Dragon Heist - Episode 4: Of Side Quests and Factions

See here for episode 1, here for episode 2, and here for episode 3

As I'm going to run the next session of my Dragon Heist campaign, I wanted to make sure that I kept my avid readers informed of all of the going-ons in my campaign.

Sadly we were missing a couple players this week so for the standard party we only had:
Banjo, a Ghostwise Halfling Druid who was raised by Stout Halfling Folk and is always concerned about his appearance given his strange ghostwise nature.
Tsunami, a Water Genasi Bard eager to be as famous as she could possibly be.
Appotus, a Half-Elven Monk who lives outside of the law.
And then there was King, a High Elven Wizard who worships Oghma the god of knowledge.

Flying Snakes are oftentimes used as messengers by the Black Network AKA - The Zhentarim

As the five opened their tavern, it began to slowly grow in popularity. King served as the manager while several of the other heroes began accepting offers from the separate factions to aid in the security of Waterdeep. To begin, Appotus, who was away working when they first claimed the tavern, suddenly awoke from his drunken slumber by a winged snake. Startled, he rustled it off of him, as the snake hissed, only to release a strange message into the lap of Appotus. He was contacted by an anonymous source to meet in the Yawning Portal Tavern, should he desire some kind of work.

Davil Starsong is an agent of the Zhentarim, and a member of the adventuring party: The Doom Raiders

As he arrived to the Yawning Portal Tavern, he was greeted by Yagra, the half-orc who had participated in the bar fight, a couple days ago. Yagra gave a gruff greeting before leading him to a private booth. Sitting at which was a blonde sun elf, dressed in a dashing raiment, who was drinking fine elvish wine. As Appotus took a seat at the secluded table, the elf introduced himself as Davil Starsong, a member of the Zhentarim. However, at that point, I changed scenes to focus on a different character (I did this a lot over the course of the session, I apologize if this becomes somewhat confusing).

Scarecrows, fearsome constructs imbued with evil!

Banjo had received his first mission in the Emerald Enclave from Jeryth, the strange being who seemed to rule over an entire manor. It seemed as if scarecrows were terrorizing the halflings of the Undercliff. Eager to both prove himself as well as save his fellow halflings, the ghostwise halfling headed out towards the fields below the sprawling metropolis that is Waterdeep. Soon he came upon the Snobeedle Orchard and Meadery, a welcoming little establishment that apparently, while it had heard of the scarecrow attacks, none of the scarecrows had destroyed anything owned by the Snobeedles, and as a result, they didn't care too much about the whole thing. The Snobeedles offered him some nice halfling mead, along with the option to buy a Snobeedle Crest Pin to support the Snobeedles, but Banjo deemed those things a bit too far out of his comfort zone in terms of pricing. Thus he headed off in the direction of one of the largest farms: Amendsfarm.

Potions, extraordinarily useful items, you just have to remember that you have them

Meanwhile, with several of her allies away on faction missions, Tsunami decided to explore Trollskull Alley. It was, after all, the heroes new home, so she might as well find out the goings-on in the small little street. While many of the buildings in the narrow alleyway were the homes for the servants of those who lived in the North Ward, the alley still had several blossoming businesses open for... well, business! Tsunami decided to enter the first one, a greenhouse of sorts, full of flowers in full bloom, even though summer was beginning. Frantically a wood elf greeted Tsunami and began to introduce themselves as Fala, Fala Lefaliir, followed by the quick note of "They/Them/Theirs." Fala was interested and Tsunami, and upon realizing that she was an adventurer, immediately began to note that they brewed herbal concoctions that could prove useful for people of the adventuring type. Deciding to take them up on their offer, Tsunami purchased a potion of sticky barbs, which upon drinking, barbs came out allowing for her to adhere to surfaces nearly as easily as walking. Noting this location as a place to visit later when she had accrued more wealth, Tsunami left, with a kind goodbye to Fala the elf.

Anyone can grant assistance, and The Lively Spirit was most certainly in need of that

Lastly, while all of his allies were away, King set to work with ensuring that the Lively Spirit would be the best tavern it could be. However, he quickly ran into a dilemma. Even with the spirit, Lif, that begun helping them in the tavern, The Lively Spirit was still woefully understaffed. However, luckily for him, a group of wiry halflings, thin-haired folk who were regulars (of a full two days) happened to ask King if he needed any assistance. It seemed that one of their number, Kelso Fiddlewick was his name, had just fallen out of work, and they really enjoyed the tavern. Seizing an opportunity, Kelso applied for a job, and King accepted him on the spot, no resume required! Whooping for joy, Kelso set to work as quick as a light, and all of his friends drank a beer for their new friend's employment.

The Yawning Portal! Can you name all of the patrons? (sorry about the quality)

Davil spoke to Appotus, he spoke of how he was a member of a thieves' guild called the Zhentarim. However, as they had no doubt seen, the Zhentarim and Xanathar Guild were engaged in a bloody gang war. This, however, was not the doing of Davil and his allies. It seemed as though there were strange happenings afoot, and a rival faction may be brewing in the streets of Waterdeep. Nevertheless, Davil emphasized that such "brigands" were giving the real Black Network a bad name, and they were in dire need of new members to set things right. Therefore, Davil offered Appotus a position in the Zhentarim should he succeed in his first mission. It seemed that someone was targeting elf and half-elven docksmen and women. Assassinating them in the night only for the watch to discover decapitated heads down alleyways the morning after. While the Black Network normally wouldn't care too much, many of the deals that the Zhents had offered the sailors spoke of protection on the city streets, and getting decapitated at night was making some citizens wary of how far this Zhent "protection" really went. Appotus, both fearing for his own safety as a half-elf, and willing to help the Zhentarim (after all, they had promised him favor and riches), accepted Davil's offer, and thus, Davil directed him in the direction of the Dock Ward, where these murders were occurring.

The City Watch patrol the streets of Waterdeep, be careful not to do anything illegal before them!

As Banjo headed up to Amendsfarm, first he noticed a rather large patrol of guards all around the farm. He then noticed the spikes that formed the walls of the farm. He then realized this was not just a farm, but a prison camp. He recalled from Floon's tour that the Amendsfarm essentially served as a way for prisoners to work, while also helping to ensure that all of Waterdeep stays healthy and fed. As he asked around, he learned from the guards that they hadn't noticed anything, but should they desire to learn anything more, Captain Gavin Clearwind was their man. As Banjo approached Amendsfarm Guardpost, the alleged workspace of the Captain, he passed by many prisoners, all of whom were hard at work farming wheat and other grains. Eventually, though, as he entered the Guardpost, the Captain at first dismissed him. However, upon explaining his plight... the Captain still dismissed him. It seemed that the issues at hand in Amendsfarm proved to be rather extreme. Which might explain why the watch hadn't sent out anyone to search the Undercliff to find the true nature of the Scarecrow problem. Eventually, after much pestering on Banjo's end, the Captain eventually relented informing Banjo that, if he promised to leave, he'd tell Banjo what little information he knew of the Scarecrows. Banjo agreed to those terms, and thus Gavin informed him that while he didn't care too much about "them 'crows," he did know that the reports of them were most toward the Southern farms. Banjo graciously thanked the Captain, while also providing a buy-ten-get-one-beer-free coupon for The Lively Spirit and set on his way.

