Adventure Three, Session Eight

INT. TUNNEL INSIDE THE SCALY DOG
When we last left our heroes they had just discovered a secret door in the back hallway of the Scaly Dog, a bar the gang known as "The Eye" uses as a hangout. After Tommison and Guy headed back to The Doubtful, the party at the bar was joined by Teffa and Sendry. Teffa checked in with the half-orc bartender, who she just saw gesture to the child gang members in the main room, causing them to quickly exit the building. Jakkod, the bartender, seemed concerned that the party might trash his establishment (even more than it already was). After assuring him that this would not be the case, Teffa rejoined the others.
Thus it was, the group consisting of Teffa, Temerity, Sendry, Walton, Mangy and Oltorf descended into the dark corridor, one that seemed to lead DOWN.
The tunnel opened up into a large room with two additional exits. The room featured a long wooden table, covered with the (worthless) ephemera of a multitude of picked pockets and fleeced fineries. Oltorf led the way, along with Mangy (who was still suffering delusions of grandeur brought on by the consumption of The Grey Pith). Of the two possible tunnels (and one additional closed door), they chose the one to their left.
Further, the tactic they chose to employ involved no stealth. They embraced the "open and honest" approach. The tunnel opened into a "training room," where a large group of teenagers and kids with knives and clubs were making short work of several practice dummies. They were overseen by two hunched and cloaked adults (with dark grey skin). They would later hear of these men referred to as "Darklings," and individually as Dargle and Bastris.
Oltorf brazenly announced that he was searching for the head of Garvistan, and that he'd be willing to pay handsomely for it. Unsurprisingly, Bastris puffed up and told the party to get out before something bad happened to them. Against the smart money, Oltorf agreed. The party slowly backed out of the room.
Back in the first room, the group decided to take the other tunnel, but Sendry decided to stay behind to search the closed door on the opposite wall.
Down the tunnel the party went, and eventually found themselves in a large, cavelike room that connected directly to the city sewers; specifically at the point where the sewers spill out into the bay. In other words, this was an exit to the West Docks. But the room wasn't empty. Six kids sat on the edge of the floor where it overhung the sewers below. They were tossing small bits of food into the water, as if they were feeding the fish. The kids ranged in age from 8 to 16, with the youngest bearing a small creature, sitting on his shoulder. This creature looked almost like the tiny head of a hairy old man suddenly sprouted spindly arms and legs. In other words, gross.
Once again, Oltorf announced his intentions, asking the kids where they could find Xaxmenethan's lair, as he heard it mentioned (back in the previous room) as the place where the head might possibly be kept. The kids jumped to their feet and pulled out their knives. They weren't taking the bait. So Mangy cast Sleep upon all but the oldest and the little shoulder creature. As the kids fell to the floor, the little creature started freaking out and making a ton of noise.
Suddenly the waters of the sewers began to roil and bubble. A moment later, two giant bulbous creatures burst from beneath the surface of the dank waters. They were a mottled orange-brown in color, sported two tentacled arms each, giant eyestalks, and great open maws lined with razor-sharp teeth. For the curious, these things were Otyughs.
A large battle ensued, with the otyughs using their tentacled arms to reel in several of the party members, in an attempt to eat them. Finally, after much injury, the party managed to wear the creatures down and eventually kill them. But they had exhausted much of their resources. In the fray, the one conscious child decided to make a break for it, along with the little shoulder creature. They hopped into a tiny rowboat in the sewers below. It should be noted that there were something like six similar rowboats down below.
Temerity used her Mage Hand to slow the child's progress in unhooking the boat from the dock, and Warren shot the boat with an Eldritch Blast, blowing a hole in the side and filling the hull with water. Around this time, a large group of kids and both Dargle and Bastris arrived at the entrance of the room. Teffa quickly cast Entanglement on the entrance, creating a wall of thorns between them and their enemy.
