Aster's Ledger

The party walked into Thundertree's tower expecting to parley with the resident dragon and very nearly walked out as his enslaved construction crew — until Beatrix turned a doomed negotiation into a telenovela. She seduced Venomfang, brokered the four card-playing cultists into slavery in the party's place, and lured the druid Reidoth into the tower as the dragon's promised kill, buying them the location of Cragmaw Castle. The session closed with Reidoth inside the trap, Venomfang due back next session, and Beatrix newly and dangerously smitten: *"I lost my wisdom saving throw. I can't stop, and I won't stop."*

After fighting through Thundertree's blights and ash zombies, the party looted the ruins, endured Reidoth's mockery, found the apothecary's emerald pendant, and won a dragon-cult offering in an eight-hour card game before preparing to meet Venomfang.

After collecting Daran Edermath's reward and checking on the Whorebedashery, the party traveled to Thundertree, made a tenuous peace with an owlbear, met the druid Reidoth, and ended surrounded by giant spiders and approaching twig blights.

The party traveled to Old Owl Well to handle reports of undead, only to find a reclusive necromancer and a hobgoblin ambush attempting to collect a shockingly low 25-gold bounty on Beatrix. After defeating the bounty hunters and learning their employer was the mysterious “Spider,” they struck a deal with the necromancer Hamun Kost: in exchange for the name of the ruin’s builder, he would leave the area. John charmed the banshee Agatha with flowers and a ballad, securing the wizard’s name and a very forward invitation. With Hamun satisfied and the bounty hunters dead, the party set out for Edermath Orchard with a new admirer, an unresolved bounty, and a potential undead house guest.

The party returned to the Redbrand hideout only to find it abandoned and rigged with elaborate traps, including a greasy pit, a poisoned note, and a pressure-cooker bomb. After methodically disarming everything and discovering that Glasstaff and his crew had fled toward the Spider, they claimed the strongbox and returned to town. In Phandalin they collected the deeds to Tresendar Manor and a shopfront, launched a brothel/hat-shop (“whorebedashery”) with enthusiastic local support, and accepted a new bounty from Sildar. The session closed with a visit to Daran Edermath, who offered magical boots and a guitar in exchange for clearing zombies from the Old Owl Well—which the party agreed to do next.

The party finished the crypt fight beneath Tresendar Manor, survived an ambush by Glasstaff's invisible familiar, rescued Mirna Dendrar and her children, and fled the hideout ahead of a Redbrand counterattack. Back in Phandalin, they divided their coin, bought supplies, discovered that Glasstaff is Sildar's missing friend Iarno Albrek, and learned that the Spider connects the Redbrands to the goblins. After enemies tracked Beatrix's camp into the woods, the whole company took refuge at the Stonehill Inn and resolved to return to the manor in the morning.

The party killed the one-eyed creature beneath Tresendar Manor after bargaining for its secrets, found a magical sword and evidence of stranger goblins, chased the person they believed to be Glasstaff until his trail vanished, recruited another ruffian into Marsh and Company, and ended the night surrounded by skeletons and incoming Redbrands.

The party interrogates and recruits a captured Redbrand, parleys with Sildar and the evasive Townmaster Wester, and runs afoul of Edvard, an impossibly-cold patron at the Stonehill Inn who protects the barmaid Elsa and charmed Beatrix without visible spell components. After learning the Redbrands' lair lies beneath Tresendar Manor, the party scouts a secret tunnel via bat wild-shape, discovers a mind-reading aberration in a chasm, and opens combat against it.

Party helps Klarg defeat Yeemik's coup, rescues Sildar Hallwinter, travels to Phandalin, delivers Gundren's supplies to Barthen's Provisions, and survives a Redbrand night ambush.

John talks his way into an audience with Klarg, meets Yeemik who proposes a deal — kill Klarg for Sildar. Meanwhile Beatrix befriends the wolves via Speak with Animals, John and Chippo scope the snake tunnel (Chippo provokes the snake — both he and Beatrix are downed). The goblins haul them up, stabilize them, and restrain them with Sildar. John returns with Yeemik who presents the "intruders." Party then negotiates with Yeemik, gambles with goblins, recruits a friendly goblin, sneaks through the chimney into Klarg's chamber, fights Klarg's honor guard and Ripper the wolf, then negotiates a truce with Klarg by revealing Yeemik's coup.

Session Zero — character introductions and campaign setup. Party escorts supplies from Neverwinter to Phandalin for Gundren Rockseeker. Goblin ambush on the Triboar Trail, interrogation of Corby the goblin, journey to the Cragmaw hideout. John Robertson gambles his way past the goblin guards as a distraction.