3. City Streets

Aiwe and Dieter hit the taverns in the Docks District in the hopes of finding clues about Skie and her mysterious suitor.

It takes a surprisingly short time to learn about Skie - apparently it was obvious to some folk that she'd get caught up in one of Eldoth's schemes.

And who is this Eldoth Kron? A singer and poet, if you believe what he says about himself. An alcoholic, womanizer, and conman if you believe anyone who's met him. From what it sounds like, Skie's smitten with the man and would help him with some of his cons. But everyone who knows Eldoth can tell he doesn't care a whit about the girl, aside from the fact that she's helping to line his pockets with gold.

One tavern patron says he heard the two of them talking about a big score they planned to make soon, one that would let them retire together in another city.

Algernon's Shop turns out to be a greenhouse, with all sorts of flowers and plants for sale. For all the fragrant aromas and delicate greenery, the shopkeeper is a rather surly, thuggish fellow who watches all customers with suspicion - not that there are many.

Moving around and through the large greenhouse, Stella doesn't sense Ossein's presence anywhere.

"You gonna buy somethin' or what?" the shopkeeper growls.

In her perusal of the plants, Stella finds many familiar varieties of flower, as well as a few that she's read about, but never seen in person. She also happens to see a few stargazer lilies, like the ones at Candlekeep, or in her journal.

But the real discovery is when she notices the dirt. It's everywhere in the greenhouse, really, but in one far corner she finds signs that there is a trapdoor hidden beneath a layer of soil. Putting that knowledge together with what Halbazzer Drin told her about the Thieves' Guild, she's sure that the trapdoor must lead down into the city's sewer system.

A few minutes later, and the spider slips down into a crack in the trapdoor. Indeed, beneath is a vertical passage that goes down into the sewers, with mazelike shafts extending far beneath the city. It's likely that the Thieves' Guild is close by, but it may take a bit of time traversing the tunnels to find it (especially as a little spider).

The spider dutifully skitters off down one of the tunnels, trying to avoid getting stuck in sludge and not eaten by the rats or larger spiders that haunt the place.