After all that running around in the sewers, our group parted ways. I spent the rest of the afternoon wandering the docks, and eventually found my way into the Wayward Lobster.

Like most dockside taverns, this one was croweded with all types of people; several adventurers, but mostly fisherman. There was a room off to the side that looked like it had been set aside for formal dueling. Well, if people are going to fight, I guess fighting in controlled circumstances is best!

One patron waved me over. "I know you! You're the adventurer who killed Drexelhand under the Wavecrest. I speak for House Phiarlan when I say that we welcome all such resourceful persons to Stormreach. So...would you like to put your resourcefulness to good use?"

A House representative seeking me out? Will wonders never cease? I guess it made sense. House Phiarlan is renowned for their entertainments. I looked at him and asked "What did you have in mind?"

He told me about a local smuggler named Osgood has been moving artifacts illegally from Xen'drik to Sharn, and that House Phiarlan would like to intercept a certain one before it disappeared forever...without being known for the ones that rescued the shipment. So, I needed to be discreet.

I could be discreet. Stormreach is a city of secrets, I'm finding out quickly enough. It's a also a city of smugglers, apparently. I could do this, and maybe gain some favor with House Phiarlan in the process - patrons of the arts for a bard are pretty important!

I headed to Osgood's basement. I found a room guarded by a couple of his thugs, who I dispatched readily enough, after summoning a celestial dog to watch my back. Handy thing, magic. No artifact, though. The smuggler must have moved it. The room appeared to be a dead end, unfortunately. Rather than giving up, I decided to search the room. Hidden in a corner, I found a lever that opened a secret door. There we go!

I headed through the passageway and found myself in..the sewer system. Was Stormreach built on the remains of a city of Giants, or a Giant sewer? I wandered through the system, fighting the currents, the stench, the slimes....which fought back, I might add. I caught up with one of Osgood's men, who took off running, closing a gate behind him.

I managed to destroy the iron defenders standing on this side of the gate, and I found the valve that opened the gate. Moving further down the sewers, I came to some points that I had to swim to get across. Every path I swam, though, reached a dead end. Except one, which had a ladder heading up. I climbed up that, dripping sewer water as I went. I found a pair of valves that I immediately opened. Knowing what happened last time, I'm sure that I opened something, because I could hear the grind and clatter of something heavy being ratcheted into place, somewhere back behind me to the west.

I went back down the ladder, and swam to one of the dead ends. Sure enough, one of the grates had lifted and I found another valve. It's amazing what hoops smugglers will jump through, to try and hide from the law. Turning this valve, I could hear stone moving against stone, as if a massive block was moving above me.

I headed back up the ladder, and climbing the stairs just beyond the ladder, I could see into a room with several smugglers and one particularly nasty looking iron defender. I quietly hummed a little tune from my childhood that always gave me inspiration, I summoned another dog, and set him to attacking the defender.

Immediately upon his attack, the smugglers noticed me, and there was a fierce battle in the doorway. Fortunately, being small has its advantages, and since the smugglers were used to dealing with larger foes, had a hard time connecting their blows. I, on the other hand, had no problems swiping at kneecaps, thighs, and other vulnerable parts. The battle was fierce, but short.

Barely breathing heavy, I wandered the room they had been keeping their goods in. I found the artifact in question, already packaged up for shipment to Sharn. I grabbed it, and headed out the door. All that wandering through the sewers had put me on the dock next to the Leaky Dinghy, so I had to slog back through town, dripping of sewer water, and smelling of worse things. I entered the Lobster, and though I got some strange looks, and people edged away from me, no one actually SAID anything. I headed over to Shir Clowenks, pulled up a chair, sat down, and casually handed him the package.

"Osgood has a bigger basement than you thought," I noted. "It includes half the sewer system. I hope you appreciate the effort!"

He nodded. "You have deprived Osgood of his ill-gotten loot. Your service to Phiarlan will not be forgotten. In fact, I have a set of armor that will replace the armor you've apparently ruined doing me this favor." He reached under the table, and handed me a large package. "Hopefully, your time in the sewers is at an end, and you can keep your armor in good shape!".

I took the package, and I stood up and bowed, thanking him for the armor. I headed up to the bar, and asked the barman if there was a place I could clean up and change. He nodded, and said "For two silver, you can use my room in the back. Just leave everything the way you found it." I handed him the coin, and headed to the back room to change. It was going to feel good to be clean again.