The Search for Dragons Starts in One's Backyard (Waterdeep: Dragon Heist Playthrough -Session 3)

       Scene 1: Home is Where the Coin is?

          It is no wonder that Waterdavians worship Selune, for she is as different as she is beautiful and there is no other city on the Sword Coast that embodies those qualities more than the City of Splendors. 

         And while the fortunes of Selune are not on our heroes minds the night they return from their adventure in the sewers, the moon herself is watching over them. The time draws near.
        Miles away from Ranear Neverember's villa, a small figure makes its way across the Dock Ward's crowded alleyways. It's keeping to the long shadows, out of sight and out of hearing, as its soft footsteps are entirely shrouded by the rambuctious laughter and resounding shouts that resonate from the neighboring taverns, inns and other places of worse-repute.
          The figure seems to have at some point acquired a torn-up piece of tarred canvas, probably from one of the neighboring ships cargo holds, which it has wrapped itself tightly in. It seems to be searching for something because very so often it will stop at a street corner, go down an alley, get low to the ground and smell across the muddy street, only to get up and then repeat the same process slightly further down the road.
          Only on the sixth try or so, the figure stops and from the depths of the canvas emerge eight clawed fingers, that dig at the ground at the base of the alley wall. In a few minutes, a small hole is made and a single shard is dropped into the hole, after which it is covered with dirt once again. The figure then retreats whence it came. Moonlight continues to bathe the alley in its soft glow.

         The morning of Uktar the 2nd dawns misty and cold. More than one members of the party find themselves huddling next to the roaring fireplace in the early hours of the morning, sipping hot bitter coffee and waiting for the other people to wake up.
         By midday they have all managed to make their way to the magistrate to take possession of their new residence.
         "Under the authority of Laeral Silverhand, the Open Lord of Waterdeep, the Assignor Volothamp Geddarn hereby cedes to the Assignes GMBHH & Associates the domicile known as Trollskull Manor and its land, located at the intersection of Serdoun Street, Thunderstaff Way and Trollskull Alley in the North Ward. The aforementionned GMBHH & Associates herein attach a copy of the company registration."

         Once the deeds are signed and safely hidden away, the six adventurers make their way outside of the magister's office.
         "I must confess I hadn't realized we would need to come up with a group name quite so fast." Boddynoch muses. "The Shits did have a nice ring to it, I confess, but as Silvo remarked, if we plan on turning this place from a haunted house into some sort of profit earning respectable establishment, we should at least be associated."
         "Let's then go see our new abode, shall we?" Silvo prods and pushes and in less than an hour, the six of them find themselves in front of the once majestic Trollskull Manor, long fallen into disrepair.
     
          Four stories tall and boasting balconies, a turret and five chimneys, Trollskull Manor may have been once majestic but the passage of time had certainly turned it into a skeleton of what it once was. A few spikes here and there of the wrought iron fence still survived and enclosed the property, but it had less of a role in keeping outsiders off the grounds than the thick tangle of vines and weeds covering the ground and the empty sockets of the windows, shuttered from the inside with nailed-in planks. Parts of the masonry were covered with the bony and twiggy stems of the creepers that had lost their foliage once the winter had unfurled its mantle, and even from the road it was easy to spot places in the facade where the rood was moldy and rotten.

          The adventurers ignore the dreary aspect of the place and slashing and cutting through the weeds at their feet, they climb up the steps leading to the front door. Surprisingly, it does not take much effort at all to push in the double doors that barely clung to their hinges and reveal a tavern's taproom. The remnants of the old tavern furnishings still remain, though there was little use that could be made of them in their state of disrepair and there are dust and cobwebs covering every surface. Behind the bar, casks of wine look still intact and the characters head to investigate there first. While still full, the wine has long turned into vinegar and Myta spits out a mouthful of the foul stuff. The rest of the rooms in the house are empty and only in the attic do they find a chest full of old knick-knacks, most of them destroyed by the humidity and the years.

