Ambush!

As the wagon laden with goods bound for Phandalin creaked along the Triboar Trail, the members of the escort surveyed each other. There was Batura, a halfling wizard, who glanced intermittently into the nearby forest, fearful for bandits. Delray, a brave human fighter and local hero of a small town near Neverwinter, walked in the front. Cora, a mischievous halfling rogue, darted back and forth looking for hidden gems and shiny baubles among the ordinary rocks on the trail. Elhana, an elven druid of the swamps, stopped every moment she got to talk to forest animals. Jamben, a human ranger, idly carved a wooden statuette while he walked. Drac, an honorable dragonborn paladin, took up the rearguard.

They had been hired by a dwarven prospector named Gundren Rockseeker who, with his brothers Nundro and Tharden, had been searching for months for the location of the lost Mine of Phandelver, hidden somewhere in the Wave Echo Cave. Gundren had gone ahead of the wagon with a human warrior escort named Sildar Hallwinter to take care of some business in Phandalin.

The heroes had only a half day left to reach Phandalin. The Triboar Trail was getting dark as sunset approached. Suddenly, the twang of bowstrings invaded the forest sounds, as arrows whizzed through the air, several striking against the wagon’s side.

“AMBUSH!” yelled Delray, who scrambled for cover and pulled an arrow from his quiver to load his longbow. The others took up defensive positions, trying to see who was firing on them.

A chittering erupted from the forest line and several goblins wielding short shorts and bows ran out toward the wagon, yelling in their high-pitched language. The clang of steel on steel and pained cries permeated the air.

After only a few minutes, the last remaining goblin dropped his sword and fled, in a direction away from the trail heading north along a smaller beaten path. The heroes decided to pursue, leaving the wagon hidden by the side of the Triboar Trail. They prayed it would still be there when they returned.

The tracks led them to the entrance of a cave, where more goblin ambushers were ready. After the skirmish, the heroes entered the cave, only to find several chained wolves. They tried to tame the hungry animals but failed without any food to offer. The wolves broke off their leashes and attacked but were quickly put down. In the fight, Cora was briefly separated from the party but she was able to discover a natural chimney in the wall of the room that led up to an adjacent part of the cavern. After the fight with the wolves the others joined her.

They found themselves in a larger cavern, and to their dismay discovered they had found the lair of the goblin boss. They were immediately attacked but were able to fend them off to achieve victory.

After a short rest, the heroes continued through the caverns, killing additional goblins along the way, until they discovered where a small band of goblins were holed up with their captive, the human Sildar Hallwinter. The adventurers managed to rescue the older man, who was thankful but pressed them on to Phandalin, stating he had much work to do for the Lord’s Alliance, whom he represented.

In addition to finding his associate Gundren, Sildar tasked the heroes with locating a missing wizard of the Lord’s Alliance named Iarno Allbrek. The wizard was supposed to be in Phandalin doing work on behalf of the Lord’s Alliance, but several months ago had stopped communicating with his superiors in the capital city of Neverwinter.

As they left the goblin cave and returned to the wagon they had left on the Triboar Trail, the buzzing of cicadas and hooting of owls in the night sky went silent. A loud growl shook the ground and the heroes saw ahead of them, a half-eaten horse lying on the ground while a large owlbear tore at its flesh ravenously. The monstrous creature spotted the party and roared, turning to attack!

In the night battle, the party was nearly defeated, were it not for the quick thinking of Delray, who lured the owlbear away from an unconscious Sildar, and then struck the final killing blow with his greatsword. The victorious moment was stolen away from him, however, as the owlbear’s mate stalked Delray from behind and its huge jaws decapitated the human fighter before he even realized his mistake.

The other party members could only stare in shock as their teammate’s lifeless body slumped to the ground. The female owlbear crunched down on Delray’s head and would have turned on the others as well, but a crossbow bolt pierced its flesh, finding its heart and felling the beast.

The killing blow had been from a dwarven soldier who happened to hear the skirmish and ran to help. His name was Victor Stonecrusher and he offered to accompany the heroes and lend his protection. Exhausted and upset at the loss of their comrade, the heroes hastily buried Delray by the side of the road and finished the remainder of the trek to Phandalin with the wagon in tow.

They reached the small mining town by daybreak and retired to its single place of lodging for travelers, the Stonehill Inn. They slept uneasily the rest of the day, haunted by the events that transpired. None was prepared for what was to come.

Introduction to Ferina, Halyna, & Tyris

The death of Delrey hit Batura hard and she informed the others that she wished to retire from adventuring and return to her homeland to continue studying a less dangerous school of magic. She tearfully bid everyone goodbye and departed.

The next day, while the heroes shared a drink at the inn and discussed their recent exploits, the door to the inn slammed open as if by a strong wind. They turned to see who was entering but a few moments passed until finally a cloaked female gnome walked into the bar with a confused look on her face. “Sorry… is this the Phandalin Inn? I thought it was bigger.”

She smiled and turned toward the heroes who were sitting nearby. “My name is Ferina Fery. My friends call me Ferina.”

She removed her gloves and handed them to… seemingly no one, but her gloves floated in the air as if held up by an invisible table or hands. She smiled shyly and fidgeted with her hands as she talked. She wore a large ring on one of her of fingers, indicating her Noble status in gnomish society.

After a conversation which mostly consists of the heroes wondering how she survived the journey here alone, she offered to join the party. She had received a magical message from her friend Batura asking her to replace her as the group wizard.

Ferina mentioned that she was a specialist in illusion and transmutation magic. To highlight her point she pointed at the glasses of stout ale they were all holding and waved her hand dismissively, stating that alcohol “is bad for your health.” On their next sip, they realized their alcoholic drinks had turned into unsweetened iced tea!

What a useful wizard.

Later that evening, after they had taken care of some business, the heroes returned to the inn for a hot meal. As they dug into bowls of elk and potato stew, they noticed in a corner of the inn, a young half-elven woman setting up a performance area. She didn’t look very happy and didn’t make eye contact with anyone else in the inn.

She pulled out a stringed musical instrument from a bag and sat down to play as the inn’s guests went quiet. She strummed her lute deftly, playing a hauntingly beautiful song about a maiden who died pining for an ex-lover. When her song ended everyone could not help but applaud and threw some coin into her donations bag. Some of the townsfolk excitedly identified the woman as the famous bard Halyna Belacqua.

Suddenly the tone of the music changed into a lively dance song. The heroes heard a flurry of loud feet stomping and turned to see a LARGE half-orc woman come down the stairs from one of the upstairs guests quarters. She was wearing a backless short-sleeve dress which allowed them to see her rippling back and arm muscles. She danced to the music, approaching the performance area.

As the song concluded the townsfolk cheered. They didn’t know who this dancing beast of a woman was but she announced her name and bowed, “Tyris Flare, the greatest gladiator that ever fought in the Coliseum.” She and the half-elven bard seemed to have turned into a performing duo, and from the crowd’s reaction one wondered how rich they may have gotten from their act.

The half-orc woman leaped to the half-elf and picked her up from her seat. “Three cheers for the beautiful Halyna Belacqua!” She then leaned into the half-elf’s face and they kissed passionately, which excited the townsfolk further.

After the crowd had settled, with the performance over, the couple discreetly moved to the group of heroes. Tyris told them that they heard about their recent adventure and had a desire to join the party. She offered her greataxe and mighty prowess while Halyna rolled her eyes and sarcastically muttered, “and I will keep you alive!”

Drac’s Departure

The following morning while the heroes finished their breakfast of spiced porridge and summer berries, a young boy arrived at the Stonehill Inn, bearing a missives for Drac Dragonborne. It appeared urgent.

Drac unrolled the parchment, which bore an official seal. He read the letter quietly without expression.

“Well what does it say?” Elhana cut the silence with a hint of exasperation.

Drac re-rolled the letter neatly, “It is a summons from my Order. I am to return at once. It appears that I have work to complete elsewhere.”

“What’ve our mission ‘ere, lad? We have na’ found the missing Gundren,” Victor murmured with discontent.

The paladin stood up from the table and adjusted his armor straps, “I am confident that you will succeed without me. I shall try to return when my duties have been fulfilled. May blessings always guide you.”

Jamben grunted, half-smiling from beneath his hood, “I’ve heard that before. If I had a silver for each time someone said that…”

Drac appeared unmoved. He bowed stiffly and turned to leave the Inn. The rest of the party glanced balefully at each other, wondering what lay ahead in their futures.

After a moment, Cora burst out laughing. The others looked at her, afraid of what the crazy halfling had done now. She lifted her hands from under the table and dumped all the money she had just lifted off of Drac as he left.

Edermath Orchard

Daran Edermath was a retired adventurer who lived in a tidy little cottage beside an apple orchard. A fit, silver-haired half-elf well over a hundred years old, Daran was a fighter who had served as a marshal and herald for many years in the lands of the Dragon Coast, far to the southeast. Upon retiring, he returned to the Neverwinter region, his original home.

Daran was concerned about the Redbrands, and he wanted to see a group of adventurers teach the ruffians a lesson. When the heroes met Daran, he told them it was time someone took a stand against the Redbrands’ leader, Glasstaff.

Daran had also heard stories from prospectors in the hills northeast of Phandalin that someone was digging around in the ruins known as Old Owl Well. More disturbingly, several prospectors had reported being chased from the area by undead. He asked the heroes to visit the ruins, a two-day march northeast of Phandalin, and find out who was there and what they were up to. Daran reported that the ruins were an old watchtower of an ancient magical empire known as Netheril, and he worried that dangerous magic might be dormant there.

Townmaster’s Hall

The townmaster’s hall had sturdy stone walls, a pitched wooden roof, and a bell tower at the back. Posted on a board next to the front door was a notice written in Common. It read: “REWARD — Orcs near Wyvern Tor! Those of a mind to face the orc menace should inquire within.” The notice bored the town’s seal and an indecipherable signature.

The current townmaster of Phandalin was a male human banker named Harbin Wester — a fat, pompous old fool. Completely intimidated by the Redbrands, he claimed that they’re “just a mercenary guild, and not all that much trouble, really.”

Harbin was looking for someone to head east on the Triboar Trail, where travelers had reported trouble with a band of orcs near Wyvern Tor. He offered 100 gold pieces to any group that could take care of the problem.

After resting at the Stonehill Inn, Sildar Hallwinter established himself at the townmaster’s hall. As an agent of the Lords’ Alliance, his goal was to bring law and order to Phandalin. As such, he needed to find the lost mine of Wave Echo Cave and help the Rockseeker brothers put it back into production, believing that bringing prosperity to the region would help civilize the town.

