Chapter One

Goblin Arrows

The juddering of the wagon made it hard to hold the book steady, but this was not the most difficult place Toby had tried to read. The crossing through the Mere of Dead Men had been tricky, what with the treacherous sink holes and barbed twig blights that took a swipe at all who passed their thickets. And then there had been the time he'd nearly lost his precious copy of Alkazaar's Thrilling Tales to the churching waves on their crossing to Mintarn. By comparison, their journey along the Triboar Trail had been blissfully uneventful.

Toby adjusted his position and took a glance at their surroundings. They'd left the High Road and all other traffic behind that morning. The trail now wound through a forest of sycamores, their wing-like seeds spiralling down all around them and the smell of fresh spring growth in the air. It was a fine day, sunlight shafted through the branches and shone off the metal fittings of the wagon. They plodded along at the leisurely pace of their two oxen, Jip and Jock. Emmaline sat in the driver's seat to guide them. She was a tall, human woman in her early thirties with mop of mousy hair cropped short in a fighter's style. Her bow and quiver of arrows lay on the seat beside her.

The back of the wagon was packed full with an assortment of mining supplies and food. This included a dozen sacks of flour, several casks of salted pork, two kegs of strong ale, shovels, picks and crowbars, and five lanterns with a small barrel of oil. All one needed to start a delving operation. Toby had squeezed into a corner, almost buried by the supplies. Space was short even for a skinny framed half-elf such as himself. As he squared his shoulders and winced from the stiffness, he heard Beorn, who was walking beside the wagon, start whistling a tune they had picked up in a tavern in Neverwinter.

An upside-down face suddenly appeared at the rear entrance of the wagon.

"Not turned to stone in there yet?" asked Lyra with a grin. Toby spared his fellow half-elf a grimace. He guessed she must be lying on her stomach on the roof and dangling her front half over the side. Her long braid of red hair swayed back and forth with the motion of the wagon.

"Seen anything interesting so far?" Toby asked, ignoring her comment. Lyra shrugged as best she could in her current position.

"Nothing today except some deer in the woods. The weather's picked up though, you should get out and stretch your legs for a bit."

"No thank-you, I'm doing some research on our destination," Toby sniffed. The sun may have been shining but it was still early spring and the wind had a chill. The flap next to Toby lifted to reveal Beorn. The dwarf's blonde beard was braided into intricate patterns with amber beads glistening in them.

"Anything interesting?" he asked and Toby nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh yes! Phandalin is the site of the great Phandelver Pact. Five-hundred years ago, dwarves and gnomes agreed to share the riches of Wave Echo Cave. It didn't just yield gold, it was also a site of great magical power, they called it the Forge of Spells. Wizards would harness its power to craft magic items."

He grinned over at Lyra.

"Should be good for a song."

"Song like that need a villain," Lyra mused. "What shall it be? A lich? Dragon?"

"Orcs," called Emmaline from the driver's seat and Toby nodded in agreement.

"She's right, orcs laid waste to the mine and the town. The battle for the mine was so destructive that it caused a cave in. Few survived and the location of Wave Echo Cave was lost."

"Yep, that'll do," Lyra nodded. "Now it needs a tune."

She disappeared as she sat upright again and Beorn frowned.

"So what's Phandalin like these days? Is there still good mining the area?"

"There must be, or Gundren wouldn't have asked us to bring this stuff would he?" answered Emmaline. "I've only been there a few times when I was a nipper, but in the past few years the town's started growing again. People from Neverwinter mostly, looking to see if they can make a living off the trapping or logging. It was a nice enough place as far as I remember."

Toby liked the sound of that. They all needed a quiet place to rest after their adventures of the past few weeks. First, he and Lyra had run into all sorts of trouble when they travelled north through the Mere of Dead Men, and then of course they'd met Emmaline and Beorn in Neverwinter and picked up that bounty on the Gnoll pack terrorizing the farms. Then there was that nasty business with the Zentarim trying to double-cross them.

Running into Gundren Rockseeker had been a stroke of luck, his commission to escort his goods to Phandalin had given them a tidy excuse to leave that wretched city. Toby had just turned to a new chapter concerning the Forge of Spells when the wagon suddenly stopped.

"What's up?" he asked and he heard a thump as Lyra jumped down from the roof and pulled the canvas back again.