         While everyone starts deciding which rooms should be allocated to whom, Ruz takes one of the metal flagons still hanging on the bar pegs and starts wiping away the grime. The cleaned cup is hardly usable as its metal has stained green, but cleaning the bar even a tiny bit makes the place look a bit more like home. Once the cup is set down on the bar though, another one dislodges itself from the pegs above Ruz' head and gently drifts down towards his hands, almost nudging his fingers. The ambient discussion stops abruptly at everyone stares at the magic bar. Intrigued, both Gwen and Ruz double their efforts to clean the wood and metal of the bar and in doing so, out of thin air, in front of their eyes, a ghost starts materializing. Ruz jumps back, heart to his throat, ready to release an eldritch bast, while Myta also takes battle positions. The ghost doesn't seem perturbed and just nudges the cup closer to Gwen, who is still sitting close to the bar, eyeing the apparition.

         "Is it really there?" Myta asks approaching, and with a swift move, reaches out towards the ghost before it can retreat. Her hand passes through its incorporeal body and other than a slight chill - as if touching mist - she does not feel anything.

      "Obviously it's there. We can all see it." Gwen remarks. "Why are you here?" Gwen then turns to ask the ghost. It shrugs and in one corner of the bar still covered in dirt, it writes: {Lif}.

       The method catches on and soon the party finds out that Lif seems to have been the old tavern's elf barman and that his only wish is that they fix the place up and reopen the locale; fortunate as that is something they would not be opposed towards, especially as they can see it being a lucrative deal with an experienced ghost bartender that works for free.

       "You wouldn't happen to have other friends that will be able to help run the place, would you?" Silvo asks, his eyes sparkling with hope. "Are there any other ghosts in the manor?" He asks.

        Lif just shrugs and writes down an answer: "Not at the moment."

        "Right then. It looks like we'll be taking watch tonight, just in case we get attacked by ghosts." Ruz suggests an easily agreable course of action. 

        "Now how do we make money to clean this place up? It looks like it's going to need at least 1-2 thousand dragons with all the structural repairs, furnishings..." Silvo wonders with a critical keen businessman eye.

        "Now that Xanathar is after us, it could be safer to join the Zhentarim. Enemies of my enemies are my friends, as the saying goes..." Boddynoch suggests while Bran attempts to pretend a sudden attack of deafness. "

        "I don't want more trouble and joining a criminal organisation sounds like more trouble." Myta coolly remarks.

        "Let's check the neighborhood first. It's always good to get your bearings and know one's neighbors." The former watchmen states and takes a few steps towards the door. The rest of the group shrug and accompany him outside.

         Stepping outside the house, the chilly wind immediately bites at their clothing while the faint traces of ozone in the air alert to the encroaching rainy weather. Most of the party still wear light garbs and the weather forces them to walk at a brisk pace against the wind to keep the blood flowing.

        "We might need alcohol." one of them grumbles, while the other remarks about buying some warmer clothes.

        Trollskull Alley is the place of business of several entrepreneurs and one by one the group meet the cheerful but somewhat aloof carpenter, the shy herbalist, the flamboyant couple that run the smithy as well as the proud dragonborn librarian. They find out one other house has been recently occupied and its owner has plans to start a business, and that the shop at the corner of the alley that seems to be perpetually closed, is an investigator's office. They also realize there is an entrance to the sewers a bit too close for comfort - considering their last escapades - and after checking that it is locked and no signs of it being recently used can be found, they decide to monitor it frequently.

        Back under the roof of their newly claimed manor, Silvo takes a few hours to organize the trash metal he had found and brought back from the Xanathar's hideout, and then the next few hours to shape some chairs and a table for their taproom.

         The others use whatever items available to clean the place up a bit more, removing the old destroyed furniture from the house and splitting it into pieces to use later for lighting a fire, soaking up some rags and cleaning the spider webs and dirt.

        Preoccupied with their chores, they fail to notice the steps on the front porch and only realize they have a guest once he has poked his face inside the taproom.

