Drinks on Davil
- After the events of WoW C1.S0.00- Whispers of Waterdeep Campaign Kickoff, the Zhentarim, Waterdeep Chapter boss Davil Starsong offered to put the party up in the The Yawning Portal tavern for two weeks, knowing many were new to Waterdeep or had no money after being in captivity. When they arrived, they marveled at the massive atrium with two floors of balconies overhead, looking down upon a deep pit set into the ground floor, much like a giant well. Davil seemed to know everybody in the place on a first name basis, and swiftly began holding court at a table. The place seemed to have a rowdy clientele, yet the accommodations were quite good. Everyone took a much needed bath and got a wonderful nights sleep. However, Poofy 52 departed early in the morning.
- Davil invited our characters for happy hour drinks the next day. The tavern was bustling already, with clientele enjoying a dinnertime performance of Mattrim "Threestrings" Mereg, the resident bard. The whole place smelled heavenly from the many spits of chicken roasting over the fire in the large hearth. Davil informed everyone that they could count themselves as friends of the Zhentarim, as long as they didn't tell anyone about what they had seen or heard in the cave the prior day. He also formally introduced them to his "courier" N8 and his "secretary" Yagra Stonefist before everyone celebrated with "a toast to friendship".
- Minutes later, Davil was arrested by the Waterdeep City Guard, led by Jalester Silvermane. Apparently he was wanted for questioning in relation to the rumored embezzlement scheme under the prior Open Lord of Waterdeep, Dagult Neverember. Davil didn't put up a fight, but asked N8 to alert other members of the Zhentarim that he'll need a good lawyer. Thankfully Davil had pre-paid for the accommodations of the party at the tavern!
Tavern Brawl
- Later, a group of five rough looking men entered the bar and swiftly noticed Yagra. They announced "The Overseer sends his regards." and started punching her. Nobody immediately came to her aid, but eventually Vonna and Fearonuh confronted the gangsters and knocked out their leader Krentz. Meanwhile, Fortuna pickpocketed one of the enemy fighters without them noticing. The others fled with their unconscious comrades, warning "You'll be hearing from us again..." Yagra thanked the group for aiding her.
Getting Hired by Volo
- They were then approached by the famous Volo, who had been sitting in a corner writing. He was impressed by their valiant efforts to save Yagra and offered to hire them for a mission. He had been drinking with his friend Floon Blaagmar last night at The Skewered Dragon in the Dock Ward, but apparently Floon never came home at the end of the night. Volo gave everyone 10 gold upfront and promised 90 gold upon successfully finding Floon. He also shared that Floon always wore a large unicorn necklace.
Troll Attack
- Shortly after accepting the mission, the party witnessed one of The Yawning Portal's famous traditions, as the crowd began chanting "Dip! Dip! Dip! Dip!" A young man paid the innkeeper Durnan one gold, and was provided with a bell and a large mug of ale. He chugged the beer while the crowd sang: "Deep and dark down below, where only fools and braggarts go, where monsters roam and dangers mortal, few survive the Yawning Portal. Stand your ground or ring the bell, and hope you make it up the well!" He threw the mug down the well and was then lowered down into it on a platform by his friends using a winch system. The crowd was betting on how long he would stay down.
- After nearly three minutes everyone heard the bell ring and the young man was returned to the surface triumphantly with his mug. However, a 9 foot tall troll climbed up out of the well right after him. The troll attacked and killed the young man as the crowd ran in terror. A flock of 9 stirges that had been sucking the blood of the troll erupted into the air and began attacking people, with two latching onto Fortuna. Durnan jumped into action with his famous greatsword Grimvault, and confronted the troll, dealing it vicious blows. The party focused mainly on the stirges, and Pyper rushed to the aid of Fortuna when her blood was nearly was sucked dry. Finally, TMM05 busted through into the tavern and rammed the troll at full speed, sending it flying down into the well to its death.
Investigating the Scene of the Crime
- After helping clean up and heal the wounded, the party decided to head over to The Skewered Dragon to see if they could catch any of the regulars who would have been there last night. They were able to learn from the barkeep and regulars that they had seen an old man and the young man with the unicorn necklace drinking together. The old man left, and another young man arrived. The two young men were seen leaving together. A homeless begger saw them go west. Gerald the street meat cart salesman sold the two young men some of his famous Guinea Pulled Pork sammiches before he saw them go south. The group then questioned the owner of The Old Xoblob Shop, and learned that the two young men had come in briefly, but then were mugged outside the shop. The group was able to find a trail of blue beads on the ground and followed them to Candle Lane. They then learned from a shopkeep there that there was some suspicious activity happening at the warehouse across the street. The warehouse had the symbol of a black flying snake painted over the door- the symbol of the Zhentarim...