Jurgen, seeing the people and buildings in a mess, he and Draco rush forward and ask what aid they can provide. 

Boon moves to help brace the wall.

25

Quinn moves to follow Jurgen and Boona, but he decides to hold back and guard the brothers. He surveys the scene and the skies looking for any immediate threats. He assesses the buildings trying to gauge what caused the damage. And he looks for little Carp as well.

Perception check: 15

Quinn readies his shield and Lightbringer and guards the brothers. Without taking his eyes off the chaos, Quinn barks orders to the brothers.

"Put your hoods on. Don't run off. Bryony has family here. We have to check on them" 

He spies Bryony in his peripheral vision and calls out to her.

"Don't worry, we'll find your family. I promise you. Let's stick together and not get separated."

Boona lumbers through the chaotic crowd and up to the Miner's Exchange building, where she manages to cleanly lift the entire side of the building. Then, the masons patch a gap in the foundation as Guild Master Halia barks orders and the cloaked gnome passes stones to the workers while whistling a manic melody.

And they succeed. You can see Halia breath a sigh of relief. "I hurt a few of them goblins badly. They couldn’t have gotten far!" she growls.

The crowd continues to agitate in the town green, but it looks like the Shrine of Luck has also been righted just beyond. There's no sign of Carp.

It appears as though somebody or something knocked out and removed part of the Exchange building’s cornerstone, concludes Quinn, rendering the building unstable. He can't judge from this distance what happened to the Shrine of Luck further up the street.

DM: I forgot to ask some questions about the contents within Nezznar’s writings.

1. Any details about Nezznar himself? What were their goals? Were they working for someone else or in this on their own.

2. Any mention of Vhalak? I never followed up with Nundro but that line he said about Vhalak not being a drow was curious.

3. Were there any names of sympathizers or accomplices in the writings? I’m specifically curious of anyone who lives in Phandalin. Harbin perhaps? 

Ruven, seeing the chaos, immediately drops his bags and begins another complicated ritual. He draws runes in the dirt, muttering the entire time, taking about an hour while the chaos goes on around him. Finally, an owl appears in a flash of light in the middle of the runes, who then flies up to Ruven's shoulder and gives him a very un-owl-like nod. Ruven then joins the crew to offer help in assessing the situation.

Boona looks pleased with herself then looks around for Bryony upon hearing there were goblins here....Bryony had family here......

From Ruven’s gleanings through the voluminous notes, you learn (or confirm):

“The Spider” was a drow mastermind named Nezznar. He controlled a network of bandit gangs and goblin bands in the area. The Cragmaw goblins worked for him, as did Iarno “Glasstaff” Albrek, the leader of the Redbrands. Glasstaff knew of the Spider through contacts in the Lords’ Alliance and brokered a meeting. The Spider promised to share the secrets and wealth of the Forge of Spells with Glasstaff in exchange for his help and his loyalty.

He hired the Redbrands to frighten off adventurers and intimidate the locals in order to keep potential competition away from the Phandelver mine. He later sent bugbears to reinforce the Redbrands and provide extra muscle.

The Spider specifically wanted your party out of the picture, and even offered a bounty.

Nezznar’s spies had followed the Rockseekers to Wave Echo Cave; the Rockseekers inadvertently led the villain to their prize. Wanting it for himself, Nezznar tried to take steps to make sure no one else knew where it was. He paid the Cragmaws to capture Gundren Rockseeker and send him and anything he was carrying to King Grol.

The Spider and his followers captured the two brothers who were guarding their find, killing one, then arranged for Gundren Rockseeker’s ambush. After learning of the adventurers’ involvement with Gundren, and of their exploits in and around Phandalin, the Spider issued orders for the characters to be dealt with. He then began exploring the depths of Wave Echo Cave.

The Spider and his loyal followers then began to explore the mines and searching for the legendary Forge of Spells, where the human mages of old Phandalin enchanted dwarven weapons and gnome gadgets. However, his exploration was hindered by the dangerous monsters - especially the undead, which he was reluctant to face - that lurk in Wave Echo Cave.

Nezznar had two doppelgangers in his employ: Vyerith, a messenger from the Spider, whom he sent to King Grol come to transport Gundren Rockseeker and the map to Wave Echo Cave. But Vyerith vanished. His other doppelganger was Vhalak, an overseer to Nezznar’s lackeys. He hd been supervising an excavation in the guise of a drow.

There seem to be no references to any accomplices in Phandalin. The current townmaster, the human banker Harbin Wester, might be considered a mild sympathizer, but Nezznar treated him as a patsy; Harbin was completely intimidated by the Redbrands.

Jurgen asks, “which way did the goblins go? Also, was there anything special about the Exchange building’s cornerstone?”

The chaotic scene continues to grow as a few more locals join the crowd.

