In Leilon the group sees Leosin Erlanthar off as he sets for Waterdeep and they make their way with Tharasun One-Eye back north. Before they leave Shiv, meets with a wood elf named Tamariel who claims he is helping Quelline find her niece Verna. finds time to make out with the wood elf Tamariel. Back in Phandalin Embra is met by a wood elf at Stonehill Inn who introduces himself as Tamariel, who asks whether she’s looking for a Ranger. He relates to her a tale of meeting an attractive elf who informed him of Phandalin’s need for a Ranger, and after they spent the evening together he awoke to find half of his belongings stolen. He describes Shiv and Embra recompenses him for the stolen items and hires Tamariel and asks him to look into the disappearance of Verna and investigate the mysterious drow; she also instructs Tamariel that he is to report to her before anyone else, including Halia, the Townmaster Wester, or anyone of the newly-established constabulary. She provides a base of operations for him locally in Tresendar Manor and by the time the others arrive he is integrated well into the staff.
When the group arrives back in Phandalin they are met with activity as Embra is overseeing the restoration of the ramparts around the town, the repair and fortification of Cragmaw Keep, the restoration of Tresendar Manor, and the new road prCooject between Cragmaw Keep and Phandalin. When Tamariel sees Shiv he chides her for stealing his kit, but Shiv defends herself and says she knows nothing about that. Embra trusts the veracity of both versions of their stories, and Davron casts Zone of Truth and apprehends they are not being false. Tamariel says that three days ago he was camped north of town and Shiv stole his belongings in the night; Jory threatens Tamariel not to speak ill of Shiv or risk being beaten. The group realizes that the Tamariel they met prior to arriving in Phandalin was not the true article, and that it was likely the doppleganger.
The group assembles in the large suite and places Gundren on the bed as Reidoth and Tharsun begin the ceremony to remove the curse placed upon him. Tharson removes the locket from his chest and places it by the bedside while Reidoth applies a poultice onto his forehead and Gundren reverts back to flesh, exhausted. The group lets him get his rest and they post a watch outside his door. The group returns to the tavern, Karendil returns to his room to study spells, and Shiv and Tamariel go to Shiv’s room and fornicate.
The next morning Embra has her attendants cater to Gundren and he says his brothers Thardin and Nundro were both at the mine site and if no one has heard from them they’ve run afoul of something. Reidoth says it will be several days before Gundren is well enough to travel, and says that if he reveals the location of the map Reidoth can lead the group there—the mine is about a day-and-a-half from Phandalin. The team pack their gear, load up their horses, and drive a team of pack mules to the mine.
Enter Wave Echo Mine
Wave Echo Cave & Mine
They arrive at a tunnel that opens up into a cavern where they see an obvious cave-in—there are fresh ropes attached to the ledge that descend into a broad pit. Karendil launches his firefly into the cavern to check the area for traps while the team fans out to inspect it. They come upon a dead dwarf in a bedroll, surrounded by supplies: this is the corpse of Thardin Rockseeker. His throat has been cut. Karendil guesses that he has been dead for weeks and Davron notices that his boots are magical. Davron sends a message to Gundren about their discovery and the group builds a cairn for the fallen dwarf. Embra keeps his boots.
That evening they set camp and establish a watch. During second watch Steve and Karendil hear movement from the ropes along the ledge and they circle the group and awaken them all. Karendil hears goblins speaking their native tongue and the ropes tighten, as if weight is being applied. One of the voices mutters, “I don’t know what he thinks we’re gonna find out here.” Shiv peers over the side and sees three massive bugbears scaling the ridge towards them. She raises her crossbow and fires at one, missing it. Karendil stands at the precipice and fires magic missiles at each of them. Steve lashes one of them with his thorn whip and yanks him onto the ledge, where Jory immediately slashes at him with his sword. Embra teleports down into the pit behind one of the bugbears and slashes at it with her axe.
