The Phandelver Adventure

Overview
The Phandelver Adventure began with a simple job. Gundren Rockseeker, a dwarven businessman, hired a warforged, BX-88, and a wood-elf, Ryathon Silverthorn, to safeguard a delivery of mining supplies to the Althorian village of Phandalin. Yet en route to Phandalin, the adventurers were ambushed by goblins.

The heroes fought off the goblins easily, and even succeeded in tracking the goblins back to their lair and exterminating the warren. In the process, however, the heroes also uncovered a terrible plot, woven by an enigmatic villain who called himself the Black Spider, to claim the Lost Mine of Phandelver for his own ends.

The adventures that ensued spanned throughout the Althorian hinterlands. In Phandalin, the heroes met up with a wood-elf druid named Shakira, who would remain with them for most of the adventure, and a half-orc barbarian named Ragnar, who joined up with the party once to purge the village of a gang of thugs calling themselves the Redbrands, and again to cleanse the Lost Mine of Phandelver of the evils dwelling therein. In the ruins of Thundertree, the party would cleanse the former village of a dormant evil, even chasing off a green dragon. In a ruined castle taken over by Cragmaw goblins, the party would rescue their old friend, Gundren Rockseeker, recover the map to the Lost Mine, and even usurp rulership of the goblins from their bugbear king. And within the tunnels and chambers of Lost Phandelver itself, the party would finally meet the Black Spider in combat, slaying him and restoring peace to the lands surrounding Phandalin.

Chapter I: Goblins on the Road
Gundren Rockseeker's business proposition was simple: safeguard a shipment of mining supplies to the hinterlands village of Phandalin, and get paid. If the goods were delivered smoothly, there would even be a second opportunity to take yet another job. This job, Gundren promised, was the last job the adventurers would ever need to take.

If only it had been that simple.

Yet the promise of gold is sweet, and so the warforged warrior, BX-88, and the wood-elf wanderer, Ryathon Silverthorn, came into the employ of Gundren Rockseeker. Gundren and his bodyguard, a knight by the name of Sildar Hallwinter, would leave two days before the adventurers to ensure that affairs in Phandalin were settled ahead of the adventurers' arrival. Then, BX and Ryathon would accompany a cart laden with supplies and its driver, a human named Mulder Crabtree, on the way to Phandalin, rendezvousing with Gundren and Sildar there for further instructions.

So it came to pass that, two days after Gundren and Sildar's departure, BX, Ryathon, and Mulder set forth on the Hinterlands Road to Phandalin. Three days they traveled the road, sharing stories and idle talk to pass the time. Yet on that third day, as they rounded a bend in the woods, they came upon a grisly sight: two horses, riddled with black arrows, lying dead in the road. When the adventurers inspected the horses, a grim realization fell upon them: the horses had been dead for approximately two days, and despite the effects of decay, they seemed identical to the horses belonging to Gundren and Sildar.

It was at this point a pack of foul goblins launched an ambush upon the party, attacking with cruel blades and arrows. The adventurers, battle-hardened as they were even in the beginnings of their careers, fought off the goblins with ease. In surveying their surroundings in the aftermath of the battle, Ryathon realized that two human-sized bodies had been dragged from the site along a hidden path through the woods. Entrusting Mulder to hide and guard the cart while they were away, the adventurers followed the path to a cave deep in the forest.

This cave turned out to be the hideout of these goblins, as well as the place where the goblins were holding Sildar Hallwinter. The adventurers swept through the caverns, slaying many goblins, a brutal bugbear named Klarg, and the treacherous goblin Yeemik, who threatened to kill the bound and gravely wounded Sildar Hallwinter unless the adventurers turned over all of their possessions. Through a combination of Ryathon's cunning and BX's might, the adventurers managed to kill Yeemik and save Sildar's life.

Sildar expressed great gratitude towards the heroes for his rescue, although, having been robbed of all possessions, he lacked the means to compensate them appropriately. The heroes, as gracious as they were bold, instructed Sildar to worry not, and to focus on resting and recovering.

Another day passed on the road before Sildar had recovered adequately to recount the events leading up to his and Gundren's abduction.

Chapter II: The Lost Mine Found Again
It began with the discovery of a map by the Rockseeker brothers, a map purporting to show the location of the Lost Mine of Phandelver. The mine had been an important resource for the ancient Synari empire, where the lost art of spellforging was put into practice to craft all manner of enchanted arms and items. When the Age of Winter fell upon the mortal world, the Synari empire fell, and in the aftermath of orcish invasions, the location of the mine was lost to history.

Needless to say, the rediscovery of the mine would be the business opportunity of a lifetime. And so the Rockseeker brothers began to plot in secret, hoping to claim the lost wealth of Phandelver for themselves. Supposedly, they had even succeeded in finding the mine somewhere in the hills north of Phandalin. Two of the Rockseeker brothers, Nundro and Tharden, were left to guard the mine, while Gundren returned to Hubtown to find assistance in reopening the mine.

It was then that Sildar Hallwinter, in truth an agent of the Lords' Alliance, learned of the Rockseekers' discovery and offered his services as bodyguard to Gundren. In truth, Sildar intended to investigate the truth of Gundren's story, and, if the lost mine had truly been rediscovered, alert his superiors in order to ensure that the mine was put to use for the benefit of Althoria.

Yet on the road to Phandalin, Sildar and Gundren were ambushed by Klarg the Bugbear and his goblin minions. Apparently, Klarg was working under orders of someone who called himself the Black Spider, who seemed to have his own plans for the lost mine. The goblins confiscated all of Sildar and Gundren's possessions, including the map to Phandelver, and sent Gundren with a goblin escort to the chief of the Cragmaw goblins at Cragmaw Castle.

