Episode 5: Hide and Seek

The characters (now 5th level) know that Horn Enclave is the hiding place of the last unclaimed clockwork component of the Orrery of the Wanderer, called the wheel of stars. They also know that Horn Enclave is all but impossible to get into. Thankfully, Acquisitions Incorporated has the party’s back.

With the help of Acq Inc fixer Flabbergast, the characters make use of a unique ritual that lets them swap bodies with a group of dwarves heading to the enclave for a wedding. This gives the characters access to the vaults, but the deception creates complications as they struggle with the deep secrets of their possessed dwarves and must try to keep the wedding on track.

Accessing the orrery component vault reveals valuable information from the clockwork creatures that guard the vault. But the characters are ultimately chagrined to discover that the component isn’t there, with the vault set up as a ruse to distract anyone attempting to rebuild the orrery. Still, the orrery’s creator—a wizard named Lottie—wishes to meet anyone savvy enough to have come this far, provided they share her interest in ensuring that the orrery’s power is never used.

Traveling in style in a borrowed battle balloon, the characters journey to Lottie’s sanctum in the Greypeak Mountains. But en route, the franchise is intercepted by airships belonging to the Six. The characters get their first glimpse of Splugoth the Returned, one of the Six’s mysterious members, and the point goblin for the plan to claim the orrery. In fact, the attack is only a distraction, providing cover for an attempt to steal the orrery housing and the components the characters have obtained.

Continuing across the Greypeaks, the characters reach the ruined town of Fortune and the casino resort known as Lottie’s Palace. There, they discover that Lottie is a lich whose exclusive retreat holds secrets and deadly threats in equal measure. With no hope of winning a fight against Lottie and her numerous lich allies, the battle must be one of wits as the characters attempt to convince her to help Acquisitions Incorporated, tell the orrery’s origin story, and provide the final orrery component.

Enter Flabbergast

While the characters sought out information on Horn Enclave, word of their investigations reached Head Office. Alternatively, if the characters couldn’t figure out the connection between the orrery and the enclave, word of that mystery reaches Head Office instead. Either way, the characters receive an unexpected visitor, offering some unexpected assistance.

Standing before you is a tall, smooth-headed male human with a neatly trimmed black beard, dressed in pressed business attire. He pauses from writing in his ledger to look up at you. His eyes narrow as if evaluating you. At his feet is a calico cat wearing a monocle and a horned helmet. The cat is busy licking itself but pauses to look at you. It also narrows its eyes.

“I am Flabbergast, gentlepersons,” the figure says. “In the employ of Acquisitions Incorporated’s Head Office, and at your service.” He gestures down to the cat. “This is Mister Snibbly. We need to talk. It’s about your mission.”

Flabbergast, wizard and majordomo to Head Office (see appendix A), has been dispatched to assist the characters with the goal of gaining the final orrery component from Horn Enclave. Mister Snibbly has no agenda, beyond making it clear that he thinks the characters leave much to be desired. If the characters haven’t yet figured out that the enclave is where the component is stored, Flabbergast can fill in the missing bits of what they know, all the while chiding the characters for missing important clues. If the characters haven’t yet heard about the Dhargun Ironworks caravan’s imminent trip to Horn Enclave (see “area Dhargun Ironworks” below), he can relay that information as well.

Flabbergast can also provide or reinforce the backstory regarding Acquisitions Incorporated’s well-known incursion of the enclave. In response to any discussion of that past mission, the wizard sums up the party’s position as follows:

“As you might well guess, gentlepersons, infiltrating Horn Enclave by traditional means would be difficult at best. And if you were discovered, then your status as agents of Acquisitions Incorporated would place you in grave peril. Though likely not for long.” Flabbergast sighs. Mister Snibbly spits up a hairball in disgust. “The dwarves of Clan Horn would kill you immediately, is what I’m saying. As such, Omin Dran has requested that I offer my assistance. Have you ever heard of the ritual of astral transmogrification?”

The characters will not have heard of the legendary ritual Flabbergast names, which has long been lost to history. Its magic allows characters to enter a dreamlike state, leaving their bodies safely behind while their souls temporarily possess other bodies. Flabbergast explains that the ritual’s creator died long ago, and its components are now unknown. But if the characters can help him determine and track down those components, Flabbergast can provide them the perfect means to infiltrate the dwarven stronghold. By taking possession of some other group with legitimate business in the enclave, the characters can wander its vaults at their leisure without arousing suspicion. Well, maybe just a little suspicion. But it’ll all be fine.

Seeking the Ritual

You decide what form the ritual’s components might take, from ancient verses and arcane inscriptions, to rare herbs and alchemical reagents, to any other obscure bit of magical paraphernalia in between. You also decide how much time and what specific effort is necessary for the characters and Flabbergast to determine and track down those components. This might involve short side quests of your own devising, or having NPCs conveniently turn out to be a source of some components. The Splintfig sisters from episode 2 are good candidates, as is Hoobur Gran’Shoop if the party stayed on good terms with the psychopathic gnome.

If the characters take more downtime to seek out the ritual’s components, they might use marketeering to find customers or brokers of magical supplies and rare spell components. The shady business practice activity could alternatively turn up connections to those who dabble in more dangerous and secretive magic.

Does Anyone Have a Better Idea?

This episode assumes that the characters make use of Flabbergast’s ritual to enter Horn Enclave, but the information presented on the enclave is easily adaptable to other approaches. As such, the players and characters are absolutely free to come up with other methods of seeking the final orrery component. Even though the dwarves of Clan Horn remain furious at Acquisitions Incorporated and the enclave’s defenses are formidable, the players should always have the last say regarding the characters' actions.

Workable alternatives include such plans as the characters secreting themselves aboard the Dhargun Ironworks caravan, posing as last-minute wedding guests, or masquerading as others making a vault deposit. They might attempt to convince the guards that their appointment time was somehow overlooked, pay someone off to learn the song of the day that is the password into the enclave, or any other plan they dream up.

If another plan is hatched, Flabbergast successfully seeks out the components for the astral transmogrification ritual by himself, strictly as a backup plan for the characters. He’s been ordered to journey to the enclave with the party and watch over the operation, and provides one of the characters with a small stone token bearing the symbol of Acquisitions Incorporated.

If the characters need the ritual performed in an emergency, they can activate the token by speaking the command word “Whippoorwill.” Flabbergast then uses a crystal ball to locate them and perform the ritual. By possessing the bodies of dwarf guards and Clan Horn operatives, the characters should be able to successfully defend their own magically slumbering bodies and get them out of the enclave safely. And possessing the token also puts the characters in a position where the ritual might be cast accidentally if they don’t use it to enter the enclave, strictly for your amusement.

Traveling to Horn Enclave

The Dhargun Ironworks caravan bound for Horn Enclave is set to reach the main gates in the morning, then depart again that evening. With the characters able to enter the enclave in the bodies of the caravan’s wedding party, they can locate the vault, secure the orrery component, and leave when the caravan departs at the end of the day. Should be easy, right?

With their mobile headquarters, the characters should have a straightforward time traveling from Phandalin to the mountains northeast of Silverymoon. Or if the players are dying for some action, you can use wandering monsters to liven the journey up. Once close enough, the characters can set their franchise down in a safe location away from prying eyes, then approach the wide dirt road leading to Horn Enclave. From the safety of cover alongside the road, Flabbergast casts his ritual when the Dhargun Ironworks caravan is spotted. See “area Flabbergast’s Ritual.” Flabbergast casts the ritual of astral transmogrification as the caravan comes to a stop. As the magic takes effect, each character’s consciousness departs its normal body and enters that of a named caravan NPC. Go down the list of caravan NPCs in the order presented in the “area Wedding Guests” section above, assigning each guest to a random player until each character has an NPC. (If your group has more than seven players, you’ll need to come up with additional NPCs and secrets.) Describe the NPCs and their relationships to all the players, but do not divulge any NPC’s secret until it is triggered as described in each itinerary section." in the “area 11:00 AM” section below.

Dhargun Ironworks

The challenges in this section of the adventure arise from the goals of the caravan members and how they intersect with those of the characters. Once Flabbergast’s ritual is activated, each character possesses one of the NPCs in the caravan. However, each NPC has a secret goal that remains dormant until the goal is triggered during a specific scene. When the secret is triggered, the DM tells the player the secret and informs them that their character is compelled to fulfill that secret goal. For maximum entertainment value, wait until the triggering scene to tell the players about any secret goals.

The Caravan

The caravan is made up of three horse-drawn carriages and bears sixteen dwarves to Horn Enclave for a wedding that will unite the Dhargun and Thunderwind clans. Both dwarven families are quite different, with the Dharguns favoring commerce and the Thunderwinds dedicated to warfare. But the unlikely love between Gwendolyn Dhargun and Tannus Thunderwind has brought them together.

The reason for holding the wedding at Horn Enclave is that the caravan also bears valuable gifts provided by both families, which will be placed in a vault until Gwendolyn and Tannus complete their honeymoon and decide where they’ll spend their lives as a couple. (The pressure from both families to choose one clan over the other is huge.) Gifts include furniture, art pieces, and other large items, along with adamantine bars worth 5,000 gp, a suit of Mithral +1 Half Plate Armor inscribed with the insignia of Dhargun Ironworks, and a belt of dwarvenkind bearing the insignia of the Thunderwind Clan.

Wedding Guests

Each of the guests in the wedding party is a dwarf, including the happy couple, their family members and wedding party attendants, and various retainers to both clans. Except for Rala, each guest uses the NPC stat block noted below with the following racial traits:

• Their speed is 25 feet.
• They have darkvision out to a range of 60 feet.
• They have advantage on saving throws against poison and resistance against poison damage.
• They speak Common and Dwarvish.

You should familiarize yourself with the key NPCs detailed below. Any of the information that isn’t secret can be shared with characters when they first possess an NPC through Flabbergast’s ritual of astral transmogrification.

Gwendolyn Dhargun

Gwendolyn (LG female dwarf veteran) is the cherubic overseer of Dhargun Ironworks, having recently taken over from her aging mother, Amara. Gwendolyn is an excellent metallurgist and runs the business with superb aplomb. She worries that her professional success overshadows her betrothed, Tannus, who until recently was a raving barbarian bent only on war. She believes that Tannus has changed. Her goal is to convince him that she believes in him and is proud of the person he has become. Gwendolyn carries no weapons with her for the wedding.

Gwendolyn’s secret revolves around wanting to prove that she believes that Tannus has truly changed, but that she still respects his past. During the celebration, she asks Thoman, her family’s head of security, to go to the vault and bring out the suit of armor as a gift to her husband.

Tannus Thunderwind

Tannus (CG male dwarf berserker) is a reformed barbarian. His only love used to be the battlefield, but that changed when he met Gwendolyn. Everything about her was peaceful, tranquil, and better than him. He has since sworn to give up violence, become a partner to Gwendolyn, and help grow the ironworks. His goal is to convince Gwendolyn’s family that he is good enough for her, and that he has given up his violent ways. Tannus carries no weapons with him for the wedding.

Tannus’s secret involves wanting to prove himself to Gwendolyn. He must abstain from violence all day long, no matter what happens.

