Gods, Monsters, & Poor Life Choices // D&D
Session 35, Homeward Bound
The session at a glance
Short Summary
The party's evening at the Crystal Ball Inn ended with a revealing late-night conversation between Séantal and Veyra Vorn, during which Veyra's gauntlet was spotted bearing the symbol of the Hand of Bane — a detail she smoothly deflected before departing, leaving a lingering unease. Back in Baldur's Gate the following morning via Velessa's teleportation circle, the group found the Upper City under Drow occupation, with House Xilraen banners hanging from every gate and soldiers patrolling the streets. A chance encounter in the alley outside the bastion introduced them to Mizaki, a gnome whose carrier pigeon was being harassed by Drow soldiers. After rescuing the bird and retrieving a cryptic scroll calling for a midnight meeting between the Upper and Lower City — signed by the initials LP and addressed to a "Lady M" — the group welcomed Mizaki into their ranks and began piecing together the shape of the resistance.
Duke Liara Portyr, running a makeshift command center for the Flaming Fist, tasked the party with identifying collaborators in the Parliament of Peers, reclaiming the Watch Citadel, and checking on students at Provoss Academy — though her preferred solution of assassinating Matriarch Zilvra Xilraen was quietly set aside, both for Velessa's personal reasons and the practical problem of Lolth immediately claiming Zilvra's soul. The confrontation at the High Hall proved equally unresolvable: Zilvra had settled into power with calm satisfaction, revealed she had used the abyss beneath the city to funnel in her forces, and showed no interest in leaving. Velessa pushed back but found no leverage, while Ilmryn quietly suggested they simply abandon the city altogether. With Zilvra firmly entrenched and the party's options narrowing, the session ended at a tense impasse.
The story
Session Recap
The evening at the Crystal Ball Inn wound down slowly, the hearth burning to embers as Séantal and Veyra Vorn lingered over their drinks long after the others had drifted away. Their conversation had begun with the dry, precise language of bureaucrats comparing notes, but as the night deepened, it grew into something more genuine. Veyra leaned forward, resting her chin on her hand, and asked Séantal where the authority of government truly ended — when someone disliked a law, when an official abused it, or when the majority simply found obedience inconvenient. Séantal answered without hesitation: the authority of the law stops mattering when those it is meant to protect are no longer protected. Veyra smiled as though they had just passed a test she had been quietly administering all evening, and took a long sip of her wine.
The party noticed something strange about Veyra's gauntlet as the night wore on. The intricate carvings that had once appeared as vague, floral filigree had shifted into the unmistakable symbol of the Hand of Bane. When Séantal casually asked whether the gauntlet cycled through patterns, Veyra claimed not to have noticed the change — and then, with a perfectly natural-looking stretch, pulled the gauntlet out of view and moved the conversation along. She departed not long after, pausing only to run her gauntleted hand gently across Séantal's shoulder before slipping out the door into the night. Meanwhile, Yona had spent the evening working her way through an impressive quantity of cheese, and Velessa and Taliya had slipped away to collect newly acquired magical items, returning with Velessa looking considerably more unsettling than before — her new leotard covered in dozens of unblinking eyes that stared outward in every direction. Before the group finally retired, Yona made her nightly report to her patron Miirym, sharing what she had uncovered in Szass Tam's library during their brief access to his archives.
The next morning, Velessa gathered the party close and focused her mind on the teleportation circle etched into the floor of her bastion far away in Baldur's Gate. With a flash, the group vanished from Eltabbar and reappeared in the quiet of Velessa's manor — only to find that the city outside was anything but quiet. Dark purple House Xilraen banners hung from every gate and mansion in the Upper City. Drow soldiers moved in coordinated pairs through the streets while civilian clerks sat beneath hastily painted signs, recording names and issuing temporary passes. Séantal recognized several of their co-workers among the clerks and watched with narrowed eyes as a noble carriage rolled through an intersection unchallenged while a laborer's cart was held and searched crate by crate.
The peace of the bastion was broken almost immediately by a commotion in the alleyway outside. A group of Drow soldiers were attempting to swat a messenger pigeon out of the air using conjured spectral hands, and a small gnome woman was shouting at them to stop. The gnome, who introduced herself as Mizaki, claimed the bird was her own carrier pigeon and that she had simply been following it to ensure it made it safely out of the city. The Drow commander dismissed her words on the grounds that she was not Drow, and things might have escalated further had Velessa not appeared over the bastion wall. The soldiers, mistaking her for a member of the ruling house, immediately deferred, and Velessa smoothly took custody of the situation, sending the soldiers on their way and inviting the gnome inside.
