Each of you have set out to journey to Phandalin to answer the town's call for aid. Along the way, through luck, fate, or some other power, the five of you have crossed paths either along The High Road or the Triboar Trail. Despite the rumors of a dragon and other troubles surrounding Phandalin, your trek to the town was uneventful but still tiring. Your group comes to a junction in the road with a sign pointing south that says Phandalin, one pointing west saying The High Road, and one pointing east saying Conyberry. Turning south you find yourselves reaching the town of Phandalin around midday.
Nestled in the rocky foothills of the snow-capped Sword Mountains is the mining town of Phandalin, which consists of forty or fifty simple log buildings. Crumbling stone ruins surround the newer houses and shops, showing how this must have been a much larger town in centuries past.
Phandalin’s residents are quiet, hard-working folk who came from distant cities to eke out a life amid the harsh wilderness. They are farmers, stonecutters, blacksmiths, traders, prospectors, and children. The town has no walls and no garrison, but most of the adults keep weapons within easy reach in case the need for arms should arise.
Visitors are welcome here, particularly if they have coin to spend or news to share. The Stonehill Inn at the center of town offers modest lodging and meals. A couple of doors down from the inn, posted outside the townmaster’s hall, is a job board for adventurers. The five of you enter from the north side of the town coming off of the Triboar Trail. What would you all like to do? (You may also describe your characters, how you came across each other, or where in town you are; if you'd like.)
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Be excellent to each other, and roll for initiative dudes!
A tall, slightly misty green figure strode through the town on her way to the adventure boards. She wore a shield on her back and a mace by her side, clad in scale mail armor atop various pieces of cloth and leather, looking mostly for comfort than protection. In fact, other than her scale chest piece there was very little on her besides her weapons and bag. Rugged brown hair was tightly braided down her back and her whole figure was on the big side. Her deep red brown eyes scanned the town for anything unusual as she came towards the postings. Although she didn't really show it, she was actually a bit nervous and excited to be out there in Phandlin, having spent almost her entire life until that point in Neverwinter. So she took her time looking over things and wondering who might be best to talk to about the supposed dragon problem. Surely there was a city magistrate or mayor or someone in charge around there.
Following behind the large Goliath a few paces back is a young violet skinned Tiefling woman with long purple hair and golden eyes. A lengthy dark robe with minimal embroidery stained at the hem from road dust covers the majority of her form. A particularly astute eye might notice from the outline that she's wearing some type of light armor underneath. She looks absolutely exhausted and clearly not used to this amount of travel. Patting her robe in a futile attempt to remove some of the dust she turns her head to look at everyone with a weak smile and says out of breath, "If...if I knew there was going to be this much walking involved I would have rented a cart. Do you all do this regularly?"
The young red headed dwarf looks up at the Tiefling who spoke; she opens her mouth to speak but simply shrugs instead. Not one for social interactions, Gymlynn Softhammer stands about 4'2. She wears chainmail that looks as if it was custom made for her. On her back she also carries a shield that looks like it was customized to her size. The out of place item here is the trident, which looks old enough to have come from the bottom of the ocean.
She steps up to the job board and stands on her tip-toes to scan the pages of the board.
Shea, a tall slender Elven-looking woman with tall pointed ears and auburn hair follows along with her companions, picking unusual flowers the whole way in. Her youthful appearance and effortless gait betrays her age, being well into her second century of life. She wears layers of hide as armor and caries a quarterstaff with a shield slung over her shoulder.
"I suppose I enjoy being out of the monastery so much that I haven't really even thought about my road weariness,"she says to the tiefling. "But now that you mention it, I would love to find a comfortable sofa and strong ale. Is there any word of the dragon on the board?"
Lilniana scanned the board briefly and shrugged at the tiefling."No, I've spent my time in the city, not walking up and down the roads. Although several trips around Neverwinter does count for something I suppose. It seems we are all here for the same reason. Perhaps a cart in the future would be worth our while if we end up traveling more. For now, I think we should find whoever is in charge here." She looked at the elven woman with a grim smile, "Best get your comforts while you can I suppose."
On your way to the job board the four of you pass several structures of note. The first being a two-story building with a stone structure as its first level with a wooden addition as the second, and a red roof. A few windows flank the door with a sign above reading Barthen’s Provisions; glancing inside through the windows you can tell this is general goods type store. The second is a modest, two-story roadhouse of fieldstone and rough-hewn timbers with a sign handing above and slightly to the side of the door with the image of a rocky hill with the name Stonehill Inn carved below. Directly across from the inn is what looks like a a shrine made of stones. Placed in the center of these stones is a stone carved statue of a tall, thin, almost boyish, yet graceful maiden with long, flowing, unbound, hair, and a regal looking face, and holding a coin in one hand with the face side up. You easily know this is a shire to Tymora, goddess of luck and good fortune. You also note that there are a handful of offerings around the base of the shrine and, despite the makeshift looks, is well taken care of.
