Phandelver - Prisoners and sarcophagi

Wednesday, March 23, 1491

Following their encounter with the skeletons, the group elects to shelter in place for a few moment as they recuperate. After patching up their wounds, Kaine enters the eastern door, discovering a prison. Two women are chained to the east wall in the southern cell, while a boy is chained to the west wall in the northern cell. Kite approaches them, and, through the iron bars, attempts to convince them they are not members of the Redbrands. Unfortunately, the prisoners refuse to make eye contact, and keep their eyes on the ground. Kite removes her cloak, and tells the prisoners that they are here to destroy the Redbrands and free them.

Infused with hope, the woman reveals her name is Mirna Dendrar and she has been imprisoned with her two children, her boy Nars and her girl Nilsa. Her family was attacked at their homestead by the Redbrands, and her husband was violently murdered by the thugs. She and her children were captured and brought here. The Redbrand's leader suggested they would be sacrificed. However, when she mentioned to him that her wealthy family in Neverwinter would gladly pay a hefty ransom if they were returned to them safe and alive, he changed his mind. They've been imprisoned ever since, as the Redbrands await a ransom that will never come, as her family is actually not wealthy.

Not finding the key to unlock the padlock, Fugnar uses his warhammer to destroy the offending device that held the chain around the women's cell, before doing the same to the boy's cell. Emmy and Kyrdean unlock their manacles, releasing the prisoners. Kite tends to their wounds and offers them day old rolls and water. Mirna and her children are thankful for the food, as they have not been fed for at least two days. As thanks, Mirna mentions the emerald her family owned and kept in their herb and alchemy shop in the southeast corner of the village of Thundertree before they had to flee an undead invasion, and offers it to them if they ever head to that cursed village.

Kritza agrees to escort Mirna, Nars and Nilsa back to Phandalin so they can seek healing and to notify the authority of the attack on their homestead. The four of them depart the underground complex, carefully making their way back to town.

With the prisoners now gone, Fugnar, Kaine, Kyrdean, Emmy and Kite pursue their exploration of the Redbrands' underground lair. Kaine opens the one remaining door, and inside he finds the Redbrands' armory. They examine the weapons, and find a few decent ones. They replenish their supply of arrows, before returning to the sarcophagus room. Kaine searches three of the four sarcophagi. Two of them contains the earthly remains of women, while the third was that of an elderly man. Seeing no reaction from the bodies, Kaine carefully removes their jewelry and carefully places the items in his backpack.

Kyrdean carefully moves the lid of the fourth sarcophagus, discovering inside the body of a young boy. When he sees the boy's face muscles twitch, Kyrdean closes the sarcophagus. He calls Fugnar over, and tells the barbarian that he's not strong enough to remove the lid. Fugnar pushes the lid off. Noticing an alexandrite next to the boy's body, he carelessly chops off his head, before taking the stone. Underneath the now headless body, Kyrdean finds a pair of silver tourmaline earrings. The monk then pierces his ears and proudly wears his newfound items. Could they be infected with tomb rot?

Phandelver - You really shouldn't touch those skeletons!

Tuesday, March 22, 1491, continued

With the fight against the Scarlet Cloaks at the Sleeping Giant now concluded, Fugnar and Kite talked with Greska, the owner of the Sleeping Giant, and when asked where the remaining Scarlet Cloaks were, he mentioned they should check the second bathroom stall. Taking a closer look, they discovered that this bathroom stall has a toilet assembly that lifts up, revealing a hole and a ladder descending into a dark, dank, and smelly tunnel.

Carefully descending, Fugnar is followed by Kite, and the two of them reach a corner twenty feet away. Kyrdean joins them as they turned left. In another thirty feet or so they reach a wooden staircase leading to a trapdoor. Lifting the trapdoor, Fugnar finds himself in a carriage house. A few crates are against the north wall, while an old open wooden wagon with the words Sleeping Giant written on both sides. Garden implements are hooked next to a small closed door in the south wall, while the west gate is also closed. The trap door itself is covered with a pile of hay conveniently affixed to provide coverage to hide the contraption when closed.

While waiting for her partners to return, Emmy and Kaine are surprised to see the entrance to the Sleeping Giant open, and a short Kritza standing there. Finally feeling well enough to rejoin the group, Kritza tracked them to the Stonewall Inn, and after hearing they were going to take the fight to the Scarlet Cloaks, deduced they would come here next.

Meanwhile, opening the carriage house's door, Kite realizes they are inside the grounds of the Sleeping Giant, and this carriage house stands to the northwest corner of the property, with a fallowed garden between the inn and its carriage house. A wooden fence surrounds the property. Kyrdean exits the garden and walks back to the front of the tavern, while Kite and Fugnar returns to the common room through the tunnel.

Reunited with Kritza, they fill the dwarf on their adventures during the last few weeks, then start discussing what their next steps should be to track the remaining Scarlet Cloaks. After several ideas are floated on what to do with the prisoners, the group agrees to go with Kritza's idea of waking up both ruffians, and taking one in a separate room to interrogate him, before playing prisoner's dilemma with both of them. Kritza sets up the kitchen to make it look like they will summon a demon. He places several candles inside an arcane symbol he draws on the floor in chalk. Meanwhile, Fugnar will speak with the other prisoner and intimate that their companion is at that very moment revealing everything under torture. Either way, they should get plenty of information.

During the discussion, Kite heads to Townmaster's Hall and she locates Harbin Wester, the town master. She updates him on what has just happened at the Sleeping Giant, and Harbin looks both thrilled that the Scarlet Cloaks have been dealt with, and thoroughly horrified that not all of them have been captured. He follows Kite back to the tavern, where he observes the scene of destruction, with three dead bodies, two humans and one goblin, and two prisoners. Harbin asks them if they will complete their pursuit of the Scarlet Cloaks, as the death of a few of their members could bring swift retribution to Phaladin. Fugnar informs the town master that indeed they were just about to interrogate their two prisoners to discover the location of their hideout. Harbin agrees to house the two prisoners after they are interrogated, but he will only hold them for two days before he sends them away to Neverwinter under guard. He also agrees to find some strong lads to remove and bury the bodies of the dead.

