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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Lazybones" data-source="post: 375713" data-attributes="member: 143">Maldur: we'll get to Lok shortly, and see that it's been "business as usual" in the Underdark... <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />As for Delem, we'll be seeing more of him a little later in book 6. Hope you guys don't mind all the "development" posts, I promise we'll get down to some good old fashioned brawling soon enough. * * * * * Book VI, Part 5Waterdeep, City of Splendors, bustled with activity in the arrival of a new day.  Even though the hour was still early, thousands of people were present on the streets, going about their business, or conducting it in the city’s numerous open-air markets and busy public squares.  The pedestrians represented dozens of regions and almost all of the major races of Faerûn.  In Waterdeep, it was not uncommon to see a gold dwarf priest walking a few paces away from a sun elf wizard, or a halfling forest scout from distant Luiren crossing paths with a sun-darkened Calim<img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" /><img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f642.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=":)" title="Smile    :)"  data-smilie="1"data-shortname=":)" />e trader.  The City of Splendors was exactly that, and its residents took pride in the diversity that could be found in its streets.  Waterdeep was also a city of contrasts, its different districts each like a world unto itself.  Over it all hung three ever present constants; the smell of the sea, the noise of the crowd, and the looming presence of Mount Waterdeep, under which lay the multilayered halls of Undermountain.  Perhaps the busiest of the city’s sectors was the bustling South District, the gateway into the city for travelers and the trade they brought with them.  At every street corner a dozen street merchants hawked their wares, their loud cries blending together into a general cacophony.  Large wooden signs along the streets indicated inns, taverns, shops, artisans, and every other kind of craft and service imaginable.  Every now and again a sudden hue and cry revealed the presence of less savory sorts of individuals within the general crowd, but such interruptions barely slowed the flow of people through the city’s streets.  If the city was a body, its residents and visitors were its blood, and hard-faced men in the livery of the City Watch were conspicuous as they monitored that flow of energy, ensuring its smooth operation.  Cal and Benzan walked together along one of those busy streets.  Benzan looked annoyed, his sharp eyes darting through the crowd, but Cal had a grin on his face, as each sight and smell and sound brought back memories of the many years that he had spent in this place.  “You couldn’t have transported us to a nice tavern, or even the interior of the one of the city’s brothels,” Benzan said.  “No, we have to end up in the middle of a trash-choked alley.”“I said I was sorry,” Cal said, but he refused to let Benzan’s criticism sour his mood.  “The spell was just a bit above my abilities, and I was rushed to boot.  At least we didn’t end up ten miles out to sea, or on the inside of a stone wall.”Benzan shot him a penetrating look, as if trying to judge whether the gnome was serious.  Cal’s face, however, had taken on the impenetrable look that they were so familiar with from Lok.  “Yeah, well, I noticed that you didn’t land in a refuse pile.”Cal smiled slightly as they passed through a massive stone gate into the city’s North Ward.  Their surroundings changed almost immediately.  Although the bustle of activity around them continued at the same constant pace, the buildings were noticeably cleaner and in better repair, and the passersby more fashionably attired.  The Watch was more noticeable as well, and their gazes lingered slightly on Benzan as the pair of travelers made their way deeper into the city.  Benzan met their looks boldly, and reflected the challenge implied therein with defiance. “Easy there,” Cal cautioned him.  “We’re not looking for trouble.”“I’m tired of being challenged everywhere I go, just because of what I am.”“Difference can be scary.  Sometimes it’s worse when it isn’t immediately obvious, but only suggested, under the surface.”Benzan didn’t reply, but he eased his body language as they turned down one of the side streets—only marginally less busy than the main thoroughfare—and made their way into a more residential district.  There were still shops and businesses about, but most of them were more specialized, catering to the more affluent residents of this part of the city.  