Category: Waterdeep Dragon Heist

The party agrees that the Gray Hands have been a greater boon than the unavailable Harpers and so return to the Gray Hands to fish for information about Lord Gralhund, suspected of working with the Zhents and having the Stone of Golor. Vajra sees that more as a “you” problem, but she offers some work if team Lif’t wants to earn some more renown. The party agrees to investigate a bronze dragon camping Deepwater Bay. Vajra offers potions of water breathing as the dragon may be on the bay floor.

The party heads out for Deepwater Bay and rents a rowboat from a totally trustworthy bloke standing next to it. Luth’s Fey charms and Janky’s bardic persuasion bring the rental down to 5 gp plus 5 gp tip with no deposit.

Smoll powers the crew out to the third Sea Maidens Faire ship, Eyecatcher, anchored in the bay. Initial suspicion gives way to a disarming lunch with Captain Zardoz Zord. Zord throws a nice spread, and a good time is had by all. Zord claims to have acquired his nimblewrights through a legit dealer in Lantan and has no suspicions they could be involved in the recent fireballing incident.

Zord suggests from his own prodigious intelligence gathering that the adventurers would be better off seeking their bronze dragon out to the east of Eyecatcher and lends them a suitable anchor. Smoll powers the rowboat east to the anticipated location. As the boat approaches, it is intercepted by a duck / cormorant / seal / bronze dragon introducing himself as Zelifarn. The young, playful, personable, metal dragon invites the party down to tour his shipwreck. The party quaff their Gray Hands potions and descend to admire Zelifarn’s hoard of various coins and trinkets.

Once Zelifarn chomps a passing shark for lunch, some exchanges of personal gifts are made: Togy repairs a mirror, Smoll gifts a shiny Goatball award, and Janky offers a selection of coins to test the dragon’s sense of value. In parity, Togy receives an unshiny shell box, Smoll an unshiny leather square of a musical score, and Janky an unshiny yet decorous knife. Janky proposes a hypothetical business deal between Zelifarn and the Sea Maidens Faire which seems hypothetically acceptable.

The party returns to the boat which returns to the shore and into the waiting custody of the proper owner, no relation to the dishonest agent who rented it to the party. The attending constable requires restitution to the tune of 20 gp.

Janky returns Zord’s anchor and line to a Sea Maidens Faire sailor and arranges a meeting with Zord later.

Back at Black Tower, the Vajra debriefs the party regarding bronze dragon Zelifarn. In exchange, Vajra offers a map for Gralhund Villa as well as some stealthy armor that will help any potential unauthorized, unsanctioned, unconfirmed foray into the villa in search of the Stone of Golor.

Since the fireball slew two Zhents, and Nim’s self-constructed nimblewright may have been the perpetrator of said fireball, Luth proposes that the rogue nimblewright might be in the possession of, or working for, the Xanathar. While Janky manages Lif’t for the day, the party drops into a sewer access suspected to be the escape route of the cloaked limper who presumably made off with the Stone of Golor. There is neither trace nor detection of a nimblewright near the Xanathar hideout, and the search is abandoned after a filthy fight with a couple of crocodiles and a swarm of centipedes.

The nearest ladder takes the party up into the docks district very near Reynar’s estate. Intuitive Luth fancies a long-shot chance that Reynar might tell them something about Dalakhar, the gnome fireball decedent whose undead talk with the Force Gray cleric revealed his association with Reynar’s father.

The party heads for the sea to wash off before visiting Reynar. The nimblewright detector picks up a signal. While Smoll bandages her centipede bites, Reade triangulates on a definite nimblewright presence around a pair of ships, the Heartbreaker and the Hellraiser, docked out on a pier where brightly dressed carnies disembark parade floats and a menagerie of exotic animals, courtesy of the Sea Maidens Faire. A parade ensues. A quick convo with a carny reveals there will be an even better parade after dark that will, yes, include nimblewrights, as there tends to be at least one on every Sea Maidens Faire ship. As the parade returns, a chest is loaded into a dinghy and rowed out to a third ship anchored in the harbor.