Rala Dhargun

Rala (NG female dwarf spy, to all appearances) is Gwendolyn’s cousin, lifelong best friend, and attendant of honor for the wedding ceremony. Having lived a life of adventure herself, she is supportive of Gwendolyn marrying someone different. She stays at Gwendolyn’s side, encouraging her and ensuring that she has a wonderful day. Rala carries a shortsword as well as a set of thieves' tools and mason’s tools.

Rala’s secret is that she isn’t actually Rala. The dwarf was recently kidnapped and is currently held by agents of the Zhentarim. This version of Rala is a doppelganger on a secret mission to steal the belt of dwarvenkind, which the Zhentarim plan to sell to an eager buyer. Rala’s plan is to pickpocket the vault key held by Gorat, one of Tannus’s attendants. She’ll then access the vault while everyone is having drinks in the tavern. One of the gift boxes present at the celebration has her crossbow hidden within.

Rescuing the true Rala might make an interesting side quest for further development, depending on how and if the characters interact with the dwarves in the wedding party.

Amara Dhargun

Amara (NG female dwarf bandit captain) is Gwendolyn’s mother—a crotchety old dwarf with serious doubts regarding Tannus Thunderwind. However, Amara loves her daughter and is willing to trust her judgment. She carries no weapons at the wedding.

Amara’s secret concerns a pledge to ensure that her daughter’s marriage goes off without a hitch. If anything gets in the way of a successful ceremony, she plans to cut that thing to pieces with a family heirloom battleaxe that she’s hidden inside a gift box present at the celebration. (The battleaxe uses the same statistics as the bandit captain’s scimitar attack.)

Thoman Dhargun

Thoman (LN male dwarf priest) is head of security for Dhargun Ironworks. He cares little for weddings or love. All that stuff just gets in the way of business and creates security risks. Thoman carries a warhammer that uses the same statistics as the priest’s mace attack.

Thoman’s secret involves his professional devotion to Amara. To make sure nothing goes wrong with the ceremony that might upset Gwendolyn’s mother, he plans on checking the vault while Gwendolyn and Tannus are saying their vows, and must report any disturbances or thefts.

Gorat Thunderwind

Gorat (CN male dwarf berserker) is Tannus’s cousin and oldest friend, and bears many scars from the battles they’ve fought together. He loves battle still, and is struggling to understand and support Tannus’s change of heart and mind. Gorat carries no weapons for the wedding, but he’s resourceful enough to turn anything he grabs into a weapon. Such improvised weapons use the normal berserker attack statistics.

Gorat’s secret involves his goal to deliver a toast during the dining hall celebration that will call Tannus to battle, to see once and for all whether his friend has changed. Gorat does not do this out of malice, but out of love. He wants to ensure that his friend is on the proper path.

Jormun Thunderwind

Jormun (NG male dwarf priest) is Tannus’s father, and will conduct the ceremony to marry his son to Gwendolyn. He carries a warhammer and a shield.

Jormun’s secret involves relief that his son has changed his ways. Though he has not confessed this to anyone, he hopes that Tannus can leave his days of battle behind and find love and peace with Gwendolyn. If a battle breaks out, Jormun stands by Tannus or Gwendolyn (whoever is in greater danger).

Other Guests

Nine other dwarves representing both families have come to see the wedding—and to underline the fact that the two families really don’t trust one another. The Dharguns see the Thunderwinds as uncouth and violent, while the Thunderwinds see the Dharguns as uppity and boring. None of the guests carry weapons, for the safety of all attending.

Character-Building Exercise

If the characters use an alternative plan to gain access to Horn Enclave, they might not play out the NPCs' secret agendas. However, these secrets can still be relevant factors in the episode. While the characters are in Horn Enclave, they will likely interact with members of the wedding party, and might even be invited to join the festivities or ride in the caravan when the group departs. At opportune moments, an NPC might befriend a character and ask them for help with their secret goal. And, of course, if things start going badly at any point, the characters can say “Whippoorwill” into the stone token given to them by Flabbergast to have him perform the ritual—or they might have the ritual cast for them whether they want it or not. See “area Ironbeard’s Entrance.” As the gifts from the families are being placed in the wedding vault, a dwarf wizard with a steel-gray beard appears. Ironbeard (LN male dwarf mage) introduces himself and wishes the happy couple well. He then inspects the vault, carefully examining everything with the help of a glass jeweler’s eye (a magic device that functions as a gem of seeing)." in the “area 11:15 AM” section of the wedding itinerary for more information.

Horn Enclave

Horn Enclave is a legendary dwarven stronghold run by Clan Horn, wealthy shield dwarves whose estates and holds spread across the Spine of the World mountains. The enclave’s business is the leasing of secure vaults to wealthy patrons, with nigh-impregnable defenses designed to keep each vault’s contents safe from thieves. Map 5.1 shows the layout of Horn Enclave.

Within the Enclave

Horn Enclave is a fully inhabited living space, workshop, and stronghold.

Residents

The enclave is home to more than one hundred dwarves, with nearly half of those working as guards. Clan Horn is led by Lady Kira Horn and Lord Zardak Horn. Zardak is getting on in years, nearly blind, and increasingly defers to Lady Kira’s decisions. Rizwin Horn, their daughter, is a capable diplomat and negotiator who greets all guests to the enclave. The head mage for the enclave is a dwarf known as Ironbeard, responsible for security and charged with inspecting all deposits to the vaults. (The stat blocks to be used for these NPCs are found when they first appear in the adventure.)

Layout

The Horn Enclave map shows the layout of the fortress and its described locations. Guest quarters are located in the northwest, near the tavern. The vaults are located to the northeast. The chambers of the enclave’s lady and lord are located to the east, beyond the great halls. To the south stand residences, forges, and the enclave’s temple.

Entrance

Entrance to the hold is through a long passage secured by four sets of portcullises and by fortified doors. The doors are opened by iron golems, who do so only when they hear a set of bagpipes play the song of the day that is the passphrase into the enclave. A dwarf outside the main doors plays this song each time an approved caravan arrives. The doors lead to the Hall of War, a large room containing a terrifying construct—the aptly named slaughterstone eviscerator—ready to defend the enclave in times of need. See the “area 11:15 AM” section of the wedding itinerary for more information.

Guards

Scores of dwarf Guard can be called upon to defend the enclave, with most occupying the barracks adjoining the vaults. Patrols are infrequent due to the overall security level of the enclave, but a group of four guards is dispatched if an attempt to pick a vault’s locks is detected. If the guards find trouble they can’t handle, they summon more guards and raise a general alarm, summoning Ironbeard, Rizwin, Lady Kira, or Lord Zardak. In true emergencies, Ironbeard activates the slaughterstone eviscerator in the Hall of War (see the “area 11:15 AM” section of the wedding itinerary).

Alarm Response

If an alarm is raised, the dwarves cordon off sections of the enclave by accessing levers in hidden chambers, each of which drops a portcullis along a major hallway. The lever chamber north of the Hall of War controls the main gates and the two portcullises north of the Hall of War. The lever chamber east of the forge controls the portcullis south of the Hall of War. The lever chamber west of the war room controls two portcullises east of the dwarven residences. Other defenses are noted in relevant sections of the episode.

Vaults

Details of the famed vaults of Horn Enclave are provided in the “area 11:15 AM” section of the wedding itinerary.

Wedding Itinerary

The Wedding Itinerary table provides an overview of the day’s events, which are part of your recipe for hilarity and disaster. At the appointed times, guests move from one location to another and begin a specific event. If an NPC has a secret, it activates during the appropriate event. Take the player of an NPC aside and inform them of their secret goal, and explain that the importance of the goal to the body they inhabit means that they are compelled to try to accomplish this goal. Players can share their secret goal with other individual players once they learn it, as long as sharing it would not contradict that goal. For example, the player running Gwendolyn should not share their goal with the player running Tannus, because the whole point is for Gwendolyn to surprise her new husband with the gift. Likewise, the player running Rala does not share her goal with anyone having an interest in what’s in the vaults.

In any free time between events, or by sneaking away from events, the characters can try to realize their primary goal of finding the final orrery component. The time of each event in the itinerary is known to all members of the caravan, so the characters can plan when to perform their heist. Of course, the secret goals of the wedding guests might impact those plans.

Unlike a typical dungeon infiltration, the layout of the enclave is not as important as the itinerary. Players are not expected to turn this into a dungeon crawl, if only because Horn Enclave is teeming with guards and other dwarves. Any wedding guests seen in private chambers or away from the events of the wedding itinerary are given a warning the first time, then questioned more carefully and searched each time thereafter. Evidence of theft or other lawbreaking could result in a guest being supervised by a guard until the caravan departs.

If the dwarves of Horn Enclave somehow find out that the characters are members of Acquisitions Incorporated, permanent incarceration or execution are among the best possible outcomes. Ideally, the players coming up with hilarious ways to escape will allow them to prevent such fates. Even if the characters have not used Flabbergast’s ritual, it should be clear to them that paying attention to the wedding’s schedule makes it easier to find times when they can more easily reach the vaults.

Wedding Itinerary

11:00 AM—Arrival

The Dhargun Ironworks caravan rolls up the mountain and approaches the gates to Horn Enclave. Excitement runs high among the dwarf wedding guests, both for the coming events and for their first trip to the storied enclave. Read or paraphrase the following:

On a gray morning with cloudy skies, three horse-drawn carriages roll up the mountain, heavy with cargo. Dwarves can be seen steering the carriages and peering out of windows, and their voices carry a sense of excitement and wonder as they approach Horn Enclave.

The stronghold is indeed awe-inspiring. A massive arched stone entrance—a marvelous work of art in and of itself—leads into the mountain. Four sets of heavy iron portcullises stand fast before the caravan’s approach, with a set of stone doors taller than a giant set behind them to mark the interior entrance to the enclave. The caravan stops and waits as a dwarf with bagpipes steps forward before the portcullis gates.

Flabbergast’s Ritual

Flabbergast casts the ritual of astral transmogrification as the caravan comes to a stop. As the magic takes effect, each character’s consciousness departs its normal body and enters that of a named caravan NPC. Go down the list of caravan NPCs in the order presented in the “area Wedding Guests” section above, assigning each guest to a random player until each character has an NPC. (If your group has more than seven players, you’ll need to come up with additional NPCs and secrets.) Describe the NPCs and their relationships to all the players, but do not divulge any NPC’s secret until it is triggered as described in each itinerary section.

While the ritual is in play, characters have full control of their host bodies and enjoy all capabilities of their new forms, including weapon and skill proficiencies, vision, languages, and spellcasting. They can also apply proficiency bonuses or expertise for skills their characters have, albeit using the ability scores of their new form. However, any spellcasting characters discover that they have left their original magic in their original brains.

Let each player refer to the entry in the Monster Manual for their NPC’s stat block, so that they can familiarize themselves with their new capabilities. The ritual’s magic lasts until nightfall, which is after the caravan’s departure. It can be ended before that time for any character with a dispel magic spell (DC 20).

Bagpipe-Activated Doors

Once the dwarf with bagpipes has identified the caravan properly, they play the song of the day. (This can be whatever tune you think has appropriate comedic value.) As the bagpipes fill the cavernous entranceway with sound, the portcullises rise. The enormous stone doors are pulled open by two Iron Golem, allowing entrance to the Hall of War.