Sildar encouraged the heroes to keep up the pressure on the Cragmaw goblins. He offered the party a 500 gold pieces reward to locate Cragmaw Castle and defeat or drive off the tribe’s chieftain.

Wyvern Tor

Our heroes decided to take Harbin Wester’s bounty offer and track down the orcs at Wyvern Tor. Cora became a hireling for 100 gold. The journey was mostly uneventful except one night at camp Jamben was on watch and he spotted in the forest a silver-haired elf man kill and mutilate a large grizzly bear. The elf magically flew into the trees before JC could investigate.

Continuing on, the party quickly realized Tyris the barbarian was awful at tracking orcs. Once the ranger took over the job they found the hidden orc camp in a protected ravine. They dispatched the sole guard easily. Heady with the smell of orc blood, they ventured further into the camp, only to be faced by a larger enemy group of 7 orcs and a very large and very angry ogre.

The battle was dangerous and the party nearly perished were it not for a few well timed spells and the sacrifice of the druid Elhana who fell after turning into a beast form tiger and drawing attention away from the weaker spellcasters.

Halfway through the battle the mysterious silver-haired elf returned behind the party, firing arrow after arrow at the orcs, dropping them with ease.

At last with the enemies defeated, the party licked their wounds and scalped the bodies to produce evidence for the bounty. The elf spoke threateningly to Victor and Jamben that they did not know what they were getting into and they should not cross paths again. He took the head of the orc chieftain and left.

The journey back was quiet as each adventurer reflected on the last few days. Perhaps, they realized one by one, they could accomplish their mission by less head on methods? Would they survive the perils that awaited them on the Sword Coast? Only time would tell!

Harbin Wester rewarded the party with 100 gold for eliminating the orc hunting party at Wyvern Tor. He never fully explained why he needed them killed, because there hadn’t been any recent threats to Phandalin from these orcs. Harbin was also not able to give any useful information about the missing dwarf Gundren Rockseeker. Asked about the wizard Iarno Albrek, the fat townmaster again shrugged and said he had no idea who that was. Unfortunately, the Wyvern Tor quest now seemed more like a wild goose hunt, where no further reliable leads had been discovered.

Selene Va’niar

While resting in the Stonehill Inn tavern one mid-day, Victor Stonecrusher, Halyna Belacqua, Tyris Flare, and Jamben Carter learned from a terrified townswoman that a frightening beast was attacking the windmill outside of town at Umbrage Hill. The party immediately set out to investigate. When they arrived they saw an elven woman calling for help from the second story window while below, a manticore was trying to beat the door down!

The unnatural mishmash of lion, human, and other beast parts turned to face the party as they set up flanking positions. Meanwhile the brave bard Halyna attempted to use her charms to parlay with the creature in an attempt to determine it’s motives. The intelligent monster responded with ever-increasing threats and barbs until finally it became restless and tried to make dinner of the half-elf.

In the ensuing battle, many arrows and bolts were fired into the manticore’s thick hide while Halyna bombarded it with magical abilities. When it looked like it might be defeated it lashed out at the bard with deadly tail spikes and left her bleeding out, nearly dead. Then it began to flee.

Tyris Flare rushed to her lover’s aid while Victor and Jamben continued to pelt the beast with volley after volley. As it looked like the manticore would escape to terrorize another day, a final well aimed crossbow bolt from Victor finally brought it down to the ground, twitching and at last dying.

After reviving Halyna the party was allowed entry into the mill and the elf woman thanked them with two magical potions of healing. She introduced herself as Selene Va’niar, a priestess of the nature god Sylvanus. She offered her stock of healing potions for sale in the future as well. They asked her if she knew the mysterious silver-haired elven hunter they had previously encountered on the Tribor Trail but she strangely only warned them to stay clear of him, Theseus Kar’way. Although some in the party had suspicions about the priestess’s motives, for now it seemed the group had found themselves a useful ally!

A Broken Bow

Jamben Carter was a man lost without his bow. The last battle with the manticore ended in victory but at a high cost as his trusty longbow snapped its string by sheer bad luck. Thankfully no fingers were maimed in the accident. Still, it was a tragedy for the normally stoic ranger. He returned to town that day, sullen and moody while his compatriots celebrated their win at the Stonehill Inn tavern with tall mugs of lukewarm ale. Normally a heavy drinker, JC ordered a cranberry juice.

Ferina Fery, who had thus far been secluded in her room doing all kinds of wizardly gnome-y research, emerged from her self-imposed exile the next day and found the ranger passed out near the house trough outside. She aroused him with a bucket of horse backwash and discovered that he was terribly depressed at the loss of his bow.

The young gnome woman was heartbroken at her friend’s misery and promised to help. She asked to borrow the longbow and studied it carefully. The string was frayed at one end but still repairable. She pulled out some adhesive material from one of her spell component pouches and rubbed it on both ends of the torn bowstring. She pressed both ends firmly into her hand and closed her eyes, reciting a magical incantation in a soft and steady voice. Her hand glowed brightly with a golden color and after about a minute, she opened her hand and voila! The bowstring was mended.

Smiling brightly, the wizard returned the longbow to her friend. Jamben couldn’t be more happy. His mood instantly returned to its normal dour state. He thanked Ferina by giving her a wooden statue of a stag he recently carved. They went back into the inn and ordered some breakfast.

The Redbrands

After a day of various activities, our heroes returned to the Stonehill Inn to retire for the night. They planned to investigate the Tresendar Manor the following morning on a tip they received from a friendly towns-halfing that it might be the lair of the Redbrand gang. They spent all day making preparations for the raid.

As they turned the corner to the main square that lay in front of the Stonehill Inn, they realized in the fading light that there was no one else on the dirt road besides them, as if the townspeople had all disappeared indoors. In a moment, it became apparent why. The entrance to the Inn was blocked by four humans in dusty crimson cloaks, waiting to ambush the party!

Victor Stonecrusher hailed them, while carefully loading his crossbow, “Aye, Good evenin’ but not a step farther thank ye!” the dwarf boomed in a friendly tone.

The lead ruffian turned his head to the side and spit onto the ground, “Look what we have here… looks like a buncha lost puppies. What are ya doin’, puppies? Why don’t ya head on home wherever yer from?”

Our heroes knew they were in for a fight. They braced themselves as the Redbrand ruffians drew swords and charged.

The lead ruffian took a crossbolt to the throat and dropped dead in his tracks before he even reached Victor. The rest stopped for a moment, hesitating. Tyris Flare took that moment to separate a second one’s head from its body with a sweep of her greataxe.

One of the ruffians managed to slice at the half-orc barbarian but she barely felt it, as the rage bubbled up from within her.

Ferina Fery wrinkled her nose and wiggled her fingers, casting Minor Illusion, and a realistic image of a skunk about to spray appeared in the enemies’ heads. They both screamed in fear and turned to flee. Jamben Carter’s arrow shot one in the back and pierced through his chest as he fell, gasping for his last breath as he died in a pool of blood.

The last Redbrand managed to escape, but the party saw clearly he was headed back to safety toward Tresendar Manor.

Enter the Manor

“After him!” Tyris Flare yelled, pointing at the fleeing Redbrand ruffian, as he ran up the winding dirt path that led to Tresendar Manor. In the cover of moonlight, the party moved with trepidation, finding the tracks left by their quarry easily. They ended at the entrance to the Manor, which was barred by a large iron portcullis entryway that was locked by a heavy iron padlock.

The Manor itself looked like it had seen better days. Ferina Fery was able to recall some of the history of the Manor and its owners, the Tresendar clan, which had perished mysteriously in a great fire some fifty years ago. The Manor had stood abandoned since then.

As they stood in front of the gate debating how to get inside, they heard a cheerful voice behind them. It was the halfling thief Cora, who grinned and pulled out a lockpick from one of her many pockets.

“I betcha you’ll be wanting my help, eh? It’ll cost ya!”

The party agreed the 100 gold she charged was worth it. They paid her and she kneeled down next to the lock, “I’ll have it open in a jiffy!” as she worked, her tongue half-out in concentration.

The lockpick snapped.

“Uh…” Cora smirked.

The others sighed. What a waste of gold.

But Cora tsk’ed and rummaged through her curly brown hair, eventually pulling out another lockpick. “Never leave home without an extra!”

She inserted the new lockpick and within a few moments had the lock successfully opened. The padlock fell to the ground and the gate creaked open. The heroes entered carefully.

Inside, the ground floor of the Manor looked abandoned, with a crumbling staircase that led up and dusty floors and cobwebs aplenty. They easily spotted a pair of tracks, fresh, that led about twenty feet away to a stone staircase that went down. Searching the ground floor and finding nothing, they decided to descend.

The short flight of stairs led them to a cellar area, containing a water-filled underground cistern and several barrels containing food provisions. They stocked up on what they could carry. Jamben also discovered in one corner of the room a wall that seemed to open, but perhaps from the other side? He could not seem to figure out how to get it open on this side, but his efforts were cut short as a door burst open and the party was ambushed by three Redbrands!

Tyris Flare the barbarian was the first in their way and they slashed at her repeatedly with shortswords before she could react. Bleeding from multiple deep wounds, she gritted her teeth but held her ground. The party eventually defeated their opponents, although Tyris was heavily wounded and decided to stay in the back for the time being.

During the battle, Cora had snuck into the room and stole the Redbrands’ belongings, producing some treasure for the group. She also managed to find a hidden satchel inside the cistern that held some magical potions and more gold.

Deciding to press on, the group put Victor in the lead and he entered through the remaining unopened door into a long dusty corridor leading to another set of double doors. Cora stayed behind to work on the hidden door. Halfway through the corridor, the clumsy dwarf accidentally set off a trap, as the floor beneath his feet collapsed into a pit 20 feet deep! He carried Halyna down with him. After some cursing, they were able to climb out and help the others across the pit using a length of rope.

The next room held three stone sarcophagi, against each which leaned a skeleton. The party inspected the sarcophagi and found a valuable signet ring in one. Victor decided to toss one skeleton inside and close the lid, which may have triggered something because immediately afterwards the skeletons came to life by dark necromancy and attacked!

The party quickly dispatched the skeletons. During the battle, the inquisitive gnome wizard Ferina Fery learned that skeletons won’t talk to her.

As soon as the last skeleton crumbled into a heap under the dwarf’s hammer, the adjacent door burst open and two Redbrand jailers entered, trying to get the jump on the party. They managed to damage both Jamben and Victor, but the quick-thinking bard Halyna cast a magical Sleep spell on them. The heroes tied up their enemies for questioning. Tyris decided to decapitate one of them while Halyna questioned and intimidated the other to speak. After seeing his friend’s head chopped off by an angry half-orc woman, the hapless Redbrand peed his pants and was more than willing to give up everything he knew.