The party drops in on Reynar at home. Luth breaks the news of Dalakhar’s unfortunate demise and consequential loss of the Stone of Golor. Reynar regrets being constantly pulled back into his father’s sordid dealings and wishes the dragon hoard would be returned to the good people of Waterdeep. That said, Dalakhar was indeed a faithful friend of Degalt. The Stone of Golor will presumably reveal the location of the stash to whoever can attune it, but attuning the stone may be the tricky part as depicted in the hit play, Dungeons & Dragons. He asks the party to return the next day after Reynar talks to some contacts.

The party enjoys a five-star fish meal at the underrated Ship’s Prow tavern to kill time.

The night parade does feature a pair of nimblewrights as promised, one from each docked ship. While the self-lighted parade is out, Reade determines that the remaining nimblewright signal emanates from the ship out in the harbor, not unexpected if every SMF ship would carry one. Luth still worries that Nim’s creation might seek to flee the city, and the ship out in the harbor could offer the perfect opportunity. Another chest is rowed out to that ship.

The party returns to Lif’t for the evening before returning to Reynar. Reynar drops a primo lead on them: a follow up interview with Fala Lefaliir results in the positive identification of the cloaked, limping absconder of the SoG to be Urstul Floxin, suspected associate of the Zhent Black Network. An eyewitness report identified Urstul Floxin entering Gralhund Villa in the north ward immediately following the fireball explosion, but Lord Gralhund’s assertion that no such encounter occurred precludes any warrant. Lord Gralhund’s legitimate business in mercenary and weapons supply is entirely unrelated.

The explosion outside the front door of Lif’t leaves a giant crater and eleven fatalities: five human, of which two are Zhent; five halflings; and a gnome. Reade liberates a pouch of gemstones and a dagger from the gnome who seemed to be at the targeted geometric center of the fireball. This does not go unnoticed by a fussy busybody across the street whom Luth must charm into taking a 5 gp bribe to close her snitching mouth.

On a hot tip from herbalist Fala, Reade sprints after a limping, sewer-footed, cloaked, human survivor who took something off the fireballed gnome before escaping into the alley behind Lif’t toward The Bent Nail. Luth and Smoll follow to back up Reade, but the perp eludes them.

Togy finds a pair of eyewitnesses to interview. A little boy outside the building across the street from Lif’t observed an amulet fall into a rain barrel just as his halfling friends were blown up. Togy trades a couple of bird skull finger puppets for the dangerous amulet. The other witness, a wealthy waterdhavian, observed a puppet-like mechanical man toss something explosive from the same roof into the crowd in front of Lif’t.

Sergeant Cromley shows up with a contingent of city watch who cordon off the street and Lif’t customer entrance and transport the victims back to a basement morgue in the north ward. Watchful Order of Magists and Protectors investigator Barnibus Blastwind studies the scene and interviews witnesses. They take a civil forfeiture of the 500 gp gemstone pouch from Reade and the amulet of fireball from Togy.

Reade makes a visit to bookseller Rishaw to inquire about the witnessed bomb tossing “puppet”. The others receive visiting Broxley to request a cease-and-desist parle with Frewn regarding rat releases, kidnappings, and firebombings.

The party next visits Harper Mirt’s manse but he still does not answer his door.

Next up is a check-in with Force Gray who not only answer the door but also furnish some primo wine and snacks until an audience with Vajra can be had. Vajra offers the services of a sympathetic cleric to surreptitiously infiltrate the morgue and speak with the gnome decedent. While that cleric is dispatched, Vajra points the party in the direction of the local Gond temple, House of Inspired Hands, where they might find a rare nimblewright fitting the description of the fireballing “puppet”.

