Episode 5: The Redbrand Hideout, Sandwich Style

Episode 5: The Redbrand Hideout, Sandwich Style
21 Eleasis 1481 DR

Droop pointed the party toward a nearby secret door in the Redbrand hideout under Tresendar Manor, which lead them to an armory. Bobby appropriated a crossbow, and Eldeth, Mulan and Madislaka all donned Redbrand cloaks. They brought the rest of the weapons to the nothic in the cavern, which happily accepted the new gifts. PewWee then walked into the crypt, activating its skeleton guards, the remnants of Tresendars gone by. After the group scattered their bones, Bobby pocketed a signet ring he found in one of the sarcophagi.

The Jug or Naughts, on a roll, advanced into the next room, which was a small jail. Imprisoned there were two women and a young boy - Mirna Dendrar and her children, Nilsa and Nars. The group took them under their wing and opened the giant copper double doors, which lead into a hallway. A hallway with a very obvious pit trap smack in the middle of it.

After much deliberation, PewWee took a rope to the other side of the pit for his comrades to hold on to as they crossed on the narrow ledge on either side of the pit. After the liberated prisoners crossed, Madislaka lost her balance and fell into the pit, but PewWee helped pull her out. The rest of the group crossed without incident (Droop doing his best to ensure Eldeth's safety) and found themselves in the main entrance of the hideout - where they would presumably have entered if not for young Carp's tip about the secret entrance.

Near this main entrance, our heroes spied a door - the door leading to the Redbrand barracks. PewWee climbed onto Mulan's shoulders, and the group readied themselves. Eldeth, with a wave of magic, threw the door open with a crash, surprising the three brigands inside. Mulan shot at the ruffian in front of her but missed, the arrow burying itself deep in the bunk bed post behind her enemy. Bobby released three magic missiles, two finding their mark and the third incinerating Mulan's arrow and scorching the bed frame. Madislaka leaped to the left and cleaved the brigand there in half diagonally ("sandwich style") while Eldeth, with a touch, drained much of the life from the Redbrand on the right. PewWee, still perched on Mulan's shoulders, fired his bow at the same time Bobby raised his new crossbow. Their arrows flew home, finding their marks in the faces of the now former Redbrand brigands. The PewWee's target slumped back on his bed, and Bobby's was pinned to the scorched bed post, right where the arrow had been shattered an instant before.

To Nars' everlasting delight, the Redbrand threat was eliminated. The Jug or Naughts returned triumphantly (though very late at night) to Phandalin with the Dendrars. Sildar met them and they told him of Glasstaff's betrayal. Once he learned the truth about his old friend Iarno, Sildar expressed his desire that the band of adventurers find the wizard, capture him, and have him brought to Neverwinter to face the judgment of a higher authority.

As she and her family parted from the group, Mirna Dendrar told them that, although she was poor, her family had left an heirloom behind in Thundertree long ago: an emerald necklace hidden beneath some storage shelves. If the Jug or Naughts were to find it, they could keep it, if they like, in payment for freeing her and her children.

After a busy night, our heroes turned in at the now-familiar Stonehill Inn. Toblen, roused late from his sleep, gave them their old rooms and promised a comfortable breakfast the next day. Whatever lies ahead, the Jug or Naughts will face it well rested and well fed…