Even if they serve no mechanical purpose, who doesn't love books?

As Tsunami continued her journey around Trollskull alley she game to another store, this one adorned with grimoires, scrolls, and tomes galore entitled "Book Wyrm's Treasure." As she hesitantly entered the store, she was greeted by a rather old and short Dragonborn of golden dragon ancestry. He introduced himself as Rishaal the Page Turner, a scholar, and mage of some appreciable ability. Tsunami actually noticed that he had the pin recognizing him as a member of the Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors (or WOMP for short). He offered her many tomes of ancient heroes of lore, of songs and epic poetry, of science and the philosophies, and even some spellbooks with powerful magic! Having spent virtually all of her money, Tsunami declined the offer of spells, but nevertheless, she made a mental note. Her wizard friend might want to pick up some of those spells to add his spellbook. Thus, she said goodbye to the Dragonborn and left his bookstore.

Threestrings, for who says that you need four strings?

With a new employee, King was feeling better already, and Kelso was an eager worker. He set off dusting, sweeping, and generally cleaning the entire establishment. However, just like last morning with the onslaught of guild members, King began receiving several more offers of employment. One of which came from a bard who went by the name of Threestrings. King recalled his performance at the Yawning Portal, and upon explanation, it seemed that Threestrings was looking for more taverns where he could display his bardic expertise. Noting that their resident bard was away, King decided to take the bard up on his offer, and immediately brightened the room with his rendition of "Baldric the Bold." Needless to say, the patrons were very pleased. However, after the performance, Threestrings noted that he might have another worker willing to work in the tavern.

Waterdeep is full of a myriad of taverns, Muleskull Tavern is just one of many!

Appotus departed the Yawning Portal Tavern, and at the behest of Davil Starsong, headed south towards the dock wards. Along the way, however, he stopped by and met with Dirt, his buddy back in the criminal underworld. Apparently, someone was indeed murdering people late at night, and all of the victims had been of elvish descent. However, there was something else going on as well. Several of Dirt's friends had been vanishing. He didn't know exactly why, but homeless people were strait-up disappearing, and in general, many of the shelters in Waterdeep were being replaced with Suncash, a new tea and coffee shop popular with young scholars as a place to study their tomes. With that information at hand, Appotus thanked Dirt, but without any more information, decided to hold off on investigating for now and focused on his current mission. As he entered Muleskull Tavern, it was surprisingly... immaculate. The floors were completely swept, and overall it just seemed a bit too beautiful to be smack-dab on the docks. However, in contrast with its picturesque state, relatively few patrons inhabited the tavern. A couple members of the dungsweeper's guild, which Appotus recognized from their standard overalls and caps, sat at a far-off table, but other than that the only people there were the bartender and a rather drunken half-elven sailor by the name of Heldar. Clearly inebriated, Heldar set off on talking incessantly to Appotus...

Alcohol can often serve as the lifeblood for many an adventurer, or maybe the beginnings of a campaign...

Banjo made his way through the Undercliffs to the Southern farms and finally found himself at the Stoutfellow Farm. It looked quaint, but upon entering he discovered it was abuzz with life. Also upon entering a halfling unceremoniously dropped a pot into his lap, for he mistook Banjo for another one of the workers. A massive mixup ensued but eventually, Banjo managed to finally speak with one of the heads of Stoutfellow Farm: A Sout Halfling named Jack Stoutfellow. A weary fella', Jack immediately informed Banjo that whatever job he had. He was fired from, he was working at least thirty seconds behind schedule, and the Stoutfellow Farm sadly "Can't be having none of that." (Banjo, of course, declined to inform Jack of his improper use of the double negative) However, Banjo relayed to the exhausted owner that he was not an employee, no, no. He was actually an adventurer sent to stop scarecrow attacks! At this news, Jack was thrilled. Apparently, ever since a flamboyant captain named Zardoz Zord visited, the farms had enjoyed a massive boost in popularity, and in order to meet that demand, they've had to buy new farms. However, no sooner did they purchase said farms when suddenly a scarecrow started raiding their land, tearing their grape-vines to shreds, for the Stoutfellow Farms was a winery. Nevertheless, with this information in hand, Banjo selflessly agreed to take up a post as a watcher for the farm, poised to take out the horrid construct.

Vincent Trench, private eye... he can get whatever information you want... for a price.

As Tsunami ventured into the next business on the block she uncovered a rather unremarkable establishment. A single orange-and-black sign featuring cat's eyes hung over the door, other than that there was nothing but a bell to ring. As Tsunami indeed rung the bell, it seemed to reverberate throughout the building, but the door then suddenly opened. Immediately smoke began to cloud the air and the lights turned dim, muting all the colors into shades of gray. Accompanying the strange scenic shift, Tsunami heard a light voice through the smoke "It was a dark and stormy night. I was countin' my chips from the last game, Antonio had beat me good when suddenly the dame walked in." Confused as to what was going on, Tsunami ventured further inside as she saw an elegantly dressed man smoking on his pipe, chair facing away from her. The stranger continued "She had a question, in those days, they all did. And when the time was right, they came to call on Vincent Trench." Masterfully uncovering that this man's name was apparently Vincent Trench, Tsunami quickly hurried out, and while she was most certainly intrigued, it did not mean that this "Vincent Trench" wasn't strange. However, as she left he uttered parting words to her. "As the dame turned her back, the question still hanging in the air, Vincent Trench knew that she would find him soon." And just as suddenly she felt something in her pocket: A business card for "Tiger's Eye, Vincent Trench, P.I."

Bonnie the Barmaid, kind, cheerful, and always ready to serve you a nice pint of ale

Back in The Lively Spirit, King was enjoying himself. He'd gotten several days of work in. The inn was doing well, and everything seemed to be looking up. However, it seemed like his luck would only get better from here as the worker that Threestrings noted showed up. 'Twas Bonnie the Barmaid! It seemed that Durnan figured that he could hire more barpeople, but then only needed to hire some of them part-time. Her job at the Yawning Portal still paid well enough, but she liked work, especially tavern work, so she figured why not take Threestrings up on his offer for a new job. King decided that it would indeed be in the best interests of the heroes to expand their tavern, and thus, Bonnie was employed part-time!

The mysterious drow assassin, where did he come from? What does he want?