Luring the pigeon down with crackers and a bit of patient diplomacy — including Taliya speaking to it directly in the language of animals — the group managed to retrieve a small rolled scroll the bird had been carrying. The missive called for a midnight meeting between the Upper and Lower City, addressed to someone called Lady M from the initials LP. Velessa tracked the pigeon as it flew onward, following it until it disappeared somewhere near the High Hall. Taliya cast a concealment over the bird to help it complete its delivery safely, though the magic surged unexpectedly and left everyone nearby briefly vulnerable to harm. With the pigeon on its way and a new mystery in hand, the group welcomed Mizaki into their fold and began to plan their next move.
The party made their way to the Flaming Fist's temporary command center, where Duke Liara Portyr was busy barking orders and holding the resistance together through sheer force of will. She was not particularly interested in pleasantries. When the party offered their help, she cut straight to the point: how were they at assassination? She made clear she wanted Zilvra Xilraen dead, expressing particular fury at the thought of what the Matriarch might have done to her office in the High Hall. Velessa expressed reluctance to outright murder her own mother, and the group quietly reasoned that even if they tried, Zilvra's soul would likely be immediately claimed by the spider goddess the Drow revered — making death a poor solution. Liara, unmoved by the moral complexity, tasked them instead with identifying which members of the Parliament of Peers were cooperating with the occupation, reclaiming the Watch Citadel, and checking on the students at Provoss Academy.
While the group strategized, Velessa sent an invisible magical eye drifting through the city to scout the High Hall from the inside. It floated through corridors draped in purple banners and past drow soldiers standing at attention, eventually finding Mizora in her office, casually conversing with Wyll Ravengard on her couch. Velessa, unable to resist, nudged the eye into Mizora's desk and knocked a pen over to get her attention. Mizora looked over at the floating invisible sensor, smirked, and reached out to gently pet it. Velessa reported this to the group with visible discomfort.
Armed with their official tokens granting them freedom of movement through the Upper City, the party made their way to the High Hall. Tina Woods, now relegated to gate duty following her demotion, stopped them at the checkpoint with barely concealed resentment, blaming the party for the state of her career before reluctantly letting them through. Inside the High Hall, the bureaucracy had become strangely, infuriatingly efficient — a fact that made Séantal cast a long, pointed look at their co-workers who were suddenly doing their jobs properly. Ilmryn, Velessa's favorite sister, rushed forward and pulled her into a tight hug the moment she entered, while Talice observed from a distance. And behind the central desk, Matriarch Zilvra Xilraen rose to her feet and smiled.
Zilvra was not angry. She was comfortable. She had settled into the High Hall as though she had always belonged there, and she spoke of Baldur's Gate with the calm satisfaction of someone who had acquired exactly what they wanted. She chided Velessa for her lack of proper etiquette and for taking so long to present herself, and she declared without a hint of uncertainty that she had no intention of leaving. The city, she explained, was a well-oiled machine that simply needed a guiding hand — and she was that hand. She had left many of the existing leadership structures intact, removing only those who were not functional, and she seemed genuinely pleased with the results.
Velessa pushed back, suggesting her mother relocate to Elturel or build a superior city elsewhere, pointing out that Baldur's Gate sat directly above a screaming abyss. Zilvra was unmoved, revealing that she had used that very abyss to bring her forces into the city, describing the port they had constructed beneath it as magnificent. When Velessa muttered something unflattering about the goddess pulling the strings behind the occupation, Zilvra's composure cracked just slightly, and she demanded that Lolth be shown proper deference within her halls. Velessa deflected by claiming she had never specified which goddess she meant, but Zilvra saw through it immediately and let the silence do the rest of the work.
The group quietly debated their options. Yona whispered about the possibility of legally severing Zilvra's ties to her divine patron, the way they had done for Szass Tam — but that had required the subject's willing cooperation, and Zilvra showed no signs of wanting to be freed from anything. Ilmryn leaned close to Velessa and murmured that they could simply leave, that Waterdeep had been nice. Velessa hesitated, caught between the pull of her property, her complicated feelings about her family, and the weight of what the city needed from her. The confrontation had reached an impasse, and for now, the Matriarch of House Xilraen remained exactly where she intended to stay.
