The group of strangers were united by the affable Halfling merchant, Gilbert Underbough. Gilbert took pity on the bedraggled travellers, offering them a ride on his horse-drawn cart as they happened to be heading in the same direction. The journey seemed to be going rather well for a couple of days until the uncomfortable silence in the back of the cart was shattered by the pit trap dug by some as yet unknown and dastardly foes.
You were ambushed on the road to Waterdeep by opportunistic Goblin raiders where the unfortunate Gilbert Underbough met his demise at the hands of a Goblin archer.
After a couple wild and or parried strikes by various members of the party, the chaotic melee around the cart unfolded mostly in the party's favour.
Finn stole a kill by firing a blowpipe dart into a Goblin's eye after it narrowly avoided being run through. One of its enraged companions sought vengeance and he, (Finn) narrowly avoided having his head separated from his shoulders, receiving an impromptu haircut instead. The Bard with his next attack, felled one of Finn's attackers with a deadly accurate rapier thrust to the throat showering the hapless Halfling with blood and gore a mere second before the plucky young Halfling dispatched another.
Farraine the Fighter (formerly known as Dave) then diagonally sliced another Goblin from neck to armpit before contemptuously kicking the corpse off the blade. Byron, twice swung his fists of fury and only connected with thin air where previously, a Goblin's head had been. Farraine stepped in and nonchalantly caved in the a Goblin's head with the pommel of his sword, sending bits of skull, brains and teeth in all directions.
(That's more or less how it happened).
The two Goblin archers melted back into the forest after seeing their comrades stabbed and hacked to pieces.
With Gilbert buried in an unmarked, shallow grave, his belongings looted and stowed on Fudge the pack horse, you resumed your journey towards the City of Splendours without further hindrance. But not before you filled your water skins with Luiren's Best Ale and Beef inadvertently nominates himself as Party Treasurer.
Upon reaching the gate, you charm the City Guards into not asking too many questions. He warns you to avoid the area around the Docks due to the ongoing Orc Lives Matter protests, but helpfully directs you to the famed adventurer's haunt, The Yawning Portal where you haggle a hefty discount on a hog roast platter and are entertained by someone taking "a dip" in the Yawning Portal's "Well".
And as if that wasn't enough, a savage a brawl breaks out between (according to Farraine at least), The Lamplighters Guild and a Half-Orc woman named Yagra Stonefist, who despite being badly outnumbered, takes on five of the Lamplighters. Yagra beats her tattooed attacker to a pulp but is then, in turn knocked unconscious by his companions who pile on.
The brawlers are eventually thrown out by the regulars and the Innkeeper. Just when things seem to be returning to what passes for normality on a Friday in The Yawning Portal, an uninvited monstrosity appears from the well and all hell breaks loose.
Once the monstrosity and the blood-sucking bat creatures are dispatched and the troll burned, you were approached by Volothamp Geddarm, Wizard and Chronicler extraordinaire, who fears that his friend Floon Blagmaar has gotten into some trouble and he asks you to investigate the disappearance. Despite some initial reservations by one of the party about the quality of the gold on offer, it turns out to be solid, so to speak and the task of discovering Floon's fate is accepted with the promise of ten times that amount on Floon's safe return. You head out in search of Floon's trail, but not before downing another tankard of the refreshing Icewind Dale Ale. And a cup of well water.
On the way to the Skewered Dragon Tavern, you encountered a City Watch patrol arresting some people over a violent conflict between two unknown groups. This all takes place near The Old Xoblob Shop which is owned by a Gnome who attests (under some persuasion) that Floon and another well-dressed man were attacked and beaten outside the shop by five rough-looking thugs before being dragged away. One of the attackers bore the tattoo of a flying black snake which someone states with some degree of conviction that it may be the mark of the Dungsweepers' Guild.
Thanks to Farraine repeatedly annoying the City Watch and thereby creating a handy distraction, nobody notices the extremely stealthy Halfling swoop in and scoop up a clue lying conveniently in the gutter. Floon's hideous pendant! Not to be outdone, Beef also decides to have a go at annoying the Watch but actually manages to get something useful - a name for the snake tattoo seen on one of Floon's assailants. It's the mark of the Zhentarim. Once widely considered a shadowy hostile force based out of Zhentil Keep, they have managed to (mostly) change that perception. They are now one of the more powerful mercenary groups in Faerun and used extensively by merchants and others looking for protection.
Not far away is the Skewered Dragon Tavern. The last known sighting of Floon. You decide to head there next and ask some questions.
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