The Lost Mines of Phandelver (IC)

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jereni Aspenbough


Sniffing, Jereni thinks it's silly to place such a simple trap in the open without other nearby traps, but rather than explaining it she follows Lorben's suggestion and takes a close look at the obvious trap while seeking those she things may be more well hidden. If the central trap is easily sprung without alerting anyone, she will do so immediately. If not, she'll explain her findings and thoughts.

Spoiler: Poking around

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Survival (1d20+2)[16]

Man, it's been so long since I used the original Ranger (rather than Unearthed) I forgot how they have it set up. I get to double my Proficiency bonus in Forests. So 18 total.

[dojango]

Once you inspect the trap you can see it's a simple pit trap. A more sinister or less lazy trapper could put punji sticks in the bottom, but these goblins have not bothered with that step. The trap could work on game or it could work on enemies... if they are too careless. As you pause to inspect the trap, the fleeing goblin puts on a burst of speed and disappears around a bend, but you can hear it screeching in goblin...

[SCARY WIZARD]

Silenna nods at Lorban's need. "Consider it done. I'm no cleric, but I'm capable of healing more than your average village priest..." Silenna licks her lips, intones and gestures, and gently waves a hand toward the rogue. Once his flesh looks a little better, she adds, "Unless they're Ilmatari."

Once the trap has been reached, Silenna observes her companions. Carefully. It's like she's maybe trying to pick up on what they're doing, so that she can do it herself sometime. Her observations are paused when the goblin runs off, screeching his head off. She removes her sword from its sheath at her left hip, just in case it's needed... again.

Silenna - Half-Elven Bard

Spoiler: Out of Character

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Healing word for Lorban.

Healing Word (Lorban Lleguma): (1d4+3)[7]

[Ophiuchus]

Lorban Lleguma

Lorban winces as his wound magically closes. He nods at Silenna, " Impressive work".

His eyes suddenly widen at the sound of the goblin's voice. "I've no idea what they're saying. Do you think they're alerting the others? We should hide!"

Spoiler: Rolls

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Stealth: (1d20+5)[14]
Perception: (1d20+4)[5]

[Lentrax]

Her rage still boils. She is still on the edge of fury.

Vivanne watches the goblin jump over the trap. And she prepares herself to continue chasing it.

We cannot let it get away. It will bring its tribe down on us.

[dojango]

Silenna sings her magic to restore Lorban's wounds; cuts and bruises fade away under her song. As she does that, Vivianne leaps past the pit trap and prepares to charge down the trail after the fleeing goblin.

Spoiler: Vivianne

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A successful athletics check will let you catch up to the goblin and cut him down before he can reach safety.

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jereni Aspenbough


Having sprung the rather pathetic trap and seeing no other danger, Jereni rubs her ribs, wondering if maybe she'd been hit a little harder than she first thought, and how they were going to wring the dwarf's location from the goblin when the large, angry woman raced by...

[SCARY WIZARD]

Silenna sees Jereni rubbing her ribs. "I've enough in me for one more healing spell for the time being..." Once again, the bard sings a healing spell and makes a gesture at the ranger. She seems confident enough in her ability to heal her companions, but makes a mental note to perhaps invest in a healer's kit... and healing potions.

Silenna - Half-Elven Bard

Spoiler: Out of Character

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Healing Word (Jereni): (1d4+3)[5]

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jereni Aspenbough

Surprised when the pain lessens, Jereni blinks and thanks Silenna. "I'm not sure how you did that, but let's hope the goblins don't test us further." She watches the others worriedly as it seems inevitable.

[dojango]

Vivianne leaps down the trail after the fleeing goblin and puts on a burst of speed that the smaller creature cannot hope to match. With a quick thrust to the fleeing goblin's back it is over. The body rolls down a small slope and comes to rest in a small creek. The trail turns to follow the creek going north, deeper into the woods. Vivianne returns to the others a few minutes away as Silenna finishes singing away the other's wounds.

Spoiler

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With the last goblin dead, you can take a short rest, or continue to head down the trail, or do whatever next.

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jereni Aspenbough


No longer in a rush, tosses some thoughts to the others as she begins a more thorough search of the grounds, up to where Vivienne killed the goblin. Traps are one thing, she is now focusing on reading signs of passage; number and types, specifically if somebody heavier (dwarflike) or carrying a (dwarflike) burden passed by recently. She also examined the animals' wounds and if they were simply killed with the goblin weapons we see at hand. "Much as I'd like to be on our way with the goblins dead, our employer and my business partner is missing, and we have to presume somebody unpleasant's got him."

