Chapter One: A LMoP Adventure

Rock releases a cone of flame, reducing the wolf to a smoking pile of cooked meat. Flames spread out along the rock wall above Ian, but the elf is prone and kept from danger. The fire also licks at the underside of the bridge, but the wet wood simply darkens and steams.

Combat is over.

The old man turns to Gruxx. "Thank you."

Glynquinal hearing nothing of note on his exploration, and making a mental note on the rock escarpment, retraces his steps to beginning the process of retrieving his ball, bearings caltrops and short sword (thrown down at the onset of the encounter). He will also pick up the javelin Gruxx threw and hand it back to him.

As he gathers his items again, Glynquinal says to Gruxx, " That was a great throw. I was sure he was done after the second wound I gave him, but he had something left."

The Herr Doktor Professor slumps against the cavern wall next to the comatose Ian and looks up gratefully.

"Danke", he whispers.

This was a hard fight, and he is glad he and is companions have come through it alive and (more or less) intact.

Glynquinal calls out to his friend, "Gruxx let's search the bodies. Perhaps well find something worth our time, but I doubt it."

To the old man, Glynquinal asks, "How did you come to be in such a terrible place?"

Rock looks at fluffy and thinks "food"

grabs a hunch and goes looking for the two hand axes he used earlier and returns them to his belt,and searching the bodies for anything useful 

OOC: Just reminding you all that you were resting and were woken up by Glynquinal. The pre-battle took about five minutes, and the battle took 36 seconds. If you can wrap up RP in 50 or so minutes and return to sleep, the battle won't interrupt your long rest. I'm not saying you should or should not do this; I'm simply stating the rules of a long rest.

The old man replies to Glynquinal, "My traveling companion and I were ambushed on the Triboar Trail. We were on our way to Phandalin. I believe they were waiting for us. Well, for Gundren, the dwarf I was traveling with. I heard the goblins say that 'the Black Spider' sent word that the dwarf was to be brought to them. Not that I know who or what the Black Spider is." As he talks, it's clear he isn't as old as you all first assumed. He is interrupted by Rock as the dragonborn asks the old man for his handaxe back. Looking at the gold dragonborn, the old man pauses. "You ... wouldn't happen to be Rock Squeshi, would you?"

Rock, you realize this must be Sildar Hallwinter. (If you don't remember the name, look back at our PM.)

Glynquinal offers a greeting to the man they rescued, "I am Glynquinal, my friends call me Glyn sometimes. I'm glad we could help you."

Returning to the western part of the cavern, laying his short sword and a dagger across his lap, Glynquinal resumes his post.

To his fellow rogue, Glynquinal says, "Ian, I will finish my watch. I was only slightly injured."

"Gruxx, here.  I appreciate the help."  Gruxx says as he nods to Glynquinal acknowledging the statement and then gets to work searching the bodies.

Investigation:  8

OOC: Gruxx, do you administer one of the healing potions to Ian as Glynquinal instructed? Here's the deal about that: Ian will not begin healing until three hours have passed. At that point, he will gain 1 hp. Since he is an elf, he can then regain full health after four hours of rest. So, in seven hours, which is about the time left in your long rest, he will be at full health without you having to expend a healing potion. This is information a DM wouldn't normally supply, but since this is a "noobie" campaign, I'm doing so. Does it make sense that your characters would put all of this together? It's hard to say. Since we (the players) don't live in a world where someone can go from basically dead to completely healthy with eight hours (or four) of rest, we can't relate.

OOC2: Glynquinal and Gruxx, I'm surprised you don't have any other response to what the old man just said. Perhaps you are not remembering that you were hired by the dwarf Gundren to deliver goods to Phandalin. According to this guy, your employer has been kidnapped by goblins under the orders of the Black Spider, whoever/whatever it is. Also, he seems to know the dragonborn you've just met tonight. That is probably less interesting, but still interesting.

OOC3: I'll get to the searching of the bodies.

Rock looks at the old man, "I am he, have we met?"

