels. Before long the party was assailed by wave after wave of mixed groups of powerful kobolds. The little draconic relatives used hit and run tactics to draw the adventurers into large ambushes, which proved more and more difficult to survive as their wards ran out and powers were depleted. Often it seemed only the will of Meri alone kept them alive, as she had to resort to bandages and other conventional means of curing when her divine channeling ran dry.

Using his tracking skills, Siomir led them deeper and deeper into the cavern complex. Ultimately they came across half dragon warriors mixed with more of the kobolds guarding a large room that appeared to be the one they saw in the mirror. The presence of so many dragon bloods seemed to prove Valerius' suggestion of a cult true. At this point only a handful of those present knew about that though. With all the enemies dispatched, the group thoroughly searched the room, finding gnome footprints, and the bed they had seen Bentley on through the scrying mirror, but no Bentley. The teleportation deflection had given their enemies time to move Bentley elsewhere. On the sheets of the bed, they found a message from the gnome, seemingly stitched into the cloth using small bone fragments of the kobolds' most recent dinner. The note suggested he was being moved to a castle of frost. The Crystal Frost keep in the Cloudpeak mountains was the most obvious destination. Though they had failed to find Bentley, the message indicated he yet lived, and the group held out hope. Completely exhausted, they were brought back to Candlekeep via a magical contraption belonging to Valqis. Resolved to set out the next morning, the party headed off to rest and recover from the intense battles. Bentley only needed to hold out a little longer. . .


(( EDIT: And a big thanks to both DMs Heartless and Sojourner for doing such a great job with this on such short notice! ))

[Lucavern]

The band regathered, with a few additions to their numbers. After resting and resupplying, the group departs for the snowy mountains and the frost giants' keep. Using the device in possession of one of Candlekeep's Readers, the trip is a swift one.

More dragon-bloods awaited the rescue party, along with the occasional giant that seemed to be leading their patrols. The group quietly cut their way through to the King's Throne, where a dragon waited to devour a number of them. After a strenuous battle, the dragon fell, along with his disciples and the remaining kobolds scattered through the chamber.

Finding a small wooden cage, frozen in the corner of the room, the group found Bently, alive, though worse for ware. Scanning the cage for traps, and using magics to ensure it was not another trap, Siomir and Jonas smashed through the cage with little finesse, freeing the gnome. Without wasting a breathe, the group escaped through the device, making a few stops along the way to throw off any direct trail to their end destination.

The gnome now rests within the well warded and guarded Candlekeep, resting peacefully while the group makes decisions about how to recover his wife, whom was only recently learned to be captured and held separate from Bently himself.