He revealed their leader was a mage named Glasstaff, whose quarters were in the northwest corner of the dungeon. He also spoke fearfully of an “eye monster” that roamed somewhere in the crevasse. The party decided to keep this one alive and take him with them. They entered into the room the jailers had emerged from and found three slaves; a woman named Mirna Dendrar and her adolescent children.

Mirna spoke of how in days past the Redbrands had captured and killed her husband Thel and captured them to seek to sell as slaves. The party found a key to set them free and released them back to Phandalin. In thanks, Mirna asked them to look for an heirloom emerald necklace in the town of Thundertree, which her family had abandoned many years ago when it was overrun by undead.

The party decided this area was a safe place to take a short rest. Ferina stood guard while the others rested and healed their wounds, preparing for whatever else was to come in the dungeons under Tresendar Manor!

A Premonition

Ferina Fery watched her party members and friends rest while she guarded over them in the prison cell room. Her skin crawled with heightened magical senses. A feeling of great melancholy overwhelmed her. She brushed away tears welling up in her eyes as her friends woke. They had no idea, but she knew….

Within the Depths of Tresendar

The intrepid group of heroes, renewed from their rest, made haste to try to discover the location of the wizard Glasstaff, hiding somewhere deep below Tresendar Manor. They were also wary of the rumored “eye monster” that their frightened Redbrand captive spoke about. Each felt deep in their hearts a gnawing fear that they may have led the fearless halfling thief Cora Quickfingers straight into the monster’s belly, as she single-handedly explored another section of the dungeon.

They moved carefully through the dungeon’s next rooms, meeting no enemies but constantly on the lookout for traps and secret doors. They discovered one such secret door after much consternation and a seemingly dead end corridor. It opened to a large natural cavern with a deep crevasse running through the center and poorly lit high natural ceilings. The whole subterranean room felt eerily cold and within the natural dank air they could all make out the faint smell of rotting flesh.

As they peered down into the depths of the crevasse, they could see twenty feet down the remains of half-eaten bones of human victims long-dead. An intact but decomposing body of a Phandalin townsman lay on the top of one such heap. Suddenly, they heard the hushed whisper of someone calling to them.

“Psssssss….. down here!”

Victor Stonecrusher’s eyes adjusted to the poor light and he was able to make out the still form of Cora, hiding half-buried under bones and bodies. She scrambled out of the crevasse easily enough and appeared unharmed, but she hurriedly explained that she had been hiding there for some time waiting for the rest of them.

“I found this giant cavern and had to explore this pit of death! And I found this!–” she pulled out several pieces of treasure she had discovered hiding in a chest within the crevasse. The most significant find was a magical hand crossbow inscribed with the name “Talon.” Ferina Fery was able to deduce that it belonged to a knight of the house of Tresendar who died defending his home from orc invaders many years ago. They did not yet know what the magical crossbow could do, but agreed to let the bard Halyna Belacqua keep it.

Cora also mentioned that the reason she was hiding in the pit was because while exploring she sensed something in the cavern…. something dangerous. Thankfully, it had not yet seen her. But now the rest of the party could hear the sound of whispering in each of their heads, random screeching sounds and unintelligible speech, and the occasional word, “Annie!”

They decided they did not want to wait around for whatever was making those sounds and hurriedly found one of the tunnels that led out of the cavern. It led into a corridor that ended with two closed doors, one going north and one going south. They chose north, sending the thief in first to investigate.

Cora Quickfingers snuck through the door and found herself in a wizard’s workshop, with the acrid smell of chemicals in the air and multiple alchemical workstations set up on various tables. To her dismay, she was quickly spotted by a short human male wizard in fine ermine robes, who carried a fine long wizard’s staff made of clear glass. She had found Glasstaff!

The wizard did not appear surprised. In fact, he immediately welcomed her into his workshop with open arms. He introduced himself as Iarno Albrek, who was the missing wizard the party had been charged with finding by Sildar Hallwinter. Cora was dumb-founded and speechless. The others could hear the wizard speak from the corridor outside and Ferina Fery decided to insert herself into the conversation, wizard to wizard, so she could buy some time and learn more about this dangerous person.

Iarno Albrek spoke in a charming tone and carried himself with a feminine air. He spoke of how he came to Phandalin looking for evidence of the mystical Wave Echo Cave, and shortly after banded together some local ruffians to create the Redbrand Gang in order to have some muscle to achieve his aims. They set up their base underneath the abandoned Tresendar Manor, and discovered one of its current residents, an “eye monster” Nothic creature, who Iarno was able to convince to stay as a guard against invaders in exchange for the occasional human sacrifice meal. “A filthy thing,” he spoke, “but a necessary agreement.”

Iarno remained pleasant and hospitable… until Cora tried picking the lock to the next room and completely failed, breaking her tools and alerting the wizard. Instantly, Iarno’s demeanor changed to hostility and he morphed into a gaseous vapor and fled.

Frustrated at the escape of this smooth criminal, the party knocked down the locked door and barged into the room, the wizard’s bedchambers… but he was gone. They were surprised to find another man tied up, hooded, and gagged on the bed missing britches. He had a tail, easily identifying him as a tiefling.

They removed his hood, gag and binds. In a high falsetto voice, he thanked them profusely while he scrambled through a chest nearby and threw on his clothes. His tale bewildered even the uncouth barbarian Tyris Flare.

“My name is Michael Jackson… MJ for short. I came to Phandalin as a traveling performer. One night after a fabulous show, I was attacked and kidnapped by a gang of ruffians in crimson cloaks. They brought me here and tied me up. For the last several weeks I have been tied up and hooded, fed scraps to eat and… violated every single day.”

MJ broke down into tears and spoke no further. He could not answer their questions about anything about Glasstaff, the Redbrands, or the eye monster, knowing even less than they. He begged them to help escape this dungeon, and they allowed him to come with them.

The party moved through the south door and eliminated the rest of the Redbrands. In the next room they encountered three vicious Bugbears that had been tormenting a terrified goblin named Droop. The goblin fainted at the entrance of the party and in the ensuing fight died of apparent shock. Fortunately for the group, they discovered MJ’s fighting prowess, for not only was he a fantastic dancer, but he wielded powerful magic as a sorcerer.

With the bugbears defeated, the party rushed back into the cavern, looking to escape this dungeon since they had lost all signs of Glasstaff. As they passed by one of the huge rock columns that supported the ceiling, Ferina Feris gave out a terrible scream. Powerful necrotic energy tore through her skin, decomposing and instantly melting her flesh. Seconds later, a hulking flesh-colored monster with a single large eye, a Nothic, dropped down and grabbed the gnome wizard and leaped into the crevasse.

Overcoming their shock, the remaining heroes rushed to the edge of the pit to look for Ferina but they could not see her. The Nothic leaped back up and wrapped its long legs around the base of the rock column, slashing with razor claws at the nearest person. The party, angry at the loss of their friend, began to hack madly at the creature. MJ began to dance and gesticulate, thrusting crotch-first at the Nothic, screaming, “Annie, are you ok? Are you ok Annie?” As MJ’s hands touched the monster, a searing flame emanated out and enveloped the Nothic, who howled in agony and burned into a pile of ashes.

Leaping into the pit, Victor found the melted body of Ferina Feris. Her face was gone. She was lifeless. Not wanting to leave her remains there, he lifted her body out of the crevasse, sobbing. The exhausted group of heroes limped out of the dungeon and Tresendar Manor carrying the body of their fallen friend.

Divine Assistance

The next day, Jamben Carter and Victor Stonecrusher bore the mutilated body of the gnome wizard Ferina Fery to the windmill at Umbrage Hill, south of Phandalin and home to the elven herbalist Selene Va’niar. They beseeched her for divine assistance to resurrect their dead friend.

Selene lay the body onto one of her tables and examined the gnome woman carefully, unfazed by the terrible destruction the Nothic’s gaze had wrought on her skin and flesh. Whole patches were sloughed off, exposing muscle, bone, and organs below. Already, her body was decomposing at a much faster rate than normal.

The elf finally went to a nearby shelf and returned with a jar of herbs labelled in elvish. She mixed a handful with water and ground it into a paste using a mortar and pestle. Then, she fastidiously began to apply the poultice all over Ferina’s body. The smell of rotting flesh abated.

Selene looked at Jamben and Victor grimly, “This will have to do, for now. I have applied a preserving agent to slow down the decomposition. Next I will need to pray to Sylvanus for his blessing to restore her soul to her body. In my opinion, she is already too far gone,” her voice trailed off.

Jamben shook his head, “No! You will try, and I will look after your other chores. I will stay here until she is restored, however long it takes.”

Selene agreed but made no promises. She advised Victor to return to Phandalin and she would send word by messenger pigeon with her results to the party at the Stonehill Inn within a tenday. She also mentioned to Victor that she might ask for their assistance soon with a different matter.

Victor returned to Phandalin. The veteran soldier, who had already seen much death, still ached with the loss of another comrade. He joined Tyris and Halyna in the tavern, to drink and remember their friend.

Introduction to Zubeda

After several days of rest and reflection, the remaining members of the party, Victor Stonecrusher, Halyna Belacqua, and Tyris Flare determined they would need to resume their search for Gundren Rockseeker.

Unfortunately, until now there had not been any good leads as to the location of his whereabouts, or whether their dwarf employer was even still alive. They had gained an eclectic tiefling sorceror named Michael Jackson, but he was still recovering at the Stonehill Inn from his recent trauma and rescue.

As they made their rounds from house to house to inquire about any news, they returned to visit the retired elven adventurer Daran Edermath at his cottage next to the apple orchard. They were surprised to see he had a guest in his home, as he greeted them with a stone face.

Something was amiss. Daran seemed perturbed but welcomed his visitors inside. Sitting at Daran’s table was an elven woman wearing polished green and gold plate armor. Strapped to her back were two long curved blades. She stood up briskly and nodded curtly at the three newcomers. Her bronze skin and golden brown eyes revealed her as a sun (high) elf, rare in these parts. She wore a holy symbol on her breastplate that identified her as a paladin.

Daran hesitated a moment, then offered introductions, “Friends, this is Zubeda Tur, an… acquaintance of mine from my previous life.”

The paladin spoke in the Common tongue, but with a foreign accent, “These are the ones you spoke of? They seem… inadequate.”

Tyris Flare’s lip curled threateningly, “The only thing inadequate here is the size of your swords. Do you even know how to use those things?”