        "Good day, Waterdavians!" They are greeted by a portly halfling, with impressive mutton chops and bushy eyebrows, wearing well-made but simple clothes. He is wiping a light sweat of his brow with his handkerchief. He steps in with some obvious trepidation, his eyes darting left and right as if searching for something in the room. "Allow me to introduce myself. Broxley Fairkettle, member of the Fellowship of Innkeepers."

       The party returns the greetings and introductions and then invite him to sit at one of the newly made chairs.

       "That's quite ok. Don't mean to intrude now that you've only barely moved in. Safer... I mean better to stand here close to the door, one foot out so to speak."

       "Whatever for, Mr. Fairkettle? The house looks bad but it won't fall on your head."

       He makes an awkward cough. "I'm more concerned with the other denizens." He almost whispers. "It's rumored to be haunted, you know." He confesses.

       "It still is." Gwen laughs it off, but the man seems to nearly fall over from fright. "Are you quite alright, Mr. Fairkettle? I am sorry to have startled you, but I assure you you have nothing to be concerned about. Our ghost is one of the friendlier sorts."

       "That's not what I've heard. Anyway..."

       "No, please continue. Did you hear something perhaps about the previous owners?" Silvo asks.

       "No, everyone that bought this place sold it out pretty fast, generally for farthings, just to get away from it. Last time a family owned the inn, it was before the troubles. Whole family died, bloody business. People say their ghosts haunt the mansion and they can see lights in the manor during the night. You telling me you do have a ghost does not reassure me one bit. So if you wouldn't mind, I'd like to get down to business."

        "Business?" Silvo's eyes glow while everyone else's do a roll.

        "Quite so. You see, the Fellowship would like to offer their services to help you put this place back in business. Can't take care of the ghosts for you, that's on you I'm afraid. But everything else, from fixing the rotten planking, plumbing, supply of produce and drink, furniture purchases and all other costs and matters that need to be attended to to get the manor running, we can intermediate those for you, including of course with the other guilds. 250 dragons in licenses and contracts, paid upfront and the rest of the costs in installments. Once the place is up and running, every tenday ten dragons for expenses managed by the guild. Sounds reasonable, does it not?"

         "It is tempting, master Fairkettle, won't deny it. But you see, we do not have such coin right now..." The halfling seems to deflate a bit at that.

         "I am sorry to hear that. The guild could give you a loan, no interest required, which you would have to pay back within a year at most, but we would need the deeds as collateral, you understand. Business has been a bit slow lately, tell you what, I'll even throw in a discount on the first month of guild payments, fifty percent off for the first expenses, what do you say?"

        "And what do you get out of this?" Myta abruptly interjects.

        "Nothing much." The halfling turns red. "This is my job after all; I might make a little commission from the guild for every new business I sign a contract with. Business has been a bit tough recently, and with nine young ones to feed a home, I'd be mightly obliged to have your patronage so to say."

        "We'll consider it, Mr. Fairkettle and make sure to get back to you as soon as we have an answer. Where would we find you?" Silvo inquires.

       "Oh. That would be marvelous. Please ask specifically for my name, will you? Broxley Fairkettle. The Fellowship is on Waterdeep Way, Castle Ward. You can't miss it. Best looking business you've ever seen."

      "Right you are, Mr. Fairkettle, right you are. We'll make sure to keep in touch." Silvo tells him and then maneuvers him out the door.

      Once the door closes, he stretches his arms. "Not a bad idea, is it? We'd even get a loan."

     "It would be damn fine if we had more ghosts like you, Lif." Boddynoch talks to the air. "We'd call the place Spirits. With how many people seem to think it's dreadfully haunted, we'd have clients all through opening fortnight. Oh well..." 

     "For my part, I do not plan on staying in Waterdeep, I'm afraid." Gwen mutters and Ruz gives a brisk nod. "I need to find my way home." he says and it looks like he would like to add something more before his eyes become less focussed. A moment later he says "We are summoned to Blackstaff Tower by someone called Vajra Safahr."