Memorable moments
Memorable Moments
Funny — Velessa
Well, when you come visit, maybe we can have a threesome.
Context: Casually propositioning Tazira Imravel during their farewell, immediately short-circuiting the composed diplomatic liaison
Dramatic — Séantal
The authority of the law stops mattering when those it is meant to protect are no longer protected.
Context: Delivering a sincere and precise answer to Veyra Vorn's philosophical challenge about the limits of governmental authority
Intriguing
The intricate carvings on Veyra Vorn's gauntlet shifted from vague floral designs to the distinctive Hand of Bane during the evening, a change she claimed not to notice before quickly deflecting the subject.
Context: Observed by the party during their evening with the prefect, raising questions about what the change signified
Funny — Mizaki
I am the Lorax. I speak for the pigeons.
Context: Mizaki's first words to a Drow commander after shouting at soldiers to stop harassing a messenger pigeon in the alley
Funny — Tina Woods
You got me demoted. I don't know why you keep having to fuck with my life, but I'm over it.
Context: Tina's exasperated greeting to the party upon their return to Baldur's Gate, now stuck on gate duty
Dramatic — Liara Portyr
How are you at assassination? I don't care. As long as she dies.
Context: Duke Portyr cutting straight to the point when the party offered their help, making her feelings about Zilvra Xilraen unmistakably clear
Funny
Mizora smirked at Velessa's invisible magical eye floating in her office, then reached out and gently petted it.
Context: Velessa was using her arcane eye to spy on Mizora and knock things over to get her attention, only for the devil to respond with amused affection
Dramatic — Zilvra Xilraen
I don't intend on going anywhere. Your properties are still your own. Make yourself comfortable.
Context: Velessa's mother calmly and confidently declaring her permanent occupation of Baldur's Gate to her estranged daughter's face
Funny — Velessa
I said it smelt of fish mildew and was much more freeing than the stifling hellhole that is Menzoberranzan.
Context: Velessa clarifying exactly what she wrote about Baldur's Gate in a letter to her mother, which Zilvra had interpreted as an invitation to invade
Scene trail
Scene-by-Scene Outline
1. An Evening at the Crystal Ball Inn
The party enjoys drinks and conversation with Veyra Vorn at the Crystal Ball Inn in Eltabbar following their legal victory for Szass Tam.
Key events
- Séantal and Veyra Vorn engage in a dry, professional conversation regarding bureaucratic strategies and the application of law.
- Taliya uses her magic to subtly influence the social atmosphere, granting Séantal a bonus die for the evening's conversation.
- Veyra Vorn expresses her admiration for the party's legal work in dissolving Szass Tam's divine covenant with Bane.
- The party notices that the intricate floral carvings on Veyra's gauntlet have shifted to display the symbol of the Hand of Bane.
- Séantal casually asks if Veyra's gauntlet cycles through patterns, and she deflects the question, pulling the gauntlet out of view before changing the subject.
- Yona consumes an impressive amount of cheese from the table, leading to a discussion about Underdark delicacies like Rothé cheese.
- Velessa and Taliya slip away to collect newly acquired magical items, leaving Séantal and Veyra to their conversation.
- Veyra and Séantal engage in a deep philosophical debate about the nature of law and authority, discussing when governmental power should end and the importance of the greater good.
- Veyra reveals her disdain for officials who use power for personal gain, citing a past incident where officials stole money meant for public protection, resulting in three deaths.
- Veyra departs the inn, gently running her gauntleted hand over Séantal's shoulder as she leaves.
2. Farewell in Eltabbar
The party wraps up their stay in Eltabbar, with Tazira Imravel bidding them farewell before they prepare to teleport home.
Key events
- Tazira Imravel approaches the group and asks if they have plans for their return.
- Velessa announces she intends to cast a teleportation spell directly from the inn room.
- Tazira thanks the party for protecting her family's ability to continue doing business, noting that Szass Tam's written guarantee now prevents unwanted scrutiny of their accounts.
- Velessa makes a scandalous suggestion about a future threesome visit, which briefly short-circuits Tazira before she politely declines.
- Tazira bids the group a warm farewell, noting she can see what her sister sees in them.