Kite, Fugnar and Kaine offer Greska compensation for the destruction they wrought on his establishment during their recent fight. Greska gratefully accepts, and thanks them for removing their unwanted presence from his establishment. Kite asks him if the Scarlet Cloaks were good customers, and Greska replies that they were rude, didn't pay their bill, and scared most of his clientele away. He's glad they are gone, and he hopes Kite and his friends will see this business to the end.

Now set up in the kitchen, Kyrdean, Kaine and Kritza return to the common room, where they wake up both prisoners. Berok the Scarlet Cloak is escorted to the kitchen, where he is tied to a chair. Kritza sprinkles some salt all around, creating a very intimidating scene. Berok soils himself due to fear, and when Kaine asks him where the location of the Scarlet Cloaks' hideout is, Berok reveals that it is located underneath Tresendar Manor. Kritza asks him what password the guards use, and Berok reveals that today's password is "sunshine." When asked how many people are in the Scarlet Cloaks, Berok replies that there are at least a dozen of them in their lair at all times. Their leader, Glassstaff, is building some sort of army of ne'er-do-wells from up and down the Sword Coast, but he doesn't know their purpose. Kaine gags Berko.

At the same time, Fugnar, Emmy, Kyrdean and Kite interrogate the second prisoner. Fugnar unties his bindings, and gives him a tankard of ale. He then tells the ruffian that his friend is currently being questioned in the next room through devious arcane means, and that he most likely will reveal everything they want to know. Fugnar then points out that they will kill the last man who reveals information, so he better start talking. Kosi the Scarlet Cloak replies that he's willing to reveal everything, as he doesn't care to lose his life for a lousy reason. He essentially reveals the same information Berok told the others. 

Harbin Wester returns with a few strong lads, and they escort Kosi and Berok to the Townmaster's Hall to lock them up, each in their own cell. Meanwhile, Fugnar, Emmy, Kyrdean, Kite, Kaine, and Kritza discuss their options.

Fugnar questions Greska on what he knows of Tresendar Manor. The barman tells them that Tresendar Manor used to be the largest building in Phandalin when it was first built in the 900s. Home of the Tresendar noble family, the Manor was owned by Aldith Tresendar who was known widely as the Black Hawk. A great knight who participated in many wars up and down the Sword Coast, Sir Tresendar led the forces that unsuccessfully defended Phandalin against the assault of the orc realm Uruth Ukrypt in 951 DR. Sir Tresendar perished defending the manor house, and his magical blade, with a hilt shaped like a majestic bird's outstretched wings, was never found.

Greska adds that Phandalin, which had been founded as a mining town a century earlier but which had grown by 950 DR as a prosperous farming community was devastated by the orc rampage, and the residents fled, abandoning the town. It wasn't until 1360 DR that the town was once again settled by humans. In the century since, the town has rebuilt its center, and four generations have now plowed the fields and restarted some of the mines.

Armed with this information, the group decides to wait until after nightfall to head to Tresendar Manor. The dim lights of lanterns should hide most of their features, and with everyone wearing a red cloak, they should be able to fool the guard and infiltrate the Scarlet Cloaks' complex.

Later on that evening, with most of Phandalin's inhabitants safely inside their houses, the group, cloaked in red, exits the Sleeping Giant and heads out southeast. After about ten minutes of walking, they come upon the ruins of Tresendar Manor. Creeping on the manor's grounds, they notice two figures talking by a bulkhead heading into the ruined building's basement. Though it is dark, both of them are outside smoking a pipe, and the ember gives enough light to see they are both wearing red cloaks.

After a few minutes of observing, one of the guards disappears down the bulkhead, while the other remains, leaning against the wall. Emmy takes aim and the remaining guard. Her aim is true. The bandit collapses to the ground. Fugnar takes the cloak and drags the body away, while Kite impersonates the guard. After about 2 hours, Kite hears steps coming from the bulkhead, and another guard appears. The guard seems tired, and after a password exchange, Kite heads down. The rest of the group quickly dispatches the second guard, and join the Tabaxi. After a short tunnel, they come to a corner and another tunnel that veers away from the manor itself. At the end of that tunnel a guard is sitting on a stool, evidently dozing.

Kite and Emmy fire an arrow each, only to realize that it is in fact an illusion created to pretend someone was guarding the entrance. Carefully opening the door, they enter a large room that contains a cistern. Kritza notices that the stonework is decent, but not of dwarven origin. Stacks of alcohol, foodstuffs, and exploding wine are piled around the room, evidently the results of caravan looting. Opening the western door, they come upon three sleeping guards that are quickly disabled before being hogtied and left in the room.

Kite opens the northern door and finds herself in a large corridor. Kaine, who joins her, almost falls in a trap in the floor. Seeing a lever on the other side, Kite attempts the jump, but fails and is saved by her cousin Emmy, who yanks her back. Kritza uses mage handto activate the lever that secures the trap.

Carefully opening the next door, Emmy notices that the room is a crypt. Several armed skeletons draped in red cloaks stand next to stone sarcophagi. Kritza recognizes the Tresendar coat of arms on all sarcophagi. Kaine and Kritza slowly walk by the skeletons, but none of them react. Then Kritza wonders aloud what would happen if he removed one of the red cloaks, which he promptly does. The skeletons attack, and within a few blows Kritza goes down, followed by Fugnar and Kyrdean. Emmy casts heal on Fugnar, and the barbarian rejoins the fight. Soon, all eight skeletons are dead. Fugnar searches the skeletons' bodies and he discovers one of them wore a gold bracelet ...

