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Day 33 - Gundren Rescued

The party has an uncomfortable night in the woods, mostly unfed, but the wizards who never leave their packs (and spell books) shared some food and Seraphina ministered to the wounded and healed who she could. Gundren gathered his senses a bit over the course of the night and thanked the adventurers profusely for saving him. He offers the party a 10% share in the business of the new mine he intends on opening up. Finding out from the group that they have not seen either of his brothers, Gundren becomes worried, and states that something must be wrong, and he asks if they will set out to Wave Echo Cave with him to find his brothers, and they agree.

The group rides slowly back to Phandelver (an Owlbear following slowly behind), and Gundren learns that Barthen's Provisions has been destroyed. Orryn takes the owlbear to Daran Edermath's orchard, so as to not disturb the locals. Barthen has some locals already working on a new foundation and some are hauling in trees for log walls, and he informs Gundren that he is waiting on new supplies from the coast, but it will be a few days. Gundren needs the supplies to start the mining, but at this point he is more concerned about his brothers. He leads the party to the Lionshield Costar, a local mercantile which ships goods throughout the region, trying to get outfitted . They are running low on provisions, as their last supply shipment was stolen. As the party looks around, they notice crates with a distinctive stamp of a blue shield with a lion on it - the very same sort of stamps they had seen on the crates they left in the hands of the duplicitous goblins back in their hideout. Linene Graywind then states another shipment was supposed to be coming from Yartar, but had been also stolen by Bugbears, somewhere near Wyvern Tor. She lets the party know that she can reward them if they can investigate and find the goods. Gundren is worried about the time it will take, but without supplies, the group will not be able to make the two-day journey to Wave Echo cave, so he lets the party continue on with the promise to come back as quickly as possible. Linene provisions the party with some basics - packpacks, rations, waterskins - the things they had lost when they fled from King Groll.

The party returns to Edermath's orchard and Daran warns the group that there have been some strange reports from that area, originally he wanted the party to explore the Old Owl Well, which is in the area, so he supports their trip to the ghost town of Conyberry, and the hills nearby. The group, now with a few tents and blankets, gathers their gear and heads out for the two-day journey to Conyberry and beyond, an owlbear strangely in tow.

Day 34-36 Old Owl Well

Travel up the Triboar Trail is largely uneventful, the party healing and bonding together in the fine summer weather. They reach Conyberry and stay overnight in a rundown abandoned home which is mostly rodent free. The bright morning light shows Wyvern Tor gleaming with its white cap to the south, and their Ranger quickly finds a worn trail where troublesome creatures have waylayed a couple of wagons. They set off, and after most of the day's travel, following the trail, when they notice a disturbance off in the distance. On a short hill, a couple of miles from the road, they see the dust of activity, and decide to investigate. They approach the ruins of some structure, just stone pillars reaching above the ground, and it looks like it is being excavated. There is a tent and workers moving about, but they are moving strangely. The scent of death floats across on the breeze, and as the party inches closer for a better look, the creatures in the area turn towards them and start moving their way in a frighteningly coordinated manner. They groan the mournful wails of the hungry dead and approach quickly. Before the party can react, a person emerges from a large tent and bids the small horde of zombies to wait. The man is dressed in red robes and a staff that speak of wizardry, and he speaks with a strange diction - clipping some sounds and drawing others out longer.

Day 37 - The Caves of Chaos

The next day they travel on a bit further, and find the trail seems more and more worn - closer to activity, and finally they come to a valley where the smoke of several fires float in the air, and the movement of creatures can be seen through the trees and brush. Orryn communicates with their owlbear and asks it to stay in the nearby woods until they return.