Chapter 3: Fireball - Waterdeep: Dragon Heist

Chapter 3: Fireball. Residents of Trollskull Alley are shaken by a loud whoosh, rattling windows, and the screams of city folk. A fireball spell has just detonated in the street, and the neighborhood is thrown into chaos. As members of the City Guard, the City Watch, and the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors rush to the scene, the characters are afforded a chance to assess the damage and investigate further. This incident sets into motion the main plot and puts the characters on a collision course with those who want to find and claim Lord Neverember's hidden cache of gold. The fireball goes off early in the morning, at a time when all the characters are in Trollskull Manor. Read aloud the following text to set the scene: Windows rattle as the roar of an explosion fills Trollskull Alley. Charred bodies and anguished screams fly through the air. A thick cloud of acrid smoke billows outward from the blast, which seems to have occurred right outside your door. Let the players tell you what their characters are doing at this moment and how they react to the explosion. Those who want to guess the nature of the explosion can, with a successful 13 Intelligence (Arcana) check, conclude that someone just cast a fireball spell outside. What's Happening Here? Dalakhar, a rock gnome spy working for Lord Dagult Neverember, was on his way to see the characters when the fireball went off, killing him and ten other people. The gnome is important because he was carrying the Stone of Golorr (see appendix A)-the key to finding Lord Neverember's hidden cache of gold. Hounded by agents of the Zhentarim, the Xanathar Guild, and Bregan D'aerthe, Dalakhar was unable to escape from Waterdeep with the artifact, so he planned to entrust it to the characters briefly, for surely the folk who rescued Lord Neverember's son could keep it safe where he could not. By the time the events of this chapter have played out, the Stone of Golorr has changed hands a few times and the characters ha...