If any of you are skilled or willing, she asks for assistance.

Depending on what she learns, she may suggest they keep going up the trail...

Spoiler: Searching

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Survival (1d20+4)[19]
if she's got help for advantage (1d20+4)[11]

[SCARY WIZARD]

Silenna aids Jereni in her tracking endeavors. To this end she just kind of keeps an eye out for any noticeable depressions in the dirt, or like, nearby disturbances -- things an adventuring musician and stunted linguist might know to look for.

Silenna - Half-Elven Bard

Spoiler: Out of Character

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Not referencing Highlander in-character. Nope.

Helping Jereni. Ifff you need a roll from me...
Wisdom: (1d20-1)[4]
Silenna ain't trained in any of the lookie-loo skills, but here ya go.

[Ophiuchus]

Lorban Lleguma

"I wonder if Phandalin would pay us bounties for their heads...In any case, there's no reason to let their weapons and armor go to waste."

Lorban walks to the corpse in the creek and begins to collect any intact equipment the goblin had been carrying. While doing this he will be searching any pockets and folds for notes or other sources of information about the goblin bandits.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Investigation: (1d20+4)[24]

[dojango]

Set a thief to catch a thief as the saying goes. Lorban picks over the ambush site and can see in his mind's eye how the goblins must have shot the horses first and then fell upon the riders as they struggled to free themselves. The horses have been dead for about a day. The saddlebags have been completely emptied and thrown aside, as has a small scroll case which Lorban finds buried in the muck. Lorban throws the goblin's weapons into the back of the wagon. The swords and bows are badly made and crude, but perhaps someone will pay scrap value for them. While searching the goblins he finds that one of them has a crumpled piece of paper that has a crude drawing of a dwarf and a human warrior with a note that says "DONT KILL OR EAT". Another of the goblins has a gold piece hidden away in his boot, the sly dog. Finally, one the goblins was carrying a sack. Now this, in and of itself is not unusual, and the sack is filled with the usual "treasures" and trash that only a goblin could find useful, but the sack has a patch with a blue lion emblem stitched into it. Lorban recognizes this as the symbol of the "Lionshield Coster" a small merchant's guild that has a trading post in Phandalin.

Jereni and Silenna (OK, mostly Jereni) study the tracks along the trail. She finds a clear spot and estimates that there were at least four goblins and two different sets of heavier and larger footprints with them, heading north along the trail. The tracks are about a day old. She also finds a crude snare trap along the trail, closer to the road. Jereni can tell the horses were shot with arrows similar to the ones she finds in the quivers of the goblin archers; goblin made arrows tend to be shorter and have black-dyed fletching.

[SCARY WIZARD]

Silenna attempts to make an... uneducated guess... regarding the heavier of the footsteps that she sees.

Silenna - Half-Elven Bard

Spoiler: Out of Character

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Feel like this'd be a Nature roll, here...

Nature: (1d20+1)[2]

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jereni Aspenbough

Speaking with the others lightly, Jereni notes Silenna accidentally getting turned around and following Jereni's own footprints from earlier, and decides to relieve the older woman and get moving as the sun rolls on. Notifying Silenna with a touch on the shoulder, Jereni says to all, "The dwarf is likely up there, but I won't approach a camp without some idea of the numbers, layout, and defenses. I will go wide of the trail, staying in valleys, and seek a better view of what awaits us. Wait here - I move faster alone."

Jereni moves up the hillside and carefully around and into dips to avoid spotters, up and up to get a good look and then retrace her steps to the group, taking as long as an hour. After all, how likely is it that goblins have an hourly check-in with their base camp? And they certainly can't know when some random passerby will be traveling the road. She notes big rocks, trees with notable features, and the shape and number of peaks and ravines as she goes, so as to draw a map or describe the route and layout as well as other safe routes of egress from the presumed camp.

Spoiler: Scouting

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Survival (1d20+4)[18]
Stealth (1d20+4)[20]

[dojango]

Jereni scouts along the trail for the next hour or so. There are no further traps, and she finds that the trail follows the stream until it flows out of a cave. The footprints continue towards the cave. The cave entrance is screened by dense briar thickets, while the path follows the right bank of the stream and goes into the cave. As she watches the entrance of the cave for activity, she sees two goblins emerge from the cave, blinking and scowling at the bright light. They climb into the dense thickets on the east (right) side of the cave, there is the sounds of arguing in the gobin's harsh language, and then two other goblins emerge from the thicket and head into the cave. The goblins have hollowed out a little guard post in the thicket...

