Chapter 1.5
Post date: Sep 12, 2017 9:58:45 PM
After discovering Sildar Hallwinter, held prisoner by the Cragmaw goblin Yeemik, the heroes agreed to eliminate the bugbear chief Klarg in trade for Sildar's life. After defeating Klarg in a pitched battle, they heroes discovered his hidden cache of treasure including a mysterious Jade Frog amulet. Yeemik proved treacherous and brutally stabbed Sildar before fleeing into the woods. The heroes managed to save his life, despite the treachery and headed for Phandelin with the wounded Sildar.
Sildar Hallwinter is a kindhearted human male of nearly fifty years who holds a place of honor in the famous griffon cavalry of the great city of Waterdeep. Sildar met Gundren Rockseeker in Neverwinter and agreed to accompany him back to Phandalin. Along the way he was captured by a group of Craigmaw Goblins, who were after Grunden. He was taken to the Craigmaw Hideout, and kept there until he was rescued by the heroes, who escorted him to Phandalin.
Once there, Sildar began looking for Iarno Albrek, a fellow member of his order, who disappeared while exploring the area around Phandalin about two months ago, shortly after arriving in town.
Phandalin: The rutted track emerges from a wooded hillside, and you catch your first glimpse of Phandalin, a small mining and lumber town. The town consists of forty or fifty simple log buildings, some built on old fieldstone foundations. More old ruins-crumbling stone walls covered in ivy and briars-surround the newer houses and shops, showing how this must have been a much larger town in centuries past. Most of the newer buildings are set on the sides of the cart track, which widens into a muddy main street of sorts as it climbs toward a ruined manor house on a hillside at the east side of town. As you approach, you see children playing on the town green and townsfolk tending to chores or running errands at shops. Many people look up as you approach, but all return to their business as you go by. You have heard rumors about increased monster activity and increased tourism in the area of Phandalin. The place was recently made famous by being described in the latest publication of loremaster Volothamp Geddarm, a tome called Volo’s Guide to Monsters. The guide described the unique hospitality of the area, and such publicity brings out the bored nobles, pleasure hunters, and thrill seekers. Many of the buildings sport new coats of paint and new signage. Flower beds and window boxes display fresh plantings. One inn displays a banner reading “Volo Slept Here,” while another displays a larger banner claiming, “Volo Slept BETTER Here.” In stark contrast to the carefully kept buildings and grounds, garbage litters the area: empty mugs and plates, scraps of food, torn and discarded clothing, and… is that a human ear? A young human dressed in fine clothes, covered in mud, stands from his resting place in a bed of sunflowers. He blinks at you in confusion and says, “Fetch me my mount.” Before you can answer, he falls face first in the mud. (Frestin Cohlver)