Old Owl Well Quest

From Lost Mines of Phandelver - Phandalin Part 2

Daran Edermath has heard stories from prospectors in the hills northeast of Phandalin that someone is digging around in the ruins known as Old Owl Well.
More disturbingly, several prospectors have reported being chased from the area by undead. He asks the characters to visit the ruins, a couple of days march northeast of Phandalin, and find out who's there and what they're up to.
Daran knows that the ruins are an old watchtower of an ancient magical empire known as Netheril, and he worries that dangerous magic might be dormant there. If the party pursues this quest, see "Old Owl Well".

JOINING THE ORDER OF THE GAUNTLET
If the party deals with The Redbrands and investigates Old Owl Well, Daran Edermath privately approaches certain members of the group to urge them to join the The Order of the Gauntlet. He speaks with those who exemplify the virtues of the order, such as honor and vigilance. If a character agrees, Daran awards the person the title of Chevall.

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From Lost Mines of Phandelver - Part 3...

The Spider's Web

Built thousands of years ago by a long-vanished empire, Old Owl Well is a ruined watchtower that now consists of little more than a few crumbling walls and the broken stump of a tower. In the tower's courtyard stands an old well that still delivers clean, fresh water.
Old Owl Well lies in the wild and rugged hills south of The Triboar Trail. The site is relatively easy to find, and any NPC in Phandalin can provide directions to the ruins.

Recently, prospectors in the area have noted that someone has set up a campsite at Old Owl Well, and that undead guardians have been posted to keep intruders out.

As you crest a low ridge, you spy the crumbling ruins of an old watchtower standing amid the rugged hills. The place is so old that the walls are only mounds of rubble enclosing a courtyard of sorts, adjacent to the broken stump of an old tower. A colorful tent has been set up in the middle of the courtyard, but no one is in sight.

The ruins are currently occupied by a mage who is busy exploring the site in the hope of gleaning arcane lore left behind by its builders. The characters can enter the site from any direction, either following old footpaths or scrambling up the slope and finding a gap in the surrounding walls of rubble.

Twelve zombies lurk inside the crumbled shell of the old watchtower and can't be seen from outside. However, any character with a passive Wisdom (Perception) score of 10 or higher smells a deathly odor wafting from the tower's direction. When characters approach the tower or the tent, the zombies shamble out of the tower.

If a battle erupts, Hamun Kost, the evil mage, emerges from his tent and asks,
Red-Robed Mage:


"What is the meaning of this?"

Hamun Kost is a stout, red-robed figure with sallow skin, a shaved scalp, and a black tattoo on his forehead. A character who succeeds on a DC 10 Intelligence (Arcana) check recognizes Kost's tattoo as a necromantic symbol. A successful DC 10 Intelligence (History) check verifies the garb as that usual for Thay, a land far to the east where wizards pattern their flesh with tattoos. The tattoo on the head represents a wizard's school of magic. Kost's school is necromancy.

If any character attempts to talk to Kost, even by calling out a greeting or answering his questions during combat, he temporarily calls off his zombies. The Red Wizard is not particularly aggressive, and he is willing to strike a deal that advances his interests at the same time it helps the characters.

Kost stays tight-lipped about the reason for his presence in the region. He is, however, willing to provide information the party needs if it does a favor for him. If the characters give Kost some indication of what they want, he shares one or both of these requests:

He wants the orcs at Wyvern Tor removed since they have scouted out his camp and seem inclined to cause trouble.
He wants to ask a question of Agatha the banshee: "What is the name of the wizard who built the tower at Old Owl Well?" Kost won't risk the banshee's anger, but the characters could ask the question for him. (Agatha knows the name: Arthindol.)

Treasure
Hamun Kost's tent contains a comfortable traveling suite, including a cot, a chair, a writing desk, supplies, and a chest of clothes. In the chest is a leather bag containing 35 sp, 20 ep, 20 gp, 5 pp, one pearl (100 gp), a potion of healing, a scroll of darkness in a bone tube, and a tiny jeweled box (25 gp) containing a ring of protection from ancient Netheril, the Red Wizard's most interesting discovery so far.


Awarding Experience Points
Learning about the Red Wizard's presence at Old Owl Well completes a quest given to the party by Daran Edermath in Phandalin. Divide 400 XP equally among the characters if the party parleys with Hamun Kost and reports back to Daran.


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Homebrewed ...
See map of Old Owl Well