The level five Silvers for this session
Dakeyras, wood elf rogue/Assassin, wielding Whisper his longbow;
Garth, mountain dwarf fighter/Battle Master, wielding the Ungart Hammer;
Richlen, high elf paladin, wielding Alagondar his longsword;
Vernon, human wizard, rocking a Hat of Wizardry
Escorting Don-Jon Raskin, NPC mine manager to the Mountain Toe Mine;
ably supported by Rage x Dove, NPC professional caravan guards
The Silvers begin 80xp from level six and end on 71
The story so far
Phandalin, a nothing kind of place on Neverwinter’s southern frontier, boasts of little save prospecting and mining heaven for those brave enough, tough enough, and lucky enough! Don-Jon Raskin is a no-nonsense overseer fresh out of Neverwinter with a contract to manage the Mountain’s Toe gold mine. Lucky for him, he gets word from Sildar Hallwinter through his big-city contacts that the mine has been taken over by wererats! Sildar puts in a good word for him with the Silvers, just arrived from a ruin name of Thundertree.
Since it’s on their way, the Silvers agree to at least see Don-Jon safe to Phandalin, and maybe to the Mountain’s Toe. And now we join them a short morning’s haul up the Triboar Trail from the High Road.
Goblin Arrows
It’s a well-laid ambush, but Dak, slipping forward into cover as is his habit now, notes that insect sounds are muted and bird-life absent. Realizing they have been rumbled, the goblins loose a terrific barrage on both the wagon and its guards, and Dak. Don-Jon and Dove are hit severely, Garth and Dak take a knock or two from the arrows. Don-Jon rolls off his wagon seat and under it with alacrity! Dove shoots and scoots into the same cover.
Garth scans the area, his trained battle senses picking up the hoarse barks of two massive hounds bounding from the direction the wagon just came! Alerting Rich – who with Dove is rearguard – he nails one with his crossbow (a crit, but disappointing damage!) and shifts between oxen and a roadside boulder. Dak’s longbow, the magnificent Whisper, sings but the arrow streaks through concealing foliage without striking a goblin. From full to 3/4 cover in the wagon, Vern pops up, drives a ferocious Firebolt down the road that incinerates a hound from the inside out, and pops down again.
Rage lets fly with his light crossbow, drops it, and runs to back Rich up, letting Dove and Rich know what he’s doing.
Rich heals Dove and readies his shield and sword for action.
The goblins – and two massive club-wielding bugbears – charge off the heights around the trail and mob Garth and Dak. A bugbear gets as far as Rich, though without the spare time to level a blow. Since they can use Pack Tactics, Garth feels the stab of a couple sharp swords past even his doughty armor! Two goblins reach Rage but he is positioned well, behind a boulder, and they fail to get past his armor.
Garth drops his crossbow – carefully – and two-hands Ungart Hammer, destroying all three of his goblin antagonists with Sweeping Strike. Dak uses Disengage and skedaddles back, diving under the oxen to join Don-Jon. Vern decides to share his Wizard Love and dishes out a Magic Missile dart to each of the pair of goblins and bugbear facing Rage and Rich. None fall. “I forget how much better Firebolt is,” he complains quietly to himself. Rich casts Shield of Faith to protect Dak and, with Rage using the Help action, slices the bugbear deep with one cut then beheads it with the next! The goblins there panic!
Turning their attention to where Dak fled, the Silvers spot a couple of leader types, one well-armored, dark-furred bugbear in particular. But more immediately, the bugbear and some five goblins at that end have to dealt with.
Garth vaults into the trail and charges, hammering the bugbear. Dak rolls up out of cover to the kneel, lets fly – the bugbear drops dead – and rolls back into cover. Vern pops up again, fries a fleeing goblin with a Firebolt, and pops back down again. Rage and Rich hurry to support Garth: but with the death of the second bugbear the goblins flee!
The battlefield they swiftly pick over, and agree with Don-Jon that pushing on for at least a short while, then resting, will be the best plan.
XP: lvl6-76
Loot: some trinkets and 21 gold coin worth of coins, mainly copper.
Sildar’s little idea
Safe once more at Phandalin, the Silvers are unsurprised to see Sildar’s Griffon tethered on the village green. The man himself gives them a warm smile and half-salute from the step of the Townmaster’s Hall – his HQ for the time being.
“I’m sure you need a drink to relax and to freshen up, but please come by once you are ready,” he asks.
At the Stonehill, Rich piles and counts the coin. It adds up to 21 gold coin worth, most of the coin being coppers from the goblins. “The bugbears had the gold coins,” Dak notes.
“Gold, huh, well I guess we’ll pay them a visit once we know where they hang out,” Garth growls.
Back at the Townmaster’s Hall they find Sildar poring over sketch maps. Garth comes round his side of the table and studies them too.
“This question mark [12], what’s that?”
“That is the area where I lost sight of the brothers Rockseeker. They were too stone-wise for me. But if they were telling the truth, it is where Wave Echo Cavern is.”
“And why do we care about that?”