Victor and Halyna reflexively brought their hands to their weapons, prepared for bloodshed. The elven woman stood her ground calmly, eyeing the larger half-orc with a disinterested eye. In a split second, the sharp point of her scimitars were touching the barbarian’s throat. A drop of dark blood ran down the edge. Tyris winced, and rage began to rise deep inside her.

“Please!” Daran interjected himself between the two, “I will not have any bloodshed in my home. I have arranged for this meeting and you should both listen to what I have to say, for I think you both need each other.”

“Aye, well have yer lady friend put her blades away ferst,” growled the dwarf Victor.

Daran looked at Zubeda with a half-cocked eye. She resisted for a moment, and then shrugged and sheathed her scimitars. She sat down and put her feet on the table in a relaxed pose. “Let’s hear it then.”

Tyris stormed out the door, “You idiots handle this. I’ll be outside kicking down trees.” They heard an angry scream outside and then a crashing sound as the floor gently shook for a moment.

Daran sighed deeply, rubbing his graying temples, “As I was saying… I want to introduce you because I think you can be mutually beneficial to your causes. I understand you are still looking for the location of your missing friend Gundren Rockseeker. Unfortunately, I have not discovered anything further from my sources. Zubeda here arrived yesterday bearing news you may find extremely helpful.”

The elf uncrossed her legs and sat up straight in her chair, “The dwarf you seek is being held inside the goblin outpost at Cragmaw Castle. He is being held captive by their chieftain, a power-hungry bugbear who calls himself King Grol.”

Halyna put her hands on her hips incredulously, “And just how do you happen to know all this? We’ve been searching for days for evidence of where Gundren is.”

Zubeda shook her head slowly, “My Order has sources all across Faerun. I have been dispatched here to investigate more concerning information about our common enemy: The Black Spider. I believe this King Grol will know more about it. I must capture and interrogate him. If you help me, I will assist you in rescuing your missing dwarf.”

Victor and Halyna exchanged glances, unsure whether to trust this stranger. Daran recognized their hesitation and added, “I will vouch for Zubeda. She is not lying. She might be one’s worst nightmare, but I would trust her with my life. There is one other thing… we don’t know where Cragmaw Castle is. But I believe there is one who might know.”

“Who?” Halyna was getting impatient now. Her perpetual frown was becoming a harder line.

Daran continued, “Recall that I asked you to investigate the Old Owl Well? I have recently discovered that there is a necromancer there who is raising an army of undead. I do not know his motives, but I suspect it may have something to do with the rising tide of goblins and their ilk that has been plaguing our lands. If my hunch is correct, this necromancer will know the location of Cragmaw.”

Zubeda stood up again, “We must leave at once. Time is wasting.”

Victor shook his head. “Nay, we have other business to tend to ferst. We need a few more days ta sort it out. Then we’ll go with ye.”

Zubeda looked annoyed but relented. “Very well. I have spent enough of my friend’s hospitality. I will obtain a room with my retinue at the town inn while I wait for you to be ready.” She snapped her fingers and three elven maidens in servant garb entered from an adjacent room carrying luggage. They obediently followed the paladin as she bid farewell to Daran and exited.

Victor and Halyna laughed together after the door closed behind her. “We just agreed to quest with a privileged elven noble with her own party of servants… are we mad?” Halyna asked her dwarven friend.

Victor shrugged, “Just keep yer gerl friend away from her, lass. That wouldna end well fer any of us!”

Confirmation

True to her word, Selene Va’niar sent a letter by messenger pigeon at the end of the tenday period, addressed to the heroes staying at the Stonehill Inn. Victor, Tyris, Halyna, MJ, and Zubeda sat around a great table with flagons of ale as Halyna opened the scroll and read the hastily scribbled message outloud:

“Body of wizard too far decomposed. Ranger taking her home to rest. I will be away on vital mission. Speak soon.”

Halyna crumbled the parchment in frustration. The cryptic message gave away enough. Ferina was dead. Not only that, but Jamben would be also gone for a long time to take the body of the gnome back to her homeland. The realization crushed the party’s spirit.

After a long period of silence, Zubeda spoke first, “I am sorry for your friend. I wish I had known her. Let us honor her by destroying the evil that was responsible for her death. Let us not falter in our mission.”

Victor slammed his mug down on the table, “Aye, lass! Ye speak truly. T’would be what she wanted. We leave fer the Old Owl Well th’morrow!”

The others all agreed. It was decided.

The Embrace

Cora Quickfingers was dreaming.

Of course, she didn’t realize she was in a dream. The little halfling thief thought she was just enjoying her sleep in a comfortable bed in an upstairs bedroom of the Stonehill Inn. In a flash she went from being the Awesome Queen of All Treasure to hiding under corpses in the cold pit of death in the dungeons under Tresendar Manor.

She blinked. She sensed the Nothic somewhere above, its great fearful eye searching for her. A cold mystical fog rolled over her body and the decomposing bones she lay with. Halflings do not feel fear, yet she felt an odd shiver run down her spine.

A hideous voice spoke in her mind, slow and deliberate, “You will serve….”

A sudden agonizing shock of pain lanced through her dreamstate body, as a flood of terrible knowledge filled her. Most of it made no sense, swirling like ephemeral vapor in her virgin mind. From this chaos, a few secrets distilled and solidified.

She blinked. Cora’s eyes opened and she found herself again in the Stonehill Inn guestroom, as the crackle of burning embers in the hearth whispered a faint echo of the voice that had invaded her dreams. She turned her head to look at the fire. Her eyes flickered with magical energy and the embers in the hearth responded by surging into a blaze.

She giggled and closed her eyes, “I will serve….”

Old Owl Well and Big Al

After reluctantly agreeing to hire Cora Quickfingers for their next journey, the adventurers left Phandalin for a two-day hike to the Old Owl Well. They intended to find a necromancer that might be able to tell them the location of Cragmaw Castle, where the captured dwarf Gundren Rockseeker was being held.

On the first day of their journey, they encountered a wondrous young silver dragon flying north from the mountains some distance ahead of them. It flew toward Neverwinter Wood, but as it approached the treeline it was attacked by a silver-haired figure. The attacker was able to damage the creature before being thrown off to land somewhere in the forest. The heroes chose not to investigate and moved on toward their destination.

An uneventful remainder of their journey led them to the abandoned town of Conyberry, which lay in ruins. There, they discovered a friendly milk cow named Petunia who belonged to a local rancher named Alfonze Kalazorn. They also found an injured human young man who was a ranch-hand at Big Al’s ranch. The scared boy described how the ranch had recently been attacked by orc marauders who killed several of his fellow hands and captured his boss Big Al.

The heroes decided to leave the boy in the safety of the ruins with Petunia and promised to return to help him after they dealt with their business with the necromancer. They hurried onward, arriving to the crumbling tower by dusk. The sound of the wind in the hills nearby was punctured by a faint smell of death in the air. As they approached the tower ruins, they spotted a horde of zombies emerging from inside and shambling toward them!

Initial blows were dealt when suddenly a voice bellowed from inside a nearby tent, and an old wizened gnome in wizard robes emerged, demanding to know who had invaded his research site. The heroes soon learned that this was the necromancer they sought, a scholar of ancient Faerunian towers named Yado Bandersnatch.

The lecherous wizard found an immediate taste for the bard Halyna Belacqua, who was able to persuade him into giving away the secret location of Cragmaw Castle. With MJ’s musical backup, she ripped off her leather corset, revealing an ample bosom, and danced seductively for the gnome. It was enough to satisfy him, for the necromancer had not been with a (living) woman in over a hundred years, and he became instantly charmed by her beauty.

The gnome would have revealed much more, but he spotted the thief Cora Quickfingers trying to creep into his research tent and became instantly hostile, sending his minions in to resume their frenzied attack on the party. By the skin of their teeth, they were able to avoid becoming the undead themselves, as the wily wizard surrendered and lay groveling at Halyna’s feet for mercy.

The party decided to capture Yado and take him along to Butterskull Ranch, after ordering him to kill off his zombies. He gladly obliged, feigning compliance while he bided his time. They returned to Conyberry and accompanied the ranch hand Jon and Petunia to the nearby farm. Tyris chose to remain in Conyberry, claiming fealty to her orc half-brethren. Secretly, she seethed at the memory of the old gnome wizard fondling her lover.

Upon arriving to Big Al’s ranch, the heroes discovered much of it had been razed by the orcs. Dead human bodies lay on the ground, swarming with flies. They made haste to the farmhouse, praying to find someone alive inside. As they surveyed the house, they immediately surmised that it was now crawling with orcs inside and that they would need to make a surprise assault to gain the upper hand. First, they found the locked door to the cellar which Cora was easily able to pick.

Downstairs, they found Big Al, tied up in a chair. As they released him, he spouted a litany of curses and demanded a weapon so he could exact his revenge on the orcs, with or without their help. The party agreed to help him. Together, they stormed the farmhouse and easily dispatched the surprised orc raiders inside. Big Al fought like a man possessed, so angry was he at the insult the orcs had given him.

When the last orc fell to Zubeda Tur’s flashing scimitars, she wiped her blades on an orc body and spit at them, cursing in elvish, “Dung eaters!” Big Al howled in rage as he went from orc body to body, smashing their skulls into paste with Victor’s warhammer. In the heat of the fight, no one noticed the captured necromancer flee. He was never seen again.

Once he had calmed down, Alfonze thanked the heroes and brought out a hidden magical shield named “Bessie,” that he gave to them with gratitude. It had saved his skin many times during his previous life as a sheriff and he was glad to part with it in return for their help. He also graciously opened his home to the adventurers to rest, before they would make the journey to assault Cragmaw Castle!

The Mysterious Deaths at Butterskull Ranch

The next morning, after slaughtering the orc party that had raided Butterskull Ranch, the heroes woke and made their way downstairs to the kitchen. The night before had been a raucous one, as their host Alfonze Kalazorn had tapped a large keg of mead he was storing in his cellar. The drinks flowed freely. The tiefling sorcerer MJ was spotted sneaking into someone else’s bedroom when he thought no one was looking.

Now, they found Big Al sitting at the kitchen table, wringing his hands in anger and waving a large knife around. He drove the knife point deep into the wood when he noticed the adventurers watching him.

He gritted his teeth at them, his eyes bloodshot, “You take me for a fool, huh? Think you can lie straight to my face and then sleep under my roof and enjoy my hospitality?”

Zubeda Tur narrowed her eyes at him, “Explain yourself, human, before you throw unfounded accusations around. We have not lied to you.”

The years at the ranch had been good to Alfonze since retiring from his previous occupation as sheriff. His once well muscled body was now grotesquely overweight, although he still could break a man in half with his bare hands if he wanted to. He stood up and flipped the bench he had been sitting on completely over, smashing it against the wall.

