The next morning we start to head back to Phandalin. We get attacked by Hog-Goblins. While about to make the final blow to the creature, a bolt of energy comes from a halfling man on horseback riding up the trail. The bolt of energy kills the Hog-Goblins and the man is discovered to be Ari’s brother, Lyle.

• He shares that he has been casting a spell with the power of Selune over the past several weeks in order to track Ari. He questions why she ran away from home and what she is doing with these adventurers. Everyone introduces themselves to Lyle and he asks to speak with Ari in private.

Glittr and Yrdlyn ransack the dead bodies and find: a piece of paper with a note “Bring me these people for 25 gold each'' with rough sketches of our party drawn on it. We see the Black Spider’s signature on the bottom of the paper. Pearl attempts to eavesdrop on Ari and Lyle’s conversation happening in the distance off the trail.

• Lyle shares that their mother was ill and she recently passed away. Lyle is unimpressed with Ari running away from home and is here to deliver Ari with a note written to her from her mother. The letter is sealed in wax with her family’s crest 

• Ari exclaims that Lyle is the “golden boy protector” and the way he is treating her is the exact reason as to why she left their home originally. Ari learns that the magic passed to her is Red Dragon Magic, which passes from mother to daughter. She shares with Lyle that her mother was supposed to kill her after she was born because of how evil a Red Dragon is. Her family lore exclaims that if a female is born with dragon scales, she should be killed as she can turn evil due to this Red Dragon inheritance. Ari also questions what her mother meant when she wrote that Ari is “At Risk” which Lyle hypothesizes is at risk of becoming evil.

• They share a few words together as Lyle rides off into the distance to head back home.

We take watch for the night and during their first watch, Yrdlyn and Caulkin discuss trying to make Ari share with them what the contents of her letter contained. Pearl and Glittr take the second watch and share the desires to help and protect Ari and she figures out what is going on with her life. 

• While sleeping, Glittr notices that his dream is filled with the color red. Lliira is nowhere to be seen, but the colors red and orange are noticeable absent with only red light being present. Glittr attempts to signal to Lliira with a beacon of light, but she does not appear in front of him. He meditates for the rest of the night without any sign of her.

While approaching Phandalin, Yrdlyn notices a pack of panthers that growls towards her direction. Yrdlyn recognizes that these are the same beings as the wolves that came to her during one night at the Stonehill Inn. She transforms into a panther and is led off the path to meet the same Great Elf again, who taught her level 3 spells previously. The Elf shares that, against his will, he has been tasked in visiting Yrdlyn again by Deneir. He shares that her mother had a “haunted past” and he knew her about 100 years ago.

• He shares that her mother went mad after giving birth of Yrdlyn. She was tricked into having Yrdlyn and then leaving her behind. The elf shares that he does not want to be involved with her mother due to the darkness that she, and possibly Yrdlyn, are connected to. The Elf also explains that he and these other druids, the panthers, have been tasked with defeating evil. He transforms into an eagle and flies off.

We arrive in Phandalin and head off to see Sister Areola at the Shrine of Luck. We share that Agatha traded the spellbook to a necromancer Tsernoth from the city of Iriaebor about 100 years ago. She hands us 3 health potions as payout.

• She asks Caulkin to hang back for a minute and speak with him. Sister Areola discusses with him that she is quite impressed with Caulkin’s work and he seems to be quite adept with the work that The Harpers does. She shares that they are looking for new mappers that can help acquire information from people, places, and things. Caulkin asks about The Harpers she shares that they are:

• Caulkin asks what is into it for him, which would be access to a worldwide network of spies and information. He asks, “are you connected to the lords of Waterdeep?” He is pleased to know that she does not have a connection to the group and he shares that he has the goal of taking out the Lords of Waterdeep in the future. She hands Caulkin a token and allows him to refer to himself as a “Watcher” which is the lowest rank of The Harpers.

Caulkin and Yrdlyn speak and she tells him that the grand elf wants nothing to do with her anymore. We visit Merna who shares that there is an expensive Emerald Necklace that was lost in the family’s store in Thundertree, which is a 2 days journey north of here.

• It approaches 6pm and we visit The Townmaster’s Hall and Samantha is still working. We speak with Harvey who doesn’t believe us that we killed the orcs because we did not bring him a severed head. He agrees to pay us the gold in 1 week’s time if no other travelers complain about the orcs.

We head to the Stonehill Inn and see the Stonehill family as Pip and his friend whisper when they see our faces. We divvy up the remaining loot and everyone takes a potion of healing.

• Pearl identifies the scrolls at the dinner table and finds a Scroll of Augury, a Scroll of Charmed Person, and a Scroll of Fireball. She also identifies the sword as a +1 LongSword inscribed with the name Talon on it. It belonged to Aldith Tresendar, of Tresendar Manor, who was known as the Black Hawk.

  • +1 to all attack rolls, hits, and damage

Around the dinner table, we all drink heavily and have cheers for Brylwynn and her help days earlier. Ari waves the letter from her brother. Glittr is given the letter to read and is shooketh by what he reads and hands the letter back to Ari. Ari shares with the group that her mother was supposed to kill her, there is a red dragon in her bloodline, and that she may become evil at a certain point. Also her mom is dead. 

• Caulkin and Ari are drunk and gain the “poisoned status.” Glittr pays for the rooms for the evening and orders some Pedialyte for Caulkin and Ari. Ari sings along drunkenly to Piano Man with the children in the bar. 

• Glittr asks Pearl about what to do because Lliira did come to him in his dreams last night. Caulkin makes a sly remark towards Glittr. Glittr picks Caulkin up and demands an apology. As he turns to walk away, Caulkin trips Glittr, but Caulkin disappears into the crowd.

We go to bed and rest for the evening in our rooms. We visit the Lion Shield Coster, everyone else waits outside besides Ari, who heads inside to see Halia Thornton. Ari is reminded that Halia would like to meet her in the evening at her home across the street from the shop. She makes eyes at Pearl as the door opens and gives her the eyes.

• We leave and head to the Orchard and speak with Edermath. We provide him with information and he shares his honey crisp apples with us. 

In Townmaster’s Hall we look at the map on the wall to get a sense of directions to each of these two locations. We see that Thundertree is about 2-2.5 day’s travel north and we know that Crawmaw Castle is about a 1-1.5 days trip in the woods.

• Droop shares that he is scared to travel with us to Cragmaw Castle. He stays with the farmer’s family in Phandalin and remains safe and sound.