Gold bracelet

Phandelver - Cragmaw Hideout

Friday March 18, 1491

Missing Gundred and Sildar, who were ambushed and abducted, the caravan and its guardians finally arrives in Phandalin. After parking the wagons at Barthen's Provisions and securing Bling, the goblin they captured earlier, Dori gathers Kite, Kyrdean, Fugnar and Emmy. Under the circumstances, with their employer missing, Dori considers that they have fulfilled their part of the contract. Due to Gundred's sudden absence, the caravan will not travel back to Neverwinter for a while while Dori and Dunleaf look for their dwarf friend. She takes out her purse and pays them their full wages, even though they will not complete the return trip. Dori, for her part, plans on mounting an expedition to Cragmaw Hideout after she notifies Gundred's kin at the mine.

Kite informs the oxen that their duties are done, and they will be able to depart in the morning. She just needs to remind Dori that their muscle is returning to be with Twiggleleaf and the stickbugs in the Fae world.

The group heads back to the Stonehill Inn, so they can spend the night and check on Kaine and Kritza. Kaine finally started feeling better yesterday, and though he has not completely recuperated, he is ready to adventure. Awaiting his colleagues in the common room of the Stonehill Inn, he is surprised to see them enter without Gundred or Sildar. Questioning them has to what happened in the last week, Kaine learns that while he was incapacitated, their oxen were stolen, they fought a green dragon and rescued a griffon, and they were challenged by a burglar and a ghost. Furthermore, their employer has been captured by an unknown force, which also acquired the map Gundred's kin had sent him. Inquiring about Kritza, Kaine tells them that Toblen Stonehill, the inn's owner, found him lodging with farmer Alderleaf, because he was afraid the man might be contagious. Kaine has not received any news from him in the last few days.

Facing multiple challenges, from the presence of the scarlet-cloaked ruffians to that of a juvenile green dragon, from goblin activity to the kidnapping of Gundred, the party has plenty of loose ends to tie before they can be on their way. Discussing late into the night, they agree that their first order of business should be to head to Cragmaw Hideout and see if Gundred and Sildar are there.

Saturday, March 19, 1491

After a hearty breakfast  in an otherwise deserted common room, the group rehash their plans. Dori and Dunleaf will head to the dwarven mine to notify Gundred's kin of the current situation. Kite, Kaine, Kyrdean, Emma and Fugnar will collect their goblin and head to the bridge to track the goblins and find the location of Cragmaw Hideout. With any chance, Gundred and Sildar will still be there alive.

Before leaving, Emmy finds Toblen Stonehill and she leaves a message for Gundred in case he returns while they are out. Emmy and Toblen talk about the green dragon and the griffon, and Emmy mentions that the bridge has been destroyed. Toblen will notify Town Master Harbin Wester that the bridge is out, and perhaps they can assemble a crew to go fix it.

Returning to Barthen's Provisions, Fugnar knocks Bling out after tying a rope through his mouth to shut him up. He then strings a rope around him, effectively turning the goblin into a sausage, and throws him on his shoulder before rejoining the party.

They follow the goblins' tracks to the base of a cliff about two hours northwest of Phandalin, where a shallow stream emerge from the mouth of a cave. The goblin tracks cross the river and follow a skinny path inside the cave.

Fugnar moves closer, and as he stands next to the cave's entrance, he hears the vicious sounds of dogs barking. He returns to his group and inform them of what he heard. Kaine takes the lead and fords the creek, followed by Kyrdean, Fugnar, Kite and Emmy. With the stink of animals and the snarls coming from the tunnel on the right, Kaine carefully peaks in. Three dire dogs are straining at their chains, trying to get to Kaine and his friends. The loud barking seems not to have attracted attention, so they cautiously proceed ahead.

The path follows the creek and steadily climbs. Fugnar notice a cave opening about 15 feet off the floor of the creek on the other side of the path. They then pass underneath a crumbling bridge about 10 feet high from them, but not seeing anyone, they continue the ascend and reach a series of pools held by a series of boulders. Next to the pools, three goblins are playing with three dire dogs, throwing bones and hitting the dogs with sticks. Kaine shoot one of the goblins, while Kyrdean uses his martial skills to land behind the dogs and strikes one of them. The rest of the group joins the fight, and the goblins are swiftly defeated. Fugnar keeps one of the goblins alive, and after solidly tying him to the other, they leave them behind.

Faced with an opening in the south wall of this large cave and one in the west wall, they elect to go west and find themselves at the edge of the bridge, with a goblin sentry on the other side. Kaine shoots his crossbow and wounds the goblin, while Fugnar sprints across, and despite its ruined looks, the barbarian arrives on the other side without breaking the structure, and strikes the goblin dead. Searching the goblin, he fins a piece of white fabric, most likely from a wedding dress, along with three wooden six-sided dice which always land on one. 

The rest of the party soon follows across the bridge, only to find another stinking room. They have located the goblins' residential quarters, and they have surprised nearly a dozen goblins. Fugnar rages and charges one of the goblins, while everyone else joins the fray. But these goblins are led by two captains, and the battle is more dangerous than they would have expected. Fugnar is the first to go down, followed by Kaine. Kyrdean is injured, and both Emmy and Kite suffer damage, but eventually they triumph over their enemies. 

At the back of the room they find a pit about twelve feet deep, and a ladder. Inside the pit is Gundred's companion, Sildar. Sildar has been bound and gagged, but is otherwise uninjured. Kyrdean puts the ladder in the pit and frees Sildar. Sildar inquires after Gundred, and Kyrdean has to inform him they have not yet located the dwarf. The two climb back out of the pit. Meanwhile, Emmy bandages Fugnar and Kaine, stopping their slow bleeding. With everyone wounded, they decide to rest here, despite the stink, as this room is easily guarded.

Searching the dead goblins, they find jewelry and other evidence that suggests the goblins attacked a wedding party. They find a pair of earring, a garter belt, more pieces of a wedding dress, and other trinkets.

