After taking a few moments to make sure everyone was fine, even if they were a little shaken by the fact that they had just discovered that a noblewoman was actually a dragon in disguise, along with the fact that Rain figured it out first, Rain found that many of the citizens were talking about the burning of Firewind Manor. Apparently news of their mission had spread, a fact that meant it was a good thing they had left when they did since it would have spread to Aziagora, which would have also ruined the surprise attack on the Red Fang Marauders, but they had completed it without losing the advantage. It was interesting to listen to them talk about their venture, even if no one knew all of the details, and she noticed that most of her new friends couldn't help but walk with a slight change in their step, as they were pleased with their efforts and knew that the people would hail them as heroes. Rain lightly chuckled as she watched all of them for a moment, as it was interesting to see the difference between her first group of friends and this one, especially in personalities and mannerisms, but she said nothing and let them do what they desired, as they had lived through a dragon's attempt to kill them and it seemed to boost their morale somewhat.
While they did that, however, Rain sought out Captain Sollus to tell him the good news, that they would no longer have to worry about the Red Fang Marauders, because they had been decimated and now all of their leaders were either dead or had fled for someplace else.
"You left as mere sell-swords and have returned as heroes... perhaps I've misjudged all of you." Sollus commented, because while he had been annoyed with Rain's actions in the Sewers, back when she and her first group of friends tore through them to get ride of the dangers the city faced, it appeared that his opinion of them had changed in no time, "My scouts have told me of your success: the Red Fangs have been scattered completely and utterly, and a dragon has been driven off, who I am assuming was one of the masterminds of the marauders. I must say, the tales about you, Rain, are all true and it seems that you five are worthy of being heroes of Baldur's Gate as well... with that in mind, here, your payment for dealing with the Red Fangs."
"Our thanks. We were glad to be of service." Dorn stated, where he claimed his own sack, as the reward had been divided into six portions, one for each of them, before the others stepped up and collected their payment for destroying the group of marauders that had been plaguing the city for some time now, before he considered something, "Is there any more work to be done?"
"For the city? No, dealing with the Red Fangs will restore our trade routes in due time, and that means the other troubles will be dealt with by lesser adventurers." Sollus replied, though as he said that he noticed how disappointed Rain's friends were, while Rain herself was already planning out who to visit next so they could continue to do good for the land, just like the tales of what she had done before her supposed disappearance, "I would suggest speaking to Randalla again, as she might be able to point you in the right direction."
"I figured as much. She's more connected than I thought she was." Rain said, which was partly true, as while she knew that a Harper was well connected to the rest of the land, so they could make sure everything was in order, the lady's merchant statue really gave her more openings than she had assumed when they first met, so there was a chance she might have some more work for them.
Once they were done talking to Sollus, and Borador was pleased with their reward, the group walked down the street and found that many of the people were happy to see them, causing everyone else to nod their heads with a smile on their faces, before Rain found that Randalla was still hanging out in the inn, who smiled as she noticed their arrival.
"Oh, is that a swagger I see in your stride? Shall I bow before you now, destroyers of the Red Fang Marauders?" Randalla remarked, though it was easy to see that she was messing with them and didn't mean anything by her words, rather she seemed happy to see that they had survived the mission that Sollus had sent them on earlier, especially since it meant that Rain's new friends could handle anything else that might be thrown at them, "In all honesty, it's good to see that you returned from your important mission. So tell me, what happened while you were fighting the Red Fangs?"
"We discovered that the Red Fangs' true leader was a red dragon, Aizagora the 'Red Death', who used some magic to take on the guise of a noblewoman." Rain replied, though at the same time she turned to the owner of the inn and got a couple of rooms for them, as it was time to take a short break before worrying about whatever might happen next, plus she and the others needed some food as well, "In addition to that she was funding Luvia's work, so, in a way, she was in control of the Hands of Glory as well... we ended up taking two of her toys away, though when confronted Aizagora decided to take on her true form and burn down the manor."
