The prisoner, awake and freed, begins to talk. He's about fifty years old, and seems kindhearted enough. He is still weak and his conversation a bit disjointed.

"Yes, thank you, yes, I am Sildar... I was accompanying Gundren Rockseeker from Neverwinter to Phandalin... Have you found Gundren? These goblins waylaid us. There was a strange goblin with them... one with an elongated head. He gave me a bad feeling, and the other goblins didn’t seem to know it. Have you seen any goblins like that? It whispered to me 'you’re not what Ruxithid wants' I remember. I think it left the ambush group before they brought me here. My memory is a little fuzzy...

"I need to get to Phandalin as soon as I can. I can pay your group 50 gp to escort me there. I have no money on me, I know, but I can secure a loan to pay you within a day of arriving in Phandalin, I'm sure. Have you cleared out all these caves? We need to put a stop to these goblin raids..."

"Klarg, the bugbear leader, had orders to waylay us, I guess. I overheard that somebody named 'the Spider' wanted Gundren to be brought to him. I don't know who that is. Gundren had a map -  the goblins took it. Have you seen it? I fear that Klarg sent the map and Gundren to the leader of the Cragmaws at a place called Cragmaw Castle. I don't know where that might be. Maybe someone in Phandalin might know..."

"Thank you for your kind rescue. I don't know how much longer I could have survived here..."

Tessa is a bit loopy upon waking and after tending to Roderick's body, carefully cuts slices of parsnip to share as the group rests.

"This Spider must have Gundren then. I don't think we've seen a map. I remember a map case on one of the horses, but it was empty along with everything else."

She looks around at the cave and listens for signs of activity.

"Surely any other goblins would have heard the battle and come running. Of course we can take you to Phandalin. I'm nervous staying the night here. Should we retrieve our wagon and camp there? I can light our path if need be."

After remaining in stone-cold silence for the duration of the party's uneasy rest, Syzygy eventually speaks. "Tessa, I also feel nervous about remaining here for any longer. We need to be careful along the goblin trail, for ambushes of course, but also the traps we eyed along the way."  Syzygy pauses, glances briefly at his companions concerned that they have about as much spark left for a safe escape as he does. He does not look at the slain hero. He tries to bury that loss along with Roderick's last blood gurgling breaths echoing in his head.  

"Sildar, we were not expecting this wagon delivery engagement to bring us toward such bloodshed. Do you know what the map depicted? Why it would be so sort after?"

"Well, the three Rockseeker brothers – Gundren, and his two brothers Tharden and Nundro – recently located an entrance to the long-lost Wave Echo Cave, site of the mines of the Phandelver Pact.

"You see, more than five hundred years ago, clans of dwarves and gnomes made an agreement known as the Phandelver Pact, by which they would share a rich mine in a wondrous cavern known as Wave Echo Cave. In addition to its mineral wealth, the mine contained great magical power. Human spellcasters allied themselves with dwarves and gnomes to channel and bind that energy into a great forge called the Forge of Spells, where magic items could be crafted. Times were good then, and the nearby town of Phandalin prospered as well. But disaster struck when bandits swept through the North and laid waste to all in their path."

"A powerful bandit force reinforced by evil mercenary wizards attacked Wave Echo Cave to seize its riches and magic treasures. Human wizards fought alongside their dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and the ensuing spell battle destroyed much of the cavern. Few survived the cave-ins and tremors, and knowledge of the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost. But Gundren... Gundren had a map showing the secret location of Wave Echo Cave, but the goblins took it when they captured him."

"I met Gundren in Neverwinter and agreed to escort him to Phandalin. I'm an agent of the Lords’ Alliance, you see. I am going to Phandalin to investigate the disappearance of Iarno Albrek, a human wizard and fellow member of the Lords’ Alliance, who disappeared shortly after arriving in Phandalin. My plan was to learn what happened to Iarno, assist Gundren in reopening the old mine, and help restore Phandalin to a center of wealth and prosperity. Then... this."

He stands and pries a shortsword from one of the dead goblins. "Yes, I'd love to get out of this deathly hole as well. I will reward you for your escort. What shall we do with your friend?" He looks at Sir Roderick on the floor below.

(If you intend on leaving the cave system, by which path? Are you bringing anything with you? ...Like Sir Roderick?)

Jurgen is in shock. This is the first time he lost someone, let alone in combat. 

He takes a deep breath and realizes this is the life he has chosen. He says a prayer for his fallen friend and stands, a little wobbly at first but he regains as much strength as he can. 

He walks over to Sir Roderick and says "Good bye my friend."

He looks to the group "What do we do next?"

Jurgen has a grown up a bit more this day. 

Bryony looks pained at the thought of leaving Sir Roderick's body behind.

"Shouldn't we at least try to bury him?" she asks. "If we leave him, the wolves may return and..." She trails off, her face going white.

She has heard everything that Sildar has said, of course, and it's a lot of information to take in all at once. What had been a simple delivery job is turning out to be a lot more complicated than she ever could have expected.

Quinn responds to Sildar…

”We will escort you back. But not without our friend, Sir Roderick. We would all be dead, if not for him. We owe that to him. I believe he mentioned he had old ties to Phandalin.

Let’s see if we can salvage anything from this camp and then we can head out.” 

He walks down to the lower level, looks back and calls out “Does anyone want to help search these dammed goblins. They might have something on them.”

Quinn proceeds to search the bodies, including inside and underneath the bedrolls for any clues or anything of value.

