Trouble in Phandalin

Criminal Activity

The party arrives in Phandalin and dispatches a band of thugs that were hassling the townsfolk, assaulting their stronghold and ripping them out by the roots.

In the morning the party reconvenes in the tavern downstairs. After Sildar is checked on by Allen, he joins the party downstairs and tells them that he is going to see the townmaster and that they should seek him out in the afternoon for payment for his escort.   The party returns to Barthen's Provisions to collect payment for their initial contract of escorting the wagon. Allen inquires if the owner, Elmar Barthen, has had any run-ins with the Redbrands that Thistle had told them about. Elmar replies that they have been becoming more brazen lately and he's had to run them out of his shop with a crowbar. Upon hearing about the goblin raids, Elmar mentions that they should let Linene Graywind, the town armorer, know about the issue.   They decide to do just that and head toward the Lionshield Coster. On the way, they notice a simple stone shrine to Tymora, the goddess of luck and good fortune, where Allen decides to pay respects and places a single gold coin. From behind the shrine, a young elven woman, Sister Garaele thanks him and wishes Tymora's blessing on the party.   As the party approaches the Lionshield Coster, Trinn recognizes the blue lion's head symbol on the shop as the same symbol from the unopened crates in Klarg's section of Cragmaw Cave. Linene greets the party and Trinn relays this information to her. She says that she has lost shipments lately and is glad that she knows where they are. If the party were to clear the caves once and for all she'd be happy to retrieve her supplies and pay them for their troubles. Linene also mentions that the Redbrands are getting out of hand and she has no way to arm the local militia to combat them since the supply caravans were raided.   In the afternoon, the party visits Sildar inside the Townmaster's Hall, where they meet townmaster Harbin Wester, a fat cowardly man. They notice him timidly shooing a spider out of the hall and complaining about spiders being everywhere. Sildar tells the party his plans to establish order in the town. He mentions that a few months ago, his colleague Iarno Albrek was sent to Phandalin and has not been heard of in months, the redbrands are becoming a real threat, and that Gundren's kidnapping needs to be investigated. Harbin chimes in saying that he thinks the redbrands are no trouble at all and that the neighboring orcs should be dealt with first. After a small argument with the party, it's decided that the party will clear out the orcs after they confront the redbrands in the Sleeping Giant.   The party marches into the Sleeping Giant and is confronted by six redbrands who insult them and tell them to get lost. Trinn escalates the tense situation by putting two of them to sleep. Allen and Marri'Elle hold the front lines while the redbrands engage and Valamin and Garret weave in and out of the fight. Rieta's Dissonant Whispers cause one redbrand's head to explode and cover the floor in blood. As the battle escalates, the party gets the upper hand and manages to knock a few of them out. One tries to escape but Marri'Elle body slams him into a nearby table where Allen knocks him unconscious. As the battle draws to a close, the party sees the barkeep sprint to a backroom. Garret and Valamin give chase and see a locked cellar door. Garret tosses Allen his crowbar and Allen repeatedly slams it into the door and makes a hole large enough for Garret to fit in. Garret unlocks the door from the inside and opens it. Valamin and Garret give chase down the cellar.   After the battle, Marri'Elle ties up the surviving Redbrands and Trinn runs off to inform Sildar. Rieta, embarrassed by what she's done, tells the party she can no longer continue with them and runs out of the tavern. With the rest of the party currently indisposed, Marri'Elle burns the corpse of the headless Redbrand in the fire place out of respect. Trinn informs Sildar of the events who gathers some of the town militia (Linene and Thistle being among them) and heads to the Sleeping Giant. Allen, Garret, and Valamin rush through about 200 feet of the underground tunnel before coming to a fork in their path. They decide to regroup and continue together, so they head back to inform the others. Upon arrival, the notice the burning corpse stuffed in to the fireplace. Garret watches as Allen questions Marri'Elle about this, and Valamin searches a back room he noticed connected to the cellar room.   Trinn arrives with Sildar and the rest of the militia. They're all a little horrified by the burning body, and Trinn uses prestidigitation to put out the flames. Allen says that they will take care of the body properly later, and tables the discussion. Sildar and the militia take all but one of the Redbrands back to the holding cells in the town master's hall. Allen requests that they be able to interrogate one of them first.   The party meets Zack, a 20 year old human who was mixed up with the Redbrands. They find out that the ruffians accosting the town are only the tip of the iceberg, and many don't know about the more serious crimes committed by their superiors. Taking pity on Zack, Trinn offers to write him a recommendation for combat training that he can take back to Neverwinter if he would like to get his life on a better path. He says that he'll let them know when he's released from the jail. Sildar returns and takes him into holding with the others.   During his searches, Valamin found a chest of gold and a notebook written in undercommon, which he shows to the rest of the party. Marri'Elle , being the only one that speaks undercommon, reads out a few entries of the notebook and realizes its a ledger with various sales of uncommon and rare items. Things that would be very hard to come by in the mining town of Phandalin.   