Eventually, after spending the evening talking to the drunken half-elf Heldar, Appotus decided to take his leave of the establishment and establish a stakeout. He struggled to stay awake into the late hours of the night, pouring his focus solely on the tavern. Every now and then he dozed off for a moment, but suddenly he heard the slamming of the door and snapped to attention. Heldar was heading home, quite loudly at that, delivering some strange sea shanty as he walked. Appotus quietly emerged from his hiding spot and trailed the half-elf, when suddenly a dark flurry leaped from the rooftops and shoved Heldar into an alleyway. As Appotus, realizing what was going on, rushed after the body of Heldar he found a strangely cloaked being hovering over the barely-conscious body of Heldar. With a glint, the figure raised dual scimitars. However, Appotus, realizing what was going on, barreled forward into the figure, who with a flourish wheeled around. As Appotus saw his true nature: A gray-skinned elf, with red eyes full of malice, the figure laughed. "So we have a hero, now do we?" As they began to fight, it became clear that although the figure was extraordinarily skilled, they had been most likely injured in some earlier combat. "Curse these blasted things, but I could kill you with one hand behind my back... scum." Eventually, the onslaught of curved swords was too much, and the drow felled Appotus. Just as he was going to deliver, the killing blow, Heldar dropped a Potion of Healing down the monk's throat. The drow screamed in rage, and with a single pinpoint slash dropped Heldar, but he soon realized that with his newfound health, the fighting monk could prove to be a dangerous endeavor. Not only that, but his previous injuries weighed heavily on him. Therefore, with a simple Darkness spell. The dark elf vanished into the night, leaving Appotus struggling to revive the dying Heldar with nothing more than injuries and mocking jeers.

The scarecrow's construction gives it durability against most weapons, making it challenging to defeat

Appotus was not the only one on a stakeout, however. Banjo also was checking the grape-vines of the Stoutfellow Farm, searching for the rumored scarecrow. As evening turned to dusk, and dusk turned to night, Banjo felt his eyes grow heavy. Stakeouts were not the halfling's forte. Suddenly, he was awoken, but the sickly "gaze" of a creature with a sackcloth head. As its malevolent visage ate into him, he focussed his inner-self and with the courage that only a halfling could muster, fought off fear like his body fighting off an infection. He quickly morphed into a massive wolf and while the razor-sharp claws of the construct cut nasty slashes, his wolf-form was able to remain. As the battle between tooth and claw continued, Banjo eventually emerged on top, able to defeat the horrid creation. As he returned to the Stoutfellow Farm to report the good news, Jack was overjoyed and thanked Banjo tremendously. However, his mission was not over... For Jack discovered that his farm had still been raided! Demanding Banjo's help once more, the ghostwise halfling decided to stake out the farm yet again. Only this time, he discovered that two scarecrows were attacking! One with a pumpkin head, and the other with but a threadbare blanket. However, this time he tried something different. Discovering that fire worked exceptionally well, he burned the straw-beings, only transforming into his wolf-form when he was incredibly injured. Eventually, the battle was over, and Banjo was standing over piles of burnt straw. Confident that this was the end of the Scarecrows, he returned to Jack, who, once again, thanked him for his deeds.

Forges serve as the main shopping point for many an adventurer, helping them in a multitude of ways.

Tsunami arrived at the last building on her tour of Trollskull Alley. As she walked into the building, she noticed that smoke and steam seemed to billow and cloud the windows and emerge from a smokestack. It seemed that this was a forge! As Tsunami fought to be heard over the clanging of metal, a fire genasi emerged from the fumes just as the clanging stopped. Burly and fiery, he clasped Tsunami's hand in a firm shake and introduced himself as Embric, master weaponsmith. He then called down his husband, a quiet-voiced water genasi named Avi. It seemed that while Embric forged the weapons, Avi made the armors. Avi greeted Tsunami pleasantly and she noticed that he had the symbol of Eldath (goddess of peace) - a spring waterfall - on a necklace. Commenting that they had just opened the tavern next door Tsunami bid the lovely couple adieu and began her treck back to the tavern. Just as she found her way back, however, a paper bird flew into her face.

Sometimes one must gather information straight from the horse's mouth...

The paper bird informed Tsunami that one of the drays working in the city is pulled by a talking mare named Maxeene. Tsunami's job was to find the horse, and discover if she knows anything about the going-ons of the city. Especially if she knows anything concerning the Zhentarim. Apparently, Maxeene was identifiable by a violet flower behind her left ear. Thus, Tsunami departed scouring the city in search of this violet-eared horse. After many hours of travel, she eventually arrived in the hustle and bustle of the Waterdeep market and discovered Maxeene. However, as she began to talk to her, Maxeene ruffled her mane and seemed to ignore her. As the owner of the dray cried for Tsunami to get out of the way she decided to comply and start up a conversation with him. The master of the dray was a man named Morgan Wolfwood, and his brother: Marcus was the fare-taker. Seizing upon this opportunity, Tsunami requested a ride from the brothers, and for the minor fee of 4 copper pieces, she was given one. From there, she directed the horse and her masters to The Lively Spirit, offering them both a chance to catch a drink. The brothers, having been working in the summer heat for quite a while, easily acquiesced to Tsunami's offer. Soon, having distracted the brothers, Tsunami introduced herself to the horse as a Harper agent and soon got to talking with Maxeene. It seemed that Maxeene had given a ride to a sun elf and his half-orc bodyguard several days ago, and they had been talking about planting agents in "The Guild," which Maxeene believes to be The Xanathar Guild. At that point, she dropped them off at the Yawning Portal and hasn't seen them since. With that in mind, Tsunami headed to the Yawning Portal to confront the agents.

Yagra Stonefist, half-orc mercenary, brawler, and... apparent Zhentarim agent?

Heading into the Yawning Portal, she noticed Yagra Stonefist talking to a blonde sun-elf in the back of the room, two people who matched Maxeene's description perfectly. As she headed over to them, she tried to trick them into thinking that she was seeking dirt on "The Guild" as a P.I. of some kind. However, being a silver-tongued man himself, Davil Starsong, as he introduced himself to Tsunami, informed Tsunami that as she was clearly a Harper agent (she forgot to put away her Harper pin) she was most likely here concerning the fact that she had heard word that agents of the Zhentarim were in the Yawning Portal. Davil actually confirmed those rumors but noted that he represents a different sect of Zhentarim than those who have been killing Xanathar Guild members in the streets. However, he also commented that its completely possible he was lying, and it was up to Tsunami whether or not to believe him. In the end, she decided to and sent word back to Mirt that several agents of the Zhentarim were in Waterdeep, but they apparently represented a separate group than the one already in power.

As the adventurers finally regrouped, several questions remained unanswered: What was a renegade drow doing murdering sailors? Are the Zhentarim truly split, and if so, why? And most importantly, will Goose be able to read the deed that he himself signed???

Thank you so much for reading this, and if you'd like to read more, feel free to support me on Patreon
Also, I used these scaling edits and this faction guide (not mine) for this portion of the adventure.

Dragon Heist - Episode 3: A Session Full of Lively Spirit

See here for episode 1 and here for episode 2

Once more I find myself writing a recap of my last session. This one was not very interesting in terms of combat, but we roleplayed for essentially the entire session.

Sadly we were missing a couple players this week so for the standard party we only had:
Banjo, a Ghostwise Halfling Druid who was raised by Stout Halfling Folk and is always concerned about his appearance given his strange ghostwise nature.
Frritz Fo Yurden, a Dark Elven Fighter who idolized a specific hero (/villain) of Drow culture and strived to be like him by making his way to the surface.
Tsunami, a Water Genasi Bard eager to be as famous as she could possibly be.
And then there was King, a High Elven Wizard who worships Oghma the god of knowledge.

