Chapter 4 - Cragmaw Castle

With Gundren rescued and his map to Wave Echo Cave back in his possession, the bruise and battered Dwarf is just as eager to get back to Phandalin as the rest of you. He grabs a sword from one of the Hobgoblins and leads the way out of the castle.

Stepping into the mid-morning sun he stops and stretches his arms back while taking a deep breath. "Not much for the outdoors, but wasn't sure I'd ever be seeing the sunlight again. My thanks to all of ya!"

---

It doesn't take longer than a few hours before you exit the southern end of the Neverwinter Wood and emerge into grasslands north of Phandalin. It will most likely be well into the evening by the time you reach town, but at your current pace you know you'll reach the Tri-Boar Trail before the sun sets.

During the trip it's hard for Gundren to contain his excitement about reopening the mine, repeatedly offering everyone in the party a cut of the profits if they're willing to help clear the place out and get it ready for "proper Dwarven mining". His excitement does start to wane a bit, however, when your reach the outskirts of Phandalin. The kidnapping, subsequent beatings, and long walk into town have taken the toll on the stoic Dwarf.

"Going to get me a room at Stonehill's for the night. Suggest the lot of you do the same and maybe grub up before hand. Tell ol' Toblen to put it on my tab." he says, before trudging off in the direction of the Stonehill Inn. Just before he reaches the door he turns and looks back.

"And think about my offer! We can talk more in the morning if it's of interest to ya."

It's a quiet evening in the tavern. A young elven women with a broom is cleaning up between the empty tables, while Toblen chats with a few townsfolk at the bar. He gives Gerbo a quick nod before continuing his conversation.

At the far end of the bar sits a well dressed man, slouched forward after obviously having had more than his share of ale. A coin purse dangles from his belt, along with a short sword.

The intoxicated patron slowly raises his head and looks over towards Toblen.

"More... drink I need." he blurts out, pounding his fist onto the bar.

Toblen ignores the man and carries on with his conversation.

Toblen shrugs his shoulders and places a shot of Gnomish gin on the bar in front of Gerbo.

"Never seen him before. Been at the bar since this afternoon. Rude as all get out to poor Arwen over there..." he says, leaning in towards the rogue as he motions to the women cleaning with his chin.

"She gives it as good as she gets though and he's been a good tipper so she's put up with him. I cut him off about an hour ago, figure he'll leave soon enough."

"Ssssure..." the man slurs, his bloodshot eyes barely open.

"What y.. what ya got in mind?"

"Twe..twenty gold? Ha! Lets fifty make it..."

He grabs for his pouch and lazily spills its contents onto the top of the bar, nearly spilling some over the edge. Gathering his collection of platinum, gold, and silver coins together, he slowly slides out five platinum pieces to the side and slams his first into the bar.

"Put, put up... place your fitty on the bar... too..." he drunkenly sputters.

The man blinks slowly as he watches, shaking his head several times as he appears to lose track of which mug is the correct one. When Gerbo finishes the routine the man's eyes go wide and he ponders for a few seconds before he points to the middle mug.

"That one!"

[DIE ROLLS]

EDIT: That drunk dude can roll!!

"Ahhhh. Tho… thought I had ya there."

The man slaps the top of the bar in disappointment and slides the coins over to Gerbo.