I return to my adventure at the point that the party has gathered South of Phandalin around the dead body of their compatriot Egart. They talk about what to do with him and what to do next.
Let's first deal with the mechanical part before we go into the storytelling.
For killing the three Redbrands the party gets a total of 300XP that is divided among the remaining four members and we divide Egarts money among the survivors. Haunui takes his Thieves tools, but no one is proficient with it. The rest of Egarts Gear they leave on him as they take his body back to town. Haunui regains 4 of the arrows he shot. They don't know much about him, except that he must have had some history in Phandalin, especially since the leader of the Redbrands seemed to know him.
That is a good incentive for them to return to the hideout and deal with the rest of the Redbrands. They want to question one of them about their possible knowledge about Egart and how he came to know the wizard with the glass staff. They also need to tell Halia about Glasstaffs flight. Having no idea if the wizard will be coming back or not, they decide to not take any chances and only rest briefly.
🍖 A short rest is had during which Quillathe uses her arcane Recovery to regain a spellslot.
The party retraces their steps to the ruin atop the hill. Here they re-enter the basement where they find the corpses of the Redbrands still undisturbed. There is some coin on them (12 gold, 15 electrum and 28 silver)and two gems that are taken by Harbek. Behind the door they came from is a small side chamber that was used as barracks. A few red cloaks are lying around here.
Now, there are two options here: They can retrace their steps to get back to Glasstaff's quarters to find some information, or they could try the other door in the basement.
Quillathe would want the information first and the others would not have a strong preference, but especially Harbek would be hesitant to cross the crevasse again if not necessary, since they lost their negotiator with the creature that lives there. So the group would agree to try the other door, hoping to find another way to the same goal.
They head through the doors and find themselves in a corridor.
Thick dust covers the flagstones of this somber hallway. The walls are decorated with faux columns every ten feet, and the double doors at the west end of the hall are sheathed in copper plate, now green with age. A relief carving of a mournful angel graces the doors.
There is something to find here, but only if the party actively looks for it. Since I know that it's there it, does not seem fair to decide they do search for it, so I will roll a luck check.
🎲Luck, 1d20 (1-10: bad luck, 11-20: Good luck): 2 => bad luck
🎲Determine first character to trigger trap, 1d4 (1: Drusa, 2: Haunui, 3: Harbek, 4: Quillathe): 4 => Quillathe
Her time in the temple has made Quillathe susceptible for religious imagery and she quickly steps forward to examine the carving on the door. But halfway down the hallway a loud snapping sound rings through the space and the floor under her feet breaks away.
🎲Dexterity Save +2 (DC 15): 3 (failure)
🎲Damage, 2d6 bludgeoning: 10
Quillathe falls forward and, hitting her head on the wall of the pit crashes down 20 feet before smashing into the stone floor below, groaning in pain.
The other party members need to skirt around the pit to help Quillathe climb out of it from the other side.
🎲Dexterity Check Harbek -1 (DC 10): 1 (failure)
=>🎲Dexterity Saving Throw -1 (DC 15): 13 (failure)
=>🎲damage, 2d6: 5
🎲Dexterity Check Drusa -1 (DC 10): 5 (failure)
=>🎲Dexterity Saving Throw -1 (DC 15): 5 (failure)
=>🎲damage, 2d6: 3
🎲Dexterity Check Haunui +3 (DC 10): 20 (success)
As Quillathe falls Harbeks hand shoots out to grab her, but he loses his footing too. Instinctually he grabs hold of something, the something being Drusa's arm. Like tumbling stones, the three people fall into the pit. It's a mess of tangled limbs and bruises when Haunui carefully, slowly lets down his rope to them to pull them out.
🎲Harbek Cure Wounds => Quillathe, 1d8+6: 11 healing received=> Full HP
100XP are divided among them for surviving the trap
Now at this point the only way of healing they have left is a singular healing potion and a possible Channel Divinity from Harbek. Things are getting tight. Carefully, they push open the door to the next room.
Three large stone sarcophagi stand within this dusty crypt, and propped up against each sarcophagus is a human skeleton clad in bits of rusty mail. False columns along the walls are carved in the image of spreading oak trees. The double doors in the southeast corner are sheathed in tarnished copper plate.🎲Determine marching order, 1d20 each: Drusa (17), Haunui (15), Harbek (17), Quillathe (13)
As they are halfway through the room the three skeletons suddenly animate and draw rusted weapons to attack.
