Lost Mines of Phandelver

Overview
Five adventurers are given the task to escort a wagon of supplies from the city of Neverwinter to the town of Phandalin by Sildar Hallwinter and Gundren Rockseeker, two individuals with ties to Phandalin. Each adventurer has their own individual motivations for working with Sildar and Gundren, but are soon faced with various trials that they must work together to overcome in order to achieve their goals.

Player Characters
Borik Mendelhaus is a dwarf paladin who gave up a life of religion in order to pursue a life of splendor. Very selfish, Borik has little empathy for the rest of the party.

Dionysus Mandles is a half-elf with appropriately pointy ears, and a very devout cleric. His purpose in life is to restore the alter of the goddess Leira, but he has to find it first.

Finnian Highhill is a halfling fighter from a fallen noble family, and appears to have some sort of business with the town of Phandalin. He is very keen to meet up with Sildar and Gundren again. Has the tendency to take charge and be overbearing.

John Johnson is a halfling thief who is in this for the money. Doesn't like to talk about himself. John Johnson's #1 Rule of Adventuring: everything eats salted pork.

Rorik Rockseeker is a dwarf barbarian "hero" who once "defeated" an orc(?). He was sent on a quest to "save a damsel" by his "landlord". Has a lucky rock, an unhealthy obsession with cheese, and a frankly concerning proclivity to get very physically close to goblins. Dumb as a rock.

Non Player Characters
Barthen is a merchant in Phandalin,who sells basic supplies. He was in contact with Sildar and Gundren, and asked them to hire some adventurers to escort a wagon from Neverwinter for him. Tried to get out of paying the adventurers the promised 10GP each, but paid out eventually.

Black Spider (?)

Carp (?)

Chaz is Borik's teenager.

Davis is a Redbrand who picked a fight with the adventurers outside the Blue Lion. Killed by Rorik.

Flip is a runaway teenager from Phandalin, along with Chaz. He was found stealing from the wagon the adventurers were escorting, and subsequently dropped off on Aunt Q's farm to set him straight. Informed the advenurers about the state of the city of Phandalin, and about the Redbrands. Also had his gold chain taken by Dion, and resents him for it.

Fandrin Rockseeker is Gundren brother(?), and is currently missing. May have information regarding Wave Echo Cave. Is Rorik's cousin.

Gundren Rockseeker is a dwarf who, along with his brothers and SIldar, has plans to rediscover Wave Echo Cave and profit from it. Is Rorik's cousin.

Halia Thornton is the guildmaster at the Miner's Exchange. As the Exchange is under her protection, the Redbrands stay away from it. Seems to have a lot of influence in Phandalin. Finnian appeared very eager to talk with her, to the point of breaking off from the rest of the party to visit the Exchange by himself.

Iarno Allbreck is a member of the Lord's Alliance, and is a friend of Sildar.

Klarg the Bugbear rules over the goblins in Cragmaw Cave. These goblins have been terrorizing the Triboar Trail, and generally been a nuisance for Phandalin.

Leader Goblin in Cave (name?) held Sildar hostage, and, dissatisfied with being under the rule of a bugbear, tried to make a deal with the adventurers to kill Klarg. Was killed by John and Borik.

Lord's Alliance is a group that defends the region.

Nundro Rockseeker is Gundren's other brother(?) and is also currently missing. May have information regarding Wave Echo Cave. Is Rorik's cousin.

The Redbrands are a group in Phandalin who have been going around, acting like they own the place, and generally being a nuisance. John appears to have some history with them.

Sildar Hallwinter is a human who, along with Gundren, brought this group of adventurers together. Appears to have some plans for the town of Phandalin, but was taken by the goblins of Cragmaw Cave and nearly killed. Was saved by the adventurers. Currently staying at the Stonehill Inn in Phandalin, and is trying to get in touch with Iarno.

