The Lost Mines - Chpt. 9: Back to Neverwinter?
General Summary
Tarsahk 14th, 1486; Mid-Afternoon
The party (sans Bludgarm), having regrouped behind the boulder, send Anders and Bree into the cave to scout ahead.
They were able to see approx 7 Orcs, however they did not know about the Ogre. They propped up the dead orc by the boulder and cast Cloud of Daggers at the entrance of the cave. They then were successful in drawing out the Orcs. One orc ran thru the cloud, dieing as he got to the other side of the cloud. The rest, stood on the other side, throwing javelins at the pcs, with varying success. The party attacked back, using what ranged weapons and spells they had available. After some back and forth, the Ogre got pissed and because the cave tunnel was too narrow, knocked two orcs in front of him, out of the way, pinning and crushing them up against the walls as the Ogre went by. The Ogre blew thru the Cloud of Daggers, taking little damage. He then beset upon the party, which the party was able to focus and take down, along with the other Orcs. As a trophy, Bree asked “Mister” if he might help her remove the jaw of the Ogre. He did so, making her quite pleased. Even with the meat and muscle still attached to it, Bree wore it like a crown.
Once the battle was over, they pilfered the bodies, finding very little. However, they did find an unlocked chest. "Mister" checked it for traps, finding that it wasn't trapped, nor locked, opened it to find:
- 750cp
- 180sp
- 62ep
- 30gp
- 3 vials of perfume (10gp each)
The party arrived back in Phandalin. They met up with Bludgarm, who was at Edermath’s home having tea. There, the party talked about their findings at Old Owl Well and the necromancer there. They explained that the necromancer seemed to just want to be left alone to his work. They were offered entrance into the Order of the Gauntlet, however they politely declined. They also talked to Daran, about “Mister”s werewolf curse; to which Daran asked why they had not come forward sooner. After a brief back and forth, they talked about what where their plans for when he turned. After a few more minutes, Daran instructed the group to follow him, to which they all went to Sister Garaele, who after talking with Daran, took “Mister” and Harbek inside and told the others to prepare the cells they planned to use to contain “Mister” when he changed. Over the course of the next hour, Sister Garaele and Harbek performed a ritual, where by they were able to remove the lycanthropy curse from “Mister”. They met up at Tresendar Manor with the rest of the group. Upon being comfortable that all was well in hand, Sister Garaele and Daran headed back into the main area of town. Later in the day, the group met up with Sildar Hallwinter and talked with him about the Orcs at Wyvern Tor. They let them know that they were dealt with, upon which Sildar paid them the 300gp for the job. He thanked them greatly. They talked briefly that Iarno Albrek (Glass Staff) was picked up the day prior by the Neverwinter Guard and a member of Bludgarm’s wizard order, Chuna Gisborne. The guards had double-timed it and traveled thru the night to get here. They stayed for a few hours to rest, Chuna met with Bludgarm, then they turned around with Iarno in tow. He was to be interrogated and held for trial as soon as possible. Noticing that Bree was wearing an Ogre jaw as a crown, sill covered in smelly, rotting flesh, Sildar quietly ask “Mister” if Bree was all right. He was a bit concerned that she was wearing something like that, that hadn’t at least been cleaned. It, combined with the dried blood from the jaw (in her hair), Sildar suggested that they might at least clean the jaw. He also suggested they keep their wits about them….that Bree might be a bit off kilter, to which “Mister” nodded and acknowledged the same. The party spent the night resting, preparing for their trip back to Neverwinter. Tarsahk 17th, 1486; Morning
The party set off at first light for Neverwinter. The weather over the last few days had been dreary and plagued with rain and drizzle. Now, on the groups travel to Neverwinter, the weather had changed a bit for the better. There was less rain, and sunshine occasionally broke thru the clouds. Tarsahk 19th, 1486; Late Morning
The party arrived in Neverwinter. They travelled to a few merchants. They made sure to hit up Kristryd Drakeflayer @ The Dragon’s Arsenal for weapons, where the party was received fairly, but not an overly warm welcome. Kristryd seemed more down to business. “Mister” bought an ornate longbow with a Dragon carved into it. His hope is to have it enchanted. The party then headed to Drakeflayer’s Armors & Shields. Here they were warmly greeted by Oskar and & Mara. They talked with them for a short bit, but bought nothing. They thought of traveling to the Chosen Purgatory to see what items Argraan might have for sale, but decided against it. A brief stop at Deer Creek Pearls (Jeweler), Vavont Sioh greeted the party warmly. Talking mainly with Bree, Bree asked what he could do with the Ogre jaw they took from the Orge body at Wyvern Tor. She didn’t exactly say that it was an Ogre jaw to begin with. She at first alluded to the item being bone, which Vavont said it was an odd material to deal with, but not one he hasn’t worked with before. Upon further discussion it came out that it was an Ogre jaw the work was to be done to. He commented that it