2019-09-12

Sitting in a corner of the Yawning Portal, I'm approached by Volothamp Geddarm himself, who apparently is in need of some adventurers to locate his friend, Floon Blagmaar. Missing since yesterday, Floon was last seen at the Skewered Dragon in the Dock Ward. Volo is offering us 10 GP each up front and 100 GP each upon delivery of his friend. I see no reason to refuse, so I accompany several others out of the tavern.
 
On the way, we encounter the aftermath of an encounter, presided over by the City Watch. A group of thugs has been killed in a skirmish of some sort, most with a tattoo of an eye (gang symbol). It's not terribly important, so I'd have completely ignored it if some of the others hadn't stopped to inquire.
 
A brief stop at a store I didn't notice yields some interesting information - Floon and an unknown companion (dressed in a similar fashion) were jumped by about 5 thugs wearing dark leather armor and sporting tattoos of a winged snake outside that shop. Even better, the others find evidence of this fight and are able to track the participants.
 
The trail leads past the Skewered Dragon to Candle Lane, a shadowy street lit only at the far end, to a two-story warehouse at the far end. The warehouse, marked with the symbol of the winged snake, is in better condition than many of the buildings in the area. The windows appear to be blacked out.
 
The warehouse is all locked up, and when the others seem indecisive, I climb down and unlock one of the doors. It's what we came here for, isn't it? This prompts everyone to sneak in and find out who's home. Stealthily, of course, although Flint is definitely *not* stealthy. His clanking alerts the warehouse occupants, and battle commences.
 
We end up with four Kenku prisoners and a ton of dead bodies, not all of which were created by us. We do find a noble, Ragnar, son of one of Waterdeep's former Open Lords, who believes that Floon was mistakenly abducted in an attempt to get information about where Renar's father may have hidden the gold he embezzled, or at least where to find and how to use the artifact known as the Stone of Golorr, which supposedly will assist in locating the stolen hoard.
 
When the City Watch shows up, there's some discussion about what happened and what *should* have happened. Renar insists that Floon was dragged into the sewers and the Watch needs to investigate, while the Watch insists they "deal in *facts*, not conspiracy theories" and refuses to investigate. Perhaps *we* can take a look?