As they traveled the Triboar Trail, they found Gundren and Sildar’s dead horses and the signs of an ambush. As they investigated, they were attacked by goblins from the Cragmaw Tribe. After the fight one goblin was kept alive to show them the way to the Cragmaw hideout. A ferocious fight soon erupted which found the adventurers (barely) victorious over the goblins and their bugbear leader. Sildar was found bound and wounded, but there was no sign of Gundren. After leaving the hideout cave they met a goblin mage named Rita who joined their group. They proceeded to Phandalin.
Phandalin is a small frontier town built on the ruins of a much older settlement. It is home to farmers, woodcutters, fur traders, and prospectors, with some of the latter searching the Sword Mountains hoping to find the Wave Echo Cave and its legendary Forge of Spells. Gundrun and his brothers had not been seen in days. Sildar paid the adventurers for rescuing him and they took accomodations at the Stonehill Inn. Many rumors were heard: Sister Garaele from the town’s Shrine of Luck returned wounded and exhausted from an encounter with a banshee. Daran Edermath, the orchard keeper, is a retired adventurer. Harbin Wester, the townmaster, is looking for someone to investigate and drive away orcs that have been seen near Wyvern Tor. Thel Dendrar, a local woodcarver, stood up to the Redbrands, a local gang of ruffians, and was murdered in front of witnesses. The Redbrands took his body, and his wife, daughter, and son also went missing that night. Qelline Alderleaf, a halfling farmer, has a son named Carp who found a secret tunnel in the woods near their farm, but ran away when he saw the Redbrands there. The Redbrands frequent the Sleeping Giant tap house and hassle all the businesses in town except for the Phandalin Miner’s exchange, which is run by Halia Thornton.
Faerthurin, being a rogue, tried to visit the Sleeping Giant in hopes of gathering information on the missing dwarf miners. Instead, he was accosted by the Redbrands and nearly killed in a streetfight. The group traded nearly all their gold for their lives and headed for the edge of town. Faerthurin secretly vowed revenge.
bugbears. Despite having perfectly good eyes, Rita took the eyepatch and was given
the staff. They also found a mysterious note.
The adventurers met Qelline and stayed in her barn in
exchange for doing work on her farm. Carp showed them the
tunnel he had found, and Zayna took the shape of a rat and
scouted it out. She found a dungeon-like cellar with a vaguely
humanoid monster (a nothic) in a crevasse, some bugbears
and a goblin, a few Redbrands, and a wizard who had a
bedroom and laboratory. The group moved in and attacked,
using well-deployed oil fires to keep their enemies at a
distance so that they could be picked off with arrows. After
leaving none alive, they searched the wizard’s rooms and
found a note, coins and gems, and two magic scrolls. They
also took the wizard’s magic Staff of Defense and a bejeweled eyepatch from one of the
Moving further into the cellar, they found a weapons room and took some of the sare
Redbrand cloaks. The next room had three sarcophagi with animated skeletons who
immediately attacked. As the group was fighting for their lives, more Redbrands came in from
the next door. After retrieving their wounded, Zayna used the Scroll of Fireball to cover their
escape. The group returned to the farm to rest and heal.
The adventurers decided to go to the ruined town of Thundertree to see the druid Reidoth who was rumored to know where the Wave Echo Cave was. Thundertree was a frontier town that was devastated by the eruption of Mount Hotenow forty years ago. Reidoth agreed to tell the adventurers where the cave was if they could get rid of the green dragon Venomfang who had taken up residence in a ruined tower in town. The dragon had attracted group of cultists. After placating the dragon with an offering of treasure, the adventurers struck a deal to give the dragon the Cragmaw Castle in exchange for its help ridding it of goblins. They then headed south to the castle without exploring the rest of the town.
The group started their raid on the castle by surveilling it from the woods. Goblins and hobgoblins could be seen coming and going from the decrepit structure. Q made friends with a wolf, Seamus. During the night Faerthurin caught a dragon cultist who had followed them and was rifling through Zayna’s belongings. He nearly killed him and kept him tied up. Thorin stayed at camp and the rest of the group laid an ambush near the main entrance. They fought a pitched battle with some orcs during which Rita was knocked unconscious and lost in the fray. Zayna took her eyepatch and staff.