The carriages remain outside the Hall of War, and dwarves of Clan Horn approach to help with the cargo and lead the guests to the vault. If the characters have a different plan, they can execute it now. The party can contact Flabbergast to have him perform the ritual at any time.

Secrets

No secrets specifically activate at this time. However, several NPCs have secrets triggered by events rather than a specific time. For example, you would provide Tannus’s player with the groom’s secret if at any time Tannus is about to swing a weapon to damage a creature. (You can decide whether to allow Tannus to fight to protect himself or others, but should encourage the player running him to think about creative nonattack ways to influence the fight.) Provide Amara her secret if she sees her daughter Gwendolyn in danger. Provide Jormun his secret if he sees Gwendolyn or Tannus in danger.

Secret? What Secret?

Though most players should embrace the mayhem and roleplaying opportunity created by their NPCs' goals, some might have trouble reconciling these goals with their desire to accomplish their franchise mission. Downplaying a secret goal can feel like the best path to securing the orrery component and winning, while some players might blurt out their secret goal with the excuse that their character would try to do so.

Encourage players to embrace the roles and enjoy the concept of momentarily placing their NPC’s secret goal as a top priority. Players might be more willing to take this on if you let them know that the scenario takes their conflicting priorities into account. Indeed, these scenes place an emphasis on situational comedy over numerical challenge. So players should think of the role as their challenge—can they succeed at playing someone they’re not?

11:15 AM—Hall of War and the Vaults

The caravan is met in the Hall of War by Rizwin Horn, daughter of Lady Kira and Lord Zardak. Rizwin is a capable diplomat and negotiator, and she expects the wedding guests and caravan servants to stick to the areas indicated by the itinerary. She despises Acquisitions Incorporated, and brings the full force of the enclave down upon the characters if she learns they are members of a franchise.

Beyond the double doors is an enormous rectangular hall, easily fifty feet wide and over a hundred feet long, with smaller double doors set into the other three walls. Every surface of the walls, floor, and ceiling is exquisitely carved with runes and bas reliefs depicting dwarves at war. Grand pillars shaped like stone dwarves hold up the ceiling.

The floor is intricately carved and appears to be inset with stone tiles that can shift, lift, and rotate. Five dwarves are in the process of moving tiles around, as if shaping a massive mosaic. Not far from the dwarves is a large metallic construct with a terrifying number of appendages ending in blades and saws. It is thankfully unmoving.

A female dwarf with sharp eyes and deep red hair tied in braids calls out a greeting as she approaches the caravan. “Welcome, guests and friends of Clan Dhargun and Clan Thunderwind! Horn Enclave is at your disposal for the wonderful occasion of your wedding!”

Rizwin (LG female dwarf knight) personally greets and congratulates Gwendolyn and Tannus, inquiring about their trip and wishing them a wonderful day. She reviews the itinerary with all members of the group (see the Wedding Itinerary table) and makes sure everyone understands that they are not free to wander the enclave at will.

If asked about the construct, Rizwin calls it the slaughterstone eviscerator, and explains that it’s there to protect Horn Enclave. “Moradin help anyone who crosses us,” she says, laughing. The construct can be activated by Ironbeard or Rizwin, or by anyone who accesses the control panel in its belly and succeeds on a DC 20 Dexterity check using thieves' tools. If the check fails by 5 or more, the construct animates and attacks.

The slaughterstone eviscerator is a deadly wild card, which might serve as a frightening distraction or be woven into the characters' outrageous plans. It uses the stat block of a stone golem, but its slam attack is a blade attack that deals slashing damage.

When all other business is done, Rizwin addresses the wedding party one last time.

“Your vault awaits, ready for the gifts each family has brought for the wedding. As instructed, we will safeguard these gifts until Gwendolyn and Tannus are ready to receive them. For today only, keys will be given to Thoman Dhargun and Gorat Thunderwind, for the storage of any additional gifts during the celebration. After that time, Thoman Dhargun will retain one key and Horn Enclave shall retain the other.”

Rizwin then grows suddenly stern. “Please remember that Horn Enclave is a secure location. As we are responsible for our other clients, you are expected to remain at all times with your group in the areas indicated for your itinerary. Now, let us proceed together to the vaults.”

Rizwin leads the wedding party through the double doors to the north, through the corridor leading past the barracks where dwarf guards can be seen lounging and training, and to the vaults. The double vault indicated with an “X” on the map is the vault for the wedding gifts, the largest and most valuable of which are deposited at this time. (Characters with a solid background in company history might recall that this is the same vault that the core members of Acquisitions Incorporated once robbed.)

Vault Doors and Keys

Each vault door is covered in iron bands, lined with lead to prevent scrying, is air- and watertight, and features layers of locks that make opening a vault without its keys nearly impossible. Two keys are required to open a vault door, with one typically held by the enclave and a second by the owner of the vault’s contents. When both keys have been turned in multiple locks, the door opens. While the wedding is in progress, Gorat and Thoman each have one of the keys for the wedding vault.

The vault holding the orrery component has one of its keys held by Ironbeard. The other key is with Lottie at the end of this episode. See “area Orrery Vault” below for more information.

Picking the Locks

Three consecutive successful DC 20 Dexterity checks using thieves' tools are required to open an outer vault door. Failing any check requires restarting the process. After three overall failures, the door to the vault gives off a loud ringing noise and four guards come to investigate. The DC is reduced to 10 if the character has one of the vault’s keys. Any character who has read the vault records (found in Ironbeard’s quarters or Lady Kira and Lord Zardak’s quarters) has advantage on checks to open a vault door.

Vault Walls

Despite how strong the doors and magic of the vaults are, the walls between adjacent vaults are relatively thin. Dealing 40 bludgeoning or force damage to an inner wall creates a hole wide enough for a character to enter another vault. (What kind of attention doing so attracts is left to your determination.) Other means of entering might be possible, including some of the scrolls carried by Two Dry Cloaks the tabaxi (see “area 11:30 AM").

Double Vaults

Some vaults are set up as two rooms, with the magically locked door of the second room also requiring a password to be spoken before the door can be opened. The wedding vault is a double vault, with the password set as seen at “Ironbeard’s Entrance” below.

Orrery Vault

The single vault holding the orrery component is immediately northeast of the vault marked “X.” This vault is further detailed in the “area Orrery Vault” section below. Discovering which vault holds the component is an important bit of business that the characters must accomplish at some point during the day. Rizwin knows the location, as does Ironbeard, Lady Kira, and Lord Zardak. The contents of all vaults are also noted in the vault records, a copy of which is kept in Ironbeard’s quarters, with another copy in Lady Kira and Lord Zardak’s quarters. A character who has studied the records has advantage on checks to open any vault door.

Ironbeard’s Entrance

As the gifts from the families are being placed in the wedding vault, a dwarf wizard with a steel-gray beard appears. Ironbeard (LN male dwarf mage) introduces himself and wishes the happy couple well. He then inspects the vault, carefully examining everything with the help of a glass jeweler’s eye (a magic device that functions as a gem of seeing).

When he’s convinced that all is well, Ironbeard asks the couple to set the password they wish to use for the inner door. For the duration of the wedding, the inner door will remain open so that Gorat and Thoman can access the vaults. But Ironbeard explains that afterward, even someone with both keys cannot open the inner vault unless Gwendolyn or Tannus speaks the password.

If the characters are running Gwendolyn and Tannus, they can set the password as they wish. If the characters are not possessing the wedding guests but are present in the vault, things can get potentially interesting.

Plan B

If the players are not running the wedding party at this point—and if they’re up for even more of a roleplaying and improvisational challenge—Gwendolyn and Tannus look to one another and whisper, “Whippoorwill.” They laughingly explain that a whippoorwill flew overhead when they first met. Ask any characters within earshot (as they will be if they’re acting as tag-along wedding guests) to make Wisdom (Perception) checks, with the highest check overhearing the password. That character gets a moment’s warning of what’s coming.

In an amazing coincidence, “Whippoorwill” is the phrase Flabbergast set on the stone token to trigger casting the ritual. If the players have come up with a savvy approach to entering the enclave that didn’t make use of the ritual, you don’t need to use this option. But if your group will have fun with it, Flabbergast hears the word spoken and casts the ritual, so that the characters' bodies slip into a state of slumber as they possess the bodies of the wedding party. What approach the possessed dwarves—now run by the players—might take to explain the characters' sudden unconsciousness, then safely hide those slumbering bodies away, is up to the players and you.

Secrets

No secrets specifically activate at this time. However, Thoman and Gorat now each have a key to the vault that allows them to act on their secrets later.

11:30 AM—The Tavern

Rizwin leads the caravan party back through the barracks, then north, west, and north again to the tavern.

Great tree trunks have been cut in half to form a series of long tables in this drinking hall. The northern wall behind the bar is formed entirely of kegs of ale, all of them tapped. Busy servers pour frothy mugs and serve them to the multitude of dwarves already here. As Rizwin steps into the tavern, she claps her hands once and several dwarves quickly clear two central tables for the wedding party and guests. Tall mugs of amber beer are served, while platters loaded with skewers of roasted meat and root vegetables are brought to the table. Drinks and food are on the house!

For the next two hours, the caravan party enjoys ale and food, toasts Gwendolyn and Tannus, and swaps tall tales. Guests can visit other tables to meet Clan Horn dwarves, so the characters can move around without drawing attention to themselves. Ironbeard and Rizwin are both here, and the characters can speak to them to try to pick up clues as to the location of the orrery component. (Attempts by any characters to hit on Rizwin are made with disadvantage.)

Many of the Clan Horn dwarves have been drinking heavily. Targeting the heavier drinkers can grant advantage on checks made to pry information from them. While in the tavern, the dwarves are relaxed and won’t react negatively to a failed Charisma check. However, continued failures result in guards being called. Those guards issue a warning against bothering folk not in the wedding party, and might eventually search or incarcerate any individual who continues to cause trouble.

Tabaxi Merchant

Sticking out like a sore thumb is a lone merchant at the end of one of the long tables. Two Dry Cloaks (N female tabaxi) wears a bandolier of magic wands and watches over a number of small chests beneath her table. She passes herself off as an accomplished mage and merchant, though she’s actually a career rogue—and a member of an Acquisitions Incorporated franchise. After looting the treasury of a religious order she was formerly affiliated with, Two Dry Cloaks has come to Horn Enclave to deposit her ill-gained goods and lay low for a while. Whether her franchise is known to the characters (and whether her recent theft was done for the franchise or as a solo job) is left up to you. Naturally, Two Dry Cloaks has made sure that the dwarves of Clan Horn know nothing of her company affiliations.

To use Two Dry Cloaks as an NPC, give her the stat block of a spy with these changes:

• She has the following attack option: Claws. Melee Weapon Attack: +2 to hit, reach 5 ft., one target. Hit: 2 (1d4) slashing damage.
• She has the following racial trait: Feline Agility. When the tabaxi moves on its turn in combat, it can double its speed until the end of the turn. Once it uses this ability, the tabaxi can’t use it again until it moves 0 feet on one of its turns.
• She has the iconic hoardsperson feature (see “Iconic Faction Features” in appendix B).

(More information on the tabaxi can be found in Volo’s Guide to Monsters.)