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jereni Aspenbough


(Assuming that's all?) Memorizing what she's seen and the best approaches and exits, Jereni returns and explains in detail what she observed, and then says, in very few words, the best course of action. "Somebody enters the glade or makes noise nearby to get attention - maybe light a fire or with a blinding light; some of you have magic - while somebody else, or everybody else, creeps above and around the scout post and attacks at that very moment."

She leans back and waits for everyone to agree.

[Ophiuchus]

Lorban Lleguma

"You say you saw two staffing the guard post? And you know of two more within the cave?"

He presents the crude bounty note he had discovered. "It appears that Gundren and Sildan are with them...and still alive. So what concerns me is a potential hostage situation.
If we choose to distract the guards...it should be something mundane. I don't want them deciding to alert the others."

[SCARY WIZARD]

"Well, if we use magic I could use another of my lesser wonders... I'm good at more than just nasty words. I could do anything from make them hear something to tweak a campfire. Can't really do a whole lot else with light, unfortunately." Silenna refers, of course, to her prestidigitative powers in addition to her ability to actually hurt someone with words. "But, if the vote falls to mundane measures, I can earn my share with that as well. Maybe bellow something in orcish... or elvish."

Silenna - Half-Elven Bard

Spoiler: Out of Character

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Bragging.

[Lentrax]

Vivianne walks down the road toward the camp, a piece of rag tied over the wound in her arm. When they get near the camp, she stops and waits for the others. When they gather around, she speaks.

Gonna rush in. Don't think anything would distract them enough. We don't know enough about them to try that. So we just go in and kill them all.

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jereni Aspenbough


Jereni thinks this is foolish, but if the woman is intent on absorbing arrows one by one, it's her life. She sets the butt of her weapon in the dirt and waves up the hill. You first. She looks at the others, wondering if they were going to go along with Vivienne's rash idea, but unwilling to let anyone die if she can prevent it. Her vague, businesslike loyalty to the dwarf counts in that as well.

[Ophiuchus]

Lorban Lleguma

"If the plan is to brazenly rush in to a location we've never been, with no knowledge of the enemies' numbers or capabilities...or where they're holding Gundren and Sildan, then I am going to take the oxen the rest of the way to Phandalin. The people there will want to know about the raids along the trail. And I shall convince them to assemble a rescue party." He holds up the bounty note again, then ponders it for a moment. "It is interesting that these goblins had specific instructions regarding whom not to eat. I suppose it leaves no question about whom we can hope to rescue."

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jereni Appenbough


Having come from a small, tightly-knit tribe of nomads whose experience with towns was limited to a brief annual stop in a village such as Icewind Dale, this was something of a new thought to Jereni. Relying on strangers - city folk - to come to your aid in times of danger? It was unheard of, and her mother and father would have decried it as utter folly.

She wondered at Lorban's idea. Just ... go and ask for help? And expect them to do so without scheming or betraying us somehow? City folk don't care what happens in the wilds, but maybe they consider Gundren important enough to rally around. It was an alien concept, but her family had always lived by the idea of being stronger together, so maybe those city folk would come to him even if they would not come for herself.

Given everything ... it made her angry. Very angry. She found herself willing to toss caution aside and join Vivienne in slaughter. She takes a deep breath and says in Illuskan, "Vær rolig før stormen og hold dine støvler tørre."

After a pregnant pause she says, "I'm with Lorban."

[SCARY WIZARD]

Silenna initially looks to Lorban and Jereni with an expression that reads that she is strongly against suicide runs. Then, Lorban speaks very sensibly. "I'm with him. They deserve to know, and we can always give a hand with rescue parties... and then start swinging. The more people there are against an unknown number of goblins who seem to have someone stronger behind them, the better everyone's chances of survival."

Silenna - Half-Elven Bard

Spoiler: Out of Character

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Resolution.