The four had just been promised the deed to an (as Volo described it) illustrious manor. However, the heroes were less than certain whether or not this manor would prove to be as beautiful as Volo described it. After all, Volo is known to be quite the exaggerator. Nevertheless, the heroes agreed, feeling that they did not really have anything to lose by taking him up on the offer. However, as the night was still young and Volo could not reach the magistrate until the following morning the heroes had some time to kill. Renaer thanked the heroes for everything that they had done and promised to spread the word of their good deeds, and should they ever need it, his own assistance. Volo headed home, vowing to return to The Yawning Portal tavern tomorrow to escort the heroes to their new property. Lastly, Floon Blaggmar decided to thank the characters the best way he knew how, a tour around all of the bars of the city. Along the way, the heroes were introduced to several sights, information about the city, and much much more! Nevertheless, as the tour came to a close, Floon returned them to the Yawning Portal and bid them adieu, heading off elsewhere to sink even more funds into a gambling debt in some seedy establishment.

The sun setting over the City of Splendors is truly a sight to behold!

As the morning came the heroes headed down to be greeted by Volo. As breakfast was eaten, and drinks were drunk Volo dashed off through the city. Winding through alleyways and main streets alike northward in the direction of the Castle Ward. The group then recalled from their tour that the Castle Ward is essentially the middle-class district. Often called "The Heart and Soul of Waterdeep," it holds many legal offices, some barracks, government offices, and even the astounding sight of Castle Waterdeep. Eventually, though, the heroes arrived at the legal offices of magistrate Kylynne Silmerhelve. The office of magistrate is special because, as Floon described on their journey, the magistrates could serve as both judge and jury (and sometimes even executioner). Therefore, the heroes strove to be on their best behavior under such circumstances (and actually sorta succeeded). In addition, as they were signing over the deed, the magistrate noted that while they would have to pay an estate transfer fee of twenty-five gold, it had been kindly paid for in advance by Renaer! In proper adventuring fashion, they then put Goose the illiterate's name down as owner of the manor and declared that all was well. Volo cheerily agreed and then decided to accompany them to the place in question.

Just a few of the coins of Waterdeep, magnificently crafted indeed

Volo led the heroes then northwards into the... well... North Ward (clever name, eh?). A bit more upper class than the Castle Ward, those who call this place home might even be able to afford a couple servants or two to look after the children or take care of domestic duties while the true residents manage their businesses, investments, and civic services. Along the way, Volo told them several other caveats that came with the terms and service agreement they had just signed. He informs them that at their new manor they must stock, sell, and promote all of his books. They must also provide free room and board (of the finest quality) upon his request. In addition, under no circumstances is a Shou trader named "Fai-Chen" allowed to enter the premises. Apparently there's some misunderstanding in the markets of Amn that led to a falling out between the cataloguer and magic item salesman, but nevertheless, the end result still stands. With those conditions in mind, Volo continued farther and farther northward until eventually, the heroes found themselves in the frighteningly named "Trollskull Alley." It was a rather quaint little community tucked in the middle of the North Ward, businesses catering to the upper-class residents of the alley populated the sides of the way, tucked in between the much larger and more beautiful spectacles that were the houses of those who dwelt in the alley, and just on the corner, the group saw... something frightening.

Now doesn't that just give you the chills

A boarded-up building, four stories tall with a gunner tower at the top, towered over the characters like the lean old figure of death itself. With an imposing manner, the manor stood, dilapidated from years of disuse and abandonment. As the heroes took it all in, Volo gave a quick pat on the back, a cheerful smile and a cry of "Good luck!" before vanishing off into the crowd of the Castle Ward. With the characters left to sort out the mess of the place, they ventured inside, seeing what to make of this manor they now owned. The first level seemed to be that of a tavern, there was a bar, a pantry, and even a kitchen. However, it clearly had not seen much use in recent days as tables and chairs were scattered and broken across the floor. Strangely though, the upper levels seemed in much better condition, providing ample housing for the party to rest and recuperate after any Waterdhavian escapades. There was even a cellar which housed still drinkable ale and wine, which seemed to still be in quite commendable condition. However, as a dinner plate suddenly flew through the air towards Banjo, barely missing him and breaking against a wall, the group realized that not all was as it seems (and cursed Volo under thier breaths).

When a creature's spirit has some goal that it never could finish it becomes a specter, should it be confused and unable to recall its death, it becomes a poltergeist...

Soon hijinks began to ensue as the group desperately struggled to understand what was going on? Was the manor enchanted? Was their a magically disguised assailant? Judging by the picture above, I'm sure that you understand what is going on, but the group did not. As they struggled to come to grips with what was going on, it seemed that the entire manor had risen up against them. Broken table legs flew through the air, floors collapsed suddenly, bottles were drunk, and so much more. The group actually managed to discover that for whatever reason, whenever they poured any alcohol it seemed to vanish immediately. Then they discovered a study of some kind, which, in addition to having a book with "Get Out" written over and over again, also found several journals written in Elvish discussing the life of a half-elven brewer from the High Forest North-East of Waterdeep named Lif. It seemed that Lif wanted more than anything to test out his inventions, mixes of human alcohol, elvish wine, and dwarvish ale. However, the elves with whom he lived could not stand the idea of corrupting their fine elven brews, and as a result, he was forced to synthesize his cocktails elsewhere, leading to him opening up a tavern in Trollskull Alley. However, after describing the success of his mixtures and the rapid success of the tavern, the journals suddenly got cut-off. It was then when they heard a knock at the door.

Ammalia Cassalanter's generosity, both to children and burgeoning adventurer entrepreneurs

As they looked outside the cracks of their boarded-up windows, the adventurers saw an illustrious carriage with rubies that added texture to the golden fittings which covered all of its facets. Stepping out was a stunningly beautiful woman. She slowly walked up each of the rickety steps as the adventurers opened the door for her, which had been knocked on by one of several footmen. The woman seemed rather pleasantly surprised to see the heroes, and kindly introduced herself as Ammalia Cassalanter. Instantly that name clicked for several of the party members, who recalled that the Cassalanters were the most powerful bankers in all of Waterdeep, and recently their luck (and wealth) seemed only to have grown, with every investment tripling or even quadrupling their down payment. Awed by the presence of such a noblewoman the heroes were shocked to find that Ammalia wanted nothing more than to discuss their new ownership of this location. It seemed that she and her husband, Victoro, as she referred to him, were planning on buying this place for themselves as an orphanage or something similar. However, with the news that the ownership had been transferred (Ammalia is well connected with several magistrates who inform her of the many goings-on in Waterdeep), she decided to check it out for herself. Asking what the group was planning to do with it, the heroes decided that they would seek to rebuild the tavern, and almost immediately they felt a weight lift off of their shoulders. Ammalia seemed enthusiastic about that idea but wondered whether or not it would be "child-friendly" as she had two young children that, if the heroes could ensure high-quality dining, they might bring to the tavern as a family outing. The party decided they would think on it, but Ammalia seemed both glad and satisfied with the heroes' responses, so she departed wishing them luck, as she and a flock of crows overhead traveled westward.

