Monday, March 6, 1491
In the city of Neverwinter for their own personal reasons, several individuals notice an announcement posted at several strategic locations throughout the Merchants' Quarter within the Protector's Enclave. They decide they will check it out.
Tuesday, March 7, 1491
Kyrdean Theris, a Tabaxi who enjoys eating exotic dishes, arrives in front of the Emberglow Emporium and he enters the large forum-style market. In one of the corner, sitting underneath an awning, a well-dressed dwarf is deep in discussion with a tall human. They pore over maps and books, evidently comparing notes and inventory. Kyrdean sits across the central court and observes the action.
Just before noon, Emerald "Emmy" Stone enters the Emporium. A grey and black Tabaxi resembling a tabby, Emmy finds a quiet corner, and prepares her lunch of fish stew. Using one of the communal fire pits, she carefully hangs her small cauldron above the flames, and, after filling it with water, starts placing fish and other ingredients inside. She too observes Gundred and his human companion, while carefully avoiding eye contact with Kyrdean.
At exactly noon, as the bells from the local temples ring, Kritza Redwind enters the Emporium. A dour dwarf, he heads directly to Gundred's table. The two dwarves shake hand, and after determining that Kritza was here because of the for hire sign, Gundred introduces his human friend, Sildar Hallwinter. The two of them have been fast friends for over a decade now, and Sildar is both a confident and a bodyguard.
Gundred then tells Kritza that he's looking for a few strong warriors to protect his two wagon caravan. The wagons will travel from Neverwinter to Phandalin, to deliver mining supplies to the trading post Barthen's Provisions, where they will be stored in the warehouse. The caravan will then return to Neverwinter, and pick up additional supplies before making one more trip to Phandalin. These supplies will once again be unloaded at Barthen's Provision, and the caravan will return to Neverwinter and disband. For each round trip, Gundred offers his fellow dwarf 12 gold pieces. Kritza agrees, and they shake hand, before Kritza signs a standard mercenary contract. Gundred informs Kritza that the caravan will depart the Emporium at 8 o'clock sharp tomorrow morning, and the dwarf promises to be there.
Half an hour later, the doors to the Emporium slam open and a tall barbarian from Icewind Dale enters the building. Heading straight for the dwarf, he introduces himself as Fugnar, and expresses his desire to hire his mighty battle hammer in service of the caravan. Gundred offers him 12 gp, but Fugnar counters with 150 gp. Gundred laughs heartily, and he offers 15 gp. Fugnar spits in his hand and shakes the dwarf's hand, before placing an X on the standard mercenary contract.
At 1 pm, yet another Tabaxi enters the Emporium. Holding a walking stick with a cat paw pummel, Kite has white furs and black legs. Spotting the other two Tabaxi, Kite heads towards them and greets her cousins. Kyrden and Emmy are pleased to see her, and are even more pleased when she offers them each a bag of catnip. Turning towards the dwarf, she walks over, and compliments Gundred on his cool hat. Gundred explains the mission to her, and Kite agrees to join. Kyrden and Emmy, who followed, also join the caravan, and all three of them sign a standard mercenary contract for 12 gp per trip.
Right after Kite, a tall gaunt human enters the Emporium. Wearing a tall black hat and a plain black outfit, the man's cold grey eyes wander over the Emporium. Spotting the dwarf, he heads to his table, and introduces himself as Kaine. After hearing the caravan's mission and poring over some of Gundred's map, Kaine then offers his sword in exchange for 12 gp.
Wednesday, March 8, 1491
Promptly at 8 o'clock, Kyrdean, Emmy and Kite return to the Emporium, quickly followed by Kritza, Fugnar, and Kaine. Two canvas-covered wagons stand outside the Emporium. Pulled by two oxen each, the wagons are clearly fully loaded. Gundred Rockseeker and Sildar Hallwinter have their own horses they will be riding along the wagons.
