Well-rested and ready to continue their adventure, the party departed Cragmaw Castle early in the morning, only to encounter a large raiding party of hobgoblins, accompanied by the infamous Iarno "Glasstaff" Albrek and his right-hand man, Curtis Truesilver. Vilkas immediately locked down Iarno with a hold person spell while the others struggled with Truesilver who seemed especially intent on taking down the slippery Seraphina. Though he landed some good hits, Curtis ultimately couldn't last more than two rounds against the combined might of Count Alistair, Avina, Holly Bieche, and Seraphina. The hobgoblins were the next to fall and when Vilkas finally allowed Iarno to move, he fled the scene before the party could pin him down.
With Gundren secured and staying close, the party decided to move onward toward Conyberry so that they might speak with Agatha the Banshee on behalf of Sister Garaele. Gundren was less than enthusiastic about the detour, so he decided to make his way back to Phandalin himself.
So the party pressed on to Agatha's lair, being careful to respect the banshee just as Sister Garaele had advised. When she did appear, very carefully did they speak with her and very conscientiously did they offer a gift to soothe her vanity. Though the banshee was well acquainted with such flatteries, she was pleased to meet some who still honored the old ways and granted them the gift of a single question asked which she would answer honestly and to the best of her knowledge. Vilkas asked the simple question requested by the Phandalin priest, seeking information on an ancient tome written by Bowgentle. Sadly, Bowgentle's tome was lost to Agatha more than a thousand years prior, and she had no information on its current location.
After Agatha disappeared, the party moved on to the ruins of Old Owl Well. As they journeyed, Vilkas received a new dream from Oghma, in which he was told to uncover information about "The Tresendar Project." Oghma was cryptic, but clearly indicated information about this strange thing was waiting to be discovered at their destination. It was indeed in this place where they encountered Haman Kost, a red wizard of Thay, who researched the ruins to ends unknown. He was a pleasant enough fellow, for a wizard commanding twenty zombies and shrouded with mystery. Vilkas found Haman agreeable to sharing his knowledge with the group, given that they would take care of the nearby Orc menace at Wyvern Tor.
Though reluctant to take on such a task, the party was convinced in the end, remembering that Harbin Wester, the Phandalin townmaster had requested much the same and was willing to pay handsomely for the deed. Our heroes did not stop to parlay with the errant Orcs, nor were they interested in the reasons behind the invasion. Though the craggy valley in the hills northeast of the Sword Mountains was formerly inhabited by a vicious nest of wyverns, these had been slain by bold adventurers who names time forgot. No threat of note had inhabited the region until these scouts of the Many-Arrows tribe began to fortify their position. The tor was easily seen from Triboar Trail, and Harbin Wester's theory seemed to be that the orcs were merely interested in taking advantage of the increase in travel across the trail.
Whatever the true motivations of Brughor Axe-Biter's raiding party might have been, they were ill prepared for the assault of the adventurers. Even Gog, their ogre, could not save them. Hogug, Varthurg, Stugbu, Gomok, Wraog and Tandagh met a grisly fate in their own lair, overwhelmed by superior might.
Returning to Haman Kost, Vilkas happily reported the removal of the Orc menace, something Kost seemed mildly surprised to hear. Perhaps the red mage had hoped the party would perish on the errand he devised, but Haman was as good as his word. He seemed curious where Vilkas might go with the information he had uncovered, so he handed over a Token of Reidoth without argument, instructing the wizard that he could gather this information along with the druid Reidoth's insights at Thundertree. In a gesture of unexpected generosity, the Thayan mage also offered the party a ring of protection from his private stash.
Lest it be forgotten, Seraphina also benefitted from the earlier defeat of Truesilver, acquiring some valuable gloves off the corpse of her nemesis.
With Gundren secured and staying close, the party decided to move onward toward Conyberry so that they might speak with Agatha the Banshee on behalf of Sister Garaele. Gundren was less than enthusiastic about the detour, so he decided to make his way back to Phandalin himself.
After Agatha disappeared, the party moved on to the ruins of Old Owl Well. As they journeyed, Vilkas received a new dream from Oghma, in which he was told to uncover information about "The Tresendar Project." Oghma was cryptic, but clearly indicated information about this strange thing was waiting to be discovered at their destination. It was indeed in this place where they encountered Haman Kost, a red wizard of Thay, who researched the ruins to ends unknown. He was a pleasant enough fellow, for a wizard commanding twenty zombies and shrouded with mystery. Vilkas found Haman agreeable to sharing his knowledge with the group, given that they would take care of the nearby Orc menace at Wyvern Tor.
Though reluctant to take on such a task, the party was convinced in the end, remembering that Harbin Wester, the Phandalin townmaster had requested much the same and was willing to pay handsomely for the deed. Our heroes did not stop to parlay with the errant Orcs, nor were they interested in the reasons behind the invasion. Though the craggy valley in the hills northeast of the Sword Mountains was formerly inhabited by a vicious nest of wyverns, these had been slain by bold adventurers who names time forgot. No threat of note had inhabited the region until these scouts of the Many-Arrows tribe began to fortify their position. The tor was easily seen from Triboar Trail, and Harbin Wester's theory seemed to be that the orcs were merely interested in taking advantage of the increase in travel across the trail.
Whatever the true motivations of Brughor Axe-Biter's raiding party might have been, they were ill prepared for the assault of the adventurers. Even Gog, their ogre, could not save them. Hogug, Varthurg, Stugbu, Gomok, Wraog and Tandagh met a grisly fate in their own lair, overwhelmed by superior might.
Lest it be forgotten, Seraphina also benefitted from the earlier defeat of Truesilver, acquiring some valuable gloves off the corpse of her nemesis.