The youngest Blackstaff EVER, truly she is extraordinarily powerful

Tsunami awoke just as the bells struck twelve. The heroes had hosted a house-warming party of sorts, and although they had no furniture to speak of, it seemed that the hostile spirit had been quelled at the idea of revitalizing Trollskull Manor to be a tavern, and the spirit even began pouring for the guests at the new "standing bar." Nevertheless, Tsunami awoke to a tapping of the glass. A paper bird was pecking against the glass, as she bade it entry it slipped under the window and unfolded before her eyes releasing several tickets and an invitation to The Fall of Tiamat, a play being put on in the Sea Ward in the evening. The invitation also instructed the heroes, who it seemed had been recommended to the writer of this letter by Renaer, to meet with a man named Mirt during intermission and that formal attire was required. Meanwhile, Frritz had a dream in which he was asked specifically by Vajra Safahr, the Blackstaff, to travel to Blackstaff Tower with his fellow heroes. Once they woke up they discovered several things, firstly, they had a bar cat. Secondly, the upkeep of a tavern in Waterdeep requires the registration with many guilds. They met with Broxley Fairkettle, member of the Fellowship of Innkeepers, Hammond Kraddoc, representative of the Vintners', Distillers', and Brewers' Guild, and Justyn Rassk, the local member of the Guild of Butchers. Once the meetings had been concluded, the heroes decided to go their separate ways, Tsunami and King stayed to work on the bar, Banjo played with the newfound cat, and Frritz ventured to Blackstaff Tower alone, with most of his companions ignoring the summons of the Blackstaff (which, admittedly, is not the smartest of decisions).

Mirt the Moneylender, famed hero and Harper extraordinaire

As Banjo was playing with the bar cat, a rather strange thing happened: The cat began to talk! Informing him to meet at Phaulkonmere in the Southern Ward should he wish to join a group called the Emerald Enclave, Banjo was immediately taken aback but decided to take the cat up on its offer. Meanwhile, Frritz found himself back in the Castle Ward and as he entered Blackstaff Tower, he felt a strange presence watching over him. Nevertheless, he ventured further as he discovered that the powerful arcane sanctum seemed to actually be a school of magic! As magical runes triggered beneath his feet, it was then when Frritz found himself teleported and speaking to a practically holographic image of Vajra Safahr the Blackstaff. She introduced herself to Frritz and informed him that his efforts in saving Renaer had impressed her. Thus, she decided to offer him a place amongst the Gray Hands, a private security force concerned with the protection of Waterdeep under her command. A member of the Gray Hands would not yet by a member of Force Gray, a group of adventurers concerned with the protection of Waterdeep, but they're still a step towards becoming a member. Frritz then swore an oath to protect the city and was given his first mission.

Meanwhile, back at the tavern, Tsunami noticed that there was a carpenter's shop in Trollskull Alley called "The Bent Nail." Realizing that all of their tables and chairs were broken she decided to head in to place a new order for furniture. However, upon informing the owner Tally Fellbranch that she wanted to purchase some. The half-elven carpenter sadly informed that he was out of stock, he had just sold all of his newest furniture to the newly bought manor across the way... Confused Tsunami departed. Banjo headed through the Southern Ward and recalled his tour with Floon, at which point Floon was quick to point out that it's the Southern Ward, not the South Ward, as there is a massive difference (obviously). In addition, it seems that the Southern Ward is mainly for itinerant merchants, housing laborers who cater specifically for merchants just passing through town. It also has the finest halfling food in all of Waterdeep! Eventually, Banjo discovered Phaulkonmere, a massive overgrown estate in the shadow of two enormous towers. As he slowly traveled onto the grounds, he found a half-elf named Melannor, who seemed glad for Banjo's arrival and that "the lady was eager to meet him." Intrigued, Banjo entered the Phaulkon family manor and discovered it mostly abandoned. While it was still in exquisite shape, it seemed like nobody had lived in the manor for some time. However, suddenly Banjo heard a voice. The head of the house, Jeryth Phaulkon was a chosen of Mielikki. Banjo immediately decided to join the Emerald Enclave, a group concerned with maintaining a balance between the natural and unnatural world, when asked and thus Jeryth delivered a Boon of Restoration onto him, and his first mission.

The Rise of Tiamat, and the Fall of (Hu)Man(oid)kind

As Tsunami returned confused with the order of events, she arrived to find that several porters were carrying in exquisitely made furniture into Trollskull Manor, and that several representatives from the Carpenters', Roofers', and Plasterers' Guild were fixing up the walls and ceilings. It seemed that a mysterious benefactor, with but the initials of V. & A. C. had paid for the refurbishing of the entire tavern! With this new look, and Renaer and Floon's descriptions of the adventurers' heroics, the tavern's popularity began to grow. The heroes even met a fellow barkeep named Emmek Frewn, who ran the pub Frewn's Brews south of Trollskull Manor. The spirit also seemed busy, helping the heroes and their employees during service, cleaning, and more. However, as the afternoon turned to evening, the heroes began to don their newly bought fancy clothes and head off to watch the Fall of Tiamat. The story of how Tiamat and her disastrous cult were put down by heroes was thrilling, both for the players and their characters, and by the time intermission came around, the heroes hardly realized their original intention for coming to the theater. Luckily for them, Tsunami sought out Mirt who had informed the heroes that Renaer spoke highly of them, and offered them membership in the Harpers, an organization focused on protecting individual freedoms. Tsunami eagerly accepted, and thus she was given her mission.

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Meanwhile, while the others were enjoying the play, King decided he just wanted to work in the tavern, and thus, the tavern Lively Spirit was opened and running.

Dragon Heist - Episode 2: Goblins, Duergar, Aberrations, Oh My!

See here for Episode 1

So, last Friday night I had my second session of Dragon Heist. It was honestly a blast, not everybody who came last time made it again, but it was still incredibly enjoyable. And the absence of one player was made up for by the presence of Renear Neveremember, the son of Dagult Neveremember, ex-open lord of Waterdeep. Anyway, once again here's the cast of characters!

Banjo, a Ghostwise Halfling Druid who was raised by Stout Halfling Folk and is always concerned about his appearance given his strange ghostwise nature.
Frritz Fo Yurden, a Dark Elven Fighter who idolized a specific hero (/villain) of Drow culture and strived to be like him by making his way to the surface. 
Tsunami, a Water Genasi Bard eager to be as famous as she could possibly be. 
Appotus, a Half-Elven Monk who lives outside of the law. 
Goose, a Lightfoot Halfling Bard who is illiterate and abysmal at lying. 
And then there was King, a High Elven Wizard who worships Oghma the god of knowledge.

Sewers... uck

Since they had discovered the apparent location of the crime syndicate called "The Xanathar Guild" Renaer recommended they try and be as quiet as possible. However, due to the large presence of characters who couldn't see in the darkness (Renaer himself included), that plan was eventually dropped in favor of hoping that if there ever was an ambush there would be safety in numbers. The permeating stench of the sewers overpowered their olfactory senses and the group agreed that they should spend as little time in this place as possible.