Smoll hangs back to oversee repairs and cleanup of blast damage and the successful reopening of Lif’t while the rest of the party visits the Gond temple. Disciple Valleta shows the party up to the attic where Nim, the live-in nimblewright, maintains a very productive workshop. It turns out that Nim has secretly constructed a nimblewright companion who has been at large for a couple of weeks. Displeased Valleta orders dismantling and removal of Nim’s workshop tooling and supplies. The party offers to locate the rogue nimblewright and, for a 500 gp reward, bring proof of its destruction. Nim quickly transfers some items to the party before confiscation:
Nimblewright locator begins spinning a little umbrella the closer it gets to any non-Nim specimen, carried by Reade.
Metal cube with a crank and switch that synthesizes barking dogs when wound and placed on a surface, carried by Smoll.
Stilt tubes with shoes on the ends, carried by Luth.
Backpack of parachuting, carried by Janky.
Metal pipe of ignition, carried by Togy.

The party returns to Lif’t for the night. The next day a courier arrives from Vajra with a dossier of the clerical infiltration. The cover letter warns of the gravity of the situation.

Name: Dalakhar.
Employer: Open Lord of Waterdeep Degalt Neverember.
Objective: Steal the Stone of Golor and deliver it to a trustworthy and virtuous group of adventurers competent to safeguard such an invaluable artifact.
Starting Inventory: Pouch of gemstones, dagger, black cloak, Stone of Golor.
Opposition: Considering the Stone of Golor was stolen from the Xanathar and earnestly sought by the Zhentarim, indeed anyone remotely interested in tremendous wealth, opposition is everyone.

With 1000 gp of unsecured backing, Lif’t Bar & Grill secures cooperation of Lif the Entity, makes necessary repairs, secures the cooperation of local guilds, hires staff, attracts a glyph of warding from former owner Ookoria, and acquires provisions for a successful soft opening. Gross tenday operating expenses come to a manageable 60 gp.

One notable customer is Frewn of Frewn’s Brews who rediscovers the smooth, refreshing flavor of the local everyman brew, Honeyridge Ale. Frewn’s halfling cohort, more interested in casing the joint and covertly signaling an unknown receiver, passes on libations.

Several successful days later, an unknown perp opens an access hole into Lif’t and introduces a rat infestation. Around the same time, Lif, communicating by a Yes/No/IDK coaster, recalls that an unrecognized halfling left with a willing Janky and his lute. Mindful of Frewn’s dour halfling partner, the party convenes for an exploratory breakfast at Frewn’s Brews to possibly learn if their business nemesis is responsible. A pair of suspicious halflings at a nearby table closely observes the party. One suddenly departs. Reade follows. The halfling leads Reade leading Luth leading Smoll leading Togy on a twisty pursuit through dim alleys to a locked sewer grate. A trio of giant wererats ambush Reade. A melee ensues and the wererats surrender back to their broken halfling forms, regrettably not before Reade suffers a worrisome werebite. It’s Roscoe’s Shard Shunners again, perhaps hired by Frewn or his agent. They promise to depart in peace after returning Janky and his looted lute.

As Janky sleeps off his kidnapping, a fireball collides with the front door of Lif’t.

Lif’t Payroll:

Job	Shift	Employee	Confidential Notes	Pregnant
Bar	Day	Gavin Sornstone	Charismatic, early riser, staying in hostel	No
Bar	Night	Vendelli Meli	Super smart, super charismatic	Eventually
Bar	Weekend	Dergu	(orc)	No
Cook	Day	Hildegarde	90 yo bounty hunter, hunter	No
Cook	Night	Emma Montague	Scar, glass eye, excellent cook	No
Cook	Weekend	Lillesse Perlana	(1/2 elf)	No
Waitstaff		Ethalos	14 yo, Sunnei worshipper, positive attitude	No
Waitstaff		Bharneck Redtoe	(dwarf)	No
Waitstaff		Daiki	(cat-like?)	No
Waitstaff		Sephonia	(elf)	No
Waitstaff		Vierna Goldenleaf	(hafling)	No

Quest Log.xlsx

The party returns to Phaulkonmere to turn in the scarecrow quest. After Smoll helps Malanor Fellbranch pull a stump, the party explains the “scarecrows constructed by hags” situation to Jeryth and chills out in the Emerald Enclave’s garden for a spell.

