Chapter 2: The Kenku

A week or so after investigating the smugglers' den, Thea the barbarian, Alvyn the wizard, Berrain the fighter, and Haroof the bard were enjoying their breakfast at the Smiling Eel Tavern when Garrett Greenbottle burst through the door looking very disheveled. He told the adventurers that his shop had been ransacked during the night, and he wanted to hire them to help find out who was responsible. After following him back to the pawn shop, the group had a look around and noticed a large, heavy safe in a back room. The lock had been crudely smashed, and the safe was empty. Garrett informed them that the safe had held his most valuable possessions: a collection of ancient books, some centuries old, which could no longer be found anywhere else in the world.

When the group exited the shop, they noticed someone attempting to subtly spy on them from atop a carriage across the street. By splitting up, they were able to surround the carriage and keep it from fleeing. They recognized the driver as the man who had fled the Eel after fighting with them the previous week. A gang of ruffians spilled out from the back of the carriage, and a street fight ensued. After putting most of the thugs to sleep with magic, the group was able to capture the leader and interrogate him in Garrett's basement. The man, who identified himself as Rob, admitted that he worked for an group called the Kenku, an organized crime syndicate operating within Freeport, and that his Kenku handler, a man named Crow, had tasked him with smashing up the pawn shop and stealing the books. Rob also told them that Crow and the Kenku were very interested in the black sand.

After some persuasion, Rob shared the location of Crow's favorite tavern, a dockside establishment called the Nest. While waiting for night to fall, the adventurers stumbled upon a procession moving through the streets of Freeport. Apparently, two Clerics of the Temple of the Seven, Nari the Trickster and Polytheia the Wise, had just arrived in the city. Later that night, the group made their way to the Nest to look for the mysterious Crow. Making no attempt to hide, Crow welcomed them to his table in the corner of the bar and started asking them about their investigation into the black sand and the smuggling operation. While Alvyn told Crow everything he wanted to know, Haroof was busy trying to woo a female tiefling bard with his musical talents. After his conversation with Alvyn, and not wanting to be followed, Crow told the adventurers that the books they were looking for were in the basement, then commanded the other patrons of the bar to slow them down while he made his exit.

After a drunken brawl, the group went into the basement of the Nest and found the books they were looking for. One, however, was missing: an ancient index of alchemical substances, some of which were no longer known to the modern world. With the books in hand, the adventurers returned to Garrett and asked him to look through them for the mysterious tattoo they had seen on the smuggler and what it might mean.