D&D 5e: The Lost Mines of Phandelver

[spiderwrangler]

Calrick's mage hand drifts and points emphatically in the direction of the shop she went to.

[GathersIngredients]

Saca shrugs in reaction to Kryz' statement. "He could be dead already, for all we know, in which case any attempt to save him would be as in vain as any hopes of getting hired by him again.
Besides, we did what we were hired to do; guarding Gundren's life was Sidlar's job, not ours. And while I'm happy to accept another job, one to help look for Gundren and Sidlar, and find out his status and - if possible at all - bring him back safe and sound, I'm not risking my own life for nothing. I don't know about you, but I got to eat, drink and sleep regularly and these things usually don't come free to the likes of us. Contrary to you, I can't just grab a leg off a dead horse and eat it raw, hide, fur, bones and all. So I gotta charge for my services as well."


She follows the pointing of the mage's hand with her gaze and nods. "Speaking of which... I might as well try to turn these dead weights," she lifts the goblin equipment off the cart, "into a little lighter, smaller dead weights, more commonly accepted as payment."
Only AFTER Barthen has finished answering various questions, Saca heads to the shop Aimee is in, in order to sell off whatever she can of the goblins items.

(I'm not sure if Aimee has taken any of them with her, so I don't know if any of them are part of the trade Aimee and the shopkeep have agreed on. Naturally, Saca can't sell these.)

[thinkslogically]

"Yeah... Going shopping seems smart. Not like we're in a rush or anything."

Kryz shuffles his feet and then turns to Balin and Calrick in a bit of a fluster.

"Do you think they're coming back? Like, should we just go? I really don't want anyone to get eaten today."

[spiderwrangler]

"I mean, they know generally where we're going, they can catch up. If they don't, I can always have Lewis fly back and lead them to us."

"You going to be able to keep the kids from stealing from the wagon?You've taken delivery of it, so it's your responsibility now."

Calrick hops down, calls Lewis to him, and sets off down the road.

[thinkslogically]

"I'll tell them what the plan is. I'll run. Don't worry, I'll catch up."

Kryz runs after Saca and to find Aimee. When he does, he'll burst into the store and blurt out:

"Hey! We're going to save the gnome! If you're coming, catch us up on the road! Same way we came in!"

He bursts back out and sprints back down the road to catch up with the others.

[Lurks_In_Shadows]

Balin looks after them for a moment, sighs, shrugs, and turns down the road. "Each must determine their own path through life. All will be held accountable for their choices in the end."

[spiderwrangler]

"Yes, well, Gundren was also the only person willing to hire me on for work like this... I'm not sure if you've notice, but I'm not quite as fearsome as you. You saw how those children thought they could walk all over me?! I just don't have a lot of in between options... you can be all gruff and burly and growl at folks and they listen. If I try that, I get laughed at, and then if they push things too far, they get hurt. It seemed like burning a hole through a child would be a bit unnecessary... although, maybe just a small one? To teach him a lesson for later in life?"

[Lurks_In_Shadows]

"Your restraint is commendable. I run into the same problem, but from a different direction. If someone decides to, as the humans put it... 'call my bluff,' I have to exercise extreme care lest I injure them severely. And being an extremely large dwarf is not quite as intimidating as being an extremely large human."

[GathersIngredients]

"Yeah... Going shopping seems smart. Not like we're in a rush or anything."

"Yeah, and rushing into things, without preparation or suitable equipment? That's even smarter." Saca quips back without missing a beat. "If you plan on getting eaten, too, that is. I mean you only had a brush with death already once today, clearly that's not enough for you." She rolls her eyes.

---

"Hey! We're going to save the gnome! If you're coming, catch us up on the road! Same way we came in!"

"What gnome is he talking about? Surely not Cal, or he would have used his name, right?" Saca asks Aimee, looking confused after the dragonborn has left the shop again.

[Rodgeir]

((Aimee didn't have any of the goblin loot, it was just a misunderstanding as to what she was trying to sell. Saca has everything.))

Depending on when Saca arrives Aimee is either getting dressed again or is already dressed waiting for the blacksmith to tell her what he wants her to do as Saca comes in. She smiles and waves at the dwarf.

A few seconds later she looks on with happy surprise as Kryz pokes his head in yells about Cal and then runs out. She responds pleasantly to Saca,

"I know many, many gnomes but I don't think Kryz knows the gnomes I know except the gnome we both know and he knows! Wonder what happened to Cal since I was just out there? I like him but I really like his owl. Did those kids steal him?" She looks to Saca with a merry question in her eyes before turning to look at the blacksmith expectantly.

[spiderwrangler]

((Be nice to Thinks, it's not her fault she's chronically unable to keep any of the small fantasy races separate! . Dwarf, halfling and gnome are all interchangable... Dwalflomes?))

[Lurks_In_Shadows]

(( I think the generic 'little person' may be the best approach. ))

[thinkslogically]

((goddamnit...))