Thus Sildar's tale concluded. Sildar did not know the location of Cragmaw Castle, but he suggested that the heroes speak with his contact in Phandalin, a Lords' Alliance mage named Iarno Albrek. Iarno had been sent to the town a month earlier in order to establish law and order in the frontier town. Sildar revealed that Iarno had not responded to communications with the Lords' Alliance since arriving in Phandalin, but Sildar planned to investigate the matter along with his other errands in Phandalin.

And so the heroes continued down the Hinterlands Road, towards Phandalin and their destiny.

Chapter III: Raid on Tresendar Manor
Nearly a week after their departure from Hubtown, the heroes arrived at last in Phandalin. After taking care of some initial business, including the delivery of Gundren's goods to its destination at Barthen's Provisions and the return of a shipment meant for Lionshield Coster that had been stolen by the goblins, the heroes turned in for a night's rest at Stonehill Inn.

It was here that the heroes met the wood-elf druid, Shakira. Shakira had been sent to Phandalin by her mentor, who had sensed that the delicate balance of nature would soon be catastrophically upended if some sinister plot centered in Phandalin came to fruition. Shakira had been told to look for a man forged of metal and a child who thought himself fully grown. When Shakira saw BX, warforged as he was, and Ryathon, who had matured quickly as an orphan in the wilds but, in terms of age, was still a child by elf reckoning, Shakira knew that fate had bound her to these two heroes. Shakira soon became firm friends with the party, who gladly welcomed her assistance in their adventures.

The heroes spent some time investigating the whereabouts of Sildar's contact, Iarno Albrek, as well as assisting the townsfolk in such matters as the Courting of the Banshee, where the heroes went to the ruins of Conyberry at the behest of Sister Garaele in order to learn from the banshee Agatha the whereabouts of a lost spellbook.

Eventually, the heroes learned that the townsfolk of Phandalin were besieged by a gang of brutish thugs who called themselves the Redbrands and who were led by a villainous mage calling himself Glasstaff. After a violent encounter with the Redbrands in the village streets, the party concluded that the immediate threat posed by the gang was too great to ignore.

In the course of their investigation as to the whereabouts of the Redbrands' hideout, the heroes met the half-orc barbarian, Ragnar, who agreed to accompany the party on their mission. They also met the halfling child Carp Alderleaf, who told them of a hidden entrance into the Redbrands' hideout. Carp led the heroes into the woods near Alderleaf Farm, right up to a tunnel in the base of the cliff below Tresendar Manor. Thus gaining access to the Redbrands' hideout, the heroes bade Carp to return home, and entered the subterranean lair.

The Heroes fought man and monster alike in the dark chambers below Tresendar Manor, including a nothic and several bugbears who were revealed to be working with the Redbrands under the orders of the Black Spider. The Heroes also found new friends in that dark place: they rescued Sally Strongbark, whose husband the Redbrands had murdered, and her two children, Nars and Nilsa, from a future of slavery. They also met Droop the Goblin in the hideout, rescuing him from three bullying bugbears and emboldening him to seek out his own fate in the wilds.

At the conclusion of the raid, the Heroes managed to corner the mage Glasstaff, who proved to be none other than Iarno Albrek himself. Iarno had turned traitor, abandoning the goals of the Lords' Alliance and shunning his duty, doing service instead for the Black Spider, under whose instructions Albrek had been acting. As it turned out, Iarno had been using the Redbrands to keep the people of Phandalin in a state of terror, thus keeping them from venturing too far into the wilderness and potentially discovering the location of the Lost Mine. In addition, Iarno had instructions to capture or kill the heroes in order to prevent their meddling in the Black Spider's plot. After a brief scuffle, the heroes managed to capture Iarno and deliver him into the custody of Townmaster Wester and Sildar Hallwinter.

With the Raid on Tresendar Manor concluded, Ragnar and Droop left together to wander the wilds.

Chapter IV: The Necromancer and the Orcs
From what they had learned during their raid on Tresendar Manor, the heroes confirmed their suspicion that Gundren Rockseeker was being held at Cragmaw Castle. As yet, however, they did not know where Cragmaw Castle was. Pondering the problem, Sildar suggested seeking out an old contact of his, Reidoth the Druid of the Emerald Enclave. Last Sildar had heard, Reidoth had set up camp in the ruins of Thundertree in order to restore the balance of nature there. Reidoth had long worked his druidic craft in the hinterlands of Althoria, and knew the landscape like the back of his hand. If anyone would know the location of a secret castle in the wilderness, it would be Reidoth.

Before they could set out on the journey to Thundertree, however, the heroes were approached by one of the villagers, a former adventurer named Daran Edermath. The half-elf villager had heard rumors of prospectors frightened away from an old Synari ruin, called the Old Owl Well, by undead. Upon hearing Daran's request, the heroes agreed to investigate.

After several days' travel through the woods, the heroes reached a ruined Synari tower, a well filled to the brim glistening in the tower's shadow--the Old Owl Well. Seconds later, zombies erupted from the ruins, shambling towards the heroes with arms outstretched and moaning with hunger. A brief combat erupted--then, from the tower stepped a mage woman in red robes with a skull tattoo upon her face. Naming herself Hama Kost, the necromancer demanded that the party cease slaying her servants; in return, Hama would call off her undead minions. The heroes acquiesced, and Hama likewise called off the zombie attack. In the exchange that followed, Hama proved to be rude, loud, and utterly selfish--yet not beyond reason. Hama was tight-lipped as to her reason for occupying the Old Owl Well, but told the heroes that she would be more open if the party dealt with an orc warband that occupied the hills of Wyvern Tor to the south. Prospectors were easy to chase off, yet the orcs could prove a graver threat to Hama and her work at the Old Owl Well--whatever that work was.

