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.