1.
The party accepts a job to investigate the murder of Lord Hawthorne Grimcrest’s brother, Horace. His body was discovered in the Dock Ward of Waterdeep, bearing a mysterious brand that the party later learns reads, in Infernal: “Asmodeus Lives.”
Their investigation begins with Xanathar, the infamous Beholder crime boss of the Dock Ward. Extremely paranoid after a deal with the Blackwing Assassins went wrong, Xanathar fears for his life. He agrees to share what he knows about Horace, but only if the party first retrieves a package for Sylgar, his beloved goldfish, and delivers a letter to the goblins holding it.
The party makes their way to the Drunken Pixie and quickly finds the goblins. After reading Xanathar’s letter, however, one of the goblins takes the barkeep, Helena Gale, hostage and threatens the party.
After dealing with the goblins, the party returns to Xanathar with the package of fish food. True to his word, Xanathar reveals that he sold Horace the location of a hidden entrance into the City of the Dead.
The party sets out for the City of the Dead, but along the way they witness a kidnapping in progress. Two cloaked figures are seen dragging a young man into an alley. The party gives chase, eventually following them into a butcher shop that has been converted into a secret altar dedicated to Asmodeus.
The party attempts to stop the ritual taking place inside, but they are too late. A portal opens, and a horrifying Bulezau Fiend, its body impaled with numerous weapons, emerges.
After defeating the creature and the cultists, the party decides to return to Grimcrest Manor to rest before venturing into the City of the Dead.
But as they enter the manor, the Wand of Secrets recovered from the cultists suddenly begins to shake and vibrate.
Something is hidden inside Grimcrest Manor.
2.
Upon returning to Grimcrest Manor, the Wand of Secrets begins to vibrate. Following its direction, the party discovers a hidden passage in the wine cellar—along with a deadly spike trap.
Beyond it lies a secret basement that has been transformed into a temple dedicated to Asmodeus. At the center of the chamber stands a female Tiefling in the middle of casting a spell.
Combat erupts, but after several rounds the mysterious Tiefling teleports away.
The party decides to rest for the evening before questioning Lord Grimcrest, who is away on business until the following day. The next morning, they return to the hidden temple only to discover that it has somehow become an ordinary storage room.
Even stranger, when they return to the butcher shop where the Asmodeus cultists had performed their summoning ritual, they find nothing unusual. It is once again a normal, busy butcher shop.
With more questions than answers, the party makes its way to the City of the Dead, using the secret tunnel revealed by Xanathar.
Inside the graveyard, they meet Melvyn Wake, an elderly Dwarf groundskeeper. Melvyn explains that the grass surrounding one of the mausoleums has recently become strangely muddy and carries the unmistakable smell of rot. Too frightened to investigate himself, he leads the party to the area.
Inside the mausoleum, they discover stacks of corpses, each branded with the symbol of Asmodeus. Their investigation is interrupted when a wandering Dread Warrior and several Ghouls attack from among the bodies.
After escaping the City of the Dead, the party travels to City Hall seeking more information about Horace Grimcrest. They soon become suspicious of why the Open Lord of Waterdeep ordered the City of the Dead closed without explanation.
Lord Grimcrest informs them that Lady Laeral Silverhand, the current Open Lord of Waterdeep, is hosting her annual Open Lord’s Ball. As an invited guest, Grimcrest offers to bring the party along.
At the ball, the party manages to secure an audience with Lady Silverhand and begins questioning her about the mysterious closure of the City of the Dead.
During their conversation, Lady Silverhand introduces them to her advisor and personal friend, Lady Arronal.
The party immediately recognizes her.
She is the same Tiefling they encountered inside the hidden temple beneath Grimcrest Manor.
3.
Lady Arronal whispers something to Lady Laeral Silverhand, prompting the Open Lord to take her leave. When the party begins questioning Arronal, she suggests that they continue their conversation somewhere more private.
She leads them into an alley behind the Open Lord’s Keep.
Before the party can get any answers, members of the Green Knuckle Gang suddenly appear, demanding revenge for the goblins killed at the Drunken Pixie. Taking advantage of the distraction, Lady Arronal casts a teleportation spell and disappears.
After defeating the goblins, the party discovers a longsword bearing the Greycastle family crest.
Lord Grimcrest explains that Dorn Greycastle, a former business associate, has not been seen publicly since he began courting Lady Arronal. With yet another connection to the mysterious Tiefling uncovered, the party returns to Grimcrest Manor to rest and determine their next move.
The following morning, a Wererat arrives carrying a message from Xanathar, requesting that the party meet him at the Nightmare Oasis.
Xanathar is pleased to hear that they dealt with the Green Knuckle Gang and rewards them with a warning: Do not trust Lord Grimcrest’s servants.
He then offers the party another job. The Green Knuckle Gang has been attempting to steal an airship docked in Waterdeep because its specially designed cargo hold can carry ten times its normal weight.
Xanathar wants the ship for himself. More importantly, he needs it to rescue one of his associates, Fredrick, who is imprisoned at Ashgate Fortress. In exchange for their help, Xanathar promises additional information about Lady Arronal and the party’s investigation. Once the job is finished, he even promises to give them the airship.
The party agrees.
With the help of a crew of Wererat sailors supplied by Xanathar, they seize the airship known as The Paragon and set sail toward Ashgate Fortress.