[spiderwrangler]

((Gnwarflings? ))

[Rodgeir]

((So much for not being mean to Thinks ))

[thinkslogically]

(( at this point, it's more than deserved!))

[spiderwrangler]

((Maybe Kryz can see into the future, I'm sure Cal will need saving eventually!))

[thinkslogically]

Kryz runs back into the shop.

"I mean Dwarf!! We're saving Gundren! I already have my lute!"

He sprints back down the street, backpack and lute bouncing off his back as he runs to catch up to Balin and Cal, panting for breath by this point and holding a stitch in his side.

"I-told-them! Saca's-mad-about it-<gasp>-so we might be-on our own. Forking hell that's a lot of running for a morning!"

He pauses to hold onto his knees and catch his breath again before jogging to catch up with the pair and settle into whatever walking pace has been set.

"Hey, did either of you get paid?"

[spiderwrangler]

((At least we only have a 25 ft movement speed!))

[SamWiser]

"One thing at a time. First we need to see if we can get Gundren back from the goblins before they do something ...unfortunate...to him. Really, though. You've no sheriff, no men-at-arms to deal with common bandits?"

Well... Okay. Sildar and Gundren were travelling together, yes. But Sildar isn't just a body guard, per se. He is coming to Phandalin to act as a member of the Lord's Alliance. He would work to keep the peace and normally take care of ruffians such as these redbrands. Their arrival was looked forward to both for the wealth and prosperity that the Rockseeker brothers were going to bring, but also for the safety that Sildar was ideally bringing with him. Now that both are missing, it truly is a sad day, unless they can be rescued.

"Who are the Redbrands? You going to get trouble from them for this?"

They are, as their name suggests, a group of ruffians that moved in to Phandalin a few years ago. They steal and intimidate the town and make us pay for "protection" Barthen emphasizes the word, then spits on the ground afterwards. that they don't even give us. I don't know if they will retaliate against me. It was you who threatened and laid a hand, of sorts, on them. And I did try to defend the boys. I used to give them some candies sometimes when they would come in for supplies when their good-for-nothing father was able to scrounge up some coin he didn't spend on booze right away, so I think I'll be okay. You guys, though... might face their wrath.

"What about their numbers, their hide-out, or any other useful information you can give us? Also, is it true what they claimed, about everyone in town letting them take stuff? If so, how high is their 'share'?"

I don't know their numbers. They mostly hole up in Sleeping Giant tap house on the east side of town. The amount they steal isn't regular. 10 gold a month for their "protection", but they take what they want. Some take almost nothing, some take
a lot. Sometimes they don't leave their tap house for weeks. Even forgot to collect their monthly payments a couple times. You never know what you're gonna get with them. Depends on how much of the drink they've had. The younger members are normally more... excited to shove their weight around.

"Also, what about Gudren? You ask us to find him, but he himself told us he wouldn't be paying any bonus for additional tasks, therefore I'm not expecting any monetary gratitude from him. So I'm going to ask you straight, as the one requesting this of us: what are you offering us in return to risk our lives in order to possibly safe theirs?"

I don't have much to give. I gave you the gold for the delivery in the hopes you would be able to help, and in the interests of fairness, but we are not a prosperous village. Especially with the redbrands, what gold can be given freely without immediate return is hard-won. I'm sure that Sildar will be able to arrange some sort of reward using the funds from the purse of the Royal Alliance.


Aimee:
"Sure! Gotta be kinda quick though, I'm going to go save Gundren too from the goblins!"

The shopkeep puts a hand on the armor to prevent Aimee from picking it up to wear. Well, that puts me in a difficult position. I'm sure your rescue mission is important and needs to happen soon. And technically this favor can wait a few days. So on the one hand, letting you take this armor will greatly improve your chances of making it back alive. On the other, I doubt you can fulfill the terms of our bargain before you have need of the armor. So, I'm going to have to test you a bit. The shopkeep turns to the back, opens a door and yells out a name, before shuffling Aimee through. She sees a small space has been cleared out with two wooden dummies placed on sticks with several knicks and chops made to them. A large and sweaty man waering a leather apron approaches. Belor, this young woman wants to purchase some studded armor, but can't pay. I offered her a deal on the condition that she help Sister Garaele. I need you to make sure she can live long enough to do so.

With that, the shopkeep enters back into the store, shutting the door behind him. Belor turns to Aimee, staring at her without a word.

Saca:
Saca enters the shop a few minutes behind Aimee to see no Aimee, and the shopkeep quickly closing the back door. As she unloads the goblin's loot. Two small, rusted scimitars, two shortbows, some ratty leather armor, and enough arrows to make about 1.5 quiver-fulls. The shopkeep does not look exactly pleased. I take it you want to sell? Are you with the naked woman who wants to fight goblins? Because that's who it looks like these came from. I can give you 15 gold for all this.

Before Saca can make a response, Kryz bursts in the door. "Hey! We're going to save the gnome! If you're coming, catch us up on the road! Same way we came in!"

The shopkeep gives her a look. Looks like it's time to kill more goblins. Do you wish to purchase anything before heading out on your mission?

