"Well, maybe you didn't hear what I said. We're still several hours away from Phandalin. We want to get there by morning, because we don't want to waste any time in organizing the rescue effort. But it won't do us any good to get there before dawn. So if we rest here, we only rest until about midnight. Then we travel the rest of the night to arrive in town right around sunrise.

"The question is, do we need to rest for a few hours, or can we just leave now?"

"I could do with a little rest," Sildar replies. "My joints are aching and I'm sore all over. Sadly, my body's just not what it used to be."

"Yes, and since Zhaquadan suggested resting until morning, it's safe to say he could use whatever amount he can get," Steamknuckle chimes in. "I could do with a little rest myself."

"Okay then. Burgess and I will get some sleep now, as well as Stumpy, since he'll be driving the wagon all night. We've probably got about four hours left before midnight. So two watch shifts and then we go."

She points up at the clear night sky. "There's the Sailor's Star. It never moves, always marks due north." Her finger then moves to a large constellation of bright stars arranged in a circle, with nothing but blank blackness between them. "And that's Mystra's Star Circle. The one at the top, the brightest one, is called 'The Brow Star.' In the spring, it marks due north at midnight. So when it's halfway to the Sailor's Star, the first watch ends. When they're lined up perfectly, the second watch ends and we go. Wake us all up then."

She looks over the party one last time. "We'll keep our usual watch order, except that I'm sleeping now since I'm riding the rest of the night. So Rudo first, Zhaquadan second. Sildar and Steamknuckle are off the hook."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:35, Wed 16 Mar 2016.

"You got it, boss." Rudo gets to work helping the rest of the group quickly unload the goods to stow them neatly on the wagon.

He then walks over to a nearby tree and settles back against it, axe in hand, to begin his watch shift.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:38, Wed 16 Mar 2016.

The party settles down for a few hours of rest. Rudo keeps watch while everyone else, exhausted from the day's efforts, quickly falls asleep. After a couple of hours, he wakes Zhaquadan for the shift change. The evening is otherwise uneventful.

Zhaquadan stands guard for the next two hours, watching the constellations carefully for the arrival of midnight, as per Willow's instructions.

Mirtul 4th, 1481 DR

Finally, the Brow Star lines up perfectly with the Sailor's Star, marking the arrival of midnight. Zhaquadan wakes everyone else up. They quickly break their makeshift camp and prepare to leave.

Under the starlit sky, Zhaquadan, Steamknuckle and Sildar all load their gear onto the wagon and climb up. Even with the added load of the recovered Lionshield cargo, there is plenty of room for everyone to sit and ride comfortably.

Rudo takes out his rope and lashes the empty handcart to the back of the wagon. Willow loads up Burgess with his tack and saddle, then mounts up at the head of the caravan. Stumpy sits ready in the driver's seat of the wagon.

With a nod from Willow, Stumpy snaps the reins and the oxen rumble into motion. Burgess, carrying his halfling mistress, walks out ahead of the wagon and onto the road. Rudo falls into step in the rear, beside the handcart. His axe is drawn and ready.

With that, the party gets underway to Phandalin.

Zhaquadan asks Steamknuckle "have you been feeling ok lately?"

Steamknuckle seems startled by the question, as if awakened from a daydream. "What do you mean?" he asks. "I mean, yes, I'm all right. It's just been...a bit difficult, I suppose. I miss my Elxi, is all." He idly strokes the dark feathers of his owl familiar's head. She responds with a gentle chirp.

"Ok.  If you feel like you need to get something off your chest I am always here for you. "
Zhaquadan turns to Sildar and asks "what can you tell us about this missing map and mister Rockseekers latest find? "
This message was last edited by the player at 20:17, Sat 19 Mar 2016.

Sildar leans back against the wagon frame, drawing a deep breath. "I suppose it's about time we went over this. I wanted to wait until we were safely away from the goblin stronghold to discuss such delicate matters. But now we finally have a moment's peace, and plenty of time before we reach Phandalin.

To put it simply, Gundren and his brothers somehow managed to find the lost entrance to Wave Echo Cave."

He looks around at the faces of the various party members, as if scanning them for any signs of recognition of what he just said. Apparently seeing none, he continues. "If you're at all familiar with local history and legend, then you may recognize that as the site of the mines of the Phandelver's Pact."

"Nope. Never heard of it."

"I see. Well, then perhaps it's time for a bit of a story." Sildar clears his throat.

"About five hundred years ago, a group of dwarf and gnome prospectors stumbled across a series of particularly rich mines, deep in the hills around the village of Phandalin. The caverns containing these mines came to be known collectively as Wave Echo Cave.

"The dwarf and gnome clans responsible for the find decided to strike a bargain to share the mines, since their riches were vast and sufficient for everyone. This deal was  known to history as the Phandelver's Pact.

"However, it soon became clear that Wave Echo Cave held much more than just a lucrative mining claim, when a nexus of great magical power was discovered there. So the dwarves and gnomes sought the help of human wizards to channel and bind that energy into a great forge, called the Forge of Spells, where magical items could be crafted.

