(LMoP-4) "What's in this for us?"

Famous last words...

With the manor hour now empty, the party decided their next had to be locating Cragmaw Castle - and so they went off in search of Reidoth, a friend of Gryff's who knew the area like no other. Gryff's aunt Quelline had said he'd be found near Thundertree, so that's where they went...

Starring:

Gronn, a dwarven druid, played by Brett

Wolf, a young human fighter, played by Lorne

Ellenross, a human rogue, played by Hilton (playing remotely, Hilton had to exit after about an hour due to bandwidth issues)

Gryff, a halfling fighter, played by Jason
Ashnurak, a human wizard, played by Iain

DM comments: after a quick recap of their options, the party swiftly decided to head for Thundertree - at this stage, all characters are second level except Gronn and Wolf who are third level.

While the party had no idea where Cragmaw Castle was, they could find Thundertree. A village not far from Neverwinter, it had been destroyed in the volcanic eruptions twenty years ago. 

Wolf, who was living in Thundertree at the time, remembered nothing, being only a child when Mount Hotenow erupted. His family had fled, leaving all their riches behind. He had heard rumours in Neverwinter of Thundertree, how it was now haunted, and had recently found itself the home of a new occupier - a dragon! He dreamed of killing the dragon and making Thundertree safe for people to return....what a hero he'd be! What a chance this was! Before, him stood only an unknown number of undead and a dragon. What chance did they have against someone as strong as him - and his friends, of course. Glory awaited! (at least that's what his backstory said!)

He mentioned the presence of the dragon to his companions, as well as the undead threat, and they roundly scorned the rumour. Why would a dragon choose Thundertree?

After a day and a half of travel, the group found themselves nearing Thundertree when the tranquil silence was shattered by a massive roar! Looking down into a crevasse which bisected their path, they saw a man run into view, his clothes tattered and bloody, he stumbled and tripped, dragged himself to his feet and ran again, looking fearfully over his shoulder. As they watched on, Gryff suddenly realised it was Reidoth (critted his perception roll!) and they leapt into action. El, Wolf and Ash slid down the crevasse wall, which asn't too steep. Gronn deflty threw his shield to the floor and slid down on top of it, while Gryff, the most dextrous of them all, leapt nimbly from rock to rock.....well, no, he leapt to a rock at the top of the cliff, instantly planned his journey down in his mind and sprang into graceful action, slipping off the second rock and then sliding the rest of the way on his face (crit fail, FTW!) and slowly coming to halt with his nose inches from a bear turd.

With that, the bushes parted to reveal a monstrous beast - a huge brown bear with the head of an owl. It screamed in fury and charged across the clearing towards them - undaunted by the numbers!

They all dashed forward, Gryff to protect Reidoth, who had veered towards them, then collapsed. Wolf charged the beast, while Ash, Gronn and El prepared their ranged weapons. The battle was furious - Wolf was nearly dismembered by the beast (down to 1!), while the others flung spell and arrow, then themselves, into the fray. After a minute, the beast lay dead and the pary breathed heavily. 

Reidoth thanked and, after some time to recover, lead them to his home in Thundertree. A cottage which had handled the last twenty years better than the others. When they asked for directions to Cragmaw Castle, he admitted he knew where it was and asked them for a favour (unfortunately, the party got the impression that he would only give the directions in return for his favour - which was not my intention - I only found out from player feedback afterwards). He wanted the dragon gone. It was too much for him alone - and the town was infected with spiders, undead and some strange men who were hanging around a cottage to the Southeast of town. Believing they had no choice (damn my poor phrasing!), they agreed. Ash remained distrustful of the druid, Reidoth. What motive did he have? The other druid in the group looked at him askance. Even Gryff seemed strangely quiet around his old friend, prefering not to engage in small talk.

After a restful sleep, they ventured forwards to examine the town. Thundertree was half ruins, half nearly ruined. The town was dominated by a large tower/cottage combo on a hill over looking the entire place, while cottages, inns and shops were scattered about the place.

They moved towards the base of the hill, and quickly found themselves blocked off by massive strands of webbing, moving from one side of the road to the other. It was impassable. 

