The victorious adventurers search the chapel for evidence of involvement with the Crushing Wave elemental cult. Drosnin possessed a quarterstaff with a specific type of double dagger footnoted knock spell imbuing the mounted conch. She also carried a letter from Shoalar Quanderil expressing his appreciation for her enthusiastic talents for which he appoints her to Rivergard, obviously a choice assignment. Shoalar will use the River Maid, currently anchored at the keep, to bring in initiates. Drosnin’s diary invokes Olhydra, Princess of the Water worshipped by pirates and by druids alike, and reveals reservations about Jolliver’s leadership despite Gar’s confidence in him. The adventurers stash the three bodies into the sleeping palettes to cover the carnage and lock the chapel doors on their way out.
The likeliest locations for a secret elemental water temple would either be the harbor cave observed upon arrival or the scented trail discovered by Cat Simon disappearing at the wall behind Jolliver’s great hall desk. The River Maid, docked in the keep, likely contains interesting information, but the chapel violence might limit available time. Lunch presents an opportunity to get close to the suspected hidden door in the great hall.
At the great hall, Theren sees a beaten servant lying on the floor and starts for him, drawing bellicose warnings from Grimjaw. Haerelben seats himself with a couple of the reavers at the dining table and, when Jolliver departs, begins an unsubtle conversation about the chapel services. The tension escalates predictably so Haerelben uses suggestion to attempt to calm the reavers and extract the location of the secret temple. The enthralled reaver stalls the suggestion but reveals that Grimjaw and Reesh, the harbor chain operator, have keys to the temple. The unenthralled reaver’s protests attract Urshnora’s attention away from Theren’s meddling and force Haerelben to move the suggestion to Urshnora to calm the reavers down and have them escort the party to the secret temple. The reavers stubbornly resist Urshnora’s directives despite Allana’s persuasions, but do at least confirm the existence and location of a secret door before the situation turns irretrievably violent.
As the fighting erupts, Theren produces Drosnin’s staff and taps it to the indicated section of wall, revealing nothing except incorrect assumptions. Haerelben conveys Sehanine’s blessing on the next ten brutal works of Meega, Theren, and Theridan, and they oblige. Theridan shapes to a brown bear and, not to be outdone, Urshnora shapes to a water serpent. Theren, Meega, and Theridan go to work on the reavers while Haerelben steps to Urshnora and Allana blasts eldritch at her. Simon camps the corner of the room spraying magic missiles all around, possibly unable to shut the wand off. The situation seems contained until a wereboar sails from the balcony overhead and lands on the dining table, lunging at Meega who ducks aside. Wereboar deftly avoids Theren’s ensnaring vine, but cannot avoid his taunting, “This bacon too crispy, so mad!”
Meega pours injury on top of insult with a distracting strike and a surge of damage, stirring the buried axe around in Wereboar’s vital organs while his view suddenly fills with Bear Theridan. Allana hexaciously blasts his bacon. Wereboar claws Bear Theridan but clumsily gives Meega an opening for riposte. Fickle Wereboar no longer desires to be center of attention and makes a break for the exit, learning too late that Bear Theridan has lately become a devoted student of sentinel fighting; a bear claw through Wereboar’s hoof pins him to the floor allowing Meega to place a critical axe blow on him. Theridan reverts to elf form to shillelagh Wereboar in the dome and Allana blasts him back to the form of the deceased human Jolliver Grimjaw. A dedicated but misguided initiate, watching Grimjaw’s demise from the kitchen door, charges out ineffectively swinging a frying pan until Theridan grapples him.
Meega mops up Urshnora while a second initiate runs screaming from the hall. Allana blasts the running initiate into a torso heap and Simon prestidigitates the heap into a nice bush. No amount of verbal persuasion silences the screamer so Meega lets her axe convince him. The commoting initiates have attracted the inquiry of a parapet guard whom Allana assures that there was a slight weapons malfunction but everything’s perfectly all right now and everyone is fine.
Theren and Meega head upstairs where Theren rifles through Urshnora’s entire book collection before he goes for her locked chest. Meega has found Grimjaw’s quarters with several personal treasure chests, pausing only long enough to demolish the suspicious guard unconvinced by Allana earlier. Theren and Meega liberate a couple of scrolls, several valuable gems, silver pieces, and some detestable electrum pieces. Theridan and Allana scan through the kitchen and servants’ quarters back on the main floor but find no treasure chests at all. Haerelben stabilizes Grimjaw in case questions need answers and then locates the secret door and unlocks it with his hand. The unconscious servant, Bob, is revived and retrieves his sister, Lucy, from the kitchen. Bob Bird and Lucy Narene Flurffiffurqiffqurq have been enslaved by the Crushing Wave and seek rescue. They confirm the regular use of the secret door by Drosnin and Grimjaw and others. When Lucy learns that Grimjaw is merely unconscious she goes medieval on his skull with a frying pan.
Theridan has a quick look down the staircase beyond the secret door and finds a subterranean waterway with a couple of ready boats. To the east, daylight reveals the keep’s sheltered harbor. To the west, darkness likely conceals the secret elemental Crushing Wave temple. Consensus is that sufficient evidence has been gathered for Ardak’s purposes and, besides which, the group could face no more danger without some time to rest. Theren and Theridan, concerned about the unrealized hydronic capabilities of the Crushing Wave, make a convincing case for exiting through the gatehouse rather than attempt a river escape.
After an uneventful stroll to the gatehouse, it is discovered that the inside portcullis is down preventing egress. Simon, Allana, Bob, and Lucy wait outside while the others enter the adjacent gate tower where they encounter three guards. Haerelben, plum out of real magic, uses the magic of his heart to convince Holger, the sergeant in charge, that Grimjaw has ordered the expulsion of these strangers and Holger needs to raise the portcullis immediately. Holger is hungry, suspicious, and most importantly distracted while Theren unleashes a hail of thorns on the guards. Green surrenders almost as quickly as Orange and Holger perish, raises the portcullis, opens the outer door, and presumably lives happily ever after as the party plus two emerge from the vanquished Rivergard Keep in the afternoon sunshine.
The adventurers head for Summit Hall to drop off Bob and Lucy and soon hear the approach of three horsemen. Theridan casts pass without a trace to conceal the party’s presence, but the riders are recognized as the same Knights of Samular from Ardak’s party so Theridan drops the ruse and the riders are hailed. Dame Ushien Stormbanner, leader of the Knights of Samular, and her associate, Sir Moestyn Van Foedinvensaaaal, a.k.a. Smitty, and Smitty’s assistant Lefty, gladly agree to the group’s request to accompany Bob and Lucy to safety while the party continues on to Mountain Keep, a.k.a. the Sacred Stone Monastery.
Camped for the evening in the Sumber Hills, Haerelben calls first watch. Sometime around midnight he hears movement and a construct emerges from the darkness, briefly surveys the sleeping party, and takes up a position of protection next to Meega. Allana knows from her experience that this is a Helmed Horror, but no one can guess why it has arrived here and no one can engage it verbally or mentally. A second one appears a short time later and likewise takes up a defensive position with Meega. Haerelben examines the constructs for their union label, finds the symbol for Belliard, and concludes that these are the fabled Watchful Knights from the Watchful Knights Inn. He declares that Meega is the safest person in Faerûn and sacks out, as does Meega. When they awake the next morning they find a third Watchful Knight guarding Theridan.
The next day is spent traveling, with Watchful Knights in tow, to the Mountain Keep. Another night of camping yields no more constructs, but a pack of wolves does give a single look at the group and decides to seek easier pickings.