Waterdeep, also known as the City of Splendors or the Crown of the North,[11] was the most important and influential city in the North and perhaps in all Faerûn. It was a truly marvelous cosmopolitan city of great culture that attracted the most talented artisans, artists, and scholars from across the Realms, as well as a commercial hub for financial interests along the coast and beyond.

The Yawning Portal Tavern might perhaps be it's most famous landmark, surely more popular than the Castle of the Masked Lords or even Blackstaff Tower. And when the crank stops turning and your elevator ride ends at the mouth of the well that you entered not too long ago, half the tavern is full of people with their jaws dropped in surprise, and the other half bursts into cheers!!!!

Many people just lost their entire life savings betting on your deaths. You proved them wrong.

Andromeda was surprised by all the fanfare when their party crested the rim of the Yawning Portal.  The druidess smiled and waved to all, including those who had bet against them.  She declared with enthusiasm, "The Dragonstar Syndicate had survived the dangers of Undermountain, nay, we have thrived!"

Once the party was safely offloaded into the inn floor, Andromeda said, "It feels quite nice to be back on the surface, doesn't it?  I think I should like a good meal and then to visit Hal, then perhaps some shopping!  What about all of you?"  She turned questioning lavender-hued eyes to each of them, but especially Travic, whom she gave a shy smile.

"Hmm, well I believe I have some long overdue reports here and their. So unfortunately I have to skip my meal for now." Devan says and walks off from the Syndicate,"But don't worry, I'll meet you again once you meet back with Hal." he says and walks toward a table with a group that's carrying strange devices and a lot of notepads. One of them even decided to point their devices straight toward Dragonstar Syndicate, and the next thing you know it, each and every one of you are temporarily blinded by a flash of light. The culprit light flasher sneakily leaves out of the tavern to spread the news.

"Gah! Warn a girl before you flash her next time!" yelled Roxanne as she rubbed the brightness from her eyes. Despite the unsolicited flashing, Roxanne was in awe of the spectacle of the tavern. Hal had managed to have her skip over the place on her way in, so now she was a bit mesmerized by it on their way out. "I could do with a bit of celebrating after what we went through down there, I suppose. I won't take a lot of convincing."

She hadn't been with the group for long, but Roxanne already felt she had fulfilled all of her original goals. That was, she had found ancient relics that would make her brother jealous, got rich, and had an exciting time doing it. Not to mention she had become more powerful in the process! Her swarm of bugs had stuck with her after she exited the portal and were now dancing around her as beautiful fireflies moving to the tavern's music.

As her party members celebrated or did whatever else they decided to do, Roxanne eventually asked, "So how do we decide what Hal's 10% cut is? You all got the same deal as me, right? I would rather deduct that now before I accidentally spend the share he is owed. Hal doesn't seem to be the type you want to upset if you can help it..."

Travic seemed to barley acknowledge the cheers. He gave a perfunctory wave and nod to the crowd, but mostly he just watched Andromeda. He seemed enthralled, and everyone else just faded away. When she asked what they all had planned, he smiled brightly at her.

"Well, my plans where to get you the best deals I can haggle for our magic items and other shopping. After I take you to some of the best food, wine, and bard shows this town has to offer. What is the point of money if it cannot bring joy, after all?"

He then whispers to her quietly in elvish something else as well.

OOC-spending 50+ gp on just pampering Andromeda today. A little overspending when we get such a windfall should be no hardship. Travic will also pay his due to Hal...whatever that is.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:57, Mon 02 May 2022.

Andromeda cried out in alarm when the unexpected flash blinded her, then said while blinking back her vision, "Hey!  That was rather rude..."  Not one of her finer moments, but she could at least take comfort that the image of that moment wouldn't be recorded and published in a widely-syndicated tabloid broadsheet or anything silly like that!

Roxanne's question about dividing out Hal's cut struck Andromeda as a concern, and so she said, "Let us divide out the take into ten parts: one for Hal and then nine to be divided amongst ourselves.  Oh, Durnan?"  The druidess asked the proprietor to borrow a small private room briefly, in which the Dragonstars spent five busy minutes gathering treasures and crunching numbers, then emerged with the matter settled (OOC: glossing over the this part in-character, unless anybody wants to RP a bunch of bookkeeping ;P)

Travic kept looking her way, and when he answered her question she realized why!  "...Just you and I, you mean?  Oh!  Well, um, that does sound nice..."  The pale druidess blushed crimson when he whispered to her in Elvish.  She replied quietly in the same tongue.  Andromeda stifled an embarrassed chuckle and looked away, but held onto Travic's arm as they carried on to the next order of business.