The bugbear stops climbing and turns to attack, viciously smashing Embra with his morning-star. The bugbear on the rope leaps upon the ledge and savagely strikes Davron twice, felling the cleric. Shiv runs to Davron and sneakily strikes the bugbear in the back with her Witchbolt attack. Karendil sends an array of fire missiles into the face of one of the bugbears, staggering him while Steve uses the cover to approach and provide Cure Wounds to Davron. Embra casts Vow of Emnity at her foe and strikes him twice. Shiv is battered by one of the bugbears, but maintains her concentration on Witchbolt and continues to damage him. Jory slashes out and strikes his opponent and Karendil splits his attack between Jory and Embra’s foes. Embra spends a moment and casts Lay On Hands to heal herself. Karendil, Jory and Shiv dispatch one of the bugbears and Davron and Steve kill the other; below, Embra slays her adversary and the group resumes its rest and watch pattern.
The next morning they progress into the cave and soon hear a loud booming noise echoing throughout the mine, like waves upon the shore. Them move deeper and come upon a clear pool and Karendil drops his light into it. They make a note of it and continue up a flight of stairs to a door, where Shiv scouts and hears voices on the other side. Karendil casts Clairvoyance on the other side and can see the room is occupied by five bugbears. Shiv and Steve walk back down the hall as Jory yanks the door open and Karendil hurls a Fireball into the room. The sudden blast wounds and stuns the bugbears and the group rushes in and begins hacking away and throwing spells at them. After a furious battle, they slay the bugbears and collect their supplies.
Embra hacks off the limb of one of the bugbears and Davron tosses it into the pond as a test; the limb floats limply to the bottom of the pool. Since nothing happens, Davron approaches the pool and senses a magical item buried in the sand and silt at the bottom. He alerts the group and Embra lashes rope to her waist and wades into the pool; Davron, Steve and Jory hold the rope fast and Embra submerges and digs through the silt until she finds something solid. She opens her eyes and sees a skeleton at the bottom with two rings on its finger-bones and a wand clasped in its hand. She takes the items, tugs the rope, and the group pulls her back to shore.
A Flameskull
On they go until they find a long hall and off in the distance they see a flickering green light. Karendil frets over the possibilities of the light and the group continues toward it and discovers that they have reached the forge and bellows of the old mine. The corpses of orcs, dwarves, and unknown creatures litter the floor. The faint green light grows brighter and the group is soon approached by a floating skull wreathed in eldritch flame.
“I hear you,” its voice laughs maniacally and it bears down on them.
“You’re not allowed in here,” it says to them in a sing-song voice.
Jory swings at it. His strike is true and everyone closes in and beats it will spells and weapons until it shatters. Immediately upon its death the corpses on the floor stir, rise, and shamble towards the group. Davron casts Turn Undead, immediately destroying three of the horde. The group engages in combat and Davron casts Spirit Guardians, which inflict damage on the undead as he stands at the center of the group. After a long skirmish, they destroy the undead and track back to the scorched room where they ambushed the bugbears. They barricade the doors and settle down for the evening.
Meta
- MIA: Sean (Jory was played by Jerry)
- Birthday Boy: Jeffrey!
Body Count
- 8 Bugbears
- 1 Flameskull
- 10 Undead
Acquisitions
- Flesh-to-Stone Cursed Amulet
- Boots of Striding & Springing (dwarf)
- 51GP
- 1 Potion of Vitality (removes any exhaustion, cures any disease or poison, & restores any Hit Die by the maximum for the next 24 hours)
- 2 platinum rings from a corpse at the bottom of the pool (worth 75GP each)
- 1 fully-charged wand of Magic Missile with 7 charges. One charge is a standard 1st-level Magic Missile (3) 2 charges would be 4 missiles and 3 charges would be 5 missiles; Recharges at dawn every day, but if you use all of the charges there is a chance it will be destroyed.
Experience Points
- 1850XP (9350XP Total)
Highlights
- Endless Love
Embra: While Shiv and Tamariel are making out, I open the door and throw the Flesh-To-Stone amulet on top of them. - Sex. He’s talking about sex.
DM to Davron: Are you going to the shrine or no?
Davron: I’ve already destroyed every hole in that shrine.
