The Xanathar Guild Hideout:
Zarek listens at the door but hears nothing, little knowing he was at the Xanathar Guild hideout. The Rogue discovers that the door is not locked.
Alley warns the Rogue of the Arrow Slits and Zarek has the great idea to block, the one arrow slit that they need to pass, with a ‘Minor Illusion’ Spell that mirrors the view out of it. Alley and Renaer Neverember join Zarek.
Beyond the door is a doglegged corridor and Zarek spots another arrow slit. Zarek listens out and can hear a gentle snoring.
The Rogue casts the ‘Minor Illusion’ Spell again, and ‘Message’,the 3 adventurers sneak past the arrow slit. There Zarek finds another unlocked door and he opens it to find a corridor heading north and a room. Zarek investigates the room.
Rusty weapons and threadbare clothing litter the floor of this area, which serves as a coat room and armoury? Zarek looks and discovers that it holds nothing of value.
Zarek moves north, towards the snoring and finds a sleeping Goblin in a Watch Post with 2 arrow slits. The room is messy and holds nothing of interest. Zarek elects to continue on down the corridor before he waves Alley and Renaer to follow him. Zarek can see that there are stairs heading downwards some 10’-15’ feet and then the corridor turns east and into an EMPTY SLEEPING AREA beyond that has no door. The corridor travels under the sewer tunnel that Zarek was earlier walk along.
The EMPTY SLEEPING AREA beyond holds six tattered, straw-stuffed mattresses and nothing of value. Zarek stops once more to listen and the Rogue can hear the sounds of activity in the room next door, through the thin wooden door that separates these two chambers. Zarek can’t make out the language that is being spoken and so has no idea what is being said.
Zarek heads back up the stairs and uses his Spell, ‘Message’, to call forth Alley and Human Bandit to can to him very quietly, as not to wake the Goblin.
Iomhar: “Sometimes you need to do the business on someone so as not to get caught by the bizzies, it’s part of the job”, Zarek remembers.
Renaer moves silently but Alley gives the game away and the Goblin is needed to be dealt with. Yet, the cunning Goblin decides to scarper rather than wait around. He manages to run past all the adventurers but is followed by the Rouge and is stopped by one of Alleys borrowed ‘Wallop Bolts’.
Zarek searches the creature and finds only a few Nibs on it, returns the Goblin to his post and the three of them move soundlessly back to the EMPTY SLEEPING AREA. Zarek sneaks to the open door and looks inside the room and finds another SLEEPING AREA.
The SLEEPING AREA contains six tattered, straw-stuffed mattresses and 2 hostile members of the Xanathar Guild, a Duergar and one of the Bandits that ran out from the Yawning Portal after the tavern brawl that kicked off the evening, he’s here as well. The one with the eye shaped tattoos on his bald pate and who also appeared to be their leader.
When Zarek arrives and looks into the SLEEPING AREA, the Duergar is using pieces of furniture to barricade the door to area in the north-east corner. The Human Bandit is trying to explain something to him, and is pointing at the gap at the bottom of the door and then the beds or blankets. Neither of them notices Zarek right away.
Combat starts, and they all initially concentrate on the Human Bandit. The Duergar prepares fights alongside him.
The Xanathar Guild Human Bandit is quickly dealt with, but it takes all three of the adventurers to do so. Renaer rushing through to engage with the Bandit and allowing Zarek to use his Rogue Skills to fire his Hand Crossbow, as if he knew what Zarek does. Alley, also stayed back and used her Hand Crossbow and the distance it afforded her.
Yet, this first combat allowed the Duergar to use one of its abilities as it Enlarged itself to a larger size which in turn increased its attack. It smashed Renaer, who had pushed ahead first, causing the Noble some serious damage. Then the two Filed Ward Folk Heroes attacked and only caused the Duergar minimal damage.
This allowed the Duergar to use its other ability and it suddenly became ‘Invisible’, making it harder to hit the foe, but not impossible. Eventually, the Duergar is knocked unconscious, while the poor Goblin and Xanathar Guild Human Bandit were killed as we all know that only Melee Damage can cause non-lethal, subduing damage.
Zarek carries out a quick search of the Duergar but the Xanathar Guild Human Bandit is not. Zarek finds no coins but he does find a small full pouch that appears to weigh very little.
Zarek puts it in his pouch without looking inside.
The Rogue then chooses to look behind the door, in the north-east corner, which the Duergar was trying to block. The Rogue cleverly listens first and, apart from the foul smell, can hear a gurgling, slopping noise, in dispersed by a clinking sound. The Tiefling elects to open the door as Alley and Renaer step back.
Zarek move the blockade and finds that the room, a LAVATORY,has a hole in the floor that opens into a cesspit. A Gray Ooze has emerged from the pit and killed 2 Goblins that were sent into the room to dispose of it. The Goblins’ bones float amid the Ooze’s gooey form, and their pitted weapons lie on the floor nearby. None of the gear is salvageable.
Surprised to find the creature a fight between the Rogue and Gray Ooze commences. The Gray Ooze is tough and it takes all three of the adventures to deal enough damage on the creature that it retreats back down the toilet. Renaer steps back and is in a great deal of pain due to all the damage he had taken.
Alley: “Very tough for a member of the Nob-ility, if I may say so.”
Renaer Neverember: “It must be all of the sports I did as a child I dare guess.”
Zarek closes the door to the LAVATORY and they all Renaer’s injuries. Alley is out of Spells and has only Cantrips available to her. Zarek suggests using his ‘Amulet of the Drunkard’ and Renaer drink a weak pint of wine. Renaer is back to near full health, a competent ally indeed thinks Zarek.
Zarek then makes his way alone, out of the SLEEPING AREA, and out along a corridor heading south. As Zarek approaches he can hear the distinct sound of an Orcish accent, akin to that spoken by the Kenku.
Zarek takes out his ‘Medal of the Meat Pie’ and puts it in his mouth and he surely had Lady Luck, Eldath or Mystra, looking over him.
Zarek sneaks up the stair to the edge of the chamber and looks within, his stomach growls and his bowels prepare to void as he realises what he can see within.
Threadbare curtains hang on the east wall of a long hall, in the middle of which a muscular Half-Orc in dingy robes stands with his foot on the chest of a male human with wavy red-blond hair. Next to him is another Human Bandit with blooded fists, and his victim cries and squirms helplessly beneath him.
Seated on a raised platform to the south is a nightmarish figure wearing black robes. It has large white eyes and rubbery purple skin, with four tentacles encircling its inhuman mouth. It cradles and gently caresses what looks like a disembodied brain with feet.
Zarek: “That man in the chair must be Floon Blagmaar, as he has a very similar appearance to Renaer, at least under all that blood.”
The Rogue can see that poor Floon Blagmaar has very little time left on Faerûn if they didn’t do anything to help him, right now.