- The party discusses the logistics of Velessa sleeping while wearing her new, multi-eyed magical leotard.
- Yona reports her findings from Szass Tam's library to her patron, Miirym, via a planar connection before the group departs.
- Velessa uses a magical necklace to cast a teleportation spell, bringing the entire party back to her bastion in Baldur's Gate.
3. Return to an Occupied Baldur's Gate
The party arrives back at Velessa's bastion in Baldur's Gate to find the Upper City under Drow occupation.
Key events
- The party observes the state of the Upper City through the bastion's windows, noting House Xilraen banners hanging from gates and mansions.
- Drow soldiers patrol in coordinated pairs while civilian clerks record names, addresses, and temporary passes beneath hastily painted signs.
- Séantal recognizes some of their co-workers from the civil works office among the clerks.
- The party witnesses unequal enforcement of the new laws: a noble carriage rolls through an intersection without stopping while a laborer's cart is held and searched.
- A woman is seen arguing with a patrol about what she is permitted to take out of the district.
- Meanwhile, Mizaki has spent days observing the occupied Upper City in animal form, following patrols and noting the city's overlooked inhabitants.
- Mizaki notices a group of Drow soldiers in a nearby alley attempting to capture a messenger pigeon using magical hands.
4. The Pigeon in the Alley
Mizaki and the party intervene when Drow soldiers attempt to capture a messenger pigeon near Velessa's bastion, leading to a formal introduction.
Key events
- Drow soldiers use magical hands to try and swat a messenger pigeon out of the air in the alleyway.
- Mizaki shouts at the soldiers to leave the bird alone, claiming it as her own carrier pigeon.
- A Drow commander confronts Mizaki, dismissively questioning the validity of a gnome's words and stating her words are less valid because she is not Drow.
- Velessa intervenes from her bastion wall, being mistaken for 'Lady Xilraen' by the soldiers.
- The soldiers explain they are capturing pigeons to intercept coded messages working against Velessa's mother.
- Velessa uses her status as a member of House Xilraen to dismiss the soldiers, taking custody of the 'interrogation' herself.
- Taliya attempts to communicate with the pigeon, offering it crackers and cheese to lure it down.
- The pigeon, initially suspicious and rude, eventually lands to eat the offered snacks, dropping a small rolled-up scroll next to the cracker.
- Mizaki retrieves the missive and reads it aloud: it calls for a midnight meeting between the Upper and Lower City, addressed to 'Lady M' from 'LP'.
- Taliya uses her ability to speak with animals to converse with the pigeon, who boasts about being the fastest courier left in the city.
- Taliya casts a spell to turn the pigeon invisible to help it reach its destination safely, triggering a wild magic surge that makes everyone nearby vulnerable to piercing damage.
- Velessa uses her magical sight and her flying sword to track the invisible pigeon, following it until it disappears near the High Hall.
- Mizaki joins the party inside the safety of the bastion walls after receiving assurances that they are not aligned with the occupying Drow forces.
- The party formally meets Mizaki Papoyaki, who introduces herself and claims to be taller than the average gnome.
5. A New Ally and a Plan for Resistance
The party introduces themselves to Mizaki and begins strategizing how to reclaim Baldur's Gate from Velessa's mother.
Key events
- Mizaki explains that her magic is drawn directly from the world of Toril, leading to a discussion about the nature of druidic and sorcerous powers.
- Taliya and Mizaki bond over their shared ability to manifest magic naturally, while Séantal is noted for his more orderly and bureaucratic approach.
- Mizaki and Taliya both demonstrate Druidcraft, conjuring falling leaves and pleasant scents.
- The group discusses the political landscape of the occupied city, debating whether to seek help from figures like Wyll or Mizora.
- Velessa expresses a desire to claim the glory for ousting her mother, while Séantal and Yona are content to stay in the background.
- The party decides their first move should be visiting the Flaming Fist to gauge the strength of the local resistance and gather allies.
- Velessa initiates a circle casting ritual to create a long-lasting magical eye for surveillance, with Séantal, Taliya, and Yona contributing spell slots to extend the duration to nine hours.
- Velessa sends the invisible magical eye to scout the High Hall, observing drow patrols and the presence of her mother and sisters.
- The magical eye also locates Mizora in her office, casually conversing with Wyll Ravengard.