Recalling that the Townmaster of Phandalin had posted a request for someone to deal with the very same orcs, the heroes saw no reason not to end the orcish threat. The party took a detour south, reaching Wyvern Tor and finding the orc warband. Having the element of surprise on their side, the heroes slew most of the orcs in quick order, with Ryathon slaying an ogre in particularly spectacular fashion by leaping through a bonfire and disemboweling the monster in one fell cut of his longsaber. Only one orc survived the encounter, fleeing from the heroes in terror. Shakira, in the form of a dire wolf, initially pursued the orc, but honor compelled BX to call out to his companion, bidding her halt an attack on a fleeing foe.

Their bloody work done, the heroes returned to Hama Kost, reporting the successful routing of the warband. Hama was displeased that one orc survived, but a bargain was a bargain, and Hama revealed her purpose for occupying the ruins. To put it simply, Hama was simply another prospector in the area, scrounging the Synari tower for knowledge and treasure.

Content with their investigation, the heroes returned to Phandalin to report their findings to Daran Edermath. Daran, though troubled by the news, thanked the heroes for their efforts, rewarding them with bottles of his famous fearsomely strong apple cider.

It was at this point that Ryathon began exhibiting the symptoms of Owl Scratch Fever, the unfortunate side effect of an encounter with an owlbear in the wilderness. Shivering with fever and raving about bizarre hallucinations, the party had no choice but to bed down at Stonehill Inn for the night and hope that Ryathon would recover by morning.

The gentle light of morning brought with it a reprieve from the fever, and by noon the heroes had set out southwards for the ruined village of Thundertree.

Chapter V: Dragon in the Blighted Village
When at last the heroes came upon Thundertree, they were met with the sight of crumbling cottages overgrown with tangled briers and the ruin of a lonely tower on a hilltop above the village. Suddenly, the party heard urgent whispers from the nearest cottage: Get in, get in, quickly, quickly!

Heeding the mysterious warning, the heroes managed to find shelter within the cottage just before hearing a deafening roar from the sky. Thunderous wings flapped overhead, and through the crack in a shuttered window the party saw a green dragon soaring past, swooping down into the top of the broken tower on the hill. It seemed that the heroes had just barely managed to avoid the attention of a dragon.

Now able to take in their surroundings, the party found themselves in the company of Reidoth the Druid. Reidoth warned the heroes that Thundertree was a place of great danger: aside from the green dragon that had made its lair in the tower on the hill, the cottages were infested with twisted plant creatures, called blights, and ash zombies, formed from the ruinous eruption of Crimsoncrown Mountain some fifty years past. On top of everything else, a group of suspicious humans in black robes and strange masks had occupied a cottage on the far end of the village. Thundertree was not safe, and Reidoth did his best to make this plain to the adventurers.

Yet heroes' hearts are made of sterner stuff than the hearts of common folk, and the party did not waver in its resolve. Seeing this, Reidoth explained that the ruined village could use a good cleansing. Reidoth was not as strong as he was in his youth, and he could not hope to purify the village himself. The adventurers agreed to help Reidoth in his mission, and Reidoth lent what aid he could to the heroes through a magical enchantment that would protect the party from the poisons of dragons, spiders, and whatever else lay in the ruins. House by house, ruined store by ruined store, the heroes cleared the village of its monsters. Eventually, they came to the cottage wherein dwelt the mysterious cultists. Choosing diplomacy over the sword, the heroes knocked, seeking audience with those inside. Although the robed men made no secret of their extreme caution, they granted the heroes entrance. In the discussions that followed, the robed men, led by a mage who called himself Favric, claimed to be scholars of draconic lore, here in order to assess the threat posed by the green dragon. Favric offered his group's assistance in chasing off the dragon, but the heroes saw signs that these "scholars" were, in truth, members of the infamous Cult of the Dragon. The heroes made promises that they would deliberate outside and return with their decision--and the heroes simply did not return, refusing to risk the involvement of the Cult of the Dragon.

After their meeting with the cultists, the heroes walked to the top of the hill to deal with the dragon. BX took it upon himself to speak with the green dragon, perhaps hoping to come to a peaceful resolution. Yet BX had underestimated the fathomless evil of green dragons, and in the brief parlay that followed, the dragon made its offer: if BX and his companions would become slaves to the green dragon, they would be allowed to live.

BX returned outside to relay the dragon's offer, which the two elves in the party rejected outright. Overhearing their deliberations, the green dragon erupted from the top of the tower, sweeping over the heroes and unleashing a cloud of noxious gas. Even with the protection afforded by Reidoth's enchantment, the dragon's breath proved near-lethal; and, as the dragon flew overhead, it roared out its final offer to BX: should BX assist the dragon in slaying the elves, BX would have a place as a favored slave at the dragon's side.

So seductive are the temptations of a dragon's treacherous tongue that BX, for the briefest of instants, considered the dragon's offer. But courage and loyalty are not easily stripped from the hearts of heroes, and BX stood firm with his friends against the draconic foe.