“Jon! My ranch hand boy, the one you told me brought you here…. I found his body this morning in the fields with the others. He’s been dead for days, since the orc attack! And my Petunia…” He broke down sobbing, “My beautiful Petunia, my livelihood… now I have nothing, nothing!”

He grabbed the knife from the table and pointed it threateningly at the party. They took a step back, reaching for their weapons. Suddenly, the distraught man turned the blade on himself and plunged it deep into his chest, twisting it further up into his heart. Bright red blood flowed freely from the wound and ran down his arm. He gasped as more blood bubbled out of his mouth.

Within seconds, Alfonze Kalazorn was dead, lying face down in a growing pool of blood on his kitchen floor. The room was silent as the adventurers stared in shock and disbelief. Then, Cora cried out, pointing in awe at one of the windows that faced outside, “Look!”

The others ran outside the farmhouse. What they saw stopped them completely in their tracks.

From a large oak tree branch hung the eviscerated and decapitated body of Big Al’s prized milk cow. Entrails lay in a heap underneath, buzzing with flies. The stench was unbearable. Petunia’s severed head lay on top of the pile, eyes still open, her face contorted into a ghastly grimace. There was no sign of the ranch hand boy Jon. Not until they found his body lying in the corn fields, decomposing with the other corpses. He had been dead for almost a tenday.

“There is some foul magic at play here,” Halyna mused, “I think it would be best that we leave this cursed place at once before we run into it.”

In the early morning light, they fled the ranch with haste, looking back to make sure they weren’t followed.

The Disappearance of Tyris Flare

With the Butterskull Ranch behind them, the party headed to the abandoned town of Conyberry to rendezvous with Tyris Flare and then head further west to Cragmaw Castle. They feared the mysterious powers that had brought them to that accursed place and wanted nothing more than to be rid of it.

Conyberry was deathly quiet when they arrived mid-morning. The ruined buildings looked forlorn, as if even time had abandoned them. They called quietly for Tyris, but the barbarian could not be found. Furthermore, she left no tracks to indicate where she could have went. Even a blind man should have been able to tell which way the half-orc stomped off to.

The group paused to deliberate their next steps. Zubeda raised an eyebrow mockingly, “I shed no tears if she disappeared. The only good orc is a dead orc, even a half breed.”

Halyna was stone-faced. She was the barbarian’s lover but she did not seem to be particularly perturbed at her loss, only saying, “We should not tarry in this place.”

MJ reapplied some make-up while they talked. The tiefling’s tail darted back and forth nervously. “I agree, let’s get out of here!” he nodded breathlessly.

Victor shook his head, “I canna abandon one of our own. The rest of ye move on and I’ll follow a day behind if I canna find her.”

The others moved onwards West on the Tribour Trail, leaving the dwarf to search the ruined buildings for any sign of the half-orc.

In the tall grass outside of the town lay a bloodied greataxe, unnoticed by all.

Introduction to Meera and Pepper

Meera Al’Zakarun woke up drenched in sweat, breathing heavily, her heart beating wildly in her chest. She was alone in her tent, sleeping only under a light sheet on the mat. It was cold, but she felt feverish. The visions had returned, and were exponentially stronger and more vivid. Now it was urgent.

The barbarian woman got up, quickly gathering up her things, including her bow and glaive that hung on a wall in her small home. She glanced at her half-full bottle of spirits that stood on a small table, then stuffed it into her bag after taking a swig. Just to keep the cold away, she thought to herself. She opened the entrance to her tent and stepped out into the icy desert wind. She didn’t look back.

——

Pepper Piper looked down at the paper in her hands. “This is what my talents are needed for?” She asked herself, sighing in disappointment. A soft chirp emerged from her pocket and a tiny weasel poked its head out and sniffed at the paper. “It’s kind of beneath us, isn’t it Walter?” she asked her familiar, idly stroking his whiskers. The magical animal dove back into her pocket, speaking telepathically with her, “It’s not as bad as the time we had to follow the evil flummox. That thing smelled awful.”

The gnome woman chuckled and folded the missive into her bag. She ran her hand through her short cropped hair and pulled out a lock pick, then fiddled with a small mechanical bird that she kept on her bedside table. It whirred to life and then let out a wide beam of light across the room. She smiled, “Alarms are set. Let’s head out, Walter. We need to find this barbarian seer and go save the world.” Walter chittered inside her pockets, “I’ll take a nap in the meantime.”

Several nights letter, Pepper ambushed Meera while she camped next to a trail heading to Neverwinter Wood. She cupped her hand over the human’s mouth and put her other finger to her mouth, whispering, “I’m a friend, and I’m here to help.” Meera began to rage, ready to snap the gnome woman’s fingers in half. Before she could, Pepper spoke a magical incantation and Meera instantly fell unconscious.

“The hard way it is,” Pepper snickered and bound her limbs with rope.

When Meera woke, she looked at her captor with confusion. She wasn’t dead, so perhaps the gnome was speaking the truth. “What do you want with me?” she asked.

Pepper smiled innocently, “I get that question a lot…” She paused for dramatic effect. When Meera only responded with a confused expression, the gnome rolled her eyes, “Ok, so you aren’t that witty… fine. Let’s just get to the point.”

Pepper explained to Meera her role as an agent of the Harpers, a faction within the Forgotten Realms of independent spies, vigilantes, and heroes. She went on to say how she had been assigned to track the barbarian and assist her with her vision quest. “Totally not my choice,” the gnome added. “I would much rather go on a heist mission, but there you have it.”

Meera could not understand what the gnome was talking about. How did she know about her visions? And why did the Harpers care even? She shook her head, “I need to follow where my spirit guardians lead. But I must know first, are you friend or foe?”

Pepper blinked incredulously. “… I just told you for the last ten minutes I’m here to help. Friend! But I can be a nasty foe if you need me to be. I once pulled off this mission where a minotaur was rampaging —“

“Stop, please,” Meera cut her off. “Untie me and we will leave at first light. It is still two day’s journey. We need to find the halfling in my visions. The one who serves Him.”

Pepper snapped her fingers and an invisible hand untied the binds around Meera’s hand and feet. She rubbed them briskly and then stood up. “No more tricks,” she warned the rogue.

Pepper grinned, “What? I have no idea what you’re talking about!”

The Assault on Cragmaw Castle

Zubeda Tur’s dual scimitars found her hunter’s mark, slashing deep into the Grick’s open maw as its fleshy mandible snapped off and flew several feet away to land by the brazier. The creature’s body curled into a tight ring and writhed for several seconds before finally going still. Its blood stained the elven paladin’s polished green armor but she looked around and whistled when she realized the large chapel room was now secure.

Out of the shadows emerged three elven handmaidens who accompanied their Lady at all times yet stayed away from harm. Now, they rushed to Zubeda and began removing the straps to her plate armor and polished the metal back to its lustrous sheen while she stretched her limbs.

Pepper Piper watched this activity with a cocked eyebrow and a bemused expression, “Must be nice having your own armor cleaning crew,” she exclaimed, “Can they help me with my brassiere? It’s a bit tight. No? Well, I thought I’d ask!” She sheepishly poked at the ashes in the brazier with her dagger.

Halyna Belacqua and MJ entered through the curtain-ways that separated the two chapel rooms, halting with suspicion when they saw the raven-haired barbarian woman wielding a giant glaive and the gnome arcane trickster, looking slightly less threatening.

“Who are you?” Halyna demanded.

Pepper looked up at her innocently, “We are… traveling pilgrims… come to pay our respects to the Lord of… Goblins….” she trailed off as her lie began to unravel.

Meera Al’zakarun put away her glaive and bowed her head respectfully, “I am Meera of the Uthgardt Bear Tribe. This is my companion Pepper Piper.”

They exchanged curt introductions, as neither Zubeda nor Halyna immediately trusted these two. MJ nervously adjusted his bowler hat, trying to make sure they could not see his tiefling horns. He was very self-conscious of them.

Meera continued, “My ancestors spoke to me of a grave threat that will threaten our world and I must stop it. First I must find the halfling who —” she stopped as she looked around and realized Cora Quickfingers was no longer standing next to Zubeda. “Where is she?” she roared.

Halyna smiled wryly, “Check your money purse. She has likely already lifted a few coins.”

Pepper grabbed at her bag, hissing, “It’s mine!!!”

The dim-witted barbarian looked confused. She shook her head after a moment and repeated, “Where is the halfling? I must find her!”

MJ stepped forward threateningly, sashaying his hips as he walked, “Darling, if you can’t tell, Cora has disappeared. She does that. She’ll come back when she wants to. But we need to rest. I need to fix my make-up. I got really sweaty in that last fight.” He gasped as he wiped his brow with a handkerchief.

Zubeda grunted, “A brief rest. Then we must move. The bugbear king is still within these walls and he likely knows of our presence now.”

Halyna unfastened her finely decorated lute and began to play a soothing song. As her magical voice filled the room and the hearts of her audience, they began to feel less tired and re-energized.

Meera and Pepper decided to go with the others, for now. They did not have any other choice. The halfling must be found.

The Final Battle with the Bugbear King

While Victor searched for Tyris around the ruins of the town of Conyberry, Zubeda zealously led Halyna, Cora, and MJ to Cragmaw Castle, where they made a full-on assault on the crumbling fortress. The goblins and their allies fell like flies under their coordinated attacks.

Meanwhile, Cora was assigned to scout the perimeter of the castle. She found a hidden entrance at the north wall but was spotted by two new arrivals, the human barbarian vision-dreamer named Meera Al’zakarun and her roguish sidekick Pepper Piper. They chased her into the castle but were waylaid by a hobgoblin patrol and she escaped into another room.

The two parties eventually met in the center of the castle and eliminated a grick, a pet snake monster of one of the goblin leaders. After wary introductions and a brief rest, they continued deeper into the castle in search of the lost halfling as well as the kidnapped dwarf Gundren Rockseeker.

Storming into the bedchamber of the bugbear King Grol, they witnessed Cora sneakily stealing the Wave Echo Cave map from Gundren’s dead body and then fleeing. Unable to pursue, they were forced to fight King Grol and his bodyguards, including a hooded female assassin who had been sent by the Black Spider to negotiate the hostage transfer of Gundren Rockseeker.

In the bloody battle, Meera hacked off the right arm of the bugbear king, letting him bleed to death before he could give up any valuable information. His bodyguards were subsequently dispatched. The assassin woman, however, proved a far dangerous foe, as she disappeared in and out of the shadows, periodically materializing to sink her blade deep into a hero’s back. She nearly eliminated the party but was eventually forced to retreat and make her final stand in a different section of the castle.