[dojango]

After carefully observing the cave's mouth for some time, you can hear some snarls and growls coming from inside. Wolves. Goblin wolves. Caution seems the better strategy now, and the party retreats back down the path towards where the wagon is. You've been hired to get these supplies to town and that's what you'll do now. Getting the wagon moving, it takes most of the rest of the day to get to the cutoff that leads to Phandalin. The rutted track emerges from a wooded hillside and Phandalin comes into view. The town consists of forty or fifty simple buildings, some built on old fieldstone fortifications. More old ruins - crumbling stone walls covered in ivy and briars - surround the newer houses and shops, showing how this must have been a much larger town in centuries past. Most of the newer buildings are set on the sides of the cart track, which widens into a muddy main street of sorts as it climbs toward a ruined manor house on a hillside at the east side of town.

As you approach, children are playing on the town green and townsfolk are tending to chores or running errands at shops. Many people look up as you approach, but all return to their business as you go by. The building immediately to your left, Lorban recognizes as 'Barthen's Provisions'; Elmar Barthen had asked Lorban to help deliver the supplies a week or so ago, it is to him the supplies are to be delivered.

Spoiler: Lorban

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In your backstory you said you were staying at the inn in Phandalin, so you are vaguely familiar with the denizens of this fair town. You had been working for the townmaster, an old banker named Harbin Wester; you considered him to be a fat pompous fool, an opinion widely shared amongst the townsfolk. You doubt he will be of any assistance, but he is technically in charge of the village.

[Gorgon_Heap]

Jereni Aspenbough


Unsurprisingly, Jereni found Phandalin somewhat familiar. She smelled the fresh bread in the air and watched the children play with a smile on her face. She speaks to nobody in particular as you stroll up the road, sounding somewhat wistful. "I think I like these southern villages. They're not so different from the Ten Towns, but greener and livelier. The people work hard and brave the elements and dangers of orcs, but don't hide behind walls and armies and wizards."

A wicker ball bounces nearby and she rushes forward and runs among them, kicking it along. "Tag fat i det, børn," she laughs. "Oh, smoked fish... you there, how much? The inn? Oh, I see it, tak."

[Ophiuchus]

Lorban Lleguma

Lorban stops at Barthen's Provisions and produces the bounty and the Lionshield Coster sack. He considers the items briefly. "We should speak to Elmar first." He puts the sack away and clutches the other clue firmly, then walks inside. "It it very good to see you, Elmar! These are my delivery partners, Jereni, Silenna, and Vivianne. The shipment is in full, as you can confirm. However, I urgently must ask...Did...has Gundren returned?"

Spoiler: in case I take too long to respond to the next update

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If yes, be astonished, briefly reference encounter, then seek out Gundren immediately
If/when Elmar says no, then describe encounter and ask Jereni to describe the cave
Then ask "Has anyone else gone missing along the Triboar?"
If Elmar says yes and it was an affiliate of the guild, Lorban will reveal and explain the sack. Concluding that they had been captured (and worse) by the bandits.
If no (or yes, but no-one associated with the guild), Lorban will suspect the Lionshield Coster is engaged in some underhanded attempt to eliminate competition, and will wonder whom he can trust to share these suspicions.

[Lentrax]

Vivianne parks the wagon. When she is mentioned as a partner, she spits and goes off to the inn to see about getting a drink.

[dojango]

Lorban talks with Elmar, who pays out 10g for each guard. "Don't spend it all in one place..." he adds, his old joke. "Gundren hasn't returned? I told him not to travel alone! And things are getting worse, very worse. This is bad. Gundren and his brothers had discovered a valuable mine out in the hills. Did he mention this to you? And now these Redbrand ruffians are running around town, killing people and goblins and orcs are attacking travelers on the road. I'd best tell his brothers about this, maybe they'll know what to do. They are camped somewhere out there, they should return any day now to pick up these supplies."

As far as any others, Elmar says that a band of orcs has been ambushing travellers further east along the Triboar trail. They haven't had any problems on the western part of the trail lately. He also says that a group of mercenaries calling themselves "The Redbrand Company" arrived in town a few weeks ago and have been causing trouble. Demanding 'protection money' and bullying townsfolk. They are identifiable by their red cloaks.

Vivianne and Jereni head to the Stonehill Inn just off the center square. It is a newly built roadhouse of fieldstone and rough-hewn timbers. The common room is filled with locals nursing mugs of ale or cider, and their eyes turn to the two women, all of them eyeing you with curiosity. The proprieter is a short, friendly young man named Toblen Stonehill. As they approach, he pours two mugs of cider and says, "Welcome to my inn, friends. Have a mug on the house. What brings to Phandalin? I wish you had come in better days, but new faces are welcome."