Stork is a goblin from Cragmaw Cave. Originally the goblin who held the unconscious Rorik hostage, is now a prisoner of/guide for the adventurers. Currently hidden on Aunt Q's farm, watched over by John.

Proprietress of the Blue Lion (name?) is the owner of the other merchant store in Phandalin. Had a wagon of supplies go missing, and made a deal with the adventurers. If they found a wagon with the Blue Lion symbol they would return it to her, and in exchange she would take their wolf pelts and create cloaks from them.

Quelline Alderleaf (Aunt Q) is John Johnson's aunt. She has a farm on the outskirts of Phandalin, and apparently raised John. Although unsure about being saddled with two teenagers and a goblin, she was friendly and welcoming to the adventurers who showed up with her nephew.

Locations
Alderleaf Farm is Aunt Q's farm, outside the town of Phandalin. The adventurers dropped off Flip and Chaz as new workers and stashed Stork in the barn. John, unwilling to go into town, stayed behind on the farm to watch over these newcomers, and to hang out with his aunt. The rest of the party, minus Finnian, returned to the farm after dropping off the wagon and exploring a bit of Phandalin.

Barthen's Provisions is where the adventurers dropped off the wagon of supplies from Neverwinter. Does not have any potions.

Blue Lion's place (name?) is the other merchant store in Phandalin. Also does not have any potions. As the adventurers walked out of this store, they were accosted by a group of Redbrands, led by Davis.

Cragmaw Cave is where Sildar was taken by goblins. Ruled by the bugbear Klarg. According to Stork, there is a secret entrance, and some treasure.

Cragmaw Castle is 20 miles northeast of Cragmaw Cave. This is where the map to Wave Echo Cave was taken(?)

Mining Exchange is in Phandalin, under the protection of the guildmaster, Halia. The Redbrands tend to stay away from it.

Neverwinter is a city in the north, and is where this group of adventurers were recruited by Sildar and Gundren and brought together.

Phandalin is a city to the south. In the past it was a bustling, prosperous city thanks to the nearby Wave Echo Cave, but in recent years has fallen from its former glory. Currently the Redbrands are causing trouble in town.

Rockseeker camp is where the Rockseeker brothers were camping out. The adventurers don't know the exact location, just that it is outside the town of Phandalin. None of the brothers have been seen for quite some time.

Stonehill Inn is an inn in Phandalin, and is where Sildar is currently staying.

Wave Echo Cave something something magic, something dwarves, orcs, lost, etc.

Triboar Trail
Sildar and Gundren, after tasking the adventurers with delivering the wagon safely to Phandalin, set off ahead of the group in order to "deal with some business" in Phandalin.

After a few uneventful days of travel along the High Road, the adventurers came across the remains of Sildar and Gundren's horses along the Triboar Trail. While investigating, the group of adventurers were ambushed by goblins. The goblins were easily brought down, but left the group with a dilemma: continue on to Phandalin to deliver the wagon, or find out what happened to their contacts?

Half the group wanted to find out what happened to their contacts while the other half wanted to deliver the wagon and get paid. It came down to Finnian persuading John to spend one day searching, after which the group all agreed to look for Sildar and Gundren.

Decision made, the adventurers swiftly hid the wagon and oxen from the trail to avoid theft. They then promptly started a discussion on whether or not to feed the oxen raw flour and salted pork. This was yet another heated discussion between John and various members of the group, lasting about an hour. Eventually it was decided that oxen eat grass, and there was no need to leave food for them.

Cragmaw Cave Clearing
Following the tracks of the ambushing goblins, the adventurers reached the opening of Cragmaw Cave. There, they were once again ambushed by two goblins, mortally injuring John who was scouting ahead. Dion was able to stabilize and shield John, but was not able to heal him (unknown to the rest of the party, John had two concealed potions on his person).

After some acrobatics involving a stream, one of the goblins was killed and the goblin blind set on fire. Borik, annoyed that he had been shown up by Rorik in the previous ambush, impaled the second goblin, who had just run out of the burning blind, on his greatsword and flung him back into the flames.

