More than 300 years ago, as part of the founding of the nation of Aglarond, clans of Elves and Gnomes made a treaty, called the pact of Phandelver, in which they agreed to jointly work a rich mine known as Wave Echo Cave, assisted by miners and engineers from several Dwarven clans in Impiltur. In addition to mineral wealth, the cave had magical properties. Human and half-elven spellcasters used the magic of the cave to forge magic items. Times were good and the nearby town of Phandelin prospered.
Then catastrophe. Armies of orcs (rumoured to be financed by Thay) rampaged throughout the region, sacking the town and attempting to take over the mine. Stories say that the battle brought down the tunnels and closed the mine forever.
Occasional efforts were made to resettle but all were thwarted by various events, including the Tuigan invasion of 12 years ago.
In the last decade, the town of Phandelin has been resettled as part of a determined push to tame the north-eastern corner of Aglarond. Today, Phandelin is a rough-and-tumble frontier town, filled with trappers and loggers and prospectors.
The nearest city of any size is Emmech. It is a walled city of around 8,000 people. A major part of the Aglarondi army (over 1500 soldiers) is barracked here, watching for Thayvian invasion. Emmech has a major port and, it is rumoured, a teleportation circle.
There are a couple of settlements north and east of Emmech but for the most part the land is grassland and scrubland, with a few forests. It rises steadily to the Dragonsmaw Mountains in the north and the Tannath Gap hills in the northeast. Beyond those hills lies Thay, the land of The Red Wizards.
The location of Wave Echo Cave still remains unknown. Periodically rumours surface that some group or another has found the mine, but none turn out to be true. Until now?
Our heroes last saw their friend and employer, the dwarf Gundren Rockseeker, three days ago. They, along with Gundren and his bodyguard Sildar (an agent of the Crotalan Accord, an organisation dedicated to stability in the East) spent the night at an inn in the village of Lared.
Gundren and Sildar went on ahead, on horseback. The party, moving slower in the bullock-drawn wagon, are to meet Gundren and Sildar in the village of Phandelin this evening.
At least, that is the plan…