6. A Tense Reunion at the Gate
The party returns to the Upper City gate and encounters Tina Woods, who is less than thrilled to see them after her recent demotion.
Key events
- The party approaches the gate to the Upper City and is stopped by Tina Woods, who is now on gate duty.
- Tina expresses her frustration, blaming the party for her demotion and the trouble they bring.
- Séantal and Velessa trade barbs with Tina, who is skeptical of their ability to handle the drow occupation.
- Mizaki is warned by Tina not to get wrapped up in the party's business.
- After Séantal correctly identifies Duke Liara Portyr by name, Tina reluctantly allows the party through and directs them to the temporary Flaming Fist camp.
7. Consulting with Duke Liara Portyr
The party arrives at the Flaming Fist's temporary command center and offers their services to Duke Liara Portyr.
Key events
- The party enters the busy Flaming Fist camp and finds Duke Liara Portyr barking orders and organizing the resistance.
- Velessa informs the Duke that their business with Szass Tam in Thay has been concluded and that they returned with new allies.
- Liara expresses frustration with the drow occupation and the defacement of the High Hall with purple banners, threatening to gut Zilvra if her office has been touched.
- Liara asks the party directly how they are at assassination, making clear she wants Zilvra dead.
- Velessa expresses a moral reluctance to outright murder her mother, preferring to capture her instead.
- The party realizes that if Zilvra were to die, her soul would likely be immediately claimed by the Demonweb Pits.
- Liara tasks the party with identifying which members of the Parliament of Peers are cooperating with the drow invaders.
- Velessa uses her magical eye to observe the High Hall but admits she does not know the names of the people she can see.
- Liara also requests that the party reclaim the Watch Citadel and check on the students at Provoss Academy.
- The group debates their next move, ultimately deciding to head directly to the High Hall using their official tokens.
8. Confrontation in the High Hall
The party enters the occupied High Hall and has a tense reunion with Velessa's mother, Matriarch Zilvra Xilraen.
Key events
- Velessa uses her magical eye to pester Mizora in her office, knocking over a pen and flying the eye in a pattern to spell out a word, prompting Mizora to smirk and gently pet the invisible sensor.
- The party uses their official tokens to enter the High Hall, noting that the bureaucracy has become strangely more efficient under Drow occupation.
- Séantal expresses frustration at their co-workers, realizing they were capable of working this efficiently all along.
- Ilmryn greets Velessa with a tight hug, while Talice and Matriarch Zilvra Xilraen observe from the central desk.
- Velessa introduces Mizaki to her family, while Zilvra demands proper matriarchal etiquette from her estranged daughter.
- Zilvra declares her intention to stay in Baldur's Gate, admiring the 'well-oiled machine' she has created through her conquest.
- Velessa attempts to negotiate, suggesting her mother relocate to Elturel or build a superior city elsewhere to avoid the screaming abyss beneath Baldur's Gate.
- Zilvra reveals she used the abyss portal beneath the city to bring her forces in, describing the port they built below as 'magnificent.'
- Velessa insults the goddess Lolth, prompting a sharp rebuke from Zilvra who demands deference within her halls.
- Velessa deflects by claiming she never specified which goddess she meant, but Zilvra sees through it immediately.
- The party quietly discusses the possibility of legally severing Zilvra's ties to Lolth, though they realize such a feat would require the Matriarch's willing cooperation.
- Ilmryn whispers to Velessa that they could simply leave, suggesting Waterdeep was nice, but Velessa remains conflicted due to her property in the city.
- The session ends with the party stumped, having put a pin in the confrontation to consider their next words carefully.
Other voices
Classic Summary
Last we left off, our party found themselves deep in the heart of Eltabbar, where a late-night conversation at the Crystal Ball Inn between Séantal and the enigmatic Veyra Vorn turned from polite bureaucratic exchange into something far more pointed — a quiet philosophical test, administered over wine, about the nature of law and the limits of authority. Séantal passed, it seemed, though not without cost: the party noticed the shifting carvings on Veyra's gauntlet reveal the unmistakable mark of the Hand of Bane before she smoothly withdrew it from sight and slipped into the night. Meanwhile, Yona made her nightly report to her patron Miirym, sharing what she had uncovered in Szass Tam's archives, and Velessa returned from collecting her new magical items looking considerably more unsettling than before — dozens of unblinking eyes staring outward from her new leotard in every direction.