"Allow me!", announced Ash, as he chanted briefly and let loose a ball of fire which obliterated the webbing! He smiled triumphantly as the others gazed on, except for Wolf, ever alert to threats, who peered off in all directions. His vigilance was rewarded when two massive spiders scurried forth from the darkness and leapt upon out heroes. After a decisive battle (during which both Gryff and Wolf were bitten and poisoned - but saved their saving throws), the group entered a nearby residence which was webbed over. 

There, Gryff noticed a cocoon hanging on the wall - it was human-sized and human-shaped! He gathered everyone's attention and tried to cut it down, but he couldn't reach. While everyone else thought about how to bring down the cocoon, Gronn, who had shifted into a bear when fighting the spiders, lumbered up to his hind paws and swiped the strands keeping the body suspended - and shook his head wearily (can a bear sigh?).

"Careful!" shouted Gryff, mortified. "What if he's alive?"
Gryff, desperately and carefully sliced through the cocoon only to find it's inhabitant dead. His companions gently mocked him and Gryff searched the corpse, pocketing a healing potion.

The party searched several houses after that. The first brought them into contract with the ash zombies for the first time - just like normal zombies, but prone to exploding in clouds of ash, blinding their foes and causing their attacks to falter. They also encountered a number of small murderous plants intent on skewering them with their tiny branches. This happened several times, and it was only slightly worrying when they visited the inn, when Gryff (surprising the first through most doors rather than the buff Wolf) put his magically enchanted sword (via a light cantrip) into the room ahead of him - a slashing blow from a zombie almost made him lose his sword and he leapt back in surprise - just as Wolf went flying past (that's more like it, Wolfy!) and smashed the door in. He did find himself on the receiving end of four zombies, but that's what fighters are for, right?

They did find one strange cottage - boarded up from the inside. They knocked at the door politely. After hearing voices and the door unlock, they were met by a large man in strange clothing. Almost entirely black, with a strange mask, he carried a bizarre knife at his belt. 

"What do you want?", he demanded. This lead to a strange, bad-tempered exchange (from his side, at least - the PCs remained surprisingly civil) before he rudely told them to bugger off and he slammed the door in their faces. Confused, the party continued their search.

When Wolf found his family home (from the descriptions his father gave him) he turned strangely quiet and said nothing to the others, although he did admit it later.He made no effort to examine, search or otherwise mark his old family home, instead leaving it as it was, his intentions were kept to himself.

The party rested again. Around this time, Ash scouted the area secretly (so secret, in fact, that the rest of the party didn't even notice, or ask how he did it!). He discovered a number of things - that there was no sight of a dragon, and that the strange men in the cottage were prone to moving up to near the tower and then arguing loudly, before returning to their cottage.

The party decided to visit the tower themselves (finally!).

The only entrance to the tower was through the cottage. Giant dead spiders lay outside. Gronn opened the door and walked into a dusty room, old furniture lay untouched. The others followed. He stomped across the room in frustration, intent on showing the others how foolish their fears of a dragon were. He pushed open the door to the tower....

...and found himself face to face with a dragon's head the size of him.

"Well hello!", boomed the dragon. "You're just in time for lunch!". After being invited into the tower multiple times to join the dragon for lunch, Gronn neatly retreated as Ash stepped forward to parlay with the vain beast. Using a mixture of ass-kissing and appealing to the dragon's ego, he gained some measure of trust....or did he? He found out little, only that the dragon liked where he lived, had plenty of treasure and had no intention of moving. Although he did find out his name, Venomfang. Nor did he care about the strange men nearby, or anyone else (although he did ask if Ash could get the local druid to stand still long enough to eat him!). He also requested the party find him a halfling for his dinner (at which point Gryff found something really interesting to examine behind the sofa). Dismayed, the party went back to Reidoth to consider their options. It was at this point they realised that Reidoth had no intention of hiding the whereabouts of Cragmaw Castle, and he gave them full directions. 

They decided to visit the humans and try to find out what they wanted. It turns out that the strange men in the cottage were there to speak with the dragon as well, but just lacked the conviction at that time. The party tried to get them to open up, but failed - when they told them they'd shared their actions with the dragon, their leader became angry and the party heard his accomplices draw weapons. The situation simmered down, but they parted ways.

