“I agreed to travel with Gundren because I hadn’t heard from a colleague of mine who was sent here a few months ago.” He looks around at the four of you, puzzled he asks “weren’t there more of you yesterday ... and” looking to Raithe, “I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure. I’m Sildar Hallwinter.”

After introductions are complete. (Or an uncomfortable amount of silence has passed) Sildar continues, “I’ve been asking around about the whereabouts of a colleague of mine, Iarno Albrek. I believe I mentioned him to you yesterday.” He waits a moment for confirmation either way and then continues, “From what I’ve been able to gather, he was last seen near Tresendar manor. That house on the hill you just came from. Any chance you saw him there.” He then describes Iarno as “a short, dark-bearded human wizard in his thirties.”

Additionally during the conversation, you notice that Fionn is no longer with you. 

Raithe nods at Sildar, and introduces herself. She listens, furrowing her brow at this Gundren, and her mind begins to draft a bit, her eyes still roving about this town she wasn't sure she'd ever see again. Then, when she hears "Albrek" her eyes dart back to Sildar. She listens more attentively to the rest of what he says. "Albrek, you say? Big important person out of Neverwinter?"

Cadence smiles welcomingly at Sildar, a twinkle in her eye, then abruptly glances around, eventually looking skyward.  "I understand, I'll let them know. I'm sorta sad, but Fionn had to go." 

Cadence shrugs about Sildar's question, "I can't keep track, I just follow the tune. We're after a wizard, hopefully we find him soon." 

Nova would just boot a rock and watch it tumble away as she'd listen.

“He is came here from Neverwinter yes.” Sildar confirms. “Not sure I would call him big and important. He stopped sending messages on his progress here and I was sent to see what’s happened to him. Maybe this wizard you’re after is my missing colleague.”

"I had indeed heard a story from a friend of mine that he was missing. Curious to perhaps find him here! Well, the rest of these lovely people who rescued me saw a bit more of the place in which he seems to have taken residence. Potions and books and other things that I do not understand. I wonder what he was doing. Did he have any notes that perhaps give clues to his intentions and whereabouts?" Raithe says. She also, eventually, asks where she might get more to eat than scavenged rations and the gruel they were served in the cell.

Nova took her arm back and started to pace in place as she listened to Sildar and Raithe discuss. She'd inhale a breath before looking up to the man. "Have anything that smells like him?" She was offering to cross reference the smell. The druid was just trying to focus on one thing and not spiral into a loop of mental anguish. Her fists were opening and closing as if she were trying to work a stress ball.

Sildar looks a bit bewildered by your question and says hesitantly, “I have an old cloak of his I was trying to return to him.” He hands it out to you after pulling it from a bag he is carrying.

Nova would shove her face in the cloak to sniff it.

Perception: 25
(Can see tell if it's the same smell as the wizard they were tracking? If not, would she recognize it at all?)

Velda held back for now. Her focus had been the rescue of Gert, and after that had proven to be unnecessary, she wanted to get all of them through and out safely. She had no strife with the wizard, und still struggled to put all the pieces together.

Gert, gone. Boris, bolted? Fionn, fled? Will Cadence cut out, Raithe run, and Velda vamoose, too?

"Smells the same." Nova would blurt, pulling her face out of the cloak. "The scent disappeared into town." Her mismatched eyes gave a blank expression as if she's just going through the motions. She'd gesture in the direction of the direction she lost the smell.

"What does he look like? Surely someone in this town has seen him, if we ask around." Raithe says, stepping in as her new companions seem to be uncomfortable pressing forward, lost in their own thoughts.

Cadence crouches down and looks about, then begins speaking in a calm, rythmic way, 

"So. Let's, all through this.... go,

Gundrens hires us to escort some provisions to phandalin, which is where we're now in, 

Some goblins named Yeemik and Klarg stole some stuff. Which we got back, cause we're buff, 

Of course we also rescued Sildar, as he thanked his lucky star,

Sildar and Gundren has been on their way to meet, the brothers Tharden and Nundro in Phandalin....hmmmm, maybe take a seat, (she directs this to Raithe), 

Gundren had thought he found the mines of Phandelvers Pact, where they made a Forge of Spells, and that's a fact,

The placed was also called Waves Echo Cave, but human wizards and dwarves fought with orcs to keep the place safe,  (post : #356) 

But Gundren was not alone in his search, there was another evil guy looking for the cave from his perch,

A creature named Black Spider, calling from Cragmaw Castle, probably not a simple fighter, 

And spider is working with King Grol, presumably all at the castle and risking his soul, 

Anyway, Sildar was going to also look for his friend, someone named Albrek who was not responding to messages he would send.

