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Session 014: Settling up in Phandalin

Session Notes
Session Notes
December 18, 2025

← Previous Session: Session 013: Escape from the Lost Hills

23 Tarsakh, 1471 (Day 28)

Triboar Trail

Morning

  •  The Party emerges from The Lost Hills after 2 days elapsed during their Trial to Escape the Lost Hills
    • As The Party moves out of The Lost Hills, they experience some resistance in their movement, as if passing through an arcane barrier
    • Mysteriously the injuries they sustained during the Trial disappear, revealed to be only figments of Illusion magic
    • While 2 days have passed, The Party experienced no hunger, thirst, or fatigue
    • The Party entered the Trial on a Scorching Hot morning and exit into another Scorching Hot morning, which seems to them like no time has passed
    • Vala and Orthanc notice a considerable change in their surroundings from when they went in
      • When entering The Lost Hills, the landscape was mostly barren, as it was still early spring and the foliage had yet to reawaken
      • Exiting the Lost Hills, The Party finds a lush, blooming, mid-spring landscape
  • The other members of The Party notice that the Trials took a particular toll on Erynn, who chose to share significant mental and spiritual trauma from her past with the Golden Falcon
    • Erynn sits in the back of the horse cart, stuck in a semi-conscious meditative state, seeming to be intensely contemplating over her strange sword
  • In a demonstration of good will and intent, Vala pays Mo, Verna, Erynn, and Raemund 50 GP each as had been agreed to by Tomlin Helder out of the reward money from Hamund Kost
  • The Party begins traveling toward the Triboar Trail to link up and follow it west in the direction of Phandalin
  • Verna ranges ahead of The Party and succeeds on a Scout check to sight any potential encounters in the road


Noon

  • Vala and Mo set out to forage for supplies, with Miss Tra helping Mo from the skies
  • Vala rolls a Critical Success while foraging for food, bringing back 16 fresh food rations
  • Mo succeeds on a foraging check, bringing back 3 food rations
  • Both Mo and Vala fail to find any potable water in the Scorching Heat of the day


Evening

  • While guiding The Party along the Triboar Trail, Orthanc sees something to the north on the edge of Neverwinter Wood
    • On approach to investigate, Orthanc notices the overwhelming stench of death and decay
    • Orthanc notices a pile of small bodies heaped near the entrance to the Wood and after approaching closer, realizes that it a pile of dead goblins
      • There are several wolf carcasses mixed
      • The goblins are dressed in similar garb to the raiders that attacked The Party when they were traveling to Phandalin
    • Vala closely investigates the bodies and determines they were killed by multiple stabbing, slashing, and bludgeoning weapons
      • The wounds are regular and fairly well-placed, so she concludes the goblins probably attempted to raid a caravan and were killed by the caravan guards


Night

  • As the sun begins setting, the heat of the day subsides and a gentle rainstorm begins
  • The Party decides to set camp for the night. The Party sets a decent campsite, Camping Activity check DC = 10
    • Vala succeeds on a History check, recalling a water collection apparatus she saw detailed in an old adventuring tome and collects 19 water rations from the rain
    • Orthanc shares that he enjoyed an honored place among his clan and never learned to cook. He feels challenged to learn the skill, despite his previous failures. Orthanc tries to cook a Hot Meal, kabab-style, over the fire and fails on a Cooking Check, even with Guidance from Vala. The rations are not wasted but fail to provide any additional nourishment.
    • Mo mentions to Vala that this is not his first time operating a still and succeeds on a Survival check to produce 12 water rations
    • Verna successfully oils her Studded Leather, providing it with the Well-Maintained condition
    • Raemund tells Verna a tale about adventurers on the Moonsea, successfully providing her with 1 Inspiration point
    • The Party takes a Long Rest for the night


24 Tarsakh, 1471 (Day 29)

Triboar Trail

Morning

  • The Party awakens and finds that it is still raining
    • Orthanc casts Druidcraft and finds that the rain will pick up and it will start Heavily Raining at midday
  • The Party decides to continue travel as there is only ½ day’s travel until they arrive in Phandalin
  • Vala takes Slûûp aside and informs him that The Party did not know Silverwing’s Talon belonged to someone else when they gave it to him. She asks if she may take back the sword and return it to its rightful owner.
    • Slûûp is extremely disappointed that the first object ever given to him as his own possession was so quickly being taken away, but he understands.
    • Vala promises to have a magical sword commissioned for Slûûp to replace it if Sildar  does not return it to them immediately. If he does, it immediately returns to Slûûp.
    • Slûûp unsheaths Silverwing’s Talon and says that he was happy that he was able to use it in battle at least once.