"Something up ahead," she said, oddly grave.

Toby extracted himself with some difficulty and with a helping hand from Beorn climbed down from the wagon. Lyra and Emmaline had already moved further down the road to investigate. They had just come around a bend and Toby could see two dead horses sprawled about fifty feet ahead of them, blocking the path. The woods pressed close to the trail here, with a steep embankment and dense thickets on either side.

Toby and Beorn hung back near the wagon in case the oxen spooked whilst Lyra knelt down to examine the horses.

"The saddlebags are empty," she called loud enough for the men to hear. Toby saw her yank something out of the horse's flank and mutter something to Emmaline.

"Goblin arrows," Emmaline repeated over her shoulder at Toby and Beorn. "And I hate to say it but these look like Gundren and Sildar Hallwinter's horses."

Toby felt an unpleasant swooping sensation in his stomach at this news. Gundren had gone ahead of them to Phandalin with Sildar, who despite his fifty years was still capable warrior and member of the famed griffon cavalry of Waterdeep. Beorn's grip on the ox reigns tightened and Toby patted him on the shoulder.

"They may yet be alive," he consoled. "Looks more like they were dragged off to me, no sign of any bodies."

Beorn's jaw tightened but he nodded stoically. The Rockseeker brothers were his cousins and Toby had surmised they were close by the warm way Beorn spoke of them. It was his connection that had landed them this job in the first place. Beorn suddenly pointed to something just off the edge of the path in the brush.

"What's that?"

Lyra looked in the direction his finger pointed and hurried over. Toby saw her pick up something cylindrical.

"Map case," she said, turning it over and over in her hands. "Dwarven craft, and it's empty. Could be Gundren's?"

Emmaline had her bow knocked now and had been peering into the treeline above Lyra. She gave a sudden cry,

"Get down!"

But it was too late, a black arrow came whizzing out of the trees and struck Lyra in the arm. She lost her balance from the shock but was on her feet almost at once, drawing her short-sword. Toby made to run to her side but Beorn grabbed him by the collar and shoved him behind the wagon.

"Take cover! There's more on the other side of the path!" he roared, hefting his battle-axe and crouching down near the wagon wheel. The oxen snorted and stamped and Toby reluctantly did as the dwarf instructed.

He could see their attackers now, four goblins, two on either side of the path, sheltering behind thick tree trunks. Three more arrows came flying but two skittered along the path and the third thumped into the side of the wagon, narrowly missing Toby's ear. Lyra and Emmaline now stood back-to-back and the fighter's red fletched arrow soared through the air. A gargled yelp told them all it had found its mark.

Toby brought his hands together and spoke a command word. A ball of hissing ice formed in his cupped palms which he sent flying into the trees. It stuck a goblin in the side of the head and exploded on impact, coating the tree trunk in frost and felling the creature.

"Not fire?" Lyra called questioningly.

"We're in a forest," Toby reminded her.

"I suppose, hey! Why don't you lot take your friend's lead and chill out eh?"

Lyra companions groaned at this and one of the goblins, which had just broken cover to take a jab at Beorn, was momentarily distracted by the terrible pun, long-enough for Beorn to clobber him with his axe. One goblin remained and seeing its friends drop like flies was enough to send it running. Emmaline vaulted up the escarpment after it and sent another arrow flying, which caught the goblin in the back and sent him sprawling. He lost his footing and tumbled down the slope, rolling until he lay still.

Silence fell over the trail once more, except for the twittering of birds, the continued snorting of the oxen and their own panting. Lyra grimaced and clutched her arm where the arrow still stuck out. Blood had started to stain her shirt. Toby ran over and reached for the arrow but Lyra waved him off.

"I'm fine! It's just a scratch," she lied. Beorn was harder to dismiss. He made her sit on the floor whilst he extracted the arrow then placed a hand over the wound. He closed his eyes and muttered a spell. The silver pendant he wore, depicting a boot overlaid by an upright mace, glowed a pale gold and when Beorn removed his hand the wound had sealed itself.

"Thank Marthammor Duin," Beorn told Lyra sternly who rolled her eyes and clasped her hands together.

"Thank you oh lord of wonderers," she sighed and Beorn nodded before standing up. Toby helped Lyra to her feet and it was only then that they realised Emmaline wasn't with them.

