Chapter 1: A Friend in Need

Alastriona cocks her head at Samir's words, then stuffs the page back into her pockets to rejoin the others.

After getting some shuteye at your lodgings in the upper floors of the Yawning Portal, you awake to sunlight streaming through your shutters and the sound of pigeons cooing outside your window. It is another beautiful sunny day in the hottest month of the year in Waterdeep.

A sleepy-eyed Bonnie brings you your breakfasts. Back bacon, fried eggs, grilled tomatoes and mushrooms, buttered toast, and baked beans accompany two pitchers of Shadowdark Ale and enough mugs for everyone.Thread locked while we regroup. Come join us in the Night on the Town thread in the meantime.

Butler sits at the table looking a touch the worse for wear and grabs a couple of rashers of bacon and a mug of ale. "Hair of the dog" he says lifting the mug in a mock salute before downing it and getting another drink

Bonnie tsk-tsks at Butler as he drowns his hangover, but gives him a friendly smile and a wink when he looks her way.

Vatra yawns and stretches as he makes his way down to the common area. Let's eat up and go...I am quite interested in continuing the search for Volo's friend. I believe the store house on Candle Lane to be exact.

The group makes short work of the meal and takes its leave quickly, heading to the storehouse on Candle Lane.

The heat has yet to catch on this second day of the tenday, but there's not a cloud in sight and it promises to be a hot one. You retrace your steps back to Xoblob's and the Skewered Dragon (both shuttered this early in the day) and walk north along Zastrow for about 400m until you find Candle Lane, a black sliver carved out between the crowded buildings.

You make your way down the vacant, gloomy lane. The buildings on either side are so tall and so tightly packed together that you wonder if sunlight ever touches the street. By the smell of it, the Dungsweepers' Guild certainly does not.

Nearly all the streetlamps have been smashed. The only light that pierces the gloom is a faint flickering from down the lane, like a distant candle. Across from the lonely lamp is a two-story warehouse at the end of an outer yard, which you discretely observe.

The empty yard is surrounded by a high chain-link fence with a gate that has been left ajar. The decaying building at the end of the yard has three visible points of entry: a front door, a large warehouse loading door, and a painted-over window. A black winged snake is painted above the front door’s handle.

Comfortable in dim light, Alastriona nonetheless understands the limits of vision for Prince and Stitches. She takes out a torch and touches the end, magically illuminating the area with a Light spell. She hands the torch to the kenku, then wordlessly walks forward and pushes the gate open with her scythe. She steps through into the yard, and holds the gate for others to enter.

Vatra takes up a position towards the rear of the group, keeping his head on a swivel as they progress.

Vatra

Butler smiles "I’ll see if I can get any closer" before moving into the darkness

Butler crosses the empty yard in silence, confident that if anyone was listening they wouldn't have heard a thing.

The window is thoroughly painted black and you cannot see through the glass, but that means others can't see out either. You can tell the windows opens wide enough for a person to climb through, but the latch is locked from the inside and will need some finesse or brute force to overcome.

Beside the window, you notice the big sliding bay door is also locked.

Vatra notices nothing untoward happening from the fence. Certainly no detectable reaction to Butler's advance.

Alastriona walks over to and tests the door handle to check whether it is locked.

Alastriona tries the door adorned with the black snake painting and finds it is also locked.

To all: none of the locks look particularly sophisticated; it would be a standard job for a decent burglar with a set of thieves tools to pop any of the locks with a bit of luck.

It is obvious to the party that Alastriona is about to knock upon the door.

Butler glances back to the others to say about the window when he sees Alastriona at the door. Moving quickly up to her he hisses to get her attention before shaking his head, hoping she'll get the idea

Staring at Butler for a long while, illuminated by the Light-infused torch, Alastriona lowers her hand and hisses back with a shake of her head.

Stitches breathes a soundless sigh and wriggles himself between Alastriona and the door. Thin, dark metal tools appear from a deep pocket, and he works the lock to the door with precise movements.