Two Dry Cloaks is a wild card, placed in the adventure to help the characters gain information. She can share details about the vaults in general, where vault records are stored, and the like. Intimidation and trickery work on her well enough, but a friendly attitude wins her over to the characters more strongly. If the characters stay on her good side, she might become a valuable ally and resource.

Two Dry Cloaks’s wands pulse with magical light, though only two of them have actual useful properties. The first is a wand of binding that glows purple. The second wand blinks with blue and green light and is a Failed Experiment Wand at combining a wand of fireballs and a Wand of Lightning Bolts. It functions as a wand of fireballs, except it has only two charges per day and casts either a green-flamed fireball or a blue lightning bolt at random. Two Dry Cloaks also carries a scroll tube with three Spell Scroll: prayer of healing, silence, and stone shape.

Lady and Lord Horn

Lady Kira Horn and Lord Zardak Horn (NG female and male dwarf Veteran) arrive halfway through lunch. Zardak is half-blind and periodically confers with his wife to make sure he is speaking to the correct person. Both are pleased to have a wedding in their halls, and they engage in small talk to ask polite questions of their guests. Many of those questions involve the business operations of Dhargun Ironworks and the military history of Clan Thunderwind. Thankfully, neither Kira nor Zardak appear to mind if a character isn’t too sure about the answer.

At a time of your choosing, Lord Zardak appears to notice something odd about one of the characters or the body they inhabit, but this ends up just being his bad eyesight. Fifteen minutes after they arrive, the two take their leave.

Rala’s Secret

Rala’s secret triggers during this scene, and the character inside Rala’s body is momentarily overwhelmed by the doppelganger’s personality. Stealing Gorat’s key requires a Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check contested by Gorat’s Wisdom (Perception) check. Gorat has disadvantage on the check from the distraction of the festivities—or, if controlled by a character, he could decide to just hand over the key. Rala must then decide whether to also try to steal Thoman’s key (if he isn’t possessed by a character inspired to give it to her). Having two keys makes opening the door effortless, but the security chief is a cagey and suspicious sort.

Once she has at least one key, a DC 10 Dexterity (Stealth) check allows Rala to exit the tavern without being drawn back into the general merriment by one of the guests. She must then succeed on a DC 12 Dexterity (Stealth) check to make it past the barracks without notice and reach the vaults. Rala could instead do away with stealth and attempt to talk her way past the guards, given that she’s a known member of the wedding party and has the vault key in her possession. Combat is a poor option, however. Each barracks room holds ten dwarves (use the guard stat block, with the modifications noted for dwarf members of the wedding party).

1:30 PM—Guest Quarters

Rizwin directs the guests out of the tavern and to the guest quarters. Here they can relax, take a nap (and sober up as necessary) before changing into the formal wedding attire waiting for them in their rooms.

This time off is a perfect opportunity to figure out where the orrery component is stored and make a move on the vault. Rala’s disappearance might complicate things, but she can reappear just as everyone is entering their chambers. Depending on how the player handles the scene, Rala might not admit to having already been in the wedding vault (and likely has the belt of dwarvenkind hidden upon her person). It takes a number of successful ability checks (possibly group checks) to leave the guest quarters, cross the barracks, and reach the vault. Use the same DCs and options provided for Rala in the previous itinerary section as guidelines.

Once the characters reach the vaults, they must decide how to proceed. See the “area 11:15 AM” section for information on breaching the vaults and the “area Orrery Vault” section below for information on what is found within that vault.

Secrets

No secrets specifically activate at this time.

4:00 PM—Temple

Dressed in their finest, the members of the Dhargun and Thunderwind families head to the temple. Rizwin leads them south through the Hall of War and east past dwarven residences. Ironbeard exits his quarters to join them, revealing the location of that area if the characters haven’t sussed it out already. The temple is beautifully carved to depict the Mordinsamman (the dwarven pantheon), including fine statues of Moradin, Clangeddin Silverbeard, Berronar Truesilver, and Haela Brightaxe.

After initial pleasantries, Rizwin indicates to Jormun that he may climb the steps to the dais to begin the ceremony. At this time, Thoman’s secret triggers.

Thoman’s Secret

As the ceremony begins, Thoman gets an odd feeling as he recalls hearing Amara worrying about the vault and what might happen to the still-fractious relationship between the families if anything were stolen from it. To appease Amara, he wants to check the vault and report to her if all is not well. This requires borrowing Gorat’s key, which Gorat lends willingly (whether run by a player or not). The mercurial Thunderwind has no concerns that a Dhargun lackey would dare do anything to jeopardize the wedding. However, if Gorat’s key is still missing after being stolen by Rala, the doppelganger will need to quickly arrange to have it found to avoid a sudden catastrophe.

Thoman won’t return in time to see the vows, so he plans to meet everyone at the celebration in the dining hall. He feels compelled only to report missing items (such as the belt of dwarvenkind or anything taken by the characters). If under a player’s control, he need not mention anything else amiss (such as a hole in the wall) as long as the vault’s contents are intact.

The Ceremony

Jormun would normally provide a fiery ceremony on the virtues of the Mordinsamman, with an emphasis on Clangeddin’s battle prowess. If a character is controlling him, that character can be put on the spot to describe the ceremony and how the dwarves reconcile the different elements of the pantheon (in particular, the balance between gods of war such as Clangeddin and those of marriage and home, such as Berronar Truesilver). Clan Dhargun is pleased by an emphasis on the hearth, while Clan Thunderwind appreciates an emphasis on battle.

The hall then grows quiet. Look to the characters inhabiting the wedding couple, letting them know everyone is staring at them. If they don’t guess what’s happening, one of the guests leans forward and reminds the couple to join Jormun on the altar. The guests have a good laugh at the couple forgetting the ceremony details, chalking it all up to the pair being nervous.

Once at the altar, Jormun asks for the couple’s vows. This is a fun opportunity to see if the two players want to improvise vows, since they were supposed to have memorized them. After the vows, Jormun pronounces them a married couple and the hall erupts in cheers.

After allowing everyone to receive the couple, Rizwin thanks Jormun for the wonderful ceremony (even if it left much to be desired) and leads everyone back the way they came and north to the dining hall. Characters could try to make their way to the vault at this time, though anyone doing so runs into Thoman, and are likely to be noticed arriving late to the celebration.

4:30 PM—Dining Hall

The dining hall has been festooned with colored streamers and lit with huge braziers. Long tables in the center include platters of food and seats for guests, while a table nearby holds gifts from attendees (including a few from Clan Horn). Servers bring ale and spirits, and the mood is festive. Ironbeard, Rizwin, and even Two Dry Cloaks are all here, though Lady Kira and Lord Zardak are not.

Gorat’s Secret

Gorat’s secret is the first to activate in this section. His goal is to come up with a toast that calls Tannus to battle, to see once and for all whether his friend has changed. Encourage the player whose character possesses Gorat to make up a toast that urges Tannus to tell a story of his prowess at war. Secretly, Gorat hopes that Tannus turns down the challenge. How Tannus responds could determine whether his clan has an easier or harder time calming down once chaos erupts. A good battle tale leaves them eager to fight!

As the challenge is being resolved, Thoman returns from checking the vault and heads to Amara to report his findings.

Gwendolyn’s Secret

When Thoman arrives, Gwendolyn asks him to borrow Gorat’s key (if he doesn’t still have it), then go to the vault and bring the suit of armor to the celebration. Depending on what Thoman has found, it’s possible that he’s in the middle of telling Amara about missing items.

No Trouble Here

If the players were lucky, clever, showed amazing restraint, or somehow failed to have their characters access the vaults at all, it’s possible that Thoman didn’t find anything missing. If he reports to Amara that all is well, the celebration is uneventful and the ending could feel a bit flat. If you want to shake things up a bit, you could activate the tabaxi merchant. In this option, Two Dry Cloaks is a thief who hits the vault before the first or second time Thoman checks it. This act achieves the desired chaos, and should give the characters opportunities to notice Two Dry Cloaks. Perhaps she looks guilty, has some cuts and bruises, or has a bulge under her shirt from concealed treasure. Once the tabaxi is identified as the culprit—and especially if the characters out her as an Acquisitions Incorporated franchisee—the chaos dies down.

Amara’s Secret

If an item has been stolen, Amara’s secret triggers and she races to get her battleaxe from the gift table. She then begins searching for the culprit and screaming about thieves and saboteurs. The items in the vault are meant to bind the fractious families, and if any are missing (presumably taken back by one family or the other), the wedding might be considered invalid.

Missing Items

News of any trouble at the vault spreads like wildfire, and members of both families begin accusing each other. Chaos erupts! Thankfully, the guards of Horn Enclave know that any dwarven wedding comes with a certain amount of chaos, and are keen to let the two families sort their problems out before getting involved. As such, this scene is a great opportunity for the characters to explore their NPCs' personalities and backstories as things get heated. By focusing on the humor of potential conflicts, you can avoid having the guards rush in as a first response.

The characters have many options here. They could use the opportunity to escape (or head to the orrery vault if they haven’t already). More than likely, they’ll be inside NPC bodies and need to defuse the situation so they can reach the caravan departure phase in one piece.

The characters could try to save the marriage, perhaps resolving the crime by pinning it on one person (or convincing Rala to take the fall). Let the players develop a plan and add reactions from the crowd (including Clan Horn NPCs) as needed. Accusations and turmoil prompt Ironbeard and several guards to inspect the wedding vault, which could lead to the discovery of any breach into the orrery vault.

Tannus’s and Jormun’s Secrets

If violence breaks out between the families (or between Horn Enclave and any possible thieves), Tannus finds that he really wants to avoid being violent. This might be his last chance to prove his love to Gwendolyn! Jormun’s secret causes him to protect the married couple at all costs. His actions could help bring the warring families together by example.

Innocent Bystanders

If the characters have already accessed the orrery vault, they could decide they don’t care what happens and sit on the sidelines to watch. In this case, take the events directly to them so that they’re encouraged to react. An effective technique is to couple an NPC approaching them with a surge of emotions within one of the controlled NPCs. For example, Ironbeard could call for everyone to be searched, just as Amara (and the character controlling her) begins to contemplate what might befall her daughter if the families decide the wedding is invalid.

6:00 PM—Departure

Once the chaos dies down, the guests can go back to merrymaking until the evening comes. If the chaos doesn’t die down, the dwarves of Clan Horn eventually order the warring Dhargun and Thunderwind families to leave the enclave and sort out their problems on their own.

Guests are led—or driven at spear point—through the Hall of War and out the main doors to their waiting carriages. (Characters who triggered the ritual within the enclave will need to juggle getting both their dwarven hosts and their original bodies out.) Rizwin, Ironbeard, Lady Kira, and Lord Zardak all come to say appropriate goodbyes. Ironbeard takes Gorat’s key, then returns to the dining hall with several guards to take any last gifts from the celebration to the vault. By the time he does so, the caravan has safely departed.

The characters can say any final words. If they stole any treasure, they can attempt to drop it over the side of the caravan for later retrieval. As the sun dips below the horizon, Flabbergast’s ritual ends and the characters return to their normal bodies. Continue with the section “area Battle in the Skies” as they travel toward Lottie’s domain.