Next on the list is Vincent Trench’s request of Janky to figure out who has the giant wererats of the Shard Shunners watching him, but Vincent is not home. Smoll notices a giant wererat on lookout from the rooftop across the street. The party nonchalantly returns to TSM where Togy sets up an observation post on the high widow’s watch. The lookout is asleep on duty.

Reade and Janky slip across the street, scale the building, and catch the lookout by surprise. Under Janky’s spell, giant wererat lookout Petey reveals what he knows: Petey, like two other lookouts in the alley behind the Tiger’s Eye, is tasked with watching Vincent. It’s good work, but rat droppings roll downhill. Everyone has a boss, and his is Roscoe.

The party hastens back to the halfling hostel on the street of spices to find Roscoe the boss. Attempts at leveraging their previous charm-driven friendship degrade in a round of misplaced intimidation and persuasion until Janky reprises his bardic charms. Janky and Reade undermine Roscoe’s confidence to the point that Roscoe not only reveals that his boss is Xanathar (aka X-man aka Big Eye aka Big Guy), but he also becomes convinced of Xanathar’s displeasure with the Shard Shunners’ performance. Roscoe panics and his henchmen begin packing out boxes for a backup lair away from Xanathar.

The party returns to Tiger’s Eye to find Vincent at the office and catches him up on the giant wererat situation. Janky particularly emphasizes the fact that Xanathar, who apparently identifies as a beholder, suspects Vincent is someone worth fearing. Insightful Togy reckons the same thing. Vincent proposes a highly favorable venture capitalization: 1000 gp for a 20% stake in the tavern with a 2000 gp buyout option.

The party hits Bookworm’s Treasure to gather some information. Togy cannot afford to purchase the Emerald Enclave manifesto, Bring Back the Balance (Of Nature), but Rishaw allows him to borrow it under his direct supervision. Emerald Enclave appears to be a conservation society advocating for plants and animals. Janky peruses some history of Black Staff Tower which traces its lineage back to Lord Grey (with an ‘e’) who parlayed a personal interest in wizardry into a book, So You Wanna Be a Wizard, and ultimately into the mercenary academy as it is known today. Reade chats with Rishaw about the posh Lightsinger Theater although Rishaw prefers books. Luth thumbs through some periodicals regarding Lord Neverember’s difficulties.

Smoll, Janky, Luth, and Togy break off to visit Phaulkonmere to check out the Emerald Enclave. They meet groundskeeper and manor steward Malanor who escorts them inside for an audience with the spirit of Jeryth Phaulkon, presently incarnating a portrait of her previous mortal form. Togy, Janky, and Smoll are inaugurated into Emerald Enclave to help protect nature and property rights of farmers. Malanor bestows some charms of restoration upon them [6 charges to cast greater restoration at 4 charges or lesser restoration at 2 charges, no recharge] as well as season passes to the manor gardens for rest and relaxation. If they need something to rest from, some outlying farms are being attacked by three scarecrows and the initiates need to handle the situation to prevent any more lost livestock or frightened farmers.

Reade hangs back at Troll Skull Manor to scrub the kitchen. He calmly notes when his cleaning bucket mysteriously gets kicked away and over. The same unseen malicious force hammers on pipes and scribes Last Call on a dirty window. Reade makes a follow-up visit to Rishaw. Rishaw finds records dating back to an 8^th millennial Founder’s Day festival of the location before it was known as Troll Skull Manor. There was a fine tavern at the same location owned by a half elf, Lif. Lif, concludes Reade, must be the restless spirit even though it answers not to that name.