And as the rest of the party looked upon the wreckage they said as one, "Dayum".

The adventurers, tired after the day of travel, tracking, and fighting, decided to make camp right in front of the cave mouth and rest. Each picked up their weapons, settled in for the night, and slept while John and Dion took turns keeping watch. This may explain why the adventurers were not attacked that night even as they brazenly camped out in front of Cragmaw Cave, the goblins' hideout.

In the morning, there were several...discoveries. First, Rorik was nowhere to be seen, but upon closer look was found spooning one of the dead goblins in his sleep. John (chagrined by his concealment of the potions and subsequent inability to be healed by his party), rifled through the pockets of the dead goblins, and "found" two potions which were given to Dion and Finnian to hold onto. Rorik noticed John acting suspicious near his one of the goblins. However, due to Rorik's good, dumb nature, he decided to trust John (for now).

Rested and packed up, the adventurers were ready to brave the cave. The opening of the cave was set in a huge stone wall, with a small stream flowing out of it. Following the stream, the adventurers walked inside, one by one.

Cragmaw Cave
Because of the darkness inside the cave, Borik, Dion, and Rorik walked ahead with their Dark Vision while John and Finnian followed at a distance with a hooded lantern. To the left of the stream, the party noticed some dank stairs with what seemed like the sound of some animals coming from the top. They carefully climbed the stairs, only to be greeted at the top by three giant, vicious wolves growling and snapping at the adventurers, straining at the chains that kept them back.

The adventurers collectively thought, "Nope," and headed back down the stairs.

Continuing deeper into the cave in formation, the party came across a bridge slightly ahead and above them. One goblin stood on the bridge, ostensibly a lookout. Dion, fearing that the goblin would notice the group and alert the others, cast Thaumaturgy to terrify the goblin and possibly distract him.

The spell instead caused the goblin to notice the group of adventurers and proceeded to alert the others.

As the adventurers tried to shoot down the goblin, they heard a dull roaring sound coming from deep within the cave. Soon, a wall of water came rushing out towards the group. Even as they tried to run or hold on, Finnian, Borik, and Dion were swept away by the water to the entrance of the cave. Rorik and John managed to avoid being hurt by the sudden flood, but they joined their companions by the entrance.

Here, they discussed strategy. In the room with the wolves there was an opening at the back which needed to be explored. Near the bridge there was a small path to the right which led upwards. Rorik wanted to prove his athletic prowess by climbing up the path to the right, but Finnian argued to deal with the wolves first. John enthusiastically agreed, to the suspicion of Finnian, but the decision was made.

Back in the cave with the wolves, the adventurers fought a fierce battle with the wolves. This involved John single-handedly and elegantly killing two wolves with a single strike each, earning him the name Wolfslayer from his companions. Said companions continuously took damage and ran around, barely getting hits in. Dion, in particular, kept trying to cast fire, only to have each attempt snuffed out by an inexplicable burst of cave wind and was generally unhelpful.

For the third and final wolf, John attempted to show respect by wrestling him, rather than attacking with his scimitar. The wolf, however, did not return the respect and tried to teabag John. Finnian, tired of missing all his attacks, threw his handaxe at the head of this final wolf, finally killing him. John narrowly managed to avoid getting teabagged as the dead wolf fell on him thanks to his dexterity.

After this fierce battle, John and Rorik excitedly began to skin the wolves for their pelts, and John's true motive for wanting to challenge the wolves became apparent.

The others surveyed the back of the room where they had seen an opening, and found mounds of garbage and refuse. Inside the opening, they saw stairs that led up to another room and heard what sounded like a good number of goblins. Since most of the members were injured and tired, they decided not to climb up, and instead ventured further into the main cave towards the bridge.