Seeing that it would be suicide to fight the dragon in the open, the heroes retreated into the cottage adjoining the ruined tower, using the dragon's size against it in the building's cramped quarters. In the bloody fight that followed, the party claimed an eye and a tail spine from the dragon, with every injury further enraging the scaly monster. Yet even dragons are not suicidally proud, and, seeing that its very life was in jeopardy, the green dragon was forced to retreat into the wilds. When the heroes returned to Reidoth, the old druid was left utterly speechless at the relative ease with which the party had cleared the village of Thundertree. Even the cultists had fled, seemingly at the sight of the dragon fleeing into the woods. Reidoth offered the party shelter in his cottage for the night, and over supper the party spoke with Reidoth regarding their purpose in coming to Thundertree.

Reidoth was all too glad to reveal the location of Cragmaw Castle to the adventurers, but upon learning their larger purpose in the hinterlands--the rediscovery of the Lost Mine of Phandelver--the druid grew dark in his countenance. Gratitude bound Reidoth to reveal that he knew the location of the Lost Mine--after all, he knew these lands as well as anyone living--but with the revelation came a dire warning. Citing the theories of a dragonborn druid he once met, Reidoth warned that the substance upon which the fortune of Phandelver was built--crystals of solidified magic called mana--could be connected with an ancient and terrible evil which lied dormant in the heart of the world. Reidoth preferred that the mine stayed lost, but ultimately left the fate of the mine to the heroes who saved Thundertree.

Reinvigorated by a full night's rest, the party departed from Thundertree in the morning, heading in the direction of Cragmaw Castle.

Chapter VI: The Iron Lord of Cragmaw
Goblins are not builders. They do not raise proud structures on their own, owing to a lack of either intelligence or ambition. Instead, they prefer to settle in the ruins of more civilized races. So it was with Cragmaw Castle, a collection of seven towers clustered together in the shape of a small castle, with no floor above the ground floor intact or fit for habitation.

Secrecy was the greatest defense Cragmaw Castle had: it lacked a perimeter wall and high towers from which archers could spy would-be invaders. But secrecy is a fragile defense, and armed with Reidoth's directions, Cragmaw's greatest defense was overcome by the adventurers.

The party decided that, holding as they did the element of surprise, some scouting was in order before the heroes made their approach. Ryathon, stealthy and sharp of eye as ever, soon noticed a secret entrance on the northern side of the castle. From here the party entered the castle, finding themselves in the heart of the goblins' den.

It was not long before the heroes ran into their first encounter with the castle's denizens: a small group of hobgoblin sentries. Hobgoblins have a better mind for tactics than their smaller cousins, and when the battle turned against them, one hobgoblin ran down the hallway to warn his king of the presence of intruders.

The adventurers were not able to stop the hobgoblin from reaching his king, only managing to kill him as he stumbled into his lord's chambers. Within dwelt King Grol, Bugbear King of the Cragmaw Goblins, and a mysterious dark elf woman, with whom Grol had been discussing the transfer of Gundren Rockseeker into the Black Spider's custody. Gundren himself laid bloodied, bound, and unconscious in the corner. Mistaking the dark elf woman for the Black Spider, the heroes launched a full-on assault. Yet when Shakira unleashed her moon magic upon the dark elf, the woman writhed in agony, her form twisting and revealing itself to be a doppelganger. King Grol and his pet wolf were the first to fall, and when the doppelganger realized it would not be leaving the castle alive, it made a last-ditch effort to murder Gundren in a futile attempt to prevent the party from finding the lost mine. Ryathon's swift blade proved to be Gundren's salvation, and as the doppelganger fell to die on the floor, the party moved to revive Gundren.

The newly conscious Gundren expressed equal parts joy at being rescued and eagerness to escape the castle quickly, but not before he recovered his map to the lost mine. The heroes found the map in short order underneath the late King Grol's filthy mattress, but they withheld the map from Gundren, expressing the concerns Reidoth had presented to the heroes. Gundren was outraged: the map and the mine were both his by rights, he claimed, and he would not sit idly by to be deprived of his fortune.

After some argument, Gundren at least conceded that the map was safest in the possession of the heroes. Rather than leaving the castle, however, the heroes judged that the Cragmaw threat would have to be dealt with here and now, lest another goblin warlord arose to threaten the hinterlands. Gundren, unwilling to risk the wilderness alone, reluctantly followed the party, taking care to stay a safe distance from any violence.

Exploring the castle further, the party soon came upon a group of goblins toiling in the castle's kitchen under the whip of an especially fat goblin. It was then that the heroes realized one of the bullied goblins was none other than Droop, the goblin they had rescued in the secret lair beneath Tresendar Manor. Seeing an opportunity to free his friend, BX-88, who had earlier looted King Grol's iron crown, placed the crown upon his head, swiftly killed the fat goblin in the kitchen, and declared himself the new king of the Cragmaw goblins. Despite all odds, the gambit worked. The crown, combined with the kind of swift brutality goblins expect of their leaders, worked better than a charm spell, and as more and more goblins flooded into the room to investigate the sudden noise, more and more goblins swore fealty to their new Iron Lord. BX used his newfound authority to compel the other goblins to refrain from bullying Droop in the future, a command the goblins grudgingly obeyed.

A quick round of killing would-be dissidents later--a trio of cruel goblin priests who had fed some of their kin to their pet grick, to be exact--and Cragmaw Castle was seemingly secured. Yet as the heroes began to leave the castle, a warband of hobgoblins arrived, led by the hobgoblin captain Targor Bloodsword.