"I see, she set a death trap and you escaped. She was avaricious, slothful, and arrogant." Randalla said, which just made her see all of them in a new light, as they were still growing in might and she was sure that, in due time, they would bring down the dragon that had fled, even if the dragon really was Aizagora, a powerful dragon based on the tales, "You'll be happy to know that there's been a development: news of your success and reputation has spread like wildfire, as you might have guessed based on how people have been acting recently, and one of my friends has asked to meet you. His name is Jherek and he has some very powerful friends... trust me on this, if you want some truly exciting work he'll no doubt offer you some of the greatest jobs imaginable. He's scheduled to arrive in a couple of hours, so you have plenty of time to rest and relax before meeting him in the side chamber of the warehouse you visited earlier."
That came as a surprise to Rain, that Jherek was back in the city and that he wanted to meet them, though it made her all the more interested in what he wanted them to do for him, not to mention the Harpers since those were the friends that Randalla was talking about, though as she thought about that the others decided to enjoy themselves. As such she took the time to chat with the lady as she waited for time to pass, discussing the other potential quests that she might want the group to do, but for the most part she wanted them to speak with Jherek, meaning the others she likely had would go to any other adventurers she encountered. When talking about Aizagora, however, Rain mentioned the Foundations, which her friend informed her were likely part of the four Elemental Planes and was outside her area of experience, which she also mentioned the dragon's title for her, that of the 'False Dragon'. Randalla laughed at that and claimed that Aizagora was no doubt referring to her armor, hence why she used the word 'false' in the title, but she made sure Rain understood that there was no reason to focus on it and just focus on what her future jobs would be.
Once the conversation was done she joined the others for a time, simply relaxing as Dorn and Borador had a mug of ale, though Randalla's statement about the time they had to wait was accurate, as two hours later they were walking over to the warehouse, where Rain discovered a familiar figure waiting in the side room, while the passage leading towards the hideout of the Hands of Glory had been completely sealed.
"Rain Shine?! So the tales were true, you have returned!" Jherek stated, where he embraced her without wasting time, as he had missed having her around Baldur's Gate and that told her that he was looking for information on the others, since they were likely missing as well, before he broke the gesture and she moved back to where the others were standing at the moment, "Forgive me, I knew her and the adventurers that took down Eldrith and had feared I would never see any of them again, so my emotions got the best of me. You must be the heroes that Randalla spoke so highly of, so allow me to cut right to the chase: there are a number of artifacts that are scattered around the Western Heartlands that I intend to collect, all of which are located in dangerous places and require strong adventurers to recover them. You would be fairly compensated for your time and any artifacts you recover. Are you interested?"
"You don't have to ask us twice." Borador replied, speaking for everyone as he stepped up, though Rain was sure that his inner greed was showing, instead of the desire to do good for the rest of the land, since she was sure that Jherek had a very good reason behind wanting a number of artifacts brought to him.
"I'm pleased to hear that. Now, there are four artifacts I wish to recover, the first of which is the Orb of Thunder, which is an engraved copper sphere studded with enormous topazes." Jherek said, something that surprised Rain, as she figured there were no massive gemstones in the world, something she mentally corrected after hearing about the artifact, while the others were focused on what else he had to tell them, "Based on what I was able to discover it was used to power a weather machine in an observatory in Lyran's Hold, a fell and haunted place located in the Forest of Wyrms... I have next to no idea what you might find there. Also, please be assured that I don't want them for some nefarious purposes, as Rain would have run me through in the past if I was working against innocent people."
The others glanced at each other before agreeing to the job, causing them to depart for the inn so they could get some additional information from Randalla, since she might know something, giving Rain a chance to speak with Jherek without the others bothering her, though she would tell them about this later. Jherek handed her a pin that was just like what the merchant lady had, to show that she was a Harper as well, before they discussed what was on her mind, namely the facts she had learned while listening in on Aizagora and Kharne's conversation earlier. He was surprised that the Zhentarim were interested in the Elemental Foundations, which was why the Harpers were gathering four Elemental Keys, which he would tell the others about once all four artifacts had been claimed, even though it was interesting to learn that Kharne was still alive, as Jherek was sure he had been slain during her last adventure. When Rain asked why the Harper wanted to activate the Elemental Foundations her superior informed her that they were seeking to restore the Onyx Tower and then completely destroy it, so it could never be restored by anyone in the future, but he asked her to keep that to herself, as he would tell the others once he was ready to do so.
As she left, however, Jherek told her there was a chance that she might run into a drow ranger, who fought on the side of good, called Drizzt Do'Urden, someone she might meet during her travels, causing her to nod as she wondered what she and the others would discover when they reached Lyran's Hold.