Come morning, Velessa focused her mind on the teleportation circle in her distant bastion, and with a flash, the group reappeared in Baldur's Gate — only to find their city draped in dark purple House Xilraen banners, drow soldiers patrolling the streets in pairs, and civilian clerks issuing passes beneath hastily painted signs. A commotion in the alley outside led them to a small gnome named Mizaki, a messenger pigeon, and a scroll calling for a secret midnight meeting between the Upper and Lower City — signed only with the initials LP, addressed to someone called Lady M. Duke Liara Portyr, holding the resistance together through sheer force of will, wasted no time on pleasantries when the party arrived at the Flaming Fist's command center: she wanted Matriarch Zilvra Xilraen dead, and she wanted it done quickly. The party, for reasons both moral and practical, quietly concluded that assassination was not the answer — and accepted a different set of tasks instead.
Now, the party stands inside the High Hall itself, face to face with Matriarch Zilvra Xilraen, who has settled into the seat of Baldur's Gate's power as though she has always belonged there. She is not angry. She is comfortable. She has no intention of leaving. With the city's resistance counting on them, a secret meeting to investigate, a parliament to audit, and a mother who controls an army and a goddess, our party finds themselves at a crossroads — and the Matriarch of House Xilraen is watching them with the patient smile of someone who has already decided how this ends...
Limerick Style Summary
At the Inn, Veyra's gauntlet revealed, The Hand of Bane, so long concealed. She stretched, pulled it back, Then slipped out the crack — And Séantal's test score was sealed!
They flashed back to Baldur's Gate's street, Where purple banners lined every beat. A gnome and a bird, A scroll overheard — Lady M had a midnight to meet!
Duke Portyr said, "Kill her, I plead!" But Lolth would just claim her with speed. So instead of a blade, A new plan was made: Find the traitors and fill every need.
An invisible eye drifted through halls, Past drow-guarded corridors and walls. Mizora just smirked, And the eye-sensor lurked — Then Velessa felt weird in her small.
The Matriarch sat, calm and serene, The most comfortable villain they'd seen. She'd not leave her throne, She'd made the Hall home — And the eyes on the leotard convened.
Middle English Summary
Hearke well, ye souls of wandering fate, Who supped at the Crystal Ball Inn late; Where Séantal and Veyra spoke of law, And in the gauntlet's carvings, Bane they saw, Yet Veyra smiled and hid it, cool and straight.
Then Velessa donned her leotard of eyes, A hundred gazes staring at the skies; And Yona fed her patron secrets deep, While Yona's cheese-hoard dwindled in a heap, And morning came with swift and cold surprise.
A flash of light, and Baldur's Gate appeared, In purple draped, with drow-soldiers feared; A gnome named Mizaki cried out in the lane, A pigeon bore a scroll of midnight's bane, And Lady M was summoned, it was clear.
Duke Portyr raged and called for blood most foul, She wished the Matriarch slain, with furious scowl; The party balked — for death would feed the Weave, And Lolth would claim the soul before they'd leave, So other tasks were set beneath her growl.
Into the High Hall walked the party then, Where Zilvra sat as queen among her kin; She smiled and spoke of governance and grace, And would not yield her comfortable place — The Matriarch had won, or so it seemed within.
Snarky Summary
Welcome back to Baldur's Gate: Now With 40% More Drow. The party returned home from their fun little field trip to Szass Tam's library to find their city completely redecorated in House Xilraen purple, because apparently while they were gone, Velessa's mom decided to skip the whole "asking permission" step of municipal governance. Liara Portyr, who is running the resistance on caffeine and fury, greeted them with the warmest possible welcome: "How are you at assassination?" Truly, nothing says "we're glad you're back" like being immediately handed a war crime as a to-do list item.
The highlight of the session was, of course, the party marching into the High Hall to confront Matriarch Zilvra Xilraen — who has fully moved in, is delighted with how efficiently the bureaucracy is running, and would like Velessa to work on her etiquette, thank you very much. Velessa suggested her mother go build a better city somewhere else. Zilvra revealed she used the screaming abyss under the city as a front door and called the port she built down there "magnificent." Ilmryn, the only person in the room with any sense, quietly suggested they could just move to Waterdeep. The impasse was total. The Matriarch remains seated. The eyes on Velessa's leotard continue to stare at everyone. Everything is fine.
