Aster's Ledger

Summary

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.

Key Events

• Morning at the Stonehill Inn

• • Elsa greeted the party with her usual chipper attitude — “Good morning, John. Can I do you for? Some coffee? Little whiskey?”
• • Beatrix ordered hot eggs and coffee; Glomblax asked for “coffee with a little bit more than a drop of whiskey, please. Maybe three or four drops.” Shoomit requested “finest ale of hay” — and actually received a giant plate of hay.
• • Beatrix tried to pet a cat and rolled a 1 on Animal Handling — the cat freaked out, and the DM narrated that the cat saw another cat-like creature and bolted.
• • Sildar arrived looking anguished but put on a brave face. He asked about their plan and offered a bonus if they captured Iarno “Glasstaff” alive rather than killing him.
• • Beatrix asked, “We get a bonus for that?” and Sildar confirmed the Lords’ Alliance would pay significantly more for a living capture. Beatrix: “Alright. Well, now we’re talking.”
• • As they left, Sildar got a mostly-whiskey “coffee” from Elsa, and the more perceptive of the party noticed he was deeply troubled.

• At the Redbrand Hideout — The Blocked Secret Entrance

• • The party went to the southern secret entrance and found it completely dark; the faint light that used to come from the cave was gone.
• • Beatrix discovered the tunnel was blocked by an illusory wall and used her familiar Bone to scout. On the other side: a bear trap and a massive barricade of timber and stone.
• • Bone flew deeper and heard repetitive voices saying “Go get them. Get the tabaxi first.” Beatrix realized it was a loop — a magical effect, probably Magic Mouth.
• • They decided to hide in the woods and wait, but after ten minutes no one came out. The voices were still repeating.

• Clearing the Barricade

• • They rigged the bear trap with a stick and claimed it — Beatrix rolled a 25 Survival to deactivate it cleanly.
• • The party needed three Strength checks to clear the barricade. Glomblax volunteered, beefy with +3 Strength.
• • Beatrix gave him Guidance twice, but on the third check Glomblax slipped and “dropped this big rock right on your foot”, taking 2 bludgeoning damage. The table joked it was “like gym class all over again for him.” He pushed through and cleared the path.

• Into the Hideout — Hall of Traps

• • Marching order: Glomblax, John (absent/off-camera), Beatrix, Shoomit. They entered the crevasse room and heard the same looping voices.
• • Beatrix cracked open the southern door and felt resistance — a tripwire. She opened it just enough to see beds and blood. Realizing a trap, she wild-shaped into a spider to crawl under.
• • As a spider, she saw a dead goblin nailed to the wall, a note reading “Welcome back. The spider sends his regards. We’ll be waiting.” The note was poisoned (Con save passed thanks to spider physiology) — she realized any humanoid touching it would have been paralyzed.
• • She also spotted a crate rigged to fall on whoever opened the door full-swing, and multiple Magic Mouths creating the looping voices.
• • Beatrix then crawled under the north door and found a lounge with a chair rigged to a keg tap, and further north, the laboratory with a pressure-cooker cauldron about to blow. She dropped wild shape and released the pressure — then realized she had locked herself in the room.
• • Bone flapped in Glomblax’s face to lead the party to Beatrix; Shoomit rolled Animal Handling to understand, quipping “What’s that, girl? Do you feel stuck out of what?” They unlocked the door, Beatrix explained she’d stopped the bomb.

• Glomblax’s Greasy Misadventure

• • Glomblax wandered off alone (Beatrix: “You sure you should wander off alone? … He’s a grown man.”) and crossed the northern bridge, which collapsed beneath him. He fell 20 feet into the crevasse, landing in a pile of bones.
• • The crevasse walls were coated with animal fat and lamp oil — highly flammable. He tried to climb out but slid back, then resorted to tossing a rock to get attention.
• • Beatrix lowered a rope; with a successful Strength check Glomblax climbed out, winded, covered in grease, and noted the whole crevasse was “covered in this crap, so it might just go up at any moment.”

• Glasstaff’s Quarters and the Loot

• • Shoomit overcame his “big old hippo hands” and finally picked the lock to Glasstaff’s bedroom.
• • Beatrix searched the room, finding a chest containing 180 sp, 130 gp, a silk pouch with five carnelians (50 gp) and two peridots (30 gp), plus two spell scrolls — Hold Person and Fireball.
• • They found a hidden weapons cache: 12 spears, 6 short swords, 4 long swords, 6 light crossbows, and 8 quivers of bolts. Among them was a beautifully made shortsword set with semi-precious stones and two crossbows inlaid with silver — non-magical but valuable.
• • They also found 40 beaver pelts worth 2 gp each (80 gp total). Shoomit hoisted the bulk.

• Mansion, the Pit, and Nothing Left

• • They ascended the greasy staircase (Beatrix used Prestidigitation, spectral rats eating the grease) into the ruined mansion — and found it completely empty. The Redbrands had cleared out, leaving notes and traps.
• • Beatrix later deliberately jumped over the old pit trap, fell in anyway (3 bludgeoning damage), and climbed out with a rope. The table groaned at the redundancy.
• • The DM confirmed they’d cleared the hideout and could clear out the remaining traps to make the manor habitable. The anticlimax earned them level 3.

• Back to Phandalin — The Deed and Harbin Wester’s… Leisure

• • They returned to town and knocked on Harbin Wester’s door. He was at his desk, pants down, with some “busty” scrolls. Beatrix: “I was gonna say he’s getting his dick sucked, but it’s way more pathetic than that.”
• • Harbin hastily tucked himself in, turned beet red, and agreed to hand over the deeds — Tresendar Manor and a shopfront — since the Redbrands had fled. He philosophized: “This is economic development, of course.”
• • Beatrix asked the deeds be made out to “Marsh and Company.” Harbin called his assistant to witness the ceremony, still visibly flustered.