The party concludes that the Redbrands are raising funds for something big. They decide to venture back into the tunnels and see where they go. After about an hour of exploring the tunnels, they find that they empty out into various places east of Phandalin, especially next to Tresendar Manor on the hill. The party decides to investigate the manor and Valamin spots a hidden storm cellar door that leads the party into a large storage cellar with a cistern at the far end and two other doors. Trinn uses Athena to look around and he spots a waterproof satchel containing 40 gold pieces, a healing potion, a potion of invisibility, and some normal clothes with a hood. He concludes it was a getaway bag. Suspicious of the location, Allen uses his divine senses to scout for any unholy creatures and senses 3 undead nearby.   The party decides to open the large stone door in the north of the room and it opens into a large dusty hallway with faux columns and large copper double doors at the far end now green with age. Seeing that this path leads to where Allen felt the undead, he suggests they turn and investigate the other door. He attempts to sneak in but his clanging armor wakes 3 Redbrands sleeping what has been revealed to be a small barracks. The party engages the surprised redbrands, Marri'Elle charges through the doorway slamming one into a wall while the others overwhelm the remaining enemies. As usual, the party subdues the redbrands without killing them and begins to question one of them. They don't get very far into their interrogation when it's revealed that this is the Redbrand's base. An offhand mention of slave pens enrages Allen who clubs the Redbrand back into unconsciousness. The party locks them in their barracks and takes a rest in the cellar next to the cistern.   Renewed from their respite, the party decides to venture further into the hideout to rescue any captives and investigate. Allen and Trinn decide it would be better to blend in, so they suggest that the party take the red bandannas from their prisoners and pose as Redbrands while exploring. Marri'Elle offers to stay behind and guard the tied up Redbrands and watch their back. The rest of the party dons their red bandannas and ventures through the northern stone door.   As they are progressing through the hallway, Garret spots a pit trap in the center that is triggered by weight. He and Valamin are light enough to walk across without triggering it, but Allen and Trinn are force to jump across, which they clear with ease. On the other side stands a large stone door wrapped in aged copper. Allen senses the undead on the other side. They open the door ready for battle, but the 3 skeletons just stare coldly at them as they enter the room. The party moves slowly across the hall to the northeastern door, saving the northwestern for later.   The narrow room houses two jail cells on either end. The party sees two teenage girls and a middle aged woman split among the cells and two Redbrands guarding them. The party convinces them that they are there to and ask the prisoners some questions. The guards say they will return after a break. The party breaks the women free and learn that they are a family who was kidnapped. Assuming that the skeletons are non-hostile to the Redbrands, Valamin and Trinn give the women their red bandannas so Allen and Garret can safely escort them back to Marri'Elle . Upon arrival, Allen asks Marri'Elle to escort the women safely back to town and lock up the Redbrands. The mother, Mirna, apologizes to Allen that she cannot pay them, but she gives him a key and tells him that her family kept valuables in the old town of Thundertree near Neverwinter. When it was overrun by undead, they were forced to flee and never went back. He and Garret return to the others in the jail cells. Allen is visibly disturbed by how intensely the skeletons have been watching him on his trips back and forth, but does not provoke any hostility.   Knowing that the guards will return soon, the party readies an ambush. And by party, I mean Trinn. And by ambush, I mean a surprise thunder wave. As the door opens, Trinn blasts them back with his thunder wave and the rest of the party swarm in to put them down. Under the lifeless gaze of the skeletons, they drag the bodies in to the cells and hide them. They continue to the northwestern door in the skeleton room and fine an armory, well-stocked with equipment for a general infantry and red cloaks. Garret finds a secret wall across the hall from the armory and the party ventures further into the hideout.   This new room appears to be a storeroom, where Garret discovers 30 fine pelts and grabs 8. However, the party is more interested in the massive natural cavern that opens up to the south of the room. As he enters the room, Trinn feels a light tickle in his mind that quickly fades. The party ventures south into the cavern where they all experience the same sensation, however for Valamin and Garret, the sensation grows stronger by the minute. As the venture further, they are greeted by a spiked, tormented creature with one large, glowing eye. Trinn knows this to be a Nothic, a monster that hoards and desires magical items and knowledge. It speaks telepathically to the party, asking cryptic questions about having what it needs before ultimately dismissing them and crawling back up to the ceiling of the cavern. Trinn notices it is holding a runestone just like the one they saw Yeemik take from Klarg.   Creeped out, the party crosses the ravine of the cavern via a bridge and goes down a hallway and set of stairs that leads to 2 doors. Hearing a light commotion from the southern door, they decide to investigate the northern door first. It opens into a magical workshop filled with scrolls and various potions. A lone rat watches the party curiously. The party continues in to another connected room and discovers fairly luxurious private quarters. Trinn notices the rat and senses that it might be a familiar for a wizard, so he subtly urges the party to leave. Before doing so, he glances at the papers on the desk and gets a glimpse of a letter: