Session 4 - The Redbrand Hideout

General Summary

Date: 12th Day of Mirtul 1491 DR

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The Party:
Aether – Level 2 Human, Circle of the Moon Druid
Duncun – Level 2 Human Fighter
Kailo - Level 2 Wood Elf, Monk
Xavien - Level 2 High Elf Wizard

Report:

Kailo tells the prisoners that he must find the keys to their cell doors and that they will return to free them, and walks back into the crypt chamber. He checks the north door for traps and hesitantly opens the door revealing a hallway with a door at the end on the eastern wall. He gingerly walks across the hall afraid to set off any traps approaching the door. Kailo then moves to open the door and finds that it is locked. He proceeds to pull out theives tools and picks the lock. Why he could not do this for the prisoners no one knows. Upon opening the door he finds a room stockpiled with weapons, an armory of sorts. Aether, convinced that there must be more to this hideout then just these chambers starts to inspect the western wall along the hallway and finds a serect door - a false wall that when pushed moves on hinges revealing another room, filled with crates and barrels. As the party enters this room they notice the south side of the room opens up into a large natural cavern with a crevasse running down the middle of it and two rickety bridges of wood planks running across the gap on the north and south side of the cavern. The party rummages the crates and finds some thirty beaver pelts that they can sell back in town.

As the party enters the cavern they each feel something probe their mind. They then slowly make their way down the cavern prepared to attack whatever lies inside. As they approach the southern end they start to hear mad laughter in thier heads and remarks about how tasty they will be. Duncun spots a monstrous creature with terrible talons and a single great eye, hiding behind the southern column and moves to get a clear shot at it as the creature taunts Duncun. Duncun moves up and shoots an arrow at the monster and the monster retaliates by using some kind of magical gaze at the archer dealing necrotic damage. Kailo who moved around to flank the creature moves around the column to attack while Xavien casts false life on himself and moves to cover. Aether casts an iceknife and misses, and give s a healing word to Duncun. The nothic then rends Kailo with its claws and Duncun, shaken up misses another shot with his longbow. Xavien then cast magic missile and shoots three beams of force into the creature. While Xavien stabs the monster. Aether turns into a lion and runs
across the southern bridge to attack the nothic, but the bridge gives out under the weight and she falls to the bottom of the crevasse, where it is unnaturally colder then the rest of the cavern, with bones littered all over the floor and a half eaten body. She notices a cubby hole in the wall under the northen bridge and begins her climb up out of the crevasse. Duncun lets fly an arrow a third time, and hits while Kailo moves to retreat after being torn by the beasts claws again and shoots it with his shortbow only to miss in his hasty retreat. The nothic uses its rotten gaze on Xavien but hes able to brush it off and shoots off a ray of frost which misses. Aether manages to climb out of the pit and tears out the nothics throat.

After defeating the nothic our party takes a short rest to catch their breath, and Aether tells the others what she saw down in the crevasse. The party then moves and explore the western hallways that lead downstairs to other chambers. Kailo listens to the southern chamber door and hears yelling in goblin, Duncun moves into the center chamber and finds a group of redbrands drinking and gambling. Wearing a redcloak himself, he is able to trick the group into believing he is a new recruit and joins them in their drinking and gambling, making sure to keep their mugs filled with drink. Eventually he gets three of them to pass out with the fourth still conscious but very inebriated. Duncun opens the the south door and lets in the rest of the party where they then proceed to murder the confused redbrand and they each stab the fellow. With that work done they bound one of the unconscious bandits for questioning and stuff him in one of the empty barrels in the room while Kailo goes about murdering the other two in their sleep. While Aether takes all the gambling money on the table and scoops it into her pack.

The party debates what they should do about the southern most chamber, Xavien give a listen by the door, knowing goblin and hears the command "roll like a dog!". Our party decides that it should be no problem to take care of some goblins and Aether slams open the door. Inside the chamber they see a goblin who faints at the sight of her and then three bugbears lounging about. Aether walks up to one of the bugbears and asks if they would like to play with a real dog then wildshapes into a wolf. The rest of the party hold back unsure what is going to happen while Duncun moves back to keep his distance remembering all too well what Klarg had done to them a few days back. Aether bites one of the bugbears. The rest of the party takes action Xavien casts a ray of frost but misses, Duncun lets fly an arrow and hits, Kailo moves in the doorway and swings his sword at one of them but misses. The bugbears take their morningstars and bash Aether out of wildshape. Aether now back in her human form and surronded by bugbears transforms into a lion and bolts out of the room like the big scaredy-cat she is. The party then believes it wise to retreat and not engage in melee with the big brutes and sit about running back to the cavern and to the other side of the crevasse. The bugbears give chase. With Kailo jumping across the crevasse on the south side of the cavern, with one of the bugbears deciding to jump after him and fails to clear the gap falling to the bottom. The rest of the party makes their way across the north bridge with Duncun breaking it down behind him. Our party then manges to take out the bugbears at range and find themselves badly bruised and beaten...

Report Date

15 Oct 2019

Primary Location

Phandalin