The party reunites at TSM to dress for the opera. Individual adaptations of “formal attire” are scrutinized and passed by the ushers / doormen / guards at the Lightsinger Theater, although Togy’s blackened moccasins require Janky’s soothing persuasion to pass muster. At intermission, the party files out of general admission, awkwardly alternating between butt- and crotch-to-face egress and heads to private box C. Luth knocks thrice and meets Mirt, local Harper representative. The entire party enlists with the Harpers, whether for the crescent moon harp brooch with no arcane power or for the no limits defense of all that is convenient to the Harper ethos. It just so happens that a mission is immediately available to rendezvous with Maxine, a conversant mare, in the know about something Zhentarim.

Reade, noting the end of intermission, slips away from the opera to recon Hlam’s cave. He is exhausted nearly to death with the attempt to climb the mountain and returns to sleep it off in the TSM kitchen.

The following day, while waiting for Reade to recover, the party locates and interrogates Maxine. She recollects a sun elf, Davil, and his bodyguard, Yagra, caught a ride from her and discussed the hiring of spies within the Xanathar. Luth writes a brief report and slips that into Mirt’s mailbox where it is federally protected from snooping.

While waiting on Reade’s exhaustion timers, the party kills time cleaning the STM tavern. Broxley, of the Fellowship of Innkeepers, Local 303, drops by to ensure that STM is not recklessly operating a tavern without FoI membership being in order. Broxley confirms rumors of the manor haunting, demonstrated when Reade’s drinking glass is ethereally slapped from his grasp at the mention of Lif. Broxley lets slip that their acquisition of STM was rivalled by Frewn’s Brews proprietor Emmek Frewn.

Janky slips away to catch up with private eye Vincent Trench at Tiger’s Eye who mentions being followed by giant rats. Possibly Janky’s arcanely acquired buddy Roscoe could shed light on that situation.

The party acquires mountain gear, for the second attempt to find Hlam, and camping gear, for staking out farms in pursuit of marauding scarecrows. The next morning, with Reade nominally recovered, the party climbs the nearby mountain range and easily locates paranoid Hlam. Janky manages to extract a warning from Hlam regarding threats on the city: Evil’s twin hides its face for now but expect that to change before winter’s end! When Janky later conveys the message to Vajra, she is just as puzzled as anyone but still declares the mission a success.

The party decides to close out the day on the farms of Undercliff, scene of the most recent scarecrow attacks. Hours into the stakeout, a screaming horse interrupts cookware cleaning. The party dashes through a farm in pursuit of a scarecrow who has just mangled a horse. As Smoll pursues it around the farmhouse, two more scarecrows intercept Reade and paralyze him. Once defeated, an examination of the scarecrows reveals they are animated constructs infused with the spirit of a slain, evil creature.

Janky, examining down the unbarricaded hallway south from the duergar and brawler room, makes out a half orc with a clenched fist of fire standing threateningly atop a redhead. No redhead should be so treated, and the party rushes to the rescue. But half-orc Grum’shar is only half of the problem when the party encounters a mind flayer attempting to enthrall Smoll on his way out of the room and into an escape portal he activates by placing a stone eye into the pedestal set into a 10 spoke eye carving on the floor. The third half of the problem is the mind flayer’s pet brain-dog devourer who stuns Reade into profound ignorance. Putting down the brain-dog does nothing to enlighten Reade. After slaying Grum’shar next, the party meets liberated Floon who confirms their current understanding of a kidnapping botched by mistaken identity.

Exploration of the area reveals a privy occupied by grey ooze; Grun’shar’s fanny pack containing an orcish spellbook; a chest of two healing potions, 16 gp, 82 sp, 250 cp; the stone eye which deactivates the portal when Luth takes it off the pedestal; and a secret door in the back of one cell which takes the party through a brief, yet filthy, earthen tunnel into a basement storeroom being guarded by giant rat Roscoe of the Shard Shunners. The party leaves by way of the hostel above and out into the street of spices.

Floon is returned to a grateful yet suddenly impoverished Volo who compensates the party with a quitclaim deed to Troll Skull Manor. The manor is a money pit but has a lot of potential as a tavern in the tavern desert that is Troll Skull Alley. Before their dreams as tavern proprietors can be realized, the party will prevail upon a growing Rolodex of local characters to attract work on the merit of their reputation as problem solvers.

