Session 18 - The Crabaratus: You've got mail

The session began as Lanzu struck down Victoro Cassalanter with a bolt to the neck.

Looting the bodies, the party obtained a magic ring from Victoro, his glamored studded leather armour that appeared as cultist robes, and Ammalia's necklace, in addition to various jewelry

Harlan and Lanzu were confronted by the ghost of Caladorn Cassalanter, proud ancestor of the once-august Cassalanter and a Open Lord of Waterdeep. His ghost was enraged at the desecration of the nearby temple of Asmodeus, but was mollified by Harlan's invocation of Siamorphe, the demigod of the more positive ideals of nobility. Caladorn brought Lanzu and Harlan to his tomb, where his plate mail and ceremonial Siamorphe mace were gathering dust. Clint, who had been saying prayers of penance over the corpses upstairs, was brought in to vow that he would purge the corruption of the temple, and was bestowed with the magic items.

Using the ceremonial mace to smite down the profaned statue of Siamorphe that had been recast as Asmodeus, the party found the final eye to the Stone of Golor in the rubble. Zeela inserted it into the eye, and learned that the final key to Neverember's vault was... "A severed Drow hand".

Zeela, who had been acting cagey since the fight ended, then fled down the aquatic exit of the temple. Not knowing how long they would need to hold their breath if they followed, and with Backscratcher being out of Wild Shapes for the day, the rest of the party was unable to pursue her.

As they tried to make their way out of the temple, the City Watch arrived and apprehended the party. Barnabus Blastwind was leading the investigation, with Yalah Gralhund and Willifort Crowelle present as accusers. Being unable to easily explain why they were surrounded by corpses, including those of one of the most prominent noble families of the city, while bathed in blood and bearing stolen finery, the party was hauled off to prison on an island at the southern end of Waterdeep Harbour. Alegard swore a Dragonborn blood oath against Willifort.

In prison, the party was interrogated over the course of several days, and elected to take a "whole truth and nothing but the truth" approach in their interrogation, coordinating their stories using a spring from a metal bedframe as a material component for Message. Later, they witnessed Davil Starsong being released from a nearby cell, as the street war between the Xanathar Guild and Zhentarim had died down, and no evidence had been found to incriminate him. Messaging Davil, they agreed to buy a breakout from the Zhentarim.

The next day, just as Davil was springing their breakout, the prison was rocked by quakes, before suddenly a giant mechanical turtle foot smashed through the centre of the cell block. The Doom Raiders finished the breakout and made a break for it, while the party encountered a crazed old mage trying to pilot a crab-like Apparatus on the beach outside the prison.