The Phandalin Chronicles

The miners thank you for the offer to travel to town but they politely decline. 

"We need to clean up the mine.   We don't need the dead bodies rotting and attracting other creatures to move in.   We'll secure the place and clean things up."

Raskin agrees to go with you. 

"I'll go with you.   I'm going to return to Neverwinter and Phandalin is on the way."

He meets with the dwarves and promises the company will send more workers and he'll arrange supplies to be sent. 

It's a quiet ride back to Phandalin but you eventually make it back to town.   It's very late but you decided to push on and get back.   You head to your rented house while Raskin heads to the inn. 

Congratulations you are now level 5!  When you are done leveling up with a long rest let me know so we can continue the adventure. 

Rekuberk will head to bed as soon as they get into the house, having been rather annoyed with a certain Dragonborn for having the nerve to attempt striking him. Once he wakes up and feels renewed he will go to the inn to find himself something to eat.

After getting a good night of sleep, Kazri goes to visit Linene at the Lionshield Coster in the morning. For some reason, Kazri has been looking forward to speak with Linene since she the last time she left town.

Krom, after a night of sleep in the group's house, feels refreshed. As the dwarf starts his usual prayers' routine he immediately feels that his connection to Moradin has somehow deepened. Krom feels able to call upon the Soul Forger's power in order to cure the curse that afflicts Raskin. The dwarf will immediately rush to the inn and look for Raskin.

"Raskin rejoice!" the dwarf will say as soon as he meets the cursed man, "The Soul Forger has granted me the power for curing you of your affliction."

Krom chants an hymn of cleansing (Remove Curse) and touches Raskin's hand: a small circle of fire will appear around Raskin's hand, in a flash of light Raskin is enveloped by fire, a few seconds later the fire vanishes and Raskin appears unharmed and a bit more healthy then before. "The Soul Forger's fire removed the curse, you are now healed."

Chill steps out of the house and decides to head to the house of Harbin Wester and inform the townmaster that Raskin had been escorted to the mine and the events at the ranch had been dealt with.  He would make sure he received the promised payment.

He would then wander over to the job board to see if there was anything new.

 As Kazri enters the Lionshield Linene looks up and gives her a smile.

"Ah, its good to see you are still alive, no one had seen you for several days.  How goes the dragon hunting?  Have those boomerang worked out or can I interest you in a longbow or a crossbow to take down a dragon?"

________

Krom is able to find Raskin having breakfast at the inn.  He leads you up to his room where he hears your good news.  He gladly accepts the removal of the curse.

"I don't know how to thank you master dwarf!  Hold on!  Let me give you something.  I have a pair of boots that I took with me.  I got them when adventuring in the Spine of the World.  They'll protect you from the cold and if you are really going up against a white dragon you'll put them to good use.

He gives you a set of Boots of the Winterlands.

___________

Chill gets 200 gold pieces from Wester for the 2 jobs completed.  Easter also tells him there are some new jobs on the board.  

Wester still refuses to open his door hearing that that dragon has not yet been dealt with.

Job Board:

As much as Rhogar wished to trust Raskin once they group made it town, after the events in the mine, Ghorar followed and found some place to watch the man throughout the remainder of the night. She was not pleased, to say the least. Despite knowing there would be a reckoning come morning, the Bronze fell easily into a slumber. As he dreamed of a return to the sea, a compulsion overtook him, driving deep the impulse to dive in until even the willful dragonborn could not resist it. No shock of cold accompanied the dive; but rather, what should've been water became a swirling mass of colors and emotions and power. Confused but unafraid, Rhogar let it all flow around and through him, awakening eventually to a revelation.

All it would take is a thought and a fragment of something more would be at his fingertips. Grinning, he heads to breakfast scarfing down as much as he could in one sitting. Whenever Chill comes around with the news of coin and jobs, he perks up all the moreso, then grows somber a moment later. "I am TORN my friends! On the one hand, ensuring Axehome is secure in the event we fail would be a great boon, if this Orc is left unchecked in the woods, there's not telling how much worse things can get." He says worriedly. "Then there's the matter of the dragon slaying sword.. hmm... My vote, is the delivery mission. Then on to this Falcon's Hunting Lodge while we're in the area. Two birds with one stone, and a good dead done! Then depending on how far north we must travel, perhaps -- PERHAPS we can looking into the sword next before making our way southward. Though the question is, who should talk too about it?"

For all of her life, even during her aimless wondering years, there was never doubt in Kazri's mind whenever there was a task at hand. Thus, she is glad that there is a dragon to keep her mind busy at the moment. So she does not understand why her will is faltering as she makes her way to the Lionshield Coster. "What is the matter with you Soldier! It is just a trading post, for Helm's sake!!" She senses that she is excited and yet nervous at the same time. Emotions that she thought she had lost long time ago. She stares at the door of the establishment for a long moment, and she finally opens the door and enters. "Nonsense..."

