Pavel tenses as he sees Rosalyn, then turns to greet her.

"Well met, lady goblin. May fortune shine on us all."

Looking up from his wine, BonThot said to the goblin, "I like your hair."

Akyra looked at Bonthot and nodded. "My apologies....I've lived a life in seclusion. I have studied and trained most of my life in a secluded temple, almost what you would call a monastery. The monks and few paladins taught me to fight, but most are human. Other than friend Gundren and his kin, I have seen a half orc blood, Garathyn - a great paladin of Kord, and Katarinia, a cleric of the earthmother. I have met one celestial blood - assimar I believe you call them."

As the door opened and a goblin walked in, akyra's battle instincts kicked in and she tensed up, eyes narrowing. She took a breath, forcing herself to relax. This goblin looked nothing like the one's that attacked her temple so often - she was more refined. She had heard of goodly goblins, but never seen one. In greeting, Akyra simply nodded.

To Akyra: Please don't take this the wrong way, but I do not need or want your apologies. You did nothing wrong." He said this with an open, honest expression. "I am not easily offended."

Then he offers the Dragonborn a wide smile and wink.

Fribbington returned with orders as they had been requested, taking new orders and bringing those around shortly as well.

"I have just received word from Goodmaster Gundren, she should be here shortly." He turned to leave once more but held a hand up to his nose as he saw the goblin woman.

"Ah! Lady Rosalyn. I assumed one of the other guests had passed gas, but I should have known it was too foul for mere body odors. If your wit were as sharp as your teeth, you might have understood that." He smiled at the goblin, gave her a moment to reply, and then took her order and then excused himself.

Pavel stands next to the goblin woman.
"It seems our server passes out insults as well as food. If Gundren saw potential in you then that means more than a thousand of our server to me."

Akyra, still looking at rosalyn, nods. “I thank your kindness my new friend.” Her gaze, still steely, went after the server and no longer rosalyn. “Pavel is right....if Gundren trusts you, then you belong here. Please sit, and forgive my initial reaction.” The priestess shrugged. “The temple I was raised has been attacked by orc and goblin since I arrived there...one such was....” She left the sentence trailing off, but her clawed hand tapped the table.

She looked at her. “Please sit.” Her eyes lingered on the doorway, waiting the gnome to return

The last member of the group followed in quietly, as if blown in by the wind. She looked much the same as well, with her rough, dirty, almost mangy appearance, she hardly had the appearance one would typically associate with the elves. Some care and attention was given to her hair, and the intricate manner in which it was braided and worn together.

She sat down at the chair available, without a word spoken, her fierce eyes studying the stature and manner of her new compatriots closely.

BonThot immediately recognized the elfess for what she was. He stirred a bit, but said nothing. Rather he kept one eye on the newcomer and another upon his drink. There was an element of curiosity about her, but he would be patient feeling her out.

Pavel nodded to this wild-looking woman and sipped his ale before surveying the room with an eye for tactics to be used.

The black dragonborn, still eyeing the doorway waiting on the gnome,  narrowed her eyes, but softened seeing another elf, a female at that, come in and sit quietly.

The dragonborn nodded in welcome but said nothing

Gundren arrived a few short minutes later, greeting everyone in turn. Everyone notices that his greeting to Rosalyn also includes an exchange of insults, not unlike those of the dwarven server, though the relationship between Rosalyn and Gundren has the correct amount of affection involved to let the rest of the group know that the insult is a term of endearment between the two of them.

---

Alongside Gundren with a man known to some of you as Don-Jon Raskin, tall and dark of skin, wearing a cowboy hat and always seen chewing on a toothpick or similar object. Don-Jon also greeted his old friends, and introductions were made for those who had not yet had the opportunity to meet him. (If the intro PM did not mention Don-Jon, this is your first time meeting him.)

---

The two of them pass on offers of food, but they do place an order for drinks while introductions and catching-up happens.

"Hail and well met friend Gundren, who may this gentleman at your side be?" Pavel says ready to act if need be.

After drinks have arrived and all of the introductory chatter had been taken care of - (Feel free to RP the intros to Gundren/Don-Jon, if you want to have some back and forth.)