"Emmie?" Lyra called and the tall human suddenly popped her head over the side of the embankment to look down at them. Her usually cheerful countenance was grim.

"I found something, looks like a goblin trail. I'd say the bastards have been using this bend to ambush supply wagons for some weeks."

The others climbed the escarpment, Lyra nimbly picked her way up reach the top first. She reached down to help Toby and then Beorn over the lip. The trees grew thickly here but Emmaline pointed out the stamped down brush that formed the trail.

"See these scuffs?" she said, going down on her haunches. "Someone was dragged through here. It rained a little this morning and they left gouges in the mud so I'd say this was only a few hours ago."

"Gundren and Sildar?" Beorn guessed and Emmaline nodded.

"Must be, should we follow or carry on to Phandalin and get help?"

Toby was inclined to get help, goblins usually moved in large packs and he didn't fancy their chances against a whole horde, but the others seemed reluctant to leave.

"I think we should follow," said Lyra. "Who knows what could happen if we faff about."

The other two agreed so Toby was outvoted. They tied up the oxen at the side of the road and left them munching contentedly on the foliage before starting down the trail. Emmaline took the lead as her tracking abilities would keep them on course whilst Beorn brought up the rear, his axe in hand and keeping a weary eye out. Not ten minutes along the trail they came across the first trap, a cleverly camouflaged snare coiled under the leaves. Emmaline guided them around it and they continued on their way.

They marched for nearly an hour and Toby was beginning to grow worried. What if they were walking into another ambush? Or what if someone else came across their wagon and made off with the supplies? They could be on this trail for ages! But he didn't voice his concerns. Lyra had told him enough times in the past that he worried too much and he was trying to seem tougher than he was in front of Beorn and Emmaline, who after all were relatively new acquaintances. There would be time later for them to discover what a worry wart he was.

"Hold it," Emmaline said in a hoarse whisper, raising a fist and making them all stop in their tracks. "Pit trap ahead, and then I think we're at the end of the trail, everyone be careful and try and stay quiet."

Beorn and Toby exchanged uneasy glances. Stealth was not exactly their forte, the former being kitted out in heavy armour and the latter notoriously clumsy. Still, Toby tried to watch where he was stepping as they gave the pit a wide berth and then came within view of a low hill with a cave set into its side. A river flowed from the mouth of the cave and carved through the trees on their right. Toby could see a narrow path leading into the cave on the right side of the stream. There were also dense briar thickets nearby that had caught Emmaline's attention.

"Sentries," she muttered. "Two of them, they've made some sort of postern in those brambles."

"I see them," Lyra confirmed. "Don't seem to be paying much attention though. Recon we could jump them?"

Emmaline nodded and then gestured for Beorn and Toby to stay put whilst she and Lyra crept forward. Toby could see the goblins now, half-hidden in the briars. They seemed to be playing knucklebones judging by the clattering noises they made. He lost sight of the women but a moment later an arrow and a dagger whooshed out of nowhere and caught the goblins in the throats.

"Nice shots," Beorn said admiringly as he and Toby emerged to join the women at the cave entrance.

"Goblins," Lyra snorted. "Attention span of a goldfish. Hey now, what's that about?"

She'd just retrieved her dagger and now used the blade to pull back the green lips of the dead goblin. Its teeth were unnaturally pointed.

"Looks self-inflicted," Beorn mused. Understanding dawned on Lyra's face.

"I think I might know who this lot are," she said. "When we were in Neverwinter, I heard gossip about a goblin band calling themselves the 'Cragmaws'. They've been causing trouble for the woodsmen in this area for a few months now. Seems they're bolder than I thought."

The river flowing out of the cave was deeper than Toby had realised, about waist deep, and it made a lot of noise as it tumbled across uneven rocks. Just inside the cave mouth a few rough-cut stone steps lead up to small, dank chamber on the right side of the passage. Toby peered inside and then snatched his head back quickly as he saw three mangy wolves chained up inside. They appeared to have smelt him because they became growling and straining at their chains.

"I don't think they can come out of that chamber," Emmaline surmised after assessing the situation. "The goblins probably keep them there to set on anyone who comes in."

"Poor things," Lyra said pityingly. "The bastards probably starve them to keep them aggressive."