She is greeted warmly by the master of the post. She looks at Linene and something tugs at her heart. She believes that she finally found the reason of her unacceptable behavior. "YEEES! I SAW THE DRAGON!!" She shakes her head several times. "My apologies Ms. Graywind. Er.. Please let me start over. I did try to use the weapon you gave me, but it didn't go well. I need more training." She is having a hard time keeping eye contact with the woman in front of her. "However, we actually went to the Shrine, south of Conyberry as you described, and you were correct in your speculation." Saying that gives her resolve. "There was an altar in the shrine, and when my companions and I touched it, we received a vision. In the vision, the White Dragon was resting on the roof of Icespire Hold. That is the reason I came to visit you..."

21 21 4
Chip would make his way downstairs. He was a little groggy looking as though he didn't sleep much the night before. As he moves to sit down at the table, you notice a few small cuts on his hands as he places three wooden figurines on the table. The first one is is of Chirrax. It looks as though it took a few hours and is by far the most detailed and best looking sculpture he has ever managed to carve. It is smooth and polished with bits of the wood appearing to even be stained a bit to accent different details...(20) the Second one is of Ghorar... it is much better than his previous attempts but is still by far the worst of the three... it almost appears as though it isn't quite done (10). The third one is of Rekuberk. The style of this one is different than the rest. has a more jagged and rough appearance but as you look closer, you can tell that it is intentional. Where as the Chirrax sculpture is more smooth and polished, The figurine of the half orc appears harder and rough. The large sword in the hands of Rekuberk is sharp to the touch, even though it is made of wood. it even appears to be stained a bit to accent the weapon and eyes on the figure. 

After placing them down on the table,  Chip would show Ghorar the new figurine he was working on. "Hey Ghorar... I uhh...  couldn't sleep so I tried making you a new figurine... I fell asleep before I could finish though.." He would say holding the small start of a psudodragon.  Then looking across the table to Rekuberk, chip would nod to the eating half-orc. "Hey.. Sorry about.. yesterday..." he would say as he slides the small figure across the table. "I uhh.. made this for you." The dragonborn would say before sitting back in his chair. He would then pick up the Chirrax figure and place it in his own bag.  

Chip would then make himself some breakfast listen to the plans of the others. "That sounds like a good plan to me Rhogar." Chip would say while taking a bite of food. "I think I want to try to pick up some new equpment before we leave though if that is ok with you all..." and assuming Chill hands out their share of the reward gold (33.3G) He would go to the store and attempt to trade his leather armor for some studded leather... and maybe a drum as well...

Ghorar circles and studies her look-alike with a great deal of interest, then looks Chip deep in the eyes. After a moment or two, she bites... onto her figurine, and flies off to who knows where with it. Though in a few minutes the group would see her again; looking as smug as far as any can tell. "Right! I was meaning to get a new set of armor -- not unlike Chill's there -- before heading off last. Unfortunately, I do fear our latest venture didn't net enough in the way of coin to come no more than closer to where I was than before." Despite the grim tidings Rhogar chuckles all the same.

"If any of you require something, I would GLADLY offer up my share of it. Perhaps a second horse to take the burden off of dear Penelope?"

Chill will meet back up with the others that are at the inn and divide the gold as needed and let them know what he found out.

"We netted 200 gp for those two jobs.  That's 33 gold and 3 silver pieces each if I have my math right.  Rhogar, if you need new armor, I have my old leathers that are probably worth 5 gp.  I'll give you whatever you need to cover the rest.  Plus we have the solid gold bell. If we can find a buyer for it or break it apart we could cash that in and buy whatever we want!"

"Maybe Krom could turn the gold into gold coins." Chip would add as he gets ready to do some shopping. "That would be easiest... unless he wants to try to make a beautiful piece of art out of it. You might get more money that way but I cannot imagine any sort of buyer that could afford it living in town" The dragonborn would say before heading into town.

(OOC: Chip will sell his old leather for 5gp and buy a nice set of charcoal gray studded leather armor. He would then attempt to buy a drum if possible. 

"I'm up for a hunt for a sword.  That sounds fun to me.  I was also wondering if we can trade the bell for plate armor for Kazri and/or Krom and any other gear we may want?"

"We might be able to at least trade it for enough materials for Krom to finish making plate armor with the help of the materials we have already collected" Chip would reply. 

Chill is able to sell his old leather armor for 5gp. 

While Chip is also able to sell his old armor (5gp) and buy an upgrade (studded leather 45gp) he has trouble finding a drum.   There doesn't seem to be a market for them in Phandalin and no one sells musical instruments. 