     "What are you talking about?" Myta curiously looks at him.

     "The Blackstaff talked with you just now? That's amazing!" Gwen says. "She's one of the most powerful wizards in Waterdeep. Blackstaff Tower is legendary, a great wizarding academy."

      Hearing this, Ruz quickly gets ready to head out. When everyone looks at him inquiringly, he shrugs and says: "I'm not ignoring a summons from a powerful wizard. And it could bring coin." With those words he is out the door and moments later the group joins him.

Scene 2: Finding Allies in Alleys and Shadows in Caves

              The streets of Waterdeep are bustling with activity in the afternoons, with businesses sending carts to restock for the evening service, people starting to slowly trickle their way out of their place of work. To keep away from the hustle and bustle, the group decides to stick more to the meandering alleys than the main boulevards. Even here, the din of people is quite loud and it is only Myta with her elvish senses that catches the sounds of a fight down an alley whose entrance is conveniently disguised by stacks of throw-away boxes and barrels from the nearby eateries.

      "Filthy creature! Give it to us!" Someone says before Myta hears a sound of an impact -flesh on flesh- and then a pained frail murmur.

     Myta immediately heads down the alleyway, the rest of the party a few feet behind her, and as she deftly and quietly makes her way through the stacked trash, she comes into view of a disturbing scene: two young men, rough-looking, somewhere in their twenties, tattoos and knife scars on their skins and dirty clothing are towering over a figure crouched and hidden underneath a tarpaulin and they are assaulting it with their hands and fists. It looks like the ruffians are also armed, but decided to beat the small figure into submission.

      

      Seeing this, Myta immediately lunges at the nearby man, grabs him by the collar of his dirty shirt and demands explanations: "What do you think you're doing here, two men against a child!"

     "Not your freaking business, lady!" The man held spits in her face while at the same time addressing his companion: "Look here, Jeff, we have a bleeding heart!"

     Jeff, less talkative than his companion, draws his shortsword and attacks Myta, presumably trying to scare her away.

    It soon becomes clear to them that attacking her was the wrong move, as she lays into them with her own weapon, while the rest of the party slowly make their way to her help.

    While the fracas occurs, Gwen gets near the bunched figure still lying on the floor and lifts the tarp covering the form slightly. The figure inside is trembling and retreats even more inside the small cover the tarpaulin provides and Gwen is shocked to see two glowing yellow eyes and a small greenish hand gently grabbing hers before it retreats. Gwen asks the figure, whom she can't make out very well without removing the cover, whether it is injured and whether she can uncover it, but the reply she receives she cannot understand so she decides to reveal the figure a bit more. It is then that Gwen realizes the figure being threatened is a female goblin, and that she looks terrified at Gwen and the others that are still fighting in the alleyway. The bard tries her best to reassure the small figure through gestures and her soft tone.

     Meanwhile, Jeff has fallen to the group's blades and Buddynoch and Bran have decided to not kill them but instead observe the law and call the watch. Once the watch arrives, Bran's presence allays the watchmens suspicion regarding who was the attacker in the first place and in short order the bodies of Steve and Jeff are taken away to jail.  

     It is also Bran that is able to understand and communicate with the goblin girl for whom everyone has questions. She reveals that her name is Morningmist and that the two men were attacking her to get a piece of jewelry she had unwittingly shown them before. She then reveals the most intricate and finely carved long ring that the jeweler Silvo has ever seen, made from what his expert eyes immediately recognize as mithril, yet worked in such a way as he has not ever seen before. It is a full finger ring, starting slightly above the knuckles, finishing in a sharp claw-like point, its size bigger than a goblin finger, but not so big that it falls out of Morningmist's finger.

   The goblin reveals she made it herself at the indication of her goddess, Selune, who chose her and two other goblin girls and asked them to come to Waterdeep and her temple here. Morningmist has arrived in the city for a few days already, but not only has she been unable to visit the temple, but she has encountered only abuse while here and her two friends have also been killed.