The man spoke up in reply to Pavel, "Name's Don-Jon Raskin. Pleasure to meet you, Sir."

"Don-Jon is the kind of man you want watching your back. He is as tough as any dwarf you will ever meet."

---

Gundren invites everyone to have a seat with himself and Don-Jon, then he begins to describe the job in more detail, "Don-Jon and I handpicked each of you for your varied strengths. For some years now, my brothers and I have been following clues to a lost dwarven mine known as Phandelver. Inside the mine the story tells of a jet of magical green flame that springs from the earth. The dwarves who found it used the flames to heat a forge and discovered that all weapons that are forged from those flame come out with magical properties."

"We found multiple sources that mentioned the mine, and enough mentioning for green flames and the forge itself for us to believe that it is true. What we could not find was any information at all about where to find it, save that it was somewhere in the Sword Mountains. With hundreds of miles worth of mountain to search, you can imagine why it has not been rediscovered."

Those who glance at Don-Jon see that he smiles at this as Gundren looked to him to continue, "With mining expeditions and more research, we found clues we'd missed for years. When found out it used to have another name - our missing link. Now we know where to find it, we just need miners and stuff to get it done."

Gundren took over once more, "We have a shipment of supplies being gathered here in Neverwinter right now. We need them delivered from here to a small town to the south, called Phandalin, close to the Sword Mountains. Phandalin will be our staging ground for the expedition into the Mines of Phandelver. It is a mining settlement, but they do not have nearly enough miners for what we need to accomplish."

"There's a Miner's Exchange in Phandalin, so we've sent word to miners all over offering jobs. There's going to be a lot of folks coming for the wage we're offering, so this stuff's going to help the locals keep up with the new demands."

"The road from here to Phandalin is an easy one, and fairly safe. Most of the road travels through open plains with open views for miles around. It will take you about two days of traveling with the wagon to reach the settlement, and late on that second morning is when you will reach the woods that surround it."

"That's where things can get a little more dangerous, but mostly what you'd expect from going into the woods; wildlife, maybe your rare goblin or blight. There aren't a whole lotta travelers going from here to Phandalin, so bandits ain't likely on that road. Of course, with us hiring, that might draw some of them too." Don-Jon looked to Gundren for his thoughts on that last bit, earning a half-shrug and a nod from the dwarf.

"Now, we do not have much in the way of details about what happened to Phandelver at the end, except that there was a battle of some kind followed by a very large collapse that sealed off the entire mine. The few details we did find about the battle itself were rather varied and it is impossible to know which account to trust. The one common thread is that magic was involved besides just that of the green flames. That means that once we get inside, there is no telling what we may find within."

Don-Jon cut in again, "And he ain't talking about magic flames or no flames, he's talking what kinda creatures may have moved in after the outside access was cut off."

Gundren nodded but held up reassuring hands, "True. That discussion we can have later, once we have more information. For now, what I need is for you all to escort the provisions to Phandalin in the morning. The wagon is already loaded, save for one final order that I have being worked on all night tonight, and they have promised that it will be ready first thing in the morning."

"We have fifty gold pieces for each of you, to see those goods delivered safely to Phandalin. Once we arrive and have reports from the scouts we had sent out before coming here, then we can talk about other job opportunities in the area to help with the expedition."
This message was last edited by the player at 23:08, Mon 17 May 2021.

The black dragonborn, her clawed hands in front of her, looked at the two enter. The woman smiled at the two, looking first at Don-jon. "So, old man....you still causing trouble for Gundren. Why am I not surprised your here."

She looked at Gundren and nodded in greeting, and listened to the tale. The cleric had grown up in a monstary,  and most tales of fancy had been spoken by these two men. She again drew the dagger at her hip. "Do you remember this Gundren...the dagger that you gave me, and that advice you gave me all those years ago." she held the dagger up.

"Remember what you said that day? That when I was ready, I would know my path. Well, it seems our path crosses this time."

She put the dagger away and looked at Gundren. "You taught me to fight, to use patience and trust my instincts. They ked me on this path, and now, my strength, instincts, faith and wisdom"

She taps her clawed hand. "I am with you."

