Goblin Arrows to Phandelever

From the Journals of Damara Borafin...

Marpenoth, the 10th month of the year 1492 by Dale Reckoning also known as the Year of Three Ships Sailing.

Three months after finding the lost Waterdeep treasure, Ziraj speaks to us: of course Istrid and Yagra need our help. Apparently Yagra's cousin Gundrun and a mage, Ran Borafin, discovered something near the Sword Coast Mountains and have since disappeared. Istrid and Yagra went searching and have also disappeared. Ziraj asked us to investigate and bring them back if possible. In Phandelin we can find Iarno, the Zentarim Captain who might be able to help.

Leaving Waterdeep behind, we rode up to the coast and across the Triboar trail. We found their dead horses and fell into a Goblin ambush. After interrogating a survivor, we found out Istrid and Yagra were taken to Cragmaw cave where the "Big Boss" Gralk resides.

After a fight in the cave, we rescued Yagra, picking up 3 healing potions, an Enlarge and a Diminution potion, as well as 250 gold.

Istrid has been taken to Cragmaw Castle. We head for town.

In Phandelin town we get rooms at the Stonehill Inn where we speak with Darren the dwarf and Quelline Alderleaf. We are told the ruins of Thundertree are 50 miles northwest of here and that a druid Reidoth who knows this region well may be there. He could potentially lead us to Cragmaw Castle.

As we, the intrepid heroes sleep, (having once again not placed anyone on watch) some of us dream.

Winter dreams about a mine near Phandelin where elves and dwarves worked together. She also felt that "something" had moved into the Region of Thundertree.

I remembered that Ran had been looking for something and had left me a map of Wave Echo Cave. He had said the lost mine held the Spell Forge Cave; that must be what he was looking for here...

Stellara thinks two offspring of a target she was looking for is around here close by.

Bennu dreams of being a direwolf and once again she is tempted by a voice. " . . .Use me to work through. Seek my book."

Skylar feels a pull through the mace. It is connected to a place near here and potentially to other artifacts made in the Spell Forge. They grow more powerful with proximity to each other.

In the middle of the night, because again, we always forget to place people on watch, we are attacked. But as always, we are victorious! We keep one alive and during the interrogation we learn he and others have been tasked with looking for dwarves. He doesn't know where the Cragmaw Castle is, but Iarno might know. Iarno sent the attackers as he is in control of the Zentarim here. Someone called The Claw gives Iarno orders. Iarno is in a manor near here. The upper two floors are abandoned, six people on watch (Hey, how about that! They have people on watch.)

We heroes fall back asleep, wait till dark and approach the manor. Inside the manor we find what appears to be a go bag with travelers clothes, 2 potions and 50 gold. After a short fight with skeletons and 5 guards, we find a woman and two children (a boy and a girl), we release them and tell them to run. We then start to move farther into the manor . . . .

We almost lost the fight tonight in the attack on Iarno's manor. I've already told you about the woman and children we rescued, but there was more . . .

Remember the guy we interrogated for information about the manor? We found what he was afraid of living in a crevice under the house. There were two bridges over the rift in the earth - but the rotting corpses in the crack! The smell was disgusting! The creature who then slurped out of the mud at the bottom even more so! It was a creepy, tentacled thing trying to grab us and no doubt drag us down into the crevice.

Monster Note: Someone called it an Otyugh. Two Tentacles. Giant mouth. Didn't seem to be resistant to any particular attack.

We defeated it fairly easily, but behind us, what we though was just a cloak that had been hanging on the first bridge flew up and attacked Stellara. It wrapped around her and every time we wounded the creature, she bled too. Benu and Tyaa jump on it. Someone - I think Winter or Skylar cut off its tail and eventually we defeated this too.

Monster Note: Is this what I've heard called a "Cloaker"? Large Manta ray like wings with a long spiked tail it used to attack. Didn't appear to be resistant to any particular attack. However, any attacks also damage whomever it is holding - See above.

Thinking about it, maybe the Cloaker is what he was afraid of - probably both.

Trella was curious and noticed a chest stuck in the muck where the Otyugh slept. We grabbed its contents and before we could even get to the first bridge, we were attacked! Again! This time by Drow elves. I don't like Drow elves. They attacked us with poison darts. We fought our way through these Drow, more Zentarim and finally into what could only be the last room to find a wizard attacking us. Its Skeemo! Yes, that Skeemo, from the Doom Raiders! We've been looking for someone called Iarno, and now it looks as if its been Skeemo this whole time.

But his cold magic was impressive . . . as was his glass staff. He held his own against the eight of us, I blacked out after a wicked Ice Storm attack. When I awoke, the rest of the party had killed him off. Good riddance!!

In his room, we found a book: A Short History of Phandalin by Urmon the Adventurer. Just glancing through, Skylar's mace is mentioned among other items made in the Spell Forge. The book states that all items made there share the rose motif, put on the items by elven smiths. The rose on Skylar's mace matches the rose on Tally's shield, the same rose I remember from my village! And Ran had been looking for the ancestral home of my people . . .We Have To Find Him! Oh, and Istrid too . . .

Then we found the letter. Sent to the Glass Staff. Yarno/Skeemo was expecting us. And they think we have a map.

I fear I have that map, the same one the dwarves are being hunted for - no - I'm sure I have the map. I haven't told any of the others because using magic to probe another's mind has proved to be very easy. If I can do it, so can our enemies. The less people who know, the better. We must figure out who wrote this letter.

Items found today: Otyugh chest: Potion of Healing (2), Haste Spell Scroll, Ring of the Ram, a magic circlet (triangle peak w/ green gem).

Benu found an interesting book, I think it might have been speaking to her . . .

Drow Chest: Immovable Rod, Figurine of a Silver Raven, Potion of Healing, Bag of Tricks, Bag of Holding, Goggles of Night.

In Skeemo's Room: Book about Phandelin, the Letter, Skeemo's Staff of Defence, 1st level Spell Scroll, 3rd Level Spell Scroll.