Damsel in Distress

Kerowyn dry-washed her hands nervously and then took another nervous swig of ale from the half-full mug in front of her. A sudden chorus of laughter erupted from a table nearby and she jumped in surprise before rapidly trying to calm her nerves. Her eyes darted furtively to the other patrons in the tavern. They seemed ignorant to her apparent discomfort the veil of ignorance did nothing to quell her nerves. She tried to reason with her paranoia. This was Waterdeep, one of the biggest cities in Faerûn. There were thousands of people with thousands of problems in the city, no one cared about hers. It wasn't as if she did anything wrong. She was here to ask for assistance. From the stories she had heard in Oakhurst, the Yawning Portal was full of brave adventurers who dared to enter the fated Undermountain. Surely some of them could assist her. That's what adventurers and heroes did - they helped people.
"They have to," she whispered to herself quietly. She closed her eyes and breathed in, going over the details of her proposal in her head.

Her name was Kerowyn Hurcrele and she was the matriarch of a merchant family in the village of Oakhurst. Her family primarily funds salvage expeditions into the nearby ruins of Thundertree and the other villages which succumbed to the fated eruption of Mount Hotenow many years past. Her brother Talgen Hucrele and Sharwyn Hucrele were growing tired of the sorties into Thundertree. The Triboar trail was unforgiving and between goblin raiders and creatures from the Neverwinter Wood they were beginning the question the profitability of the run; especially when a more profitable location was so close. Northwest of Thundertree in the lower foothills rested the Sunless Citadel. The local legend was that it was once the secret stronghold for a dragon cult though no one really knew for certain. What they did know was that it was dangerous. A goblin tribe lived there and peddled in magical apples which they would sell to the villager of Oakhurst for exorbitant sums of gold. There were said to be dark magics and sorceries in the Citadel and the few that did journey into it's darkened depths, never returned. Talgen and Sharwyn were insistent that even one successful sortie into the Citadel would reap them the profits of a hundred runs to Thundertree. Despite Kerowyn's plights, they hired the services of a travelling Knight of Pelor named Sir Bradford and a local forest ranger named Karakas. The found of them ventured into the depths, promising of a rich return in a fortnight.

They never returned.

A month had past now and Kerowyn was terrified. She feared the fate of her brother and sister but the uncertainty was almost worse than accepting their death. She had first set out to Neverwinter to plead for assistance from the Lords' Alliance or the Order of the Gauntlet. Both orders were deeply committed to some action with a supposed necromancer near the town of Phandalin and turned her aside. With no options left, she set out to Waterdeep to see if the stories were true.

Kerowyn opened her eyes, resolved with purpose. She was not a cowering milk maid, she was the matriarch of a successful merchant company. She scooped up her mug of ale and downed it with an efficiency that would impress even the saltiest of dock workers. She slammed the mug down with more force than she intended and stood up. Turning around she studied the room and she looked through the myriad of tables. There were dozens of people of all different races filling the tavern. Some looked like dandy nobles, others looked like cutthroats and killers. Another chorus of laughter caught her attention and her eyes fixed to a group in the corner laughing uproariously. A stout dwarf an an attractive looking man slammed fists on the table and belted out hearty laughs as a stocky looking lizardfolk glowered at them. Kerowyn nodded, more for her own reassurance than anyone else's and stalked off towards the group. As she approached their conversation became clearer over the din.
"-and yer sayin' you didn't know she was a girl?" the dwarf said breathlessly between spurts of laughter.
"I was focused on the ax she was trying to drive into my head," the lizardfolk sniffed.
"Yer head? It was a gnome. What did she had a stepstool in the other hand or sumthin?" the dwarf asked and then fell again into a cascade of laughter with the human man leaning over onto the table to pound his fist, his shoulders shaking with laughter. The lizardfolk fumed, sullen as his peers rolled mirthfully at the table. He noticed Kerowyn a moment later and his eyes narrowed.
"May we help you?" he asked with a gravelly voice. The other two recovered from their revelry and stared cautiously at her. The man studied her from chin to toes and smiled. Kerowyn rolled her eyes. Even though she was well into her thirties, she knew she was what most men would refer to as comely. The man's mood shifted and he went from rowdy bar patron to smouldering gentlemen in an instant. The transformation was so quickly and Kerowyn had to stop herself from becoming enthralled in his natural charisma. His dark brown eyes and that thick moustache. There was an energy and a mystery in those eyes that she found almost captivating.
"Forgive my scaley friend's abruptness. You see, he prefers the company of turtles and chipmunks to beautiful woman like yourself," he said with a wink.
"By Oghma's lute, have you no shame?" the dwarf muttered. He collected his glass and took a long draw from the mug, hunkering over at the table as if he was uninterested. Kerowyn steeled herself and raised her chin.
"Are you adventurers?" she asked. The man's eyebrows raised, clearly intrigued.
"Are you requiring assistance madam, please take a seat and tell us what we can do to assist you?"
"It's a scam Olo you must see that. Before ye know it she'll be showing rags from her dear daughter and askin' us for a few coins to help feed em'" the dwarf said. Kerowyn sniffed and pulled out a heavy coin purse.
"I have more than enough coin Sir and I won't be requiring you charity," she said and tossed the bag on the table. It hit with a heavy thump, the kind associated with large sums of coins. The dwarfs thick brow raised in surprise and all three stared at the coin purse with a sudden renewed interest.
"Very well," Olo finally said. "Take a seat dear...ummm...your name madam?"
"Kerowyn," she replied.
"Dear Kerowyn, take a seat and perhaps we can see what assistance these three brave 'adventurers' can provide you." he said and motioned to an empty stool. She stared at the stool for a moment considering her options. She took one last look around the tavern and then sighed. She sat down and collected her coin purse.
"Gentlemen, my name is Kerowyn Hucrele of Oakhurst and I require the assistance of a few brave souls to rescue my brother and sister."
"Intriguing," said Sauriv pensively. "We're listening."
"Thank you Sir, before we get started, I must ask you. Have you ever heard of the Sunless Citadel?"