Gundred introduces the party to their teamsters. The first wagon is driven by Dori Copperbeard, a foul-mouthed former fighter who enjoys taking care of animals. The second wagon is driven by her husband, Durgan Ironbeard, who used to be a miner before joining life on the road. Unlike his colorful wife, Durgan is quiet, efficient, and an excellent cook. After inspecting the cargo manifest and the contents of the wagon one more time, Gundred mounts his pony and the caravan first heads south on the High Road, before turning east on the Triboar Trail. Gundred expects that with fully loaded wagons, the trip to Phandalin should take about three days.
The first day passes without incident. The spring weather is warm and sunny, and the traveling is smooth. Gundred explains that he and several of his family members rediscovered a long lost dwarven mine near Phandalin, and that this cargo and the next ones will complete the equipment they need to resume exploiting the dwarven mine. He's excited at the prospect of reviving the enterprise even more than he is of actually mining.
As night falls, they stop and make camp in a field next to the High Road. The wagons are pulled next to each other, and Durgan sets up two awnings to cover the portable table where he begins to prepare the evening meal. Fugnar sets a fire, while Dori unleashes the animals and takes care of their needs. Soon, the smell of a delicious stew floats through the camp site, while Durgan works furiously on tomorrow's ration of bread.
While waiting for dinner to be ready, Kritza takes a bottle out of his backpack and takes a sip. Intrigued, Gundred asks the other dwarf what he's drinking, and Kritza confesses he crafts his own wine, which he calls Miner's Delight. Astounded, Gundred tells the dwarf that he collects wines, and that he would love to trade some of his personal wine in exchange for some of Kritza. Kritza agrees, and he parts with two bottles of Miner's Delight in exchange for a bottle of Starfall Chardonnay and one of Dragonfire Red.
After a delicious meal watered with dwarven ale, Gundred and Sildar sing a few dwarven songs, and retell some of their adventures before a guard is set and the rest go to bed.
Wednesday, March 9, 1491
The night is uneventful, but the weather changed and rain moved in. By mid-morning everyone is thoroughly wet, and Dori curses an impressive storm of words every time her wagon hits a pothole.
Passing through a dell, the wagons are surrounded by a group of sprites, who are curious as to the contents of the wagons. Luckily, Kritza is able to communicate with them. They tell Kritza that they want some token before they will let the caravan pass. Emmy starts talking with them through Kritza, trying to reason and explain that there is nothing of interest for sprites in the wagons. The sprites inform Kritza that they want to speak with a more interesting Tabaxi, so Kite steps up, and tells them how two years ago she was traveling to the coast, and
a wise old man in the forest told her about a place where she could
find very rare shells. She went there with great difficulty, and the
trip was harrowing, but she came back with amazing shells, which she graciously offers the sprites. Meanwhile, Fugnar guides the caravan away from the sprites. Pleased, the sprites thank Kite for the gift, and Kritza for translating, and they fly back into the woods.
The nightly camp and its fire are not warm enough to dry them enough, and sleeping conditions are miserable.
Thursday, March 10, 1491
The weather continues to be miserable as rain falls even harder than the previous day. Mid-morning, a few hours away from Phandalin, the caravan leaves the Triboar Trail and turns south on the path leading to their destination. They come to a small river, about 15 feet wide and three feet deep that is crossed by a low wooden bridge. Two ropes have been strung from one tree on one shore to another on the opposite shore, creating a loose X. In the middle of the X, another rope has been tied, and a human wearing a scarlet cloak hangs upside down, his hands touching the wooden boards.
Suspecting a trap, Kite heads on the bridge to check it out. Kaine and Kritza head to the right side of the bridge, while Kyrdean and Fugnar take the left side. Underneath the bridge, they see four heavily armed nymphs clearly ready to ambush travelers. Kaine fires on the first nymph, and mayhem ensues. The nymphs are eventually all killed, though they inflicted some damage on the party, with Kite and Kritza suffering the most grievious wounds.