After listening to Gundren and Don-Jon speak for a bit, BonThot rousts himself and goes over to where they are holding court - so to speak. "It is good to see you again, Gundren. I'm glad you are clothed this time!" Looking over at Don-Jon, he said, "I welcome you as a new friend."
This message was last edited by the player at 16:03, Mon 17 May 2021.

Bharkel had remained quiet this entire time, but was very much engaged, having leaned forward in her seat and listening very intently as the job was being described. "Fifty gold, per person? That's a lot of coin for something seemingly so simple. What are you not telling us?" The currency was scarcely her concern; it was a thing she needed to interact with the rest of the world, and little more. That said, she could recognize that the pay seemed excessive for the work.

BonThot said, "I'll be happy to take your share off your hands if you feel strongly about it."

"Aye, fifty gold is good pay. I will join this endeavor." Pavel said
He then turned to Bharkel and whispered.

"Ha-ha! I ain't dead yet!" He held his arms out as if to put himself on display and that doing so was answer enough to the question. "I spent plenty of time in those parts; I'd like to see to helping revive them a bit."



"I appreciate that, buddy. I've seen him naked more times than I like, myself. You ain't alone there."
This message was last edited by the player at 00:50, Wed 19 May 2021.

Gundren took the dagger with a smile, turning it over in his hands. "Yes, I do." He held the dagger back out to Akyra, but he held onto the blade when she reached to take it back. "And you've decided to take your Oaths?"



Gundren laughed at the mention of being clothed. "I need to plan another trip back up there, soon. It's nearly impossible to find a setting cold enough to get the full benefit of the meditation down here. The last time I got to really got to do it, I had to pay a mage enough gold to feed a small family for two months!"

"You're still keeping the peace, I take it."



Don-Jon seemed a bit annoyed at the question, but Gundren gave him a pat on the arm and answered, "This is a job that is all about making money. If I was simply in need of people to do a job for me, I'd pay less and take whatever help I could get for the money. Since a very great deal of gold stands to be made if we can get into that mine and keep that forge going, then we stand to make thousands, or more. That is why I have asked specifically for people I know, and who I know I can trust to get the supplies there safely."

"Things I have not told you are things that I do not know. Phandalin is a small town, there is one man in charge but no manner of law enforcement. We have sent out the call for miners to come for employment, but we do not know who will answer or what type of men they will be. It is possible that they could turn out to be the nasty sort that would cause trouble. In that case, we may need someone to help keep the peace. That may happen, it may not."

"We do not know what creatures we may find inside the mines; we may need help with that as well. Wealth tends to draw greed, and greed wears many faces. If people figure out what we are up to, they may try to take it from us. If that happens, I would rather know that there are friends nearby who could come to our aid rather than sell-swords who work for the highest bidder, or decide they want it for themselves."

"You can consider the amount above what you would expect to be paid, to be an incentive for you to hang around for a few more days after the provisions have been delivered, just in case we have further need of your services."



Gundren thanked all of those who had already agreed to take the job, but with others still hesitating for looking for more information, he was still very much in business-mode, and happy to address other questions and concerns.

BonThot takes a moment to speak with Gundren privately.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:45, Wed 19 May 2021.

"I might be inclined to be a guardsman again, if certain conditions are met. Think of it,  a booming mining town  might bring even more opportunities." Pavel said. Inwardly, he was cautious as things could easily grow too large.

The Dragonborn took back the blade. “Not oath per say....more calling. The platinum dragon has a path for me, and though I’m not like the pansy clerics in the monastery, neither am I a paladin. My link in my faith is stronger than a paladin, and while they are ferocious warriors, I too can fight. My ‘past’ has been taken into account by bahamut, and have been taught as a warrior priest....I believe Gundren your clan call them war priests.”

She looked back to her pack, with the battle axe and warhammer in sight. “I’m still a cleric and faithful of bahamut, but like the platinum dragon, this faithful has sharp teeth.”

Having had his fill of both food and libations, as well as company, BonThot bid everyone adieu and made his way to his room. Once there, he sat quietly in a yoga pose, legs twisted like a pretzel, while humming a monotone note over and over. After an hour, he stretches for five minutes, then climbs into bed.

Sleep eludes him for the nonce, but after awhile he shuts his mind on his worries and allows himself to fall asleep.