She began pawing through her backpack and Toby goggled as she extracted three strips of dried beef. He began to protest but she shushed him and threw the beef into the wolves' cavern. Toby winced as he heard the beasts fall upon the food and start tearing it to shreds. Whilst the wolves were distracted the four adventurers scooched past their pen and further into the cave.

The main passage from the cave mouth climbed steeply upward, the stream plunging and splashing down its west side. Toby's half-elf eyes adjusted quickly to the dark and he spotted, near the ceiling directly ahead of them, the dim shape of a wood and rope bridge spanning the passage above them. There was a goblin sitting on the bridge, his legs dangling twenty feet above the water, with a bow in his lap. The bridge connected two tunnels.

Lyra leaned in close to Emmaline and whispered in her ear,

"Think you can shoot the ropes to make him fall in the river?"

Emmaline had an arrow nocked but she shook her head.

"It may have escaped your notice, but I'm a human! I can't see a damn thing!" she hissed back.

"Oh, yeah right. Sorry," said Lyra sheepishly, drawing her throwing dagger again. "I'll see if I can do it."

She took aim and after a pause to steady herself, let the dagger fly. The dagger just missed the rope and pinged off the rock beside it instead. The goblin's head jerked up at the noise and he looked directly at them. For a moment they all started at each other, then the goblin scrambled along the bridge heading for the tunnel in the eastern wall.

Beorn shot off a sacred flame, filling the tunnel with dazzling light, but the goblin dove headfirst into the tunnel and the spell missed.

"Bugger, sorry guys," Lyra groaned. "Guess this won't be a stealth mission anymore."

Even as she said this, the passage suddenly filled with a mighty roar as a huge surge of rushing water poured down the slope towards them. Emmaline and Lyra were the quickest to react, they sprang up the sides of the passage, clinging to natural handholds in the rock and just climbing out of the way.

Beorn and Toby weren't so dexterous, both felt the full force of the water as it slammed into them. Beorn managed to keep his footing and stand against the tide but Toby was swept backwards. He flailed about for something to hold onto, and he felt a hand grip his. When the water passed he saw Lyra clutching at him and breathing hard. He was also winded and felt sure he'd wake tomorrow covered in bruises.

"Are you alright?" Lyra asked, hopping down and slipping a little on the now soaking floor. Toby nodded as he couldn't quite get a breath in to speak.

"Let's hope that was a one-time trick," growled Beorn. They continued along the passageway, going under the rope bridge and following the tunnel as it curved around to the right. They now found themselves in a cavern half filled with two large pools. A narrow waterfall high on the eastern wall fed them and they drained into the passage the party had just come from. Some heavy slabs of stone lay on the floor next to some discarded clubs and Toby realized the goblins must have dammed the pools to create the flood.

"Clever, for goblins," he mused. "Or at least a low sort of cunning."

The path they were on looped around to the right and peering down it, Toby could see the rope bridge. Another, wider entrance seemed to lead to a large cavern, set on higher ground than this one. More stone steps led up to it and torches illuminated the space. There was no sign of the goblin guard so the party ventured up the steps cautiously.

It appeared to be some sort of living space. Sacks and crates of looted provisions were piled up at the south end of the cave whilst a crude wooden bed covered in matted furs stood among some stalagmites at the eastern wall. In the middle of the room there was a fire pit with a few coals still burning. At first glance the room was deserted but then Lyra nudged Toby and pointed toward the stalagmites. Toby saw a pair of furry ears peeking out from behind them. Emmaline took careful aim.

"We can see you," she snapped. "Come out and face us! We're here for the travellers you snatched off the road!"

An ugly, brutish face peered out from behind the stalagmite.

"Who dares defy Klarg?" the creature snarled. Toby recognised it as a bugbear, taller than a goblin, covered in brown fur with a snub nose and pointed ears. This one wore crude bits of armour and wielded a mace.

"No one really, we're just passing through," Lyra said cheerfully. "And if you give us Gundren and Sildar we'll be on our way."

The bugbear roared.

"Klarg will build a throne from your bones! Attack!"

From behind the boxes a couple of goblins emerged with swords raised and they rushed the party. At the same time a large wolf bounded out from behind Klarg and leapt at Emmaline. She was knocked to the ground as the beast clamped its jaws around her forearm. Toby dodged out of the way as the goblin's sword came soaring towards him and in a panic, he grabbed at its face. His hand began to glow red hot and the goblin shrieked in pain. It dropped its sword and Beorn took its head clean off with a swing of his axe.