Orrery Vault

At some point during the wedding itinerary, the characters attempt to breach the vault containing the wheel of stars. See the “area 11 AM” section for information on the wedding vault, the vault doors, and other defenses. When the characters enter the orrery vault, read:

Statues of human-sized brass dragons stand at the center of the vault, their heads pointed at a globe of light hovering in the air between them. A circular clockwork device floats within the light, recognizable even at a distance as one of the components of the Orrery of the Wanderer.”

Clockwork Dragons

Each of the dragon statues in this area is a clockwork dragon (see appendix B), and is indistinguishable from a metal statue until it moves. If the characters are possessing the bodies of the dwarf wedding guests, two clockwork dragons are on guard here. If the characters are themselves, they face five of the creatures.

The clockwork dragons take no action until a character moves toward the globe of light, at which point, they swivel their heads toward the nearest characters and speak (see below). If any character steps within 5 feet of the globe of light, the clockwork dragons attack all creatures in the room, though they continue to respond to characters engaging them in conversation even during the fight. (If a character attempts to seize the component, see “area The Missing Component,” below.)

Properly engaging the constructs gives the characters a chance to learn about the orrery’s creator and where she can be found. As part of the conversation, the clockwork creatures start off by asking the characters the following questions:

• “Who are you, and what are your ideals?” (Ideals related to running a business or earning a fortune appear to please the clockwork creatures.)
• “Who do you serve?” (The clockwork creatures show no reaction to any response.)
• “Why have you come to Lottie’s vault?” (This can lead the characters to ask about Lottie, who the clockwork creatures know as the wizard who created the orrery.)
• If any character mentions the orrery, the clockwork creatures ask, “Why do you seek the orrery?” (Responses that suggest the franchise is trying to stop some great evil can result in the clockwork creatures sharing Lottie’s location.)
• “What would disappoint you the most right now?” (If a character mentions the need to recover the final orrery component, a clockwork creature answers, “Prepare to be disappointed.")
• “What is the best way to make money?” (The clockwork creatures are particularly pleased if a risky endeavor, including running a franchise, is mentioned.)

If fully and properly engaged, the clockwork creatures share the following information:

• The creatures state that they will harm only those who have come to the vault with the intent of misusing the orrery (which they assume includes anyone trying to steal the component). However, they are not automatically friendly to those claiming other intent.
• The creatures were created to guard this vault and its contents.
• Lottie, a powerful wizard and clockmaker, created them. (The clockwork dragons do not identify Lottie as a lich.)
• Lottie also created the orrery, but later scattered it and its components. The creatures do not know why Lottie did this.
• “It is best not to cross Lottie. She destroys all who dare rise against her.”
• If the creatures believe the characters' cause is just (or at least coincidentally would prevent a great evil), they can share that Lottie lives in a cave near a destroyed town called Fortune, located amid hills to the east of the Greypeak Mountains, not far from the desert of Anauroch.
• The town of Fortune was built recently and quickly destroyed by Lottie for daring to challenge her authority.
• “Lottie would not like our telling you too much about her. She’s very powerful, is a master of clockwork, and has lots of style.”

If the characters earn the clockwork dragons' complete trust, they are allowed to reach for the orrery component where it floats within the light. But the dragons warn them that they might not get what they want.

The Missing Component

The final orrery component, the wheel of stars, appears to float within the globe of light. However, the characters are ultimately unsuccessful in their attempt to claim the component, because the orrery’s creator is using the vaults of Horn Enclave as a clever ruse.

A lich named Lottie created the orrery—and then scattered its pieces far and wide when she realized how dangerously powerful it was. Wanting to dissuade adventurers and others from trying to collect the pieces, she made it known that one piece was sealed in the vaults of Horn Enclave. In truth, that piece has been with Lottie the whole time, even as the false story kept those seeking the wheel of stars away from her.

The orrery component cannot be moved or manipulated by magic. When any creature attempts to physically seize the component, it reveals itself as an illusion. As the illusion dissolves, it is replaced by a small (real) leather bag floating within the globe of light, on which is written “Congratulations!” Within the bag are thirty strange coins that appear to be gold, but which are actually copper covered in gold foil and stamped with the letter L. (These are tokens for Lottie’s casino; see “area Lottie’s Palace” later in this section.) Also in the bag is a note bearing a message in a regal script.

Congratulations on the determination that got you this far in search of the wheel of stars! And sorry that your reward has been denied you. The wheel has been with me always, and even as this ruse is ended, I promise it shall never be given over to those who would use the power of the orrery for woe. If that be you, feel free to face me—and know your doom. But if perchance you have come here seeking the orrery so as to destroy it…_ well, then, you have piqued my interest_.

My name is Lottie. Find me if you can.

Loose Ends

If the characters kill the clockwork dragons without talking to them, the constructs are able to speak even after being smashed. This can allow the characters to question them, and vice versa. If the characters completely miss all the clues in this section, additional downtime or asking Head Office for help can provide details regarding someone named Lottie with a penchant for creating clockwork creatures.

Though the characters are unable to claim the final orrery component at this time, they now know where it and its creator can be found. Once the caravan departs and they return to their bodies, they can plan their next move.

Going in Style

The journey south and east to the Greypeak Mountains covers miles of treacherous terrain, and time is of the essence. As such, the trip presents an opportunity for the characters to play with one of Acquisitions Incorporated’s most sought-after assets—a battle balloon.

The characters can report back the outcome of their Horn Enclave mission to Flabbergast or Omin Dran, or Head Office makes contact with them if they report back to Gilda Duhn first. Knowing the importance of tracking Lottie down, Omin authorizes the loan of the battle balloon at once, with the vehicle arriving at the characters' location within a few days—accompanied by a voluminous contract and an extensive list of penalties to be paid if anything should happen to it.

The primary focus of the agreement is to clarify the incomprehensibly high rental cost (waived by Omin for this mission), and to emphasize that the vehicle remains the property of Acquisitions Incorporated. The lengthy process of signing, countersigning, witnessing, and signing again is followed by the characters providing samples of fingernail and hair clippings. In case of the destruction of the balloon and all aboard, the company reserves the right to resurrect characters as indentured servants to work off the loss.

The crew that delivered the battle balloon remain with the ship, though the characters are firmly in charge and have plenty to do on board, as seen in the next section. Appendix C provides combat statistics for the battle balloon (because you know that’s coming), so assume that a suitable number of crew are available to operate the balloon and its weapons alongside the characters.

Sticking with What They’ve Got

If the characters' mobile headquarters is something cool enough that they would rather use it than the borrowed battle balloon to travel to the Greypeaks, that’s fine. Just rework the encounters in the “Riders on the Storm” and “area Battle in the Skies” sections appropriately. For example, a giant walking robot can be toppled by rough storm winds or damaged by lightning and hail. The area around a teleporting headquarters such as a tavern that lets characters travel to other taverns can become the site of the Six’s airship attack, and so forth.

Riders on the Storm

As the characters travel to the Greypeaks, they encounter unusual weather, followed by an ambush by the Six. How well the characters negotiate the weather determines certain elements of the ambush.

Nasty Weather

The sun hides behind clouds that increasingly darken as you head toward the Greypeak Mountains—and, hopefully, the wizard who created the orrery. A steady rain begins to fall, and the wind begins to howl. A crash of thunder is followed by forks of lightning. Soon, sheets of rain are falling while lightning flashes on every side. The lightning forms concentrated pockets, creating a maze of sorts.

A successful DC 12 Intelligence (Nature) or Wisdom (Survival) check confirms that the storm is not natural. It might have been manipulated by a powerful spell, an artifact, or proximity to a portal to an elemental plane. But whatever its origin, it is obvious to the characters that they must maneuver the battle balloon through the storm, and retreat is not an option.

Have the characters select a role on the battle balloon from one of the following:

Captain, providing leadership to the other characters and crew

Pilot, charting a safe course

Weapon master, directing the crew operating the vehicle’s weapons in case enemies appear

Lookout, watching for dangers

Mechanic, leading the crew battening down the hatches and making repairs

Additional characters in a really large party can use the Help action to aid one of the characters taking a role above, or can come up with their own strategy (such as casting an appropriate spell). Any roles not filled by characters can be filled by crew members, who have a +3 bonus to any ability checks made in this section.

Riding out the storm takes place as three distinct events that play out over a few minutes.

Event 1

The storm has become deadly, with pockets of lightning flaring all around the battle balloon. Have the characters make the following ability checks, with the outcome determine as noted . Spells and clever ideas can be substituted for any of the suggested actions if you deem them effective.

Weapon Master

No enemies appear during this event. However, the weapon master can use the Help action to assist the lookout or the captain.

Lookout

Have the lookout attempt a DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check to call out the many pockets of lightning ahead.

Captain

The members of the crew are on edge. Have the captain make a DC 14 Charisma (Intimidation or Persuasion) check to steady the crew and prepare them for the pilot’s commands.

Pilot

Have the pilot attempt a DC 13 Dexterity check to chart a course through the lightning. Proficiency with flying vehicles can be used for this check. The check is made with disadvantage if the lookout failed their check, but is made with advantage if the crew has been steadied by the captain. If the check succeeds, the battle balloon avoids any lightning. If the check fails, each character takes 9 (2d8) lightning damage. The battle balloon takes the same amount of damage to its hull and catches fire (see below). In addition, the crew is shaken, imposing disadvantage on any checks by the captain in the next event.

Mechanic

If the ship is on fire, the mechanic must make a DC 12 Strength (Athletics) or Dexterity (Acrobatics) check to reach the fires and put them out with the crew’s aid. On a success, the fire is extinguished. On a failure, the fire deals another 9 (2d8) fire damage to the Battle Balloon hull before being extinguished by the driving rains.

If there is no fire, the mechanic can lock down stray lines to give the pilot advantage on their next check.

Event 2

The storm dies down as the battle balloon sails away from the pockets of thunder and lightning. That’s when fist-sized hail begins to drop out of the sky. As you search for a path out of this storm, a rock of ice the size of a giant’s boulder misses the balloon by a few feet!

Lookout

Have the lookout attempt a DC 14 Wisdom (Perception) check to spot areas where the storm thins and warn the pilot when boulder-sized hail would strike the battle balloon.

Captain

The captain must succeed on a DC 13 Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check to steady the crew and prepare them for the pilot’s commands. This check is made with disadvantage if the pilot failed their check in the previous event.

Pilot

Have the pilot attempt two DC 14 Dexterity checks to chart a course through the hailstorm. Proficiency with flying vehicles can be used for these checks. A check is made with disadvantage if the lookout failed their check this event, but is made with advantage if the crew has been successfully steadied by the captain this event or if there was no fire in the previous event. If both checks succeed, the pilot manages to avoid the hail and heroically steers the battle balloon to safety. If one check succeeds, each character takes 5 (1d10) cold damage from the hail and the crew is shaken for the next event. If both checks fail, two NPC crew members are killed, the captain has disadvantage on their check in the next event, and a massive boulder of ice heads for the battle balloon.

Weapon Master

If the pilot failed both checks, the weapon master must attempt to shoot the ice boulder with one of the battle balloon’s weapons. If the attack hits, the boulder is destroyed. If the attack misses, the boulder strikes the battle balloon, killing a crew member and dealing 5 (1d10) bludgeoning damage and 5 (1d10) cold damage to the battle balloon’s hull. If the pilot succeeded at one check, the weapon master is free to help the mechanic.