   Even though she does not look terrified anymore, Morningmist is still shaking and her voice is small and hollow. The bruises on her face fade away slightly once magical healing has been applied, but she looks hungry and thirsty and still weary of these people questionning her.

   Faced with the decision to continue towards Blackstaff Tower with the goblin or heading home and leaving her alone in Trollskull Manor, they cannot decide on a course of action and settle on hiding the goblin in the alley, amongst the crates and other detritus, with enough food and water for the brief time they expect they will be visiting the Blackstaff Tower.

   The party therefore more or less rushes through the streets towards the sear of wizardry in Waterdeep. The three-story high tower seems to be made of smooth black stone, with no windows or doors. It would look encircled by a tall fence, except the fence does not seem to enclose the tower, but simply branch off to the right and left for a few feet before stopping abruptly.

    Ruz approaches the middle point between the two walls and a door, as black as the rest of the stone, appears in his front. He steps through it and disappears from the party's view, while appearing inside the complex proper of the Blackstaff Tower. It looks as if the building he saw before was merely the gate, for he now stands at the edge of a high towering wall made of aged granite, atop which spikes of black metal point inwards at certain intervals. The courtyard is filled with all types of exotic plant-life, but no trees, letting Ruz gaze unimpeded in the distance at the ever-changing shape of the wizarding tower. What he assumes is the actual Blackstaff Tower is an intricate mesh of romboid rooms piled up on top of another, some whose walls he can even see-through, others seemingly reflecting light, others entirely opaque with no windows to be seen, or clustered together on a shape relatively representing a sharp conical form, similar in appearance to that of a pine-cone yet much more intricate and confusing.

    A few seconds later Ruz is joined by his companions and they all make their way towards the tower entrance proper which they can see in the distance. They have to walk for quite a while before they reach the open entrance, where they are expected by a thin man, a robe too big for his frame billowing around him, his hair shaped vaguely like a bird's nest, tapping his hand impatiently against his thigh.

    "Come now, no dillydallying, the Blackstaff herself is waiting!" He launches at them as they approach and then rushes towards the main staircase, which suddenly seems to have switched position from far to the back to immediately to their right.

     While impressed by the powerful magic so easily exhibited in the architecture of the tower, the group more or less bicker their way after the mage, their curiosity regarding what the Blackstaff could possibly want with them being discussed noisily. When one or the other makes a non-flattering comment at the address of the Blackstaff or mages in general, their attendee seems to hurry even more and his robe gives off an air of ruffled feathers.

      Finally, several staircases later, they arrive at their destination. A non-descript door is pushed open and behind it, inside and standing next to a plain-looking mahogany desk stands a dark-skinned woman, her frizzled hair cut shoulder-lenth, a simple white tunic thrown over a black long-sleeved doublet. She has knee-high boots, well-worn and comfortable looking and next to her, leaning on the desk at an angle is a long staff, taller than she is, made of dark wood, its top curved resembling a claw, made also of dark wood but of a slightly more metallic tone. Her eyes pierce each and everyone of the party members as they cross the doorstep, after which the door closes behind them and she exhales, her posture relaxing slightly.

     "I see that you have heeded my summons. I am Vajra Safahr, the Blackstaff. Welcome to Blackstaff Tower." She greets them and then makes a gesture towards the various chairs and sofas placed throughout the room.

     "Thank you for your kind greetings." Ruz politely responds while Myta scoffs. The Blackstaff looks at the elf and remarks.

    "Thank you for coming. You have made an impression in my city already and I was curious to see your mettle. I also think you might be looking for answers to which I have or might acquire the answer." She says, her gaze stopping longer on Gwen, Myta and Ruz.

    "We always aim to make an impression. Afterway, there is no best way towards establishing a successful business than having the right connections and a name that rings bells. Being friends with the Blackstaff could certainly ring some bells." Silvo jumps in.