Targor swore that he would sooner die than bend the knee to a dwarven construct, and thus the heroes engaged in battle with the hobgoblin warband. While Shakira and Ryathon kept the other hobgoblins at bay, BX engaged in single combat with Targor Bloodsword, going so far as forbidding his new goblin subjects from involving themselves in the fight. With a swift flurry of his warglaives, BX laid low Targor Bloodsword, and (in a display his subjects would later describe as "very gobliny"), threw the defeated Targor to his goblin minions, allowing them to feast upon the shrieking hobgoblin.

Brooding over the grotesque display of savagery, Droop the goblin pondered aloud whether such savagery was a curse in the goblin's blood, or simply the result of an upbringing far from the comforts and teachings of civilization. Droop made a simple proposal to his warforged friend: rather than using the goblins for his own ends, BX should attempt to civilize the goblins, and perhaps in time goblins would come to be permitted to mingle in Althorian society. BX solemnly agreed, appointing Droop his lieutenant and naming him Lord Droop Sorrowheart, empowering him to guide the Cragmaw goblins into a new life of peace and cooperation with the civilized races of Althoria. Droop tearfully accepted BX's commands, while the other goblins acquiesced to their Iron Lord's wishes.

With the sun setting in the west, Droop invited the heroes and Gundren to spend the night in Cragmaw castle. Only BX bothered to sleep within the castle, the rest of the party preferring to camp outside rather than slumber within the filthy goblins' chambers.

At dawn the next day, the party left Cragmaw under the regency of Lord Sorrowheart, setting forth to return to Phandalin one last time before seeking the Lost Mine of Phandelver.

Chapter VII: The Schemes Before the Storm
The heroes' return to Phandalin marked a joyous reunion between Gundren Rockseeker and Sildar Hallwinter. The two were left to recount their rescue from hardship in Stonehill Inn while the party ran some errands in town. While Ryathon and BX sold the spoils of adventure in town, Shakira went to find Sally Strongbark to deliver an heirloom recovered from Sally's old home in Thundertree: an emerald pendant on a golden chain. Sally wept with joy to see the heirloom, throwing her arms around Shakira and naming the adventurers true heroes.

Back at Stonehill Inn, the party convened with Sildar, Gundren, and Reidoth, who had come up from Thundertree in order to discuss the future of the Lost Mine of Phandelver.

Each man made his case for ownership of the lost mine. Gundren reiterated that the mine ought to be his, by right of discovery, and that the dwarf had suffered too much in the pursuit of his destined fortune to be denied. Reidoth instead argued that the mine ought to remain lost forever, as reopening the mind could awaken a nameless evil that would best be left to slumber.

Sildar expressed his doubt that the mine could remain forever lost, arguing that someone, at some time, would eventually rediscover the mine, and that the pragmatic course of action would be to ensure that the mine did not fall into the wrong hands. Indeed, Sildar warned, he had recently learned that a shadowy cabal of ruthless merchants, criminals, and spies known as the Zhentarim could well have operatives within the town of Phandalin itself.

Sildar argued that the mine ought to be left to the protection of the Sovereign of Althoria, whose governors could protect the mine while ensuring it would remain unexploited. Pressed by Reidoth, Sildar was forced to concede that he could not guarantee the lords of Althoria would simply watch over an empty mine: the risk would always remain that the Althorian nobility, tempted by the promise of wealth and power, would simply open the mine for themselves.

Sildar concluded by identifying three apparent courses of action: give the mine to Gundren Rockseeker and his brothers, leave the mine abandoned in the wilderness and hope that no future villains would attempt to claim the mine, or entrust the mine to the government of Althoria and hope the nobility would resist the temptation to reopen the mine.

In any event, the next course of action was clear. The Black Spider was doubtless at the mine already, and his plot could not be allowed to come to fruition. The heroes needed to use the map to find the location of the Lost Mine of Phandelver and put a stop to the sinister machinations of the Black Spider once and for all.

Their destiny laid bare before them, the heroes concluded their business in Phandalin and ventured north into the hills outside of Phandalin, following the map to the location of the lost mine.

Chapter VIII: The Spider's Web
After a day of searching, the heroes at last came upon the entrance to the Lost Mine of Phandelver. Cautiously, the party approached, venturing into a large cave in the side of a hill. The heroes were horrified to discover the corpse of Tharden Rockseeker, brother and business partner to Gundren. Concluding that Tharden had been slain by the Black Spider or his minions, the heroes laid Tharden to rest in the entrance of the mine--a lordly burial indeed.

Before the party an open pit lay in the middle of the cave floor, with rope leading down into it. Steeling themselves for whatever might lie ahead, the heroes leapt into the pit.

Upon landing, the party had a scant few seconds to survey their surroundings before they heard another heavy pair of feet land behind them. Wheeling around, the heroes were shocked to discover that Ragnar, the half-orc barbarian who had helped them to clear the ruins beneath Tresendar Manor, had joined them once more in this, the final chapter of their quest!

Ragnar related his tale to the heroes: after Ragnar and Droop had set forth from the Redbrand Hideout, they spent some time journeying through the Althorian hinterlands. One night, however, Droop was kidnapped by Cragmaw goblins whilst Ragnar slept. Upon awakening and discovering his companion's absence, Ragnar devoted himself to finding and rescuing the captured Droop.

Yet when Ragnar at last tracked Droop to Cragmaw Castle, he discovered that the old king of the Cragmaws had been slain by BX, and that BX had crowned himself new Iron Lord of Cragmaw, appointing Droop Sorrowheart as his second-in-command. Droop related this and more to Ragnar, including the heroes' present mission of finding and stopping the Black Spider in Lost Phandelver. Droop urged Ragnar to track down the heroes so that he might aid them in their most perilous part of their journey.