Mechanic

Regardless of any other damage taken so far, the battle balloon’s rigging has been torn by the hail. The mechanic can attempt a DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check or a Wisdom check making use of proficiency with flying vehicles to repair the damage. On a success, the battle balloon operates normally. On a failure, the pilot has disadvantage on their next check.

Event 3

Though the winds still howl and buffet the battle balloon, the lightning and hail falls away behind you. The clouds turn from purple-black to a light gray. That’s when you see the funnel cloud moving toward you. And… is that a face forming within it?

The storm has attracted a massive sentient funnel cloud that threatens to consume the battle balloon!

Lookout

Have the lookout attempt a DC 10 Wisdom (Perception) check to track the funnel cloud’s movement and call out large debris.

Captain

Have the captain make a DC 15 Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check to steady the crew and prepare them for the pilot’s commands. This check is made with disadvantage if the pilot failed both checks in the previous event.

Weapon Master

The weapon master can attempt to shoot the huge storm in the face with one of the battle balloon’s weapons. If the attack hits AC 16, the storm momentarily wavers. This can be used to counteract one failed check earlier in this event, by either steadying the crew or giving the lookout time to shout new instructions to the pilot.

Pilot

Have the pilot attempt a DC 14 Dexterity check to dart away from the funnel cloud, making use of proficiency with flying vehicles. This check is made with disadvantage if the lookout failed their check this event (or if the mechanic failed their check in the previous event), but is made with advantage if the crew has been steadied during this event. With a success, the battle balloon evades the storm without taking damage. If the check fails, the battle balloon’s hull takes 5 (1d10) bludgeoning damage.

Mechanic

The battle balloon rigging is being torn apart by the strong winds. The character must succeed on a DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check or a Wisdom check making use of proficiency with flying vehicles to prevent further damage. If the check fails, the battle balloon’s hull takes 5 (1d10) bludgeoning damage.

The sentient cloud moves along as the storm passes. But there’s no time to relax…

Battle in the Skies!

Immediately after the last “area Riders on the Storm” event ends, the characters come under attack by an airship controlled by the Six. If anyone needs healing, you could let the characters each have a round to cast a spell or drink a potion. But otherwise, the action is continuous.

Dropping out from behind a dark cloud is an airship held aloft by a large balloon—emblazoned with the sigil of the Six! A crew of hobgoblins and goblins can be seen swarming the deck, and a ballista and three harpoon guns are trained on your vessel. To arms!

If the battle balloon took more than 20 damage, the chaos of the storm has distracted the characters and crew. In that event, all creatures on the characters' battle balloon are surprised by the airship sent by the Six to engage the franchise—and to steal the franchise’s orrery components. Use the battle balloon stat block from appendix C for the Six’s airship, but substitute the following Blowout Ballista attack for the Green Flame Arbalester attack:

Ranged Weapon Attack: +8 to hit, range 200/800 ft. (can’t hit targets within 60 ft. of it), one target. Hit: 16 (3d10) piercing damage and 22 (4d10) fire damage.

The airship’s crew is made up of a female hobgoblin captain named Garla, six Hobgoblin, six Goblin, six Smoke Mephit, and a hippogriff (serving as the captain’s mount). All these creatures are recent mercenary hires, so none of them have the iconic affiliate of the Six features. They employ the following strategy, hoping to distract the characters while they steal the orrery housing and as many of its components as they can.

Round 1

The Six’s airship begins 100 feet away from the characters' battle balloon. Roll initiative for the airship and all the creatures on it, but the creatures intentionally take no actions this turn. The Six’s airship keeps more than 60 feet away from the characters' battle balloon to allow it to fire all weapons. In this round, the Six operatives don’t reel in the lines of their airship’s harpoon guns, content to attack at range and entice the characters to make counterattacks against the enemy ship. The hippogriff, the smoke mephits, and half the goblins and hobgoblins are below decks to avoid damage. One of the mephits activates a wand of magic detection.

Round 2

If any harpoons have hit, the Six’s crew begin to reel them in using the airship’s Harpoon Haul, pulling the characters' battle balloon closer. In this and later rounds, if the Six’s airship and the characters' battle balloon are within 5 feet of each other, half the goblins and all the hobgoblins except the captain board the characters' vessel, hoping to draw the characters into one-on-one combat.

Round 3

A second airship drops out of the clouds! This ship has no visible crew and no weapons, but it does have an outrageously sized needle attached to its prow. This second airship does not attack or have any active crew. It simply deploys the needle in the hope of puncturing the characters' battle balloon.

If the characters are using their own mobile headquarters, adjust the mechanism as appropriate to that headquarters, making use of some obvious vulnerability. The mechanism’s purpose should be immediately obvious. For example, if the headquarters is a walking statue, the mechanism might be an arm that deploys a huge bear trap.

It takes 2 rounds for the needle to reach the characters' battle balloon. When the needle makes contact, it automatically deals sufficient damage to the balloon to create a slow-leaking puncture. This doesn’t cause a sudden crash, but the battle balloon begins to descend slowly to the ground. To prevent this from happening, the characters must destroy the needle (AC 10, 75 hit points, immunity to poison and psychic damage, and vulnerability to bludgeoning damage).

Hoping that the characters are suitably distracted, all four mephits slip overboard and fly around and under the characters' battle balloon, hoping to pinpoint the location of any strong magic on board.

Round 4 and Beyond

Any remaining goblins emerge to board the battle balloon and attack the characters. The hobgoblin captain rides her hippogriff into battle. The mephits assume that the strongest magic they detect on the battle balloon is the orrery components the characters have collected, and they undertake any combination of attacks and ability checks you determine to claim those components. One mephit flies away with each component claimed, attempting to blind characters trying to follow it with its Cinder Breath.

The hobgoblins and goblins protect the mephits, even as they obey orders to take out characters holding the orrery components. If all the orrery components held by the characters are claimed, any surviving Six operatives flee the battle.

Splugoth’s Retreat

The airship with the needle disengages once the needle has been successfully deployed or destroyed. As it departs the scene, the characters spot a smirking goblin with one pale eye looking out at them through a porthole. Splugoth the Returned laughs at or curses the characters, as appropriate to the success or failure of his agents in retrieving the characters' orrery components. In a worst-case scenario in which the characters come after him, Splugoth points his airship at the ground, where it crashes in 2 rounds. During that time, he drinks a potion of invisibility and jumps overboard wearing a ring of feather falling. The characters get another chance at Splugoth in episode 6.

Mopping Up

If the characters capture the Six’s airship, they find it is in a sorry state. It will not fly much longer, and is beyond repair. By the same token, the characters need to repair their borrowed battle balloon. A few hours' work (including salvaging parts from the Six’s airship if applicable) makes the Acq Inc battle balloon airworthy again for the continued journey.

Any Six operatives captured during the fight are keen to earn their freedom by telling everything they know. They were hired by Splugoth the Returned—a goblin who hates Acquisitions Incorporated, and who claims to have returned from the dead. Splugoth hired the hobgoblins and goblins to attack the characters as a distraction, but they know nothing else about the Six’s plans.

(Mis)Fortune

Once the battle is over, the characters continue the voyage to the Greypeak Mountains, following up on the information gained in the Horn Enclave vault. The mysterious wizard, Lottie, is said to have destroyed the town of Fortune, and the characters are about to find out just what kind of destruction took place.

Fortune’s End

On the eighth day of travel, you finally locate the town of Fortune, hidden in the foothills of the Greypeak Mountains near the desert of Anauroch. Though dusk is upon you, even in the fading light, you can see that the town was never very big to begin with—and that it is completely destroyed. Most of its buildings are empty shells and piles of wreckage. Looming beyond the town is a large, dark cavern. A narrow river winds down from the mountain and along one side of the town. Its water is a strange phosphorescent green color.

The characters can wander around the town as desired, but the only thing that greets them is the wind blowing through empty streets.

Investigating the Town

A successful DC 12 Wisdom (Survival) check reveals infrequent tracks belonging to different humanoid creatures. Some travel alone, while others go in small groups. A check of 17 or higher also reveals dog prints, though some of those prints have more claws per foot than an ordinary dog.

A successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check made to search the ruins determines that many of the houses are not actually destroyed—they were simply in the process of being built and never finished. The construction was hurried and cheap, which caused the structures' rapid deterioration. None of the houses hold valuables, but a few reveal makeshift shelters within, along with piles of old clothing and bedding. One of the shelters is built from large wooden signs upon which is written: “There’s a Fortune to Be Made in Fortune!”, “Choose Fortune and Win!”, and “Tokens! Lowest Prices!”

The grass, trees, and other plants in the area appear normal. Birds and rodents can be seen in typical numbers. A successful DC 14 Intelligence (Nature) check turns up no signs of physical damage consistent with a battle that could have leveled the town.

Questionable River

The water of the river is thick and slow moving, glows a phosphorescent green, and smells awful. A successful DC 10 Wisdom (Medicine) check indicates that the water has been contaminated by magic and has unusual side effects. Anyone drinking the water gains the poisoned condition for 1 hour and has a 50 percent chance to spontaneously grow an extra head. The extra head can speak, see, and hear, but provides no mechanical benefits. It shrinks away to nothing after 1 hour.

Gambling Fever

After the characters have had time to look around, or if they make for the cavern straight away, read:

A murmur of voices slowly builds within the wrecked buildings. A stocky humanoid with gray skin and a white beard suddenly stumbles forth, swaying from one side to the other as if intoxicated. It stares at you, points a finger, and yells, “Tokens!” Three more humanoids emerge from the buildings, yelling, “Tokens!” Two of them control dogs on leashes—though each of those dogs has two heads.

Creatures

These four duergar start as Medium creatures. In the first 2 rounds of combat, each uses the Enlarge action after pulling out a bottle filled with phosphorescent green liquid and drinking it. (The liquid appears to trigger the duergar’s sudden growth and battle prowess, but they drink only to firm up their resolve. See “Development” below.) The duergar are too inebriated to turn invisible. Because night is falling, their Sunlight Sensitivity does not hinder them.

The two Death Dog quickly pull away from their masters and attack. Each drips green liquid from its jaws and fights until defeated.

As they fight, the duergar continually shout out, “Tokens!” in an angry tone. They can be convinced to calm down or surrender if they are shown and promised the tokens the characters received in Horn Enclave, but they otherwise don’t respond to any attempts at conversation.

Development

The duergar are quite mad, having been poisoned by the stream and stricken with gambling fever in Lottie’s Palace. (See the next section for more information.) Their clothing and armor is filthy, and they carry only their weapons and one extra bottle of fermented river water. The glowing green liquid has no benefit if imbibed. Rather, any humanoid drinking from a bottle suffers as if they had drunk from the river (see above) and gains a killer hangover that imposes one level of exhaustion when the effect wears off.

Almost Here!

When the characters have fought the duergar and determined that there’s nothing of import in Fortune, they can make their way toward the cavern beyond the town.

The cavern looms more than twenty feet wide and tall, opening up to a dark tunnel that winds its way beneath the foothills. A strange smell hangs on the air, reminiscent of oil and ozone.