    The Blackstaff nods but seemingly unperturbed by Silvo's intermission continues.

     "Some of you I know already as friends of the city." Her gaze stops on Bran. "While others might just be coming to the realization that with freedom comes the choice of what to do with oneself." And she looks at Buddynoch. "Whichever the case, I would like to offer you a chance to be a part of Waterdeep in a way few can. You must have heard of the Gray Hands and Force Gray as Mytra forbid they do anything without blowing something or someone up."

     "I personally am not from Waterdeep." Ruz says. "I have heard little about these groups you speak of, yet I understand from your manner of speech they work under you?"

     "Yes, they help me watch over the city, in a way that our Watchmen or Guardmen cannot. If you would be willing to make oaths to defend Waterdeep and its citizens and laws with your lives, I would grant you the chance to join the Gray Hands."

    "And would there be remuneration for this?" Silvo asks while Bran is already agreeing, for after all he has never even dared to dream he would one day receive such an invitation.

    "We do not deal with money, although I am sure that on some of the missions you will be sent on, there will be a fair bit of coin. No, I will not pay you to protect the city you live in, I feel that people of power should use that power for a purpose other than just making money."

    Silvo seems to be losing interest while Myta's hackles are raised as well.

    "But we would be guaranteed that your interests are the city's interests, I suppose." The elf remarks. "You know, where I am from, we have different fey that all claim their interests are the just ones, while they are all advocating for entirely opposite angles. I am done serving under anyone."

   "As for myself, I will not be in Waterdeep long, but while I am here, I would be happy to help you, if you could grant me and the friend I am looking for your protection." Gwen says.

   "That is the main point, is it not?" Buddynoch remarks. "Even for the loftiest goals, I think you'd have troubles recruiting if there were no reward whatsoever."

   Vajra Safahr looks intently at Ruz and it seems as if there is a private conversation taking place between them for a few seconds later he says.

   "Answers, access and some protection in case we get in trouble, is what I think you are offering."

   The wizard nods and with her right hand, from under the desk the party can hear the sound of a drawer opening, from which apparently she draws a silver pin, shaped like a hand.

   "Affiliates of the Gray Hands would wear this and would be instantly recognizable as friends of the Blackstaff. Also, I have access to some knowledge myself, and a library at my disposal. But keep in mind I would be calling on you and would demand your loyalty in exchange. I am not saying you need to make a choice now, nor do all of you need to sign up. There is no dotted line or contract, but if you are interested, as a first dip in the waters, I am in need of a messenger sooner rather than later and all my other operatives are busy somewhere or other."

    "Funny but with a tower full of people it doesn't look like you're doing too bad there." Myta says and she crosses her hands.

    Vajra continues without addressing Myta's comment.

    "Atop Mount Waterdeep, in a cave on its side, a monk named Hlam has taken temporary abode. Ask him what he's heard about threats to the city, but try not to annoy him or overstay your welcome."

     Myta laughs. "So there is a threat to the city and you can't click your fingers and teleport at his side and ask him yourself?"

    For the first time since the beginning of the conversation, Vajra's steely eyes pierce unrepentantly Myta's. "I am busy, child. And this is a test." She then addresses Ruz, Bran and Gwen, the most receptive of the group: "And a few other people have gone already and come back empty-handed. Hlam is excentric."

    "If we do this, would we be part of the Gray Hands or could we still change our mind?" Buddynoch asks.

    "You will not be part of the Gray Hands until you prove your mettle and taken the oath, master Buddynoch. But I can assure you you would not have to wait years, should you wish to advance swiftly in the ranks."

     "Right. Anyway, it's a good offer, but I would have liked something monetizable." Silvo says. "Still, I assume some of us have made up their minds already. I for one am going to go home and look for a way to actually repair the manor and make a businessman of myself."

    "And I don't plan on going on wild goose-chases." Myta says. "And I don't trust you as far as I could throw you."

