Non-Spoiler Summary

We left our heroes just as Shun Shurreth, their target, was surrendering and Aldred had told Fenn to "Leave the Drow!" That ends exactly as everyone would have thought... Passing deeper into the level of Undermountain ("the deep sewers," Zerelda called them), they encounter another group of Xanathar's Guild and that also ends exactly as you would imagine...

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Spoiler Summary

This session starts in media res with Fenn facing the decision of whether he should off Shun Shurreth who is surrendering. He decides that the only good Drow is a dead Drow and they down him and chop his cock off to take it as a bounty.

They recover a locked chest, which contains:

• An Immovable Rod
• 6 x Potions of Great Healing
• 2 x Potions of Lightning Resistance
• 1 x Potion of Stone Giant Strength
• Studded Leather Mariner's Armour +1
• A recipe for Fish Food (which later turned out to be a magically obscured list of Xanathar's Guild (XG) passphrases)
• 120gp

This was intended as supplies from the XG in Skullport to their allies in Waterdeep fighting the gang war with the Xanathar's Guild.

As an aside, I have been quite deliberate in keeping the characters a bit short on magical items and cash through the first part of the campaign. This was in part so I could better gauge their powers, but also because I wanted Undermountain to be the source of that kind of character advancement.

For this group (and many others!) loot is a powerful motivator and if they learned they could find more of it in Undermountain than elsewhere then they would be more motivated to go and delve into deeper areas.

Encounter One (second of the session): Xanathar Guild Backup

Some of the Thugs had escaped and they had ran back to their "colleagues" at the other Outpost, bringing those forces as reinforcements. They hadn't really got much information about the PCs and what they were doing so I decided they wouldn't be sneaking.

This Encounter was CR6 and included 5 x Bugbears, 5 x Thugs, Nadia the Unbent (basically an NPC Barbarian) and a Zombie Beholder.

I don't think I played the Beholder Zombie very sensibly. I decided that the XG would use the undead aberration as a tank and they would hide behind it. However, it's speed of 20' really hindered their advancement as did the good initiative rolls of the PCs.

Giving the PCs their Reactions (as they had all readied actions) meant that they had an additional round of actions over and above the XG group. I don't mind that so much as I think it was in keeping with the nature of that group (led by a tactically unaware Barbarian) even if it made the encounter much easier.

I gave Nadia a set of magical items to make the encounter more interesting, including Shoes of Lightning Leaping (see later). Her aggressive and impatient nature overcame her self-restraint and she shot through her own undead beholder to best engage with the PCs.

Having seen their boss fall, the XG Thug's decided to flee.

Encounter Two: All Wizards Know Each Other

Most of the group decided to Han Solo it and chase the Thugs into the darkness of the corridor, but Karrion hung back to loot the dead bodies.

The Thugs died one by one, and when Fenn turned around the corner he encountered a Mad Mage, who told him he "...smelled like a de Vries..." and "...all of the pieces are now in play." The rest of the group caught up with them and Fenn tried to claim he had been visited by Aldred from the future...

I wanted to have Halastar be introduced to the PCs in various peripheral meetings, and this was one of those opportunities.

Karrion retrieved some black shoes with lightning sparks and wild winds traced in silver in them.

These are Shoes of Lightning Leaping, which I brought across from Pathfinder and converted to 5e.

Encounter Three: The Xanathar Watch Post

The room is empty of troops (having been summoned to fight previously), and the PCs searched through for anything interesting. There was an arch in the back of a hidden room, with the depiction of a Rust Monster embossed in it.

Returning back to the Goblin Bazaar, they recover further items from the old battlefield, a cloak and a pair of gloves. Both of which are of fine build and have sufficient description to attract the players' attention.

The Gloves in particular have the symbol of Mask on them, leading to them being handed straight over to Zerelda.

As per usual they get stung on the return to the Goblin Bazaar, having to pay the arbitrary entry charge. Even with penises.