A successful DC 12 Intelligence (Investigation) or Wisdom (Perception) check to search around the cavern entrance detects a pressure plate running wall to wall under the dirt floor. If the check is 17 or higher, it also notes a rectangular object hanging from the ceiling fifty feet farther down the tunnel. This “trap” can be disabled with a DC 14 Dexterity check using thieves' tools.

Stepping on the pressure plate or failing to disable it causes an audible click and the sound of whirring gears. The rectangular object ahead reveals itself to be a large metal sign that is suddenly outlined in bright pink light, and which bears the words “Welcome! You are Almost Here!” shining brightly. If the sign is not activated, it can be read by any creature within 10 feet of it.

Farther down the twisting tunnel, a second pressure plate activates another sign that spells out “Tokens Available!” in brilliant green. Not far from the sign is a bridge leading over the glowing green river where it bisects the tunnel. Beyond the bridge, a third pressure plate lights up a sign reading “Loosest Slots In Faerûn!”

When the characters round a last corner beyond the third sign, read:

The darkness of the tunnel suddenly gives way to light. Tiny glowing globes, many of them blinking, flare to life along the walls and ceiling ahead. Hanging from the tunnel roof is an enormous sign, around which more globes of light chase each other, and on which are lit up the words “Lottie’s Palace.” Wide steps at the end of the tunnel lead up to a set of open double doors.

There are no dangers outside the palace, beyond exposure to too much flashing light.

Lottie’s Palace

The creator of the Orrery of the Wanderer, Lottie is a lich and a master of clockwork magic. Her palace is not a typical lich’s lair, however, instead taking the form of a swanky casino. As a functional gambling den, public places within Lottie’s Palace are safe. Dangerous creatures guard only the restricted areas, including the machinery room and access to Lottie’s meeting hall and private chamber.

The characters' arrival at Lottie’s Palace coincides with a liches' retreat, wherein Lottie gathers with some of her lich friends to do lich stuff. The characters need to poke around to find their way to Lottie, and can learn useful information with which to present their case before her while they do. In the end, their goal is to learn the last of the orrery’s secrets, and to claim the final orrery component from her.

Map 5.2 shows the layout of Lottie’s Palace.

1. Gambling Den

As you pass through the doors, you enter a world of opulence. Glass chandeliers fill a huge open chamber with brilliant light. The floors are carpeted, the walls decorated with scrollwork and painted with images of golden coins bearing the letter L. Dark wooden beams span the vast ceiling, which glitters with thousands of tiny gems.

The center of the area holds a sunken gambling pit that is packed with people, sitting in leather-upholstered chairs around tables covered in green velvet. To one side of the hall is a stage where three harpists play, surrounded by a lounge with comfortable chairs and small tables. Beyond that is the bar, and a door presumably leading to a kitchen. A sign to your right indicates the “Powder Room,” while another to your left indicates “Tokens.” To the far left is a fortified iron door sealed with a large lock. The center of the far wall features another set of double doors.

The clientele here all look a lot like the duergar you saw in the town of Fortune. All are gambling in a frenzy, arguing with one another over tokens and swearing that the next game will be the big one. Most of them are drinking heavily.

As you take it all in, a skeleton wearing a red uniform with a high collar and a crisp-looking hat approaches you.

Skeleton Staff

The staff of Lottie’s Palace are all skeletons with the power of magical speech. The skeleton that approaches the characters greets them in Common, suggests they get some tokens at the cashier, and presents everyone with a tray of drinks. These are complimentary beverages, loaded with rum and fruit juice. They taste delicious, but any character who imbibes four or more drinks gains the poisoned condition for 1 hour, or until the character has a meal at the lounge.

A total of twenty Skeleton work the floor, acting as dealers, bartenders, wait staff, and entertainment. Many are dwarf-sized (former duergar). The characters can fight the skeletons if they wish, but any altercation darkens Lottie’s mood when the characters finally meet her.

Each skeleton uses the normal stat block with these changes:

• It speaks Common, though its responses are programmed.
• A successful DC 11 Wisdom (Perception) check notes a small clockwork device attached to the inside of a skeleton’s skull that lights up when it speaks.

None of the skeletons are in a position to set up meetings with Lottie. The characters need to figure out how to get to her on their own.

Gambling Tables

All manner of games can be played at Lottie’s Palace, including Three-Dragon Ante, dice, Dragonchess, roulette, blackjack, and a cutthroat roleplaying game called Papers & Paychecks. A character can play any game for a cost of 3 tokens (available from the cashier). You can use any combination of checks and roleplaying you like to represent a character’s attempts to gamble, but each game should involve at least three checks of DC 12 or higher. An Intelligence (History) or Wisdom (Perception) check might allow a character to suss out the rules of a game or analyze the opposition, while an Intelligence (Investigation) or Charisma (Deception) check can represent careful play or cagey bluffing. The DC of any checks made to gamble increases by 1 for each drink a character consumes.

If a character fails all the checks for a game, they lose their 3 tokens and owe another 3. If the character fails more than half their checks, they lose their 3 tokens and owe 1 token. If they succeed on all checks, they keep their tokens and gain 2 tokens. This is a great way to lose money, but if a character beats the odds and wins more than three times in a row, the dealer for the game declares that it needs to go on its dinner break (despite being a skeleton).

Slot Machines

One side of the gambling pit features banks of strange clockwork machines, each with a large red lever and a slot for tokens. These machines promise great fun, surrounded by colorful lights and amazing sounds. They also drain an average of 3 tokens for every minute of play.

Gamblers

The inebriated patrons are too focused on their gambling to talk to any characters who aren’t also in the game. A character who gambles can strike up a conversation at the table, learning three pieces of information for each game they play, chosen from the following revelations:

• Lottie’s Palace has been in operation for over ten years. Before the casino was built, the cavern it was carved out of was home to a clan of duergar.
• When Lottie arrived, she offered the duergar jobs building her lair and minting tokens. When the casino was complete, Lottie fired her duergar work force but offered each of them a starter set of tokens as a severance package. The duergar took up gambling and drinking.
• Lottie employs only skeletons to work her palace, many of which were once duergar.
• Some of the duergar decided to start up a town next to the casino and sell tokens at lower cost. They took on construction loans and named their town Fortune.
• After a lot of hard work, customers of the casino began to come to Fortune to get tokens. Lottie lowered her prices in response. Fortune quickly became unable to pay its debts, and the town was abandoned.
• Lottie is not only a powerful wizard—she’s a lich.
• Lottie loves clockwork. She has crafted many amazing machines, including the clockwork machine room that powers the casino.
• The machine room behind the fortified metal door controls all the clockwork devices in the casino, including the locked double doors that lead to Lottie.

Treasure

The tiny gems embedded into the ceiling are valuable if collected. With 1 minute of uninterrupted work, a character can collect 30 gp worth of gems, to a total of 3,000 gp for the entire area. The chances of the characters being able to work uninterrupted are left to your determination.

2. Cashier

A skeleton in a slinky dress behind the cashier window offers tokens for use at the tables. Each token costs 5 gp. The cashier also suggests purchasing “super lucky tokens,” which function identically to normal tokens for the low, low cost of 10 gp each. The L-stamped tokens are made of copper covered with a thin layer of gold, as the characters saw with the tokens found in Horn Enclave.

The cashier accepts any form of valuables as payment (excluding IOUs), which are taken to a huge chest on the far side of the room. Any nonliving matter placed into the chest is teleported to secret vaults located in a distant land.

3. Club Lounge

This club lounge is clearly the place to hang out. A sign on the wall says so. Huge fish tanks feature brightly colored fish and an octopus. Soft leather chairs provide a great place to sober up or to enjoy a delicious drink at the bar.

Bartender

The skeleton bartender uses clockwork devices to shake rum drinks, peel fruit, blend fruit juices, and create souvenir flattened tokens (at a cost of 3 tokens). A door behind the bar leads to the kitchen. Characters who sit in the lounge are shown a menu whose only item is “Delicious Meals” for 3 tokens.

The bartender can be bribed (6 tokens) to let characters into the kitchen. A successful DC 13 Wisdom (Perception) check notices a brass key hanging around the bartender’s neck. This opens the door to the machine room (area area 5). It’s possible to steal the key with a successful DC 14 Dexterity (Sleight of Hand) check, or to sweet talk the bartender into “lending” it with a successful DC 13 Charisma (Deception or Persuasion) check.

Lounging Duergar

A few duergar are in the lounge, taking a break from gambling and watching the three harpist skeletons on the stage. Chatting up these duergar can provide information as in the gambling hall, at a rate of 1 token per piece of information.

4. Kitchen

Strange clockwork devices prepare food here, all of them slicing, dicing, stirring, mixing, and cleaning in a frenzy. Any character watching the process notes that the fare looks particularly unhealthy, featuring questionable meats, past-their-prime vegetables, and copious amounts of lard. Skeletons come and go to pick up food and drop off dishes. They ignore any characters who don’t get in the way.

The door leading north into Lottie’s domain is not locked. Lottie assumes that anyone coming this way is a staff member on legitimate business, or is looking to die.

5. Machine Room

The clockwork machinery in this area generates power for the casino and controls all the other clockwork in the place. The heavy iron door is set with a large lock and a dangerous trap, which sprays anyone who tries to pick the lock with a potent contact poison. The trap can be detected with a successful DC 16 Intelligence (Arcana or Investigation) check and disarmed with a DC 14 Intelligence (Arcana) check or Dexterity check using thieves' tools. If the lock is picked without disabling the trap, the character picking it must make a DC 14 Constitution saving throw, taking 22 (4d10) poison damage on a failed save, or half as much damage on a successful one. The trap resets automatically.

The bartender sometimes accesses this area to adjust power levels and has the key (see area area 3). Using the key doesn’t bypass the trap (it doesn’t need to, as skeletons are immune to poison damage), but grants advantage on the saving throw when the trap is triggered.

This encounter setup assumes that the characters come here before encountering Lottie in area 8. If they’ve already been to the boardroom and met the lich, adjust the setup so that the clockwork behir attacks at once.

When the door is opened, read the following:

The walls of this room are covered in conduits and glowing panels, many of which leak green fluid that flows toward a grated drain on the floor. In the center of the room stands a large glass globe on a stone pedestal. A brilliant ball of light pulses within the globe, which roils with dark energy bearing a disturbing resemblance to a map of the world.

Coiled around the globe is a long, serpentine creature that resembles a cross between a centipede and a crocodile—and which is made entirely of clockwork. It begins to move, but of more immediate notice is the translucent illusion of a lich in an evening gown lounging on a couch at the far side of the room. She wears an eyepatch and strokes a contented-looking dog as she speaks.

“So, you thought to enter my palace and rob me, did you? Let’s make it interesting, then. See if you can convince me to spare you before my clockwork pet destroys you all!” The lich laughs as the clockwork creature lunges toward you.

Creature

The clockwork behir uses the behir stat block with these changes:

• It is a construct.
• It has immunity to poison and psychic damage.
• It has immunity to the charmed, frightened, paralyzed, petrified, and poisoned conditions, and to exhaustion.

The clockwork behir does its best to destroy the characters, and continues fighting even after Lottie’s illusion departs (see below).