Perception check: 17

In addition to their battered weapons and armor, Quinn finds that Errk wears a belt pouch containing 21 cp, and Yeemik carried a pouch containing three precious stones and a single red potion similar to the ones you found on Klarg. The other goblins carry nothing. Sildar, too, has nothing, although he is now armed with a poor-quality goblin short sword. "The sooner we get out of this smoky black tomb, the better," he mutters.

(See Discord re: carrying Sir Roderick's body.)

"Yes, let's please get out of this horrid place," agrees Bryony.

She gathers her backpack and walks back over to Sir Roderick's body. He is wearing chainmail  and had his own pack laden with items. Bryony looks once at Sir Roderick and then back at Quinn and Syzygy, the ones who would be most likely to carry their companion's body.

"Are you sure you can carry him?" she asks skeptically.

Quinn gathers the copper pieces and precious stones. He keeps one of the pouches for himself and attaches it to his belt. He then walks over Sir Roderick and has a go at lifting him. He strains, and just as the body begins to lift, he drops him back to the ground.

"By the gods, you're built like stone hut." 

With a look of defeat on his face, he turns to the group and shakes his head.

"I...I can't carry him on my own. Sir Roderick is quite...sturdy, to say the least. As much as I wish we could take him back to Phandalin, I don't know if we can."

He turns and looks at the bedrolls on the ground. "Perhaps, we can roll him onto one of the bedrolls and drag him out to the forest outside the cave and burry him. If not, I'm sure he would understand. He was a soldier, after all. He perils of this business. "

Evening approaches – or at least you assume it does, for your party is still huddled in a cold, black, cramped cave in the former Cragmaw goblin clan hideout. There are still wolves loose in these caves, although you haven't seen them in the past couple of hours. You do hear distant but increasing whimpering and barking of the canines elsewhere in the cavern. The smoke from the cooking fires has subsided, but other bad smells have increased, as you are surrounded by dead goblins who smelled poorly even in life.

What do you do next?

One or two people may drag Sir Roderick out of the cavern without trouble, if you choose. But carrying him all the way back to your employer's wagon (about five miles distant), however, would require stripping him of his chain mail, at minimum, and perhaps redistributing other gear, you've determined. You hope the oxen are still okay after your absence of many hours. Sildar is anxious to get to Phandalin, and will pay you for the escort. You also have wagon goods to deliver there, although your employer has evidently been kidnapped, or worse. But first, you still have to make your way back out of this wolf-filled cavern system.

Tessa gets down and begins unfastening Roderick's mail. She has some farm girl strength, but certainly not enough to haul an armored warrior.

"Whether we burn him or carry him, this will have to come off."

As Tessa removes his chain mail, Quinn fetches one of the bedrolls and lays it beside Sir Roderick. 

“Thank you Tessa, that should make him easier to move. I’ll take it from here.”

Quinn looks up and addresses the rest of the group. 

“Alright then, let’s get on our way.  I’ll drag him out of the cave and we can figure out what to do then. Let’s go.”

With that, Quinn rolls Sir Roderick onto the bed roll and begins dragging him down the tunnel.

Tessa removes Sir Roderick's chain mail (fitting any medium-sized humanoid), which weighs more than 50 pounds, and sets it aside. Roderick also has a full backpack full of clothing and gear, and a fine pouch with some formal-looking papers and scrolls, together with some gold coins. He also has an ornate ring upon his finger, and a shortsword.

Rolling Roderick onto a bedroll, Quinn begins to drag him down the corridor. The party had arrived in this cave via the chimney in the back of Klarg's chamber; but you expect there are some simpler ways out. There's a very steep and rubble-choked tunnel leading downward to the stream, for instance, that forks off quite close to where you now stand – it'd be awkward, especially carrying Roderick's body, but probably passable. There's also a second exit from the pool room that you expect connects up to the main path following the stream – a longer but perhaps easier way, although you don't know for sure how it all connects. Or you could go back down the chimney, or do something else (like lowering yourselves from the high rope bridge, for instance.) Which direction do you drag him?

Syzygy grabs the other end of the bedroll. You would never know he was sulking behind the cold of his face. 

Quinn pauses to quickly glance over Sir Roderick's papers. They seem to consist of a fancy, formal scroll with a lot of family names on it, some sort of property deed, and a hastily-calligraphed note that might be a will. But the details will have to wait until they find some better light and a safer place to examine them at leisure.

Jurgen will aid in carrying Sir Roderick and his belonings

Quinn would do the mental math and play it safe. The party is weakened and he wouldn't want to risk further injury. He knows the stream leads to the exit and he would have noted the pool in the room just north of Klarg's throne room.

"Thank you, Syzygy..." Quinn groans as they struggle to carry the stout Sir Roderick. "Hows 'bout we find the stream and follow it out. We can wade in the creek in need be."

It's a little roundabout, but the path out is clear. The loose wolves are nowhere to be found as you carry Sir Roderick over the rope bridge, through the pool room, and down the sloped path that follows the east side of the streambed. The three wolves chained up in the kennel-cavern near the entrance are agitated. They bark and snarl as you pass, and strain against the iron rods securing their chains to the floor near the base of a stalagmite.

You are now at the cave mouth, the stream beside you flowing out of the cave and into the dense briar thickets. Your feet have stayed dry, although you will need to cross the shallow creek again to follow the path back to your wagon. The sun is low, just below the treeline, the path south cloaked in shadows. It is almost sunset, but it'll take a couple of hours to get back to the wagon and oxen.

Tessa

"I'd be more comfortable if we made it back to the wagon. We can follow my light."