     The party split in their opinion over the Blackstaff's offer, Myta and Silvo decide to go pick up Morningmist and then take her back to Trollskull Alley while the others go up Mount Waterdeep to have an interview with Hlam.

      Silvo and Myta make their way home, Morningmist in tow and then proceed to take care of the goblin to the extent that they can without Bran as an interpreter. 

      The others start their arduous trek up the slopes of the mountain, which turns out looks a lot less imposing from the city as it actually is at foot. They arrive at the top exhausted, Gwen more than anyone else. 

     Close to the top, they find a number of caves splayed precariously at the end of a steep ascent, and the party investigates the area for any indications which cave they should try to climb towards. Upon finding nothing, they rest for a while, debating how to go on, while Gwen takes the time to recover slightly from her exertion. So they find themselves late in the afternoon, while greedily drinking some water and eating some dried fruit and nuts from their rations, perched atop the mountain, admiring the city below. The chilly wind changes direction sometimes during their rest and as they are now sheltered by the cliff, the group is much more comfortable without having to wrap up in their clothes to not be battered by the wind. It is also why, after they are finished eating and decide to resume their search, that they notice a faint plume of purple smoke drifting away from one of the caves highest up. 

     It takes them the better part of an hour to climb the steep ledge and reach the cave mouth, with Gwen almost falling to her death once or twice as she almost loses grip on one of the pitons stuck in the cave walls. By the time they reach the cave, they realize they only have few more hours to descend the mountain unless they want to brave it at night. 

     So they make their way inside the cave. The setting sun sheds light on big patches of stone around the entrance, but the interior of the cave is pitch-black. They follow the trail of purple smoke to come in front of a monk sitting cross-legged, bare from the waist up, bald and gaunt, with a thin white beard falling down to his waist, a familiar-looking pipe in one corner of his mouth and his eyes closed in what looks like a meditating position. The purple smoke makes faint shapes in the air:  a ship sailing across stormy seas, a dragon, a maiden and her lover, on and on, as the group attempts to get the hermit's attention without success.

      Only Buddynoch notices that although the cave is pitch-black, there is one patch of light on the wall facing Hlam - at their back - that is oddly round shaped and at closer view does not seem to be cast by the setting sun or any other implement he can see. And while not discernible at first glance, Buddynoch realizes the light is not uniform, but rather there are shadow-lights dancing their way across the blank canvas. And those shadows look like animal shapes. Buddynoch thinks that he can see a snail slowly making his way across, and then a dog, then a bear. Buddynoch then draws the attention of the others to the spectacle and tries to make funny shapes himself: a story of a bunny combing his long fluffy ears, bouncing around happily through hoops and then jumping up frightened as a leaf falls on his back. The rabbit then runs and meets other animals on his way and they all jump around, frightened or excited at something. 

      They are startled by a noise like a bagpipe losing air and turn back from the screen in front of them to realize Hlam is laughing while looking at the show they made.

      "At least she didn't send idiots this time." He says. "Or maybe that is exactly what she sent, hey?" He chuckles.

     "Vajra Safahr did send us here. I assume you are referring to her." Ruz states.

     "Playing tricks can get you killed, or it can get you into places where secrets hide. A shadow on the wall could be more than just a shadow on the wall, no?"

      "Do you know anything about a danger to Waterdeep?" Buddynoch asks. 

      "Perhaps I do. Why would I tell it to you then? The shadow show was better than I thought it would be, yet I have refused to share this news so far. A secret be revealed only when the time is right."

      "And when is the right timing?" Ruz asks.

      "When the lion jumps from the forest in front of all the frightened animals." 

      The party scratches their heads as they don't quite understand where the monk is going with his analogy. 

      "But perhaps sometimes the animals realize the foolishness of their ways before. Perhaps. Very well. Here is what I know: Evil's twin hides its face for now. Expect that to change before winter's end." And after saying this piece of news, Hlam recovers his meditative position and the four quickly realize it is impossible to rouse him once more. 