Spinning around, the hooded woman hissed at Pepper, who put her hand out defensively. The assassin’s hands moved to her hooded cloak, throwing it open and off in a single swift motion. She wore nothing beneath but cloth rags that served as undergarments, revealing a lithe, tattooed and androgenous body.

“You’ll never take me alive!” she spit out the words venomously. As she spoke, her body began to morph into a gray-skinned doppelganger, revealing the creature’s true form.

Pepper gulped. Her hand fumbled to her whip, preparing to lash out. She was then joined by Meera, Halyna, and Zubeda, who rushed into the room. All four women struck the doppelganger and nearly ended its life right there, until Zubeda forced herself onto the creature and wrestled it to submission. They tied it up with rope as it still struggled to free itself.

Zubeda revealed her brutal interrogation tactics as she struck the hilt of one of her blades into the doppelganger’s face, breaking its nose. “The Black Spider,” the paladin growled through gritted teeth, “Where is he?”

The doppelganger laughed while blood streamed down its face, “I have no idea… I have no fucking idea.”

Zubeda grabbed an ear and slowly sliced it off. Her actions seemed methodical and calculated, as though she had done this many times before. “Talk, or your genitalia follows….” To prove her point she reached with her gloved hand and squeezed down firmly on the doppelganger’s humanoid male testicles. The doppelganger screamed in agony as holy fire from the paladin’s hand seared deep into its tissue.

Finally, it stopped screaming and relented, “I’ll tell you! But I can only take you to where I send messages. I’ve never met the Black Spider in person. It’s a day’s journey deeper into Neverwinter Woods. I’ll take you there and send a message.”

The elven paladin stared at the doppelganger’s face, trying to determine whether it was telling the truth. She stormed off into the north hallway after a moment, sheathing her scimitars on her back.

Halyna stepped forward, daintily removing one of her gloves and caressing the doppelganger’s bloody face. “Give me a few minutes with our friend… alone,” she purred without smiling. The others departed to join Zubeda and scour the bugbear king’s bedchambers for treasure.

After ten minutes, Halyna returned with the doppelganger in tow, its head hung in deep shame and urine dribbling down its leg. MJ recoiled in horror, recalling the trauma he had been subjected to as a prisoner of Glasstaff the wizard, “What did you do to him?” he demanded.

Halyna shrugged indifferently, “We had a talk, and he will now comply.”

Pepper’s familiar Walter poked his head out of a pocket and spoke telepathically to his master, “That one is broken, she did something to its spirit… something evil.” Pepper nodded in agreement, shoving her weasel friend back inside her pocket.

Meera broke the silence, waving her hands in panic. “I do not know nor do I care about this Black Spider! I must find the halfling and stop the world from ending!”

Pepper sighed and rolled her eyes, “Right… I only just almost died at the hands of a shape-shifting assassin, how could I forget Chicken Little’s prophecies.”

Zubeda crossed her arms impatiently, “My orders are to investigate the Black Spider. I will not veer from my mission to chase after a fool’s quest. I will take the doppelganger to where it speaks of.”

Halyna clenched her fist, “Count me in.”

MJ looked at them, then at Meera and Pepper. He sighed, “It’s a tough decision, but this seems more important. Plus, I want to know what happened to Cora also. I’ll go with you, but I think we should first return to Phandalin to get a few things and ask around for any info. We need to update Sildar on what’s happened also! I’m shivering! Somebody please hold me!”

Pepper ran and threw her arms around the tiefling, “Rest! Food! Wine! Best thing I’ve heard all day!”

The party went separate ways then, one half heading north deeper into Neverwinter Wood with the doppelganger, the other heading south and returning to Phandalin. There was a pervasive feeling that they would not see each other again.

Wanted!

MJ, Meera, and Pepper trekked from Neverwinter Wood to the town of Phandalin, disheartened that Cora had slipped away so easily from them, with the only known map showing the location of the Wave Echo Cave. Meera was still certain that her ancestors spoke to her in her dreams, prophesying the coming of a terrible world destruction. She was convinced that the halfling thief was the key to preventing that future from happening.

Upon returning to Phandalin, they took up temporary residence at the Stonehill Inn. The innkeep Toblen Stonehill welcomed the tiefling MJ back with a flagon of amber ale on the house, and respectfully greeted the foreign barbarian and her gnome partner. As they sat at the bar drinking quietly, they noticed there was something unusual in the way the locals eyed them. MJ had never felt so… suspect.

Pepper Piper, in her usual optimistic manner, commented on the quaint look of this rustic mining town, “It’s just so cute! Everything is so country chic — Neverwinter City just seems dirty compared to out here.” Her magical familiar, Walter, who was a fey spirit adopting a weasel form, sat next to her at the bar nibbling on some walnuts that the kind innkeeper left for him. He too was in a good mood, thankful to be away from the dangers of the road.

Meera sat with them swigging a bottle of hard alcohol. She seemed impatient, flipping her glaive from hand to hand. She also was completely unaware of the glances the townspeople shot them, as she frowned and wondered how on earth she was going to find that sneaky halfling.

Her thoughts were interrupted as the front door to the inn swung open and in entered an overweight human man wearing fine silks. It was the townmaster Harben Wester, who was flanked on either side by two armed guardsmen. They approached the party as the entire tavern went silent.

Harben sneered at the group and removed a scroll of parchment from his waist pouch. Several jeweled rings adorned his sausage fingers. He cleared his throat and attempted to read authoritatively, “By the power vested in me by the people of the township of Phandalin, as townmaster, I hereby place you three under arrest.”

MJ stood up quickly, clenching his fists and brushed his shoulders, “For what?” he demanded, his falsetto voice rising.

Harben smiled, “For false testimony and slander against the Redbrands. I have released the prisoner who stood falsely accused after determining there is insufficient evidence to try him. You three, on the other hand, have been accused of fomenting dissent and creating havoc in the nearby environs.” There was a slight lilt to his voice, which MJ had not noticed before.

Before Meera could raise her glaive and skewer this pompous man, Pepper interjected by putting both arms up in surrender and yelling, “Guilty as charged, good and respectable Townmaster Sir! Instead of jail time, can we pay a fine? Maybe you would look favorably on some coin.”

Harben Wester was a greedy man. The only thing he loved more than food was gold. “Yes, I believe that would be a satisfactory compensation for the crime. The fee is 200 gold for each of you.”

Pepper frowned, “You drive a very hard bargain. Because you are such a respected figure, how is 300 gold per person?”

Harben smiled, pleased at this unexpected turn of events. He had believed this would be much harder. “900 gold for all three? Yes, I will accept that.”

“Done!” Pepper triumphantly exclaimed, producing a pouch of coins that she tossed onto the bar counter, scattering gold pieces everywhere. Harben’s guards quickly scooped up the coins and counted them.

Satisfied, the fat man wiped his brow and bid them farewell but warned them he would not be so merciful in the future. He departed with his deputies, grinning at his fortunes.

Meera looked at Pepper with confusion, “Where did the money come from?”

Pepper picked up a walnut from the bar counter and tossed it into the air, trying to deftly catch it in her mouth. It bounced off her eye, momentarily blinding her as she laughed and cried simultaneously, “The fat idiot never noticed me stealing his own money. I really impress myself sometimes!” A magical white gloved hand materialized in front of her and made a thumbs up sign before disappearing again.

MJ spun and moonwalked around the gnome, “Just beat it!”

A New Party Forms

Halyna Belacqua’s heart raced as she ran through dense trees somewhere deep within Neverwinter Wood, branches scratching her skin that was exposed between her torn clothing. She ran for miles, finally spotting bright lights ahead in the distance from a small tavern that existed for travelers and woodsmen.

Exhausted, she stopped before entering and quickly cast a magical spell to make herself more presentable. When she was satisfied with her altered appearance, she entered.

The interior was dark and seedy and only a few clients remained, nursing their drinks into the late hours of the night. The heavy smell of tobacco filled the air like a dense fog. A few customers glanced at the bard but no one cared, much less recognize her. Halyna chose an empty seat at the bar and moved to it, pulling out a small pouch of coins and dropping it on the counter for the wiry gnome that was pouring drinks.

“Ale,” she muttered without looking at the barman. A tall dirty glass of brown foamy liquid was slid toward her as the gnome collected a few coppers from Halyna’s pouch. Her throat was parched but she could barely keep more than a few drops of the foul tasting fluid down. It tasted like horse piss.

A cloaked slender figure sitting on a stool next to Halyna looked up from his glass and smiled shyly at the half-elf. Under his hood, Halyna could make out dark red skin and black beady eyes that stared at her with awe. A fine pine shortbow was strapped to his back and she could make out two ridges around his shoulder blades. The cloak does a decent job of hiding his wings, she thought to herself.

“You’re staring,” she simply stated as the tiefling quickly averted his gaze, embarrassed.

“Sorry–sorry! I just wasn’t expecting to see someone like you in this place,” he tripped over his words.

Halyna paused to consider the situation. The boy seemed unusually out of place in this tavern in the middle of the woods, but tieflings usually are out of place anywhere. She determined he might be useful for what she needed to do. A half-smile appeared at the corner of her mouth as she leaned into him, “Boy, have you ever been with a woman?”

Malvius, for that was his name, was dumbstruck. He shook his head, “I’ve never even kissed a wo–” his eyes widened as Halyna pressed her face into his. Her lips migrated to his neck and he felt a strange new sensation in his nether regions.

The gnome barkeep chuckled and took a few more coins from Halyna’s coin pouch. “Got a room you can use right down the hall. Don’t make a mess.”

Halyna led the young rogue by his hand into the guestroom and closed the door. An hour passed before the door opened again and she walked out half-naked and donning his cloak. Malvius followed, completely under her spell.

“You will be my protector,” the bard whispered to him.

“Yes, mistress,” the tiefling responded.

As she stopped at the bar to retrieve her coin purse, Halyna handed a folded piece of parchment to the barkeep, “See that this gets delivered to Lana Maleficia in Neverwinter.”

The pair left the tavern behind in the distance, traveling south. Halyna had important business with an elf in Phandalin.

A Bittersweet Reunion

Victor Stonecrusher made the lonely journey back to Phandalin after unsuccessfully searching for Tyris Flare, the half-orc woman who had gone missing in the abandoned town of Conyberry. He had searched for a full two days without any sign of the barbarian. He then tracked the trail that his teammates had left for him to Cragmaw Castle, only to find it abandoned after King Grol and his minions had been slaughtered. Thankful for their victory, Victor followed the tracks south to Phandalin. He then found MJ along with two strangers eating breakfast in the Stonehill Inn.