Onyxclaw wasn't as forward as the others coming to the surface - he was still a kobold in a humanoid world. Reserved like before, he stayed mostly silent, focusing on his books. When Devan came up with the flash, he squealed, rubbing his eyes and glared at him. "Too bright!" he hissed.

When the time came to discuss the time, he smiled. "Onyxclaw have plan. Need days to do. Shop, rest. See hal. Onyxclaw have surprise later."

Onyxclaw went to the bartender and spoke quietly with him for a moment, then returned with a smile. "Tonight drink. Eat.  I'll stay for bit, then need work." He tapped the books he gained from below with a smile.

8PM you wander back and regroup as planned at the Green Dragon Inn, taking your familiar table where Hal greets you warmly.

"Let's have a bite and I'll get down to THE REAL REASON I've hired you on."

The bar wench...can we call them that? Do we need to be PC about this???

The server lady takes your orders and while she is gone Hal strokes his beard, "So the potions worked wonderfully well then? Please tell me, each of you, what was your favorite thing in Undermountain? Where did you go, what did you do?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:40, Thu 05 May 2022.

Andromeda swept into the Green Dragon fresh from a day out shopping with the newfound wealth hauled up from Undermountain.  She had updated her dress with fancy black fur accents the shoulders and hips, along with a long night-blue hooded cloak trimmed with cloth-of-silver.  She wore a shiny crescent-moon sickle at her belt and a shield across her back emblazoned with the the symbol of an eye with a pupil wreathed in stars.  Carried under one arm was the Pot of Awakening full of fresh soil, in which was planted the seeds of the Stargazer lily.  All in all, she had the look of a young adventurer having just spent a fortune on a frivolously triumphant shopping spree.

"Greetings, mister Hal!  It is lovely to have survived to meet you again.  What is this...?"  Andromeda's cheerful mood dampened somewhat at the news about Jhank's departure.  She said, "That is unfortunate, but I sensed that the stars held a different fortune for her... I wish her well."  The druidess slid the bag toward Onyxclaw, offering tacit agreement that he should be the one to take it.

Soon enough the conversation turned to more pleasant topics, namely reminiscence of their adventures below.  Andromeda smiled, "Oh yes, the potion's effect was quite marvelous!  I daresay we'd likely not have returned without the skill and knowledge it provided."  The question of their favorite thing in Undermountain was a harder one, and the druidess frowned in thought.  "It is difficult to choose a favorite, as nearly everything we encountered below was... terrible in some respect.  I did appreciate the beauty of Wyllowwood, though we were not there long.  The tomb of the dusk elves and the dwarven cisterns were fascinating, in a historical sense."  Andromeda looked to her companions and smiled brightly, then added, "I will say that my favorite part was becoming acquainted with my new friends of the Dragonstar Syndicate!  Each of them is very capable and a delight to adventure alongside, in their own ways."  She locked eyes with Travic and remembered the strange experience of the body-swap.  It was difficult to call that her favorite experience because it was rather distressing at the time, although it was easily the most memorable!  The bond that had grown from that experience was something else altogether.

Onyxclaw walks in into the inn, totally dirty, covered in grease, grime, his armor removed and replaced with a leather apron. His clothes and hands had cuts on them, but despite this, he had a smile as he sat.

When the news came of Jhank, he lost his smile. "Jhank gone?' He sighed as he took the bag.  He opened the bag, taking out the duskblade with a frown, and looks at the new dwarf. he holds it out to here. "Here....take. Onyxclaw won't use."

As Hal asked about the potion, he nodded at Andromeda's words. "Onyxclaw free of master. Remembered talent." He held up his hands. "Onyxclaw work hands. Make."

When thinking of a favorite part, it was gaining his freedom and his memories, once blocked by the entity to make him remember his passion again.