• The Whorebedashery Is Born

• • John (Beatrix) proposed opening a brothel/hat-shop in the new storefront. Glomblax: “The whorebedashery? … A brothel slash shoe repair shop?” Beatrix clarified: “It’s a clothing store in a brothel.”
• • Beatrix went to Elsa to test the market. Elsa was intrigued: “I’ve noticed the same thing.” She offered to be a solo performer, starting with a voyeur act, to bring in tips. She later scrawled a list of about ten potential performers on a napkin.
• • Nars, a farmer, was coaxed into showing off his ridiculously ripped physique. John (Beatrix): “You could grind meat on those. … Could grate cheese off those things.” Nars was open to performing.
• • Edvard, Elsa’s jealous suitor, nearly smashed a glass when he overheard. Beatrix ribbed him: “He might need save up his money if he wants to come help out… beautiful young Elsa here.”
• • Beatrix created Constance Miller as the on-site manager and gave her 50 gp startup capital. Constance: “I’ll keep a rough accounting… so you understand where each and every penny of this goes.” She haggled for a profit share but settled for a 2 gp weekly salary for now.
• • They also decided to leave the goblin Droop to bus tables and learn the trade at the whorebedashery.

• Sildar’s Reward and a New Bounty

• • Back at the inn, Glomblax lied to the crowd: “We killed every last one of them.” Elsa gave him a wink and a Deception check (he rolled a 4, but no one pressed it).
• • Sildar paid the party 200 gp for ridding the town of the Redbrands and offered a new contract: 500 gp for dealing with the leadership at Cragmaw Castle, including Glasstaff, plus an extra 100 gp if Glasstaff was brought back alive. Beatrix: “That’s a deal I’m happy to make.”
• • Sildar also noted that the Spider was a growing concern and that the Lords’ Alliance would appreciate any headway.

• Renovations and a Deposit

• • The party found laborers to fix up the manor. The estimate: 200 gp to make it livable, 1,500 gp to restore it to former glory.
• • John haggled them down to 100 gp total (50 gp now, 50 on completion). The workers were skeptical but agreed.
• • Beatrix covered 20 gp of the deposit; the others split the remainder. They left the former Redbrand hirelings to guard the manor.

• Daran Edermath and the Zombies of Old Owl Well

• • They visited Daran Edermath’s orchard. Glomblax tried a friendly lie about “just passing through for the wonderful apples” (Deception 4). Daran saw through it.
• • Daran, an old retired adventurer, offered the party a magical reward — Boots of Striding and Springing — if they cleared the undead from the Old Owl Well.
• • He also mentioned a powerful magical guitar that could enhance a bard’s performance. Beatrix’s interest was piqued: “Are you telling me that we could barter for that right now?”
• • Daran insisted the zombies were a growing problem: “They’ve been chased away by these undead… I would rather not our fair city be overrun.”
• • Beatrix: “Zombies are bad for business, guys.” John: “I’m down for doing the zombie stuff.” They voted to detour to the Old Owl Well before heading to Thundertree.
• • The session ended with the party committed to the undead-clearing quest, while the DM lamented that his beautiful Home Alone-style gauntlet had been circumvented.

Numbers & Resources

• Party funds & deals

  • Sildar reward: 200 gp (split 50 gp each)
  • Sildar new bounty: 500 gp for dealing with Cragmaw Castle and Glasstaff, +100 gp if Glasstaff captured alive
  • Mansion renovation: negotiated from 200 gp down to 100 gp total; 50 gp deposit paid (Beatrix 20 gp, others covered the rest)
  • Whorebedashery startup: 50 gp given to Constance Miller (Beatrix contributed 25 gp, party covered remainder)
  • Constance salary: 2 gp/week (negotiated)
  • Loot from Glasstaff’s chest: 180 sp, 130 gp, a silk pouch with 5 carnelians (50 gp) and 2 peridots (30 gp)
  • Beaver pelts: 40 pelts worth 2 gp each (80 gp total) — to be sold
  • Weapon cache: high-quality shortsword (non-magical, bejeweled) and two silver-inlaid crossbows (value TBD)
  • Spell scrolls: Hold Person and Fireball

• Combat resources spent

  • Beatrix: one use of Wild Shape (spider), several Guidance cantrips, one Prestidigitation
  • Glomblax: took 2 bludgeoning from rock, got covered in flammable grease (no additional damage)
  • Beatrix: took 3 bludgeoning from pit fall
  • No spell slots or other limited abilities expended during combat (no combat occurred)

• Gear notes

  • Acquired: bear trap; deed to Tresendar Manor; deed to shopfront; 40 beaver pelts; two scrolls; fancy shortsword; fancy crossbows
  • Notable: party still has potion of growth and potion of climbing; Beatrix now wearing the unicorn pendant (kept from the dead farmer)

Loose Threads

• Old Owl Well: Daran Edermath asked the party to clear zombies there; reward offered includes Boots of Striding and Springing and a magical guitar.
• Thundertree: the druid Reidoth knows the location of Cragmaw Castle; Mirna’s emerald necklace is hidden in an herb shop there.
• Glasstaff & the Spider: Glasstaff and the Redbrands fled, likely toward Cragmaw Castle or the “Spider”; Sildar wants them brought to justice.
• Whorebedashery: business pending — Constance Miller managing with 50 gp seed money; list of ~10 performers from Elsa; Droop employed bussing tables.
• Mansion renovation: laborers started work, remaining 50 gp owed upon completion of basic livable state.
• Unresolved NPC affections: Elsa’s suitor Edvard is fuming over her planned involvement in the brothel; Nars the farmer is considering performing.