"I have no idea why they were interested in the building’s cornerstone," replies Halia. "But my lucky stone was embedded into it, and now it's missing. I fought 'em off to the best of my ability, but I couldn’t stop them from taking it. I swear one of them pushed me with some kind of magical, invisible force."

"They fled that way," she adds, pointing south behind the building. 

DM:

One more question does it look like the only structures impacted were the Miners Emporium and the Shrine of Luck?

Fergus:

Coming upon the scene just as Halia finishes speaking, a young adult halfling dressed in nondescript traveling clothes steps up and adds to the conversation.  He is accompanied by a Dwarven scholar and a young girl, with all of them coming from the direction of the shrine.

“We found goblin tracks and this Duergar axe after we stabilized the Shrine of Luck.  The well and the bar seem to have been raided for unusual stones as well,” says Fergus, presenting the axe to Halia.

He adds to his companions and the nearby gnome, “Jorzu, let us go after the goblins quickly, taking at least one prisoner so we can get some questions answered,” before noticing the new, capable-looking adventurers in town.  He nods politely to them, inviting their counsel on the matter.

The Miner's Exchange and the Shrine of Luck are the only damaged buildings visible from where you stand, although there are stories and rumors aplenty buzzing from the crowd. As the young halfling reports, there is talk of both the Barthen’s Provisions well and the Sleeping Giant being ransacked, together with stories of kidnappings and other chaos wrecked upon Phandalin by these strange-looking goblins.

Quinn listens intently to this young halfling.

"It's good to see others who willing to help. We can help too. We've dealt with the goblins in this neck of the woods before. But we...we have urgent business in town that we need to tend to. Give me one moment."

Quinn turn's to the brothers with a question.

"Will you come with us? We must deal with this threat. If we don't do it now, these dammed goblins will most surely ruin your other plans."

He then looks to Bryony.

"Little one, shall we check in with your Auntie and Carp? If so we must be quick."

Jorzu 

"Duergar? That's odd, quite odd. Why would they be raiding an established town?" The tiny gnome, standing only just over two and a half feet, mumbles as the halfing presents the axe to Halia. When addressed by the halfling he responds, "Oh, yes, of course. Off to find the goblins. My little friend over there says they headed this way" pointing south. "It says they appear to have stopped just past the field".

The gnome takes a few steps and pauses when he realises that the halfling is not following. "Fergus? Oh, are we recruiting more able hands? That's probably wise." He paces back to the halflings side and when the tall human finishes speaking says, "My name is Jorzu and that's Fergus. Maybe after these errands are run we should introduce ourselves more formally. Yes. A proper introduction."

Gundren and Nundro (the two dwarves traveling with Quinn and companions) confer briefly and then shake their heads soberly. "Your job here is complete. You have our thanks. We'll seek out Sildar for protection, and then attend to business. We have a lot of work to do, goblins or no. Don't worry about us. If we can offer any assistance, of course, let us know. Be sure to check with Sildar or the Townmaster in a couple of weeks to receive your first royalty payment."

"Yes! I think the goblins are coming from a place that’s Duergar in origin!" pipes up Gwyn, the dwarven scholar accompanying Fergus. "But where? I think I need more information." She looks down at her notes with confusion.

Halia, the Guild Master, points south through the neighboring field, as she staunches a bloody wound on her leg. "I smashed a couple of them really bad," she growls. "They're probably not far from here still."

Bryony is frantic with worry about her Aunt Qelline and cousin Carp. She is only barely listening when they are approached by a dwarven scholar, a halfling, and a gnome. She turns quickly to Quinn. "Yes, we need to check on them! They should be at home. Oh, I hope Carp hasn't gotten himself into any trouble!" 

The halfling rogue spares a quick glance for the newcomers, enough to check whether she recognizes them from town or not. "I'm Bryony Alderleaf," she says, introducing herself, but it's clear her mind is elsewhere.

Fergus:

”Right, we have a direction thanks to you and Jorzu,” says Fergus as he puts a comforting hand on Halia’s arm.

Cure Wounds:  16

”Let’s get moving, any who would help chase down the goblins who did this!” encourages the helpful halfling as he starts walking the way the goblins went.

Jorzu 

Although a trusting fellow, Jorzu's allegiance lays with Fergus for now. As such he follows the halfling when the halfling heads towards the field. "What of your kin and her concerns?" Jorzu questions of Fergus as they leave the immediate area. "I guess once we eliminate the goblins the threat will be gone. Much better time for family reunions. Mm-hmm, much better" he, as usual, prattles to no-one as he attempts to keep stride with Fergus.

Fergus:

"Oh yes, of course--there was a young lady there, was there not, though I have no idea if she is from my extended family," says Fergus.  "I'm afraid I was already on my way as she was introducing herself."

"Quite rude of me, I guess, though we are under a bit of a time constraint, and I wished to spend less time talking and more time chasing down the miscreants who did this. I must apologize when we return," he adds, looking back in Bryony's direction...