(This session was based on the Mines of Phandelver campain. Possible spoilers ahead! )

Act 1-4

It was morning again. Rays of sunlight pierced through the gaps of the shutters over the windows and prompted everyone to rise from their slumber, shaking off any trace of the alcoholic drinks that may or may not have been consumed the previous night.

Jamie was the first to climb down the steps connecting the large mess hall of the tavern to the different rooms being rented out to her companion and associates. She plunked herself down at a table and ordered breakfast to alleviate her hunger and take her mind off the bumps and bruises that were still healing after the previous night’s excursion.

Sti-Zix soon joined her, sitting on his knees to reach an appropriate height to eat his food. Quallion and Ash were the last to come down for breakfast. Once everyone was settled, the cleric explained that their first order of business would be to meet with Syldar the knight to learn more about the town. The group's rogue agreed, knowing this could only lead to more work. Once everyone was fully clothed, armed, and armored, they left the establishment.

Passing through the town square in the early hours of the morning, few villagers were up and about. As they walked south towards the town hall, three suspiciously armed ruffians wearing red capes slung over one shoulder turned the corner in front of them. One of them pointed a finger towards Jamie and called out to her, recognizing the jackalope from the prior night. Without thinking, the distinctively antler-headed rogue insisted she didn’t know what he was talking about. The ploy failed and both sides drew their weapons.

Swift as the wind, Jamie leapt forward and attacked the one in the middle, clashing swords with him. She looked over her shoulder at Quallion and called out to him, “We need one alive, knock him out!”. As she did the scoundrel's friends flanked her and the rogue quickly regretted charging in. She crumpled to the floor with a huge gash in her side.

Ash brandished his spear to dissuade anyone from moving in on him as he channeled an eldritch blast. The bolt of energy hit one bandit square in the chest. Sti-zix took the opportunity to run to Jamie's side and close up her bleeding wound.

Quallion ran forward and hit another bandit right on his noggin, knocking him out cold. The other bandits retaliated against the fearsome cleric but they couldn’t maneuver their swords around his tower shield, the blades clinking against its thick surface uselessly.

This gave the small changeling warlock an opening to deliver a killing blow on the bandit he’d already injured with a second bolt of eldritch magic. The final villain was pierced by Sti-Zix from behind, the tricksy goblin having finished tending to the foolhardy rogue.

If people had witnessed the fight, they were making an effort to pretend they hadn’t. Maybe they feared guilt by association with the newcomers. Quallion pulled Jamie back to her feet while Ash and Sti-Zix wondered what to do about a more pressing problem: the slain red robes. The cleric knew what to do.

The party began dragging the bodies towards a nearby field on the edge of town, far away from the village center. Jamie made sure to swipe their crimson capes and stuff them into her bag before helping to carry the bodies to their final resting place at the base of a tree. While they were pre-occupied with digging the graves, an old pointy-eared man approached them.

He introduced himself as the owner of the farm upon which the adventurers were busily disposing of the bodies. Rather than being upset about it, however, he was more curious and even a bit amused. When they were finished he invited them into his home, an offer which they accepted.

Jamie dragged the still unconscious criminal with them and finished tying him into a chair just as he regained consciousness. With a combination of diplomacy and intimidation, the group learned a number of things.

The red robed ruffians had settled in months ago in the abandoned mansion at the top of the hill overseeing the town. They were extorting the local businesses for ''protection'' money and attacking new arrivals, blocking traffic and trading into Phandalin. Their leader was a sorcerer wielding a glass cane and was protected by a horrifying beast.

Notably, the mayor of the town knew all about the red robes but wouldn’t intervene due to a lack of resources and, more damningly, personal gain.

The old elf used to be an adventurer himself and was more than happy to help them rid the town of the red robes. He volunteered to watch over the captured villain while the group returned to the town hall to meet with Syldar and share the information they’d gained.

There they learned from him that red robes’ numbers were estimated to be in the twenties based on how many of them came to town in the evening to drink the night away in a skeezy tavern. That also made it the best time to assault their base, a task made easier by the knowledge Jamie gained of its layout during her escape. His plan was to deal with the glass cane wielding sorceror, and dispatch his band of red robes.

Jamie had her own plan, however. The jackrabbit proposed that those rogues were only truly loyal to power. As such, once their leader was defeated they could perhaps be pressganged into serving as a town militia to prevent any other group of bandits from replacing them. Syldar disapproved of the plan; he didn’t like the idea of showing those criminals any sort of leniency and would sooner see them all executed for their crimes.

There was only one thing left for them to do, then: they would have to meet up with the mayor of Phandalin and share their plans with her if they wanted to gain anything out of them.

The adventurers marched into the mayor's office and requested a meeting with her from her secretary. They were able to pen them in right away and they proceeded up the stairs into the office proper, a large space overseeing the town square. Some of them realised the mayor had likely witnessed their fight earlier that morning from that vantage point.

Putting aside that revelation, Quallion, being the voice of the group, told the older woman that they were envoys from Neverwinter. They offered to take care of the mayor's red robes problem in exchange for fair payment. She agreed, but not before adding that any documentation they found in the abandoned mansion would be brought to her without question.

Jamie stepped up to the desk and filled her in on the plan at that point. She suggested that the mayor make sure that the red robes would stay in the tavern while they snuck into the hideout to make sure it all went smoothly. The jackalope also added that the red robes would most definitely submit to her once their leader was brought down, and it would be a waste to cut them down before giving them the choice to serve as guards or serve their sentence. Unlike the knight, the mayor liked the sound of her amnesty idea.

With negotiations complete, the adventurers used the remaining daylight to acquire climbing gear and restock on ammunition before making their way through the forest to the foot of the hill upon which the abandoned mansion sat.

While inspecting the edge of the cliff to find the perfect spot to climb up to the back side of the estate, Ash stumbled upon a hidden passageway that wound through the dirt and the rock into the cellar of the mansion. As they disappeared down the tunnel the sun dipped below the horizon, the few remaining rays of light it provided dimming into nothingness...

To Be Continued...

Jamie belongs to  Hokkigai
Quallion belongs to  Zalakir
Ash belongs to  Lazynore
Sti-Zix belongs to  Carotte666
Story edited by  Twinkieguy