"It must mean," Summer says to Miri, as they walk. "That they really like snakes."

He gives a solemn, sagely nod.

As he enters the Skewered Dragon, he wrinkles his nose (Perception 7 in case it's relevant). He inches up next to Kol. 

"Is..." he starts in a hushed tone. "Is it supposed to smell... so... so... bad in here?"

Zuldarr follows everyone in to the Skewered Dragon and walks up to the counter looking for the barkeep.

Boo continues moving about the tavern as stated before noticing Miri and the others filtering on in after... will go with what she doing as if she not part of any group.

[[OOC: Sorry for my absence, I'll be picking up the pace soon.]]

(OOC: It's all good, life happens and needs to be dealt with.)

Kol follows Zuldarr up to the counter. "Who do I need to throw money at to get a jug of mead around here?" he inquires of no one in particular.

The barkeep, a surly old half-elf with at least 4 teeth left pours several mugs without taking your order.  He pushes them towards you, grumbling "2 silver each" as he does so.

Boo after investigating the scene comes up empty looks to the others if they want to take look for themselves otherwise she turns and heads into the Skewered Dragon through the front door and looks around at the various patrons and employees of the establishment Investigation 21 and Perception 23 getting a better idea as to types of people there beyond the typical low life drunken types looking for signs of anyone with a wing snake symbol be it on equipment, weapons or as a tattoo as well as others tattoos that maybe street gang-related rather than sailor or nautical type themes. As she does she walks around unobtrusively as possible playing her Viol Performance 7 with beggar's bowl tied around neck hanging down to collect any coins. Basically, she is looking for clues or connections as well as narrow down (for later) who she might wish to approach to talk to or to question more in a bit.

Kol pays for everyone and brings mugs around to the party as they go about their business.

Boo:  The patrons all appear to be nondescript dockworkers trying to relax after a hard day's work.  They seem very insular but you get the impression this is a very regular crowd here.

Boo after having a look about the tavern and patrons... still playing her Viol she slowly makes her way over to the surly old half-elf barkeep and asks innocently doing her best to try to manage a friendly smile and demeanor Persuasion 21, "how did you ever manage to get that big ship’s anchor up there lodged in the roof? Did it fall from the sky?"

Miri mumbles her thanks at Kol for the drink, looking around at everything with wide eyes.  She sniffs cautiously at her drink, then wrinkles her nose, and sits it down on the table.  "This seems a strange place for Volo and his friend to frequent," she whispers. 

Zuldarr leans against the bar counter raises the mug towards Kol as thanks and nurses the drink, being the type that prefers to not drink on the job. "You wouldn't have happened to see a flamboyantly dressed individual visit this fine establishment recently?" He asks the barkeep.

The barkeep soften's a bit.  "The anchor, eh... I don;t know for sure where the flying ship came from but I'll be damned if my da didn't see the anchor fall from it right out of the sky."

After he responds, the patrons seems to relax a bit.  One of the regulars, a tattooed (no snakes) Dwarf with a shaved head, questions the others, "Wasn't Volo in here with some guy like that named Loon or Foon or something?"

Another patron, a wiry elf, says "Oh yeah, then after big V left, Foon met up with that Renaer Neverember kid.Chip off the old block, that one!"  A third patron grumbles, "Just another spoiled, rich noble who likes to rub our noses in it!"  "Ah, they werent so bad.  I took em for quite a bit in cards before they left!" says the dwarf.

Miri listens intently as the patrons talk.  "This must mean we are getting close, right?" she asks Summer in a whisper.

The barkeep softens a bit.  "The anchor, eh... I don't know for sure where the flying ship came from but I'll be damned if my da didn't see the anchor fall from it right out of the sky."

Boo looks in awe at the barkeeper, her eye wide as he tells her about the origin of the anchor, "wow," she giggles excitedly, "that must have been a sight indeed! I have lived in the city all my life and I never heard a tale like that before, how exciting!!! Maybe it fell from a fantastical flying ship or perhaps it was thrown by a giant locked in combat with a dragon. One can only speculate on such don't you think?"

Smiling at the barkeep then bring her hand to cover her scars shyly the petite child-like girl introduces herself to him, "forgive me, my name is Boosandei Belfrye... at your service kind and noble sir but most people just call me 'Boo' for short if it pleases you. I do hope you don't my playing my Viol in your fine establishment. I promise not to cause any problems or make a nuisance of myself. I may not be a proper lady but I have been taught to mind my manners and respect my elders."

As Boo interacts and attempts to befriend the barkeep she listens to the various customers talking... especially when they mention the name Floon. Boo motions towards the tattooed Dwarf with a shaved head meeting the barkeep's gaze as she continues to talk to him. "Such an interesting tattoo, I don't have any myself but do appreciate the artistry involved, don't you? Do ever get anyone come in here with a black tattoo of a winged snake on his neck or anywhere else? I think there is a group of them or something hereabouts, my big brother was talking about joining up with a group like that to earn some extra coin and I have not seen hide nor hair of him in near a week and getting worried, you know, it's so hard for me to care of myself and my baby sister all alone." She looks up at him sadly, her large dark eyes wide and pleading...

The two drank and played a few rounds of Three-Dragon Ante before leaving around midnight. Five men followed them out, one of whom had a winged snake tattooed on his neck, and no one in the tavern knows what happened after that. 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,” says one of the tavern regulars.

"Sounds like this snake gang might have kidnapped Volo's friend. We should look for the warehouse. Anyone good at scouting out without being seen? or should we just kick the door in when we find it?" Kol says to the others once they've left the tavern.

"It might be wiser to scout the area first to get and idea of what we might be up against." Zuldaar says with a nod. "Then we can plan out our move to have a better chance of our survival; as well as our target's survival."