Rorik, eager to prove his athleticism, began to climb up the path to the right, driving pitons into the wall to help the others climb up. This sound alerted the goblins and the flood once again poured out from deep within the cave. Borik and Dion were again washed out, but John and Finnian managed to hang on and hid themselves within the stream. This time, two goblins stood upon the bridge and rained arrows down onto the party.

Rorik, seemingly unaware of the commotion around him, continued to climb, ignoring both the flood and the arrows flying at him. Eventually, he finished his task and the rest of the party climbed up, out of reach of the goblins' arrows. John was also very racist about the color of the goblins' skin, while Dion took a lot of damage distracting the goblins so the others could climb.

A little ways down this hall, the adventurers came to an intersection. To the left of the intersection they could hear a murmuring, not unlike the sound of several owls. As the party discussed which direction and what formation they should take, the two goblins from the bridge went running past. The party knew these were the same goblins, as John was very racist and particular about knowing the color of the goblins' skin.

Both goblins were swiftly and mercilessly dealt with (both were unforgivable shades of green, according to John). As the party began to regroup to discuss next steps, Rorik, impatient and itching for battle, broke off from the group and sprinted to the left of the intersection. This hallway led to a cavern containing four goblins, one larger goblin, and one bloody and barely conscious Sildar Hallwinter.

However, since Rorik ran off on his own, all four goblins near the doorway attacked him, knocking him unconscious for the rest of the fight.

Hearing the sounds of fighting from Rorik's direction, his companions raced after him and were soon engaged with the goblins at the doorway. John, in particular, in the midst of the fight caught a glimpse under one of the goblins' loincloth. He could not tell the gender of this particular goblin, but he saw that they were thic, and this distressed him greatly. In his confusion and rage, John redoubled his attacks and managed to kill the goblin.

Despite their efforts, the adventurers were not able to deal with all the goblins before the largest goblin commanded the room,

"STOP,"

as he held a knife to Sildar's throat. The last remaining goblin had also picked up the unconscious Rorik during the battle, and was standing beside the larger goblin with a knife to Rorik's throat. It was obvious that Rorik, for some inexplicable reason, was having a wet dream. The room as a whole strove to ignore this fact.

The large goblin offered to make a deal with the adventurers. He would free Sildar and return their group member if the adventurers agreed to kill Klarg The Bugbear, who ruled over the goblins in Cragmaw Cave. It was obvious to the adventurers that this was a risky deal, which was confirmed when they saw Sildar surreptitiously shake his head. The party tried to bargain with the goblin, which resulted in the goblin striking Sildar, knocking him unconscious.

Dion, as the only party member who spoke Goblin, continued to try and reason with the lead goblin to allow the party some time to heal and recover before challenging Klarg. John, standing on the other side of the room with Finnian and Borik, tried to wordlessly signal a plan to them. Rorik continued to dream, his clothes getting suspiciously wetter as time went on.

Impatient, the large goblin demanded that the adventurers kill Klarg or be killed themselves. The adventurers, also impatient, desperately tried to convince the goblin a few more times. Eventually, John and Finnian ran forward to attack the large goblin, while Borik, heavily injured, attacked from a distance. With a few well placed strikes, the large goblin was swiftly taken down. In the meantime, Dion had managed to wrestle down the goblin who had been threatening Rorik.

This last remaining goblin, named Stork, begged the adventurers to be spared. After a brief, exhausted discussion, the party agreed to take Stork as prisoner. As the target for all the adventurers' rather justified resentment, Stork was forced to be the one to carry Rorik out of the cave, as no one else wanted to touch him. Rorik, for his part, snuggled into Stork's back.

After surveying the room once more, picking up their weapons, and Sildar securely carried by Borik, the adventurers quickly exited Cragmaw Cave without incident. The adventurers, bloody, beaten, and out of potions and healing spells, made their way back to Triboar Trail where they had left their wagon. After arriving, the party laid down for a well deserved rest.

