Yawning Portal

Description:
The Yawning Portal is a famous inn and tavern located in the Castle Ward of Waterdeep. Adventurers can meet all sorts of colorful characters here.
The place is a stone building with a slate roof and several chimneys. Most of the ground floor is taken up by the tavern’s common room, which contains a 40-foot-diameter open well (actually the outer shell of a sunken stone tower) that descends 140 feet to the first level of Undermountain, the sprawling dungeon under Waterdeep. A rope-and-pulley mechanism is used to lower adventurers into the well and hoist them out. More information about this entrance to Undermountain can be found in Waterdeep: Dungeon of the Mad Mage.
The upper floors of the Yawning Portal contain comfortable, nicely appointed rooms for guests.
Durnan, the proprietor, charges standard prices for food and drink but lodging is limited and expensive.

People:
Durnan N male Illuskan human innkeeper
The proprietor of the Yawning Portal is a retired adventurer and a man of few words. Durnan bluntly warns adventurers of lower than 5th level that entering Undermountain “isn’t a good idea.” He keeps a magic greatsword hidden behind the bar just in case something monstrous crawls up out of the entry well.
“Bonnie” Tethyrian human barmaid
Friendly barmaid
Mattrim “Threestrings” Mereg LG male Illuskan human bard
This socially awkward bard performs at the Yawning Portal and is a mediocre musician. He’s called “Threestrings” because he plays a lute that has only three strings remaining.
Obaya Uday NG female Chultan human priest of Waukeen
Obaya, a priest, has traveled from Chult to sponsor expeditions into Undermountain, with the goal of bringing its magical treasures back to her employer, the merchant prince Wakanga O’tamu of Port Nyanzaru. She discourages low-level adventurers from exploring Undermountain but is happy to help them with her magic until they gain enough experience to be useful to her.
Yagra Stonefist N female half-orc thug-for-hire
Yagra is a Black Network mercenary who gets paid to protect a Zhent negotiator named Davil Starsong. Yagra finds the job boring and likes to pass the time by challenging adventurers to arm wrestle.
Jalester Silvermane An earnest man in his mid-twenties, Jalester hails from the distant land of Cormyr, where he earned his spurs working for a mercenary company called the Steel Shadows. A few years ago, Jalester left the Dales and traveled to Waterdeep with several other members of the company, one of whom — Faerrel Dunblade — would become his best friend and lover.
The wizard Elminster befriended the two young men and brought them to the attention of Laeral Silverhand, who put them to work as deputies and spies. Jalester and Faerrel helped the Open Lord expose a plot to overthrow the government, but Faerrel was killed while helping bring the perpetrators to justice. Jalester remained in Waterdeep afterward, becoming one of Laeral’s field operatives in the service of Waterdeep and the Lords’ Alliance. He has been romantically unattached ever since Faerrel’s death but longs again for love.
Davil Starsong
Within the Waterdeep division of the Black Network, Davil is accorded the title of Master of Opportunities and Negotiations because he’s good at sniffing out lucrative business deals, and he makes friends easily.
Like many sun elves, Davil has an affinity for magic and is gifted with the kind of patience that comes with a long life span. Unlike most, he’s not the least bit pretentious or aloof. He keeps a room at the Yawning Portal and does all his business in the establishment’s taproom. He negotiates deals with grace and aplomb, even while drunk, and uses an elven lute as a spellcasting focus.
Davil can put the characters in contact with other leaders of the Black Network’s Waterdeep division, namely Istrid Horn (if they need a loan), Skeemo Weirdbottle (if they need magic), Tashlyn Yafeera (if they need weapons or mercenaries), and Ziraj the Hunter (if they need a highly skilled assassin).
Meloon Wardragon
Meloon is a handsome, formidable warrior in his prime, who serves the goddess Tymora and loves a good fight. His friends — among them Renaer Neverember and Vajra Safahr — describe him as honest, optimistic, and extraordinarily lucky. Until recently, he was a member of Force Grey and reported directly to the Blackstaff. In recent months, Meloon has spent much of his time at the Yawning Portal.
Three months ago, out of boredom, Meloon accompanied a fledgling band of adventurers on an expedition to Undermountain.

OLD STANNOC
an elderly halfling. The halfling has made his living as a gambler and odds maker, speculating on various aspects of adventurers' Undermountain careers. The last surface- spoken words many a doomed adventurer has heard were Old Stannoc's as he shouted out the long odds he was giving on the dungeon diver's survival. As would befit a person of his occupation, Stannoc is a relatively good judge of a person's character and mettle.
RUUDI STONEKIN:
Young female dwarf, bubbly, friendly, enthusiastic, and generous face to anyone who approaches her with questions or information about the dungeon's history, architecture, or layout. However, she presents a long-suffering and gruff mask to anyone wasting her time with other topics.
She can usually be found at a corner table pawing through the countless sheafs of parchment and scroll tubes laid out before her. She claims to be distant kin to the Melairkyn dwarves, the clan that originally carved out significant portions of Undermountain.
She also has maps of the Yawning Portal, Waterdeep's streets, and all the public fountains in each of the city's wards. Tavern regulars even joke that Ruudi consults a map before heading to the privies. Ruudi sells her maps ofUndermountain for steep prices, even though most are only unconnected portions of the dungeon or long strings of hallways with few rooms attached to them. The dwarf also purchases for generous amounts maps delvers create, provided they represent parts of the dungeon she has not yet mapped. When anyone is drawn up from the well's bottom, Ruudi jumps atop a chair or table and cranes her neck to see over the usual crowd of congratulators, hoping to catch the delver's eye.
MAKLIN MUCKLAR Maklin is a distant and aloof gnome of indeterminate age. Even those of generous nature say the little fellow is quite odd. Duman believes the gnome is eccentric but honest.
An enterprising gnome named Maklin has sole permission from Duman to sell alchemical products and potions within the establishment
No one has ever complained about Maklin's goods or his slightly high prices until recently. Days ago, a male human stormed into the Yawning Portal claiming he bought a healing potion from Maklin in Baldur's Gate several years ago, and the potion was poisoned. He was escorted out of the tavern, all the while screaming about how the potion had killed his companion and that Maklin would pay. The shouter, however, hasn't been heard from since. Some assume the incident was a misunderstanding, but the Yawning Portal's regulars are keeping a wary eye on the gnome now.