#glasstaff

The decide to summon Sildar to Halia’s home, where they drag the unwilling Glasstaff. Halia unwillingly hosts the evil wizard and Lord Hallwinter in her living room, but wants some assurance of no funny business: she asks for her seal back and promptly stamps one of Glasstaff’s palms with it, then presses his hands together.

“You know what that was?” “A glyph of warding?” “Yes. You know what kind?” “...” “That is an explosive glyph. Any spells or funny business, and your hands blow off. Now, please don’t mess up my living room.”

Sildar uneasily allows Halia to question Iarno. She wants to know how many Redbrands remain after the evening, and how loyal they are to Glasstaff and the Black Spider? (Not many, and they aren’t loyal to anything) What does the Black Spider want? (to keep Phandalin under control while he gains control of the mine) What is in the mine? (the Forge of Spells) Where is the mine? (Iarno doesn’t know).

[let’s play “good-cop/chaotic-evil-cop”]

Iarno’s ignorance of the mine’s location is the last straw for Halia, and she quickly jabs a hand crossbow into his mouth. Sildar tries to de-escalate the situation, but Iarno begins sputtering about how foolish it is to trust Halia. He goes on that she’s a Zhentarim, and she clearly is planning on taking over the town for herself. Sildar presses Halia over the issue, and she admits that she is a member of the organization. She argues that all the Zhentarim want is for their members to be successful business owners and guild masters, and sometimes does use mercenaries to further that goal. Hank wants to know one thing: do the Zhentarim trade slaves? Halia insists that they don’t (Iarno spits “anymore”).

Sildar admits that there’s nothing prosecutable about Halia’s membership in the Zhentarim, but that he will not just hand Phandalin over to Halia without a proper election, and adds that there still is a standing townmaster, false or not. Which reminds him, without a secure jail they need a place to hold Iarno. Halia offers the use of the mining exchange’s vault, and everyone agrees it’s the best course of action. They search Iarno, finding his spellbook, a mundane dagger, and some rat treats which Danquayle keeps for her pet mouse.

Sildar pronounces Iarno Albrek under arrest by authority of the Lord’s Alliance, and intends to extradite him to Waterdeep for trial, but must await a garrison from Neverwinter to secure his passage. He stands guard over Iarno in the miner’s exchange after the party agrees to deal with the false townmaster in the morning. The party is eager to do just that, but first: barbecue!*

*Phandalin style BBQ is basically a variant of Triboar style, which is where Toblin Stonehill, the innkeeper is from. Triboar BBQ is all about pork (wild boar, really), so no brisket, but lots of ribs and sausage (Toblin’s wife Trilena makes the sausage herself, it’s very good). Stonehill Inn BBQ proudly uses applewood from Daran’s Edermath’s farm, which compliments the apple cider vinegar-based sauce.  You’ll find Scump McGillicuddy’s brand sauce on the table, which is a mustard based sauce, Neverwinter-style.

In the morning the party heads to the townmaster’s hall (Tipsy is still at large). They enact their plan to fool the false townmaster: wielding Glasstaff’s glass staff, now known to be a magical staff of defense given to him by Black Spider to buy his loyalty, they declare that THEY are going to run the Redbrands now. Rather than be impressed, the townmaster begins to just laugh. He bellows “YOU cannot lead the Redbrands! You cannot FOOL ME! I CAN SEE INTO YOUR MINDS! You are going to be delivered to the Black Spider, dead or alive!” 

With surprising agility, Not-Harbin Wester leaps over his desk and begins pummeling the party with his weird gummy arms. He only gets one good hit in, because Taranion lights him up with a Guiding Bolt and everyone else lays into him. As Ander delivers the coup de grace, he collapses back on his desk:

Wester: “The Black Spider has...many hands...”

Hank: “HE HAS ONE LESS NOW!”

Wester: *is dead*

The townmaster’s lifeless body stretches out to its natural form: the hairless, featureless, grey form of a doppelganger. They bring Sildar to the scene where he announces that this makes sense, then wonders if he’s beginning to become a bit jaded in his old age. They lock Iarno up in the free cell, and Sildar introduces them to the jail’s other prisoner: a small goblin rescued from a party of Bugbears Sildar and a few other encountered south of town (the same group of Bugbears the Iarno sent on a wild goose chase). They abandoned their leashed goblin and fled, leaving Sildar to lock him up in hopes the party could deal with him. 

The good news is, Hank and Taranion both know Goblin-speak! The bad news, the goblin is Slurry, the surviving ambusher from the woods outside Cragmaw hideout, and he recognizes Hank the Klarg-slayer and promptly faints. Taranion gives the distressed goblin some water, and asks him how he came to the Redbrand hideout. Turns out, when Slurry regained consciousness, he saw the carnage left from the fight with Klarg and was no longer interested in being a goblin bandit. As he was fleeing through the woods he got picked up by a band of Cragmaw hobgoblins who do deliveries for the King Grol. They berated Slurry for being a deserter, and gave him to the bugbear enforcers in Phandalin to keep as a servant. 

The party remembers that a group of Hobgoblins was responsible for taking Gundren Rockseeker from Cragmaw Hideout, and Slurry confirms that this is the same group. He agrees to lead them to the hobgoblins’ trail if they;ll free him to mind his own business. And just like that, the trail of Gundren Rockseeker has warmed up.

Defeated: Doppelganger/Harbin Wester

Acquired: Glasstaff’s Spellbook, rat treats

NPC’s met: Slurry’s back!