Any character fighting the clockwork behir can see that the complex arrangement of its workings gives it a unique vulnerability. Any character within 5 feet of the construct can use an action to attempt a DC 14 Dexterity check using jeweler’s tools or thieves' tools. On a success, the behir takes 15 bludgeoning damage as it components start to grind, and it is no longer able to recharge its lightning breath.

Illusory Lottie

Lottie, her couch, and her dog are all a projected illusion. The lich nonetheless behaves like a classic villain, and is keen to reveal secrets during the battle if the characters try to explain themselves or do a deal with her. She is generally forthright in her answers (because she’s proud of her brilliance and expects the characters to die), revealing any of the following information:

• Lottie created the orrery and its components, but she quickly grew to regret having done so, since the artifact could destroy the world if used improperly.
• When she realized how dangerous the orrery was, Lottie scattered its pieces and left the message in Horn Enclave that brought the characters here.
• She is aware that the orrery’s components have been coming together, and that all the missing components and the orrery housing have now been found.
• She knows that the Six wants the orrery. That organization has bargained with terrible powers, which have instructed them in how to use the orrery and its components to open a portal to the Far Realm.
• If the portal is opened, the world will likely be destroyed. A shame, really, because Faerûn is such a profitable place.
• Even if the Six don’t have all the orrery components, they’ll be able to start their ritual given enough time, tapping into the power of the Far Realm from somewhere in the material world.
• Lottie would totally love to save the world, but she’s in the middle of a retreat and completely busy. It’s a lot of work keeping all these liches happy.

When the characters have learned all you want them to (or if they start to get the upper hand against the clockwork behir), Lottie ends the conversation by saying, “Oh, I’m terribly sorry. I have an appointment. I must go. Have fun dying!” Her illusion then fades.

Wreaking Havoc

Talking to Lottie and not getting killed is the major point of this area. But characters who defeat the behir can remove the panels to access the clockwork machinery here. With a little experimentation, characters can deactivate any of the machinery in the casino, including the locks on the double doors into area 6. At your determination, tearing down the panels and attacking the clockwork behind them can have the same effect.

6. Swimming Pool

The double doors to this huge chamber are covered in clockwork that functions as a lock. A successful DC 20 Dexterity check using jeweler’s tools or thieves' tools unlocks the door. The characters can also open the doors from the machine room, or can use the kitchen to access this area. The skeleton staff in the front areas of the casino assume that anyone entering Lottie’s private domain is either invited or is soon to be dead, and pay no mind to characters breaking in.

The floor of this room is covered in red tiles surrounding a large swimming pool, the bottom of which glitters with thousands of gems. Fountains around the room spray water into the air that hangs as a fine mist.

Unlocked double doors across from the pool lead out to a hallway, while smaller doors lead to Lottie’s office and to a changing room stocked with swim suits sized for every type of humanoid creature.

Creatures

A water elemental and a water weird lurk in the pool. If any creature enters the room and doesn’t throw a token into one of the fountains within 1 round, the creatures attack. The water elemental enjoys taking grappled creatures into the pool so that the water weird can play with them.

Treasure

Flecks of gemstone embedded into the bottom of the pool are valuable if collected. With 1 minute of uninterrupted work, a character can collect 10 gp worth of gems, to a total of 1,000 gp for the entire pool.

7. Office

Lottie’s books are here—both those she likes to read and her financial records for the gambling hall. A successful DC 13 Intelligence (Investigation) check made to look through the account books reveals that several liches have invested in Lottie’s business. If the check is 18 or higher, it becomes clear that Lottie keeps two sets of records—one that she discloses to her investors showing lower profits, and one she keeps to herself with the true profits. If used carefully, this information could let the characters blackmail the lich.

This area can also contain other information of your choosing about the Six or the Orrery of the Wanderer. If the characters have missed out on any key revelations up to now, or are having trouble with certain plot points, you can clear them up here and set the stage for a final question-and-answer session in the boardroom.

8. Boardroom

Large clockwork double doors open by themselves as you approach, revealing a luxurious room decorated with fine art, rich carpets, several leather couches, and a boardroom table. Crystal balls sitting on pedestals around the room flicker and glow, and a huge fish tank swarms with unusual creatures. Some of them are even alive.

Nine liches occupy the room, either lounging around or arguing at the table. All wear leisure suits or sun dresses, including one sitting comfortably with a dog in her lap. All appear surprised to see you.

This area is Lottie’s public and personal space, with a private bedroom adjoining the swanky boardroom. Eight of the nine Lich are here on an annual retreat, taking a break from the various exploitative and profitable enterprises they run back home. Lottie is the ninth lich. This year was her turn to host, and she’s regretted every minute of it so far. It’s a lot of pressure dealing with these high-powered undead.

Negotiating with the Liches

Lottie (surprised that the characters survived her clockwork behir if they went that way before coming here) wants to disintegrate the characters immediately and says so. However, two liches lounging on couches are bored to the point of seeking any distraction, and they urge Lottie to let the characters speak. Allow the characters to explain why they have come, and to plead the case for receiving the information they need and the last orrery component. You can ask for Charisma (Persuasion) checks to carry the conversation, or let good roleplaying rule.

If the characters haven’t encountered the illusory Lottie in area area 5, the revelations in that section can be moved here, revealed by Lottie or the other liches. Some of the other liches have heard rumors of the Six’s plots, and that the Six have seemingly bargained with terrible powers to learn how to use the orrery components to open a portal to the Far Realm. The commercial interests of these liches means that all understand how destroying the world is bad for business, so the Six must be stopped.

The Orrery

If the characters convince Lottie that their goals are to end the orrery’s threat and save the world, she shares any information regarding the artifact that the characters don’t already know. She then provides them with the last orrery component, called the wheel of stars. Lottie underscores the importance of the characters stopping the Six and preventing that group from opening a portal to the Far Realm. The means by which they do so are entirely up to them. But whatever the outcome of the battle with the Six, Lottie insists that the orrery must be broken up and never used again—and sets a very real threat of dark destruction on the characters if they fail to permanently disable the relic.

Franchise Opportunity

The bored liches' thirst for entertainment might inspire them to ask the characters about what they do—and about Acquisitions Incorporated. Like Lottie, all these undead are focused on the limitless commercial aspects of immortal evil, and might be talked into partnerships with the franchise. The potential for such deals (and the potential risks in dealing with such powerful entities) is left to your imagination.

Taking Leave of Lottie

Depending on how their dealings with the liches go (and whether they did any damage to Lottie’s Palace while getting to her), the characters can spend a few hours hanging out with the undead. Any prospective business dealings can be lined up, after which the liches order one last round of drinks, then kick the characters out of Lottie’s Palace.

Conclusion

With the events of this episode complete, the characters attain 6th level! Leaving Lottie’s Palace behind, they can return safely to their borrowed battle balloon or mobile headquarters, ready to try to figure out where the Six might be conducting their ritual—and how to stop it.

Franchise Downtime

Much of the break between episode 5 and 6 will be focused on determining the location of the Six’s ritual site. The key clue to doing so is knowing that the ritual needs to be undertaken in a location where the planar boundaries are already thin, and where an existing planar portal is likely already in operation. Still, though the end of the world might be nigh, on the off chance that the characters are successful in stopping the Six’s plans, they’ll have bills to pay.

All the activities mentioned in this section are introduced or talked about in the “Franchise Tasks and Downtime” section in chapter 2.

Locating the Ritual Site

As the endgame approaches, the time the characters have spent with the orrery and its component pieces can grant the necessary insight to build a detector that can sense portals or planar disturbances. A portalometer, if you will. The research or scrutineering activities can help the characters uncover the necessary information or tools, while the crafting a magic item activity can cover the construction of the portalometer.

The details of the portalometer are left to the imaginations of the players (including coming up with a better name if they like). The detector might take the form of a magical receptacle allowing one or more orrery components to function as a compass, a divination window tapping into planar disruptions to show brief glimpses of possible locations, or any other device channeling suitable magic.

If you really want to dig deep, you could experiment with the idea that the orrery’s power gives it a kind of consciousness (or you could even make it a sentient magic item, as detailed in chapter 7 of the Dungeon Master’s Guide.) In that scenario, the orrery’s consciousness might be what the portalometer taps into. Or the orrery components possessed by the Six might begin to call to the components held by the characters, as the artifact seeks to be made whole once more.

The time necessary to locate the ritual site is left to your determination. If the characters are anxious to cut to the chase, you can have a successfully created portalometer lead them straight to the site. In a pinch, you could even say that any orrery components the characters still possess become attuned to the ritual as Splugoth prepares it, allowing the characters to triangulate the ritual site’s location. For more build up, you can set up a search involving side treks, which might cover the length and breadth of the Sword Coast as the characters make use of their mobile franchise headquarters.

These side trek missions might tie in to improving the magic of the portalometer and involving tracking down lore or components. Or the characters could discover several possible locations for the Six’s ritual, then investigate and eliminate false leads before finding the real site. One such side trek is detailed in “area The Moon Glade” in episode 6, and you can add similar events as you wish.

Seeking the Six

Any number of downtime and franchise activities—from research to schmoozing to shady business practices—can be used by characters seeking to learn more about the ritual or how best to take the fight to the Six. For any tasks in which the outcome includes a complication due to a rival, the Six could be attempting to undermine the characters' franchise to eliminate their threat.

Business as Usual

Even as the characters are working on locating the ritual site, they might use the explore territory franchise activity to interact with local customers and allies to strengthen the franchise. A group of merchants might want to sell branded gear manufactured by the liches the characters met at Lottie’s, creating additional business opportunities or allowing the characters to follow up on previous negotiations with the liches.

Franchise Restructuring

Having recently interacted with several powerful organizations—including Lottie’s lich alliance, the Six, and Dran Enterprises—the characters might be bursting with ideas for fine-tuning their franchise and headquarters before the final showdown. This might involve organizational restructuring, headquarters modifications, upgraded magic, and other activities meant to grant the franchise an edge in the coming fight.

Meet and Greet

Engaging in shady business practices or outright crime during downtime might result in more than financial reward for the characters. With a suitable degree of success, such activities can bring the characters into contact with agents of the Six. Likewise, the characters might use the cover of criminal activity to infiltrate or expose the Six, or they could use carousing or other social activities to contact an ally or operative of the organization.

Any such interactions should automatically create complications to be resolved, with those complications revealing useful information concerning the Six’s plots, the ritual site’s possible location, and the defenses around the site.

Continuing the Adventure

If the characters communicate with Head Office at any point during their downtime, it should be made clear that Acquisitions Incorporated is impressed by the franchise’s success. Omin Dran does whatever he can to backstop the characters' efforts to find the ritual site, even as he directs other franchises and operatives to seek the site as well. (In the end, the characters will conveniently be the ones to locate the ritual site, but it should be clear that the entire organization takes the impending end of the world as seriously as they do.)

Omin is also troubled because he’s lost contact with the members of the “C” Team (see appendix A). The members of that franchise have been actively seeking the Six, and Omin hopes that they might simply be in the midst of an operation with no chance to report in. But just in case, he asks the characters to keep an eye out for them. The fate of the “C” Team—and the possible fate of all Faerûn—will be revealed to the characters as they charge toward the grand finale of the adventure!