The townmaster’s hall has sturdy stone walls, a pitched wooden roof, and a bell tower at the back. The job board next to the front door features a sparse number of notices, all written in Common, in the same hand, bear the town’s seal and an indecipherable signature. Some of the notices are general requests job requests for the businesses around town. There is one notice about the dragon and it reads:
Warning: A dragon has been spotted in the surrounding area in the Sword Mountains. Take extreme caution when venturing outside of Phandalin and keep an eye out while in town. The dragon hasn't been spotted close to town... yet. Some, either lucky or unlucky, that have seen the dragon say it’s as big as an elephant and has gleaming white scales.
Along side the notice about the dragon are three more that catch your group's attention. They read as follows:
Dwarf prospectors found ancient dwarven ruins in the mountains southwest of here, and have been working an archaeological dig seeking treasure and relics. They need to be warned that a white dragon has moved into the area. Take the warning to them, then return to Townmaster Harbin Wester to collect a reward of 50 gp.
A clan of reclusive rock gnomes resides in a small network of caves in the mountains to the southeast. The gnomes of Gnomengarde are known for their magical inventions, and they might have something with which to defeat the dragon. Get whatever you can from them. If you bring back something useful and don’t want to keep it for yourselves, Townmaster Harbin Wester will pay you 50 gp for it.
The local midwife — an acolyte of Chauntea named Adabra Gwynn — lives by herself in a stone windmill on the side of a hill a few miles south of Phandalin. With dragon sightings becoming more common, it’s not safe for her to be alone. Urge Adabra to return to Phandalin. Once she’s safe, visit Townmaster Harbin Wester to claim a reward of 25 gp.
“Oh gods yes, a sofa!” Sara says with a dreamy look on her face. Turning to the Goliath she nods, “Later I suppose.”
Quickly reading over the board she responds, “nothing much I’m afraid. Dragon is still active although this is the first I’m hearing about the scale coloration.” Reading a bit further she excitedly exclaims, “Ah, a DIG SITE! My mentor mentioned something had recently been uncovered out this way but I didn’t know it was so close. Dwarven ruins, eh? Did you all know that the earliest known recor…” Sara continues to ramble off unique peculiarities related to working on ancient Dwarven archaeological sites, all traces of exhaustion momentarily gone from her voice.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
((I'd like to roll a knowledge check for the ruins to see if Gymlynn knows anything about it. History proficiency +3 - even though it seems Sara does already haha))11
Gymlynn looks upon the notice with a frown on her face. "We should warn them." she says, voice low. "They may have something useful for us, if anything."
"I agree," adds Shae as she listen's intently to Sara's historical account, momentarily captivated. "We should warn all these folks and moving left to right across a map is as good a path as any. Besides, the dig site does sound fun!"
"I think I agree," Lilniana said after a moment. "These people out beyond the town's borders are at more risk than those in the vicinity here. Besides, perhaps one of them at these places has seen something or knows more. Also, helping these people out will only aid our cause with the local council here. If the dwarf dig site sounds interesting to you then let's head there first." She was about to walk off but stopped. "Does anyone know where it is, exactly?"
Sara snaps out of her rant and says, "Hmm that's a good point. Regardless of where we end up going first we should probably spend a moment in town to secure lodging and see what information we can gather. All of these requests seem to have been posted by the same person... a Townmaster Wester. Maybe we let them know of our intentions and see what they can tell us?"
((I'd like to roll a knowledge check for the ruins to see if Gymlynn knows anything about it. History proficiency +3 - even though it seems Sara does already haha))19
With that history check, Gymlynn, in your preparation for traveling the surface you read up on Phandalin and its surrounding area. You remember coming across a brief passage about a temple that was carved into the back wall of a canyon. The passage says the temple was built to the evil dwarven god of greed, Abbathor, and was aptly named after them. During solar eclipses, Abbathor is appeased with sacrifices of blood and gemstones. The only other mention of the temple was an earthquake and avalanche collapsed parts of the temple and buried the settlement; and no one knows what happened to those that were inside of the temple. You also know that the dig site is about 15 miles to the southwest of Phandalin and it would take you, at a normal pace, about five hours to reach; so just around late afternoon cresting into evening.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
Be excellent to each other, and roll for initiative dudes!
Gymlynn looks back and forth between the individuals speaking as the group decides what to do. At the mention of locating the Town Master, she steps towards the door near the job board and pushes it open, standing aside so the others could go in before her. "The dig site alone is about a half a days journey, so - maybe they will have more info for us inside, hm?"
Sara watches as Gymlynn pushes on the door to no avail. "Oh, maybe they are not in right now?" Walking up behind her she reaches over the Dwarven woman's head and does three short knocks on the door before stepping back. Sara shrugs, "best to be through thorough I suppose."
