Session 01: Gnomengarde & The Dwarven Excavation

The frontier town of Phandalin is built on the ruins of a much older settlement. Hundreds of years ago, the old Phandalin was a thriving human town whose people were firmly allied with neighboring dwarves and gnomes. Then an orc horde swept through the area and laid waste to the settlement, and Phandalin was abandoned for centuries.

In the last three or four years, settlers from the cities of Neverwinter and Waterdeep have begun the hard work of reclaiming the ruins of Phandalin. The new settlement is home now to farmers, woodcutters, fur traders, and prospectors drawn by stories of gold and platinum in the foothills of the Sword Mountains. The arrival of a white dragon threatens to destroy all that they’ve worked to rebuild.

Summary
Adventurers from all around have come to Phandalin in search of fulfilling their goals.

Gnomengarde
Moneux, a shifter from a secluded tribe, and Quoorin, a wood elf from an elven enclave, met in the town green of Phandalin. After meeting the Linene Graywind, the local representative of the merchant company the Lionshield Coster, and Sister L'aela at the Shrine of Luck the two adventurers heard of a dragon that has been causing fear among the denizens of Phandalin the two adventurers found work in making contact with a nearby gnome settlement.

The townmaster of Phandalin posted a job notice imploring for adventurers to reach out to the inventors of Gnomengarde for some means of dealing with the local dragon. Moneux and Quoorin were joined by a travelling tabaxi minstrel who called himself Spill the Stew.

The adventurers made their way to Gnomengarde, a settlement made up of a series of caves and tunnels built around a waterfall. The party made their way inside the caves where they met two gnome inventors, Fibblestib and Dabbledob. Though suspicious at first, the inventors would consider helping Phandalin with their dragon problem if the adventurers could help them with their Kings, Korboz and Gnerkli, the former having gone mad and the latter having gone missing.

The adventurers spoke to Korboz who ranted about some sort of creature that would be the end of him. The party explored the caves and eventually came upon a mimic that had changed its shaped into that of a wine cask. Quoorin was able to convince the mimic to leave Gnomengarde forever.

With the mimic gone the adventurers were able to settle King Korboz down and found King Gnerkli bound to a chair in the Kings' locked chambers. Gnerkli thanked the adventurers and sent them back on their way to Phandalin with news that the gnomes would help the settlement with the dragon.

The Dwarven Excavation
A few days after Quoorin and Moneux finished their business in Gnomengarde two other adventurers arrived in Phandalin. Varien, a masked individual who sought to learn of the dragon, and Dante, a tortle who was new to the land of Faerun met each other on the road to Phandalin. Once the two arrived in the settlement they immediately took to the job board, taking on a quest to warn the nearby miners of a dwarven excavation about the nearby dragon.

Before the two adventurers took off, they were joined by Spill the Stew who was interested in cataloging the adventure into a story. The trio made their way southwest along the Miner's Trail until they eventually came upon a path that led them through a canyon to old gate in disrepair that was set into a mountainside.

Inside the mountain the adventurers uncovered what appeared to be an abandoned dwarven settlement that had been sacked long ago. As the trio ventured forth they met two dwarves named Dazlyn and Norbus. Dante told the dwarves about the dragon and though the dwarves were grateful for the warning they were intent on finishing their excavation. Dazlyn offered the adventurers a pair of sending stones in exchange for their assistance in removing an ochre jelly from the mines, the adventurers agreed and pursued the ochre jelly. The party found themselves in an ancient temple where an ochre jelly dropped from the ceiling to attack them. Though Dante was able to deal a decisive blow to the ooze, he was immediately killed by the creature as it morphed its form into a bludgeon and struck the tortle. Varien was able to cast a spell that dissolved the ooze into nothing just as it struck him. Spills the Stew was able to heal Varien but nothing could be done for Dante.

The dwarves helped the adventurers with Dante's body and offered a mine cart for the adventurers to carry the tortle's body back to Phandalin. Back in the mining town, the adventurers received their reward for the job and set aside Dante's portion for his burial.

Player Characters

 * Dante the tortle monk
 * Moneux the shifter ranger.
 * Quoorin the wood elf fighter.
 * Varien the half-elf warlock

Non-Player Characters

 * Dabbledob, a male gnome inventor of Gnomengarde.
 * Dazlyn, a male dwarf miner from the excavation southwest of Phandalin.
 * Fibblestib, a female gnome inventor of Gnomengarde.
 * Gnerkli, a male gnome and one of the kings of Gnomengarde who was bound to a chair in attempt by his co-ruler Korboz to keep him safe.
 * Korboz, a male gnome and one of the kings of Gnomengarde who fell into madness after a run-in with a mimic.
 * L'aela, a high elf who tends to the Shrine of Luck in Phandalin.
 * Lionene Graywind, the female human proprietor of the Lionshield Coster in Phandalin.
 * Norbus, a male dwarf miner from the excavation southwest of Phandalin.
 * Spills the Stew, a male tabaxi troubador who has been banished from his homeland for standing up to a tyrant.

Deaths

 * Dante: killed instantly by a bludgeoning attack from an ochre jelly.