During their rest, Sildar explains what happened to Gundred and himself. They were traveling back from Neverwinter three days ago when something spook the horses by the bridge, and both riders were thrown off their horses. Gundred has never been a very good horse rider, but Sildar considers himself skilled, and it would have been something very scary that spooked the horses enough to throw the fighter off his horse. Once on the ground, the two of them were attacked and captured by goblins. Once tied, they were escorted to Cragmaw Hideout, and that's the last time Sildar saw Gundred. 

Fugnar questions Sildar on what Gundred and his kin discovered. Sildar explains that the Gundred and his brothers had just located an important section of the mine of the Phandelver Pact. Sildar is not sure what that is, but Gundred was excited beyond belief at that news. When asked about the map Gundred had received, Sildar replies that it showed the location of the mine and its network of tunnels, including the big find that had Gundred so excited. Kyrdean informs Sildar that the map is now missing, as it was not found in Gundred's personal effects left at the ambush site.

While in the goblins' captivity, Sildar heard the following information. The goblins' king, a bugbear named Klarg, is responsible for the capture of a human wizard named Iarno Albrek, but this happened several months ago and the goblins didn't know what had happened to the wizard. Sildar also heard that Klarg works for someone called the Spider. It is the Spider that ordered the ambush on the trail, and the Spider seemed to know that Gundred would be on the road back to Phandalin. Klarg was ordered to capture Gundred and send him to Cragmaw Castle. Sildar doesn't know where Cragmaw Castle is located. He also mentions that when he and Gundred were escorted back to Cragmaw Hideout, his captors were intercepted by three other goblins with oblong heads that glowed faintly. His captors did not seem to know these particular goblins, and there was animosity between the two groups. They almost came to blows, but the strange goblins, after examining Gundred they told his captors that the dwarf was to go with them, as he was the one Ruxithid was looking for. They showed the goblins a token Sildar did not see, but this was apparently enough to convince the captors to give Gundred to this new group of goblins. That's the last time he saw Gundred.

Sunday, March 20, 1491

After a long rest that came with no challenge from the inhabitants of Cragmaw Hideout, the party heads back to the bridge. A goblin is standing guard there, and as soon as he sees Fugnar he fires an arrow before running away. Wise to the possibility of a trap, Fugnar jumps down the bridge and lands in the creek, followed by Kyrdean and Kaine. Fugnar rounds the corner back into the large cave just as the goblin emerges from the tunnel, and the barbarian does quick work, ending the goblin's life.

After jumping off the bridge, Kyrdean lowers himself in the river by the dam, with only his nose, eyes and ears sticking out. Kaine stands near Kyrdean. Another goblin standing on the bridge releases the rope holding the dam's keystone in place. This releases the dam, and the rushing waters transport Kyrdean and Kaine back to the mouth of the cave. While Emmy, Fugnar and Kite enters the cave to the south, Kyrdean runs back and chases the goblin across the bridge, avoiding the bridge trap. Cornering the goblin, Kyrdean defeats him, the looks for a secret door. He does not find one.

Map of Cragmaw Hideout

 In the main cave that looks like a poor version of a throne room, they discover several crates, many of them marked with a blue lion's head. They defeat the largest dire dog they have ever seen. The inhabitants of the cave seem to have left, however. Searching for a secret door here, Kyrdean finds one. In a small room, they discover 900 gold pieces in a wooden chest, two potions, and two strange magical items. Cragmaw Hideout is theirs!

Phandelver - Of dragons, griffons, and ghosts

Saturday, March 12, 1491

Having recuperated from the food poisoning he was afflicted by the day before, Kyrdean wakes up still feeling slightly ill, but at least with a now settled stomach. Not sure what happened yesterday, the Tabaxi makes plan to eat a quick breakfast in the Stonehill Inn's common room, then head back on the trail towards Neverwinter to catch up to the caravan. Fortunately, when he enters the common room, Kyrdean finds Fugnar and Kite eating a copious breakfast of scrambled eggs, bacon, freshly baked bread, and cheese, and Kite informs him that the caravan was delayed yesterday due to missing oxen, but that everything was resolved and Gundred determined they would leave this morning. Being done with breakfast, Fugnar returns upstairs and knock on Kaine and Kritza's doors, but both of them still groan in pain, and they tell the barbarian they will not be joining the caravan today. With breakfast consumed, they head out to Barthen's Provisions, where they will meet Gundred and Sildar.

Meanwhile, when Emmy wakes up from her magically induced sleep, she experiences a massive headache pounding behind her temples. Climbing out of the wagon she slept in, her body feels sore, her mouth is dry, and she feels dizzy, but a few steps take the feelings away. When she is joined by Fugnar, Kyrdean, and Kite at Barthen's Provisions, she inquires what she missed. Fugnar tells her they met faeries, goblins and oxen, and life is good. Gundred and Sildar arrive, and Gundred is thrilled his team is here and ready to go. Fugnar tells him that both Kaine and Kritza are still sick, and will try to catch up with them when they recuperate. Dori and a heavily laden Dunleaf finally return to their wagons.

After completing their preparations, the caravan leaves the village of Phandalin and takes the road back to Neverwinter. Gundred inquires about Kaine and Kritza, and both of them are still sick. Driving their wagons pulled by their four oxen, Dori and Dunleaf begin the slow trek back to Neverwinter. Fugnar comments that he's hoping the bridge has been fixed. But by the time the caravan nears the river, it is clear that the bridge has been destroyed, and the bodies of the nymphs Fugnar had strung under the bridge have been removed. Fugnar suspects that friends of the nymphs destroyed the bridge to avenge their friends.