"Maybe we should come back tomorrow." Gymlynn suggests to the group. "If we are going to mark off each request, we should make sure we are situated with resources first. Maybe we will see the Townmaster around somewhere."
"Well that is not reassuring," Lilniana comments after seeing the door locked and shut. "I think we better look around town then. Any suggestion where to look next? Anyone see an inn or such?" Lilniana will turn around and look around the area for any sign of people or open establishments.
Each of you have set out to journey to Phandalin to answer the town's call for aid. Along the way, through luck, fate, or some other power, the five of you have crossed paths either along The High Road or the Triboar Trail. Despite the rumors of a dragon and other troubles surrounding Phandalin, your trek to the town was uneventful but still tiring. Your group comes to a junction in the road with a sign pointing south that says Phandalin, one pointing west saying The High Road, and one pointing east saying Conyberry. Turning south you find yourselves reaching the town of Phandalin around midday.
Nestled in the rocky foothills of the snow-capped Sword Mountains is the mining town of Phandalin, which consists of forty or fifty simple log buildings. Crumbling stone ruins surround the newer houses and shops, showing how this must have been a much larger town in centuries past.
Phandalin’s residents are quiet, hard-working folk who came from distant cities to eke out a life amid the harsh wilderness. They are farmers, stonecutters, blacksmiths, traders, prospectors, and children. The town has no walls and no garrison, but most of the adults keep weapons within easy reach in case the need for arms should arise.
Visitors are welcome here, particularly if they have coin to spend or news to share. The Stonehill Inn at the center of town offers modest lodging and meals. A couple of doors down from the inn, posted outside the townmaster’s hall, is a job board for adventurers. The five of you enter from the north side of the town coming off of the Triboar Trail. What would you all like to do? (You may also describe your characters, how you came across each other, or where in town you are; if you'd like.)
Be excellent to each other, and roll for initiative dudes!
A tall, slightly misty green figure strode through the town on her way to the adventure boards. She wore a shield on her back and a mace by her side, clad in scale mail armor atop various pieces of cloth and leather, looking mostly for comfort than protection. In fact, other than her scale chest piece there was very little on her besides her weapons and bag. Rugged brown hair was tightly braided down her back and her whole figure was on the big side. Her deep red brown eyes scanned the town for anything unusual as she came towards the postings. Although she didn't really show it, she was actually a bit nervous and excited to be out there in Phandlin, having spent almost her entire life until that point in Neverwinter. So she took her time looking over things and wondering who might be best to talk to about the supposed dragon problem. Surely there was a city magistrate or mayor or someone in charge around there.
Following behind the large Goliath a few paces back is a young violet skinned Tiefling woman with long purple hair and golden eyes. A lengthy dark robe with minimal embroidery stained at the hem from road dust covers the majority of her form. A particularly astute eye might notice from the outline that she's wearing some type of light armor underneath. She looks absolutely exhausted and clearly not used to this amount of travel. Patting her robe in a futile attempt to remove some of the dust she turns her head to look at everyone with a weak smile and says out of breath, "If...if I knew there was going to be this much walking involved I would have rented a cart. Do you all do this regularly?"
The young red headed dwarf looks up at the Tiefling who spoke; she opens her mouth to speak but simply shrugs instead. Not one for social interactions, Gymlynn Softhammer stands about 4'2. She wears chainmail that looks as if it was custom made for her. On her back she also carries a shield that looks like it was customized to her size. The out of place item here is the trident, which looks old enough to have come from the bottom of the ocean.
She steps up to the job board and stands on her tip-toes to scan the pages of the board.
Shea, a tall slender Elven-looking woman with tall pointed ears and auburn hair follows along with her companions, picking unusual flowers the whole way in. Her youthful appearance and effortless gait betrays her age, being well into her second century of life. She wears layers of hide as armor and caries a quarterstaff with a shield slung over her shoulder.
"I suppose I enjoy being out of the monastery so much that I haven't really even thought about my road weariness," she says to the tiefling. "But now that you mention it, I would love to find a comfortable sofa and strong ale. Is there any word of the dragon on the board?"
Lilniana scanned the board briefly and shrugged at the tiefling. "No, I've spent my time in the city, not walking up and down the roads. Although several trips around Neverwinter does count for something I suppose. It seems we are all here for the same reason. Perhaps a cart in the future would be worth our while if we end up traveling more. For now, I think we should find whoever is in charge here." She looked at the elven woman with a grim smile, "Best get your comforts while you can I suppose."
