Feast of the Moon

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The adventures of The Western Shield as recorded by Revi.

Feast of the Moon

We began as lonesome adventurers in Phandalin during the festival of the Feast of the Moon. I was in town after a bit of nastiness in Neverwinter and I was waiting to work out where the winds of fate would guide me when I was attacked by a gang of kenku. I cut my way out of the net they threw on me and chased them off, then saw a half-elf fighting with a different group of kenku. The two of us beat them back and she introduced herself as Gef Arsaadi. Together, we walked back to the town square and ran across an older ranger named Jacob Amarok, who'd also just been attacked by kenku. As we talked, a pair of flesh golems appeared on the opposite side of the town square. These creatures were under the control of more kenku and proceeded to wreak havoc on the people and merchants of Phandalin. The three of us sprung into action to quell the threat and protect the town. During the fight, a man appeared on a pegasus wearing a glowing crown, made a big show of helping drive the creatures off, then claimed credit for saving the town. Calling himself the King of Neverwinter, the man drank in the praise of the Phandalites, tossed a few badges bearing the mark of the Sons of Alagondar to Gef, Jacob and I, and then climbed back on his pegasus and rode off.

That afternoon, we visited The Stonehill Inn and met a vivacious bard named Jarvy, who was already singing the story of how the King of Neverwinter had saved the poor town of Phandalin. Gef met a few travelers who offered to assist her with treatment for her affliction while Jacob and I watched from the shadows. When she seemed reluctant to join them, the travelers attempted to kidnap Gef, but were surprised when Jacob and I appeared to intervene. The would-be kidnappers retreated, realizing their disadvantage.

In the inn, we also met an older, retired adventurer named Daran Edermath deep in his cups. He told us that his days of excitement were behind him and that he was content to enjoy his life in Phandalin. During our conversation, he did mention that there were an increasing number of orc attacks happening in Conyberry, a town just to the east of Phandalin, with the strong implication that someone should do something about it and the even stronger implication that someone wouldn't be him.

Re-focusing on the problems that we had faced in the town square, we decided to check in with the mayor... which turned into something more akin to interrogating the mayor. He informed us that he had been installed as mayor and was not actually interested in leading, then suggested that we might find more answers at the old inn The Sleeping Giant. Gef and Jacob went in for a drink while I scaled the wall to the second floor and observed from the staircase. When the conversation with the barman turned sour, Jacob was confronted by two additional men from the back room and a harpy appeared at the top of the stairs. After a quick scuffle, the barman and one of the ruffians was left knocked out, the other ruffian was poisoned beyond saving, and the harpy was cut down. We questioned the unconscious ruffian once he came-to and found that he was a member of the Sons of Alagondar, a rebel group opposed to the rule of Lord Neverember in Neverwinter. To his surprise, the deceased Son of Alagondar who accompanied him carried a ring bearing the mark of the Cult of Asmodeus. After a bit more questioning, we released the man and retired to a farm to rest for the night.