Session reference
NPCs
Veyra Vorn
The Deputy Prefect of Civic Order in Eltabbar. A staunch Banite who values discipline and stability. During the session she engaged Séantal in a deep philosophical debate about the role of authority and the greater good, and the carvings on her gauntlet were observed to have shifted to display the Hand of Bane, a change she claimed not to notice before deflecting the subject.
Tazira Imravel
A Thayan diplomatic liaison who thanked the party for protecting her family's business interests, noting that Szass Tam's written guarantee now shields their accounts from scrutiny. She bid the group a warm, if briefly flustered, farewell.
Miirym
The ancient spectral silver dragon guardian of Candlekeep who receives reports from Yona via a planar connection before the party departs Thay.
Drow Commander
A stern officer leading a squad of soldiers in the Upper City, tasked with intercepting carrier pigeons suspected of carrying insurgent messages. She dismissed Mizaki's protests on the grounds that a gnome's words carry no weight, and deferred to Velessa's apparent noble status.
The Messenger Pigeon
A fast and somewhat arrogant bird who boasted about being the fastest courier left in the city. It was nearly intercepted by Drow magic before being lured down with crackers and dropping a secret missive for the party to read.
Tina Woods
A Flaming Fist officer now on gate duty following a demotion she blames on the party. She is bitter and frustrated, warning Mizaki not to get wrapped up in the group's trouble before reluctantly allowing them through the gate.
Liara Portyr
A Duke of Baldur's Gate and high-ranking commander of the Flaming Fist, coordinating the resistance from a temporary camp. She is direct and impatient, openly requesting the party assassinate Zilvra Xilraen and tasking them with identifying collaborators in the Parliament of Peers, reclaiming the Watch Citadel, and checking on Provoss Academy.
Mizora
A cambion advisor found in her office within the High Hall, casually conversing with Wyll Ravengard while being observed by Velessa's magical eye. She reacted with amusement to the spectral intrusion, smirking and gently petting the invisible sensor.
Wyll Ravengard
The current face of authority in Baldur's Gate, seen resting on a couch in Mizora's office during the party's magical scouting of the High Hall.
Zilvra Xilraen
Velessa's mother and the Matriarch of House Xilraen, who has led the drow forces in occupying the High Hall and the Upper City of Baldur's Gate. She is controlling and ambitious, viewing the city as a machine to be guided by her hand. She revealed she used the abyss portal beneath the city to bring her forces in, and she demands absolute deference to Lolth within her halls.
Ilmryn Xilraen
Velessa's favorite sister and the fifth daughter of House Xilraen. She is affectionate toward Velessa, greeting her with a tight hug despite the political tension. She quietly suggests to Velessa that they could simply leave and return to Waterdeep.
Talice Xilraen
The seventh daughter of House Xilraen. She is present in the High Hall during the party's confrontation with the Matriarch.
Locations
Crystal Ball Inn
A popular inn in Eltabbar where the party gathered for a long evening of drinks and philosophical debate with Veyra Vorn. The atmosphere was marked by a warm hearth that burned down to embers as the night progressed.
Velessa's Bastion
A modest, six-room manor in the Upper City of Baldur's Gate, featuring a workshop, courtyard, storage room, bedroom, and a dedicated teleportation room designed with an aesthetic reminiscent of a Chinese palace. The party uses it as their base of operations.
Baldur's Gate Upper City
Currently under Drow occupation, the district is filled with dark purple House Xilraen banners and coordinated patrols that strictly and unequally regulate travel and goods. Civilian clerks record names and issue temporary passes.
Velessa's Bastion Alleyway
A narrow passage outside Velessa's manor in the Upper City where Drow patrols were seen harassing a messenger pigeon, leading to the party's first encounter with Mizaki.
High Hall
The seat of government in Baldur's Gate, now occupied by House Xilraen and draped in dark purple banners. The atmosphere is one of cold, rigid efficiency. Mizora maintains her office here, and Matriarch Zilvra Xilraen has taken the central seat of authority.
Upper City Gate
A heavily guarded checkpoint between the districts of Baldur's Gate, currently overseen by a disgruntled Tina Woods following her demotion.
Flaming Fist Command Center
A temporary, bustling military camp established by the Flaming Fist within the Upper City to coordinate resistance and order during the drow occupation, located along the western wall.
