them in the guise of Laeral Silverhand, the Open Lord
ofWaterdeep:A tall, graceful woman in an emerald green cloak ap-
proaches you, her long, silver hair billowing out from
under her hood. "If you've come looking for Fenerus
Stormcastle, I'm afraid you're too late," she says. "It
appears Xanathar has gotten to him first. Fenerus had
something in his possession that I desire. Perhaps you
can help retrieve it.""Laeral" tells the characters that Fenerus had a sen-
tient magic item in his possession called the Stone of
Golorr, which knows the location of a large cache of
gold that was embezzled from the city by its previous
Open Lord. She asks the characters to retrieve the
stone. for the good ofWaterdeep, and deliver it to her at
the Seven Masks Theater in the Dock Ward. "Laeral"
offers no reward other than the gratitude of Wacerdeep's
Open Lord.
jarlaxle suspects that Nar'l Xibrindas, his spy in the
Xanathar Guild, has betrayed him and is now using
the resources of Bregan D'aerthe to help the beholder
retrieve the stone.jarlaxle also knows that the Xanathar
Guild has a refuge fairly close by, in a cellar complex un-
der the Southern Ward. "Laeral" suggests that the char-
acters search for the stone there. Qarlaxle doesn't want
Nar'I to know that he's onto him, which is why he would
rather send a small group of adventurers than call upon
a Bregan D'aerthe attack force.)
Characters who are suspicious of Laeral's intentions
can ascertain that she's hiding something with a suc-
cessful Wisdom (Insight) check contested by jarlaxle's
Charisma (Deception) check. If the characters somehow
penetratejarlaxle's disguise, he smiles and offers them
10,000 gp if they promptly deliver the stone to him at the
Seven Masks Theater. He assures them, in all honesty,
that he plans to give the gold back to Waterdeep in ex-
change for some political goodwill.NEXT ENCOUNTER
If the characters invade the Xanathar Guild refuge, pro-
ceed with encounter 9, "Cellar Complex."ALLEY: WINTER
The characters' search for the Stone o!Golorr leads
them to a snow-covered alley in the Trades Ward that
contains a windowless Zhentarim safe house (area Ll)
and a meat shop called Cuttle's Meat Pies (area L2).
The characters approach from either end of the alley.
Hoofprints and wheel ruts in the snow testify thatjustyn
Rassk's delivery cart passed through the alley recently
after a brief stop outside the meat shop. A character who
inspects the tracks and succeeds on a DC 10 Wisdom
(Survival) check can tell that the deliverer visited both
the shop and the alley residence. Before the characters
can investigate further, they are assaulted by members
of the Xanathar Guild.
CHAPTER 4 I (^0) 1!.AOON SEASON
BUGBEARS ATTACK
At the end of a dead-end side alley south of areas Ll and
L2 is an iron grate that covers an opening to the sew-
ers under the North Ward. Five bugbears have quietly
climbed up through the grate and concealed themselves
in the side alley. They pour out and attack the charac-
ters. hoping to gain surprise in the blizzard. Characters
who have a passive Perception score of 16 or higher
aren't surprised.
The bugbears were sent by Xanathar to retrieve a pris-
oner being held in the Zhent safe house, but they're too
bloodthirsty to pass up the chance to murder a band of
adventurers standing in their way. The wind and snow
render the City Watch oblivious to the danger.
CUTTLE'S MEAT PIES
Characters who speak to the proprietor of the meat
shop. a portly middle-aged woman named Sora Cuttle
(LG female Illuskan human commoner). learn that she
received an unexpected delivery fromjustyn Rassk of
the Guild of Butchers. Given that fresh meat is in short
supply in winter, Sora could hardly turn it down. If the
characters see fit to tell her that the meat came from
chopped-up humanoids, Sora falls ill. She has no knowl-
edge ofThrakkus's nasty handiwork and promises to
bring the matter to the attention of the Guild of Butchers
and the local magiscer. Until then, she won't use any of
Thrakkus's meat to make her famous meat pies.
Sora is suspicious of her two neighbors in area LL
They come and go at strange hours, sometimes return-
ing from a night's sojourn with blood on their leather
armor. If the characters do Sora the courtesy of warning
her about the meat, she happily shares her concerns
about her naughty neighbors, along with descriptions
of them. One is a pale, gaunt woman in her twenties
with dark, stringy hair. The other is a much older, dark-
skinned man with a bald head, a half-missing ear, and a
short white beard.
ZHENTARIM SAFE HOUSE
This windowless house is occupied by two Zhents Joyal
to Manshoon-the same individuals that Sora describes.
Their names are Avareen Windrivver (LE female Illus-
kan human spy) and Zorbogjyarkoth (NE male Turami
human thug).
When the characters first enter the alley, Avareen is
in the front doorway of the house, handing the Stone of
Golorr to a high-ranking Zhent named Yevette Blackwa-
ter (CE female Tethyrian human swashbuckler ; see ap-
pendix B). Zorbog is stoking a fire in the fireplace while
quietly observing the transaction. With stone in hand,
Yevette scrambles up to the rooftops, leaving Avareen
and Zorbog to deal with the survivors of the conflict be-
tween the characters and the bugbears.
Gagged and tied to a chair in the back room of the
house is a known member of the Xanathar Guild-a
shield dwarf who wears a leather skullcap stitched
with fake beholder eyestalks. The dwarf. Ott Steeltoes
(see appendix B), was captured while buying fish food
in a Dock Ward market. After the Zhents interrogated
Ott, it became clear to them that Xanathar would want
him back. He is being held until a ransom is paid, but