15th day of Tarsakh

We return to Phandalin after an uneventful trip down the Triboar trail.  Somehow all the lands around seem more welcoming and normal after our defeat of the orc menace that was threatening the area.  We report to Sildar about Kost and the prospectors, and also our defeat of the orc threat (we neglect to mention the single orc that escaped – we will deal with him later).  I also return to Sister Garaele and tell her about Agatha’s response.  She is pleased and gives me the 3 potions of healing that she promised us.  She is also interested by our various exploits and pleased by the way that we handled our various encounters, and suggests that I would make a good recruit for the Harpers.  I had been considering this for a while, but just hadn’t met a representative of this secretive organisation, so I agree to join.  There seems to be no formal ceremony or oath-taking, but she informs me that I am now a Watcher of the Harpers.  Being a clandestine organisation I am to tell nobody (whoops!).

We enjoy another restful evening and night at the Stonehill Inn.  Even Harbin the mayor seems pleased with us, telling us that there has been no reprisals from the Redbrands, and the town fells better for their absence.  It turns out that us getting rid of them was one of his best ideas.

16th day of Tarsakh

We arise early and set out for Neverwinter, as being the shortest route to Thundertree.  Elaina is keen to return, as this is the village of her birth, from where she was exiled after it was destroyed in the eruption of Mount Hotenow 40 years ago.  The ruins have been cursed ever since, so this once prosperous village was never reoccupied.

On the road, we join a caravan, which makes our journey to Neverwinter safe and rapid.

19th day of Tarsakh

We arrive in Neverwinter in the afternoon and find an inn to stay in (last time I was here I was so poor I had to sleep under a hedge).  We also purchase 2 mules and their tack in order to carry our equipment for us.

20th day of Tarsakh

We set out for Thundertree along a well marked road through prosperous agricultural country.  As we approach Thundertree though, the great Neverwinter Wood looms ahead and the land becomes deserted.  The track leads to Thundertree, but at the entrance we find a sign saying:

Danger – Plant Monsters and Zombies

Do Not Enter

The village beyond is ruined and overgrown.  A tower on a tall mound looms over the centre of the village – intact apart from the roof which is partially ruined.  We tie our mules to the sign, and enter the village.  The first few hours are just ruins, and we poke our heads in to see if there is anything left.  Suddenly, some of the shrubs around us shake themselves and tumble towards us; lashing us with thorny whips.  The fight is relatively short, and we hack eight of them to pieces, while only taking a few scratches ourselves.  We resolve to not examine any more of the ruined cottages.  The next building is more complete, although the roof is sagging.  The sign outside identifies it as having once been a tavern.  The door is shut, so we peer in through the windows.  The inside is divided into two rooms, a bar, and a kitchen cum brewery.  We decide not to investigate.  Turning a corner as the road winds round the base of the mound, we see a house ahead which appears completely intact, with a closed, iron banded door and heavily reinforced shutters.  We guess that Root{} the Druid might be living there, so walk up and knock on the door.  An unwelcoming voice responds and asks us who we are.  We identify ourselves and state we are looking for {} the Druid.  It asks who sent us, and we say that Ma Appletree mentioned the druid.  At this point, he opens the door and rapidly ushers us in.  He tells us that he is worried about the shrub-monsters and also the ash zombies, several of which he has locked in the tavern that we looked at – a close escape.  However he tells us that a more immediate issue is the green dragon that has taken up residence in the tower!  Although he does mention that the dragon has at least killed some of the giant spiders that live on the mound around the tower.  This all sounds a bit tough to be frank.  Plus he mentions that there are some black-robes strangers wandering around Thundertree as well, who may or may not be associated with the dragon.  We tell him that actually we just came here to find out the location of Cragmaw Castle, and he happily shows us where that is on our map of the region, explaining that we will be doing the area a favour if we rid it of the goblins who are there.  I explain that I have been charged by Oghma with the same task in a dream.  He also mentions that he knows of the location of Wind Echo Cave, and will tell us if we help him drive the dragon away from the village before it settles her.  We explain that we feel that we should go and rescue Gudrun as a matter of priority, but will return to help him in a few days.  He is happy to let us go and will wait for us to return.

We return to Neverwinter, and then down the Great Road and up the Triboar Trail to where we were first ambushed.

23rd day of Tarsakh

We find our way back to the goblin caves and find them unoccupied.  We clear out and camp in the large chamber that the goblin chief was using.

24th day of Tarsakh

The night passes uneventfully, but as we are leaving, we see a party of six hobgoblins approaching the cave.  They don’t appear to have seen us so we duck back into the cave.  Garrett goes up to the bridge over the stream to watch for them entering, and the rest of us go back to the cave with the water reservoirs.  As we hoped, one of them is still full of water.  We wait until the hobgoblins enter, and then Garrett casts a minor illusion of a noise further up the main passage.  As they come to investigate, Aramil and Elaina break the dam, releasing another rush of water down the passageway.  All six hobgoblins lose their footing and are swept out.  We rush down to engage them while they are not on their feet.  They are bruised, but are starting to get up.  I shoot one with an arrow, wounding it.  Garret casts a Sleep spell, which affects 4 of them.  Elaina and Aramail rush forward to attack them, followed by me.  We attack the remaining two and kill them in a couple of rounds of combat.  We bind and search the others, and find a scrap of parchment with a badly drawn picture of Garrett and a reward for 25 gold pieces for his capture, signed with a black spider.  We try to question the remaining hobgoblins, but they refuse to talk or be intimidated, so I behead them.  While Aramil and Elaina repair the reservoir walls in the cave in case we want to use this location again, I craft 6 stakes and place the heads on them outside the cave.