With the nymphs dead, Fugnar strings the nymphs up under the bridge as a warning to others. Kite takes the human off the rope, and search him. Finding nothing of value, Kite takes the warm red cloack and drapes herself in it. She grabs the body, and places it in the second wagon to bring it to Phandalin so that it can be identified.
Arriving in Phandalin without further incident early in the afternoon, the wagons pull in front of Barthen's Provisions. The owner, Elmina Barthen, steps out of the building and heartily shakes Gundred's hand, welcoming him back. Her workers open the gate to the courtyard, and the wagons are pulled inside, and they unload the mining equipment and the supplies out of the wagons. Elmina looks at Kite funny, but after a few moments she resumes her conversation with the dwarf.
When Gundred is done talking with Elmina, he thanks his crew, telling them that they should be able to secure lodging at the Stonehill Inn, in the now empty wagons, or they can find lodgings with local farmers. He looks forward to seeing them all tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock, so they can make the return trip back to Neverwinter.
Owned by Toblen Stonehill, the Stonehill Inn is a cozy two floors stone building located in the middle of town. The prices are affordable, and the food is delicious. Fugnar, Kaine, and Kyrdean head to the inn.
Sitting in the inn's common room, Kaine orders an uncooked and unpeeled red potatoes along with a large hill giant tankard of bitter stout. Kyrdean orders the lamb stew with elven quith-pa on the side. Fugnar gets a giant bowl of cariboo soup. Kaine asks Toblen about the history of the town. Toblen tells him that he should talk to the dwarf scholar Gwyn Oresong, who is also staying here at the inn, and should be returning this evening.
Kite and Emmy head to meet with the town master, Harbin Wester. Still wearing the scarlet cloak, she tells him they found a body hanging from a bridge, and they wanted to let the town master know. He tells them he will most definitively investigate the manner, and will dispose of the body for them. Puzzled at the town master's attitude, Emmy and Kite depart. Emmy will spend the night in one of the now dry wagons. Kite, for her part, looks for a farm, and soon meets Alderleaf, a local landowner. At first the man is openly hostile, and tells her to move along, he does not want any ruffians on his farm. After some questioning, Kite discovers that the Redbrand Ruffians, a local gang, has been terrorizing the good citizens of Phandalin for the last year or so. With their headquarters at the Sleeping Giant, a local watering hole, the Redbrands are thieves, and Alderleaf is not sad to hear of the demise of one or their own. Now understanding that Kite is in fact not one of the Redbrands, he permits her to seep in his hayloft for the night. She trades seeds with Alderleaf.
In the evening, Gwyn Oresong enters the Stonehill Inn. Kritza and Kaine approach her, and ask her questions about Phandalin and its surroundings. Gwyn tells them that Phandalin was originally a farming community notable for its mages and enchanters. Boasting a large and prospering community of humans, gnomes and dwarves, the town became a member of Phandelver's Pact following the discovery of the Forge of Spells in the dwarven mining operation of Wave Echo Cave. Unfortunately, this prosperity atttracted the attention of bandits. Led by mercenary wizards, the bandits attacked and sacked Phandalin, before raiding Wave Echo Cave. The dwarven miners were slain, and all traces of the mine vanished from the records. The town itself was abandoned for centuries.
In the last twenty years Phandalin has once again become inhabited, and the dwarves have returned, looking for Wave Echo Cave. When Kyrdean tells Gwyn they escorted Gundred's caravan, Gwyn acknowledges that Gundred believes he has rediscovered Wave Echo Cave, and plans on exploiting it with members of his family.
Kite heads to the Stonehill Inn, and finds her cousin, Fugnar, Kaine, and Kritza hanging with Gwyn. She tells them about the Redbrands. Kaine realizes they made a mistake when they killed the nymphs, but Fugnar still thinks they deserved it, as they clearly were planning to ambush the caravan. Kritza suggests having a scarlet cloak in their possession could make it easier to infiltrate the brigands.
Everyone heads to bed, and sleep better now that they are dry.
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