Noon

  • The Party reaches the intersection where the Triboar Trail meets the southerly Phandalin Trail
    • Immediately north of the crossroads is a peculiar site: a perfect circle of white daffodils surrounding another set of daffodils whose petals seem to be made of gold leaf, creating the image of a woman’s head facing west
    • Vala and Raemund recognize it as the symbol of Waukeen, the goddess of commerce and trade - very faint magic seems to emanate from the circle of flowers
    • The Party concludes that someone must have planted a magic seed to grow a small shrine to Waukeen to bless the crossroads and the travelers that pass
    • Verna picks several of the gold flowers and adorns them in her hair
  • The Party continues traveling south on the Phandalin trail until they reach the township
  • The Party heads straight for the Stonehill Inn to inquire about room availability
  • The Party meets Toblen Stonehill
    • Vala catches him up on The Party’s adventures
    • Toblen introduces himself to the new party members
    • Mo buys 3 bottles of Edermath Orchard's Apple Schnapps to share amongst the group over midday meal
      • Mo drinks the majority of the spirits and gets mildly tipsy
  • While The Party eats, they hear the door to the inn open and the sound of a large, well-stocked pack hitting the ground. Carp Alderleaf enters the feast hall and greets The Party.
    • Carp informs The Party that he had been following them on the Triboar Trail since they found the pile of dead goblins
    • Carp tells Orthanc that he’s been studying run-through corpses and practicing with his dagger in preparation for his first live kill
    • Carp is pleased to meet the new adventurers in The Party - quickly studying each of them and logging them into his memory
      • Verna encourages Carp to practice killing on small, cute animals because they’re much harder to kill than ugly people
      • Carp tells her that he is well versed in hunting small game so he’s prepared on that front
    • Orthanc gifts a Goliath-sized dagger to Carp, which is closer to a longsword for him, and is much too unwieldy for him to carry
      • Carp says he will return for the dagger when he has a means to transport it and that he will train to become strong enough to wield it
    • Carp hands Vala a letter sealed in wax with the signet of the Phandalin Miner's Exchange, telling her that Halia Thornton sent the message
      • Vala and Carp discuss Halia’s slippery nature, noticing that she rarely seems to leave the Exchange and when she does, no one has been able to figure out where she goes
      • Carp bids The Party a fond farewell and says he must be off to attend to other business - he has a small satchel of letters which he seems to be delivering
      • The letter requests that The Heroes of Phandalin come meet with Halia before anyone else to discuss their adventures along the Triboar Trail


