The next day would see the tavern visited upon by various allies of the team... Jalester and Patayan, of the Lord's Alliance and Order of the Even Handed respectively, would visit Enigma and present him with a needle - the key item to creating a tattoo of the Eldritch Claw, which Patayan presented to him as a reward for jobs well done and to aid him in the trials ahead. It would allow his unarmed strikes to become more powerful and even hit from afar temporarily, while striking with magical force. Patayan also said something a bit ominous - "Your destiny is upon you." What could that mean...? Marcellus and Threestrings, surprisingly, were also present, here to give Ray his own reward, a Rhythm Maker's Drum, in the form of a tantan. Elaborately made with polished wood and gold insets, bearing the insignia of the Musician's Guild, it was a finely wrought instrument. It would also empower his bardic abilities. Ray was almost brought to tears, and the three decided to celebrate by livening up the tavern with their music. For Yuan, Yagra and Arrigal, members of the Zhentarim, paid him a visit, with Yagra rather excitedly congratulating Yuan for whipping the shit out of Esloon Bezant (much to the chagrin of the rest of the tavern). Arrigal said he got something from "someone upstairs" and asked Yuan to present his weapon. He proceeded to wipe the blade down with some kind of shimmering oil, and it gave the greataxe a new, wildly chaotic shimmer. The axe was now empowered and in tune with Yuan's wild magic abilities, allowing him some limited control over probability and chance. You could call it a Chaos Control... Yuan was immensely grateful for the boon, and Arrigal let him know to keep up the good work. And finally for Sigurd, Valetta visited him at his table and presented him... with a screwdriver? Puzzled, Sigurd asked what this was, and she explained that it was an All Purpose Tool - he would be able to use it to strengthen his artificer spells and turn it into any tool he wants, and whatever tool it was, he'd be able to use it, no questions asked. It would also allow him to push his creativity further, granting temporary access to any cantrip he could think of. Quite a versatile item indeed. Sigurd was stymied and surprised, much more so thanks to the bards' teasing with love songs in his and Valetta's direction which he shut down quickly, though Valetta didn't seem to mind! After all of this, the team would receive some news from their factions... Davil himself would pay Yuan a visit, having officially been cleared of charges presented by the Lord's Alliance. Apparently, they couldn't make anything stick, and he was a free man. However, he let Yuan know that the time had come - with recent actions bringing things to light, Davil knew now that Skeemo Weirdbottle, his former adventuring colleague, had sold his branch of the Zhentarim out, to Manshoon and the Red Wizards, and had to be eliminated at all costs, without implicating the Black Network. It was a tall order, but Yuan was prepared. Davil also requested that Yuan recover some kind of proof of Skeemo's treachery that he could present to the other Doom Raiders, who had not been informed of Davil's decision yet, but would be rightly upset when they would find out the news. To prevent the information from leaking, Davil kept this job only between himself and Yuan (and his team, of course)... Meanwhile, Jalester let Enigma know that the hunt for Urstul Floxin was on, who had apparently escaped from his execution almost without a trace. Fortunately, Patayan mentioned someone got a lead on him and he was seen disappearing into the Southern Ward near the temple of Helm, god of guardianship and watchers, and suggested to look there. If things got out of control, though, or over his head, Jalester asked that Enigma consider getting some backup, especially if someone like Manshoon gets involved... And finally, Ray got the word that Nihiloor of the Xanathar's Guild must be eliminated for his heinous crimes against the citizens of Waterdeep! Not only that, but he got a letter directly from Meloon Wardragon, who had apparently already been raised from the dead by Vajra Safahr and was recovering. It looks like he had a bone to pick with Nihiloor and asked the team to give him some time to recover so he can make up his previous acts to them, even if he wasn't in control of himself. Apparently, he had gone into Undermountain with a fledgling group of adventurers on a lark because he was bored, but ran into trouble when they got ambushed by intellect devourers. He blacked out and doesn't remember anything after that, as his brain had been replaced by one of the abominations. Rightly so, he wanted revenge, for all the people Nihiloor has inflicted his villainy upon - all or nothing... With that said, the team also had other considerations... It was becoming very likely that J.B. Nevercott was in some way associated with the Sea Maidens' Faire, as the ties to Lantanese technology were becoming all too clear, especially as the drow gunslingers also had access to the same technology. Later, Sigurd would discover that the submersible vessel that Zelifarn the bronze dragon had seen bore a remarkable likeness to the model in the House of Inspired Hands. Lantanese technology was not easy to get a hold of by anyone, so there was definitely something up. Could Jarlaxle Baenre, the famous drow iconoclast, be behind it all? Also, Emmek Frewn's recent resurgence with his business was of intrigue and note. The team figured someone had to be bankrolling him, and they fingered the Cassalanters immediately. Why, though, was unclear, but seeing as they were loosely connected to things like the Cult of Asmodeus - as they were found in Cassalanter Mausoleum after all - and otherwise had somewhat dodgy history with their rise back to riches that came from nowhere, not to mention the disappearance of their son, Osvaldo, it was becoming increasingly clear that they were definitely up to something... Finally, of really bizarre note, Enigma received word from Jalester that none other than Hyustus Staget was seen recently. Apparently, he had zero recollection of the incident where the team had bumped into him at the courthouse - which of course was a doppelganger all along, and not the real Staget. Curious, the team thought of how this could be, and Sigurd posited that his memories could have been altered in some way. Enigma and Jalester would pull some strings to have Staget visit the House of Inspired Hands as Sigurd knew Valetta could cast a Remove Curse spell to undo the possible effects of a Modify Memory spell. Indeed, the puzzled Staget was there, and Valetta cast the spell, leading to Staget suddenly remembering things he didn't before - he had recalled he was at home and suddenly attacked by masked men in black and red robes, then knocked out, and then held hostage in a dark room. He remembers a man, tall and carrying a ruby-tipped cane, casting some kind of spell on him, describing his memories as they were altered, that he was actually in the Dock Ward the whole time chasing Black Network operatives, before being set free. Staget wasn't injured or harassed in any way, and aside from being held captive, was treated quite well. The question was posed of why he was not killed to ensure his silence, and Sigurd thought it might be to try and mislead others in some way. Ray also thought that maybe the captor had some kind of code or personal honor that discouraged killing people. From the way Staget described his captors, it was definitely the Cult of Asmodeus. Could Victoro Cassalanter be behind this too? The team weighed their options and set their sights first on Skeemo Weirdbottle's shop, to find evidence of his treachery and end his backstabbing once and for all. It would be tough for Yuan, who lost his family, and was incensed at Skeemo so easily throwing his own 'family' away and selling them out. Maybe he would find out for himself in their final confrontation... What lies in store for the team next? Find out next time, on Waterdeep: Dragon Heist!!