Lost Mines of Phandelver: 8 – Fluff and Orcs

Our heroes:

Euphemia “Mia” Tosscobble, the Halfling Rogue,

Count Erspell, the Elvish Mage,

Kui-Kui, the Human Noble Fighter,

Viggo, the Human Druid,

Dave, the Human Folk Hero Fighter,

& Eorlund Granitefella, the Dwarvish Cleric

Have escaped the Redbrand hideout, and hopefully wiped out the ruffian’s presence on the Sword Coast. The three prisoners they released wished to repay the group, but with very little to their name, they told them of a lost family heirloom in the ruined town of Thundertree.

Eager to retrieve their reward for dealing with the Redbrands, the group headed straight to the Mayor’s Hall, finding Sildar Hallwinter waiting for them. Sildar enquired if they had any news about Iarno. Dave informed him that they had found Iarno and that he had not been kidnapped by the Redbrands but was, in fact, leading them. Finding this news hard to accept, Sildar demanded proof and to know the fate of his former companion. Dave showed him the note the had found and told Sildar that Iarno/Glasstaff was dead. Reading the note was hard for Sildar to do, but it was more than enough evidence. Thanking the group and paying them for their work, he leads the group into the Mayor’s office.

The Mayor was very thankful for what the group had done for his town, giving them their well-deserved reward. Kui-Kui took the mayor to one side, wanting to ask a few questions, mostly about how the town’s government works and how he came to power. The Mayor told Kui-Kui that the town was still developing, so ‘Government’ was a very loose term, the town had an election every year to elect a person to make the important decisions and to resolve issues the townspeople may have and this year it was his term, next year it could be someone else’s. Kui-Kui thanked the Mayor for his time and the group left.

At this time the group went their separate ways to prepare for the next job they had, cleaning out a den of orcs that had been harassing travellers.

Euphemia:

Mia, after receiving some odd looks from the townsfolk, realised that she was still wearing the Redbrand cloak she had taken from the hideout. Ducking down an alleyway, she ditched the uniform and continued her way down to Alderleaf Farm. There she saw an older Halfing tending to the fields, who Mia greeted as her Auntie Qell, much to Qelline Alderleaf’s annoyance. After warmly greeting one another, Qelline invited her niece into her home for some tea. Mia told her aunt that she had been doing some work for the Mayor, while she was unable to divulge any information about the work (due to not being able to think of a convincing cover story) but she did let her know that they had dealt with the Redbrand menace, much to Qelline’s relief. During their tea, Mia asked Qelline if she knew anything about Cragmaw Castle, as her Aunt was well known for her knowledge of the Sword Coast. Qelline knew of the castle but felt an old druid friend of hers, would be able to help her with any information. Qelline told Mia that he currently lives up in the ruins of Thundertree. Thanking her Aunt for the information, Mia threw some gold in Qelline’s bag, without her noticing, knowing that she wouldn’t accept it if offered.

Dave:

After the prisoners mentioned Thundertree, Dave decided he should gather as much information as he could about the old town. Heading to the Stonehill Inn, he started to drink with the townsfolk, plying for any rumours or stories they may have. Most only told Dave what he already knew about his hometown, but one patron, just at the edge of sobriety, told Dave of a Dragon Cult that had moved into the town, trying to appease the dragon that had settled there. He also gave Dave a cryptic clue of ‘Beware the Ash’.

Erspell:

The wizard had no time to mourn his lost familiar. Acquiring the necessary equipment, Erspell set about summoning a new one. After an hour had passed, the elf emerged with a brand-new owl, HotDog II.

Eorlund:

Paces around worried about his cousin… mentions dwarven crafts randomly

Viggo & Kui-Kui:

The pair spent their downtime at the Stonehill Inn discussing the town, finding that they both have their own plans to win over leadership of the town and to make it a more successful place. Whilst brainstorming ideas, the conversation turned to their pasts, which strangely start sounding very similar; Parents in the nobility, hometown destroyed in a natural disaster. After confirming little know details about each other, they realise they are long lost siblings!

Our heroes regrouped after dealing with their personal matters and restocking their equipment, then headed out to their next job at Wyvern Tor.

After roaming the mountains for a few hours in their cart, the party spotted a pillar of smoke coming out of a valley. Hitching up the cart and travelling by foot, the group found the source of the smoke, a cave entrance with a single orc out front keeping watch.

The adventures thought the best course of action was to sneak towards the guard and eliminate him before he could alert any other orcs. Unfortunately, Dave tripped down the hill, landing on his bagpipes, alerting the orc (and everything in a 5km radius) to their presence. The orc, seeing the party heading towards him, bolted inside the cave, shouting in orcish.

With Plan A being a complete failure, they follow orc into the cave, a find 6 more inside waiting for them. A fight ensues, Erspell snaps his fingers, and a huge fireball explodes centred on what looked like the ‘boss orc’, instantly killing half the orcs and severely damage the boss. Viggo, seeing his chance takes a shot with his bow and kills the big orc. Seeing their boss fall, the rest of the orcs start running. Eorlund cuts two down as they try to flee, the rest fall just as quick.

Our heroes are becoming quite the formidable team, what does the future hold for them in Thundertree?

The Adventure Continues…