Journey to Springwater
To attend the audience with King Arcturus XIII, the team once again travels to Springwater. At the harbor of Waterdeep, they encounter Lazy-Eye Larry and his ship, the Leaking Lobster. After brief negotiations, the group manages to secure a cheap passage to Springwater. Upon arrival, they notice some subtle changes in the city. In the outer districts, where the lower class lives, City Watchers patrol, equipped with mechanical backpacks. The group had already seen one of these backpacks before when they fought Tatyana.
With the help of a letter from Lady Laeral, the group passes into the inner city without difficulty. Jastor visits a tailor to outfit his two slaves, Garona Graufels and Sargoth Steinbrecher , in fine clothing. Meanwhile, the others make various purchases at The Arcane Eye, a magic item shop run by Pumat Sol. FEND and Zephir both acquire a dwarven-plate and a ring-of-protection.
After their shopping, they head towards the palace, where they come across a group of soldiers from The Order of the Silver Dragon being beaten by two City Watchers. The group destroys the City Watchers and heals the soldiers. The leader of this troop is Uthliz, the son of Commander Oathliz. In their hideout, Uthliz explains to the group what has transpired in Springwater over the past few weeks.
By royal decree, all guilds in the city have been officially dissolved, and those who resist have been hunted, killed, or imprisoned. At the same time, the coat of arms of the Kingdom of Lemuria has been changed to the emblem of the Purple Dragon.
Audience with the King
Armed with this knowledge, the group heads to the palace, where they meet the king for the first time. King Arcturus seems absent-minded, murmuring the same thing repeatedly under his breath. In the shadows behind him stands another figure, Dr. Dr. Jarvis, the king’s advisor, who constantly whispers into the king’s ear during the conversation. Franziskus attempts to dispel the influence over the king with his divine magic. Although he manages to enter the king’s mind, he ultimately fails.
Jarvis tells the group about the mission Emberon Dragonheart has undertaken and invites them to follow him to his lab.
Upon arriving in the lab, they meet Emberon, who now looks different than before. Half of his body has taken on draconic features, and tubes are attached to his body, connected to two tanks filled with purple and red liquid. The conversation with Emberon escalates, leading to a fight.
The battle ends with the group reviving Jarvis and knocking Emberon unconscious. On Jarvis body they find a mysterious book. It contains a Manifest called “Die Schuppen des Heils”, written by Zephyr Solvyrth himself and it describes his greater vision for the world. On the last page of the manifest there is a family tree showing multiple different images of purple ancient dragons and their names, like Solvarak / Solkarith / Solmyrrax / Solrathan / Solvaeryn / etc.
During the battle, the group notices sounds coming from beneath them. After the fight, a female voice speaks to them telepathically. They discover a massive ancient red dragon imprisoned below, bound by dozens of chains. The dragon, named Elyndra, reveals that she had been on a mission with her Githyanki allies to confront the purple dragon, Zephyr Solvyrth. Unfortunately, they lost the battle and were captured. Since then, Elyndra has been regularly drained of blood by Dr. Dr. Jarvis for his experiments.
After the conversation, the party descends into the dungeon. Along the way, they encounter prisoners from the The Order of the Silver Dragon, whom they free. In the adjacent cell, they find three skeletons. Zephir Voidblade recognizes them as Githyanki, realizing they must have been Elyndra’s allies. On the ground lies a Githyanki rune-plate detailing a mission, confirming Elyndra’s story. They proceed into the large chamber and release Elyndra from her bonds. Rising for the first time in decades, Elyndra sees Percival Dragonheart and remarks with surprise, “You have his eyes,” recognizing him as the grandson of her former lover.
Elyndra’s belly begins to glow, as if she were about to unleash a fiery breath. Instead, she exhales a warm gust toward Percival, awakening his dormant draconic bloodline.
Grateful for her freedom, Elyndra pledges her loyalty to the group and becomes Zephir Voidblade’s personal companion, honored to once again fight alongside a Githyanki against the forces of evil.
The King’s Assassination
Afterward, they return to the king, only to discover a grim scene: King Arcturus XIII lies dead on the floor, his throat slit. His two City-Watch.jpeg bodyguards have been deactivated. For a brief moment, the party glimpses Zephyr teleporting away. Unsure how to proceed, they begin to investigate the scene. FEND examines the deactivated City Watchers more closely, noting that the purple glow in their mechanical backpacks has faded. The group channels their own magical energy to reactivate one of the Watchers, but the effort drains their strength.
Cinderpeak Island
The party heads to the harbor and discovers that the ship they arrived on has partially sunk. The cause is a massive ship with an orcish figurehead. They witness a group of orcs unloading countless crates of obsidian from the vessel. Using Elyndra to intimidate the orcs, they manage to secure passage on the ship and set sail for Cinderpeak Island.
During the journey, they meet Skarrax, a Lizardfolk slave forced to row beneath the deck alongside dozens of others. Once on the island, they head straight for the chieftain’s camp. Upon arrival, they see Rakur Emberfist, the brother of the previously defeated Rukar Emberfist, sitting alongside a Lizardfolk wearing a leather duster and cowboy hat. This is Cad Bane, a high-ranking member of the bounty hunter guild known as “The Guild.”
Cad Bane challenges Kahani to a duel to the death—one chance, one shot, “The winner takes it all.” The showdown begins, and Cad Bane falls short. As he collapses, his glass eye falls out, which enhances and extends Kahani’s Circlet of Wild Elements. Following the duel, a battle erupts with the orcs, but after Rakur is defeated, the remaining orcs flee. The Lizardfolk are freed from slavery, and Kahani becomes the new chieftain of the tribe.
With their mission on the island complete, the group heads to Waterdeep, for the final battle draws near.