Now, almost at a loss, the group considered their options. They had promised to remove the dragon and the undead and the funny trees. They had investigated the cloaked men, but found nothing to be scared of. They figured one last chat to the dragon couldn't hurt.

The group hit upon an idea. If they couldn't force him out, what if they found a new home for him? What about a home like Cragmaw Castle? They ventured to the dragon's lair as before. Ash took the lead.

After some incredible discussions, during which the party believed their final moments had arrived more than once, they and the dragon made a pact. They would clear out Cragmaw Castle and he would move there to make it his home - and that he wanted all of the treasure in the castle. The party agreed. As they turned to leave, Gryff slid up next to Ash and whispered "What's in this for us?", being slightly confused by the lack of positives to the deal....of course, he never accounted for a dragon's excellent hearing...after all, they could detect a fly's fart at forty feet (there's no time for "out of character" comments in the middle of a conversation with an NPC, Jason!)

"Indeed!", roared Venomfang, "What is in it for you?!". "Nothing, but the glory of finding you a suitable home", grovelled Ash. "Please ignore this lot, they're not quite right in the head" he advised. Venomfang grumbled and returned to his tower, quieted.

Our brave, brave, brave, brave Sir Robins backed out of the tower and legged it back to Reidoth's place, to rest and then head for Cragmaw Castle. With any luck, Gundren would still be alive so they could rescue their friend, clear out the castle, remove Venomfang from Thundertree and help reclaim Wave Echo Cave for a massive load of loot and glory!

(LMoP-3) A good old-fashioned dungeon crawl

And the adventure continues....underground!

The party has been to Phandelver and decided that their first steps should lead them under Tresendar Manor, where the Redbrands have their hideout - but what else is waiting for them?

Starring:

Gronn, a dwarven druid, played by Brett

Wolf, a young human fighter, played by Lorne

Ellenross, a human rogue, played by Hilton (currently on a flight, so missed this week)

Gryff, a halfling fighter, played by Jason
and introducing:
Ashnurak, a human wizard, played by Iain

GM comments - Ashnurak joins our game tonight - and we have a slight retconn from last week, so we'll be moving the main party back to moments after the combat with the bugbears ends - and since El was on a flight at the time we played, he couldn't even remote link in - but he'll be back next week!

The party stood over the bodies of the three bugbears....well, stood is not quite right, as Gryff peeled himself away from the base of the wall, almost miraculously, and defying the others' belief that he was dead, enquired after elevenses. But as they started to gather in their surroundings, a shadow fell over them from the doorway...

....however, that shadow started somewhere far away....well, in Phandalin:

Ashnurak awoke with a start. He'd fallen asleep on the back of the merchant's wagon. This adventuring lark wasn't as exciting as he might have hoped. He'd hitched a lift with a merchant heading along the Triboar Trail and now he was here....somewhere.

"Welcome to Phandalin" said the merchant, as he walked into a nearby shop, leaving Ash alone in what felt like an abandoned town, It was old, yet new, but the streets were deserted, apart from several large pools of blood further down the street. As he looked around, preparing his next steps, he heard cries for help and turned to see a toddler running towards him at alarming pace...no, not a toddler, a halfling child! 

Carp, for that was his name, entreated this strange young man's help - his mum was being manhandled by some Redbrands, angry at Gryff's slaughter of their pals - and they'd laughed at his little knife and cuffed him across the head. Ash set off after the boy, eager to see if he could help a woman in distress! He arrived at the household, passing a nosey old man watching from his porch, and arrived at the house in time to confront two Redbrands! After a few moments of witty repartee, he launched a firebolt at one and looked on in surprise as the second lurched forward, before collapsing - and Ash saw the old man behind him, blade in hand. The other ruffian scarpered!

Ash took quick stock of the situation and took the old man's advice, following the child to a cave hidden in the woods, where he might find Carp's cousin, Gryff, to let him know what happened and warn him of the dangers he faced.

Ash passed the crevasse beast after a short discussion which left the young lad both puzzled and annoyed. He followed the sounds of combat and quickly located our party of bloodthirsty adventurers.

After a few moments of confusion, the group realised they were all there for a same thing. To rid the town of evil - and that meant starting with the Redbrands. Of course, the others had witness more than Ash, but he'd seen enough. This band needed disbanding!

The party continued their explorations..... it's always nice when the intros go smoothly!

