Volo hands to each of the party members a small pouch containing what appears to be coins saying as he does so "I'm sorry I got so excited that you have agreed to help me out in my hour of need that I forgot to tell you what else I know. Last time I saw him he was two days ago in the Skewered Dragon which is down in the Dock ward. I don't know of any enemies that he has and those of his friends that I've spoken to have not seen him either."

As Volo is talking, Klaes and Aedar look inside their coin pouches and recognise:

• 2 x Taols - a  square piece of brass worth 2 x Dragons (GP) - which is unique to Waterdeep but pretty much useless elsewhere
• 3 x Dragons - the Waterdeep equivalent of the ubiquitous gold piece common to the entire sword coast
• 4 x Sambars -  the Waterdeep equivalent of the electrum piece (0.5 GP) common to the entire sword coast
• assorted nibs (CP) and Shards (SP).

"Very well, we have a starting point for our investigation, the Skewered Dragon." says Aedar as puts the small pouch in one of the hidden pockets of his cloak. "Have you been there Klaes? I have not." continues as he adjusts one more time his sword "Shall we go?"

(Does Klaes knows about the Skewered Dragon? If it is by the docks, I would like to say that he is probably familiar.)

Klaes asks Volo. "Are you sure that this friend of yours went to the Skewered Dragon? I haven't had the opportunity to visit that establishment, but I do hear it is in a pretty rough area." He looks to the others. "If that is where we are headed, we should be thread carefully. I haven't been there myself, but it is not a place for nice people."

Volo looks a little shamefaced as Klaes asks whether Floon really did go to the Skewered Dragon two nights ago "um well it was his idea to see how the other side lived" he finally admits.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with that," Erin laughs. "It even sounds like fun! All those new experiences!"

"Friends, I think that we should leave at once. Floon's trail is getting colder by the minute." says Aedar to the rest of the group.

"Agreed." Klaes turns to Volo. "I hope that we will bring good news to you." He tips off his top hat, and leaves with his companions.

As the party starts to leave, Volo looks at them "um you do know where the Skewered Dragon is don't you" seeing the looks of chagrin pass over the faces of the party as they realise that nobody  had asked its address and all they knew was that it was somewhere in the Dock Ward he does wonder whether this group can truly help his friend "well it is on Fillet Lane, which runs off Snail Street" he says.

It takes the group about 15 minutes to make their way back to Snail Street and then head south to Dock Ward, dodging the odd snow drift and occasionally slipping on the icy cobblestones as they walk. As you turn a corner, you find yourselves on a street that has been cordoned off by the City Watch. Lying on the cobblestones are a half-dozen corpses, seemingly the victims of some terrible skirmish. Watch officers have disarmed and arrested three blood-drenched humans and are in the midst of questioning witnesses. One of the officers sees you. “Get on,” she says. “Nothing to see here.”

“Uh… I’m very sorry!” Ophelia apologies to the officer, but wonders what happened. She wonders if something like that would happen to her, hearing what Klaes said about the Skewered Dragon. Where she comes from, everything is peaceful.

"What happened here Officer?" asks Aedar trying to get a better look at the corpses while attempting to listen to what the witnesses are saying (Perception, 11). "We fear that something bad occurred to a friend of ours, could we speak with the witnesses and to those brutes? "(Persuasion, 13)

There is an ominous feel to the area of the city where you are currently standing. Tall, densely packed tenements, many of which are run down, boarded up, have broken windows, vandalised by graffiti, etc. eave most of the neighborhood in shadow at ground level. Most of the streetlamps have had their glass smashed and their candles stolen, and there is an unusual and generally unpleasant miasma dominated by the smells of salt air and excrement.

The guards are not interested in answering any of Aedar’s questions which he is not surprised about as the City Watch is notoriously tight lipped about its activities believing strongly in the old adage that what civilians don’t know about they won’t worry about. He manages to pick up snippets of conversation along the lines of the “two groups of men came around the corner” “started arguing” “on for young and old” “blood all over the place” “good riddance I say”, etc. Whilst he is only able to get a quick glimpse he can see that several of the bodies have a copper amulets, a circle with 10 rays coming off it, around their necks. The three survivors all have a flat amulet around their necks which looks like a silver wyvern or dragon on a black background.

Does Aedar recognise the amulets (History = 16)

Spoiler is for Aedar only

"Nasty business this is. I say we do nut interfere with official business. If do nut have to." Klaes whispers to Aedar.

Aedar whispers back to Klaes "This was not a normal scuffle between street gangs that turned excessively violent. There is something else going on here."
He takes a few step back and whispers to Erin "Do you recognise the copper amulets that the victims have? A circle with 10 rays..."

Does Eryn recognise the amulets (DC15 History = 11) "I've seen a few people wearing them in Waterdeep and nowhere else so I suspect they're some sort of local group but I'm as I'm  not a local I can't say who or what they represent?" she whispers back.

"Let's keep going friends, I doubt that we will find Volo's friend here." says Aedar "The Skewered Dragon should not be too far now."

He pauses a moment and whispers to the group "Keep your eyes open for people wearing those silver wyvern amulets. They mean trouble."

Eventually the party reaches Fillet Lane and turns into it. About a block back from Snail Street they can see a small alley off to their right. As they peer down they can see that above the entrance to one of the buildings, swinging in the wind, is a battered sign depicting a small dragon with a harpoon in its back. Realising it is likely to be the Skewered Dragon they turn into the alley. When the reach the tavern it looks like a ruin. Both of its front-facing windows are smashed, and a ship’s anchor is lodged in the roof. Through the windows, you can see a group of disreputable looking individuals drinking from huge tankards.

As they pass the guards, Klaes tips his top hat forward as deference tot the City Watch, but he is really just hiding his face. He is not exactly very fond of authorities.

When they get to their destination, he realized what he feared. That he would have to venture into a very unsavory place. He fixes his suit, and his top hat, preparing himself mentally to enter said establishment. "Shall we gentleman? And Lady of course."

Eryn waves at the guards as she follows. When they arrive, "Cool! I've always wanted to go into an abandoned building after dark!"

((Sorry i stopped getting notifications from DnDBeyond for a bit.))

"This may get rough very soon." says Aedar as the group arrives at their destination. He places an hand near the hilt of his sword and enters the establishment.