Redbrands Hideout

• After the fight with the nothic, the party turns their attention to the cavern.
• They notice more details about the crevasse.
  • With a piercing look, Kiara knows that it emanates a magical necromantic aura.
  • The party identifies four possible paths: corridors to the east, west, and northeast; a room to the north.

• They head to the northeastern corridor that leads them right and then down a narrow, but short, straight flight of stairs.
• The corridor ends in two doors: one to their left (south) and another to their right (north).
• Sigmar was leading the way, with Dwolf behind him, and he picks the door to the right.
• He tries the door handle, and when it doesn’t offer resistance he opens the door slightly.
  • He hears sounds of liquids bubbling and dripping.
• He opens the door fully, and the room appears to be a wizard’s alchemical laboratory.
  • A large work table is set up with alembics, retorts, and all other matter of devices.
  • Shelves and other smaller tables are full of books and parchments.
  • There’s another door to the right (west) of the room.
• Sigmar notices a small mouse scurrying across the floor, that stops and looks at him quizzically.
  • It takes refuge under the work table.
• The full party walks in:
  • Kiara focuses on the little mouse, trying to befriend it.
  • Brannus searches around the shelves and tables for relevant information.
• Brannus is unable to perceive what matter of alchemical process is brewing.
  • The parchments filled with chaotic dilution notes are not very helpful.
• On the shelves he finds all matter of strange books, but one is relevant:
  • A journal written in Dwarvish details the adventures of a cleric named Urmon, and his quest to find the Forge of Spells.
  • The text describes the history of the Lost Mine of Deepholm and the Forge of Spells.
  • It mentions a magic mace named Lightbringer that was commissioned by priests of Pelor to the gnomes and dwarves of the Forge.
    • The mace was never delivered.
    • Brannus has heard of its tale before.
• Kiara eventually tries to detect magic all around the room.
  • The little mouse shines with magical energy, and runs away!
  • The bubbling liquids shine too, but in an extremely faint way.
• Brannus heads for the inner door and tries to open it.
  • The door offers no resistance.
  • From opening it slightly, Brannus can see walls draped with scarlet cloth.
• Fully opening this door reveals a comfortable bedchamber:
  • Quality furnishings include a small writing desk, a lavish-looking bed, an open chest by the bed, and some chairs.
  • One of the chairs is on its side, by a corner, and a bag of documents as fallen and spread its contents on the floor.
• Brannus makes his way to the writing desk.
  • He finds more alchemical notes, but these are cleaner and visibly recent: a fresh ink blot dots the a page.
  • Someone was here, but left in a hurry.
• In the midst of the fallen bag of documents, the party finds an incriminating letter:

Lord Albrek,
My spies in Greyhaven tell me that strangers are due to arrive in Deepdale. They could be working for the dwarves. Capture them if you can, kill them if you must, but do not allow them to upset our plans. See that any dwarven maps in their possession are delivered to me with haste.

I am counting on you, Iarno.
Do not disappoint me.

• The letter is signed with the mark of a Black Hand.
• Iarno Albrek, the wizard sent by the Haven’s Guard to Deepdale (which never reported back and whom Sildar has been looking for), seems to be much less of a victim of the circumstances than the party has been thinking.
  • If he was here, he is gone.

• A closer inspection of the chambers reveals a poorly closed secret passage.
  • Dwolf enters it and finds a set of stairs leading up.
  • Kiara follows, while Brannus and Sigmar stay behind.
  • The stairs end in another door that opens easily to a storage room:
    • It’s the room on the north end of the cavern where they fought the nothic.
    • It is part of the cavern, but has been finished with stone block walls and floor.
    • There are several barrels and boxes there.
• The party regroups in this room and searches it for clues.
  • Dwolf fails miserably, but Kiara easily finds something of interest.
• Kiara finds another secret passage way to the west.
  • This one leads to a tight corridor with two doors.
    • One is locked.
    • The other one is not.

• Sigmar opens the unlocked door:
  • It leads to a dust old crypt
    • There’s a single door to the west.
    • There’s large double doors sheathed in copper plate to the southeast.
  • Three large stone sarcophagi stand within:
    • Propped up against each of them, a human skeleton clad in rusty mail
• Kiara walks in, ahead of Sigmar, and searches the room but finds nothing of relevance.
• As soon as Sigmar joins her, the skeletons animate and attack the party!
• Brannus turns the undead, which attempt to flee from the sight of his holy symbol.
• The party dispatches two of the skeletons, but they are fumbling and the fight goes on for longer than it seemingly should.
  • The third skeleton evades a large number of attacks.
  • Brannus in particular has been having terrible aim with his crossbow, which frustrates him.
• The fight eventually ends, and the party opens each sarcophagus
  • They find very little, beyond a precious signet ring.

• Out of frustration, Brannus opens the small door on his own and walks in.
  • He finds a long room partitioned into three areas, two of which are cells.
• He has no time to further investigate because waiting for him in ambush are two Redbrand ruffians.
  • He is hit quite violently, but manages to disengage the fight and run away.
• The rest of the party joins the fray, in what is another haphazard fight.
  • The foes resist their blows quite deftly.
• Kiara tries to convince the remaining ruffian to yield, but he is determined to fight to the death.
  • And so it is.

• After the fight, looks to the cells, which hey had realizes were not empty:
  • The northern one holds a woman and a young girl.
  • The southern one has a very young boy.
  • They are all afraid, specially because Kiara and Brannus still wear the Redbrands colors.
• After a bit at banging on the cell doors to force the lock, they free the prisoners.
  • The woman identifies herself as Mirna Dendrar, wife of the Thel – Deepdale’s carpenter.
  • Her husband openly defied the Redbrands and the villians eventually came at night and kidnapped them all.
  • They don’t know for how long they’ve been there.
  • Some time ago a large bugbear came, opened the cell doors, and took Thel.
    • He never came back.
  • She believes they were going to be sold to slavery.
  • They plea the party to help them escape.
• The party is reticent to abandon their task of “cleaning” the hideout, but they accept accompanying the broken family to the outside.
  • They all walk safely to the exit of the tunnel they used to come in.
• When they reach the manor’s grounds, all seems quiet and peaceful.
  • They watch as the family walks down the hill, towards the center of Deepdale, and are satisfied everything is well when a few other commoners reach out to help.
• They return to the large cavern below to continue their exploration.