When Reade and friends are summoned to Black Staff Tower by sending spell, it seems as though leader Vajra Safahar of the private army Gray Hands aka Force Gray might eventually offer some paying security work IF the applicants can pass a test of locating Hlam, a cave hermit of Mountwater Deep, to inquire as to any threats on the city.

• Roscoe, the giant rat who guards a storeroom under a halfling hostel on Spice Street, is a contact for the Shard Shunners, although they might only accept other giant rats as permanent members.
• Fala Lefaliir is proprietor of Corellon’s Crown, an apothecary / herbalist source.
• Vincent Trench is proprietor of Tiger’s Eye, a private investigator whom Janky has befriended.
• Tally is proprietor of Bent Nail, a source for wooden furniture, bows, shields, staves, and like that.
• A pair of genasi are proprietors of Steam and Steel, metalworks.
• Dragonborn Rishaw is proprietor of Bookworm’s Treasure, a bookstore. Rishaw may also be available for translations.
• By Raynar’s reference, someone named Mirt has arranged opera tickets for this evening at Lightsinger Theater in the Sea Ward which might prelude a business meeting in private box C during intermission. Or, in the worst case, could just be opera.
• A white cat has discretely invited Togy to join the Emerald Enclave at Phaulkonmere in the Southern Ward.

On the walk back from the Zhent warehouse to the Yawning Portal, the party passes a couple of regular folk, Festus and his friend Commoner Joe. CJ might know something about a certain someone abducted from a certain warehouse and taken to a certain sewer entrance marked by a certain symbolic spoked circle, if Janky can show a gold dragon and four of his friends. Janky abides.

CJ leads the party through Xanathar territory to an alley with a sewer cover chalked with the Xanathar trademark. CJ is paid. Although time may be of the essence to rescue Floon, the party is in no condition to foray into a Xanathar stronghold.

Janky returned to the Yawning Portal with Reade, Luth, Smoll, and Togy.  As tired as he should be, Janky is filled with an unusual energy, and the desire to perform on stage.  After a quick word with Dunran for permission, Janky mounts the stage and begins tuning his lute.  After all strings ring clear and true, he launches into his newest song, a catchy tune about a nameless flamboyant redhead, always stumbling in and out of trouble.

The song is really catching fire.  The crowd is warming to it, clapping in time, and Janky is infused with warmth all through his body.  Just then, out in the crowd, one of the more inebriated patrons causes a scene, throwing their drink to the ground and standing to loom menacingly over another person, shaking their fists.  Janky, annoyed that this tool is harshing his vibe (as Smoll might say), changes his tune to a more discordant one, and yells out “Hey troll snot, sit back down and be quiet, or I’ll come squash you like the bug you are!”.  Right at that moment, a little bit of the warmth he was feeling slips away, and the drunk would-be brawler stumbles, looking a little dazed.  After a few moments, he sits back down, a bewildered look on his face.  Janky, who had half expected to be in the middle of a fight right about then, gets back to his rousing redhead rondo.  However, he can’t seem to shake the fact that, for better or worse, something new and exciting was awakening inside him…

Refreshed from a night at the Yawning Portal, complements of Durnan, the party returns to the sewer entrance ready to track down abducted Floon. Along the way, Luth confesses he is a warlock, allegiant to a mysterious, possibly sinister, benefactor. At least it is an improvement over being a lawyer.

The sewer cover looks different in the morning light: more conspicuous. Transactional Janky offers a street urchin a silver piece to create a diversion for any potential witnesses, and the party drops into the sewer. Smoll picks up a pattern of chalk marks that direct the party along the various forks and intersections presumably toward someone holding a stick of chalk and, hopefully, Floon.

After an hour battling only the formidable smell, the party arrives at a small, dim chamber beneath, so Togy reckons, the Spouting Fish tavern. Luth’s voice echoes back from the darkness. Despite Luth flashing his Xanathar tattoo disguise, a floating guard grapefruit [gazer] shoots some ineffective light beams before being plastered at range. Luth kicks the dead aberration into the stream of sewage.

