Artys nods. "I have a passing knowledge of the tower and its residents. My father used to handle such business and since his passing I have not had need to address them myself. I can send word ahead of us so that they know of our coming and our intent. My name will at least carry some weight, even if my appearance does not."

With word sent ahead Artys and Narz make their way to the wizards tower (along with anyone else who wishes to join.) The three story stone tower sits on the corner of the street with views down either of the two streets that intersect here. When you knock on the door a spectral hand opens it from the other side. From a nearby staircase you see the young human wizard descending to greet you. Ah welcome! Come in, come in! Please have a seat by the fire, Tea will served shortly. 

Entering the tower it becomes readily apparent that the wizard has several pets, cats specifically. On this floor no less that six are readily visible in the sitting room, all sat cozily by the fire. The seats are well cleaned and comfortable, more so than would seem normal making you suspect some kind of enchantment is at work to keep them this way. As you sit the wizard Chazlauth enters a nearby room to fetch tea. As the door opens you get a quick glimpse of something silver run out the door before dissapearing into the sitting room. A few moments later the young wizard comes back with a tray with tea cups and a pot floating behind him. Ah it is so good to have guests. Your letter mentioned you were friends with Naxene Drathkala yes? Tell me how is the dear old girl? I haven't seen her since she left on that assignment in the sticks.

Artys takes the tea and pours for the group, clearly ready to let Narz do the talking.

"Mn! Thank you for having us in your humble abode. Which I'm also quite thankful was a tower, least we may have missed it among the more humdrum of the rest of this city, eh?" As someone used to the odd cat or two roaming about every which way, Narz weaves past any possibly in the way with some degree of ease to his seating. After they settled down and Narz had a moment to get over the concern that rose with the silver 'thing', the hobogblin gives a faint smile and says, "Oh she seemed quite, uh, lively last I saw. Busy too. This whole giant business and defending the settlement nearly slowed her research until my companions and I lent a hand there where we could. Not sure if her messenger bird arrived or went into detail on the assault on Golden field, but it was fortune it wasn't a coordinated attack. For even as is, the damage was a bit hefty, to say the least." He expressed as he took up his teacup once it's filled. 

"She had come up with the beginnings of a plan though. And with the Lord's Alliance assistance, she suggested we seek out dragons that might further aid in rebuffing any advances of the giants before they start truly digging their heels in, as it were."

Chazlauth nods and frowns. Yes, her letter mentioned this plan. Unfortunately for her she over estimates her position within the Lords Alliance. I'm sure you remember it was only a couple years ago dragons along with their cultists tried to summon Tiamat to Farún and were causing destruction all over the sword coast. As such, the Alliance refuses to work with dragons of any sort.

The wizard sips his tea and while he does you hear one of the cats cry loudly and run away. You see just behind the poor creature is a Silver dragon wyrmling chasing it. Naxenes plan is crazy, the wizard continues, but it also makes a sort of sense. Afterall, dragon and giants are natural enemies. I've heard tale of one dragon, Old Gnawbone, who might be worth seeking out. That is, if you're not afraiqd to walk into the lair of a green dragon.

Narz nodded in initial understanding up until catching sight of the wyrmling. With a raised brow, he looks from where it had gone, then to Artys with a questioning look. But ultimately, his attention returns to the wizard. "Old 'Gnawbone', you say? And a green dragon at that? Hmm... I am no expert, so you'd have forgive me for confusing finer details, but... aren't the greens kind of.... well, there's no 'polite' way to put this. But are they not inclined towards borderline devilish pursuits? Is there truly no other that you or the alliance know of that might be, uhm... reputable?" He asks before finally taking a sip of his tea. "And I mean reputable in a 'goodly' sense, for lack of better words."

None who are readily available. Old Gnawbone, despite her moniker, is not so bad. Though yes there is a certain measure of risk involved, I believe she will be inclined to help. She rarely meddles in affairs outside her forest and even more rarely bothers to leave it. She does however have an extensive collection of crystal balls which she uses to scry on just about everyone she can. I would wager she has already used her crystal balls to divine a solution to our giant problem. However unless the giants directly threaten her she's not likely to do anything to help. If you could speak to her, get her to share her knowledge, then we should be able to put an end to all this talk of giants.

Claire furrows her brow.  "Does Gnawbone collect a certain kind of item?  Would bringing an offering help?"

To my knowledge she just prefers crystal balls. Value doesn't seem to be of importance. I suppose it couldn't hurt to bring an offering. Well, then again maybe it could. Hard to tell with the chromatic dragons really. As long as you don't offend her you should be fine.

"Sounds as if it wouldn't hurt to spend some of this downtime in the city doing further research just in case in dragons in general, if at all possible. From what little I can recall, it wouldn't take much to offend or bother a dragon, chromatic or not. Do you have any such books floating around, or know of, uh--" He snaps his fingers a couple of times. "Library or the like in town that we might peruse for such information and more on dragon kin? And if within your or the alliance means given the, uhm, nature of this whole event, are there any resources you might be able to send our way?'

Oh of course. I have several fascinating tomes on the subject. I suggest you start with 'A Natural History of Dragons.' Its simple phenomenal He then begins to rattle on for quite a while about several books in his collection you might find useful. (Unless you wish to continue the conversation the conversation I can fade to black here and fast forward us)

(Narz at least has nothing more that can't be ftb'd on, so moving on is good with me at least.)

