Council of Waterdeep

The Council of Waterdeep was a temporary conciliary body formed in the 1480s DR to deal with the arising threat the Cult of the Dragon posed to the people of the Sword Coast and the North.

Organization
The council was attended by delegated from five of the most influential and powerful factions of the west and the North. These 'Five Factions' included the league of city-states known as the Lords' Alliance, the knights of the Order of the Gauntlet, the druids of the Emerald Enclave, agents the Harpers, and the merchant-mercenaries of the Zhentarim.

As the largest and arguably most influential of the factions—being the representative of several major cities—the Lords' Alliance sent seven delegates to hold seats on the Council of Waterdeep. Other groups sent a single or only a few delegates, each accompanied by their own aides.

Activities
The council held four sessions over the course of months during which the cult, and their chromatic dragon allies proved to be an ever-increasing threat. During each of their meetings, the various factions measured how the council's actions aligned with their own interests, and weighed how many resources they could pledge to the cause. A single band of adventurers served as something of an intermediary between the factions, trying to balance the needs and ideologies of any one group with those of the others.

Formation
The preliminary events that led to the Council of Waterdeep's formation was the campaign by the Cult of the Dragon to amass a hoard of wealth sufficient enough to appease their goddess Tiamat. Cult members and their storm giant accomplice Blagothkus attempted to transport that wealth aboard Skyreach Castle to the Well of Dragons in preparation for the ritual that would summon Tiamat to Faerûn. Unfortunately for them, a band of adventurers thwarted their plot.

Not long later, agents of the cult sounded the ancient draconic artifact known as the Draakhorn. The booming sounding of the horn was heard all across the Sword Coast and the North. The horn's sounding was a call-to-arms for dragons across the lands, and was a grim sign of the conflict that would soon arise.

The true catalyst of the council's formation however was the murder of Masked Lord of Waterdeep, Arthagast Ulbrinter at the hands of the dragon cultists. Lord Ulbrinter was husband to Remi Haventree, a devoted agent of the Harpers. Channeling her anguish into something productive, Remi vowed to dismantle the Cult of the Dragon and rallied the five factions that would later compose the council. As the threat posed by the cult became apparent, delegates from the Sword Coast's most powerful factions were dispatched in secret to the Lords' Palace. The Harper agent Leosin Erlanthar—who had previously been taken captive by the Dragon Cult— invited a group of adventurers to their meeting, and explained to them its cause.

First Council
During the first Council of Waterdeep, representatives of the member-factions were immediately engaged in initial heated debates. While they were all dedicated to the cause of routing the dragon cult, the councilors had not forged any trust with with each other. They did not have enough information about the state of play to take decided action and none of the factions dedicated notable resources towards the cause.

The council did however task the adventurers invited by Leosin Erlanthar to investigate Varram the White, one of the cult's leaders that recently went missing. Lady Haventree's allies among the Harpers managed to gleam insight into his whereabouts. The adventurers were then directed to venture to the Sea of Moving Ice to seek out an agent of the Arcane Brotherhood that was exceptionally knowledgeable about dragonkind and the Draakhorn.

At some point between the first and second councils, the Lords of Waterdeep chose to have Lady Laeral Silverhand succeed Neverember as Open Lord of their city, and thus take on the role as lead representative of the Lords' Alliance.

Second Council
Following the sounding of the Draakhorn, dragons across the lands became more and more aggressive, and numerous people were attacked. A second council session was called in response.

During their second meeting, the Council of Waterdeep were updated on the successes achieved by the adventures they sponsored. The Emerald Enclave then solicited the adventurers to investigate the destruction in the Misty Forest caused by the green dragon Chuth. They believed the dragon was being manipulated by one of the cult's five wyrmspeakers.

Dagult Neverember remained seated at the council, despite his change of office. He was accompanied by a new personal aide named Elia.

Following the council's second meeting, Lord Neverember's aide Elia requested a secret meeting with the adventuring party. Although she appeared in human, Elia was in fact a representative of a conclave of metallic dragons that sought to hold their own council regarding the cult and their goddess Tiamat. Elia extended an invitation to the adventurers to attend.

Third Council
The third Council of Waterdeep was formed to assess how each of the factions had been faring up until that point. They were updated that dragon attacks in the Misty Forest had been put to an end. The meeting marked the occasion where the Five Factions began to finalize what resources they could in the campaign against the Cult of the Dragon.

Despite the adventurers' victory, uncertainty and mistrust plagued the council around this time. Gossip spread among its members that a political aide from Neverwinter killed one of the delegates assistances from Mithral Hall, and subsequently took their own life. These rumors were unfounded however, as the two deaths were actually caused by a succubus spy aligned with the Cult of the Dragon.

While the exact specifications of their involvement were unknown, the conclave of metallic dragons made the decision to join the Five Factions in their fight against the Cult of the Dragon.

In the end, the council dispatched the adventurers to pursue two separate missions that could grant them the upper hand against the cult's efforts. They were first tasked with investigating seditious members of the cult at Xonthal's Tower, that could grant them a boon in the coming conflicts. The adventurers were then offered rapid transport to meet with the Red Wizards of the lich-regent Szass Tam of Thay. The Thayan Red Wizards were eager to bring to justice to Rath Modar, a member of the Thayan Resurrection and noted Cult of the Dragon ally.

Fourth Council
At its fourth and final meeting, the Council of Waterdeep learned that the Cult of the Dragon and their Red Wizard allies were perilously close to completing the ritual to summon Tiamat from the Nine Hells.

The fourth and final meeting of the council saw the adventurers step up and help direct the advisory body. They helped unite the council at the perilous moment just before Severin Silrajin and his fellow cultists appeared poised to summon Tiamat from the Nine Hells.

Resolution
In the end, the Five Factions of the council banded together and formed a unified army that marched upon Tiamat's Temple in the Well of Dragons. The allied army fought through hordes of undead summoned by the cult and forced to face off against the cult's evil chromatic dragon allies. Fortunately, the metallic dragons joined the battle in the skies above. In the end, the cult's leader Severin Silrajin was briefly able to cajole Tiamat to arrive on the face of Toril, but she was ultimately cast back down to her domain in the Nine Hells.

Members

 * Connerad Brawnanvil, an ambassador of Mithral Hall and son of one of its' former kings.
 * Dagult Neverember, the cunning Lord of Neverwinter and one-time Open Lord of Waterdeep.
 * Dala Silmerhelve, a Waterdhavian noblewoman and ally of the bronze dragon Nymmurh.
 * Delaan Winterhound, the council's sole member from the Emerald Enclave.
 * Isteval, a retired Cormyrean Purple Dragon knight and representative of the city of Daggerford.
 * Laeral Silverhand, Neverember's successor as Open Lord of Waterdeep.
 * Melandrach, elven King of the Misty Forest that represented both his realm and the inhabitants of the High Forest.
 * Ontharr Frume, an exuberant and stalwart knight of the Order of the Gauntlet.
 * Remallia Haventree, the soft-spoken but fierce delegate of the Harpers.
 * Rian Nightshade an agent of the Zhentarim that acted as an attaché to Lord Neverember.
 * Taern Hornblade, the diplomatic High Mage of Silverymoon.
 * Ulder Ravengard, the earnest Grand Duke of Baldur's Gate and Marshal of the city's Flaming Fist army.

Appearances

 * Adventures
 * The Rise of Tiamat