Chapter 1: The Meeting
The Loud Boys in the Lost Mine of Phandelver, a D&D report
The three men standing on the street corner made an unlikely group. The halfling shifted from one foot to the other uneasily, as though unused to being visible on such a public thoroughfare, and muttered to the other two, “You sent here by Gundren Rockseeker too?”
The elf, robed in dark velvet and glittering embroidered sigils, nodded briefly, whilst the armoured figure emanated an aura of temporary confusion. “Who’s Gundren? …Oh, you mean the dwarf. Yes, he hired me to protect some provisions! Are you the rest of the party?”
The halfling couldn’t prevent his eyes starting to roll, but he managed to turn the movement into a twitch checking the corner for fellow thieves. The other two didn’t notice. “I suppose you should know my name, if we’re going to be working together for a while. I’m Uayak.”
“I’m Jake,” muttered the elf shyly. As he spoke, he kept fiddling with what must have been a magical artifact, a cube of smaller rainbow squares.
“And my name is Kila!” declared the armoured figure. With a flourish, he removed his helmet- more of a leather cap really, with flaps to protect the cheeks and neck- and revealed a cheerful human face and a wide grin.
At that moment, a cart clattered to a stop beside them and a dwarf hopped down from the driver’s seat. A frayed tarpaulin covered the tray of the cart, concealing its contents. The dwarf flicked his braided beard clear of his knees and scrutinised the three men, then sighed. “I s’pose you’ll have to do. I’ll meet you in Phandalin all right? Me and Sildar Hallwinter will go on ahead, I’ve got a few things to look into first. You make sure this lot stays safe, we’ll need it for the expedition. I’ll meet you at Barthen’s Provisions. There’s ten gold waiting for each of you when I see you again.”
The three looked at each other. Kila spoke first, loudly. “What’s the expedition for?”
The dwarf looked up, then around. “Me and my brothers found somethin’ big,” he said shortly.
“You’ll need us for it then?” said Uayak. “Because I don’t want to get stuck in that backwater again for only ten shinies.”
“Maybe,” said the dwarf in a mutter, looking around again. “Talk more quietly, will you?”
“Who’s Sildar Hallwinter?” asked Kila.
“Did someone say my name?”
A middle-aged knight clattered up on a horse, leading two other horses behind him, one laden with bundles and baggage. He smiled kindly at the group. The dwarf grabbed the reins of the spare horse and clambered into the saddle, looking a bit sickly as he did so.
“Not used to being so far off the ground,” he muttered. “Ah well, we gotta do what we gotta do…”
“Sildar Hallwinter, at your service,” said the knight, bowing from the saddle. “And who do I have the pleasure of addressing?”
“They’re loud boys,” grumbled Gundren. “Gotta learn to keep their voices down. There’s people who want to know more, for sure, about this little trip of ours.”
“Loud Boys, hey!” said Sildar sincerely. “Pleased to meet you! I understand we’ll be seeing you again in a few days. I look forward to it!”
“I don’t think-“ started Jake, but the dwarf had already pulled at the reins and, wheeling their horses around, the pair were trotting down the road briskly and disappearing out of sight.
Uayak shrugged. He sidled up to the cart and picked at the tarpaulin. “Hey!” said Kila. “What are you doing?”
“I just want to see what’s inside,” said Uayak.
“I don’t think you should be doing that,” said Kila.
“I want to know what we’re protecting,” said Uayak. “Looks like… Flour, pork, ale, mining equipment, lanterns, oil. Hmm. I wonder what old Gundren’s digging up?”
Uayak hopped up into the tray and disappeared under the tarpaulin. “Well, what are you two waiting for?”
Kila and Jake looked at each other. “You want to drive?” said Kila.
Jake shook his head and sat on the edge of the tray, his feet dangling. The magic cube flashed as he fiddled.
Kila climbed up to the driver’s seat and gave a flick of the reins. The two oxen hitched to the cart lowed and started plodding wearily down the road.
It was a slow few days trekking south along the High Road out of Neverwinter. The travellers were on high alert at first for bandits, but with no encounters and good weather, they settled into the easy rocking of the cart and relaxed.
Until they turned a corner and spotted the two dead horses sprawled on the path fifty feet away, black feathered arrows sticking out like a zombie hedgehog.
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Read on in Chapter 2!