Aster's Ledger

Summary

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.

Key Events

On the Triboar Trail

• The party set out from Phandalin — The party took its cart with two horses while John lounged in back, lazily plucking his guitar. The trail wound through heavily wooded dirt roads marked by old goblin arrows and occasional bodies.
• John pitched his gentrification vision — He expounded on the need for “sustainable income” and “infrastructure,” outlining plans for a brothel, a museum, and a Whole Foods. “We’re gonna gentrify the shit out of it.” Beatrix added ideas for a “Marsh Museum of Natural and Magical Sciences” and a basement major-image theater for the whorehouse.
• A crow incident — Beatrix spotted a circling crow and felt watched. John tried Vicious Mockery, shouting “eat shit, bro.” The crow responded with a mocking baby-cry, utterly unaffected. Glomblax threw rocks and missed, more crows appeared and laughed at them. Beatrix tried animal handling with food but rolled poorly; the crows departed to warn their friends.

Arrival at Old Owl Well

• The ruins offered a colorful tent — In the courtyard of a crumbling watchtower, a red-and-gold tent stood beside a campfire. The sun was setting, deepening to purple and orange. No one was visible, but Beatrix smelled a deathly odor.
• Beatrix called out and zombies stirred — Her voice drew shambling undead from the ruins. As the party readied for a fight, a bald man in red robes stepped from the tent, tattoo of necromancy on his forehead.
• Beatrix identified the necromancer — With a 17 Arcana check, she recognized the symbol. The man introduced himself, calling his undead “the risen” or “walkers.” Beatrix invoked the Neverwinter Necromancy Guild and claimed its members called a group of zombies “a beehive.”

The Hobgoblin Ambush

• Bounty hunters struck from behind — While Beatrix parleyed, two hobgoblins crept up behind her and one successfully grappled her. A voice from beyond the wall called out: “You know the drill — 25 gold for the Topaxi.” Beatrix was livid: “Fuck you. I am worth at least a 100 gold.”
• They slapped manacles on Beatrix — One hobgoblin succeeded on a sleight-of-hand check to restrain her. John responded by casting Command with a whistle, speaking the word “unshackle.” The hobgoblin removed the manacles on his turn, to the confusion of his comrades.
• Beatrix erupted into fire — She used her action to summon a Wildfire Spirit, a phoenix-like dinosaur skeleton wreathed in flame. The spirit’s arrival dealt fire damage to all nearby hobgoblins. On its turn it teleported Beatrix out of the grapple, though she remained restrained.
• John shattered two hobgoblins — Focusing on the pair dragging Beatrix south, he cast Shatter. The pressure wave ruptured their lungs; both fell dead in sprays of blood, set to a sound like an electric guitar slam.
• John gave Glomblax a sad-sack haunt — While buffing Glomblax with Bardic Inspiration, he manifested the “Sad Sack Haint,” a spectral trombone player positioned beside Glomblax’s ear. It granted half cover against ranged attacks and could reduce damage with a reaction.
• Glomblax’s rage and a long-awaited kill — Glomblax missed several swings but held the line, using rage to resist damage. When a fleeing hobgoblin dashed past, Glomblax finally landed his opportunity attack with a great axe, slicing the man in half. “Finally. Holy shit.” He followed with, “Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.”
• Shoomit the stealth hippo — The giff rogue took sniper shots from the dimly lit battlefield, hiding before his attacks. He popped out and killed a hobgoblin, then later tried to shoot the fleeing leader in the leg but missed. Beatrix encouraged him: “Blow their fucking brains out, Shoomit.”
• Beatrix became a velociraptor — To escape the manacles, she wild shaped into a tiny dinosaur. The manacles clattered to the floor, and she used multiattack with pack tactics to bloody the remaining hobgoblin before taking a greatsword hit for 12 damage.

Interrogation and Cleanup

• The leader tried to flee — Beatrix ran 60 feet and cast Entangle, restraining him in grasping weeds. He struggled but remained stuck.
• She demanded answers — The hobgoblin, a bounty hunter, revealed a tattered wanted poster with a crude drawing of Beatrix, the words “Beatrix, Tabaxi, 25 gold pieces alive,” and the spider symbol. “You already know who it is. It’s the Spider.” He said he did not know the Spider’s identity and received jobs through dead drops. He thought Cragmaw Castle lay somewhere west.
• Beatrix shot him, Glomblax finished him — She put a bullet into him at advantage while he was restrained. Glomblax then walked up and decapitated him, declaring: “That’s what you get for trying to kidnap Beatrix.” She thanked him, noting he’d “offended my honor.”