“Wave Echo – why, it’s among the oldest tales of this area – said to offer magic power – the dragon cult is very keen to find it. So, the Lord’s Alliance need to stop them.”
“And is that why you wanted to see us?”
“No, although I have a little idea that you have contacts in the wilds, who could scout the dwarves out for us.
“But my main idea is that we make sure Don-Jon gets to open the Mountain’s Toe safely. I have managed to convince the Townmaster it is important for the whole town, and the town council has voted for a 200 gold coin reward. So the job is, escort Don-Jon and clear the were-rats out.”
A pleasant smile wreathes Garth’s face as he relays the news. Rich nods. “I’m pretty broke, so a share of 200 will be welcome.”
Dak shrugs.
“I have coin, but there could always be spells hidden away there,” Vern says optimistically. “Let’s do it!”
Sildar goes over the possible message to send “contacts in the wilds” and Dak writes it up, seals it, and delivers it to the farming family he and Lok are using as a post-box service.
XP: lvl6-75
Shares for all, and the trail plan
Returning to the Stonehill he finds Rich sharing out earnings from the coin looted and the trinkets sold. It comes to a reasonable sum, but after handing Rage x Dove four gold each and paying for a bath bed and board, they each pocket seven gold.
“As Sildar’s map showed, if we all hopped on the griffon it would be a quick flight, just a mite north of east,” Garth explains. “But with the ox-wagon, it’ll be a day north, a day east – though we might just cut off the trail – and a day south-east.”
Don-Jon has taken the Silvers’ advice and retained Rage x Dove for ongoing service at the mine, so it’s the same party that forms up the next dawn. The weather is perfect for spring, clear and cold. The tillers of the fields and the hewers of stone they pass are all in a good mood and assure them the road is safe.
XP: lvl6-74, mainly for the “let’s steal the griffon” running gag
Xanth the Brave knows where
Not long into the second day, Dak feels and hears galloping. He rallies back to the wagon! But there is no danger: it is his friend Xanth the centaur.
Xanth – extremely impressed, even awed, that he has been so brave – tells Dak that he has tracked the ambushing goblins to their lair, a castle in Neverwinter Woods. He provides them with directions.
“Yep, you were very brave, Xanth. We’ll be paying them a visit before too long,” Dak assures his friend, and waves farewell.
XP: lvl6-73
Hungry hungry harpies
Over the later stage of day two, the vote is to heave the wagon off the Triboar Trail and make some ground overland. That way – so the theory is – they can reach the mine late on day three rather than only reaching it by nightfall.
It’s tough work, for they could have chosen a better line of country to take, and the wagon is heavy laden. They are all glad to camp in the lee of a spur of the Sword Mountains.
It’s the fourth watch and Rich throws himself aside as sharp talons swoop!
Three harpies have come in search of fatty ox-liver and kidneys. Two of them are already attacking the oxen! Dak’s longbow and Vern’s Firebolt deal with one, and Alagondar slices the other asunder.
The stench of harpy entrails makes any thought of further rest a joke, so with a shrug, they patch the oxen up, pack up, and push on.
XP: lvl6-72
A plan so cunning you could pin a tail on it and call it a wererat
The weather is still cool and clear as the shadows deepen around the cliff where two guards stand ready. From cover not far off, Dak studies the pair. Yes, definitely giving off a sketchy long-nosed, red-eyed vibe. He slips back to where a murmur won’t carry and updates Vern, who has the other Sending Stone.
“Right, so we’ll lure them away and deal quietly with them.”
Rage holds up his hand. As they look at the normally-passive guard in some surprise, he simply says: “I’m willing to play bait.”
“Wow, OK, put on some injured-guard sort of act, they’ll come out to rob you, then we just need to ambush them.”
“OK Rage honey, you can do it, I’ll be sure to cover you with my longbow,” Dove reassures him.
“I’m not very subtle,” Rich warns, new plate armor gleaming in the late daylight. “Nor me, really,” Garth affirms.
“We could use my Rope Trick,” Vern suggests. Genius! Of course the operation has to be unseen, so this all takes place a good 160′ from the guards.
Rage makes an extremely poor Perform check
“Ow. My leg. Ow, the pain,” comes to Dak’s ears. The two guards hear it and, more curious than anything, move into cover closer to the totally unconvincing actor.
Vern opens the ball, hanging upside-down from the dimensional space and unleashing a Firebolt! Unluckily this is not a stance he is used to, so the bolt crisps some fresh green leaves in the bush the wererats are hiding behind.
Dove essays a shot and it does – narrowly – catch one. But of course, not being silver, the tip barely penetrates, and the angry guard wrenches it out, well on the alert now. As Garth and Rich realize the tiny flaw in the plan and slide down the rope, the guards retreat.
Dak, still unseen behind them, aims Whisper: his seldom-used Assassin capabilities drive the shaft straight through one side of a guard’s chest and out the other!
And as the survivor scoots into the deep shade of the cavern, and sounds the alarm, the session ends!
XP: lvl6-71
PartyBickering 