Devan appeared just like he said, he didn't had much of a wardrobe change except the fact that his wearing an exact replica of the coat that was dissolved a few dungeons ago. His also carrying a stack of papers that he passed around to some random passerbys and tavern goers, he gave one to Hal too,"Sorry for my abrupt departure my fellows. Had to make a visit to the missus after such a long time being underground." he says, then looks on solemnly after hearing the news about Jhank,"Oh, that is too bad, to have a member leave the syndicate breaks me heart." he says as he puts down his hat as an act of mourning a loss one,"Anyways, I believed most of our exploits were printed on by this new thing called a newspaper. Made by Crier Press, of course it has no relations to me. Clearly someone is making a journal-like biography of our exploits, of which all of its true for I fact checked it, in a very covert fashion."

In reply to Andromeda (msg # 9):

While Travic had indeed bought his own magic items, he had focused on shopping with Andromeda. The one which had taken the most time was the spellwrought Tattoo. Which he used at once to regain the power to summon his familiar, the owl Iceaclease. He also had to pick up a broom of flying, as his ability to summon the flying disk of stone was also lost after the potion ended. The Rod of the Pact keeper was indeed a useful tool, as was his new simple necklace of adaptation, and the decanter of endless water. But it was the Amulet that he most prized above all the other magic objects. No magical scrying or divination power could find him with that. He knew what was looking for him, after all...

However, he kept those dark thoughts to himself. Shopping with Andromeda had been his focus. Even when she had done with the magic items, he had spent the day showing her various outfits she would look good in. Having actually been Andromeda, he seem to have a sense for various outfits to suggest. Granted he could just make an illusion over her clothes, but this way she would actually have the outfit she wanted when she liked. Plus, he would store anything extra she bought in the ring, so it would stay clean and dry no matter where they went. He also volunteered to store the pot of awakening in the ring-but was unsure if actual sunlight was needed for the plant.

Also, true to his word, he made sure that while they where shopping the two of them are attended to. Basically allowing Andromeda to relax and try out her purchases in a comfortable longue while they are brought food and drink. Having grown up poor, Travic knew what rich people do. It was usually the time he would try to pick their pockets, among other things.

Upon returning to the inn, Travic nodded and smiled at the rest of the group. He makes sure he has Hal's 'cut' prepared as was his due, but does seem a bit sad to hear of Jhank's departure. When the man asks his question, he nearly does not hear him as Travic is distracted by Andromeda, returning her gaze and hanging on her every word.

"Indeed, I got more than I ever..." He cleared his throat, tearing his dazed smile away from her face and turned to Hal. "...ah, than I have had in a long time. True boon companions who fight with you through danger and deadly peril is a rare thing not to be taken lightly, yes?" He says, nodding at Hal as he gestures with one hand at the rest of the group. His other hand, under the table, is lightly brushing Andromeda's. "If I had to pick one moment above others...ah...my second choice would be seeing the Bizarre of Goblins." He turns back to Andromeda and smiles. "The first is a private matter." He gently squeezes her hand.
This message was last edited by the player at 20:02, Wed 04 May 2022.

Roxanne handed Hal a sack of coins the moment she walked through the door to give Hal his cut, then listened with interest as everyone said what they had to say. She was sad to hear Jhank decided to go, even though Roxanne barely knew her. She was glad Jhank had left the blade behind though. She held the magical relic in her palms, with awe in her eyes. She hadn't had a long time to examine it earlier. It certainly put her new purchases to shame.

This kept her visual attention until Devan mentioned a "newspaper." After scanning the story she looked to Devan with confusion. "You fact checked this, but still don't know who made it?" If she suspected that its creator was actually Devan himself, it didn't show. "I wasn't present for most of this stuff mentioned. Sounds quite exciting!"

When it was Roxanne's turn to share her favorite parts of the expedition, she held up Duskblade and said, "I really liked when we found this! It is a worthy relic indeed. My brother is going to be sooo jealous. I also had fun chatting with a giant spider. That was cool." As she reminisced, the swarm around her turned into tiny spiders that dropped from her on silk strands like a thousand tiny Christmas ornaments.

Then she shook her head clear and asked Hal, "What of you, Hal? You seem to have implied there was an ulterior motives for hiring us? A TRUE reason? What might that be?"