Goblins are sneaky little buggers to the players, but a great low CR skirmisher monster for the DM!

Just as they were discussing the possibility of an ambush, they found themselves at a crossroads, and before they could debate which route to take, arrows shot out of slits in the wall straight towards Frritz! Unable to fully protect himself from the surprise attack, he became a walking pincushion and was only just barely still standing. As the group finally gathered their wits about them they fought off the goblins, who ran off hiding behind walls only to re-emerge from their unseen positions with an arrow shot! Banjo found that his Poison Spray was especially useful as he could get right up close to an arrow slit and shoot a burst of poisonous gas. Whereas most other attacks were blocked by the cover of the arrow slits. Renaer also made a use out of himself as he hurled daggers with great effectiveness, and the group discovered that Renaer's 66 HP was an incredibly useful tool!

Renaer the tank!

The heroes, after disposing of the goblins, further investigated the area. Realizing that these sewers are most likely now the location of a hideout of some kind, they searched every nook and cranny, hoping to turn up some lost secret. And that they did, deeper in the sewers they discovered a strange passageway that seemed to be sized for smaller creatures. As the halflings slipped through the tiny hole, they found themselves in what seemed to be a basement of some kind. Boxes and crates littered the floor of the chamber within. However, as Banjo and Goose investigated further they were surprised by the emergence of ravenous rat-like humanoids!

Not all fights can only be won through violence, and with the wererat's immunity to non-silvered weapons, violence is oftentimes not the best choice!

Springing into action, Goose decided to cast charm person on one of them. It's incredibly hard to affect a hostile monster with that spell, but I rolled two 7s on my saves! Thus the wererat immediately called off the attack, confused why he was attacking his best friend. He introduced himself as Roscoe, and his friend A-Aron, who was even more confused why his boss was calling off a fight with these halflings who had clearly intruded on their territory. While Roscoe shifted back into his normal form, A-Aron remained watchful, carefully checking to see if there were any signs of betrayal and why Roscoe suddenly became very good friends with this random other halfling. Nevertheless, Roscoe, now in his halfling form, introduced himself as a member of a gang called the "Shard Shunners" who shared this part of the Sewers with the Xanathar Guild. Noting, however, that it seemed the Shard Shunners had much less space then the Xanathar Guild in terms of sewer control, Goose eloquently managed to persuade Roscoe to simply let them continue searching the sewers, as if they removed the Xanathar Guild, then they might have a chance at expanding their area of control. Roscoe consents to this idea and though A-Aron is still suspicious, he agrees with his boss. And thus, the adventurers are able to escape unharmed.

The Duergar, well known for their ability to turn invisible and grow to a great size!

As the adventurers headed back into the Xanathar Guild's hideout they managed to hear some talking from up ahead. As they put out their light and snuck forward they perceived what sounded like an argument of some kind. Leaping into action Appotus charged forward into the room, surprising everyone, including his own party! Barreling forwards he saw a duergar and the same "lazy-eye" that they beat up in the Yawning Portal Tavern. Several other thugs also stood nearby, keeping an eye out while lazy-eye and the duergar blocked one of the doors exiting this room. He charged the guards and while the rest of his own party gained their bearings, the duergar drew a gleaming fiery lance and charged the group. Meanwhile, lazy-eye grumbled about "Zemk" being a "show-off" as he drew his own weapons - dual maces. "Zemk," laughing at lazy-eye's remark grew to nearly twice his size in all directions, and with his now massive lance easily smacked down several party members. However, due to the quick castings of several Healing Words from Tsunami and Goose, nobody was slain, and although Zemk fought to the death, lazy-eye vowed vengeance (again) and set off deeper into the dungeon.

The terrifying mind flayer is one of the most alien creatures D&D has to offer

Due to their injuries, the party decided not to follow Krentz (lazy-eye) just yet, and instead eat several magic berries which Banjo had produced the day before. With some of their strength regained, the party set off once more, hoping to find Floon, and with Renaer surely leading the way (even though he only had around 40 HP at this point, that was much better than anyone else) they delved into its darkness. However, what they discovered was truly horrific to behold. As they entered the next room, they found Floon, who was being crushed by a half-orc dressed in mage robes, but that was not the most pressing matter. Standing and watching over the entire scene was a strange... creature. Its skin was purple and slimy, and instead of where its mouth should be, there were grasping tentacles. And at once a psionic force probed the characters' minds. As the characters' mental defenses were shattered like glass, a voice spoke to them. It informed them that they stood no chance at all, but checkmate this early in the game simply wouldn't be fun. Therefore, he'd play his own pawn, and see how it fared. Instead of fighting the creature simply set something it had been holding - a human-sized brain with massive legs, and left through double doors leading out of this chamber. The party was terrified and nobody made a move to stop it (including Renaer, who was frightened out of his wits).

The Intellect Devourer is a fearsome monster that poses a threat to heroes of all levels!

Nevertheless, after the creature departed the party finally set about saving Floon. However, there were several other threats before them. The Half-Orc greeted them, apparently his name was Grum'Shar, and as he spoke his form shifted, becoming blurry and transparent. Leaping into action, the party sought to defeat Grum'Shar, but with every attack, they only seemed to hit where he just was, and just when they thought they had hit, he conjured up a shield to protect himself from being hit and possibly lose concentration on his spell. However, Grum'Shar wasn't the only threat in the room. The strange walking brain also leaped into action and began battling the characters in a contest of wills. It probed their minds, and with its alien intellect tried to devour their intellect. However, the characters' managed to get incredibly lucky and save against its terrible abilities. Nevertheless, it still ripped into the characters, its sharp muscular claws hurting many a PC. As the combat raged on, the PCs luck seemed to be failing. They had not been able to remove the spell on Grum'Shar and thus he shot scorching rays and sent fire from his burning hands. Just when it couldn't seem to get any worse, emerging from the room the aberration had strolled into, were a batch of the strange orb-like creatures that the heroes had fought earlier at the end of the last session. It looked like there time was up...

However, with some incredibly quick thinking Banjo conjured a cloud of fog, realizing that the creatures most likely depended on sight to activate their abilities, and since enemies could neither see nor be seen, it would not affect any of the weapon users. As the Gazers, for that's what the strange orb creatures were, tried to find an end to the fog, the party managed to hit Grum'Shar, realizing that his blurry image had no effect when he could not be seen by the party, and although they soon realized that the brain that devoured one's intellect could still sense the characters' minds in the fog, a lucky hit from Renaer managed to slay the foul aberration. Meanwhile, Frritz was able to break through the wizard's magical defenses and kill Grum'Shar. With only the Gazers remaining, Banjo thought it a good idea to drop the fog cloud so the spellcasters could also join in on the beating, and the party easily disposed of the remaining monsters, saving Floon.

