One-Shot: Blue Alley (Part One)

"'If you see blue tiles, turn around and walk away before it is too late.'"Blue Alley lies hidden in the heart of Waterdeep. Rumor has it the alley is a magic maze full of tricks, traps, strange monsters, and rich treasure. More than one route leads into the Blue Alley, as this place is known, but there are precious few ways out.

Countless adventurers have ventured inside to test their bravery and skill, yet few have returned. And now it is your turn…

Meeting at the Silken Sylph
The party met at the Silken Sylph, a splendid tavern and inn located in the Sea Ward.

Tawdry Ballid, the half-orc bard, had encountered Suthra, the dragonborn bard, outside of the New Olamn Bardic College before inviting the dragonborn to a performance at the Silken Sylph.

Viego, the human kensei, had taken to working under Eulena, the human fighter, who in turn has been working under Renaer Neverember to uncover more information regarding the individuals who attacked his home. Renaer caught wind of the return of a man named Mirt who could be useful in Eulena's search for information. Both Eulena and Viego set off towards the Silken Sylph, where Renaer said they would be able to find the man.

Kados, the tiefling sorcerer, had sought out affordable lodgings while he stayed in the city, he eventually found a comfortable room being rented out by a kind old lizardfolk and his son, Thrask, a lizardfolk ranger. The sorcerer sought more knowledge regarding his magic abilities and thought he could get information out of the scholarly types who seemed to frequent the Silken Sylph in the Sea Ward.

Once gathered at the Silken Sylph, the adventurers began to learn about one another's most drunken blunders. It was not long until a man approached the group.

Mirt's Offer
Mirt, a man of considerable girth and expensive garbs, offered the adventurers a quest to recover a statue for him. The statue was reportedly seen by other adventurers in a dungeon located in Blue Alley, an urban legend to Waterdavians but a very real, dangerous dungeon for new adventurers trying to test their mettle. The nobleman offered the adventurers a reward of 50 dragons each for the retrieval of this statue as well as access to any information he could provide to Eulena and Viego.

After the party accepted Mirt's offer he described the statue in more detail, he was after a piece of art known as the Celestite Unicorn. The statue is a relic from the Spellplague and he claimed it would "look ravishing in [his] entry hall." Mirt claimed to have seen the indicative, glowing tiles of Blue Alley on Ivory Street, not too far from the Silken Sylph.

Blue Alley
With Mirt's information the party set off towards Ivory Street. While many of the native Waterdavians in the group, particularly Viego, were suspicious of actually finding the urban legend but the group quickly found the entrance to an alleyway that poured blue light out onto the streets of Waterdeep.

Guest Book
The party encountered a guest book bound in blue leather atop a glowing podium, about half of the names in the book had been neatly crossed out. Anyone who did not sign their name in the book was blocked by an invisible barrier, so all of the adventurers signed their names to proceed further.

Mural of Mutiliation
Immediately after leaving the guest book, the adventurers encountered a mural depicting numerous adventurers falling victim to every conceivable form of trap. Upon closer inspection, the party saw themselves in the mural as well. Tawdry and Suthra were depicted standing atop their instruments in a pool of fire and lava, Viego and Thrask were being accosted by shadowy figures creeping out from walls, Kados was being chased by a bull and Thrask and Eulena were being chased by small, purple creatures carrying all sticks and other small objects.

Above the mural were two signs, one pointing to the left that read "SILVER", the other pointing to the right that read "GOLD".

Grab the Bull by The Horns
The party encountered a mysterious room that depicted vast, rolling plains of grass and a clear blue sky overhead despite the dark night sky hanging over the city of Waterdeep. While the plains stretched for miles, the characters were not able to move further than ten feet in any direction from the entrance to the room.

After solving a puzzle involving two rune-carved cow skulls the party was able to summon a minotaur. Suthra was able to best it by casting tasha's hideous laughter and the party retrieved an ivory key from the minotaur's neck before leaving the room.

The Ivory Door
With the ivory key the party was able to open a door they had passed earlier, inside the room the walls were whitewashed and engraved with images of open chests with rows of teeth in them. There was an inscription on the wall reading:"'THIS TOOL WITH'"Kados was able to retrieve a leather bag with a silver key inside.

To the party's surprise, the entire room was actually a mimic, rows of teeth appeared in the ceiling. The adventurers narrowly avoided the peril of the room.

A Sticky Situation
The group happened on a set of carpeted stairs, thanks to Kados' eyes the adventurers were able to avoid a section of the stairs that looked suspicious.

Hovering Blade
The adventurers came across a dais with a glittering gem resting on top of it. Floating above the dais was an ornate blade slowly spinning in place. Inscribed around the edge of the dais were the words:"'Power pulses within me, and only a living warmth may move me.'"Eulena placed her hand upon the glittering gem and the blade sprung to life, attacking Eulena as if being held by an expert swordsman. A battle ensued and the life that flowed through the floating blade left as Eulena claimed it as her own.

Crossbow Trap
The party happened across what appeared to be a crossbow trapped that had been long ago triggered via a depressed pressure plate. There were words inscribed on the walls of this room:"'CAN DO'"Viego and Thrask pulled up a crossbow bolt and a cloak that had been resting on the pressure plate which activated a poison trap, forcing the two out of the room.

A Quiet Place
Thrask was able to uncover a secret room made of smooth, featureless stone. Inscribed across the featureless wall were the words:"'A SOFT TOUCH'"The door to this room closed, leaving Viego and Tawdry locked inside the featureless room and fell victim to an unnatural silence. Their allies were able to open the door but the Viego and Tawdry were overcome with madness.

Viego was stunned and Suthra was able to soothe him back to consciousness with a song. Tawdry was overcome with fear and ran from the party. Eulena was able to catch up to Tawdry and bring them back to the group.

The Empty Study
The party happened upon a secret room filled with the warmth of an active fireplace. Within the room was a bowl of ripe berries that nearly sucked the life from Tawdry when they consumed one. The half-orc also attempted to take the bowl which released a creature made of floating orbs of light to emerge from the container, passing through the half-orc and into another part of the dungeon.

The Wine Room
The party followed the lights as it weaved through the halls of Blue Alley before moving through a solid stone wall. The adventurers were able to move through the stone just as easily as the orbs of light, where they discovered a room full of wine racks which were full of mostly broken or empty wine bottles.

Inscribed upon the walls were the words:"'STRENGTH CANNOT'"Behind one of the wine racks, the party found a two-foot high golden door, there was a tall key hole set into the door but the adventurers lacked the means to unlock it.

Back at the Beginning
Without a way to proceed and not yet having found a hint of where the Celestite Unicorn was, the party returned to the mural at the entrance of the dungeon. Although, there was no way to exit Blue Alley this time, the hallway that once led the adventurers to the mural was now blocked by a solid stone wall, matching the rest of Blue Alley.

Player Characters

 * Eulena the human fighter
 * Kados the tiefling sorcerer
 * Suthra the dragonborn bard
 * Tawdry the half-orc bard
 * Thrask the lizardfolk ranger
 * Viego the human kensei

Non-Player Characters

 * Mirt, the human noble of many connections. He is familiar with other notable figures in Waterdeep such as House Deocar and Renaer Neverember.