The Wailing Death was a devastating magical plague that afflicted a significant portion of the population in the city of Neverwinter, the “Jewel of the North,” approximately one year ago.

Outbreak and Quarantine

During the height of the epidemic, Neverwinter was placed under a strict quarantine. This quarantine ground the city’s economy to a halt, leaving working-class citizens, such as dockworkers, without employment. Among those affected was the father of Er#vyn Sehahine, a human dockworker who found himself suddenly out of work. To make matters more difficult, Er#vyn’s mother, an elven nurse, worked tirelessly tending to the ill all day, leaving the family in dire straits.

At the same time, medical personnel, healers, and organizations like the Emerald Enclave worked desperately to save the dying. Druids of the Enclave called upon spirits and nature healers; this summons drew Nalini, a young fairy from the Arbor glade of Neverwinter Wood, who filled her small bag with mushrooms and trinkets to travel to the city. Alongside Nimiriel Nightbreeze, an Emerald Enclave ranger, Nalini worked in the quiet druid grove in the Temple District, tending to the sick and using nature’s magic to combat the terrible disease.

The desperation of the quarantine drove some citizens to extreme measures to survive. Er#vyn Sehahine turned to sneak thievery, occasionally lifting food and essential goods from the noble estates of the Blacklake district to feed his family, neighbors, and those hit hardest by the plague.

The Search for a Cure

Secrets regarding the plague’s containment eventually emerged from these desperate acts of survival. While sneaking through the cellar of the Neverwinter noble Lucian Nightshade, Er#vyn discovered a letter dispatched from Waterdeep. Signed with the initials “J. G.” (later understood to be Jamra Gleamsilver, a Zhentarim leader in Waterdeep) and stamped with the Zhentarim symbol of a dragon swallowing a moon, the letter revealed that a cure for the Wailing Death had been formulated from the essence of four distinct magical creatures being transported to the city.

Before Er#vyn could flee with this knowledge, he was discovered by Lucian Nightshade. Rather than punishing him, Lucian—who was secretly the local leader of the Zhentarim—took the young half-elf under his wing to train him in the ways of espionage and smuggling, teaching him that knowledge is the true power in the realm.

Aftermath and the Luskan Conspiracy

While the immediate, active effects of the plague eventually passed—allowing the emergency efforts at the druid grove to wind down and Nimiriel Nightbreeze to send Nalini south to check on other lost Enclave members—Neverwinter was left in a fragile, severely weakened state. The city’s recovery has been slow and painful, to the point that local leaders frequently remarked that “the city will not aid us; they can barely feed themselves.” This ongoing crisis severely hampered Neverwinter’s ability to project its taming influence over the surrounding wild frontier of the northern Sword Coast.

One year later, the legacy of the Wailing Death has re-emerged as a major political flashpoint. As a formal war broke out between Neverwinter and Luskan, the “City of Sails,” the Neverwinter council officially began blaming the plague on Luskan. The council holds what is described as “evidence” of Luskan’s involvement, which has been used to rally the population and justify massive military conscriptions. Lucian Nightshade, serving as Lady Arabeth de Tylmarande’s spymaster, strongly suspects that the plague, the Phandalin situation, the emerging Dragon Cult, and Luskan’s subsequent military actions are linked by a deeper conspiracy, pointing to a high-level spy or mole active on Neverwinter’s small council.