Grum'Shar, the Half-Orc wizard, and boss of this hideout

Floon quickly hugged the characters, rejoicing that he had been saved and recounting the terrible tragedy which had plagued him. He had been kidnapped by Renaer and dropped in a warehouse of some kind. He managed to wake up while Renaer was still out cold, but right as he tried to rouse him, a fight broke out in the warehouse, gang vs. gang. In all of the chaos, Floon tried to escape but he was captured by Grum'Shar, who brought him back to this horrendous place. Once here, he was interrogated, as his captors seemed to think that he was Renaer. However, because he wasn't, and knew nothing of this "Stone of Golorr" which they kept asking about, the half-orc who had captured him was punished by "Nihiloor," for that was the horrifying alien's name, and forced to wait here, guarding Floon until someone came for him, and for him to then make prisoners of those would-be rescuers. After all, Floon happened to mention he was friends with the great Volotharmp Geddarm, surely Volo would employ some heroes to go after his friend.

Volo was plenty eager to hear his friend safely returned!

After informing the heroes of his plight, Floon, Renaer, and the characters returned to the Yawning Portal Tavern and Volo, who eagerly hugged his friend and profusely thanked the characters. However, he did happen to mention that although he did promise them one-hundred dragons, also known as gold pieces, he did not necessarily have that amount of money on hand right now. However, he did have something else, which he informed them was ten times that, for he had the deed to a manor!

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Note to DMs: To any DMs who are reading this, you may note that some of the combats that I have written are not identical to the ones in the book. This is due to my scaling guide. Since I have 6 players and they were helped by Renaer, I increased the strength of the encounters by a decent amount.

Dragon Heist - Episode 1: A Bar Fight and a Friend in Need

So... I've started up a new campaign, Dragon Heist! It's a very intriguing module that is rather open-ended and focuses more on roleplaying and thinking scenarios out as opposed to directly confronting them head-on. I'm also running it for adventurers league, the rules of which can be summarized here. While many have been vocally adamant against the changes, I for one actually am prepared and I think they can help draw the attention away from playing in X module because it has Y treasure and more focused on the story, because, in my mind, that's what's important. Anyway, here's my session recap. Note that there are spoilers here! You've been warned.

Who could these people be, and what role shall they play?

The heroes were simply sitting around a table, in the famous tavern of Waterdeep: The Yawning Portal. They had never met before, but nevertheless, they quickly introduced themselves with minor notes about who they were. There was... Banjo, a Ghostwise Halfling Druid who was raised by Stout Halfling Folk Frritz Fo Yurden, a Dark Elven Fighter who idolized a specific hero (/villain) of Drow culture and strived to be like him by making his way to the surface. Tsunami, a Water Genasi Bard eager to be as famous as she could possibly be Appotus, a Half-Elven Monk who lives outside of the law. Goose, a Lightfoot Halfling Bard who is illiterate and abysmal at lying. King, a High Elven Wizard who worships Oghma the god of knowledge and lastly, there was Errich, a Lightfoot Halfling Rogue who calls the streets of Waterdeep his home.

A rowdy bar fight is normal in the Yawning Portal Tavern

After a brief introduction, accompanied by a rather badly performing minstrel, the group noticed a crowd begin to gather around a tavern brawl. It seemed that a Half-Orc patron of the bar had jumped a strange bald man with several purple eyes tattoed on his head. The Half-Orc at first had the upper hand, but several other patrons leaped from their seats to come to the defense of the strange man. Now that she was outnumbered the tide seemed to turn against her, but Goose cried out an insult towards the tattoed man commenting that all of he was "so lazy because of all of his lazy eyes!" Instantly the "lazy-eyed" man and his associates turned from pounding on the Half-Orc towards assaulting the insulter. Noticing that their newfound acquaintance was about to get pounded to a pulp, a couple of the other adventurers joined in, grappling, kicking, punching, biting and more (others stayed out of the fight, not wanting to get too involved). As the minstrel changed tunes into an amped-up battle march the tide seemed to be turning in the other direction and the group eventually beat the strange men and knocked them unconscious.

The barkeep of the Yawning Portal tavern, Durnan

As Durnan swept the men off of his property, the Half-Orc who introduced herself as Yagra bought a round for the group as thanks for their aid in that battle. Although she did note that she "Coulda' done myself." They were "Strong" and she seemed to approve of that. The drinks were delivered by a nice young barmaid named Bonnie and subsequently drunk (except for Goose's which was taken by Yagra for his "Not-Strongness"). The minstrel returned to poor performances (which the bards began to pick up on the fact that he might be doing them on purpose), and the tavern patrons returned to their lively discussions of Waterdeephavian life in the dead of winter.

With its regenerative capabilities, a Troll can pose a problem towards many a party!

However, this was suddenly interrupted by a shout of rage from within the eponymous hole of the Yawning Portal, as emerging from its mysterious multi-layered depths was a massive Troll! Patrons screamed and shouted, as Durnan rolled his eyes and took a massive incredibly sharp greatsword from the mantle-place, leaped over the bar and everyone's heads by a good margin, and started cutting into the troll. While the adventurers struggled to regain their bearings they noticed that sticking to the troll, like brambles, were a myriad of strange bloodsucking mosquito-wolf-bats. Instantly smelling fresh blood they detached from the Troll and began to try and suck the blood from the patrons. Yagra leaped into the fray and several other adventuring types did as well, including but not limited to:
A priest summoning a cloud of ancient tribal warriors dressed in rich golden attire to defend her and several patrons from the storm A red-haired knight with a massive golden dwarven axe, chopping through the enemies left and right A Cormyrian hero with an almost regal looking attire who would haphazardly cut at any bugs who flew in his direction. A pained look painted permanently on his face, like every enemy he slew was hurting him just as much. Even the minstrel joined in, taunting and mocking some of the "shrew-nosed cotton-balls."

As the adventurers supported the effort to take down the beasts, even aiding Durnan by providing a lighting a torch so he could slay the troll, the tavern eventually returned to normal and the remaining little beasties retreated down into the undermountain from whence they came. As the heroes who helped fight off the evil monstrosities were treated to several rounds on the house, Durnan returned to sweeping up the bodies and blood (again, although luckily nobody was killed [nobody was killed the previous time either]). Meanwhile, the heroes, able to finally gain some peace and quiet, began to truly introduce themselves, since after all, they had just fought arm and arm so it would only make sense that maybe they should help each other.

Volothamp Geddarm, chronicler, wizard, and celebrity, at your service!

As backstories were shared and drinks were drunk, a short man with an elegant plume in his large grandiose hat sat down at the table with the adventurers, daring to go closer to the odor of the troll unlike most of the other patrons. He quickly lathered praise onto the heroes for their daring efforts of bravery and strength, which they eagerly lapped up (especially the bards), and subsequently introduced himself as the Volo, yes the Volo. Explaining to the adventurers that one of his friends had gone missing he requested their aid, assuring them that though he did not have too much money now he was working on a new book deal called "Volo's Guide to Spirits and Specters" and hopefully that would put some cash in his pocket that he could give to them (albeit he did admit he knew more about spirits of the alcoholic variety at this point than the undead ones). Nevertheless, eager to help out someone in need the heroes agreed and Volo described Floon as a relatively handsome human male in his late twenties-early thirties with wavy red-blonde hair. He was dressed in a princely garb when two nights ago, at The Skewered Dragon down in the Dock Ward, he vanished.

