At Toshi’s insistence and Volo’s prodding, I began to attune to the Stone of Golorr. It was strange, like a thousand whispers trying to take up residence in my head at once. As I was getting a feel for the stone, Melandran started talking to someone none of us could see or hear. She eventually convinced him to reveal himself, and he introduced himself as Lif, the ghost of Trollskull Manor’s former owner. Toshi, ever the gracious host, offered him a drink, and we all settled in to learn about his past with the tavern. We offered to restore the place and let him tend the bar again. He accepted, and I could feel a weight lift from my spectral shoulders.
The next morning, we decided on our next course of action. Golorr had mentioned a wizard tower, and we made our way there. The place was old, a bit run down. A guard at the door told us the property had been bought by a noblewoman named Esvele Rosznar, who was meeting with members of different guilds inside. He invited us to join her. When we entered, Lady Rosznar didn’t seem to believe our story about why we were there, but we convinced her to let us investigate the lower levels. She led us down into the basement and through a locked door set in the wall. The door had three items listed on it: a Silvered Warhammer, a Painting of a Dwarf Miner, and a Gift from a Queen.
I explained to Lady Rosznar what we knew about the location, leaving out the parts about a talking stone and ghosts. She told us the building had belonged to House Cragsmere, a family no longer in the city but who had been friendly with Dagult Neverember. She had purchased the property to investigate what she’d learned. She offered to accompany us and obtain the Warhammer and the Painting herself if we would get the queen’s gift. She mentioned that she intended to return the gold to the city to restore her family’s standing. We agreed and decided to meet back in ten days.
After Lady Rosznar left, I used the Stone of Golorr to ask it about the vault. It told me we stood before the Vault of Dragons, a place that held a vast cache of gold embezzled from Waterdeep. The keys were non-specific, but the gift from a queen had to be a physical object presented to whoever would open the door.
We went to The Book Wyrm’s Treasure to research monarchies in the Sword Coast. The owner, Rishaal, greeted us, and we asked about the queen of Stornanter, which is now called Port Llast. He told us that Laeral Silverhand was once the queen of Port Llast. He also said that the next nearest queen was in either Evermeet or Mithril Hall. Melandran bought a book about monarchs, and we returned to Trollskull Manor.
Once we were back at the manor, I asked Golorr about Laeral Silverhand. It said she was a Chosen of Mystra and one of seven sisters. It also said she was old and powerful and would most certainly be considered royalty for the purpose of the key. Lif informed us about his own death and how he had likely been murdered. We considered our options and decided to ask for a meeting with her, and we also agreed to hire Lif as our permanent barkeep, though he refused any payment.
We decided to have Greemus speak with Lady Phaulkon to see if we could get an audience with Laeral Silverhand. Greemus, Toshi, and Duelo went to Phaulkonmere Villa and told Lady Phaulkon that a large sum of embezzled money from Dagult Neverember may have been found. She made the connection immediately and set up a meeting with the Open Lord.