Lumberyard upgraded

Fini'they upgraded the lumberyard 04/18/2019, about a tenday after enhancing the mine. House Vandree now only needs to collect the resources for the farm before their guild hall can be expanded to level 5. How did they do it? I don't know. We have to investigate.!

Mine upgraded to level 2

Waterdeep - City of Splendors! That's the right place to start my reconnaissance mission. As I wandered the streets of the city from shop to shop to find the best prices for the things I needed, a sense of awe filled my thoughts. OK, I've seen cities in the Bloodstone Lands before, but compared to Waterdeep, even Heliogabalus was a small farming community.

The colors! My eyes were drawn from place to place so rapidly it dazzled me. Such kaleidoscope of hues: the brilliant gowns and sparkling veils of noblewomen; the fluttering brightly painted shop windows; and the horses and carriages of the wealthy dressed in full, colorful regalia. This was my city!

My nose tingled with tantalizing smells. Sweetmeats and pastries mounded in abundance at the stalls of street vendors. Aromas from the kitchens of the finest chefs in the Realms wafted from restaurants and inns, mixing with the salty sea air. The perfumed scarves of passing maidens left scented trails through the throng, invisible tendrils to tug the heard-strings of every living man.

It did not take long for me to find an appropriate inn. The pampered Traveler, in the Castle Ward, at the crossing of the Street of Bells and Selduth Street is highly rated (its proprietor, Brathan Zilmer is Guildmaster of The Fellowshoip of Innkeepers).This inn in the noble district of Waterdeep was indeed the right location for this missions H.Q. And after the war was won, Baron Dragonsbane has enough gold to fund this all.

Being at the right place and spending enough money is key to success in my business. Gareth Dragonsbane would never get any information with his righteousness and oath of poverty. Fortunately, he has me to spend his money.

By the way, I really got some brand new information about House Vandree:

Today, the high priestess commissioned the upgrade of the mine.

Fini'they celebrates the improved mine

After the marketplace and the quarry, it is the third stronghold structure, that reached level 2.

Recent stronghold development

The next milestone of House Vandree is to upgrade the lumberyard. Which seems quite an ambitious aim, given that there are no "vouchers" for Tyranny of the Dragons treasures.

Next target is lumberyard

The Vandree Alliance is only level 8. Much room for improvement here. Total members are 230, of which most (140) are in House Vandree.

The Vandree Allinace

House Vandree has an unique title structure. As one would expect, there is one matron. Second in command is one high priestess. The bulk of the senior officers are weapon masters. Only 3 spellcasters made it into the senior officer ranks.

Unknown unknowns

"Why should we bother? What is so important about House Vandree?" asked Gareth Dragonsbane, Baron of Bloodstone. He was undoubtably the most important and impressive man in all of Damara, perhaps in all of the Bloodstone Lands. A holy knight of the Order of the Golden Cup, Gareth had a glorious and properous adventuring career until he settled on a large estate in northern Damara.

Regional map of the Bloodstone Lands

"We should bother because of the unknown unknowns!" I responded. Gareth usually trusts my judgment as head of Spysong in these areas. I was an original member of the company of heros that rose against the bandit army in Bloodstone. In the final battle with the Witch-King, when our company, lead by Gareth Dragonsbane, traveled to the Abyss, I stole the Wand of Orcus and delivered it to the Seven Heavens for its final destruction. This heroic act effectively ended the war and earned me the title of Chief Scout in the Bloodstone Army.
Actually, things were getting a little bit boring, after Gareth fell in love with, then married Lady Christine. She was the daughter of old Baron Tranth of Bloodstone, who was weary of rule. Seeing the mettle of his new son-in-law, he abdicated, relinquishing his title to Gareth.
So I decided to play a prank on the stuffy paladin and used a rant, I picked up from somebody a few years ago: "Reports that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns—the ones we don't know we don't know. And if one looks throughout the history of our country and other free countries, it is the latter category that tend to be the difficult ones."
"If it is so important, then tell me about it!" At last, I got Gareth's attention. Great!
"We know nothing, my Lord." I said calmly. "Then find out, what we don't know we don't know! I want a report! A.S.A.P!"
That was, what I call a clear mission statement. "I'm on my way to Whaterdeep, my Lord."

Discord Channel

High Priestess Fini'they Vandree sets up discord channel for the guild.

House Vandree acquires stronghold near neverwinter

Matron Anthiela, ruler of the seventheenth house of Menzoberranzan, was granted a stronghold near Neverwinter by Lord Neverember. Little is known about House Vandree, except, that it has a long-standing tradition of getting into trouble and somehow finding their way back out.