"Liberty and Justice sound good to me," Briga says.  "I mean, if we went with Discretion and Valor we'd have to fight over who gets to be Discretion, since it's the better part of Valor.  Something my Skald brother used to say.  Anyway, yeah, I'll take Liberty into battle, you smack 'em with Justice, a little Liberty and Justice for all our foes. 

Gotta sell the Abandoned Dragons brand, after all.  Of course, if the gangsters don't mess with the dung sweepers, neither of us will be brandishing weapons, just looking tough.  I shouldn't complain, I know, but we can do a lot more than stand there and look scary.  Bring on the gangsters."  

"Griffdar," begins Tyrus. "can ye be talking with some of the other Lord's Alliance people here? Maybe find out what's been happening? The more we be knowing, the less chance we have of having a nasty surprise in the morning."

 "Right." Griffdar walks off to find another one of the Lord's Alliance. "Hello fellow compatriot of The Lord's Alliance. New member, Griffdar Goodwar." he extends an arm, "Do you have any idea whats been going on here lately? Anything strange or unusual or unique?"

"Nothing but Zhents and Xanathar at each other's throat, but I wouldn't say that's unique or unusual.  They have always had a thing for each other, was only a matter of time," says one of the members.  Another says "Just what we need, a gang war.  And nobody knows what the reason is," another responded.  It seems that the information that Lareal Silverhand informed you is not something that is public knowledge.

"Well, we are here now. We will lend hand to the dungsweepers, keep them safe from the ruffians."

"Well, their shift has finished for today, you'll be starting tomorrow, I've been told," one of the people your replacing tells you.  "It's going to be a slow tenday for you, that's for sure," he says.

Tyrus joins Griffdar and says, "Good morning to you. My name be Tyrus Mountson and I'd like to be asking a few questions, if I may. So, can I be buying you a drink?"

[OOC: Presuming the person says 'yes'.] Tyrus attracts the attention of one of the bar staff and then asks "Be there any particular parts of the area where there's been more trouble than others?"

"This is the dock ward, take your pick," says the person.  "But at least it's not as bad as the Field Ward," he adds "now there is a place that the law have forgot - we still have a little bit of regulation, being the harbor and all," he says.  "But anywhere you see the Zhentarim and the Xanathar Guild in the same place, that's going to be trouble - doesn't matter if it's here on in the Castle Ward right now," the barkeep tells you. 

Tyrus nods to the barkeep and then says, "I be not from Waterdeep, so how do you be telling the Zhentarim and the Xanathars from everyone else? Do the guilders here be wearing badges or special clothes. I wouldn't be wanting to hurt the wrong people."

"The Zhents have flying snake tattoos, but they're not unique to Waterdeep - they operate throughout the continent - you would recognise them no matter where your from," the guard responds.  "The Xanathar Guild don't wear their colours so proudly, look for a small circle with a number of lines coming out of it, though typically they choose who to show that symbol to, and it isn't immediately visible, typically on a leg or a shoulder or something," he continues to explain.  "They are the biggest crime guild in Waterdeep, they show their colours on the surface, they are bound to be arrested on site, and I'm sure many of the citizens wouldn't appreciate the questioning of whether they are Xanathar Guild members - many have lost their lives to their schemes," he says.

Tyrus nods his head and after taking a sip of his drink asks, "I be hearing of the Zhents before, but what I still don't be understanding is why they be knocking heads with a bunch of local thieves here in Waterdeep and why in Moradin's name either of them would be wanting to interfere with the guild of dung collectors. No offence intended, but it not be like you have anything really valuable to be fighting over."

[OOC: I believe I understand what is going on in the broader picture, I'm just interested in finding out what the dung collectors think is going on, and perhaps find out more about the types of situation where trouble can occur.]

[OOC: Also happy to do something else between now and tomorrow morning game time. Anyone got anything else their characters need to do?]

[i think i'm good for now]

"The dungsweepers are just merely crossfire in the war, cleaning the front lines - they've been collecting more bodies than normal, and as a result they go through gang territory.  Anybody going through there is as in danger as the dungsweepers guild, most just avoid it," the alliance member replies.  "Nobody really knows what's got the Zhentarim and Xanathar all worked up, you'd have to ask them," he says - it seems the rank-and-file have no idea about the inner workings as revealed by Mirt and the Open Lord.

"Ya spend your days sweepin' dung and then you are caught in the crossfire of a gang war. That might be the saddest existence... Thankless." Griff puts his hand over his heart.

(I am good to elapse time forward.)

Tyrus stays silent for a moment at the barkeep's words and then says, "You be right, Griffdar. Still, tomorrow we'll be here to be sure that at least some of them are kept safe."

Then he finishes his drink and says, "But for now, we should be heading back to our own place to be making sure we are properly ready."

[OOC: If people (and the DM of course) want to macro forward to tomorrow morning, I'm fine with that, but I would like to assume we went back to the manor so I can change my equipment list.]

((I'm good with that, if there's nothing else you guys want to ask, we'll jump to the next morning, you guys can do anything you would for a long rest and change equipment out etc.  Will give it 3 days for anything you want to do the next morning before I'll be moving us forward)).

[OOC: DM, I have stripped Tyrus's Inventory list to show only the things I will be carrying for this job. The rest of his possessions (apart from his mule) will be left in his room at the manor and are listed under 'Other Possessions' on his character sheet.

Also, have we had any costs that we need to pay for? Tyrus's lifestyle is listed as poor (i.e., 2 sp per day) because he is frugal and trying to save money (except when it comes to drink and trying to find out information, apparently ;-). Should I/we deduct some money for our lifestyle and the expenses of running the manor? And, if so, how much?]

[OOC: I'm keeping track of that as don't forget it is also an income source, I roll at the end of each tenday to see how successful the tavern has been, and it might cover it's own costs at that point.  

The recurring costs are 50 gp per tenday for maitanance and staff wages, and 10 gp for guild expenses which includes restocking etc.

The tavern hasn't yet been open a tenday so I haven't rolled, but if you want to spend some downtime working it, you can let me know. You can also spend gold to advertise, which would increase the modifier I use for the initial roll, but unpaid expenses have a negative effect on the roll :)]

[OOC: After preparing for tomorrow's job, Tyrus will spend the rest of the day doing any required maintenance or fixit jobs he can do around the tavern. That night, he will spend some time relaxing in the taproom learning what sort of clientele are being attracted to the place. He might even tell a story or two, if there's any interest.]