The ground was beginning to slope upward, as the city ran up onto one of the shoulders of Mount Waterdeep.   “Ah, here, High Fenwaith Street,” Cal said, guiding them onto a cobbled way that twisted up along the lines of a beveled ridge.  Fairly expensive homes lined both sides of the street, some on fairly copious lots surrounded by stone walls and iron gates.  While not the wealthiest neighborhood in Waterdeep—the estates of the truly rich tended to be at the tops of the hills, not on the slopes—the homes here definitely belonged to at least the more prosperous section of the city’s middle class, the haute bourgeoisie.  “Reminds me a little of Elturel,” Benzan commented.  “Remember that nobleman’s house, where we battled that demon?”“Yes, I remember,” Cal replied. “Oh, sorry.  Damn, sometimes I just need to remember to shut up.”“It’s all right,” Cal said.  “While I’m not glad that it happened, it’s shaped who I am now.  And I’m very glad that I had friends who were able to bring me back... I wasn’t ready for eternity, not by a long shot.”“I don’t think I’ll ever be ready.”“Ah, here we are.”“Here” was a corner parcel dominated by a sprawling, two-story structure that formed a wide “U” shape around a central garden plaza.  While certainly not as ornate as many of the other buildings along High Fenwaith Street, the place looked inviting and comfortable, with flowers in windowboxes and neat garden plots that looked like they received regular care.  A few people were about, a mix of gnomes and humans that were busy about a variety of chores.  It looked like a perfect street scene, but a faint cloud of unease hung about the place that both veteran adventurers picked up on immediately.Benzan looked down at his friend.  “I had no idea that your family was so... comfortable.  What, is your aunt one of the Masked Lords or something?”“There have been some who have suggested as much,” Cal mentioned deadpan, leaving Benzan to wonder again as he walked ahead and unlatched the low gnome-sized gate.  The house didn’t have a wall around the property, although well-tended hedges tended to channel visitors up the broad main walk or the side entrance on the facing street.  As they walked up the main walk, someone noticed them.  A middle-aged gnome clad in the garb of a gardener or handyman came up to them, nodding as he greeted them.  Cal didn’t recognize him.“Good morning, sirs.  Can I be of help to you?”“No thank you.  I am expected, and I know the way.”“Very good, sirs.”  Apparently satisfied, the man went back to his work, vanishing around the far side of the building.  A few other curious looks were shot their way as the two made their way through the landscaped garden to the wide front door.  There Cal hesitated a moment, reluctant for the first time since he’d made his decision a few hours ago that morning, on receiving Alera’s scroll.  Apparently his arrival had been noted, however, for before he could knock or open the doors one of the portal swung inward, and an elderly gnome woman appeared in the entry.“Why if it isn’t young Bally, returned home!  Mistress Alera said that you’d be coming, and like that here you are.  It’s good to see you back at Calloran House, after all this time.”“Nora.  It’s good to see you,” Cal said, accepting the old woman’s embrace, then following her into the house.  “Bally?” Benzan queried quietly, with a raised eyebrow.  Cal shot him a covert warning look as the two of them followed after Nora, the old gnome chattering on about a wide-ranging variety of topics.  Cal barely heard her, focused instead on the familiar sights and sounds and smells in the old house.  To his eyes the house hadn’t changed at all, every detail fixed in place through the efforts of Alera and the household staff.  As far as he knew only a few members of the extended family still lived here, but he didn’t see anyone else he recognized as she led him up a wide flight of stairs and down a plushly carpeted hallway to the back study.  As she opened the door Cal felt a momentary flashback to a time decades ago, when he’d been brought down this same hall for an... “audience” with the family matriarch.  He couldn’t remember what offense had precipitated the visit, but the forceful personality of Alera Calloran remained fresh in his mind, even though he’d come a long way since then.  “Would you like me to show you to the kitchen—perhaps you’d like an early lunch?” Nora said to Benzan, the diminutive gnome woman standing in the doorway like a sentinel.  “I suspect that my friend will want to hear what Alera has to say,” Cal said, taking the matter into his own hands by brushing past the old woman and into the study.  Benzan followed him.</blockquote>

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