“Ye’re a sight fer sore eyes!” the dwarf, weary from his long journey, exclaimed when he spotted the tiefling in his signature bowler hat and sequined outfit. MJ nearly fell out of his chair hearing Victor’s booming voice.

Victor ran up to the sorcerer and embraced him as only dwarves can. He was a whole foot shorter than the tiefling but thrice his girth so that the slender tiefling felt as if he were being hugged by a tree trunk.

“Victor!” he was barely able to squeak, gasping for breath.

Meera burped up her morning eye-opener with disinterest while Pepper’s familiar Walter poked his head out of his pocket to see what was causing the commotion. Meanwhile, Pepper’s magic hand was invisibly reaching into the dwarf’s pack to find something worthwhile to steal.

Victor released MJ after an extra squeeze and a pat, and then turned to greet the other two.

“Victor Stonecrusher,” he bowed respectfully, taking Pepper’s hand and nodding to Meera when she refused to give hers.

“I’m Pepper Piper and this is my charge Meera Al’zakarun,” the arcane trickster offered. The barbarian grunted.

“Where are the others?” Victor asked, looking for Zubeda, Halyna, and Cora. MJ signed deeply and then spoke, “We have a lot to talk about, sweetie.”

Victor frowned, “Aye, as do I….”

———-

Several hours later, the foursome departed the inn to report back to Sildar Hallwinter. He was their contact from the Lord’s Alliance who had tasked them to find both the missing dwarf Gundren Rockseeker and the Lord’s Alliance wizard Iarno Albrek. They had succeeded in both, only not in ways they had foreseen. One was now dead and the other escaped, a fugitive.

The elderly soldier was back to full health after a slow recovery from his captivity in the goblin cave. He looked up from the paperwork he was reviewing when the four heroes entered his temporary office. They quickly debriefed him and his optimistic smile gradually turned into a troubled furrow.

“This is terrible news,” Sildar fumed as he gathered up the papers on his desk. “I must return to Neverwinter immediately. My superiors will want to know of Iarno’s treachery and release a bounty for his head. Who knows what state secrets he may already have sold to dangerous parties?”

As he released the party from his office, Sildar mentioned one final piece of information, “I have not been able to discern the secret location of the Wave Echo Cave, but I have gathered intelligence on a dwarf who claims to know where a map can be found. He wants something in return, but you should discuss it with him. He is staying at Daran Edermath’s cottage.”

Victor rubbed his temples as the party left Sildar’s office, “If only we could get to where we need to go in one step… is that too much to ask fer?”

Introduction to Lana

Lana Maleficia was having a bad day. She didn’t know it, but it was about to get worse.

The halfling criminal she had been pursuing all week was finally in her grasp, paralyzed by her Hold Person spell. Rather than divulge who he was working for, the stupid halfling swore he’d rather die than talk. Suit yourself, Lana thought as she sank her greatsword through his chest, its magical energies consuming his life force until he was an empty shell. She flung the lifeless corpse off her blade into the alleyway. “Let the dogs have you then,” she muttered, returning the giant blade to her back as it magically shrunk to fit her curvaceous frame.

Lana removed a small pipe from her belt pouch and filled it with dried marjunam weed. She lit it with a spark from her fingers and slowly puffed on the pipe, slowly relaxing as the smoke filled her lungs and the weed’s effects took hold of her mind. She looked at her empty coin purse and wrinkled her nose. The halfling contract would have paid her handsomely, but now she had nothing to show for it and no gold to be earned in the near future. She would have to find a place on the streets to sleep until another contract turned up.

As she stood there wondering about her misfortunes, a clockwork hummingbird flew down into the empty thoroughfare and hovered just within arm’s reach from Lana’s face. It bore a small rolled up scroll in its metal beak. Lana carefully reached out and took the scroll. As she did, the mechanical flying bird whirred rapidly and flew away. Gnomes and their ridiculous toys, she scoffed to herself as she unrolled the scroll.

The handwriting was delicate but the words deliberate. She instantly recognized Halyna Belacqua’s penmanship. The secretive bard was finally calling in a favor from ages ago. Lana had nearly forgotten about that incident in the dwarven brothel. She sighed, “Another job without pay,” and puffed a large cloud of smoke out of her mouth.

The smoke swirled in the air and then coalesced into writing, one that only the half-drow warlock understood. It was how the Raven Queen, the source of all her powers, communicated to her. Lana’s eyes darted back and forth as her pupils dilated. She knew then she had no other choice but to follow the summons and accept her new mark. Kill or be killed, was her mantra. As she disappeared into the shadows of the alleyways to leave the city of Neverwinter, she had an uneasy feeling this mission might be her last.

In the Company of Thieves

Under a full moon, Lana Maleficia emerged from a copse of trees and walked into a small clearing in Neverwinter Woods. In the center of the clearing stood a half-elven woman wearing lavish silks over a leather doublet, and an ornately carved lute strapped to her back. An ancient crossbow hung from one hip while a rapier rested at the other. She was accompanied by a slender, cloaked tiefling carrying a simple shortbow. He eyed Lana warily and furtively glanced around for hidden threats.

“Halyna Belacqua,” the half-drow hexblade warlock hissed as she approached the pair. “I have answered your summons. What do you require of me?”

The bard cocked her head to the side, never smiling, “It is a pleasure to see you again, Lana. What has it been… three years?” Her fingers rubbed against each other, anticipating a fight.

“I don’t care for your pleasantries, exorcist.” Lana glanced at the tiefling, “Why is that one here?”

Halyna gestured toward her companion, “This is Malvius. He is a capable scout… and my protector.”

Lana huffed, “Since when do you need protection?”

The half-elven bard shrugged, “Times have changed, my friend. We live in an uncertain world. Shall we get to business?”

Lana folded her arms across her chest, “I’m waiting.”

Halyna unstrapped her lute and began to strum it gently, a melancholy melody that recounted a memory of lost love and betrayal. “Listen to my tale,” she sang, “and know why I brought you here….”

——-

When the bard concluded her story, Lana unconsciously wiped a tear from her eye, for such was the power of the song that it softened even her stone heart. “Your companions killed your lover… and you would have followed when they deceived you too. Now you want revenge on them?”

Halyna shook her head, “Only on the paladin. The others are simply unwitting pawns. If we cross paths, we can eliminate them. But they are not our target.”

Lana’s eyes narrowed as her brow furrowed, “And you have no lead on where this paladin is? The last time I tracked one, the stench of their self-righteousness led me straight to them.”

Halyna wrinkled her nose in distaste, “This one is no different, but she left me for dead and disappeared with the doppelganger. I barely escaped with my life. She is extremely dangerous, and it will require our coordinated efforts to deal with her. The only clue I have is the mysterious tree. And the twig blight creatures. It reeks of nature magic. I suspect she is in league with another elf, one who serves Sylvanus, the god of the wilds. This priestess lives in a mill outside of the town of Phandalin.”

Lana smiled dangerously, “Then let’s go find this elf bitch.”

Help

Tyris Flare slowly opened her eyes. Her vision was hazy but she realized she was lying flat on a table staring at a cavern ceiling. Dim candlelight barely illuminated the stalactites hanging from the ceiling and she could hear the occasional drip drip of water echoing in the chamber.

Her hands were bound to the table with chains and she couldn’t feel her legs at all. A gnawing pain erupted from her mid-section. She tried to lift her head to see what was causing the pain but she felt unnaturally weak and dizzy.

Fighting back the haze that clouded her vision, she realized with horror that her abdomen had been fileted open to either side and her entrails lay exposed, slowly oozing blood. She tried to scream but her voice was hoarse and her tongue was gone. Her barbarian rage began to bubble up but even that energy quickly abated as a searing pain shot through her left arm.

A humanoid figure wearing a heavy cloak and a bird mask removed a metal needle from her arm, dripping a milky white liquid from a spent syringe. Tyris slurred at her assailant, “Wha u wan from me?”

The cloaked person set down the syringe and picked up another tool from a nearby stand. It looked like a hooked knife. Without a word, he reached into the half-orcs’s exposed intestines and cut out a three inch section. Tyris grit her teeth as a wave of pain and nausea overwhelmed her.

Gloved hands grabbed her jaw and pried it opened. Tyris felt the excised section of her intestine being shoved into her mouth, warm and rubbery. The taste of her own blood and fecal contents made her gag but she was forced to swallow it.

That was the last thing she remembered as the haze enveloped her mind once again and she fell into unconsciousness.

An Unforeseen Twist

Selene Va’niar made her way through the forest trail with ease. It was dimly lit by just a few stars in the cloudy night sky but the priestess had the ability to see in the dark, gifted by her elven blood. Not only that, but the path was one she took nearly every night to return to her home on Umbrage Hill, after collecting herbs and other components for her medicinal salves and potions. This night was like any other and she found herself lost in thought as she walked the quiet path alone.

As she climbed the gentle hill trail that led to her front door, she heard a rustle of branches behind her. She stopped in her tracks and closed her eyes, taking a long slow breath. “Sylvanus, protect me,” she whispered, rubbing the holy wooden amulet of her deity that hung from her neck.

When she opened her eyes, she found herself facing the end of a crossbow bolt that was held inches from her throat. The half-elven woman blocking her way stared at her with a stone-faced expression. Selene recognized her as the bard whose party she had assisted when they had lost a member to a creature’s magical attack.

“I am sorry, but it is late,” she began sternly, trying not to show fear. “If you are here for my services you will need to return in the morning.”

The crossbow did not move. The half-elf continued to stare at her, as if looking deep into her soul. Selene felt a chill run down her spine.

“What do you want?” the priestess finally asked.

Halyna’s eyes narrowed, “I want information. You will give it to me, or this crossbow bolt will find your throat and there is nothing your god will be able to do.”

Selene licked her lips. She sensed she was being watched by other eyes. “What do you need to know?”

“Where is the paladin Zubeda Tur? Are you harboring her?”

Selene paused, considering her answer carefully, “She was with you, and a veteran of an ancient and honorable Order… why would she need my protection? What has she done?”

“Don’t take me for a fool!” the bard hissed. “I know you and the paladin plotted to ambush me in Neverwinter Woods, at the cursed tree. There were twig-like abominations that moved like living dolls. Each carried a pig’s heart inside their chests that beat with unholy magic. It was obviously the work of your god Sylvanus.”

Selene looked puzzled, then laughed quietly. “That is not the way of the Lord of the Wild. Ignorant girl, you were beset by the evil magic of Talos, the god of storms and destruction. Talos and Sylvanus are locked in a battle for power over these lands. My God fights to protect the wilds from the encroachment of Talos’s corruption. Even now, he urges me to seek out the followers of Talos and banish them from this region.” She pursed her lips, “Although, why a Paladin of Vengeance would be mettling in these affairs….” she trailed off, looking at Halyna with suspicion.