You'll always want to keep one hand on your coin pouch in the cramped alleyways of the Dock Ward

The heroes quickly set off, only to come upon a bloody crime scene of gang violence. The city watch was cleaning up a large scuffle between two separate gangs, and the remaining few who survived were being questioned, delivering cold daggers towards anyone who looked their way. Nevertheless, the adventurers continued in the direction of The Skewered Dragon only to discover a rather curious oddity. Against a deep purple facade, a shop containing a stuffed Beholder in its display jutted out from the rest of the ramshackle tenement housing of the Dock Ward. Heading inside, the characters discovered that this was "Old Xoblob Shop" run by a strange old gnome who assured them that there was "No relation to the eye tyrant hanging in the window!" The gnome, who seemed a tiny bit off his rocker began selling a wide variety of strange curios to the heroes. Goose picked up a mummified goblin hand, Appotus found a massive egg-shell cup, Tsunami discovered a bone mask that when held would show a singular bone in her body like an X-Ray. Upon further questioning this "Xoblob" the heroes also learned that there had been a scuffle outside of his shop recently with two people who looked very similar, both seemed to fit the description of Floon... and with that, the heroes continued their search towards The Skewered Dragon.

"No relation to the eye tyrant hanging in the window!" Well, at least it's stuffed...

Finally, behind "Old Xoblob Shop" the adventurers discovered The Skewered Dragon, a rather dilapidated-looking inn with its windows shattered and a ship's anchor lodged through the roof. As the heroes headed into the seedy establishment they learned (after a bit of bribing towards the bartender) that Floon was here, as was the "Chip off the old block" of the previous (and disgraced) Open Lord of Waterdeep: Renaer Neveremember. "Just another spoiled rich noble who loves to rub our noses in it."

Every blade a black blade, yet all blades are red when they have done their work.

Apparently, the two drank and reveled, before leaving around midnight. Five men followed them out, and while no patrons knew what happened after that point, one did pipe up noting that the men who followed them out are "known to frequent a warehouse on Candle Lane. Look for the snake symbol on the door!"

The Kenku is only able to mimic sounds it has heard before, unable to synthesize its own statements.

Seeing that this was their only lead, the heroes took it and found the warehouse in question. It seemed abandoned, but when Frritz looked inside he noticed several strange dark avian creatures moving boxes and crates very quietly. As he then knocked on the door to the strange locale there was no response, so Errich quickly pulled out his thieves' tools and jiggled with the lock so that eventually it opened and they found their way inside. However, when they looked in it appeared empty. There were no bird-men to be seen, nevertheless, they saw possible enemies earlier so they drew their weapons and prepared for battle, and that was when leaping out from their hidden positions the creatures surprised them!

It was a tough battle and full of the bird-people saying incredibly strange things in even stranger voices that didn't seem to fit their sizes. One said in a deep orcish voice "Xanathar sends his regards." Another noted in a thin nasally voice to "Tie up the pretty boy in the back room and follow the yellow signs in the sewers." While yet one more cried in a scratchy voice that there was "No time to loot the place. Just get him to the boss." Eventually, they managed to slay many of the strange creatures (albeit leaving one unconscious to be questioned later), but a couple did make a getaway and disappeared into the sprawling streets of Waterdeep.

This sign, what does it mean?

After they'd defeated the others they searched the room in full and discovered what seemed to be yet another gang war. One of the groups was all in black and had tattoos of winged snakes somewhere on their neck or forearm. Meanwhile, the other victims were more varied, all human and dressed in a tanned lighter leather than the other gang Appotus noticed that one member had a black tattoo on the palm of his right hand that looked like a circle with ten spokes radiating out from its circumference.

Who needs texting when a paper bird will do?

The bottom floor of the warehouse did not contain too much, mostly just unorganized boxes full of weapons, rations, boots, black uniforms, and other forms of gang gear. However, as the heroes searched upstairs on the balcony they found more junk: moth-eaten bolts of cloth, bottles of spoiled olive oil, and hundreds of pairs of wooden-soled sandals that were all the rage last summer but are now "like so five seasons ago." They also uncovered several offices, and though the rooms hadn't seen much use, King discovered their first magical item: A Paper Bird! However, there was no sign of Floon or this Renaer person, at least until Appotus opened one of the cabinet doors and Floon came spilling out, at least that's who it seemed to be at first.

Dagult Neveremember, Ex-Open Lord of Waterdeep and father of Renear

It turns out that the unarmed man who had been marred by grime and the lingering stench of rancid pickled herring was not Floon, but instead Renaer, who informed the characters rather articulately that he had hidden here, having slipped free of his rope bonds. He also told them that he had offered to escort Floon home, only to be jumped by several assassins who he assumed were meant for him. Plagued by the guilt that he might have been responsible for the kidnapping of his friend he nobly offered to aid the characters search for Floon. He also informed them that the apparent reason for his capture might have something to do with his father, who embezzled a large amount of gold when he was open Lord of Waterdeep, only to then hide it somewhere in the city. He thinks that the key to finding it is a powerful artifact called the Stone of Golorr, which was allegedly in the hands of the Xanathar Guild until recently, as it had been stolen by someone. Renaer then notes that the Zhents might have thought he would know something about his father's great hoard, but he doesn't having been estranged from Dagult for many years.

It's a good thing the heroes saved Renear, else they might have been charged with a crime against a Citizen!

Just as Renear finished up his explanation, however, a contingent of the City Watch charged into the warehouse and began to interrogate, search, and question the characters. Led by Captain Hyustus Staget, the members of this patrol seemed rather competent, and Staget himself is a pretty stand-up officer. He doesn't believe in rumors or gossip, he doesn't drink, and he doesn't let anger get the better of him. Though he is a bit of an uptight man, he's only that way due to his honor and most have a respect for him. Renear actually recognized Staget, and Staget seemed to be acting even more careful than normal around the young lord, overlooking any crimes that they committed by saving him due to "semi-diplomatic immunity." He did, however, warn them that other members of the watch may not be so kind as he is and encouraged them to take careful consideration of the Code Legal. Staget did also, however, make it clear that he cannot send a force into the sewers in search of Floon, as it's possible Floon is a Zhent or Xanathar Guild spy. He didn't, however, prohibit anyone from furthering their own involvement in the Xanathar-Zhent conflict. Letting them go with a bit of advice: "Best not to meddle in criminal matters too deeply. Leave the dirtiest business to the City Watch, and try to keep all blood off the streets, okay?" That last bit seemed to be him hinting that as long as the adventures keep the fighting in the sewers they should be ok.

Even the tiny Gazer can pack a punch!

Encouraged by a captain of the watch, the adventurers followed the clues of the Kenku, following the yellow signs, until they made it into the sewers. After a myriad of twists and turns, with Renear being strangely quiet about such a grimy situation considering his upbringing, the heroes finally discovered a strange ladder, which was guarded by a tiny spherical creature with eyestalks! They defeated it, but not before succumbing to several of its terrible eye rays and headed up the ladder into... the Xanathar Guild Hideout.

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