As the dwarf turned to deal with the wolf mauling Emmaline, Toby saw Lyra disarm the other goblin and kick it down the stairs into the room with the two pools.

"Take my advice and run for it," she told the creature and it scrambled to its feet. After a moment's hesitation, it sprinted for the passageway.

"Come back worm! Klarg commands you!" Klarg bellowed, stepping out from behind the stalagmite and charging towards the Party.

Emmaline had now succeeded in throwing off the wolf and buried a knife in its eye. As she rolled to her feet, Karg fell upon them and they all danced out of the way of his wild swings. Beorn took the brunt of the attack, taking a hard blow against his breast plate. Lyra sprang onto the bugbear's back and hooked an arm around its neck.

"Emmie! May your arrow fly straight and true!" she cried, her eyes glowing briefly.

Emmeline drew back her bow string and her arrow embedded itself between Klarg's eyes. The creature swayed and Lyra sprang from its back just before it came crashing down.

"Thanks for the inspiration," Emmeline panted, wincing as she took stock of the wolf bite. Lyra leant forward and rested her hands on her thighs.

"No problem, it makes up for me missing that shot earlier."

Beorn examined Emmeline's wound, determining it wasn't deep and only needed to be cleaned and bandaged, whilst Toby and Lyra took a look around. A lot of the supply crates carried a symbol, a blue rampant lion.

"Do you recognise that? Is it a guild symbol?" Lyra asked Emmaline who squinted at the crates and shook her head.

"No idea. But if they were stolen from wagons on the Triboar Trail, they were certainly headed for Phandalin."

"Then we should return them to their owner," said Toby.

He was poking around among the crates and came across an unlocked chest. Inside he found leather pouches containing copper and silver pieces, as well as two bottles full of red potion, likely potions of healing. Finally, tucked beneath the rest, he found a jade statuette of a frog with tiny golden orbs for eye.

"Pretty," he commented, showing it to the others whilst weighing the coin pouches in his other hand. "I think there's about a hundred silver all told here. It'll be harder to find who this belongs to I imagine, but we can take it with us anyway. You never know."

"Is there anything to point us to Gundren here?" Beorn asked anxiously.

"Not that I can see, this is just loot," said Lyra. "But we've not checked everywhere yet, there was another tunnel on the other side of the bridge."

With that in mind, the party left the looted supplies where they were for the time being and doubled back on themselves, taking the rope bridge this time. The tunnel on the other side was only a short one and opened into a larger cavern, also lit by torches. The air was hazy with smoke from a cooking fire and the pungent smell of poorly cured hides and unwashed goblins. The cave contained six of them, mostly lounging around a game of knucklebones. When the party appeared the goblins looked at them in surprise, their mouths dropping open into gormless expressions, before springing to their feet and grabbing their clubs.

Emmaline raised her bow threateningly but Lyra put a hand up to stop them. She adopted her most charming smile.

"Sorry to startle you lads, but we just want a quick chat. We're looking for a couple of travellers who were snatched off the road. A black bearded dwarf and a human man, warrior type?"

Her calm, friendly demeanour obviously threw the goblins off. They were not accustomed to strangers walking into their hideout for a chat. Toby had seen Lyra use this trick before and it worked surprisingly well. People weren't sure what to do when trespassers acted as if they were meant to be there. At the back of the room, where the floor was higher, a slightly taller, meaner looking goblin stepped forward. He was dragging someone forward towards the ledge and Toby heard Beorn hiss when he recognized Sildar Hallwinter.

The warrior looked to be in bad shape, his face bloody and bruised and his eyes drooping close. He seemed barely conscious.

"Lower your weapons, or I'll gut this human pig!" the goblin snarled, gesticulating with a wicked knife.

Slowly, Beorn and Emmaline lowered their weapons. Lyra sheathed her sword and held her hands up in a peaceful gesture.

"We don't want any trouble. I take it I'm speaking to the leader of this pack?" she asked and the goblin drew itself up.

"I am Yeemik, second-in-command here."

