Session 4: Blood in the Square
Played: Session 4 Setting: Phandalin
Recap
Settling Accounts
The party arrived in Phandalin with the captured Lionshield wagon and a battered Sildar Hallwinter. First stop was Barthen’s Provisions, where Elmar Barthen received Gundren’s long-overdue mining supplies and paid the party 10gp each as promised — plus a handful of extra healing supplies thrown in on the house.
Across town, Linene Graywind at the Lionshield Coster took delivery of her recovered crates and paid the 50gp reward. The party used the windfall to restock and pick up a few proper weapons from her back room.
Somewhere in there — and somewhere quiet — the party also took a long enough moment with the small jeweled newt figurine recovered from Cragmaw Hideout to learn what it actually was: a Figurine of Wondrous Power. The party named it Noodles.
Trouble at the Shrine of Luck
The peace did not last. Outside the Shrine of Luck, the party walked into four Redbrand thugs — drunk, loud, and amusing themselves by intimidating townspeople on the temple steps. Their leader was a heavyset ruffian called Graul.
The party tried diplomacy first. A Charm attempt on Graul slid right off him — he was too belligerent, too drunk, and too sure of his cloak. When negotiation collapsed, the party committed.
Versace shifted into a brown bear. Orla dropped into a wolf. Grom and Fleck held the line in front of the shrine. The fight was loud, brief, and bloody. All four Redbrands died on the temple steps.
Watching the whole thing from across the road: Carp Alderleaf, a 10-year-old halfling boy with a wooden sword, eyes the size of dinner plates. When the fighting was over, Carp flipped one of the party a copper coin as a tip — apparently his entire savings — and ran off home before his mother could find out where he’d been.
Sildar’s Writ
Sildar arrived in the immediate aftermath, sword still in its scabbard but his face very serious. To keep the killings from sliding into “barroom murder” in the townmaster’s eyes, he formally hired the party on behalf of the Lords’ Alliance — making the killings sanctioned acts by Alliance contractors.
The party was then walked to the Townmaster’s Hall and sworn in as Phandalin protectorate by Townmaster Wester. 20gp each for the official appointment. The party now has legal authority to maintain order in Phandalin — and the formal backing of the Lords’ Alliance to do it.
Sildar’s Three Asks
Back at the Stonehill Inn, Sildar laid out his priorities:
- Find Gundren Rockseeker — last seen being dragged toward a place called Cragmaw Castle, somewhere in the Neverwinter Wood.
- Find Iarno Albrek — a Lords’ Alliance wizard sent to Phandalin a year ago and never heard from since.
- Eliminate the Redbrand threat in town — bounty of 200gp, payable from Alliance funds.
He also let the party know about two missing civilians the Redbrands appear to have taken: Mirna (the wife) and Nars (the son) of the murdered woodcarver Thel Dendrar.
A Question for a Banshee
Sister Garaele approached the party at the Shrine of Luck with her own request: a journey to Conyberry to put a single question to the banshee Agatha — “Where is the spellbook of Bowgentle?”
Her offer: 25gp each, a silver comb to present as a gift, and a handful of Tymora coins for luck on the road. Her warning: Agatha must be addressed as a noble lady, treated with formality, and asked one question only. Get it wrong, and the audience ends in a way that does not include the party walking back to Phandalin.
Reconnaissance
Before the night was over, the party took stock of their targets:
- Sleeping Giant — scouted via a small animal sent ahead. Eight occupants total: seven Redbrands and a single bartender. Five Redbrands were downstairs nursing hangovers; three were upstairs gossiping about the previous night’s events. Two exits: the front door and a kitchen door at the back. Several broken windows from the gang’s rowdiness.
- The tunnel in the woods — Carp led the party to the brambled boulder where he’d found his “secret tunnel.” Two Redbrands were posted as guards. Carp nearly gave the party’s position away while gawking. The party pulled back successfully without being spotted.
What the Party Walks Away With
- 10gp each from Barthen for the Gundren delivery
- 50gp from Linene for the recovered Lionshield cargo
- 20gp each from the townmaster for the formal protectorate appointment
- An official Lords’ Alliance writ of commission signed by Sildar
- The newt figurine — now identified as a Figurine of Wondrous Power, named Noodles
- A silver comb and a handful of Tymora coins (from Sister Garaele)
- The respect (and apprehension) of Phandalin: four dead Redbrands and a lot of witnesses
- Solid intel on the Sleeping Giant (8 occupants, 2 exits) and the Tresendar Manor back tunnel (2 guards)
DM prep / session plan for this session: see DM notes.