A few tendays pass with you all getting in a winter routine, learning new skills or doing research to aid your quest once spring has arrived. With Artys hosting you in his families city home your stay is quite comfortable and best of all free. One day Narz is in the sitting room reading a letter that has just been delivered. In the letter Dakkurz tells out the tower you all own has been secured by her and what little remains of their merc group. They had to fight off some giants who were loitering in the area but the tower is now secure and only in need of some repairs and cleaning. She says they'll be setting up camp outside the tower for now. She also reports the nearby town of Orlbar seems to have been mostly abandoned save for a few stubborn farmers. Stone giant activity in high in the region and they seem to be up to something but she's not sure what at this time. She finishes the letter with a simple wish for an exciting New Year.

On that note you're all away that today is new years day and the start of the Wintershield festival. Most people spend this day discussing politics, studying maps, and planning the years trade ventures, though there is still plenty traditional celebrations to be found in inns and tavern across the city should you wish to partake.

Narz had to spend a few minutes mulling over the information before finally sighing and closing the letter to start on his own reply. Although he had hope to make it pointless in learning the right spell over the past few tendays, time never seemed to permit it. Not yet at least. Irregardless, he found himself enjoying the simple pleasure of writing a reply, commending Dakkurz on the good work and his own progress thus far in securing more men. Which at the moment was... still a work in progress. 

With that done and little else to occupy his mind elsewhere, Narz would seek to gather the others in whatever amounted to a common area with the intentions of asking quite plainly, "There's yet more preparations to see to on everyone's in I'm sure, but..." Narz pauses to tug at his collar and looks away awkwardly. "Well, I figured that seeing as we'll probably be quite busy for some time after, now might be a decent time to, uhm... well, I'd be wandering if any of you might be interested in visiting some of the more well known tavern in town?"

Assuming Narz would share the letter, what the letter says, or the notice was otherwise given to all, Torsus would sigh at Dakkurz's choice to camp outside - though Narz cut in before he could comment on it just yet. A mug of hot cocoa in his hand as he listened. Torsus had become all-but-addicted to the hot, chocolaty substance entrancing his old tastebuds (having never had the luxury of it before in his entire life) and patiently sipped as Narz made his offer... question? Hmmf, before that, What is Dakkurz thinking? Why didn't they spend the winter in the blasted tower! It would be much warmer, and much safer! And when did we ever give them the impression they were 'workers and nothing more' Bah, Humbug. he says with some true indignation, despite the fact he simply felt sorry for the group.

In any case, as for your offer... I suppose it couldn't hurt. Will there be hot cocoa there? I require more of this magical tincture!

Artys has spent most of his time visiting various nobles, guilds, and banks to try and raise funds and support for the reconstruction. He has also spent many nights talking with his new companions to try and understand them.

"I would never turn down a visit to a tavern. Ale soothes the soul, as my father used to say."

For Taverns most of you may have heard of at somepoint in the city you have a few options. The Yawning Portal is a famous tavern frequented by adventurers of all walks of life. It most well know feature is a well in the center of the tavern that leads to the undermountain, a dungeon of uncertain depth filled with treasure for those lucky enough or skilled enough to survive. You could potentially hear quite a bit of information of the outside world here. 

There is also Gralkyn's Tankard, famed for being built in the lap of one of the great walking statues of Waterdeep.

The Crows Nest is a modest but comfortable tavern; a favorite among the clerks, bureaucrats, and visitors of nearby Castle Waterdeep. Potentially a great place to catch up on the latest politics and alliances being formed.

Finally there's Mother Tathlorn's House of Pleasure & Healing, an upscale spa that features relaxation luxuries for all discerning tastes, Mother Tathlorn is widely considered a bureaucrat's best friend, providing a discreet, comfortable, and relaxing environment for the political figures of the city large and small to enjoy themselves, unwind, and chat with one another in private. A great place to relax, rejuvenate, and possibly even bump shoulders with the cities elite.

The city is however massive, you could wander around until you find somewhere else you'd like to spend the holiday.

Torsus would try to push the others for the yawning portal, if any. And especially push them 'away' from the 'tankard' considering its precarious position.

(Just an update. Got a new phone but old one is getting repaired as well. Hopefully I'll be back to normal functionality soon)

(To Raiketsu: Narz certainly gives the cliff note version.)

(To Sidewinder51: Mind rolling an insight check? It'll help me guage what he'd pick up on Narz so I can include that in some future post.)

"I'll be sure to include an inquiry in my reply about the matter. And while I can't say if there hot cocoa involved, we can certainly find out and count our blessings." Narz replied earlier to Torsus before giving a soft smirk. He then appeared to take a moment to think while brushing his beard. "Seeing as most of us are in agreement, that just leaves the destination. Now, we'll probably not be able to visit all in a day or two, so I'd recommend we start with the Yawning Portal. Maybe we'll near a few close into the Stone Giant activity Dakkurz spoke of. Or failing that, we could recruit a few to help reinforce Dakkurz numbers. Then after that, we could try Mother Tathlorn's House? Might be a bit expensive, but well worth it. For as it stands, it could be months before we're able to relax again. And if we're really lucky, we might even learn of other Lord's Alliance agents or even other organizations that might have their hands less tied and be willing to support us."