(The text on this note is written very small, though is still very legible and well-written.)
13th of Flamerule, 1502 DR
Myself, Missy, Alavis, and Ivor.
My last three jobs have all been quite disastrous. Not in the sense that they have gone wrong and that we failed, but that the challenges ramped up incredibly quickly. Only a few days ago was I a judge in a cheese competition, and now I must deal with this stupid ass cult that want to take over a town because a dragon thinks it's funny or whatever the fuck.
We had no details of this task prior to meeting up with Alaid, a member of the Black Fist in Phlan. The original plan was to investigate other members of the Black Fist who may be involved with the Cult of the Dragon. Unfortunately, we were then attacked by said cult. A dragon razed parts of the city while numerous purple-wearing robes caused other chaos around, and other draconic entities roamed. A threat attacked the Laughing Goblin inn we were at, and we immediately dispatched of hobgoblins, some spellcaster, a hideous guard drake, and a big person with two dragon heads. One hobgoblin was kept alive for interrogation purpose, which some cutting words from Missy, a soul-piercing glare from Alavis, a very chilly slap from myself and a charming wizard spell from Ivor quickly outed who he was, who he served, what he planned, and all that, all boiling down to the cult.
On the topic of Ivor and this dumbass cult, a quick advisory note. Ivor poses quite an interest in the Cult of the Dragon, and has expressed a certain liking to it. Despite this here VERY APPARENT DESTRUCTION and many other historical proofs, as well as what I have seen with my own two eyes, he firmly believes it is NOT EVIL and instead only "dangerous". On mission, I will tolerate him as my coworker, but no more. An evil sympathizer is an evil themselves.
We took a quick break to discuss plans with Black Fist representative. First order of business was to find Gelvit, a Harper man, to guide us and civilians through the sewers, an easy escape route, as the docks were taken over. Though he was not keen on it himself, he recommended to us another commoner whose name was something like Jo Do, and who knew the sewers very well. As we returned, we spotted some corrupt Black Fists killing others. To let us pass, Missy cast some hypnotic wizardry, keeping them all from doing anything for a while, which let us pass with ease. Well, almost. Another kobold attacked us, and was quickly put down.
Then, we were to save Lord Regent, a very important figure for the Black Fist. Kept inside of the town castle by cultists and corrupted guards, Alaid proposed the apparently noble choice of sacrificing herself and some of her crew to let us inside. It worked, though she perished, and we ran inside. We fought against some surprisingly strong cultists and a devil, though more of Missy's hypnotic magic greatly helped reduce the threat. I also elbow checked the Cambion as he flew, and he fell to the ground, which was quite humorous. We rescued the guy and made our way to the sewers, with what seemed like two hundred imprisoned civilians.
Last were the sewers, where the tragedy unfolded. We went ahead with Lord Regent to clear the area of threats. Unfortunately, the threats came to us. Another wizard lady, this time on a wyvern, as well as her personal guard golem. Sure, the golem packed a punch, and the lady's magic was quite obnoxious, but those paled in comparison to this wingless monstrosity. I was stung by this bastard's tail, and I felt almost all vitality leave me. Never had a strike against me been so powerful, Vince aside. I chose to be more defensive for the rest of this encounter. As she got closer to death, the lady ran away with flight, leaving the other two creatures to fight us.
And then, catastrophe. The wyvern moved over and stung Alavis right in the chest, a large poisonous wound left in him. He went down immediately. More specifically, and I did not understand until after this job was done, death had found him, with a single precise strike.
Myself and Missy kept on fighting, the construct falling soon, thanks to the whole team's combined efforts. We then wailed on the wyvern as revenge, though the beast was quite sturdy. Notice how I excluded Ivor. The idiot attempted over, and over, and over again to tame the beast, even after getting bit by it a few times, and nearly getting struck by its horrible stinger. It is a complete and utter miracle that Lord Regent managed to put two bolts right in its neck before it could get two kills for its death. With all threats taken away, those we gathered were free to escape from town, and we left with a metric ton of gold for our troubles.
Rest in peace, Alavis, for the few days until you are returned to life by the Syndicate. Because apparently, we offer such thing, which is wonderful.
With resolve,
Snap
P.S. I apologize for any less formal writing in this mission review.
