Wently Kelso

Wently Kelso was a scholar and self-proclaimed "famous archaeologist", who lived in Waterdeep circa 1358 DR.

Descent under Waterdeep
Some time before the Heroes of Waterdeep-to-be embarked on their first task, Wently and his expeditionary group descended into the sewers beneath Waterdeep, led by their guide, Bennet. Wently translated several runes around the catacombs, and triggered many traps and hidden doors (often accidentally). After much adventuring, his group found a hidden staircase, leading to the fabled dwarven ruins below the city. The team managed to descend to Xanathar's lower sanctum, where they finally met the evil beholder. They somehow managed to escape his wrath, and arrived at the surface.

Trail to Torzac
Kelso, wounded, pulled himself out of the sewers, and fell headlong into an embankment. His head was smashed against a large boulder and his vision faded. He laid there for hours before being confronted by a being with a dark complexion under a hooded robe. The being healed him, and asked nothing but Kelso's undivided attention. The figure placed his palm on Kelso's head, where he was given an intense vision of drow taking over a small village known as Torzac, and of a magical scepter known as starfire.

Kelso compiled his works into a book known as The World Beneath Waterdeep. These works were used to help verify the existence of the evil meddlings of Xanathar.

Due to the potential scholarly value of the scepter Kelso had seen in his vision, he set off to find out more about it. He searched through the records office of Waterdeep treasury. He found almost nothing about the small village, apart from a letter to its lord, which reminded them that traders would come for a percentage of their fall harvest. It detailed that, when the traders came to collect, they found no mention of the village, nor the lord. They assumed that the whole community moved and destroyed the village upon leaving.

Wently Kelso then set out for the village in person, and managed to find its age-old remains. He hired a guide who lived near the area, named Insal, to help with the investigation. Kelso and his guide searched for evidence of dark elf sites, but found nothing. He discharged Insal, and then prepared to return to Waterdeep.

Sometime later, Oltec of Waterdeep's City Guard came across an overturned carriage with a slain driver. The area was searched, and the journals of Wently Kelso were found. Oltec confirmed that Kelso was seen riding in a carriage, and the guard captain forwarded entries of his journal to Khelben Arunsun. These journals helped to unravel the mystery of Darkmoon, an evil temple north of Waterdeep.

Into Darkmoon
When the Heroes of Waterdeep entered the mysterious temple, they found their way into the catacombs. To the north-east, they found some torn pages from Kelso's journal. At first, the journal notes were typical for Kelso, with his usual fascination of drow architecture and hidden passages. The following note told of his excitement at finding a passage way to a hidden floor. Finally, a bloodied and burned letter found. It was written to Dran Draggore, the evil high priest of Darkmoon. The letter, penned by Kelso, wrote to Dran as if they knew each other. Kelso mentioned that he had exposed "another one" and told Dran to meet him at the temple's northern intersection. Just ahead of this location were several fireball traps and a pile of blood, hinting that Wently Kelso had met his end.

Relationships
Wently's infernal investigations were often to the annoyance of Waterdeep's City Guard, particularly Oltec. The eccentric scholar had a romantic partner known as Miltinda.

Appearances

 * Video games
 * Eye of the Beholder
 * Eye of the Beholder II: The Legend of Darkmoon