Triboar Trail, Part 2
In the morning, the adventurers and Sildar had all recovered from their injuries. Rorik was found still sleeping, spooning a very uncomfortable Stork. As the adventurers idled around camp, they heard a rustling behind the wagon. Two teenagers had been attempting to steal a barrel of ale from the wagon. Furious that the teenagers were stealing from the supplies they were escorting, Rorik ran to tackle the teens as the rest of the party followed.

After Rorik successfully tackled the two teenagers and generally scared the shit out of them, the party interrogated the teens. They confessed that they were runaways from Phandalin, and had been drinking the night before with some Redbrands. They didn't remember how they ended up in the wagon, or even on the Triboar Trail. When they woke up, the teens tried to sneak away, and wanted to take a barrel of ale in case they "got thirsty". John and Finnian in particular were interested by the mention of Redbrands, a group causing trouble in Phandalin. Unwilling to kill the teens, the party decided to escort them back in the direction of Phandalin.

(this next paragraph was an info dump, I don't remember it all)

Near the campfire, Sildar had woken up and was ready to talk to the adventurers. He spoke of his friend Iarno Albreck, whom he had not been able to contact for some time. Sildar informed the party about Wave Echo Cave, (needs description). Gundren and his brothers had a map that revealed the location of the cave, but the map had been taken to Cragmaw Castle(?). Something something Gundren's brothers(?). Something something Stork would be able to lead them to Cragmaw Castle.

Armed with this information and a new sense of purpose, the adventurers decided that Phandalin, not back to the cave, was the best direction to go. As for Flip and Chaz, the thieves teens, the adventurers were unsure of what to do with them. John suggested that they drop the teens off on his aunt's farm to reform them. This was surprising, firstly because John actually volunteered information about himself (that he had a family, and that they lived near Phandalin), and secondly because he himself was a thief. Regardless, it sounded like a solid plan. Flip and Chaz, on their part, were not enthusiastic about marching towards their future as farmhands.

Burdened now with one prisoner, two sort-of prisoners, one injured Sildar, and a wagon to deliver, the adventurers hurried to make progress towards Phandalin. Finnian and Sildar sat at the front the wagon, while Dion sat at the back next to a hogtied Stork to keep an eye out for enemies and to taunt watch over Flip and Chaz who walked behind the wagon. Borik was perched on Chaz's back, forcing the prisoner teen to carry him. John and Rorik took turns scouting ahead on the path.

(another info dump in the next paragraph that I don't remember well)

While scouting, John frequently circled back and continued to question the teens about the Redbrands and the current state of Phandalin, a discussion Finnian was eager to join in on. They were informed that the Redbrands had moved into town recently (?), and were causing trouble. Phandalin was in a state of general lawlessness (?), with the exception of the Miner's Exchange. There, the guildmaster Halia Thornton something something.

As the group continued on the trail in this manner, Rorik found himself the target of a hail of arrows while scouting ahead. Accustomed now to goblin ambushes, the adventurers quickly disposed of all the enemies. Borik, helpfully, completely obliterated a goblin from a distance with a javelin. He also, unhelpfully, did so by felling a tree onto the goblin, therefore blocking the road.

Stork, watching this exchange with little empathy for his fellow goblins, spoke up to the group. He said, mockingly, that goblins would continue to ambush travelers along the trail as long as Klarg lived. When Stork refused to say any more, Finnian used all three feet of a halfling noble's fury to intimidate Stork into giving more information. Rorik assisted, poised to break Stork's fingers. Stork confessed knowledge of a secret entrance into the cave that led directly to Klarg, and that there was some potential treasure there for the taking.

Briefly tempted, some of the adventurers, notably John and Dion, wanted to turn back to the cave. Although also tempted, Finnian argued for a different plan. They would first head to John's aunt's farm, drop off the teenagers, go into Phandalin, deliver the wagon, get paid, and then possibly deal with the Redbrands. Afterwards, they would circle back to Cragmaw Cave, defeat Klarg, and then head north towards Cragmaw Castle to look for Gundren and his map. In the face of Finnian's logic and adamance, the party agreed.

