Avys walks slowly and patiently towards the back of the group as they continue on. "What a gruesome scene this is. Why would anyone want this sort of conflict..."  He begins mumbling to himself as he is observing for any identifying information of the corpses. He will also ask one of the guards, "Does this happen often? Conflict of gangs perhaps... I know you have your hands full of course. "  He starts rubbing the back of his neck somewhat frantically as he asks the questions of the guards. Perception: 8 or Investigation: 21

With a straw on her mouth and a leather cloak, Feliara looked at the guys with disgust on her face. She knew who where the Zhentarim, an old friend of hers had a really bad encounter with them on the North and she surely liked to talk about it. Looking rather incognito, the Eladrin kept silent as she tried to see if any of those dead guys was the one they were looking for (Perception check: 6).

She then popped from behind Avys and waited for the responses to his questions. He was clever and she was sure that the answers he was seeking were the ones that would help them.

"Does this happen often? Conflict of gangs perhaps... I know you have your hands full of course."
"Lately? Yes." the guard replies, trying to work. "Move along."

From your vantage point, looks like the Zhents and the Xanathar Guild had a scuffle.

You are both shoo'ed away. The guards will not let you linger any longer.

"Move."

Sylivar had any questions he would have asked answered. He gives a small wave and smile to one of the guards who had the misfortune of reeling Sylivar into a cell after a brawl. The guard definitely remembers the night, but Syl is no fool - the Zhents and Xanathars were nasty people. So were guards, but they had the pretense of being virtuous. He isn't one to linger, and quickly makes his way down the street. 

THE DOCK WARD

Tall, densely packed tenements leave most of the neighborhood in shadow at ground level. Most of the streetlamps have had their glass smashed and their candles stolen, and the smells of salt air and excrement linger as you pass by rows of run-down buildings. One nearby shop stands out from the others. It has a deep purple facade, and in its window hangs a stuffed beholder. Above the door hangs a sign whose elaborate letters spell out “Old Xoblob Shop.”

Kasha peered into the window, looking at the stuffed animal. "What a cute toy!" she mused.

"Of course, we shall continue moving along, we don't mean to be a burden. Best of luck with your task." He will move along bowing his head very slightly towards the guards. The gears in his mind are turning as he proceeds to search for additional clues at their destination. 

Upon seeing the shop, he remembers his time working at his previous shop, knowing that store owners keep a good eye on what goes on around their shop if they are worth anything. "Perhaps the shop keep could provide some information? If they're decent at their job they should be keeping tabs on what happens in and around their shop. and this one does  look different from the rest..." He'll walk towards the shop next to Kasha, "Shall we enter?"

Naumick sighs audibly, but relents and follows, grumbling something about "playthings."

He'll walk towards the shop next to Kasha, "Shall we enter?"
"Yeth!" Kasha agrees, skipping in.

OLD XOBLOB'S SHOP

A cloud of lavender-scented purple smoke fills the shop as you enter. Every wall is painted purple, and every dusty knickknack on the shelves is dyed a deep violet. There's no one inside, and no one at the main counter.

"Hey, where is-" Kasha begins, looking around.

Suddenly, a hairless old gnome jerks up so swiftly from behind the counter, it startles Kasha so bad she emits a very quick, sharp, loud scream like Homer Simpson.

“Hail and well met! Come browse the shelves of the most curious curiosity shop in the world!”

Now, sitting cross-legged on the counter, he wears plum-colored robes. His cheeks are decorated with nine purple face-painted eyes. The gnome lowers a pipe and exhales a cloud of lavender smoke before nodding to you all.

Sylivar props the door open with his staff, entering the curious shop. He slinks around the presumably purple shelves. My, my. Some people had an attraction to one color, sure, but this was overdoing it. He scans the counters for anything interesting and valuable. He doubts any store in the dock ward sold anything high-profile enough to fetch a sizeable amount of coin, but nevertheless, it was never worth looking. At the same time, he looks for anything ostentatiousl, similar to Volo's - and, hopefully, Floon's - dress. Perception? 6

"Am I correct to assume you're Old Xoblob?" Syl asks with a grin, crossing his legs and leaning sideways on his quarterstaff in the middle of the shop once he's done perusing the vicinity. "Pleasure to meet, of course. I see you deal in curiosities. Mine don't involve any items - not that I wouldn't buy them, I have my eyes on a few - but we're looking for someone who may have passed by." 