So it was that Ragnar came to find the rest of the party. The Heroes of Phandalin welcomed Ragnar, grateful for the strength he offered. And so they ventured into the mine, fighting such horrors as wretched, acidic slimes and hordes of zombies (which, so the stories claim, were dispatched through the creative use of an old smelter).

Clearing room after room of long dormant horrors, the party at last came to a cavern full of the Black Spider's insidious servants. The heroes planned a clever ambush; yet, as Ryathon circled 'round the mine to flank his opponents, he stumbled into the chambers of the Black Spider himself. Ryathon quickly retreated, but the Black Spider's minions pursued Ryathon just as the enemies in the cavern became aware of the party's presence.

An epic battle then ensued: BX and Ragnar would hold off a host of spiders and their bugbear handler in the hallway Ryathon retreated from, while Shakira (in the form of a ferocious bear) and Ryathon dealt with the enemies in the cavern. Shakira took a severe beating, coming close to death from the combined blows of the bugbears and their doppelganger overseer; yet Ryathon's nimble maneuvering, hopping from one side of a crevasse to the other (causing one bugbear to give up in frustration) helped Shakira to overcome the odds. Meanwhile, Ragnar and BX performed admirably in fending off the spiders and their bugbear handler, preventing the heroes from being flanked by the Black Spider's forces.

Eventually, the Black Spider's forces dwindled to a paltry handful. Yet it was then that the Black Spider himself emerged, astride a spider larger than a horse. As he declared his intent to take the mine "for the glory of the god deep within the world," the Black Spider unleashed a torrent of arcane magic upon the heroes.

Valiantly the party fought back: BX and Ragnar set to butchering the giant spider, while Ryathon loosed his arrows upon the Black Spider himself, and Shakira directed her moonbeam upon the evil dark elf. Shakira's magic peeled away the Black Spider's illusory disguise, revealing an emaciated figure infested with foul worms wriggling beneath his flesh like eels. After heroic effort, the party managed to down the dark elf's spider mount, and the Black Spider tumbled to the ground.

The Black Spider cursed, snarling, "This was not supposed to happen; this is not how it was supposed to end." He unleashed one final storm of arcane energy before the heroes managed to cut him down. Shakira, in the form of a great bear, grabbed the Black Spider's head within her jaws, snapping the mad elf's neck and thus ending the machinations of the Black Spider once and for all.

In the aftermath of the great battle, BX and Ragnar slumped against the cavern's wall, exhausted as they were from the heroic feats they had performed. While Shakira probed nearby chambers for a safe place to rest, Ryathon scouted the Black Spider's hideout in search of treasure. Shakira found a locked room where the pungent stench of a dwarf left wounded and unwashed emanated; meanwhile, Ryathon busied himself with collecting the treasure that the Black Spider had hoarded from his initial explorations of the mine.

A curious greed overtook Ryathon, leading him to attempt to pillage a grand statue of a dwarf with eyes of emerald. Upon wrenching the eyes from the statue, however, the chamber shuddered, and a cave-in nearly claimed the life of the elven hunter. In the end, though, Ryathon managed to struggle out of the collapsed chamber--though he discovered, at his dismay, that the eye he claimed was a worthless chunk of carved glass.

It was then that the party met Nundro Rockseeker, brother to Gundren and Tharden, who had been locked in a chamber and interrogated mercilessly by the Black Spider and his minions. Nundro gave his deepest thanks to the heroes for liberating him and killing his captors. But the heroes were not done yet: evil still dwelt within the mine, and the heroes were more determined than ever to clean the mine once and for all. Furthermore, a map that had been found in the Black Spider's satchel marked the location of the long-lost Forge of Spells within the mine--and the heroes, having come so far in their quest, figured they might as well see what all the fuss had been about.

After a brief detour through a cavern echoing with the sounds of subterranean waves, the heroes found themselves at the Forge of Spells. It was here that the heroes encountered a spectator, a lesser species of beholder conjured by mages to serve as guardians. Through guile, the heroes convinced the spectator that they were the mine's new owners, and so the spectator simply disappeared. A combat avoided, the heroes were rewarded with being the first to enchant their weapons within the green flames of the legendary Forge of Spells. Though the magic of the forge had been greatly diminished over time, the temporary enhancement to their arms gave the heroes the needed edge to clear the rest of the mine of the undead haunting it. Even the most fearsome of these undead, a dreadful wraith, proved no match against the party.

With Phandelver Mine cleared, the heroes accompanied Nundro back to Phandalin. No doubt, the heroes thought their journey over; little did they know, however, that the hardest decision they would make as a party still lied ahead.

Chapter IX: The Phandelver Dilemma
A great celebration was thrown upon the heroes' return at Stonehill Inn. As townsfolk reveled, knowing that their troubles were over and Lost Phandelver had been newly discovered, and as Gundren and Nundro mourned the loss of their brother together, Sildar Hallwinter approached the heroes and informed them of an upcoming adjudication that would determine the fate of Phandalin.

In two days' time, Townmaster Harbin Wester would decide the disposition of Phandelver Mine. It would seem that Althorian law would leave the fate of the mine to Phandalin, as technically the mine fell within the jurisdiction of the village. As such, Wester ultimately would decide whether the mine would be left to the Rockseeker brothers, to the village of Phandalin, or to the wilderness. Several townsfolk would give Townmaster Wester their opinion on the disposition of the mine in the course of the adjudication, Ser Hallwinter warned, and as such, if the heroes hoped for any particular outcome, the morrow would be the time to seek to influence opinions.