Gundred consults with Sildar on what the caravan should do. Sildar considers that rebuilding the bridge so it could handle the weight of the oxen and wagons would take about two days, and they are better off to head south to the next ford in the river instead, as this will only take a few hours. Gundred agrees, and the caravan follows the east bank of the river until it crosses over to the other side. Heading back north, they soon rejoin the road. Several times over the day, Kite cheers the oxen, and Fugnar provides them sweet grasses to munch on as they walk on the path.

Later in the afternoon, an injured griffon flies low above the caravan as it is being chased by a juvenile green dragon, which releases a jet of boiling acid. Dori leads her wagon under the closest tree, closely followed by Dunleaf. The griffon crashes to the ground about 100 feet away from the path, while the dragon gracefully lands between the caravan and the griffon, with its back to them. Kyrdean immediately jumps off the wagon, and begins crawling towards the dragon. Seeing this, both Emmy and Kite take out their bows and ready an attack. Gundred whispers to them that they are crazy if they think they can take on a dragon, but Fugnar only grins at him before jumping off the wagon and loudly charging the dragon. Dori also pulls out her axe, but Dunleaf hanks her back.

Surprised, the dragon pivots. Emmy's arrow is true and hits the dragon, while Fugnar's battle hammer strikes the dragon on its side, causing significant damage. Kyrdean jumps into the fray, but Kite's arrow narrowly misses. With the dragon distracted, the griffon also strikes back against the dragon. This significant damage from multiple sources is enough for the dragon, which springs upwards and flies away in the general direction of Phandalin. Emmy slowly steps closer to the now quivering griffon. Using her skills, she approaches the griffon, and, taking out her salves and bandages, she cleans the beast's wounds as best she can, and the griffon remains stoically immobile throughout the operation. Once Emmy is done, the griffon gracefully bows its head, before heading into the woods. Emmy bows back and thanks the griffon for allowing her to care for it.

Gundred is pleased with this battle, but he suggests the caravan should not tarry. They head back on the road, and by night fall they pitch camp in a secluded grove.

Sunday, March 13, 1491

With empty wagons, the caravan makes good time and reaches Neverwinter before the gates are closed at night. Reporting to Bran & Sons's Warehouse, Gundred shakes hands with Bran, and tells everyone the caravan will depart Tuesday morning. However, they can all get a couple gold pieces tomorrow if they wish by helping to load new cargo back on the wagons. Everyone agrees they will help. Gundred suggests they return tomorrow morning around 8. After the oxen are placed in their pen, Kite thanks them for their hard work, and gives them each a carrot.

 

Monday, March 14, 1491

In the morning, Emmy walks to Neverwinter's guard headquarters and reports the presence of a greed dragon in the area. The captain of the guard tells her they will investigate, and he will also notify other towns and villages to be on the lookout. If the dragon proves to be active in this area, a party will be assembled and a reward will be given for its killing. She then heads to the local alchemist, the Alembic Apothecary, where she purchases a jar of nightshade poison she can coat her arrows or her weapons with.

Promptly at 8, Fugnar, Kyrdean, Emmy, and Kite return to Bran & Sons' Warehouse, where they meet Gundred and Sildar. The warehouse is filled with boxes, and Bran, owner of the warehouse, shows them which boxes to load. While Bran and Sildar take the inventory of what is being loaded, Gundred and Dori make some repairs to the wagons. Dunleaf prepares lunch, and soon the caravan's crew and all of the employees of Bran & Sons partake of another lovely meal.

As the wagons become progressively fuller, Fugnar expresses the concern that the oxen will need to work harder than the last trip, and the barbarian tells Gundred he will need to convince the oxen to complete this ultimate trip. Flummoxed, Gundred asks Fugnar to intercedes, and the barbarian agrees for 5 gold pieces, which Gundred gladly hands over.

Fugnar tells Gundred he must convince the oxen they Gundred gives Fugnar 5 gold pieces, and the barbarian makes a show of consulting and cajoling the oxen, before claiming that everything is good, they've agreed to pull the heavy wagons.

Early in the afternoon, a rider delivers an important message to Gundred. Emmy and Kite see him read it, then they hear him exclaim to Sildar "They think they found it!" Making hasty plans, Gundred informs Fugnar he's now in charge of making sure the caravan arrives in Phandalin, as he needs to ride out right away. Soon, both Gundred and Sildar ride out of Neverwinter.

Continuing to supervise the loading, Fugnar catches Bran trying to sell them goods that do not match the description on Gundred's list. Bran apologizes profusely and blames his underlings for the mix up. With the wagons fully loaded early in the evening, Fugnar, Emmy, Kite and Kyrdean discuss whether they would be better off departing immediately instead of leaving the wagons in the warehouse one more night. The absence of their teamsters, who have already withdrawn for the night, convinces them they must stay here until morning. But they determine to sleep in the warehouse. Bran lends them a key to lock and unlock the warehouse gate, and he returns home for the evening.

Looking around for vulnerabilities, Kyrdean builds an elaborate alarm using pots and pans. If the main door or the loading gates are opened, the pots and pans will make a racket, alerting everyone. Emmy places a heavy crate on top of the trapdoor that leads to the sewer, ensuring that no one will be able to climb through that space.

Warehouse in Neverwinter

Tuesday, March 15, 1491

Fugnar sleeps on the bench of the first wagon, while he waits to take the last watch. Emmy takes the first watch, and patrols through the building. Two hours later, she wakes Kyrdean up, and he begins his own patrol as she heads to bed. Halfway through his shift, the temperature in the warehouse drops precipitously. Noticing a faint light in the front office, Kyrdean positions himself stealthily, before opening the door and jumping on the person on the other side. The noise wakes everyone up.

Kyrdean has captured a burglar named Thrumbone, who claims he is here to search the office and retrieve a metal box that belongs to his patron. Kyrdean finds the story hard to believe, but Thrumbone describes part of the contents of the box, including a child's drawing of a unicorn, and what the box itself looks like. While Thrumbone is guarded by Fugnar, Kyrdean searches the office and soon discovers said box underneath a bunch of boxes and piles of paper. Carefully unlocking and opening the box, Kyrdean indeed discovers the drawing of the unicorn. 