The shambling bone-men are easily dispatched. Drusa cuts one of them down with her axe and Harbek grabs his holy symbol and utters a prayer. Suddenly the other two skeletons turn and run away from him. One of them dashes past Quillathe and falls head-over-heels into the pit where it smashes to pieces. The last one flees through a door into a hallway on the North side of the crypt. Drusa chases him and takes a nasty stab from the creature before arrows and spells from the others that sail over her head reduce it to a pile of splintered bones.
150XP are divided among the adventurers and Drusa, who took the most hits takes a platinum signet ring from one of the coffins.
There are two possible exits from this room, the door at the end of the Northern corridor, which is locked and the other door leading Eastwards. After having stumbled consecutively into a pit trap and a trio of animating undead the group is careful now. They push open the door carefully with the handle of Drusa's axe and from inside a male voice with a strong Northern accent calls out: "Careful! Behind the door!"
A second voice shouts back from just around the corner of said door: "Fuck you, asshole! You'll die next."
The sound of a dolorous bell echoes through the next room and the group pushes in, hacking away at the two Redbrand Ruffians that had been waiting with drawn swords try to ambush them. Haunui falls under their strikes, but a figure pushes up against some metal bars, that part the room and mutters a word of divine magic. Haunui's eyes open again, and he rises to his feet. Together they manage to kill off one of the thugs and as Harbek shouts out: "Surrender and you might still live!", the other Redbrand, bleeding profusely from a slash he took from Drusa's axe, drops his sword.
As the man surrenders, he is quickly bound.
"Thank you, stranger.", mutters Haunui, tracing the quickly healing wounds and addressing the blond, pale-skinned man who is locked into a cage in the Northern part of this room. There is another cage on the opposite side and now that the fight is over a woman in her thirties shuffles out of the shadow in the back, followed by two young children.
The people here get very quickly acquainted while a few things happen. Harbek drags the bound and disarmed thug into the crypt to interrogate him. The frightened prisoner tells Harbek all he knows, mainly that their leader is a wizard called Glasstaff and that recently the Redbrands have enjoyed the patronage of someone called 'The Black Spider', who has sent bugbears as extra muscle. The Redbrands have been intimidating the local populous and driven off adventureres under the Spider's command.
🎲Lockpick check +3 (DC 10): 6 (fail)
🎲Second try +3 (DC 12): 12 (success)
🎲Lockpick check +3 (DC 10): 20 (success)
After some initial trouble with the lock, Haunui manages to get both cages open. The woman introduces herself as Mirna Drendar, a townswoman from Phandalin. Her husband opposed the Redbrands and was killed. She and her two children were taken captive the night after. She explains that she does not know anything of value about her captors, but Haunui suddenly walks towards her. "Mirna?", he asks and the two of them are overjoyed to recognize each other from their early childhood. Both were born in Thundertree, where Mirna's family ran a small apothecary. After the eruption of Mount Hotenow and the ash-plague that befell the town and forced the villagers to flee and scatter in all direction they never saw each other again.
Mirna tells Haunui abuit an heirloom of hers that must still be in the apothecary, offering that up as a reward for the rescue of her and her children. The group thanks her but Haunui tells her that he plans to deliberate Thundertree one day and hopes that she will return with him to the town once he has managed to do so, to help rebuild it. A small, awkward moment long Mirna doubts his intentions, but she is struck with grief and exhaustion and begs the group to help her get out of the hideout.
To do so, the Drendars must somehow cross the pit in the next hallway and with the experiences the party has made they do not even try to skirt past it. Using ropes and pitons they climb down into the pit and back out on the other side to get the family of commoners to safety.
Then finally there is the man in the other cage who introduces himself as Brandr, a traveling servant of the god Tempus, who - aiming to come and help in Phandalin as much as he can - has been captured by the Redbrands. He is grateful to be free of his bonds and asks the party if he can aid them in finishing off the bandits. He is welcomed by the party but - unarmed for the moment - he has to rely on basic spells.
For killing off the Redbrands and rescuing the Drendars the party (now back at full strength) is rewarded a total of 300XP
The tied up Redbrand knows nothing about someone named Egart (who had been using a pseudonym among the thugs), but he does remember him when Harbek gives a description of the halfling's physicality. All he knows is that he wasn't very well liked and has fled a few weeks back when it was discovered he was a traitor. He also knows that keys to the locked door (that contains the Armory) are held only by Glasstaff and the leader of the bugbears, who is called Mosk.