Sildar confessed that he himself had changed his mind on the matter. He would now join Gundren's cause, arguing that Althorian law had a strong precedent for Gundren's right of discovery. In discussions during the celebration, the heroes would find that Sildar's former cause had been taken up by no less than Halia Thornton, a shrewd business woman who visited the heroes during the celebration in an attempt to sway them to her side. Lady Thornton argued that Phandelver Mine was too precious a resource to be left to a pair of foreign dwarves, who doubtless would use the mine's wealth for their own gain rather than for the good of the community.

After Lady Thornton's departure, the party approached Sister Garaele, who in her cups said many harsh things about Thornton and her intentions. Sister Garaele was convinced that Halia Thornton intended to run against Harbin Wester in next month's election for Townmaster. Thornton, seeming the likely winner of such a contest, would then gain control of all of Phandalin's assets... including Phandelver Mine, should it pass to Phandalin.

Determined to find the truth behind the matter, the party devised a scheme to infiltrate Halia Thornton's Miner's Exchange: while Ryathon and Ragnar would distract Halia on the exchange's floor, Shakira would take the form of a mouse and sneak in, searching for proof of Halia Thornton's intentions. The plan largely went off without a hitch, and Shakira indeed discovered several half-written letters from Halia Thornton to prominent figures in Phandalin, requesting support in the upcoming election. Before Shakira could leave Thornton's office, however, Thornton herself entered in search of a business ledger (as Ryathon had decided to bank his wealth at the Miner's Exchange). Shakira managed to avoid detection, yet a last lingering glance around the office from Thornton revealed that Thornton had noticed her letters' absence.

After the infiltration of the Miner's Exchange, Ryathon and Ragnar set to work making campaign posters, as Ryathon had decided he would run as townmaster himself in the upcoming election. Word of this soon reached Halia Thornton, who approached Ryathon at Stonehill Inn and made a deal with the elf: Halia would set aside all intention of running, so long as Ryathon would appoint Halia as his assistant, in charge of keeping track of Phandalin's finances and day-to-day governance. Ryathon agreed.

When Sister Garaele learned of this, she was distraught: any proof Shakira might have found of Lady Thornton's intent to run as townmaster now meant little, and Sister Garaele did her best to impress upon Ryathon that Halia Thornton simply could not be trusted. Ryathon took a cavalier attitude towards the matter, confident he could handle whatever trouble Thornton might cook up. Shakira disagreed with Ryathon's approach, and went outside to brood on the matter.

As night fell, a nagging doubt pulled Shakira back to the Miner's Exchange. In the form of a cat, she once again sneaked into Halia's store, this time through the chimney. Once inside, she discovered a hidden lever within the chimney; pulling it, a secret door opened within Halia's bedchamber, leading into a mysterious chamber.

Within the secret chamber, incontrovertible proof of Halia's affiliation with the Zhentarim was laid bare. Before Shakira could flee the scene, however, a magical alarm telepathically alerted Halia, who came barging into her bedchamber to halt the intruder. Halia saw through Shakira's feline disguise, yet did not lift a finger to harm Shakira. Instead, Halia pleaded with Shakira to keep her true affiliation a secret. After all, Halia argued, neither her business, her actions, nor her affiliation with the Zhentarim were crimes: the latter, though politically inconvenient, served as an important conduit of information and commerce in Phandalin. Shakira considered the matter, then told Halia that, although the druid would make no promises, Shakira would keep Halia's secret for now.

The next day, Townmaster Harbin Wester began his adjudication. Although Townmaster Harbin held sole legal discretion in the matter, he welcomed the advisory testimony of prominent individuals in the community (so as to suss out the most popular option to aid him in the upcoming election, according to town gossip). Many spoke at the adjudication, including Gundren Rockseeker, Ser Sildar Hallwinter, Halia Thornton, and Sister Garaele.

Yet special attention was paid to the testimony of the Heroes of Phandlin. Ryathon argued that a compromise could be reached, wherein Gundren Rockseeker held half an interest in the mine, and Phandalin the remaining interest. BX argued that the mine ought to go to Gundren, as the wealth Gundren had promised to BX would be a valuable asset in the settlement of Cragmaw as a peaceful goblin village. Yet townsfolk would speculate that the testimony that swayed Townmaster Harbin the most was Shakira's, whose impassioned speech placing law and fairness squarely on Gundren's side drew spontaneous applause from those in attendance.

Eventually, the adjudication concluded. The heroes returned to their rooms at Stonehill Inn, and Townmaster Wester retired to his chambers to deliberate on the matter, preparing to announce his decision on the morrow.

Epilogue
The next day, Townmaster Wester announced his decision: the Lost Mine of Phandelver would be entrusted to its discoverer and rightful owner, Gundren Rockseeker.

Under the management of the Rockseeker brothers, the Lost Mine of Phandelver flourished. Slowly but surely, the Rockseekers began to relearn the lost art of spellforging. While a single spellforged blade still took months to craft, within half a year enchanted Phandelver blades were shipping throughout Andaria.

For the first time in recent memory, anyone in Althoria could buy swords and armor imbued with arcane power… provided, of course, they had the coin. The fruits of Phandelver were expensive indeed, with some Althorians accusing the Rockseeker brothers of carefully controlling the supply of magic items in order to manipulate prices. The Rockseeker brothers never bothered to respond directly to such accusations, welcoming anyone who disliked their business practices to craft their own enchanted items.