The old man smiles. "I am Sildar Hallwinter. You must have arrived in Neverwinter just after I left. I'm glad you've caught up; you'll be a big help in sorting this out. We need to get to Phandelver as quickly as possible. The dwarf who I was accompanying to Phandelver, Gundren, is one of three brothers who recently located an entrance to the long-lost Wave Echo Cave, which is the site of the mines of the Phandelver’s Pact." (More than 500 years ago, clans of dwarves and gnomes made an agreement known as the Phandelver’s 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 the 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, and the nearby human town of Phandalin (pronounced fan-duh-lin) prospered as well. But then disaster struck when orcs swept through the North and laid waste to all in their path. A powerful force of orcs 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 the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost.) "Klarg, the bugbear your companions killed, had orders to waylay Gundren. He had a map showing the secret location of Wave Echo Cave, but the goblins took it when they captured us. I believe that Klarg sent the map and the dwarf to the chief of the Cragmaws at Cragmaw Castle. I don’t know where that might be, but someone in Phandalin might know. As you know, our man in Phandalin traveled to the town two months ago to establish order there. We haven't heard from him since, so I — and by extension, you — have been sent to investigate. Hopefully, we will find Iarno and get the information we need to find Gundren." Sildar looks at Glynquinal and Gruxx. "Did these warriors accompany you from the North?"

Glynquinal responds, "No. We were simply hired by Gundren to deliver a wagonload of supplies and guard its safe delivery. No warriors, save what meager abilities wee bring, accompanied us."

Glynquinal looks worried. 'The man that hired them, as well as their friend is taken by those not kind to ones they capture. While the action was quick near the bridge, it may have been used to buy them time to spirit him further away.' Will there be more attempts to delay them?

Glynquinal continues, 'How were you separated from Gundren? How long has it been since you two were taken?"

Gruxx is going to go and collect Klarg's head and place it back in his bag.

Gruxx will walk up to Sildar, "I'm sorry to hear you two were taken.  We will get revenge.  I want to hunt that Yeemik goblin down and add his head to my bag."

"It has been hard to keep track of the time," Sildar admits. "without a sun to track, and due to my mistreatment," he says, rubbing one arm absently. "I would guess it's been less than two days. Maybe only a day? They took Gundren straight away, then tried to get information out of me. The problem is, I'm not even quite sure what they wanted to know. And you might say you are not warriors, but your actions tell a different story." Sildar listens to Gruxx and raises his eyebrows at the barbarian, but gives him a nod of respect. "I intend to continue on to Phandalin. Rock," he says, looking at the dragonborn, "you'll accompany me, of course." He looks at Glynquinal and Gruxx. "I will gladly pay you 50 gold to provide escort in case there are more goblins ready to ambush us." He looks at Gruxx. "But, we probably should make sure we've cleared all of the goblins out of these caves first. If I'm lucky, I'll find my armor and weapons somewhere around here as well."

OOC: How's it going, Ian? :)

Glynquinal face looks worried for a moment, "We already signed on for one job delivering a wagonload of goods. We didn't do very well on that one. I have little doubts the wagon and supplies are still intact."

Pulling out the scimitar he took from one of the goblins earlier to show Sildar. "It might not be what you are used to using, but there are many others around as well as short bows if you use them."  Glynquinal smiled lightly looking at the scimitar. "Yeemik has already felt this blade once, but it was just a passing tickle. I for one don't like leaving things undone. If you want help to clear this place out, I'm willing. After that, if you want an escort. I would go with you."

Struggling mightily as he carries the unconscious Ian to where the rest of the party are talking to Sildar (he didn't want to leave Ian by the stream), the Herr Doktor Professor catches the tail-end of the conversation.

"Perhaps we should decamp from these caves and return to the wagon to rest," he suggests. "I would not want to enter another battle without the benefit of my spells, but it seems likely this Yeemik will continue to harass us while we stay here. 

"What does the rest of the party think?"

Glynquinal replies to the Herr Doktor, "If we leave these caverns now, we give them more time to work Gundren over. We could see reinforcements, or more traps set to slow us down while they take him farther away. It might not be ideal, but we can't leave our friend to them. I will do what I can, for as long as long as I can to get him back safely."

Gruxx will nod his head in agreement and go to Ian to administer the potion.  He will say pat Ian and say, "Welcome back." when Ian opens his eyes.  "We are safe again, for the moment at least."

Healing:  5

OOC: Perhaps the camera can zoom out, and the waterfall gets really load, then cut scene, and Ian is all caught up on the story (I have been reading all the posts.,....)

Ian shakes his head, as he sits up. What'd I miss? Did we win?

Glynquinal relays to Ian, "We won, for the moment Ian. There are more trials ahead to be sure, and our time is very short. Gundren is the other one that was taken."