This was a relatively short session to finish off Tresendar Manor and plan for some upcoming side quests.
(Obligatory spoiler warning for "Lost Mine of Phandelver")
Once the bugbears were defeated, the nothic was distracted by this new supply of fresh meat. The party left it to feed while they explored the rest of the cellar. They found an unconscious goblin in the bugbears' room, so tied it up and left it there for now.
The dwarf cleric, Bahli, heard confused noises coming from the next room, so the party prepared to move in. Starfright (dragonborn barbarian) and Gybrush (human wizard) moved to the door n the opposite side of that room, then the party burst in. The room held four Redbrands who had heard enough noise to prepare for trouble, but who had been drinking too much to provide much resistance. Bahli promptly took down one ruffian, Starfright wounded two with her acid breath, and Gybrush's sleep spell put two to sleep. That left just one thug, who had been trying to pocket the money from their gambling while his fellows fought. He immediately surrendered, begging for mercy. The PCs gave him the same offer as George and John (leave town, find honest work, and never come back), He gladly accepted, and was dubbed "Paul." The party tied up the two sleeping Redbrands and locked them in the bugbears' room while they finished searching the dungeon.
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| Battle with the last few Redbrands |
While he was perusing this library, Starfright went in search of her "friend," the nothic. It had retreated to the crevasse in the cave to lick its wounds, and was now hostile. It seriously injured her with its rotting gaze attack, so she retreated to find Bahli for some healing. The party went to look for the monster, who also hurt Sothleene (human rogue) with its gaze. (Gybrush, distracted by arcane loot, didn't join them until the ghastly-looking barbarian came to yell at him to help.) The nothic soon found itself at a disadvantage in the crevasse when the part started targeting it with ranged attacks, so it climbed out the far side and fled. The party caught up with it in the storeroom through which they had entered the cellar, and a well-aimed bolt from Caboose (gnome bard) finished it off before it could injure anyone else.
Several party members needed healing, and the casters were pretty much all out of spells, so they moved the nothic's body and camped out in this first room. This also gave Gybrush time to study Glasstaff's staff of defense and attune himself to it.
When the PCs returned to their search in the morning, they found the goblin missing and the two Redbrand prisoners dead, with their throats cut. This disturbed them a great deal, and made them regret not questioning all three captives when they had the chance.
The party then searched Glasstaff's room. They found a small chest of coins and gems, as well as many papers stacked on the dead wizard's desk. These revealed that Glasstaff was actually Iarno Albrek, the missing Lord's Alliance agent who Sildar Hallwinter was seeking. They also found a letter from the Black Spider ordering Iarno to keep a watch out for friends of the dwarves; this made it clear that the Spider was aware of the party.
The heroes returned to town and told Sildar what they had found and accomplished in the manor's ruins. He gave them a reward for dealing with the Redbrand problem, and offered another if they could find Cragmaw Castle and defeat or drive off the goblinoids' chief. This castle is where Sildar believes Gundren Rockbreaker was taken, so the party already had strong motivation to find it. He suggested that if they can track down other goblin patrols or raiding bands, they might learn its location from any prisoners they take.
Marta Dendrar, the townswoman whom the party had freed from the Redbrands, found them soon after their return. She was grateful for their help, but unable to offer any thanks more than her words. She did, however, tell them of the hiding place of a family heirloom (an emerald necklace) that had been left behind when her family fled the village of Thundertree during an attack by undead.
The party now has three side quests to finish while they seek out the location of Cragmaw Castle: dealing with orc raiders near Wyvern Tor; investigating reports of undead near Old Owl Well; and searching Thundertree for the lost necklace. They plan to do them in that order, with a visit to the town of Conyberry on the way to Thundertree.
The party should reach 3rd level after their first side quest, so I expect the next session to consist of that encounter followed by working out advancement.
[Edited 12/8/2016 to add photo.]
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