"Times were good, and much wealth flowed from the mines through the nearby town of Phandalin, bringing prosperity to all. But then disaster struck when a vile horde of orcs swept through the north and laid waste to everything in their path. Phandalin was sacked, and the secret location of Wave Echo Cave was soon uncovered by the orcish horde.

"Reinforced by evil mercenary wizards, the orcs laid siege to Wave Echo Cave, hoping to claim its riches and magical treasures for themselves. Human wizards fought alongside their dwarf and gnome allies to defend the Forge of Spells, and the ensuing spell battle destroyed much of the cavern. Few survived the cave-ins and tremors, and the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost.

"In the centuries since then, many adventurers and treasure seekers have tried in vain to find the hidden mine and salvage its buried riches. But only in recent years have more practical prospectors returned to the area, seeking new claims in the otherwise rich hills. The abandoned town of Phandalin was resettled, and now serves the rough-and-tumble mining community of this frontier region.

"Among those prospectors were the three Rockseeker brothers: Gundren, Tharden and Nundro. Somehow they managed to succeed where so many others had failed, and found the hidden entrance to Wave Echo Cave. And, being the enterprising dwarves they are, they immediately got to work on reopening the mines for their profit."

"Of course," Steamknuckle replies shrewdly. "And this very wagonload of supplies we're guarding now is meant to provision that same mining operation."

"The same, indeed," Sildar confirms with a nod. "The only problem being that these blasted goblins were just sitting there, waiting to ambush us. They knew we were coming. They were ready for us. They wanted the map."

"Someone sold you out, eh?" Rudo interjects from beside the wagon where he walks.

"Perhaps. I mean to find out, for certain. All I know now is that when they took us to Klarg, he said he'd received orders to waylay Gundren from his master, King Grol of the Cragmaws. Grol himself was working with this mysterious 'Black Spider,' whoever or whatever that is. As I gathered, it was the Black Spider specifically who wanted Gundren captured and brought to him.

"I still have no idea how any of these savages managed to learn about Gundren's find in the first place. But they did, somehow. Gundren had that map to the mine, and they knew about it. It's all they really wanted. So they sent him and it (along with all our gear) on to Cragmaw Castle, just hours before you showed up to rescue me.

"As for me, apparently I wasn't of much consequence to Grol or the Black Spider. It seems I was merely destined to end up the goblins' next meal."
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:21, Wed 10 Aug 2016.

"We must get both Gundren and the map back. "

"Indeed," Sildar agrees. "That is our top priority right now. Whoever this Black Spider is, he's got the Cragmaw goblins on his side, and that poses a grave threat to the entire region. They cannot be allowed to plunder Wave Echo Cave. They must be stopped."

He pauses, thinking for a moment. "In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if this whole Black Spider-Cragmaw situation had something to do with my other business in Phandalin. The Black Spider is clearly very invested in finding that mine. Who knows what kind of shady tricks he may be up to around the town."

"If you don't mind me asking, what exactly is your other business in town?"

"I'm here on behalf of the Lords' Alliance. Aside from the general task of helping Gundren reopen the mines to bring prosperity and stability to Phandalin, more specifically I was sent to investigate what happened to Iarno Albrek.

"Master Albrek is a wizard of Neverwinter, and a fellow agent of the Lords' Alliance. He was sent to Phandalin two months ago to establish order there. We expected to hear from him as soon as he arrived, but we never did.

"My fear is that if the Black Spider has been lurking around Phandalin for that long, then Albrek may have somehow run afoul of him and his goblin lackeys. But whatever happened, I mean to find out."

"Interesting," Steamknuckle muses. At the mention of the name Iarno Albrek, the gnome casts a meaningful look at Zhaquadan for just a moment, before turning his attention back to Sildar.

"Do we know where the other Rockseekers are?"

"That's a good question. I would assume they're still camped out in the hills near the entrance to Wave Echo Cave, awaiting their brother's return. They've probably begun to wonder why he hasn't showed up yet.

"Normally I'd say we should seek them out to relay the news of their brother's capture, and recruit them for the rescue effort...but sadly, we'd have no way of finding them. Centuries of explorers and adventurers were unable to locate the lost mine, so without that map, we could search for weeks and never find their camp.

"No, unless we get lucky and find them already returned to Phandalin when we get there, we'll have to just proceed with the rescue on our own, and settle for leaving word of what's happened for them in town."

The party settles into silence as the wagon continues rattling along the moonlit road toward Phandalin. After a couple of hours, they arrive at a small junction in the road. A worn wooden sign points to the south, with the name "Phandalin" printed in faded letters on its surface. In the same direction, a narrow dirt track stretches off toward the distant foothills of the Sword Mountains. Directly above the sign on the same post rest two more signs, each pointing perpendicularly to the east, reading "Conyberry" and "Triboar" respectively.

After reading the signs, Stumpy barks an order at the oxen, guiding them in a ponderous turn onto the dirt trail heading off to the south. The caravan leaves the Triboar Trail, and continues south along the lonely road toward Phandalin.

Hours pass, and most of the party drifts off into an uneasy, bumpy sleep in the back of the wagon. Finally they are awoken by a grunt from Stumpy. With the first rays of dawn peeking up over the horizon to the east, the party looks ahead to the south and sees the quaint cottages of Phandalin approaching, tucked up among the hilly countryside.