The party burst into the next room, barely (actually not at all) surprising the group of Redbrands playing dice. After a short and intense battle, the party took stock of the situation. 

"I have just killed both the first and second man ever, in my life", announced Ash, having given the killing blow to two of the thugs.

"What a riddle!", declared Gryff, "We shall need an explanation for your tricky words, Ash". 

"I just mean I've never killed anyone before and those two were the first.....", responded Ash. The table descends into chaotic laughter - there's a reason Gryff's a fighter (and a second level fighter at that - DING!)!

The party moved forward in their search for Glasstaff, finding an alchemy chamber and a friendly rat, who took a liking to Gronn, the druid. He fed it, petted it and left it to run free (and report everything it saw to it's master, Glasstaff) - never suspecting its ill intent.

They moved into the next room, where Gryff was struck by multiple magical golden missiles - he pulled back from the doorway, and when he looked back in, he found an empty bedroom! A quick search showed it had been cleared in a hurry, leaving only a note to Lord Albrek from the Black Spider.....but Iarno Albrek was the Lords Alliance representative in Phandalin....and the Black Spider is a bad guy! What madness is this? The party found a secret door and continued their search.

The discovered and unlocked an armory using a key Gronn had kept from the bugbears they killed previously. Find nothing of use, apart from a couple of cloaks, the party decided to disguise two of the group in cloaks (the humans) while the short-arses pretended to be slaves. They walked into the next room, some kind of crypt, with several skeleton defenders. While the skeletons looked at them briefly, then continued their silent watch, when Gronn walked into the room by himself, they lurched to the attack! Blow followed blow before the skeletons lay in pieces, while Gronn stood in all his beary glory, basking in the glow of not having to taste goblin brains. 

When they opened the next door, they found themselves in the dungeons - and there was Glasstaff, together with two of his minions! Gronn leapt at them with a roar, beating everyone to the punch, he slashed one ruffian to the bone, but their return blows, like lightning, stabbed into his bear form repeatedly. Glasstaff leered at Gryff and let loose a magic, leaving Gryff paralysed - and with his revenge so close! He hurled abuse using the power of his mind, but it had no visible effect on the mage. 

The battle raged. Ash's attempt to blast the mage to smithereens failed when his chromatic orb bounced from a bear's paw and rolled into the corner, while the bear and the thugs traded blows. Wolf joined the fray, when Glasstaff sent a veritable herd of golden arrows flying into Gronn, With a surprised groan, his druidic magics failed, leaving him stood in front of the ruffians, bear-less. When the Redbrands fell to he floor and the party jumped forward to crush the wizard, he waved his hand and disappeared from in front of their eyes! 

"Cover the door!" cried Ash, while Wolf and Gronn made sweeping gestures about them with their weapons. Gryff recovered his composure but when wolf and Ash made for the door, they saw Glasstaff in the last room, making his way to the exit! At the same time, Wolf flung a dagger and Ash a firebolt - and just as it seemed the evil caster might escape, his evil reign of terror was brought to an abrupt, sharp, and flamey end. He was indeed Iarno Albrek. He'd turned (not into undead).

Ash quickly took his staff, and papers, while the others rushed to free the prisoners. They escorted the terrified family back to Phandalin, in return for promises of treasure, should they ever visit Thundertree. A promise which fell on deaf ears - any treasure would be returned to the family to help them recover from the loss of their father and husband (not both at the same time).

On the way back to town, Wolf fed the beast in the crevasse one of the corpses from the prison. The beast was thankful, yet made some comment about finding his own fresh meat when Ash asked if he was truly happy here in the caves, or might want an escort out. The group carried on their mission. Although Wofl faniced he saw a strange beast down in the pit....but not trusting his eyes, never mentioned what he saw to the others, but that image would haunt him for days.

The party returned to Phandalin and collected their rewards - for the papers, from the Miner's Exchange, for the clearing of the Redbrand hideout from Sildar, and news of Iarno's whereabouts (dead, in a cave) from Sildar.

They considered their options, many that they were, and decided to head for Thundertree - for that way lay Reidoth, Gryff's old friend, who might know the whereabouts of Cragmaw Castle - and therefore where to find Gundren!

Time to enter the wilderness!