Evening

  • The Party travels to the Phandalin Miner's Exchange to converse with Guildmaster Halia Thornton
  • Halia is pleased that The Party has returned and seems even more pleased that they seemed to have responded to her letter and met with her first over the other townsfolk
    • Halia seems unphased by the loss of 2 party members but expresses regret that “the most interesting one” in the group, Rig, was one of those missing
    • Haliasizes up the new party members and takes an immediate interest in Verna
      • Halia recognizes Verna as having come from the south, in the area around Calimshan, mentioning that she worked logging operations along the forests of Tethyr and had “unfortunate incidents” with the wood elves living there
      • Halia and Verna seem to identify with one another over the ingenuity and art of southern torture and death dealing, agreeing that the methods used in the North are needlessly crude and ineffective
    • Vala informs Halia that the orc raiders who had been disrupting trade caravans from Triboar were from the Kindom of Many-Arrows and that they had an odd banner made of flayed human skin flayed human skin
      • Halia is somewhat surprised that Many-Arrows were active in the area and that the Kingdom would disrupt trade that it generally benefits from
      • Halia also mentions that sometimes militant factions of Many-Arrows orcs break away from the Kingdom and seek to raid in conquer in the name of their Conqueror King, Obould
      • Halia pays The Party 200 GP for the location of the goods from the raided caravans and to not inform any other interested parties about the location for a tenday
    • Halia thanks The Party for another beneficial business deal and quickly sends them on their way
  • The Party travels to The Townmaster's Hall to meet with Harbin Wester. They find Harbin in the Townmaster’s residence, doing his usual feckless pacing and worrying
    • The Party hands over the Kingdom of Many Arrows Banner to Harbin, saying that they had cleared the Triboar Trail of orc raiders
      • Harbin repeatedly questions the proof that The Party had cleared the orcs that had been raiding supply lines - trying to wheedle out of paying the reward
      • Harbin finally relents and pays the party 200 GP, but then offers a deal to The Party: instead of taking the reward, he would keep it, invest it in “the city of Phandalin,” and pay out a guaranteed triple dividend within one month
        • Vala and Orthanc see through the guise and demand their payment, which Harbin reluctantly gives over. 
        • Vala immediately leaves, barely containing her frustration. 
        • Harbin pulls a snifter of brandy from his table, drinks, and drunkenly attempts to sell Verna and Mo on “investment” in Phandalin, but they decline
    • Once Harbin realizes The Party is not interested in further business with him, he returns to drinking and aimlessly contemplating… something, so The Party leaves.
  • The Party returns to the Stonehill Inn and takes a Long Rest

Quest Complete: Orc Raiders Near Wyvern Tor

25 Tarsakh, 1471 (Day 30)

Stonehill Inn

Morning


  • The Party finds Sildar Halwinter eating breakfast in the feast hall of the Stonehill Inn and decides to dine with him and catch up
    • Vala catches Sildar up on The Party’s progress and introduces the new Party members to Sildar
    • Sildar informs The Party of a number of things in Phandalin and in the Realms:
      • The Thayan and Netherese are at war with one another, so it was unsurprising Hamund Kost was digging around for artifacts from Netheril.
      • Trade along the Triboar Trail has started picking up. He suspects that the goblin bodies The Party found along the Triboar Trail were killed by the mercenary  Company of the Gauntleted Fist, who often hiring on as caravan guards
      • The Sleeping Giant is being rebuilt - Grista and her son are living there again, but it will likely take most of the year to fully rebuild
      • The captives held by the Redbrands and the town in general are coping well now that the threat of the gang is gone
      • The town records Sildar has been investigating are seriously incomplete and Sildar suspects the lack of records was intentional. He also suspects that Halia Thornton has the best kept records in all of Phandalin, but he doubts that she will be forthcoming with them
    • After initial hesitation, Vala informs Sildar that The Party had found the bodies of Silverwing and Orda in the Many-Arrows hideout near Wyvern Tor
      • Vala casts Encode Thoughts to give Sildar her memory of Orda and Silverwing in their resting place, trying to focus on the comfort of them curling around each other in their final moments
        • Sildar is shocked and emotionally overwhelmed, saying that he never thought he would learn of their fates
        • Sildar is distraught at their loss, but says he has had some time to recover from it. He knew that they were likely dead but he is extremely grateful to The Party for finding their remains and giving him some closure.
      • Vala gives him the items she and Rig retrieved: Worn Griffin Cavalry Crest, a Silver Griffon Feather, and Silverwing’s Talon, apologizing that she had given it to Slûûp, not knowing it belonged to someone else
        • Sildar responds that since Vala had found the sword, bequeathed it to Slûûp, and since Slûûp had used it in battle, it was Slûûp’s by right of combat
        • Sildar says both he and Orda would be proud to have Slûûp remain its caretaker and to carry into battle in Orda’s name
  • The Party travels to The Shrine of Luck and finds Sister Garaele Xil'oama performing maintenance there
  • The Party heads to Edermath Orchard and finds him working in the vineyards

  • The Party spends the rest of 25 Tarsakh in Phandalin resting, getting to know the townsfolk / one other, and gathering supplies to travel to Thundertree

26 Tarsakh, 1471 (Day 31)

Next Session → Session 015: The Long, Strange Road to Thundertree