The fight was on, and Yuan wasted no time in charging his foe, Manshoon, down with his axe, soon to be joined by Enigma and Sigurd. It looks like their attacks were wearing Manshoon down, but he didn't seem too bothered by it, maybe even amused. He seemed to be looking out for something in particular, though, but only noticed it a split second too late, as Ray managed to get the drop on Manshoon by sneakily casting a Silence spell from behind a doorway out of his notice and putting the kibosh on any attempt of spellcasting on his part, putting Manshoon at a severe disadvantage. Manshoon was forced to retreat and eat a few shots from Yuan and Io, but he made sure Yuan was well aware of his power by casting a spell that conjured a massive fist entirely of force energy and whacking him upside the head with it. The team began focusing their efforts on the fist to try and stop it from cleaning out the party, and Sigurd found himself at the receiving end of a powerful Lightning Bolt from Manshoon that nearly flattened him and forced him to retreat. It seemed Lady Gondafrey caught on and knew what had to be done, as soon after she gave a silent nod to Enigma and charged ahead recklessly down the hall toward her target! It looks like her gambit paid off, as she was able to catch up to Manshoon using her impressive gargoyle flying and strike at him squarely, causing him to lose concentration on the fist spell (leaving poor Yagra to think she had managed to punch the thing into non-existence) Emboldened, the team charged forward to try and aid their newest ally, but they would soon find out that luring them into the hallway was probably exactly what Manshoon wanted, as he circled around Lady Gondafrey, thanked the team for lining up neatly for him, and nuked the entire hallway with a lightning bolt that clobbered Ray and sent Enigma and Yuan reeling - they were fortunately able to avoid the brunt of it. Lady Gondafrey had split, unfortunately, in the most literal way... With Sigurd saying that he'll get Ray back up, Enigma and Yuan pressed ahead, knowing that retreat likely meant death - it was now or never. Fortunately, the two of them were able to get the upper hand, and as Enigma was choking the life out of Manshoon, he only stated the following: "You got me... you got me pretty good... and it was all for nothing." Moments later, the person they thought was Manshoon melted in front of their eyes, into a pile of ice, snow and slush, leaving only some black robes. Was it another clone? Or a fake of some kind? After Sigurd got Ray back on his feet, he investigated and revealed that this Manshoon must have been a simulacrum, proven further by the fact that there was a room nearby that was deathly cold and contained some kind of sarcophagus. Sigurd imagined this must be where Manshoon makes his simulacrums, and he had another vessel ready to go. With some help, he was able to drag the simulacrum reserve out into the open and into the reading room by a brazier with a green flame, where it would melt in short order. Enigma turned his attention to Lady Gondafrey, however, figuring out how he might piece her back together, when he found she was not quite dead. As she spoke, she explained that this is as it should be - she had been stuck in that prison cell for over a hundred years, as her enemies were just out of her reach taunting her. While she would never be able to bring Duhlark Kolat to justice, knowing she helped put a screw in Manshoon's schemes was enough for her, and to die in the service of Tyr fighting for justice was just the exit that she was hoping for, even in her current cursed existence. She gave Enigma her thanks and to carry on the fight for justice in her name before crumbling into pebbles in his hands. It was such a short time, but Lady Gondafrey had left the mortal coil... There was unfortunately no time to mourn, though, as Yuan had received a Sending from a contact within the Zhentarim (the good... ish side, at least), that the team had little time and the real Manshoon will be arriving back at the sanctum at any moment! They had to move quickly and gather everything they could before that happened, or they would have a problem on their hands. The team wasted no time in gathering as much as they could, storming the place and looking for evidence and valuables. They found a library which contained many, many volumes of wizardly interest. Sigurd pegged the entire room at being worth close to five thousand gold, but there would be no way they could haul all of these books in time, so he and Yuan picked out the most choice and rare tomes before absconding the room to continue searching. In another room, they found what appeared to be an alchemical laboratory. There wasn't too much of interest, but Sigurd had found a potion that looked like it had just been completed and labeled "Potion of Improved Athleticism" - as it turned out, it looks like this was the potion Skeemo Weirdbottle, the traitorous alchemist, had been working on! It seems Manshoon refined the recipe and had just brought it to completion. Sigurd thought it only right that as it was a result of the tests Skeemo was doing, it should go to Yuan - but he happened to notice at just the right time that they were not alone in the room, as none other than Urstul Floxin was about to drive a dagger into Yuan's backside! Fortunately, Sigurd called out the attacker before he could make a move and the team quickly turned on him. Urstul didn't go down without a fight, but it was thanks to Yagra disarming him of his poisoned shortsword that she was able to eliminate the worst outcome. He only managed to get a scratch on Yuan with an uncoated dagger before Yuan returned the favor and flattened him like a pancake. With Urstul done for, Enigma claimed his gruesome prize of Urstul's head as proof of his death before the team moved onto the next room. In the next room, they found a strange ritual circle and no other features in the room. As Sigurd was puzzling it out, Ray cut him off and explained it was a binding circle - he had apparently heard about this kind of thing from his friend, Ulkoria Stonemarrow of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors, over drinks one day, as she was explaining her duties in that guild that sometimes involved the binding of extraplanar creatures so they could do no