9 Marpenoth 1492
(28.5.2024)
We arrived in Waterdeep! Entering through the North Gate and through the Field Ward, we were completely overwhelmed by the impressions of a city this large.
Eldara found a tradeswoman to give her directions, while Gigi gave some dubious advice on how to behave in a big city to Lyra, such as complimenting people on their smell.
Casmos, meanwhile, was completely dazed by the overwhelming sights and sounds and almost floated away from us in a stupor, just caught by Gigi at the last second.
First stop: The Temple of Selûne. A large, busy place, though magically quiet and shielded from the outside. Many devouts dressed in silver, lots of moon symbols, and in the middle, a statue of a three-faced goddess. Eldara knelt down to pray, while a nun taught Casmos that the three faces stand for Selûne – for those who seek and travelers; Hekate – for those who are lost; and the third face whose name and meaning have been washed away in the flow of time.
Casmos also learned that to read more about the deities, they should go to the “Fountain of Knowledge” at the Temple of Mystra, specifically to the librarian Elias, who is the steward of the temple’s books and scrolls. Eventually, they repeatedly stated, “I’m home” and decided to stay behind while the others went to a tavern.
That “tavern” was the “Holy Handshake House,” originally meant as a place of worship for all beliefs, but over time turning more and more into an interesting blend of prayer and drinking.
It was quite crowded and after trying to scare away a group of people with a minor illusion rat, we were invited to their table and discovered they were indeed wizards. Graduates from elite wizard colleges all over the world and now apprentices at Blackstaff Tower, they couldn’t have been more arrogant and scoffed at Lyra when they learned she had no formal training and very little access to books.
In turn, an outraged Gigi stole a handkerchief from one of them, which shall later turn out to be a “Portable Hole”!
Meanwhile at the temple, Casmos told people about their “calling” by Hekate, to little effect, until they explained they were actually, physically touched by her and were hurt quite a lot in the process (Our group doesn’t know this yet).
Feeling lost, Casmos did what they hadn’t done in a very long while and laid the cards for themself.
| Perspective | Obstacle | Advice |
|---|---|---|
| The Tower Reversed | The Fool | The Lovers |
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Casmos firmly keeps to the belief that Hekate, the Moon Lady who bestowed him visions and magical boons, is the one and exact same, just a different name, as the benevolent deity Selûne worshipped in the temple. However, their naive assumption prevents them from perceiving the evidence, that it may not just be two names for the same thing. To find truth, Casmos must open their mind to all possibilities, all stars in the night’s sky. They may have to embrace one of two divergent paths of lunar devotion, rather than stubbornly pushing mysteries into a their simplistic belief system.
Then, they prayed to both Hekate and Selûne. They suddenly found themself surrounded by priests who were very intrigued by their ability to glimpse into possible futures. One offered help on their spiritual journey and taught them how to meditate to calm their mind. As she led them into a room, they took off their glittery moon hat for the first time since Beasanport and noticed their diadem was missing, but seemed too caught up in the moment to care much – for now. They eventually agreed to join the morning prayer. (Full tarot reading here.)
The group rejoined them at the temple (Caefaera got two to-go beers and narrowly avoided a fight with the Goliath bouncer). Caefaera learned she needed a precious pearl to identify magical things, Eldara caught up with Casmos, sitting together under the moonlight. Lyra used the night to transcribe “Find Familiar” into her spellbook while replaying the encounter with the other wizards in her mind, jealous of their education and scolding herself for learning too little and slow.
Eventually, we went to sleep in one of the temple’s dormitories. The next morning, a decisive rapping on our door woke us up – presumably for morning prayer?
Up Next in Waterdeep:
- Get a job, make some money!
- Develop instant picture (Alchemist)
- Find wizard/alchemist who put a price on Bambi’s fur
- Shopping: Lyra: paper and parchment / Caefaera: Pearl?
- Temple of Mystra -> Fountain of Knowledge -> Elias
Quotes:
After Eldara finished talking to the tradeswoman and she walked away, Caefaera sent a telepathic message: “You smell delicious!”