Watch Citadel
A strategic military fortification in the Upper City that Duke Liara Portyr hopes the party can reclaim from the invaders.
Provoss Academy
An elite educational institution in the city where the safety of the students is a concern due to the occupation.
Items
Veyra's Gauntlet
A metal gauntlet worn by Veyra Vorn. During the evening at the Crystal Ball Inn, the intricate carvings on the metal shifted from vague floral designs to a distinctive Hand of Bane woven into the filigree. Veyra claimed not to have noticed the change and quickly deflected the subject.
Rothé Cheese
A type of cheese from the Underdark, described as coming from a Rothé, a creature that is a cross between a ram and a cow. Yona consumed a large quantity of it during the evening at the Crystal Ball Inn.
Velessa's Eye-Covered Leotard
A magical garment worn by Velessa that was enhanced with numerous unblinking eyes during the party's stay in Eltabbar. The eyes allow the wearer to see in all directions and perceive the true shape of things, seeing through illusions and magical darkness. Her companions found the appearance deeply unsettling.
Velessa's Teleportation Necklace
A magical necklace worn by Velessa, kept inside her leotard. She used it to focus her teleportation magic, keying the spell to the diagram of her bastion's teleportation circle to bring the entire party back to Baldur's Gate.
Messenger Pigeon Missive
A small scroll carried by a courier pigeon through the restricted airspace of the occupied Upper City. It contained a coded message calling for a midnight meeting between the Upper and Lower City, addressed to 'Lady M' from 'LP.' Mizaki retrieved it after luring the pigeon down with crackers.
Magical Map
A magical device carried by Velessa that displays holographic maps of various locations, including a detailed layout of Baldur's Gate. A copy was previously given to Séantal in the form of a compass.
Pan Flute
A small musical instrument used by Taliya, who mentioned she remembered how to play it again. She described it as very inspiring and suggested playing it during battles.
Mizaki's Inhaler
A mundane device used by Mizaki to manage her asthma, which she notes others often mistake for a vape. Velessa offered to magically cure the condition.
High City Tokens
Official markers that grant the bearer freedom of movement within the Upper City of Baldur's Gate. The party used them to bypass drow checkpoints and enter the High Hall.
House Xilraen Banners
Dark purple banners bearing the sigil of House Xilraen, hung from gates, mansions, and throughout the High Hall to signify the Drow occupation of Baldur's Gate.
Spells
Teleport
Velessa cast this spell using her magical necklace as a focus, transporting the entire party from their room at the Crystal Ball Inn in Eltabbar directly back to her bastion's teleportation circle in Baldur's Gate.
Mage Hand
Drow soldiers used these spectral hands to swat at and attempt to capture a messenger pigeon in mid-air in the alleyway near Velessa's bastion.
Speak with Animals
Used by Taliya and Mizaki to communicate with the messenger pigeon, learning that it was the fastest courier left in the city and convincing it that the party was not a threat.
Invisibility
Cast by Taliya on the messenger pigeon to hide it from Drow patrols as it continued its delivery. The casting triggered a wild magic surge that left everyone nearby vulnerable to piercing damage for one minute.
Druidcraft
Used by both Mizaki and Taliya to create aesthetic nature effects, conjuring falling leaves and pleasant autumnal scents during their conversation with the party.
Arcane Eye
Velessa created an invisible, floating magical sensor and extended its duration to nine hours through a circle casting ritual with the party. She used it to scout the High Hall, observe the Parliament of Peers, locate Mizora and Wyll Ravengard in Mizora's office, and later physically interact with objects on Mizora's desk to get her attention.
Bigby's Hand
Mentioned by Taliya as one of her newly learned spells, manifesting as a large, versatile spectral hand.
Moonbeam
Mentioned by Taliya as one of her newly learned spells, described as a protective and destructive column of silvery moonlight.
Steel Wind Strike
Described by Velessa as one of her new spells. When cast, she teleports rapidly between multiple enemies, striking each with lethal precision before reappearing in a new position.
Message
Discussed by the party as a potential means of communicating with Mizora from a distance, with Velessa noting the spell's range of over four thousand feet covers nearly the entire city.
Prayer of Healing
Velessa mentioned a new version of this spell that allows a group to recover as though they had taken a short rest in just ten minutes, and that it works on multiple people at once.