Chapter Text
Every town has that one bar you don’t enter. Whether its haunted, overrun by pirates, or just generally terrible, everyone avoids that one bar. But in the city of Waterdeep, that bar is The Golden Orchid. On first glance, nothing seems too terrible, a boarded window, some ivy on the walls. When you enter, it seems clean enough, tables scattered throughout, a performer on the stage. The Golden Orchid on its surface is a normal tavern, .
Then you take a second glance. Other than the performer on stage, the Orchid is empty. The only sound is a sad, slow mandolin, and the plink, plunk of water dripping into a rusted bucket. The bottles behind the bar are dust covered, and cobwebs run from neck to neck. Tables that aren’t nearing their breaking point are carved with what seems like an upside-down sun.
As you enter, the performer notices you and perks up, his eyes a haze of tears and poisons. He beckons you closer. In a voice like the river running over rocks, he says “Ariel, is that you?” Sadly, you are not. But that name does ring a bell in your head. Suddenly, the performer bolts upright, eyes almost clear, as he shouts “Run!”. You hear the sound of a heavy wooden door slamming closed, and the performer almost slams himself against the wall.
“Well, well, Darcy. What do we have here?” says a deep voice, “A new friend come to meet our star, Mr. Darcy Casanova”. You turn to look at the new voice. A figure in a red robe is slowly walking toward you, his dagger shining against the decay of the tavern. “Hasn’t anyone told you not to go walking into random buildings? I guess we’ll fix that” the figure continues. As the figure approaches, you realize that the bottom of its face is covered by a bronze mask, with no mouth visible. “She Who the Sun Hides From will not be pleased at this intrusion. I would recommend you leave, but that time seems to have passed. Wouldn’t you agree Darcy?” The performer, apparently named Darcy, mumbles something in agreement.
Wait, Darcy Casanova? Someone named Ariel? Could this be related to that new adventuring group that appeared recently? You remember Missing posters appearing around the city for someone named Darcy, with any information to be sent to Ariel Amaelis at Trollskull Alley. This must be the same Darcy. A shout of pain rents the air, snapping you out of your thoughts. The shout is your own. “I asked you, why did you come here?” The masked figure seems to be glaring at you. The pain in your stomach has you doubled over, gasping for air, making you unable to respond. “Well, we have ways of making you talk. Aster, I need some back up”. Only then do you realize, it seems that the voice of the figure is coming from everywhere, the sound of many voices speaking at once. The door opens again, and another robed figure, much shorter than the first walks in. As the figure, Aster you guess, approaches, you can see their eyes are covered by a similar bronze mask.
“What is it Navros?” comes a shrill voice from Aster’s mouth.
“Take my knife, and make this… intruder… talk”, says the first figure who you now know is Navros.
“With pleasure”, replies Aster, who grabs the shining blade from Navros, and disappears behind you. You feel your tunic being shifted towards your shoulders, and a searing pain shoots between your shoulder blades, again rendering you unable to speak.
As your vision blacks out you hear Navros say “Well Aster, looks like the poison was a good choice”.
* * *
Your vision returns, and you find yourself bound to a chair, apart from your arms. Next to you is Darcy. He looks at you sadly as your body reasserts itself. As it does, the searing pain of Navros’s knife dominates everything, almost making you black out again. “I told you to run” comes the voice from next to you, the sound of wind in the desert. Your chair suddenly tips back, your vision full of Aster’s mask.
“But now it’s too late for you to do anything” the shrill voice of your captor piercing your eardrums, “You will talk, or Navros’s knife will be the last thing you ever feel”.
It seems unfair, considering Aster is the one who stabbed you, that she should be calling it somebody else’s knife, but you aren’t one to argue with the one holding the knife. “Now, I’ll give you two options, either you tell us how you found this place and you leave alive, or you die. It really is that simple” Aster continues “So what’ll it be”. She then places the tip of the knife on her tongue. As she was talking, Darcy removed a small splinter of wood from his mandolin and started sawing at your ropes. With a loud thud, Darcy suddenly crumples to the floor, the splinter of wood clattering away across the stage.
“We’ll have none of that”, says a voice of a thousand voices, “Talk. Now”, Navros is standing in front of you, hulking as ever, a glimmer of purple magic around his fingers.
“What did you do?”, shouts Aster.
“Don’t worry, its just a sleep spell”, Navros replies, unconcerned. “Casanova isn’t our focus, this interloper is. Now we need information or we kill, and I’d prefer to not have to kill”,
Aster looks at you, as her voice turns sickly sweet “And you don’t want to die do you honey?”. You do not, but the pain in you back is so overwhelming that you can’t speak.
“I have an idea”, Navros says, pulling a small satchel from a pocket on his robe, “Our new friend clearly recognizes Casanova, and you’ve seen the missing posters. What if we send out bait, and like a moth to the flame, they’ll all come running. Adventurers never fail to try and save those in strife”.
“Yes, but how”, says Aster.
“Leave that to me”. Navros then dips his finger into the satchel, and when it returns, it is covered in purple dye. He then reaches a finger towards your forehead, and as soon as it touches, chills run down your back.
* * *
You reawaken on the street outside an abandoned warehouse. The dirty street sign reading Candle Ln. That can’t be right, you were just in the North Ward. You spot a Missing poster nailed to a streetlight, and you recognize the face. You grab the poster and start walking towards Trollskull Alley, Ariel Amaelis, and a windfall of dragons. As you begin to walk, your vision shines purple and you stagger, seeing a finger covered in purple dye reaching for you, before vanishing. You know your mission. Find Ariel, bring him to the Golden Orchid and one Darcy Casanova.