The party members all jumped in several rowboats as Warren attempted to subdue the escaping child, who had just hopped to another rowboat. Warren blasted the strange shoulder creature with arcane energy, killing the thing and instantly cowing the child. He then jumped in the rowboat with the kid and took it over.
The party then got the hell out of there before the pursuing group could cut through the thorny vines.
EXT. WEST DOCKS
Once outside and in the fresh air again, the party kept their tiny boats hugging the base of the docks below, passing under the pier and hopefully out of site of the gathering crowd on the street above. From their position, they could barely see the Scaly Dog Inn looming above them, but they could see enough to know that a group of kids from "The Eye" had gathered, searching for the party. With them were both Dargle and Bastris, along with a wiry, waxen faced man they referred to as Ruthiass.
Ruthiass quickly established himself as the leader, and he seemed pretty mad that the party both infiltrated their lair and got away with it. The party decided to not hang around, and headed back to The Doubtful. Once at a safe distance, Warren allowed the captured child to go, making him promise not to disclose any information about them.
INT. THE DOUBTFUL
Once aboard the ship, the party set about planning their next move. They felt as if they botched their chances at the Scaly Dog, but that still left the other hideout of "The Eye," the gambling hall known as "The Gilded Anchor." When they were back in the previous lair, they heard some of the kids mention that Xaxmenethan might be at the gambling hall, so it seemed the best course of action was to go there. They decided to dress up, in order to make themselves "fit in" amongst the more upper crust gambling set. But before heading out, Warren decided to scry upon the Scaly Dog using his Clairvoyance.
He was able to alternate between seeing and hearing the scene in progress back there. Inside the Dog, a large group of child thieves were being chastised by a pacing Ruthiass. Even Dargle and Bastriss were being shamed. Ruthiass commanded his minions to find the party. He was convinced, since they were asking for Garvistan's head, that the party were members of their rival gang, "The Bloody Garrotes" (the master of whom was the late, lamented and headless Garvistan). The party now had something they could use to their advantage!
Just as Ruthiass was about to dismiss his gang, the kid Warren set free returned to the bar. Ruthiass yelled at the others to leave, and then he questioned the kid... who instantly gave up the party's position.
Warren told Dreeva and the party advised the captain to take the ship to a safe distance and await them there. They needed to get out before "The Eyes" had them.
Warren went back into his fugue state and scried once more. He gained an additional piece of information...
The escaped child mentioned something to Ruthiass. He seemed concerned that his boss feared for the safety of "his stone." Ruthiass flew into a fit of anger, "How did you know about my stone! What do you know of it!" The child responded, "Nothing... I... I just know you need it... and that the Master has it... and without it, your powers are weak..." Ruthiass threatened to demonstrate how "weak" his powers were upon the child, and after that dire warning, released him.
Warren snapped back to his own consciousness and told the party what he just learned. Before Dreeva set about taking his ship out of the bay, he informed the party of a few more pieces of potentially useful information. First, he gave them the name of an inn they could patronize that was not run by The Club Masters, a place called "The Eye of the Dragon." He then told the group that the Club Masters actually owned the place they had been frequenting of late... The Silent Room.
Finally, Dreeva informed them a bit about how the Club Masters work. Apparently none alive outside the organization knows exactly who is and who isn't a member. Further, neither "The Eyes" nor "The Bloody Garrote" were members of the Club Masters, but both desperately wanted in. Dreeva was convinced that Garvistan was killed by Xaxmenethan to prove his worthiness to the Club Maters, and hopefully gain entry into the organization.
The party deduced that since none knew what a representative of the Club Masters looked like, they could pose as such dangerous powers. Perhaps the head of Garvistan was being kept as a "gift" to present to the Club Master representative that would surely now be paying Xaxmenethan a visit. Dreeva was certain that, at least, the beholder crime lord would expected a member of the Club Masters to (discreetly or not) pay a visit to his main establishment.
So, now with barely a day left to attain the head, and dressed to the nines (or the eights at least... okay, sevens), the party set about heading towards their destiny at The Gilded Anchor...