Now...for this town, and the story from here around.

These red cloaks are trying to take over this town, though why in a red gown.... (she shrugs to herself), 

And this wizard leads these thugs, brewing potions and reading about old dugs.  (she holds up the dwarven texts found in the wizards place that has hints about the spell forge and the echo cave), 

But he's the same guy who is your friend, now....there is a shift and a bend." 

Sighing after saying so much at once, she cracks open the book.  "Anyone read dwarf? I can't...of course." 

She looks around, "We should probably ask about those brothers. Or maybe their mothers?"

Velda was both impressed and delighted by Cadence's rhiming summary: "Wait, that's what's been going on all this time?! Well, we know where this castle is right? I say we go there and stop this once and for all!"

Cadence also hands a piece of paper to the group, "I also found this. It's important I guess." 

She lifts a leg up, placing it on the inside of her other legs knee, and stretches her arms up into the air, hands pressed together, and just stands there with her eyes closed, balancing.

"There is... a lot more going on here than I initially thought! Gert and I's mutual friends were smart to send reinforcements." she says, indicating herself. 

"So this Black Spider, King Grol... seem to be working with Albrek. Okay. And there is another place where they seem to be spending their time, which is different from the place we just escaped. Okay. Thank you for spelling that out for me. Do we need to go to this castle right now? Can we sleep and eat? Should we spy on the castle, see who comes and goes? I may be able to imitate someone if I can see them. Imitate them rather well. But I'm a bit hungry and tired. Sildar, where are you staying?"

Sildar responds to Raithe’s question pre-rhyme-ologue, “As a member of the Lords Alliance he was sent here to help bring law and order to this town. As you can see it’s anything but with these ... Rebrands seemingly running everything. As I said earlier, from what I’ve gathered from the townspeople, Iarno was last seen up near the manor there about two months ago.” Sildar points again to the manor up the hill that you just came from. “Are you quite certain you didn’t see a short, dark-bearded human wizard in his thirties.”

(This actually answers both of Raithes questions. Point of note Klarg was a bugbear and not a goblin... but it matters little. Also, since I can’t remember without checking, did the items recovered from the cave get delivered anywhere?

Sildar listens quietly during Cadence’s rhymecapping of the situation. And at its conclusion states, “This evidence does seem to indicate that Iarno is involved in all of this lawlessness here. If you manage to find Iarno, please bring him back to me so that he may answer for his crimes.”

After Velda’s comments about finding the castle, “I do believe that is an important piece in whatever nefarious plot is afoot here. It is also I fear where Gundren could be. If he is still alive.”

He then removes a pouch from his belt holding it out for one of you to take. “Here’s a pouch containing 200 gold as compensation for your time and effort in helping restore order to the town. If you manage to find this Cragmaw Castle and defeat or drive off the tribe chieftain I’ll have some more gold for you.”

“Furthermore, if you have some time, I believe there are a few folk here in town that have need of assistance from sturdy adventurers such as yourselves.”

In answer to Raithe’s question, “You must be new here, the only place to stay in town is the Stonehill inn. I believe it was fully occupied, though I no longer see two of your group that I traveled here with yesterday. I do hoping nothing terrible happened to them.” There’s a pause while he waits for someone to supply an answer on the whereabouts of Gert and Fionn. Then says to Raithe, “If you let old Toblen know you’re with me, I’ll make sure your lodging is covered while you’re here.”

(Yes we delivered the supplies before heading to the manor.)

Nova would blink as if completely bewildered. She shared the same surprised realization as Velda about all that’s been going on. The druid knew she wasn’t always the most aware. She was so focused on the missing, she simply just followed along with the crowd.

Scratching her head not knowing what to do with the offered gold, Nova would wait for someone else to take it and distribute it again. 

“Gone.” Nova says flatly in response to missing Gert and Fionn, kicking a pebble again to watch it tumble away. 

Velda looks at Sildar, and then produces her own bag of coins, and those that Nova gave her. "If it please you, may I purchase one of the abandoned houses here in town? I intend to finish all this together with my friends here, but afterwards, I'd like to settle down for a while. As you said, the Stonehill inn is the only one here, and for some of us, we'd prefer something of our own, if that's alright?" To those of you who know Velda, you can tell how much concentration and effort the flattery costs her.

Persuasion: 18

Cadence waits for the house purchase to resolve, and then says to Sildar, "What of these brothers they were here to meet?  Do you think finding them in town would be a tough feat?"