🎲 Loaded Dice and Loose Ends
- The party resumed deep in the Redbrand hideout, where they found four humans playing knucklebones — two clearly drunk, two merely tipsy.
- A drunken wager revealed that the dice were loaded by the sober pair. Outraged, the drunkards stormed off to report them to Glasstaff.
- The party followed, passing through a lab cluttered with bubbling concoctions, scattered scrolls, and alchemical texts. A small creature darted into the next room as they entered.
In the next chamber:
- The Redbrands bickered about Glasstaff’s whereabouts, and the party spotted a hastily concealed secret door.
- They pursue a human wizard — likely Iarno Albrek, aka Glasstaff — who ordered his Nothic (telepathic aberration) to attack.
- After a brief fight (Poppy cleaved the Nothic creature in half), Glasstaff escaped, leaving behind a trail.
🕵️ Clues and Captives
- The trail led outside to a fountain and eventually to Tresendar Manor’s ruins. Glasstaff escaped, leaving behind a trail from the fountain.
- Inside the hideout, the party discovered a sealed scroll with orders from the Black Spider:
Lord Albrek,
My spies in Neverwinter tell me that strangers are due to arrive in Phandalin. They could be working for the dwarves. Capture them if you can, kill them if you must, but don’t allow them to upset our plans. See that any dwarven maps in their possession are delivered to me with haste.
I’m counting on you, Iarno. Don’t disappoint me.
- Deeper in, they found and freed Thel Dendrar’s imprisoned family, held hostage by the Redbrands.
🧴 A Brush with the Divine
- Back in town, the group paid a visit to the Shrine of Luck, where Sister Garaele gave them a silver hairbrush and a quest:
Return it to a banshee east of town in exchange for information and potions.
- After some debate, the party declined the task for now, but they take the silver brush in case they head that way.
🍖 Deep-Fried Treachery
- At the townhall, they found Sildar, Harbin Wester, and a woman casually deep-frying meatballs in the backyard.
- Sildar passed along a message: Queline Alderleaf was looking for them.
- Frustrated with Harbin’s incompetence, the party decided he had to go. They staged his death, claiming he was attacked by fleeing Redbrands.
- Sildar, while shocked, accepted the story and returned to his duties.
🧙♂️ Toward the Druid
- At Alderleaf Farm, Queline told them about her druid friend Reidoth, who might know the location of Cragmaw Castle.
- The party made plans to find him and uncover the castle’s location — and with it, the path to Wave Echo Cave and the Black Spider.