Alderleaf Farm
The group hurried on to Alderleaf Farm where Quelline Alderleaf, John's aunt, lived. Upon arrival the adventurers were greeted with a warm welcome from Aunt Q, though the two runaway teens and tied up goblin were met with some concern. John's fellow adventurers were able to witness a different side of the thief, one that was protective of the aunt and farm that raised him. There was mutual understanding among the party that they would all make sure the teens would behave and not cause trouble for Aunt Q. This, naturally, took the form of some of the party, notably John and Dion, threatening and generally scaring the shit out of the teens (again).

Sildar, anxious to get to town, went ahead of the party to Phandalin with a promise to meet with them at the merchant store later in the day. Stork had shown some concern before about going into town, as goblins were generally hated by everyone in the area, so it was decided that he would have to also be stashed at the farm. Aunt Q, wary but willing to take in Flip and Chaz as workers, didn't like the idea of a goblin being on her farm. John, who had been strangely unwilling to go into town, gladly volunteered to stay back and keep an eye on the prisoner s.

Phandalin
Their burdens lightened, the rest of the adventurers went directly to Barthen's Provisions in Phandalin, the wagon's destination. There, the adventurers met Barthen, the merchant who had asked Gundren and Sildar to hire them in the first place. Barthen tried to shortchange the adventurers, but unwilling to deal with his bullshit, Finnian managed to persuade Barthen into paying out.

(next paragraph is also fuzzy)

Sildar then joined them at Barthen's Provisions, and told them what he had found out about (?). Barthen chimed in with some information about the Rockseeker brothers, that Fandrin and Nundro Rockseeker had not been by his store in some time. The adventurers learned that the Rockseekers had a camp just outside of Phandalin, but Barthen did not know where exactly.

After sharing this information with the adventurers, Sildar broke off from the party again to head to the Stonehill Inn, where he was staying the night. The adventurers browsed Barthen's Provisions, but disappointingly found no potions, and so headed towards the only other merchant store in town, the Blue Lion(?).

At the Blue Lion, the proprietress seemed suspicious of the adventurers. When she discovered that the adventurers had just delivered a wagon to Barthen, she claimed that she also had a wagon due, but that it had disappeared along the Triboar Trail. Offended that she seemed to be accusing them and because she also had no potions, the adventurers made to leave. Rorik, however, hanging back, asked her whether she could create cloaks(?) out of the wolf pelts they had acquired back in Cragmaw Cave. She could, but she also quoted the cost at ??GP. Unwilling to pay this amount, Rorik made a deal with the proprietress; if they saw her wagon, they would return it to her, and would accept the wolf cloaks as payment.

Deal made, the adventurers stepped out of the store, only to run into a group of four (class?) Redbrands. Davis, the leader of this group and obviously looking for a fight, said he didn't like having strangers in town, and told them to leave. As Dion and Rorik reached for their weapons, Finnian, overconfident, stepped in front to try and persuade the Redbrands to let them visit the Mining Exchange, after which they would leave, promise.

Unfortunately, Davis didn't give a shit, and struck out at Dion. Well and truly pissed, Rorik went into a rage and killed Davis rather quickly. Davis' companions, unwilling to back down, engaged with each of the others. Finnian, pissed that his persuasion had not worked, first decapitated the Redbrand he was facing, then viciously and unnecessarily gauged his torso. A third was quickly taken down by Borik, but the last Redbrand ran away, possibly alerting unfriendly forces in town about the presence of the adventurers.

Unwilling to engage in more fighting and having accomplished their goal in town, Rorik, Dion, and Borik made to return to Alderleaf Farm. Finnian, however, insisted that he wanted to visit the Mining Exchange before returning, and broke off from the party to go pay a visit.