The chalk marks bring the party to another chamber where arrow slits cover their approach. Luth emphatically presents his tattoo and proceeds through an adjacent stone door chalked with the Xanathar logo. The party wends behind a sleeping goblin guard who defends himself with his shortbow much too late. Smoll hides the goblin’s body in a room of rusty weapons and debris.

Deeper into the lair, the party interrupts Krentz, the brawler nearly killed by Yagra night before last, and a duergar as they attempt to barricade a doorway off a little sleeping area. Despite the duergar’s ability to become invisible and large, the pair are quickly defeated.

A whimpering man and a flaming hand are down an unbarricaded passage.

• The Xanathar are poorly organized.

Business with purple-themed Flintcheek concludes with Reade’s negotiated purchase of a vest of 100 pockets that only comes in 101 shades of purple.

The adventurers arrive at the Skewered Dragon. Inquiries put to proprietor Ellie and her patrons indicate that Floon is a regular, last seen a couple of nights ago, first with Volo and then with Reynar after Volo departed. Once Reynar and Floon concluded their games of Three Dragon Ante they left together but were followed closely by five other patrons known to frequent a certain warehouse on Candle Lane, easily identified by a certain snake emblem on the door.

The party makes for the warehouse right away and easily locates it down the cramped, dark Candle Lane were only one streetlamp has been left intact, the one illuminating a winged black snake emblem on the warehouse door. Janky smoothly pops open the employee entrance revealing the bloody remains of a melee strewn across the lower level of the warehouse.

Four concealed kenku nearly bring an early end to the endeavor, but the party narrowly prevails in the end and prevents the escape of all surviving witnesses. An examination of all combatants reveals that five are tattooed in the fashion of the Zhent black winged snake, a sixth sports a circle with ten spokes on his right palm, and the affiliation of the remaining six uncool previous combatants and four additional kenku cannot be determined. Crates around the warehouse contain sundry unremarkable weapons and armor and liquid assets of 24 gp 35 sp

Reade, stricken unconscious in the fight, recovers, but barely. The party prepares to secure the remainder of the warehouse when Reade hears breathing under the stairs. Janky coaxes the mouth breather out. It seems like an easy Floon payday when a red head emerges, but the bedraggled prisoner turns out to be none other than dreamy Reynar, considerably less dreamy after a couple of days as a Zhent prisoner.

Plans to help Reynar safely back to his grateful wallet are interrupted by a phalanx of city watch led by the reputable yet streetwise Captain Stagat. Hysterical lawyer Luth contemplates the kenku blood still dripping from the party’s weapons and armor, pockets stuffed with ill-gotten gold pieces, caught at the epicenter of the various articles and sections of the Code Legal metaphorically strewn around the bloody warehouse floor. Grateful Reynar vouches for the party to the savvy Captain Stagat. Stagat takes protective custody of Reynar, and the party returns to the Yawning Portal.

• Reynar and Floon appear to be good friends who were abducted by the Zhents while leaving the Skewered Dragon and brought to the Zhent warehouse. The Xanathar then raided the Zhent warehouse and kidnapped Floon, possibly mistaking him for Reynar. The Zhent kenku were sent to clean the scene up when the party interrupted.
• The black, winged snake indicates Zhentarim, whether on a door or on a person.
• The ubiquitous desire to kidnap Reynar may be to locate the Stone of Golor, an artifact supposedly useful in locating the gold dragons allegedly embezzled and stashed by Reynar’s ignoble father Degalt. Reynar claims no knowledge or association with the artifact, the gold, or Degalt.
• Per Captain Stagat, the Xanathar may hold Floon in the city sewers where the city watch does not involve themselves jurisdictionally. Opportunities to enter the Xanathar areas might be identified by the ten spokes circle symbol found on the right palm of one of the combatants.