Session 03 Summary – 09/05/2014

Participants: Bardu, Dain, Endelthil, Mullyn, Thorin

Characters Met:

Sister Graele – A beat-up looking woman found by Thorin at the Luck Shrine in Phandalin.

Hollia Thornton – The mysterious executrix of the Miner's Exchange in Phandalin. Wants Glasstaff, leader of the Redbrands, dead. She has also indicated that the Redbrands may be receiving help from the goblins.

Frank – A lieutenant of the Redbrands that was “befriended” by Endelthil. Poor Frank.

Glasstaff – Leader of the Redbrands, and possibly the same person known as Iarno Albrec.

New and Unfinished Quests:

<Hollia> - Find and kill Glasstaff. Find any correspondence in his possession.

<Sister Graele> - Get spellbook from the Banshee Queen, Agatha. It is recommended that the party appeal to her vanity by presenting her with a jeweled silver comb.

<Sildar> - Find Gundren Rockseeker

<Elmar Barthen> - Find the Rockseeker brothers and the entrance to Wave Echo Cave.

<Lenine> - (1) Investigate the Redbrand gang at the Sleeping Giant Tavern

                  (2) Recover Lion Shield Coster rations from the goblin hideout in which Sildar was found.

<Frank> Deal with the generous money-giver near the farms in Phandalin. [Completed – Poor Bardu]

Events Summary: The party splits up across Phandalin to prepare for their next venture. Dain goes shopping for javelins, Mullyn prepares his spells, Thorin finds a new quest at the Luck Shrine, Bardu shares his wealth, and Endelthil . . . well, I guess this is where the series of peculiar events begins.

You see, in an effort to gain training in stealth and precision, as well as to gain inside information on the Redbrands, the overly confident - okay, brash - Endelthil decides to “join” the Redbrands. Unfortunately, the first quest he must complete to prove himself to the gang's Lieutenant, Frank, is to deal with (a.k.a. kill) a generous money-giver nearby. 

Outnumbered four to one, Endelthil accepts the task in hopes of improvising a plan along the way. Upon arriving at his destination, however, the elf recognizes the money-giver as none other than his companion Bardu! Endelthil approaches Bardu in mock assault while signaling to his friend that “it's all part of the plan”. Unfortunately, Bardu does not catch on and he becomes surrounded by the gang. Before a counter attack could be incited, Bardu is left unconcious at the hands of the Redbrands.

Although hesitant to leave Bardu barely stable, and naked, Endelthil decides to continue to the Redbrand hideout and learn more information. He is lead inside, and is personally introduced to their leader, Glasstaff, who welcomes him to the fold. From there, Frank (Endelthil's new “brother in arms”), takes the ranger into the drinking hall were they proceed to, well, drink.

Meanwhile, the rest of the party finds a confused Bardu, who expresses his unfortunate assault. He conveys that he does not believe that Endelthil is a defector to the Redbrands, yet he has some reservations. Hoping to solve two problems at once, they decide to infiltrate the Manor on the hill, as they believe it to be the Redbrands' hideout – and the location of their suspicious friend. 

After fighting their way through, and now disguised as Redbrands themselves, the party encounters what appear to be nine drunken Redbrands congregating around a bridge duel over a vast chasm. However, upon a closer look, they recognize that one of the two men brawling at the center of the bridge is none other than Endelthil!

A flash of recognition shimmers in Endelthil's eyes, too. But what is he to do? Ah, yes! Now, perhaps it was chance or maybe it was indeed fate, but recognizing that he and the eight Redbrands were decidedly inebriated, he stealthily signals to his friends to take them out. What a serendipitous advantage they have in what would normally be a very dangerous fight! Without much ado, the party takes out the disoriented Redbrands, pushing them over the bridge into the chasm.

With Frank, the Redbrand's Lieutenant, bound on the bridge and terrifying screams coming from below the bridge – undoubtedly caused by the one-eyed monster rumored to dwell there – the party quickly gathers as much information as possible from the relieved, yet disoriented, Endelthil. The elf promptly tells the party that he has found Glasstaff, the leader of the Redbrands. He also apologizes profusely to Bardu, and attempts to explain that his actions were for the greater good. Dain and Thorin look especially displeased. But, deciding to settle any doubts about Endelthil's allegiance at a later time, the crew, still disguised, heads towards Glasstaff's personal quarters.

They find the door to his room closed, and Endelthil casually opens it hoping to distract the wizard with a mock report long enough to allow his friends to take the enemy leader by surprise. However, the wizard is missing! All is not lost though; the group finds a letter addressed to Glasstaff from the Black Spider. Upon reading it, they are shocked to learn that the missing wizard, Iarno, for whom they had been searching, is indeed the nefarious Redbrand, Glasstaff!

With this new bit of information, the party races back to the bridge in order to return to town and report their findings. But wait! As they are exiting across the bridge, Dain flings the unconscious Frank over the bridge in disgust. We must not forget that! Poor Frank!

The five adventurers arrive safely back in Phandalin, make their report to Hollia, and claim their reward. At Bardu's suggestion, the exhausted party decides to sleep the night at the farms – away from the town center – just in case any angry Redbrands should come looking for them. Full of questions, but too tired to sort them out before morning, they embrace much needed slumber.

Notable Items Acquired: Potion of Healing, Invisibility Potion, Letter to Glasstaff, 5 Carnelian Gems, 2 Peridot Gems, 1 Pearl

XP Acquired Per Party Member: 310 XP

Information Learned:

1. Glasstaff, the leader of the Redbrands, may actually be the missing wizard, Iarno. A letter from the black Spider was found in his personal chambers to this effect.
2. Frank is not a first-class rogue trainer.