In reply to Maldor (msg # 283):

Amiri looks confused.

"Who is discussing Precipitation? That is almost as bad as discussing the Dhaerow."

Maldor gave Amiri a confused look. Is the half-elf a mind reader?

"No no no, perspicacious,"  Ero corrects.  He reminds himself he's no longer at the academy among the best and brightest and that he's now amongst the uneducated masses.  Out on the frontier.  In a cave.  In a cave he's about to make his home.

How far more until I hit firmament?

"Perspicacious," he repeats.  "Discerning.  Astute."  He ponders a moment to find a word the orcoid -- what was his name again?  Maldor?  He really needed to remember that -- that Maldor would understand.  Perhaps something with only one syllable.  "Wise?"

And then Maldor gave a perplexed glance at Ero. He scratched his long jaw with his free hand. Do elves and their kind have the ability to read minds?

Maldor thought of mutton. He almost licked his upper lip thinking of the meat. He waited. No mention of mutton. Hmm.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 00:10, Tue 05 Apr 2016.

Lureene frowns at the thought of living in a cave. "This place is... well, it seems the Lady Firehair might have wanted to put me to a challenge. We'll need rugs, flowerpots, artwork... Furniture that is not so rickety. And it will need to be thoroughly cleaned. Really, would it not be better to live in town?"

"I don't mind making this home for a little while... well, maybe just as a base," Serena offers, "but I need an audience!"

"I'll certainly spend most of my time in town."

"Meanwhile, we should head back to town to let everyone know we are fine, deliver our prisoners to Sildar and get something to eat! We should block off this entrance, though... to let any other Redbrands that have avoided our efforts that this is no longer safe for them."

"And we need to get some incense to purge this place of the reeking smells!"

Looking up from the runesticks he was pouring his attention into Cunaar adds,
"There is also a manor above I believe, which could be renovated."
Living in a cave would not appeal to too many but it had a study and a library....what more did it need.

"We assuredly won't be relocating at present," Ero says.  "We'll need to secure the premises first.  We can't have any scalawag just saunter in here whenever we're elsewhere.  This would be a prolong proposition."

"Well, some of us should take the prisoners to town, though I'm not sure there's any place to keep them," Mithra suggests. "The rest of us can work on moving one of the doors to this front entrance. There might be some tools around here for that."

"Any volunteers? For either one? I'm good for either."

"Maldor take prisoners to town. Hit on head if trouble. Return when lock away."

The half-orc seemed impatient. He looked at the back of his left wrist.

"Four hair, one mole. Time to go soon before late."

Artem shrugs his shoulders at the half-orc's unusual statement that might have had something to do with time or might have been a skin condition.  Either way, he figures the large companion could use some help.

"I will go with Maldor to take prisoners to town. If they don't want them then we can recommend exile or some other punishment. Let us know if there are any supplies or messages you want me to deliver to town..."

It's not far back to town, and Maldor and Artem take the prisoners back to town. Once they get there, though, they discover that there are no cells... there's no jail at all. There aren't enough people in town to make that necessary.

You also find out that the mayor had been kidnapped by the Redbrands that were still hanging out in town at the Sleeping Giant tavern. Some new folks in town went and rescued him. They have another 7 Redbrands to restrain.

So now the mayor and Sildar are trying to decide what to do with the Redbrands.


Back in the crypts, everyone else is cleaning out the place, working on make a second exit (probably up in through the regular basement into the ruins above), and moving one of the doors from elsewhere to install at the 'secret' entrance.

Mithra suggest that they install two doors at the new 'front' of the base--one is just an obstacle; 2 says stay out.

The brush is cleared away from the entrance, too. If anyone wants to find them, it should be easy.

After about 4 hours, the doors are secured, the place is almost habitable (it could stand some decent furnishings), and everyone is ready to head back to town for a decent drink.

There is no sign of the nothic. When the crevasse is searched, you find a tunnel--mostly just a narrow crevasse that goes deeper underground--and a half-eaten body. Milcom sadly identifies the body as that of his friend, whose wife and son had been imprisoned with Wiglaf and Kyler.

Amiri smiles as she looks at Serena.

" You always have an audience with me. "

"Hmm" Maldor hummed to Artem. "No cell hold bad humans. Maybe bury bad humans. Bury to head..."

The half-orc slapped underneath his jaw to indicate his words.

"Bad humans no run then. If bad humans more bad, hit with club. Make head go fly like Mort Wabbler."

Mal thought some more.

"Or could lock in cellar or open room. No boots, no run. Surround room with good humans. Bad human run, hit on head."

Maldor eyed a dark-haired Redbrand with tattoos covering his arms and neck. He mentally practiced removing the thug's head with his greatclub. An odd sensation of satisfaction came over the half-orc.

"Maldor and blond fighter need find place bad human soon. Maybe cellar inn where good humans were before."

After everything is cleaned out and the place is secured, it's time for everyone to head back into town.

By the time you reach the edge of town, you are met by Carp, the Halfling kid that showed you the secret entrance to the Redbrand hideout.

"I knew you'd get them!" he says, all excited. "There's been more going on in town while you were doing it! The Redbrands in the Sleeping Giant kidnapped the mayor!"

"Sildar asked some other folks to rescue him and they did! All the Redbrands are being imprisoned in the root cellar of the Sleeping Giant cause there's no jail in town."

"Sildar's now sending the others off to deal with the other goblins in the area."

"Others?" says Ero.  "We have rivals?  This best not impinge on our recompense."

"Carp, is this other group gone yet? Or are they still in town?"
Perhaps they could boost their numbers, even working together attacking the needs of Phandelver from two sides at the same time. For himself he would keep an open mind about the group as candidates for good, which put them on the same side.

"No, they haven't left yet," Carp replies. "Too many places to go, so they are trying to decide who goes where."

"It's exciting, isn't it? So many new people in Phandalin!"

Maldor stretched and sucked some fresh air in. It had been a long couple days. What would happen next?

The half-orc spotted his teammates speaking with the lad Carp. He elbowed Artem.

"Other human and elf folk back" he informed the other fighter. "We go tell what do with bad humans. We find out what do next, yes?"

Mal started his walk toward the others.

"Well, we could lower them into the crevasse and post a guard or two with crossbows."
With a devilish smile he adds,
"Or perhaps as our good man Maldor suggested, bury them up to their heads, no running then...."
Regardless he was rather eager to meet this other group of adventurers so suggested,
"Even the cellar would suffice but let us adjourn to the Stone Inn, for a few drinks and meet this other group."

"Aye, let's", says the priestess. "It's time for merriment and celebration. Besides, tomorrow we need to find some potted flowers or tapestries, or even Lady allow, just drapes. That manor is dreary and the caves worse, hardly fit to be living in."

Maldor stood in silence for a moment. He did not know what the word "drapes" meant. Perhaps it was another vine fruit, similar to the grapes that wine was made from. But he quickly forgot about that and moved on.

"Others in town want go hunt goblin. Want make goblin stop being bad. Maldor think that good idea. Kill goblin, make road safe."

In reply to Maldor (msg # 303):

"Yes we should reconnect with our companions."

OOC: apologies for slothful reply

"That nothic creature doesn't seem to be in the crevasse any more," Mithra said. "I think that means there may be another way out of it... some underground tunnel probably. In any case, throwing the Redbrands in there might be what they deserve, as I'm pretty sure the nothic will eat them, but that's not my style... and I don't think it should be the group's, either."

"The door is as secure as we can make it, so, yep, it's time to head back to town."