After the rescue escape, when the party splits from the drow, Quillary watches them leave until they are out of sight. Then she shakes her head as if to clear it.

She is clearly bored and a little stir crazy at the hotel. She's the one who keeps opening the door to look out into the hallway, then shutting it again. She hardly seems to sleep, and she only eats sort of distractedly. The note from Cory'bant'ex—which she reads twice, examines the back of, and then sniffs—does not help settle her. When the goon arrives, she's first to the door, annoyed when it is just hundreds of pieces of gold. Sure, Jorin can have whatever he wants. (The potion)

But her smile returns when she is presented with the box. She sits on the floor with it on her lap until the goon is gone, then she slowly unwraps it. She looks up at the others, "The last present I remember receiving was when I was a child." She is uninterested in the fact that this is payment of a sort. She lifts out of the box, a leather cuirass, dyed midnight black, the leather faintly iridescent. Sewn onto it are river rocks, giving it a studded appearance. Quillary stares at it, then brings it to her face to sniff it.

"Should I wear it?" She looks at the others.

Hildigrim takes a break from ritualistically and systematically examining every square inch of everything he can see through the window when Quillary extracts the item from the box. "Put it on," the halfling says. "Let's see how it looks." Volo the owl, standing on Hildigrim's head, gives a little hoot.

Drusk also sniffs Quillary's newest item. "Smells faintly fishy. Is it armor made of fish leather, or dinner that is shaped like clothing? We've seen Pascal do fancy plating and visual effects when he is cooking." Drusk absent-mindedly grabs some of his chain mail by his collar, and starts gnawing on it.

Quillary, in typical fashion, shucks her current clothes right there in the room and works to get the new leather on. When her head is halfway through she stops. “There’s a word cut into it on the inside,” she says. “Pescato. What does that mean?” she asks as she pops her head out the head hole.

Pascal without skipping a beat as he sharpens his knife at a desk, “Talkin’ bout fish? Means like a catch or somethin’.”

As she buckles the armor in place, she gives a girlish twirl, and says, aloud, "Pescato!" The armor shimmers, and flows, turning into a sleek, glimmery blouse. With a short, strangled noise, Quillary holds her hands over her mouth, eyes wide. She blinks at the assembled group, quickly says the word again, and the armor wavers and becomes a simple homespun tunic, much like she wears normally.

She looks at everyone, then looks behind her. "What are we all staring at? I'm hungry."

She grabs up her cloak and heads down to the main room to, presumably, eat.

"Hainard's hary toes," Hildigrim remarks quietly, a slight smile on his halfling face. He follows the half-elf. "Do you suppose the material of the armor changes as well? Do you feel it becoming the other garments?"

"Aye, Hildi, that is a good question.  Perhaps we should try cutting it while it in is cloth form."  Jorin pulls one of the small handaxes from his belt and goes to the test the material hanging off Quillary.

Quillary fends them off with her hands, “Enough, no, it still has the weight and bulk of a leather cuirass!”

Then she locks eyes with Jorin. “Keep your blade at your side unless you’re planning to use it, Jorin of the Bodt.”

She orders something hearty, and a good deal of something alcoholic. 

Jorin is speechless for a moment before regaining himself saying, "Yes, sheathed until ready, yes.  Good that your armor stays strong even when looking...flow-y."

He will also order a large quantity of food and drink, "To another foe slayed, another adventure ventured, more tales and more glory!"

Hildigrim climbs into a seat, but almost immediately begins searching the room for watching eyes.

(This is long winded. If anything is unclear, don't hesitate to ask questions.)

After a big meal, you head back to your inn room for a night's sleep. The plan is, in the morning you will meet Volothamp Geddarm at a boat, which will exit these caverns and return you to Waterdeep.

You wake up in the pre-dawn hours. Someone is knocking softly but urgently on your room door. As you are waking up, you can hear noises from the city streets: cries of fear and anger, clashes of weapon metal, and the occasional laughter of Flaming Skulls. (The last is usually followed up with the explosion of a fireball.)

Readying your weapons, you open the door. You see a dark-haired man, rough in appearance but also with noble stance. (Think Viggo Mortensen in the Fellowship of the Ring.) After making sure that all five of you are there, he makes a vague introduction. "We have a common acquaintance in Mr. Geddarm. You may call me Marcher."

"Xanathar is in a rage. It was never very stable to begin with, but now he has unleashed his forces on Skullport. They are attacking rival gangs, and locking up strangers in town for interrogation." (Marcher gestures towards you five when he said "strangers in town".)

"The boat you were supposed to meet is gone. At the first sign of trouble, Mr. Geddarm had them leave port." (Marcher frowns.) "That may have been the right choice, to escape while they could, but I don't think Mr. Geddarm remembered the 5 of you when he fled."

