Yawning Portal regulars Reade Hadrah, Jankorean “Janky” Talereos, Luth Winddriver, Klayrlagoon “Smoll” Franzellakella, and Ktogyo “Togy” Lacewind gather with their local friends for another evening of revelry. A fight breaks out between Smoll’s friend Yagra Stonefist and several tattooed cohorts of a nemesis faction. Yagra, a member of the Zhentarim guild, beats a representative of the rival Xanathar guild, Krentz, nearly to death. Mindful of the severe Waterdeep laws, Smoll and the others quickly intervene to pull the combatants apart.
No sooner does one crisis end than the next begins. A troll, aggressively pursued by several stirges, heaves himself up a hoist and out of the giant, central well hole that is the primary feature of the Yawning Portal tavern, Durnan proprietor. Durnan, a tavern keeper of many seasons, engages the troll with his greatsword and directs the party, the only patrons not sensible enough to flee, to engage the stirges. The party competently eliminates the stirges and even makes some contribution to the troll’s destruction and terminal ignition.
Grateful Durnan fronts their hospitality for the evening. Lawyer Luth snaps his suit clean of stirges muck, but there is almost no talk of litigation regarding whether Durnan knew, or should have known, the tavern produces life endangering trolls.
A gregarious Volothamp, in need of some competent adventurers such as these, introduces himself. A friend of his, Floon Blagmaar, went missing directly after Volo departed their meeting at the Skewered Dragon, a dive in the Zhent-controlled docks, two nights ago. Floon, a flamboyant ginger more handsome than smart, supports himself as an escort and by knowing compromising information about a noble. Floon’s value to Volo, possibly as relates to Volo’s next great work of reference on spirits and specters, measures in the hundreds of gold dragons. A 10-gold purse each right out of Volo’s pocket retains the party to locate Floon with the promise of ten times that upon completion.
The party performs some casual interviews with friendly bar patrons and heals up. They head out to the Skewered Dragon to investigate Floon’s disappearance but encounter a crime scene blocking an intersection on the way. Six slaughtered people cover the road. Three blood drenched humans have been detained by city watch. The city watch is not particularly disposed to answer a bunch of questions from a passing adventuring party, and the party must backtrack to find a way around which takes them to a curio shop featuring a taxidermized beholder in the window.
Old Zablov’s Shop, Schnikneg Flintcheek proprietor, is decidedly purple-themed. The trinkets, the beholder, the halfling pipeleaf: all purple. Schniknet himself is a purple-decked gnome with nine eye tattoos adorning his face and head in the same fashion as the Xanathar thugs in the Yawning Portal.
Gleaned from interviews:
- Degalt Neverember was a lord of Waterdeep who allegedly embezzled a fortune of gold dragons, was discovered, and run out of town. The fortune remains, supposedly hidden under the town.
- Degalt’s son Reynar Neverember is nothing like Degalt, is generally dreamy and likeable, excellent in a fight, would give all the orphans shirts off his back. Regard for Reynar, at least in the Yawning Portal, is suspiciously favorable considering Reynar has a seemingly inexhaustible and mysterious source of wealth and continues to reside at his father’s four-story mansion down by the seaward. Reynar’s appearance is notably like Floon’s and, so far, only Durnam substantiates that Volo’s friend Floon exists and is not one-and-the-same as Reynar. A botched kidnapping of Floon from mistaken identity is a possibility.
- Zhentarim, aka the Zhents, aka the Black Network, is a shadow organization that deals in weapons and mercenary work. They seem to regard themselves as honorable if criminal unlike the Xanathar who are criminal and thuggish. Yagra can make introductions to Davil Starsong for potential applicants.
- Xanathar is a murder-for-entry gang or possibly a cult. Known adherents seem to identify themselves with facial tattoos of eyes. Competition for the gold may be escalating recent violence.