[GathersIngredients]

Saca raises her eyebrows. "Naked woman?" she scratches her head. "Tall, pale, blonde, green eyes, pointy ears and almost disgustingly cheerful all the time? When I last saw her, she was dressed, but with her you'll never know what she's up to next, so it's entirely possible. What is she doing behind that door?
And I was with her, but I don't know if she will come with me on the next mission. But that's beside the point. I'll take the gold gladly, thank you very much. As for purchases: do you happen to have any manacles, healer's kit, smelling salt, caltrops, ball bearings, oil or wire? What about rats or mice - dead of course? And is there anywhere I could lend a horse or such? We're kind of in a rush."

Just in that moment Kryz pops in (either initially or again). "There, what did I just tell you? Rush. So if you could be so kind and make this as quick as possible, I would be very grateful." she says and smiles at the very helpful (so far) shopkeep.

(Does he want the scimitars this time, too? Because when you thought that Aimee asked to sell the goblin equip, he rejected them and Saca can still turn them into caltrops of sorts, being a smith, if he doesn't.)

[Rodgeir]

((Is Aimee still naked?))

Aimee says,

"I can mostly pay! There is only a small difference on the price!"

From across the room Aimee looks at Belor and smiles.

"Hi I'm Aimee! We fighting? Kind of in a hurry"

((If he nods in affirmative she shoots him otherwise she shoots one of the wooden dummies if directed to do so.

Dummy attack!: 1D20+5 = [7]+5 = 12
1D10 = [5] = 5

"Good?"
))

[thinkslogically]

Kryz yells about his lute to the shopkeeper and Saca when they ask if he needs to buy stuff, but is immediately crashing back out, keen to catch the others up.

[SamWiser]

Saca
"Naked woman?""Tall, pale, blonde, green eyes, pointy ears and almost disgustingly cheerful all the time? When I last saw her, she was dressed, but with her you'll never know what she's up to next, so it's entirely possible. What is she doing behind that door?
And I was with her, but I don't know if she will come with me on the next mission. But that's beside the point. I'll take the gold gladly, thank you very much. As for purchases: do you happen to have any manacles, healer's kit, smelling salt, caltrops, ball bearings, oil or wire? What about rats or mice - dead of course? And is there anywhere I could lend a horse or such? We're kind of in a rush."

Meanwhile, Kriz pops in, yells that they're leaving, and then yells about his lute.

"There, what did I just tell you? Rush. So if you could be so kind and make this as quick as possible, I would be very grateful."

Well, okay, she wasn't naked. But she was standing in her underthings to sell me her armor, and close enough to it that I'm glad my wife wasn't helping mind the shop today. She gets jealous around elves, even half ones. The shopkeep's ears redden a bit as he realizes he has given a little too much information. And... It'll take a bit of digging, but I can offer the caltrops, ball bearings, and I think I might have a length or so of old wire back here. Not things I get call for often. And Barthen should be able to give you the rest, or perhaps you could stop at the Blue Lion up the road. Another trade shop. I generally handle the weapons and armor, and I let everybody else handle the rest. As he's talking, he goes to another room on the side of the store and starts digging through some old boxes. A few small leather bags fly out before he sticks his head out. Just one thing of each? I want to know before I have to dig myself out of here.

► Show Spoiler

The shopkeep very much does not want the scimitars. I should have specified, but was trying to make it quick.

Aimee
"I can mostly pay! There is only a small difference on the price!"

Belor does not look impressed at Aimee's insistence.

"Hi I'm Aimee! We fighting? Kind of in a hurry"

Not fighting me. Attack the dummy.

Aimee taps into the mystical powers granted to her, and sends a blast of energy at the dummy. It rocks back and forth from the force of the blow.

"Good?"

Belor pauses for a moment, studying the spot where the spell hit. You're only fighting Goblins, yes?

Before she can answer, Belor goes back into the shop. She can kill goblins. Maybe not much else, but goblins are okay. I say give her armor.

The shopkeep, still stuck in the side room getting Saca's gear waves at Belor. Give her the studded, then. But remember, he cries out to Aimee, As soon as your rescue mission is finished, you're coming back and helping out a friend, right?

Everybody else
Balin, Calrick, and Kryz start heading back down the Triboar trail. Several hours of walking pass, and the sun is low in the sky as they make it to the spot where the battle happened, though they encounter no trouble along the way.

► Show Spoiler

This group seemed pretty sure about leaving with or without Saca and Aimee, so I figured I wouldn't wait. If I'm wrong, say so and I'll wait till everybody is ready to go. Also, if you want to try to go faster than a normal walking speed, I'll need an athletics roll.

[Lurks_In_Shadows]

Balin first checks the area out to make sure that the goblins haven't come back to set up another ambush.

perception: 1D20+2 = [19]+2 = 21

Presuming they haven't, he takes another crack at finding their trail.

survival: 1D20+2 = [15]+2 = 17

He has some better luck this time.