Naumick sets a gold on the bar. "Well, loosen those lips then," he says.

"Oi, I remember Volo and some fancy dressed man drinking together a couple of nights ago. After Volo left, the fancy man stuck around long enough to meet with another friend: Renaer Neverember himself. Boy, those blokes look alike."

• History check to see if Bruvir knows the name: 12   

Naumick nods, eying his coin for a moment, but letting the opportunity to switch them out pass. "Maybe Floozy Floon's got some Neverember blood in his veins," he mutters, scratching at his beard. "That'd raise his worth from boy toy to profitable hostage." The dwarf stops, looking at the others a bit embarrassed he let that slip out. "I mean, if you were in that kind of dark business..." He mutters under his breath, stepping back. "What happened after that? The fancy man leave with Neverember or depart on his own? Anyone follow him?" Naumick's hand hovers over the coin as he eyes the proprietor.

Quote from Zoldier >>

• History check to see if Bruvir knows the name: 12   

 Renaer Neverember, the son of Waterdeep’s previous Open Lord, Dagult Neverember. This dude is important.

"That'd raise his worth from boy toy to profitable hostage." The dwarf stops, looking at the others a bit embarrassed he let that slip out.

Kasha perks up at that. "What's a boy toy?" she asks innocently.

"What happened after that? The fancy man leave with Neverember or depart on his own? Anyone follow him?" Naumick's hand hovers over the coin as he eyes the proprietor.

The innkeeper clams up, implying another tip.

Naumick raises an eyebrow to his party mates. "Well, I'm not the benefactor of this here excursion. Someone else got a spare coin?"

Kasha slams her palm down on the table, tipping a dragon, and in her gruffest, toughest demeanor, says,

"How's THIS, barkeep?! Loosen them lips!"

You think she might be imitating you. But, you're not sure.

"Neverember!  Why in the 9 Hells would someone as important as him be down in this part of town." Bruvir asked to no one in particular once he was able to recollect the name.

Quote from CrispyDM >>

"Gentlemen, gentlemen! Let's cut to the chase, shall we? I would offer a game as a formality, but we all know a proper exchange of information and coin is polite," Syl says, rubbing two coins tantalizingly between his spindly fingers. "I'm looking for someone who might've wandered by. I've got no connection to 'em - just looking, you know? Right. Ostentatious clothing. Two of them, I believe, came wandering around here. Any clues you can entertain me with?"

A couple of patrons turn your way, about to tell you to shut the hells up, but the glitter of coin holds their words - instead, saying something else.

"How much you got there, mister fancy words?"

 As Syl's player had to step out for a few hours & has all his questions answered, Sylivar gives a weak smile. "Two dragons to the pot to forget the conversation," he grins, plodding down some gold to the pot of the current, engaging game of dice. He slides out, sauntering up to the bar and leaning with both elbows on the counter. "Hey, I'd like another drink. You know me," he continues, sliding yet another coin more than the drink is worth.

"The two drank and played a few rounds of Three-Dragon Ante before leaving around midnight. Five men followed them out. The men who left shortly after Floon and Renaer haven’t returned to the tavern since, but they’re known to frequent a warehouse on Candle Lane. Look for the snake symbol on the door."

Kasha had her hand in a bowl of peanuts where she froze when she saw the barkeep staring at her. She smiled meekly, as if getting caught. "Do you have these in chocolate? Uh. Asking for a friend."

More Zhentarim, huh? Who knew. Syl grins. "Thanks for the information. You'll be seeing my sorry face again. Whether you like it or not." With a wink, he pays for - and promptly throws down - a drink, drumming his hands on the counter in his usual way before thumping his staff on the bar's edge to swivel around in his seat to the party. "So - are we up for a little dumpster diving? Warehouse diving? Same thing. Things might get sticky - I've seen some real stuff go down on Candle Lane. Don't be there past two." 

"Let's get on with it and collect our gold.  I've places to be and things to do." Bruvir replied even though he neither a place to be or anything else to do at the moment.  

The buildings on either side of Candle Lane are so tall and so tightly packed together that light touches the street only at highsun. Gloom envelops a narrow alley as dark as a dungeon — and as odorous as one, too. Nearly all the streetlamps have been smashed. The only light that pierces the darkness is a faint flickering from down the lane, like a distant candle. The flickering comes from the one streetlamp still intact on Candle Lane. A warehouse is directly across the street from the lamp, which illuminates a black winged snake painted above the door’s handle.

"I think this is it." Kasha mused.

Avys, doesn’t enter the bar himself but stands outside somewhat uncomfortable with the situation and also not feeling the need to enter this unsavory establishment unless a fight broke out. He spends that time tinkering with a few of his tools and keeping an eye out. Upon arriving to the warehouse and noticing the Winged snake,

“Interesting. Was this not the same tattoo that one of the abductors had? It appears we’d be entering some sort of hideout, we must be on our guard... the patrons at the bar could have sold us out for all we know.” 

"I'm sure someone ratted us out - they all do, you know?" Sylivar replies, utterly unconcerned with the darkness of the street. He turns his head to peruse the one lit lamp before sweeping the rest of the dim street with eyes suited for the dark. Sylivar prepares himself for an eventual fight, sure - Zhentarim were nasty people, and if they were holding someone hostage, it was for a reason. They wouldn't give up without a fight. He looks over the rest of the building - are there any windows or alternate entrances to look through? "Do you think it's polite to knock?" he says, approaching the door with a raised brow. 

Anyone who passes a DC10 INT check knows that the symbol is..

The hideout on Castle Lane is a ramshackle two-story warehouse. The warehouse stands at the back of an outer yard behind a high fence. The gate on the fence isn’t locked. The building’s three points of entry — a front door, a large warehouse loading door, and a painted-over window — are locked. 

• INT Check: 17

"It's trouble most likely no matter how we try and enter the place." Bruvir began as he surveyed the ramshackle of a building.  "But the loading door is the least narrow option so that seems like the best option to me."   

INT Check: 4

Intelligence check: 4

Sylivar shrugs, casually leaning against his staff in the center of the alleyway, entirely nonplussed. Why not? "Are we planning a more crash-and-bash approach? If so, I suggest we open the gates and all flood in." He waggles an eyebrow at the more shady-looking members of the party. "At the risk of stereotyping, are any of you good at picking locks? I strongly doubt these people would leave themselves unguarded."

Naumick grunts at Sylivar. "I've been known to find me way into a few places uninvited," he says. "Let me give that front door a go. Keep your peepers open and don't let me get killed, would ya? These Zhents don't much like people sneaking about their hideouts." The dwarf slings his crossbow over his shoulder, slipping quietly through the gate and attempting to stealthily move up to the front door. Once there, he pulls a few items from an inner pouch and begins trying to pick the lock. 

Stealth: 17
Pick Lock: 8