Thrumbone attempts to convince them to let him go with the box, but when Kyrdean refuses, a ghostly apparition floats down from the ceiling and threatens everyone with bodily harm. Some quick thinking on Kyrdean's part disarms the situation as he reveals the location of the child the ghost is looking for with her agent Thrumbone. Now aware of the address, the ghostly apparition rushes through the wall, leaving Thrumbone behind.

Kite heads out of the warehouse to alert Bran an intruder was here. Bran returns to the warehouse with Kite, and he alerts the guard. Kyrdean purchases the metal box for 7 gold pieces. Aside from the child's drawing, the box contains what appears to be a contract signed with an arcane symbol, perhaps a debt that binds the family; a collection of foreign coins and trinkets worth 21 gold pieces; a handwritten will amended multiple times: a collection of coded ciphers; a collection of love letters filled with passion, betrayal, and a forbidden romance; a court document with a broken wax seal revealing a past trial, and a hidden crime, as well as the location and new parents of a child; and a leather-bound journal with coded entries filled with what appears to be scientific observations of magic and alchemical formulas.

The city guard finally arrives and hauls Thrumbone away to jail for breaking and entering. Though they promise they will look for the ghostly apparition, everyone knows those are empty promises.

Following the sunrise, Dori and Dunleaf return to Bran & Sons' Warehouse. After being appraised of the events of the previous night, the dwarves retrieve the oxen from their pens, and the caravan departs Neverwinter. On the road, Kite makes flower crowns for the oxen, which they happily munch on.

 

Friday March 18, 1491

As they near the fork that will take them either to the broken bridge or to ford the river, a discussion occurs between Dori and Fugnar. The wagons are very heavy with all of this material, and crossing the river risks being harder than when they traveled back to the city. But the bridge is most likely still out of commission. Kite rides to the bridge, only to discover that Gundred and Sildar's horses are standing on the western shores, and their leads have been staked to the ground. Suspecting an ambush, Kite returns to the caravan to report.

Ambush at the broken bridge

The caravan approaches cautiously. Fugnar and Kyrdean examine the ground, and find goblin prints. Fugnar loudly voices his desire to pay his goblin friend Blonk. Snickers can be heard from the woods near the horses. Fugnar again offers money for the goblins to come out, but the goblins reply that they might as well attack and take all of the gold instead of some of the gold, and they charge. Combat is short, and all but one goblins are quickly dispatched. Fugnar interrogates the last remaining goblin,

Searching the area near the horses, Kite finds Gundred's horse, and his traveling kit, including the letter he received a few days ago. Reading through it, Fugnar, who can read dwarf, notices a reference to a map, but no map is found.  

Returning to the wagons, Emmy asks Dori if there are objects that either Gundred or Sildar carry with them at all times that could identify they were here. Dori replies that Sildar eats sunflower seeds, and Gundred always carries feathers in his pockets because he enjoys the feeling. Kite recalls seeing the dwarf with his hands in his pockets more times than she cares to remember. With that, the caravan heads to the ford to cross the river and reach Phandalin ...

Phandelver - Of Oxen and Faeries

Friday, March 11, 1491

Getting up with the first rays of a new sun, Fugnar leaves his comfortable bed and heads down the stairs to the common room at the Stonehill Inn, where the wonderful smell of freshly made bread and cooked bacon combine into a pleasant odor. Though he is up early, Fugnar is surprised to see that someone is already sitting at the bar. Toblen Stonehill, the proprietor, introduces Fugnar to Dice, a dragonborn wizard who arrived during the night. Toblen serves Fugnar with a heavy plate of scrambled eggs, bacon, four slices of fresh bread, and freshly churned butter. The meal is excellent, and soon Fugnar and Dice are sharing stories of the wilds and of their adventures.

Gundred Rockseeker told everyone to be back at Barthen's Provisions by 8 am, but by half past 7 Fugnar is still the only one present in the common room, and he starts to worry. He heads back upstairs, and knock on the doors to Kritza, Kaine, and Kyrdean, only to learn that all three of them ate something last night that did not agree with them, and they're too sick to get out of bed. Returning to the common room, Fugnar asks Dice if he would like to work on a caravan, given that they're now short staffed. Dice agrees to check it out.

Meanwhile, back on Alderleaf's farm, Kite wakes up at the crack of dawn when Alderleaf enters his barn to milk the cows. She helps him, and in exchange he brings her a steaming hot breakfast of pancakes, fresh fruits, and a hot mug of coffee. Now satiated, Kite heads back to town and enters the Stonehill Inn. Fugnar greets her loudly, then introduces her to Dice. They shake hands, before departing the inn and walking the two blocks to Barthen's Provisions. Gundred stands animatedly by the fenced gate to the courtyard, and he throw his fancy hat on the ground before stumping on it in front of Sildar, who is frowning slightly, a visibly upset Dori, and an unperturbed Durgan.

Kite inquires why Gundred is so upset. He tells her that the caravan's four oxen have been stolen, right under Emmy's nose. Fugnar asks the dwarf were the Tabaxi is, and he replies she's still sleeping in one of the caravan's wagons. Fugnar enters the wagon, and notices that Emmy is in fact still sleeping despite the racket outside. He notices a light sprinkling of pale blue powder on her face. He claps in front of her face, and she does not wake up. Dice takes a look at the blue powder, and clearly, this sleep is magical. Dice identifies the powder as fey sleeping powder.

Gundred is worried about his animals. There's evidence that someone was here, and the animals were led away. Kite tells him they will investigate who stole them, find the animals, and bring them back. Gundred offers each of them 20 gold pieces if they bring back all four of them so that the caravan can depart back for Neverwinter. Fugnar informs Gundred about the sick members of the caravan, and the dwarf swears loudly before stomping on his hat again. Kite, worried for the hat, redirects his energy, and says that by the time they get the oxen back, everyone should be back in good health. Mollified, Gundred picks up his hat, and dusts it before putting it back on his head. Sildar has an amused look on his face.

