1. Silvershield Estate

Dawn greets Baldur's Gate. These final weeks of summer are still warm and bright, but even the sunshine doesn't relieve the sense of unease most of the Gate's inhabitants feel today. For months there has been talk and worry about an impending war with Amn, and the latest news brings rumors of Nashkel's garrison swelling with Amnian troops. Though there is an end in sight for the Iron Crisis, the shortage of metal goods still grips the region by the throat. The Gate has a strong military presence in the Flaming Fist, but how can soldiers fight (or pose a credible threat) when their arms and armor still threaten to break when least expected?

If the Amnian army marches north, will Baldur's Gate be able to mount a proper defense?

This question haunts the Baldurians' thoughts and conversations.

But today, without the public's knowledge, the leaders of the Gate will meet in the Flaming Fist fortress of Wyrm's Rock. There, Grand Duke Liia Jannath will lay out her plan to see the city's true threats defeated. And the small band of adventurers will certainly play an important role both in the meeting's proceedings and in the plan itself.

Before that, however, the group must overcome its first challenge of the day:

Breakfast.

The meal itself is fine fare, coming hot from the Silvershields' kitchen. But just as the adventurers start digging in, a servant enters the dining hall to deliver a letter to Entar.

The Duke's brow furrows as he reads the short message, and then he slams a hand down on the table, shaking plates and cutlery. "Foul roach!" he exclaims, and then he points a finger at Aldous, who of course is sitting alongside Stella. "The man your sister sailed off with is even worse than a coward unable to ask a father's blessing. He's taken Skie hostage!"

Entar thrusts the letter at Aldous, who reads it out loud: "If you wish Skie returned to you unharmed, deliver twenty thousand gold to the southmost pier tonight at midnight. No guards, or you'll never see your daughter again." The younger Silvershield's eyes dance with worry. "Poor girl, duped by some grifter!"

The duke shakes his head, jaw clenched. "I'll see him hanged!"

Aldous looks around at the group, despair and shock written plainly on his face.

A second servant enters the dining hall and clears his throat. "Two visitors have arrived, asking for our guests by name. We have them under guard until they are cleared to enter."

The servant's face looks rather sour. "No, ma'am. They refused. But they said you would know them. They're a skinny man in a green robe, and a rather rude halfling, if that helps."

Aldous frowns. "Wait, you mean those two 'agents' you talked about? Yeah, you said they were both dead..."

Duke Entar calls for more guards, then goes with Aldous to his secure office, just in case.

It doesn't take long for the heroes to gather their gear or have it brought to them. Then, outside, those who go indeed find a skinny man in a green robe and a rather rude halfling, surrounded by Silvershield guards.

"Bah! I telled ye we shoulda come at night, wizard. Next time, we do things my way."

"Your way? My dear Monty, then we wouldn't have properly met these fabulous man-at-arms. Oh, pardon me! Men-and-women-at-arms! It's so hard to get to know someone when they're bleeding out with a knife in the back." Xzar's voice changes to a high-pitched squeal. "Your way stinks!"

The two continue to yell at each other, apparently not noticing the adventurers' arrival. The guards eye each other nervously, ready to strike at any provocation.

"Ah, a blood pact!" Xzar says excitedly, looking in his robes for something sharp.

Montaron shrugs and slices Xzar's thumb with a quick movement. It's a fair bit deeper than necessary. "Bah, quit yer whinin', ye durned necromancer. Ye're the only one interested in blood pacts. This be somethin' different."

After a fair amount of cursing and grumbling Montaron nicks his own thumb. "Normally it's others' blood needs spilt. There! Bleedin' bloody just as ye asked."

Neither of them show signs of being a doppelganger, though Xzar seems entranced by the sight of his own injured thumb.

Looking back on things, Stella's quite sure that Montaron didn't actually kill Xzar. The necromancer must have used magic to feign his own death, and at some point helped Montaron escape before he was to be hanged. And since then? No doubt blundering there way through all manner of situations and locales, they've finally ended up here in the Gate, tracking down the party.

Are these Zhentarim agents nuisances? Yes. Dangerous? No doubt. Useful...? Much doubt. But their assignment means the Zhentarim, a powerful mercantile organization, also wants the Iron Crisis averted. These two are wild cards, but they could be a means of acquiring additional help from the Zhents, if wanted.

Xzar and Montaron exchange a glance. And then they both speak at the same time.

"Okey-doke!" says Xzar.

"What? No!" says Montaron.

They look at each other again, this time with narrowed eyes, then whip out their hands and engage in a viciously rapid game of rock-paper-scissors, after which Xzar pumps a fist while Montaron groans in defeat.

And then they leave.