Session 4: Redbrands Receding
General Summary
Outside, on the road leading up to the manor, the party met with the squadron of five guards, intending to re-enter the hideout and clear it completely. As they did so, however, they noticed a white-robed figure flanked by two red-cloaked guards leaving a building in town, upsetting a cart and then slipping into an alleyway. The party instructed the guard to secure the secret entrance to the manor, and then ran back down the hill into town in pursuit.
In the town square, the party found two Redbrands in the process of stealing a horse from the town stable, and helping the wizard (undoubtedly Iarno) onto the horse. A pitched battle ensued in the street, with the party taking on the Redbrands, and spooking Iarno's horse and knocking him off. When Coryn siezed the wizard, however, he melted into mist and reappeared farther up the road. Adelaide went to intercept him, but her casting of Inflict Wounds was a bit more powerful than she had bargained for, and Iarno crumbled into ash as the necrotic energy overwhelmed him.
Immediately after the fight (which had taken place in the middle of the town square), a rather portly man dressed in very nice clothes opened the door of the Townmaster's hall, took one look at the party, and immediately shut the door again in fright. In a few minutes, Sildar Hallwinter arrived, having just determined by asking around the town that Iarno had disappeared right as the Redbrands began their rise to power in Phandalin; he had just come to the same conclusion confirmed by the party. Sildar expressed his regret that Iarno's ambition had resulted in his death, but was otherwise grateful that the party had done much of the work to defray this threat to order in the town. Together the party and Sildar entered the Townmaster Hall to speak with the Townmaster.
The party found the man, Harbin Wester, cowering under his desk. After some coaxing from Sildar, he thanked the party and arranged for a reward: half now, for removing the leadership of the gang, and half on confirmation that the last vestiges of it had been eliminated. The party then resolved to investigate the place where they had seen Iarno leaving, while Marcus ran to retrieve the guards. When he returned with them, the party learned that bugbears had left through the tunnel, killing one of the guards and seriously injuring another, and running off into the wilderness.
In front of Sleeping Giant taphouse, a battered and dirty tavern that the party discovered was the favorite haunt of the Redbrands, the party planned out their approach: The guards and Sildar would lead and attempt to make official arrests, with the party as backup if things went south. The chief guard threw open the door, announcing that all Redbrands were under arrest and would come quietly. There was a moment of silence, and then a handaxe flew past his head and a fight erupted in the tavern. During the fight, Malcolm raised Iarno's glass staff so it would be visible to everyone in the room, announcing the death of Iarno and the futility of the Redbrands continuing to fight. Not soon after, the brawl was over, with the surviving Redbrands either escaping out the front of the tavern, or bound by the guard.
While the ruffians were being interned, the party escorted the guard members who had been injured in the fight to the local shrine. There they met Sister Garaele, a pious elven priestess of Tymora, goddess of luck. After settling the guard members in, the elf asked if she could speak to the party in private. She revealed that she had been given a mission by her superiors, and pulled out a spellbook. The book belonged to a famous ancient wizard named Bowgentle, and was written in an unintelligible language. In addition, the book contained a particular spell of interest whose nature was unknown. The elf said that in the town of Conyberry, a couple of days' travel away, there was a banshee named Agatha, who was old enough to be Bowgentle's contemporary, and that she might know the answers. Sister Garaele also gave the party an elegant silver comb and the charge to use it to appeal to the banshee's vanity. The party accepted the spellbook and comb and told Sister Garaele that they would try to meet with Agatha.
When the party retired to the Stonehill Inn that night, practically the entire town was there waiting for them, and erupted in cheers at them having run off the Redbrands. Sildar introduced the party using their chosen name, "The Crown's Justice." The party encouraged the townspeople to meet them the next day to clear out the rest of Tresendar Manor, which was met with another great cheer. After that, the ale flowed and much merriment ensued.
The next morning, the party met back up with Sildar, more of the guard, and a few townspeople carrying improvised weapons. Together they marched up the hill and entered the cellar of the manor, making their way back to the Redbrands' hideout. The rooms they had explored were eerily empty and silent. As they entered the gambling room, they were confronted with a grisly sight: Blood painted the floor and walls, and human bodies were strewn across the floor. The party concluded that the bugbears in the barracks had killed the remaining Redbrands in the hideout, then escaped through the secret tunnel.
When Coryn went to examine the barracks, among the piles of rags and clothes he found an unconscious goblin. He brought it to the guard to decide what to do with it. The guard suggested throwing it into the crevasse, and suddenly, the goblin opened its eyes...
Rewards Granted
100 gp for eliminating the leader of the Redbrands (50 deferred until confirmed to be gone)
Missions/Quests Completed
Redbrands Retired: The party broke the hold of the Redbrands on the town of Phandalin by killing Iarno Albrek and capturing or driving off the remaining members of the gang.
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