Crypts, Ghosts, and One Very Unhappy Pony
Sessions 16–18
Armed with the truth from the Stone of Golorr, the Spoopy Inn crew turned their eyes to the City of the Dead—Waterdeep’s vast cemetery-turned-park. But this wasn’t going to be a peaceful stroll past the daisies.
The gold was real. The vault was real. And everything wanted to stop them from finding it.
Ghosts and Mausoleums
The clue pointed to the Brandath Mausoleum, buried beneath layers of arcane protections and noble family secrets. Luckily, Renear Neverember (Floon’s friend and estranged son of the man who hid the gold in the first place) agreed to help.
With his family ties, they were able to gain access to the site—on paper, at least. In practice, it was going to take a little breaking and entering.
Inside, the party found a hidden passage leading down into ancient catacombs. Dusty walls, skeletal remains, and the distinct feeling that they were being watched.
They were.
Who Let the Undead Out?
The crypts were full of guardians—animated suits of armour, cursed spirits, and worse.
In one battle, Eva nearly lost control of herself while holding the Stone. Whispers filled her head. She started speaking in languages no one else knew. Grape and Phoenix had to help bring her back to herself.
Meanwhile, LDO managed to summon a skeletal pony. Don’t ask how. He named it Charcoal and insisted it was their new mascot. The rest of the party disagreed, mostly because it kept trying to eat Viktor’s backpack.
They pressed deeper into the vault.
Vault of Dragons
Finally, the party reached a massive stone chamber sealed by ancient magic. The Stone of Golorr lit up, revealing the three keys required to open the vault:
- The Beholder plushie Eva got from the Xoblob Shop
- A song only Lyf (the tavern’s ghost) remembered how to play
- And a drop of gold dragon blood
The first key? Already in Eva’s backpack. Win.
The second? Required contacting Lyf’s spirit directly, which meant an at-home séance back at Trollskull. Uno and Phoenix handled the ritual—with varying degrees of success.
The third? Much harder.
Dragon Diplomacy
After consulting their bronze dragon friend Zalifarn, they learned of an ancient gold dragon named Aureliax, living deep beneath the city in disguise.
The group tracked her down—disguised as a humble elven scholar—and begged for help.
She was suspicious. She didn’t like mortals chasing after hidden gold. But after hearing about the threats from Xanathar and the Zhentarim, and seeing how much they’d been through, she agreed to help… under one condition:
“You may take a drop of my blood. But only if you promise to return the gold not to your pockets—but to the city.”
There was some light hesitation. Some shuffling. Some not-quite-lying.
But they agreed.
A single drop of gold dragon blood was collected.
The final key was theirs.
Trouble Back Home
Just as they were preparing to head back to the vault, Trollskull Manor was attacked.
A squad of Zhentarim thugs tried to storm the tavern while only a few party members were home. Ghost-Isac scared one of them into peeing himself. Grape launched himself down the stairs. Marvin threw soup.
When the others returned, they found the place a mess and Lyf whispering: “They know you’re close.”
The race was on.
Next time in Chapter 8: three keys, one vault, and one final trap. The gold is real—but getting out alive might not be.
