The Lost Mines of Phandelver
The party took on a simple escort mission to guard a caravan of goods heading from Arrenport to Phandolin. However, they soon discovered that their employer, a dwarf named Gundren Rockseeker, had been ambushed along the road east. The party located and raided a goblin hideout hidden along the Trioboar trail, but there was no sign of Gundren inside. Instead, they rescued a human named Sildar Hallwinter, the head of a local organisation called The Lord's Alliance. Sildar was Gundren's business partner and explains to the party that Gundren has been kidnapped and an important map he was carrying has been taken. The crew spared only 1 creature in the cave, a goblin called Yeemik who promised to repay their kindness. With no promise of pay unless they were able to rescue Gundren, the party agreed to find and rescue him.
Back in Phandolin, the crew befriend the local huntsmen, Hound and Griffin. Griffin and Cherimie spend an impassioned night together and the next day the party head back out on the Triboar trail alongside Hound, to follow an ancient and well concealed road north. Sildar also sends Kry, the only other Lord's Alliance soldier in the town, to join the party. The party follow Hound's advice and eventually come upon an ancient fort, now occupied by the Cragmaw tribe. Because of information provided by Yeemik, the crew already know that the tribe is primarily made up of goblins, though they are all now in servitude to a bunch of bugbears serving King Grol . Yeemik asked the party to spare as many goblins as they could during the assault on the fort and the party agreed to be merciful, though this would soon prove to be a lie.
The party entered the fort through it's front gate and systematically eradicated its inhabitants room by room. They finally came to King Grol's quarters at the back of the keep and discovered that he was joined by a doppleganger named Vyraleth . Through clever deception, the party convinced Vyraleth and Grol that they were allies of their mutual commander, The Black Spider - a name that they had heard during their raid on the goblin hideout. They party leaves the keep with Gundren in their custody, but Vyraleth runs away with the unconcious dwarf during the night after discovering the party's lies. The party do not return empty handed however, as they managed to reclaim Gundren and Sildar's map.
After the returning the Phandolin, the party get Sildar to explain the significance of the map and why the Black Spider is so intent on kidnapping their employer. Sildar explains that the map points to the Wave Echo Cave, the rumoured site of the Lost Mines of Phandelver. Inside the mines is a device called the Spell Forge which was used to craft enchanted items in ancient times and brought much prosperity to the region. Sildar worries that the Black Spider will use the spell forge for malicious intent and asks the party to shut down his operations in the area, starting with a band of ruffians called the Redbrads that have been making their home just outside of Phandolin. The party believes that the Redbrands are serving or otherwise working with the Black Spider to eventually claim the town as their own. The leader of the Redbrands is a wizard known as Glasstaff.
The party makes their way to Tresandor Manor, an abandoned stately home 30 minutes east of the town. Here, abandoned buildings and ruins mark where the once prosperous city of Phandolin lay, now reduced to a struggling village. Cherimie scouts out the manor and discovers a hidden basement, leading into a much larger underground complex that the Redbrands had been using as a hideout. Another tip from a village boy named Carp lets them know that there is a secret entrance into this underground hideout hidden in the woods to the north of the manor. Using this knowledge, the party begin their raid on the hideout, using the hidden entrance to enter unseen. Once inside, they encounter and make an ally of Carnis, a creature that Glasstaff set to guard the cave against instruders. Carnis owes no loyalty to the Redbrands, however, and is quickly convinced to let the party pass after they promise him fresh meat and treasure. The party moved through the hideout, killing Redbrand thugs and rescuing Mirna and her children from the hideout's prison. Eventually, they encounter Glassstaff and a fight begins. Glasstaff and his guards are defeated, his research and alchemy work destroyed in the process. The party return to Phandolin and learn of Glasstaff's realy identity as an ex-member of the Lord's Alliance, Iarno Albrek.
With the Redbrands defeated, the party pays one last visit to their hideout in order to talk to Carnis and find any loot they may have missed. In doing so, they encounter a band of bugbears that seem to be celebrating Iarno's death and are planning to take up residence in the underground hideout. The party defeat the bugbears and rescue Droop, a goblin of nervous disposition that the bugbears were bullying. On their way back to the town, the party stop by one of the Redbrands other known haunts, The Sleeping Giant Inn, and convince some Redbrand stragglers (Harper, Viro, and Pallis) to ally with them now that their master is dead. In town, Sildar refuses to pardon any living Redbrands, squashing Mo's plan of having the survivers apprentice for Mirna as she attempts to start up her apothecary again.
Convinced that they have done all they can around Phandolin, the party finally sets off for the Wave Echo Cave, following the ancient map they recovered from Cragmaw Keep. They are joined by Sildar and Droop, whom Cherimie has disguised as a human child. When they finally arrive at the cave, they discover that it is home to swarms of monsters, largely undead dwarves, humans, and orcs that died in some great war several hundred years ago. After some exploration, the party discover a magical font they believe to be the rumoured spell forge, though it is guarded by a stubborn Spectator that refuses to be dismissed unless by the word of his long dead master, Rashek. On the west side of the cave, the party discover several bugbears as well as a drow. After a clash with some of the bugbears, the party fortified and hid inside of one of the abandoned mine's many rooms, resting before their final conflict.
Subplots
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