"I am indeed." Old Xoblob declares. "And, who might you be looking for, I wonder?"

Kasha trots over to the beholder stuffed animal and looks at it like a curious child. The gnome definitely sold an assortment of trinkets.

Naumick looks over the shop for any items of interest, stopping to gaze at the stuffed animal Kasha is intrigued with. "Oy, what's this?"

Bruvir couldn't have cared less about the dead and arrested they ran into on their way to the docks.  As far as he was concerned , if it didn't have something to do with completing this job or making him whole, it was no business of his.  As he impatiently waited for the others to begin moving on, he took a few deep breaths, trying to lessen the pain that troll had inflicted on him.

• Second Wind: 7

When the others made another detour into the shop, Bruvir grumbled audibly, dropping his smaller hammer onto the ground in frustration.  "If you have business in there be quick about.  I don't want this job to take all night if it has no need to be."  he shouted in there general direction.  Then staying outside, he "guarded" the door and kept an eye out for any movement or activity.

• Perception: 20

Avys moves along the shop, inspecting the wares and moving off to the side. He pulls on a loose cord on his armor and takes out an oddly shaped magnifying glass with a gemstone laid into the end of the handle. he twirls it around and closes his eyes as he channels his energy through the magnifying glass. As everything is going on and if he is unnoticed he casts detect magic as a ritual to see if there are any magical items in the shop that might pique his interest. 

Investigation (just to cover my bases) 22

Naumick looks over the shop for any items of interest, stopping to gaze at the stuffed animal Kasha is intrigued with. "Oy, what's this?"

Kasha makes a sound from her throat and looks at you with a comical glance. "It's a stuffed beholder, siwwy! Isn't he cute?"

It's nice a quiet outside, and the shop doesn't appear to be radiating magic of any kind. Kasha, however, (and any other magic user, I would imagine), is radiating a strange glow of shape changing magic, in addition to giving you the impression that she is definitely a child of two worlds.

Not one to be familiar with magic, Sylivar continues lounging, propped up by his quarterstaff, standing as comfortably and with as little effort as one laying on a couch. "A friend of a friend of a friend of...you get the gist, not my friend, might've walked by this way. Name's Floon, wears a bunch of clothing. Would you happen to know where he went, or where he was heading?" Syl notes the strange stuffed beholder a few of the party seems to be enamored with. He places both palms on the top end of his staff and leans forward, retrieving a few coins to rub tantalizingly in front of the ostentatious seller. "If it jogs the memory. Oh! And how much are those mini-beholders?" 

"A friend of a friend of a friend of...you get the gist, not my friend, might've walked by this way. Name's Floon, wears a bunch of clothing. Would you happen to know where he went, or where he was heading?" 

"Mmmmmmmm. Perhaps." he slides a tip jar, on the counter, in your general direction, seeing if you place the coins in there. Then, he nods to the beholder toy. "One dragon."

"Deal." With a grin, Sylivar plinks down twice the amount of requested dragons. If Floon disappeared in a scandal between the Zhents and the Xanathar's, Syl certainly could hazard a guess as to which side old Xoblob would take, but he knew coin was a universal way of sealing one's lips. 

He tilts his head to the side. "The beholder's yours, Kasha. I would've taken it myself, but I don't like the feeling of something watching me at all times. Even if it's a toy." Beholders. Ick. They were always watching.

Kasha gasps so loudly at your random act of kindness, you feel like she's going to pass out from lack of oxygen. She squeals and wraps herself around you like a spider monkey, kissing your cheek and thanking you. She takes the toy and goes off into a corner nearby, playing with it.

"I did see something. Floon and a well-dressed fellow of similar appearance were jumped outside the shop by rough-looking men in black leather armor. I think there were five attackers, but none of them looked familiar. One of them had a black tattoo of a winged snake on his neck."

Naumick spits on the floor in disgust. "Knew it," he barks, turning to glare at the shopkeep. "Which way'd they take 'em?"

"Now that, i'm not sure of." he admits.