was a bit odd to work with, but nonetheless agreed. He asked if she wanted the “full work-up” for 500gp or just a “mid-way” encrusting for 300gp. Bree said just the “mid-way” would be sufficient and paid in full, up front. He had her fill out paperwork and said it should be ready in a week. Wondering around by the southwest edge of the wall, they happened upon Victor and his Oddities & Ends of Neverwinter shop. Upon entering the dusty shop, one of the party outright said: “Don’t touch a goddamn thing”. Greeted by the spidery old man, Victor, the party inquired about a couple items. They noticed the dusty leather case (Deck of Many Things) but steered clear of that. Bludgarm noticed the Manual of Bodily Health. Upon significant poking and prodding (some of that being literal), Bludgarm bought the old bronze key for 1gp. (This is a key to some doors in Castle Never). The party, inquiring about any stories that these items might have, Victor picked up the apple on the counter, stating that “This has a great story”. Bludgarm, interrupted, saying “No, that's just your lunch”..... Victor briefly talked about the history of the apple, to which the party paid little mind. It was around this time that Bree saw The Hag’s Heartstone; a large, beautiful green & black gem, which to anyone but a few people, looks like a lump of coal. With little delay, she bought it off of Victor for 180gp; she convinced Victor that she would bring the Orge jaw for him to see once the work on it was done (he was enamoured with the idea being that he loves odd items). The group poked around a bit more, noticing the Rusty Bag of Tricks. “Mister” asked Bludgarm for his thoughts on it, to which Bludgarm was able to tell it emanated the aura of Conjuration magic. However, with no more interest, they left. The group made their way to Shaun Gilmore’s shop: Gilmore’s Glorious Goods. Upon entering, they were greeted by Shaun, who was most welcoming and upon seeing “Mister”, very taken by him. Shaun was very “personable” with “Mister”, putting his arm around his shoulder to show him the wares in his shop. There was a great deal of innuendo and double-entendre thrown about. There was a little hip bump when Shaun noticed Talon on “Misters” hip and made a small remark about how big it was. “Mister” let Shaun see Talon, to which Shaun was able to recall the lore of the sword. There was inquiries by Bree and “Mister” as to what it might take to enchant things. Bree was wondering about the Ogre jaw and getting it enchanted. “Mister” was wondering about the Dragon etched Longbow he bought. He wanted an enchantment to help in accuracy and damage (a +2 longbow, with +4 against true dragons). Shaun said it would take at least a month and cost around 2,500gp. As for Bree, Shaun was uncertain, but thought it would take at least a month for the enchantment she was looking for; he was uncertain on the cost though. “Mister” ended up buying, err, going “halfsies” with Bludgarm on the Immovable Rod and Bag of Holding that was for sale (they bought at asking price). The party headed out, telling Shaun that if they would like to meet up later at a tavern, that he was more than welcome. To this, and not wanting to turn down a chance to visit with “Mister”, Shaun gave the party a message scroll with which they could let him know where to meet. The party found their way to The Moonstone Mask, in the Protector’s Enclave. Here, they had a grand feast, buying Tea, Ale, Scones, a Goose dinner with sides and the works. Bree spent a little time playing with the other bards that are regulars here. She got into telling the story of being the goblin king and of their triumph over the orcs. Part of the way thru the story, the tavern staff and customers were not keen on her stories (they just don’t fit with the Moonstone clientele), so she was kindly ushered over to her friends and 7gp was dropped on the table in front of her. To this, Bree felt that The Moonstone Mask was too upper-crust and not fun. The food and drinks came, along with Shaun shortly there after. “Mister” made it clear that while Shaun was a nice gentleman, that he was not into men. Shaun took no offense at this; he still feels that the party are good folk and he has certainly hit it off with Bree. This said, it doesn’t mean that Shaun won’t jestfully try to come on to “Mister” in the future. Shaun and the group spent the evening talking and drinking. Shaun was even able to help broker a deal between the party and Dei Romaan for him to buy the Fine Dwarven Brandy from the party for 20gp. While liquor is not something The Moonstone Mask generally sells, in this instance, due to the quality, Dei Romaan was willing to make a deal. At the close of the night, Shaun and the group parted ways, with the group spending the night at the House of Knowledge. Bree, was not afflicted with nightmares or horrible visions during her sleep (from the Hag’s Heartstone), as they were staying on holy ground. Tarsahk 20th, 1486; Morning (Greengrass)
The group, after having breakfast, headed out from Neverwinter and followed the Neverwinter River eastward towards Thundertree. Unlike the normal weather for early spring, the day was quite nice, with sun poking thru the light fog and light clouds. Tarsahk 20th, 1486; Evening (Greengrass)
After a generally uneventful trip along the river, seeing farmers and the such, the group arrived outside Thundertree and made camp.