       Nighttime has long fallen by the time Bran, Ruz, Gwen and Buddynoch have climbed down the mountain, given their report to the Blackstaff and earned their silver pin, and gotten back home to a warm meal and the comfort of their sleeping bags.

       "We really should get some beds. We chose our rooms but we have nothing to put in them." Bran pragmatically points out.

      "I will only be in town for a little while. I do not want to settle roots here unfortunately. Renaer already mentioned this but I need your help. A friend of mine seems to have gotten in trouble, the details of which I know not, and I am trying to get him out of it."

      "I do not know how long I will be here either." Myta says. "That is why I am uninterested in this house."

      The goblin seems to be looking with something akin to love in its eyes at the elf and Bran notices. 

      "I think you might find at least someone you've made a lasting impression on here in Waterdeep." He draws Myta's attention to Morningmist's shining eyes fixed on her.

       "She said she was the chosen of a god, right? I've seen her earlier praying to Selune. There was this light around her..."

       She is interrupted by Silvo. "And she can actually make mithral jewelry out of thin air, just conjures it like that. It's magnificent."

      "And I won't let you exploit her." Myta warns him.

      "Who said anything about exploiting? No, no, just a slight curiosity..." He smirks and the elf doesn't seem to trust his words one bit.

      "She does seem to have some sort of deep connection with Selune. Could you ask her if she knows something about this tiara?" She asks and while Bran is interpreting, she touches it while Morningmist gazes at her. 

       Morningmist closes her eyes and prays and they can all see around her a silvery glow, as if a stray moon ray is bathing her with its light. Her features look less deformed in the soft light and her face looks peaceful and happy. When she opens her eyes again, minutes later, the aura around her disappears and she returns to the same malformed yet lovable creature they know. 

      "She says that everything has a time and a place and yours has not yet arrived. Waterdeep is where you need to be in, but what you're looking for is not in Waterdeep. It is in the sea. She can't say anything more than that. I'm sorry." She apologizes and looks sincerely contrite at not being able to grant Myta her wish.

      Myta, in a show of tenderness hardly believable to the others who have only seen the razor-sharp side of her personality, hugs the goblin and reassures her. 

      "So what are you looking for?" Silvo is curious.

      "I didn't abandon my home just because Waterdeep is interesting. I was betrayed by a person I love and while injured by him, was saved and given this tiara I now wear and a note saying that deep in the water, amongst eeries and strangers, I will find gold, silver and danger and that the emerald shall call to me. That seems to match with part of what Morningmist said, but I'm still no closer to understanding why I was betrayed. I only have vague memories of fear, fear that I will be discovered. I think I might have found out a secret important enough to have me killed."

       "Is it safe then for you to search for this secret even though you almost died because of it?" Ruz asks.

       "Not knowing is much worse."

       Gwen jumps to diffuse the charged atmosphere by asking the rest of the party what are their dreams and stories. 

       Silvo is as straightforward as expected. His dream is to be a big banker in Waterdeep. Ruz is a plane traveler, looking for a way back home. Buddynoch is trying to find his place in the world. Bran is searching for the killer of his partner, a woman he only knows as a killer and master-thief: the Black Viper. 

        "All of these seem like long-time goals, but short-term, shouldn't we fix up this place?" Silvo comes back to the topic of money. "If Vajra Safahr wanted us in her employ, I am sure other parties more ready to part with their pouches will as well."

        "The Blackstaff gives us an honorable goal as well as help." Ruz says.

        "And considering we might get in trouble a fair bit, that seems important." Bran supports the far-traveler. 

        "Funny how I didn't think you as a bleeding-heart." Silvo scoffs at Ruz. "Not when you executed that man down in the dungeon even though he posed no threat anymore."

         "It is a chance to get back home to my family. These other parties you mention, who would they be and would they offer the same thing?" He then pauses and adds. "And I did not kill him. I knocked him unconscious and made you think I had."

(To be continued)