Whatever the distribution of the mine’s success, the fact that the mine was a success went unquestioned. As the months passed, however, a curious illness began to surface in some of the miners: a mental deterioration of sorts, manifesting sometimes with burning fevers, sometimes with intense headaches, and in rare cases, with ravings of visions and imagined voices. The afflicted were in the small minority of workers, however, and as such the mine’s operations largely continued unhindered. All the same, these ailments troubled Shakira, who had held reservations about the mine's opening for this exact reason. Shakira administered healing and aid to afflicted miners as best as she could.

Whatever grievances other Althorians had with the management of the mine, the people of Phandalin prospered like never before. Yet as the village grew from the steady stream of Althorians moving in to seek their fortune, sudden changes swept over the community. Most significant of these changes was the replacement of Townmaster Wester with the wood elf hero, Ryathorn Silverthorn, and the appointment of Halia Thornton, the ambitious and shrewd owner of the Phandalin Miner’s Exchange, as Phandalin's assistant townmaster by Ryathon. The new regime was welcomed by the townsfolk: Wester’s failure to deal with the Redbrands marked him as incompetent in the eyes of Phandalinians (and his decision to let the Rockseekers take the mine did not sit well with the poorer folk of the village); meanwhile, Ryathon's reputation as a local hero and Thornton’s reputation as a cunning businesswoman made them both an appealing alternative in the village’s eyes.

From his seat in the newly rebuilt Tresendar Manor, Lord Silverthorn and Lady Thornton proved to be a competent administrators. Among Lord Silverthorn and Lady Thornton's first acts was the formation of a proper town guard, with Ryathon's friend, Ragnar the half-orc, to serve as captain of the guard. To supply the garrison, Lady Thornton hired mercenaries from a “business associate.” The new guards' rigid enforcement of the law reminded some of the older villagers of the days of the Redbrands’ reign. The new villagers, now the majority of Phandalinians, didn’t seem to mind, however, and soon the locals simply learned not to ask too many questions and to enjoy in the prosperity brought by Lord Silverthorn and Lady Thornton’s rulership without complaint.

With the green dragon chased away and the vile blights and ash zombies purged from the village, Thundertree was soon resettled by the adventurous folk of Althoria. In a matter of months, almost all of Thundertree’s buildings were rebuilt, and once again Thundertree served as a sanctuary of hospitality and healing in the wild Althorian hinterlands.

In particular, Thundertree tavern reopened, supplying Althoria with its legendarily delicious brown ale (though admittedly, the ale now had a smoky aftertaste). It was at the reopened tavern that a traveler deep in his cups related a curious tale: a tale of a one-eyed green dragon, spied through the woods in the dark of night, conversing with a group of men in black robes and strange masks.

Under the guidance of their new Iron Lord and his lieutenant, Lord Sorrowheart, the Cragmaw goblins cautiously made contact with surrounding Althorian settlements, offering terms of peace and trade. When word of these goblins reached Sovrencrown, the Sovereign himself decreed that the Cragmaw goblins would be treated as equals under Althorian law, so long as the goblins did not return to their outlaw ways.

Supported in part by the income from Phandelver Mine, Cragmaw village flourished. At first, Cragmaw found trouble in exporting its goods, with the stigma of “goblin-made” seeming too strong to overcome. In time, however, less scrupulous buyers were found, and Cragmaw found an especially valuable business partner in Lady Thornton. Soon, goblins gained a reputation for crude yet cleverly crafted goods, and before long it was not uncommon to see Althorian and goblin merchants walking side-by-side along the roads of the hinterlands (although always in awkward silence).

So great was Cragmaw Village’s success that it even began to attract outcasts from other “monstrous” races, hoping to find a new beginning far from the brutality and chaos of their more barbaric kin. Cragmaw Village soon developed a reputation as a community where anyone, no matter your race or past, could attempt to start a new life.

Gundren used his newfound wealth to build stately homes all across the cities of Althoria, including a small manor just outside of Phandalin. Soon, the Rockseeker brothers gained a reputation as shrewd businessmen, but very generous friends. Rumor has it that the Rockseeker brothers even gave specially commissioned magic weapons to the adventurers who had helped them come into their fortune.

Sildar Hallwinter resumed his duties, quickly returning to a familiar life of service. Sildar Hallwinter has been seen only once since the events surrounding Phandelver came to pass, returning to Phandalin to testify at the trial of Iarno Albrek. Sildar left before the trial’s conclusion, citing pressing duties in the Lordsleague city-states.

Iarno Albrek was sentenced to death by hanging, but the night before his execution, the town hall was attacked by a group of men in black robes wearing strange, horned masks. They released Albrek, whisking him away into the surrounding woods under the cover of night. One of the robed men was cornered by the town guard, but before he could be captured, the man declared some oath in draconic speech, and chose to fight to the death rather than surrender.

Reidoth the Druid stayed for a short time in Thundertree to ensure that the evil which had plagued the ruined village had been well and truly cleansed. By the time the Sovereign had decreed the village safe to resettle, Reidoth had departed, convinced that he had done his duty and that nothing more was required of him. Reidoth’s current whereabouts are unknown.

Sally Strongbark returned to her home village of Thundertree to aid in its resettlement. She moved into her old home with her child, resuming her duties as the village’s medicine woman. Although every waking moment was marked by the pain of her husband’s absence, so too did every moment carry with it a memory of rescue, and knowledge that good still existed in this world, and could triumph over evil. Her resolve strengthened, Sally proved to be a pillar of her community, showing others the charity that she herself had been shown in her darkest time.