New Rolling Stone City offered little entertainment. The Underdark was fraught with danger, and even for the locals, survival came first.
Beyond external aids such as weapons and armor, Renato was eager to improve his own abilities, whether through the [Adventurer's Guide] or by deepening his understanding of this dark world.
Unfortunately, he could find no way in. As a human, no one was willing to entrust him with any work.
Duergar were suspicious by nature and difficult to communicate with. At first, Renato had thought his spoken language was not fluent enough. Only later did he realize the problem lay with the Duergar themselves.
They suffered from persecution paranoia. Even when Renato offered generous terms or asked for no payment at all, they refused to trust an outsider like him.
Left with no choice, he fell back on his past experience as an adventurer-go to a tavern, or somewhere similar. Such places were always full of deals, information, and opportunities for hired work.
Following the merchant's directions, Renato found an unassuming stone house.
Quarry workers covered in stone dust, explorers with mud-caked boots, armored Duergar soldiers...
He crouched at the mouth of the opposite alley and watched for half an hour. By then, at least twenty people had entered the little house.
A place scarcely bigger than a burial chamber could not possibly accommodate so many people at once. There had to be additional space, such as a basement or a portal.
A Duergar sat dozing on a stone block beside the door, cradling a one-handed axe. Judging by experience, Renato reckoned he was the doorkeeper.
Renato walked straight toward him. The sound of footsteps woke the doorkeeper, who immediately rose and tightened one hand around the axe handle.
"Hey! Stand aside!" the doorkeeper warned gruffly, blocking the entrance.