The half-elf lowered her crossbow, stunned by this discovery. “I did not imagine it… did I?” she trailed off, then shook her head violently, blinking away tears of anger. “No matter! Where do I find these cultists of Talos? They will pay for what they did to me!”

Selene smiled, “Worry not, child. If it is blood you seek, then I will gladly show you the way. I do not know where the paladin is. But I will tell you where you may find the ones that worship the god of storms. Even as we speak, they are preparing for a ritual to summon Gorthok, an avatar of Talos. In order to stop the ritual, you must first journey to the Sword Coast, where you will find a lighthouse temple dedicated to Talos. Find the heart of the one they call Moesko, and destroy it. Then, you can find and destroy the cultists before they summon Gorthok at the Circle of Thunder. I will mark the locations on your map.”

Halyna removed a scroll from her pack and allowed the priestess to point out the areas she described. “If you are lying to me elf, you will have made a big mistake,” she spoke threateningly.

Selene looked up from her notations, “I know you travel with two companions. One watches me from high up in the trees. The other is inside my home, lying in wait. I have not been hostile to you in any way. I care not about the affairs of mortals. I merely serve the Lord of the Wilds, and if He chooses for my blood to spill and nourish his earth, then I give myself to that purpose freely.”

That seemed to satisfy Halyna. She whistled quietly and her companions emerged from the shadows, sneering at the elven woman. “We will use your home to rest for the night and leave in the morning,” Halyna announced.

Selene nodded curtly. “As you wish. My humble abode is yours’ to use. Sylvanus will provide.”

Azmodan Forgehammer

The heroes of Phandalin; Victor Stormcrusher, Michael Jackson, Meera Alzakarun, and Pepper Piper hastily made their way to the cottage beside the orchard that belonged to its namesake Daran Edermath. Before he left town for Neverwinter City, the Lord’s Alliance agent Sildar Hallwinter had given them a hint that a stranger visiting the old elf might know of the location to a map that would lead to the secret Wave Echo Cave… and to the halfling thief Cora Quickfingers.

Daran Edermath welcomed them into his home with his customary pleasant demeanor. They noticed his left arm was held in a makeshift sling, which he sheepishly explained was due to an injury falling out of one of his apple trees. He ushered them into his living area and introduced them to his guest.

“Friends, I want you to meet Azmodan Forgehammer.”

He was duergar, a deep dwarf, with dark skin and sallow eyes accustomed to the subterranean world. Suited in flame red and gold accented plate mail, he stood proudly with holy righteousness. An emblem on his breastplate indicated his loyalty to Moradin, the Dwarf God of Creation. His black beard and long hair was braided and adorned with filligreed precious metals. He grinned broadly and spoke in a booming thick foreign accent, “The pleasure is all mine!”

Azmodan described his purpose for being here was to re-open Axeholm, a dwarven fortress carved into the base of a mountain fifteen miles south of Phandalin. The site was abandoned and sealed up many years ago after being haunted by a banshee — the restless spirit of a moon elf ambassador named Vyldara who tried and failed to foment civil unrest among the dwarves. The dwarves imprisoned the elf and sent messages to her people, asking that they come to collect her. Before envoys could be sent, Vyldara killed two guards trying to escape, only to be cut down by dwarven axes before she could succeed. When the elf’s evil spirit started filling Axeholm’s halls with deathly wails, the dwarves abandoned their stronghold, but not before several dwarves slain by the banshee arose as ghouls to feed on their kin. Ghouls and other creatures now prowled Axeholm, while the banshee continued to haunt the fortress’s upper halls.

“Alas!” Azmodan lamented, “Even with the divine aid of Moradin, I alone cannot free Axeholm of Vyldara’s presence. A wyvern guards the entrance, and I am nearly blind in the daylight when it normally hunts. I require the assistance of brave adventurers to help me slay this guardian. But first, we must travel to the burial site of Lady Tanamere Alagondar, who fought and slayed an ancient green dragon many years ago. She is buried next to her dragon slayer longsword, which if we can retrieve it should make easy hunting of our wyvern prey.”

He continued, “I understand you seek the location of the lost Wave Echo Cave. I have heard of its riches, but I do not know where to find it. Many have lost their lives seeking it. From my research, I believe a map may be buried somewhere in Axeholm. Besides Lady Alagondar’s sword, any other treasure we find will be yours to keep. Please, I beseech you… will you help me in my holy quest?”

The heroes smiled as they glanced at each other. Perhaps this would lead to Cora, the Black Spider, and with luck finally some answers. At the very least the promise of treasure awaited!

Meera’s Vision

Meera Al’zakarun woke in the middle of the night, sweating and panting. Her hands shook. The dream her ancestors had shown her was still vividly etched in her mind.

In it, she had seen the halfling Cora Quickfingers silently stalk a giant black widow spider who was weaving a web made of blood stained silks. Just as she was about to sink her sword into the fleshy exposed belly of the spider, the halfling suddenly spun around as if she could see Meera’s dream spirit. Her eyes flashed with green fire for an instant, then she withdrew sneakily, putting a finger up to her lips as she backed away. With a giggle, she disappeared into the shadows of the dream.

Then, Meera felt an overwhelming presence as her spirit began to suffocate. The spider screeched in agony and turned over, dead, its legs curling into its body. A shadow eclipsed its corpse and loomed over Meera. She couldn’t breathe. She couldn’t move. She couldn’t even scream.

The Tomb of Lady Alagondar

At daybreak, the Phandalin heroes traveled northwest with Azmodan Forgehammer to search for the Dragon Barrow. They moved along the High Road as cold winds and rain from the Sword Coast made their journey less than comfortable. Azmodan was a quiet companion, mostly keeping to himself with prayers to his deity.

On the morning of the second day, the travelers encountered the silver dragon again as it flew overhead, close enough for them to see it was still injured in the left wing. Azmodan thanked Moradin for the opportunity to witness such a beautiful creature.

Arriving to the hilltop burial site of the dragonslayer Lady Tanamere Alagondar, they encountered a colossal hill giant at the top of the hill, attempting to topple a series of stone pillars that had been erected to resemble the spines of a dragon’s back. The adventurers cautiously approached the giant.

Meera, who spoke the giant tongue, hailed the creature and attempted to convince him that they were friendly. They offered their rations when it asked for food, but when they threw the rations down the hillside, the dimwitted giant viewed it as an act of aggression and swung its tree-trunk giant club at them!

The heroes were able to kill the giant without any casualties, although Meera learned to appreciate the sting of a giant club swung by an angry giant! The killing blow was delivered by the arcane trickster Pepper, who crept up behind the giant and leaped onto its back. She nimbly climbed up and plunged her dagger between his shoulder blades, burying it into his heart. Fortunately, the heroes had been able to convince the giant before they killed him to topple over the stone that covered the hidden entrance to the catacombs.

As they descended the winding staircase into the dark tomb, Victor noticed a flashing floating light in a tunnel leading south. MJ followed the light and tried to catch it, but it was a will-o-wisp which had lured him straight into a pit trap! As the sorcerer fell into the rusty swords that lay below, the will-o-wisp followed after him, trying to consume his life force.

Victor was able to save MJ from the tiny floating being, but not before the wisp attacked him in return. It flew straight at the dwarf and magically entered into his body, taking his life. The dwarf crumpled to the ground in a heap as the wisp ate his spirit.

There was nothing the others could do. Meera ferociously attacked the wisp with her torch flame, not caring if it burned Victor’s body. But then, their cleric companion Azmodan reached out with a holy hand and spoke a prayer. The divine will of the dwarven god of creation returned Victor’s spirit to his body and he breathed life once more.

The wisp retreated and vanished into thin air, perhaps frightened by the divine magic. It did not return, and the party took this opportunity to rest before they moved further into the tunnels. They discovered the skeletal remains of Lady Alagondar’s war horse, which magically reanimated. Meera the barbarian possessed an affinity for animals and was able to convince the undead horse to lead her to its old master’s burial site. The horse brought the party to another tunnel, where two sarcophagi rested, one containing the bones of Tanamere Alagondar, the other her squire’s.

In the chamber due north, the heroes found the bones of the ancient green dragon Azdraka, who had been slain by Alagondar and her companions. Lying on top of the dragon’s skull was the Dragon Slayer longsword. Eagerly, Meera grabbed it but she was suddenly beset by the sword’s guardian, an invisible stalker. Although it remained invisible, the party was able to chip away at its health until it finally succumbed and returned to its native plane of existence. Satisfied, Azmodan urged the heroes to return to town so as to continue the next part of their quest. However, the party wanted to continue to raid the tomb to find more treasure.

After a series of misfortunes with trapped sarcophagi, Pepper sent her familiar Walter the weasel into a narrow tunnel to explore. Then disaster struck. The weasel stepped onto a trip plate deep inside the tunnel, which triggered a cave in. Nothing could save the poor creature, as it suffocated to death, its last telepathic message to its gnome master was it squealing, “I told you!”

Although Pepper was devastated, she continued on with her companions as they searched the remaining tunnel. There they found the sarcophagi of the four associates of Lady Alagondar. They found a magical lute of illusions and a necklace of fireballs, which they gave to Pepper out of pity. With the tomb picked completely clean, the heroes departed and made the two day journey back to Phandalin.

The Tower of Storms

As the sun rose, Halyna gathered her new allies to meet outside of Selene’s home. The elven priestess was not there to bid them farewell. In the chill morning air, Lana puffed on her marjunum pipe to both warm her body as well as relax the growing sense of anxiety she was feeling about this job.

With a solemn expression, Halyna brought out her lute and began to sing, a paen to give them all courage and good fortune:

We’re not in love We share no stories Just something in your eyes Don’t be afraid The shadows know me Let’s leave the world behind

Take me through the night Fall into the dark side We don’t need the light We’ll live on the dark side I see it, let’s feel it While we’re still young and fearless Let go of the light Fall into the dark side Fall into the dark side Give into the dark side Let go of the light Fall into the dark side

When she finished her song, the party’s members felt a fiery energy swirl in their spirits, as the bard’s magical words touched each individually. They departed Umbrage Hill and moved in a westwardly direction toward the Storm Coast and their destination, the Tower of Storms.

The journey was quiet, for none of them were apt to idle conversation. The cold autumn winds from the nearby coastline buffeted them as they walked. As they approached the high cliffs that overlooked the lighthouse Tower of Storms, a storm began to brew and a light rain descended.

Malvius took to the air, his bat-like wings carrying the small tiefling over the cliffs to scout ahead for threats. Looking down he could see a barren rocky coastline with a long stretch of dark