Misprize Thou Not These Shadows That Belong: Lost Mines of Phandelver

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"No, he's not scared, even when he should be." Wolfe says calmly. "So how far is it to that entrance in the woods?"

 "Not that far, 500 feet or so past the farm," he points in the distance to the northeast.  "Do you want a guide or what?"  He looks around and spots his mother talking to Rabbit.  "Oh, uh, just between us adventurers, eh?  I don't want mother to know.  I'd never leave this damned field if she found out."

 "who said I ain't afraid sometimes?only a fool wouldn't..you know what keeps me fighting? Anger..determination..and honor..honor to die in battle..and this time I took it personally when those Redbrands beat that girl"

Rabbit looks a little disappointed, a quick trip to a nearby town now sounds more menacing.  But, still it might be worth following up on.

She again thanks Qelline for the information. And once the group moves on she catches them up on what she was told.  "She said a druid friend of hers, Reidoth, would know where Cragmaw Castle is. And that cave Sildar was looking for.  He's in Thundertree though, 50 miles from here."  She would would also explain what Qelline said about the place. 

"Well done Rabbit, sounds like we should visit this Reidoth once we have dealt with the Redbrands then." Wolfe says, giving Rabbit a friendly smile.
"So are we all ready to move on that manor?"

"you bet I am!let's get this job done" says Krull ready to crack some skulls 

Rabbit simply nods, ready to move along. 

Edryd looks very uncomfortable around the boy staying far back so not to be noticed but close enough to hear what is discussed.

Edryd nods his head in agreement with the others as they walk, "Yes let us put and end this menace as soon as we can. The people here live with too much fear." He looks down at his feet "That boy will die. Horribly I suspect. A child without guidance, wandering the forest, playing hero. He is doomed to fall to the evils of this world..." He seems sad as he reflects, "There is so much pain and strife here... but it could be so beutiful..."

Finished with his unfounded and morbid prophecy he walks in silence.

Wolfe rolls his eyes at Edryd's prophecy of doom, leading the others to the spot Butt described.
Survival if needed: 3 Perception if needed: 6
(Suggested marching order assuming we find the entance and go in: Edryd, Krull, Wolf, Rabbit, Mau. Wolfe will cast light on his talisman before going in.)

"He may be more capable than we think Edyrd, as long as he had a good head on his shoulders he may thrive but as you say the right guidance can make all the difference.  At least if we remove the redbrand threat he won't fall into their fold."  Mau looks back towards where they left Butt ensuring that he hasn't followed them into any danger

(happy with bringing up the rear)

 You find the spot that Butt told you about with little trouble.  His directions were very good, no doubt due to the generous donation you made to him.  Wolfe's talisman lights up the middle and gives a bit of light to travel by.  It is a passage cut through the brambles and thorns, and you have to duck a bit to avoid touching the tops of the tunnel, and even still, your gear scratches and catches on the brambles.  After about 80 feet or so, you begin to see something other than the darkness.  It looks like the tunnel leads into a room of sorts.

A cold breeze fills this large natural cavern, carrying with it the faint scent of decaying flesh. A crevasse divides the cavern  and is flanked by two rough stone columns that support the twenty-foot-high ceiling. Two arched wooden bridges span the chasm.

The room at the far end of the hall, past the crevasses, holds a couple humanoids moving around some barrels and crates.  The rooms that you can see seem fairly well lit, oil sconces burn on the walls, and you can see no problem.  The crevasse holds some shadow, however.

MAP for reference.  The tunnel doesn't curve, I just couldn't fit you all on. You're all in single file with Edryd in the lead looking into the room.  

"Perhaps take a sharp left Edryd, hopefully we can avoid being discovered by the persons ahead." Wolfe whispers to the cleric.
Stealth: 7 Perception: 7

"Left sounds wise to me, best to avoid those ahead until we can get closer"  Mau agrees with Wolfe in hushed tones, hunkering down trying to produce as little a silhouette as possible, as they approach closer to the crevasse he will peer in.

Stealth: 24

Perception:22

Edryd nods at Wolfe, "I am not very quiet but shall do my best." Before going on he places a hand on Krull's shoulder, "Be ready big man" using his Vigilant Blessing. He then advances into the cave, eyes darting back and forth looking for danger and clues.  He heads north hugging the western wall and approaches the steps. 

Stealth: 5

Perception: 23

"They will taste my axe!" says Krull as he tries to be more quiet 

(Stealth check 3)

Rabbit nods wordlessly and follows. She tries to keep quiet and looks around for any signs of others. 

(Stealth: 20, Perception: 16)

With the exception of Mau and Rabbit, you mostly make some noise and scrapes that echo through this part of the chamber.  Luckily for you, there are enough obstacles in this area to ensure the sound doesn't carry too far, and those at the far end don't seem to notice you.  You all head down the corridor to the left.  It is a short hall.  To the north is a closed wooden door.  To the south is another closed wooden door.  Listening carefully at the northern door, you can hear laughs and groans - seems like some sort of game is being played within.  You hear several different voices.  Listening at the southern door, you also hear several voices, though these ones are deep and gruff, and speak in Goblin.  Those of you who know Goblin will hear: 

Mau, you tense as you hear your companions behind you not being that quiet at all. As you approach the crevasse you note some things about it: it has steep sides and is anywhere from 5 to 10 feet wide.  It is approximately 20 feet deep and, appraising the walls, they are rough as seem like they would be easily climbable, though a fall into the fissure would be painful indeed.  Looking further around, you see broken bones and bits of refuse.  Most ominously, among the broken and well-gnawed bones, you see a corpse - human male, if you had to guess - that looks to be half-eaten, with exposed bones jutting from different parts of the body.  

Krull whispers to the group 'there is some goblin that they are  make fun of  ..they sound like that hairy dude we fought back at the cave two days ago..the one with the wolf..Klarg '

So, in summary, the 4 of you seem to be in the middle of two sets of enemies.  They seem unaware of your presence at this point.  What do you want to do?

( I suggest we pick the group of bugbears..cause there is also the goblin that might become an ally )

(OOC: Think we have to await Mau's reaction first.)

Mau begins to back track towards the rest of the group when he spots the creature under the bridge however freezes  when he hears the voice in his head. His tail, normally swaying relaxed behind him, stiffens and raises sharply and Mau freezes.  His hand instinctively moves towards his sheathed rapier but does not grasp it, letting his hand drop. He tries responding to its questions thinking “I am Mau, they call my kind the tabaxi. We do not hail from these lands though, Who are you?  Are you the one hiding in the shadows of the bridge?.”