Embra: You’re totally violating the camping rule. - Gone But Not Forgotten
Jerry-as-Jory: [Embra] gets to have all the fun—what the fuck?
Steve: She’s the richest bitch in town.
Jory: Yeah, but I wanna kill shit!
DM: Jory, you need to pick up your iPhone and stare at it for a while. - As A Doornail
DM: [Rockseeker] has been dead for a while. You guess that he’s probably been dead almost as long as your whole adventure’s been going.
Embra: So he’s Mostly Dead.
DM: He’s Really Most Sincerely Dead.
Karendil: He’s Joined The Choir Invisible. An ex-Dwarf. - That’s Mine, I Saw It First.
DM: Everyone make a Perception roll for me.
Davron: 22
DM: Okay, you notice that on this dwarf [corpse]—the boots are magical.
Embra: What do your elf eyes see, Legolas?
Davron: I see that these are perfectly normal boots and that there is nothing spectacular about them whatsoever. I’m putting them in my bag.
Embra: Wha–wait…We’re not looting my kinsmen!
Davron: This dwarf is most definitely dead, but he had some pretty nice kicks on. - Are You Getting A Signal In This Cave?
Shiv: You probably need those [dwarf corpse’s magical boots].
Embra: Ehh…no, I’m thinking right now they’re Gundren’s unless he wants to give them to me.
Shiv: You un-Stoned him.
Karendil: You can totally wear them through this trip and then give them back when we’re done.
Shiv: Because you’re going to avenge his brother; whatever killed him is probably in here.
Embra: *makes squeamish noises*
Karendil: I know it is a little wonky, but…
Shiv: *holds out cellphone* Call him!
DM: Text him!
Embra: I send a pic of his corpse, “Gundren, we found your bro—can I wear his shit?” - He Needs His Beauty Sleep
DM: Okay, first watch… *rolls die*
Jory: *whispers* I wanna kill shit. I wanna kill lots of shit.
DM: Nothing happens on first watch.
Jory: AWWWWW.
DM: Well, the [rest of the party is] not gonna let you lay sleeping if something happens on someone else’s watch!
Embra: No, I have a standing order to let Jory sleep. - Next Week on Drag Race…
Embra: I cast Misty Step—
Steve: I love that —”Misty Step”. Is that a drag name? - loading.gif
DM: *paging through module*
Karendil: I can like probably come up to the shore and dip the light…
DM: up-up-up-up… *pages faster through module*
Karendil: …a couple of times and just see…
DM: em-em-em-em! I’m looking through the module, okay?
Embra: The adventure is framing.
Steve: Things are still loading.
DM: I’m not going to give you any information until you click on the right pixel. - A Single Tear Falls Down Her Cheek
Davron: *throws severed bugbear limb into cavern pool and runs back up stairs*
DM: You hear a loud splashing noise.
Davron: I go to the top of the stairs and look down.
DM: The previously pure water of the pond is tainted with blood and there’s an arm laying on the floor.
Steve: *laughs*
Embra: Good job, Davron—you polluted it. That was our drinking water.
Davron: *shrugs* Eh. - The Hero Phandalin Needs
Karendil: When we get back to town I’m going to commission a utility belt, like Batman.
*later*
DM: The hall extends about 15 feet before it opens up into a larger room where you can see a flickering green light.
Karendil: “Flickering green light.” Let me just mention how unpromising that sounds.
*group heads toward faint eldritch light*
Karendil: The most foreboding thing we’ve seen so far—let’s head right for it!
*upon meeting the skull spirit and being warned away*
Karendil: Thank you for letting us know. We will be on our way, back the way we came. You’re doing a great job of making sure that nobody that’s not allowed gets into the forges. Thank you so much for all of your continued service, uh, and I’m sure that we will be able to arrange a raise for you at the next budget meeting. Goodbye.
Shiv: I put my hand over Karendil’s mouth. - Nu-Jory
Embra: To tell the truth I’m enjoying the company of this proactive Jory.
Steve: Walks right off into things.
Embra: It’s the metaphorical version of running straight into a pit-trap.
Davron: Who’s swinging as he goes down into it. - Zombie Attack