"Try Neverwinter, that city is big enough to sell stuff like that." He is told. 

_________

Linene is impressed Kazri saw the dragon and survived. 

"Icespire Hold is a stone fortress perched on the icy northeast spur of Icespire Peak.  Many years ago it was used to keep the orcs of the Sword Mountains in check.  But the group that was up there died when a series of storms stranded them.   They likely starved to death.   No one saw them again and no one went up to see what really happened."

Rekuberk will take the figure from the Dragonborn, making sure to not cut his hand as he carefully puts it into his pack. He will keep his new sword sheathed even as the glow can slightly be seen coming from the blade. He will then take the maul made for him and set it onto the table, using a dagger to carefully carve the symbol of his mother's clan into it.

"Whatever quest we take we should do ones that can give us funds. I would recommend we get as many healing potions and other equipment items as we can."

Krom thanks Raskin for his gift and inform the rest of the group about it. "It is indeed an useful item. The question is who should wear it? It will be useful for one of our two front line warriors, but also to any of us. If you are up to it, we could have a little dwarven game for deciding who will wear it. My clan members call this game Drink & Throw. The rules are very simple, before throwing an handaxe to a target placed at 60ft you have to drink a pint of ale. It is the best of three throws for each player, if you miss a throw you have to drink one additional pints before attempting the next throw. Beside deciding who takes the magical boots I think we could use a little bit of fun before heading toward our next destination."

"I am torn too, Roghar, securing Axehome, that may be my clan's ancestral home, could give Phandalin's folks a better chance of surviving against the Dragon, but we can not leave the orcs unchecked. If Tymora is on our and Phandalin's side we may still have time before the Dragon decides to attack the town. If the situation changes the folks of Phandalin could hide in the mine if Axehome is not ready."

After speaking with the group, Krom will try to find a way to smelt or reduce to a tradable size the gold bell in order to get the remaining materials for Kazri's Plate mail and provide to the group an additional income.

"Acknowledged. Northeast spur of Icespire Peak, understood." Kazri makes sure to store the information, and mark it important in her brains. For she knows it may be a while before they are ready to pay Dragon a visit. She is about to thank Linene and leave the trading post, but she resolves to speak with this woman that intrigues her so much a while longer.

"Hummm... I would like to apologize for, one again, not having a need for the services of your establishment. We are actually very lucky that our group happens to have a Cleric that is also a divine master smith, and he has been providing us with all the equipment that we need on the field." Kazri gently puts down Nature's Grasp on the store counter. The flail's handle is crafted in a way to resemble several intertwined tree's branches, each branch ends with a spiked ball. Each spiked ball is etched with a different leaf motif. "I wonder if there is any service that you are able to provide on this very special weapon that was crafted for me. Of course, I will pay you full fees, double actually. For I would like to compensate you, somehow, for the aid you have rendered to our group so far."

(@all: Gonna be gone for most the weekend, so posting will be a bit sketchy. Assume by the end he goes by the majority without much grousing if it comes to it)

(@DM: Possible silly question, but if we were to start from the dragon borrow question (with the supplies from the logger mission in toe), and continue west to the logger's camp and eventual orc quest along the river, would it be faster to take the high road initially(technically speaking), or about the same as if we roughed it going on a straight to it before moving on to the rest.)

Rhogar's eyes light up at the mention of the bell, only to immediately dim in light of the reminder of Kazri's armor. Though he goes back to mulling over Chill's earlier offer, he keeps his ears open, but waves off joining the game. While he could not be absolutely certain, he had faith in the dream granting him more than simple experience. Though he listened to the rest without much interruption.

(@Chill: Max can correct me later when he next gets the chance if I'm wrong, but I thought part of his upgrading Chill's armor involved using the leather as a base for the studs?)

"Thank you for the offer, Chill. AND the reminder about that gaudy thing. For now, I think I'll hold off until we sort out the bell's sale... or perhaps... re-dedication to the local temple? I do not know you westerners customs as whole, so forgive me if that was a... snafu? I think that's the right word." He chuckles and grins. "No matter. If either at least the mines or the excavation site are a secondary option, it seems were just about all in agreement! Excellent! I'm gonna ask around to see what more I can dig up about the borrow from the locals. But less be swift about preparations. If it comes down to it, I'll even forgo getting a little more armor, since Master Krom can perhaps make some more out of the Orc weapons will not doubt "acquire" during our journey anyhow." He gives the dwarf a wink, and with that would start chatting up the barkeep about the borrow, or who to speak to about it.

Chip would return with his new black studded leather  armor and at the mention of the game he would smile and nod. "A drink sounds swell to me" he would say with a smile. "Those boots are pretty nice looking... I would bet you could impress a great deal of people wearing something like that." He would say as he rubbed his chin.