Examining the warehouse and the work yard, Kite notices several sets of smaller footprints moving around the pen where the animals were sleeping. It looks like goblins were in this space last night. Looking at the tracks, Fugnar determines that the oxen were not dragged out, but instead stampeded out of their pen and out of the gate, before heading out of town. Fugnar, Kite, and Dice follow the tracks left by the oxen. They ran out of Barrthen's Provisions, and headed south of Phandalin. The tracks are easy to follow, and Kite, Fugnar and Dice soon reach an abandoned farm house about 10 minutes outside of Phandalin. The tracks leave the road and clumb up the path leading to the rundown house. A large barn stands behind the house, and several ancient-looking trees which have seen better days pepper the property. 

Kite follows the road a few more steps, then jumps over the fence and sneaks to stand by a tree, providing archery cover if it is needed. Fugnar and Dice carefully walk up the path, weapons drawn. The tracks head to the left side of the barn, which leads to the barn's basement. Fugnar heads to the barn, while Dice stops by the house.

Abandoned house and barn

Looking inside the house through a broken window, Dice spots hundreds of stick bugs crawling all over the ruined kitchen furniture and implements. It seems odd, considering that it is March, and the weather is still cold. Based on the layer of dust on the ground, Dice is sure no one has been in the house recently. He leaves the house and joins Fugnar by the barn.

Descending the path to the barn's stone basement, Fugnar sees the tracks disappear inside. Everything is pitch black underneath the barn. Fugnar throws a torch, but no light comes from the basement's interior. Both Fugnar and Dice hear soft music coming from deep inside, and they can also hear the bellows of an ox. Throwing caution to the wind, Dice enters the barn's basement, and is no longer visible.

Not seeing any threat, Kite leaves her guard post, and joins Fungar, who tells her what Dice did. Kite can also hear the music and the sound of oxen. Looking at each other, both Fugnar and Kite shrug, before entering the barn.

They join Dice at the end of a small grove of trees, in the middle of the night. Seven large pillars of stones stand about 10 feet tall, surrounding a small pond. Trees encircle the pillars, and the air is thick with stick bugs flying or resting on the pillars. The four oxen stand by the pond, in a sleep-like trance. Kite and Fugnar both notice they no longer have their collars. Looking up at the sky, Fugnar notices that the stars and constellations do not resemble those from home.He also sees the outline of the portal that can take them back home right behind them.

Now that they are here, the music they were hearing comes from this grove, and is produced by the stick bugs rubbing their hind legs on the stones, each of which produces a different tonality.

Fairy grove

Kite takes our her sprite flute and attempts to match the music. Despite not being a musician, she does a passable job, attracting the attention of several stick bugs that fly by her. A large stick bug, about five feet tall, detaches itself from the northernmost pillar, and morphs into a smooth humanoid shape, roughly as tall as a human child of ten. The fay walks forward and stops by the oxen, petting them before greeting the visitors in a singsong Common, and asking them their purpose in visiting the grove.

Kite introduces herself and her two companions, and tells the fay they are here to retrieve the oxen. The fay introduces themself as Twiggleleaf, the leader of this First World grove, and they tell Kite and her companions that they heard the bellows of the oxen as they were threatened by three goblins. Twiggleleaf and their friends came to the oxen's rescue. They captured the goblins, and freed the oxen and invited them to come to the grove to find peace and calm. Twiggleleaf tells them the oxen have said they are happy to be here and would like to stay.

Kite politely argues that the oxen must return with them, because they have a job to do and they are stranding a caravan, and a lot of people depend on their labor. Twiggleleaf briefly talks with the oxen, and then reports that they agree to go back, provided they get more food and more gentle care. But first, Kite, Fugnar and Dice must solve riddles asked by the oxen, then perform a dance and music routine to entertain the oxen, who wish for more fun in their lives.

 The first ox steps forward. Fugnar recognizes it as the strongest of the four oxen. The ox bellows, and Twiggleleaf translates: "Four pillars hold me, yet I bear tenfold. Mountains kneel when I unfold. What am I, with grip so fast, that bends the iron, shatters glass?" Fugnar, Kite and Dice discuss among themselves for a few moment, before Fugnar answers "Strength." The ox bellows, then steps back, while Twiggleleaf claps and bows. Fugnar finds a pice of glass about fist-sized.

The next ox steps forward. Kite remembers that this ox is the fastest of the group. The ox bellows, and Twiggleleaf translates: "I outrun whispers, chase the sun, before the day is even begun. I leave the stars in dusty trails, across the sky on silver rails. What am I, a fleeting streak, a blur of hooves on thunder's peak?" Without hesitation, Kite answers "Speed." The ox bellows proudly, then steps back to the group. Kite also finds a colored piece of glass at her foot.

The third ox steps forward. Fugnar recalls that when the other three oxen were flagging at the end of the day. this one was always ready to keep going. The ox bellows, and Twiggleleaf translates: Time itself I stride upon, through endless summers, winters gone. From sunlit dawns to starlit nights, I bear the burdens, hold the lights. What am I, with tireless tread, the ever-marching, unbowed thread?" After a short conversation, Dice hesitantly answers "Endurance." The ox bellows, and steps back. He finds a colored piece of glass at his feet.

The fourth ox steps forward. Kite vaguely remembers this ox as being the quietest and calmest of the four. The ox bellows, and Twiggleleaf translates: "A feather whispers in my touch, a tear I dry, so very much. With quiet hooves and moonlit grace, I mend the wounds of time and space. What am I, with calming art, the soothing balm within the heart?" After much pondering, Fugnar, Kite and Dice agree that the answer is gentleness, so Dice volunteers the response, and the ox bellows, bows, and he finds yet another piece of colored glass at his feet.