When asked if there is another way to get to the boss's quarters than by crossing through the ravine, the redbrand tells the party about the secret door across from the armory.
Haunui will try to pick the lock on the Armory, since Brandr's gear is in there.
🎲Lockpick check +3 (DC 10): 23 (success)
The door opens and the party does not find much of use, except for Brandr's gear that he quickly dons and searches. His money has been taken but he finds his coin-purse in the possession of his jailors.
Now at this point the party really needs a moment to think. The two fighters are both rather hurt and only Brandr has a possibilty to heal them still, except for the Healing Potion that Quillathe holds and that they want to save for emergencies. But, using the secret doors to get back to Glasstaff's Quarters the party can at least avoid the Nothic for now.
The party tosses the tied up Redbrand into the slave pens and leaves him there for the time being.
🎲Dexterity Check Haunui, +3 adv (help): 19
🎲Dexterity Check Redbrand Ruffian, +2 dis (restrained)(DC 19): 16 => failure to get out of ropes
Passing through a storeroom at the Northern end of the Crevasse Haunui sees a stack of beaver pelts that are probably worth a bit, but he does not bother to take the bulky goods with him. Through the secret hallway they found when pursuing Glasstaff earlier they head into the Wizards private chambers. A chest at the foot of his bed is open, part of its contents taken by the fleeing bandit-leader. His treasure however is still untouched.
The party divides 130 gold and 180 silver amongst themselves as well as five carnelians (that go to Brandr, "Red seems to be your color", jokes Harbek), two peridots (going to Haunui) and a pearl (that Quillathe takes since it will enable her to cast Identify, when she learns it). On the table they find a letter that is of great interest to them.
My spies in Neverwinter tell me that strangers are due to arrive in Phandalin. They could be working for the dwarves. Capture them if you can, kill them if you must, but don’t allow them to upset our plans. See that any dwarven maps in their possession are delivered to me with haste. I’m counting on you, Iarno. Don’t disappoint me.
🎲Hit Die Drusa, 1d10+2: 7 HP healed => 15/16 HP, 1 Hit Die remaining
🎲Hit Die Haunui, 1d10+2: 11 HP healed => 18/19 HP, 1 Hit Die remaining
"I don't know about you, but I want to finish off these bastards. Let's chop off some more spider-legs."
And as the rest of the party scrambles to follow up he crosses the hall and kicks in the door to the next room, where a group of four roudy, but rather drunk Redbrands look up from their game of dice.
Harbek steps up to the first of the ruffians and clocks him in the head. Quickly running to their friend's help the other adventurers rush in. The Redbrands stink of booze and sway on their feet after a night of heavy drinking and gambling. Their strikes are uncoordinated and one of them turns and runs to the South end of the room where he opens a door to a hallway that he storms into, shouting for help. Only a few moments later three muscular bugbears push their way through the room and join in the fray. The narrow intersection where the fighting happens hinders both defenders and attackers so that one of the bugbears and the Redbrand who went for help take the path through the main cave and attack from the side. Drusa and Haunui, who cannot get into an opportune position to attack rush through the wizard's quarters and the secret passageway. However, when they try to cross the crevasse the spiked creature blocks their way. Muttering vile thoughts into Drusa's brain it demands gifts but does not take the ring she offers up. It asks for magic and, hearing the sound of fighting from the hallway Drusa and Haunui attack. The rotting gaze of the creature injures Drusa badly but in the end, it has to flee.
Meanwhile Quillathe has put a spell on one of the bugbears that can do nothing but laugh loudly, laying on his back while the constant clanging of a giant, invisible bell, echoes everywhere. Brandr, the new member of the group does not bear any arms, but his spells come at a rapid pace and when the first bugbear falls, he walks to the laughing one and places his hands on him. The creatures flesh crackles and dries out as a terrible, necrotic wound spreads from where Brandr touched him. The bugbear scrambles to his feet, swings his weapon against Brandr but turns to flee when the cleric won't budge. The bell rings again and the hairy monster falls dead, blood pooling from every orifice.
🎲History Check Quillathe +3 (DC 15): 10 (failure)
- 2 potions of healing, going to Drusa and Haunui
- a spell scroll of augury, going to Brandr
- 5 malachites, a jeweled eyepatch and a gold earring with a tiny ruby, that go to Drusa to sell
(the party has talked about this and Drusa will try and sell off all the jewels that they don't need for spell components)
After this fight each of the partymembers is granted a total of 290XP which means that everyone except Brandr will level up.
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