The team approached the warehouse and mulled over their options. They knew they were at the right place, given the snake symbol on the door. Enigma decided to try and scout the place out; finding the door was locked, he was able to easily pick it open and sneak his way into the warehouse, where he found a ghastly scene - a dozen dead men, lined up against the walls, and kenku bandits lazily searching the place. Enigma was able to easily slip inside the facility, and discovered that quite a bloodbath took place here. Ray leaves an illusion of a door in place to keep the Kenku fooled in case they happened to look over, but when everybody was in place, they decided to strike. Yuan jumps in first, followed by the rest, and they're easily able to dispatch the first two Kenku. The other two, seeing their buddies go down easily, decide to try and make a break for it, but Yuan is having none of that, as he Kool-aid Mans his way through the loading door and cuts off the fleeing kenku, the team easily able to take him out. Ray manages to convince the last kenku to surrender peacefully and throws down his weapon. The team ties him up to a support post and interrogates him, and learns some useful information: - In an orcish accent: "Xanathar sends his regards" - In a nasally voice: "Tie up the pretty boy in the back room!" - And again: "Follow the yellow signs in the sewers" - In a scratchy voice: "No time to loot the place. Just get him to the boss.” The kenku only repeats these phrases and gives the team nothing else to go on. Curious, they begin turning the place over for clues. Yuan doesn't find Floon, but he does find a hidden door in the back of the warehouse. When the Kool-Aid man tactic doesn't work this time, Enigma finds that the door simply slides open, revealing a hidden room with two crates full of loot! Four leather wrapped paintings depicting the cities of the Sword Coast (Luskan, Neverwinter, Silverymoon, and Baldur's Gate) and fifteen ten-pound silver trade bars, blackened from corrosion. The entire pile together is worth a considerable amount! Yuan is made to lug this burden, since he's not carrying much already and is quite strong. Ray hears a 'bump' coming from a nearby room, and investigates, to find a storage closet in the back. When he opens the door, a man spills out, nearly sending the two to the floor! When the dust settles, the man introduces himself as Renaer Neverember! When questioned, he explains the chain of events as best as he remembers them: - He was out drinking and met Floon at a bar. Floon was a bit too intoxicated and Renaer offered to walk him home. - The two got jumped by five thugs in black leathers and taken away to this warehouse. At some point, he was tied up and thrown into the closet, though he was taken out for questioning; the Zhentarim believes he has knowledge of some treasure his father, Dagult Neverember, hid away using an object called the Stone of Golorr, but he doesn't know anything about it as he and his father haven't spoken in years. - Suddenly, a skirmish broke out as a bunch of thugs managed to break into the place and a brawl ensued. Renaer escaped the violence by hiding in the closet, but he doesn't know what happened to Floon. Enigma manages to puzzle out that the Zhentarim agents who took Floon and Renaer are the dead men lying against the wall, along with them several Xanathar agents who were killed in the skirmish. The kenku are all that remains of the Xanathar strike force. If Floon isn't here, he must have been taken away by the Xanathar's Guild, having been mistaken for Renaer. Uh oh... The team quickly searches upstairs for the unfortunate drunkard, but find a set of office rooms that have barely been used and are occupied by rats. Much to Ray's horror, Enigma squishes one as it scurries out, establishing dominance over the rats as he lets the rest leave. They don't find Floon, but Yuan does find some kind of strange folded Paper Bird sitting on one of the desks. What could this have been used for? Unfortunately, they aren't given much time to think that one out as many heavy footsteps are heard downstairs. "City Watch! Everyone come out with your hands up and weapons away!" Looks like the team's entry didn't go unnoticed! Renaer tells everyone to remain calm though and let him handle this, as he knows that voice - it's Hyustus Staget, the captain the team met earlier. Renaer and the team surrender peacefully to the Watch as he explains that these people helped save him from a skirmish from the Zhentarim and Xanathar guild. Hyustus is forced to be on his best behavior in the presence of a Neverember noble, and begrudgingly allows the characters to go free without charging them with a crime. He is unwilling to assist for the search for Floon, though, as he doesn't want to waste resources on someone who might potentially be a Zhent or Xanathar spy. He lets the team go but not before imparting some words of wisdom: “Best not to meddle in criminal matters. Leave this dirty business to the City Watch.” “Not all City Watch officers are as nice as me.” “Keep the blood off the streets, okay?” - Enigma knows from Jalester that this is a common turn of phrase amongst Watch officials, meaning that they care more about what happens on the streets than below. Renaer explains that while he isn't well acquainted with Staget, he's an uptight serious man who doesn't let anger get the best of him, but he knows that this situation with the gang war has given him much grief over the past few days. The team is able to leave quietly while the Watch processes the crime scene and mull over their next move. It seems the search must continue into the sewers, but as Floon's kidnapping only happened hours ago, Renaer thinks someone must have seen something, or there might still be a trail. Enigma and Renaer are able to come up with some clues suggesting Floon was dragged off to a nearby sewer cover, which the team is able to lift off and descend down a ladder into the dark sewers, which have no natural light... It's a rather dank place, but after some time the team comes to a crossroads. Fortunately, there is a small symbol in yellow chalk of a circle with ten spokes pointing out of it, indicating the Xanathar symbol. The team follows this and believe they are following the correct path. However, Yuan eventually steps a bit too far ahead and runs afoul of a nasty little monster, floating in the air, one bulbous eye in the middle with four eyestalks! He manages to land a handaxe into it before it returns fire by way of some kind of magical eye beams, dazing Yuan and instilling fear into Ray. Enigma and Renaer struggle to get close enough due to the close quarters situation and the gazer's ability to float over the water, making tagging it difficult. As Yuan tries to get close enough, he is blasted with a nasty ray of frost that would have flattened lesser men, while Enigma is almost telekinetically pushed but manages to resist. Yuan finally manages to close the gap and throw another handaxe, killing the gazer and pinning it to the nearby wall. The team decides to take a moment to rest as Yuan recovers his handaxes from the dead gazer, before pressing on... Who - or what - is the Xanathar, really? What exactly is the Stone of Golorr? What secret treasure has Dagult secured away from prying eyes...? Find out more next time... on Waterdeep: Dragon Heist!!