Hal tugs on his beard as he reads through the Crier's Cry. All of it. And he's not a speed reader.

Your food arrives and he barely looks up to acknowledge the wench...I mean...look they're all wenches ok? It's my world I don't have to be PC about this. Food tastes better when a wench serves it.

Finally he sets it down with a smile.

"This is well done my boy. You have something here, and not just the news. This could start a faction. You keep giving the right information-shaping it-the way it really happened-making note of who the bad guys are, you'll start to have allies in places you did not expect. Which brings me to my big reveal. I am actually Halastar Blackcloak! The Mad Mage of Undermountain himself! Hehehee!"

He was expecting a much bigger shock value. He shrugs.

"Oh maybe you already guessed. It's true, I'm nothing like the grand tales. Not anymore...hey Devan, keep all this out of your papers or I will turn you into a frog and immediately have you jump into a vat of acid. Okay?"

In reply to DM (msg # 14):

"AHA! I knew it! I said so! See!? See!?" Travic suddenly says, directing his glee towards Devan who had dismissed his earlier claims. Travic then clamed down, suddenly aware of his slight childishness. "Its nice to be right." He muttered quietly with a grin, rubbing the back of his neck.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 20:03, Wed 04 May 2022.

Andromeda had been girlishly excited to try on a variety of outfits, which was something she'd never had the means nor the opportunity to do during her cloistered upbringing with the Circle of Stars.  She gladly took Travic's suggestions for outfits and accessories, as they both quickly learned that he had the far better fashion sense between the two of them.  Several of the outfits were figure-flattering in ways that made Andromeda blush to see herself in, but it was hard to deny that they looked fantastic.  The way Travic looked at her and offered well-spoken compliments certainly helped.  She objected to Travic paying for her selections, and insisted that if he wished to do so then he'd need to let her purchase him some equally dashing outfits!  In the end Andromeda came away with three fantastic outfits that she loved, but could never have imagined wearing.  One dress in particular she didn't know if she'd dare to wear outside, but she had to get it after Travic nearly choked when she'd modeled it for him!

At the meeting later at the Green Dragon Inn, Andromeda gently returned Travic's hand-squeeze under the table.  She thought she knew just the particular moment he was indirectly referring to.  Shortly thereafter, Hal announced himself as Halaster Blackcloak himself!  Andromeda had suspicions, but it was still quite a shock to have the fact revealed so forthrightly.  The druidess said with a laugh, "Well, that's quite the news!  You were correct indeed, mister Travic."  This news raised so many questions.  Andromeda turned to Hal and asked, "So, for what purpose does the mighty Halaster Blackcloak need to contract new adventurers to delve into his own creation?  Have you some goal in mind for our expeditions?  If so, I join Roxanne in wishing to know more."

"Hmph, no one likes a showboat Mister Televentor." Devan says after the reveal that Hal was actually Halaster, the connection is an enigma I'm sure,"Hrngh, it explains a lot on what's going on right now though." he says, when he was threatened, he tip his hat downward to hide his eyesight,"Hal, I would never write a paper about you. Not that I would ever know how to write. You know me, just the average day boxer." he says, making direct eye contact and adding subtle hand gestures to the camera crew hiding in the shrubbery to back away for now.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:07, Wed 04 May 2022.

Onyxclaw listened to teh conversation, and when he mentioned himself being teh mad mage, the kobold gulped with a slight squeak. Even his kind had heard of the mage that created such a vast dungeon.

He sat there, trying to wipe grease off his hands and arms, shaking his head. he wanted to know why he sent them in as much as the others.

Even Roxanne had already been wondering if Hal was actually the Mad Mage, simply based on the note they had found on their way out of the dungeon. "So... you are the one that Wyllow of Wyllowood pities then? By the sounds of it, she does not have a high opinion of you." More quietly, she added, "Wyllow is a she, right? I haven't actually met them."

Jhank blinked in confusion a number of times when the party surfaced due to the racket and light change. But as soon as she saw how many people bet against them and were losing terribly she flipped the bird with both hands and held them high shouting, HA! Suck it bitches! Then directly ordered a beer and downed it immediately, ordering two more she began to scan the YP crowd for a certain someone. I'll meet ya at the Green man, buy you the one I owe ya there Jhank gestured to the beers in her hands to Onyx and nodded a short goodbye to weave through the crowd with a surprising amount of grace.

