1️⃣🐂 the high road

sessions 1 - 12 | 01/08/2022 - 02/16/2022 | summaries in a 100 words or less!

✨synopsis

Our heroes, after enrolling on a supposedly-simple escort mission from Neverwinter to Phandalin, quickly realize that they have become embroiled in a centuries-old mystery when they find their employers kidnapped and tortured by goblins.

As they encounter increasingly bizarre occurrences along their trail, culminating in a particularly gristly one just before arriving at Phandalin, our heroes make the decision to take a stand against a nefarious and potentially world-ending scheme involving an ancient artifact.

👌1. sticky fingers

On the evening of Eleint 19, our heroes meet at the Bad Piano inn of Neverwinter.

We accept a simple quest from dwarven prospector Gundren Rockseeker and Lord's Alliance representative Sildar Hallwinter: to escort a cart of mining supplies for three days down the High Road and Triboar Trail, to the small town of Phandalin.

After testing the group's combat abilities satisfactorily, Sildar departs with Gundren to handle matters in Phandalin. The group gets to know each other a little over some drinks before bed.

⚽2. goblin ball

Our heroes embark on the High Road for our escort mission. Amidst idle chatter, we stumble upon two dead horses.

After investigation, we find that they are Gundren and Sildar's, shortly before getting attacked by a group of four goblins. We eliminate all but one of them, named Joe, and question him for information.

We learn that the goblins took Gundren and Sildar in for questioning at the orders of their tyrant leader Klaarg, who in turn serves a King Grol. The group has Joe lead them to the goblin's base of operations: Cragmaw Hideout.

📯3. mutiny at cragmaw

Our heroes arrive at Cragmaw, finding a badly tortured Sildar but no Gundren.

We form an uneasy alliance with the co-leader of the goblins, Yeemik: we will free them from their tyrant leader Klaarg in exchange for the freedom of Sildar and information on Gundren's location.

After killing Klaarg, we learn that the goblinoids are working with someone named the Black Spider, and that Gundren has been taken to a Cragmaw Castle elsewhere under watch of the powerful King Grol. The group proceeds towards Phandalin, with the rescued Sildar in tow, before setting up camp for the night.

🧼4. wtfiuwt

Our heroes play a question game "What The FUCK Is Up With That" around the fire, learning a lot about each other, including motivations, dreams, favorite foods, etc.

The group goes to bathe in a nearby lake, and get to talking more. Sorennar's back is heavily marked, piquing some curiosity.

We keep an uneventful watch rotation through the night, with each pair of watchers getting to know their partners a little better. Hugh and Sorennar wake up from their sleep with unsettling nightmares.

🦉5. owlbear rescue

Sildar offers our heroes a small side investigation on behalf of the Lord's Alliance: along the High Road, people have been mysteriously going missing at the roadside Willow Inn. The group hatches a plan to enter undercover, pretending one of the party members is royalty to bait the "kidnappers".

They continue on their journey southward, saving an Owlbear and her three cubs from a pack of wolves along the way. Sorennar shares some knowledge of Underdark creatures, and of the quests in Phandalin. Sildar tries to stop the group from running at a dragon.

Sildar and Colt compare sword lengths.

👻6. fuckfest at willow inn

Our heroes split off to execute their undercover mission.

Colt, Lera and Hugh arrive at Willow Inn first, discovering that the entire inn is shrouded in uncanniness: the patrons and bartender are acting extremely inhumanly and smiling unsettlingly.

Sorennar spars with Sildar while waiting for their turn.

The group attempts to gather more information and eventually decide to wait until Harold goes to bed, or is alone, before confront him and / or investigating the strange basement.

🧠7. into the basement

Our heroes confront the odd barkeep, only for him to melt into red ooze and slip through the slits between the floorboards.

The group rushes to the basement to find the inn overrun by an Oblex, an Underdark, Mind Flayer-tampered ooze that feeds off of memories and can transform into those that they consume.

Though we emerge victorious, Colt, Sorennar and Sildar are badly injured and have several days - months worth of memory loss. Hugh and Lera manage to calm down the memory-loss-trio who is initially distrusting of the group until their memories come back.

🌙8. words in the night

Our heroes discuss topics ranging from racism to poison to future plans regarding Underdark travel.

Sildar, finally convinced of the party's strength, tells the party the truth: he represents the Lord's Alliance's involvement in Gundren's discovery of an artifact that can create magic items, named the Spellforge, which is hidden in a Wave Echo Cave. The group, minus Sorennar, agrees to help stop the Black Spider from finding it first.

Sildar and Sorennar confide some of their pasts to each other. Lera has a nightmare about losing her powers. In the morning, the group makes Sildar's favorite food for him.

🩸9. hunger

Our heroes wrap up their business at Willow Inn, which Sildar promises to file in their name. We bury the bones of the Oblex victims, have some talks about morality and set off.

We engage in a "fun" race between party members, and the unfortunate "giving head" joke is born. Eventually, we come across a gruesome scene in the road: several gnolls tearing apart a Bulette (Underdark creature) while another group of adventurers watch.

When the gnolls turn on these adventurers, the party jumps to their aid and works with the other group to take down all the gnolls.

🌅10. fun in the sun

Our heroes mingle with the new group, and get along very well with each other as we partake in activities in the lake.

The reverie is shattered when they reveal that they've been planning to kill Sorennar to "save" the party from the manipulative drow.

Our heroes jump to action, and are initially subdued as Sorennar is almost assassinated. The fight turns in our favor, however, when their Helm cleric suddenly loses her powers, and we manage to defeat them. We knock most of them out, tie them to a tree and confiscate their items and weapons.

🍞11. breaking bread

In the ensuing aftermath, Sorennar reveals truths about his past, and the Underdark cities. Lera interacts with Esta, the youngest member of the group, until the rest of them wake up.

After some fruitless debate about the morality of Drow, Sorennar ends the debate by inviting the other party to a campfire lunch. Begrudgingly, the other group acknowledges that they may have been in the wrong, to Sorennar's disagreement, and make peace with us before leaving.

Hugh fishes and catches a turtle, and we adopt a baby hyena from the gnoll pack. Sorennar and Colt share some heartfelt words.

🕷 12. spider's prey

Our heroes travel a little more before setting up camp. Lera and Sildar have a disagreement about moral justice. We have an "unventful" night, with watches full of secrets, ghosts and intimacy.

The next day, we find the badly mangled and tortured body of one of Gundren's brothers, causing the group to decisively agree to stop the Black Spider.

In Phandalin, the party learn, alarmingly, that Sorennar had already known about the artifact and had seemingly joined to spy on the group. Sorennar, who'd split off from the group under false pretenses, rendezvouses with a black spider in the woods.