 "The Xanathar are guarding any ships that they haven't sunk, so you won't be able to leave Skullport that way. There is a way out... but it is a path of risk and uncertainty. You have been to the Yawning Portal. In the center of that place is a deep pit, that leads to the Undermountain beneath Waterdeep. There is a passage, only known to a few, that leads from Skullport to the Undermountain. From there, you will have to search for the passage that will lead you to pit of the Yawning Portal.

"Many factions fight to control levels of the Undermountain, so you will have to be prepared for battle... Recently, there are stories of something foul from the deep moving into that area. I have not heard any news after that.

"This is the only escape from Skullport to the surface that is available to you right now. If you chose to avoid that danger, it may be days or weeks for the fighting here to quiet down. If you survive the fighting, it would be even longer before you could leave on a boat.

"If you would escape from here now, I will guide you to the passage to the Undermountain."

"I would be quit of this place," Quillary says sort of formally. Something about the guy makes her feel like she should speak weirdly, like the elves did where she grew up.

Hildigrim wakes with a start at the knocking. He had been having a dream about the mind flayer, but almost immediately, the details begin to fade.

As he listens to the newcomer explain about Xanathar and the difficulty they'll have reaching the surface, the halfling scowls. He is ready to be back in Waterdeep. All of these delays were frustrating. He sighs and begins gathering his things. "I concur" he says after Quillary's pronouncement. "Let's leave as soon as possible."

With the party in agreement to get back to Waterdeep sooner rather than later, Marcher waits for you to ready your equipment, then leads you out of the inn.

He has you carefully move near buildings, occasionally leading you inside abandoned houses until the streets are clear again... He leads you deeper into Waterdeep (away from the harbor and Skull Island). The alleyways become more like rough cavern passages, and it would be easy to get lost. Eventually you arrive at a passage that you would have walked by without noticing, except Marcher stops and points it out to you.

"This is your way into the level of the Undermountain...  The Mad Mage's dungeon has more than a dozen levels. You may feel tempted to explore the passages leading up or down, but the way back to the Yawning Portal is on this level.

(He explains that there is a quartz outcropping near the passage you want. Although the colored quartz is a natural pattern, your imagination will see a sun in a blue sky over a green field. Since most creatures use Darkvision, which only sees in B&W, they won't see the color pattern in the quartz. Since you have to use Light for several members of the party, there will be no mistaking the exit when you arrive there.)

"Part of the Sargauth River flows through this level. If you use it, be aware that others might be watching or using the river as well. There are passages that extend deeper into the Undermountain. When I mentioned that groups are trying to gain control of these levels, these creatures use the river or these extra passages to invade the dungeon."

If you have any other (short) questions for Marcher, ask now. Otherwise he will wish you success in your return, and wave goodbye.

Jorin spits on the ground, "A pack of crag cats on that Volothamp."  He gathers his equipment, checks that his blades are secure in their moorings, and heads out with group.

Before Marcher leaves, he says, "You have my thanks, friend, but tell me, why did you help us?"

Quote from Guiltysparc >>

Before Marcher leaves, he says, "You have my thanks, friend, but tell me, why did you help us?"

"Now Mr. Geddarm owes me a favor. He may have forgotten you today, but I'll remind him of his neglected obligation at a later time... Of course, the favor will be bigger if you actually survive the 'Undermountain, so be cautious."

"We are very good at caution," Quillary assures him, lying with a straight face.

(I will allow retroactive questions a little longer, if you think of something... The map is twisty. I will post a map occasionally so you can get your bearings, but I will try to describe the setting when possible.)

The passage you are traveling snakes around, and gets narrow in spots, where Jorin and Drusk have to squeeze to get through. But eventually, it becomes wider and taller. The moisture in the air leads you to believe that you are closer to the River Sargauth, and the main part of the dungeon level.

Unless otherwise noted, all tunnels on this level are 20 feet high, and caverns are 30 to 50 feet high. Most of the floors on this level are uneven and covered in dirt and bat guano. Looking behind you, you can see your footsteps in the dirt... but no other recent tracks.

Your tunnel is 10' wide and headed to the northeast. It curves clockwise to the south. After traveling south 40', you can see the tunnel connects with a larger cavern. It is 20' to your south, and you can't see anything inside, unless you enter it.

(I need to know marching order, or any particular actions your group is making in the tunnels or when entering a cavern.)

While being led by Marcher, Hildigrim is twice caught distracted and being left behind. He swears they are being watched, but he can't see anyone spying. In response to Jorin's curse on his owl's namesake, Hildi opens his mouth to defend the author, but then holds his tongue as his own feelings of disappointment well up. As the others enter the cave where directed, Hildigrim hurries to catch up again, quickly looking over his shoulder but still seeing no one.