The Necromancer’s Hospitality

• John threw a zombie hoedown — While the others dealt with the straggler, John approached Hamun Kost and started playing a jaunty undead ballad. The zombies danced, clicking and clacking, and Hamun tapped his foot appreciatively.
• Hamun made a deal — He had been studying the ruins and desperately wanted to know which wizard built them. If the party could ask the banshee Agatha to the west, he’d pack up and leave. Alternatively, they could kill orc marauders that harassed travelers. The party chose the banshee. Hamun said he could have killed everyone quickly and had considered fireballing them, but “you don’t make friends if you don’t give it a shot.”
• They camped overnight — The party long-rested among the zombies. John woke up lying in hay beside several zombies, calling it “a new one and also a new low.” He noted that the smell no longer bothered him.

The Banshee’s Lair

• John gathered rare flowers — On the walk through the dark forest, he rolled a natural 20 Nature check and assembled a lovely bouquet. “Slick back my finger.”
• Agatha the banshee appeared — The air turned frigid, and a pale elven specter formed, expression hateful. “Foolish mortals, what do you want here? Do you not know it is death?”
• John laid on the charm — He called her the fairest in the forest, then amended when she corrected him: “The fairest in all the land.” He offered the bouquet and started a slow love ballad, using a luck point for advantage on his Performance roll. She sat beside him, spectral cold creeping over his guitar, and leaned her head on his shoulder.
• She offered one truthful answer — Agatha was amused and flattered: “You sure know how to show a lady a good time.” She warned she would answer only one question about anything in the world. The party chose the ruin’s builder. She gave the name: Dresena.
• An invitation for more — Agatha patted John’s leg and said she hoped to see him again, noting her bed was much warmer. “I know where you live. We’ll be seeing each other, John.” She vanished, leaving the forest bright and her home gone.
• John’s post-encounter contemplation — “Guys, I think if I fuck her, it’s gonna kill me. I genuinely believe that, but I might still do it.”

Farewell to Hamun Kost

• Hamun got his answer — Upon returning, they told him the wizard’s name. He was delighted: “I’ve heard about her. Very interesting.” He immediately began packing, his zombies functioning as a macabre caravan team.
• Beatrix warned him about Phandalin — She urged him not to bring an army of undead into town, both for his safety and the townsfolk’s. John suggested using the subterranean entrance at Tresendar Manor to hide the zombies. Hamun liked the idea and might visit.
• The necromancer departed — He climbed into a cart pulled by a line of harnessed zombies. “As I said, a necromancer mage is never alone.” John defended him afterward: “Beatrix, he’s not a bad guy.”

Loot and the Road Home

• The party searched the bodies — They recovered goods worth about 10 gold pieces from the dead hobgoblins.
• They began the return to Edermath Orchard — The session closed with the party on the road, preparing to report their success to Daran Edermath before eventually heading to Thundertree.

Numbers & Resources

• Party funds & deals — 10 gp recovered from hobgoblin corpses.
• Combat resources spent — John expended two uses of Bardic Inspiration, one 2nd-level spell slot (Shatter), one 1st-level spell slot (Command), and one luck point. Beatrix expended two uses of Wild Shape—one to summon her Wildfire Spirit and one to become a velociraptor—and one 1st-level spell slot (Entangle). Glomblax used one rage.
• Gear notes — Wanted poster depicting Beatrix (25 gp alive, signed with Spider symbol) now in party possession.

Loose Threads

• The Spider has placed a bounty on Beatrix; their identity and motive remain unknown.
• Cragmaw Castle lies somewhere to the west, but the party has no exact location.
• Hamun Kost may visit Phandalin; the party discussed hiding his zombies beneath Tresendar Manor.
• The orcs harassing the Triboar Trail are still active; Hamun flagged them as a problem but the party hasn’t dealt with them yet.
• Daran Edermath awaits the party’s return and report on Old Owl Well.
• The party plans to report to Daran Edermath, obtain John’s guitar, and then head to Thundertree.
• Agatha the banshee expects John to visit again — and she knows where he lives.