The air at the Gralhund Villa was thick with tension, even before we’d done a thing. Twelve-foot stone walls surrounded the whole place. Greemus, ever cautious, sent his raven familiar up to scout. No sooner had it flown over the wall than it was spotted by a couple, a man and a woman. Before we knew it, the little guy was gone, snuffed out like a candle. It was a bad omen.
We decided to go in quiet. We slipped through a door on the ground floor and found ourselves in a stable. A big, beautiful horse named Maladar was there. Greemus, with his way of talking to any beast, struck up a conversation. Maladar told us some strange things—about a figure coming and going that looked like a “children’s toy” and a new group of people visiting recently. He said they’d been dealing with the lord and lady of the house and that he sensed the stench of murder about them. As we looked around, we found a few saddlebags filled with gold bars. Greemus, as convincing as ever, talked the horse into letting us “relieve” him of the heavy bags. We got Duelo to take the gold back to Trollskull Manor for safekeeping, and then he returned to us.
Duelo, our master of stealth, went ahead to scout. He spotted a groundskeeper and two mastiffs patrolling the inner courtyard. We crept along, checking rooms, being careful to avoid them. In the kitchen, we found a gruesome sight: a lot of blood and a dead body on the stairs leading up. We proceeded up and found a small side room with several people hiding inside. They recoiled when we came in, terrified, and demanded to know if we were with the Zhentarim. We calmed them down, and Duelo told them to lock the door and stay put.
We made our way back downstairs and pushed into the next room. What we saw was a scene of utter carnage—a great many dead Zhentarim, a mix of thugs and house guards. We found the few survivors, and when Duelo tried to deceive them, they just attacked. We cut them down quickly and moved upstairs, following the sounds of more fighting. At the top of the stairs, a battle was raging between more Zhents and the house guards. Beyond the fighting, we saw a man, who looked like the Zhentarim leader, trying to kick in a door. We joined the fray, and after a long and brutal fight, we finally slew the attackers. The house guards were grateful.
A woman’s voice, belonging to Yalah Gralhund, called from the other side of the locked door, asking what was happening. Her bodyguard, Hrabbaz, stepped forward to protect her as she opened the door. She identified the Zhentarim leader as Urstul Floxin. Then her husband, Orond Gralhund, came out of another room, saw the bodies, and immediately got sick. He quickly retreated back to his quarters.
Lady Gralhund sent a guard to fetch the City Watch and promised us a reward for our help. We told her we could be found at Trollskull Manor. As we were leaving, we stopped to speak with the Watch, Barnibus and Saeth, who were just arriving. Duelo offered to show them the carnage upstairs, and in the process, he planted the idea in their minds that the Gralhunds themselves might be involved.
That done, Duelo, Toshi, and Melandran went to the Yawning Portal. Melandran went to visit Dennis while Toshi took the stage to perform. Duelo met with Davil Starsong, a high-ranking Zhentarim. He told him what we had seen at the Villa and warned him that the authorities might be coming for them. Davil also mentioned that he believed Urstul still reported to Manshoon.
After a long day, we returned to Trollskull Manor for a night of much-needed rest.