Sometimes the most fun you can have with the players is a good old misdirect.
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Stop Number: 5
Pub Name: The Cave Dragon
Proprietor: Onga, half-orc barbarian 10
Signature Beer: Braggot mead. An utterly delicious beverage of fermented malt, honey, and…well, don’t ask. Intoxication save: DC 9.
One of the more unusual stops of the Olympiad, the Cave Dragon is actually situated in a natural cave in a seaside bluff. That makes it one of the darkest, dampest establishments you’re ever likely to set foot in.
The Cave Dragon is reputed to be the toughest tavern in Waterdeep. Thugs, mercenaries, gang members, and even denizens of the Underdark can be found here any day of the week. Onga, the half-orc proprietor, is in her usual place with her booted feet on the bar and a flagon of her own wares in her hand.
“Doing the Olympiad?” she asks. “It’s a fool’s game, if you ask me. You want a drink, just go drink. Don’t waste all night wandering around.”
But she’s obliging enough when you ask for Braggot Mead.
You drink your sweet, thick mead, looking around nervously. A dragonborn with a large scar running across one eye glares at you and returns to his drink. At the next table over, a young boy lays out a mismatched assortment of purses and quite nonchalantly begins to count up their contents. In the corner, a square-jawed gang enforcer flips a dagger in one hand. No one seems interested in you.
As you drink, the dragonborn gets up and approaches the bar. He whispers something to Onga and she surreptitiously slips him a rusty key. He disappears down a narrow side tunnel and through a small, nondescript door, which he locks behind him. If you try to follow him, Onga will stand up and shout “No! You can’t go in there!”
You can nevertheless attempt to pick the lock (DC 12) or force the door (DC 15 Strength check). If you do, you discover what’s in the locked room. It’s the bathroom.
Water drips from the stalactites overhead and lands on your table with a plash, yet there is no other disturbance. You finish your drinks and leave, throwing a few final glances behind you.