(Investigation: 9)
On your way to the job board the four of you pass several structures of note. The first being a two-story building with a stone structure as its first level with a wooden addition as the second, and a red roof. A few windows flank the door with a sign above reading Barthen’s Provisions; glancing inside through the windows you can tell this is general goods type store. The second is a modest, two-story roadhouse of fieldstone and rough-hewn timbers with a sign handing above and slightly to the side of the door with the image of a rocky hill with the name Stonehill Inn carved below. Directly across from the inn is what looks like a a shrine made of stones. Placed in the center of these stones is a stone carved statue of a tall, thin, almost boyish, yet graceful maiden with long, flowing, unbound, hair, and a regal looking face, and holding a coin in one hand with the face side up. You easily know this is a shire to Tymora, goddess of luck and good fortune. You also note that there are a handful of offerings around the base of the shrine and, despite the makeshift looks, is well taken care of.
The townmaster’s hall has sturdy stone walls, a pitched wooden roof, and a bell tower at the back. The job board next to the front door features a sparse number of notices, all written in Common, in the same hand, bear the town’s seal and an indecipherable signature. Some of the notices are general requests job requests for the businesses around town. There is one notice about the dragon and it reads:
Along side the notice about the dragon are three more that catch your group's attention. They read as follows:
Be excellent to each other, and roll for initiative dudes!
“Oh gods yes, a sofa!” Sara says with a dreamy look on her face. Turning to the Goliath she nods, “Later I suppose.”
Quickly reading over the board she responds, “nothing much I’m afraid. Dragon is still active although this is the first I’m hearing about the scale coloration.” Reading a bit further she excitedly exclaims, “Ah, a DIG SITE! My mentor mentioned something had recently been uncovered out this way but I didn’t know it was so close. Dwarven ruins, eh? Did you all know that the earliest known recor…” Sara continues to ramble off unique peculiarities related to working on ancient Dwarven archaeological sites, all traces of exhaustion momentarily gone from her voice.
((I'd like to roll a knowledge check for the ruins to see if Gymlynn knows anything about it. History proficiency +3 - even though it seems Sara does already haha)) 11
Gymlynn looks upon the notice with a frown on her face. "We should warn them." she says, voice low. "They may have something useful for us, if anything."
"I agree," adds Shae as she listen's intently to Sara's historical account, momentarily captivated. "We should warn all these folks and moving left to right across a map is as good a path as any. Besides, the dig site does sound fun!"
"I think I agree," Lilniana said after a moment. "These people out beyond the town's borders are at more risk than those in the vicinity here. Besides, perhaps one of them at these places has seen something or knows more. Also, helping these people out will only aid our cause with the local council here. If the dwarf dig site sounds interesting to you then let's head there first." She was about to walk off but stopped. "Does anyone know where it is, exactly?"
Sara snaps out of her rant and says, "Hmm that's a good point. Regardless of where we end up going first we should probably spend a moment in town to secure lodging and see what information we can gather. All of these requests seem to have been posted by the same person... a Townmaster Wester. Maybe we let them know of our intentions and see what they can tell us?"
With that history check, Gymlynn, in your preparation for traveling the surface you read up on Phandalin and its surrounding area. You remember coming across a brief passage about a temple that was carved into the back wall of a canyon. The passage says the temple was built to the evil dwarven god of greed, Abbathor, and was aptly named after them. During solar eclipses, Abbathor is appeased with sacrifices of blood and gemstones. The only other mention of the temple was an earthquake and avalanche collapsed parts of the temple and buried the settlement; and no one knows what happened to those that were inside of the temple. You also know that the dig site is about 15 miles to the southwest of Phandalin and it would take you, at a normal pace, about five hours to reach; so just around late afternoon cresting into evening.
Be excellent to each other, and roll for initiative dudes!
Gymlynn looks back and forth between the individuals speaking as the group decides what to do. At the mention of locating the Town Master, she steps towards the door near the job board and pushes it open, standing aside so the others could go in before her. "The dig site alone is about a half a days journey, so - maybe they will have more info for us inside, hm?"
((Sorry for format - on mobile))
You go to open the doors to the Townmaster's Hall and find that they do not budge as they are locked.
Be excellent to each other, and roll for initiative dudes!
Sara watches as Gymlynn pushes on the door to no avail. "Oh, maybe they are not in right now?" Walking up behind her she reaches over the Dwarven woman's head and does three short knocks on the door before stepping back. Sara shrugs, "best to be through thorough I suppose."
"Maybe we should come back tomorrow." Gymlynn suggests to the group. "If we are going to mark off each request, we should make sure we are situated with resources first. Maybe we will see the Townmaster around somewhere."
"Well that is not reassuring," Lilniana comments after seeing the door locked and shut. "I think we better look around town then. Any suggestion where to look next? Anyone see an inn or such?" Lilniana will turn around and look around the area for any sign of people or open establishments.
(Perception 13)
“I saw the Stonehill Inn on our way in to town, perhaps we can find suitable lodging there and maybe collect some information,” Shae muses.
Gymlynn nods and steps away from the door, turning to head further into town.