Twiggleleaf explains that the glass pieces are trickery tokens, four iridescent glass tokens, each reflecting a different aspect of the oxen (strength, speed, endurance, and gentleness). When pressed against an object, the token imbues it with the corresponding aspect for a short duration. Twiggleleaf explains that for example, rock becomes super-strong, a feather swift, a rope unbreakable, and a touch becomes soothing.

Now that the oxen feel satisfied they have been recognized as individuals, Twiggleleaf tells the companions that they must now perform some act of entertainment that will display strength, speed, endurance, and gentleness. Fugnar, Kite and Dice huddle and come up with a plan. Kite takes out her sprite flute. She will play music while running, and she will jump in Dice's hand, who will throw her in the air. Fugnar will catch her, then walk around with Kite on his shoulders, while Dice dances around them. All of them will then fall to the ground and roll in the grass. They hope this performance will satisfy the oxen. 

They start the performance, and Kite's playing is much better than it was when they first entered the grove. Dice adds some drums to the music, while Fugnar jams to the music. Kite runs around the barbarian, then runs up to Dice, who take a hold of her feet and propels her into the air. Fugnar moves himself into position, and Kite lands directly on his shoulders. With her securely positioned on his shoulders, Fugnar performs a feat of martial agility with his trusted battle hammer, while Dice and Kite continue to make music. Following this display, the three of them collapse to the ground in the grass and lay still.

For a second nothing happens, but then all of the four oxen begin bellowing, and Twiggleaf claps. They translate for the oxen, telling Kite and her companions that their performance was appreciated by the oxen, and they could recognize themselves in their fluid movements. The oxen are agreeing to return with them, but would like to come back to the grove when their work is completed. Kite heartily agrees.

Stick bugs then move three magically sleeping goblins from beyond the pillars. Twiggleleaf tells them these goblins were trying to lead the oxen away. Fugnar asks why Emmy was also afflicted with the magical sleep, and Twiggleleaf replies they didn't want the Tabaski being hurt while the faeries rescued the oxen. Twiggleleaf also gives them four pods of a sleeping flower. Crush the pod, and the blue powder will put the person inhaling it to sleep.

Fugnar ties the sleeping goblins and places them on the oxen's backs after asking Twiggleleaf if the oxen would agree to carry them back to Phandalin. Dice asks Twiggleleaf what is happening in the house next to the barn, and Twiggleleaf reports that the house is occupied by an angry spirit that comes out at night and that dwells in the basement. The spirit is quite evil, but seems attached to something in the house. The spirit's corruption is slowly consuming the house, but the stick bugs are doing what they can to reduce some of these evil influences.

Emerging out of the barn's basement, they realize that it is late afternoon. The oxen lead the way back to Barthen's Provision, where a grateful Gundred welcome them back, handing Fugnar, Kite and Dice a purse each containing 20 gold pieces. Kite tells the dwarf that the oxen want to be better treated, and after hearing their story, Gundred agrees the animals will get more food and less abuse from Dori.

After having seen that the oxen are taken cared of, Fugnar brings the goblins inside the warehouse. When the first one wakes up, Dice spits acid on a bone to intimidate the creature. Fugnar pulls out his knife and a wet stone, and begins sharpening it. The goblin doesn't know why he's here, but he says he will tell them whatever they want to know. Fugnar asks why they were trying to steal the oxen. The goblin replies that they had been ordered to steal two of the oxen by their leader, Klarg, so that the caravan would be slower and easier to ambush. The goblins were to take the oxen to Cragmaw Castle, but when they entered Barthen's Provisions, they decided that they might as well take all four oxen. Then the next thing they knew they were waking up tied here.

Fugnar tells the goblin that he will not kill him. Instead, he gives him the purse containing 20 golds, and informs him he's been hired to harass those who walk around Phandalin with scarlet cloaks, and that for everyone of them who leaves town, he will give them more gold. All they got to do is bring back their cloaks. The goblin, who introduces himself as Blonk, agrees this sounds fun. Fugnar releases the other two goblins, and after they awake Blonk leads them out of Barthen's Provisions and they head northwest.

As they head back to the Stonehill Inn, Gundred tells them that the caravan will depart tomorrow morning at 8 from Barthen's Provisions, and hopefully everyone will feel better.

Gundred tells them the caravan will head out in the morning.

Phandelver - Traveling to Phandalin

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.

Searching the nymphs, Kritza finds a valuable malachite that must have been used as a spell focus. The dwarf collects the precious stone.

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.

Phandelver Campaign Begins

Phandelver Campaign Begins

Here we go again! Ten years after starting and then, three years later, completing the Emerald Spire campaign, and having made it halfway through Princes of the Apocalypse before my group ran out of stamina, I had said I would never run another lengthy campaign again, as some of the companions in my gaming group suffer from the "What's next" disease and are chronically incapable of sticking with a game for more than four or five sessions. But then a friend said he would purchase Beadle and Grimm's legendary edition of Phandelver & Below: The Shattered Obelisk if I would be willing to run it. After much arm twisting, we're about to start it on Friday, January 5, 2024, and even the what'snexters have "committed" to seeing this campaign through. 

I sent out a questionnaire to all players looking to flesh out their PCs, and here are some of the characters who will be joining the campaign as the PCs meet for the first time in the city of Neverwinter.

Kyrdean Theris, a Tabaxi who enjoys sunsets, sunflowers, and who loves to eat pan-seared knucklehead trout hand pies with elven quith-pa on the side.

A currently unnamed Tabaxi, who loves fish and is looking looking for a perfect homestead location.

Kritza Redwind, a Hill Dwarf who loves lamb stew and who enjoys making his own fine artisanal wines.

A currently unnamed human battle-axe wielding barbarian who enjoys eating caribou and who loves to hunt and trap.

This should be interesting!