4.
As the party arrives above Ashgate Fortress, a massive explosion tears through the outer wall and into the courtyard below.
Through the smoke and debris, they spot a Tabaxi making his escape.
The Wererat crew descends to retrieve him and brings him aboard The Paragon. Once safely on deck, the Tabaxi introduces himself as Fredrick, Xanathar’s personal aquarist.
During the journey back to the mainland, Fredrick reveals what he knows about the conspiracy unfolding in Waterdeep.
The Raven Lords are not worshipers of Asmodeus. Instead, they are a secret fraternity seeking to extend their influence across the Sword Coast, with members placed in powerful positions throughout the world.
The Raven Lords have been manipulating the Cult of Asmodeus for their own purposes.
Their plan is to have the cult summon Asmodeus within Waterdeep, plunging the city into chaos. While the city’s defenders are occupied, Lady Arronal intends to break into the Lords’ Vault and steal the massive fortune hidden within.
Before Fredrick can reveal much more, the party is attacked by the Green Knuckle Gang aboard their airship, The Green Envy.
The remaining members of the gang board The Paragon, and a brutal battle erupts between the two crews.
During the fighting, Rhalina Margravin is killed.
Then Sindax Blackscale sacrifices himself to kill the leader of the Green Knuckle Gang, Fig, once and for all.
The party survives the attack, but their victory comes at a terrible cost.
5.
The surviving party members make their way to the Clanghammer Rest, while Fredrick and the remaining Wererat crew take The Green Envy back to Xanathar.
At the tavern, the party meets and recruits a husband-and-wife mercenary duo: Oluth, a male Half-Orc, and Leylwyn, a female Human.
The tavern’s elderly owner, Clanghammer, provides the party with valuable information about the Masked Lords of Waterdeep’s vault. According to him, the vault is protected by an Adult Gold Dragon named Hendrae.
After a night’s rest, the party returns to Waterdeep and rendezvous with Xanathar before reporting their progress to Lord Grimcrest.
Grimcrest provides them with a letter of introduction to Lord Greycastle, his former business partner.
When the party arrives at Greycastle’s home, they are greeted by skeletal servants. They are informed that Lord Greycastle is unavailable, but that Lady Arronal and Flagg are present.
The servants lead the party to Flagg’s chambers, where they discover him guarded by a Bearded Devil and participating in the ritual to summon Asmodeus.
After defeating the devil, the party interrogates Flagg and finally uncovers the truth.
Lord Greycastle was murdered by Lady Arronal.
Flagg also confesses that he murdered Horace Grimcrest.
Inside the chamber, the party discovers a portal and steps through it, emerging at the entrance to the Masked Lords’ Vault.
Lady Arronal is waiting for them.
Before either side can act, Clanghammer—the elderly tavern keeper—suddenly appears. A tremendous commotion can be heard coming from the city above.
Asmodeus has been summoned, and Waterdeep is under attack.
Clanghammer explains that he must defend the city. Before the astonished party, the elderly tavern keeper transforms into his true form: Hendrae, the Gold Dragon charged with protecting the Lords’ Vault.
Hendrae flies toward the surface to confront the attack, leaving the party behind to settle matters with Lady Arronal once and for all.
6.
With Hendrae gone to defend Waterdeep from Asmodeus, the party is left alone to confront Lady Arronal.
During the battle, Arronal summons three Stone Defenders to fight at her side. Despite the reinforcements, the party eventually overwhelms her.
When the killing blow is struck, Lady Arronal’s body turns to dust.
The conspiracy is finally broken.
When Hendrae returns, he rewards the party with a chest filled with rare and magical weapons. The party then follows a tunnel leading away from the vault, eventually emerging inside a storage room beneath the Nightmare Oasis.
There, they learn that the summoning of Asmodeus caused a minor earthquake throughout Waterdeep. Unfortunately, the tremor also shook Sylgar’s fishbowl.
Xanathar flew into a rage.
Believing his beloved goldfish to be in danger, the Beholder summoned his entire force of Wererat mercenaries and sent them into the streets to help defend Waterdeep against the hordes of undead attacking the city.
After discussing everything that happened with Xanathar, the party returns to Grimcrest Manor and informs Lord Grimcrest that they have finally discovered who murdered his brother.
They also reveal the truth about Horace’s involvement in the conspiracy.
Lord Grimcrest asks the party to keep his brother’s activities secret, fearing that the truth would destroy his family’s name. As promised, he rewards the party with 100,000 gold pieces for completing the investigation.
While they are still at the manor, Lady Laeral Silverhand secretly visits the party. She privately thanks them for their role in saving Waterdeep but explains that the true circumstances surrounding the demonic attack cannot be made public.
In recognition of their service to the city, Lady Silverhand grants the party members the titles of Baron and Baroness. With Lord Greycastle dead and no heirs remaining, she also grants them ownership of Greycastle House.
Horace Grimcrest’s murder has been solved. Lady Arronal is dead. Waterdeep is safe.
And although the Raven Lords’ plans have been stopped, their organization remains somewhere in the shadows.
For now, however, the investigation is over.
With their rewards collected and their names forever written into the history of Waterdeep, the party members go their separate ways, bringing their adventures together to an end.