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All converse in Shipwrights' Hall comes to an abrupt hall as the triumphant fanfare of a dozen gloons heralds the commencement of the evening's first entertainment. A set of massive double doors on each side of the great hall swing open as servants clear an opening in the center of the crowd. An expectant hush settles over the gala, only to be broken by the battle cries of charging soldiers. From one side pour forth dozens of soldiers, gaily attired in stylized depictions of the livery of the City Guard and City Watch. From the other comes a wave of sea devils, or rather humans costumed as such, wielding tridents and fangs.

Within moments, the sounds of stylized battle fill the air, enhanced by none-to-subtle illusions of hired wizards in the crowd. At first there are some whispers about the propriety of staging a depiction of the previous year's desperate battle along the harbor, but the patriotic pageantry of the display quickly quells such comments for the moment.

At first the invading sea-spawn seem to have the upper hand, driving back the stout defenders with bloody claws and sharp-tined tridents. Among their number are all manner of monstrous creatures from the deep, many of them seemingly rising whole from the banquet tables on which they recently lay carved into appetizing morsels. It is with some trepidation that many in the audience suddenly recall that many bloody battles were fought in this very hall where they now stand in all their finery.

Before the gloomy mood settles overmuch on those in attendance, however, the tide shifts in favor of the steadfast Waterdhavian defenders. With flashing spells and gleaming swords, the land dwellers slowly drive the invaders back into the Bitch Queen's bosom at a terrible cost. As the tide turns their way, the crowd gives voice to its approval with shouts of encouragement as if the scene were real. At last the sahuaghin and their allies turn and flee, leaving the defenders of Waterdeep victorious once again. The hall erupts in thunderous applause for the magnificent performance.

Close at hand, unnoticed in the general tumult by most of the crowd, one of the performers suddenly seems wracked by convulsions. Before anyone nearby can reach him, the man's skin erupts with fur and his head turns lupine in appearance. The wolf-man wobbles briefly before toppling into those unlucky souls at the edge of the crowd, his legs replaced by a massive tail that is unable to support him upright. Immediately thereafter, a fountain of blood erupts from the tangle of bodies where the seawolf fell, suggesting that the monster has claimed its first victims.