Jhank plonked herself down beside Z and handed him a beer while striking up a conversation. It wasn't long after a rather odd pair of drow and lizardfolk could be seen sneaking off to the back rooms for some frickle frackle. After a quick but morally obscene kiss goodbye with Z, Jhank headed out in the street and hocked her damaged short sword to some desperate teenage boy for a few coins which she spent on dried meat to stow away in her pack. She blustered through the Green Dragon's door a bit after Onyx, throwing her share for Hal at him rather than to him from across the room as she approached, There's your's boss. Good enough yeah?

Jhank dropped her bag onto the floor between her feet and pulled out a fistful of coins and looked straight at Onyx with a disturbing amount of alertness in her yellow eyes. So whadda ya want man? Beer or something else? Wench! Jhank barked loudly at the serving lady to call her over while she waited for his reply

Onyxclaw smiles at Jhank and her rough attitude - something he will miss. The kobold smiled at the warrior with a nod. "Onyxclaw miss Jhank. Name friend after Jhank."

He looked at her. "Beer." Onyxclaw rummaged into a pocket and retrieved a familiar vial to the lizardfolk - the one that made her big and held it out. "You take. Use if need. Think Onyxclaw as you grow big."

Jhank looked immensely puzzled, I ain't going nowhere man, this crew a good one. Got someone on with brains, she tapped him on the head before turning to give the wench her orders, asking for some food for herself along with Onyx's beer. Jhank stared glazedly at the others in the party while working on her sixth beer of the night when Hal caught her eye, did the crazy coot say something that made ya think I was gonna leave? When Onxy handed her the vial she said, are you sure? I think you're lacking in the height department more than I am, a truly devilish grin spread across her face, she loved poking fun at her friend.

Z was not your typical male drow. The usual in Menzoberranzan was a priestess dominatrix forcing the males to suffer in awkward worship to Lolth - the Spider Queen. The rating of this game restricts me from descriptions, but you can use your imagination.

While Jhank was his first lizardwoman, it was not his first rodeo having to do everything she said. It was fun. It was done. He wouldn’t be calling her back.

Sad.

The wench brought beers with Mexican flags on the toothpicks sticking in the limes and wagyu steaks and you all look around wondering who is gonna pay this bill.

Hal continued, “Cloning has a few unbreakable rules. First, the clone will believe that it is the original. The original can do nothing to change this. No matter what the original does, the clone will not believe it. Second, the clone will try to kill the original. For this reason I have never attempted to clone myself. Manshoon however, did not heed my advice.”

Hal realized he started at the end of the story, so he backs up to the beginning.

“I’m glad you didn’t side with any of the factions down there. Xanathar’s Guild has it’s own problems, but the Zhentarim! Manshoon is the creator of the Zhentarim. It would be a slap in my face if you joined the Zhentarim. Manshoon himself, if the original is still alive, presides in Zhentil Keep, which is way east of here in Anorach. We respected each other. Like I said, I advised him against cloning. He did it anyway. One hundred times, and put them all immediately to sleep. At least ten of them woke up. How do I know this? Because ten of them are in my Undermountain and they kicked me out!!!! Makes no sense. They should all be killing each other, not teaming up against me.

“And now, my friends, you know why I need your help. My magic is so…so…I’m half the man I am when I’m in Undermountain. My spells are limited to prestidigitation, teleportation, and transmutation. I have more potions brewing for you all as we speak, but tomorrow I’d like it if you all could go to the first level of Undermountain, Durnan will make sure you aren’t tricked by the changing tunnels, and kill the Manshoon clone that is “king” of that level.”

Onyxclaw looked at the group as the mad mage told his story, and fiddled with his hands. he waited for the others to speak up before he answered

"Ah, so you basically want us to oof off a bunch of cloned wizards that are trying to kill you." Devan says as he takes a sip of beer,"Hmm, well I hope this doesn't crunch our time for the Dragonbowl Tourney, but if the fellow is on our way, I guess we could deal with him if we find him that is. Though first level? The potions sound like they won't help at all, aren't we just going in in our most weakest of strengths compared to our current strengths."