After returning to camp and resting, they saw Venomfang arrive and attack the castle with his poison breath. After briefly talking with him, the group went in through a side opening and fought the frantic goblins from room to room. In one room they found a caged owl bear and set it free to attack the goblins, but it was killed. After all the goblins were killed, Venomfang claimed the castle as his own and demanded treasure. Zayna gave him the Staff of Defense and the group headed back to Thundertree. Reidoth was surprised to see them again and told them how to find the Wave Echo Cave.
They headed back to Phandalin. Along the way they heard the sounds of battle in the forest. Two elves were being attacked by hobgoblins. One elf was immediately killed, but the group (minus Thorin and Faerthurin, who hung back at the tree line) vanquished the hobgoblins and the surviving elf, Krehnigar, joined their party. He was a defector from the elf army. They traveled for another day and set camp. That night they heard a rider on the trail and investigated (again, minus Thorin and Faerthurin who stayed at camp). The rider from the west was met by a Redbrand from the east who was leading two horses with three bound humans on them. They witnessed an exchange of gold for the humans, and after the Redbrand left, they attacked the rider. They defeated him but he swallowed poison before they could get any information from him other than that he feared his masters more than the adventurers or even death. The rescued humans were the family of Thel Dendrar, the murdered woodcarver, named Mirna, Nars, and Nilsa. The Redbrands intended to sell them as slaves to be sent north. Mirna told them that her family was from Thundertree and that her heirloom emerald necklace was probably still in the ruins of their herb and alchemy shop there. She offered it to the adventurers for rescuing her, but also requested that they retrieve her husband’s remains from Tresendar Manor for burial, and told them that the Redbrands had thrown his body into the crevasse as food for the nothic. Together they all returned to Phandalin the next day.
The adventurers decided to go to the ruined town of Thundertree to see the druid Reidoth who was rumored to know where the Wave Echo Cave was. Thundertree was a frontier town that was devastated by the eruption of Mount Hotenow forty years ago. Reidoth agreed to tell the adventurers where the cave was if they could get rid of the green dragon Venomfang who had taken up residence in a ruined tower in town. The dragon had attracted group of cultists. After placating the dragon with an offering of treasure, the adventurers struck a deal to give the dragon the Cragmaw Castle in exchange for its help ridding it of goblins. They then headed south to the castle without exploring the rest of the town.
The group started their raid on the castle by surveilling it from the woods. Goblins and hobgoblins could be seen coming and going from the decrepit structure. Q made friends with a wolf, Seamus. During the night Faerthurin caught a dragon cultist who had followed them and was rifling through Zayna’s belongings. He nearly killed him and kept him tied up. Thorin stayed at camp and the rest of the group laid an ambush near the main entrance. They fought a pitched battle with some orcs during which Rita was knocked unconscious and lost in the fray. Zayna took her eyepatch and staff.
After returning to camp and resting, they saw Venomfang arrive and attack the castle with his poison breath. After briefly talking with him, the group went in through a side opening and fought the frantic goblins from room to room. In one room they found a caged owl bear and set it free to attack the goblins, but it was killed. After all the goblins were killed, Venomfang claimed the castle as his own and demanded treasure. Zayna gave him the Staff of Defense and the group headed back to Thundertree. Reidoth was surprised to see them again and told them how to find the Wave Echo Cave.
They headed back to Phandalin. Along the way they heard the sounds of battle in the forest. Two elves were being attacked by hobgoblins. One elf was immediately killed, but the group (minus Thorin and Faerthurin, who hung back at the tree line) vanquished the hobgoblins and the surviving elf, Krehnigar, joined their party. He was a defector from the elf army. They traveled for another day and set camp. That night they heard a rider on the trail and investigated (again, minus Thorin and Faerthurin who stayed at camp). The rider from the west was met by a Redbrand from the east who was leading two horses with three bound humans on them. They witnessed an exchange of gold for the humans, and after the Redbrand left, they attacked the rider. They defeated him but he swallowed poison before they could get any information from him other than that he feared his masters more than the adventurers or even death. The rescued humans were the family of Thel Dendrar, the murdered woodcarver, named Mirna, Nars, and Nilsa. The Redbrands intended to sell them as slaves to be sent north. Mirna told them that her family was from Thundertree and that her heirloom emerald necklace was probably still in the ruins of their herb and alchemy shop there. She offered it to the adventurers for rescuing her, but also requested that they retrieve her husband’s remains from Tresendar Manor for burial, and told them that the Redbrands had thrown his body into the crevasse as food for the nothic. Together they all returned to Phandalin the next day.
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