The team received their instructions from Thorvin, after making sure that Flutterfoot the gnome clown wouldn't make a fuss about it. He informed them that the drow advisor, Nar'l, has smuggled explosives into the lair into a room that only he and Thorvin know about, and Thorvin has identified places in the lair where the smokepowder bombs need to be placed. The party is dismayed to learn that the bombs must be placed all around the lair, and so they will have their work cut out for them. Thorvin says that he can't leave the workshop without risking exposing himself, and is being forced to work on this contraption - a machine that pulverizes creatures that Xanathar petrifies into stone, and grinds them into a fine powder which can then be used to make plaster. It is a grisly project, but it has allowed Thorvin to buy himself some time to continue gathering information about the Xanathar's Guild. He doesn't know who Nar'l affiliates with initially until Ray informs him of his potential connection to the Bregan D'aerthe, but he thinks Xanathar is getting suspicious of the two of them and thus has assigned them 'bodyguards' to keep an eye on them. Thorvin suggests they either coerce Nar'l into giving up the smokepowder bombs he smuggled in, or they will have to find it themselves. He says that he won't come with until he's assured the work is done - he's not entirely confident the party will survive, being a bit cynical, as Marcellus thanks him for the vote of confidence... The party agrees that Nar'l must be dealt with in some fashion at the very least, so they decide to head to the audience chamber. Thorvin wishes them well, declares it Beer Thirty, and pours himself a shot of Wyrmwizz Ale, a Skullport brew, which Meloon regards with disdain. The team heads to the audience chamber, where they spy Nar'l pacing around the room, waiting for... something. They suspect it is likely the party he's waiting for. Marcellus suggests that they ought to out Nar'l in front of his Grell bodyguard, as if it was indeed the case it was assigned to Nar'l to spy on him, causing some conflict might be beneficial to the party. After some shenanigans involving Minor Illusion, though, to try and draw Nar'l closer, Nar'l calls them out - he's apparently familiar with the party's tricks. Enigma takes the front, and the two of them try to negotiate, but Nar'l doesn't seem intimidated... until Ray steps in and more or less threatens him with exposure. Before they're allowed a chance to spill his treachery in front of the grell, Nar'l begins winding up a spell... but is beaten to the punch before he can finish. He is annihilated by a bevy of strikes before he can draw, and is sent crashing to the ground, rewarded as a traitor deserves. The grell isn't given much of a chance to do anything, as Cueball - Ray's new gazer friend - fires its own eyebeams at it, driving a fear ray into the grell's face and causing it to squeal in terror and flee to the nearest exit. The party chases after it and guns it down before it can get too far, but unfortunately the commotion has drawn the attention of new fighters - Ahmaergo, Xanathar's majordomo, and Raisha, his pet minotaur! Raisha rounds the corner, and screams Sigurd's name before attempting to charge into the room, thankfully missing goring Enigma with her horns. Ahmaergo tells Raisha to hold the line while he goes to get Noska and reinforcements, but he is stopped by a quick thinking Marcellus using Hypnotic Pattern, and despite his best efforts to resist, he is drawn in by the dazzling display of colors and Ahmaergo becomes too busy being doped out of his mind from a massive weed high. Raisha is quickly dealt with by the party, freeing the path to gang up on Ahmaergo, with Yuan leading the charge. The dwarf is surrounded by the party and does his best to attempt to survive and flee, shouting for Noska to hear him, but it is too late and he is too slow to avoid Yuan's insane speed. Realizing he is cornered, he stands to fight against his attacker with his own greataxe, hitting Yuan plenty of times, but thanks to the rage surging through him he manages to withstand the onslaught and returns fire, dropping Ahmaergo stone cold dead to the ground. Crisis averted... for now. During all of this, Flutterfoot is still tied to Yuan's back, squirming in a panic while the violence erupted around him. Good thing he's bound and gagged! Checking around the nearby hallways, Ray notices a strange green glow from the nearby hall, with some odd popping sounds and meat crunching, along with an odd rhythmic chanting of "Garshoogah!" coming from a nearby door. Peeking around the corner, Ray recognizes a group of odd looking fishmen he recognizes as kuo-toa, a sea dwelling people having been driven mad by the mind flayers eons ago, snacking on the remains of a recently slain dwarf. Yuck! Voluntelling Enigma to go investigate, Enigma begrudgingly checks the door to investigate and finds a prison area with a bunch of kuo-toa dancing around a very peculiar statuette of some kind of otherworldly being made of different animal parts, chanting GARSHOOGAH. He surmises that this name is likely gibberish as he has never heard of it in any mainstream religion he's ever heard of. The kuo-toa are just plain freakin' crazy, man. Also, he spies one of the spectral eyestalks hanging limply from the ceiling - with nobody controlling it, it remains motionless. It appears the team has found where Nihiloor does his own experiments, but they opt to head in another direction instead, heading down the staircase where Ahmaergo was slain, to look for Nar'ls smuggled explosives. In the hallway they spy another limp eyestalk - good thing they took out the surveillance earlier! The team notices an odd scent coming from the west, and thinking it might be the kitchen, they head in that direction. Inside, Ray finds a haggard-looking halfling who looks like he hasn't rested or slept for days, trying to manage many cooking tasks at once and not doing a very good job at it. Recalling the last time he ran into a halfling chef at Kolat Towers and remembering how poorly that encounter went for the team, Ray opts to shoot first and not ask questions later, and drives a crossbow bolt into the halfling's sternum. Shocked, the halfling faces Ray and says "Finally, I haven't had a break in half a tenday. Make sure you stir the sauce once every five minutes." And then collapses dead to the ground. It's probably fine. He was totally a bad guy, and definitely not an innocent man forced to work against his will or anything. Looking ahead, though, the team spies another kitchen, comprised of kobolds feverishly working to make a grand meal. Ray recalls from Thorvin's intel that this room is where Xanathar's meals are prepped, meaning the chef he just annihilated was likely responsible for everyone else . The irony that a gang of kobolds works to make meals for one being while a poor single person is forced to cook for everyone else may or may not have been noticed. In any case, Ray also spies a gazer keeping an eye on the kobolds in the room - obviously, Xanathar would want to make sure his meals are being prepped properly. The team begins planning their strike to assault the kitchen... How will the team deal with the remaining lieutenants, Noska Ur'gray and Nihiloor? Will they be able to locate Nar'l's secret room? And what of the Xanathar itself...? Find out next time... on Waterdeep: Dragon Heist!