further harm. In essence, this circle was a prison cell that could hold such a creature in place until the caster chose to dismiss the effect. Unfortunately, scribbling out the ink wouldn't work here - the floor was made of much sterner stuff, the alabaster floor proving to be reinforced in such a way that it made it almost impossible to affect the room. It seemed lost when Yuan remembered that he might just have the thing for the job, and chugged both the Athleticism potion and a Potion of Growth at the same time! It definitely lead to some... interesting results, as the team beheld the biggest, most pumped up Yuan they had ever seen, even getting a "Holy shit!" from Yagra, as he then proceeded to smash the floor with naught but his fist, causing the entire room to shake and the ground to split apart! With the circle broken in this way, the magic was busted, and could no longer be used - it would take quite a bit of effort to get this room back in working order. It looks like Yuan might be stuck in this bigger form for a while........ not that anybody was complaining. Moving on, they found what appeared to be ... a pantry. Some ordinary food stores, ale and water - not a whole lot of interest. Moving on yet again, in the next room they found what looked to be a meeting room, with a raised platform and intimidating Zhentarim banners in the back. It looked like a place where someone could run councils and give orders. Deciding a bit of vandalism wasn't beneath them, Ray set the banners aflame to make sure the real Manshoon got the message that this team wasn't to be messed with! In the next room, the team found what appeared to be living quarters for Manshoon's lieutenants. They quickly looted the place, finding an assortment of treasures and valuables, plus a few healing potions which they made immediate use of, before going on even further. Manshoon sure had a cozy place out here in the middle of nowhere! Heading downstairs, they found what looked to be a private bedroom. While the room looked nice, there wasn't a whole lot going on besides the massive king sized bed and curtains, but something else caught the team's eye, as they found what looked like a stand with a rather intimidating looking mask set upon it, bearing a tyrannical visage. This was it! This was the key that the Stone of Golorr had spoken of! Yuan swiped it and the team moved on to clear out the last room, which was probably the most interesting of all! They had found a private study, containing a lectern with an absolutely massive tome - Manshoon's spellbook, no doubt - and a desk drawer that was magically locked. As Yuan picked up the book, he found himself under assault by an invisible assailant which suddenly appeared after its first attack, some kind of tall metal animated armor swinging a sword wildly at him! Looks like Manshoon didn't want others going through his things! Fortunately, it was no match for the team, despite its tough defenses, and they were able to dispatch this surprise foe before clearing out the rest of the room. Ripping open the drawer, Yuan found a large ledger bound in leather which contained tons of paperwork and notes. It was too big to look through all of it now, but a few pieces of paper slipped into it caught the team's interest. One bore the list of some names, a few with checkmarks, but no additional context. However, they noted Mirt and Jan the Tortle's name were on this list! What the heck was this about? They would have to find that out later... The other list was much more chilling, as it seemed to be a list of names with a note that said "no longer an issue". Perusing the list for a moment, Sigurd recognized the names of several high-ranking officials which had disappeared over the past few years, including one Sherley Inquidet, the magister who was involved in a high profile case and found to be a simulacrum just after Dagult Neverember was being ousted from power as Open Lord! Another name they found was "Lif Green (Starsong)" - it could be none other than Lif from Trollskull Manor... and confirming that he truly was none other than Davil Starsong's nephew. And beneath that, there was an additional note. A name named "Thrakkus" and a place called "Big Red Cuts" was listed. Sigurd noted it was a butcher's shop located in the Southern Ward... It was easy to see how the Zhentarim had been disposing of their victims, and now the true fate of Lif was known, among several other poor unfortunate souls. This might be just the ticket the team was looking for to put Manshoon on ice permanently in Waterdeep. They would have to look through the ledger at a later time to truly know what they had in hand, but without wasting any more time, they moved on to leave the place. Unfortunately, they got interrupted by the return of two people - Vevette Blackwater (who had just been busted out of prison from the looks of it) and Agorn Fuoco, the bard lieutenant of Manshoon who probably helped her. They had been investigating the carnage in the hideout and were proceeding cautiously, but Yagra heard them coming just in time as the team set themselves up for an ambush! Despite the caution, the two didn't stand a chance. Agorn was caught out by Yuan and Yagra and absolutely annihilated by their onslaught of attacks, and Vevette saw she was easily outnumbered and attempted to make a break for it, taking the teleporter circle to go back to Kolat Towers and escape with her life! The team wasn't having it though as they gave chase and Sigurd activated his own ring again to send them back to the towers, Yuan quickly stomping his way down the stairs to cut off Vevette and deal with her personally. Seeing no other way out, with Yuan blocking the only other exit, Vevette attempted to smash her way out of the nearby window, but her efforts would be stymied by the window's sturdy iron frame, only managing to smash some of the glass apart, and was quickly brought low by the rest of the party. Yuan proceeded to rip out the entire frame of the window and dump her on the ground. The team had managed to eliminate all of Manshoon's lieutenants and escape the Sanctum, but they weren't out of the woods yet. If they couldn't elude the other threats of Kolat Towers, the entire expedition would be rendered meaningless. Could they find a way to escape intact? Find out next time, on Waterdeep: Dragon Heist!!