"Second-in-command?" Lyra repeated sceptically. "You don't strike me as the type who takes orders. Oh hold on, that bugbear, Klarg? Is he the leader then?"

Yeemik's face twisted and he nodded.

"I thought so," Lyra sighed. "All brawn and no brains, bugbears. You need smarts to lead a warband like this," she gestured to the assembled goblins who were all looking at each other in confusion. "That's more your forte am I right?"

The goblin leader cocked his head.

"What are you talking about, human?" it whined. "If you don't start making sense, then this one is in for it!"

"She's a half-elf, actually," Toby felt the need to say and Lyra shot him a warning look.

"I'm talking about you, being in charge. I'm not fond of bugbears if I'm honest, so unreasonable. I feel like you're the type of person who can strike a good deal."

Toby could almost see Yeemik's tiny brain trying to work out what Lyra meant. Lyra of course knew all about how cutthroat goblinoid politics could be, her mother had fought hundreds in her time and had always told them how easy they were to fool into turning on each other.

"You – kill Klarg – I let this one go, and let you live!" Yeemik said eventually, shaking Sildar to emphasize his point. Lyra smiled wider.

"Excellent idea. See I told you, good negotiating is key to leadership. As it happened, we've already taken care of Klarg."

The goblins eyes went wide and they muttered to each other in their own jabbering language. Toby only caught the odd word but he understood treasure, leg-it and, strangely, spider. Yeemik's eyes in contrast narrowed.

"Proof?" he snapped and Lyra inclined her head.

"That's reasonable, Beorn? Would you mind?"

The dwarf didn't look happy about leaving his comrades but after a reassuring nod from Lyra, he left the cavern and they heard him hurry back along the bridge. There was a tense silence for a few minutes. Toby could see that Sildar was getting weaker by the second and he felt for the potion of healing in his pocket. He had a feeling he'd be using it very soon.

Beorn returned, now holding the severed head of Klarg by the ears. He held it up for the goblins to see and Toby averted his gaze in disgust. Not so the goblins, who seemed rather pleased at this grisly sight. Yeemik shrugged and then shoved Sildar down the slope.

"A deal's a deal, human. Take the weasel."

Then he barked a few words in goblin and he and his compatriots made a dash for the exit. The party stepped smartly out of the way and waited until they'd streamed out of the cavern before rushing to Sildar's side. Toby unstoppered the potion bottle with his teeth and tilted to contents gingerly into Sildar's open mouth.

The warrior coughed and then managed to gulp down the rest. A few moments passed as his breathing eased and his eyes opened properly. He sat himself up and glanced around at them all with a weak smile.

"Thank-you my friends, your arrival was most timely. Might I trouble you for some water?"

Emmaline handed over her water skin and Hallwinter drank deeply, pausing after a few moments to take a deep breath.

"Sir, do you know where Gundren Rockseeker is?" Beorn asked urgently and Sildar grimaced.

"I'm afraid I don't. This morning when we were brought here, some other goblins, not of this warband, took him away. I heard them talking about a place called Cragmaw Castle. They seemed particularly interested in his map and it seems that someone called 'the Black Spider', wanted him. It sounds like this lot were commissioned the grab him on the Spider's orders."

"Do you think they'll kill him?" Beorn asked, his eyes widening in panic. Sildar squinted at him.

"Beorn Ironfist isn't? Of the Mintarn company?" Beorn nodded. "I don't believe they'll kill him. I would guess they want to question him about Wave Echo Cave."

Toby sucked in a breath and they all looked at him.

"Wave Echo Cave?" he breathed. "Does that mean…the Rockseekers, they -?"

"They found the lost entrance, yes," Sildar confirmed and Toby's eyes grew wide in excitement. "That's what the supplies you're bringing are for. They came across the Caves about three months ago and now they're getting ready to excavate them. Gundren was in Neverwinter to seek a license to delve and to procure provisions. I travelled with him to oversee the delve on behalf of the Lord's Alliance. I also have other business in Phandalin but I won't go into that right now. We'd best get out of this disgusting hovel."

"Yes," Emmaline agreed. "We found some loot in the bugbear's chambers that may belong to someone in Phandalin, we were planning on returning it to them."

"A worthy endeavour," Sildar agreed. "If you would be so good as to escort me safely to Phandalin, I would be happy to pay you for your service. Just as soon as I secure a loan of course."